Denna artikeln är skriven av Mr Brown
Det är dock framför allt det självständiga Somalilands styre som intresserar mig. Här verkar det ha utvecklats en unik form av demokrati som kombinerar en västligt inspirerad parlamentarism med ett traditionellt klanbaserat styre. Framför allt verkar alla parter ha varit intresserade av att inte hamna i det blodiga kaos som präglat resten av landet. 1993 hölls en serie klanbaserade rådslag för att hamra ut landets styresskick och konstitution. Genom att inkorporera det traditionella "äldres råd" som ett slags överhus i ett tvåkammarparlament verkar man ha lyckats övergå från ett traditionellt styre till modern demokrati och 2002 tog Somaliland steget fullt ut till att bli en flerpartibaserad demokrati när sex partier deltog i lokala val. Året efter hölls president- och parlamentsval.Somaliland borde vara det exempel man lyfter fram när man diskuterar hur en fredlig demokratisering av traditionella maktstrukturer kan genomföras. I stället för att belöna de krigsherrar som terroriserat den Somaliska befolkningen under mer än tio år borde det internationella samfundet åtminstone överväga att ge Somalilands styrande den uppmuntran de förtjänar genom att erkänna Somaliland som en självständig nation.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Birgitta Ohlsson reser till Somaliland
Pressmeddelande från folkpartiet liberalerna riksdagen 2006-06-26
Birgitta Ohlsson (fp) reser till Somaliland
- Den svenska fotografen Martin Adler mördades i fredags i Mogadishu. Mediebilden av ett Somalia i kaos strömmar över oss. Strider pågår mellan krigsherrar och islamister samtidigt som övergångsregeringen försöker återta makten. Etiopiska trupper närmar sig gränsen och svälten breder ut sig på Afrikas horn. Mitt i detta kaos ligger republiken Somaliland, ofta kallad "Africas best kept secret", en före detta brittisk koloni som förklarade sig självständigt från Somalia 1991. Sedan dess har tre val hållits som berömts av utländska valobservatörer. Denna goda demokratiska utveckling måste stödjas i en del av Afrika som annars kantas av oro, diktatur och fattigdom.Det säger Birgitta Ohlsson, biståndstalesman (fp) och riksdagsledamot i utrikesutskottet, med anledning av att hon tillsammans med Gunilla Davidsson, projektledare på SILC (Swedish International Liberal Centre) den 25 juni till 2 juli besöker Somaliland. Syftet med resan, som är en del av ett demokratiprojekt finansierat av SILC, är att träffa representanter från frivilligorganisationer, kvinnliga politiker samt studera biståndsprojekt. SILC har engagerat sig för demokratin i Somaliland sedan 2003. Birgitta Ohlsson var valobservatör i presidentvalet 2003 i en grupp ledd av sydafrikanska ANC.- Sverige borde öppna ett biståndskontor i landet med uppdrag att bistå den demokratiska utvecklingen, främja tillväxt och social utveckling. Sverige bör inom ramen för Somaliastrategin erkänna Somalilands rätt att fortsätta på den inslagna vägen av demokrati samt inrätta ett samarbetsprojekt tillsammans med Somalilands regering. Målet bör vara att de somaliländska erfarenheterna av demokratibygge och fredsarbete ska komma till del i andra delar av regionen, säger Birgitta Ohlsson (fp). __________________
Birgitta Ohlsson (fp) reser till Somaliland
- Den svenska fotografen Martin Adler mördades i fredags i Mogadishu. Mediebilden av ett Somalia i kaos strömmar över oss. Strider pågår mellan krigsherrar och islamister samtidigt som övergångsregeringen försöker återta makten. Etiopiska trupper närmar sig gränsen och svälten breder ut sig på Afrikas horn. Mitt i detta kaos ligger republiken Somaliland, ofta kallad "Africas best kept secret", en före detta brittisk koloni som förklarade sig självständigt från Somalia 1991. Sedan dess har tre val hållits som berömts av utländska valobservatörer. Denna goda demokratiska utveckling måste stödjas i en del av Afrika som annars kantas av oro, diktatur och fattigdom.Det säger Birgitta Ohlsson, biståndstalesman (fp) och riksdagsledamot i utrikesutskottet, med anledning av att hon tillsammans med Gunilla Davidsson, projektledare på SILC (Swedish International Liberal Centre) den 25 juni till 2 juli besöker Somaliland. Syftet med resan, som är en del av ett demokratiprojekt finansierat av SILC, är att träffa representanter från frivilligorganisationer, kvinnliga politiker samt studera biståndsprojekt. SILC har engagerat sig för demokratin i Somaliland sedan 2003. Birgitta Ohlsson var valobservatör i presidentvalet 2003 i en grupp ledd av sydafrikanska ANC.