"Certainly my conscience will serve me to run from this Jew my master. The fiend is at mine elbow and tempts me saying to me ‘Gobbo, Launcelot Gobbo, good Launcelot’, or ‘good Gobbo’, or ‘good Launcelot Gobbo, use your legs, take the start, run away’. My conscience says ‘No; take heed, honest Launcelot; take heed, honest Gobbo', or, as aforesaid, ‘honest Launcelot Gobbo; do not run; scorn running with thy heels’." These are the words of Launcelot Gobbo, the comic servant of a wealthy, usurious Jew, Shylock, in Sheakpeare’s 'The Merchant of Venice'. It captures the fascinating clash between submission and revolt inside the divided mind of the subjugated. It shows the paradox that faces those under oppression. It solves the enigma of a horse that even after being freed from a tether still continues to go round the tree it was tied to, dutifully conforming the limits of habitual captivity. The horse fears the whip, which is the real danger for it; the incarceration to which it has grown so inured is not the danger. Tether long cut, the horse will not spurt to freedom. It waits to be whipped hard to run away from this bondage; it craves after the rider’s kind but enchaining stroke on its crest. A stroke that lulls its mane but so fatal to its inner sense of freedom! The political import and connotation of the above character’s word is that the urge for human sovereignty or the urge against slavery is presented as devilish, while the acceptance and kowtowing to tyranny is presented as divine. If there is anything the ONLF got it right it is to refuse the soothing stroke, and not to take the urge for human freedom as devilish. The ONLF stolidly and defantly refused to gleefully take whatever the TPLF gives. It refused to accept colonialsm, and we are ever grateful for that heroism. But, that is the only thing it got right. Everything else is a mess, a massive confusion. And it starts with its name. Who does the ONLF want to liberate? The Oga.den clan or the whole of the people in Somaligalbeed? The Answer from the leadership is always straightforward. “We are fighting for the rights of all Somali people in Oga.denia’? The sad thing is this tautological answer doesn’t answer the question, but rather leads to another question: “Where is Oga.denia? Does it include Jigjiga, Shinile, the tiny Araarso village between Daghabur and Jigjiga, Jinacsani, Awbare, Yamaarugleey, Lasoole, Ferfer, Filtu, Xarshin, Gora-baqaqsa (to name few)?” If yes, who says so? The ONLF?! The people in these areas don’t agree, so how can the ONLF represent them when they are not represented in the ONLF, when they don’t share its objectives and its name? This problem is the result of an inherent contradiction in what ONLF says it wants and what it actually wants. The aim of the ONLF is to create a homeland for the Oga.den clan. It is the same aim the SNM had in mind when it fought Siyaad. But the problem Awdal and SSC caused SNM also awaits (or rather is facing) ONLF: The land it wants carries more than the clan it fights for. Solving this problem can be attained by either pretending all the rest of the people in the region agree with it or by forcefully occupying them and imposing the coveted name ‘Oga.den ia’. For now, the ONLF is following the first strategy, often making statements on behalf of regions it doesn’t represent, and fronting few men who are from other clans as an alibi of the inclusive nature of the liberation struggle. If it wins the war, this charade will not work and the second strategy doesn’t seem as one it can implement with any degree of success. A clan cannot win and control another clan, no matter what names it uses: Somaliland, ONLF etc. Through the pseudo-labels, people can see the real names. This contradiction is hampering the struggle, it is weakening it. And ceaseless lobbying within the ONLF for a change of name, strategy is becoming futile. There soon may be a peace talk between the ONLF and Ethiopia. The South Sudan framework is the benchmark for the ONLF, and we can be certain the surrender packaged as peace deal by greedy mullahs some months ago will not be repeated. We have identified key issues for the negotiation and divided it into those that can be used as ‘bargain tools’ and those that are the ‘red lines’. A strong and skilled negotiation team will have to be formed. All depends on how the ongoing third-party dealings go. The bottom-line is a workable compromise which can even take the form of a ‘phased approach’ to the self-determination issue can be accepted. The framework needs to be that of the South Sudan, the timelines and outcomes not necessarily the same. But, any deal will have to show that the self-determination issue (a referendum basically) is pending. There has to be international guarantors of this agreement. The more I think about this issue, the more I feel like on whose behalf will the ONLF be negotiating? On behalf of the Oga.den clan or the whole Somaligalbeed people? If on behalf of the somaligalbeed people, where are the others? The ONLF leadership must reconcile its stated goals with its unwritten clan agenda. This is not difficult to do. Change the name (take the default one which is Somaligalbeed), involve other ant-colonialist Somali personalities, and reflect clan balance in the leadership of the organization. Or if this is too diluting the real hidden cause, then come up with a different map (showing the areas the clan to be freed lives) and stick to the name. These are the two choices. There cannot be a third-way.

Maxamuud waa nin magacloo Maandooriye ma quuto Ma mirqaamo abidoo Ma riyaha la maalee Muska fuula baan ahayn Ayuu hadal ku moosaa Mana cabo sigaarkoo Ma ihi matoor shidan yuu meelkastaba la joogaa Ma sharaabo khamridoo Ma dhul ooman baan ahay Maxaa igu watuu odhan Mid kaluu se leeyahay Maalin walba waa caruus uun Ma ogola minxiisnimo By: Abtigiis

Jacaylbaro, gabayada or in this case buraanburka waxaa noo qaabilsan Xinnfanin. Isagiina ilaa doraad niman saaxibadii ah ooy wada shaqeeyaan ayuu Merry Christmas' ta hayaa oo sidaasu ku mashquulay. I have always thought Burahaadeer is a reasonable person one can debate with. Ileen ninku waa CALAN CAS rasmi ah!

