Atlanta Daily World

Somaliland Natives Promise Revolt To Italian Trusteeship

Country Does No With Ethiopia Desire Annexation

NEW YORK-(NNPA)-Two natives of Italian Somaliland said at a press conference last Tuesday that if their homeland is returned to Italy under a trusteeship, their people would fight the move with "armed resistance" because they preferred death to Italian rule.

The declaration was made by Abdullah Issa and Ali Noor, who are here as special delegates to the United Nations in the controversy over the disposition of the former Italian colonies in Africa. They spoke at a press conference in the offices of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Mr. Issa and Mr. Noor repeated declarations which they had made before the UN political committee last Thursday. They were not prepared to say just how or with what they would offer armed resistance to the trusteeship move, but both flatly stated that both they and their people would rather be dead than accept Italian rule again.

The two men also made it plain that their country does not desire annexation with Ethiopia. They took exception to statements by the Ethiopian government that Somaliland is a part of Ethiopia and should be returned to it.

Asked what they really wanted, they said they would agree to their country being placed under a UN trusteeship administered by the UN through the office of the Division of Trusteeship, now headed by Dr. Ralph J. Bunche.

Questioned as to whether trusteeship administered by the British would be satisfactory, the Somali said they considered British rule "as bad as the Italian."