Saturday September 20, 2014
By: Robleh M. Lafcanbe
As we saw over the past couple months, the historic union of the United
Kingdom was on the verge of splitting up as the people of Scotland
decided to go the polls to vote on independence or to remain part of the
UK. On the day of the referendum, An overwhelming 55% voted to remain
within the UK and put an end to talks of Scotland becoming an
independent country. Now that we’ve witnessed the impact of Scotland’s
referendum, there is a window of opportunity for the Republic of
Somaliland to dive in and take another giant step on the
quest for internationally recognized statehood.
In 2001, the
citizens of Somaliland went to the polls to vote on the new constitution
for the Republic of Somaliland, which cited Somaliland as an
independent sovereign country and separate from Somalia. An astonishing
97% voted in favour of the constitution and legally validated the basis
for becoming a full-fledged state. The poll was monitored by
international observers and was held in accordance with legal
regulations yet was not welcomed by any member of the international
community. This didn’t stop Somaliland from pursuing international
recognition, but was a big blow to the independence and recognition
campaign.
If we take a look at Somaliland’s international
reputation today, the international community staunchly views Somaliland
as an autonomous region within Somalia and has reiterated on numerous
occasions that recognition is an issue for Somalis to deal with among
themselves. The African Union and the UN have also stated that they are
not interested in “altering borders” and have called for Somaliland to
resolve their issues with the Government of Somalia first. Under the
Presidency of H.E Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, the Government of
Somaliland first initiated talks with Somalia in June 2012 with Sheik
Sharif’s Transitional Federal Government. Both Presidents with their
respective delegations met in Dubai and signed an accord promising
to continue dialogue and to clarify the relationship between Somaliland
and Somalia. Three months later, the Somali Federal Government was
established and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected President of Somalia.
In 2013, the Government of Somaliland once again met for talks, this
time with Hassan Sheikh’s new government in Ankara, Turkey and signed a
friendly co-operation treaty - which was brokered by then-Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government. Since the signing of
the co-operation treaty, Somalia has violated the agreement on numerous
occasions and made it impossible to continue any co-operation between
both parties. On top of that, Somalia has also publicly vowed to reclaim
their airspace and maritime borders from Somaliland and stated that
unless Somaliland revokes the independence claim they will not continue
dialogue. The Government of Somalia's actions have deteriorated the new
relationship and have put the talks on the brink of extinction.
So what’s the next step the Government of Somaliland should take?
At
the time of Somaliland’s independence referendum in 2001, there was not
a proper government in Somalia and warlords in Mogadishu fought daily
for control. The international community was busy rebuilding a political
structure for Somalia and did not show any interest towards
Somaliland’s politics. Today, there is a permanent central government in
Mogadishu and there is absolutely no reason why the relationship
between Somaliland and Somalia shouldn't be clarified. The Government of
Somaliland took the right route by initiating dialogue with Somalia,
but unfortunately it wasn’t successful due to Somalia’s blatant
disregard of co-operating with Somaliland. Before the talks with the
Somalia come to an official end, it is time to propose the most
logical solution to clarifying the Somaliland-Somalia relationship:
another independence referendum within Somaliland and whatever the
outcome, the Government of Somalia and the International Community must
adhere and recognize the results.
If Scotland's independence referendum was supported by the world, what’s stopping Somaliland from getting the same support?
It
is the perfect time to hold another independence referendum as
self-determination and independence movements are now being tolerated in
international politics. Scotland’s independence referendum was followed
by the world and now all eyes are on the Catalonia region of Spain as
they get ready for their independence referendum later this year. It is
essential that we seize this moment and go forward with another
referendum as long as the International Community are willing to accept
the results. The Government of Turkey -which was responsible for
brokering the talks - has witnessed the failure of the talks between
Somaliland and Somalia and should be supportive of an alternative
solution.
What about Somaliland’s scheduled Presidential/Parliamentary Elections?
I
strongly believe that holding a referendum at this moment is just as
equal – if not - more important than holding Presidential and
Parliamentary elections. The international recognition and status of
Somaliland is a national issue that must be put first. On the other
hand, there are other possible ways of holding a referendum whilst
dealing with the scheduled elections.
Three possible solutions:
A) Holding the Referendum Simultaneously with the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
The
advantage of this solution is getting the citizens of Somaliland to
vote for both elections and the referendum all at one time. The
disadvantage would be voter confusion, considering the fact that this
will be the first time Somaliland is holding simultaneous
Presidential/Parliamentary elections.
B) Holding the Referendum First and postponing Presidential and Parliamentary Elections for another year.
This
would allow voters to solely concentrate on the referendum without
distraction from the Presidential and Parliamentary election campaigns.
The downside of this would be political backlash from opposition parties
and citizens who are eager to have the slated elections on time.
C) Holding Presidential elections with a Referendum - Postpone Parliamentary Elections for another year.
This
is ideally the most logical proposal out of the three. It would be much
easier to hold just one political election plus a referendum.
Presidential elections are more important than parliamentary elections
so it should be held first.
The Government of Somaliland, both
Houses of Parliament and the Opposition parties should take a close look
at this opportunity and take advantage of the stronger shot we now have
at achieving international recognition. Without a doubt if another
referendum were to be held within Somaliland today, the vote for
remaining independent would be unanimous and would clearly display the
aspirations and desires of the people of Somaliland. More importantly,
if the International Community supports a referendum, this will pave the
way towards becoming an internationally recognized state. One thing
though is certain, even if a referendum doesn't happen it will not
change the existing reality on the ground – that the Republic of
Somaliland is and always will be an independent country and has been a
peaceful and stable nation for the past 23 ½ years.
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