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105-693: Northern Frontier Districts Liberation Movement The Shifta War or Gaf Daba (1963–1967) was a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis in the Northern Frontier District (NFD) of Kenya attempted to join Somalia. The Kenyan government named the conflict " shifta ", after the Swahili word for "bandit", as part of a propaganda effort. The Kenyan counter-insurgency General Service Units forced civilians into " protected villages " (essentially concentration camps ) as well as killing livestock kept by

210-621: A 1933 referendum for secession from the Federation of Australia passed with a two-thirds majority. The referendum had to be ratified by the British Parliament , which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the Australian Constitution . The Principality of Hutt River claimed to have seceded from Australia in 1970, although its status was not recognised by Australia or any other country. After being liberated by

315-771: A Bangabhumi /separate homeland for Bengali Hindus in the People's Republic of Bangladesh . The group is led by Kalidas Baidya. The Shanti Bahini ( Bengali : শান্তি বাহিনী , "Peace Force") is the name of the military wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti - the United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts aims are to create an indigenous Buddhist orientated Chacomas state within SE Bangladesh . On August 25, 1830, during

420-634: A Mutual Defense Treaty between Jomo Kenyatta's administration and the government of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie . The outbreak of war between Ethiopia and Somalia further limited the flow of weapons to the shifta, and thus in the latter part of the year the shiftas became more embroiled in local community conflicts and engaged in typical "criminal" activity. This new phase led Kenyan intelligence personnel to create three categories of shifta violence: hit and run attacks by small bands on soft targets , larger attacks on convoys, and cattle theft by "armed tribesmen". By 1965 cattle raids had become predominant in

525-495: A bare subsistence, hanging around the petrol stations for odd jobs, hawking for miraa , making illicit alcohol, engaging in prostitution and the like." Herds maintained in Isiolo District slowly recovered in the years after the war, but as late as 2007 had not yet surpassed their pre-war numbers. The increased poverty rate and proliferation of arms also led to more crime and banditry. The insecurity remained problematic through

630-797: A case that the moral status of the seceding state is unrelated to the issue of secession itself. Some theories of secession emphasize a general right of secession for any reason ("Choice Theory") while others emphasize that secession should be considered only to rectify grave injustices ("Just Cause Theory"). Some theories do both. A list of justifications may be presented supporting the right to secede, as described by Allen Buchanan, Robert McGee, Anthony Birch , Jane Jacobs , Frances Kendall and Leon Louw , Leopold Kohr , Kirkpatrick Sale , Donald W. Livingston and various authors in David Gordon's "Secession, State and Liberty", includes: Political scientist Aleksander Pavkovic describes five justifications for

735-536: A clear majority of the province and a constitutional amendment confirmed by all participants in the Canadian federation could allow secession. The European Union is not a sovereign state but an association of sovereign states formed by treaty; as such, leaving it, which is possible by simply denouncing the treaty, is not secession. Nonetheless, the 2003 draft of the European Union Constitution allowed for

840-645: A general right of secession within liberal political theory: Allen Buchanan, who supports secession under limited circumstances, lists arguments that might be used against secession: Secession theorists have described a number of ways in which a political entity (city, county, canton, state) can secede from the larger or original state: Most sovereign states do not recognize the right to self-determination through secession in their constitutions. Many expressly forbid it. However, there are several existing models of self-determination through greater autonomy and through secession. In liberal constitutional democracies

945-546: A military crackdown, including cutting the internet in the English-speaking regions. In response, the people of Southern Cameroon declared on October 1, 2017, the restoration of their UN state of Southern Cameroons, which they called the " Federal Republic of Ambazonia ". Throughout Canada's history, there has been tension between English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians . Under the Constitutional Act of 1791 ,

1050-567: A month beforehand, tensions had escalated into open warfare between separatists and the Cameroon Armed Forces . The conflict, known as the "Anglophone Crisis", is deeply rooted in the October 1, 1961 incomplete decolonization of the former British Southern Cameroons (UNGA Resolution 1608). On January 1, 1960, French Cameroon was granted independence from France as the Republic of Cameroon and

1155-454: A new state, fully independent from both Kenya as well as Somalia, while the concept of Greater Somalia has become fringe view. In contemporary British and Kenyan official documents, the war was referred to as the "NFD dispute" or "Somali question". In Kenya, the phrase "gaf Daba" is frequently used to identify the conflict. It originated as an idiom the Boran people used in their dialect to refer to

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1260-591: A part of China but rather an occupied country, so it does not view independence from China as "secession" but rather "decolonization". The Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong has a secessionist movement in the city that the Chinese Communist Party has placed on the national security agenda in 2017 which is called the Hong Kong independence movement . In 1960, the State of Katanga declared independence from

