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The
union took place on July 1,
1960, the day the Italian Somalia
became independent. The international
community was quite surprised
with this unique decision taken
by the newly independent British
colony to surrender its sovereignty
and merge with yet to become
an independent Southern Somalia.
The Italian Somalia was technically
under U N trusteeship and was
supposed to be free in December
of that year. The headlines
of the internal newspapers were
among others, -- the colony
that rejected freedom -- the
colony that surrendered its
independence and refused to
join the Common Wealth. Unequivocally,
the Somalilanders sacrificed
their independence for the sake
of attaining Greater Somalia.
This union was unconstitutional,
since the parliaments of Somaliland
- North and Somalia - South
did not ratify it as a single
act of union. Not a single year
elapsed when the people in the
north showed the initial signs
of resentment about the ill-fated
marriage between the two Somali
regions. The southerners dominated
all the cabinet positions of
the newly created Somali Republic.
Almost all-economic development
projects were shifted to southern
Somalia with nothing or very
little allocated for Somaliland.
The northerners immediately
felt as being treated as second-class
citizens. Their confidence and
loyalty to the Somali government
suddenly dwindled; the sense
of being betrayed became wide
spread. Somaliland was economically
marginalized and politically
oppressed by the southern dominated
central government. Consequently,
the northerners lost faith with
the union and the talk of reversing
the merger became very popular.
That feeling was expressed in
1961, when a young army officer
by the name of Hassan Kayd -
a Sandhurst graduate and other
northern military officers launched
an unsuccessful coup in the
north against the Somali government.
These northern officers were
brought to Mogadishu for trial.
Citing the illegality of the
union, the judge in the court
dismissed the case against these
officers on the grounds that
as Northerns, they could not
be tried and judged by a Southern
court.
On October 21, 1969 the military
regime overthrew the civilian
government. Siyad Barre became
the president of Somali Democratic
Republic. This military regime
became one of the most vicious
and brutal dictatorships the
world ever witnessed. This was
the beginning of Somalia disintegration.
The death knell for Greater
Somalia sounded, as the government
was politically unable to bring
NFD-Kenya, Djibouti-French and
Ogaden-Ethiopia into one nation.
These Somali speaking regions
saw the brutal actions of Barre's
dictatorship and their interest
to unite with Somalia immediately
disappeared. Djibouti opted
for its own separate nation
and became an independent country
on June 1977. The military regime
also embarked on barbaric tactics
against its citizens by targeting
certain clans suspected of being
opposed to the policies of Barre's
dictatorship. Somalilanders
formed Somali National Movement
(SNM) and were first to declare
organized military measures
against Dictator Siyad Barre.
The response of the military
regime was near genocidal, as
they unleashed a massive military
might on the major towns of
Hargeisa, Buroa, Berbera and
Gabiley on the summer of 1988.
Some 65000 innocent civilian
people were massacred and more
than half million people had
fled to Ethiopia as refugees.
The SNM with its huge supply
of reserve army (incoming refugees)
continued its armed struggle
and finally defeated the military
regime. The entire territory
of Somaliland fell under the
control of SNM and the restoration
of Somaliland independence was
declared on May 18, 1991.
Today, the Republic of Somaliland
is little over eleven years
old and had fiercely refused
to take the path many African
nations pursued during their
independence. They decided to
become a true democratic state.
Some of the foreign reporters
that visited Somaliland were
quite impressed how the deliberations
in the Lower House are carried
out. They confessed that these
deliberations are among the
freest in the world. The people
of Somaliland said no to one
party system that is why this
state is marching towards the
institutionalization of full-blown
democracy. Multiparty system
has been created, aimed to neutralize
the influence of tribal affiliation.
There are nine political parties
destined to compete for the
up coming municipal, presidential
and parliamentarian elections.
The three most popular parties
with 20% of the regional votes
during the municipal elections
will gain an official party
status according to a new law
designed to regulate the registration
of the political parties. The
date for municipal elections
is already set to happen on
December 2002, while the elections
for the presidency and parliamentarians
are also tentatively planned
to take place in the first quarter
of 2003. The question that comes
to mind is WHY SOWING THE SEEDS
OF DEMOCRACY IS VERY SUCCESSFUL
IN SOMALILAND, WHILE THE SOUTHERN
SOMALIA IS STILL WRACKED BY
UNCEASING CLAN WARFARE AND TOTAL
ANARCHY?
Apparently, the achievements
of Somaliland to establish the
major organs of civil society
through a democratic process
are not per chance. Therefore,
the answer to the preceding
question is two folds:
The will of the people remains
the major bedrock for this success.
The desire to establish peace
and stability became the greatest
priority in Somaliland. Enjoying
the full support of the people,
the elders worked around the
clock to disarm the many different
militia groups scattered throughout
the country. The people also
consolidated their collective
efforts to rebuild the country.
There is a general consensus
among the communities in Somaliland
that the only way to development
and nation building is through
a democratic process. The elders,
politicians, businessmen, tribal
leaders and the intelligentsia
all agreed to assemble a democratic
form of government; a broad-based
government of regional reconciliation
including representatives from
all clans of the country. Eventually
this facilitated the establishment
of a government in which the
people hold the ruling power
either directly or through elected
representatives. In addition
the principle of equality of
rights, opportunity and treatment
are guaranteed for every citizen.
When every region of the country
is fairly represented in the
government and no community
is left underrepresented, the
nexus that holds the nation
together gains a substantial
strength.
