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85-521: The Murule live in many areas amongst Greater Somalia due to migrations. Primarily, they live in the North Eastern part of Kenya in the Mandera , which they traditionally inhabit the sub-counties of Mandera East , Lafey and Arabia in which they are the majority of. Murule also inhabit the neighbouring Ethiopia, in which they live in parts of the directly adjacent districts of Liben zone. They also live in

170-457: A crisis occurred that left Somalia without a government until the beginning of September. President Osman , who was empowered to propose the candidate for prime minister after an election or the fall of a government, chose Abdirizak Haji Hussein as his nominee instead of the incumbent, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke , who had the endorsement of the SYL party leadership. Shermarke had been prime minister for

255-468: A major party only long enough to use its symbol in the election campaign and, if elected, abandoned it for the winning side as soon as the National Assembly met. Thus, by the end of May 1969 the SYL parliamentary cohort had swelled from 73 to 109. In addition, the eleven SNC members had formed a coalition with the SYL, which held 120 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly. A few of these 120 left

340-584: A militant attitude toward neighboring countries occupying Somali territory. Preoccupation with Greater Somalia shaped the character of the country's newly formed institutions and led to the build-up of the Somali military and, ultimately, to the war with Ethiopia and fighting in the Northern Frontier District in Kenya. By law, the exact size of the National Assembly was not established in order to facilitate

425-725: A pact in December 1984 agreeing to cease hostilities along the border. Following renewed hostilities in the Ogaden with an August 1982 border clash, Ethiopia and Somalia signed a peace treaty in 1988. With the start of the Somali Civil War , the vision of uniting the various historically and predominantly Somali-inhabited areas of the Horn of Africa into a Greater Somalia was temporarily sidelined. Thousands of refugees have been granted political asylum in Kenya. Talk of pan-Somali unification movements for

510-460: A second cabinet list to the National Assembly that included all but one of his earlier nominees. However, the proposed new cabinet contained three additional ministerial positions filled by men chosen to mollify opposition factions. The new cabinet was approved with the support of all but a handful of SYL National Assembly members. Hussein remained in office until the presidential elections of June 1967. The 1967 presidential elections, conducted by

595-602: A secret poll of National Assembly members, pitted former prime minister Shermarke against Osman. Again the central issue was moderation versus militancy on the pan-Somali question. Osman, through Hussein, had stressed priority for internal development. Shermarke, who had served as prime minister when pan-Somalism was at its height, was elected president of the republic. The new president nominated as prime minister Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal , who raised cabinet membership from thirteen to fifteen members and included representatives of every major clan family, as well as some members of

680-638: A united country inhabited by all the Somalis in their "Horn of Africa" areas. Pan-Somalism refers to the vision of reunifying these areas to form a single Somali nation. The pursuit of this goal has led to conflict: Somalia engaged after World War II in the Ogaden War with Ethiopia over the Somali Region , and supported Somali insurgents against Kenya. In 1946 the Somali Youth League selected Harar as

765-756: A very warm acclamatio from these leaders. Tripodi, Paolo. "The Colonial Legacy in Somalia" In August 1940 Mussolini boasted to a group of Somalis in Rome that with the conquest of British Somalia (that he annexed to Italian Somalia) nearly all the Somali people were united, fulfilling their dream of a union of all Somalis. In September 1940 he even announced to the Somali people in Italy of having created an Italian Grande Somalia inside his Italian Empire . Indeed, in early World War II, Italian troops invaded British Somaliland and ejected

850-445: A vote of its traditional assembly. After registering, the office seeker then attempted to become the official candidate of a political party. Failing this, he would remain on the ballot as an individual contestant. Voting was by party list, which could make a candidate a one-person party. (This practice explained not only the proliferation of small parties but also the transient nature of party support. ) Many candidates affiliated with

935-475: A war over control of the predominantly Somali Ogaden region. In 1978 and with the help of Soviet and Cuban troops, Ethiopian troops drove back the Somali army from the Ogaden, effectively marking the end of the Ogaden War . In 1981, Siad Barre visited Nairobi , and asserted that Somalia was suspending its claim on the North Eastern Province (NFD). Improved relations with Kenya led to the signing of

