Jacaylbaro Posted July 3, 2007 Mogadishu 03, July.07 ( Sh.M.Network) - Somalia transitional government demanded on Tuesday the return of six huge fishing vessels reportedly in the hands of Engineer Munye, one of the sacked Somali lawmakers in the current interim government and former director of the fishing department of Somalia’s 1991 collapsed government. Ahmed Mohammed Iman, the director of Somalia’s fishing ministry, told journalists on Tuesday that Munye should return the vessels, which he said, belonged to Somalia. “Engineer Munye is a former member of Siad Barre’s regime; he was assigned for the country’s ships. After the fall of the government, he has been holding six Somalia ships. Now he has to bring them back because they are public properties,” he said. He said the interim federal government had the capacity to take care of the ships, calling on the former parliamentarian to send the ships back home. “Now that we have effectual government, we do not need that Somalia’s ships be used for personal purposes. Munyo must reinstate them immediately,” he said. He pointed out that one of the six ships dubbed 21 October has recently been swept ashore around Puntland waters and that Somalia’s fishing department intended to send spare parts for repairing the ship. “When it is successfully fixed, we hope it will be hauled to Mogadishu’s seaport,” Iman said. He said once the transitional government becomes in control of the ships, it was meaning to hold Munyo accountable for keeping public properties for personal use. Also Puntland, the semiautonomous province in Northeast Somalia, was warned today no t to make deals over its territorial water resources with foreign governments. Iman said Puntland signed illegal deals with Yemen over establishing coastguards and trade of the country’s fish. “Deals with foreign states over Somalia’s territorial waters and marine resources can only be singed by the central transitional federal government. Puntland doesn’t have the rights to be involved in such deals,” he said. He warned the provincial administration that it should back out deals it made with Yemen, indicating that the province has the right to make trade deals locally. Iman articulated that Puntland’s minister for marine resources, along with a delegation, was in Sana’, Yemen, to finalize the trade accords between the regional management and the government of Yemen. “The minister is there to confirm the deal which will give Yemen the right to send coastguards to Somalia waters and trawl fish in Somalia,” he said. He pointed such contracts as unacceptable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites