~ I generally ignore racial divisions ~
Now thats a good thing! We need more people like you in the world 🙂

As you can see though, we are all agreeing on Somaliland, atleast most of us are (it’s a young democracy that will and should be recognized).

My question to you is, what’s was your purpose of this topic and if you have learnt anything from it?

Have you educated yourself about Somaliland other than reading what’s writen about it on your website? if so, what is your opinion about Somalia and Somaliland or atleast, what have you learnt about these two countries?

As you can see a greater Somalia will never work, people back home are too wrapped up with tribal lands e.t.c.
The only suffers here are the forgotten region 5 in Ethiopia and the 10% in Kenya. Kenya is trying to save it’s self from the war in the south praying it doesn’t move further south because they want to benefit from their “tourism” income.

“Yasmin stated that Somalilanders have no respect for women and that we are murderers and thieves”

What a foolish remark. You make a sweeping generalization like that with no facts, how very stupid! I myself am a female and have gone home to Somaliland I had rights but I also had morals, MUSLIM morals. As for the murderers comment- who flattened the Somaliland capital???? It was the SOUTH (SOMALIA). I do not wish to go into detail but my family members were killed in that civil war. Some college students were drained of their blood literally from their veins with needles, 4 the army of the south. Tell me now WHY do we have to suffer so long?
Then u turn on each other??? How very silly! Please have some dignity and respect urself. No country is perfect on giving women rights but as a passionate speaker for women’s rights I tell you in Somaliland we are getting there. HOW DARE U! You need to check Somalia’s records b4 u go on your attacking spree.
No man is ever going to control or oppress me. We as females need to have a voice not just in the Horn of Africa but around the world. It’s sad really so many women are oppressed around the world and silly people like ur self Yasmin are adding to the oppression due to ur ignorance of the subject matter.
This is not a personal attack in any way u jus need to free ur mind.
WAR is not the answer – peace is u no like in Somaliland?

It’s not a flame war, its POLITICAL CORRECTNESS – There is a Somaliland.
End of discussion.
p.s. When r u people going to learn? We are called Somalis not Somahis Somalians ok : ) that’s another discussion.

(This is for whom ever set up the page I’m assuming the moderator? Hold on just a minute…. Is there a White AFRICAN?????
It’s just that there is no Black EUROPEAN.
Ur originally Dutch or British right?
Living in South Africa? Or around that area)

Thanks for asking actually. I’m not of Dutch decent, though my grandmother is British… But, I can’t really lay any claim to colonial roots, if that is what you’re getting at. My parents are American and my British grandmother was a war-bride from World War II.

I also have never once set foot in South Africa, Botswana, Nambibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe… well, you get it – anywhere in the Southern region of Africa. I would like to visit, but haven’t had the chance. No, your host was raised in Sudan and Kenya. East Africa mainly, but alas no trips to Somalia – seems I’ve been everywhere else though.

The term “White African” was picked because it would raise a few eyebrows. I generally ignore racial divisions or politically correct terminology, so this was my answer to that. However, I do consider myself an African – since that’s my home – and I am white, so I guess it fits. 🙂

One group is determined to better themselves and their country and are condident enough to do it alone despite the lack of recognition and against the interest of other powerful foreign countries such as Italy, Egypt, and the Arab countries that are standing in the way of our progress and the Southerners are busy fighting not only against each other but are also trying their best to stand in the way of of the somalilnaders.

I believe the solution to the southern Somali problem would be to recognize Somalilnd. This will free up their time and resources that they are using in fighting the progress in Somaliland and then they might be able to chanel all that effort in trying to better themselves.

Yasmin stated that Somalilanders have no respect for women and that we are murderers and thieves, the questions is why then are the southerners clinging to Somalilanders like parasites? or are they just that? Parasites!

Here are some good news for somalilanders and their friends and supporters. The rest of the world is getting tired of funding reconsiliation meetings around the world and eventually they will decide to do the right thing which is to SUPPORT DEMOCRACY AND RECOGNIZE SOMALILAND

GEORGE BUSH, PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS. SOMALIND SHOULD BE YOUR EXAMPLE FOR DEMOCRACY AROUND THE WORLD NOT AFGHANISTAN, NOT IRAQ .

