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02.05.2012 Somalia

IPU CONDEMNS KILLING OF SOMALI MPS

02.05.2012 LISTEN
By Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 2, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) condemns the killing and injuring of Somali parliamentarians and others in a suicide bomb attack in the central town of Dusamareb on Tuesday 1st May.

“The IPU is deeply saddened by the direct targeting of parliamentarians committed to putting in place a functioning representational system to help the population as a whole in Somalia,” said IPU President Abdelwahad Radi. “Their work is particularly important in the challenging context that is Somalia and needs especial protection.”

With MPs having been assassinated before in Somalia, the Organization is calling upon the authorities in the country, both in Mogadishu and in other parts, to do more to protect parliamentarians from further attacks.

“Every effort should be made to support those working to represent the interests of the people as they go about their work and in the run-up to planned legislative elections in August,” added Radi.

IPU has always been committed to protecting the rights of MPs the world over, especially through its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians which is currently working on helping more than 200 MPs suffering human rights abuses.

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