Will the Arabs dare to listen to Somaliland?

“The fact that the union between Somalia and Somaliland was never ratified and also malfunctioned when it went into action from 1960 to 1990, makes Somaliland’s search for recognition historically unique and self-justified in African political history. As such, the AU should find a special method of dealing with this outstanding case,” the report recommends. It then stated that Somaliland’s “case should not be linked to the notion of ‘opening a Pandora’s box’, or re-opening similar issues in other African countries”.

Iqbal Jhazbhay, an Africa analyst at the University of South Africa, finds the report a part of the AU’s new pragmatism in dealing with the continent’s chronic issues: “The AU-sponsored peace deal in Sudan allows for a referendum, five years from now, on whether the south wants to go it alone. This could not have happened if it were business as usual. The AU now goes for results, and takes account of subjective facts and practical realities,” he said in a statement to the South African Mail & Guardian paper.

Two African heavyweights, South Africa and Nigeria, have even indicated readiness to recognise Somaliland, according to AU sources. There are also signs that the US and the EU are looking at Somaliland with favourable eyes, particularly as the latest and 14th attempt to establish a central government in Somalia after 15 years of mayhem and lawlessness appears to be in shambles. Observers also point out that Washington has knowledge of significant offshore oil and gas deposits in Somaliland.

So, where do the Arabs stand on the Somaliland issue?

It is obvious that the Arab world, led by Egypt, is against the recognition of Somaliland. According to US press reports, Egypt fears that an independent Somaliland could provide a support to Israel and the US bases at the mouth of the Red Sea. Egypt is also worried about the impact of the growing dependence of Ethiopia, Egypt’s traditional rival on the Nile, on Somaliland’s seaports.

Somalilanders, therefore, accuse Egypt of being behind the eight-year Saudi Arabian ban on exports of Somaliland livestock to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia slapped the ban on Horn of African livestock due to the outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in 1998. Although the disease had never been detected in Somaliland and repeated WHO reports gave it a clean bill of health, Saudi Arabia has excluded Somaliland from the lifting of the ban, so consolidating Somaliland’s suspicion that the ban is a political stance aimed at forcing it to give up its recognition quest.

This is why Somaliland will be absent from the agenda of the Khartoum summit, while Somalia, which according to Dr I.M. Lewis, an authority on African history, is "a fantasy state which now only exists on paper ... and in rhetoric ...” will represent the peaceful, democratic and institutionalised Somaliland.

Having links with the Arabs since biblical times, Somalilanders know that the Arabs cannot break the mould by suddenly being pragmatic and following the AU line, but as the Somali proverb says: "Barasho horteed, ha i nicin" (don’t hate me before you know me), Somaliland people would like to ask the Arabs just to try to know them before they hate them.