The Scars of Tradition Genital mutilation remains a rite of passage for girls throughout much of Africa — and Europe By CHARLES P. WALLACE | COPENHAGEN SOMALI SURGEON: A circumciser displays the tools of her trade Rahmah Ali Kudar is facing one of the most important decisions of her life. Her daughter, Huda, is 4 years old, and Kudar must decide whether to submit her to so-called female circumcision, an appalling practice to Westerners — surgical removal of the clitoris and labia — that remains a rite of passage for girls throughout much of Africa. Yet Rahmah doesn't live in Africa; she lives in Copenhagen, where the custom is widespread enough to have stirred vocal opposition. Female genital mutilation is specifically against the law in Denmark, Britain, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland and is outlawed in other European countries, such as France, by laws on violence against children; but in March the Danish government introduced legislation making it a crime to take girls or young women to another country to be circumcised. Kudar, who is now 32, underwent the procedure in Somalia when she was 9, and will probably spare Huda the operation. "I face so many medical problems myself that I don't want to give the same problems to my daughter," she says. A growing number of the estimated 17,300 Somalis in Denmark disapprove of female circumcision, but many others still feel the tug of this tradition; some Somali parents skirted the law by taking their daughters to Somalia or an Arab state for the operation. "In Africa it's a very common practice deeply rooted in tradition," says Amel Fahmy, an expert on female circumcision at the World Health Organization. "In some societies it's a rite of passage from childhood. In others it ensures chastity, while in some societies it's a sign of cleanliness." The new Danish law provides for six to 10 years in jail for a parent who takes his or her child abroad for the operation, regardless of whether the procedure is legal in the third country or not. "It's such a disgusting assault against girls," says Eva Kjer Hansen, the social-policy spokeswoman for Denmark's ruling Liberal Party. "It's simply unacceptable behavior." A bill introducing a similar law is wending its way through the British Parliament, where it had a second reading two months ago. "This is a human-rights issue, it's a woman's issue and one that very much needs to be addressed," says Ann Clwyd, the M.P. for Cynon Valley, Wales, who sponsored the measure. In France, while statistics are scarce, very rough estimates have determined that 30,000 women and girls may have suffered the procedure. A woman of Mauritanian origin received a three-year suspended sentence in Paris in March for having her French daughter circumcised in Africa. The practice is common in 28 African countries, where an estimated 100 million women are circumcised. The origins of the tradition are murky; some imbue the ritual with Muslim religious significance, but Muslim scholars say there is no religious basis for it. The type of mutilation practiced in Africa has three levels of severity. The first level involves removing part of the clitoris. The next level, excision, involves removal of part or all of the labia minora. The most severe form, called infibulation, is the removal of the clitoris, labia minora and part of the labia majora, which are then sewn shut. Because medical personnel often refuse to perform the operation, says Amina Kamil Jibrel, a Somali woman who offers counseling to other Somalis at a municipal office in Copenhagen, it is usually carried out by a woman lacking medical training and knowledge of infection. When she was circumcised at 6, Jibrel says she couldn't move for a week: "You sit on the floor for seven days and your legs are tied together with a piece of cloth so you can't move and the wound will heal." Jibrel, 46, has three sons and never faced the decision about female circumcision in her own family, though she clearly would have rejected it. She recalls the operation as one of the most horrific experiences of her life. "It was terrible," she says. "It was very painful. I didn't have any choice. My parents didn't explain what was happening. An old woman came and held me down with her feet while she performed the circumcision." Rahmah Ali Kudar says the pain of her circumcision was so intense that she passed out. Even 23 years later, she is still dealing with medical complications from the operation. She has trouble menstruating; there were severe difficulties during her pregnancy; she spends hours on the toilet to pass urine. Kudar arrived in Copenhagen in 1997. Ever since, she has lived in Bispebjerg, a working-class neighborhood of the capital dominated by five- and six-story apartment blocks. Kudar says her husband has agreed that Huda should not be circumcised. "He agrees because the religion says that circumcision is not important," she says. "It is not a religious thing. It is a cultural tradition." This is a human-rights issue, it's a woman's issue — ANN CLWYD, BRITISH M.P. Despite the brutality of the practice and the lifelong health risks, there are still those in Denmark who support circumcision. One Somali imam, Mustafa Abdullahi Aden, was quoted in November by the newspaper Information as saying, "It's good for the girls to be circumcised. It is a signal you are a true believer in Islam." After the article appeared, Aden's employer, the Danish Refugee Relief Council, told him he had to denounce circumcision if he wanted to keep his job. He then signed a letter saying he no longer supports the practice. But a number of other Somali imams in Denmark also approve of the custom. The new law will be difficult to enforce. Most children in Denmark are examined by school doctors, so it could fall to health professionals to report cases to the authorities. "I must admit, it's not going to be an easy task," says Justice Minister Lene Espersen. "We can't go around checking people." There was a public outcry in January when a city councilman in the city of Aalborg invoked child abuse laws and ordered an examination of a Somali girl, after a social worker reported her suspicion that the girl had been circumcised. A school medical officer carried out an examination, but the girl had not undergone the procedure. Jibrel argues that a better approach is to talk to parents so they can see for themselves the dangers of circumcision. "We need to explain it's not part of the [islamic] religion and they have to stop because it's bad culture with a lot of [medical] risks," she says. Only then will children like Huda be protected. [ April 29, 2003, 02:13 AM: Message edited by: Admin ]

Somali talks 'will succeed' NAIROBI -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Somalis from all walks of life are confident that the Somali National Reconciliation Conference currently going on in Mbagathi, Nairobi, will be successful. Mr Farah Addow, a presidential candidate for the Transitional Federal Government said yesterday the Somali people and well-wishers from the region and the international community are looking forward to a successful culmination of the conference and the formation of an Interim Federal Government. “The future Federal Government will be empowered by a charter to help the diverse institutions of the Government map out the projection of strategic policies and principles,” said Addow. This, he said, should cover security, stability, peace and solidarity; human rights, democracy and the rule of law; equiable sharing of resources and benefits; peaceful settlement of disputes with the neighbouring nations. Others areas to be covered are utilisation of local, professional human resources; engagement of the private sector, the civil society and social organisations and involvement of the local and international NGOs. Addow stressed the co-operation with regional and international public and private institutions, which the government will deal with and promoting meaningful inter-state diologue.

