SOMALIA STIRS; SOMALILAND STRIDES

August 20, 2012

The spotlight was on Somalia today as 215 members of Parliament were sworn in by the chief justice in a lacklustre ceremony in the capital Mogadishu. Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed attended, as did the UN Special Representative Augustine Mahiga. The UN had hoped for the nomination of 275 members and a new President, but this is the best the 135 elders entrusted with the task and the Technical Selection Committee overseeing it could come up with so far. The event is meant to mark the beginning of the changeover from the caretaker Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which has been in power for eight years, to a more independent and representative administration. The problem is that despite UN support, the TFG is enveloped by Al-Shabaab and it has only just managed to keep these Al-Qaeda inspired forces at bay from its limited hold (see map).

Meanwhile, in the north, Somaliland has been plodding along quite acceptably ever since it declared its independence following the fall of President Mohamed Siad Barre and the start of the civil war in 1991. Unfortunately it remains unrecognised, notwithstanding having good trade relations with a number of countries and having received positive signs from a few, such as Ethiopia and Wales.

Would it not make sense for the international community to focus more of its money and efforts to strengthen Somaliland to a point where its success could spill over and support its troubled neighbour? It had, after all, a very different history from the south for many years following the carving up of the area by the British and Italians in the late 19th and early 20th century. Somaliland was British Somaliland and it could quite easily be Somaliland, the sovereign state, and a much needed source of strength for the Horn of Africa.

Somaliland flag