Geographical features:
Somaliland is about the size of England and Wales and has a total area of 137,600 square km with a coastline of 850 km long. It is situated in the Horn of Africa. Somaliland is bounded by the Gulf of Aden in the north, Somalia in east, Ethiopia in the south and west and Djibouti in the northwest. The major topography features are:
• The low-lying Coastal Plain known as Guban where summer temperatures can rise to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The Coastal Range high plateau (ogo) where rainfall is heavier is situated south of the Guban. It runs east west parallel to the coast and rises to over 2000m.
The Plateau (Hawd), south of Ogo and which is the most important grazing region.
Climate:
Somaliland has a tropical monsoon type of climate with four seasons; Gu and Hagaa are summer and Jilal and Deyr are winter seasons. The main rainy spring season goes on from April to June, the dry summer season stretches from July to September, a short autumn rainy period from October to November and finally a long dry winter from December to March.
Temperatures also show some seasonal variations. The winter months are normally cool with average December temperatures in the range of 15 - 26°C, while the summer months are the hottest, averaging 26 - 32°C in June.
Population:
The Somaliland government estimates the population at around 3.5 million. The average population growth rate is 3.1%. Population density is estimated at approximately 25 persons per sq. kilometre. Fifty-five percent of the population is either nomadic or semi-nomadic, while 45% live in urban centres or rural towns. The average life expectancy for males is 50 and for females it is 55.
Language:
Somali is the official language; other languages include English and Arabic. Somali is one of the Cushitic Languages of the Afro-asiatic family. Until recently, Somali was an unwritten language, until 1972, when the Latin orthography was finally adopted. The close contact and migration between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that dates back at least two thousand years ago influenced Somali with Arabic. Moreover, as the vehicle of the Islamic religion, in which the Koran must be recited, Arabic is a highly important language of culture.
Religion and culture:
Almost all Somalilanders are Sunni Muslims; Islam is the principal faith. Though traces of pre-Islamic traditional religion exist in Somaliland, Islam is extremely important to the Somalilanders sense of national identity. Many of the Somaliland social norms come from their religion. Many Somaliland women cover their heads and bodies with a Hijab when they are in public. In addition, Somalilanders abstain from pork, gambling, and alcohol, and receiving or paying any form of interest. Muslims generally congregate on Friday afternoons for a sermon and group prayer. Accordance with these prohibitions depends on each individual’s level of orthodoxy.
The Somaliland society is organized into clan families. Each of the large clan families is divided into lineage units, typically ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 members. It is possible for members to know how they are related simply by giving their name and clan membership.
Arranged marriages are common in Somaliland. In the case of arranged marriages, brides are usually much younger than the grooms. Marriage to a cousin from the mother’s side of the family (of a different lineage) is traditionally favoured to strengthen family alliance, but this practice is not as common as earlier. Virginity is valued in women prior to marriage. Romantic marriages are getting more common and are the now the majority of marriages in Somaliland. But the partner’s clan influences even these choices.
Political organisation:
Somaliland is not internationally recognised, nevertheless, it has a working political system, government institutions, a police force and its own currency. The country has a republican form of government. It is divided into six regions and thirty districts. The legislative assembly is composed of two chambers - an elected elder's chamber, and a house of representatives. An elected President and an elected Vice-president head the government. The President nominates the cabinet, which is approved by the legislature. There is an independent judiciary.
Somaliland is a multi-party democracy, three political parties dominate the political scene in : UDUB Party, Kulmiye Party and UCID party . The current President of the Republic is H.E Dahir Riyale Kahin and the vice-president is H.E Ahmed Yusuf Yasin of UDUB party who were elected on April 2003 for a five-year term. The term of the current government ends in early 2008.
Economy:
The official Somaliland currency is the Somaliland shilling (SlSh). The exchange rate the shilling against the US Dollar in end of December 2000 was: US$1 = SlSh 4,500.
The Somaliland economy is based on a liberal-market system, under which the private sector business is thriving, however the economy is still extremely fragile and poverty among Somaliland's population of 3.5 million is high.
The backbone of the economy is livestock. The total livestock in the country is estimated at 24 million. Most of the exports are directed to the Middle Eastern countries. However, this traditional sector of the economy can no longer support the growing population, particularly since Saudi Arabia imposed a ban on the import of Somaliland livestock after claims it was infected with disease.
Many families now survive on remittances from relatives who fled to Europe and North America during the civil war. The government estimates that the Diaspora sends back US $300m to Somaliland every year.
Because Somaliland is not recognised at the international level, it cannot appeal to the international community to intervene financially through the World Bank, IMF funds, or to bilateral budget support.
