Professor Samatar Describes Somaliland Administration’s Quest for Recognition as “Quixotic”

[Deeq A.]

Professor Samatar: “People said, ‘Samatar brings recognition [for Somaliland], welcome him.’ However, Somaliland has not earned the right to be recognised. Its case has yet to be cogently fleshed out.”

Hargeisa (PP News Desk)— Professor Ahmed Ismail Samatar criticised the Somaliland Administration’s approach to seeking recognition for its unilateral secession, which marked its 33rd anniversary in May. As Chairman of the political association Hillaac, Professor Samatar dismissed the pursuit of recognition as quixotic. “People said, ‘Samatar brings recognition [for Somaliland], welcome him.’ However, Somaliland has not earned the right to be recognised. Its case has yet to be cogently fleshed out,” Professor Samatar stated at a political meeting in Hargeisa.

His remarks sparked a flood of tweets accusing him of “arrogance” and “collaborating with the Federal Government of Somalia.” Last week, Professor Samatar met with the President of the Somaliland Administration Muse Bihi Abdi to discuss the implications of the illegal maritime Memorandum of Understanding that the Somaliland President signed with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed in January 2024. Professor Samatar informed President Bihi that Ethiopia would be violating both the African Union Charter and the United Nations Charter if it were to recognise Somaliland as a country that seceded from the Federal Republic of Somalia.

According to a senior member of Hillaac, Professor Samatar warned President Bihi that “Ethiopia will be classified as an anti-Somalia entity, on par with Al-Shabaab, if the Ethiopian government, in its search for sea access, promotes secession in Somalia.” In an interview with The Economist, President Bihi commented on the illegal maritime MoU, stating, “They [Ethiopia] need the sea as we need recognition.”

Some influential politicians in Hargeisa believe that Somaliland’s secession is evolving into a territorial dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia. “Ethiopia understands that its actions could be construed as destabilising and as providing support to Al-Shabaab, a militant, proscribed organisation that opposes the territorial in and political unity of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” said an academic in Hargeisa.

© Puntland Post, 2024

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