By: Abdalle Ahmed
Hargeysa (RBC) The president of Somalia’s northern break away region of Somaliland Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Silanyo has obviously repeated today that his administration will not attend the upcoming London conference on Somalia hosted by British government that will be held on May 7th, 2013.
The Somaliland authorities have earlier denounced the status given to them within the upcoming conference which will be co-chaired by the UK prime minister David Cameron and the Somalia president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
“We will not attend the London conference which we regard as only meeting that concerns Somalia matters not Somaliland.” President Silanyo said during the annual meeting of his ruling party, Kulmiye in Hargeysa today.
“We do not see our interest in it” he added.
The upcoming London Somalia Conference is a diplomatic event hosted by the government of the United Kingdom and follows on the London conference which took place on February 23, 2012. Attended by Somali government officials including the Somaliland administration and members of the international community, it focused on resolving issues that have arisen in Somalia in the wake of the civil war.
Speaking on the widely expected talks between the current Somalia federal government led by president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the Somaliland administration, which proclaimed its independence from Somalia in 1992 after the collapse of former Somalia central government, president Silanyo noted that it was ongoing process and his government was willing to sit face-to-face with the new Somalia leaders.
“With the presence of the international community we will like to sit with Somalia government and talk about our intention to be two separate states.” Silanyo continued.
Analysts say that Somaliland is coming under intense and growing pressure not to refuse the London Somalia Conference which even most of local politicians see as a golden and timely opportunity to the development of the region.
The comments from president Silanyo came just after the UK’s African development minister stressed that Somaliland was likely to attend the conference on May this year.
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