History:
Under British rule that started in 1884, The Republic of Somaliland was known as the Somaliland Protectorate. On June 26th 1960 the United Kingdom granted independence to the people of Somaliland. Somaliland was an independent country for five days and some 35 states recognized independent Somaliland. The U.S. Secretary of State, Christian Herter, sent a congratulatory message. The United Kingdom signed several bilateral agreements with Somaliland in Hargeisa on 26 June 1960. On July 1st 1960 Somaliland joined the former Italian Somalia to form the Somali Republic. The union did not work according to the aspirations of the people, and the strain led to a civil war from 1980s onwards and eventually the military dictator of Somalia, Siad Barre, was overthrown in 1991 provoking the collapse of the Somali Republic. The Central Committee of the Somali National Movement (SNM) assembled in Burao in May 1991 and declared unilaterally that Somaliland would henceforth become the independent Republic of Somaliland.
Somaliland has done amazingly well in managing the electoral process. On the 31st of May 2001, Somaliland conducted a referendum, which endorsed a new constitution and reaffirmed its status as an independent state. The Initiative and Referendum Institute, an international non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C concluded that overall the referendum was conducted "openly, fairly, honestly, and largely in accordance with internationally recognized election procedures." Ninety-seven percent of the voters approved the constitution. On the 15th of December 2002, six political parties took part in the municipal elections in which Somaliland women where able to participate. In April 2003 Dahir Riyale Kahin, from the ruling Unity of Democrats (UDUB) party, won Somaliland's first multi-party presidential elections. In its transition to democracy, Somaliland will hold parliamentary elections in September 15, 2005.
Somaliland is lobbying hard to win support for its claim to be a sovereign state. The a process aimed at unifying Somali factions through the Arta Conference in Djibouti in 2000 is viewed as a menace to the sovereignty of the newly founded Republic of Somaliland, consequently, Somaliland opted not to participate in the negotiations. Moreover, Somaliland rejects the creation in Arta of the Transitional National Government (TNG) that claims to represent all of Somalia, including Somaliland, arguing that the independence of Somaliland is nonnegotiable.
http://www.unpo.org/member.php?arg=60
If the world can accept the breakup of Montenegro from Serbia from a mutual alliance, this was the same situation in Somalia so why can't people accept Somaliland independence from Somalia. Please if you are concerned about this situation please write your local congressman, or MP about this issue. Because all three Mogadishu groups, the U.N transitional government, the warlords and the Islamic Militia will not respect Somaliland independence and that may result in bloodshed in a place that has been self-sufficent and democratic in the past 15 years.
Somaliland is about the size of England and Wales and has a total area of 137,600 square km with a coastline of 850 km long. It is situated in the Horn of Africa. Somaliland is bounded by the Gulf of Aden in the north, Somalia in east, Ethiopia in the south and west and Djibouti in the northwest. The major topography features are:
• The low-lying Coastal Plain known as Guban where summer temperatures can rise to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The Coastal Range high plateau (ogo) where rainfall is heavier is situated south of the Guban. It runs east west parallel to the coast and rises to over 2000m.
The Plateau (Hawd), south of Ogo and which is the most important grazing region.
Climate:
Somaliland has a tropical monsoon type of climate with four seasons; Gu and Hagaa are summer and Jilal and Deyr are winter seasons. The main rainy spring season goes on from April to June, the dry summer season stretches from July to September, a short autumn rainy period from October to November and finally a long dry winter from December to March.
Temperatures also show some seasonal variations. The winter months are normally cool with average December temperatures in the range of 15 - 26°C, while the summer months are the hottest, averaging 26 - 32°C in June.
Population:
The Somaliland government estimates the population at around 3.5 million. The average population growth rate is 3.1%. Population density is estimated at approximately 25 persons per sq. kilometre. Fifty-five percent of the population is either nomadic or semi-nomadic, while 45% live in urban centres or rural towns. The average life expectancy for males is 50 and for females it is 55.
Language:
Somali is the official language; other languages include English and Arabic. Somali is one of the Cushitic Languages of the Afro-asiatic family. Until recently, Somali was an unwritten language, until 1972, when the Latin orthography was finally adopted. The close contact and migration between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that dates back at least two thousand years ago influenced Somali with Arabic. Moreover, as the vehicle of the Islamic religion, in which the Koran must be recited, Arabic is a highly important language of culture.
Religion and culture:
Almost all Somalilanders are Sunni Muslims; Islam is the principal faith. Though traces of pre-Islamic traditional religion exist in Somaliland, Islam is extremely important to the Somalilanders sense of national identity. Many of the Somaliland social norms come from their religion. Many Somaliland women cover their heads and bodies with a Hijab when they are in public. In addition, Somalilanders abstain from pork, gambling, and alcohol, and receiving or paying any form of interest. Muslims generally congregate on Friday afternoons for a sermon and group prayer. Accordance with these prohibitions depends on each individual’s level of orthodoxy.
