Abdiweli Mohamed Ali tells Al
Jazeera he is ready to talk but rebel group must take the
initiative.
Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Somalia's interim prime minister,
says his government is open to the idea of dialogue with
rebel group al-Shabab.
"We are open to dialogue with [al-Shabab]. If they take that
route then we are ready for that, but we can't force them to
have it with us," Ali said in an interview with Al Jazeera's
Peter Greste.
"It has to come from them, they have to accept that
reality. So far they [Al-Shabab] have not taken that option.
Ali told Al Jazeera that positive things were happening
in Somalia for the first time in decades.
"Things are different now in Somalia, because Somalis
have been in this mess for the last 20 years and they are
sick and tired of being sick and tired. They are ready to
move forward.
"For the last month or so, progress and positive things
have taken place in the country, for the first time in 20
years we have the first all-Somali consultive meeting in
Mogadishu. Within three days they have produced a document
called the road map."
But Ali said parliamentary reform was still needed, and
that current legislators needed to be convinced of the need
for reform.
"There should be a reform of the Parliament, but we have
to convince the parliament itself that reform is important,
and that it is in the interest of the Somali people," Ali
said.