In the late 1950s, Kwame Nkrumah started a movement that stressed- the-immediate unity of the African continent. Nkrumah's Ghana was supported by Guinea, Mali and later on by Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. Together, they formed the Casablanca Group. Nkrumah's radical notion was opposed by many nations including Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Togo. This group, which would number 24 nations, came to be known as the Monrovia Group. They believed in a more gradual approach to African unity. At that time, many believed that the rift between the two groups would end the hopes and dreams of African unity. Ketema Yifru, Ethiopia's foreign minister, and an avowed pan-africanist was the one most responsible for the setting up of the Organization of African Unity. Yifru successfully convinced Emperor Haïlé Selasié that Ethiopia's national interests were better served if it aligned itself with the rest of the continent. Yifru's diplomatic skills resulted in Ethiopia being positioned as a neutral party between the Casablanca Group and the Monrovia Group. A conference of the Monrovia Group, which was set for Addis Ababa in May 1963, evolved into a Summit Conference of all the independent African States. Guinea, a member of the Casablanca Group was instrumental in bridging the gap between both groups. On May 25, 1963, 32 African Heads of State signed the OAU charter in Addis Ababa. The choices for headquarters for the OAU were Dakar in Senegal, Lagos in Nigeria, Kinshasa in Congo and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Ketema Yifru struck a deal with Guinea. If Guinea would support Ethiopia, then Ketema Yifru would do all in his power to ensure that Guinea's Diallo Telli was elected as OAU Secretary General. Ketema Yifru's diplomatic skills were so good that even Abdillahi Isa, the foreign minister of Somalia flouted a direct order from his government to vote against Addis Ababa. Out of 32 available votes, 28 nations supported -Ethiopia. Nigeria and Senegal refused to vote.