1365-622: A pastoral life is always physically demanding, people led dignified and satisfying life... They had clearly been prospering for some years. In 1940, the District Commissioner commented in his Handing Over Report: "The Ewaso Boran have degenerated through wealth and soft living into an idle and cowardly set"... On 26 June 1960, four days before granting British Somaliland independence, the British government declared that all Somali areas should be unified in one administrative region. However, after

1470-440: A range of different forms of indigenous sovereignty and have the right of self-determination , but under current understanding of international law they have a mere "remedial" right to secession in extreme cases of abuse of their rights, because independence and sovereign statehood is a territorial and diplomatic claim and not one of self-determination and self-government , respectively, generally leaving rights to secession to

1575-632: A rebellion, NPPPP supporters formed the Northern Frontier Districts Liberation Movement (NFDLM). The NFDLM was divided into two separate groups, centered around the Hawiye and the Darod clans respectively. The former faction was active between Wajir , Moyale , and Mandera , whereas the latter was led by Maalim Mohammed Stamboul and operated near Garissa and Somalia's southwestern border. Non-Somalis such as Turkana would also join

1680-518: Is seen as playing a key role in ending the insurgency, though the Somali government may have also decided that the potential benefits of a war simply was not worth the cost and risk. As the remaining shiftas surrendered, few did so with their weapons. Instead, the rebels brought their weapons to Somalia before giving up to security forces in Kenya. Consequently, many formerly rebel-held weapons found their way into

1785-631: The Commonwealth of Australia only upon vote of a majority of the country as a whole; the previous two-thirds majority vote for secession via referendum in Western Australia was insufficient. The Chinese Communist Party followed the Soviet Union in including the right of secession in its 1931 constitution in order to entice ethnic nationalities and Tibet into joining. However, the Party eliminated

1890-794: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . United Nations troops crushed it in Operation Grand Slam . In 1974, Greek irredentists launched a coup d'état in Cyprus , in an attempt to annex the island with Greece . Almost immediately, the Turkish Army invaded northern Cyprus to protect the interests of the ethnic Turkish minority , who in the following year formed the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus and in 1983 declared independence as

1995-553: The International Monetary Fund , World Bank , and the United Nations . Alberto Alesina and Enrico Spolaore argue that greater levels of free trade and peace have reduced the benefits of being part of a larger state, thus motivating nations within larger states to seek secession. Woodrow Wilson 's proclamations on self-determination in 1918 created a surge in secessionist demands. The political philosophy of

2100-561: The Province of Quebec (including parts of what are today Quebec , Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador ) was divided in two: Lower Canada (which retained French law and institutions and is now part of the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador ) and Upper Canada (a new colony intended to accommodate the many new English-speaking settlers, including the United Empire Loyalists , and now part of Ontario ). The intent

2205-601: The Quebec sovereignty movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Other occasional secessionist movements have included anti-Confederation movements in the 19th century Atlantic Canada (see Anti-Confederation Party ), the North-West Rebellion of 1885, and various small separatist movements in Alberta particularly (see Alberta separatism ) and Western Canada generally (see, for example, Western Canada Concept ). After

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2310-551: The Red Army and the U.S. Army , Austria seceded from Nazi Germany on April 27, 1945. This took place after seven years under Nazi rule , which began with the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938. The secession only took place once Nazi Germany had been defeated by the Allies. The Banga Sena ( Bangabhumi ) is a separatist Hindu organisation, which supports the making of

2415-678: The Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1   December 2009, no provision in the treaties or law of the European Union outlined the ability of a state to voluntarily withdraw from the EU. The European Constitution did propose such a provision and, after the failure to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe , that provision was then included in the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty introduced an exit clause for members who wish to withdraw from

2520-574: The Treaty on European Union included Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union , establishing a mechanism for withdrawal from the EU. As a result of the successful constitutional referendum held in 2003, every municipality in the Principality of Liechtenstein has the right to secede from the Principality by a vote of a majority of the citizens residing in that municipality. Indigenous peoples have

2625-538: The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , recognized only by Turkey . The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) has been described as having "seceded" from Indonesia . After Portuguese sovereignty was terminated in 1975, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia . However, the United Nations and the International Court of Justice refused to recognize this incorporation. Therefore,

2730-577: The United Provinces , which led to a stagnated war between both, as they were both weakened, lacking manpower and politically fragile. The peace treaty accepted Uruguay 's independence, reasserted the rule of both nations over their land and some important points like free navigation in the Silver River. Three rather disorganized secessionist rebellions happened in Grão-Pará , Bahia, and Maranhão, where

