| Front Page |
Editorial
The Way Forward for Somaliland-Ethiopian Relations
When two liberation movements took power separately in Somaliland and Ethiopia in 1991, the centuries-old hostilities that hitherto held the two countries apart came to a sudden end and a new era seemed to have dawned on the peoples of both nations. But to put matters in their correct historical perspective, for many Somalilanders, peace with Ethiopia was considered a strategic objective long before the fall of Barre’s dictatorship in Jan 1991. Credit for introducing this culture of peace early on among Somalilanders should, of course, go to the SNM.
Though nearly a decade has passed since the SNM was in power, its peace and open-door economic policy was followed by all successive Somaliland governments since 1993. The current friendly relations between Somaliland and Ethiopia stand in stark contrast to the past when the two countries were sworn enemies. Despite the fact that both sides have come a long way in the transition from being foes to becoming friends, much more needs to be done in order to develop these bilateral ties to full maturity. Regrettably, the emerging Somaliland-Ethiopian relations seem to place emphasis only on one issue: security of border areas. There has been little effort, if any, to explore other spheres that could benefit both sides, such as trade and investment.
In a post-Sept 11 world, nobody should question the importance of security to the interests and well being of people on either side of the border, the region or even beyond, however even a good level of security cooperation will be hard to sustain in the long term unless reinforced by constructive engagements at the socio-economic and political fronts. The way forward for Somaliland-Ethiopian relations is to stress cooperation at least in potential economic sectors that will produce maximum benefits for the peoples of both countries. As a first step, it will be necessary to remove all kind of barriers impeding the free flow of trade between the two countries. Somaliland with an economy much less than Ethiopia’s and with no access to bilateral or multilateral aid, has no restrictions against Ethiopian entrepreneurs bringing goods into Somaliland, a policy that puts this country in a relatively huge trade deficit with its partner. Still, leaders of the two countries need to come up with policies that encourage and not constrain the enterprising spirit of business communities.
Ethiopia should not make its policy toward Somaliland hostage to those so-called politicians from the former Italian colony of Somalia who ritually accuse Addis Ababa of trying to dismember the already defunct “Somali Republic”. Because such accusations are politically convenient for those who make them, they will always make those accusations, regardless of what Ethiopia does. Ethiopian leaders know, and we know, that it’s the people of Somaliland who fought for reinstating the independence of their country long before the EPRDF assumed power in Ethiopia. And since neither Ethiopia nor Somaliland can escape the fact that they will always be neighbors, the interests of both countries dictate that full diplomatic relations be established between them without any further delay.
Home | Contact us | Links | Archives