Jubaland state administration in Somalia has once again clarified its stance on the participation of upcoming Consultative meeting which Villa Somalia previously announced and is due to open in Mogadishu. Information Minister, Honorable Abdi Hussein Mohmed, has unequivocally said that they cannot rely on the security of Mogadishu after security forces fired on peaceful protests led by opposition groups held in Mogadishu on the 19th February. Abdi said: ” All is aware of what happened on the 19th February. We cannot be reliable on the security of Mogadishu. Jubaland officials will attend the consultative meeting once the Federal Government apologizes on the incident that occurred last week. Once it is agreed upon all by the attendees on a secure venue the likes of Halane where foreign embassies are based.” He disclosed that the Somali Federal Government is using excessive powers to suppress the opposition and is not willing to uphold the rule of law. He added that a meeting cannot be held to insecure location. A statement from Villa Somalia have urged the regional leaders of Jubaland and Puntland to participate the meeting in Mogadishu which follows previous conference held in Biadao where the differences between SFG and FMS were about to be resolved. Confrontations between anti government protests led by opposition groups and Somalia’s security forces left 20 people dead. Somalia’s Federal Government and its Federal Member States locked horns over issues pertaining to the electoral process. The president of Somalia’s term in office expired on the 8th February and the country is still in limbo as the two sides are not engaged talks in order to make a major breakthrough regarding the election impasse.
