Tsgenai Weekly Newspaper
Issue: 21-2001
Monday, April 16, 2001

Mr. Mahmoud Sherifo To tS�genai Newspaper: 
�  Responsibility we were given by the National Assembly Was Snatched
� Nobody but the National Assembly can usurp our responsibilities

Based on authority given to it by the National Assembly, the Committee for Drafting Laws on Political Parties and Organizations had completed drafting the Proclamation and was in the process of disseminating it to the public when it was abruptly told not to do so by the President.  So explained the former Minister of Local Government, Mr. Mahmoud Sherifo.

In an interview he gave tS�genai newspaper, Mr. Mahmoud Sherifo explained that it was decided [by the National Assembly] that the draft proclamation should be prepared within six months and disseminated to the public for discussion before it is submitted to the 14^th National Assembly session.

He added, �based on that, we were preparing some discussion questions to illuminate the subject to the public when we were presented with unexpected obstacles.�  Mr. Mahmoud went on to explain that the directive given by the President was that he had major observations on the draft law and that he would set up the schedule on how to disseminate the information to the public.

According to the information provided by Mahmoud [Sherifo], the project to draft the proclamation on political parties and organizations was concluded on January 23, 2001 and that an appointment had been set with the Ministry of Information to disseminate it to the public on January 30, 2001.   The Committee was prohibited from issuing the details on January 29, 2001.

He went on to explain that the steps taken by the President were unexpected by the Committee and, although it had scheduled a date to discuss them on February 6, 2001, because Sherifo�s firing from his position occurred a day earlier (February 5, 2001), other issues dominated the subject of the committee�s discussion.

After informing the members of the Committee on Drafting Laws on Political Parties & Organizations that their authorities were bestowed by the National Assembly,  Mahmoud went on to explain that, at the moment, the Committee knows nothing on developments dealing with formation of political parties and organizations and the issue now rests with the President�s Office.

In its 13^th Ordinary Session, the National Assembly assigned the Committee to prepare draft laws on political parties and organizations, to disseminate the information and solicit viewpoints of the public and then present its findings to the National Assembly, which was scheduled to meet for its 14^th Ordinary Session in March.

Ato Mahmoud stated that to date and since the conclusion of its report the Committee has not been informed officially whether it has been disbanded or not.  �We are waiting to prepare our case to the National Assembly,� he said.

The members of the Committee on Drafting Laws on Political Parties and Organizations are six.  They are: Mr. Mahmoud Sherifo; Mr. Haile Weldetensaie, Minister of Trade & Industry; Mr Tesfai Gebreselassie, Minister of Mines & Energy; Ms Fozia Hashim, Minister of Justice; Mr. Musa Naib, Attorney General; Mr. Ahmed Taher Badouri, Eritrea�s Ambassador to the UN.

� The Steps Taken By The President Were Unexpected By The Committee� �  Mr.  Mahmoud [Sherifo]

The former Minister of Local Government, current member of PFDJ�s Central Committee as well as the National Assembly was interviewed by tS�eganai Newspaper on the issue of the Committee on Drafting Political Parties and Organizations.  The interview follows: 

On Membership: Who Appointed the Membership of the Committee and who are the members?

The Committee on Drafting Political Parties & Organizations was formed at the 13^th Ordinary Session of the National Committee.  It has six members.  They are: Minister of Minerals & Energy, Tesfai Gebreselassie; Minister of Trade, Haile Weldensaie; Justice Minister Fozia Hashim; Attorney General Musa Naib; Eritrean Ambassador to the UN Ahmed Taher Badouri as well as myself.

What was the responsibility given to this committee?

The responsibilities given to this committee were: to draft laws on formation of political parties and organizations; to present the draft laws to the public for debate and solicitation of viewpoints; to compile the opinions of the people on what to add and what to delete and present it to the 14^th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly scheduled for March.

Was the work concluded on time?

Yes, we concluded our work on time.  Before its dissemination to the public, we provided copies of the draft law to all members of the National Assembly so they would be clued up.   The Ministry of Information, too, was given a copy.  On this basis, and as an exercise in initiating the process, we had prepared some questions--for discussion and points of illumination�to be disseminated to the mass media.    In the process, we encountered some unexpected obstacles.

And what was the obstacle encountered?

As everyone knows, we concluded the drafting of the laws on January 23, 2001 and provided copies to all members of the National Assembly.  To initiate the process, we scheduled an interview with [the Ministry of] Information for January 30, 2001.  Suddenly, on January 29, 2001, we were told by the President to refrain from disseminating any information.  While we kept our counsel to be patient and go on preparing to inquire about these developments, we received a message from the President.  And the message informed us that the President has major observations on the draft laws and that he would set the schedule on when to disseminate the information to the public.

We were amazed because that had not been our understanding. The committee set an appointment to meet on February 6, 2001.  A day before the scheduled meeting, I was removed from my position as Minister of Local Governments.  And in our meeting, the subject of my removal dominated the issue.  But, in between, what we came to agree on was: what needs to be done?  Since he said he would set the schedule on when to disseminate the information to the public, let�s wait for that.   To date, we have not been told anything officially.  To this day, the President�s Office is disseminating the information in the manner they see fit.  As far as we are concerned, we know nothing.   And so, given the questions we are being asked regarding this issue, what I want to say is: although we were given the responsibility on this issue by the National Assembly, the responsibility has been snatched from us by the President, and we are waiting to present our case to the National Assembly.

Have you been removed from the Committee?

Officially, nobody has told us that we have been removed.  And, excepting for the National Assembly, nobody can remove us.  The dissemination of the product to the public, to gather viewpoints of the people and to provide clarification was our responsibility.  But this responsibility has been snatched from us and we don�t know why.

There is talk that the President should have seen a copy of the draft law before it is disseminated to the public.  How is this?

There is no such thing.  A committee to draft laws was established at the Assembly.  And its job was to disseminate the information to the public and gather their views before it presents the draft to the Assembly.  It was the Assembly that suggested the idea that the public should discuss the draft laws.

On the basis of that, when we disseminated copies of the draft law to the members of the Assembly, we had informed them that we would outline a proposal on how to present the draft law to the public.  The matter was snatched from us before we could draft the outline.  Now, we know nothing of what goes on.  It has been nearly two and half months since the drafting of the laws was concluded.  Perhaps if you want to know, you should ask the President.

Why did the President take such a step?

Why the President took such a step is not my concern.  In my estimation (based on a variety of information), I think it is because the President has no desire to see the formation of political parties before the elections scheduled for the end of the year.