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Somaliland's Procolonial History
In the 16th century, ZEILA (Saylac) on the Gulf of Aden was a trading center
offering goods such as coffee, ostrich feathers, Ethiopian slaves etc.; it
became the center of the Muslim Sultanate of ADAL, which was the nemesis of the
christian Amharic kingdom of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). In the later 16th century,
Abyssinia, aided by the Portuguese, expanded at the expense of Adal, which by
1660 had disintegrated. The port of Zeila meanwhile had been commercially
overtaken by BERBERA.
In 1854 Richard Burton travelled into the hinterland of the Somali coast,
observing the independence of Harar. In 1855, at Berbera, his party was
attacked. The British authorities in Aden sent a punitive expedition to Berbera,
a blockade against the port implemented; in 1856 a trade treaty with Berbera was
signed, the blockade lifted.
In 1866, the Ottoman Empire transferred her ports on the western shore of the
Red Sea - Suakin and Massawa to the Khedive of Egupt. In 1870 the Egyptian flag
was hoisted at Bulhar and Berbera; Egyptian authority was recognized all along
the southwestern coast of the Red Sea, down to Cape Gardafui on the Indian
Ocean. In 1884, with the MAHDI REBELLION ongoing in the Egyptian Sudan, the
Egyptian troops were withdrawn from the Somaliland region.
British Protectorate
After the departure of Egyptian troops (1884), the British acquired treaties
from local chiefs asking for British protection (1884-1886). A British source
from 1920 states that in order to prevent Somaliland from being annexed by
another power, it was partitioned between Britain, Italy and Abyssinia.
The PROTECTORATE over BRITISH SOMALILAND was proclaimed in 1884; The
protectorate's main importance for Britain lay in it's strategic location, close
to the Bab el Mandeb - the entrance into the Red Sea. It was first administered
from Aden.
In 1887, Somaliland was placed under the INDIAN OFFICE; in 1898 it was
transferred to the COLONIAL OFFICE. BERBERA was selected as the seat of
administration. In 1888 an Anglo-French agreement was signed delimiting the
British and French spheres of influence on the northern Somali coast.
In 1920, the population was estimated at 300,000, mostly nomadic Somali; in the
coastal towns there were communities of Arabs and Indians; the dominant religion
was Islam. The currency used was the Indian Rupee. The protectorate's revenue
covered for only a fraction of it's expenses, and had to be heavily subsidized
by Britain.
Soon the British found that the area was more difficult to control than
expected. They faced determined resistance organized by Muhammad Abdullah Hasau,
nicknamed the Mad Mullah. After British operations undertaken in 1901-1904, a
peaceful settlement was reached in 1905. In August 1913 the Camel Constabulary,
a force of 150 men, was routed by c. 2,000 armed dervishes at Dulmadoba; the
Camel Constabulary lost half their men, including the commander. Resistance only
was broken in 1920 when the British made use of the Royal Airforce. Muhammad
Abdullah fled to Ethiopia, where he died in 1921
British Protectorate, 1918-1939
When World War I ended in Europe in November 1918, Britain still faced the
determined resistance of Muhammad Abdilla Hasau's (the 'Mad Mullah's) Somalis.
Britain employed the Royal Air Force to attack his capital. Hasau died in 1920,
and the rebellion collapsed with his death.
The British moved the capital from coastal Berbera to continental Hargeysa, with
a more favourable climate.
Economically, the protectorate saw little development; it's major function was
to supply meat to the colony of Aden. There was no white immigration, no
plantation economy, no railway construction. British Somaliland economically was
outperformed by neighbouring Italian Somalia.
In 1937 the native population of British Somaliland was estimated at 344,700,
the non-native population given at 2,688, of whom only 68 were Europeans.
Governor from 1935 to 1939 was Sir A.S. Lawrence.
