Secession of Somaliland from Somalia. Conundrum to Peace and Security in the Horn of Africa

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Region: Africa, grade: Pass, , language: English, abstract: Failure to satisfy Somaliland¿s desire for peace, security, stability and peaceful co-existence with Somalia which are the tenets of Westphalian statehood, resulted in the collapse of the ambitious project designed to merge Northern Somalia (Somaliland) and Southern Somalia (Somalia) into Republic of Somalia. Since the inception of the Republic, elites from Northern Somaliland complained about Southern Somaliäs dominance in governance where the national flag, national anthem, capital city, Presidency and Prime Minister¿s position have been contributed by the Southerners. To rub salt into the wounds of the Northerners, Siad Barre assumed power by means of a coup and installed draconian, discriminative and oppressive laws against the Northern clans generally and the Isaac clan in particular. These appalling conditions experienced by the Northerners cajoled them to hold the bull by its horns and confront the situation. They formed the Somali National Movement (SMN) which protected the Northerners against Barre¿s oppressive machinery. Subsequently Somaliland declared unilateral independence because it satisfied Article I of the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933) which explains that: [t]he State as a person of international law should possess: Permanent population; Defined territory; Government and Capacity to enter into foreign relations.