By The Star Staff Writer
MOGADISHU — European Union’s Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell blasted Somali lawmakers’ decision to oust Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire in a no-confidence vote, saying their action “represents a setback for Somalia and for the confidence” the bloc had in the country’s progress.
The EU’s concern about Khaire’s removal underscores Western nations’ displeasure with Somali politicians whose intransigence about the date and model of the 2020-2021 elections is threatening the the country’s fragile stability and institutions. Khaire has been vocal in his opposition to calls for delaying the vote, warning of political, security and economic chaos if it’s not held on time.
In a harshly-worded, three-paragraph statement on Sunday, Borrell, the high representative for foreign affairs and vice-president of the European Commission, said the censure motion against Khaire, who’s also a Norwegian citizen, “didn’t meet minimal constitutional requirements.”
“Regrettably,” Borrell said, “the developments in the House of the People of Somalia on Saturday represent a setback for Somalia and for the confidence of the European Union in the progress of Somalia.”
With guns blazing, condescending in his first paragraph and pessimistic about Somalia’s prospect of standing on its feet once again after decades of instability, Borrell derided Somalia as a country that is “still on a long journey of national recovery to become free of insecurity, free of debt and free to vote leaders into power.”
Khaire on Saturday said he “decided to be an example for the Somali people and resign from the position I held for the Somali people to protect the country’s unity and not to return to destruction and problem,.”
Parliament Speaker Parliament Speaker Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman said 170 lawmakers voted to unseat Khaire, while only eight opposed the measure held in the capital, Mogadishu, with no abstentions. Abdirahman accused Khaire of failing to prepare the nation for the 2021 polls, among other issues.
The Somali government didn’t directly comment on Borrell ‘s hard-hitting statement, but the Cabinet, in a veiled reference to the EU’s condemnation of Khaire’s removal and a similar one from the US, “stressed the need for our partners to respect the sovereignty of our nation and our constitution as well as the UN Diplomatic Convention. FGS is committed to #Somalia’s progress,” said Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid “Khadar”, the acting prime minister, on a Twitter message after chairing the Cabinet’s first meeting since Khaire’s ouster.
The United States Embassy in Somalia on Saturday expressed concern over what it called “irregularities of the no-confidence vote and Somalia’s future elections process,” saying the actions of parliament and President Farmajo “heightened political tensions and undermined the ongoing process of dialogue and negotiation between the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Member States, and other key stakeholders.”
“This irregular process is a setback for the reform agenda Somalia has pursued with the support of the United States,” said the Embassy in a statement.
The EU and the US condemnations were in stark contrast to the more restrained tone of the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, on Khaire’s removal.
IGAD, an eight-nation bloc in East Africa, of which Somalia is a part, and the continental body, which has about 20,000 peacekeepers, have only taken “note of the vote of no confidence passed by the House of the People” on Khaire’s government and urged “Somali leaders to show unity of purpose, commit to the agreements reached in Dhusamareb and respect the agreed timelines in line with the Provisional Federal Constitution.”
“The African Union Commission and IGAD stress the need for all stakeholders to exercise restraint and avoid any action that may lead to instability,” they said in a joint statement on Saturday.
The EU, along with its member states, provides more than 35 percent of all humanitarian aid in Somalia. The 27-nation bloc says it’s already providing €51.2 million, or $59.93, this year in funding for humanitarian projects inside the country.
The EU seems to have been particularly irked by the timing of the no-confidence motion, which came 21 days ahead of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo’s scheduled meeting with regional chiefs on Aug. 15 to discuss recommendations expected to be prepared by a technical committee the two sides — just a day before Khaire’s ouster — agreed to set up to work out election modalities for the 2021 polls.
Borrell decried what he termed a “serious disrespect for the constitutional foundations of Somalia,” in which, he said, the European Union has been investing.
The diplomat stopped just short of announcing immediate punitive measures against Somali leaders who, he said, “bear a special responsibility to ensure that a consensus is achieved and maintained in national politics.”
He, however, pointedly made it clear that the EU would “review carefully” the events that led to Khaire’s ouster and “who bears responsibility” and to what extent that can “deviate Somalia from the progress it was making and to which it had committed itself to its international partners.”
A Somali Twitter user, Nimo, has furiously reacted to Borrell’s statement, which the former Spanish foreign minister shared it on his Twitter account.
“I find this statement even offensive(.)’…. We will closely review… who bears responsibility..’ Who da (sic) hell are you to review other country’s business? Huh. Khaire gracefully accepted HIS Parliament’s decision. Why r u (sic) reacting?” Nimco wrote.
On Sunday, Nicolas Berlanga, the EU Ambassador to Somalia, was also curiously effusive in his praise for the toppled prime minister.
“The EU in Somalia wants to praise PM Khaire’s determination to conduct strategic reforms,’ he said in a Twitter message. “On its journey to become free of insecurity, free of debt and free to vote leaders into power, PM Khaire represented the future, the modern Somalia citizens and partners all aspire to.”
But Somali Twitter users haven’t let that tweet pass too.
The “IC (international community) should respect Somali’s sovereignty and decisions made by its institutions. Praising individuals over institutions makes no good to Somalis and we understand your Ill-intentions. We don’t take lightly when envoys act like rulers of their host independent country,” said Hussein A. Ali, a Somali-American responding to Berlanga’s tweet.