Top House Republicans called on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to resign Monday for delivering a speech in which his critics say he put Somalia’s interests ahead of America’s.
“Ilhan Omar’s appalling, Somalia-first comments are a slap in the face to the people of Minnesota he was elected to serve and a direct violation of his oath of office,” wrote House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) at X. “ He should resign in disgrace. “
Omar, the first Somali-American in Congress, appeared to assure his Somali-American constituents that he would do everything in his power to prevent the disputed and breakaway Republic of Somaliland from entering into a sea access agreement with landlocked Ethiopia.
The Minnesota lawmaker’s clip went viral with more than 2.6 million views after it was posted on X, with a translation saying Omar said: “As Somalis, one day we will chase our lost territory.”
The congressman claimed his statement was lost in translation.
“It’s not only skewed but completely out of whack,” Omar said of the subtitles in a video of his speech shared by the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Somaliland Rhoda Elmi. “But I wouldn’t expect more from this propagandist.”
Omar claims his statement was lost in translation. AFP via Getty Images
“While I’m in Congress, no one will take the Somali sea,” Omar said during a Jan. 27 speech, according to a translation he considered more accurate. “The United States will not support anyone else to rob us. So, don’t lose sleep over it.”
Elmi urged House leadership and Democrats to “take notice [Omar’s] public conduct,” arguing that the speech was “improper [of] a United States Congressman.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) blasted Omar for vowing to protect the Somali border while opposing efforts to shore up the US-Mexico border.
“Terrorist sympathizer Ilhan Omar in his own words: Somalia first. Second Muslim. He never mentioned America,” Greene tweeted.
Omar faces a Democratic primary challenge for his seat in Congress launched by former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels. AP
“He is showing off using his position as a congressman to protect the border of Somalia while our border is invaded by MILLIONS of illegal immigrants who endanger America,” the Georgia Republican added. “These people hate America and they are so emboldened by the Democrats’ contempt for our country, they don’t even try to hide it anymore.”
The Republic of Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, but is not widely recognized internationally, including by the US – Omar wants to keep it that way.
“No nation state can survive if its state begins to engage in land lease negotiations with other countries without the consent of the federal government,” he wrote in X. “Somalia in Somalia and in the diaspora are united in that effort and I remain in solidarity with them. There is no interference and lies will change that.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