- Sverige borde öppna ett biståndskontor i landet med uppdrag att bistå den demokratiska utvecklingen, främja tillväxt och social utveckling. Sverige bör inom ramen för Somaliastrategin erkänna Somalilands rätt att fortsätta på den inslagna vägen av demokrati samt inrätta ett samarbetsprojekt tillsammans med Somalilands regering. Målet bör vara att de somaliländska erfarenheterna av demokratibygge och fredsarbete ska komma till del i andra delar av regionen, säger Birgitta Ohlsson (fp). __________________
Friday, February 23, 2007
SOMALILANDERNA I LONDON GJORDE EN STOR DEMOSTRATION
Vilken härlig dag det var igår som flera tusen somaliländer gick ut och demostrerade i London. Den 22 Feb 2007. Att så många människor från nästan hela Storbrittaninen kom och deltog den historiska demostrationen. Människorna var blandade, män, kvinnor, unga och barn var de som deltog gårdagens demostration som ägde rum i London. Trotts regnet stod människorna där och viftade den fina flaggan med grön, vit och rött med svarta sjärna i mitten som symboliserar att drömmen m att förena alla de fem somaliska delarna. alltså , Somaliland. Djibouti, Somalia, Ogaden och NFD. (Kenya) . Männisorna och barnen målade sina ansikte på Somaliländiska flaggan.
Folk sköng och lästes några sk poeter(Buranbur) osv. Hela stämningen var så lugn., människorna var glada attt de samlades utanför Tony Blair hus, utrikes departamementet. Det var en härlig känsla att var där. Demostranaterna krävde att omvärlden ska erkänna Somaliland. Och att Storbittanien som koloniserade Somaliland i 85 år ska vara den som börjar erkänna Somaliland först. Människorna som demostrerade igår kantade över gatorna. Arrangörerna var mkt nöjda att så många människor kom. Bland deltagarana fanns två engelska riksdagsledamöter som vill att den britiska regeringen ska erkänna Somaliland.
Ni kan gå in om ni vill titta på bilderna.
www. SDWO.com eller hadhwanaagnews.com
tack
Folk sköng och lästes några sk poeter(Buranbur) osv. Hela stämningen var så lugn., människorna var glada attt de samlades utanför Tony Blair hus, utrikes departamementet. Det var en härlig känsla att var där. Demostranaterna krävde att omvärlden ska erkänna Somaliland. Och att Storbittanien som koloniserade Somaliland i 85 år ska vara den som börjar erkänna Somaliland först. Människorna som demostrerade igår kantade över gatorna. Arrangörerna var mkt nöjda att så många människor kom. Bland deltagarana fanns två engelska riksdagsledamöter som vill att den britiska regeringen ska erkänna Somaliland.
Ni kan gå in om ni vill titta på bilderna.
www. SDWO.com eller hadhwanaagnews.com
tack
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Parlamentsledmöterna i Somaliland har röstat
Parlamentsledamöterna i Somaliland har röstat på att förlänga valkommistonen två år till istället att rösta en ny valkommistion. Parlamentet leds idag av vise talesman Abdiasis Mohammed Samale som sa att det sitter 60 ledamöter och så här gick det till med röstningen.
36 ledmöter röstade för ja till förslaget om att förlänga valkommistionen två år till.
19 ledamöter har lagt ner sina röster
4 röstade inte.
Det är unikt i Afrika eller tjedje världen att parlamentet i Somaliland leds av oppositionen. Och majoritet av parlamentsledamöterna tillhör till de två oppositionspartierna Kulmiye och UCID
36 ledmöter röstade för ja till förslaget om att förlänga valkommistionen två år till.