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1020-834: The Baabili district in Faafan amongst their Hawiye brothers. Furthermore, they also live in the Sitti zone, where the Reer Fatah and Reer Jama sub-section of the Wacays Abdi Murule inhabit the Mieso district and also hold governor and council positions as well as the Afdem district. They also inhabit the Mieso district on the Oromia side and the town. Murule also live in parts of Somalia . They live in parts of

1105-621: The Greater Somalia League (GSL), pro-Arab and militantly pan-Somalist , attracted the support of the SNL and the USP against the SYL, which had adopted a moderate stand before independence. Northern misgivings about being too tightly harnessed to the south were demonstrated by the voting pattern in the June 1961 referendum on the constitution , which was in effect Somalia's first national election. Although

1190-596: The Hiiraan state of Somalia to present-day Mandera County in northeastern Kenya . When Murule settled in present-day Kenya, in Mandera County , the British Colonial administration made efforts to allocate parts of Mandera to communities. The British consulted Garre Sultan Shaba Aliyow of Garre, who was allocated West of Mandera and Murules east of Mandera. Ugaas Adan Hirsi and Dalahow Noor requested friendship with

1275-478: The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which then controlled much of southern Somalia, declared; "We will leave no stone unturned to integrate our Somali brothers in Kenya and Ethiopia and restore their freedom to live with their ancestors in Somalia." Somali Republic The Somali Republic ( Somali : Jamhuuriyadda Soomaalida ; Italian : Repubblica Somala ; Arabic : الجمهورية الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl )

1360-600: The Kenya Colony , Somali representatives from the Northern Frontier District (NFD) demanded that Britain arrange for the region's separation before Kenya was granted independence. The British government appointed a commission to ascertain popular opinion in the NFD on the question. The informal plebiscite demonstrated the overwhelming desire of the region's population, which mainly consisted of Somalis and Oromos , to join

1445-711: The Mustaaxil zone as part of the wider Jidle community. In addition to this, the Murule can also be found in the northern part Somali Region . They live in the Erer Zone and traditionally inhabit the Maya-Muluqo where they hold governor and majority of the council positions. They also hold positions in Qubi as well parts of the Lagahida district. Additionally, they can also be found in parts of

1530-734: The Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya and the Ogaden region in Ethiopia were placed under the control of neighboring states, despite the pre-independence unification efforts of Somali nationalists . The post-independence governments of the Somali Republic (1960-1969) and the Somali Democratic Republic (1969-1991) expended significant effort towards the unification of the NFD and French Somaliland with Somalia, however their primary focus

1615-494: The Scramble for Africa at the end of the 19th century, Somali inhabited territories were partitioned between imperial powers. The unification of these territories became a focal objective of an independent Somalia . Referred to as 'Greater Somalia', these regions at the outset of Somali independence encompassed British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland , which had successfully merged into a single nation in 1960. French Somaliland ,

1700-521: The Shifta War between Somali rebels and the Kenyan police and army . Voice of Somalia radio reportedly influenced the level of guerrilla activity by means of its broadcasts beamed into the NFD. Kenya also accused the Somali government of training the rebels in Somalia, equipping them with Soviet arms, and directing them from Mogadishu. It subsequently signed a mutual defense pact with Ethiopia in 1964, though

1785-569: The Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially a bloodless takeover. The coup was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre , who at the time commanded the army. Alongside Barre, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination, was led by Mohamed Ainanshe Guleid , Mohammad Ali Samatar , Abdullah Mohamed Fadil , and Salaad Gabeyre Kediye ,

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1870-413: The Somali Civil War and the splintering of Somalia into various autonomous polities, the concept of Greater Somalia has seen a sharp decline in support, with some Somali diaspora communities advocating for autonomy or independence rather than a full fledged union. Since the beginning of the 20th century the concept of Greater Somalia started to be developed with the birth of the nation of Somalia, as

1955-522: The Somali Republic , began in 1963 in an ethnic Oromo and Somali district, Elekere , then part of Bale province , instigated by the Oromo founder of the United Liberation Forces of Oromia , Waqo Gutu . The Bale revolt , a peasant revolt stemming from issues involving land, taxation, class, and religion, raged in the province for several years until a number of developments took the energy out of