LONG LIVE SOMALILAND!!

The West Pushes for Somaliland Recognition

Mar 21 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C–There is evidence that the European Union (EU) and the US Government are preparing to sidestep the Egyptian Government and work directly with the African Union (AU) in bringing about the recognition of the Republic of Somaliland, possibly within 2006.

Egypt had used its strong position within the AU and the Arab League to block international recognition of Somaliland because of fears that a sovereign, recognized Somaliland would have greater freedom to act as a transit port for Ethiopia and could possibly provide strategic basing support to Israel and the United States at the mouth of the Red Sea.

The basic premise of international recognition of states is that they first be recognized by regional bodies—such as the African Union in the case of Somaliland — before the United Nations and the international community at large recognizes the state. However, despite the fact that Somaliland was a sovereign, independent state in its own right before joining in a union with the former Italian Somaliland to create Somalia in 1960, Egypt has used all of its efforts to stop Somaliland rejoining the international community since the collapse of Somalia, and Somaliland’s declaration of resumed sovereignty in 1991.

The strong steps, being taken by the United Kingdom, Germany, and the US show how far Egypt’s influence has fallen—to the point where it is seen as disrupting Western influence in the Red Sea —and how critical the mouth of the Red Sea is seen as a security zone. Moreover, there are significant signs of offshore oil and gas deposits in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden area, off the Somaliland coast.

The rulers of the autonomous Puntland region of Somalia, to the immediate East of Somaliland, had been “selling” oil leases in Somaliland waters to foreign investors, notably to an Australian oil search company. The Puntland deal was repudiated by the nominal Government of Somalia — which has proven unable to establish its writ even in the official capital, Mogadishu, let alone Puntland—but the Somaliland Government began moves immediately to ensure that the sovereign waters off the Somaliland coast would not be claimed by Puntland or Somalia.

At the same time, during 2005, an African Union mission to Somaliland produced an extremely favorable report on Somaliland, and several African states —particularly South Africa and Nigeria, the two biggest powers in sub-Saharan Africa —have indicated a readiness to recognize Somaliland, which petitioned 2005 AU Chairman and Nigerian Pres. Olusegun Obasanjo directly on the matter.

The case has now been established that the break-up of the Somalia union did not violate the basic tenet of maintaining colonial borders.Unions between Senegal and Gambia, and Egypt and Sudan, among others, had been broken without affecting the recognition of these countries. And the former British Somaliland (now the Republic of Somaliland) and former Italian Somaliland had been independent entities in 1960 when they created a voluntary union. The AU mission accepted this, stating in its report that Somaliland’s case should not be linked to the notion of ‘opening a Pandora’s box’.As such, the AU should find a special method for dealing with this outstanding case.

The report noted: “The lack of recognition ties the hands of the authorities and people of Somaliland, as they cannot effectively and sustainably transact with the outside to pursue the reconstruction and development goals. Furthermore, given the acute humanitarian situation prevailing in Somaliland, the AU should mobilize financial resources to help alleviate the plight of the affected communities, especially those catering for the internally displaced persons and the returnees. Finally, given also the high potential for conflict between Mogadishu and Hargeisa, the AU should take steps to discuss critical issues in the relations between the two towns. That initiative should be taken at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Subsequently, the US has begun, for strategic reasons, to take a strong interest in Somaliland’s status, largely as a result of strong diplomatic liaisons in Washington by Somaliland’s de facto ambassador, and fueled by the fact that the impending military conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia jeopardizes the US military presence in Eritrea. At the same time, Djibouti’s growing restiveness has also given pause to the US, which has, since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US, stationed forces there. Djibouti, concerned about the prospect that Somaliland will take away its near monopoly on Ethiopia’s import-export trade, has supported Somalian claims against Somaliland.

