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1967-68 Somali Border Agreements
(Roobdoon Forum Chronicles)
Somali-Ethiopia Border Agreements
Preliminary Agreements on Territorial Dispute
KINSHASA MEETING SEPTEMBER 1967
At the Organization of African Unity Heads of State Conference
in Kinshasa during September, 1967, Emperor Haile Selassie
of Ethiopia and the Somali Prime Minister, Mr. Mohamed Ibrahim
Egal, agreed that Ministers from both countries should meet
to prepare groundwork for a future conference of the respective
Heads of State with a view to resolving their long standing
border dispute [2].
In accordance with this agreement, a Somali delegation, led
by the Minister of Interior, Mr. Yasin Nur Hassan, visited
Addis Ababa on September 19th, 1967. A communiqué issued
at the end of the talks said Somali delegation had two meetings
with the Emperor and that these exploratory talks were aimed
at “paving the way for a future meeting between the
Heads of State of the two countries to discuss major issues.”
ADDIS ABABA AGREEMENT SEPTEMBER 1967
The Somali and Ethiopian delegations:
(i) agreed to set up a joint military commission
to deal with any complaint of violation of the provisions
of the Khartoum Agreement, March 1964;
(ii) declared their willingness to abide
by the letter and provisions of previous agreements reached
in Khartoum and Accra, October 1965, providing for an end
to hostile propaganda campaigns;
(iii) agreed that steps be taken to remove
conditions which affect adversely relations between the two
countries, irrespective of the nature of these conditions;
(iv) agreed to lift all restrictions on
the movement of their respective diplomatic representatives
and staff and to accord for their treatment and freedom to
the nationals of the other party in its territory;
(v) agreed that Ethiopia should return the
Cessna aircraft seized by her, and the Somali Republic the
Ethiopian Dakota aircraft now held by Somalia at a future
date to be decided upon jointly;
(vi) agreed to set up a joint commission
to investigate cases where property, either private or public,
had been taken over by either side from nationals of the other
party;
(vii) agreed that the commission should
report immediately its findings to the two Governments; (viii)
agreed that the respective Governments should ensure the safety
of persons who take refuge in the Somali Embassy in Addis
Ababa and the Ethiopian Embassy in Mogadishu and grant immediately
exit permits to these persons enabling them to leave their
respective countries;
(ix) agreed that the regional governors
and administrators of both sides should meet once ever, three
months, or earlier if necessary, with a view to co-operating
in matters affecting both sides of the border-the meetings
to be held alternately in the two countries;
(x) agreed that cases of persons imprisoned
or held by one country, but who are claimed by the other country
as its nationals, should be examined carefully-such persons
should not be intimidated and immediate steps should be taken
to release them;
(x) agreed that the current talks should
be followed by a meeting in Mogadishu at a future date to
he fixed jointly by both sides.
MOGADISHU AGREEMENT FEBRUARY 1968
As a sequel to this visit, an Ethiopian delegation led by
the Foreign Minister, Alo Ketema Yifru, arrived in Mogadishu
on February 5th, 1968. A joint communiqué issued on
February 8th stated that agreement had been reached as follows:
(i) both sides re-affirmed their adherence
to both the spirit and letter of the Khartoum and Accra Agreements
of 1964, and 1965, respectively and stated their determination
to implement them;
(ii) in order to improve relations between
the two countries, special joint commissions shall be set
up comprising governors and police officers or commandants
on the provincial or regional levels, which will meet once
every three months, or at any time, at the request of either
country;
(iii) it was also agreed that the joint
military commission established by the Khartoum Agreement
should be reactivated, and should meet as and when necessary;
(iv) the claims in respect of public and
private property submitted by both sides were examined and,
in some cases, agreement reached, that certain properties,
would be returned on 20th March, 1968, at Tug Wajali while
remaining claims would be investigated further:
(v) both sides re-affirmed the previous
agreements reached in Addis Ababa (see above) that nationals
of either country who might have been held against their will,
would be permitted to leave at any time it they so wished;
(vi) both delegations expressed great satisfaction
at the progress achieved in the improvement of relations between
the two countries and agreed to continue the talks in Ethiopia
at a date to be agreed upon through normal diplomatic channels;
(vii) it was agreed by both sides that these
discussion were a continuation of the exploratory talks, commenced
in Kinshasa and continued in Addis Ababa in 1967 (see above).
It is the sincere hope of both Governments that the present
discussions would be finalized speedily so that a Summit Meeting
on major issues might follow soon.
ADDIS ABABA AGREEMENT SEPTEMBER 1968
The Somali Prime Minister, Mr. Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal,
visited Addis Ababa from September 1st to 5th, at the invitation
of the Emperor, for official talks with the Ethiopian Government.
A communiqué issued after the talks said that the two
Governments had agreed as follows:
(i) Both Governments reaffirmed previous
undertakings to remove all causes of tension, and undertook
not to engage in subversive activities against each other.
(ii) The two Governments have agreed to
give over flight rights, and an agreement to this end will
be concluded soon. In the meantime, the Imperial Ethiopian
Government has graciously permitted the Somali Airlines to
use the existing international routes.
(iii) In conviction that the suspension
of the emergency regulations would contribute to the strengthening
of good neighbourly relations between the two sister-countries,
the Imperial Ethiopian Government has agreed to suspend existing
emergency regulations along its border with Somalia as of
September 16th, 1968.
(iv) The two Governments have finalized
the settlement of public and private property claims submitted
by both sides. The exchange of property will take place at
Tug Wajaleh on September 25th, 1961.