2835-586: The pastoralist Somalis. The war ended in 1967 when Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal , Prime Minister of the Somali Republic , signed a ceasefire with Kenya at the Arusha Conference on 23 October 1967. However, the violence in Kenya deteriorated into disorganised banditry, with occasional episodes for the next several decades. The war and violent clampdowns by the Kenyan government caused large-scale disruption to

2940-469: The secessionists . The two assassins were Somali residents of Kenya who later escaped across the Somali border. In November 1963 the security situation in the NFD rapidly declined as the shifta began directly attacking police and army personnel. Kenya was granted independence on 12 December, and in response NPPPP militants staged evening attacks on northern police stations and administrative posts. These attacks led

3045-512: The voluntary withdrawal of member states from the union , although the representatives of the member-state which wanted to leave could not participate in the withdrawal discussions of the European Council or of the Council of Ministers. There was much discussion about such self-determination by minorities before the final document underwent the unsuccessful ratification process in 2005. In 2007

3150-488: The " Union of Myanmar "). Burma still allows "local autonomy under central leadership". As of 1996, the constitutions of Austria , Ethiopia , France , and Saint Kitts and Nevis have express or implied rights to secession. Switzerland allows for the secession from current and the creation of new cantons . In the case of proposed Quebec separation from Canada , the Supreme Court of Canada in 1998 ruled that only both

3255-578: The 1823 collapse of the First Mexican Empire , the former Captaincy-General of Guatemala was organized into a new Federal Republic of Central America . In 1838, Nicaragua seceded. The Federal Republic was formally dissolved in 1840, all but one of the states having seceded amidst general disorder. Taiwan has long sought sovereignty from mainland China. It maintains its own currency and military, despite no longer being recognized internationally. The Anti-Secession Law , passed in 2005, formalized

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3360-669: The 1860s and 1890s, and in North Queensland (with Bowen as a potential colonial capital) in the 1870s. Other secession (or territorial separation) movements arose and these advocated the secession of New England in northern central New South Wales , Deniliquin in the Riverina district also in NSW, and Mount Gambier in the eastern part of South Australia . Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia (WA), where

3465-524: The 1990s, and forced herders to have their cattle graze in restricted security zones, increasing their vulnerability to drought. The war thus marked the beginning of decades of violent crackdowns and repressive measures by the police in the NFD, coupled with trumped-up allegations and unsubtle innuendo on the part of the Kenyan media, charging the region's almost-exclusively Somali inhabitants with "banditry" and other vices. The Ogaden War and growing instability of Somalia also resulted in foreign bandits crossing

3570-483: The 19th century, the single British colony in eastern mainland Australia, New South Wales (NSW) was progressively divided up by the British government as new settlements were formed and spread. Victoria (Vic) was formed in 1851 and Queensland (Qld) in 1859. However, settlers agitated to divide the colonies throughout the later part of the century; particularly in central Queensland (centered in Rockhampton ) in

3675-738: The British colonial officials to be sympathetic toward the Somalis. Led by the Northern Province People's Progressive Party (NPPPP), many Somalis in the NFD vigorously sought union with the Somali Republic to the north. The NPPPP itself sidelined other separatist groups such as the Nairobi-based "Somali Independent Union". The proposal to unite the NFD with Somalia was widely supported in northern Kenya, even though there were substantial economic and cultural differences as well as tensions within

3780-668: The British influence in the NFD, and request assistance from the United Kingdom to deal with the rebels. Kenyatta restricted the Kenya Army's size despite the threat posed by separatists and tensions with Somalia. He also relied on the paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) to combat the insurgency. Consisting of about 1,000 "shock troopers", it was trained by the British Special Air Service , mainly consisted of Kikuyu (Kenyatta's ethnic group), and considered firmly loyal to

3885-650: The Dutch West India Company and tried to secede from the Portuguese and Brazilian Empires. In each attempt, the rebels were crushed, the leaders shot and their territory divided. Nevertheless, they kept revolting until Pernambuco's territory was a little fraction of what it was before. In the Ragamuffin War , the Province of Rio Grande do Sul was undergoing a (at that time common) liberal vs conservative "cold" war. After Emperor Pedro II of Brazil favoured

3990-529: The Empire agreed to aid Santa Catarina's economy by taxing Argentina 's products (like dry meat), the rebels reunited with the Empire and joined its military ranks. In modern times, the South Region of Brazil has been the centre of a secessionist movement led by an organization called The South is My Country since the 1990s. Reasons cited for Southern Brazil's secession movement are taxation, due to it being one of

4095-515: The European Union on January 31, 2020. This is informally known as Brexit . Finland successfully and peacefully seceded from the newly-formed and unstable Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1917. The latter was led by Lenin , who had sought refuge in Finland during the Russian Revolution . Unsuccessful attempts at greater autonomy or peaceful secession had already been made during

