Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A statement from the Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula said the sacking of the Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein on Sunday by Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed will further exacerbate the problems in Somalia since the Parliament has refused to endorse the move.
Wetangula said the IGAD, the African Union (AU) and the international community have over the years heavily invested and engaged in political dialogue and reconciliation in Somalia, noting that the political competition and polarization among the top leadership will continue to undermine such efforts.
"Somali leaders who impede the stabilization of their country will be placed individually and collectively under sanctions by the AU and IGAD and also in accordance to UN Security Council Resolution 1844 (2008)," Wetangula said.
President Yusuf sacked Hussein on Sunday after they disagreed on a new cabinet demanded by donor countries and regional leaders.
But parliament reinstated Hussein on Monday, worsening the split at the top of the already fragile government. President Yusuf named a new prime minister on Tuesday, ignoring a decision by parliament to reinstate sacked premier Hussein.
Speaking in Nairobi, Wetangula said the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration and the Djibouti Peace Agreement are dependent on the current Somali transitional federal government's top leadership working in unison.
"The current peace initiatives are at a critical stage and require support of all the peace-loving Somalis and the region as a whole. Deviation from this path is certainly bound to jeopardize the peace process," the minister said.
He said the incessant political wrangles and competition among the Somali transitional government's top leadership was "totally distractive, unhelpful to the region and the Somali society in general."
The AU and the United Nations have both described the political in-fighting as disruptive to the peace process.
Chair of the UN-backed International Contact Group for Somalia, UN diplomat Ahmedou Ould Abdallah said the sacking of Nur had been "rejected by the vast majority of Somalis".
The panel is expected to meet in New York later on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in the Horn of Africa nation.
Wetangula said President Yusuf's decision is likely to worsen infighting in the government, which has been fraught with power wrangles and unable to exert authority across the lawless country since its formation.
"President Abdullahi Yusuf is a party to the Summit declaration and the Djibouti peace process, and should not therefore take any unilateral decisions which hinder the attainment of peace in Somalia," the minister said.
Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991.