Hargeisa, Oct 13, 2013 (SDN) -Somaliland’s minister of civil aviation and air transport Mohamoud Hashi Abdi has warned Somali federal government in Mogadishu and the UN that Somaliland government will not allow to infringe upon its territorial integrity following an agreement signed between The International Civil Aviation Organization-ICAO and SFG during the recent ICAO 2013 triennium meeting in Montreal which states that SFG shall assume full control of Somaliland’s airspace as from 1st January 2014. The aviation minister also cautioned the UN no to invoke arbitrary action over Somaliland’s air space during a press conference he held yesterday in his office in Hargeisa. “The move by SFG and UN would bring turmoil to the horn of Africa region as a whole” said Hashi.
The aviation minister’s strongly worded press conference was in response to Mogadishu government’s announcement that UN has reverted the running of the whole of the air space of the former Somalia government to the former Italian Somaliland contrary to the status quo and the agreements reached in Istanbul.
The agreement (See below) signed between the International Civil Aviation Organization-ICAO and SFG during the recent ICAO 2013 triennium meeting in Montreal whose signatories are Ivan Galan and Abdilahi Elmoge Hirsi for ICAO and SFG respectively also gives the Mogadishu government funds accrued by ICAO and subsequent authority to disburse them to regional governments including Somaliland.
Minister Mohamoud also warned SFG, if they pursue their decision of controlling airspace of what was known Somalia that might jeopardize continued dialogue between them. Mr. Hashi, accused UN and its agency of ICAO deliberately underscoring overlooking tripartite agreement between Somaliland, SFG and ICAO and formed committees consist them. Somaliland and Somalia’s airspace control has been under the Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority of Somalia (CACAS) which is a civil aviation authority programme created by the United Nations in 1996. CACAS has served as a caretaker for Somaliland and Somalia’s airspace since the collapse of Siyad Barre’s regime in 1991 and the subsequent inception of Somaliland as an independent country from the rest of Somalia. The organization has collected over-flight revenues on behalf of Somaliland and Somalia. Several attempts by previous Mogadishu governments to take over the service failed.
Below is the Copy of the leaked ICAO Document.
SDN Hargeisa
