Will the Djibouti President Clear The Path For Somaliland’s Independence ?
January 27, 2009

Along with 75 members from civil society groups 200 members of the Islamist Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia will be joining Somalia’s parliament. These MP’s traveled to nearby Djibouti for security reasons to elect a new president for Somalia.

The former president, President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed stepped down after having a falling out with the prime minister over a UN-backed peace deal. More than a dozen candidates are expected to compete for the position of President of Somalia.

While in Djibouti, parliament voted to double the number of parliamentary seats. After the UN-backed peace talks in Djibouti, the members of the transitional government agreed to allow 200 new lawmakers from the ARS to be sworn in this week and another 75 new lawmakers from civil society groups to join them at a later date.

The MP’s are also considering extending this Wednesday’s deadline for choosing a new president for 10 days. This is to give an opportunity to new contenders additional time to campaign. However under the constitutional charter of Somalia, a new Somalia president should be chosen by parliament by 30 days after the resignation of the last president. The UN special representative for Somalia is asking parliament to comply with its January 28th deadline for selecting a new president.

In the meantime Somalilanders are wondering if the Djibouti President will convince the Somali Envoys in his country to consider Somaliland as an independent state. Somaliland has been searching in vain for recognition as a sovereign state since its independence from Somalia in May 1991.

Somaliland is a functioning state. It has its own currency and passports printed, waiting on the international community to recognize Somaliland as an independent state. There are members of the international community who believe than an independent Somaliland would be a force for stability and progress in the horn of Africa.

During the Bush Administration, former President George Bush was asked to lead the world in recognizing Somaliland as an independent state. The position of the Bush administration was made clear when this statement was released on January 17th of this year: “While the United States does not recognize Somaliland as an independent state, and continue to believe that the question of Somaliland’s independence should be resolved by the African Union, we continue regularly to engage with Somaliland as a regional administration.”

So while the United States wait on the African Union to decide on Somaliland’s independence, the African Union does not approve rearranging borders without an agreement. It feels colonial borders were fixed and that changing them would cause too much indecision.

Somaliland has got its independent from British colony in 1960 then joined to greater Somalia only after four days of its independent without any condition or written treaty. then in 1992 Somaliland returned its independent from Somalia after Somali government collapsed, since then, Somaliland showed the international community the first function democratic government in East Africa.



Source: Saylac News