19 ledamöter har lagt ner sina röster
4 röstade inte.
Det är unikt i Afrika eller tjedje världen att parlamentet i Somaliland leds av oppositionen. Och majoritet av parlamentsledamöterna tillhör till de två oppositionspartierna Kulmiye och UCID
Why the United States Should Recognize Somalilandâ??s Independence
By Peter J. Schraeder
The United States government should officially recognize the independence of Somaliland, a moderate Muslim democracy in the Horn of Africa. Such an argument may seem counterintuitive at a time when tensions are rising in the region. But I submit that it is precisely because of those rising tensions that it is time for the Bush administration to act, especially if it is truly serious about democracy promotion, counter-terrorism, and curtailing the spread of Islamic fundamentalism.
Why does Somaliland deserve U.S. recognition?
First and foremost, it is important to recollect that, after achieving independence from British colonial rule on June 26, 1960, Somaliland was duly recognized as a sovereign entity by the United Nations and thirty-five countries, including the United States. Several days later, on July 1, the independent country of Somaliland voluntarily joined with its newly independent southern counterpart (the former UN Trust Territory of Somalia that was a former Italian colony) to create the present-day Republic of Somalia. Somalilanders rightfully note that they voluntarily joined a union after independence, and that, under international law, they should (and do) have the right to abrogate that union, as they did in 1991. Examples abound in the second half of the twentieth century of international recognition of countries that have emerged from failed federations or failed states, including East Timor, Eritrea, Gambia, and the successor states of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. The same legal principle should be applied to Somaliland.
The political basis for Somalilandâ??s claim is that the voluntary union of 1960 was derailed in 1969 by a military coup dâ??etat in Mogadishu that ushered in more than two decades of brutal military rule under the dictatorship of General Mohamed Siyaad Barre. Himself a southerner, Barre destroyed the foundations of the north-south democratic compact, most notably by unleashing a murderous campaign (bordering on genocide) against northern civilians that resulted in more than 50,000 deaths and created over 500,000 refugees as part of a widening civil war during the 1980s. Even after Barre was overthrown in 1991 by a coalition of guerrilla armies, including the northern-based Somali National Movement (SNM), northern expectations of a government of national unity were dashed when southern guerrilla movements reneged on an earlier agreement and unilaterally named a southerner president, which in turn was followed by the intensification of inter and intra-clan conflict in the south. Nearly thirty years of unfulfilled promises and brutal policies ripped the fabric of the already fragile north-south political compact. A â??point of no returnâ?? had been reached for Somalilanders intent on reasserting their countryâ??s independence. In May 2001, a popular mandate was given to dissolving the union, when a resounding number of ballots cast (97 percent) in a national Somaliland referendum favored the adoption of a new constitution that explicitly underscored Somalilandâ??s independence.
Somaliland deserves recognition if the Bush administration is truly sincere about promoting democracy in the wider Middle East. In sharp contrast to southern Somalia where instability and crisis have reigned and in fact intensified in the last fifteen years, Somaliland has established a democratic polity that, if recognized, would make it the envy of democracy activists in the Muslim world. The essence of Somalilandâ??s successful democratization was captured by U.S.-based International Republican Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy in convening a September 2006 panel discussion on Somaliland. They wrote that â??Somalilandâ??s embrace of democracy, its persistence in holding round after round of elections, both winners and losers abiding by the rules, the involvement of the grassroots, the positive role of traditional authorities, the culture of negotiation and conflict resolution, the temperance of ethnicity or clan affiliation and its deployment for constructive purposes, the adaptation of modern technology, the conservative use of limited resources, and the support of the diaspora and the professional and intellectual classes are some of the more outstanding features of Somalilandâ??s political culture that are often sorely lacking elsewhere.â??
Somaliland also deserves recognition from a purely U.S.-centric national security perspective. The Somaliland government and population embody a moderate voice in the Muslim world that rejects radical interpretations of Islam, including that espoused by various portions of the Council of Somali Islamic Courts (CSIC) currently in control of Mogadishu and its environs. It would serve as a bulwark against the further expansion of radical ideologies in the Horn of Africa by offering a shining example (along with Mali and Senegal and other predominantly Muslim Sub-Saharan African democracies) of how Islam and democracy are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually reinforcing. Somaliland leaders are also eager to cooperate with the Bush administration in a variety of counter-terrorism measures, including working with the Combined Joint Task Forceâ??Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) based in Djibouti. They are currently prohibited from doing so due to U.S. legislation that prevents cooperation with unrecognized Somaliland authorities.
