LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Somaliland: Federal Somalia
built 640 days ago
The Republic of Somaliland has indeed accomplished a remarkable feat and without international assistance. The success or failure of the September 29 elections will determine which road Somalilanders adhere to: a continuing compromise or a frustrated abandonment of their ideals. The African Union and the West may wish to believe that a pan-Somalian “peace” has finally been drafted in Mbagathi, irrespective of the transitional government’s failure to function and irrespective of events inside Somaliland, but this is unwise. The ufo -- the wind before the storm -- is quite likely to return, yet now there is no telling which way it will blow.
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The case for international recognition of Somaliland is a strong one. It is an imperfect democracy, but it has provided a functioning state to its citizens for the past twelve years, which is more than can be said for anyplace else in Somalia. Most residents of Somaliland have no apparent desire to reunite with Somalia, and an argument can be made that their consent to unification was never properly obtained in the first place. Nor is there any compelling reason to reconstitute Somalia in its pre-1990 form, which is a demonstrably failed state united by little besides language and colonial borders.
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Somaliland and Somalia formed a union of the two independent territories through their elected representatives. Interestingly... the legal formalities were not fully completed, and the Act of Union, prepared by the legislative assembly of Somalia, was not sufficient to make the union legally binding. This means it remains without legal validity today. Furthermore, since the two territories had been individual colonial states for over sixty years, they had already grown independently, with distinct institutions, history and even culture.
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Somaliland's application for membership gives the African Union an opportunity to prevent a deeply rooted dispute from evolving into an open conflict. Analysts say the African Union's intervention should be designed to create an environment favourable to dialogue, understanding, and peaceful settlement of differences without prejudice to the final outcome. The framework for dialogue between Somaliland and Somalia should address four central and practical questions.
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The results of Somaliland's experiment in democracy not only matter to the 3.5 million people in the northwestern republic but ... have implications for the rest of the Horn of Africa nation. A fair election would advance Somaliland's vision of Somalia's future: dividing it into separate nations like the former Yugoslavia. Others want the country reunified under one central government.
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Due to its policy of standing aside from Somalia's conflicts, Somaliland -- up until now -- has not entered PINR's reports as a major player. That policy, which aimed at showing that Somaliland is not an aggressive power -- yet another element of its overriding quest for recognition -- has kept under wraps what is potentially the most severe conflict in the territory of post-independence Somalia. The capture of Los Anod has brought that conflict to the surface.
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Federal Somalia