Somaliland Forum

REF: SLF/Media Release/ 01/11/ 2004 

Many, including the international think tank, the International Crisis Group, have predicted that the pre-occupation with bringing peace to the warring factions of Somalia without at the same time addressing the independence of Republic of Somaliland will only lead to the spread of the war in Somalia to peaceful Somaliland. This prediction came true earlier than expected primarily because the 14th international peace making conference for Somalia led to the selection of the notorious warmonger, Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf as the third Somalia Presidential designate selected outside Somalia since 1991. Colonel Yusuf’s militia attacked Somaliland previously and occupied a major town since last year, and true to form, his militia has, on cue, started attacking Somaliland forces so as to bolster his demand for foreign troops to install his exile government in Somalia and to assist him in his clannish claim over parts of Somaliland territory.   

We bring to your attention the following Letter of Protest issued by the honourable Edna Adan, Foreign Minister of Somaliland, yesterday: “The government of the Republic of Somaliland wishes to inform the African Union, the IGAD Frontline States, Her Majesty’s Government of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States Government, the UN Security Council, the European Union, and the International Community at large, that Abdillahi Yusuf’s militia from the Puntland State of Somalia have once again engaged in an unprovoked attack and un-called for acts of aggression against three different Somaliland military camps well inside Somaliland, around the area of Adhi Caddeeye which is 25 miles north-west of Las-Anood. The aggression took place on the 29th of October 2004, at around 9 in the morning, on Friday, which is the Muslim day of rest, prayer and meditation during the Holy month of Ramadan. This is a time of goodwill and charity and was certainly not a time to disrupt the lives of the nomads in the area who were slowly recovering from a serious drought. We strongly believe that the attacks follow recent consultations between Abdillahi Yusuf and his former deputy in the Somalia Sate of Puntland, Mr. Mohamed Abdi Hashi, who is now the new warlord of that region, with the sole aim of discrediting and destabilizing the peace and tranquillity of Somaliland, while at the same time attempting to justify Abdillahi Yusuf’s request for International Peace keeping Forces for Somalia.Following the attack, the forces of Somaliland drove away the invading militia causing them to suffer heavy losses both in life and military hardware. The responsibility for these deaths lies squarely on the shoulders of Abdillahi Yusuf and are tragedies that would not have happened if Abdillahi Yusuf had honoured the promises of reconciliation he had only last week made to the world.So far, Somaliland has tolerated the numerous provocative actions of Abdillahi Yusuf, including the assassination attempt of the President of Somaliland while in Las-Anood in 2002, and the occupation of some areas of Somaliland since 2003.

In the interest of peace and security in the region, Somaliland had up to now shown extreme patience and restraint. However, as a result of these recent, successive, and naked provocations on the part of the Puntland State of Somalia, Somaliland’s tolerance and peaceful intentions are withering away. The government of Somaliland wishes to reassure the International community that it will not pursue the militia of the Puntland State into Somalia provided that they voluntarily withdraw their militia out of Somaliland territory. The reassurance we gave to the British Foreign Minister for Africa only last week still holds good for Somaliland even though our patience is wearing thin.

The Government of Somaliland protests in the strongest terms against the naked attacks and provocations of Abdillahi Yusuf. We wish to inform the international community, however, that Somaliland will not hesitate to defend its borders if attacked again nor should Somaliland be used as a scapegoat for the failures of the government that has been created for Somalia.

In the interest of the people of the Horn of Africa, the International Community should exert sufficient pressure on Abdillahi Yusuf to make him withdraw his militia from Somaliland in the shortest possible time. Finally, we would like to stress that the Government of Somaliland will continue its attempts to resolve any disputes with Somalia in a peaceful manner, if and when possible, and as long as these good intentions are reciprocated.”

The Somaliland Forum and all Somalilanders abroad support their Government’s stance and impress on the international community that the long term peace in the region will be assured if the Republic of Somaliland is recognised immediately and the warring factions in Somalia can then concentrate on making peace in their own country. This will, at a stroke, lay to rest once and for all, the unattainable dream of some people of Somali ethnic origin being besotted with the creation of union(s) of Somali inhabited territories, which has created so much unrest in the Horn. We should also remind everyone that like ethnic Arabs who occupy many different countries in North Africa and the Middle East, ethnic Somalis currently occupy five countries of the Horn of Africa including Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia.

The Somaliland Forum and all Somalilanders abroad support their Government’s stance and impress on the international community that the long term peace in the region will be assured if the Republic of Somaliland is recognised immediately and the warring factions in Somalia can then concentrate on making peace in their own country. This will, at a stroke, lay to rest once and for all, the unattainable dream of some people of Somali ethnic origin being besotted with the creation of union(s) of Somali inhabited territories, which has created so much unrest in the Horn. We should also remind everyone that like ethnic Arabs who occupy many different countries in North Africa and the Middle East, ethnic Somalis currently occupy five countries of the Horn of Africa including Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia.SOMALILAND FORUM
1 November 2004

1. The State of Somaliland was an independent African state, albeit, for a brief period, in 1960, and had its own Constitution, legislature, executive and judiciary. In pursuit of the dream of “Greater Somalia”, the State of Somaliland was one of the very few sovereign states, which gave up its sovereignty to unite with another state, Somalia – a state that became independent later than Somaliland. The hope was that the many Somalis who lived in French Somaliland (now the Republic of Djibouti), Ethiopia and Kenya will join the union, but this did not come to pass.
2. When the two states of Somaliland and Somalia united, Somaliland soon discovered that it was offered the short straw by its Somalian neighbour. Later, after a long period of dictatorship, suppression and near genocide, the Somaliland people re-asserted their independence in 1991. Since then, Somaliland has re-built its peace and democracy. A referendum on the Somaliland Constitution was held in 2000, local elections were held in 2002, presidential elections in 2003, and parliamentary elections are due to held in March 2005.
3. Since 1991, the international community held 14 peace conferences for Somalia, and three persons were selected at these conferences to become Presidents in Somalia – two in Djibouti in 1991 and 2000 and now one in Nairobi last month.
4. The 14th Somalian Conference started in Nairobi (initially at Eldoret and lately at Mbagathi) in October 2002. In December 2002 the International think tank, the International Crisis Group (ICG) warned that any Somalian government created at the conference which tries to claim to rule Somaliland “…. would create a dangerously volatile situation, in which the polemic on both sides could preclude a negotiated settlement to the dispute. The formation of a government at Eldoret, without having first clarified Somaliland’s status, would thus fail to bring a comprehensive peace; it would instead displace the Somali conflict from south to north, opening a new and potentially bitter phase in the civil war.” (Salvaging Somalia’s Chance for Peace, ICG, 9 December 2002 ). The ICG has produced a number of reports on Somalia and Somaliland. These are all available at their website www.crisisweb.org .
5. References to Somalia and Somalians relate to the territory and people of the former Italian Trusteeship Territory of Somalia, which became independent on 1 July 1960. Somaliland and Somalilanders relate to the Republic and people of Somaliland. Somalis, as an ethnic group live in the five countries of the Horn (including Kenya).