Somaliland president Musa biixi receives UK defense Secretary Williamson in hargeysa

[Tallaabo]

1 minute ago, cadnaan1 said:

He updated his tweet and removed the countries.

 

Well the defense secretary has already achieved what he wanted from the tweet and that is to let the occupants of the AMISOM bunker know what the British government doesn't think of the Somali peninsula- and that is a united entity. 

[cadnaan1]

1 minute ago, Tallaabo said:

Well the defense secretary has already achieved what he wanted from the tweet and that is to let the occupants of the AMISOM bunker know what the British government doesn't think of the Somali peninsula- and that is a united entity. 

Muxuu wasiirka ugu cabsaday qoloda Amisom Ku ilaaliso Vila Somalia asaga Great Britain ah.

[Barwaaqo]

Following South Sudan, he travelled to Somaliland to meet with President Bihi. The first British Cabinet Minister to visit Somaliland, Mr Williamson discussed the shared priorities of security and economic development as well as counter terrorism and the role UK military plays in mentoring the Somaliland coastguard.

Defence Secretary commends UK peacekeepers in South Sudan - GOV.UK

WWW.GOV.UK

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Gavin Williamson visits 300 UK troops in Malakal and Bentiu

 

[Tallaabo]

6 minutes ago, cadnaan1 said:

Muxuu wasiirka ugu cabsaday qoloda Amisom Ku ilaaliso Vila Somalia asaga Great Britain ah.

Waar lax la gawracay cidi kama cabsato ee raggan ingiriisku meel fog ayay ka fikiraan. Waxa loo yaqaan international law, order, and protocols iyaga iyo ilmaadeeradood ayaa sameeyay oo walina ilaaliya markaa wixii ay iyagu sameeyeen ayaanay rabin inay daaqadda ka tuuraan laakiin wax ay ka cabsanayaan ma jirto. 

[Suldaanka]

47 minutes ago, cadnaan1 said:

Muxuu wasiirka ugu cabsaday qoloda Amisom Ku ilaaliso Vila Somalia asaga Great Britain ah.

It is more of respecting his colleagues at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, than anything else. But the actuality of the visit is based on the original tweet.

 

[Old_Observer]

4 hours ago, Dhagax-Tuur said:

Folks, there you have it! 'Our two countries '. What a piece of xaar the Brits are. 

But then again the current Tory leadership in the UK are diabolical and shouldn't be taken seriously at all. Particularly,  this Williamson trash.  This is the defence Secretary that said, when Russia killed their own citizens on their soil, that Russia 'should go away '. What a threat!

The UK wouldn't want their own country to break up, Scotland,  but they would push to achieve such goals elsewhere in the world.  

Fact is, they're using this as leverage but it won't change a thing though some dreamers would see it as such. 

Blaming others for something that has been there for almost 30 years will not help.

If you choose talking to Eritrea/Ethiopia rather than to your own brother, expect others also to speak to foreigners rather than their brother. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

If you invite Eritrea/Ethiopia to get deep into your affairs and arrest in regional state, don't blame others when they invite Kenya or Uganda or even Europeans to get even or do more.

 

[Old_Observer]

Brexit will be bonanza for many countries. Britain will go it alone similar to Russia and since Britain has more connections everywhere things can move faster as America is weakening.

Britain will have about 5 new foreign bases this year.

Somaliland will be among most preferred and probably in the first 2 or 3.

 

[Dhagax-Tuur]

2 hours ago, Tallaabo said:

Divide and conquer? You have chosen your vocabulary mindlessly for in the Somali peninsula there is neither any unity to protect nor independence others can remove by conquest. 

Grow the f@ck up and get your head outta your backside when replying.  What are you,  high or something? 

[galbeedi]

Dhagax Tuur ,

You hit the nail on the head. It took me for a while to add two and two,

Certainly the mighty British has not only fallen but they exposed themselves to be weak and treacherous. Somaliland needs help in water, Irrigation, Highways and infrastructure, hospitals and more, yet this guy is talking about army or security. Have you ever seen anything built by the British in Somalia? No. 

THe British doesn't build things anymore. No wonder the Chinese are taking over  Africa and the world, because the leading western nations had got nothing to contribute than treachery and mischief. This kind of moves prove my argument that nations must make tough decisions to gain their sovereignty, and each hurdle  must be difficult than the earlier one. 

For ten years they had mesmerized us about their useless London conferences  of donors that produced nothing. They kept sending us  Englishmen through the UN to keep down Somalia in their pocket . THey changed their colors and sent us another English man by way of South Africa. Last week they tried to condemn Somalia through the UN security counsel, but the Chinese opposed and stopped that resolution.

What do these Brits went from us? aren't they done enough mischief in 1954, 1963 and 1960. Weli miyey na daba socdaan. Somaliland might need help but the people of Somaliland do not appreciate to be used as bargaining chip for your diabolical moves.

If I were the Somali foreign minister, I would call their ambassador and dress him down. Maybe kick him out of the country and look tough on the world stage.

 

[Dhagax-Tuur]

2 hours ago, Amigos said:

After the European Commission, the UK is the largest source of development aid to Somalia, by a huge margin. 

Yaa Allah,  i hate the word 'aid. We have lived before aid and we will live without InshAllah. 

I agree one thing with you though,  it's better to play the long term game and not be reactionary. 

With the conference in London and their historical connections,  they probably assumed that they're our overlords.  

[Old_Observer]

9 hours ago, Amigos said:

 

You have no idea what you are talking about.

After the European Commission, the UK is the largest source of development aid to Somalia, by a huge margin. 

Would you really try to "look tough" at the cost of hundreds of millions USD? Because if you do, you'd be an idiot. 

One thing people forget is that:

British are to American Empire as Greeks were to Roman Empire.

