President shows umbrage on Mogadishu’s sustained belligerence against Somaliland emotionally touching his audience.
His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Musa Behi Abdi, gunned the most blunt, most biting response at Somalia leaders in response to a diplomatic offensive the latter has taken of late to challenge the recent agreement the internationally unrecognized but de facto Republic has entered with the United Emirates and Ethiopia on Berbera Port Development.
The President, speaking at a major event commemorating world women’s day here at Hargeisa, reminded the internationally-propped Mogadishu administration and its young, Diaspora-bred leaders that the restoration of Somaliland’s sovereignty came by at a high cost and the martyrdom of untold of sons and daughters and incalculable property.
“You so lightly boast that Berbera comes under your authority, that we have no right to develop..that we have no right to live..that we cannot talk to anybody without your say so,” the President reminded Mogadishu, strongly adding “How dare you say that to us?”
“Berbera,” he continued to state “is part of a country that was revived on our blood, and on that surmise, we have every right to develop trade, to go into agreements. The whole world will partake in this development.”
President Behi, bringing tears to the eyes of an audience none of who had hardly escaped painful memories and/or scars left behind by the military rampage over Somalilanders in the 80s, told Prime Minister Khayrre, President Farmajo and their ‘government’ that Somaliland was ready to accept the challenge their words posed as it was ready to accept and respond to in kind the ‘declaration of war’ inherent in the latest, inimical moves Mogadishu has embarked on in the expense of Somaliland interest.
“We understand that you have declared an all-out war against us. It shows you know nothing about us. We accept the challenge,” President Behi stated.
The President’s moving words followed a series of press conferences the Mogadishu federal government leaders and MPs held in abrogation of the Berbera projects which included an extensive port development, the establishment of a free zone, the construction of a 240-km trade corridor road to link the seaport to Ethiopia and an ultra-modern airport to serve the bustling commercial hub.
Mogadishu, to rub salt to the gaping wounds it opened, put its challenge in writing by releasing abrasive statements and trying to stop the Berbera deals in platforms such as that of the AU and the Arab League.
By doing so, Somalia literally cancelled all hopes of a revival of the Somaliland-Somalia talks which previous actions of its stalled, among which were the annulment of the agreement on jointly-managed airspace as spelt out by the Istanbul Communique of July 2014, followed by another agreement in December of same year which stated that development in either country must not be politicized and each party should cease in the active interference of the other’s affairs in relation to its cooperation with the outside world.
Mogadishu, most expectedly, chose to say nothing of the threat the gargantuan Turkish military base it let Turkey build near Mogadishu posed to the whole continent of Africa and the whole world, as it said nothing of the same country holding long-term rights to the administration of that city’s only airport and seaport.
The Mogadishu behaviour led to a most pointed dismissal of its protestations on the part of DP World managemnt whose chairman, Sultan Sulayem brushed it aside by pointing that Somalia had no jurisdiction whatosover on a Somaliland that had been going on its way for the past 27 years or so.
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