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| The New Approach to Peace in Somalia |
| Somaliland times-Somaliland has always considered the long conflict in Somalia as an issue that primarily concerns the people of the former Italian colony. However, the international community’s Somalia policy has openly contradicted Somaliland’s repeated assertions over the last 10 years that it was not a party to the conflict that has been going on in Somalia. International as well as regional sponsors of the last 13 “peace and reconciliation conferences” held on Somalia since 1991, have one after another committed the terrible mistake of making Somaliland’s participation as a preliminary condition for holding each of those meetings. On each occasion, Somalia’s warlords, religious extremists and former Siyad Barre associates have never missed to raise Somaliland’s consistent absence from “reconciliation talks” as an issue with grave consequences for “Somali Unity”. Because of this irrelevant issue, focus of “peace conference” deliberations often shifted from achievement of reconciliation between real antagonists of the conflict to the “restoration of Somali Unity and Somalia’s territorial integrity”. We therefore welcome the new stand by the US and the EU countries expressing respect and understanding for Somaliland’s decision not to attend the forthcoming Somali Reconciliation Conference to be held in Nairobi later this month. By ending their decade-long policy of confusing the peaceful and stable situation in Somaliland with that of war-ravaged Somalia, the EU and the USA have in fact removed a highly distractive element from the path of the IGAD sponsored peace process. The people of Somaliland are also encouraged by the decision of these countries, recognizing the government of Somaliland as the legitimate and sole political representative of its citizens. There is no doubt that this new stance by some members of the international community will be viewed by Somalilanders as a kind of reward for their long and lonely struggle for peace and democracy. We hope that the rest of the international community will follow suit soon. |
Nairobi (SL Times): Nairobi-based diplomats from the European Union and the United States said their countries will respect Somaliland’s decision not to attend the forthcoming peace talks on Somalia, scheduled to be held in Kenya by Oct 15, 2002. The Western diplomats told a press conference held in Nairobi last Tuesday that they still considered Somaliland as part of Somalia that is seeking independence. In what seemed to be a shift in the common EU – US position on Somalia, the diplomats implied that they view the Somaliland government as the sole legitimate representative of the Somaliland people. This means that any delegates claiming to represent Somaliland in the upcoming peace talks will not be accepted unless authorized by the Somaliland government. A US diplomat said that his country had paid attention to Somalia to ensure that the country did not become a terrorist haven. He pointed out that Washington would not try to control Somalia’s peace process. At the same time, the Security Council has called on Somalis to participate constructively in the forthcoming reconciliation conference. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Minister for Energy Raila Odinga has called on the international community to give recognition to the Republic of Somaliland. |
| EU And US Diplomats Recognize Legitimacy of Somaliland Government. Senior Kenyan minister says international community should recognize Somaliland |