The critiques of the pro-independence position are numerous, but donâ??t stand up to close examination. One strand of thought is that Somaliland is not economically viable. This position is reminiscent of claims made by Europeans during the 1950s with respect to their African colonies, with the aim of delaying independence throughout Africa. In any case, the argument is belied by Somalilandâ??s creation of a highly self-sufficient, well-functioning economy even though it has no access to the economic benefits that would come with statehood, such as access to loans from international financial institutions.
A second critique, typically offered by African policymakers, is that recognition of Somaliland will â??open a pandoraâ??s boxâ?? of secessionist claims throughout Africa. However, as in the case of Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, the Somaliland case does not call into question the African mantra of the â??inviolability of frontiersâ?? inherited at independence. The north-south union followed the independence and recognition of both the British and Italian Somali territories, and its dissolution therefore would constitute a unique case of returning to the boundaries inherited from the colonial era.
Others, especially those connected to UN efforts throughout the Horn of Africa, argue that recognition will derail the UN-sponsored â??building blocksâ?? approach to national reconciliation that includes the reconstitution of a central government in Mogadishu. This approach, however, has been an utter failure, as witnessed by the short-lived Transitional National Government (TNG) and its replacement by a Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the authority of which extends little beyond the town of Baidoa. What authority it has is largely due to the intervention of Ethiopian troops opposed to the further expansion of the Islamic Courts. It is time to recognize that the UN-sponsored â??building blocksâ?? cannot be stacked together to create a reunified central authority in Mogadishu.
A fourth critique claims that the â??time is not rightâ?? for recognition because it will further intensify the widening crisis between the Islamic Courts and the TFG, and between their respective regional and international supporters. This argument has been heard repeatedly in the last fifteen years whenever efforts at reconstructing a unified central government were thought to be on the â??verge of success.â?? Success has proved elusive over all this time, however, and it is now clear that southern Somalia will remain in crisis regardless of what is done with respect to Somaliland recognition. The most dire prediction of some Somali watchers is that the Islamic Courts movement will emerge victorious in the current conflict, assert its control over all Somali territories outside of Somaliland, and then threaten open warfare with Somaliland to bring it back into the Somali fold. If this should happen, it will likely be too late for the United States or others to intervene in a timely and effective manner to prevent Somalilandâ??s absorption into an Islamist Somalia. This reality makes recognition all the more urgent.
One of the more nuanced critiques of recognition is that loyalty to Somaliland in its eastern districts of Sanaag and Sool is contested, especially among the Warsengeli and Dhulbahante clans, and that any movement toward independence would potentially require the redrawing of Somalilandâ??s eastern boundary â?? which the leadership in Hargeisa (Somalilandâ??s capital) is unwilling to entertain. It is important to reiterate that Somalilandâ??s current boundaries are those of the original British Somaliland Protectorate created in 1884 and the independent country recognized by the international community beginning on June 26, 1960, and therefore have a solid legal basis under international law. The 2001 referendum provided an unequivocal popular basis for the independence claim. One way of resolving this issue, as was done with Eritrea in May 1993, would be to hold a territory-wide, UN-sponsored and internationally monitored popular referendum on independence that would be binding. If, as would be expected, pro-independence forces prevailed, those unwilling to live under Somaliland rule would have to make hard decisions about whether to continue living in Somaliland. .
A final critique involves the concept of â??African solutions for African problems.â?? Proponents contend that the United States should wait for African countries led by the AU to first recognize Somaliland. This approach is the topic of a thought-provoking International Crisis Group report, â??Somaliland: Time for African Union Leadership,â?? published in May 2006, and was publicly endorsed by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer in a presentation on November 17, 2006 at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association. Although Frazerâ??s statement that the United States would recognize Somaliland if the AU acted first was welcomed by specialists on Somaliland, it is unclear when or if a AU recognition process will actually unfold. The encouragement of African action should not become the basis for inaction on the part of the United States.