4200-538: The Italians' support of the Allies during World War I . Britain retained control of the southern half of the territory, which was later called the Northern Frontier District. From 1926 to 1934, the NFD, comprising the current North Eastern Province and the districts of Marsabit , Moyale and Isiolo , was closed by British colonial authorities . Movement in and out of the district was possible only through

4305-412: The Kenya Army and GSU operating with "harsh brutality" in the NFD. In 1967, the populace was moved into 14 Manyattas , villages that were guarded by troops (some referred to them as concentration camps). East Africa scholar Alex de Waal described the result as "a military assault upon the entire pastoral way of life," as enormous numbers of livestock were confiscated or killed, partly to deny their use by

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4410-569: The Kenyan counter-insurgency was inspired by colonial methods, such as those taken by the British during the Mau Mau Uprising , which had been spearheaded by the Kikuyu, who now ironically dominated the KANU-led government. On the other side, however, the British had a moderating influence. The colonial-era counter-insurgencies had been very costly, and the United Kingdom was unwilling to supply Kenya with

4515-481: The Kenyan government. On 28 December 1963, the Kenyan government declared a state of emergency in the North Eastern Region. This consisted of allowing security forces to detain people up to 56 days without trial, confiscating the property of communities allegedly in retaliation for acts of violence, and restricting the right to assembly and movement. A 'prohibited zone' was created along the Somali border, and

4620-416: The NFD were greatly diminished, as small stock was increasingly slaughtered to provide food and camel herds were either taken by fleeing herders to Somalia or decimated by tsetse flies . The conflict also strengthened the Kenyan government's view that the NFD's Somalis were foreigners. In 1971, Garissa South MP Abdi Haji Ahmed complained that the central government had not "forgiven" the NFD's residents for

4725-491: The NFD's civilian population during the rebellion's first year. Despite this, the Kenyan central government under Kenyatta initially did not consider the fighting in the NFD a high priority issue. Kenyatta was far more concerned a possible army mutiny or a possible coup by his rivals within KANU, and feared that the military could be politically empowered by fighting the insurgents alone. As a result, he decided to turn around in regard to

4830-535: The NFD's future was "a domestic affair of Kenya", and dismissed fears about militant Somali irredentism by telling Somalis in Kenya to "pack up your camels and go to Somalia". At this point, KANU was confident that any Somali uprising could be easily crushed; the party's leaders were more concerned that the British might provide support to possible separatist groups to recreate a scenario similar to Congo-Kinshasa which had become independent in 1960, only to suffer from extensive, foreign-supported separatism. KANU believed

4935-427: The NFD's separation– was thus rejected by Somali nationalists before it was even announced, as they concluded that the commission would follow the views of the Kenyan nationalists. On 22 November 1963 the British government declared that there would be "no altering Kenya's frontier without the decision of the new Kenyan Government". As the colonial government had sided with the Kenyan nationalists, it began to move against

5040-452: The NFD, and generally lacked intelligence to identify rebel supporters. As a result, they resorted to indiscriminate violence against inhabitants of the NFD. Furthermore, the restrained operations also impacted state-building efforts which had been crucial to colonial-era operations; while Kenyatta's government promised modernisation to locals, it invested little. Over the course of the war, the Kenyan government became increasingly concerned by

5145-534: The NFD. Despite their initial successes and substantial local support, the shiftas were too weak in numbers and equipment to defeat the security forces. As a result, a stalemate developed. While the shiftas sometimes traded livestock for firearms from civilians, they were generally reliant on weapons supplied by Somalia. From 1963, Somali support became "vital" for the insurgency. Thus, in February 1964 rebel activity increased after Somalia had received an arms shipment from

5250-447: The NPPPP leadership to publicly distance itself from the shiftas, and declare that it would work toward a union with Somalia through "constitutional means". This move effectively meant that the party contributed to the delegitimization the insurgents. Heavy rains prevented security forces from countering the initial insurgency, especially as the guerrillas enjoyed a high level of support among

5355-523: The NPPPP. Between March and May 1963, security forces arrested three NPPPP leaders and exiled them to remote areas. Later on NPPPP secretary general Degho Maalim Stamboul was also detained. The latter's father, Chief Maalim Mohammed Stamboul, would consequently play a major role in the Shifta War. The conflict began in the weeks leading up to Kenya's independence, as a few hundred Somalis in the NFD took up arms. Hoping to achieve unification with Somalia through

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5460-434: The Republic of Cameroon, but they did so without a formal Treaty of Union on record at the UN. In 1972, Cameroon used its majority population to abolish the federation and implement a system which resulted in the occupation of the former South Cameroons territory by French-speaking Cameroon administrators. In 1984, Cameroon heightened tensions by returning to its name at independence, "Republic of Cameroun", which did not include