By Abdullahi M. Sadi Former First President of Somali Region (Ogadenia). Part 1 of 3 One who studies Abysinian feudal Empire State (Ethiopia) history will be compelled to arrive at the coming conclusion: The Abysinian feudal Empire State was the extension of the rule of the Abysinian people (Amhara and Tigray rulers). The Abysinian Empire regimes enslaved the whole Horn of Africa Nations and people, i.e. Somalis, Oromos, Afars, Eritrean, Sidamo and others. The causes of the present instability in the Horn of Africa are a combination of the legacy of Abysinian expansionist rule, its colonial legacy and European colonial intervention. The result of the colonization has produced continuos civil and national war, in Ethiopia, which has a history of despotic and dictatorial regimes. As a matter of fact, Ethiopia has never enjoyed democratic constitutional governments. Moreover, all the available indicators, illustrates that Ethiopia is one of the most backward countries in the world. The basic characteristics of Ethiopia socio-economics life are political instability, civil war, poverty, famine, and illiteracy. Historically, Ethiopia participated and emerged from the partition of Africa in Berlin in 1884 as a black Christian state which had a royal lineage, claiming descent from the legendary son of king Solomon and the queen of Sheba, which not only survived but actually profited from European partition. Like the European empires in Africa, Ethiopia was a conquest state. Its core people were the politically dominant Semitic-speaking Amharas. Socially the Amharas comprised a loose three- tier hierarchy with military aristocrats and clergy living off the surplus production of a cereal-growing lay peasantry, which also reared cattle. Amhara stratification contrasted sharply with the traditional egalitarianism of the nomadic Cushitic-speaking pastoralists. The Muslim Somalis, were organized in segmentary lineages, led by assemblies of elders rather than formally appointed chiefs. The Abysiinian Empire unlike European empires in Africa or the European-settler states, was indigenous centralist nationalism. Abyssinian conquest and expansion reached its furthest extent under the Emperor Menelik, an astute and forceful participant in the ‘scramble’ of Africa, who exploited European competition for predominance in the area to modernize his army and routed the Italian at Adowa in 1896. In a series of treaties Menelik awarded trading rights to Britain, France and Italy together with recognition for their various spheres of influence along the coast, while in exchange they supplied the international recognition to legitimize his recent conquests. Consequently Eritrea and three-quarters of the Somali people were brought under European rule, while the remainders (the Somali Ogadenia) were assigned to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). To cement and legitimize its occupation of Somali Ogaden, the Ethiopian embarked on a large-scale diplomatic offensive to counter Mr. Ernest Bevin, The British foreign secretary who proposed, the Somali nation should be put together as a trust territory, and to win the American support. In December 1943 Roosevelt received the first Ethiopian minister to the United State, and in February 1945 on his way home from the Crimean conference the president met king Haile Seliassie of Ethiopian empire, appropriately as one of the victims of fascism, won further international leverage as a founder member of the United Nations. Shortly after the end of the war it commissioned an American public relations consultant, J. C. Cairns, who enlisted the help of prominent personalities, including Mrs. Roosevelt, to ensure popular goodwill was translated into effective diplomatic support. There was no Somali lobby to counter the support of African-American organizations and such celebrities as Paul Robeson for Ethiopia in what they believe to be a British attempt to bully a small black state with which they personally identified. Pre-war geological surveys by the Italians indicated that Oil might be found in the Ogaden. In 1944 the American-owned Sinclair Oil Company, backed by the state department, began secret negotiations with the Ethiopian government for sole prospecting rights. Should oil be found in commercial quantities such a monopolistic agreement would give the United States greater power to fix world oil prices? In 1945 when the news broke that Singlair had succeeded in secretly negotiating such a deal during wartime in a Britain area of operations there was anger in London and disquiet elsewhere. An amalgam of sentiment, suspicion and hardheaded commercial interest worked against the presumed ‘special relationship’ in the Horn. Here was a fine opportunity for the United States to demonstrate anti colonial credentials while protecting the interests of an American oil company. Henceforth the three-way relationship between Britain, Ethiopia and United States provides an intricate study in the diplomacy of dependency, with the emperor attaching himself firmly to the United States just when the British were being forced to come to terms with American dominance. This was the situation when Bevin took up the cause of Somali nation by proposing the reunification of all the Somalilands, including the Ogaden, as United Nations Trust Territory. In Bevin’s eyes this amounted to simple justice. He read the treaties of partition, which underwrote colonial and Ethiopian boundaries, gloosed by the Somali experts in the British Military administration, and agreed that the Europeans and Menelik had reached their agreements at the expense of the Somali people. Indeed, some of the treaties, which were regarded as giving a legal basis for incorporating the Somali within alien political structures, seemed to have been willfully misinterpreted. But Bevin’s proposal to reunite the Somali nation met some opposition, not just from sections of American opinion, but also from Molotov in the 1946 Paris meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers. Britain generally took the same line in the immediate post-war discussions between the ‘Big Three’ as it had in the war, ‘that nineteenth century imperialism was dead in England, which was no longer an expansionist country’; in this particular case Bevin ‘was merely trying to right nineteenth century wrong.’ Molotov, intended on forcing recognition for the pro-Soviet Bulgarian and Romanian governments pounced: England has troops and military bases in Greece, Denmark, Egypt, Iraq, Indonesia, and elsewhere. The Soviet Union has no bases beyond its border, and this shows the difference between expansion and security. He also, mischievously, suggested that the Soviet Union be granted an African colony, such as Tripolitania; should none of Italy’s be available then the Belgian Congo would do nicely. (The location, as he did not need to remind his Anglo-American audience, of their strategically vital supplies of uranium.) Pierson Dixon, Bevin’s private secretary thought the Soviet attack on ‘United Somaliland’ was designed to impress the American: The Russians know the American phobia about the British Empire’. Bevin decided to cut his losses and withdraw the Greater Somalia plan, at least for the time being, much to surprise and chagrin of many of his officials. (There is an obvious parallel between Bevin’s clash and American support for Zionism to the neglect of Palestinian rights, which was developing at the same time) Instead of a greater Somalia under joint trusteeship, with the threat of Soviet participation, the western allies now proposed a brief revival of Italian colonialism to be devoted to guiding Italian Somaliland to independence under United Nations’ mandate. British officials were reluctant to accept their government’s