British indecision, not Somali haste, caused the diplomatic breach

Evidence

What could be said, however, with some degree of confidence was that the breach between Britain and the Republic need not have occurred. This, of course, is not to make the facile and uncomprehending judgement that the Somali Republic acted too precipitately: but rather to suggest that the British government acted too indecisively and too slowly. For several years prior to the 1962 Kenya conference, the Provincial Administration of the N.F.D. had consistently reported on the direction and strength of Somali feeling. Had these reports received serious attention it would clearly have been possible for the British government to have prepared the ground for the eventual secession of the N.F.D. without, at that stage, incurring serious opposition from African opinion in Kenya. This, however, was not done and the problem was left until it became insoluble except at the cost of alienating one side or the other. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 481 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

As matters turned out, it soon became obvious that the forces arrayed against the plan were such that to have sought to overcome them would have required a degree of effort and political sacrifice which was not warranted by Britain’s very limited strategic interests in the area. By the end of 1946 the Four Powers had still not reached agreement on the whole turgid question of Italy’s former possessions and it was decided to send out a commission to the countries concerned (Somalia, Eritrea, Libya, and Cyrenaica) to consult their own aspirations for the future. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 341 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

The rupture involved loss of privileges for both countries. The Republic relinquished her small but useful annual subsidy of £1-1/2 million from Britain, while Britain lost over-flying rights and was forced to close down her powerful BBC Middle Eastern service relay transmitter at Berbera. Britain had evidently decided that, whatever interests she might have in maintaining friendship with the Republic, and whatever responsibilities she might be held to owe to her Somali subjects in Kenya, or to her former subjects in the Northern Regions of the Republic, these were not such as to justify endangering the long-standing entente with Ethiopia or alienating the new Commonwealth territory of Kenya. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 480 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Britain-Somalia rupture could have been avoided had London heeded N.F.D. reports; Britain chose the Ethiopian entente over Somalia’s friendship in 1963; Somalia broke diplomatic ties with Britain on 12 March 1963 (+5 more)

Related

• The Britain-Somalia rupture could have been avoided had London heeded N.F.D. reports (similarity 0.91)
• Britain’s indecision, not Somali haste, caused the Anglo-Somali rupture (similarity 0.90)
• Britain chose the Ethiopian entente over Somalia’s friendship in 1963 (similarity 0.89)
• Somalia broke diplomatic ties with Britain on 12 March 1963 (similarity 0.88)
• Britain abandoned Somali unification because its strategic stakes there were too low (similarity 0.86)
• Britain shifted to insisting Kenyan consent governed the N.F.D.’s fate (similarity 0.84)
• British reversal on the N.F.D. stemmed from Anglo-Ethiopian relations and Kenyan pressure (similarity 0.82)
• Pan-African opinion legitimized Britain’s refusal of N.F.D. secession (similarity 0.80)
• Britain sacrificed Somali ties to preserve its Ethiopian and Kenyan relations (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Britain’s indecision, not Somali haste, caused the Anglo-Somali rupture #corroborates (0.98) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 481
• Britain abandoned Somali unification because its strategic stakes there were too low #qualifies (0.70) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 341
• Britain sacrificed Somali ties to preserve its Ethiopian and Kenyan relations #corroborates (0.60) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 480