THE REPUBLIC OF SOMALILAND: CHRONOLOGY OF A NATION
Pre-amble:
Somali clan-families have inhabited the region of North-eastern Africa, better known as the Horn of Africa, for close to three thousand years, as some historical records indicate. The people were organized in nomadic clans of herders. Therefore, there had never been any rigidly-organized authority in the form of a state in the Somali territories before the advent of European colonialism in the region. But there were locally accepted customary laws in every Somali community which served each community or local area as its own indigenous constitutional arrangements. Hence, the idea that all Somalis formed a nation-state, once upon a time and before colonialism, and that Somaliland is seceding from historical nation-state called Somalia, is nothing more than a politically motivated invention. This important piece of evidence, which is a historical fact, negates the recent chorus of commentaries by some that Somalis should have one state under all circumstances. It indeed undermines the hopes and aspirations of the people of Somaliland, who have every right to remain independent from the rest of Somalia, as they were twice before, once under the British as the British Protectorate of Somaliland, and once, though briefly, as the State of Somaliland, before they voluntarily merged their post-colonial state with the former Italian Somalia that became independent on July 1, 1960, days after Somaliland had become independent from Great Britain. Now here are some important dates to remember, as to how the Somaliland State has evolved since the colonial days:
1840: The British annex Aden, across the Red Sea in present-day Yemen. They then began to trade with the Somalis in the present-day Somaliland, mostly in order to import meat for their sailors. This trade initiated the first interaction between the people of Somaliland and the Europeans.
1870s: Alarmed by the growing European presence in the region, and encouraged by Great Britain, the Khedive of Egypt sent troops to occupy some of Somaliland’s coastal towns such as Zeilah and Berbera, as well as the interior city of Harar, now in Ethiopia.
1877: Egypt and Britain signed a treaty over the occupation of Somaliland. Britain signed a treaty recognizing the Egyptian presence in Somaliland coastal towns.
1884: When the Egyptians were forced to withdraw from Somaliland because of military threats from other neighbors and financial problems, the British took control of the territory they had occupied, i.e., Somaliland. Britain therefore occupied the territory that would become Somaliland.
1887: The British Protectorate of Somaliland was established. Major A. Hunt of Great of Britain, representing his government, drew up protection treaties with several Somaliland clans guaranteeing them military support, in case of an attack from other neighbouring territories, which were then occupied by other Europeans(See The Map of Africa by Treaty written by Sir E. Hertslet). As a result of this extensive colonial treaties, Great Britain sent its Vice-Consuls to the Somaliland coastal towns such as Berbera, Bulahar, and Zeilah. In effect, this was the beginning of the first state(Colonial State) that would give way to the independent state of Somaliland on June 26, 1960—that is before Somalia became independent from Italy.
1900: Trade increased both in volume and value in British Somaliland due to the relative political stability created by the colonial state. The port cities of Somaliland were scenes of active trading during that era. In fact, Somaliland was the only British Protectorate/Colony in East Africa which not only balanced its books, but also had constantly reported a surplus. The key to Somaliland’s opulence was international trade, as the people in the territory were, in the words of one British colonial officer, “natural born traders.” (See “Somaliland” by Andrew Hamilton). It is this age-old trading skills and business ingenuity on the part of the people of Somaliland, observed by the colonial officer in the early part of the Twentieth century, which currently sustains Somaliland’s booming economy, despite its lack of international recognition.
April 1960: The British government agreed to Somaliland’s independence. Britain reluctantly agreed to withdraw from the British Somaliland Protectorate. To facilitate this request from the Somaliland people, the British colonial office had convened a constitutional conference held in London in May, 1960. (See “Report of the Somaliland Protectorate Constitutional Conference”; a government document). Technically, Great Britain, acting on the strong request from the political leaders of Somaliland, set in motion the wheels of abrogating its eighty-year old colonial treaties with the people of Somaliland, which culminated at independence day in June, 1960. Then the Somaliland leaders immediately merged their country with Somalia (the ex-Italian Somalia) without referendum or any constitutional safeguards for their people. Arguably, this move by our leaders went down in our modern history as the biggest political mistake that any group of leaders could make. It is a mistake that we are still paying its price because of the simple fact that we are now seeking international recognition, forty years after we first won our independence from Great Britain.
