Breakaway Republic (Somaliland) Says `No' to United Somalia PAUL ALEXANDER May 27, 1993 HARGEISA, Somalia (AP) - The new president of a breakaway republic made a triumphant visit to its devastated capital Thursday and declared he has no interest in reuniting with the rest of the country. Mohamad Egal visited on the fifth anniversary of the day the government began bombing the city to quell unrest in the north. He called the occasion the the start of a new day in rebuilding Somaliland. People filled Hargeisa's town square, lined the roofs of nearby buildings and climbed trees to hear him speak. Police used canes to maintain a semblance of order. The president was making his first visit as president to the capital of 250,000 since he was chosen for the post earlier this month by the region's elders at the end of 4-month-long peace talks. Asked how he felt about the possibility of rejoining Somalia, Egal swept his hand toward a crowd of at least 15,000 and said: "Isn't it obvious? Look around you. I hope no effort will be made to force us to unite. The people won't accept it." The U.S.-led military coalition that arrived Dec. 9 to safeguard food shipments to the starv ing operated in only the southern third of Somalia, which bore the brunt of civil war-spaw n ed famine. But the United Nations has a Security Council mandate to keep the peace throughout the country to foster reconstruction and the birth of a new national government. That includes independence-minded Somaliland. And while Somaliland residents want to tap into the foreign aid that is being pumped into the south through Operation Continue Hope, they are adamant about rejecting control by a government in Mogadishu. Animosity runs deep between the regions. The British colonized northern Somalia; the Italians the south. The regions were given independence and reunited in 1960. In 1988, Hargeisa was virtually leveled in bombing ordered by former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre to quell unrest in northern Somalia. Estimates of the dead range from 50,000 and up. Most buildings still show the scars of that devastation. A few show new roofs, but most will need major repair work or complete reconstruction. After his speech, Egal met with U.N. special envoy Adm. Jonathan Howe, who was making his first visit to northwestern Somalia. "No Mogadishu!" was the constant chant wherever Howe went. Women interrupted their traditional trilling sound of welcome to shout it as Howe's convoy drove by. During talks with regional elders, Howe was told the north would accept foreign troops to guard the engineers and technicians it needs to rebuild, but that foreign forces are not needed to enforce security. Source: © (Copyright 1993. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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