The mutual agreements of the
community were clearly enshrined
in the constitution of the Republic
of Somaliland, which was adapted
throughout a National Referendum
held on May 31, 2001. The people
of Somaliland voted for the
constitution and 97.09% accepted
it. Foreign observers monitored
the referendum and declared
it as being conducted openly,
fairly, honestly and in accordance
with internationally recognized
election procedures. The results
of the referendum were very
convincing and clearly indicative
of the will of the Somaliland
community, i.e., a state laboriously
striving to develop the country
by way of democratic process.
The rights of the individuals,
freedom of opinions, freedom
of movement, freedom of public
demonstration, the right to
own private property, and freedom
of press and media are guaranteed
under the constitution of Somaliland.
The other major contributing
factor to the easy transition
to democratic system is the
deeply rooted cultural conditions
that have been hospitable to
the tender shoots of democratization
process. The nomadic communities
in Somaliland have their own
distinct cultural traditions
that nourish the spread of democracy.
Long before the arrival of the
European colonial powers in
the area, the ethnic communities
of Somaliland developed a traditional
form of democracy, unique to
their own environment. This
is the concept of pastoral democracy
with an effective and efficient
built in mechanism of conflict
resolution under the guidance
of tribal elders. These conflict
resolutions are normally conducted
under the wisdom tree. The big
shadow of the wisdom tree serves
as the traditional courthouse.
Tribal chiefs, Sultans and elders
are the final arbiters in any
unexpected situation perceived
as being a treat to peace and
the harmony among the various
clans. Any verdict rendered
by these elders is always binding
on the parties in conflict.
In addition, the nucleus of
this culture did not suffer
any significant injury during
the British rule of Somaliland
Protectorate. Therefore, the
fast based democracy taking
shape in Somaliand stems from
the homogenous blend of that
traditional Pastoral Democracy
combined with some contemporary
democratic ideas adapted according
to the needs of this vibrant
and viable state of Somaliland.
When the British set foot on
the coastal city of Berbera,
the tribal leaders entered a
historic agreement with the
British colony. The British
were asked not to interfere
with the culture of the indigenous
people, and neither British
children were to be born on
the soil of Somaliland nor British
citizens are to be buried in
Somaliland. The British honored
these demands, as their colonial
style was distinct from that
of other major colonial powers
such as the French and the Italians.
The British practiced a policy
of indirect rule, and they administered
Somaliand through the chiefs
and clans - an indirect form
of rule that left the cultural
practices of the society fully
in tact.
In contrast, the faction leaders
in Southern Somalia have failed
miserably to lift their country
from the chaos and anarchy,
which are the hallmarks of Mogadishu.
Numerous mediation efforts by
the UN, the IGAD and the neighboring
countries did not bear fruit.
The leaders of the south were
unable to map out a viable political
agreement intended to rebuild
the fundamental foundations
of civil society. Ironically,
the only known agreement the
faction leaders in Southern
Somalia have in common is not
to allow the restoration of
Somaliland independence. Understandably,
the binding clue that used to
counterbalance and keep the
defunct Somali Republic together
suddenly vanished from the scene.
They desperately need a new
strong molecular structure capable
of replacing the missing link.
Furthermore, the Italians have
colonized the Somali communities
in the south. Apart from their
imperial intentions, the Italians
were involved in major economic
activities in the south, such
as crop plantation, hotels and
the local shops. The colonial
style of the Italians was direct
rule. They mingled with the
ethnic communities and created
a working class from the indigenous
population employed in the plantation
and other sectors of Italian
businesses in the major towns.
With the meager economic incentive
available to them, this emerging
working class, and the government
employees become a subordinate
group very close and loyal to
the colonial master. The Italians
also married from the ethnic
societies, thus creating a maternal
kingship within the southern
communities. As a result, the
colonial master was able to
neutralize the cultural aspects
of the native society. This
type of colonial practices and
the fact that cultural homogeneity
was not wide spread, the southern
Somalis suffered an insurmountable
cultural disorientation. The
lack of uniform cultural traits
that connect them rendered each
tribe to be confined in its
own dwelling places minding
their own interests. That is
why the elders in the southern
Somalia are chronically inept
in undertaking regional reconciliation
and effective conflict resolutions
among the local clans.
This unrecognized state in the
horn of Africa has all the attributes
that make a perfect sovereign
state. It has a fully functioning
administration, police, military,
national currency and immigration
department that grants visitors
a visa at the airport.
Furthermore, the local businesses
are booming, of course under
the sprit of free market. There
are six different commercial
airlines operating in the country,
and five different telephone
companies providing a fairly
affordable communications to
the international world. Somaliland
achieved all these without receiving
an iota of economic assistance
from the international communities.
The Republic of Somaliland is
free from foreign debt, because
the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund do not provide
economic and development aid
to Somaliland, as these two
organizations do not acknowledge
the statehood of Somaliland.
In Somaliland, the elders are
the backbone and the brain behind
the peaceful Co-existence among
the clans. Their pious efforts
to secure lasting peace and
stability throughout the country
will not only serve as beacon
light, but a vivifying force
that encourages every individual
to respect the law and order.
Undeniably, they are strong
pillars in the edifice of learning
and maintaining lasting democratic
principles. Their contribution
to the cause of restoring Somaliland
sovereignty and nation building
is tremendous and without parallel.
They are also a galaxy of unique
hope and virtue whose exemplary
determination for the betterment
of the country was and will
remain a perennial source of
guidance and inspiration to
everyone in Somaliland. Without
a doubt, the elders are such
a source of strength and vigor
to which Somaliland cannot afford
to lose.
By:Adam Mohamed Egeh "Mardaadi"
Toronto, Canada
September 6, 2002
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