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 Ibrahim
Mead
political analyst
Ottawa, Canada
On May 18th 1991
May 18th is a Remembrance Day.
It is not remembering a day as some people do, but it is remembering
what the day signifies and the people who made that day different
than the other days.
What does that day mean to Somaliland?
a) It means refusal to perish as the genocidal regime of Siyad Barre
set for the people of Somaliland.
b) it means struggle to survive for a better day and for liberated
Somaliland
c) it means liberation and finding the lost Republic
e) it means bringing back the spirit of brotherhood and the cohesion
of Somaliland communities
f) It means a day remembered for Forgiveness, Conflict Resolution
and Rebuilding the country devastated by the genocidal regime of
Siyad Barre of Mogadishu.
It does not mean remembering a day, just a day for the sake of it,
as some of us do!
It means remembering the people who made that day what it is. They
are the martyrs and the Mujahedeen who sacrificed for Somaliland;
however we don’t commemorate them for what they have done for us! We
even ridicule the liberators who survived by using their urine as
water!!
On this day we are also supposed to commemorate the givers who gave
out much of what they had in blood and treasure for the liberation
and restoration of the independence of Somaliland but we don’t in
reality! We instead made mockery of them!! We are ungrateful people
indeed and Allah is the witness.
Unfortunately, we do not remember and recognize the people who made
that achievements and vision embodied in this May Day by their
treasure and blood.
What the Mujahedeen gave Somaliland was the favour and mercy of
Allah. The return we expect from Somaliland is gratitude and
recognition of that mercy bestowed to them by Allah through the
sacrifices of their sons and daughters. Somaliland failed to do
that!
Hassan Al-Basri referring the Quran said, "When Allah bestows His
favour upon a people, He asks for their gratitude. If they offer
their thanks [to Him], He is able to increase their good fortune,
but if they deny His favour, He is able to turn these favours of His
into torment and affliction." This means Allah bestowed his favour
upon the Somaliland people by way of the sacrifices of their men and
women, who martyred, maimed, and suffered for that noble cause, but
Somaliland is ungrateful and thankless, therefore unless they change
themselves these favours of Allah may turn into torment and
affliction. If one observes carefully the signs are there!
Somaliland forgot all these favours of Allah which Allah gave them
through their own sons and daughters who gave them the 2nd Republic
of Somaliland. Somaliland is ungrateful.
We just remember a day and some of us made it a commercial thing for
their benefit and the Somaliland government uses this day as
propaganda to cover their deficiencies!
What we shouldn’t remember however, are the takers and the parasites
that tarnished and ruining our country and what it stands for!
What we shouldn’t remember are the Last day (after liberation)
comers who are in a strange twist of fate happened to be our
leaders. When we remember them we would do so in a different and
shameful way.
May 18th 1991 was the Rebirth of Somaliland, a day Somaliland
decided its destiny and reasserted her independence in her
internationally recognized territory, after they have defeated the
genocidal regime of Siad Barre in Mogadishu
May 18 was the establishment of the 2nd Republic of Somaliland
May 18, was not like any other day. It was a day people power
overwhelmed and defeated the tyrannical power of Dictator Siad Barre
of Mogadishu. It was a day of reckoning.
It was a day of reconfirmation of a people’s determination to reject
dictatorship and ethnic cleansing. It was a day people insisted to
live and not perish and not cease to exist.
It was a day a determined people repelled the wrong and embraced the
right.
It was a day of triumph and rejoicing but we don’t pay tribute to
the people who realized this and made it what it is now!
It was a day all Somaliland people of all kinds of opinions came
together from all corners of the land determined and decided their
fate, celebrated and debated the next step.
It was a day all the traditional community leaders, Religious
leaders, intellectuals and the victorious but humble SNM came
together, to forgive- and- for got, then established the 2nd
Somaliland Republic by way of a democratic process, by participation
and by consensus. It was the day the independent Somaliland Republic
was declared
It was a day every body embraced every body else at the time. It was
indeed a thanks giving day for Somaliland.
On May 18, 1991, Somaliland has declared its independence as the
Republic of Somaliland in her soil. It was a day under the principle
of self-determination which is prominently embodied in Article I of
the Charter of the United Nations, Somaliland people recalled and
reasserted their self-determination for their independence and did
just that It was a day in which under the rights of
self-determination, and with the accordance of the international law
Somaliland people had unwaveringly determined their fate and their
rights to determine their own destiny and stood up for their rights
and just did that.
It was a day Somaliland people recalled their government of 1960.
In this Remembrance Day we have to remember and recognize those of
us who martyred, who were maimed and those who endured great
suffering on behalf of Somaliland. In that spirit we have to stand
up for Somaliland and stop the bleeding the parasites, betrayers,
the-after- liberation- comers who already damaged the integrity and
the cause of our country, caused.
However peace
Ibrahim Mead
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