Damien Grant: We cannot move the dial in Gaza - but here’s where NZ can make a difference

“He’s lost the plot,” Christopher Luxon claimed of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, jumping onto what he assumed would be a stable bandwagon of international criticism of Netanyahu’s recent plans to consolidate Israeli control over Gaza.

Well. This earned a brilliant rebuke from Israeli foreign minister Sharren Haskel, who remarked that our biggest threat is a possum. And in response Luxon took on the appearance of this marsupial when confronted with headlights and muttered that she was entitled to her opinion.

Hopeless. The correct response would be to assure New Zealand that we will not be employing the IDF to control the possum infestation least they turn our cities into demolition sites.

Sigh. Opportunities lost. Anyway. We are considering recognising Palestine.

The case for diplomatic recognition isn’t simple. There are two distinct political entities; the West Bank ruled by the Palestinian Authority and Gaza where Hamas remains in place. It seems probable that, in time, these two statelets will develop into separate sovereign entities.

Which one do we recognise, and if the war ends with Hamas resuming control, do we establish diplomatic relations with an organisation that was recently designated as a terrorist entity?

From a practical perspective we should recognise the reality on the ground. I think we should establish formal diplomatic ties with North Korea. We do so with China and Zimbabwe. Both are ruled by parties whose legacy is intertwined with acts of evil and the loss of many innocent lives.

On the West Bank the Palestinian Authority is a government. Not one that could win an election, which is why they don’t hold them, but a functioning democracy isn’t a pre-requisite for diplomatic ties. Nor should it be. Creating an embassy in Ramallah, although an odd thing to do given the realities of the region, isn’t outside the bounds of reason.

Let’s acknowledge that establishing a diplomatic relationship confers some legitimacy on the other party. And given that, I’d like to pull our national focus away from the Levant for a moment. To an obscure but interesting part of the world. To a place few readers will have heard of.

Somaliland.

At the horn of Africa sits the Republic of Somaliland. Over six million people live in this relatively well run former British colony slightly larger than the South Island.

Somalia has a long history and some claim it is where humanity began. It was forgotten to western history before being caught up in the scramble for Africa. Italy took the South around 1900 and Britain the North some decades earlier. The two regions, despite sharing a common linguistic, cultural and genetic history began their separate political journeys.

Italy was displaced by Britain during the war, with the United Nations taking oversight of the South, with Italian assistance, from 1950 to 1960.

In 1960 two colonial powers created a unitary state. It didn’t work with the former British colony rebelling against various tyrants ruling from Mogadishu in the south. It declared itself independent in 1991 and became a functionally separate state. In 2001 they adopted a democratic constitution and have stuck to it.

I can’t attest to how well their democracy functions. I’ve never visited. But the few who have rate it favourably.

Freedom House gives it the classification of “partially free” although reports it is slipping in the rankings and that violence against women remains a serious concern.

Last year, the country held an election which was notable in that the ruling party was displaced, and the defeated incumbent accepted the result and left office. A rare event in the troubled continent and one that our American friends sometime struggle to achieve.

The non-partisan US based Council for Foreign Relations concluded that “a number weak economy and limited opportunities for foreign trade and investment have stifled the government’s capacity to provide services to its approximately six million citizens.”

Diplomatic recognition, including the ability to access World Bank loans, would make a difference.

There is momentum behind upgrading Somaliland’s status. Republican congressman Scott Perry has sponsored a bill in Congress for the US to grant full diplomatic recognition. “For more than three decades, Somaliland demonstrated the kind of governance, stability, and cooperation that America should support.”

He is right. If you want to find other places that warrant recognition there are plenty of worthy candidates. The Kurdish enclave in northern Syria, the Sahrawi Republic in the Western Sahara or even the narco-Shan State in western Myanmar that operates with more functional authority over its territory than either Palestinian enclaves.

But Somaliland is both a nation that warrants our support and, critically, if New Zealand was to extend diplomatic relations it could trigger a wider acceptance of the reality that Somaliland is both independent and never returning voluntary to rule from Mogadishu.

Given the economic and military challenges that this nation has endured, the ability to create a partly free polity with a judicial system and functional elections has been remarkable. It is a success and, given its history, should be welcomed into the Commonwealth.....The full article is published HERE

Damien Grant is an Auckland business owner, a member of the Taxpayers’ Union and a regular opinion contributor for Stuff, writing from a libertarian perspective