Wednesday 22 March 2017
By Hassan Nur
Sovereignty is an unspoken rule that shows the length of a countries independence. Recent developments like the unauthorized visit of Uhuru Kenyatta to Dhoobly, Somalai are a clear sign that Somalia is not a free nation as it appears. The Somali government and specifically the Ministry of Foreign affairs is being dealt a blow at every corner of diplomacy in which the disregarding of Somalia’s sovereignty is a norm. It is genuinely even more disappointing when we see time and time again that all protocols and laws are broken by all countries and organizations when it comes to Somalia’s internal and external affairs.
For example, The Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia unconditionally makes foreign policy one of the main duties of the federal government which is limited to it exclusively and member states are explicitly not allowed to conduct diplomacy on their own. Time and Time Again we see the international community making unconstitutional deals with federal member states. The tradition of Somali leaders of federal Member States traveling to foreign capitals and meeting with foreign diplomats without any que or knowledge of the federal government is a total and malicious infringement of Somalia’s sovereignty and a breakage of all constitutional norms and ethics. While the reason for such uncalled for visits might be innocence or ignorance of protocol; it is a dangerous precedent and threat to the sovereignty of Somalia to have these member states flown into Addis Abba to discuss with an Ethiopian leader concerning their respective region. It makes any nationlist shiver in shame and makes it seem as that region is a federal member state in Ethiopia and not Somalia.
With the building and of this new Administration the federal government has to do two things to earn its dignity and sovereignty back. First it has to make the integrity and sovereignty of Somalia a red line for all nations. This essentially means that no nation should deal with any member state individually without going through Somalia’s Ministry of foreign affairs. It also means an end of visits by member states to foreign capitals representing their states. Additionally, The Country that hosts these individual leaders should be seen by the Somali Government as a threat to the sovereignty of the country and diplomatic measures should be taken against that country much like China pursues when it comes to the issue of Taiwan.
Secondly, the Federal Government should guarantee each member state that any decision concerning that member state in matters of diplomacy will not be made without their consultations and advice. It should also assure that all that is meant for that specific state will be giving to without no holdback. This is the only way we can assure national honor and dignity and the respect of our sovereignty. The time of meddling with Somalis internal affairs and self –serving politics is over. We have to send a clear message to the international community that mutual cooperation and partnership has to be done equally with Respect for the Somali people, their freedom and sovereignty.
Hassan Nur is a policy critic