2040-621: The United Nations created the Consultative Commission for Integration, an international board headed by UN official Paolo Contini, to guide the gradual merger of the new country's legal systems and institutions and to reconcile the differences between them. (In 1964 the Consultative Commission for Legislation succeeded this body. Composed of Somalis, it took up its predecessor's work under the chairmanship of Mariano. ) But many southerners believed that, because of experience gained under

2125-472: The armed forces and police . (General Mohamed Abshir Muse , the chief of police, had resigned just before the elections after refusing to permit police vehicles to transport SYL voters to the polls. ) Of these dissatisfied groups, the most significant element was the military, which since 1961 had remained outside politics. It had done so partly because the government had not called upon it for support and partly because, unlike most other African armed forces,

2210-604: The British ceded Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II in exchange for his help against raids by Somali clans. Britain included the proviso that the Somali inhabitants would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over the area. The Somali government refused in particular to acknowledge the validity of the Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1954 recognizing Ethiopia's claim to

2295-695: The British. Benito Mussolini annexed the conquered area to the Italian Somalia and added even the area of Moyale and Buna near the Jubaland in eastern Kenya (with some southern borders of French Somalia ). Mussolini told to a group of Somali clan leaders in September 1940 that Italy has realized their dream of a "Greater Somalia", conquering the British Somalia and areas of Kenya around Moyale. Also some southern borders of French Somalia were united. He received

2380-509: The British. However, Britain retained administration of most of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited Northern Frontier District . Italians even did a tentative to occupy French Somaliland in summer 1940. However the British regained control of British Somaliland in the spring of 1941, and conquered Italian Somaliland and the Somali Region. In 1945, the Potsdam conference was held, where it

2465-515: The French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls. The majority of those who had voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi , Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later under mysterious circumstances. At the 1961 London talks on the future of

2550-507: The Garre on behalf of the British, and the agreements were finalized. Greater Somalia Greater Somalia sometimes also called Greater Somaliland ( Somali : Soomaaliweyn ; Arabic : الصومال الكبرى , romanized :  al-Sūmāl al-Kubrā ) is the geographic location comprising the regions in the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis live and have historically inhabited. During

2635-461: The Haud or, in general, the relevance of treaties defining Somali-Ethiopian borders. Somalia's position was based on three points: first, that the treaties disregarded agreements made with Somali actors that had put them under British protection; second, that the Somalis were not consulted on the terms of the treaties and in fact had not been informed of their existence; and third, that such treaties violated

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2720-497: The Italian trusteeship, theirs was the better prepared of the two regions for self-government . Northern political, administrative, and commercial elites were reluctant to recognize that they now had to deal with Mogadishu. At independence, the northern region had two functioning political parties: the SNL, representing the Isaaq clan-family that constituted a numerical majority there; and

2805-500: The Italians 94,050 square kilometers of the Jubaland protectorate , which was situated in present-day southwestern Somalia. This was Italy's reward for allying itself with Britain in its war against Germany. The treaty was honored, and in 1924, Britain ceded Jubaland. In 1926, the northern half of Jubaland was incorporated into Italian Somaliland, and was later re-dubbed Oltre Giuba by

2890-530: The Italians for police duties) to command their units. The ringleaders urged a separation of north and south. Northern non-commissioned officers arrested the rebels, but discontent in the north persisted. In early 1962, GSL leader Haaji Mahammad Husseen, seeking in part to exploit northern dissatisfaction, attempted to form an amalgamated party, known as the Somali Democratic Union (SDU). It enrolled northern elements, some of which were displeased with

2975-459: The Italians. Britain retained control of the southern half of the partitioned Jubaland territory, which was later called the Northern Frontier District (NFD). After its conquest of Ethiopia in 1936, Italy also annexed the Huwan region. In this way Italian Somaliland, with capital Mogadishu , was enlarged once more. In early World War II , Italian troops invaded British Somaliland and ejected

