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By Yusuf Dirir Ali, MD
I differ with most of the dissenting opinions on Somaliland-Somalia
dialogue. However, I entirely agree with those who feel the selected
members of our negotiating team must have the experience and competence
to triumphantly win our sovereignty back from Somalia.
Furthermore, we fully understand that we are negotiating with ourselves,
because we are confidently convinced that our opponents do not have the
chance of coming up with historic, legal and morally valid arguments
against our case, but still, this process must not be taken flippantly.
Somaliland is in cross roads and we are at the stage of winning it now
or never. In that regard, history will never pardon us if we do not use
all our cards and become successful at this moment in time. Thus, we
must do justice to our cause and grant it the seriousness it deserves.
Somalia president and other government official’s visit to Somaliland
must strictly be ruled out before the sovereignty issue is resolved.
The selection of dialogue venues must be based on their neutrality, on
their international political weights and on the democratic credentials
of the hosting countries. I think there is no single African, Arab or a
Muslim country that is capable fulfilling these conditions. Therefore, I
would not consider them as logical venues for future meetings, but
instead would go for the UK or Norway for obvious countless reasons.
This is the tick of time for which Somalilanders long-sufferingly waited
and sacrificed everything they cherished for more than half century.
There must be no room for the omission of a fact or unwelcome slips of
the pen or the tongue. For that reason, we need to bring in seasoned
foreign as well as Somaliland diplomats, lawyers and economy experts to
meticulously prepare our case.
During last Somaliland-Somalia meeting in Dubai, UAE, many Somalilanders
were gravely offended to read the Arab media calling Somaliland a region
in Somalia and the Somaliland government one of the many feuding
factions in that country. What is more, the Somaliland map was
misrepresented and there was no sight of Somaliland flag on the Arab
media. Our government must strongly protest future comparable impudent
acts.
More importantly, we must educate the international media and the
international community alike. We must clearly mark out the historic and
geopolitical differences of Somaliland and Somalia.
To give the right contrasting pictures of the two countries, we do not
only need seasoned multilingual media specialists to give press
conferences, but also relevant print and audiovisual materials to be
widely distributed in the internet and to the international media.
Besides the Somaliland-Somalia dialogue, another occasion of valuable
importance is the upcoming conference in Istanbul, Turkey. We must learn
from our previous mistakes and go to the most extreme levels of
organizations and preparations for this conference. We must work hard to
prepare for the next meeting and be ready to deliver a meticulously
prepared and resonant argument to the world.
Somaliland is in the finishing line of a long and difficult sovereignty
Marathon in a politically hostile train, hence we need to end this
marathon as soon as possible with grace and international admiration.
Dr Dirir
drdirir@gmail.com
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