Nairobi — North Eastern Members of Parliament have implored the international community to intervene and revoke the deal between the Somaliland region of Somalia and Ethiopia wherein Somaliland agreed to lease a 20km stretch of Sea port access to Ethiopian Naval forces.
In the deal that was signed in Addis Ababa on Monday for 50 Years, Somaliland entered the coastal deal in exchange for international recognition.
Led by Dadaab MP Farah Maalim and his Eldas Counterpart Adan Keynan warned that given the the ethnic and cultural ties between the peoples of North Eastern Kenya and Somalia, they will face the brunt if the deal is soiled.
"We call on the African Union, IGAD and the United Nations to urgently institute measures for cessation of hostilities by calling for an urgent end to this blatant provocation by the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and immediate cancellation of "Memorandum of Understanding of partnerships," Maalim stated.
The legislators poked holes on the Ethiopian Government's action to establish direct international relations with a region of Somaliland saying it's in breach of the territorial integrity and abuse of the political independence of the State of Somalia.
Somaliland, a former British protectorate of about 4.5 million people, declared independence from Somalia in 1991, a move not recognized internationally and staunchly opposed by Mogadishu.
"Therefore, clearly, Ethiopia has no diplomatic wiggle-room as regards lease of land or access to sea port/front within Somalia territory and that only the State of Somalia has the state-instruments to grant or otherwise (the same) under international Law," the Dadaab MP noted.
Eldas MP mentioned that the Horn of Africa has been struggling to maintain peace given the historical spill over of chaos, conflict and insecurity in the region with displaced people scampering for shelter in the country.
"So our appeal is, Mr. President, wherever you are, just like you're engaged in the Sudan affair call IGAD for an urgent meeting. Let this issue be discussed and Ethiopia be forced to rescind this otherwise this is going to create chaos in the region," said Keynan.
East African regional grouping IGAD voiced its "deep concern" about the developments, while the European Union insisted Somalia's sovereignty should be respected.
Mogadishu has vowed to defend its territory "by any legal means" and called for urgent meetings of the UN Security Council and the African Union to discuss Ethiopia's "aggression".
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"The historical animosity between the nations of Ethiopia and Somalia is a matter of public notoriety however, having realized the major steps taken by the Somalia government and its people towards a more social political and social cohesion, is merely laying the foundation for sowing seeds of discord and animosity amongst the Somali People," Maalim said.
Ethiopia and Somalia have a history of stormy relations and territorial feuds, fighting two wars in the late 20th century.
The deal was signed just days after Somalia and Somaliland agreed to resume dialogue after decades of stalemate.
Somalia has no means to impose its will by force on Somaliland, but it is likely to deploy instruments of juridical sovereignty to isolate it.
These include restricting the activities of aid agencies and donor governments, restraining international flights and warning foreign commercial interests against doing business with Somaliland.
