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    Pan-Africanism and Pan-SomalismAuthor(s): I. M. LewisReviewed work(s):Source: The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Jun., 1963), pp. 147-161Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/159026 .

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    TheJournal of ModernAfricanStudies,I, 2 (1963), pp. 147-161

    Pan-Africanismn d Pan-Somalism

    BY I. M. LEWIS*

    SOMALI attitudes towards Pan-Africanism, and more particularlytowards the federation of African states, have to be understood inrelation to the very special conditions of the Horn of Africa. It will benecessary therefore to begin this survey with a few general remarksabout the Somali Peninsula and the special characteristics of Somalinationalism.

    Before the partition of their grazing lands by Egypt, and later byFrance, Britain, Italy, and Ethiopia, in the latter part of the nineteenthcentury, the Somali did not constitute a single autonomous politicalunit. They were divided into a number of large and often hostile clans,themselves further split into a wide array of subsidiary kinship groups.And while wider ties were acknowledged, the individual's loyalties weremost often focused upon the small 'blood compensation group' of kins-men with whom he paid and received damages, which provided hismain security in an extremely unfriendly environment. Within thesesmall groups of kinsmen, usually only a few thousand strong, the ruleof law applied in the sense that the elders had the power and the meansto compose disputes. Outside these, however, there was no stablecentralised authority to regulate the relations between opposedgroups.Yet there was a common code of morality recognised by all Somali,and a common tariff of damages and indemnities for wrongs. Alldisputes between rival groups could, when the parties were willing, becompounded by the payment of standard rates of compensation. Therewas thus a common code of, as it were, international law, and courts ofarbitration could be mounted to judge between conflicting groups.There was also a common sentiment of Somali-ness, accompanied by avirtually uniform national Somali culture, and reinforced by thestrong adherence of all Somali to Islam.

    Thus the Somali have always constituted a nation, but politicalnationalism was absent largely because of the divisive forces within* Lecturer in Social Anthropology, University of Glasgow. This article is based on apaper read in January 1963 to the post-graduate seminar on Pan-Africanism and EasternAfrica at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.

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    148 I. M. LEWISthe nation; it was only after imperial partition that the way wasopened towards the formation of a Somali nation-state.1The division by non-Muslim colonial powers of the Somali Peninsulainto French Somaliland, British Somaliland, the Ethiopian Haud andOgaden, Italian Somalia, and Northern Province of Kenya,2 tendedto reinforce Somali sentiments of national identity through Islam.This multiple colonisation of a single Muslim ethnic area brought theSomali as a single people into contact not only with three Europeangovernments, but also with the Egyptians and Ethiopians. No otherethnic groups were involved, except in French Somaliland, which theSomali shared with the ethnically related Danakil (or Afar); to asserttheir rights to independence the Somali therefore had no need to claimany other common feature than that of being Somali. There was noneed in this situation, and indeed for long little inclination, to appeal toa wider identity as 'Africans'. Equally, the stereotype of the colonisingpower was not of a monolithic European or 'white' domination (asopposed to 'African' or 'black'), but of French, British, Ethiopians, andItalians, whose differences in national character and in systems ofgovernment were very obvious, and whose competition and rivalriesthe Somali were quick to exploit.Thus when between I900 and 1920 the famous Sayyid Mohammed'Abdille Hassan (the so-called 'Mad Mullah') conducted his remarkablerebellion against the Christian colonisers (and particularly againstBritain and Ethiopia), his appeal did not extend beyond the Somalias a national group.

    THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PAN-SOMALI IDEAL3The same is true of the main modern Somali nationalist move-

    ments, which have developed largely locally, out of touch with, anduntil recently little affected by, African nationalism elsewhere. Fromtheir inception these organisations have appealed to the commonnational identity of all Somali and have claimed the right to maketheir nation a nation-state.The Somali National League (S.N.L.), which had had an inter-mittent existence since 1935, emerged as a fully-fledged party in the1 For fuller information on the structure of Somali traditional society see I. M. Lewis,A PastoralDemocracyLondon, 1961).

    2 The populations of these territories are approximately as follows: French Somaliland,65,ooo (half of whom are Somali); Ethiopian Haud and Ogaden, 750,000 Somali; SomaliRepublic (Somalia and ex-British Somaliland), 2,250,000; Northern Province of Kenya,200,000 Somali in a provincial population of 300,000.3 For further information on Somali nationalism see I. M. Lewis, 'Modern PoliticalMovements in Somaliland', in Africa, xxvIII (London, 1958), pp. 244-6I and 344-64;A. A. Castagno, 'Somalia', InternationalConciliation, o. 522 (New York, I959).