The time for U.S. recognition of Somaliland is now, not only because it is right, but because it is in the interests of the United States. Recognition of Somaliland, followed by expanded engagement by Somaliland with the international community, would serve as a powerful lesson for other countries within the region (not least of all southern Somalia) of the benefits associated with the creation and consolidation of democratic systems of governance. Somaliland would become a model to emulate, and the United States would be congratulated for undertaking a proactive policy in support of a moderate, Muslim democracy.
Jamhuuriya Online
By Peter J. Schraeder
The United States government should officially recognize the independence of Somaliland, a moderate Muslim democracy in the Horn of Africa. Such an argument may seem counterintuitive at a time when tensions are rising in the region. But I submit that it is precisely because of those rising tensions that it is time for the Bush administration to act, especially if it is truly serious about democracy promotion, counter-terrorism, and curtailing the spread of Islamic fundamentalism.
Why does Somaliland deserve U.S. recognition?
First and foremost, it is important to recollect that, after achieving independence from British colonial rule on June 26, 1960, Somaliland was duly recognized as a sovereign entity by the United Nations and thirty-five countries, including the United States. Several days later, on July 1, the independent country of Somaliland voluntarily joined with its newly independent southern counterpart (the former UN Trust Territory of Somalia that was a former Italian colony) to create the present-day Republic of Somalia. Somalilanders rightfully note that they voluntarily joined a union after independence, and that, under international law, they should (and do) have the right to abrogate that union, as they did in 1991. Examples abound in the second half of the twentieth century of international recognition of countries that have emerged from failed federations or failed states, including East Timor, Eritrea, Gambia, and the successor states of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. The same legal principle should be applied to Somaliland.
The political basis for Somalilandâ??s claim is that the voluntary union of 1960 was derailed in 1969 by a military coup dâ??etat in Mogadishu that ushered in more than two decades of brutal military rule under the dictatorship of General Mohamed Siyaad Barre. Himself a southerner, Barre destroyed the foundations of the north-south democratic compact, most notably by unleashing a murderous campaign (bordering on genocide) against northern civilians that resulted in more than 50,000 deaths and created over 500,000 refugees as part of a widening civil war during the 1980s. Even after Barre was overthrown in 1991 by a coalition of guerrilla armies, including the northern-based Somali National Movement (SNM), northern expectations of a government of national unity were dashed when southern guerrilla movements reneged on an earlier agreement and unilaterally named a southerner president, which in turn was followed by the intensification of inter and intra-clan conflict in the south. Nearly thirty years of unfulfilled promises and brutal policies ripped the fabric of the already fragile north-south political compact. A â??point of no returnâ?? had been reached for Somalilanders intent on reasserting their countryâ??s independence. In May 2001, a popular mandate was given to dissolving the union, when a resounding number of ballots cast (97 percent) in a national Somaliland referendum favored the adoption of a new constitution that explicitly underscored Somalilandâ??s independence.
Somaliland deserves recognition if the Bush administration is truly sincere about promoting democracy in the wider Middle East. In sharp contrast to southern Somalia where instability and crisis have reigned and in fact intensified in the last fifteen years, Somaliland has established a democratic polity that, if recognized, would make it the envy of democracy activists in the Muslim world. The essence of Somalilandâ??s successful democratization was captured by U.S.-based International Republican Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy in convening a September 2006 panel discussion on Somaliland. They wrote that â??Somalilandâ??s embrace of democracy, its persistence in holding round after round of elections, both winners and losers abiding by the rules, the involvement of the grassroots, the positive role of traditional authorities, the culture of negotiation and conflict resolution, the temperance of ethnicity or clan affiliation and its deployment for constructive purposes, the adaptation of modern technology, the conservative use of limited resources, and the support of the diaspora and the professional and intellectual classes are some of the more outstanding features of Somalilandâ??s political culture that are often sorely lacking elsewhere.â??