British Protectorate, 1939-1960
In June 1940, Italy entered World War II on the side of the Axis powers. British
Somaliland, surrounded by Italian colonies and with few British troops present
to defend itself, quickly fell to Italian invading forces (August 1940). In
1941, British and South African troops invaded Italian East Africa from Kenya,
the Sudan and Aden; the Italian colonial troops surrendered that year. British
Somaliland was liberated by an expedition from Aden in March 1941; the
protectorate then was placed under military administration, military governors
Brigadier A.R. Chater (1941-1943), Brigadier G.T. Fisher (1943-1948). In 1948
the protectorate was returned to civilian administration.
In 1948 there were noexecutive or legislative councils in the protectorate; the
governor exclusively exercised administrative authority. Both the Indian rupee
and the East African shilling were used; there were no banks in the
protectorate. In 1960, the British protectorate was terminated and independence
declared. The country then quickly merged with neighbouring, formerly Italian
Somalia.
Somaliland as Part of Unified Somalia
(1960-1994) and Secession
Soon after (Italian) Somalia and (British) Somaliland proclaimed independence,
both merged to form the UNITED REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA. It's caoital was Mogadishu;
the larger, formerly Italian south dominated politically and economically.
As part of Greater Somalia, Somaliland was part of the wars with Ethiopia over
the Ogaden, of the subsequent refugee crisis. When long-term dictator Siad Barre
was toppled in 1991, Somalia quickly disintegrated in petty regions controlled
by warlords. Somalia came into the center of the world's attention, when UN
troops invaded Somalia to ensure the safety of humanitarian organizations trying
to provide the famine-stricken population with food.
In 1991, Somaliland in the north declared INDEPENDENCE (as the Republic of Adal),
an independence which so far is not recognized internationally.
The Sultanate of Adal, 14th and 15th
Century
After The SULTANATE OF SHOA had been destroyed by the Abyssinians during the
rule of Negus Amda Siyon (1314-1344), the SULTANATE OF IFAT, ruled by the
Walashma dynasty, emerged as Shoa's successor state; it included Adal and the
trading city of ZEILA (SAYLAC).
In 1415 the Abyssinians routed Ifat and conquered Zeyla; Sultan Sa'd ad-Din was
killed. The Abyssinians withdrew and the Sultanate, now named ADAL, was
reestablished by the descendants of Sa'd ad-Din. The capital was moved to Dakkar,
east of Harar.
In 1506-1543, Adal was ruled by Imam Ahmad Ibrahim al-Ghazi; he imported cannons
and waged war against Abyssinia, which brought the country close to collapse.
Yet meanwhile the Portuguese established contact with Abyssinia (CRISTOPHER DA
GAMA, 1541) and Portuguese military aid to the latter saved Abyssinia. Imam
al-Ghazi's force was routed in 1542 near Lake Tana, the Imam killed in battle.
The capital of Adal was moved to Harar, in 1577 to the oasis of Aussa, located
in the Danakil depression.
Adal, from an expanding power, had become the subject of foreign raids -
therefore the relocation of the capital to a remote location in a hostile
climate. In the later 16th century, both Abyssinia and Adal experienced raids by
the Galla. In the late 17th century, the dynasty ruling the Sultanate of Adal
was overthrown by the Afar; this event terminates the history of Adal.
Former British Somaliland, which recently declared it's secession from Somalia,
calls itself the Republic
of Awdal (Adal).
Awdal "Republic": Declaration of
Independence, [Somalia]
COPY OF AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS:
AWDAL REPUBLIC
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Proud to be the direct descendants of the
Awdal (Adel) empire inhabitants, we are happy to announce that from now on we
will revive our civilization and bring it back to the track from which it was
derailed by the foreign forces.
The Awdal Republic that will soon emerge will
be democratic, compassionate and civilized. Certaintly when we achieve our goal,
gone will be the days when the Awdalians were the naked needles that sewed other
people's clothes; gone will be the days when our destiny was in unfriendly hands
and gone will be the days when we believed blindly in Somali nationalism.
We believe strongly that a nation is a nation
when the basic right of every individual is guaranteed but when the state in
whose bosom the individual is supposed to feel secure is turned into a clannish
spear to tear the flesh of the former rival clans, then it becomes the
responsibility of every group to protect its citizens. Awdalians are no
exceptions.