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    PAN-AFRICANISM AND PAN-SOMALISMBritish Protectorate in I951 with the following programme:I. To work for the unification of the Somali people and territories.2. To work for the advancement of the Somali by abolishing clanfanaticism and encouraging brotherly relations among Somalis.3. To encourage the spread of education and the economic andpolitical development of the country.4. To co-operate with the British Government or any other localbody whose aims are the welfare of the inhabitants of the country.

    Similarly, the Somali Youth League (S.Y.L.), founded as a youthclub in British-occupied Somalia in I943, and fully organised as aparty by the end of 1947, sought:i. To unite all Somalis generally and the youth especially, with theconsequent repudiation of all harmful old prejudices, such for exampleas tribal distinctions.

    2. To educate the youth in modern civilisation by means of schoolsand by cultural and propaganda circles.3. To take an interest in and assist in eliminating by constitutionaland legal means any existing or future situations which might beprejudicial to the interests of the Somalis.4. To develop a Somali language, and to assist in putting into useamong the Somalis the already existing writing known as Ismaniya.

    Here also it is Somali nationhood that is stressed and there is noreference to wider African issues. The paramount importance whichthe S.Y.L. attached at this early period to the Pan-Somali ideal wasmade even more explicit by the party's representatives to the Four-Power Commission which visited Somalia early in I948 to examineSomali aspirations for the future. On that occasion the S.Y.L. statedthat: 'The union of Italian Somaliland with the other Somalilands wastheir primary objective, for which they were prepared to sacrifice anyother demand standing in the way of the achievement of GreaterSomalia.' 1 This aim of the amalgamation of all the Somali territories,translating cultural nationalism into political nationalism, remains thebasic credo common to all the nationalist parties. Such differences asexist on this issue, and they are slight, refer merely to the means bywhich Pan-Somalism should be achieved.2

    1 Reportof theFour PowerCommissionLondon, I949), II, pp. IO-I I. The members wereBritain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union.2 At the present time, the Greater Somalia League (G.S.L.) and the Somali NationalLeague are probably the most militant; and the Independent Constitutional Party (H.D.M.S.)-which draws its support almost entirely from the area between the Juba and Shebellerivers-the least militant.

    I49

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    When the S.Y.L. were returnedto power in Somalia in 1956 as thefirstSomali government,with control only in internal affairs,the PrimeMinister Abdullahi 'Ise, in his policy statement before the Assembly,assigned first place to the resolution of his country's border disputewith Ethiopia, but did not otherwise refer to his party's Pan-Somaliaims. Three years later, however, when performingthe same task on26July I959, with independenceclose at hand and the GreaterSomaliaLeagueto contendwith, Abdullahi 'Ise gave firstplace to the unificationof the Somali territories. 'The Somali', he told the Assembly, 'form asingle race, practise the same religion and speak a single language.They inhabit a vast territory which, in its turn, constitutes a well-defined geographic unit. All must know that the Government ofSomalia will strive its utmost with the legal and peaceful means whichare its democraticprerogativeto attain this end: the union of Somalis,until all Somali form a single Great Somalia.'lWith the approachof independencethere was now a growingaware-ness amongst political leaders of the importance of forming links withthe already independent African States with whom Somalia wouldsoon have direct relations. This is evident in the charter of the Na-tional Pan-Somali Movement, an organisationfounded at Mogadishua month after the formation of the new government. Including repre-sentativesof the S.Y.L., the S.N.L. from BritishSomaliland, the Uniondemocratiqueomalifrom French Somaliland,2and delegates also fromthe Ethiopian Ogaden and the Northern Province of Kenya, theMovement expressedits primary aim, for the unity and independenceof all Somali territoriesby peaceful and legal means, in much the sameterms as the Prime Minister. But it set this in a wider context, seekingalso 'to institute and maintain firm ties with the other peoples of theAfrican continent and to maintain and reinforce relations with thestates of the Islamic world'.3It was in this spirit that the Ministerchargedwith the responsibilityof preparingthe new State's constitution,one of the most pressingtasksfacing Abdullahi 'Ise's government,4was despatched in December to

    1 II Corriere ellaSomalia,27 July I959.2 The situation in French Somaliland, still an oversea territory of France and currentlyseeking independence within the French community, is regarded by Somali nationalists asindentical with that in Algeria prior to Algerian independence.3 II Corriere ellaSomalia,3I August 1959.4 The preparation of the constitution was initiated by a decree of 6 September 1957,which provided for the setting up of two committees, one political and the other technical.In the preparation of the final draft presented to the Assembly all the main political partiesparticipated. See G. A. Costanzo, Problemicostituzionalidella Somalianella preparazione ll'independenzaMilan, I962).

