Somaliland's Late President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal called for Somaliland to be given Specia Status by United Nations on Somaliland National Referendum May 31, 2001

Somaliland National Referendum May 31, 2001

Final Report of the Initiative & Referendum Institute’s
Election Monitoring Team
Issued on July 27, 2001
Sponsored by
INITIATIVE & REFERENDUM INSTITUTE
Citizen Lawmaker Press
Washington, D.C.

Link: http://www.mbali.info/doc374.htm

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Somaliland calls for 'special status'

President of the self-declared republic of Somaliland Mohamed Ibrahim Egal has called for it to be given special status by the United Nations. 


In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Egal said the breakaway republic needed to pursue separate development outside Somalia. 

His comments are a significant climbdown from his previous determination to secure international recognition for Somaliland as an independent state. 

He said an interim status like that of Kosovo or East Timor would allow Somaliland to deal with donors and international financial institutions - and unlock international purse strings. 

Somaliland, a former British protectorate, broke away from Somalia in 1991 and has repeatedly expressed fears of being dragged back into the country's long-running civil war. 

Investment 
 
"We accept the fact that the international community at the moment is not geared towards giving us sovereign recognition," Mr Egal told the London-based newspaper. 

Somaliland

Broke away from Somalia - 1991 Population - 3.5m Life expectancy - 48 Capital - Hargeisa Currency - shilling

"So what we say is that, just like the Palestinians or the Kosovans or the people in Timor, we should be given a special status, an interim special status whereby we can at least deal with donors and the international financial institutions." 

Somaliland is relatively stable compared to Somalia and it is keen to encourage investment from foreign companies and from its diaspora. 

It has several airlines and telecommunications companies operating out of its capital, Hargeisa, and also offers the cheapest internet access rates in the region. 

However, the lack of international recognition stifles development. 

In the banking sector credit and money transfers are impossible; in the oil industry insurance rates are at the astronomical war levels applicable in neighbouring Somalia. 

Hence the appeal by President Egal. 

He has also signed a new law to set up political parties within 18 months, by which time a constitutional referendum will be held. 

Somaliland opposes the current UN-backed efforts to reunite Somalia, which it sees as a threat to its current autonomy.

Source: BBC News
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Somaliland: No way back

President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the breakaway region of Somaliland, has commented for the first time on the results of last week's independence referendum in which voters backed cessation from Somalia.

President Egal said Somaliland was no longer just a collection of clans but a nation in its own right.

He said the results of the referendum also brought to an end the question of whether Somaliland should ever reunite with Somalia.

The president said his message to the international community was that Somaliland is worth doing business with. Somaliland broke away from Somalia at the start of the civil war 10 years ago, but is still unrecognized by the the international community.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

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• Somaliland chief remembers start of Queen's reign
  
  Africa / 1 June 2012… after overthrow of dictator Siad Barre 1991 Not recognised internationally Referendum backs independence 2001 Somaliland country profile Even…

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Surviving without the UN: Somaliland, a forgotten country

By Gérard Prunier, Le Monde diplomatique, October 1997. Having broken away from Somalia and declared independence in 1991, the Republic of Somaliland has been denied recognition and aid. Poor and isolated, it is making an effort to achieve a peaceful blend of democracy and cultural tradition which is rarely found in the African countries that do receive international aid. It is a unique experiment and an example to the rest of the continent.

An Appeal To Respect The Will Of The People Of Somaliland

Somaliland Forum, press release, 29 December 2000. In May 1999, the president of the Republic of Djibouti, Mr. Ismail Omer Guelleh, announced he would host a peace conference for the Somalis, who have been without a government since 1991 when the Dictator Siad Barre fled the country. This is the 13th attempt to bring peace to Somalia. Mr. Guelleh, however, filled the conference hall with people that he had handpicked himself, including his staunch friends from the Barre dictatorship.