According to a flash news report posted by the Voice of America Somali Service at 17:57h, East Africa time, the Somaliland-Somalia talks broke down.
The news flash said that the talks did not come off the ground at all due to Somaliland’s insistence on talking only to negotiators of a Somalia origin.
The Republic of Somaliland accused of the FGS of Mogadishu of sending Somaliland-born delegation members to speak on their behalf to a Somaliland whose primary objective behind the talks was to reach an amicable severance with Somalia to bring to an end a union that was fraught with only death and doom for Somaliland and Somalilanders since 1960.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of ROS, the honorable Mohamed Behi Yonis, stated time and again that there was no room for Somalilanders representing Somalia on a negotiating table on which Somaliland sovereignty was to be discussed.
Somalia’s tactic is interpreted in Somaliland as ‘hypocritical’ as it is a final nail in the coffin of the three-year-old talks.
Articulating the increasing frustration of Somalilanders on the puerile antics which Somalia was playing on a serious issue, HE Ali M Waran’adde, speaking to the press today said “we see no sight of an honest Somalia reciprocating Somaliland’s commitment. It is becoming clear to and to the world that Somalia has no intention of settling the central issue to the talks with us. Bringing ‘mercenary’ Somalilanders to the table only precipitates an inevitable breakdown of the talks.”
On the part of Somalia, successive administrations in Mogadishu always insisted that they would never accept a ‘secession’ from Somaliland regardless of the legality or the circumstances.
In the light of this latest development, the Republic of Somaliland must go international to realize its independence exploiting all available venues including the International Court of Justice.