    I50 I. M. LEWIS

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    PAN-AFRICANISM AND PAN-SOMALISMvisit Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, and Liberia, to discover what could belearnt from the constitutional experience of these States. On PresidentNkrumah's suggestion, the constitution was drafted to include provisionsfor the eventual amalgamation of the other Somali territories.In its final version, accepted by the Assembly, the constitutionfaithfully reflects the new trend towards viewing the Pan-Somali idealin a wider African context. Article VI (para. 4) states: 'The SomaliRepublic shall promote, by legal and peaceful means, the union ofSomali territories and encourage solidarity among the peoples of theworld, and in particular among African and Islamic peoples.' Withthis constitutional pledge to uphold, the British Protectorate and theformer Italian Somalia united on I July I960, as a unitary Republicwith a coalition government formed from the separate administrationsof the two component countries. The disadvantageous position ofthis new African State has been most eloquently described by the pre-sent Prime Minister, Dr Abdirashid 'Ali Shirmarke:

    Our misfortune is that our neighbouring countries, with whom, like therest of Africa, we seek to promote constructive and harmonious relations,are not our neighbours. Our neighbours are our Somali kinsmen whosecitizenship has been falsified by indiscriminate boundary 'arrangements'.They have to move across artificial frontiers to their pasturelands. Theyoccupy the same terrain and pursue the same pastoral economy as ourselves.We speak the same language. We share the same creed, the same cultureand the same traditions. How can we regard our brothers as foreigners?...Of course, we all have a strong and very natural desire to be united. Thefirst step was taken in I960 when the Somaliland Protectorate was unitedwith Somalia. This act was not an act of 'colonialism' or 'expansionism'or 'annexation'. It was a positive contribution to peace and unity in Africaand was made possible by the application of the principle of the right toself-determination.1Here we see the view that Pan-Somalism is not merely not incompatiblewith Pan-Africanism, but is in fact a positive contribution towards Pan-African unity.

    RELATIONS WITH OTHER AFRICAN STATESBefore examining how, since independence, the Somali Government

    has developed this view and sought to gain support for it amongAfrican States, it will be convenient to consider the relations betweenEthiopia and the Somali Republic, since Ethiopia's position is acrucial factor in any further implementation of the Pan-Somali ideal.

    1 The Somali Peninsula: a new light on imperialmotives London, 1962), p. vi.

    I5I

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    Ethiopia has consistentlyopposed the union of the Somali territories,advocating instead federation with herself.' Thus the EthiopianGovernment sought to prevent the union of the British Protectoratewith Somalia, protesting to the British Government after Mr Lennox-Boyd's announcement at Hargeisa in February 1959 that, should theProtectorateLegislativeCouncil desirecloserassociationwith Somalia,his government would arrange the necessarynegotiations.This was hardly a propitious start to amicable relations betweenEthiopia and the Republic. But it was of coursemerely a symptom ofthe fundamentalissue. This arisesfrom the fact that perhaps as manyas three-quartersof a million Somalis live in the Haud and Ogaden,regions which are administered by Ethiopia, but which have nomutually agreed frontier with the Somali Republic and which are,moreover,claimed by the Republic. 'Claimed'is perhapstoo stronganexpression. The present demand is, more specifically, the right ofself-determinationfor all Somalis.On attaining independence, the Somali Republic not only inheritedthe old Italo-Ethiopian border dispute on which so much has beenwritten,2 but was also pledged by its constitution, and obliged bypopular sentiment, to bring into the Republic the Somalis in theOgaden region and to recover the western Haud, which Britain hadrelinquished to Ethiopia on the dubious basis of the Anglo-Ethiopiantreaty of I897.3 In practice, since independence both sides haveobserved the pre-existingfrontiers. Relations between the two States,however, have been anything but friendly, and Ethiopia is concernednot merely with retaining her Somali regions, but also with French