July 1, 1960: Somalia became independent from Italy. Somaliland and Somalia amalgamated in a new formation without the benefit of a signed treaty of union or any referendum. Additionally, Somalia kept for itself the presidency, the prime ministership and almost all of the key posts in the Cabinet. The seat of the government, Mogadishu, went also to the former Italian Somalia. There were no constitutional guarantees for the people of Somaliland either, as the creation of the “Union” between the two independent states was unimaginatively quick. Soon, the first political rupture came when Somalia politicians acclaimed the constitution in parliament, despite the very high percentage of nay votes from the people of Somaliland.
1961: Somaliland officers outraged at the illegality of the political processes initiated by Somalia and the glaring inequalities of the unsigned and popularly unapproved “union” between Somaliland and Somalia, staged a coup to sever ties with Somalia, once and for all. However, the coup, poorly organized, failed as some noncommissioned officers did not follow their orders. The officers were ar-rested but could not be sentenced in a court. The judge decided to acquit them “on the basis that, in the absence of an Act of Union, the court had no jurisdiction over Somaliland.” (See Carroll, Anthony J. and B. Rajagopal, 1993. “The Case for the Independent State-hood of Somaliland. American University.” Journal of International Law & Politics 8, no. 653.) Juridically, therefore, there has never been any legal union between Somalia and Somaliland, as the case has been settled in a court of law, sitting in Mogadishu, Somalia, of all places, there and then. Any territorial claims on Somaliland, coming from Somalia, are thus illegal and have no basis.
1960-1969: Somalia politicians little by little changed the name that Somalia and Somaliland were to have together, as a new country, from the ‘Somali Republic’ to Somalia, in order to erase any trace of Somaliland, its history and previous existence.
October 1969: A military coup overthrew the civilian government and ended nine-years of “artificial” democracy, as Prof. Hussein Adam of the College of Holy Cross put it. Following the assassination of President Sharmarke, the military seized power and the coup leader, Gen. Siad Barre, from Somalia proper, assumed the control of the country. Siad Barre pronounced it a socialist state and re-named it The Somali Democratic Republic(SDR); however, in all international arenas, the country was presented always as ‘Somalia.’ General Barre established a tightly controlled dictatorship that soon afterwards imposed a severe curtailment of civil liberties. The already ill-conceived constitution of the first nine years was suspended and the country’s civilian parliament was replaced with Revolutionary Council composed of military and police officials. The naturally democratic people of Somaliland, who even had basic freedoms and liberties under the British, unlike the people of Somalia, who had experienced Italian fascism and forced labor, were immediately in the firing line of the General, who professed socialism, but was actually harking back to fascism, as practised by his Italian commanding officers. In the end, Somalia’s strongman waged a relentless campaign of genocide against the majority population of Somaliland, while the world watched in silence.
1981: The Somali National Movement (SNM) was formed in London, in order to save the people of Somaliland from total annihilation. This popular organization sought to liberate Somaliland (the former British Somaliland) from general Barre’s murderous army and Somalia rule.
1988: General Barre signed a non-aggression pact with Ethiopia, where the SNM had some of its bases. In return, Ethiopia expelled SNM members operating within its borders. The SNM then launched a major offensive in Somaliland, capturing Burao and Hargeisa, the two larger cities in Somaliland. General Barre’s government in Mogadishu bombed these cities and others to the ground, resulting in widespread death and destruction. Hired mercenaries from the former Rhodesia were even used to bomb civilians fleeing from artillery shells and burning cities. Most of Somaliland’s population crossed the border into Ethiopia to seek sanctuary from Barre’s killing army, while as much as one hundred thousand lost their lives in the process. The international human Rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Africa Watch have documented this widespread torture and killing of the people of Somaliland in the 1980s.
1991: The SNM finally won the war against Siad Barre and rolled back his army. They then called on all the communities of Somaliland to determine the future of their country. After long discussions in Burao, Somaliland, they all decided, across the communal lines, to reclaim their sovereignty and once again form their nation, the Republic of Somaliland. Today, this de facto nation stretches for 400 miles (644 kilometers) along the Gulf of Aden and to the east Djibouti. It has an estimated population of 3, 875,000 people.
1993: Mohamed Ibrahim Egal was named president of the Republic of Somaliland. Though not yet internationally recognized, Somaliland has already made great strides, in both the economic and the political fronts, since the declaration of its independence in 1991. For example, work on a new constitution was completed in 1996, and was adopted at the Hargeisa national conference of 1997.
May 31, 2001: Somaliland re-affirmed its independence and sovereignty by voting overwhelmingly YES in an internationally witnessed free voting, in which 97% voted yes for Somaliland’s constitution, whose first article affirms Somaliland’s independence.