Somaliladsun: Britain formally withdrew from the European Union at 11 p.m. on Friday, after nearly half a century of membership.
The departure, 1,317 days after Britain voted to leave the bloc, carries not only enormous symbolic weight, but also significant legal consequences. It concluded three years of fractious debates over whether the country should really leave the bloc, the terms of its departure and the kind of relationship it should forge with Europe.
For Somaliland this is very good news because the United Kingdom is now free to either recognize Somaliland or refuse without alluding to EU principles that the issue is solely between Somaliland and Somalia, states Jama Awil Tarabi a British citizen of Somaliland origin.
According to Tarabi who is an expert on European law specifically family and trust laws, BREXIT now concluded is exactly similar to the withdraw of 30 years ago of Somaliland a former British protectorate from its 1960 voluntary later turned fateful union with Somalia a former Italian colony to its south.
Says he, “in 1973 the United Kingdom without any cohesion thence voluntary joined then European Economic Community-EEC present European Union-EU, just a Somaliland
Did on the 1st of July 1960“
In a briefing to the Horn Tribune newspaper in Hargeisa the Briton Said that in most cases international history repeats itself at different times thus the UK finds itself in a difficult position to negate the Somaliland quest for recognition as a sovereign nation.
According to the European law expert there is no existing law anywhere that deters a nation to withdraw from a voluntary union with another as Brexit has proven.
”It now puts the UK in a very difficult position as pertains the three decades elusive recognition of Somaliland“says Tarabi adding that the route pursued by the UK is slightly opposite that of Somaliland which had to fight its way out of the now defunct union with Somalia courtesy of massive butchery and displacement of its people as well as destruction to both public and private property.
Apart from the civil war that saw Somaliland forcefully pull itself out of the fateful union, both it and the UK also passed the same referendum route to gain citizens authority to pull out.
The Somaliland referendum of 31st may 2001 saw 97% of citizens vote to withdraw from union with Somalia while the 2016 one in the UK saw slightly over 50% vote in favour of withdrawing from the EU.
”If the European pay masters of the Somalia federal government can acquiesce to the UK pulling out from the Union then one remains surprised on why Somalia and the EU are adamant on refusing the same to Somaliland“
Adds him, since the EU attributes Brexit to the referendum of 2016 why not acknowledge the Somaliland referendum of 2001? Stressing that this a double standards by the EU for political purposes whose ultimate goal is to ensure Somaliland returns reunites with the on fire Somalia, Lawyer Tarabi says that the ball is now in the British half field for the kingdom hasn’t any longer the EU position on Somaliland recognition excuses.
Since the UK shall still be under EU laws for duration of the transition period that expires 31st December 2020, it is advisable that Britons adopt policies with Somaliland and Somalia just as the EU does with The European Economic Area EEA member counters until the Brexit transition period expires.
Created in 1994, the European Economic Area (EEA) combines the countries of the European Union (EU) and member countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) to facilitate participation in the European Market trade and movement without having to apply to be one of the EU member countries.
The European Economic Area EEA includes EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. It allows them to be part of the EU’s single market.
Switzerland, previously participating, was neither an EU nor EEA member but was part of the single market so Swiss nationals had the same rights to live and work in EEA countries as other EEA nationals. However, Switzerland no longer participates in the European Economic Area. Now, Croatia has submitted an application to participate.
In conclusion Lawyer Jama Awil Tarabi a resident of Wolverhampton in the West midland UK says that it is time for his adopted country to act and act correctly ass pertains Somaliland its former protectorate in the Horn of Africa.