5565-447: The Somali community. In the 1961 Kenyan general election , the NPPPP gained the support of most Somalis in northern Kenya. However, anti-separatist groups also existed in the NFD, for example the "Northern Province United Association" (NPUA), mainly backed by urban Borana people . Other parties like the "United Ogaden Somali Association" (UOSA) had less clear-cut aims; UOSA repeatedly shifted its political position, at times even advocating

5670-410: The Soviet Union but it declined in March as their supplies ran out. Backed by British troops, the Kenya Army also began a major offensive in that month, though this did not prevent the rebels from staging a major offensive of their own against the town of Marsabit . At this point, half of the Kenya Army was engaged in the NFD. One immediate consequence of the Shifta insurgency was the signing in 1964 of

5775-418: The Union. This formalised the procedure by stating that a member state may notify the European Council that it wishes to withdraw, upon which withdrawal negotiations begin; if no other agreement is reached, the treaty ceases to apply to the withdrawing state two years after such notification. On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a non-binding referendum, and finally left

5880-399: The arming of insurgents in Kenya. The war's end also impacted the Kenya Army. The soldiers had previously focused on battling rebels and operated with relatively high morale as well as a sense of purpose, receiving regular training and new equipment. From 1967, however, the government reduced its support for the military, leaving a growing number of Kenyan soldiers dissatisfied. The Kenya Army

5985-444: The border to operate in the NFD, causing further insecurity. The worst abuses by security forces in the NFD took place during the 1980s. A particularly violent incident referred to as the Wagalla Massacre took place in 1984, when the Kenyan provincial commissioner ordered security forces to gather 5,000 men of the Somali Degodia clan onto the airstrip at Wagalla , Wajir , open fire on them, and then attempt to hide their bodies. In

6090-405: The borders of previous administrative units. Several scholars argue that changes in the international system have made it easier for small states to survive and prosper. Tanisha Fazal and Ryan Griffiths link increased numbers of secessions to an international system that is more favorable for new states. For example, new states can obtain assistance from international organizations such as

6195-476: The chairmanship of Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda . The governments of both states signed a memorandum of understanding and entailed the suspension of states of emergency in Kenya and Somalia and the full resumption of diplomatic and economic ties between both states. On 23 November, the Kenyan Special Operations Committee announced that it would undertake no new offensive operations in the NFD. Regional security did not prevail until 1969. The Manyatta strategy

6300-411: The conservatives, the liberals took the Capital and declared an independent Republic , fighting their way to the Province of Santa Catarina and declaring the Juliana Republic . Eventually they were slowly forced back, and made a reunification peace with the Empire. This was not considered a secessionist war, even if it could have resulted in an independent republic if the Empire had been defeated. After

6405-414: The death penalty was made mandatory for unauthorised possession of firearms. "Special courts" without guarantee of due process were also created. The northeast—declared a "special district"—was subject to nearly unfettered government control, including the authority to detain, arrest or forcibly move individuals or groups, as well as confiscate possessions and land. However, as part of its effort to reassure

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6510-466: The dissolution of the former British colonies in East Africa, Britain granted administration of the Northern Frontier District to Kenya despite a) an informal plebiscite demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the region's population to join the newly formed Somali Republic , and b) the fact that the NFD was and still is almost exclusively inhabited by ethnic Somalis. In 1962, Kenya African National Union (KANU) leader Jomo Kenyatta publicly declared that

6615-409: The economy of Somalia which was already struggling. Furthermore, the idea of Greater Somalia was losing its appeal in Somalia. The Somali government thus began to decrease support for the shiftas. In 1967, Kenyan fears reached a fever pitch, and a special government committee was created to prepare for a full-scale war with Somalia. Furthermore, the British influence lessened, as Kenyatta's government

6720-417: The events and is literally rendered in English as "the time of stop", but is also translated as "time stopping" or "no-time". The term recalls the Kenyan authorities' use of internment camps, as "daba" was the word the Boran employed to refer to such installations. More generally, it referred to disruption in daily life. Most historiography on the war has placed an emphasis on the role of Somali nationalism and

6825-486: The families of those who had surrendered and stealing their cattle. In June 1967 Muhammad Egal was elected Prime Minister of Somalia. While he supported the unification of Greater Somalia, he sought to end diplomatic confrontation with Kenya. In September an Organisation of African Unity summit was held in Kinshasa, and Kenyan and Somalian delegates decided to reach an agreement regarding the NFD. This resulted in another summit held in Arusha, Tanzania on 28 October under

6930-480: The government's request to negotiate the shiftas' return to civilian life so as to deescalate the conflict and avoid further burdens being placed on their locales. Administrative officials were ordered to supply the former combatants with rations as a sign of goodwill; in Mandera, the government provided them with a weekly supply of fish and corn meal. Villages also threw parties to welcome surrendered families back into public life. The active shiftas responded by attacking

