Although it may be premature at this point to pass judgment on the coming London conference, nevertheless, we will not be going out on a limb if we said the early signs leading up to the conference should give cause for concern to Somalilanders. The signs we are talking about are the UK’s latest diplomatic moves all of which are meant to boost the TFG but with not a single gesture towards Somaliland. In addition to organizing the conference to help the TFG, the British government has already sent its foreign minister to Mogadishu, designated an ambassador for Somalia and promised to open an embassy there when that becomes feasible. Of course the United Kingdom has the right to take steps to safeguard its interests, and if it has come to the conclusion that it serves its interests to provide more support for the TFG, that is its prerogative. But just as the United Kingdom has interests, so does Somaliland.
By pressuring Somaliland to attend a conference that it has packaged to help the TFG and that disregards Somaliland’s interests, the British government essentially wants Somaliland’s government to act against the interests of its own people and to help another entity, an entity that claims sovereignty over Somaliland. Not only that, but as we go to press, the British government has not provided Somaliland with any new diplomatic or political incentives that we know of, in order to overcome its reluctance to attend the conference (it also stands to reason to assume if the United Kingdom is unwilling to offer Somaliland real incentives to go to go the conference, it is less likely to take such initiatives once Somaliland is already in the conference). We are not talking here just of issues of protocol or process but also of policy, for Britain has not initiated any new, positive policies toward Somaliland whereas by its own admittance, it is pursuing a more vigorous policy toward the TFG.
These are the disturbing early signs coming from London even before the conference has started, and Somalilanders have good reasons to be concerned not only about this conference, but also about the new direction of Britain’s policy which seems to punish Somaliland for preventing its territory from becoming a base for pirates and terrorists and rewards those who allowed pirates and terrorists to thrive in their enclaves.




























 

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