Do we have a legal chance to contest a greater Somalia?

[Gabbal]

I thought this excerpt from a posted thesis that I read might be interesting, seeing as how it gives hope to a future Greater Somalia. If the exact documents of the colonial period were found, do you think we would have a chance to contest our lands in a court?.

 

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SECTION III - THE OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE HORN

 

 

This section completes the stage setting for the conflicts by presenting

 

the histories of the other countries on the Horn.

 

Somalia

 

 

The British became interested in the Somali coast because of the fate of

 

shipwrecks. It seems that whenever a ship had the misfortune to shipwreck on

 

their coast, the Somalis murdered the crews and stole the cargos. In 1825, the

 

British began to make treaties with the Somalis to protect future shipwrecks.

 

The British interests expanded in 1839 when Aden was established, and again in

 

1869, when the Suez Canal opened.(76)

 

When the Madhists became active in the Sudan, Egypt withdrew many of its

 

garrisons on the Horn and the British felt compelled to take their place. In

 

1884, the British sent diplomatic notes to the Turks asking them to occupy the

 

areas vacated by Egypt. When no action was taken by the Turks, , the British

 

occupied the port of Zeila. They made more treaties with the Somalis and in

 

1887, declared a protectorate.(77)

 

THE HORN OF AFRICA

 

 

These treaties were worded so that the British would protect the Somalis

 

from other powers and did not include any loss of Somali rights to the lands .

 

In other words, the British did not receive actual title to the Somali lands .

 

This technicality would become important in the eyes of the Somalis in regards

 

to the later treaties between the British and the Ethiopians.( 78) Two other

 

reasons for Somali willingness to make the treaties were the similarity of the

 

treaties to the Somali "dia" alliances and the Somali perception of increasing

 

threats from the Ethiopian highlands.(79)

 

The Italian interest in the Somali coast was based on trade possibilities

 

that became evident in the 1880's. With the help of the British in 1889, the

 

Italians received rights from the Sultan of Zanzibar to towns in the Benadir

 

region. The Italians established a company to rule and expand this holding.

 

The company failed and a new one was formed to take its place. This one faced

 

criticism for the use of forced labor and the Italian government took direct

 

control of the area in 1905.(80)

 

The Europeans made agreements among themselves in 1888 and 1894, which set

 

up their common borders on the Horn of Africa. However, the shocking defeat of

 

the Italians at Adowa caused them all to rush to Addis Ababa for negotiations.

 

British goals on the Horn, as given to British Special Envoy Rennell Rodd,

 

were to: secure supplies for the more important port at Aden; keep the Somali

 

protectorate as self sufficient as possible; obtain Ethiopian aid against the

 

Madhists; and clearly define the borders between the two, if possible, in such

 

a way as to seal off any possible French moves towards the headwaters of the

 

Nile.(81) After many rounds of negotiation, Rodd produced an agreement (see

 

Map 12). To obtain Ethiopian approval, he gave them the most fertile lands of

 

the west and grazing lands of the south. This was done without the knowledge

 

or notification of the Somalis.(82) It was also technically illegal because

 

the Somali chiefs had never ceded any of their lands to the British .(83)

 

Click here to view image

 

THE HORN OF AFRICA

 

 

The Italians were next to negotiate with Menelik. Like the British, they

 

came away from the negotiations with the impression of having scored a coup in

 

that they had gained a lot without giving up much. Like the British, they too,

 

learned that Menelik's interpretations, and more importantly, his actions based

 

on the agreements, were to prove the opposite. The treaty with Italy to define

 

the border between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia was vague. As part of the

 

treaty, there were two copies of an inaccurate map that had a border drawn on

 

it. The Italians claimed it ran 180 miles inland from a point of contact with

 

the British in the north to the lands on the Juba in the south. Menelik said

 

the line was closer to the coast. As both maps were lost, no one knows which

 

was right. The Italians returned for several border renegotiations. In 1908,

 

they paid three million lire for both a clear definition of the border and a

 

joint border commission to mark it. By 1911, this commission marked out only

 

30 kilometers from Kenya before it was unable to agree on the 1908 treaty.(85)

 

