Following the BBC’s alleged failure to acknowledge the breakaway region’s 30-year independence and to maintain neutrality between Somali-speaking populations in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland declared on Tuesday that it has suspended BBC news broadcasts.
Saleban Ali Kore, the minister of information for Somaliland, claimed that after more than 60 years of nonstop news coverage for the Somali people, the BBC has lost credibility and objectivity in a press conference held in Hargeisa.
“From today July 19 2020, I decided that BBC operations in Somaliland will be completely suspended,” the Minister said.
He continued by saying that Somaliland residents were increasingly complaining that the BBC had a bias when covering issues for its Somali-speaking audience and had broadcast news that violated Somaliland’s sovereignty.
In 1991, Somaliland, an autonomous region in northern Somalia, proclaimed its independence from the rest of the country. Although Somaliland is self-governing with an autonomous government, democratic elections, and a unique history, no other force recognizes its sovereignty.
Since 1991, the territory has been governed by democratically elected governments that seek international recognition as the government of the Republic of Somaliland.