Somaliland also deserves recognition from a purely U.S.-centric national security perspective. The Somaliland government and population embody a moderate voice in the Muslim world that rejects radical interpretations of Islam, including that espoused by various portions of the Council of Somali Islamic Courts (CSIC) currently in control of Mogadishu and its environs. It would serve as a bulwark against the further expansion of radical ideologies in the Horn of Africa by offering a shining example (along with Mali and Senegal and other predominantly Muslim Sub-Saharan African democracies) of how Islam and democracy are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually reinforcing. Somaliland leaders are also eager to cooperate with the Bush administration in a variety of counter-terrorism measures, including working with the Combined Joint Task Forceâ??Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) based in Djibouti. They are currently prohibited from doing so due to U.S. legislation that prevents cooperation with unrecognized Somaliland authorities.
The critiques of the pro-independence position are numerous, but donâ??t stand up to close examination. One strand of thought is that Somaliland is not economically viable. This position is reminiscent of claims made by Europeans during the 1950s with respect to their African colonies, with the aim of delaying independence throughout Africa. In any case, the argument is belied by Somalilandâ??s creation of a highly self-sufficient, well-functioning economy even though it has no access to the economic benefits that would come with statehood, such as access to loans from international financial institutions.
A second critique, typically offered by African policymakers, is that recognition of Somaliland will â??open a pandoraâ??s boxâ?? of secessionist claims throughout Africa. However, as in the case of Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, the Somaliland case does not call into question the African mantra of the â??inviolability of frontiersâ?? inherited at independence. The north-south union followed the independence and recognition of both the British and Italian Somali territories, and its dissolution therefore would constitute a unique case of returning to the boundaries inherited from the colonial era.
Others, especially those connected to UN efforts throughout the Horn of Africa, argue that recognition will derail the UN-sponsored â??building blocksâ?? approach to national reconciliation that includes the reconstitution of a central government in Mogadishu. This approach, however, has been an utter failure, as witnessed by the short-lived Transitional National Government (TNG) and its replacement by a Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the authority of which extends little beyond the town of Baidoa. What authority it has is largely due to the intervention of Ethiopian troops opposed to the further expansion of the Islamic Courts. It is time to recognize that the UN-sponsored â??building blocksâ?? cannot be stacked together to create a reunified central authority in Mogadishu.
A fourth critique claims that the â??time is not rightâ?? for recognition because it will further intensify the widening crisis between the Islamic Courts and the TFG, and between their respective regional and international supporters. This argument has been heard repeatedly in the last fifteen years whenever efforts at reconstructing a unified central government were thought to be on the â??verge of success.â?? Success has proved elusive over all this time, however, and it is now clear that southern Somalia will remain in crisis regardless of what is done with respect to Somaliland recognition. The most dire prediction of some Somali watchers is that the Islamic Courts movement will emerge victorious in the current conflict, assert its control over all Somali territories outside of Somaliland, and then threaten open warfare with Somaliland to bring it back into the Somali fold. If this should happen, it will likely be too late for the United States or others to intervene in a timely and effective manner to prevent Somalilandâ??s absorption into an Islamist Somalia. This reality makes recognition all the more urgent.
One of the more nuanced critiques of recognition is that loyalty to Somaliland in its eastern districts of Sanaag and Sool is contested, especially among the Warsengeli and Dhulbahante clans, and that any movement toward independence would potentially require the redrawing of Somalilandâ??s eastern boundary â?? which the leadership in Hargeisa (Somalilandâ??s capital) is unwilling to entertain. It is important to reiterate that Somalilandâ??s current boundaries are those of the original British Somaliland Protectorate created in 1884 and the independent country recognized by the international community beginning on June 26, 1960, and therefore have a solid legal basis under international law. The 2001 referendum provided an unequivocal popular basis for the independence claim. One way of resolving this issue, as was done with Eritrea in May 1993, would be to hold a territory-wide, UN-sponsored and internationally monitored popular referendum on independence that would be binding. If, as would be expected, pro-independence forces prevailed, those unwilling to live under Somaliland rule would have to make hard decisions about whether to continue living in Somaliland. .
A final critique involves the concept of â??African solutions for African problems.â?? Proponents contend that the United States should wait for African countries led by the AU to first recognize Somaliland. This approach is the topic of a thought-provoking International Crisis Group report, â??Somaliland: Time for African Union Leadership,â?? published in May 2006, and was publicly endorsed by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer in a presentation on November 17, 2006 at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association. Although Frazerâ??s statement that the United States would recognize Somaliland if the AU acted first was welcomed by specialists on Somaliland, it is unclear when or if a AU recognition process will actually unfold. The encouragement of African action should not become the basis for inaction on the part of the United States.
