Safarkii Madaxwaynaha ee Maykanka iyo halka uu marayo

Madaxwaynaha  Somaliland oo maanta la kulmay masuuliyiinta sar sare ee State Department ee dalka maraykanka. si aad u akhrido warkoo faahfaahsan Click Here

Somaliland: Advancing Security in a Fragile Region Remarks by President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo

The Republic of Somaliland ...................................................... Somaliland: Advancing Security in a Fragile Region ............................................................................................. Remarks by ....................... President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo Atlantic Council of the United States April 22, 2013

I. Introduction

I would like to extend my appreciation to Dr. Peter Pham and the Atlantic Council for inviting me to give

this address today.

The Atlantic  Council—thanks in part to Peter Pham’s diligent leadership at the Michael S. nsari frica

Center—has  stood  out  among  merica’s leading  public  policy  institutions  for  promoting  a  truly

interdisciplinary approach to understanding  the politics  and economics  of East  Africa.  It is  therefore  a

great pleasure and an honor for me to exchange views today on Somaliland and the future of our region

with such distinguished participants.

British Somaliland History

Somaliland had long come to the attention of the British from their strategically vital base at Aden. They had occupied this Arabian port since 1839 but became familiar with the hostile coast with its slave trading and warring tribes opposite. The strategic importance of the area was to be further increased with the opening of the Suez canal in 1869. Not only did the seaborne traffic increase massively, but Aden and Somaliland could be the effective choke point if it fell into the wrong hands. The area was technically under the control of the Ottoman Empire through its vassal state of Egypt. However, in reality the Egyptians paid little attention to the Ottomans, and the Somalis paid little attention to the Egyptians. The lands were pretty anarchic and power lay in the barrel of a gun.

The history of Somaliland (from colonation to Republic of somaliland)

Pre-colonial Origins (circa 615-1881)

Islamic Roots

Somaliland is just one of five nations in the Horn of Africa with large ethnic Somali populations. The others are: Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya.

31% of Ethiopia's land area, the Ogaden, is almost entirely populated by Somalis, 60% of Djiboutians are Somali, Somalia is predominantly Somali, and northeastern Kenya is almost exclusively Somali. Although Somaliland has developed a distinct national identity since its colonial experience, its story, like that of the other 4 countries with large Somali populations, begins with the story of the Somali people. And the story of the Somali people begins with Islam.

The early Muslims, like the early Christians, were bitterly persecuted. In response to the hostility Muslims faced in Arabia during the early seventh century, the Prophet Muhammad advised many of his followers to migrate to the Horn of Africa, a region then known for its free governments. Many Muslims heeded the prophet's advice, establishing settlements both in Abyssinia (what is now western Ethiopia and Eritrea) and in lands that would become predominantly Somali (what is now Djibouti, Somaliland, and northern Somalia). Here they found religious freedom and security that was virtually unheard of in Arabia, and peacefully coexisted with their Christian and polytheistic neighbors (Elmi 49, Samatar "Somalia: The Tenets of Islam.", Khwarazmi).