With regard to the opening of Ethiopian trade through Berbera — the great concern of both Djibouti and Eritrea (once the principal import/export route for Ethiopia)—a report in Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis on November24, 2005, noted: Government officials from Somaliland and Ethiopia came together on November 16, 2005, in Berbera’s old State House building to celebrate the first Ethiopia-bound cargo to be imported through the port of Berbera. The cargo of electric goods ordered by the Ethiopian Government-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation arrived aboard a Singapore-registered liner which docked at Berbera on November 9, 2005. The shipment was brought in 55 40ft. containers and forwarded to Ethiopia by 50 Ethiopian- registered trucks, traveling through the border crossing point at Togwajaale. After protracted negotiations, Somaliland and Ethiopia had formally concluded in May 2005 a trade agreement allowing Ethiopia to use Berbera Port for its import and export of goods. The agreement called for the formalization of trade between the two countries and the establishment of customs offices at main border crossing points, such as Wajaale, and improvement of road infrastructure. Significantly, Togwajaale had, by late November 2005, been transformed from a small border village to a major town, with security forces from both countries, banking and governmental infrastructure, to facilitate the import-export trade.

Ethiopia’s export to Somaliland had consisted mainly of khat (an hallucinogenic plant) and vegetables, while Somaliland re-exported sugar and rice, but high tariff rates and lack of formal bilateral agreements between the two sides had, until the new agreement, limited the scope of trade exchange to the informal sector.

“Any attempt to coerce Somaliland back to the Somali fold would entail a bitter and probably futile conflict” ICG warned.

“The UN and the African Union, on the other hand, were urged to “adopt a more open-minded approach to the question of Somaliland’s ultimate status,”

The international community should take Somaliland’s demands under formal consideration, including a legal review of the territory’s case vis-à-vis the current AU charter and grant Somaliland observer status pending a final decision on its international status” ICG urged.

“The Bush and Blair administrations should come together and immediately recognize Somaliland to reward them for pursuing a constructive path toward free market democracy. If we do so, I would bet that, within a year, most other nations will have followed our lead. “ Washington Post by Richard W. Rahn a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute

“my belief is that we should stop waiting as we have done for about 14 years for the Somalis to come together and love each other. This is not going to happen. We should build on the one source of strength in the area – Somaliland. Recognition may not be the risky step that it seems to be. I believe that if we were to give a lead, many other countries would quickly fall into line. There can be no doubt that we would have to give that lead.” Tony Worthington MP Britain

“The Somalis in the south had completely destroyed Hargeysa – every house and hospital had been destroyed by MiGs, Tanks and other equipment. How on earth one can expect there to be a reunion of those peoples is beyond credibility.

We saw mass graves, in which thousands of Somalilanders had been murdered in cold blood with their hands and their feet tied together. Bodies were piled up and crammed into ditches, and bones were scattered all over the area—we could still see them.” Tony Baldry MP Britain

The fourteen old patience of Somaliland people in these trying times for diplomatic recognition proves the perseverance and resilience of that nation and its commitment to independent, sovereign state. Somaliland suffered, before, from a two-decade long humiliation, dereliction, injustice, and repression (1960-1980) and a decade long merciless campaign of atrocities and destruction (1981-1991) through indiscriminate heavy bombardment on civilians, cities (Hargeisa and Burao) towns, and rural areas by warplanes, tanks and artillery. It was motivated by both tribal hatred and desire for land expansion and devised to ethnic cleanse an entire people, either by massacring or expelling in order to resettle refugees from Ethiopian-ruled Western Somali Province and others in their motherland. The insane campaign, which violated Islamic righteousness, conscience, and morality, was mounted from Mogadisho by Siyad`s divisive, brutal regime.

The valiant armed struggle of SNM (1981-1991), supported by its courageous people, rescued Somaliland and its people from the well plotted statelessness in January 1991. This liberation facilitated the victorious national reconciliation, the immediate withdrawal from the disastrous union with Somalia, and the reclamation of Somaliland sovereignty in the Pan-Somaliland Conference held in Burao, capital of Togdheer region, in May 1991. Subsequently, law and order were restored, clan militias were disarmed, and democratic institutions were established. The joint efforts of Somaliland police and army made Somaliland a peaceful, stable country since its proclamation, and protect it from international terrorism, drug trafficking and smuggling. The army is also ready to defend the country from external aggressions. As a result, the country is now the most peaceful country in the Horn of Africa, and one of the most peaceful in all of Africa; there is low
inflation, a growing economy and a balanced budget.

