Press Statement:
Zakaria Calls UN Allegations Against Him False
Zakaria M Haji Abdi
I am outraged at what has been published about me, Zakaria M Haji Abdi, on 17th July 2013 by Reuters. I categorically deny this false allegation that has been made against me by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea. This is tantamount to character assassination. It is a continuation of a smear campaign against me that has been started by them since 2009. I am also deeply disappointed that two respectable organizations, the UN and Reuters, have chosen to fabricate and publish, respectively, false information about me without first consulting me. I expected more critical and unbiased journalism from Reuters and more professionalism and honest conduct from the UN. I am utterly disgusted that neither the UN nor Reuters contacted me to verify any of the details of this ‘story’ before pursuing it. This is akin to the years that imperialist forces portrayed Mahatma Gandhi, George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Sayed Mohamed Abdalla Hassan, to mention a few, as terrorists and extremists, only for history to reveal that they were in fact patriots and heroes.
During my time in Somalia, I live there peacefully, without security services of any kind, contrary to what the article suggests. I mingle freely with the people of Somalia and continue to live my life there in peace with my beloved Somali people. I have nothing to fear from them as they recognize me as a patriot and a fellow citizen.
Just to reiterate: I categorically deny the false allegations made against me; I have no extremist links; I do not, never have and never will have dealings with hit-men or goons and I am not an agent of any state. I am a law abiding Somali citizen. I will remain a patriot and I will endeavor to take part in the rebuilding of a free, strong and independent Somalia.
I am in the process of seeking legal counsel to counter this preposterous smear campaign against me.
Finally I implore the Secretary General of the UN and members of the Security Council to investigate this matter in order to maintain their credibility and neutrality. I fear that this latest false allegation will add to the barrage of false allegations made against other law abiding Somalis by this particular monitoring group.
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