Minister says Somalia should be united, denies interference

Ethiopia has rejected calls by the breakaway republic of Somaliland for international recognition by insisting that the region’s future lies within a united Somalia. Information Minister Bereket Simon told IRIN that while Somalis will decide their own future, Ethiopia’s interests lie in unifying the war-ravaged state. His comments came as Dahir Riyale Kahin, president of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, held talks in Addis Ababa with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and key Ethiopian officials. The talks, according to Bereket, focused on two areas – latest developments in Somaliland and security issues surrounding the common border with Ethiopia. Members of the Somaliland delegation have not made any public announcements. Bereket also dismissed claims that the five-day visit by the Somaliland delegation, which also includes the foreign minister Edna Adan Ismail, undermined the Somali peace talks currently underway in Kenya. The Somaliland authorities have refused to attend the conference, saying it has nothing to do with them. Bereket said he remained optimistic about the Nairobi-based talks, as long as the rival factions stayed at the negotiating table. "We think they will find a possible way out of the current situation through dialogue and continuous engagement – that is the only way out,” he said. “We don’t see walk-outs from such meetings as solutions, nor resorting to armed intimidation,” he added. The president of Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) Abdiqassim Salad Hassan walked out of the talks last week saying they were heading towards the "dismemberment" of Somalia. Bereket also dismissed claims that Ethiopia was “meddling” in the talks. “Ethiopia cannot serve as the scapegoat for the failures that he [Abdiqassim] has executed in that meeting.” “If you are asking me about the wishes of Ethiopia, it is that we would like to see a united Somalia living peacefully, being led by a responsible state,” Bereket stated. “That is our wish and we will try to the best of our capacity to assist our Somali brothers to achieve this objective – but that remains their task and depends on how they act." “Whether this dream can come true or not is the work of the Somali brothers and sisters," he added. "The best way forward is continuing the dialogue and reaching agreement based on the accommodation of the interests of different sectors of Somali people.”