The authorities in the South Sudanese capital Juba have made their country’s position clear about the ongoing row over Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent nation, rejecting the move as a diplomatic charade.
With the backing of the international community, Somalia regards Somaliland as part of its federal territory and condemned Israel for stating a dangerous precedent for the rest of the Horn of Africa region.
In telephone echanges between the South Sudanese and Somali foreign ministers over the weekend, Juba reiterated its unconditional support for Somalia’s inviolability as a sovereign indivisible country whose territorial integrity is non-negotiable.
Somalia’s foreign minister, Abdisalam Abdi Ali, and his South Sudanese counterpart Monday Semaya Kenneth Kumba agreed to explore more ways of helping to reverse the Israeli move which they warned could set off other calls for secession.
The two officials expressed mutual solidarity and called on the global community to bring pressure to bear on Israel to uphold international law and prevent Somalia fom disintegrating.
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland announced last Friday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while eliciting general jubilation in Hargeisa, met widespread international condemnation from especially Muslim nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League and the African Union among others.
The 176,120 square kilometre territory on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden which is regarded as strategically important for Israel, declared its independence from federal Somalia at the height of the civil war in 1991 when strongman Siad Barre was deposed.
With its capital at Hargeisa, Somaliland has all the trappings of an independent nation including an army and police, a currency, a passport, and holds periodic democratic elections that pass off peacefully.
It has also enjoyed decades of stability, relative to strife-torn Somalia which has been mired in a bloody insurgency by the militant group al-Shabaab since 2007.
WN/as/APA