Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga has assured members of the Somali community in Kenya that the government is not targeting them in the current crackdown on illegal immigrants, Prime Minister Press Service reports. He advised all those engaged in legitimate businesses to feel free and lodge complaints whenever they feel their interests as citizens or legal immigrants are being threatened. According to the press unit, the PM at the same time asked the US government to help mobilize international support for the transitional authority in Somalia. “Stability in Somalia is the best cure against rising fear of terrorism and piracy in the region,” he said.
Mr Vershbow is in Kenya to get a better understanding of the situation in Somalia and Sudan. Earlier in the day, the PM told officials of the Eastleigh Business Community, a Somali suburb in Nairobi, Kenya capital and Somali Leaders Forum that ongoing operation was aimed at safeguarding the security of all Kenyans and their investments, noting that Kenyan-Somalis should therefore not have any fears. The PM’s press unit reports that the Somali leaders supported the government’s move to rid the country of foreigners who have criminal intentions and backgrounds but demanded that it be carried out humanely and in a civil manner.
The officials said they do not condone the presence of illegal immigrants in the country or defend their arrests and deportation or other treatment in accordance with the law, but worried that the crackdown currently appears to be targeting Somalis and their businesses. An ongoing swoop in the country has seen thousands of aliens most of Somalia origin arrested including several legislators.