Waryaa-
I have done enough research, both from Somalis and outside, to write a book on the conditions that necessitated the coup. If I got into describing the 60's and the conditions that necessitated the Coup I would go into pages and pages of writing her. I will say this; there are three issues involved.
1.) Was the coup Justified
2.) Did the coup leave a great legacy
3.) Where is Somalia headed.
You have confused the relationship between those three issues.
1. The coup in Somalia was justified. I provided some testimony to show Somalia
was no "fledgling" democracy. Somalia was a society in every way and form not ready for independent statehood. The conditions that persisted in the country's political affairs was such that it was shocking to people who observed even African corruption. We are talking about a Somalia where people just left colonialism, where there were a very tiny group of missionary school graduates who usurped powere, where voting was considered 1,000 political parties of every sub-clan fighting for few seats, where every district in the country on average had 400% more votes than residents, where print literature and academic did not exist, where a national orthography did not exist, where the few state assets were controlled by the colonial power, where the army was clan based and fractious.
In fact, on the day of the Coup on October 21, 1969 the CIA wrote this observation...remember an upheaval constituted the assassination of Shermake which threw the country in its first civil war--put an end to by the Coup:
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/54644.pdf
You hear some ignorant people say "Siad Barre" started tribal tension; the Kacaan sowed enmity. No, he did not. They are just ignorant. The Somali culture went from a desert evolved nomadic pastoralist culture where personal freedom is sacrosanct, kinship bonds are social security, and going to war for fight for scarce resources was as ordinary as drinking water. Without going through a cultural evolution, a limiting colonialism and independence was granted. The Kacaan was for its day and time a very justified and forgivable move and the response by the Somali people at the time of the Coup and for more than the half the Revolution's existence points to this. The Kacaan was the temporary obstacle to the deluge of fragmentation which unraveled Somalia.
2.) Coup did many great things such as educating the masses, standardizing an orthography, bringing Somalia to the world stage, developing the country to some extent where possible, etc; but admittedly the Coup ultimately left a negative legacy because it led to the implosion of the Somali state. I will not argue about the legacy of the coup but like I said you cannot go off of the legacy to make an indictment on the necessity of the Coup when it took place. The Coup was justified which is something you need to understand is separate to what ultimately happened at the end.
3.) Somalia is not headed back towards the 60's. If your own comparison is based on the fact neither is controlled by a military, this is somewhat applicable but that is one factor among a multitude. The Somali people are not the same, the Somali state is not the same, the Somali aspirations are not the same, the Somali history is not the same, the Somali vision is not the same, the mechanisms in place are not the same, the people in charge are not the some, the social structures that exist are not the same, the participation and involvement level of all impacted are not the same. Virtually there is no similarity, no similarity beyond the fact both are not under a "military' officially. In fact, Somalia's elections in 2012 in the midst of civil war, anarchy, statelessness was more "Democratic" then anything the 60's could have materialized. The Somalia of today is the sum of the collective experience of modern Somalia; where it wants to head is a place which is journeyed to make sure is totally different than anything before it. I agree Somalia is definitely not headed back to the Revolution but it is as much an insult to say Somalia is headed back to the 60's and only Somalis ignorant of their history will say such a thing.
