Somaliland case: Alpha Conde puts Guinea in an uncomfortable position! why ? Somaliland has no well-defined borders

On the eve of the African Union summit in Niamey, Niger, President Alpha Condé invited the President of the self-proclaimed Somaliland Republic Muse Bihi Abdi to Conakry. A gesture that has angered Somalia, which announced the breakdown of its diplomatic relations with Guinea.

This choice of Conakry’s power to make a common path with Somaliland – a territory whose borders are still a big problem – puts the Guinea of ??the NO in a very uncomfortable position. Neither Sékou Touré nor Lansana Conté have attempted this dangerous adventure with immense consequences.

The Guinean opinion that expects leaders of enlightenment seems lost. At least for the moment. A relevant reader wrote to Mediaginee …. How to understand Guinea’s current, unexpected diplomatic commitments on the issue of international relations and the status of Somaliland? Difficult to get there.

Why has Somaliland since its creation in 1991 been recognized neither by the United Nations, nor by the African Union, nor by any State in the world? Here is the answer of an analyst well informed of the outlines of the separation of Somaliland and Somalia since 1991: First, according to him, the Somali Government (with its capital Mogadishu) does not recognize Somaliland (capital, Hargeisa).

Any recognition of Somaliland would go beyond the objections of Somalia. The global community is more reluctant to legitimize such unilateral separatism. The separatists in Somaliland had historically had economic / military influence or minimal foreign alliances, so no one fought for them.

Second, Somaliland has no well-defined borders. De facto, Somaliland is primarily a territory of the Dir and Isaaq clans, but Somaliland claims all of the former British Somaliland, including the territory of the Darod clan. Somaliland remained under British protectorate for a little over 100 years before merging freely with former Italian Somalia (Mogadishu) on July 1, 1960, five days after its proclamation of independence on June 26, 1960. The de facto border between Somalia and Somaliland is not at all stable. Recognizing Somaliland would raise the stakes of the border dispute and risk resuming endless confrontations.

And how do we know which border to recognize without a bilateral process between Somalia and Somaliland? The more independence Somaliland maintains, the stronger its claim of de jure independence. If this strengthens the ties with major players in subregional geopolitics, such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ethiopia, this could further strengthen its position. The United Arab Emirates, in particular, is reported to be establishing a military base and port concession in exchange for an investment of about US $ 1 billion for Somaliland.

(1). Would Guinea not open the Pandora’s box of secessionist movements all over Africa recognizing Somaliland, or simply stand out openly from the African Union’s position on the same subject? It should indirectly, think of the English separatist movement in Cameroon, the armed separatist movement of Cabinda in the north of Angola, think of the separatists of Azawad in northern Mali, and the Movement of Forces Democrats of Casamance (MFDC) in southern Senegal who all claim their independence despite the principle of inviolability of the borders inherited from colonialism in the early 1960s.

(2) On a more emblematic level, there is the Polisario Front which has been fighting for more than 30 years for the independence of Western Sahara and for which Guinea has always refused the recognition of its borders vis-à-vis Morocco in particular after the departure of the Spanish settlers.

In short, it would be very interesting to know the ins and outs of the diplomatic approach of the Guinean Government which has just crossed a line that no State or International Organization has for the moment crossed since the separation of Somaliland from Somalia in 1991. A subject difficult to decipher, in the absence of clear and reliable information from the Republic of Guinea. 

Boston, USA

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