7035-477: The growing strength of the Somali military. At independence, Somalia had a weak army of 5,000 troops that was incapable of exerting itself beyond its borders. However, in 1963, the Somali government appealed for assistance from the Soviet Union , which responded by lending money, providing weaponry, and sending trainers. This greatly strengthened the Somali military whose importance also grew in politics. Somali soldiers pressured their government to increase support for

7140-423: The guerrillas and partly to force the populace to abandon their flocks and move to a Manyatta . Thus, made destitute, many nomads became an urban underclass, while educated Somalis in Kenya fled the country. The government also replaced the dynastic Sultans, who were the traditional leaders, with low-ranking government-appointed chiefs. These measures allowed the military and police to launch larger offensives against

7245-515: The hands of criminals who continued to launch cross-border raids from Somalia to steal cattle, causing continued insecurity. Government records put the official death toll in the thousands, but non-governmental organizations reported that more than 10,000 people died. Despite the end of the Shifta War, the Kenyan government continued to fear interference by Somalia. Following the 1969 Somali coup d'état by Siad Barre , Kenya initially believed that Somalia and its Eastern bloc allies were resuming

7350-586: The insurgents, and began to directly train shiftas. By 1966, about 1,200 rebels had received training by the Somali military. By 1966, the shiftas were launching raids into urban centers and making effective use of land mines to ambush the security forces. However, the Kenya Army began to retake territory and adopted a policy of compulsory villagization in the war-affected area to deprive the insurgents of civilian support. Government authorities effectively banned cattle trade, driving many locals into destitution. The disruption of border trading also negatively impacted

7455-429: The insurgents; members of these ethnic groups were mostly motivated by the fear of restrictions on their movement and lifestyle imposed by the Kenyan government. Despite the insurgents' differing background and internal divisions, they were united by their opposition to the centralism associated with Kenya. Separatists believed that Somalia would interfere less with their affairs, keeping state control weak and thus maintain

7560-519: The internal legislation of sovereign states. National secessionist movements advocate for the claim that a population within a state is a nation that has the right to form its own nation-state. Movements that work towards political secession may describe themselves as being autonomy , separatist , independence , self-determination , partition , devolution , decentralization , sovereignty , self-governance or decolonization movements instead of, or in addition to, being secession movements. During

7665-482: The local livelihoods which were adapted to a frontier zone with weak state presence. The province thus entered a period of running skirmishes between the Kenya Army and Somali-backed NFDLM insurgents. The first high-profile victims were two Borana leaders, the first African District Commissioner Dabaso Wabera and tribal chief Haji Galma Dido, who were assassinated while a route to Isiolo to urge locals not to back

7770-460: The local police, having been arrested and booked several times. Wearing plain clothes, Saleh was apparently mistaken for an ordinary inhabitant of the NFD. Ex-NPPPP leader Degho Maalim Stamboul eventually went into exile in Somalia, and only returned to Kenya in the 2010s. He remains one of the few firm supporters of a union of Kenya's northeast with Somalia. By the 2010s, most separatists in northeastern Kenya were instead backing autonomy or proposing

7875-568: The long-standing policy of the People's Republic of China to use military means against Taiwan independence in the event peaceful means become otherwise impossible. Western regions of Xinjiang ( East Turkistan ) and Tibet are the focus of secessionist calls by the Tibetan independence movement and East Turkestan Independence Movement . The East Turkistan Government in Exile does not view East Turkistan as

7980-480: The merger of several territories in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia into an independent Greater Ogaden . A minority of Somali pan-nationalists also believed that the NFD should stay part of Kenya, achieve separation through mediation, or become independent from both Kenya and Somalia; however, these viewpoints gradually faded as political camps became increasingly polarized and the discourse more toxic. Separatists and anti-separatists engaged in aggressive rhetoric, and there

8085-499: The money and weaponry to repeat them. Instead the British advisors urged restraint and pushed for less aggressive, more piecemeal tactics which were able to contain, but not defeat the rebels. In this regard, they frustrated Kenyan government officials who tended to support more drastic and oppressive measures to force the Somali minority into submission. However, the limited counter-insurgency also meant that security forces were unable to protect informants or establish supporter networks in

8190-506: The people were unhappy with the Empire (these provinces were Portuguese bastions in the Independence War). The Malê Revolt , in Bahia, was an Islamic slave revolt. These three rebellions were bloodily crushed by the Empire of Brazil. The Pernambuco was one of the most nativist of all Brazilian regions. Over a series of five revolts (1645–1654, 1710, 1817, 1824, 1848), the province ousted

