Of all the things that Somaliland’s current government has done, there is one thing that even their most strident critic will have to concede that they have gotten right, and that is Somaliland’s eastern policy. We have said this before (Somaliland Times, Issue 108 Feb.16-22, 2004), but it is worth saying again given the current situation in that part of the country. When we say Somaliland’s policy in the east is working we do not mean that everything they have done there was right. Actually, the pattern has been that the government would make a major misstep then step back, find out what it has done wrong, then correct it. This is what happened when Dahir Rayale Kahin first visited Las Anod for the first time as president and had to quickly leave town because of the violent reaction to his visit by some armed groups. Clearly, the president was humiliated but that humiliation forced him and his team to study what they did wrong, correct it, and pursue a steady policy of projecting Somaliland’s sovereignty to the eastern regions. That policy worked. And the result is that not only is Las Anod now part of Somaliland, but Somaliland’s forces have reached Tuka Raq, only 17 km away from Puntland’s capital, Garowe, and within a striking distance from Bosaso (Puntland’s commercial capital).
Once Las Anod re-joined Somaliland, the central government made the mistake of not paying enough attention to the dynamics of the local situation which resulted in a series of bombings and assassinations. It was a classic case of failure to quickly consolidate the gains of recent victory, and terrorist elements took advantage of the ensuing vacuum. Again, Somaliland’s government realized its mistake and started giving the situation the full attention it deserved, and as a result the security situation has improved.
Future historians may tell us one day exactly how Somaliland was able to bring almost all of Sool and Sanag into Somaliland’s fold, but in the mean time, we can venture to say that the key may lie in a strategy based on focus, adaptability, and most importantly allowing people from those regions to play a major role in formulating and implementing that policy. This does not mean that the situation is totally under control, especially in Las Anod, but it does mean that Somaliland’s government has a formula for the east that has often proven successful.




















 

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