Argue conservative members of the European Parliament as they commit to ending the perverse limbo state of independence without recognition of Somaliland by either an EU resolution or through the International Court of Justice.
By: Yusuf M Hasan
Somaliland sun: “For too long we have been blind to the trials, tribulations and concerns of this small country Somaliland; one that has at every turn strived and struggled to achieve all the hallmarks of a free and democratic society.
This was stated by MEP Robert Taylor, who is Head of Media for Conservative Members of the European Parliament-MEPs in a press statement issued after the continental body wavered on a clear stand on the recognition of Somaliland during a meeting between Brussels legislators and a delegation from Hargeisa led by Foreign Minister Dr Saad Ali Shire.
Adding that Somalia has found itself embroiled in a civil war that has raged on for more than two decades, the narrow stretch of Somali-inhabited territory on the southern shore of the Gulf of Aden has, since declaring independence in 1991, adhered to every standard of good governance and successful democratic process, MEP Taylor said
“We should be ashamed that as a body of like-minded states, supposedly dedicated to the ideals of free society, we have proven content to make this someone else’s issue; someone else’s fight.”
The Meeting held at EU headquarters in Brussels in which the political and legal case for recognition of Somaliland independence was examined was Chaired by Conservative Development spokesman Nirj Deva MEP with participation by prominent scholars cum MEP’s like Charless Tannock, James Carver and Former assistant UN Secretary General Sir Desmond de Silva among others.
According to MEP Nirj Deva it is absurd for the European Union to commend in one moment the worthiness of Somaliland, a nation that has, as a functioning reality, been independent for more than 25 years; an island of stability in one of the most troubled regions of the globe, and yet, when the time comes for sentiment to give way to action, the European Union is nowhere to be found?
Stressing that it was a collective responsibility in ending the perverse limbo state of independence without recognition of Somaliland which can only and must be solved, not through politics, but with the law.” MEP Deva said
“We must find ourselves committed to passing a resolution through the European Parliament, demanding the international community’s attention and recommending that this case be sent to the International Court of Justice. See verbatim statement below 
In addition to the discussions with Conservative MEPs the Somaliland foreign ministers held a series of meetings with various European diplomats, officials and politicians during the Brussels sojourn among them Claudia Wiedey, Head of Division for the Horn of Africa at the European External Action Service, with whom he discussed Somaliland’s democratic record and Europe’s aid contributions.
Read statement by Conservative MEPs on Somaliland Recognition
