The Federation of the Horn Republics

By Kassahun Addis

A panel discussion was held last week on the issue of Somaliland politics and quest for de jure recognition in particular and the Horn in general. A number of students, both Somali speaking and non Somalis, were in attendance and made the panel one of the hottest events of the week. The panelists were from the Somaliland parliament and the opposition camps of the same country.

The panel was a perfect opportunity to observe the differing views people of the holds in regard to Somaliland. One could how some are committed to the independence of Somaliland and the consequent grant of official recognition to it. One could also see representative of the view that Somaliland should not strife for independence and separation in this age of globalization where every region is moving in the direction of integration. There were also attendees with compromising view that Somaliland could seriously consider the possibility of uniting with a federation and confederation with Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti.

Well, I belong to the compromising school of thought in that it is my conviction that the sole purpose of Somaliland state should not be independence alone. They must take in to account the international political, social and economic dynamics which is basically about integrating economies and breaking up the social and political barriers that separate humanity.
In the discussion, some students has rightly, though late, asked why Somaliland is withdrawing from the voluntary union it entered with Somalia in 1960. And the speakers rightly answered: that is the wish of the people of Somaliland. Yes, you cannot force unity up on people just like is difficult to impose a government on the people.

They noted that various reasons motivated Somalilanders to withdraw from the voluntary union. I have systematically categorized those factors in to two. One is the loss of the purpose of the once popular voluntary union and the Somaliland’s people recognition that they can achieve that purpose through other means like the integration of the Greater Horn. I t to be noted that the sole driving force the unity in 1960 was the idea of bringing all the Somali inhabited areas of the Horn under a single state. However, the means proved disastrous for the Somali and non-Somali people alike and failed to be the right way. But now, leaders are coming to realize that this dream can be achieved through the Federation of Horn Republics.”

The second reason, overlapping with the first, is the bitter experience Somalilanders have during the time of the union. If Thomas Jefferson was a Somalilander he would write on the Somaliland Declaration of Independence, “The unbearable tyranny of the South is both the cause and justification of for the withdrawal of Somaliland from the voluntary union.”

To conclude, it is high time that academicians and politicians come to the knowledge that it is only healthy and politically indivisible society that can create and sustain stability, democracy and prosperity in the Horn, for that matter any where else. And it is only this healthy and indivisible society that can establish a successful federation or confederation.