|
Mogadishu, Somalia
September 19, 2009 – A group of lawmakers in Somalia have rejected a new
deal between the governments of Somalia and Djibouti, which states that
Djibouti will be the base for anti-piracy training and operations, Radio
Garowe reports.
MP Mowlid Ma'ani told the BBC Somali Service that the new agreement is
"illegal" and warned against its consequences.
"Recently, we [parliament] removed our feet from mud after the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) signed a maritime agreement with
Kenya, and I see this [Djibouti deal] as new mud," said MP Ma'ani.
He noted that Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake inked a
deal with the federal State of Puntland in northern Somalia, allowing
Puntland to be the base for anti-piracy operations.
"It is unfortunate…but a Minister cannot change an agreement signed by a
Prime Minister," he added. Puntland's president, Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed
"Farole," has warned the TFG not to violate the agreement signed in
Galkayo on August 23.
MP Ma'ani said the Somali Minister of Marine Transport should have
signed the agreement. Mr. Abdirahman Ibbi, the Somali Minister of
Fisheries, signed the agreement on September 11 in Djibouti with Mr. Ali
Hassan Bahdon, Djibouti's minister of transportation.
Mr. Ibbi is a member of Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's
delegation, which is currently in Djibouti and expected to travel to the
United States.
There is a rift developing between President Sheikh Sharif and Prime
Minister Sharmake. According to government sources in Mogadishu, the
Prime Minister was "unaware" of the new deal signed in Djibouti, which
many see as a violation of the Galkayo agreement.
Source: Garowe Online, Sept 14, 2009
|
|