8295-614: The preceding Russian Empire but had been denied by the Russian emperor. However, with the country still at war and under great pressure, Lenin allowed Finland to secede. Its peripheral location made it difficult to defend and less strategically important than Russia's other territories, so he conceded sovereignty to the Finns rather than try to defend it. 1961 Kenyan general election General elections were held in Kenya in February 1961. The result

8400-657: The principle of majority rule has dictated whether a minority can secede. In the United States Abraham Lincoln acknowledged that secession might be possible through amending the United States Constitution . The Supreme Court in Texas v. White held secession could occur "through revolution, or through consent of the States". The British Parliament in 1933 held that Western Australia could secede from

8505-546: The public, the Voice of Kenya was warned not to refer to the conflict as a "border dispute", while a special government committee decided to refer to the rebels as "shiftas" to minimise the political nature of the war. Kenyatta reinforced this portrayal by describing the rebels as mere criminals and claiming that the entire conflict was organized by citizens of Somalia without involvement of Kenyan nationals. He further alleged that of about 2,000 shiftas, only 700 were actually operating in

8610-598: The rebellion, and did not "care if [the locals] live or die", pointing at the lack of water supply and schools in the area. Anthropologist John Baxter wrote that within the Isiolo District in 1982, "only a few fortunate ones still maintained themselves through stock pastoralism. Some 40 percent of the Boran and Sakuye of the District had been driven to peri-urban shanty villages in the new administrative townships. There, they eked out

8715-460: The rebels' ideal of a Greater Somalia. In turn, it has generally ignored the sectional divisions within the rebels and paid little attention to the participation of Boran and Rendille people in the insurgency. Nene Mburu wrote the only monograph dedicated to the subject. Secession Notable examples of secession, and secession attempts, include: There is no consensus on the definition of political secession despite many political theories on

8820-405: The rebels. In an attempt to end the conflict, the Kenyan government offered two presidential amnesties to shiftas in 1967. The first lasted from 1 June to 15 July and led to 340 surrenders. The second, between 20 October and 20 November, led an additional 151 rebels to lay down their arms. The surrenders were facilitated by the efforts of local elders and community leaders, who willingly carried out

8925-460: The recorded incidents, making it difficult for Kenyan authorities to distinguish violence from local "tribal" issues with attacks related to the secessionist conflict. This impacted the rebels' popularity which diminished as the rebellion dragged on and the shiftas stole food and other supplies from civilians to keep fighting. In general, the insurgents "eked out a desperate existence", as support from Somalia reached many groups only sporadically. At

9030-421: The regional neighborhood is violent and unstable. According to political scientist Bridget L. Coggins, the academic literature contains four potential explanations for the drastic increase in secessions during the 20th century: Other scholars have linked secession to resource discoveries and extraction. David B. Carter, H. E. Goemans, and Ryan Griffiths find that border changes among states tend to conform to

9135-963: The reign of William I , the nationalistic opera La muette de Portici was performed in Brussels . Soon after, the Belgian Revolt occurred, which resulted in the Belgian secession from the Kingdom of the Netherlands . In 1825, soon after the Empire of Brazil managed to defeat the Cortes-Gerais and the Portuguese Empire in an Independence War , the Platinean nationalists in Cisplatina declared independence and joined

9240-451: The rest of Brazil is a multicultural melting pot . The South Region in 2016 voted in an unofficial referendum called "Plebisul" in which 95% of voters supported secession and the creation of an independent South Region. There is also a push for secession movement in the state of São Paulo , which seeks to become a country independent from the rest of Brazil. In October 2017, Ambazonia declared its independence from Cameroon . Less than

9345-673: The resulting civil war and eventual 1999 East Timorese vote for complete separation are better described as an independence movement. Following the May 1991 victory of Eritrean People's Liberation Front forces against the communist Derg regime during the Eritrean War of Independence , Eritrea (formerly known as " Medri Bahri ") gained de facto independence from Ethiopia. Following the United Nations observation 1993 Eritrean independence referendum , Eritrea gained de jure independence. Before

9450-623: The right to secession in later years, and had anti-secession clause written into the Constitution before and after the founding the People's Republic of China . The 1947 Constitution of the Union of Burma contained an express state right to secede from the union under a number of procedural conditions. It was eliminated in the 1974 constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (officially

9555-729: The rights and moral justification for secession began to develop as recently as the 1980s. American philosopher Allen Buchanan offered the first systematic account of the subject in the 1990s and contributed to the normative classification of the literature on secession. In his 1991 book Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec , Buchanan outlined limited rights to secession under certain circumstances, mostly related to oppression by people of other ethnic or racial groups, and especially those previously conquered by other people. In his collection of essays from secession scholars, Secession, State, and Liberty , professor David Gordon challenges Buchanan, making

