Somalilandsun: Amid the chaos that has afflicted Somalia in recent decades, there is an oasis of relative calm that is ignored by the rest of the world, Somaliland.
Somaliland a former British protectorate withdrew from its 1960 voluntary later turned fateful with Somalia a former Italian colony three decades ago..
Despite international non recognition as a sovereign nation thus devoid of external direct funding Somaliland is a thriving democracy that holds regular one person one vote presidential, parliamentary and local, councils elections.
Apart from her internationally acknowledged democratic credentials, Somaliland which has all statehood accruements like secure borders currency elected government etc she is also reckoned as a bacon of peace and security in the turbulent Horn of Africa region.
In contrast her neighbour Somalia where the government is propped by the IC that also provides security, status as a failed state remain despite membership of all global and regional bodies.
Thus the Successes of Somaliland in creating effective governance and a viable economy while mainland Somalia tops the list of failed states with rampant lawlessness and piracy remains a major issue for the IC propped government and lawmakers in Mogadishu
This has led to a perputal obsession with the destruction of somaliland at all costs to the complete detriment of any attempts to return statehood to Somalia where the Al-Shabaab Islamist group controls a large swathe of territory in rural areas.
With Somaliland being self ruling longer than it was in Union with the former Italian colony preceding adminstrations in Mogadishu have , rather than issuing an official state apology to Somaliland over the state-sponsored Isaaq genocide perpetrated in the name of Somalia, bringing the perpetrators hiding in Somalia to justice and paying reparations to Somaliland for the material and economic damage sustained during the war period, Somalia maintains the view that Somaliland’s existence and statehood is a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
This has seen leaders in Mogadishu engage in diplomatic terrorism to deter not the independence of Somaliland which is fait accompli
According to Mustafe Ahmed a UK based MSc student in medical imaging, political activism and a self-appointed ambassador of Somaliland the diplomatic and political waged by Somalia is immense.
In his piece titled ‘State subversion: how Somalia perfected the art of subversion and deploys it against Somaliland’ the author notes that war is not just confined to or fought on the battlefields, skies, and seas alone; state subversion is an extension of war, albeit one fought without a bullet being fired; and war is a tool of statecraft designed to achieve specific geopolitical aims.
So what and how does Somalia Subvert Somaliland both diplomatically and politically
By Framing Somaliland as a secessionist region
- Capturing key influential people and media personalities of Somaliland
- The myth of ethnic homogeneity in Somalia; “Somalia is for Somalis
- Theft of Somaliland’s cultural heritage and intellectual properties among others
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