Cabays Media – Recognising a state is a form of establishing sovereignty that demonstrates a country’s independent judgement on another’s claim to statehood. Historical examples, such as the recognition of Bangladesh and Kosovo, emphasis this principle. India was the first to recognize Bangladesh in 1971, despite Pakistan’s rejection, and the fact that was an ongoing war between Bangladesh and Pakistan. Similarly, despite Serbia’s opposition, the United States and several European states recognised Kosovo in 2008. These cases demonstrate that recognition does not require the agreement of the claiming state, but rather emphasises each nation’s ability to set its own foreign policies, including the recognition of other governments.

This approach is founded on conventions that statehood recognition is not contingent on the claiming state’s permission, but rather on how the recognising state perceives the situation. If Ethiopia recognises Somaliland’s independence, it will be exercising its rights in the same way that other governments have done with Bangladesh and Kosovo. Recognising nations is not prohibited by international law; rather, it is left to the discretion of countries. The concepts of respecting independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are fairly vague. In the context of international law, mentioning such a phrase (Territorial Integirty and Sovereingty) do not have the same weight as legally binding obligations. These ideals do not require nations to refrain from recognising new entities. As a result, if Ethiopia decides to recognise Somaliland, it will be acting in accordance with established legal existing rules.

The Somalia Claim

Although Somalia begs for fraternal togetherness, the actual appeal is for the utter annihilation of the Somali speaking people. Let me state this unequivocally, in a curious twist, the only thing that unifies Somalia is opposition to Somaliland’s advantages. Somalia politicians exhibit a unified stance in their opposition to Somaliland, especially when Somaliland advances marginally in pursuit of international acknowledgment, economic gain and security advantages. Illustrative instances of Mogadishu’s opposition include; the periods when DP World invested in Berbera, the epoch of when the United States incorporated Berbera-specific provisions into its 2023 NDAA with Somaliland, when Taiwan CPC announced the farm-out agreement for a 49% stake in hydrocarbon exploration in Somaliland, and our recent exchange of a historic accord with Ethiopia, encompassing political, economic, and security collaboration. It is now evident, the only adversary we have is the one that demanding economic sanctions, obstructing our right to self-determination regarding membership in the AU and the UN, trying to intercept international assistance, and most importantly, began by triaging Somaliland, as the number one enemy of its list of challenges to prioritise. Recently, Mogadishu identified Somaliland the most critical enemy before Al-Shabaab and Piracy. That is our true adversary, and we do not remain unearthly.

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