The Arab Parliament has called on Kenya to stop meddling with Somalia territorial waters, which are an “integral part of the Arab waters.”
BY TESFANEWS *
The diplomatic standoff between Somalia and Kenya appears to have taken an interesting turn after the Arab Parliament sent a stern warning to the Kenyan government ordering it to stop interfering with matters to do with the sovereign state of Somalia.
In a resolution issued during an Arab Parliament meeting in Cairo, members of the Arab League rejected Kenya’s “false pretensions to draw up a new, unfounded map, while rejecting its threats to interfere in Somalia internal affairs”.
The communication was posted by Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs through a tweet on Thursday.
“The Arab Parliament calls on Kenya to get its hands off Somali territorial waters, which are an integral part of the Arab waters, and rejects its false pretensions to draw up a new, unfounded map while rejecting its threats to interfere in Somalia’s internal affairs,” read a tweet by the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The #Arab Parliament calls on #Kenya to stop its hands on #Somali territorial waters, which are an integral part of the Arab waters, and rejects its false pretensions to draw up a new, unfounded map while rejecting its threats to interfere in #Somalia's internal affairs. pic.twitter.com/sx8TJjRnT7
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇸🇴 (@MOFASomalia) June 20, 2019
Mishaal bin Fahm Al-Salami of Saudi Arabia is the current Speaker of the Parliament.
Created in 2014 during the ordinary Arab League Summit in Algiers, Somalia, along with Sudan, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is a member of the Arab Parliament.
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But Kenya was adamant to maintain that it will not cede even an inch of its soil to anyone or any state.
“We will not cede an inch of Kenyan territory to any government,” Foreign Affairs CS Ambassador Monica Juma said.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs PS Ambassador Macharia Kamau recently also said, “Kenya is prepared and ready to defend its territorial integrity at any cost and considers all those directly or indirectly involved, whether Kenyan or non-Kenyan in encroachment of Kenya’s territory as enemies of the State and as adversaries of the Kenyan people.”
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The tiff between the two nations is hinged on a narrow triangle, off the coast of Africa, in the Indian Ocean, about 100,000 square kilometres.
After six years of negotiations, Somalia in 2014 filed a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Kenya of encroaching on the 100,000 square kilometres of marine territory with potential oil and gas deposits in the Indian Ocean.
* The Brief, The Star and Kenyans have contributed to the story.
