Somaliland talks welcome but Villa Somalia eye must remain on federal state talks

Somalia’s week in politics can be very long, especially when elections are nigh.

EDITORIAL | This week, three things happened: the Federal government of Somalia participated in consultative talks with Somaliland, the first such tangible discussions in nearly five years. Mogadishu also recognized, albeit as interim, the President of Jubaland Ahmed Madobe.

President Mohamed Farmaajo also invited all Federal Member states for dialogue on security and political issues ahead of elections. We welcome these steps, even though there are areas with shortcomings.

This platform has often encouraged dialogue and the need for compromise. That a fresh round of talks opened with Somaliland is encouraging. The devil, however, could lie in the details. The relationship between Somalia and Somaliland has often had ups and downs. A ray of hope had appeared in 2012 after then transitional federal president Sheikh Sharif Ahmed met with Ahmed Silanyo where they endorsed future talks to continue looking for solutions.

It is concerning to note that eight years later, those solutions are still unmet. In fact, there are still areas of petty anger, which has often delayed motion on important aspects of negotiations. After Sunday’s ‘Consultative Summit’, Somalia was bitter after Djibouti inadvertently referred to Somaliland as a “country.” President Farmaajo and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi had reportedly reached an “understanding” that a technical committee should immediately proceed with negotiations.

What were they negotiating? Somaliland wants independence. It stuck to it. Somalia wants Somaliland as part of its territory. It stuck to it. This week as 2012, the areas of divergence were the same. Some officials even referred to the talks as difficult.

While the committees agreed on agenda such as discussions on revenue sharing, airspace management, depoliticizing development; there were no timelines on how each of these will be resolved.

Which brings us to the urgent problem facing Somalia: Uncertainty around elections, mostly due to broken communication between stakeholders. Djibouti claimed to have organized the Somalia-Somaliland talks, but the timing was curious. Were the talks a ploy by Mogadishu to divert attention from the existential problem with federal member states? Some critics have observed that the desire for Somaliland could provide needed political capital for the federal government ahead of elections. This is how:

For a long time, Mogadishu didn’t treat the issue of federal member states seriously.

GAROWE ONLINE