abandonment of united Somali nation. Officers in all ranks of the Military Administration, drawn from the army which had defeated Mussolini’s forces, still believed they had the right to redraft boundaries unilaterally and promised the Somali there would be no returns to Italian rule whatever the safeguards. They established a close working relationship with the nascent political party, the Somali Youth League (SYL) which was founded in 1943, which was similarly committed to Somali nation unity. It was a direct continuation of the Dervish struggle 0f 1889-1921 which were brutally suppressed by Britain with the use, for the first time in colonial wars, of aerial bombardment. As the four powers determined the inhabitant's wishes for unity, rival factions clashed in bloodies riot in Mogadishu, resulting in the infamous "Dhgaxtuur confrontation". There was a hidden Italian agenda behind this and it facilitated an immediate several British senior officials who had worked closely with nationalist were replaced and Bevin, goaded by Attlee's wishes not to be saddled with further 'deficit', determined to withdraw as quickly as possible from both the Ogadenia and Somalia. The Ogadenia was, therefore, relinquished to Ethiopia. What had been Italian Somaliland was made into a United Nations trusteeship, much smaller than that projected by Bevin, under Italian administration, to last for 10 years. In 1952 the General Assembly decided that Eritrea be federated with Ethiopia as a locally autonomous state, despite evidence of considerable opposition from the large Eritrean population. The highly centralized Ethiopian regime regarded such autonomy as dangerous and from the outset sought to reduce Eritrea to an ordinary Ethiopian Province. Undoubtedly Haile Selassie profited from this four-way play involving Ethiopia the United States, Britain and Italy. So did the United States. With Italy originally sidelined, readmitted as a badge of rehabilitation, the main losers in European colonialism’s end-game at the horn of Africa were not the British-who, in any case, even if they did not get all they wanted in this instance cashed in on the Anglo-American relationship elsewhere, notably in Cyrenaica. Just as at the start of colonialism at the ‘scramble’, it was the un-centralized, egalitarian peoples of the periphery, notably the Somalis, who lost out in Ethiopia’s transactions with the west. When the United Nations General Assembly eventually disposed of the Italian colonies in 1949, its president, General Romulo of the Philippines declared, with unconscious irony, that the decisions taken constituted a triumph for the principle of self-determination. In the very process of decolonization, the Empire State of Ethiopia thus triumphed over the Somali People in Ogadenia. The Congress of all Somali National that was held in Mogadishu on February 1, 1948 sent a petition to the United Nations secretary general. The petition contained the desire of all Congress members to end colonial presence in their land and unify the five regions of Somali territories, that were then under British, Italian, French and Abyssinian Empire State (Ethiopia). Unfortunately on the 24 September 1948 Britain acted unilaterally, and handed over to the Empire State of Ethiopia once again to Somali Ogadenia, despite the renewed and better opposition of the people who expressed themselves in riots throughout the country. In many towns these up rising were ruthlessly put down, the Ethiopian Soldiers shoots 25 persons and led to a waning of SYL activities in the occupied Somali Ogadenia. However, Britain’s generosity to Ethiopia continued and in 1954-55 Britain completed hand over the remaining portion of the Somali Ogadenia. This was the final act of British government betrayal, and its not at all surprising that today Somalis, without rancor, blame Britain for much of their troubles in that their land was illegally and secretly handed over to their traditional enemy. The cost in human misery is incalculable. In 1960 the former Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland became independence. These two territories were united and became the Somali Republic. Overnight a minor Abyssinian chief-tainship was transformed in a Feudal Colonial Empire State, by not only establishing its politico-economic structure and building for it a strong military equipped with modern weapons. The Ethiopian State elite, lacking the sophistication and economic and technical advancement of former colonizers could not meliorate or mask its exploitation and colonial presence nor did it have the necessary power to establish adequate control. Instead of posing as a national state advancing the interests of its subjects and providing some measure of services and low and order it confined itself to armed presence and extreme suppressive measures. The Somali Ogadenians nursing the wounds of treachery done to them were further antagonized by the savage and unwarranted treatment they received from the occupation army. This inevitable led to a popular uprising and formation of an organized resistance. The Somali Ogadenia People had no choice but continue the liberation struggle with its present specific identity: the Somali Ogadenia struggle for self-determination. The prominent leaders of the Somali Ogadenia led by Dr. Ibrahim Hashe began thinking seriously and formed in 1950s, underground movement that would lead organize political consciousness of the people. The movement constituted itself into a party Nasrullahi. Because of the pressure of Ethiopia repression and surveillance the movement moved its headquarters to the capital of Somalia in 1960. After new political restrictions were introduced by Abyssinian empire state government that made the Ogadenia be governed by martial law after the 1948 events. Public gathering of more than five persons were banned at one place. Hence, Ogaden Liberation Front (OLF), under the leadership of Makhtal Dahir had emerged from such long traditional of liberation movements in 1963, as response to the new situation. It started its armed struggle on 16th, June 1963 when the first congress was held at Hodayo, inside Ogadenia. The Ogaden Liberation Front began its resistance in the remote areas of Ogadenia and appealed to the local people to intensify the resistance and widen its scope. This enabled the OLF to wage offensive operations as well as ambushes and skirmishes with impressive results. The reaction of the stunned Ethiopians was to desert the more remote areas of the country and leave them to the unchallenged control of the OLF. The Ogaden Liberation Front soon succeeded in forcing the Ethiopians to surrender or evacuate villages and small towns. Thus, leaving the major part of the rural areas under the control of the OLF. By 1964 the Ogaden Liberation Front was poised to attack the major towns of the Somali Ogadenia. The Ethiopian Government then decided to escalate the war by invading the young Republic of Somalia in February 1964, claiming that the Somali Republic was attacking the Ethiopian State. It is worth mentioning, in 1959 Haile Selassie's cabinet formulated Ethiopia's policy towards the Ogaden. The policy recommended a series of measures ranging from propaganda to diplomacy, to brutal oppression all aimed at transforming the Ogadenia from Its colonial status to a border dispute with Somalia. Ethiopia, fearing the consequences of popular armed struggle and understanding the political ramifications immediately blamed Somalia on expansionism and turned the issue into border dispute. Through the intervention of supper-power and regional organizations, both Somalia and Ethiopia were forced to accept a negotiated settlement in 1965. The Ogadenia issue was ignored and the new movement was retarded.