3060-455: The Kenya economy[...] nobody can accuse them of trying to make off with the national wealth". Despite Somali diplomatic activity, the colonial government in Kenya did not act on the commission's findings. British officials believed that the federal format then proposed in the Kenyan constitution would provide a solution through the degree of autonomy it allowed the predominantly Somali region within

3145-564: The SYL after the 1964 elections. A more important difference between Shermarke and Egal, other than their past affiliations, was the new prime minister's moderate position on pan-Somali issues and his desire for improved relations with other African countries. In these areas, he was allied with the "modernists" in the government, parliament, and administration who favored redirecting the nation's energies from confrontation with its neighbors to combating social and economic ills. Although many of his domestic policies seemed more in line with those of

3230-491: The SYL after the composition of Egal's cabinet became clear and after the announcement of his program, both of which were bound to displease some who had joined only to be on the winning side. Offered a huge list of candidates, the almost 900,000 voters in 1969 took delight in defeating incumbents. Of the incumbent deputies, 77 out of 123 were not returned (including 8 out of 18 members of the previous cabinet), but these figures did not unequivocally demonstrate dissatisfaction with

3315-578: The SYL government was a very heterogeneous group with diverging personal and lineage interests. Candidates who had lost seats in the assembly and those who had supported them were frustrated and angry. A number of charges were made of government election fraud , at least some firmly founded. Discontent was exacerbated when the Supreme Court , under its newly appointed president, declined to accept jurisdiction over election petitions, although it had accepted such jurisdiction on an earlier occasion. Neither

3400-519: The Somali National Army had a genuine external mission in which it was supported by all Somalis – that of protecting the borders with Ethiopia and Kenya. On October 15, 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod , Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on October 21, 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which

3485-699: The Somali National Assembly. The same day Aden Abdullah Osman Daar become President of the Somali Republic; Daar in turn at 22 July 1960 appointed Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as the first prime minister. Shermarke formed a coalition government dominated by the Somali Youth League (SYL) but supported by the two clan-based northern parties, the Somali National League (SNL) and the United Somali Party (USP). Osman's appointment as president

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3570-411: The Somali Republic. On 22 July 1960, Daar appointed Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as prime minister . On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum , Somalia ratified a new constitution , which was first drafted in 1960. The new constitution was rejected by Somaliland. The administration lasted until 1969, when the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) seized power in a bloodless coup and renamed

3655-473: The Somali lands that it had turned over. Britain also granted administration of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited Northern Frontier District to Kenyan nationalists despite an informal plebiscite demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the region's population to join the newly formed Somali Republic. The first armed conflict following the independence and unification of the former British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland territories, known collectively as

3740-516: The Somalis in 1884 and 1886) and the Somali Region to Ethiopia, based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which the British ceded Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik in exchange for his help against raids by Somali clans. Britain included the proviso that the Somali residents would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over the area. This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to buy back

3825-552: The Trust Territory of Somaliland to establish the Somali Republic. On June 26, 1960, British Somaliland gained independence from Britain as the State of Somaliland . On July 1, 1960, the State of Somaliland unified with the Trust Territory of Somaliland, forming the Somali Republic. The legislature appointed the speaker of SOMALIA ACT OF UNION Hagi Bashir Ismail Yousuf as First President of

3910-610: The USP, supported largely by the Dir and the Daarood . In a unified Somalia, however, the Isaaq were a small minority, whereas the northern Daarood joined members of their clan-family from the south in the SYL. The Dir, having few kinsmen in the south, were pulled on the one hand by traditional ties to the Hawiye and on the other hand by common regional sympathies to the Isaaq. The southern opposition party,

3995-451: The apparent split in the SYL, it continued to attract recruits from other parties. In the first three months after the election, seventeen members of the parliamentary opposition resigned from their parties to join the SYL. Osman ignored the results of the vote and again nominated Hussein as prime minister. After intraparty negotiation, which included the reinstatement of four party officials expelled for voting against him, Hussein presented

4080-509: The country the Somali Democratic Republic . Popular demand compelled the leaders of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland to proceed with plans for immediate unification . The British government acquiesced to the force of Somali nationalist public opinion and agreed to terminate its rule of British Somaliland in 1960 in time for the protectorate to merge with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland ) on

