The President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud travels to Eritrea this Monday as he seeks to increase diplomatic pressures on Ethiopia after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Addis Ababa and the breakaway Republic of Somaliland. The president signed a law which he said would nullify the agreement while Ethiopia insists no party or country will be affected. Meanwhile a senior Somaliland cabinet minister has resigned voicing opposition to the MoU.
Several countries including the US, Canada, Denmark, Turkey and Egypt as well as organisations like the African Union have voiced concerns over what appears to be tensions brewing between Ethiopia and Somalia. The agreement, still not a binding one, will allow Ethiopia to have 13 miles of coastline for 50 years. In return Somaliland will have shares from the lucrative Ethiopian Airlines. Ethiopia says its policy is “to avoid wars and pursue mutually beneficial options” while Mogadishu sees the move as an “aggression.”
There were strong words coming from President Sheikh Mohamud who, in one speech, vowed to “defend the territorial integrity” of Somalia.
Ethiopia says the MoU breaks no trust and transgresses no laws. Nonetheless the level of unease in Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland part of its territory, is not decreasing. State linked media outlets show protests in parts of Somalia in opposition to the MoU.
Meanwhile Somaliland’s Defence Minister Abdiqani Mohamoud Ateyehas has resigned in protest of the deal. In an interview with a local tv station, the Minister who hails from Somaliland’s Awdal area where unconfirmed reports say Ethiopia will build a naval base, has criticized President Muse Bihi Abdi who signed the MoU with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The Memorandum of Understanding itself still is being accused of lacking clarity. Ambassador Redwan Hussien, senior advisor to the prime minister, recently said that it’s only after a binding deal is signed and a plot of land to build a naval base is transferred to Ethiopia that Addis Ababa will have a position on recognising Somaliland. However, upon returning home finishing his five days trip to Ethiopia, Somaliland’s President Bihi Abdi said Addis Ababa had agreed to give Somaliland recognition three decades after it declared itself a republic independent of Somalia.
Kenyan paper The East African has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that Ethiopia tried to deescalate the tensions with Somalia by placing a phone call but Mogadishu was unresponsive.
