Battle lines drawn as Farmaajo rubbishes donor calls for talks
GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Keep your lamentations to yourself, Mohamed Farmaajo whose term ended as President of Somalia in February but managed to circumvent the constitution to add himself two years in office has told donors in what now sets his administration on the warpath with key financiers of his government.
The embattled leader said in a statement through the Foreign Affairs Ministry Wednesday he was not moving an inch on the Lower House resolution. The unilateral resolution lacks the input of the Upper House, deviates from the September 17, 2020, internationally recognized deal and violates the Provisional Constitution.
“Inflammatory statements laden with threats, which undermine the political independence and sovereign rights of national institutions will only serve to embolden terrorist organisations and anti-peace elements in Somalia,” the statement read in part.
The international community including the UK, UN, EU and the US have called for a return to talks based on September 17, 2020, political agreement between the Federal Government and the Federal Member States.
READ ALSO: Isolated Farmaajo warns donor of ‘diplomatic action’, laments ‘regime change’
But in its rejoinder Wednesday, the Farmaajo administration said the agreement had been overtaken by events. “
The law passed by the Lower House, Villa Somalia said, ‘supersedes any prior arrangements including the 17 September 2020 agreement’.
REVISED STATEMENT
The statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry Wednesday night was a revised version of an earlier one leaked to the media softening the tone and cutting out some sections. In the leaked statement, the Farmaajo administration had threatened ‘diplomatic action’ against some of the donor countries accusing them of using humanitarian aid as ‘blackmail’ with the intent of ‘regime change’.
The move to vacate the September 2020 agreement could now open a new battleground between the Farmaajo regime and the international community.
In separate reports this week, the UK, US and EU said they will take actions including sanctions, aid cuts, visa restrictions and re-evaluation of relations with Somalia.