Somali Republic: The 1960 controversial and illegal union of Somaliland and Somalia
Somaliland: The territory and the democratically elected government of the Republic of Somaliland. The former British Protectorate
By: Yusuf Dirir Ali
Somalilandsun – The Federal Republic of Somalia: The appointed government and the territory of the former Italian colony of Somalia.
Federal Republic of Somalia and Somalia: Are not synonymous to the former Somali Republic legally and geopolitically.
Pan Somali State: Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, the Somali region of Ethiopia and the Somalis inhabited Northern region of Kenya (NFD)
Somali: A Somali-speaking person not a nationality i.e a Somali Kenyan, Djiboutian, Ethiopian etc.
Somalis: pleural form of Somali
Somalilander: A citizen of the Republic of Somaliland
Somalian: A citizen of Somalia (the current Federal Republic of Somalia)
Djiboutian: A citizen of the Republic of Djibouti
Before we even talk about Somaliland and Somalia reunion, we must first try to understand the shams, the mistakes and the deceptive illusions behind the failure of the Somaliland and Somalia union. The bona fide ugly portrait of the Somaliland and Somalia union must be painted with its ghastly real colors and the historic and painful moments of that failed union must be accentuated. We will be bound to go in dark circles unless we see the bigger picture with open eyes and then come to an erudite conclusion. After reading these facts I will let the readers come to a fair and unbiased conclusion. The folowing questions must be answered:
A. Is the Somaliland and Somalia union repairable politically or by force?
B. What did Somaliland benefit from the Somaliland and Somalia union?
C. What will Somaliland benefit from a reunion with Somalia?
D. What legal or moral basis does Somalia has to claim or seek a Somaliland and Somalia union?
E. Is the International community fair to Somaliland?
Just four days after Somaliland’s independence from Britain on June 26th, 1960 a union was formed with Somalia, an Italian colony that became independent on July 1st, 1960. Both states had no breathing room, before the two independent states were hastily and illegally got lumped together into a one single state. No concrete bases were laid for the Somaliland and Somalia union. The whole Somaliland and Somalia union idea was based on naive and regretful nationalistic dream. Somaliland politicians wanted to plant the seeds for Greater Somali state, but the Somalia politicians had hidden cards under their sleeves.
Here is a summery of the chronological unfolding of events in Somaliland, Somalia and the Somali Republic in concise points.
Somaliland became independent of Britain on June 26th, 1960. Somalia gained its independence from Italy on July 1st, 1960.
1. End of June 1960, Somaliland’s democratically elected and government arrived in Mogadishu for the union of the two states on pre-agreed conditions. The Somaliland and Somalia general assemblies were called to a joint secession. Somaliland National assembly members have paid little attention to Somalia’s national assembly that was overinflated to 90 members, while Somaliland members remained 33. This was a planned cheap tactic that was precooked in Mogadishu to politically over power Somaliland MPs.
2. July, 1960. Then came the selection of The Somali Republic ever first united government, Somaliland was offered a single cabinet post, of course, the rest of the ministerial portfolios went to Somalia. This treasonous act was passed overwhelmingly by the Somalia dominated parliament without taking in to consideration the objections of Somaliland’s elected parliament members, which represented one of two state partners in the Somaliland Republic.
3. The country was divided into eight administrative regions; 6 regions went for Somalia and two for Somaliland.
4. The pre-union agreement was to have both general assemblies to separately rectify the union, but that was also ignored and the Somali selected president unilaterally and illegally annexed Somaliland through a presidential decree.
5. Somaliland had a well trained elite military and police forces with their officers trained at Sunhurst and in other military academies in Egypt and Syria. In contrast, Somalia had no professional military, but a small contingent of police force, whose highest ranking illiterate and semi-illiterate officers were trained by the fascist Italy of the forties. The Somalia police was transformed to a military force, even though the Somalia police had no prior military training whatsoever and was handed the highest commands of all the armed forces.
6. In 1962, a national referendum was held for a made in Somalia for Somalia constitution. In Somalia double of the Somalia population of that time voted in favour of the constitutional referendum. On the other hand, 80% of the Somaliland population boycotted that referendum and 90% of those who voted rejected the constitutional referendum. At that point in time, Somalilanders believed the results of the referendum was to be rendered null and void based on transparent democratic norms, but instead it was unfortunately adopted by the Somalia dominated parliament. The United Nations Organization regarded that constitutional referendum a fraudulent act.
7. A number of Somaliland young military officers attempted a military coup for Somaliland to retreat from the union from Somalia. The coup failed and the Somalia high court released those officers on the basis of Somalia courts having no jurisdiction over the Somaliland territory since the Somaliland and Somalia union was not legally rectified and the constitutional referendum was not conducted fairly.
8. 1969, Siad Barre came into power through a military coupe and he invaded Ethiopia in 1977. That invasion ended in disaster for both countries and Somali Republic was defeated badly.
9. The Somalia dominated Siad Barre regime turned his guns for the first time overtly against Somaliland. He assassinated more than eighty of the cream of the cream of the Somali army, they all hailed from Somaliland and specifically from Isaq, the majority clan in Somaliland. This was strategically planned to pre-emptive future Somaliland resistance to a genocide against Somalilanders that was planned to follow.
10. In late eighties, the notorious Siad Barre regime declared an all out war against the Somaliland civilians. First, hundreds of Somaliland civilians were openly and extra judiciary executed and their loved ones forced to watch their loved ones being savagely murdered in numerous fire squads in Burao, Hargeisa, Berbera, Sheikh and Gabiley.
