Last week, Al-Shabab, a Somali fundamentalist Islamist youth group with ties to al-Qaida, which controls much of central and southern Somalia, claimed responsibility for the deadly truck bombing in Mogadishu in which more than 85 Somali students died as they waited in line to see if they had won scholarships to study in Turkey. Somalia arguably is the most ungovernable place in the world, and a graveyard for many of the United Nations' unsustainable policy initiatives. But in reality, Somalia is three different entities: Somaliland, Puntland and south-central Somalia, where the current humanitarian disaster is unfolding.
Somaliland, the independent, northerly part of Somalia, has shown itself to be a lawful and productive nation, and could be a platform to stabilize southern Somalia, a bulwark against radical forces in the region and a reliable partner to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian ocean.
But for political reasons, the Obama administration has refused to support and recognize Somaliland.
I believe recognizing democratic Somaliland would have positive consequences, not just for Somalia, but for the whole Horn of Africa region. Recognition could help rebuild its shattered economy. With a stable economy, Somaliland would become stronger and be able to provide more resources for education, health, agriculture and water and economic development. Al-Qaida ideology would diminish.
It is time that President Barack Obama lead the world by accepting the viable and sustainable solution, which is an independent and sovereign Somaliland. Anything else would mean more terrorism and chaos in Somalia, which could threaten the whole region.
ALI MOHAMED
- President (Horn of AfricaFreedom Foundation)
Source: The Columbus dispatch
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