4165-490: The country three truly national political parties and further served to blur north–south differences. The most important political issue in post-independence Somali politics was the unification of all areas traditionally inhabited by ethnic Somalis into one country – a concept identified as Greater Somalia ( Soomaaliweyn ) (see also Somali nationalism ). Politicians assumed that this issue dominated popular opinion and that any government would fall if it did not demonstrate

4250-444: The country's internal economic and social problems. Although Hussein had supported militant pan-Somalism, he was portrayed as willing to accept the continued sovereignty of Ethiopia and Kenya over Somali areas. The proposed cabinet failed to be affirmed by a margin of two votes. Seven National Assembly members, including Shermarke, abstained, while forty-eight members of the SYL voted for Hussein and thirty-three opposed him. Despite

4335-415: The draft was overwhelmingly approved in the south, it was supported by less than 50 percent of the northern electorate. Dissatisfaction at the distribution of power among the clan families and between the two regions boiled over in December 1961, when a group of British-trained junior army officers in the north rebelled in reaction to the posting of higher ranking southern officers (who had been trained by

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4420-471: The federal system. This solution did not diminish Somali demands for unification, however, and the modicum of federalism disappeared after Kenya's post-colonial government opted instead for a centralized constitution in 1964. Led by the Northern Province People's Progressive Party (NPPPP), Somalis in the NFD vigorously sought union with their kin in the Somali Republic to the north. In response,

4505-532: The four previous years, and Osman decided that new leadership might be able to introduce fresh ideas for solving national problems. In drawing up a Council of Ministers for presentation to the National Assembly, the nominee for prime minister chose candidates on the basis of ability and without regard to place of origin. But Hussein's choices strained intraparty relations and broke the unwritten rules that there be clan and regional balance. For instance, only two members of Shermarke's cabinet were to be retained, and

4590-513: The future capital of Greater Somalia and subsequently sent delegates to the United Nations office in Mogadishu to reveal this proposal. Italians occupied the Benadir in 1890 and soon started to enlarge their Somalia italiana ( Italian Somaliland ): they created their colony in the first years of the 20th century. During World War I , Britain secretly reached an agreement with Italy to transfer to

4675-482: The government. Statistically, they were nearly identical with the results of the 1964 election, and, given the profusion of parties and the system of proportional representation, a clear sense of public opinion could not be obtained solely on the basis of the election results. The fact that a single party—the SYL—dominated the field implied neither stability nor solidarity. Anthropologist Ioan M. Lewis has noted that

4760-472: The inclusion of representatives of the contested areas after unification. The national flag also featured a five-pointed star, whose points represented areas claimed as part of the Somali nation: the former Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, the Ogaden , French Somaliland , and the Northern Frontier District . Moreover, the preamble to the constitution approved in 1961 included the statement, "The Somali Republic promotes by legal and peaceful means,

4845-466: The independence date already fixed by the UN commission. In April 1960, leaders of the two territories met in Mogadishu and agreed to form a unitary state . An elected president was to be head of state. Full executive powers would be held by a prime minister answerable to an elected National Assembly of 123 members representing the two territories. Accordingly, British Somaliland united as scheduled with

4930-414: The majority of those who voted "no" were Somalis who were strongly in favor of joining a united Somalia as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi . Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon , a Somali who campaigned for a yes vote in the referendum of 1958, wound up as Djibouti's first president post-independence (1977–1991). Between 1977 and 1978, Somalia and Ethiopia waged

5015-398: The mediation of Sudan , acting under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Under the terms of the cease-fire, a joint commission was formed to examine the causes of frontier incidents, and a demilitarized zone ten to fifteen kilometers wide was established on either side of the border. At least temporarily, further military confrontations were prevented. A referendum

5100-411: The militants, as well as the decision of Somali Prime Minister Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal to focus his country's resources on economic development. Rebels began to surrender to the Ethiopian government at the end of 1969; Waqo Gutu, who had been the foremost of the insurgents, was surrounded with his command of barely 200 men in Arana by the Ethiopian army in February 1970 and surrendered. Pacification

