Denial of independence : how the four powers and Italy set up Somalia for failure and dismemberment : in memory and in the words of Hagi Mahamed Hussein, President of the SYC and SYL. volume 1
Abdulaziz M. Hussen (Author)
The causes of the Somali tragedy can be found in many places. The economic subordination left behind by Italy paved the way for the formation of monopolies tied to Italian interests. Seizing indigenous land and using such land to grow cash crops deprived the country of its capacity to feed itself. The accommodation of native institutions of indirect rule, such as clan chiefs, notables, and elders held the country stagnant. The integration of the fascist-trained native militia forces, known as “banda” into the army and police force set the stage for instability. Italy left behind a system of government based on favoritism and corruption, playing one clan against another, only to prove how divided the Somali people were and how distant the prospect of a Somali nation. Italian colonialism bears much of the blame. So do the Four Powers who used the disposition of the former Italian Colonies to advance their strategic interests. And when they could not agree among themselves, they passed the matter to a polarized United Nations, which not only denied immediate independence to Somalia, but threw her back into the lap of her colonial master, Italy, as trustee for ten years, contrary to the wishes and welfare of the majority of the Somali people. DENIAL OF INDEPENDENCE provides insight into the causes of the Somali tragedy through the oral account of Hagi Mohamed Hussein, President of the Somali Youth Club and later Somali Youth League, and through the correct interpretation of documentation from the Italian, British, and UN archives. Under his leadership, the Somali Youth Club generated national unity, dismantled the forced labor conditions in the colonial plantations, brought an end to the Italian apartheid system, forced the British Military Administration to revoke the poll tax, and laid the foundation for independence. The information in this book will discuss the annexation of Southern Somalia as background, and provides insight into the composition, political program, and resistance of the Somali Youth Club to colonialism. -- back cover
Print Book, English, 2020