By M.A. Egge
It is tantamount for the for the sun rising from the west for Mogadishu to rule Somaliland, he adds
The President of the Republic of Somaliland H.E. Musa Bihi Abdi has strongly responded to the Turkish government’s plan to resolve the conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia that emanated from the agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia on January 1, 2024 by seeking Somalia’s sway over the matter.
The Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had earlier on Friday been quoted as saying that the impasse between the conflict can be resolved if Ethiopia got access to a sea channel, hence thrashing it out by dealing with Somalia.
The Head of State strongly retorted to this supposition and termed it as an infringement of the sovereignty of Somaliland and as out-rightly impossible while speaking to a large audience at the coastal town of Berbera on Sunday while on a trip to the eastern parts of the country.
The President of Somaliland, Muse Bihi Abdi, who spoke today in Berbera city and went on a trip, sent a message to Turkey to mediate between Somalia and Ethiopia.
“Yesterday, it was reported in the international media that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey interfered in the affairs of Somaliland, and that of Berbera and its port saying that Ethiopia should engage with Hassan Sheikh (Somalia president to realize its coastal access wish). That is a major mistake, Somaliland will not accept it at all”, said President Bihi.
He underscored the impossibility of such a move and supposition likening it to the “sun defying nature and all of a sudden arise from the west”.
Immediately after the MoU agreement signed between Somaliland and Ethiopia the Somali government in Mogadishu ran berserk and shuttled across the Arab world falsely accusing Ethiopia into infringing her territories.
This culminated in the Turks trying to bring the two closer, but has worsened the situation by inferring that the Ethiopian government has to deal with Somalia to gain access to Somaliland territory and end the envisioned dispute, a move that has seriously irked the government and the people of Somaliland.
The second round of talks moderated by the Turkish government was slated to be held in the beginning of September but in a twist of saga it kicked off on Monday in Ankara where both the Ethiopian and Somali emissaries still do not speak face to face.