Somaliland — need to be noticed
 

Keeping the question of Somaliland on hold for so long is a risky strategy that has security  ram ifications in this age of terror.

Somaliland is a peaceful entity in an unstable region with a large Muslim population susceptible to radicalisation. The longer the world ignores its achievement, the greater the risk.

A better approach would be for the international community to offer Somaliland an interim UN membership. This would put it in a position to consolidate on its democratic credentials, to supp ort the regional peace making process and to deny international extremist groups of a potential recruiting ground.

This is where it all began. On June 26, 1960, Somaliland gained its freedom from Britain and was recognised by the UN, including Security Council member states, within its colonial boundaries. It, then, joined on a voluntary union with Italian Somalia on July 1, 1960. The goal was to  libera te all the Somalia-inhabited areas in the region such as Djibouti and parts of Kenya and Ethiopia and to unite them under a single Greater Somalia state – a vision that had brought a lot of  mise ry to the regions in the past.

The union of the two newly independent states was mainly intended to serve as a means to an end, not an end in itself. The political realities in the region and the view of the international  co mmunity had taken the end away, probably forever. Sticking to the means in the absence of an achievable goal proved difficult.

The1960 union did not provide a national cohesion. During the following three decades, people from Somaliland were treated as second-class citizens and their expression of discontent was repeatedly crushed by Italian-Somalia dominated regimes. Later, the union-state collapsed and Somaliland reclaimed its independence on May 18, 1991.

Since then, the two parts have followed dramatically different paths. The international  commu nity launched several peace processes to try to restore a government for Somalia, but  contin uous fighting and violence have hampered progress. For nearly 20 years, Somalia, unfortunatel y, does not have a credible government. Islamic extremists control now most of the country.

In Somaliland, meanwhile, a political transformation and a nation building process provided  diff erent outcome: a national constitution ratified through a referendum, a bicameral parliament comprising an elected house of representatives and a nominated house of elders, a government elected through the ballot box, political parties, security forces and provisions of basic services. All were locally initiated and locally driven.

However, Somaliland did not yet achieve recognition even though it has a broader international sympathy. And despite various developmental initiatives and a relatively strong livestock  expo rt sector, accompanied with a generous inflow of remittances, the country remains poor and unemployment is very high. But the good news is that Somaliland’s claim for statehood is in line with the charter of the African Union. In a fact-finding mission report in 2005, the African Union said that Somaliland is “historically unique and self-justified in African political history” and that the AU “should find special method of dealing with this outstanding case”.

Offering an UN membership to Somaliland would be a step in the right direction. This will send a powerful signal to the countries in and outside the region that aspirations toward democratic process would be supported.

In exchange of this, Somaliland can give valuable support. Its location on the red sea, overlook ing the Gulf countries and its closeness to Somalia and Yemen, makes it strategically an  impo rtant country in dealing with regional and international security. The Berbera Port on the Red Sea and the nearby military base with one of the longest runways in Africa are also among  wh at Somaliland can offer.

Mohamed A Omar is the foreign secretary of Kulmiye, Somaliland’s main opposition party
 

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