1.1 How the Somalis Lived Before Separation From around the 9'th century to the 14'th century AD, for several hundred years before the colonialists arrived in Eastern Africa, there was a loose collection of city states with the collective name of "Shungwaya" -- that is unfortunately not well documented in written history. "Shungwaya" is a Bantu word, that had several different meanings simultaneously: a cultural belief system and set of legends, a form of government, and actual city-state governments. According to the Shungwaya legends, there was a unified city state along the coast covering the territory from approximately Berbera in the North to Northern Tanzania in the South, called "Greater Shungwaya". However, it broke up into different smaller city states that were culturally related but politically relatively independent. Around 1071, Shungwaya sent an ambassador to China. Examples of some such cities include locations: near Berbera, at Kelafo inside of Ethiopia today on the Shebelle River, at Hobbio, near Mogadishu, and along the Coast between Mogadishu and Malindi. The Ajuran Imamate from about 1500 to 1650 AD and centered around Kelafo on the Shebelle River played a central role in Somali history.1 This was a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual political system. To the Southwest, Bantu ethnic groups and languages predominated and to the Northeast Cushitic ethnic groups and languages predominated. The political structure of city states reflects the primarily nomadic occupation of the people, with traders centralized in cities on good trading routes, and without clear "national borders" as are common today for "nation states" of farmers, as in Europe. The Somali ethnic group came into existence around 1200 AD, when a small number of Arab settlers along the coast between Zeila and Bosaso married local Cushitic indigenous women, combining the Arab clan-structure system with the Cushitic/Shungwaya political/cultural system and a Cushitic language.2 This young ethnic group flourished, possibly due to innovative nomadic techniques brought from Arabia, spreading deeply into present Ethiopia and Kenya, displacing other Cushitic groups, such as the Oramo ethnic group, and Bantu people who lived here earlier. In parallel with this ethnic displacement of Somalis expanding and displacing other ethnic groups within this larger system, Christianity and Islam were already displacing earlier animist religions throughout the whole system, but in forms modified by the earlier animist religions and the regional cultural belief system. 1.2 How the Somalis Became Separated The colonialists came to East Africa and started to draw lines on maps to delineate colonial borders like the national borders of the nation states in Europe. These colonial borders introduced artificial rigidity along lines in the sand replacing the flexibility normally associated with nomadic groups of people around the World. In 1884 to 1885, Great Britain signed nearly identical separate treaties with the Isa group of clans (whose territory is in Djibouti, the Republic of Somaliland, and Ethiopia today), Gadabuursi group of clans (whose territory is in the RSL and Ethiopia today), Habr Garhagis group of **** clans (the Habr Yunis and Eidegalla clans, whose territory is in the RSL and Ethiopia today), Habr Awal clan of the **** group of clans (whose territory is in the RSL and Ethiopia today), and Habr Tojaala clan of the **** group of clans (whose territory is in the RSL and Ethiopia today). In 1896, Britain signed an additional treaty with Ahmed Murgan, "Chief of the Ogaden Somalis", mainly applying to the Mohamed Zubier subclan of the Ogadeni clan (who live in the territory known as Region 5 of Ethiopia today). France signed similar treaties with the Isa group of clans and Afar ethnic group living in Djibouti. Italy signed similar treaties with the major clans living in Southern Somalia (the former Italian Somalia) and across the borders with Ethiopia and Kenya today. A general map of "Greater Somalia" is shown below in Figure 1.1. Figure 1-1: Location of "Greater Somalia" and its Surroundings The main motivations of Great Britain in establishing the British Somaliland Protectorate were to create a secure source of food, mainly meat, for its military bases in Aden, and to prevent other European colonial powers from claiming all of the East-African coast and thereby hampering British naval and trading operations in this region. The main motivation of the Somali clans in signing these treaties with Great Britain, as well as with France and Italy, was to obtain European protection for their territorial integrity, particularly from encroachments by neighboring Ethiopia. Great Britain signed a treaty with the Ogadeni clan in the Ogaden in 1896, promising to protect the sovereignty of the Ogaden, particularly from Ethiopia. Only one year later, Great Britain ceded the Ogaden to Ethiopia in 1897 -- in a secret treaty, whereby the Ogadenis did not discover this treachery until several decades later. In 1948, Great Britain gave the Ogaden to Ethiopia a second time, claiming that their treaty with Ethiopia in 1897 was a valid treaty with a recognized country according to international law, which had a higher precedence over their earlier treaties with the Somali clans in 1894 and 1896 promising to protect their sovereignty. In 1954, Great Britain also ceded the Haud, an additional 24-mile wide strip of land along the border with British Somaliland, to Ethiopia. These actions created great protests and resentment among the Somalis, since this created artificial borders in the middle of the traditional nomadic grazing territory for many individual Somali clans. It also violated the solemn promises of Great Britain to protect the sovereignty of this Somali territory on behalf of the Somalis. 1.3 How the Borders Were Defined The delineation between British Somaliland and French Somaliland may correspond roughly to an internal boundary among Isa clans, with the territory of the Mamasan clan in the Isa group of clans being in British Somaliland and other Isa clans being in French Somaliland. At the end of the last century, the dominant port of the Isas was the old port city of Zeila and a large fraction of all Isas were engaged in trade and transport between Zeila, across barren and dry lowlands, to Harar on the fertile Harar plateau, which was the economic, cultural, and political capital of this region. From 1897 to 1903, France built the railroad between Djibouti and Dire Dawa, which lies lower and is more accessible for rail transport than Harar. This replaced the traditional trade route with camel caravans between Zeila and Harar with a new railroad route between Djibouti and Dire Dawa. One result was a displacement of Isa traders and transporters from Zeila to Djibouti. For this reason, 60% of the population of Djibouti today are Somalis, mainly Isas, but also including substantial numbers of Gadabuursi and ****s. As a result, the border between the RSL and Djibouti today has little connection to the ethnic and economic relationships that existed when it was drawn at the end of the last century, in terms of Somali clans living on one or the other side of it. By contrast, the border from the coast inwards between British Somaliland and Italian Somalia reflects the clear clan boundaries that existed then and have been preserved until today. This border represents the general nomadic grazing border between the Warsangeli and *********** clans on the side of British Somaliland and the ********* clan on the side of Italian Somalia. Colonial rule until 1960 also served to cement this division into two separate economic zones under different colonial cultural influence, with the port of Bosaso serving the *********s in Italian Somalia and the smaller nearby ports of Las Koreh and Mait as well as the larger more-distant port of Berbera serving the Warsangelis and ***********s in British Somaliland. During the first half of this century, a significant number of Warsangelis, ***********s, and *********s (all of whom belong to the same Harti subgroup within the ***** group of clans) moved South to areas near Kismayo along the border with Kenya and Mogadishu, i.e. in lower Juba with more fertile land than their original dry nomadic grazing areas in the North. Demands by these Hartis living in the distant South for reunification between the Republic of Somaliland and Southern Somalia, in order be legally reunited with their brothers in the North, are not based upon economic need for these two separate economic regions and should receive a corresponding lower priority and attention. We do not yet have clear background information on how the border between Southern Somalia and Kenya was defined. Particularly from the British perspective, the borders between French Somaliland, British Somaliland, and Italian Somalia were clearly defined going from the coast inwards. However, from the British perspective, the depths of these territories inland, bordering with Ethiopia, were less clear and relevant. Yet, there was considerable rivalry between the British and the French over the fertile and productive region around Harar, with their respective attempts to define their own hegemony deeper into this region, at the expense of the other. When it was convenient for their own interests, they interpreted the inner borders to be as deep as possible up to the border with non-Somali Ethiopia at that time. A long-term problem has been that: the British, French, and Italians seemed to think of their protectorates as territories defined by lines drawn on maps, whereby the lines defining the depth were unclear and changeable, to meet their desires, whereas the Somalis who granted them rights in exchange for territorial protection thought that they were getting protection for the sovereignty of the land that they occupied and lived on. When Britain gave independence to Kenya in 1962, it did conduct a referendum in October 1962 of the people living in the Northern Frontier District, mainly 250,000 Somalis with a smaller Oramo minority. The vast majority voted in favor of reunification with the Republic of Somalia. However, Great Britain acted against the expressed self-determination of the inhabitants of the Northern Frontier District, by ceding it to Kenya instead of Somalia. The result has been continued political unrest and "shifta" warfare in the Northern Frontier District, so that Kenya inherited only problems with this "gift" and no benefits. It also