9660-439: The same time, the British influence on the war grew. In March 1964, the Kenyan and British governments signed an agreement to give the latter access to Kenyan airspace and military factilities. Additional defence treaties were signed in the next two years. As a result, British colonial-era officers continued to keep important posts in the Kenyan security forces and administration, impacting their strategy. On one side, this meant that

9765-436: The soldiers' complaints. Economically, the war in the NFD led to urbanization, the weakening of smaller pastoral herds, and increased poverty and reliance on external aid. Many herders who had lost cattle during the war due to seizures filed complaints seeking compensation for damages from the government, but there is no evidence that these were ever acted upon. By the end of the war, private holdings of small stock and camels in

9870-422: The subject. According to the 2017 book Secession and Security, by political scientist Ahsan Butt , states respond violently to secessionist movements if the potential state poses a greater threat than the would-be secessionist movement. States perceive a future war with a potential new state as likely if the ethnic group driving the secessionist struggle has deep identity division with the central state, and if

9975-540: The territory of the former British Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia. For more than fifty years the English-speaking people of the Former British Southern Cameroons made multiple attempts both nationally and internationally to get the Cameroon government to address these issues and possibly return to the previously agreed federation at independence. In 2016, after all these attempts failed, Cameroon engaged in

10080-466: The use of passes. Despite these restrictions, pastoralism was well-suited to the arid conditions and the non-Somali residents—who represented a tiny fraction of the region's population—were relatively prosperous, whereas the Somali owners of the land were calculated in underdevelopment. In 1953, anthropologist John Baxter noted that: The Boran and the Sakuye were well-nourished and well-clothed and, though

10185-453: The way of life in the district, resulting in a slight shift from pastoralist and transhumant lifestyles to sedentary, urban lifestyles. The Northern Frontier District (NFD) came into being in 1925, when it was carved out of the Jubaland region in present-day southern Somalia . At the time under British colonial administration, the northern half of Jubaland was ceded to Italy as a reward for

10290-580: The wealthiest regions in the country; political disputes with the northernmost states of Brazil; 2016 scandal revolving around the Workers' Party 's involvement in a kickback scheme with state-owned oil company Petrobras ; and the impeachment of then- President Dilma Rousseff . Additionally, there is an ethnic divide as the South Region is predominately European , populated primarily by Germans , Italians , Portuguese and other European groups. In contrast,

10395-407: The year 2000, the government admitted to having killed 380 people, though independent estimates put the toll at over 2,000. Not until late 2000 and the administration of Provincial Commissioner Mohammoud Saleh – a Somali—was there a serious drop in violent activities, partially attributable to Saleh's zero tolerance policy towards abuse by security forces. Ironically, Saleh himself was the target of

10500-490: Was a victory for the Kenya African National Union , which won 19 of the 53 elected seats. Twenty seats were reserved for minority communities; ten for whites , eight for Indians and two for Arabs. There were also twelve appointees. Primary elections were held for the reserved seats by members of the respective communities, and candidates receiving at least 25% of the vote advanced to the main elections. Of

10605-585: Was admitted into the United Nations. The more advanced democratic and self-ruling people of British Cameroon were instead limited to two choices. Through a UN plebiscite , they were directed to either join the federation of Nigeria or the independent Republic of Cameroon as a federation of two equal states. While the Northern Cameroons voted to join Nigeria, the Southern Cameroons voted to integrate into

10710-473: Was also no longer allowed to exercise in the NFD, leaving the troops frustrated at having "simply not enough to do". This dissatisfaction resulted in unsuccessful coup plots within the Kenya Army. Ultimately, the renewed tensions with Somalia in the 1970s caused the Kenyan leadership to once again request foreign support by Great Britain, the United States, and Israel to improve its military, partially addressing

10815-466: Was now more secure. It believed that it had ensured the armed forces' loyalty through a variety of measures; the Europeans were no longer necessary. Disagreeing with the moderation advocated by the British, the last expatriate officers in the security forces were replaced with Kenyans who favored a more aggressive approach. The United States embassy argued that the removal of the British officers resulted in

10920-470: Was occasional communal violence. The British, while initially including NFD delegates in independence negotiations and appearing to entertain secession, eventually reached an agreement with Kenya's first ruling party, KANU, whereby the state's territorial status quo would be maintained. The judgement of the Northern Frontier Commission of 1962 –which was supposed to examine the possibility of

11025-689: Was to provide each group with its own colony. In 1841, the two Canadas were merged into the Province of Canada . The union proved contentious, however, resulting in a legislative deadlock between English and French legislators. The difficulties of the union, among other factors, led in 1867 to the formation of the Canadian Confederation , a federal system that united the Province of Canada , Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (later joined by other British colonies in North America ). The federal framework did not eliminate all tensions, however, leading to

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