Puntland sheikhs condemn Kenya sea deal and call for peace
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 5:55 pm
GAROWE, Somalia June 9 - A meeting was held Monday in Somalia's semiautonomous region of Puntland by Muslim sheikhs who appealed for peace while condemning a controversial maritime agreement, Radio Garowe reports.
The meeting was held in Garowe, the capital of Puntland State, and attended by well-known sheikhs from major Puntland towns, including Las Anod and Bossaso.
The four-point declaration was signed by eleven sheikhs, with the first point calling for Islamist factions in Somalia to "immediately cease the bloodshed of Muslims" and to "resolve differences through dialogue."
The second point noted that the fighting is "among Muslims" and that "confusion" has surrounded the principles of the war, therefore: "Supporting it [war] and joining it [war] is haram [prohibited by Islam]."
The Puntland clerics' declaration called on the Somali public and the Muslim people across the world to offer help to fellow Somalis who are wounded, facing hunger, thirst and diseases.
Lastly, the fourth point of the declaration described the maritime agreement signed between the Somali interim government and the Kenyan government in April has "created confusion, suspicion and distrust" and urged the Somali government to present the agreement to parliament or the public for approval.
"Since the country is currently in an extraordinary situation and since the government lacks the authority to implement [agreements], we appeal to the Transitional Federal Government to avoid entering into agreements that can have an impact on the people and nation of Somalia," the declaration concluded.
Sheikh Abdulkadir Nur Farah, Puntland's most well-known Islamic scholar, was the first name to sign the declaration.
Puntland sheikhs have routinely issued public statements appealing for the violence raging in parts of south-central Somalia to stop in order to save the lives of Somali civilians.
Located in northeastern Somalia, Puntland is a relatively stable region that has functioning is a self-governing state within a federal structure for Somalia since its establishment in 1998.
The Somali interim government, based in the national capital Mogadishu, is struggling against an insurgency led by Islamist rebels who have vowed to overthrow the U.N.-recognized government.
