Somaliland wants recognition 15/05/2007 21:13  - (SA)     Addis Ababa - Somaliland challenged African leaders on Tuesday to have the "bravery" to recognise the sovereignty it said was an overdue historical inevitability for the breakaway Somali enclave. "We are a de facto state, a stable democracy in one of the most troubled parts of Africa. We have done all the things a good country is supposed to," said Somaliland Foreign Minister Abdillahi Duale. "What we lack is the due recognition. So we hope some wise, decent, brave African head of state will call a spade a spade - and say yes. Then others will follow." A former British protectorate in the Horn of Africa with semi-desert terrain roughly the size of England and Wales, Somaliland declared itself a republic in 1991 after warlords toppled Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. But despite plaudits for its institutions and multi-party polls, no nation has recognised the independence it craves. The African Union generally adheres to a principle of respecting old colonial borders to avoid fanning secession conflicts. Bitter memories But Somaliland points to its five days of independence within the boundaries it had as British Somaliland, before it joined the former Italian colony of Somalia in 1960. And it argues there are African precedents for splits like Ethiopia and Eritrea in the early 1990s. With Somalia in chaos for the 16 years Somaliland has been developing and maintaining relative security, there would be no return to union, Duale said. The pro-independence quest is fuelled by bitter memories of Barre's bombing of their capital Hargeisa in 1988. Duale said his government was grateful to Sweden for recently announcing it would regard Somaliland as a self-governing area in terms of development aid, and believed others in northern Europe would follow suit. But it was from African "brothers" that a breakthrough was needed for Somaliland's 3.5 million people. 'Diplomatic niceties' Headway was being made, Duale said, citing Somaliland's healthy trade ties with Ethiopia, which he was visiting. He said: "Today we travel with our passports, and we are received with all the diplomatic niceties that any minister or head of state gets, with the exception of a flying flag. "We are confident we will get our recognition soon." But the minister said Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf would be "absolutely crazy" to think of annexing it. Duale dismissed as "complete lies" media reports that say Somaliland was holding secret talks to consider reunification. 'Element of hypocrisy' Somaliland resents being cut off from world financial institutions - one of the tangible benefits international recognition would give. Duale said: "There is an element of hypocrisy on the part of the international community. "We are fighting terror, we have democratised - everything they preach. Why put us in chains?"