Red Sea deal: Somaliland rejects order to shut Ethiopia mission

[Deeq A.]

The Somali regions of Somaliland and Puntland on Friday rejected an order by the federal government to close Ethiopian diplomatic missions on their soil, as tensions spiral in the Horn of Africa.

Somalia on Thursday told the Ethiopian ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours and recalled its own envoy to Addis Ababa, accusing Ethiopia of interfering in its internal affairs.

It also ordered the shutdown of Ethiopia’s consulates in the breakaway region of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous state of Puntland within seven days.

Somalia is fiercely at odds with Ethiopia over a deal signed by Addis Ababa with Somaliland in January giving the landlocked country long-desired access to the sea, branding it “illegal” and a violation of its sovereignty.

Coastline lease

Under the memorandum of understanding, Somaliland agreed to lease 20 kilometres (12 miles) of its coast for 50 years to Ethiopia, which wants to set up a naval base and a commercial port on the coast.

In return, Somaliland — which unilaterally declared independence in 1991 — has said Ethiopia would give it formal recognition, although this has not been confirmed by Addis Ababa.

Somaliland rejected Mogadishu’s demand to close the Ethiopian consulate in its capital Hargeisa, saying the federal government has no authority over its affairs.

“The Ethiopian Embassy in the Republic of Somaliland was not initially opened with Somalia’s permission and, as such, will not be closed…,” the information ministry said in a statement.

‘Unwise, undiplomatic’

“It is unwise and equally undiplomatic to say that the embassy of a country over which you have no control over ought to be closed,” it added, noting that the Ethiopian mission had been operating for 30 years.

The independence declaration by Somaliland, a former British protectorate, remains unrecognised by the international community, leaving it poor and isolated.

Somalia’s diplomatic moves followed a visit on Wednesday by a delegation from Puntland to the foreign ministry in Addis Ababa.

Puntland, which declared autonomy in 1998 and has long had frosty relations with Mogadishu, had declared on Sunday it would no longer recognise federal institutions over changes to the constitution approved by parliament.

These include plans to reintroduce universal suffrage and end the complex clan-based indirect voting system in place for more than half a century.

The Puntland government said in a statement on Friday the resolution was “characterised by enmity and intended to undermine the progress of the Puntland people and further weaken the federal system in Somalia”.

The decision to shut down the consulate in the regional capital Garowe, it said, “will not have any bearing and does not concern Puntland”.

TRT Africa

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