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RECOGNITION OF SOMALILAND IS THE ANSWER TO THE SOMALIA PROBLEM
Background
Somaliland is a former British protectorate. It gained independence
in 1960 and was thus, recognised as an independent state. Out of the
18 African countries that gain ed independence in that year,
Somaliland was the fourth while Somalia was the sev enth; Madagascar
and the Congo were fifth and sixth. However, acting on the desi re at
the time of all 5 Somali regions to live as one state, Somaliland
voluntarily join ed with Italy's former Somali colony to form the
Somali Republic.
The union turned out to be disastrous for Somaliland as our people
found themselv es marginalized in the new state. In 1969, Siyad Barre
overthrew the government of the Somali Republic in a military coup
and began a policy of calculated repression of the people of
Somaliland. When the Somali National Movement stepped up its arm ed
resistance to Barre's oppressive regime in Somaliland in the late
1980s, the arm ed forces of the Somali Republic bombed Somaliland,
completely destroying the cap ital Hargeisa and other main cities,
killing an estimated 50,000 people and displacing another 1,000,000.
In 1991, after the fall of the Siyad Barre regime and the total
collapse of the Somali Republic, Somaliland re-constituted itself as
an independent State. Since then, it ha s established and sustained
peace and stability and held a number of local council,
p arliamentary and presidential elections. Somaliland therefore,
stands in stark contr ast to Somalia, which remains a failed state
without effective government. Somalilanders are united in their
desire to live in an independent state and are strongly opposed to
any union with Somalia.
Somaliland meets the established criteria for recognition as a
state. It has a perma nent population, a defined territory and a
functioning government. Its achievemen ts have won widespread praise
and its case for recognition has been favorably ass essed by the
African Union Commission, the conflict prevention NGO International
Crisis Group as well as the security and development policy think
tank The Senlis Council.
Why Somaliland is seeking for International recognition
The Republic of Somaliland deserves political recognition as it has
demonstrated the characteristics of a modern democratic state; the
Somaliland government consists of three branches, the executive, the
legislative and the judiciary, this is to ensure the separation of
power and promote transparency. Somaliland held numerous free and
fair elections both at national and local levels; these were
democratically conte sted by three political parties. Somaliland has
a constitution that guarantees freed om of speech and free media.
Therefore, the people of Somaliland are rightly antici pating a
well-deserved recognition from the international community.
In addition to its unmatched democratic success in the Horn of
Africa, Somaliland has satisfied all the requirements of statehood
because:
Firstly, Somaliland believes the union between Somaliland and
Somalia 1960 was leg a lly nonbinding as it was rejected by the
Somaliland people in a referendum held in 1961.
Secondly, Somaliland fully meets the pre-requisites of statehood
under international law as it has internationally recognized borders
and all the apparatus of a modern state.
Thirdly, Somaliland satisfies Article 4 of the African Union Charter
in terms of the legality of its borders
Fourthly, Somaliland’s case for recognition is similar to many other
annulled union agreements around Africa and rest of the world (i.e.
Egypt/Syria Senegal/Gambia).
Lastly, Somaliland’s recognition is hindered by political reasons,
rather than legal ones.
With the above facts and the miraculous achievements of the past 22
years with no external assistance, I believe Somaliland has done
enough to justify its deserved membership of the world community.
Unfortunately, the world has ignored all of this, denying Somaliland
opportunities such as access to international banking and trading
with the rest of the world.
Somaliland has maintained peace and tranquility for the past 22
years with the very little taxation collected locally, these 22
years saw a population growth of approx. 35%, Somaliland’s national
education institutions are producing thousands of young talents who
are facing the disappointment of unemployment after graduation,
these combined factors can have grave effect on the stability of
this young nation and can prove costly not only for Somaliland but
for the international community as well.
Somaliland needs true friends that can help in this crucial juncture
with serious act ions towards attaining recognition and investment.
If these two are not addressed promptly by the international
community, the country's youngsters are is at risk of becoming a
target for extremists and piracy groups. Therefore, it is high time
for the leaders of the big powers like UK and US to think wisely and
see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I believe recognition of Somaliland will subsequently help the
Somalis to sort out their differences as they will realize that the
waiting game for Somaliland is over and the illusion of any internal
void left by Somaliland is dispelled by the recognition of
Somaliland.
I would like to conclude this paper that whilst the international
community is spending hundreds of millions of dollars with none or
very little results in Somalia, Somaliland with all its
achievements, gets empty praises that doesn’t help in any way. Many
Somalilanders believe their country is the victim of its success.
My simple advice to world leaders is "Recognition of Somaliland is
the answer to the Somalia problem” until then, solutions of the
Somalia problem will remain as elusive as ever.
Amb. Ali A Awale
Head of Somaliland UK Mission
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