Addis Ababa, December 21, 2008 (Addis Ababa) - Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said on Sunday it "regrets the attempts by Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf to unconstitutionally appoint a new prime minister".
IGAD threatened immediate sanctions against the TFG president and his associates for this unconstitutional attempt.
This came in a communiqué IGAD issued at the conclusion of its 31st Extra-Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers on the prevailing political and security situation in Somalia.
The Communique said IGAD disaprove of what it described as an attempt by the TFG president to name a new prime minister beyond what the country's constitution warrants. It said it could not recognize any such unconstitutional appointment.
It reaffirmed its support for Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein and the approved new members of cabinet by the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP). It also called up on the these appointees to assume their role with a high level of commitment and dedication.
It said its extraordinary session supported the intention by the government of Kenya to take action against Somali leaders, including the president of TFG, calling up on other member states, the AU and UN to take similar measures. In addition the session condemned what it described as a continued escalation of acts of piracy along the coastlines of Somalia.
Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister Seyoum Mesfin told the session “the problem in Somalia is not mainly security or legal; it is political.” “It is our deeply-felt conviction that indeed there is no reason why the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia should be followed by a deterioration of the situation on the ground,” Seyoum said.
According to Seyoum, any deterioration of the situation in Somalia following withdrawal of the Ethiopian army would be a failure on the part of the international community to give the required support to empower AMISOM, which otherwise should be expected to dischage its mission effectively. So far in the face of an ill-empowered AMISOM, Ethiopia has been shouldering single-handedly the brunt of the responsibilities of trying and maintain peace and stability in Somalia and the costs there of.
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