Friday, May 26, 2000
Ref. SF/EC-013-2000
After several weeks of “debate” at the Djibouti Conference on Somalia, the conference participants have issued a communiqué in mid-May, 2000, harking back to the Greater Somalia Irredentism, while completely overlooking the reality in the Horn of Africa, in particular the Republic of Somaliland.
The conference participants asked the Somaliland Republic (referred to in this communiqué as the North West Region) and the Puntland Regional Administration (referred to as the North East Region) and others to join the conference. One might wonder why is the name of the Republic of Somaliland taboo to the attendees and their hosts. We must keep in mind that this conference is for Somalia, and not for Somaliland. The people of Somaliland have reasserted their independence in 1991 and welcome any initiative that would bring peace to their brethren in Somalia.
The communiqué starts with intent to resurrect the failed Somali state on the basis of justice, equality, unity and Islamic law. It states that Somalis should forgive and forget the past. Nevertheless, the attempted genocide, torture and murder of civilians in the former Somalia cannot be forgotten nor forgiven and those responsible for crimes against humanity must be brought to justice. If the participants are proposing this for Somalia (not Somaliland), may we remind them, that in all the countries, which have gone through similar atrocities, there was never a question of asking the victims and survivors of those atrocities to simply forget the past.
They say that the unity of Somalis is sacrosanct because Somalis have the same language, culture and religion. This is harking back to Somali irredentism of the 1960s, and, if pursued, it will lead to war in the Horn. “The irony is that the hosts of the conference (the Republic of Djibouti) are Somalis who share the same language, culture and religion with all ethnic Somalis, but have, as is their right to self-determination, chosen to remain as an independent state,” said Amina Malko, Chair of Somaliland Forum.
The communiqué is asking the international community to refrain from supporting those who are opposing the conference. It is clear that this conference is bent on recreating the former Somali State, which is an undisputable formula for failure. The Somaliland people have already decided their destiny and some of the people in Somalia are already working on the ground away from the Conference in creating peace.
We wish them luck, but we implore the international community not to be swayed by the utterances of this unrepresentative conference.
The Republic of Somaliland has already proven beyond doubt that it is a peaceful, democratic and separate nation, as it has been for three-quarters of the last century. “We urge the international community not to be duped by the conference’s blatant attempts to undermine the peace and sovereignty of Somaliland. This will not lead to peace in the region; in contrast, it could lead to anarchy, political upheaval and war, which would be detrimental to the Horn at large”, said Amina Malko.