The British East India Company had held the port of Kismayu and its sur -

 

roundings, known as Jubaland, since 1891 . The Somali migrations to the south

 

made any peaceful administration of the area impossible. Frequent attacks,

 

punitive expeditions and other armed actions resulted in the British government

 

taking over the area directly in 1895. The British then fought hostile Somalis

 

and sometimes, slave raids from the Ethiopians. British efforts stopped the

 

migratory advance of the Somalis at the Tana River. Tiring of the constant war

 

in the area and involved in World War I, they ceded parts of Jubaland to Italy

 

in exchange for future support against Germany. The actual transfer took place

 

in 1925.(86) The fact that only a part of the Somali inhabited land was given

 

to Italy was a basis for a later Somali conflict as the remaining area became

 

part of Kenya and is considered one of the three "lost territories ."

 

During the 1920's the Italians attempted to expand their territory inland

 

by arming the Somalis and encouraging them to attack Ethiopian tax collectors.

 

The Ethiopians responded by sending larger and more frequent expeditions into

 

the areas. They also began to curry favor with some Somali tribes by providing

 

arms and encouraging raids on the Italians.(90)

 

Both efforts often spilled over into the British protectorate and caused

 

the British to press for a clear definition of the border. They convinced the

 

Ethiopians that a joint border demarcation should be accomplished and began the

 

process in 1929. This upset the nomadic Somalis who feared restrictions would

 

be imposed on their migrations. Britain reassured them by pointing out the

 

provisions of their Ethiopian treaty which allowed free access to traditional

 

grazing lands by those on both sides of the border. The joint commission that

 

had marked the borders was also responsible for defining the grazing limits of

 

the British Somali tribes and they slowly proceeded to find them.(91)

 

In 1934, the joint commission and their Ethiopian military escort reached

 

Wal Wal and found Italian-led Somali forces there. Italians had been at Wal

 

Wal over four years without an Ethiopian protest despite the border being 100

 

kilometers or more to the east. When Italian planes buzzed the Ethiopian camp,

 

the British part of the commission withdrew in protest. Both sides reinforced

 

their positions and a battle broke out that involved Italian aircraft and tanks

 

and resulted in several hundred killed and wounded. This incident triggered

 

the sucessful Italian invasion of Ethiopia.(92)

 

The next several years saw the growth of Somali nationalism as the Italians

 

consolidated the Somali parts of their new empire into one unit. They added

 

British Somaliland to that total when they threw out the British in 1940. When

 

the British returned to the Horn and defeated the Italians, the British added

 

the Somali parts of Kenya to form a unified Somali area. They developed the

 

Bevin Plan which was to form a unified Somalia, under their trusteeship, out of

 

all the Somali occupied parts of the Horn. The plan was naturally very popular

 

with the Somalis and very unpopular with Haile Selassie, who was attempting to

 

claim both the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean coasts. The plan also seemed to be

 

an attempt by the British to maintain their empire on the Horn . The Bevin plan

 

failed. The British then tried to trade the port of Zeila and the construction

 

of a rail line to connect it to Ethiopia, for the Ogaden. The French, knowing

 

that their port at Djibouti would suffer from competition, used their rights

 

under a 1906 agreement to kill the trade. The British later tried unsuccess-

 

fully, to buy the territory from Ethiopia.(93)

 

The British had encouraged the Somalis in their nationalism and formed the

 

Somali Youth Club (SYC) which eventually had 25,000 clubs in operation. SYC

 

changed into a political form called the Somali Youth League (SYL). SYL had

 

Somali independence as its goal. It helped to get the Italian Somaliland issue

 

to the UN, where a 10 year trusteeship was decided.(94)

 

A SYL flag caused an incident in Jijiga as the British returned the Ogaden:

 

It had been run up to give offence to the Ethiopians and was in

fact illegal. As the leaders refused to pull down their flag, the

police brought it down with a machine gun mounted on an armoured

car. Disturbances followed, during which a policeman was killed and

another wounded by the explosion of a hand grenade thrown from the

roof of the SYL headquarters. The police opened fire on the crowd,

killing twenty-five of them . . . (95)

 

The SYL was outlawed in Ethiopia and Kenya. Some of its leaders were also

 

jailed when the Italians established trusteeship. It became the major party

 

and controlled the Somali government in Italian Somaliland. Political parties

 

didn't fire well in British Somali land until 1954, when the British returned

 

the Haud to Ethiopia. The Somali backlash against the British stimulated

 

politics and expanded the parties. In April, 1960, the British agreed to an

 

end of their rule. On 1 July 1960, the two former colonies became Somalia. (96)

 

Greater Somalia was incorporated into the Somali consttution. The preamble

 

states that "the Somali Republic promotes by legal and peaceful means, the

 

union of the Somali territories." (97) Nonpeaceful means also became evident as

 

conflict began over the Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya and the

 

Ogaden in Ethiopia.

