Why Washington rejected Somaliland's independence quest

The US government is reluctant to endorse Somaliland’s quest for independence, fearing such a policy could have the unintended consequences of breaking up the entire Somalia.

This week, as Somaliland leader Muse Bihi visited the US, pitching for ‘sovereignty’ and demonstrating to the audiences in Washington that his region has run its own affairs for 30 years, officials in the Joe Biden administration insisted the region will be treated as part of Somalia.

Molly Phee, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, who met Bihion Tuesday, said she had discussed “strengthening US engagement with Somaliland within the framework of our single Somalia policy”.

And Larry Andre, US ambassador to Somalia, held a series of interviews with local media and said Washington’s policy on Somalia will not change in spite of the trip.

In a keynote speech at the Heritage Foundation, Bihi told the audience his region had tired from uniting with Somalia, whose other parts have been unstable for three decades.

Not recognised

“Somaliland first gained independence and international recognition on 26 June 1960,” he told the audience, adding that five days after independence, Somaliland united voluntarily with Somalia with the aim of creating a “Greater Somalia”, officially known as the Somali Republic.

Mr Abdi, himself a former pilot in the Somalia air force, is leading a region that declared itself independent of Somalia in 1991, shortly after the regime of Siad Barre began to collapse and civil war ensued.

Yet even after 30 years, no sovereign state in the world recognises Somaliland as independent, even though some treat it as a de facto state. And the US itself says its official policy is to treat Somaliland simply as an autonomous region of Somalia, just like other federal states.

But Abdi, on his first official tour of the US, said Somaliland no longer feels a part of “Greater Somalia.” This region was envisaged to include five former colonies inhabited by ethnic Somalis in British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, French Somaliland (today’s Djibouti), the current Somali region of Ethiopia and the then Northern Frontier District of Kenya.

Internal Problem

Abdi said the unity between British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland that formed the Somali Republic in 1960 failed to yield the desired result.

Some commentators say Somaliland’s quest faces an internal problem, given its people can’t agree on whether to secede.

Adam Aw Hirsi, a Somali political analyst, told The EastAfrican: “The Somaliland quest for secession has two major obstacles. One is the communities that call the former British protectorate home. Of these, at least two out of the four major clans are not supportive of the secession.

“The other one is the rest of the Somali Republic: even though the Somali Republic administration has no clearly spelled out policy on Somaliland, they are clear about their unwillingness to let Hargeisa go. Bihi's recent rodeo to Washington, DC, is more of a publicity stunt aimed at boosting his party's prestige for the upcoming elections in Somaliland than a meaningful and substantial effort to gain independence.”

Feasibility Study

In Washington, Bihi’s team said they gained something. For example, US senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), a ranking member of the Senate foreign relations committee, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee on Africa and global health policy, on Thursday introduced the Somaliland Partnership Act.

If passed, it will require the State Department to report to Congress on engagement with Somaliland, and to conduct a feasibility study, in consultation with the secretary of defence, regarding the establishment of a partnership.

'Single Somalia'

“The United States continues to be a steadfast partner of the Somali people and its federal government, but the Biden administration has limited itself to the confines of a ‘single Somalia’ policy at the detriment of other democratic actors in the country,” said Risch.

“In this complex time in global affairs and for the Horn of Africa, the United States should explore all possible mutually beneficial relationships with stable and democratic partners, like Somaliland, and not limit ourselves with outdated policy approaches and diplomatic frameworks that don’t meet today’s challenges.”

Regular Visits

The US, unlike several other players in Somalia, doesn’t have a consulate in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. And Bihi used that to challenge Washington to set up an office in Hargeisa.

“With this presence and regular visits by senior US officials, we will be able to cooperate more closely in a number of key areas,” Bihi said.

“Somaliland has successfully deterred threats to our homeland and piracy in our territorial waters. Our Coast Guard works with partners such as the UK to guarantee the safety and security of maritime trade through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and we work with foreign partners and international NGOs to minimise illicit trafficking and smuggling networks.”

Somaliland, originally British Somaliland, merged with Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic in 1960. But Siad Barre’s regime elicited a rebellion in the north. When rebel group Somali National Movement (SNM) was established in 1981, Barre’s military government turned brutal, especially when the rebels and the government army fought in 1988 in the cities of Hargeisa and Berbera. Somaliland immortalised that brutality in a monument made out of one of the downed Somalia jets in Hargeisa.

Rebel Groups

When the regime in Mogadishu was defeated by rebel groups, it opened a window of opportunity for the promoters of Somaliland to declare independence from the rest of Somalia.

Since then, Somaliland has often run like a de facto state, having a Central Bank and currency, an army and police, as well as regular elections since 1991, with some embassies in Mogadishu also having consulates in Hargeisa.

But no one formally endorses its independence. Today, some countries like Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Kenya, Turkey and the UAE have diplomatic offices in Hargeisa. None of them officially endorses Somaliland as a separate entity from Somalia. Only Taiwan, which China claims is part its territory, recognises Somaliland

Bihi Hopeful

But Bihi says he has hope things will change.

“Through my consultations with the Biden administration, members of Congress and American business and civil society leaders this week, I am more confident than ever in the future of the US-Somaliland partnership,” he said on Thursday.

“Both Democrats and Republicans welcome accelerated efforts to deepen engagement on a range of security, economic and governance initiatives.”