SOMALILAND AT THE VORTEX OF
DYSFUNCTIONALISM
The father of unification of Germany, Herr Otto Von Bismark, once
remarked, " A politician thinks about the next election; a statesman
thinks about the next generation." Where does the leadership of
Somaliland fit in that description? Procrastination and
indecisiveness have no place in real politics; therefore, our
government is a miserable failure on both counts. The dichotomy in
the two perspectives or view points is the the element of vision and
that is exactly what our leadership is missing-the vision to lead a
nascent state through turbulent times.
Our president has smeared the credibility of the nation; betrayed
the electorate that voted him into office; and effectively put the
country on the road to damnation. In spite of the widely held
perception that our president had never been receptive to the
sovereignty of Somaliland during the war of liberation and he has
never changed his stand since; the electorate granted HE Ahmed
Mohamed Mohamoud a fresh mandate to lead the nation according to the
Constitution. " I am handing you over a united and a functioning
nation.." Said President Dahir Riyale Kahin to the future president
of Somaliland on the occasion of power transfer! Are we getting more
than we bargained for, or are we in for more surprises!
Under the current situation, the president has either to resign;
face impeachment proceedings; or wait, watch, and wonder, till the
flames of civil war consume Somaliland. I hope, our president will
have the courage to do the right thing. It took us twenty-one years
to raise the phoenix from the ashes of the inferno; are we ready to
raze to the ground one.
In national crisis management, the appointment of ad hoc committees,
is the worst and the most ineffective option to diffuse the
situation. There is no shortage of advisers under the president's
disposal; their sole function is supposedly is to deliberate on
matters of national urgency and provide the appropriate policy
options at short notice. The situation in Taleex and its twin sister
in Awdal have exposed serious flaws in our governments ability to
size up to any national issue-domestic or otherwise. As of today,
the frontiers of Somaliland shrank to Hargeisa, Berbera, and Burao-
The Sunni Triangle of Iraq as per the label of detractors!
The current administration has failed miserably to formulate any
coherent policy towards what is unfolding in Taleex and tomorrow's
President's speech at the joint session is highly unlikely to ease
the public anger let alone come up with a credible plan of action.
At best we can expect an unjustifiable excuse for the postponement
of the municipal and parliamentary elections. Nothing less, nothing
more. Any breach on our sovereignty is a treasonable act according
to our Constitution and other domestic laws; therefore, the
Permanent Committees of the two Houses of parliament should
immediately start the proceedings of impeachment. Our late President
Mr. Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal narrowly escaped a frivolous
impeachment- Coincidentally, our current president was pushing the
parliamentary motion from behind the scenes. The same thing was
applied to President Dahir Riyale Kahin on the pretense of delayed
elections!
The dismantling of Somaliland was a multi-pronged, well orchestrated
campaign. In December, 2009 the first episode take place in
Washington, D.C. in the Office of Honourable, M. Donald Payne, then
the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Sub-Committee on
Foreign Affairs and Africa. In June of that year, the then
government of Somaliland rightfully declined an invitation to
participate a prelude session for Somalia Peace and Reconciliation
forum.
Within a short span of eighteen months, the nation's territorial
integrity has suffered a series of fatal blows. On October 10, 2010
an ONLF terrorist group of 250 well armed men came ashore on the
western sea-board of Somaliland, and made a run for for the
Ethiopian border.
The next stop was Wilton-Park, a three day symposium billed as
SOMALIA: BUILDING PEACE, ACCEPTING REALITY, that last from February
7-9, 2011, and to the surprise of the international community,
Somaliland participated as a regional administration of Somalia!
There, the government of Somaliland deliberately and unequivocally
has renounced the reclamation of its sovereignty as of May 18, 1991.
Once again, Somaliland participated a convention on "Global
Challenge, Regional Responses: Forging A Common Approach to Maritime
Piracy" held in Dubai, UAE 18-19 April, 2011.
There was no civil war or any other crisis in Somaliland at the time
and as far peace building is concerned in Somaliland nor was the
scourge of piracy an issue. Under what conditions are we
participating these conferences? Such national issue require the
consensus of the opposition political parties. A unilateral merry go
round approach is a non starter.
The first phase of Somaliland's peace and reconciliation process
took place at Burao in April-May, 1991; followed by the Borama
Conference February-May 1993; and finalised at the Hargeisa
conference of 1997. That chapter was closed at that point in time.
The second stage was the crystallisatin of the democratic process,
beginning with the Referendum on the Constitution on May 31, 2001.
The United Nations Political Office for Somalia,other United Nations
agencies, and a plethora of international and Local Non-Government
Agencies have high jacked the foreign as well as the domestic
policies. The United Nation's special envoy for Somalia Mr.
Augustine P. Mahiga, within a short time of a year and a half, have
succeeded in parceling Somaliland into Bantustans- the future basic
political units of a federal Somali state based on the United
Nations mission of maintaining the territorial integrity of Somalia
at any price.
Beloved Somalilanders, welcome to civilisation-The Vortex of
dysfunctionalism at its best!
Ahmed Ali
Ibrahim Sabeyse
January 13, 2011 |
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