The United Nations, which has the authority of international legitimacy, is still withholding the legitimate recognition of Somaliland unjustifiably for the last 14 years. Somaliland has fulfilled the fundamental condition for diplomatic recognition: An existing independent nation with its own colonial-drawn borders- a legal basis for diplomatic recognition. Somaliland fulfils the criteria of statehood according to Article 1 of the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of State: Somaliland has a permanent population; a defined territory (the former British Somaliland) with clear international boundaries of which it has an effective control; a democratic government, and a capacity to enter into relations with other states. Somaliland fulfils the criteria for recognizing new states, according to the guidelines set out by the European Union (EU) in 1992, even though they only apply to European nations. Article 4 of African Union charter asserts that the organization respects and recognizes independence of African countries based on colonial borders. The diplomatic recognition of all the 54 current African states is based on these colonial borders. Provisions on sovereignty in the charters of the UN and Arab League also support and recognize independence based on colonial borders. Somaliland is not a breakaway or a separatist country. The UN, the African Union, and the Arab League know undisputedly that Somaliland achieved independence before Somalia on June 26, 1960 within its colonial borders, and was one of the 17 African countries that obtained independence in 1960 from Europe. However, it had unratified merger with Somalia for 30 years (July 1960- January 1991) but withdrew from that union due to the above mentioned atrocities and destruction. In that year of independence, 1960, and before the merger, 35 countries recognized Somaliland diplomatically including Egypt, Israel and the five Permanent Members of the Security Council. Why not now? What is the difference between then and Now? Somaliland is not the first country that withdrew from a union. Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia withdrew from the Soviet Union collapse in 1989, Bosnia and Macedonia withdrew from the Federation of disintegrated Yugoslavia in 1990s and East Timor from Indonesia 20 Feb 2002. All these new countries were automatically recognized by the United Nations. Somaliland is not exception as it fulfilled the same criteria. We are by no means the first African State to have entered into a voluntary union with another state and subsequently withdrawn from that union intact. Egypt and Syria, Senegal and Gambia, and Senegal and Mali have all done likewise. Nor is Somaliland the first African colonial entity to have asserted its separation and independence from another; Eritrea and the Sahrawi Republic are today both full members of the African Union.

The Somalilanders, almost unanimously, ask what more they can do when the international community continues to recognize Liberia, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of the Congo and other anarchic, violent places as sovereign units. It is time to give them an answer.

Besides the withdrawal decision of May 1991, the landmark referendum held in Somaliland on May 31, 2001, overwhelmingly approved Somaliland constitution and reaffirmed, in the presence of international election monitors, the will of the Somaliland people to have independent, sovereign state of their own. Neither the UN nor the regional organizations (African Union and Arab League) have the right to nullify the decision of Somaliland people in that referendum.

In May 2001, an overwhelming majority of Somalilanders re-affirmed their support for their sovereignty in a Constitution entrenched in the Charters of the African Union and the United Nations. In December 2002, we held our First Local Government elections. Five months later in April 2003 we followed it by our very first Presidential elections where three political parties, peacefully contested the seat of the President of Somaliland and the simple majority won by our President H.E Dahir Rayale kahin.

The neglect of Somaliland by the international community exposes its shocking double standard that on one hand advocates for peace, stability, and democratic institutions, and, on the other hand, ignores peaceful, stable, democratic Somaliland by denying it of diplomatic recognition. This denial has no legal basis in the court of international law. The delay is just a mere hope by the UN and regional organizations that Somaliland may return to the union with Somalia one day. This political gambling at the expense of Somaliland people for 14 years is irresponsible. It is also perpetuation of lawlessness, despair, famine, and violent, factional fighting in Somalia. This unfounded hope will not affect the iron will of Somaliland people toward self-determination but will consolidate their unchanging stance to have independent, sovereign state from the injustice and killing machine of Somalia. Somaliland government will not attend any peace talks held for Somalia because that would undermine its sovereignty and damage its legitimacy for recognition.