(v) (a) The Imperial Ethiopian
Government has submitted a draft cultural treaty which will
be studied by the competent authorities in Somalia prior to
its signature in the near future.
(b) The two Governments have agreed to open
forthwith negotiations over establishment of a telecommunications
agreement.
(c) The two Governments have agreed to conclude
a trade agreement. In the meantime traditional trade between
the two countries in the border areas will continue.
(vi) The two Governments have reaffirmed
the usefulness of the Special Joint Commissions set up by
the two Governments in Mogadishu in February, 1968 (see above).
They have further agreed to establish a Joint Ministerial
Consultative Committee which will meet periodically to discuss
major and miner problems between the two countries and submit
recommendations to their respective Governments
(vii) Both sides expressed - ear satisfaction
at the progress achieved so far in the improvement o, relations
between the two countries.
(viii) The two sides emphasized that these
talks are of an exploratory nature aimed at the eventual settlement
of major issues.
(ix) H.E. the Prime Minister and members
of the Somali delegation expressed their gratitude to His
Imperial Majesty, the Government and people of Ethiopia for
their warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to them
during their stay.
Somali-Kenya Border Agreement
Rapprochement over Territorial Dispute
KINSHASA AGREEMENT SEPTEMBER 1967
The Somali and Kenya Governments agreed during the Organization
of African Unity Conference at Kinshasa in September, 1967,
to accept an invitation from the Zambian president, Dr. Kaunda,
to hold a meeting in October “to work out ways of settling
their differences and establishing normal co-operation.”
[3] The following agreement was concluded between the Somali
and Kenya Governments at Kinshasa:
(i) Both Governments have expressed their
desire to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial
integrity in the spirit of Paragraph 3 of Article III of the
OAU Charter;
(ii) the two Governments have further undertaken
to resolve any outstanding differences between them in the
spirit of Paragraph 4 of Article III of the OAU Charter;
(iii) the two Governments have pledged to
ensure maintenance of peace and security on both sides of
the border by preventing destruction of human life and property;
(iv) furthermore, the two Governments have
agreed to refrain from conducting hostile propaganda through
mass media such as radio and the Press against each other;
(v) the two Governments have accepted the
kind invitation of President Kaunda of Zambia to meet in Lusaka,
during the later part of October, 1967, in order to improve,
intensify, and consolidate all forms of co-operation.
The OAU conference, in a resolution recording this agreement,
expressed "its sincere gratitude and congratulations
to President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia as well as the Governments
of Kenya and Somalia for their positive efforts to overcome
differences in a fraternal manner."
The conference requested "the Governments of Kenya and
Somalia, as parties to the declaration, and the Government
of the Republic of Zambia, as host and convener, to submit
a progress report on the proposed meeting in Lusaka to the
Secretary-General of the OAU."
ARUSHA CONFERENCE OCTOBER 1967
President Kaunda convened a conference at Arusha (Tanzania)
on October 28th which was attended by President Kenyatta (Kenya)
and Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal (Somali), with President
Nyerere (Tanzania) and President Obote (Uganda) officiating
as observers. President Kaunda took the chair.
During the conference, which lasted seven hours, officials
of the three delegations accompanying the three Heads of State
and Government, were asked to leave the hall from time to
time whilst Presidents Kaunda, Kenyatta, and Prime Minister
Egal conferred on their own. The final session, which approved
a communiqué, was also attended by President Nyerere
and President Obote as observers. President Kenyatta thanked
the Somali Prime Minister for requesting that he, Mr. Kenyatta,
should lead the Kenya delegation.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
The following is the text of the "Memorandum of Understanding"
signed by the President of Kenya and the Somali Prime Minister
on October 28th and witnessed by the President of Zambia:
Desirous of consolidating the Kinshasa Declaration on Kenya/Somalia
Relations and recognizing the need to restore normal and peaceful
relations between Kenya and Somalia, the two leaders reached
agreement on the following points:
(i) Both Governments will exert all efforts
and do their utmost to create good-neighbourly relations between
Kenya and Somalia, in accordance with the OAU Charter.
(ii) The two Governments agree that the
interests of the people of Kenya and Somalia were not served
by the continuance of tension between the two countries.
(iii) They therefore reaffirm their adherence
to the declaration of the OAU conference at Kinshasa (see
above), a copy of which is attached to this memorandum of
understanding.
(iv) In order to facilitate a speedy solution
to the dispute and to ensure the maintenance of continued
stood relations, both Governments have agreed to:
(a) the maintenance of peace and security
on both sides of the border by preventing destruction of human
life and property;
(b) refrain from conducting hostile propaganda
through mass media such as radio and the press, against each
other, and encourage propaganda which promotes the development
and continuance of friendly relations between the two countries;
(c) the gradual suspension of any emergency
regulations imposed on either side of the border;
(d) the reopening of diplomatic relations
between the two countries;
(e) the consideration of measures encouraging
the development of economic and trade relations;
(f) appoint a Working Committee consisting
of Somalia, Kenya, and Zambia, which will meet periodically
to review the implementation by Somalia and Kenya of the points
agreed in this document and also to examine ways and means
of bringing about a satisfactory solution to major and minor
differences between Kenya and Somalia.
Compiled by:
A/fatah S. Faamo
Roobdoon Forum
Toronto, Canada.
roobdoon2000@yahoo.ca
References:
[1] Compiled from Africa Contemporary
Record: 1968-69 (London Africa Research: 1969): pp. 623-625.
[2] Excerpt from Africa Research
Bulletin, vol. IV, pp. 856, 859, 973, 1195-1196.
[3] Excerpt from Africa Research
Bulletin, vol. IV, pp. 856, 880, 881.
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