 

The Somalis knew that they might need armed forces to meet their goal of

 

having a Greater Somalia and tried to obtain them from Western countries. No

 

one was interested in supplying the quantities of arms that Somalia requested

 

as the amounts were greater than those necessary for defense. As the US was

 

supporting Ethiopia, the Soviet Union saw a possible opportunity to upset the

 

balance on the Horn. Shortly after 1960, it agreed to provide $52 million in

 

aid.(98) The Soviets agreed to train and equip a 10,000-man force which was

 

twice the size that any of the western powers was willing to train. (99)

 

In the former NFD of Kenya, a large part of the population was Somali

 

(about 240,000). Somalia tried negotiation with the British in order to have

 

them detach the NFD from Kenya prior to granting Kenya its independence. The

 

British sent teams to survey the population and found that almost all of the

 

Oromo and Somali wanted to join Somalia. However, the British reasoned that a

 

federal type government would protect the rights of both the Somalis and the

 

Oromos and allowed the NFD to remain a part of Kenya. In 1964, just after

 

independence Kenya adopted a centralized, and not a federal constitution.

 

A guerrilla war, called the "shifta war," which Kenya said was supported by the

 

Somalis using Soviet weapons, broke out and lasted four years. In 1964, Kenya

 

also signed a mutual defense treaty with Ethiopia directed at Somalia. This

 

pact was later renewed with the current government of Ethiopia.(101)

[Gabbal]

thanx

[Fabregas]

you thanked urself?

[SayidSomal]

We have legal, moral and religious grounds for greater somalia.

 

But we are missing the key ingredient; The Human Resource to realise this goal.

[jamaal7777]

Horn

 

It was very interesting indeed.

Thanks

[N.O.R.F]

Interesting. What was signed with Ethiopia in 1977/78 though?

[Gediid]

^^^As far as I know there were no legal papers signed in 1977 but in 1988 I know the siad barre govt signed an agreement with the Mengistu govt that would void any somali claim to any part of Ethiopia and in return the Ethiopian govt would stop supporting rebel groups opposed to the siad regime.No other somali govt had gone that far and I blv that agreement under international law is what would stop any future somali claims to any part of Ethiopia.

[SayidSomal]

^^^ you are misinformed on that 1988 "treaty" with Ethoipia brother, that one was about the cesation of hostilities (ie kicking out the rebels from each others territory), exchange of prisoners and biletral relations

 

what you are refering to is another so called treaty with Kenya, where by M S Barre signed any claims to NFD.

[Gediid]

^^^^Sxb I think I have it correct.Barre reached that agreement in 1987 in the first ever head of state IGAD meeting in Djibouti.That agreemeent was then ratified in Addis Ababa by the 2 heads of state in May of 1988.I know some folks who have the same thoughts as you do but unfortunately the agreement went beyond bilateral relations and cessation of hostilities.One cant agree to become friends unless and until the problem between the 2 is addressed.The ******* region was that issue and with the flick of a pen Barre signed that away.

[SayidSomal]

^^^ Walaal i belief the following article negates you post above.

 

Ethiopian and Somali Forces Withdrawn Under Agreement

 

Published: April 26, 1988

 

LEAD: Ethiopian and Somali armies have completed a disengagement of forces along their border in accordance with the peace agreement signed by the two former enemies earlier this month, Ethiopia said today.

 

Ethiopian and Somali armies have completed a disengagement of forces along their border in accordance with the peace agreement signed by the two former enemies earlier this month, Ethiopia said today.

 

A Foreign Ministry statement said both countries had withdrawn troops to between six and nine miles from the frontier under the supervision of a joint military commission.

 

The disengagement process is the first of several measures designed to restore confidence after more than a decade of hostility. The two countries went to war in a border area, the semi-arid ****** region of eastern Ethiopia.

