UNITED
NATIONS, June
13 -- After
Somaliland
through its
foreign
minister
told UN envoy
to Somalia
Nicholas Kay
that his UNSOM
mission is not
welcome in
Somaliland,
Inner City
Press asked UK
ambassador
(and UN
Security
Council
President for
June) Mark
Lyall Grant
about it.
Lyall
Grant said "I
think the
situation is
not 100
percent clear,
yet."
But it is:
Inner City
Press has
obtained and
is putting
online the
Somaliland
letter. It
says the UN
"ignores
the
reality of
Somaliland's
existence and
functioning as
an
independent
state since
1991 and the
self-determination
rights of our
people. Since
the purpose of
such an office
is to extend
the remit of
the federal
government to
Somaliland, my
government is
of the view
that a UNSOM'S
presences in
Hargeisa will
not be in the
best interest
of our
country.
Therefore, we
can not allow
UNSOM'S
political
office
to function in
Somaliland."
The
UN should not
be surprised,
though some
perhaps are:
as Inner City
Press reported
in April,
Somaliland's
letter to the
Security
Council
was never
distributed to
the Council
members. Then
the UN system
gave
Somaliland's
airspace to
Somalia,
triggering a
ban on UN
flights.
Now
UNSOM has put
on its
Facebook page
-- Digital
Diplomacy
again -- that
Nicholas Kay
"after
his meeting
with
Somaliland
Government in
Hargeisa and
concerns
expressed over
UNSOM mandate:
'I take very
seriously the
Somaliland
government's
concerns as
expressed
today. This is
a complex and
sensitive
issue and I
believe the
mandate of the
UN Assistance
Mission in
Somalia,
UNSOM, can
bring
considerable
benefits to
Somaliland
across a range
of issues,
while fully
respecting its
particular
circumstances.
I look forward
to continuing
the
dialogue.'"
Good
luck. A joke
outside the
Security
Council on
Thursday was
that
someday soon,
quite soon,
Nicholas Kay
will be called
by a
Freudian-slipping
ambassador
Nicholas Cage.
Things are
getting weird.
Watch this
site.
, 
