Somalia: Puntland refuses to recognize Galmudug

GAROWE, Somalia, July 6, 2015 (Garowe Online)- Amid a heated boundary deadlock, Puntland said it would not recognize the newly-formed administration of Galmudug on Monday, Garowe Online reports. 

In an interview with BBC Somali Service, Puntland Information Minister Mohamud Hassan So’adde unveiled that Puntland will not mull a dialogue with Galmudug until Mudug ownership claims are rescinded. 

“We see Abdikarin [new Galmudug leader] and his henchmen a cabal that didn’t come in the will of central Somalia communities but merely in the interest of Mogadishu,” said Puntland Information Minister.”Puntland is a government, if Abdikarin wants to talk, he can talk to mayors in charge of border towns”.

The firm stance on Galmudug follows calls for co-operation by newly elected Galmudug President Abdikarin Hussein Gulled. 

On Sunday, Gulled called on Puntland to come to the negotiating table and work with his administration on security. 

“We are ready to talk to each and every side, our brothers of Puntland, we say let’s help each other, together work on security and set up a co-operation,” Gulled announced a day after his victory in presidential election. 

On July 1, in anniversary celebrations address in Garowe, Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali made first public comments on Adado endeavor, calling Galmudug a ‘phantom’ meant for destabilizing peaceful regions. 

“Ongoing Adado conference doesn’t look like a push to form a federal state, but in turn it is a plot orchestrated from Mogadishu to undermine existing and peaceful state,” Puntland leader told a crowd of politicians and traditional leaders on Somalia’s 55th Independence Day.

Meanwhile, international community partners including UN, IGAD, EU, AU, and the US urged parties to quell legal issues arising from state formation process. 

“We call on the Galmudug administration and FGS to open dialogue with Puntland to resolve the dispute on boundaries, noting that the legal issue arising from state formation processes will ultimately be resolved through the work of the Boundaries and Federation Commission and the harmonization of constitutions,” they said in a joint press statement. 

Adado delegates approved a controversial constitution that puts boundary at the backyard of Nugal last month. 

GAROWE ONLINE