    1 As for example in the Emperor's speech at Gabradare in the Ogaden in August I956,when he spoke of the racial, economic, and geographic unity of the Somali and Ethiopianpeoples. This speech, of course, was vigorously repudiated in Somalia.2 See, for example, The SomaliPeninsula,pp. 59-60 and 63-77; A. A. Castagno, op. cit.pp. 386-91; and The Ethio-SomaliaFrontierProblem Ministry of Information, Addis Ababa,I96I).3 This treaty, signed by Britain with Ethiopia after the battle of Adowa and in the con-text of Anglo-French rivalry on the Nile, was designed to secure Ethiopian goodwill and togain some assurance that Ethiopia would not support the Mahdist rebels in the Sudan.Despite the fact that the Anglo-Somali treaties of I884-6, on the basis of which the BritishSomaliland Protectorate was established, pledged Britain to protect the 'independence' ofthe Somali clans concerned, by the treaty of I897 Britain unilaterally abandoned many ofthe clansmen she had undertaken to 'protect' and some 67,000 square miles of territorywere excised from the Protectorate. This is the vital grazing area known as the westernHaud. However, the treaty was cleverly worded to stipulate that while Ethiopia recognisedBritish sovereignty within the new frontiers of the Protectorate, Britain did not reciprocallyrecognise Ethiopian sovereignty over the land and people who had been abandoned. Yetit was on this questionable basis, admittedly with reluctance, that in I954 Britain finallysurrendered the area to Ethiopian administration-again without consultation with theSomali contracting parties of I884 and i886.

    I52 I. M. LEWIS

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    PAN-AFRICANISM AND PAN-SOMALISMSomaliland, where she is deeply committed through her virtual controlof the railway line from Addis Ababa to Jibuti.

    Following the Somali Republic's emergence as an independent Stateon I July 1960, the Ethiopians strengthened their military garrisons inthe disputed Haud and Reserved Areas. The end of the year wasmarked by a number of incidents, of which the most serious occurredat Danod, on the Ethiopian side, 85 miles south of the def.actofrontier.The refusal of the Ethiopian authorities to allow a party of nomadsfrom the Republic to draw water from the Danod water-holes led to atribal skirmish in the area, which was suppressed by Ethiopian groundand air forces.1 This and other similar incidents led the SomaliGovernment to protest strongly to the Ethiopian Government, and thesituation was also brought to the attention of the United Nations.

    Throughout 1961 these strained relations continued, the highlightbeing an exchange of diplomatic Notes when the Ethiopian Govern-ment charged the Republic with conducting an unfriendly campaign.And although Ethiopia supplied generous aid to the Republic afterthe flood damage at the end of the year, the cold war between the twoStates continued to gather momentum throughout 1962.2 As will beseen presently, the recent heightening of tension between Ethiopia andthe Republic is associated with the approaching independence of Kenyaas it affects Somali aspirations for the union of the Northern FrontierDistrict (N.F.D.) with the Republic.A referendum was held in June 1961 to seek national approval forthe constitution, which had been passed by the Somali Assembly priorto the union of the two parts of the Republic; and on 19 August, DrShirmarke, Prime Minister since independence, told the NationalAssembly:

    While acknowledging its traditional friendly ties, the Somali Republicwishes to establish relations with the largest possible number of independentcountriesand to remain outsideanybloc or political coalition, thus confirming1 See The DanodIncidents,a pamphlet published by the Somali Republic Ministry of theInterior in 1961.2 In April I962, the Somali Foreign Minister warned the U. N. Acting Secretary-Generalthat current Ethiopian postures constituted a threat to peace. In September, an Ethiopianspy-ring was uncovered in the Northern Regions and was alleged to have been sent there tostir up trouble at the time of the President of the Republic's visit. In the same month, theEthiopian Government withdrew diplomatic recognition from an official of the Somaliembassy in Addis Ababa, and a wrangle developed about his nationality. In Septemberalso the government paper The SomaliNews attacked the United States for giving militaryaid to Ethiopia, and claimed that a jet airfield was being built at Gabradare in the Ogadento menace the Republic. In October, the Ethiopian Government claimed that the repre-sentatives of io 'tribes' from the Republic had sought Ethiopian nationality.II

    I 53

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    154 I. M. LEWISas the goals of its international activity the maintenance of peace, respectfor the neutrality principle, co-operation and solidarity among countries,and in particular among the African and Muslim nations. It [i.e. the newGovernment] always places above all, not only in thought but also inaction, the intention of achieving the unification of the Somali territoriesby legal and pacific means.1