The government of Somaliland rejected publicly the pressure from UN, African Union, Arab League, and IGAD, and showed the impracticality of what is called “Federalism”. When the UN, African Union, and the Arab League push Somaliland to reunify with Somalia again, can they guarantee for Somaliland people that a ruthless Southern military or civilian dictator will not emerge in Federal Somalia again, dissolving any federal constitution, parliament, and government immediately, and inflicting the same atrocities and destruction upon Somaliland again?

The answer is simply NO. Then, they should stop that push , recognize Somaliland, and let the two peoples live in peace separately. Somalia itself has no delusion that Somaliland has international legitimacy for recognition for achieving independence before it in 1960.

There is no doubt that Somalia would be peaceful and stable country today led by its own government if Somaliland were recognized long time ago. This would happen for two reasons. First, the people of Somalia would not waste any more time on waiting for Somaliland. Secondly, they would emulate jealously with Somaliland. Now, neither Somaliland is recognized nor Somalia has peace, both peoples are punished equally in the hands of UN. The current UN policy of keeping both countries at bay is not working any more. The sooner Somaliland is recognized the better chance to restore peace, law, and order in Somalia.

There is no question that Somaliland will be recognized diplomatically, soon or later, for having full legitimacy and the statehood of Somaliland will be real. The patience and resilience will pay soon.. Opposing Somaliland sovereignty is treason but opposing an incumbent rule or administration advocating better political reforms is a progressive democratic view and must be respected by all.

The administration, governance, and defense of Somaliland solely belong to Somaliland people. God`s willing, Somaliland will hail soon its diplomatic recognition and will consolidate its statehood.

Imam. Abdi Halim M. Musa

There are many countries that don’t officially exist, but their lack of status and inaccessibility make them perfect for an adventure holiday, says Simon Reeve.

Top tips for hot tots Holiday ideas for young families PAGE 6Fruits of the Caribbean The best luxury resorts in the Grenadines PAGES 4-5Somaliland’s Minister for Tourism was delighted that he finally had a rare foreign visitor he could take to see his country’s national treasures. “Don’t worry!” said the enthusiastic minister, as I reluctantly agreed to accompany him to some rock etchings recently discovered at Laas Ga’al outside Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. “The drawings are beautiful, and it will just be a small detour from the road.” After bumping along potholed dirt tracks through the parched African bush, I started to think my scepticism was justified. But we crested a hill, dodged wiry bushes on a wide plain, and scrambled over boulders to find exquisite rock paintings dating back thousands of years.

Even under the scorching sun, the paintings had strong, vibrant colours and stark outlines, showing the area’s ancient inhabitants worshipping cattle and venerating a pregnant cow. In a low cave farther up the hill I found human figures dancing along the rock.

Laas Ga’al is probably the most significant Neolithic rock-painting site in Africa, and for a brief moment I felt like an explorer finding hidden treasures, at a time when the entire world seems within easy reach. But there are still areas of the world off the beaten track which can excite and amaze. Somaliland is not on many tourist maps. In fact, it is not supposed to be on any maps at all, because, according to the international community, Somaliland does not exist.

Although there are almost 200 official countries in the world there are also dozens more unrecognised states such as Somaliland that remain separate and independent. These countries are home to millions of people; they have their own rulers, armies, police forces; they issue passports and even postage stamps; but they are not officially recognised by the rest of the world.

I was visiting Somaliland as part of a journey to and through a group of these unofficial states for a five-part BBC2 series, Holidays in the Danger Zone:Places That Don’t Exist. Besides Somaliland, my travels to some of the world’s most obscure corners took me to Transniestria (between Moldova and Ukraine), Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, and three regions of Georgia that broke away after the collapse of the Soviet Union. My itinerary also included Taiwan, surprisingly, for lack of recognition is not limited to poor nations. No major power recognises Taiwan as a proper country. It has one of the world’s largest economies but no seat at the UN.

I also wanted to visit the neighbouring states from which the unrecognised countries had declared their independence, generally after bloody conflict. In the case of Somaliland, that’s Somalia. So I began several months of travel by flying into a dusty airstrip outside Mogadishu, the Somali capital, on a tiny UN flight from Nairobi.