11. 1988, Somaliland cities were indiscriminately bombarded with heavy artillery and bomber jets. All the Somaliland cities, towns and villages were levelled to the ground. Hundreds of thousands of Somaliland civilians were killed and the remaining Somaliland population sought refugee in Ethiopia. The refugees were being bombarded as they were running to cross the border to Ethiopia. These heinous crimes were committed systematically none other than the Somali National Army.
12. Somalilanders who sought refugee in Mogadishu were hunted in the middle of the night, taken from their homes by a Somali National Army soldiers under the command of Masslah Siad Barre and dozens were killed in Jaziira beach in Mogadishu. As result Maslah was promoted by his father to a Major general. The Somalia inhabitants blamed the Somaliland victims for coming to seek refuge in Somalia.
13. 1988, The Somali National movement badly defeated the strongest army in black Africa- the Siad Barre armed forces in Somaliland.
14. 2001, Finally the Somali government collapsed after General Aideed led USC forces brutally ousted Siad Barre out of power in Mogadishu and then cleared Somalia of Siad Barre’s army and supporters alike. General Aideed and Ali Mahdi simultaneously announced their separate Presidencies and their separate own governments in Mogadishu. Neither General Aideed nor Ali Mahdi consulted the SNM on their political moves- and from there on wards Somalia descended into civil war, anarchy, piracy and warlord fiefdoms.
15. A Burao a reconciliation conference was called by the SNM for all Somaliland clans to participate. On 18 May, 1991 the Somaliland clans agreed to nullify the Somaliland and Somalia union. Further reconciliation conferences were later held in Borama and in other regions in Somaliland. The international community had zero contributions to the Somaliland reconciliation conferences.
16. A national referendum was held in Somaliland to terminate the Somaliland and Somalia union. 97% of Somalilanders voted “YES” in favour of nullifying the illegal Union with Somalia.
17. Somaliland held multiple internationally monitored free and fair elections and became a true internationally respected partner in the war against terrorism, Sea piracy and illegal human trafficking. Somaliland is now a flourishing democracy with elected national government, parliament and district Councillors. The President, MPs and local Councillors were elected through one man and one vote system.
18. Somalia had multiple reconciliation conferences and appointed government since the collapse of the Siad Barre regime. The international communities has invested both time and financial resources on the multiple Somalia conferences, but to date there is no democratically elected government through one man and one vote system in Somalia. This current government was appointed by carefully selected warlords and sham clan elders. They even ignorantly, arrogantly and without consulting the elected government of the Republic of Somaliland claim to have hand-picked MPs to represent Somaliland- does that sound strange to you? To me it does.
19. A new Somalia constitution was singlehandedly drafted and adopted by Somalia’s appointed parliament and the name of Somali Republic was changed to the Federal Republic of Somalia, again without consulting the democratically elected government of Somaliland or, holding a referendum for the Somalia people. Therefore, this is another sham act that does not concern the Somaliland Republic – it is up to the Somalians whether they accept it or not.
20. Those who committed crimes against humanity in Somaliland come freely as they wish to Mogadishu and one of the most notorious criminals even ran twice for the presidency of Somalia. That criminal is Massalah Mohamed Siad Barre, the son of the late dictator Siad Barre and he is the one who ordered the Jaziir beach massacre. He ran against Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the current appointed President of Somalia.
21. The current Somalia Prime Minister of Somalia threatened to bring Somaliland by force under Somalia jurisdiction. The Republic of Somaliland government dismissed that threat as another bad farce from a criminal warlord.
22. About a month ago the appointed Prime Minister of Mogadishu requested the USA to grant a diplomatic immunity to General Mohamed Ali Samater, Siad Barre’s Vice President and Minister of defence, who was found guilty in masterminding the genocide against Somaliland population in 1980s. Mr. Shardoon, the current unelected and appointed Prime Minister of Somalia hailed Samater as a National hero and the later was just executing his national duties in trying to annihilate the Isaq population in Somaliland.
23. As recent as few weeks ago, Mr. Shardoon again insensitively visited the grave of the former dictator (Siad Barre) and praised him for his good deeds during his rein in the Somali Republic – more than 400,000 Somalilanders and Somalians were killed by Siad Barre’s regime.
24. Somaliland meets the requirements of Montvideo convention the convention sets out the definition, rights and duties of statehood, but Somalia does not meet the requirements of that convention. Despite all these, the International community recognizes Somalia and not Somaliland. The international memberships and all the Somali Republic assets in foreign lands is legally co-owned by Somaliland and Somalia. The UNO, Arab of league, AU, World Bank, IMF and all the other international organisations and member countries of all those countries are obliged morally and legally to freeze those memberships and assets until a bilaterally consensus is reached by the two countries.
Finally, I ask the astute readers and the International community to be fair and answer these questions:
A. Is the Somaliland and Somalia union repairable politically or by force?
B. What did Somaliland benefit from the Somaliland and Somalia union?
C. What will Somaliland benefit from a reunion with Somalia?
D. What legal or moral basis does Somalia has to claim or seek a Somaliland and Somalia union?
E. Is the International community fair to Somaliland?
If the answer to all these questions is no or nothing, then the international community needs to rethink its positions and treat the Republic of Somaliland and its people fairly and squarely.
It’s incumbent on the Somaliland government to peruse legal actions and play hard ball with both Somalia and the International organizations.