    It was in this spirit that Somali delegations had already attended thethird All-African People's Conference at Cairo in March 196I, and theMonrovia Conference in May. The previous meeting of the A.A.P.C.at Tunis in January I960 had passed a resolution on Somalilandapproving the Pan-Somali aim; but at the March 1961 meeting thecombined S.Y.L., S.N.L., and G.S.L. Somali delegation encounteredserious opposition, and their protests that a resolution on this subject,passed during the proceedings, had been omitted from the final state-ment led to a walk-out by the Ethiopian delegation. At the MonroviaConference, in which again both the Republic and Ethiopia partici-pated, all that was achieved was a resolution urging the two States tosettle their border disputes. At the Belgrade Conference in September,the President of the Republic took the opportunity of again stating hiscountry's cause, but without attracting any tangible support.In October 1961, the Somali President, Adan Abdulla, went on astate visit to Ghana, the first African State south of the Sahara toestablish diplomatic relations with the Republic. At the end of hisstay he and President Nkrumah issued a joint communique, in whichthey expressed the view that 'outstanding frontier problems inheritedfrom colonial regimes' could be solved by federation. They alsorecognised, however, 'the imperative need to restore the ethnic, cultural,and economic links arbitrarily destroyed by colonisation'. 2

    In the same month, at the sixteenth session of the U.N. GeneralAssembly, the Republic's Foreign Minister, Abdullahi 'Ise, stated:'The Somali Government and the Somali people want the unificationof Somalis in a single national entity to be obtained by peaceful andlegal means.'3 Meanwhile, events in Kenya had led to increasingactivity by the Somali political parties of the Northern FrontierDistrict, and their demands for secession from Kenya and union withthe Republic were given wide publicity in the Republic.4 The Northern

    1 The SomaliNews, 25 August I96I.2 Ibid. 27 October 1961.3 Ibid. 13 October I961.4 See, for example, The SomaliNews, 1961 and 1962, passim.See also A Peoplein Isolation:a call bypoliticalpartiesof theNorthern rontierDistrictof Kenyaor unionwith the SomaliRepublic(London, I962), a pamphlet published in connexion with the Kenya Conference.

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    PAN-AFRICANISM AND PAN-SOMALISM 155Frontier District, covering an area of I02,000 square miles, is in fact aProvince and comprises six administrative Districts: Garissa, Wajir,Mandera, Moyale, Marsabit, and Isiolo. The Somali, estimated tonumber about 2o0,ooo in the latest census returns, are mainly concen-trated in the east of the N.F.D. in Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera Dis-tricts. The majority of the Somali entered this area by migration fromthe north within the last hundred years, although some Somali groupsentered the area earlier and appear to have been its first known in-habitants. This Hamitic migration displaced groups of the north-eastcoastal Bantu-known to the early Arab geographers as the 'Zengi'-also intruders, who had expanded into this area and Jubaland fromthe south.In response to approaches from the Somali N.F.D. parties in Kenya(particularly the People's Progressive Party led by 'Ali Aden Lord),the Somali National Assembly in November passed a motion insupport of the union of the Province with the Republic, urging theGovernment to press for self-determination for its people. As a result,the Somali Government was now being forced to concentrate itsPan-Somali endeavour on the demands of a national minority inKenya, a course bound to lead to conflict with the Kenyan nationalistsas well as with Ethiopia, and likely to increase the Republic's difficultiesin finding Pan-African support for her aims. Indeed, in October TomMboya of K.A.N.U. had visited Addis Ababa and, after an audiencewith the Emperor, announced that his party would categorically opposeall attempts at secession on the part of the peoples of the N.F.D.1The next Pan-African meeting was the Lagos Summit Conference inJanuary 1962, which the Republic attended with some misgivings overthe exclusion of Algeria, whose provisional government it had recog-nised. On his return from Lagos, the Prime Minister announced thatthe Conference had agreed to set up an independent body to deal withdisputes between African States, to which the Republic's difficultieswith neighbouring States could be referred.2 In February, however, thePan-African Freedom Movement for East and Central Africa, meetingat Addis Ababa, suggested that a solution could be found in federalism,and proposed an East African Federation of Kenya, Uganda, Tangan-yika, and Zanzibar, with Ethiopia and the Somali Republic. To thisend both Ethiopia and the Republic were urged to open negotiationsMboya argued that Kenya had as legitimate a claim to Jubaland, which Britain hadexcised from Kenya and given to Italy to add to Somalia in 1925. These statements wereattacked in an editorial in The Somali News, 20 October 1961, and in a letter from theSecretary-General of the S.Y.L. to The East AfricanStandard, 0 October 196I.2 The SomaliNews, I February 1962.