Years of fighting have destroyed once-beautiful Mogadishu, which is now the most dangerous city on the planet for foreigners. The crew and I had to pay a dozen gunmen to keep us alive. Corpses lie in the streets for days, and locals eke out a living in a state of utter chaos. I went to the main market and bought myself a Somali passport from a man called Mr Big Beard.

Despite the chaos, and though Somalia has no real government, the rest of the world recognises it as an official country. By contrast Somaliland, in the north of Somalia, has a government, police, democracy and traffic lights, but no recognition, making it extremely difficult for the country to attract aid, investment, or visitors.

A UN cargo flight stopped briefly in Mogadishu to lift us out of chaos and take us north. The chirpy Afrikaans pilot casually warned the flight might be a bit rough. He wasn’t joking. I could have kissed the ground after landing in Somaliland. A smartly dressed immigration official stamped our passports. His presence and uniform were an immediate sign of order.

Britain is the former colonial power in Somaliland, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation. Locals went to Britain’s aid during the Second World War, and Somalilanders still feel a strong attachment to Britain. They struggle to understand why the UK has not recognised their country and politely quiz visitors about the reasons. As we drove into the sweltering capital, Hargeisa, Yusuf Abdi Gabobe, my towering local guide, explained that Somaliland voluntarily joined Somalia after independence from Britain, but when the relationship soured in the 1980s Somalilanders fought a war for independence.

Visiting Somaliland is to receive a humbling lesson in survival. Hargeisa, where 50,000 died during the conflict, is being rebuilt with little help from the outside world, and refugees are returning from camps in Ethiopia. A Somali MiG jet which bombed the city sits atop a poignant war memorial.

Outside Hargeisa there are ancient rock paintings and stunning journeys into the mountains and the port of Berbera, home to a runway once hired by Nasa as an emergency space shuttle landing strip. Tracks run along the coast west from Berbera towards Djibouti, and mangroves, gorgeous islands and coral reef. But Somaliland’s main attraction is its determined and inspirational people. Without aid or loans and largely ignored by the world, they are building a state from scratch and seem determined to keep their independence.

I was sad to leave, but we headed back to the edge of Europe, to Transniestria, a nation of 700,000 people that split from Moldova to become an extraordinary Soviet-era theme park. The hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union still adorns many buildings, while Lenin looms over the streets and stands proud outside the House of Soviets in the capital, Tiraspol.

Our route to Transniestria took us through Moldova, the poorest country in Europe. Ruritanian-style villages were empty of all but children and the elderly. Everyone else had fled abroad in search of work. I met a villager who sold a kidney to buy a cow, and the hospitable President kindly taught me to fish, got me drunk, and claimed that Transniestria is a black hole for arms-smuggling and crime.

Moldovans had warned me that hungry armed men roam the streets of Transniestria, but though the border is tense, the leafy lanes of Tiraspol were full of cafés and restaurants. Fighting talk was limited to thoughts on political strife in neighbouring Ukraine and the impact on the price of salo (pig fat), a major Ukrainian export. Transniestrians eat it covered with chocolate, which is as unappetising as it sounds.

Transniestrians celebrated their National Independence Day while we visited, an event that bore a striking resemblance to old Soviet parades. The army goose-stepped past a platform of officers awarded medals by the pound. Having always wanted to visit Soviet-era Russia, I watched goggle-eyed. They still have the KGB in Transniestria, a fact we discovered when they detained us for spying. It was tense in their cells, but after a while the KGB agents softened, gave us KGB cap-badges as souvenirs, and allowed us to leave.

The collapse of the Soviet Union was the cue for a number of smaller regions to declare independence. In the Caucasus, never the most stable part of the world, I visited Nagorno-Karabakh and the three breakaway regions of Georgia: Ajaria, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Karabakh sits high in snowy mountains, which locals believe makes them the longest-lived people in the world. The scenery and churches were impressive, but it is difficult to visit without asking awkward questions. Before Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan its population was evenly split between Azeris and Armenians. After a bloody war only a handful of Azeris remain.

To the north, Georgia gave the world a Golden Fleece and Stalin, who it commemorates with a museum. When my guides vanished I sat on Stalin’s personal lavatory and struck my own small blow against the veneration of a murdering madman.

