My point is that in 1960 all northerns agreed to permanently join Italian Somaliland. They even used the word "forever". This is the last agreement reached in a fully democratic manner by all northerners. No one voted for the 17 men who signed the "Somaliland declaration of independence" at Burco in May 1991. This was an illegal act, a treasonous act, that went against the covenant reached by all northerners in 1960.
This is how "Somaliland" looks from the outside:
Imagine if the southern Daarood (MJ, OG, MX & LK) in 1991 had collected people from the various clans of koonfur and passed a declaration of independence in Garowe declaring that Italian Somaliland will be seceding from the Somali Republic. Daarood then proceed to wage war against Hawiye who refuse to acknowledge our khayaali, and shell Beledweyne for refusing to join our resurrected Italian Somaliland.
Everyone would think we have lost our minds, and they would correct. That is crazy. That is how Isaaq/"Somaliland" appear from the outside. To all other Somalis, Isaaq seem to have lost their mind.
ps.
All irregularities that took place in 1960 were rendered null and void when the Jan 31 1961 Act of Union was passed unanimously by the combined parliaments of British & Italian Somalilands. All 33 British Somaliland MPs voted again in Jan 1961 to pass a new Act of Union which was then signed by the president. The bit about laws not being retroactive is meaningless. The highest authority on what is legal in Somalia is the Somali parliament. The July 1960 constitution only prohibited retroactive penal laws, all other types of retroactive laws were allowed (very similar to Italy).
There is no ratified act of union that is the same passed by both countries parliaments. You can't pass an international treaty in one country even if as you say all the mps voted for it. This is a no, no. In normal cases, where things work out, this is a fact only a few people would know or care about but when things go wrong people start looking carefully at the contracts and and Somalia's paper work doesn't add up. And even if all Somaliland MPs voted for it, as you claim, they would have been 33 out 123 and their no vote wouldn't have swung the issue and the people of the north rejected the constitution.
You could say there never was a legal act of union. Something the AU fact finding mission also supports.
You could also say that, Somaliland post 1991 is the successor state to British Somaliland. So really it all comes down to interpretation. Now you have your view which is one way and some people have another view which is another way and you are entitled to your opinion.