By M.A. Egge
The government of Somaliland has taken a strong stance against the infringing of its affairs and the flouting of the country’s territorial integrity by the Mogadishu government of Somalia.
The latest development has been underscored by the House of the Representatives of Somaliland’s National Assembly who scoffed at the Mogadishu naïve act of purporting to render null and void the recent MoU agreement that the government of Somaliland struck with the Federal Government of Ethiopia over their bi-lateral relations.
The parliament moved a motion that was expressly endorsed unanimously to make it clear to both the Somalia government and the international community of nations that Somaliland has always been an entity as a nation quite separate from that of Somalia.
It reiterated its rights as having won its independence from Britain and that it did not secede from Somalia but simply severed its ill-fated union that factual history has well documented it.
The motion made it vividly clear to all concerned that Somaliland was a country with all the trappings of nationhood that charted and cruised its own course as a quite independent and sovereign a state as any other may be as per the aspirations of its people.
It termed the innuendoes emanating from Somalia of purporting to hold sway over Somaliland as a blatant infringement of the country’s territorial integrity and internal affairs.
While citing several legal clauses enshrined in Somaliland National Constitution, the parliament further reiterated its right as a national institution which is obligated to oversee the legalities entailed whenever the country enters any international agreements with any foreign country, multi-national institutions or whatever collaborative entity thereof, since Somaliland is an independent entity as a nation.
The motion took a swipe on the purported claim and action made by Somalia to assume that Somaliland was part of its territory.
It is worth noting that since Somaliland severed its ties and dissolved its ill-fated union with Somalia over three decades ago and reverted to its nation-hood status, the only times that the two former unions had discussions were through the initiatives of Somaliland-Somalia Talks whereupon both entities were at a round table as separate nations.
Somaliland has never been, nor is not, part and parcel of the regional government of Somalia as largely assumed.
It all rests at the essence of Territorial Integrity and Sovereignty of States, which Somaliland is holding its sway in, as an independent nation.
Unlike Somalia, Somaliland’s electioneering processes has for the past two decades perfected that of universal suffrage from the councilors level at the grassroots all the way to the parliamentarians and office of the president itself, with yet another (sixth) forthcoming national elections around the corner later this year.
