30/04/2001
Somaliland: Ten Years On
This month, the people of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa, will mark ten years since they broke away from Somalia.
The self-declared republic has a government, an army, a national flag and an anthem. It even has its own currency. But in the decade that has passed, Somaliland has been unable to secure international recognition as an independent state.
Charles Haviland reports on how Somaliland is on the road to development despite its uncertain diplomatic status.
In 1960, British Somaliland, on the Gulf of Aden, and Italian Somaliland, on the Indian Ocean, gained independence from their colonial powers. In a spirit of pan-Somali nationalism, they merged to form the United Republic of Somalia. The former British colony comprised its north western part.
But that spirit of harmony did not last long. Hussein Bulhan, director of the Somaliland Centre for Peace and Development, explains:
'The iniquity began from the very start. There was a very disproportionate representation in the Parliament. The capital city became Mogadishu – in the South. The president was a southerner…the prime minister was from the south. So frustration began from the start.' | | Internal Violence In 1969, Muhammad Siad Barre assumed power in Somalia. He began to elect people from his own clan (the Marehan) for governments posts, to the exclusion of other clans, such as the Mijertyn and Issaq.
In the early 80s, opposition to Siad Barre's military regime began to emerge. Members of the Issaq clan formed a guerrilla group, to fight against southern rule. It was called the Somali National Movement (SNM). In 1988, the SNM launched an offensive in the northern cities of Hargeisa and Burco.
The forces of Siad Barre's government responded by bombarding the cities and pursuing the separatist rebels. Schools were razed; water and electricity were made inaccessible. Half a million northerners fled into Ethiopia. Some fifty thousand people died. Those who returned, after the Somali army had left the north, found their homes looted and mined.
Abdurrahman Ahmed Hassan, the chairman of a voluntary group recently set up to preserve the graves of civilians killed by government troops in 1988, describes what United Nations experts found during their excavations:
'People were chained together. Women and children also. I think, about thousands.' | | Early in 1991, under pressure from opposition clans, Siad Barre fled Mogadishu. His departure offered the momentum for the north west to break away from Somalia and declare itself independent.
Break-Away Region On 18 May 1991, Somaliland proclaimed itself independent with the slogan, 'No More Mogadishu.' Hargeisa was chosen as capital. In May 1993, a council of elders elected Mohammed Ibrahim Egal as the president.
During its first years, Somaliland was convulsed by internal clan-based violence. However, recently, rival clan members have reached power-sharing treaties.
Hussein Hassan Ali Mousseh, a clan elder from the town of Erigavo, in eastern Somaliland recalls:
'All the clans came here and said let us forget claims, let us begin a new chapter.' | | In order for a new chapter to begin, clan members needed to be properly represented in the government.
The Issue Of Representation Currently members of Somaliland's Parliament are chosen along clan lines. But this could change if a new draft multi-party constitution is approved by referendum at the end of May.
The legal adviser to the parliament, Ahmed Ali Kahen, explains:
'There has been an attempt to make a framework in which parties do not divide along those lines. There are going to be three main national parties and each party has to have representatives from all the other regions, where all clans are represented…It will resolve the issue of division along regional or tribal lines.'
The referendum is due to be followed by elections in 2002.
Unrecognised So far, the international community has not recognised Somaliland's independent status and is unwilling to endorse the fragmentation of the Horn of Africa.
Because of its unofficial status, Somaliland can not enter into formal trade agreements with other nations or seek assistance from world financial institutions.
The national revenue relies on two main sources: livestock exports and remittances from the Somali diaspora. A population of roughly 3.5 million depends on these. A large percentage of the population live in poverty.
President Egal says Somaliland's unofficial status creates many obstacles:
'The most disabling thing is the lack of communication with the international community. We have no ambassadors. We only have international agencies…We have no telephone code of our own. We are still using the Somalia code.' | | There are no proper banks but rather money traders who trade Somaliland currency - the shilling. As it is not a member of the international postal union, Somaliland must hire multinational companies, such as DHL, to deliver its mail abroad.
Attracting Foreign Investment President Egal also says attracting foreign investment is difficult. Somaliland is believed to have rich oil deposits in the coastal region but companies interested in exploring them are hindered by the lack of proper insurance for their equipment and personnel.
In a move to fuel the economy in the region, President Egal has endorsed a liberal economic regime. Foreign companies are allowed to buy stakes in local enterprises, and small and medium-sized businesses are in the making.
The result is a thriving private sector. Somaliland currently has five private airlines, several electricity companies and as many as five telecommunications companies, which offer both mobile and landline telephone services.
Despite this economic boom, Somaliland still awaits diplomatic recognition ten years after declaring itself a nation.
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At A Glance |
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Article 2: The Revised Constitution of the Republic of Somaliland
1. The territory of the Republic of Somaliland covers the same area as that of the former Somaliland Protectorate and is located between Latitude 8' to 11' 30' north of the equator and Longitude 42' 45 to 49' East…
2. The Republic of Somaliland is bordered by the Gulf of Aden to the north; Somalia to the east; the Federal Republic of Ethiopia to the south and the west; and the Republic of Djibouti to the north west. |
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Ban On Livestock |
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In February 1998, Saudi Arabia banned livestock imports (mainly sheep and goats) from Somaliland.
The ban was imposed after the discovery of an outbreak of the infectious Rift Valley Fever among Somali animals.
The effects of the embargo are wide-ranging. The entire economy is dependent on the export of animals.
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