The Somaliland society is organized into clan families. Each of the large clan families is divided into lineage units, typically ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 members. It is possible for members to know how they are related simply by giving their name and clan membership.
Arranged marriages are common in Somaliland. In the case of arranged marriages, brides are usually much younger than the grooms. Marriage to a cousin from the mother’s side of the family (of a different lineage) is traditionally favoured to strengthen family alliance, but this practice is not as common as earlier. Virginity is valued in women prior to marriage. Romantic marriages are getting more common and are the now the majority of marriages in Somaliland. But the partner’s clan influences even these choices.
Political organisation:
Somaliland is not internationally recognised, nevertheless, it has a working political system, government institutions, a police force and its own currency. The country has a republican form of government. It is divided into six regions and thirty districts. The legislative assembly is composed of two chambers - an elected elder's chamber, and a house of representatives. An elected President and an elected Vice-president head the government. The President nominates the cabinet, which is approved by the legislature. There is an independent judiciary.
Somaliland is a multi-party democracy, three political parties dominate the political scene in : UDUB Party, Kulmiye Party and UCID party . The current President of the Republic is H.E Dahir Riyale Kahin and the vice-president is H.E Ahmed Yusuf Yasin of UDUB party who were elected on April 2003 for a five-year term. The term of the current government ends in early 2008.
Economy:
The official Somaliland currency is the Somaliland shilling (SlSh). The exchange rate the shilling against the US Dollar in end of December 2000 was: US$1 = SlSh 4,500.
The Somaliland economy is based on a liberal-market system, under which the private sector business is thriving, however the economy is still extremely fragile and poverty among Somaliland's population of 3.5 million is high.
The backbone of the economy is livestock. The total livestock in the country is estimated at 24 million. Most of the exports are directed to the Middle Eastern countries. However, this traditional sector of the economy can no longer support the growing population, particularly since Saudi Arabia imposed a ban on the import of Somaliland livestock after claims it was infected with disease.
Many families now survive on remittances from relatives who fled to Europe and North America during the civil war. The government estimates that the Diaspora sends back US $300m to Somaliland every year.
Because Somaliland is not recognised at the international level, it cannot appeal to the international community to intervene financially through the World Bank, IMF funds, or to bilateral budget support.
History:
Under British rule that started in 1884, The Republic of Somaliland was known as the Somaliland Protectorate. On June 26th 1960 the United Kingdom granted independence to the people of Somaliland. Somaliland was an independent country for five days and some 35 states recognized independent Somaliland. The U.S. Secretary of State, Christian Herter, sent a congratulatory message. The United Kingdom signed several bilateral agreements with Somaliland in Hargeisa on 26 June 1960. On July 1st 1960 Somaliland joined the former Italian Somalia to form the Somali Republic. The union did not work according to the aspirations of the people, and the strain led to a civil war from 1980s onwards and eventually the military dictator of Somalia, Siad Barre, was overthrown in 1991 provoking the collapse of the Somali Republic. The Central Committee of the Somali National Movement (SNM) assembled in Burao in May 1991 and declared unilaterally that Somaliland would henceforth become the independent Republic of Somaliland.
Somaliland has done amazingly well in managing the electoral process. On the 31st of May 2001, Somaliland conducted a referendum, which endorsed a new constitution and reaffirmed its status as an independent state. The Initiative and Referendum Institute, an international non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C concluded that overall the referendum was conducted "openly, fairly, honestly, and largely in accordance with internationally recognized election procedures." Ninety-seven percent of the voters approved the constitution. On the 15th of December 2002, six political parties took part in the municipal elections in which Somaliland women where able to participate. In April 2003 Dahir Riyale Kahin, from the ruling Unity of Democrats (UDUB) party, won Somaliland's first multi-party presidential elections. In its transition to democracy, Somaliland will hold parliamentary elections in September 15, 2005.
Somaliland is lobbying hard to win support for its claim to be a sovereign state. The a process aimed at unifying Somali factions through the Arta Conference in Djibouti in 2000 is viewed as a menace to the sovereignty of the newly founded Republic of Somaliland, consequently, Somaliland opted not to participate in the negotiations. Moreover, Somaliland rejects the creation in Arta of the Transitional National Government (TNG) that claims to represent all of Somalia, including Somaliland, arguing that the independence of Somaliland is nonnegotiable.
http://www.unpo.org/member.php?arg=60
If the world can accept the breakup of Montenegro from Serbia from a mutual alliance, this was the same situation in Somalia so why can't people accept Somaliland independence from Somalia. Please if you are concerned about this situation please write your local congressman, or MP about this issue. Because all three Mogadishu groups, the U.N transitional government, the warlords and the Islamic Militia will not respect Somaliland independence and that may result in bloodshed in a place that has been self-sufficent and democratic in the past 15 years.