resulted in political antagonism between Somalia and Kenya as neighbors. When France granted independence to French Somaliland, their government decided to retain their independence and not to join the Republic of Somalia. One factor was the fact that 60% of the population were Somalis and 40% were Afars, who occupy 2/3 of Djibouti as well as the Danakil Desert in what is now Northeastern Ethiopia and Southern Eritrea. In this way, Great Britain played the key role in dividing the loosely-organized Somali territory, in the tradition of Shungwaya, into the 5 Somali territories today: Djibouti (60% Somali and 40% Afar), Republic of Somaliland (100% Somali) Region 5 of Eastern Ethiopia (nearly 100% Somali), Italian Somalia (nearly 100% Somali), and Northern Frontier District of Kenya (nearly 100% Somali and Oramo). Although this partitioning of the Somalis, against their will and, in the case of the Ogaden, secretly for several decades, may have served short-term British political interests, it has laid the basis for much of the tension and conflict on the Horn-of-Africa during the post-colonial period. The Charter of the OAU (Organization of African Unity) and their Resolution 16(1) of July 1964 made the colonial borders sacrosanct, demanding that new state borders should coincide with the colonial boundaries.3 Most international lawyers agree that this policy by the OAU guarantees the colonial border between the former British Somaliland and Southern Somalia. This policy has been interpreted as blocking any changes in the locations of such borders, but not to block the elimination of such borders upon a unification between neighboring states, such as between Libya and Egypt, and not to block the re-instatement of such borders when such a unification fails, as was the case between Libya and Egypt. However, this official policy of the OAU, also supported by the International Community, probably has less weight at a lower level than international law.4 1.4 Partial Reunification in 1960 On 4 June 1946, the Foreign Minister of Great Britain, Mr. Bevin, proposed to the House of Commons that: "British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, and the adjacent part of Ethiopia, if Ethiopia agreed, should be lumped together as a trust territory, so that the nomads should lead their frugal existence with the least possible hindrance and there might be a real chance of a decent economic life, as understood in that territory".5 This policy proposal mobilized public opinion of the Somalis for reunification into a "Greater Somalia". When Great Britain actually ceded the Ogaden to Ethiopia a second time in 1948 and ceded the Haud and Trust Territories to Ethiopia for the first time in the Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1954, this mobilized public opinion among the Somalis on both sides of this changing new border to strongly oppose separation and to favor reunification. When Great Britain granted independence to British Somaliland on 26 June 1960, the two main political parties in Somaliland at that time had been formed earlier as parties of protest against the actions of Great Britain in ceding their territory to Ethiopia. They were the SNL (Somali National League) of the ****s and the USP (United Somali Party) of the ***********s. Therefore, reunification was the key local political issue at that time, whereby reunification with the just-lost Ogaden and Haud were highest in priority. When Italy also granted independence to Italian Somalia five days later on 1 July 1960, this opened the technical opportunity for at least reunification between Somaliland and Somalia, even though this reunification had their lowest priority. Still, this bilateral reunification between Somaliland and Somalia appeared to be a positive step forwards towards the more-important components of reunification. In addition to reunification with the Ogaden and the Haud, the Somalilanders were hopeful that Britain would then allow at least the Northern Frontier District to join their union with Somalia and that French Somaliland would also join them later, when France granted independence. (Both of these hopes and anticipations remained unfulfilled!) The Prime Minister in the last years of British Somaliland, as well as the President of the independent and internationally-recognized Somaliland for 5 days after it received independence until it joined Southern Somalia, was Mohamed Ibrahim Egal (who is also the current President of the Republic of Somaliland). He and other political leaders in Somaliland were cautious and generally opposed to any quick bilateral reunification with Southern Somalia without detailed negotiations. However, they already had a democracy and the majority of the citizens demanded immediate reunification with Southern Somalia as soon as Italy granted independence. The Somalis in Southern Somalia were less interested in whether the Somalilanders joined them or not. Therefore, the reunification of Somaliland and Southern Somalia, on the day when Italy granted independence to the latter, was a result of the enthusiasm of the Somalilanders, tempered by the caution of their leaders. The International Community showed no interest in whether they joined or not at that time. Somaliland drafted an "Act of Union" to be approved by the legislatures of Somaliland and Southern Somalia and then to be signed by representatives from both independent nation states. On 27 June, Somaliland's Legislative Assembly passed the "Union of Somaliland and Somalia Law", which incorporated their proposed Act of Union. This law was to come into force in the South as well, upon the signature by authorized representatives from the South -- but it was never signed by any representatives from the South. On 30 June 1960, the Legislative Assembly of the South approved a new "Act of Union", but only "in principle", and with its text differing substantially from the text of the Act of Union proposed by Somaliland. At midnight on 30 June 1960, the President of the Legislative Assembly of the South proclaimed the independence of a reunified State of Somalia.6 The draft Constitution had already been prepared in the South, together with Italian officials, before Great Britain granted independence to British Somaliland. Politicians from the North were not given an opportunity to make more than marginal changes in this draft Constitution. This added to the resentment by the Somalilanders to the way they were being treated by the South. An important component of the unsigned Act of Union for reunification between Somaliland and Southern Somalia, was that a referendum must be held to confirm this reunification, before it became final. Because of the haste of the Somalilanders, they started the reunification before conducting this referendum. It quickly became apparent that the Somalilanders had granted too many compromises in their haste, such as accepting the capital in Mogadishu and a majority of the high-level positions going to Southerners. When this referendum was finally taken, combined with a referendum on the proposed Constitution for the reunified state in June 1961, only 100,000 of the estimated 650,000 citizens of Somaliland voted, with approximately 70% opposing reunification with Southern Somalia and the proposed Constitution. But it was too late and Southern Somalia did not let the Somalilanders go. This led to mutiny by senior Somalilander military officers, trying to restore independence in accordance with the incomplete treaty, but they were defeated and Somaliland was forcibly kept reunified with Southern Somalia. At the trial of these military officials, "the judge acquitted them on the basis that, in the absence of an Act of Union, the court had no jurisdiction over Somaliland.7 Lawyers have pointed out that this bilateral precipitous reunification between Somaliland and Southern Somalia was never legally completed. It is therefore legally improper to speak of "secession" today, since reunification was never legally completed. This is like a marriage being "annulled" because it was never consummated, rather than a "divorce" to dissolve a legal marriage. The main pre-occupation of the Somalis concerning reunification remained the important issue of reunification with the Ogaden, now Region 5 of Ethiopia. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre comes from the Marehan clan of the ***** group of clans. Only about one half of the Marehans live in Southern Somalia, with most living in the Ogaden and some in the Northern Frontier District. Within the clan-based political system in Somalia, the number of Marehans living in Somalia was too small to support a Marehan as President and Dictator. Therefore, Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre was only able to stay in power by a cunning political game of playing the larger clans off against each other, in shifting alliances with his own small and relatively insignificant Marehan clan. The Somalis spoke of Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre ruling generally with an MOD Alliance (Marehan, Ogadeni, and *********** ). When Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre came to power with his coup in October 1969, "there were only four officers from his clan in the armed forces; it is now estimated [in 1982] that more than 60 percent of the officers are [Marehan] clan members".8 Since most of the Marehan and Ogadeni clansmen and a significant number of the *********** clansmen in this alliance live across the border in the Ogaden, this gave Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre a particular focus and priority for reunification of these three clans, who formed the cornerstone of his ruling alliance. This factor accentuated the local political pressures for reunification and caused constant political conflict with two wars between Somalia and Ethiopia. This clan aspect had other important consequences. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre was present at a traditional inter-clan battle as a child, where his father was killed by an **** . This led to personal hatred by Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre against the **** group of clans, who make up 66% of the population in Somaliland, and led him to conduct a systematic program of genocide against them, starting in 1980.9 At most, Somaliland was only a subjugated colony for Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre to exploit and oppress, while he aspired to genuine reunification with his clansmen in the Ogaden.