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    for the extension of common services with the East Africa HighCommission. The projected federation was to be achieved within theframework of the All-African People's Conference, and the leader ofthe Somali delegation took the opportunity of urging P.A.F.M.E.C.A.to use its influence to bring about a union of the Monrovia and Casa-blanca powers. The Pan-Somali goal was now seen in a wider-EastAfrican-context.Immediately following the P.A.F.M.E.C.A. meeting, and just beforethe Lancaster House Conference on Kenya, the Somali embassy inLondon issued a statement stressing that African unity and Somali

    unity were 'complementary' and that the Somali people, whose unitywas based on common cultural, ethnic, and religious ties, had aspastoralists special problems which were best understood and cateredfor by a democratic Somali government.1The Somali Government was not of course represented at the KenyaConference, but it assisted the N.F.D. delegation in publicising theirdemands for secession from Kenya and union with the Republic. Inthe Republic itself there were widespread demonstrations in supportof the Kenya secessionists. And in March the Prime Minister made astrongly anti-imperialist speech, attacking Ethiopia and France, andwarning the British Government that it would be held responsible ifthe 'mistakes' of the past were added to and the inhabitants of theN.F.D. were refused the right 'to freely decide their own destiny'.2At this time, relations between Ethiopia and the Republic wereparticularly hostile and both sides were engaged in a vituperativecampaign by press and radio, the Somali Government being particu-larly anxious to deny that its support for the N.F.D. secessionists wasdelaying Kenya's independence, or was in any sense detrimental to thecause of African unity. The Somali News summed up the Somali pointof view in the phrase 'Pan-Somalism is Pan-Africanism'; and the depthof feeling in the Republic at this time can be gauged from the fact that31 members of the National Assembly chose this moment to table amotion of no confidence in the government, one of their specificcriticisms being 'lack of courage' on the Pan-Somali issue. In replyingto the motion, which was defeated by a considerable majority, thePrime Minister re-affirmed his government's dedication to the Belgradeprinciples of non-alignment, to the promotion of solidarity between

    1 On the same occasion the Somali embassy in London distributed copies of The SomaliPeninsula: a new light on imperialmotives,an important contribution to the history of theimperial partition of the Horn of Africa.2 The SomaliNews, 23 March I962.

    I56 I. M. LEWIS

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    PAN-AFRICANISM AND PAN-SOMALISMpeoples (particularly Africans and Muslims), and to the continuingstruggle for Somali unification.1

    Meanwhile, despite the K.A.D.U. and K.A.N.U. opposition to thesecession of the Northern Frontier District, the British Colonial Secre-taryhad announcedthat his governmentwould appoint an independentcommission'to ascertainpublic opinion in the arearegarding ts future'.This news was received cautiously in the Republic. On 12 April, at amass rally held to mark African solidarity week, the Prime Minister,after recalling the Republic's moral support for the national strugglein the Congo, Angola, Algeria, and South Africa,2 said that theannouncement of the N.F.D. Commissionwas not satisfactorysince 'itwas not clear whether the right of self-determination would be givento the people concerned'.3However, the Republic demonstrated the genuineness of its desireto participatein an East African federation by acting upon the sugges-tion made at the P.A.F.M.E.C.A. conference,and sending observerstothe meeting of the East African Central Legislative Assembly whichfollowed.4 While maintaining the view that the responsibility ofdeciding the future status of the N.F.D. lay with Britain, the Govern-ment of the Republic also sought to promote better relations with theKenya African leaders.5 Accordingly, K.A.N.U. was invited to senddelegates to the Republic's Independence Day celebrations on I July.These were in fact attended by Jomo Kenyatta's daughter, by theparty's Vice President, Oginga Odinga, and by others. Kenyattahimself and other K.A.N.U. delegates came later for a short visit, andthis was followed by a six-day visit by Ronald Ngala and members ofK.A.D.U. Both leaders were treated with full honours.6

    Jomo Kenyatta in numerous discussions and speeches made it clear1 The SomaliNews, 6 and 20 April 1962.2 In March I962, legislation banned trade with South Africa, refused transit to SouthAfrican nationals, and closed sea and air ports to South African vessels or aircraft, save incase of emergency.3 The SomaliNews, 20 April I962.4 In June 1962, the Republic was represented at the Lagos Conference of Foreign Minis-ters, which approved a revised draft charter for the Organisation of African States. In hisaddress, the Foreign Minister regretted the absence of a number of African States andstressed that his government was opposed to rival political groupings amongst the AfricanStates. The Republic was also represented in June at the Islamic World Conference in

    Baghdad, which passed a resolution supporting the Somali struggle for union.5 This was partly, apparently, in response to representations made by the British Govern-ment, which urged that a final settlement of the N.F.D. problem would have to be acceptableto Kenya's African leaders.6 Both were accorded the Freedom of Mogadishu and awarded the Star of SomaliSolidarity. For details of these visits, see The SomaliRepublicand African Unity, a pamphletpublished by the Somali Government in September I962.

