Women line up to vote during first multiparty parliamentary elections in breakaway Somaliland, September 2005. REUTERS/Stringer

Blogged by: Nina Brenjo

Apr 13, 2007 – There is a Muslim region in the Horn of Africa that, with little external help and without any pressure from the West, has built "a peaceful, democratic state that, for the most part, upholds human rights".

Welcome to Somaliland, a country which, despite a few flaws, has so far proved to be a success story of the African continent, says Peter Tatchell, writing in Britain's Guardian.

The country's economic and political achievements are especially impressive when compared to neighboring Somalia in a region which has become "a byword for chaos, repression and war", according to Tatchell.

Somaliland, independent from Somalia since 1991 but as yet unrecognized by the international community, enjoys reasonably steady economic growth. It has also earned notable democratic credentials with successful presidential, parliamentary and local government elections. Unusually for an African state, its army forces stay out of politics. It has also found a way of minimizing inter-clan rifts - by integrating clan elders into the advisory upper house. All the success is down to its own people and foreign aid or Western intervention has played a very small part.

Still, the country is not entirely "a land of camel milk and honey", as Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist, called it back in February.

Its multi-party system is functioning well, but the constitution only allows for three political parties. Non-Islamic faiths are not prohibited, but their promotion is. Women rights still have some way to go and corruption is still a well-known problem, Tatchell points out.

The recent clashes with Puntland, a largely autonomous part of Somalia, over a long-contended strip of desert, threaten further to stain Somaliland's inspiring track record.

But despite these failings, Tatchell believes it can serve as a model for Africa and the Middle East. As such, it deserves international recognition, something which has eluded Somaliland ever since its inception.

As Tatchell points out: "Instead of one-sidedly condemning Africa's failures, isn't it time the west did more to acknowledge and support its successes?"

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Source: Reuters AlertNet