"The imperialist invading U.S. and British forces are like a snake that slithers all over the place but that doesn't control anything."

I like your poetry sis. nice and goes together

Qaryaqaan your posts remind me of the first debate I had in this forum with Samy_Gyrl and you are restressing exactly the points I had stressed in those previous posts.

majdi iam accusing you of the same tribal reasoning as hornafrique in choosing cabdiqaasim Xasan Nasra Allah ma isla fiicantahay?

Good idea.

Newt Gingrich is part of the far right hawks who are against Bush's two state solution to the Iraeli/Palestinian conflict. The are mad because Colin Powell is going to tour the middle east soon (Syria included), and for them to say that Colin is going against the president's policies is ludicrous, because it was Bush himself who told him to go to Syria and the Middle East.

Bari Nomad I wasn't specififcally talking about you. Xasan Nasra Allah just because I'm pro Cabdiqaasim is it right for you to assume I'm from his subclan or even clan and for you to accuse me of clan politics when you don't have any idea of what I am.

Bari Nomad said: When 'somaliland' starts puting people like Riyaale Kaahin in jail instead of electing them 'president'. Then We'll know they are serious about Justice and Human rights and not just playing lip-service for recognition I agree 100% with you. Lander said: You also said Eritrea was ALLOWED to gain independence and that is false. They had many wars with Ethiopia. Eritrea did have a long war with Ethiopia and it would still have it, if the TPLF when they ascended to power in 1991 did not grant Eritrea independence. So you're wrong on that one. Bari Nomad also said: If they recognized every tribe/chiefdom that wanted independence this would set a dangerous precedent for themselves(International community) and create hundreds of Welfare states. You are absolutely right. Why is the United States so adamant on Iraq's territorial integrity when the Kurds(who are a whole different ethnic group from the Arabs) and Shia's have been slaughtered and massacred and deserve a different entity? I really don't beleive any country except Ethiopia has the potential to extend international recognition to any Somali seperatist quasi-state, and Ethiopia will also never be the first one to give that recognition.