    I57

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    that he regarded the N.F.D. as an inalienable part of Kenya, and wasnot to be moved on the Somali issue. After his visit, the Somali Ministerof Information held a press conference, at which he clarified his govern-ment's position, emphasising that a federation of East and CentralAfrican States was 'an absolute necessity', but that it would have to bedesigned so that the Somali people formed a single unit within it.There was no question, however, of his government forcing Somalisunder alien rule to unite. Unity could only be based upon the principleof self-determination. And notwithstanding his government's earlierreservations, the Minister made it clear that they now welcomed theBritish Government's decision to send a commission to the N.F.D.The Republic, he stated, would not object if the commission foundthat a majority of the peoples of the Province wished to remain withKenya. But if majorityfeeling ran the other way, his government insistedthat secession should be granted before Kenya's independence. Thiswas necessary in view of the impending East African federation; andthe time for settling boundaries was before, not after federation.1 TheMinister also challenged Kenyatta's references to the N.F.D. as 'partand parcel' of Kenya, and referred to the different way of life of itsinhabitants, its isolation, and the special administrative arrangementswhich had been employed in running it. Finally, the Minister reiteratedhis government's view that the settlement of the problem was theresponsibility of the British Government, and that the Somali Republicwas the only African state with a 'legitimate interest' in it.No headway had been made with Kenyatta, although Ngala, asmight have been expected with his party's regionalist policy, appearedto be more flexible. But nothing tangible was achieved in the course of thesevisits, and after the K.A.N.U. and K.A.D.U. delegations had departedthe Government settled down to await the N.F.D. Commission and itsfindings, keeping meanwhile a watching brief on events in the area. Inthe middle of October, the two-man Commission eventually arrived,and a month later had completed its work.2 It found that the vastmajority of the Somali of the Province desired secession and unionwith the Republic, as did most of the Muslim Galla and some otherminor groups.

    Despite these quite unequivocal findings, the new constitutional1 Here the Minister referred to his country's unhappy experience in trying to settle itsboundary dispute with Ethiopia. 'The settlement of boundaries', he said, 'can be one of themost intractable problems between independent African States.'2 The Commission consisted of Major General M. P. Bogert from Canada, and MrG. M. Onyiuke, Director of Public Prosecutions in Eastern Nigeria. Their findings werepublished as Reportof theNorthernFrontierDistrict CommissionLondon, 1963), Cmnd. 1900.

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    PAN-AFRICANISM AND PAN-SOMALISM 159arrangements for Kenya announced in March 1963 by the BritishColonial Secretary provided only for the creation of a new seventhregion embracing the predominantly Somali areas of the N.F.D.This decision, interpreted as precluding the possibility of subsequentSomali secession, was received with anger and resentment in theDistrict and in the Republic. Indeed, to mark the extent of popularfeeling, the government of the Republic was forced, not withoutreluctance, to break off diplomatic relations with Britain; and theSomali Chiefs and local authorities in the District refused to co-operatewith the Kenya administration or to participate in the elections. Tomany Somali, this unhappy compromise is viewed as a further injuryin the long tradition of British disregard for Somali interests whichbegan with the unfortunate Anglo-Ethiopian treaty of 1897.

    Somali nationalism began as an exclusive movement aimed at theamalgamation of the Somali territories in the Horn of Africa, suchwider interests as it possessed being directed more towards the Muslimnations of the world than towards the African States. In the last fewyears, and particularly since independence, Somali nationalists haveevinced a growing concern with both African and world affairs, whilestill retaining their Islamic ties.1 The present Government has main-tained a position of strict non-alignment and at the same time hasalso sought to play an active, if modest role in Pan-African affairs.Pan-Somalism, based on the principle of self-determination, is nowviewed as a positive contribution towards African unity, of which thefirst step has already been achieved by the creation of the SomaliRepublic. This, of course, was a union by mutual consent of twoseparate, independent States, and the addition of French Somaliland,in spite of Ethiopia's objections, would merely be an extension of this.Where the Pan-Somali aim encounters serious constitutional as wellas political difficulties is with the Somali territories in Ethiopia andKenya, for here the application of the right of self-determination tothe Somali peoples concerned is in conflict with the principle ofterritorial sovereignty. It is hardly surprising therefore, notwithstand-ing the special circumstances of the Somali case, that both K.A.N.U.and K.A.D.U. in Kenya, as well as Ethiopia, should oppose the Somaliaim. Somali nationalists, however, can with justice protest that their

    1 The Republic has diplomatic relations with the following Muslim countries: Egypt,Lebanon, Sudan, Algeria, Pakistan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.

