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Whether one checks the internet or talks to ordinary Somalilanders,
it is difficult to miss the widening concern about Somaliland’s foreign
policy. The criticism that is being leveled at Somaliland’s foreign
policy is of two kinds. There are those who blast it simply because they
are opposed to the current government. It is not hard to spot this type
of criticism because it is continuously negative, at times even
irrational, and seeks to find fault at every corner. But then there are
those who actually want the government to succeed but are disturbed by
what they see. The danger for the current government is that the number
of people in the latter category is increasing.
There are several reasons for this. One of them is that there is a
disconnection between Somaliland foreign policy and the people it is
supposed to represent. Important decisions are being taken haphazardly
and without clear explanation. Of course the government cannot reveal
everything to the public, but that does not mean it can skip explaining
its decisions and policies or that it can say whatever it wants without
suffering the consequences. For example, the government first said it
would not attend the Istanbul conference, then it changed its mind at
the last minute. The explanation that it gave for this change of heart
was not convincing, and now there are allegations that the government
delegation attended both sessions of the conference rather than just the
first technical session as they claimed they would. Until now the
foreign ministry has not refuted those allegations. Nor has it provided
evidence that it did not attend both sessions.
Another recurring problem that has given the impression of incompetence
in Somaliland’s ministry of foreign affairs has to do with visa
requirements for members of government delegations. It is true that this
problem is rooted in Somaliland’s lack of international recognition, and
that unless a minister has a Western passport that allows him to visit
many countries without a visa, members of the delegation have to go to
neighboring countries to apply for a visa. Still, even with this
constraint, Somaliland can save itself the repeated embarrassment of
government ministers being selected to be part of a delegation only to
be unable to participate in the mission because of visa problems. Such
situation could be rectified by not revealing the names on the
delegation list before the government had secured the visa and taken
care of other protocol requirements for its delegations. On the face of
it, this may seem like a simple bureaucratic issue but it is actually
very important, because on a personal level, it is embarrassing to name
someone to a delegation and then for that person not be able to travel
with the delegation because of visa problems. Furthermore, Somaliland’s
enemies are using such occasions as opportunities to falsely claim that
Somaliland’s representatives were denied visas when it is more likely
that the issue was that the person could not receive the visa in time to
attend the event.
Finally, there is the question of credibility. A couple of days ago, two
Somaliland ministers went to Nairobi and met with the Kenyan Prime
Minister Raila Odinga, a friend of Somaliland, to allegedly pave the way
for Somaliland’s president to visit Kenya. This was good news, and the
photo of the meeting of Somaliland delegation being welcomed by the
Kenyan prime minister should normally have pleased Somalilanders. But
the photo did not elicit such reaction. The reason for this is simple.
The photo included Mohamud Abdillahi Jama (Sifir) who was described as
Somaliland’s representative in Kenya. The sight of Sifir claiming to
represent Somaliland was too much to swallow. The question though is how
can Somaliland’s government expect anyone to believe that the same Sifir
who openly and flagrantly renounced any allegiance to Somaliland and
joined the TFG is now honestly working for Somaliland? Hardly anyone is
going to buy it. Yes, he did ask for pardon and was allowed to return to
Somaliland, but it happened only after he was ditched by the TFG. This
is a clearly self-inflicted wound on the part of Somaliland’s
government.
It is also difficult to understand why with all the unemployed, educated
people in Somaliland, the government has chosen to appoint someone who
has shown no loyalty to either the country or its president, after all,
this is the same person who was President Ahmed Sillanyo’s campaign
manager then abandoned the president the minute he lost the election.
The government should not even try persuading Somalilanders that Sifir
is working hard in Nairobi for their interests because that would be
like telling them Jama Yare and Ismail Buba, too, are working hard in
Nairobi to advance Somaliland’s interests. It is that absurd.
These are some of the problems facing Somaliland’s foreign policy and
the government better do something about them pretty quickly. Otherwise
it will push more people into the ranks of those questioning its foreign
policy.
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