 

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

UK, Russia and UAE scramble to set up military bases in Somaliland…

 

17 daqiiqo ago

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The United Kingdom has joined Russia and the United Arab Emirates in the scramble to set up military bases in Somaliland.

UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson at the weekend met President Mouse Bihi in Hargeysa, and discussed ways on strengthening the relationship between the two countries.

Somaliland, a former British colony, is yet to be recognised internationally.

The Somaliland embassy in Nairobi, neither denied not confirmed reports that Britain was seeking to set up a military base in the horn of Africa country. Somaliland Ambassador to Kenya Omar Bashe said his country was excited over Mr Williamson’s visit which, he said, would help the country’s push for international recognition after breaking away from Somalia.

Mr Bashe said Mr Williamson’s visit was a clear indicator that the international community recognises the importance of Somaliland.

The visit comes barely a week after Mr Williamson said the UK was keen on building new military bases around the world after Brexit. It is believed his visit to Somaliland sought to discuss the possibilities of setting up a base in the country.
“For so long – literally for decades – so much of our national view point has been dominated by the discussion about the European Union. This is our moment to be that true global player once more – and I think the armed forces play a really important role,” said Mr Williamson.

Mr Williamson, who last week visited the British army in Kenya, said that Brexit would allow the UK to change the 1960s policy of withdrawal from regions ‘east of Suez.’

Britain joins Russia which last April announced its intention to set up a naval base in Saylac, Somaliland.

A Russian delegation held talks with Somaliland government for a 1,500 man base to support its warships and hunter-killer submarines to operate in the volatile region and busy shipping lanes that carry most of Europe’s goods.

The United Arab Emirates is also building a military base in Berbera. The UAE base, which will begin operating by June, includes a coastal-surveillance system.

The UAE is growing its military presence in the Horn of Africa to protect trade flows through the Bab el-Mandeb, a key shipping lane used by oil tankers and other cargo vessels en route to the Suez Canal. Emirati footholds in Somaliland and Eritrea provide strategic locations as the UAE supports the Saudi Arabia-led war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

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[Tallaabo]

On 1/7/2019 at 8:01 PM, Dhagax-Tuur said:

Grow the f@ck up and get your head outta your backside when replying.  What are you,  high or something? 

Ma luqaddan dhoocilaha dibjiriinta ah ayaad lasoo shir tagtay maanta oo aad isleedahay rag kula dood? Let me tell you that this sort of language is beneath me. Some of us have a dignity to protect 

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Somaliland seeks recognition by hosting naval bases

Self-declared republic sees military presence by world powers as way to affirm its status as independent state

 home > world, africa 11.01.2019    

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

The self-declared republic of Somaliland has expressed an interest in hosting British and Russian naval bases, which would add to an already active military presence along the coast of the Red Sea – one of the world’s busiest and most strategically important maritime passages.

Last weekend, British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson paid an unannounced visit to Somaliland and met with President Muse Bihi Abdi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Yasin Hagi Mohamoud, and Defense Minister Essa Ahmed as well as Nuh Ismail Tani, top army general.

In 1991, the Horn of Africa territory of Somaliland seceded from Somalia, which had itself gained independence from Britain in 1960. But for the past 28 years, Somaliland has remained officially unrecognized as a country – a status it resents.

Ahmed Hassan Egal, head of the Somaliland mission to Ethiopia, confirmed to Anadolu Agency that military cooperation, and more specifically the establishment of a U.K. naval base in Somaliland at the port of Berbera, was among the points of discussion.

The neighboring coastal state of Djibouti, which gained independence from France in 1977, houses more foreign military bases than any country in the world. In addition to a longstanding French naval base, there are U.S., Japanese, and Italian bases established since 2000, an EU military quarter, and a Chinese naval base established in 2017.

“If the much smaller country Djibouti hosts so many naval bases by so many countries, why not Somaliland?” said Egal.

Asked to confirm the U.K.’s intention to establish a naval base in Somaliland, he said, “There is a strategic importance in Somaliland. Part of the world would like to come to it, and Britain’s defense secretary was in Somaliland. We know that Britain has long historical relations with Somaliland … Because of the security situation, they [Britain] are very interested.”

The U.K.’s interest also involves forging bilateral relations in economic and other sectors, according to the ambassador.

He said the Russians might also come with the same intention.

“We want to invite whoever is willing to come to Somaliland,” he said, indicating that a process has been going on with the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf country that agreed to set up a military base in Somaliland.

“It helps the region,” he said. “It is a matter of interest … and of course, it would be in the best interest of the region as a whole. There’s nothing negative in that.”

According to Egal, the world powers coming to the region and establishing military bases along the Red Sea coast are also investing in the region, and “we should welcome it.”

Call for recognition

“Somaliland gained independence from Britain before Somalia did,” Egal said in justification of the right it claimed to remain independent.

Egal said the union with Somalia that lasted between 1961 and 1991 was “a dream” and an “emotional” project that did not work out.

“The international community knows that Somaliland is a separate country that gained its independence separately,” he said. “Somaliland is peaceful and Somaliland is developing.”

“Ethiopia has its mission in Somaliland, and Djibouti has its mission in Somaliland, and there are a number of other countries opening sorts of consular offices,” he said.

Contradiction

To date, no country has recognized Somaliland as an independent nation, although it has been acting as one for nearly three decades.

And the government of Somalia is vehemently opposed to the idea of an independent Somaliland, seeing it as a breakaway state.

While Somaliland is vocal in its determination to stay independent, Somalia’s semiautonomous state of Puntland next door has been working for a united Somalia with a federal arrangement, according to documents.

All things considered, it seems that as it welcomes nations to set up military bases on its shores, Somaliland is soliciting formal recognition as an independent state.

Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of t