Somaliland: Israel is not the issue

[Deeq A.]

Somaliland: Israel is not the issue

by Dov S. Zakheim,

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In late December, when Israel established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Somaliland, it was actually not the first time it had done so. Israel had previously recognized the newly independent state of Somaliland in 1960, when it first won its independence from Britain.

At that time, however, Israel was not alone. Thirty-four other states, including all five members of the United Nations Security Council, also recognized an independent Somaliland.

Although it emerged from colonial domination as an internationally recognized independent state, Somaliland chose to merge with the former Italian Somaliland after it too became independent. The merger proved to be an uneasy one, however. The two formerly separate colonies had separate administrative, legal and educational systems, reflecting the influence of their former colonial overlords. Somaliland and Somalia  also continued to maintain different police forces and different tax structures.

Their respective elites also had little in common. Whereas the former British Somaliland inherited a strong democratic tradition from Britain, that was not the case in the former Italian colony. Indeed, within a decade after independence and merger, the new unitary state, dominated by its southern region that had been Italian Somaliland, never held a real presidential election after 1967, when Abdirashid Ali Shermarke took office. Shermarke was assassinated two years later, and Somalia has not had a truly democratic election since.

Nor has Somalia had much stability in the last half-century. Wars with Ethiopia and Kenya, internal guerrilla insurrections, piracy and the rise of al-Shabab have transformed Somalia into a failed state.

In contrast, since it broke away from the central government in 1991, Somaliland has boasted  more than three decades of political democracy and economic stability. It has held multiple presidential and legislative elections. Nevertheless, although it exhibits all the characteristics of a unified state with functioning administrative governance, it has never been able to obtain international diplomatic recognition.

Although it is not officially recognized as an independent state, Somaliland does maintain unofficial relations with several states; for example, it has offices in Washington and London among others. It has reached a variety of economic agreements with several countries, notably neighboring Ethiopia.

So there is precedent for Somaliland obtaining recognition and a seat at the United Nations. That it chose to rupture its relationship with the Republic of Somalia years after agreeing to a merger is no different from the case of the United Arab Republic. In 1958, Egypt and Syria agreed to a merger intended to create a unitary state with a single president — Egypt’s Gamal abd-el Nasr — and a single legislature. The merger lasted barely four years, however — after a military coup, Syria opted for independence once more.

The African Union has refused to recognize Somaliland and has condemned Jerusalem’s decision to establish formal relations with its capital, Hargeisa. It has called upon Israel to revoke its recognition of the breakaway state. Yet in May 1993  the African Union recognized Eritrea, which had bolted from Ethiopia after years of warfare. In 2011 it did the same for South Sudan, which had broken from Sudan, again after years of rebellion.

Russia and China have also condemned the Israeli move. After all, Russia refuses to accept Ukraine’s independence, whereas China considers Taiwan a breakaway province. Yet they too have recognized Eritrea and Sudan.

Russia recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which seceded from Georgia thanks to Russian military intervention. Moscow also recognizes as independent states the Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose survival depends on the Russia’s military’s presence.

The Arab League and Turkey have also condemned Israel for opening relations with Somaliland. Yet Turkey, alone among the rest of the international community, recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which owes its independence to the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island.

Finally, the Houthi rebels in Yemen have condemned Israel’s new ties with Somaliland and have threatened to “target” any Israeli presence there. That is hardly a surprise. Jerusalem has made no bones about the fact that being able to operate from the Horn of Africa will enhance its ability to strike at the rebel group.

The issue is not really Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, however. Rather it is why the international community, and if not all those states that had once recognized Somaliland — at least the western democracies — have not done so again. Like democratic Taiwan, which only a few small states recognize even though it maintains unofficial political, military and economic relations with numerous countries, notably the U.S. — Somaliland appears destined to remain an international pariah, despite demonstrating all the characteristics of a healthy, thriving, democratic polity.

Dov S. Zakheim is a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and vice chairman of the board for the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He was undersecretary of Defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer for the Department of Defense from 2001 to 2004 and a deputy undersecretary of Defense from 1985 to 1987.

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