| But I think we all saw this coming... |
GAROWE, Somalia -- A dialogue process between Somalia's Federal Government (SFG) and the country's separatist region of Somaliland entered a third round of discussions hosted by the Turkish government in Istanbul, Garowe Online reports.
Parliamentary delegations representing the SFG and Somaliland are currently in Istanbul, led by Federal MP Khalid Omar Ali and MP Baashe Mohamed Farah, Deputy Speaker of Somaliland Parliament, respectively. Speaking on VOA Somali Service on Sunday, the two MPs said the talks commence on Monday and that the agenda is "continuation" of the agenda of talks in June 2012 in Dubai, and April 13, 2013, in Istanbul.
Head of Somaliland's delegation, Deputy Speaker Baashe Mohamed Farah, said the Somaliland delegation's agenda is clear in demanding full independence from the rest of Somalia.
In previous two rounds of talks, hosted by UAE and Turkish governments respectively, the dialogue process commenced and the key agreements included continuation of dialogue and prevention of divisive comments via the media.
| That's, um, quite an accomplishment for two rounds of talks. Did you also determine the shape of the table and the color of the tablecloth? |
Puntland region borders Somaliland's separatist region in northern Somalia and has fought sporadic territorial conflict with Somaliland over Sool and Sanaag regions for over a decade.
However, Puntland is not represented in the talks and Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole had previously declared that any talks between the federal government and Somaliland that excludes Puntland will not be recognized by the Puntland authorities.
| Splitter! Though you'd think there is an obvious solution here, depending on the shape of the table... |
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