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Somalia The Military and the Government
During most of Somalia's early postindependence history, the
SNA stayed out of politics. The only exception occurred in 1961,
when a group of British-trained officers who objected to Italian
influence on the military attempted to overthrow the government.
In 1969 the SNA's apolitical stance changed when Major General
Mahammad Siad Barre seized power. After abolishing the National
Assembly of the Republic, he established the SRC, which was made
up of military and police officers. This military junta relied on
the largely civilian Council of the Secretaries of State to
administer many of the country's ministries.
To enhance its image, the SRC intervened in nearly every
aspect of Somali society. To reduce government corruption, Siad
Barre instituted a nationwide campaign to make civil servants
accountable. He also appointed a police general to head the
Ministry of Interior, which controlled the means of enforcing
government decisions and appointing military personnel to senior
positions in district and provincial offices and in Somali
embassies. In 1971 the SRC ordered senior civil servants to
attend a three-month course at Camp Halane, Mogadishu, where they
wore military uniforms and underwent military training. The
military junta also recruited young men and women into a
paramilitary organization called Victory Pioneers
(see People's Militia
, this ch.). In the foreign policy arena, Siad Barre
adopted an anti-United States stance, ordered the Peace Corps out
of the country, and accused Washington of imperialism.
In 1976 the government consolidated its power by creating the
Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), which emerged as the
basis for political authority. Furthermore, Siad Barre allowed
the NSS to jail or harass dissidents, suppress freedom of speech,
and create an atmosphere of fear and suspicion throughout
Somalia. In 1980 a constitutional amendment empowered the SRC to
resolve all state security and national interest issues during a
declared state of emergency.
Opposition to Siad Barre's dictatorship increased during the
mid- and late 1980s
(see Sources of Opposition
, this ch.). An
increasing number of Somalis perceived the government and the
nation's armed forces as enemies of the people. Siad Barre's
refusal to institute reforms and include more people in the
political process eventually led to his downfall and the
dissolution of the armed forces.
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