5185-607: The moment took a backseat, as the Republic splintered into a few autonomous smaller regional or clan-based governing zones. The northern regions of the Somali Republic, which previously was a British protectorate , declared independence as the Republic of Somaliland in 1991, shattering the dream of a greater Somalia now that the two regions that previously united split apart. Though there was no unified government and thus no formal policy towards irredentism, individual militia leaders clashed with Ethiopian troops between 1998 and 2000. In late 2006, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys , head of

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5270-519: The neighbouring Beledhawo district in Gedo , and also live in the capital, Mogadishu . A small subsection of a sub-clan of Murule called Reer Jama live amongst the Isaaq in Somaliland, specifically in the city of Wajaale . In addition to this, an expatriate community can be found abroad. The Murule originate from the larger Jidle tribe, which is a sub-clan of the Hawiye clan. Other Jidle clans reside in Somalia, Ethiopia and Somaliland. Around 1890, some Murule clan sections moved from their abode in

5355-489: The new Kenyan government enacted a number of repressive measures designed to frustrate their efforts. Among these was the practice of mislabeling the Somali rebels' ethnically based claims as shifta ("bandit") activity, cordoning off of the NFD as a "scheduled" area, confiscating or slaughtering Somali livestock, sponsoring ethnic cleansing campaigns against the region's inhabitants, and setting up large "protected villages" or concentration camps . These policies culminated in

5440-432: The newly formed Somali Republic . A 1962 editorial in The Observer , Britain's oldest Sunday newspaper, concurrently noted that "by every criterion, the Kenya Somalis have a right to choose their own future[...] they differ from other Kenyans not just tribally but in almost every way[...] they are Hamitic, have different customs, a different religion (Islam), and they inhabit a desert which contributes little or nothing to

5525-445: The north allowed for the preservation of traditional structures of self-governance, Italian colonialism in the south resulted in the erosion of traditional forms of political organization and centralized colonial administration" Police, taxes, and the exchange rates of their respective currencies also differed. Their educated elites had divergent interests, and economic contacts between the two regions were virtually nonexistent. In 1960

5610-442: The northern SNL representatives in the coalition government. Hussein's attempt failed. In May 1962, however, Egal and another northern SNL minister resigned from the cabinet and took many SNL followers with them into a new party, the Somali National Congress (SNC), which won widespread northern support. The new party also gained support in the south when it was joined by an SYL faction composed predominantly of Hawiye. This move gave

5695-403: The number of posts in northern hands was to be increased from two to five. The SYL's governing Central Committee and its parliamentary groups became split. Hussein had been a party member since 1944 and had participated in the two previous Shermarke cabinets. His primary appeal was to younger and more educated party members. Several political leaders who had been left out of the cabinet joined

5780-588: The populace keeping abreast of political developments through radio . Political engagement often exceeded that in many Western democracies . Although unified as a single nation at independence, the south and the north were, from an institutional perspective, two separate countries. Italy and the United Kingdom had left the two with separate administrative, legal, and education systems in which affairs were conducted according to different procedures and in different languages. Janina Dill, an associate professor of U.S. Foreign Policy, states: "While British rule in

5865-436: The president nor the prime minister seemed particularly concerned about official corruption and nepotism . Although these practices were conceivably normal in a society based on kinship, some were bitter over their prevalence in the National Assembly, where it seemed that deputies ignored their constituents in trading votes for personal gain. Among those most dissatisfied with the government were intellectuals and members of

5950-537: The previous administration, Egal continued to hold the confidence of both Shermarke and the National Assembly during the eighteen months preceding the March 1969 national elections . The March 1969 elections were the first to combine voting for municipal and National Assembly posts. Sixty-four parties contested the elections. Only the SYL, however, presented candidates in every election district, in many cases without opposition. Eight other parties presented lists of candidates for national offices in most districts. Of

6035-444: The remaining fifty-five parties, only twenty-four gained representation in the assembly, but all of these were disbanded almost immediately when their fifty members joined the SYL. Both the plethora of parties and the defection to the majority party were typical of Somali parliamentary elections. To register for elective office, a candidate merely needed either the support of 500 voters or the sponsorship of his clan, expressed through