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    aims are even here compatible with Pan-Africanism, and maintainthat the unification of the Somali territories of Ethiopia and Kenyawith the Republic would be the prelude to Somali participation in anEast African federation. From this point of view, opposition to theassociation of the Somali territories is detrimental to Pan-Africanism,which, as President Adan Abdulla has warned, is in danger of beingfrustrated by 'the unwillingness of African rulers to curb their powersand to lift their artificial colonial boundaries'.1

    Since the favourable resolution passed at the Tunis A.A.P.C. meetingin I96o, the Somali case has on the whole attracted little support fromother African States. Those who have shown most sympathy areEgypt and Ghana, and of all the African States it is with Egypt that theRepublic has closest ties and to which it is most indebted economically.Yet despite this, in the wider sphere of African affairs the SomaliGovernment has not aligned itself particularly with these two States.Indeed, it is opposed to the Monrovia-Casablanca division; in so far asit takes sides it has tended, like Ethiopia, to follow Monrovia.2But what is more significant, I think, is that Ethiopia and theRepublic should so often speak with the same voice in African andworld affairs, despite their very different systems of government, theirreligious differences, and their long history of conflict. This suggeststhat the resolution of the Somali unification problem by a federationincluding both Ethiopia and the Republic is not so fanciful as might atfirst appear. And, of course, more recently both States have participa-ted in the P.A.F.M.E.C.A. negotiations in the Congo. In justlyevaluating these considerations, however, attention must also be givento the Northern Frontier District issue. For if the Somali aim ofsecession from Kenya is not achieved it is difficult to see how co-opera-tion can be maintained between the Republic and Ethiopia and Kenya.

    Finally, in tracing the development of Pan-African attitudes in theRepublic, it is interesting to notice how the Somali approach to widerAfrican unity has been influenced by the fact that Pan-Somalism isbased upon ethnic and cultural homogeneity, coupled with the princi-ple of self-determination. This has led Somali nationalists to emphasisethe importance of such factors as a basis for African unification.These views were most pointedly expressed by the President of theRepublic in his address on Pan-Africanism during the K.A.N.U. visit

    1 In an important speech on Pan-Africanism at a state banquet held in honour of JomoKenyatta on 28 July I962.

    2 It should be noted, however, that both Ethiopia and the Somali Republic attended theBelgrade Conference and were in fact the only States who had been at the Monrovia Confer-ence to go to Belgrade.

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    PAN-AFRICANISM AND PAN-SOMALISM i6ito the Republic. Referring to his country's experience since indepen-dence, the President said:

    We have learned of a cardinal principle underlying the effectiveness orotherwise of a political union between independent states. It is this: theordinary person must be able to identify himself and his interests with thenew order, on economic, ethnic, and cultural grounds. It is this lesson thatis perhaps the hardest to learn, but if we Africans are proud to take ourplace as a democratic people in the comity of nations we must do more thanpay lip-service to the feelings of the ordinaryman and woman in our society.1The special predicament of the Somali, then, remains that whereasother independent African States seek to make themselves into nations,

    they seek to build a State on the basis of their nationhood. Andwhatever the implications of this elsewhere, there seems little doubtthat if Kenya and Ethiopia join an East African federation whichexcludes the Somali Republic, and perpetuates the partition of theSomali people, unrest and instability will be entrenched in the Horn ofAfrica. The sacrifice of national pride and territorial sovereigntywhich would be involved in including the Somali as a unified territorialentity in an enlarged East African federation would surely be amplyrewarded by the prospect of harmony between three, at least, of themember States.

    1 Speech of 28 July I962. The President took a similar line in another speech on I6August I962, during Ronald Ngala's visit. On that occasion, speaking of democratic practicein the Republic, he regretted that many other African States 'because of the intolerancesthat are inevitable among a heterogeneous populace' had had to resort, for the sake ofcohesion, to a single-party system of government. 'Others forbid politics altogether.'