Georgia rarely failed to impress. There were ancient monasteries to explore, old sulphur baths, trendy new bars in the capital, Tbilisi, and a population that prides itself more on drinking toasts than on eating.

We headed towards South Ossetia, and crossed yet another tense border to be told the government would only allow us to linger for a few hours. It was time enough to learn that the people are Ossetes, who speak a different language to Georgians, to share birthday toasts with young Ossetian soldiers, and to realise that the locals are prepared to fight and die for their independence. But it was an uncomfortable visit, and we were rather obviously shadowed everywhere by the secret police.

Heading west across Georgia, an overnight train took us to Ajaria, a summer paradise with beaches that attracted tourists from across the former Soviet Union. Ajaria was formerly a breakaway region headed by a strongman whose son closed roads to race a Lambourghini along the seafront. Strangely this did not go down well with locals (average monthly wage £20). They kicked out the strongman and were partially welcomed back into Georgia.

Farther north, the government of Abkhazia reneged on an offer of entry, so we left the Caucasus and headed east to Taiwan. When Mao’s Communists defeated Chinese Nationalists they fled to Taiwan and took over. China says it wants Taiwan back, and will use force if necessary.

For decades, the nationalists in Taiwan claimed they were the rightful rulers of China and wallowed in heritage, protecting buildings the Chinese destroyed during their economic boom. Ancient temples and chic hotels sit snugly beside mountain lakes. In the capital, Taipei, visitors can trek to the top of Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world, to watch as planes fly beneath them.

But of all the unofficial and official countries I visited, Somaliland had the greatest impact. War between Somalia and Somaliland could erupt again, but there is also a much more optimistic future for the country. Perhaps one day Somaliland will have its own seat at the United Nations, and tourists will flock to its stunning beaches. It is nothing less than Somalilanders deserve.

‘Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don’t Exist’, written and presented by Simon Reeve, starts on Wednesday, at 7.30pm on BBC2. For further information visit http://www.shootandscribble.com.

Adventure basics

Getting there Flights to Somaliland are available from Daallo Airlines (www.daallo.com) via Djibouti. Several airlines fly to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, from where buses and taxis will take visitors to Transniestria, or at least to the border, where more taxis wait on the other side. Major airlines also fly to Tbilisi in Georgia, from where visitors can take a train to Ajaria (tickets are around £5). Entry to Abkhazia and South Ossetia is more difficult and best attempted via Russia. British Airways (0870 850 9850; http://www.ba.com) flies to Yerevan in Armenia, from where you can take the long road south-east to Nagorno-Karabakh inside Azerbaijan. Make sure relevant permissions are obtained. The Foreign Office advises against travelling to many unrecognised nations, so most personal travel insurance policies will be invalid.

Staying there Taiwan has many good-quality hotels, but tourist facilities in most unrecognised nations are poor. Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, has a couple of surprisingly good hotels, including the Ambassador (www.ambassadorhotelhargeisa.com), which has comfortable rooms and friendly staff. Outside Hargeisa people are so pleased anyone is visiting Somaliland they make up for poor facilities with a warm welcome.

When to go Taiwan is good from spring to summer. Nagorno-Karabkh and Georgia’s breakaway statew are freezing in winter. Transniestria has a warmer climate than the UK. Somaliland is warm in winter and one of the hottest parts of the world in summer.

Eating out Taiwan can boast excellent food, but beware of scantily clad women selling amphetamine betel nuts by the side of the road. In Transniestria it helps to have a local guide who knows the restaurants and can book your meal several hours ahead, otherwise you will probably have a very long wait. Good, hearty organic produce is plentiful in Nagorno-Karabakh; otherwise, why does everyone there live so long?

Security update Unless war breaks out with China, Taiwan is safe. I cannot encourage anyone to visit Mogadishu in Somalia, but by contrast Somaliland is relatively safe, though visitors must always remember that they are a long way from a Western embassy. The same is true of Transniestria, Ajaria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh, which also fall into a diplomatic no-man’s land: Western governments don’t recognise the existence of these breakaway nations, so it will be harder for them to help if you get into trouble.