Gediid aboow walahi I'm not a xaasid, I would never want anarchy for "Somaliland" just like I do not want secession for it also. I'm very pro-Somali unity and I have a lot of pro-"Somaliland" friends and we debate, but nobody has ever called me a xaasid. To tell the truth that really striked me personally to compare me with a raw meat-eating Xabasho gaal. For "Somaliland" to be like "Puntland", an autonomous region that is waiting for a stronger Somalia, I would be very happy and content as would countless others of our ppl.

Admin I'm sorry by I'm going to have to use qabiil names to prove an accusation wrong. Xassan Nasra Allah I understand by reading my posts you probably assume I am from the ******* clan, but aboow no I'm from the ********and specifically a ********. The only reason I stated my qabiil is because I hate for anybody to accuse me of clan politics. That's like accusing somebody of anti-Semitism in American politics. Please don't assume anymore Xassan, and especially don't put those kinds of assumptions to public, you could've just sent me a private message. [ April 23, 2003, 04:10 PM: Message edited by: Admin ]

Salaamz Suburban Nomad I think Qaryaqaan is the most intelligent of us and you might need to read and understand more about what he writes. By trying to brush aside the massacre that happened in Bari, Gediid you stated a racist and prejudiced comment about the ppl killed in Hargeisa being more than the whole population of Bari and Mudug as if to say that a life in Hargeisa is more valuable than a life in Bari. Isn't all human life sacred? Think about what you write next time bro. Che-Guevara I agree Morgan, Gaani, all the G8 warlords should be put to trial, just like I agree that Daahir Riyaale Kaahin should also be put to trial for the massacres he helped commit as Siad Barre's head of secret police, Barbera division. Dahiir Riyaale is also the current "president" of the very place those massacres took place and he got there by vote! Talk about a twist of irony. U-N-I-T-Y Alla-Mahadle

Garyaqaan I had to quote you: However some tend to not distinguish between the Bare regime and ‘Somalis’. Bare was at war with ALL Somalis who apposed his dictatorial rule and therefore targeted and murdered individuals and groups who he perceived threaten him. And that even included members of his own family! I hope you are not advocating for everyone who got wronged by Bare to have his/her own state, are you? Beside the fact that the North was colonized by Britain instead of Italy and suffered under Bare’s regime like all other Somalis have, what other legitimate claims are there for it to secede form Somalia ? This post is not intended to cause offense but rather to challenge believes and educate one another and that includes me hopefully with your responses. Bari Nomad aboow that is point I tried to stress in a previous debate I had with Samy_Gyrl, most pro-secessionsts tend to pretend they don't know anything about it or try to pass it by.

Muraad I just had to use this: separation = weakness,nationalism (tribalism), etc unity = strength, brotherhood, and most importantly it's obligation as a muslim.

Believe I don't want any more Somali blood shed, just like I don't want "Somaliland" to secede, but violence has already started. If you guys are not up-to-date there has been fights between Silaanyo's supporters and "Somaliland" authorities in several cities. Silaanyo is 100% a Somali plitician and Somali politicians whether in Muqdisho, "Somaliland", "Puntland", "Hiiraanland",or "Jubbaland" all have the same mindset and the same mentality. It's not wishful thinking and if you must realize it's not a stated prediction, but guessing prediction. I didn't say there was going o be a violent showdown, i said maybe.

Bari Nomad, sxb Cabdiqasiim has been livin in Egypt, because he didn't want to exploit the suffering of our ppl for his purpose. He has been involved in grassroots operations and in 2000, he was elected as the president of the TNG. It is a sad day when ppl pick Abdilahi Yusuf over Cabdiqasim.

Somaliland Candidate Won't Accept Results Sun Apr 20,12:59 PM ET By OSMAN HASSAN, Associated Press Writer MOGADISHU, Somalia - The candidate who lost presidential elections in breakaway Somaliland by just 80 votes said Sunday he would not accept the results. Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Silanyo accused incumbent President Dahir Riyaleh Kahin of manipulating the April 14 election. Somaliland's electoral commission announced Saturday that Kahin, leader of the Democratic United National party, received 205,595 votes. Silanyo, of the Kulmiye party, got 205,515 votes. The final announcement of the results was delayed several times. "I knew why the electoral commission postponed the results ... because they were preparing these useless and malicious lies," Silanyo told reporters in Hargeisa, the region's capital. Electoral officials weren't immediately available for comment. The supreme court was expected to confirm the results within 10 days. Silanyo said he would meet with his party to decide what action to take. Somaliland broke away from the rest of Somalia in 1991 as the Horn of Africa nation descended into chaos after the ouster of longtime leader Mohamed Siad Barre. The region, home to about 2.5 million people, has been relatively peaceful compared to the rest of Somalia, where heavily armed clan-based factions control regional fiefdoms. Kahin became Somaliland's third president last May after the death of Mohamed Ibrahim Egal.

I voted for Abdiqasim . This really had me cracking! - beliefs more in merit than tribal affiliation Abullahi yusuf was the first person to set up a qabiil based militia in modern Somalia's history. But then all the other warlords would have taken his position if they had the chance.

looooooooool they made abdiqasim the goalie.

Shakur99 said: "Do you want the country divided in to 10 mini states so Ethiopia can come and colonize a piece at a time? I know the place you are talking about, it is so small that the Ethiopians won't even drop a sweat for it, it may not even take more than an hour to concur. Talking about Islamic run state, Remember all Muslims should be one country regardless their ethnic. Now you are claiming that you are going to establish a Muslim run gov by separating a people with the same ethnic? Pleassseessss. Ever heard "Far Kaligeed Fool Ma Dhaqdo" I agree with you 100%!

Seatown to da fullest!