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Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar garnered scrutiny online after seemingly claiming that being Somali is her top priority as compared to showing her dedication to the US. Critics took to X to condemn her for supposedly wanting to control the US government. Despite many reprimanding her online, she passionately defended herself on the social media platform.
Popular X page End Wokeness was one of the many who put the Mogadishu, Somalia-born politician on blast. This comes after Ilhan Omar seemingly claimed that Somalis living in the US must demand the country not let Ethiopia supposedly steal the land of Somaliland.
While discussing the coastline conflict between Somaliland and Ethiopia, Omar said:
“The U.S. government will only do what Somalians in the US tell them to do! They will do what we want and nothing else. They must follow our orders and that is how we will safeguard the interest of Somalia. We Somalians must have confidence in ourselves that we call for the shots in the U.S. We live in the U.S., pay taxes in the U.S., and have a real voice.”
Expressing concern about Ilhan Omar’s statement, defense attorney Marina Medvin said:
“Ilhan Omar, an American congresswoman, tells Somalians that she is Somalian first, Muslim second, and... [no, American wasn’t even mentioned].”
At the time of writing this article, clips of Omar’s speech had amassed over five million views on X.
“She has no business being in congress”: Netizens anguished after video of Ilhan Omar’s speech goes viral
Internet users were outraged by Ilhan Omar’s recent speech. Many expressed doubts over her loyalty to the United States. Several netizens called for her impeachment from the US House of Representatives. Meanwhile, some said that she had "no business" being a part of the congress.
Despite Omar amassing immense backlash online, some netizens defended her speech. X user @ColinRobinsonNZ noted that she was doing her duty by representing the interests of Somalis in the United States. In response to the same, Omar opined that “propagandists” interpreted her speech in the wrong way.
She went on to say that she is praying for them and their sanity.
“No nation state can survive if its states start to get involved in land lease negotiations with other countries without the consent of the federal government. Somalis in Somalia and in the diaspora are united in that effort and I stand in solidarity with them. No amount of harassment and lies will change that.” Omar added.
Somaliland and Ethiopia’s coastline conflict explained
As per Firstpost, Ethiopia is seeking to lease a segment of the Somaliland coastline, placed along the area of the Gulf of Eden, to expand their naval base and for commercial activities. In exchange for the same, Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland. It stated that they would recognize the latter as an independent state if they granted Ethiopia access to the shoreline.
Somalis have been protesting against giving access, as the agreement would give Ethiopia access to strategic points like the Gulf and the Red Sea. Other Somalis also feared for their sovereignty.
Despite many being against the MoU, Somaliland’s president declared that they would be going ahead with the agreement, giving Ethiopia access to the coastline.
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