Jacaylbaro Posted July 1, 2011 Fifty years ago the protectorate of Somaliland gained independence from Britain. Five days later, on July 1 1960, it elected to join Italian Somalia in a union. The marriage did not work; Somalia descended into military dictatorship, civil war and chaos. In 1991, Somaliland elected to go it alone, establishing the conditions for peace through a home-grown Islamic democracy. But still it remains without recognition by the international community, despite fulfilling legal norms for recognition. Somaliland has defined borders, a functioning government and armed forces capable of defending its people. It is also relatively stable, especially when compared to Somalia. What Somalilanders have achieved they have done so with hardly any international assistance -- a salutary reminder that local ownership really does work. How long they can sustain these achievements without recognition is anybody's guess. What is certain, however, is that Somaliland will not be able to build on them and consolidate its development unless its current isolation is broken. And if issues of global governance -- including terrorism, health concerns, piracy and the environment -- require effective states as local implementing agencies, then it makes sense to strengthen Somaliland. The most cost-effective way of doing so is through recognition. Somaliland's problem is that, unlike the split-up of Czechoslovakia or the secession of Eritrea, its original marriage partner, Somalia, does not agree to a divorce. In the past decade several strong voices have urged them to relent, even if not explicitly. South Africa's then-department of foreign affairs concluded in 2003 that "it is undeniable that Somaliland does indeed qualify for statehood, and it is incumbent on the international community to recognise it". The African Union, which has sent two missions to Somaliland, in 2005 and 2008, has said it fulfils many of the aspects of state recognition. "Objectively viewed," the 2005 report states, "the case should not be linked to the notion of 'opening a Pandora's box'" -- the source of African misgivings about the recognition of new states on the continent. Recognition would help to solve some of the territory's social and economic challenges. The capital Hargeisa is heaving at the seams; built for 150 000 people, it now houses closer to one million. The harbour at Berbera appears busy to the visitor. The nearby airport, built as a Cold War staging post by the Soviets with one of the longest runways in Africa (it was once designated by the United States as an alternative landing strip for the space shuttle), is slowly being rehabilitated and is accommodating a trickle of flights. But the infrastructure elsewhere is rickety. The 60km of freshly paved road from Jijiga in Ethiopia's Somali-populated ****** region, running eastward towards the Somali border at Tog Waajale, contrasts with what lies ahead. Tog Waajale's dirt streets are festooned with the Somali national flower, the plastic bag. Goats feed on mounds of rubbish and snot-nosed children and idle youths hassle for a hand-out. Once through the ropes slung across the track denoting the border, the next 20km in Somaliland is tough going -- a series of mud roads criss-crossing their way through a multitude of dongas over the flat, bleak terrain in which there is scarcely a knee-high tree in sight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacaylbaro Posted July 1, 2011 Read More ..... http://mg.co.za/article/2011-07-01-a-land-in-need-of-recognition/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taleexi Posted July 1, 2011 Dream carries on. The caravan is still going astray. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
