KENYA: Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf condemns sanctions imposed by regional body, IGAD

Record ID: 362019

  • Title: KENYA: Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf condemns sanctions imposed by regional body, IGAD
  • Date: 22nd November 2008
  • Summary: (W3) NAIROBI, KENYA (NOVEMBER 21, 2008) (REUTERS) WIDE OF SOMALIA PRESIDENT ABDULAHI YUSUF SEATED AHEAD OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) SOMALIA'S PRESIDENT, ABDULAHI YUSUF, SAYING: "I was not there when that decision was reached. If I am wrong or right, we are a sovereign state, and an independent government has its own decisions based on the country's law. If I v
  • Embargoed: 7th December 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAAWK2T6MEJ5QAFY7FPP3TOUF5Y
  • Story Text: Somalia president Abdullahi Yusuf disapproves of sanctions imposed by regional body, IGAD and asks for the sovereignty of Somalia to be respected.
    Somalian president, Abdullahi Yusuf, has condemned sanctions proposed by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), on the lawless African country. Speaking to journalists in Nairobi, Kenya, Yusuf said that he was not consulted and expressed his disappointment that foreigners were meddling in his government's affairs.
    "I was not there when that decision was reached. If I am wrong or right, we are a sovereign state, and an independent government has its own decisions based on the country's law. If I violated the law, we have a parliament and judiciary systems that can handle me. If I am right they will support me. We do not need anyone else to intervene," said Yusuf.
    Yusuf's government has been unable to stop a two-year insurgency from Islamic militia despite backup from thousands of Ethiopian troops.
    A communiqué issued at the end of a meeting on Tuesday (November 18) from IGAD, a regional body spearheading the peace process in Somalia, called for sanctions and travel bans to Somali leaders and elders viewed as impediments to peace.
    United Nations-brokered talks in Djibouti to end the war, which has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, have been rejected by the Islamists, while a spat between Yusuf and his prime minister has not helped the process.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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