HanadTV's video: President Siad Barre on Somalia s Support for the Eritrean Independence Struggle 1970s

The 1970s. ---------------- President Mohamed Siad Barre of Somalia and PM Mengistu Hailemariam of Ethiopia are discussing events concerning the Horn of Africa region. The Somali president shows his support for the Eritrean people, the Ethiopian president however does not. Somalia supported the Eritrean struggle for independence since the 1960s. Timeline of the Somali support for Eritrea's independence will be shown below. Timeline of Somalia’s support to the Eritrean struggle: ---------------------------------------------------------- - In 1960, leaders of the nascent Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) send a plea letter to the Somali Premier, Abdirashid Ali Sharmake, asking for Somalia’s support and solidarity. - Somalia responds by secretly sending Somali diplomats to approach the leaders of the ELF with offers of financial and diplomatic support. - ELF opens its first office in Somalia in 1961 - Somalia issues passports to ELF, allowing them to move first arms supplies through Sudan. - After the Somalo-Ethiopian war in 1964, Somalia’s support for Eritrea decreases, however official links with the Eritrean groups are maintained - In the early 1970s, Somalia’s reignites support for Eritrean movements. - Somalia opens a training camp for Eritrean fighters near Warsheekh (Middle Shabelle) in the mid-1970s. - Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, a number of Eritrean activists (including the current president of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki) are issued with diplomatic and ordinary passports. This allows them to travel for organizational purposes as well as in pursuit of education and jobs overseas. Note: A significant portion of the Eritrean diaspora at the time possessed Somali passports, allowing them to raise critical funds for the struggle. - The collapse of the Somali government and institutions in the wake of civil war forced many states to refuse Somali passports. In an ironic twist of fate, Somalis are forced to rely on Ethiopian, Kenyan, Yemeni or Eritrean passports in order to travel abroad. As Ramadan Mohammed Nur (one of the founding fathers of Eritrea) once remarked in 1984: "The Somali people have a deep understanding of the Eritrean people’s problem and the objective of their past struggle. From this point of departure, the Somali government, despite its limited resources, extends a considerable material, diplomatic and other support for the Eritrean struggle." ------------ Mohammed Ibrahim Shire This video has been shared for educational purposes