 

Under the peace agreement, signed in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu on April 3, the otld adversaries will restore diplomatic relations, exchange prisoners of war and refrain from hostile propaganda or acts of destabilization against each other. They will eventually open border talks.

 

the link

 

Do you concede your above stances now?

[Coloow]

I am impressed at the metamorphises the character known as HornAfrik has gone through; from a warlord support, a TFG d-aba****** (he may deny this but when the injirleeys and their lackeys were murdering kids, women and the old in Muqdisho- he was dancing to the tunes of their barrels singing KILL THEM, BURN THEM and create A HURAALE state in the south.

 

This is a long awaited article- in particular ´the nfd issue- This is a noble aspiration. Thank you for the article! Waa suaale se, do you have multiple names (you thanked yourself).

 

There are no reasons legal or otherwise why somalis in the NFD should not vow for self determination. However, as the situation is today, nobody in his/her right mind want to join a failed state run by warlords; a nation whose people worship tribalism; a nation of slaves and masters.

 

My hope is that the NFD will be an independent somali state. Greater somalia is a dream and should as such stay so. But as things stand today, somalia risks the fragmentation of the incumbent somali state.

[N.O.R.F]

Nigeria cedes land to Cameroon

 

Nigeria has handed over the Bakassi peninsula, believed to be rich in oil and gas, to Cameroon, ending a 15-year dispute over the territory.

 

The legal paperwork, in line with a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was signed on Thursday by Michael Aondoakaa, Nigeria's justice minister, and Maurice Kanto, his Cameroonian counterpart.

 

Heightened security concerns in Bakassi forced organisers to cancel a formal flag-exchanging ceremony in Abana, the peninsula's main town, relocating it instead to a safer venue in Calabar city, about 192km away.

 

"We are saddled with the painful, but important task of completing the implementation of the International Court of Justice's judgment by handing the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon," Aondoakaa said at the ceremony.

 

A Cameroon government official said the finalisation of the transfer marks "the end of a crisis", which Cameroon believes began in December 1993 when the Nigerian army occupied a number of villages on the peninsula.

 

Political disagreements, a last-minute lawsuit and occasional gun battles had stalled the transfer, already staggered over two years.

 

But the transfer itself has been described by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, as "a model for negotiated settlements of border disputes".

 

'No loss'

 

Cameroon first took its case for sovereignty over the Bakassi peninsula to the ICJ in The Hague in 1994.

 

After a drawn-out legal battle, the ICJ ruled in 2002 that the peninsula should be given to Cameroon, basing its decision largely on a 1913 treaty between Britain and Germany, the former colonial powers.

 

Cameroon and Nigeria then signed an accord, known as the Green Tree agreement, in New York in 2006 during US-facilitated mediation talks, paving the way for Nigeria's withdrawal from Bakassi.

 

Edet Okon Asim, a spokesman for Nigeria's Cross River State, to which Bakassi used to be a part, said: "We should not see this handover as a loss for Nigeria or as a sign of weakness, but ... our profound respect for international law and good neighbourliness."

 

Around 90 per cent of the population in the Bakassi peninsula, estimated at 200,000 to 300,000, are Nigerian fishermen and their families.

 

Many have said that they do not want to become Cameroonians.

 

Nigeria has offered to resettle them.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/08/2008814115715541738.html

[Som@li]

Great article, Thanks Horn, I believe greater Somalia is a dead dream,and will not eventuate in our life time, one must learn how to walk before runs, but O-G-A-D-N-I-A,soon or later will eventually have a freedom, and their own state.

 

 

And NFD, I think they are happy and better off with Kenya.

[dhulQarnayn]

Originally posted by Dabshid:

Great article, Thanks Horn, I believe greater Somalia is a dead dream,and will not eventuate in our life time, one must learn how to walk before runs, but O-G-A-D-N-I-A,soon or later will eventually have a freedom, and their own state.

 

 

And NFD, I think they are happy and better off with Kenya.

^^^Bullocks!

 

Insha Allah, when Somalia gets its act together and becomes once again a great nation equal with the rest of the world, we will have every right to persue the union of all Somali peoples in the horn. IT ONLY A MATTER OF TIME.

 

When that day comes, am sure both occupied western Somalia and the northern frontier district will want to re-unite with mother Somalia.

[Allamagan]

Really good read insight. Tnx Horn.