Why does somaliland want independence

It was a British protectorate until meaning a dependent territory, over which the British government exercised limited jurisdiction. At this point it merged with present-day Somalia, which was then under Italian rule, beginning a long and often violent struggle.

The SNM declared the city of Hargeisa as the capital of Somaliland, although it remains internationally unrecognised to this day. Over the next ten years the SNM created a new constitution for Somaliland, which was agreed with a public referendum in Somaliland has its own currency, its own military, issues its own passports and holds its own elections, which have been observed and praised by international partners like the EU.

It is also more stable than Somalia , and has seen little terrorist activity since However there are fears, particularly among the African Union, that the formal recognition of Somaliland would encourage other secessionist movements on the African continent to also seek independence.

Young girls living in Habas Weyne meaning 'big dust' , a settlement in the parched countryside outside of Hargeisa. Today, Somaliland is suffering with its extreme vulnerability to issues caused by climate change. Years of severe drought , famine and other disasters have pushed people to the brink of a humanitarian crisis.

Communities struggling to recover from a two-year drought that ended in are now facing one of the riest rainy seasons in three decades, with the UN claiming that 2.

She told us she and her seven children used to have camel milk and meat to live on - but five of her camels had died in six months due to drought. The most frequently heard argument against secession is that granting the right to one country invites others to take the same step.

This, the argument goes, would put at risk the internationally recognised system of post-colonial states in Africa. The issue of secession first arose in the s with the wave of decolonisation and questions over the viability of the newly independent states across the continent. The issue has come up again in recent times. In northeast Africa two states have experienced separation. The circumstances in each of these cases was different. But the purpose here is not to revisit how and why these took place, but to consider what happened next.

In both cases separation was intended to deal with historical problems and provide an acceptable alternative in the form of a new internationally recognised state. But have they achieved these objectives? The division has led to violent border disputes, economic complications, and poor relations with the wider international community.

There is also a case to be made that granting secession has merely served to fuel the claims of other separatist movements.

Any separation involves the recognition of an accepted border between the two states involved. In the case of both Eritrea and South Sudan this has proved contentious. In there was an issue over Badme, a small town near the Ethiopian border which Eritrea claimed was theirs. This ignited one of the two largest interstate conflicts in Africa since the second world war.

The former British protectorate has also escaped much of the chaos and violence that plague Somalia. President: Muse Bihi Abdi. Mr Bihi has served as chairman of the ruling Kulmiye party since its founder and leader, Silanyo, was elected president in A retired air force pilot, Bihi's only previous government post was as interior minister of Somaliland in the s.

Government mouthpiece Radio Hargeisa is the only permitted domestic radio outlet. Private TV stations operate alongside a government-run network. The authorities target journalists and media outlets that cover sensitive topics, including territorial disputes with neighbouring Puntland. Somaliland's 'path to recognition'.