Somali National Movement

The Somali National Movement (Somali: Dhaqdhaqaaqa wadaniga soomaliyeed, Arabic: الحركة الوطنية الصوماليه‎) was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups opposed to the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 1990s.[3] The Somali National Movement was founded in London, England, on April 6, 1981 by Hasan Adam 'Wadadi', a former Somali diplomat, who stated that the group's purpose was to overthrow the Siad Barre regime.[4]

Somali National Movement (SNM)
Participant in Somali Civil War
IdeologyAnti-communism
Group(s)Isaaq
LeadersAhmed Mohamed Gulaid
(Oct 1981– Jan 1982)

Sheikh Yusuf Ali Sheikh Madar

(Jan 1982– Nov 1983)

Colonel Abdiqadir Kosar Abdi

(Nov 1983– Aug 1984)

Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud

(Aug 1984– Apr 1989);

Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur

(Apr 1990– May 1991)[1]
HeadquartersLondon, Hargeisa, Dire Dawa
Area of operations Somalia
 Ethiopia[2]
AlliesUnited Somali Congress
Opponent(s)Somali National Army

The SNM gathered its main base of support from members of the Isaaq clan, who formed and supported the movement in response to years of systematic discrimination by the Siad Barre government. The SNM at first did not necessarily support secession, The USC's announcement of a provisional government in February 1991 angered the SNM who maintained that they had not been consulted. Pressure for secession evidently came from the SNM's followers, who were devastated by the loss of lives and the destruction of northern cities by the Siad Barre government. In Hargeisa, for instance, only 5% of the city's buildings remain standing.[5]

Formation

Saudi Arabia

In 1977, a group of Somali expats in Saudi Arabia hailing from the Isaaq clan begun to collect funds for the aim of launching a newspaper covering Somali affairs. The grassroots group has grown into Semi-political party unofficially referred to as Somali Islamic Democratic party (later Somali National movement) Representing intellectuals, businessmen and prominent figures of the expat community in Saudi Arabia. By the end of 1979, the group had strong foothold in local Somali communities in Riyadh, Dhahran, Khobar and especially Jeddah where they set meetings every 3 months discussing deteriorating situation in Somali Democratic Republic post Ogaden War. The organisation was formally founded in Jeddah in April 1981 by an intellectual elite with the objective of overthrowing Barre’s dictatorial regime [6].

The First Jeddah Congress

At the first congress in Jeddah, the organisation's name was officially changed to the "Somali National Movement" (SNM )[7]. Additionally, there was a call to action for the proposed funding of three full time staff members. These individuals would go on to quit their jobs in Saudi Arabia to devote their time to the movement [7].

United Kingdom

The "Saudi group" reached out to the larger Somali population in United Kingdom soon after, and the organisation's formation was announced on 6 April 1981 in London [6]. The said communities composed primarily of students, activists, intellectuals and African communities, particularly Somalis in London, Cardiff, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool played greater role in raising funds and spreading awareness of the human rights violation under Mohamed Siad Barre regime.

SNM launch event in 1981

Due to political and logistical obstacles in Saudi Arabia, the Somali Islamic Democratic party decide to move its headquarters to London and along with Somali London Association, Somali Welfare Association, Somali National party (as well as members of the Somali Student Union,) to converge and launch Somali National Movement in 1981[8].

The First SNM Conference

On 18 October 1981, the organisation had its first official conference at the International Student Union of the University of London [7].

Funding

The task of financing the fight against the Barre regime proved a challenge as the SNM lacked a foreign sponsor [9].

Funds to support the organisation were primarily collected on a clan basis but wealthy businessmen also contributed [7]. The SNM's initial funding model worked in a similar fashion to 'diya' payments whereby each subclan of Isaaq resident in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf would collect a set amount from their communities [7]. This decentralised funding model gave the organisation relative independence [10]. Moreover, enhancing the organisation's accountability to its numerous supporters [10].

Revenue Generation

The establishment of internal revenue sources was a crucial factor allowed the organisation to succeed and outperform its competitors [9]. Additionally, the organisation succeeded in fostering relationships with commercial intermediaries via the 'Abban' system (an indigenous credit system constructed outside of Barre’s nationalization processes) [9]. Therefore, facilitating the taxing of constituents themselves by commandeering one young man and one sheep from each household. As a result, encouraging entrepreneurialism but also containing it [9].

Therefore, these processes produced a negotiation between rulers and ruled in which the opinions of ordinary Isaaq kin mattered since they provided the resources to continue the fight [9].

Role of commercial intermediaries

Dahabshil which would later become one of Somaliland's largest money transfer and telecom firms started out as an SNM financier [11]. As Isaaq financiers based in Dire Dawa (Ethiopia) used SNM radios to transfer money to fighters, this allowed them to also intervene in the organization’s affairs [11].

Copies of the Magazine of the Somali National Movement (SNM), 1987

Somali Civil War

The SNM succeeded in overrunning several government outposts in Northern Somalia. The SNM-USC-SPM unification agreement failed to last after Siaad Barre fled Mogadishu. On January 26, 1991, the USC formed an interim government, which the SNM refused to recognize. On May 18, 1991, the SNM declared the northwestern Somali regions independent, establishing the Republic of Somaliland. The USC interim government opposed this declaration, arguing instead for a unified Somalia. Apart from these political disagreements, fighting broke out between and within the USC and SPM.

Somaliland

The SNM was extremely influential in the establishment of Somaliland, a self-declared sovereign republic in the former Somali Republic.[12] Many former SNM members are the key in the formation of the government and constitution.

References
  1. "Civil Society & their role in Africa's struggle to deepen democracy: Experiences of Somaliland in the Horn by Cde. Iqbal Jhazbhay" (PDF). www.alnef.org.za. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  2. Tekle, ed. by Amare (1994). Eritrea and Ethiopia : from conflict to cooperation (1. print. ed.). Lawrenceville (N.J.): the Red sea paper. p. 150. ISBN 0932415970.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  3. "Somalia: Somali National Movement from its inception through the present".
  4. Helen Chapin Metz, Somalia: a country study, Volume 550, Issues 86-993, (The Division: 1993), p.xxviii.
  5. Lacey, Marc (June 5, 2006). "The Signs Say Somaliland, but the World Says Somalia". New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  6. Balthasar, Dominik. "State-making in Somalia and Somaliland: understanding war, nationalism and state trajectories as processes of institutional and socio-cognitive standardization". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. Renders, Marleen (January 20, 2012). Consider Somaliland: State-Building with Traditional Leaders and Institutions. BRILL. p. 65. ISBN 978-90-04-22254-0.
  8. Ioan M., Lewis (1994). Blood and bone : the call of kinship in Somali society. Lawrenceville, N.J.: Red Sea Press. pp. 181–194. ISBN 9780932415929.
  9. Duffield, Andrew Scott. "When Do Rebels Become State-Builders?: A Comparative Case Study of Somaliland, Puntland, and South-Central Somalia". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. Zartman, Jacob Blaustein Professor of International Organization and Conflict Resolution and Director of African Studies I. William (1995). Collapsed States: The Disintegration and Restoration of Legitimate Authority. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 978-1-55587-560-2.
  11. Reno, William. "Somalia And Survival In The Shadow Of The Global Economy". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. The UK Prime Minister's Office Reply To The "Somaliland E-Petition"
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