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[SW Column] ( Ismail Warsame ) 35 foreign states recognizing somaliland in just 4 days? :Posted on 30 Jan 2003

Opinions expressed in this column are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of SW.

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 35 foreign states recognizing somaliland in just 4 days?

Ismail H.Warsame

 

Dear Medhane Tadesse,

The claim in the Preface of your new book:
AL-ITTIHAD,Political Islam and Black Economy in
Somalia, that thirty-five states had recognized
Northwest Somalia (Somaliland) takes away a lot of
credibility and author's credentials from what would
have been otherwise an excellent narration of
modern Somali history.

This blind distortion of history was also made by the
former USA Ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shiin, in his
recent article: A Small Country that Could. Mr. Shiin
is now a lobbist in the USA for Somaliland.  

Let me set the record straight: There was not a single
foreign state that had recognized a Somaliland
Independence, Britain included. Why?

Britain put forward the declaration of Independence of
the Somaliland British Protectorate four days ahead of
schedule on the request of then the Somaliland
politicians in the North under the pressure of popular
demand to be able to join their sisters and brothers
in the Italian trusteeship in the South and declare
the Somali Independence and the Union on July
1st,1960. Thus, Somaliland was technically independent
for only four days and it never assumed anyway to be a
separate entity even during these four days.

So, these famous ''Foreign thirty-five states'' were
those states that had recognized the UNION and the
birth of the ''Somali Republic'' on the course those
weeks,months and years that followed this UNION.

Sir, please don't be misled by the wishful thinking of
one clan (Isak). Others in that Somali region will
never opt for secession.

Ismail H. Warsame
Eldoret, Kenya.

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