|
|
The three main political parties of Somaliland - UDUB, KULMIYE and UCID submitted a collective statement to the African Union delegation that recently visited the Republic of Somaliland. The mission of this delegation is to establish the true facts on the ground in Somaliland and report back to the African Union Secretariat. A copy of the statement, which reached the news desk of Somaliland.Org reads as follows:
"It is our greatest pleasure to welcome you to Somaliland and to let you know that we appreciate your fact finding mission. We hope that your visit is both pleasurable and fruitful. We are also pleased to submit to your esteemed delegation this collective statement.
As you may all know, Somaliland obtained its independence on 26 June 1960 from the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland after 87 years of colonial rule. The Sovereign State of Somaliland, which was by then recognized by more than 30 countries including the five member permanent states of the Security Council , decided to voluntarily unite with the former Italian Somalia on 1 July 1960. It is important to note here that Somaliland’s revocation of that Union with Somalia does not violate the 1963 Charter of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) . It is also important to note that the people of Somaliland rejected the obligatory Act of Union, when it was later presented to them in a constitutional referendum.
Any brief study of the history of the United Somali Republic will teach all of us that the Union was ill-fated. Firstly, it was based on the desire of the Somali people to create a Greater Somalia, a dream that was not then as now supported by the international community at large. Secondly, power sharing arrangements largely put in place by our brothers in Somalia were wholly unfair and directly resulted in the marginalization and underdevelopment of Somaliland. Thirdly, the union lead to a disastrous civil war in which the political and military machinery of Somalia was used to destroy Somaliland between 1988 and 1991.
On 18 May 1991, after 30 years of union with Somalia, the people of Somaliland declared their union with Somalia as non-existent and that they have re-claimed their independent and sovereign State. In May 2000, the people of Somaliland reaffirmed their independence in a referendum in which more than 97% voted to maintain Somaliland as a separate and independent state.
Somaliland is proud of its recent history. Somaliland has built peace out of chaos and has embarked on a democratization process unprecedented in this region. The people of Somaliland are already governed by elected local and regional councils and a popularly elected President and Vice-President. In a few months, the people Somaliland hope to achieve their final march towards full democracy by electing legislators in the House of Representatives. Many in the international community are now describing Somaliland as “the miracle in the horn” or “Africa’s best kept secret.” The people of Somaliland are, indeed, very proud that they have succeeded in the face of international hostility to their ambitions and aspirations.
We are also proud of the achievements of our people in developing their own country. Our private sector is creating opportunities unparalleled in our history that are already erasing the ill-effects of more than 30 years of marginalization and the disastrous effects of a destructive civil war by a brutal and genocidal Somalia dictatorship.
The three National Political Parties of Somaliland wish to reaffirm to your delegation that:
·Somaliland’s independence is irreversible and not negotiable at all. We wish our brothers in Somalia all the best and hope that one day soon they will find true reconciliation. We, however, will not rejoin them in any union.
·Neither our government nor any of the opposition political parties participated in any shape or form in the recently concluded reconciliation conference hosted by IGAD or the earlier Somalia reconciliation conference hosted by the Government of Djibouti. The conclusions of these conferences and the governments created out of these conferences do not concern us. We are, however, prepared to have a friendly and brotherly relationship with any government created for Somalia as we have friendly and brotherly relationships with all our neighbors.
·Somaliland is a peaceful country. We have no intention to violate the territorial integrity of any of our neighbors and we are collectively prepared to defend the territorial integrity of Somaliland. We are saddened by the silence of the international community, including all members of the AU, when our territorial integrity is violated by southern warlords.
We are confident that your delegation will submit to the African Union your mission findings appropriately and accurately. The three National Political Parties of Somaliland very much hope that you will take note of the following:
·That the people of Somaliland and their political leaders all believe that Somaliland deserves immediate and full recognition.
·That the people of Somaliland have created peace and prosperity in their land and that further denial of their right to self-determination and continued marginalization and hostility from the international community is unnecessary and unfairly punishes the people of this country.
·That the people of Somaliland strongly believe that they are being kept hostage to the desires and designs of southern Somalia warlords who have thus far refused to consummate a single agreement even after the best efforts of the international community. Our people feel that this rewarding of the warlords is unjustifiable.
·That Somaliland has full-filled all that is required for Statehood. We hope that you will be given a fair opportunity to state our case to the AU in the first possible meeting of its member states.
All three political parties represented here wish to affirm to you again that we are committed to the creation of a democratic, independent Somaliland that is able to take care of its citizens. We will continue to work hard to achieve our goals and hope that our brothers in Africa will remove the obstacles placed in our path by the denial of our sovereignty.
We wish you all a pleasant trip back and look forward to any and all future collaboration with you and the AU".
Signed by:
Da’ud Mohamed Gelle- Secretray Genaral for KULMIYE party
A/rahman M.Abdillahi-Secretary General for UCID Party
Mohamed Ismail Bullaale-Secretary General for UDUB Party