Eighteen members of Somalia’s Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament have signed a petition calling for the removal of the AU Special Representative for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, over remarks he made recently at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
Ambassador Madeira referred to a recent agreement signed between Jubbaland regional state president Ahmed Mohamed Islam aka Ahmed Madobe and his main political rivals as that of one clan in the region, which infuriated the MPs and other opposition leaders.
The opposition leaders accuse the AU envoy of interfering in Somalia’s local politics and fanning clan rivalries at the behest of the federal government.
Following is the statement which also has the names of the MPs and Senators:
“We, the members of the federal parliament from Jubbaland Federal Member State, take offence at the description of the agreement between the Jubbaland president and his opponents by the AU Special Representative to Somalia.
Ambassador Madeira, while speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Somalia held on 21 May 2020, described the agreement as one reached by a single clan. This description appeared to have been used to demean the agreement, mislead the Council and provide excuses for the war the government is waging in Gedo Region.
The agreement received wide support by the major representatives of international community, such Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and ambassadors from US, UK, EU and Swedan, but Ambassador Madeira has refused to welcome the agreement and kept quiet about the government’s violations in Gedo.
The Jubbaland president reached an agreement with the candidates who had competed in the Jubbaland election and who had rejected the results of the same election. The reason the ambassador tagged the agreement with a clan’s name was an attempt to show the world, at the behest of Villa Somalia, that the agreement was incomplete.
We therefore request the Chairperson of the African Union to replace Ambassador Madeira for failing to remain neutral in Somalia’s political affairs, which is an obstacle to the fulfillment of his responsibilities.
1. Hon: Abdullahi Yusuf Haasan (Alankey)
2. Hon: Mohammed Hassan Idriss (Xildh: Mohammed Ganey)
3. Hon: Jabril Abdirashid Haji
4. Hon: Ali Mohamed Muse (Xildh: Ali Jiim)
5. Hon: Mohamed Nur Shambara
6. Hon: Abdulqadir Mohamed Osman (Faliija)
7. Hon: Ahmed Osman Ibrahim (Daqare)
8. Hon: Dalays Hassan Aadan
9. Hon: Abdirashiid Mohamed Hidig
10. Hon: Leeban Osman Abdirahman
11. Hon: Sahro jama Ali Qoorsheel
12. Hon: Ibrahim Mohamed Hussein
13. Hon: Hassan Abdi Ismail (Xildh: Hassan Yare)
14. Hon: Farhia Hassan Ahmed
15. Senator: Iftiin Hassan Baasto
16. Senator: Abullahi Sheikh Ismail ( Fartaag)
17. Senator: Ahmed Haashi
18. Senator Hassan Hujale
Abdirashid Hidig, a member of the Somali federal parliament and one of the leaders of the Jubbaland council for change, recently said he will open a case against Francisco Madeira, Special Representative of the African Union to Somalia.
Wadajir Party Leader Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame also took issue with ambassador’s comments, accusing him creating divisions among Somali clans.
“We recently cautioned about the SRCC’s [Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson] meddling in Somali internal politics by creating divisions among Somali clans at the cost of neglecting his core mandate of security support and security transition. This is a vindication that he is doing Villa Somalia’s bidding,” Warsame said in a tweet.
Madeira made the comments at a UN Security Council Meeting on the situation in Somalia, held in New York on 21 May.