Somaliland Pursues International Recognition as it Celebrates 28 Years of Independence

[Deeq A.]

If you ever travel to Somaliland, you will see every characteristic of nationhood. The country has its own flag, a police force, military, currency, passport, and other effective government institutions. The country also has two chambers of parliament, a Lower House and an Upper House.

But there is one big problem, despite operating like an independent country, no country in the world recognises Somaliland as an independent nation.

Somaliland is celebrating 28 years of independence since it broke away from the rest of Somalia. For those 28 years, it has been struggling to gain recognition from the international community. In spite of remaining stable, no single country has offered to recognise the self-declared republic in the Horn of Africa.

Lack of recognition has not stopped this country, of over 4 million people, from celebrating its independence. Every May 18th, its people take to the streets to celebrate freedom from Somalia which it left in 1991 when clan militias toppled President Siyad Barre.

Somaliland was not always yearning for independence; it was an independent nation for five days in the 1960s after it gained independence from Britain before it chose to join southern Somalia and become a united country.

Somaliland’s regional profile continues to grow. This year’s celebrations have attracted government representatives from the east Africa region. Only Somalia was absent. Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Uganda sent representatives to Hargeisa to witness Somaliland’s 28th independence anniversary.

A delegation from Uganda’s parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs is in Somaliland. The committee’s chairman, Hood Katuramu, said it is time his country and the African Union recognise Somaliland.

“If we are talking about Pan-Africanism, which Uganda prides itself to be leader in this push, I think time is ripe for us to recognise and start working with Somaliland,” Katuramu said in Hargeisa.

Unlike countries in the eastern Africa region, Somaliland boasts that it is a ‘democratic powerhouse.’ It has held successful presidential elections since 2003, where the candidates have accepted the results of the election and congratulated the winner.

Last year, it held a presidential election. Although the ruling party won that election, the incumbent President Mohamud Silanyo did not contest to seek a second term in office, although the constitution allows him to do so, a rare in Africa. And in 2010, the incumbent president, Riyale Kahin conceded defeat and handed over power to the opposition candidate.

Somalia is still struggling to stabilise the country and the president is elected by members of parliament who were selected by clan elders. In Kenya, presidential elections are a matter of life and death where incumbents ‘never lose’ an election, and election-related violence is common. Sudan just overthrew its leader, Omar al-Bashir who ruled the country for 30 years. Uganda and Djibouti have presidents-for-life, sort of. Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Ismail Guelleh came to power in 1985 and 1999 respectively. Ethiopia has just got a reformist leader after decades of dictatorship.

Although Somaliland could be termed a success story, a country which runs smoothly without any international support, it faces several challenges. Because of lack of recognition, it qualifies for loans from international agencies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for infrastructural development. However, its battered economy heavily relies on diaspora remittances and livestock export to the Gulf. Unemployment is so rampant among its youth that some of them risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean, trying to reach Europe for a better life.

Through its pursuit of nationhood, the self-declared republic has curtailed freedom of expression. Since its establishment, Somaliland has jailed dozens of journalists and artists, accusing them of advocating for the unity between itself and Somalia.

There have been several attempts by foreign nations to reconcile Somaliland with Somalia, for the former to rejoin the latter. But talks have stalled since President Mohamed Farmajo of Somalia was elected in February 2017.

Somaliland is also engaged in a border dispute with Puntland, which is a federal member state of Somalia, in the Sool and Sanaag regions.

Analysts believe lack of engagement could lead to a deterioration between the two.

“Two years have gone by without meaningful dialogue between Hargeisa and Mogadishu. Tensions continue to rise. A military standoff in the Sool and Sanaag regions risks developing into a shooting war between Somalia and Somaliland,” Rashid Abdi, a Horn of Africa analyst and a former Crisis Group researcher told 7Dnews.

“It is imperative for the two to engage in dialogue. An amicable settlement will have huge benefits. It will help stabilise northern Somalia. Somaliland’s military and intelligence machinery can be harnessed in the struggle to defeat al-Shabab in southern Somalia,” Abdi said.

To defer a solution achievable now to a future date, Abdi warned, is simply to create context for Somaliland’s recognition.

Somaliland, at the moment, will have to wait for a long time to realise its dream of being an independent nation.

Africa

Qaran News