SACC Somaliland Recognition

Columbus, Ohio– U.S. Somali Chamber of Commerce Highly Recommend U.S. African Subcommittee Somali Stabilization Must not Included the Recognition of Somaliland. . This will not bring Democracy in the Region, We have to stay focus Economic Development for the Somali People and Most Importantly a Political Stability to the Horn of African.,the Somaliland secessionists are taking advantage of Somalia's continuing instability to press their claim to independence. It raises perplexing questions of self-determination, territorial integrity, national sovereignty and the role of the international community in helping Somalia rise from the ashes of war and famine, majority of the residents of the former Somaliland oppose secession, and that the independence movement is an attempt by the Isaaq clan to grab power. The Isaaq form a plurality in Somaliland since they live almost entirely within the former British Pseudo-State Somaliland , while the disputed region's four other clans extend into the rest of Somalia,Somalia's Last Foreign Minister Warns Somaliland Secession http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0494/9404053.htm ,a US Senate panel held a hearing Wednesday on developing a coordinated and sustainable strategy toward Somalia. The Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs took testimony on "the new offensive launched by militant extremists." Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson says despite a transitional federal government in place, Somalia: is in crisis. "Approximately 43 percent of the Somali population relies on humanitarian assistance to survive and nearly 500,000 Somalis have fled the country and now live in overcrowded refugee camps throughout the region," he says.Clans, militias, warlords and terrorist organizations control most of the country, not the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Carson adds, "The blight of piracy off the coast of Somalia is without question a symptom of the instability and insecurity within Somalia. Without stability in Somalia there can be no long-term resolution of the piracy problem."The resolution of these problems calls for a comprehensive solution that provides stability, promotes reconciliation, economic opportunity and hope for the Somali people," says Carson.The Obama administration has called on the State Department, the National Security Council,the Defense Department, USAID, intelligence agencies and other agencies to develop a Somalia strategy -- one, Carson says, "that is both comprehensive and sustainable." He says the US is also working with international partners, including the United Nations, African Union and European Union.

A strategy based on internal reconciliation:"Our comprehensive strategy is to promote a stabile and peaceful Somalia, to support regional peacekeeping efforts, to create a functioning and effective central government…to create a country that is at peace with its neighbors," he says.Carson says the United States has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support humanitarian and security needs in Somalia. He also accuses Eritrea of supporting armed groups, who are opposed to the Transitional Federal Government.Also testifying was Professor Ken Menkhaus of Davidson College, who expects the Somali crisis to be a continuing foreign policy concern for the new Obama administration. Past US policy flawedHe says, "In this increasingly complex environment, external state building, peace building and counter-terrorism initiatives have at times been based on flawed analysis and have produced unintended consequences, which have left Somalia and its regional neighbors even more insecure."He adds that US policy toward Somalia must take a regional approach and consider tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the insurgency in Ethiopia's Somali region and territorial claims.Oxfam senior policy advisor Shannon Scriber told the Senate panel that "Somalia remains the site of the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The combination of conflict and drought have led to more than three million Somalis dependent on aid within the country and the displacement of up to 1.8 million For more information, contact the SOMALI AMEICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE http://www.soamcc.org/
The Somali Conflict Root causes , peace-building strategies
Somaliland Recognition: Why it won’t happen