Envoy denies interference in Somalia

Ethiopia's envoy to the UN has dismissed as "preposterous" claims by Djibouti that his country is interfering in Somalia's affairs. Addressing a press conference in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, Ambassador Abd al-Majid Husayn said Ethiopia would never interfere with another state but added that "instability" in Somalia was spilling over the border into his country. The Djibouti foreign ministry earlier this week criticised Abd al-Majid over an interview he gave to the Reuters news agency, in which he was quoted as saying that if Somalis did not solve their problems "we will do it for them". According to Reuters, he also warned that Ethiopia would "change the rules of the game" in Somalia. But Abd al-Majid, who is an ethnic Somali, said he had been misquoted by the news agency and that Djibouti should have sought clarification before issuing its statement. He added that nations should stop speaking on behalf of Somalia and let the country sort out its problems. Ethiopia "takes great exception when tiny states take that mantle and behave like they are the superpower of the region", he said. "Djibouti and Ethiopia are two friendly countries...It is not in their interest to create trouble for us and it’s not in our interest to create trouble for them." However, he insisted there were elements within Somalia’s Transitional National Government (TNG) who had links to terrorists. "So the sooner they get rid of those elements linked with the terrorists then the better for everybody in the sub-region," he told reporters. He added that Ethiopia had "deferred" recognition of any ruling body in Somalia "until there is a broad-based government". "Until that is done we are not going to recognise any government," he said. His comments come as leaders of the opposition grouping, Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), were due to meet in Addis Ababa on Thursday ahead of Somali reconciliation talks in Nairobi, Kenya, in April. He said Ethiopia supported the peace talks and would encourage faction leaders opposed to the TNG to attend. "We want the people of Somalia to have peace," Abd al-Majid went on. "We want them to have unity based on their own decisions. We don’t want anybody else to make it for them. So we take great exception when somebody says that we want an unstable Somalia because Ethiopia wants Somalia divided." "We are not going to apologise to anybody in this region, nor outside it," he added. "Together with IGAD member countries we want to have a stable and peaceful Somalia." He said Ethiopia would continue to work for peace in Somalia "despite those who want to destroy Ethiopia from this or that direction and then label it as interference in Somali affairs".