PANA
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Pana) - African ministers in charge of defence and foreign affairs have endorsed a series of targeted sanctions against Somali leaders, including President Abdullahi Yusuf, and his new Prime Minister who quit early Wednesday.The continent's top security arm, the Peace and Security Council (PSC), which wound up its meeting here Tuesday, endorsed sanctions against President Yusuf and his political allies and affirmed its support for Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.
The ministers directed the African Union secretariat to immediately set up a committee of experts to draw up sanctions against Somali leaders seen as obstacles to peace in the Horn of Africa nation and prepare punitive measures against them.
"Somalia is once again at cross-roads with the risks that recent developments could lead to a total collapse of all the efforts so far deployed to promote peace, security, stability and reconciliation," PSC Ministerial Council said in a statement Wednesday.
The statement came hours before Somalia's recently appointed Prime Minister Mohammed Mahmoud Guled resigned, saying his decision was motivated by the need to give peace in Somalia a chance and with travel sanctions looming over his head.
The Prime Minister, whose appointment was dismissed as unconstitutional, reportedly resigned after evaluating the situation in the country, in the interest of peace.
The African ministers, whose responsibility is to ensure peace and stability prevails throughout the continent, told the Somali leaders to "show leadership and rise to the daunting challenges facing the country."
Yusuf defied a parliamentary vote reconfirming Nur Hassan as the country's legitimate Prime Minister and faced the wrath of the Kenyan government, which immediately announced sanctions against him and close allies.
Yusuf has been at odds with his Prime Minister over the Premier's approach to peace in the country; he has been opposed to a power-sharing system with moderate Islamists, who have previously fallen out with the President.
However, the premier has been pursuing dialogue with the rivals and the international community, including AU, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which has been overseeing these talks, has backed the premier's approach.
The ministerial council meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, reiterated that divisions within the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) as Somalia's interim government, its legislative arm and other institutions are known, constitute an obstacle to peace.
"Council stresses that no one should be allowed, both within and outside Somalia, to stand in the way of the ongoing efforts aimed at promoting reconciliation, peace and stability in Somalia," the ministers reiterated.
The ministers warned Yusuf against disregarding the IGAD and termed his appointment of a new Prime Minister 'unconstitutional', they also agreed to immediately slap sanctions on the new prime minister and all his appointees.
Source: Pana, Dec 24, 2008