The deadlock of Somaliland and Somalia talks

Somaliland and Somalia were under British and Italian rule, respectively, before they gained independence separately and entered into union in 1^st July 1960[i]. The union formed Somali Republic. The main idea of the union was to bring all Somalis in the Horn of Africa under one government to obliterate colonial legacy that divided Somali people into five, namely Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, Northern Frontier District (now in Kenya) and Hawd and Reserved Area (now in Ethiopia). As a result, Somali Republic went war with Ethiopia twice. However, it failed to change colonial borders recognized by the world as intact.

From 1960 to 1969 Somali Republic was administered by civilian governments elected by the people. Unfortunately, on 21^st October 1969, the civilian government was overthrown by military who ruled the country in 21 years. Thousands of civilian people were massacred by the military in Somaliland. The military regime was toppled in 1991 by popular struggle. Read More

Somali President Reluctant to admit another failure

WHEN the British and Swedish ambassadors to Somalia recently queued up to meet a new member of the government appointed by the third prime minister in 18 months, the man they met was so new to Somali politics that a government adviser was unsure of his name. But it was not long before Mohamed Omar Arte, the incoming deputy prime minister, found himself in the midst of the bloody turmoil that remains a grim hallmark of politics in Somalia. On February 20th, two days after he met the Western envoys, he narrowly escaped with his life when suicide-bombers from the Shabab, Somalia’s extreme Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda, attacked a hotel in Mogadishu, the capital, during Friday prayers, killing 25 people (plus both bombers). On March 27th gunmen hit another Mogadishu hotel popular with politicians, killing at least 17 people.

Meanwhile, strife within the government continues to damage President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. After his election in 2012 he was greeted as a breath of fresh air. Respected for his record as a human-rights enthusiast, he was free of the blood and murk that stained so many of Somalia’s more seasoned politicians. He was chosen by a 275-strong parliament whose members were nominated by elders from a cross-section of clans. Though it was a flawed method, with plenty of vote-buying and little direct say for ordinary Somalis, it was better than what had gone before.  Read Full Article