The decision of the Somali people

ANN: How about freedom of expression. As long as Mogadishu is in your hands now, do you think that you will allow freedom of press and personal rights?

Sh. Sherif: It is one of the things that we highly value. As you know Mogadishu press and the world press write a lot of lies about us, however, we don't contest it and we don't make [a] fuss about it. This shows that there is a lot of freedom of expression. Since the inception of the Islamic Courts, no one was detained on the basis of what they said or what they believe.

ANN: Will you support organisations that share similar principles with you and want to enforce Islamic sharia in neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti?

Sh. Sherif: We are not an organisation. We are a popular uprising. Therefore, we are different from them.

ANN: So does that mean that the fear of these countries about you is unfounded?

Sh. Sherif: We want to respect our neighbouring countries and the entire world and we believe that no one should make an aggression on others. This is our belief.

ANN: Are you ready to form a government with Abdillahi Yusuf. Do you have any conditions to do this?

Sh. Sherif: We agree to have talks with Abdillahi Yusuf on interests or principles or both.

ANN: Have you started any talks with them as yet?

Sh. Sherif: [unfortunately the recorded answer was inaudible]

ANN: Do the Islamic Courts intend to form a government or do you want to transfer the issue to the Somali people and that you will remain as a judiciary authority only?

Sh. Sherif: We want to return the decision to the Somali people. We don't want to keep any authority with us.