6120-456: The republic had the opportunity to decide for themselves what their status would be. In 1948, under pressure from their World War II allies and to the dismay of the Somalis, the British "returned" the Haud (an important Somali grazing area that was presumably 'protected' by British treaties with the Somalis in 1884 and 1886) and the Ogaden to Ethiopia, based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which

6205-496: The rival Somali National Congress. In August 1967, the National Assembly confirmed his appointment without serious opposition. Although the new prime minister had supported Shermarke in the presidential election, he was a northerner and had led a 1962 defection of the northern SNL assembly members from the government. He had also been closely involved in the founding of the SNC but, with many other northern members of that group, had rejoined

6290-504: The seats, occurred in November 1963. These were followed in March 1964 by the country's first post-independence national elections . Again the SYL triumphed, winning 69 out of 123 parliamentary seats. The party's true margin of victory was even greater, as the fifty-four seats won by the opposition were divided among a number of small parties. After the 1964 National Assembly election in March,

6375-642: The self-determination principle. This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to buy back the Somali lands that it had turned over. Hostilities grew steadily, eventually involving small-scale actions between the Somali National Army and Imperial Ethiopian Armed Forces along the border. In February 1964, armed conflict erupted on the Somali-Ethiopian frontier, and Ethiopian aircraft raided targets in Somalia. The confrontation ended in April through

6460-480: The supporters of Shermarke to form an opposition group within the party. As a result, the Hussein faction sought support among non-SYL members of the National Assembly. Although the disagreements primarily involved personal or group political ambitions, the debate leading to the initial vote of confidence centered on the issue of Greater Somalia . Both Osman and prime minister-designate Hussein wanted to give priority to

6545-474: The treaty had little effect as cross-border flow of materiel from Somalia to the guerrillas continued. In October 1967, the Somali government and Kenyan authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (the Arusha Memorandum) that resulted in an official ceasefire, though regional security did not prevail until 1969. Countrywide municipal elections, in which the Somali Youth League won 74 percent of

6630-401: The union of the territories." The constitution also provided that all ethnic Somalis, no matter where they resided, were citizens of the republic. The Somalis did not claim sovereignty over adjacent territories, but rather demanded that Somalis living in them be granted the right to self-determination . Somali leaders asserted that they would be satisfied only when their fellow Somalis outside

6715-413: Was complete by the next year. Djibouti gained its independence in 1977, but a referendum was held in 1958 on the eve of Somalia's independence in 1960 to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favor of a continued association with France, largely due to a combined "yes" vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans. However,

6800-482: Was decided not to return Italian Somaliland to Italy. The UN opted instead in 1949 to grant Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland for a period of ten years, after which time the region would be independent. Meanwhile, in 1948, under pressure from their World War II allies and to the dismay of Somalis, the British "returned" the Haud (an important Somali grazing area that was presumably "protected" by British treaties with

6885-509: Was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (formerly Italian Somaliland ) and the State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland ). A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate administrations, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of the Somali National Assembly and Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of

6970-422: Was held in neighboring Djibouti (then known as French Somaliland ) in 1958, on the eve of Somalia's independence in 1960, to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, largely due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans. There was also widespread vote rigging , with

7055-444: Was ratified a year later in a national referendum . During the nine-year period of parliamentary democracy that followed Somali independence, freedom of expression was widely regarded as being derived from the traditional right of every man to be heard. The national ideal professed by Somalis was one of political and legal equality in which historical Somali values and acquired Western practices appeared to coincide. Politics

7140-466: Was the Ogaden region, which had been occupied by Ethiopia since Menelik's invasions in the 1890s. From 1960 and onwards, Somalis in Ethiopia seeking their self-determination have waged several insurgencies with the support of neighboring Somalia, escalating into several major interstate conflicts including the Ogaden War in Ethiopia and the Shifta War in Kenya. However, following of breakout of

7225-519: Was viewed as a realm not limited to one profession, clan , or class, but open to all male members of society. The role of women, however, was more limited. Women had voted in Italian Somaliland since the municipal elections in 1958. Suffrage later spread to the former British Somaliland in May 1963, when the territorial assembly voted it in at a margin of 52 to 42. Politics was a national past-time, with

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