By breaching the terms of the treaties with
the Awdalians, the British derailed our state and played poker with our
territory. The remaining parts of Awdal joined voluntarily to Somalia on 1st
July 1960. The only fruits of independence became a nightmare: the loss of
sovereignty, denial of basic rights of the individual, naked nepotism,
intentional underdevelopment by taxing the people without ever spending a penny
for the Awdalian welfare. The sandy beaches of Mogadishu sucked and absorbed
that revenue. " We cann't fill the bag whose bottom lies at Mogadishu and
whose rim touches Loyi'ado - a distance of two thousand kilometers-!", an
Awdalian complained once. Awdal became the true stepchild of Somalia.
A single project was not carried out in Awdal
since independence. The virtual nonexistence of any infrastructure in Awdal, its
neglected landscape that was denuded of both flora and fauna, and the abject
poverty of its citizens speaks poetically for the kind of union that we were
duped into.
In addition, the Awdalian carried the brunt of
the wars against the dictatorial regimes of ex-Ethiopia. As a result the
ex-regime's troops shelled, bombed and strafed all towns and villages in Awdal.
On 31st January 1984, the Mengistu planes killed in twenty seconds eighty-four
civilians, including thirty-five children, at Borama. While all this was going
on, most Somalis were ignorant of the plight of these people and no one reported
their continuous suffereng. Moreover, the Awdalians shared with the rest of the
country the brutal oppression of dictator Said Barre. It goes down in history
that the first innocent civilian killed by Barre's firing squads in Hargiesa in
1970 was from Awdal.
On top of all these calmities, the SNM,
spearheading an entire division of Mengistu's troops, slaughtered five hundred
fifty innocent people in Borama, Dila and Zeila on February 4th, 1991. And when
the SNM had occupied, with the "generous" assistance of these troops
and had inherited the ammunation dumps in the north of somalia, the first step
they took was a deliberate clan-cleansing of the non-Isack clans from their
homes at Gebiley, Hargeisa, Arabsiyo, Eiragavo and Ainabo. To humilate further
the clans in the north, they hijacked their elders and took them first to Harar
(Ethiopia) in April 1991 and later to Burao where they were intimidated to sign
a "compulsary declaration of independence" that has been concocted
directly by "Mengistu Haila Miriam". Two ex-Ethiopian generals,
violating directly the sovereignty of the Somali state, were directing that
so-called conference at Burao. Thus, by carrying out these repugnant deeds that
are contrary to whatever values or culture we shared as Somlis since the
millennium, the SNM dealt a mortal blow to any bonds of brotherhood and
sisterhood we shared.
Now, if Somalia disintegrates, the Awdalians,
who has been the victims of the Somali nationalism, cannot be blamed. History is
our testimony that we have persevered in spite of all kinds of oppression and
that we have striven to keep Somalia together but that earned us only scron and
a threat to our very survival.
We can't be aprt of a nation guided by the
whims of crazy clannish zealots; nor shall we be part of a nation kept together
by coercion, and we will never accept again to be the underdogs waiting for the
offal.
We understand fully that the decisions we have
taken are not light but God has not ordained that we become the guardians of the
Somali nation. after seeing half a million of its people starved to death and
millions of others obliged to go through all kinds of humiliation, Somalia is
not the same any more.
Therefore, by solemnly declaring our
independence, we are confident that the Somali people will support us for they
understand fully the conditions and circumstances that abliged us to undertake
this historic decision.
Henceforth, we are the Awdal Republic - the
heart of the DIR clan (GADABOURSI and ISSA) - and our boundaries are those of
the 19th century Awdal.
Signed by the people of Awdal Republic.
From: Ben.Parker@unep.no
Subject: Awdal "republic" - Somalia - for Hornet
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 95 08:32:42 GMT
Message-Id: [9502130832.2A32AC@extern02.unep.no
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA -
AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
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