The time for U.S. recognition of Somaliland is now, not only because it is right, but because it is in the interests of the United States. Recognition of Somaliland, followed by expanded engagement by Somaliland with the international community, would serve as a powerful lesson for other countries within the region (not least of all southern Somalia) of the benefits associated with the creation and consolidation of democratic systems of governance. Somaliland would become a model to emulate, and the United States would be congratulated for undertaking a proactive policy in support of a moderate, Muslim democracy.
Jamhuuriya Online
Plea for Somaliland
Friday December 29, 2006The Guardian
Virtually no mention is made in media reports about Somalia of Somaliland, the former British colony which has been a de facto independent sovereign state since the civil war of 1991 (Leaders, December 27). Somaliland is a remarkably stable, though impoverished, country with a democratically elected president and parliament. It has no appetite for conflict, and certainly no desire to be absorbed into an Islamic Greater Somalia.
The international community has thus far refused to recognise Somaliland, often resorting to the mantra that Somalia must be first to acknowledge Somaliland's independence. This is clearly not only unlikely, given Somalia's continued instability, but also grossly unfair to the people of Somaliland, who have struggled to build a stable and peaceful democracy in the face of numerous obstacles.
One thing is clear: Somaliland needs the protection of the international community if it is maintain its position as beacon of stability in a troubled region. Formal recognition of its existence as an independent sovereign state would be a significant first step.
Kerry McCarthy MPLab, Bristol East
Friday December 29, 2006The Guardian
Virtually no mention is made in media reports about Somalia of Somaliland, the former British colony which has been a de facto independent sovereign state since the civil war of 1991 (Leaders, December 27). Somaliland is a remarkably stable, though impoverished, country with a democratically elected president and parliament. It has no appetite for conflict, and certainly no desire to be absorbed into an Islamic Greater Somalia.
The international community has thus far refused to recognise Somaliland, often resorting to the mantra that Somalia must be first to acknowledge Somaliland's independence. This is clearly not only unlikely, given Somalia's continued instability, but also grossly unfair to the people of Somaliland, who have struggled to build a stable and peaceful democracy in the face of numerous obstacles.
One thing is clear: Somaliland needs the protection of the international community if it is maintain its position as beacon of stability in a troubled region. Formal recognition of its existence as an independent sovereign state would be a significant first step.
Kerry McCarthy MPLab, Bristol East
fd biståndminister Carin Jämtin får en fråga om Somaliland
här frågar Fp utrikestalsman Birgitta Olsson en fråga till dåvarande Bistånd ministern Carin Jämtin.
Fråga 2005/06:510 av Birgitta Ohlsson (fp) till statsrådet Carin Jämtin (s)
Bistånd till Somaliland
År 1991 utropades det tidigare Somaliland i norra delen av Somalia som självständigt. Landet åberopar en gammal kolonial gräns från den brittiska kolonin Brittiska Somaliland. Landet har ungefär tre miljoner invånare. Somaliland är mycket välordnat jämfört med Somalia. Sedan 1996 har det varit fred. Flera demokratiska val både på president- och kommunalnivå övervakade av internationella valobservatörer har hållits och samtliga bedöms i internationella rapporter ha genomförts på ett tillfredsställande sätt utifrån landets förutsättningar. Under hösten har parlamentsval skett vilket granskats av oberoende valobservatörer, däribland parlamentariker från Norden.
Trots inget direkt finansiellt bistånd från omvärlden, då landet inte blivit erkänt som en självständig stat, är Somaliland välutvecklat jämfört med grannländerna vad gäller demokrati och marknadsekonomi. Flera internationella NGO:er är representerade i landet och utländska företag etablerar sig så sakteliga. Men för att denna goda utveckling ska fortsätta krävs att omvärlden aktivt stöder Somaliland med både bistånd och handel.
Vilka insatser avser statsrådet att initiera för att stödja den goda demokratiska utvecklingen i Somaliland?
