Members of Parliament (MPs) from Northeastern region Kenya have raised concerns after Somaliland, a region in Somalia signed a memorandum of cooperation and partnership with the federal government of Ethiopia.
In a statement on Thursday, January 4, the MPs called for the cancellation of the partnership where Somaliland agreed to lease a 20km stretch of Sea port in the region.
Voicing their reservations against the move, the leaders urged the international community to intervene and help to quell the rising hostility.
“We call on the African Union, IGAD and the United Nations to urgently institute measures for cessation of hostilities by calling for an urgent end to this blatant provocation by the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and immediate cancellation of “Memorandum of Understanding of partnerships and Cooperation,” said the MPs.
Agreement Will Cause Chaos
Also, the leaders reminded the Ethiopian government not to take for granted the conflict within and between Horn of Africa Nations.
“It baffles that being the nation that suffered the most recent war which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and thus expected to prudently target its human and financial resources towards nation-building and healing the (still) fresh wounds occasioned by the Tigray War, is instead, gearing up to open a new war front with a friendly nation,” said the MPs.
The MPs further reminded the Ethiopian government of the Preamble of Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 which states that “the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations concerning the sovereign equality of States, the maintenance of international peace and security, and the promotion of friendly relations among nations.”
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Ethiopia Abuses International Laws
Further, the legislators said the Ethiopian Government’s action to enter into an agreement and effectively establish direct international relations with a region of Somalia is in breach of the territorial integrity and abuse of the political independence of the State of Somalia.
They expressed their shock at Ethiopia’s decision to act unconscientiously despite being a signatory to the UN Charter, The African Union Constitutive Act, Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and several other international treaties that regulate the conduct and relations between Nations.
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Advise to Somaliland Region
Furthermore, the legislators advised Somaliland Region to operate within the confines of international Law and desist from any acts that would stifle relations between the Somali People.
They argued that the agreement will not assure the establishment of diplomatic relations and is against international laws.
