Gawain Towler at England Expects asks some solid questions.
Money quote(s):
"(I)t is one of the "Islands of stability and order" in the area. So why on earth is he celebrating the Independence of Southern Sudan, which does not fulfil;l; the criteria set by the African Union for sovereign state status (the pre colonial borders) and failing to do so for Somaliland?
Britain should take the lead, if we accept, as we do the remarkable and peaceful existence of Somaliland over the past 20 years, why on earth do we not go the extra mile to support their accession to the Commonwealth. After all as a former British protectorate they have more right to be there than Mozambique or Rwanda?"
Pay no attention to "international law." It functions, like road signs in the Third World, more as decoration and, perhaps, guidelines, than anything binding on sovereign states. It binds no one, except when someone wants to be bound.
(Or to have an excuse for inaction.)
Not being an "Africa hand" in anything but the most broad (and mostly academic) senses, I can't explain why Somaliland gets the cold shoulder from the international community.
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