Fråga 2005/06:510 av Birgitta Ohlsson (fp) till statsrådet Carin Jämtin (s)
Bistånd till Somaliland
År 1991 utropades det tidigare Somaliland i norra delen av Somalia som självständigt. Landet åberopar en gammal kolonial gräns från den brittiska kolonin Brittiska Somaliland. Landet har ungefär tre miljoner invånare. Somaliland är mycket välordnat jämfört med Somalia. Sedan 1996 har det varit fred. Flera demokratiska val både på president- och kommunalnivå övervakade av internationella valobservatörer har hållits och samtliga bedöms i internationella rapporter ha genomförts på ett tillfredsställande sätt utifrån landets förutsättningar. Under hösten har parlamentsval skett vilket granskats av oberoende valobservatörer, däribland parlamentariker från Norden.
Trots inget direkt finansiellt bistånd från omvärlden, då landet inte blivit erkänt som en självständig stat, är Somaliland välutvecklat jämfört med grannländerna vad gäller demokrati och marknadsekonomi. Flera internationella NGO:er är representerade i landet och utländska företag etablerar sig så sakteliga. Men för att denna goda utveckling ska fortsätta krävs att omvärlden aktivt stöder Somaliland med både bistånd och handel.
Vilka insatser avser statsrådet att initiera för att stödja den goda demokratiska utvecklingen i Somaliland?
hej!
Jag kommer att ta upp allt som rör om Somaliland. välkomna till min blogg om Somaliland. Många av er läsare undrar kanske var Somaliland ligger. Somaliland ligger i östra Afrika och har varit de senaste 15 åren ett land, som inte har erkänts av omvärlden. Landet fick sitt självständighet 1960 av Storbritanien. Efter fyra dagar förenade Somaliland (norra) med Somalia (södra) som var under italiensk koloni då.
Somalilands dröm var att ett stort Somalia. Ett Stort Somalia skulle ingå alla somali talande område som idag är delat i fem delar skulle ingå ett stort Somalia. Men drömmen om ett stort Somalia mysslycakdes efter Somaliland förenade med Somalia. Misstaget som Somaliland gjorde var att de inte skrev om ett avtal med Somalia och ledarna på tiden i Somaliland stäldde inte heller på höga krav på hur makten skulle fördelas efter unionen. Efter unionen med de två själsvtändiga länderna har Somalia åtagit sig alla de topp ministrar i regeringen.
Somaliland har direkt efter unionen med Somalia kände sig lurade och ville bryta ut unionen och ville bilda eget stat igen. En grupp höguppsatta militärer i Somaliland har 1961 börjat göra ett upprop, men den blev misslyckad och de sattes i fängelse.
Det är en lång historia men jag vill försöka att ni läsare ska få en bild av hur dagens Somaliland uppkommit.
se nästa artikel
hejdå
Jag kommer att ta upp allt som rör om Somaliland. välkomna till min blogg om Somaliland. Många av er läsare undrar kanske var Somaliland ligger. Somaliland ligger i östra Afrika och har varit de senaste 15 åren ett land, som inte har erkänts av omvärlden. Landet fick sitt självständighet 1960 av Storbritanien. Efter fyra dagar förenade Somaliland (norra) med Somalia (södra) som var under italiensk koloni då.
Somalilands dröm var att ett stort Somalia. Ett Stort Somalia skulle ingå alla somali talande område som idag är delat i fem delar skulle ingå ett stort Somalia. Men drömmen om ett stort Somalia mysslycakdes efter Somaliland förenade med Somalia. Misstaget som Somaliland gjorde var att de inte skrev om ett avtal med Somalia och ledarna på tiden i Somaliland stäldde inte heller på höga krav på hur makten skulle fördelas efter unionen. Efter unionen med de två själsvtändiga länderna har Somalia åtagit sig alla de topp ministrar i regeringen.
Somaliland har direkt efter unionen med Somalia kände sig lurade och ville bryta ut unionen och ville bilda eget stat igen. En grupp höguppsatta militärer i Somaliland har 1961 börjat göra ett upprop, men den blev misslyckad och de sattes i fängelse.
Det är en lång historia men jag vill försöka att ni läsare ska få en bild av hur dagens Somaliland uppkommit.
se nästa artikel
hejdå
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