Somaliland-Djibouti Relationship - Somali News Online from ...

Somaliland-Djibouti RelationshipGelle: The Tireless Crusader Against Somaliland 2012more easily doable rather than wishing for the disappearance of a geographical fixture. For, Berbera willbe there till the end of the world and its port would be used as much as its operators’ professionalismand competence would permit.A Syndrome Not Unique To EgyptFor the last two decades, Egypt has been one of the sternest opponents of Somaliland’s reclamation ofits independence. To the Egyptian leadership, the mere mention of the Somaliland name has been asmuch an anathema as it has been to Mr. Gelle. Accordingly, Egypt exerted extraordinary efforts thatsought the restoration of the erstwhile unitary Somali Republic and an all authoritative governmentruling it.Like Gelle’s, the Egyptian intense dislike of Somalilanders’ just aspirations should not be mistaken forgenuine concern or disinterested support for Somalis’ Unity—though, of course, that is the façade theypublicly present their intentions. As far as the Egyptians are concerned, the unadvertised motives behindtheir Somali policies could be summed up in just two words: The Nile.About 90% of that river’s water is utilized by Egypt while Ethiopia, from where a great deal of the wateroriginates, uses meaningfully none of it. It is a situation which Egypt is adamant to see it continued—somuch so that it has on many occasions overtly threatened to go to war with any country that disrupts thecurrent Nile Waters’ utilization status quo.Things have not yet fortunately come to war. Nonetheless, Egypt has been employing every other trickin the book in order to keep Ethiopia on edge and thus its focus off the Nile Waters. That is where, in theEgyptian scheme of things, a united and strong Somali Republic with a highly central government thatcan easily be manipulated would be immensely useful just as it had been before this Somalilandphenomenon turned things irritably upside down.From its inception in 1960 until it crumpled in 1991 following Somaliland’s withdrawal from it, theerstwhile Somali Union had been effectively useful as a most gullible proxy for Egypt’s struggles withEthiopia over the Nile Waters. The spectacle of Somalia and Ethiopia on perpetual war footing againsteach other to the exclusion of sense and their peoples’ interests and well-being had been servingEgyptian purposes quite nicely, thank you.To the Egyptians’ utter delight, the ever present and credible Somali menace had been consuming muchof Ethiopia’s national priorities, public policy concentration and state resources. It was a situation thatleft Ethiopia with little leeway and wherewithal to focus on any other national undertaking ofmonumental scale. Such as the huge effort and treasure that would inevitably be required to develop itsNile River resources.Clearly, both the Ethiopian and Somali nations were making equally crippling sacrifices in lives, limbs,wealth, lost opportunities and misplaced national priorities for the mutually hostile fixations at eachother. Whether the Somalis’ doggedly nationalistic pursuit of Greater Somalia and the Ethiopians’uncompromising persistence in holding on to dubiously acquired and colonialism-assisted hegemonyover a large part of Somali populace and land justified either nation’s respective sacrifices was and stillAIH Page 11