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| Last Updated: Dec 15, 2011 - 11:05:44 AM |
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50 years of Democracy, Dictatorship and Anarchy: What’s next for Somalia?
1 Jul 1, 2010 - 5:29:26 AM
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By Alinoor Moulid
July 1st marked Somalia’s fiftieth anniversary of independence. As Somalis back home, in Kenya and those in the Diasporas converged to mark this milestone of independence, the often colorful celebrations were dented by the reality on the ground in Somalia.
Somalia first attained self-rule in 1960 from the Italian and British colonialists. This historic autonomy had a great impact in the wider Horn of Africa and the rest of the African continent as a whole.
The Somali republic immediately started aiding various rebellious groups in other countries against their western colonisers. Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Burundi: these are some of the African countries which directly or indirectly benefited from Somalia’s anti-colonialism battle.
The heroic Somali Youth League (SYL), who fought for Somalia’s independence and united all clans under one flag, led the country along the path of success, becoming the first African nation to peacefully and democratically change power between two rivals in free and fair elections. Western countries termed the success ‘the model of a rural democracy in Africa’, and the Horn of Africa placed itself on the world map as a beacon of hope for the rest of the continent.
However, the success of democracy was short-lived. The assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke in 1969 was quickly followed by a military coup d’état in the same year, leading to what many call dictatorial rule by the military junta. Almost ten years of democracy was lost and it was time for Somalia to join many other African nations ruled by high-handed military men. General Mohamed Siad Barre, also known as "Guulwade” or the Victorious Leader, led the country down the one man show lane.
Under Barre’s rule the country adopted socialism, with the young generation leading the pack to spread the message of revolution across the country. As part of his unkempt socialism, he nationalised every public/private asset including banks and companies.
Barre’s idea of attaining “Somaliweyn” or the Greater Somalia dream, encompassing Somalia, Djibouti, Ogaden and North Frontier Districts, the latter two being part of Ethiopia and Kenya respectively, guided the country into successive battles. Under Barre’s rule, Somalia also changed allegiance between the Soviet Union and the United States, two powers that relentlessly fought to rule the world during the cold war.
THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION
The downfall of Barre’s 20-year-old regime came with shrinking popularity and increased domestic resistance. Like many other dictators, Barre’s ousting was perpetrated by the outside world through various clan-based rebel groups disoriented with the status quo.
After Barre’s removal in 1991, rebellion turned into clan war and the country disintegrated into anarchy and “warlordism”. Somalia joined the list of the failed states in the world.
The outside world did little to help the country regain its place. Instead, some countries started supporting opposing sides led by warlords Ali Mahdi Mohamed and Mohamed Farah Aidid in a quest to reinstall government-rule in Mogadishu.
The United Nations tried unsuccessfully in 1993 to bring peace and stability in the Horn of African nation. The US embarked on a disastrous peacekeeping mission depicted in the famous Hollywood movie “Blackhawk Down”.
Even when some sense of normalcy returned to Mogadishu in the better half of 2006 under the Islamic Courts Union, the world was reading another script for Somalia which ultimately sent the country into a further mess thanks to US-backed Ethiopian invasion.
As Somalia deteriorated, Somaliland, a former British protectorate declared itself a republic on May 18, 1991 after four months of reconciliation led by clan chiefs and dubbed the Grand Conference of National Reconciliation. The conference was held in Borama, a Somaliland city near the border with Djibouti and Ethiopia. There was no notable foreign intervention, unlike the dozens of internationally-backed reconciliation efforts to help put Mogadishu in order
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Just over a week ago, on June 26, the people of Somaliland held another presidential poll. For many Somalilanders, the wish to attain international recognition will remain for at least as long as southern Somalia remains dangerous and volatile.
Relative peace is also experienced in the northern semi-autonomous state of Puntland, a collection of seven Somali regions that declared themselves state in 1998 but still remain part of a federal Somalia.
The current Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu is the 15th product of international community-led reconciliation efforts, and was widely seen as the best chance Somalia has had in years.
However, fifty years down the line, and quite unlike the Somalia that first gained independence, Somalia is struggling to find its feet and stand tall among nations. The emergence of the radical Islamist groups Al Shabaab (which earlier this year declared its allegiance to Al Qaeda) and Hizbul Islam has further complicated the equation, paving the way for more suffering of the devastated population.
As the people of Somalia celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence amid all the current problems, this is a time for them to salute their comrades who made history 50 years ago by overcoming their differences to form a stable and prosperous country.
But this is also a time for reflection. For many Somalis, the million-dollar-question is when and from where the next Somali Youth League heroes will emerge to lead Somalis out of the destruction wrought by the extremists whose false religious beliefs threaten the very basis of Somali nationhood.
The writer is a journalist covering Horn of Africa
©2010 All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this article for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Rebublication or redistribution of this report, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Garowe Online
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