Somaliland Reiterates Its Independence From The Rest Of Somalia

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Somaliland Reiterates Its Independence From The Rest Of Somalia

 

Monday, June 27, 2011

 

 

Hargeisa, Somaliland (HOL) - Authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland said on Sunday they will not be taking any turn to join the rest of Somalia which has been marred by endless conflict since the ouster of Somalia’s former president Siad Barre in 1991.

 

Emerging defiant yet again, officials in Hargeisa joined thousands in marking the 51st anniversary since the colonial authorities granted Somalia’s self-independence in 1960.

 

“Today is indeed a remarkable day, the day we became free from colonizers. We have been an independent state for the last 51 years proving the peace and tranquility we the people of Somaliland are enjoying” President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo told a crowd of adoring of Somalilanders who attended the colorful function.

 

Hargeisa is the first town in Somalia where the blue flag of the entire Somalia was hoisted on June 26, 1960, paving the way for a union that was the origin of the amalgamation of the North and South that formed the Somali republic.

 

Somaliland leaders used the anniversary occasion to push and raise their profile in the international geo-politics where they have shown their strident critic regarding the ongoing peace and reconciliation efforts to include the semi-autonomous region into larger Somalia.

 

"I respond to president Shariff following his comments during the anniversary in Mogadishu that unity between Hargeisa and Mogadishu is not an issue of force. We are not ready to bargain about our independence” Somaliland’s foreign minister Abdullahi Mohamed Omar told the BBC Somali service

 

The comments by the minister followed what the president of Transitional Federal Government of Somalia said on Sunday in Mogadishu that the South is ready apologize to the North about the historic injustices while calling for a fresh unity for Somalia.

 

The self declared republic believes that initially it was there decision to merge with the South, but following endless problems in the country, it is yet another decision from Somalilanders to remain independent from the rest of the country.

 

Somaliland appealed to African nations to grant the semi-autonomous region recognition as a sovereign state in the continent.

 

“We need more support from African states. We need recognition, cooperation and assistance from African states” the minister said

 

June 26th is also a day earmarked as the International Somaliland Awareness Day (ISAD) as the region seeks international recognition, bold campaigns are waging across the African continent.

 

Somaliland, a former British colony, declared independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991, following the civil strife that followed more than twenty years of military rule. No sovereign state has formally recognized the area as independent.

[Saalax]

Excellent.