EVERYBODY knows my love and admiration for the SSC people. Ask Osman Hassan'sof NSUM. Ask Malika. Ask Val. Ask Abdikhadar. If I redicule the marathon meetings, it is because I want it to end and come up with some resolutions that can help the Somalia cause (as a unionist).

The end of khaatumo 2 will lead to the start of Khaatumo 3. War nimanku shirar dhaadheera! Rer-Shir-Dheere! Meesha ma arimo siyaasadeed unbaa intaa laga wada hadlayaa mise underground nuclear facility ayaa lagu sameeynaya?

Abtigiis is unlikely to be deterred by this Alalaas from JB and hardcore chauvinist SNMites like Burahaadeer. To condemn the secession drive is not to hate the Somaliland people. To hate the SNM now is not to disagree with its struggle when it was fighting a just war. These distinctions are lost to the chauvinists. Burahaadeer is chef de band of this core clan chauvinists who peddle the lie that the whole of SSC, Awdal, Makhiir and Salal account for less than 20% of the population in British Somaliland. How can one reasonably debate with such people?

The language he is talking has all the hallmarks of the SNM talk. It has clan, it has conspiracy theory, it has vitriol, it has block.

We aleady notice the clear schism between the chavunist elements of Somaliland (represented by Burahaadeer, Abokor, Suldaanka etc) and the moderate elements led by Norf and Carafaat. It isn't a coincidence that the moderates are closer to home by geography of where they live than the chauvinists sitting in Oceania and US. The moderates are more connected to the goings at home, as they are nearer to it. Burahaadeer, this is a tale of two secessions: Somaligalbeed and Somaliland. One secession is for freedom, fighting colonialism, domination, oppression. The other is about hegemony, clan narcissism, and division. The SNM struggled was about freedom and ending oppression in the 1980s. That phase has passed.

The political thinking and strategy for secession of the SNM is best illustrated by the positions repeatedly articulated by arguably the most hawkish members of this clan cult, men like Ace of Spadez, Burhaadeer and Suldaanka. First, Awdal, SSC, Salal (who Burhaadeer says are the fraction that doesn’t matter – he said they are about 20% of the population in Somaliland altogether) will be included in the pursuit of recognition, fronting pretenders like Rayaale as the face of an all-inclusive Somaliland. If and when the ‘fractions’ look over the border and declare allegiance to Somalia, then the SNM will implement plan B – which is the original plan of carving out a clan state for a particular clan. The conviction to install an ‘Afro-Hashimite’ State is resolute, almost a canonical duty. This clearly shows that this project is about disregarding the will of other clans in Somaliland. Their will can be accommodated only if it is obedient to the SNM agenda. This is fascism. The strategy I presented has nothing to do with Siyaad’s methods. It doesn’t involve bombing Hargeisa, pillaging Burco. It is not about arresting SNM elites and supporters, nor about waging war on its territories. As such, it denies the SNM of a vital rallying cause along which it can assemble an alarmed clan. In fact, the strategy will precipitate divisions among the SNM. No sane person expects Colonel Mohamed Kaahin and Muse Biixi, or Darawal or Saleebaan Gaal to embrace the new political dispensation. These are the relics of a frenzied wartime mindset. They will whip up sectarian and clanist vitriol and will try to re-implant bad memories of war and distruction into the minds of the general population. But there will always be progressive thinkers among the recalcitrant clan, who will see the new dawn of mutual cooperation and growth with Somalia. Who will understand a clan can never be a state, particularly when it is not immune to ‘maryo-alool’ type intra-clan feuds. The message of war will fight with the message of peace, and peaceful words will triumph over war drums. That Suldaanka and Burhaadeer could only talk about the future of Somaliland in the past tense (in the memories of war, destruction, and suspicions about an occupying clan/s) shows that they are detached from the real rapproachments on the ground. People are trading, marrying from each other, and finding that like all wars, the 1980s war has ended. Diaspora SNM’ites who has lived all the last two decades hosting sectarian parties, clan forums, will be deprived of a vital source of livelihood. Suldaanka and Burhadeer should look for new opportunities and source of incomes before it is too late. The proliferation of ‘Jaaliyado of hate’ is the thing of the past. With a resurgent Somalia, proper embassies that espouse national agenda will take the helm. P.S. Jacaylbaro - when you quote what I write in other threads, please don't take half statements.

Welcome Mohamed Faroole, the new Foriegn Minister of Somalia then. I retract my earlier optimism about Somalia coming back if this has any truth in it. Yes to Abdiweli, no to senile old man who will appoint half of the cabinet from his kids.

Xaaji Xunjuf;767342 wrote: Every one in Somalia wants to create a clan state for his tribal homeland and they know where they can find new political support and a platform.Tribal Chiefs from Bosaaso are already running towards hargeysa can you imagine if Somaliland puts in some effort. Faroole's (Firdhiye) politics gave brith to the Bossaaso elders seeking support from Hargeisa. When Mogadishu stands, it offers a more hospitable sanctury to them. They can get reprieve from Firdhiye's taunts, and they could live their somalinimo dream. A double gain. All any disgruntled somali politician has to do will be to denounce regional leaders he doesn't like and go to Mogadishu and embrace the broader animal.

Che, of course somalia has to stand up first for somaliland to sit down! SSC, Awdal, Salal and the sizeable Gab.oo.ye community will flock to Mogadishu in no time, and that will make the SNM nude. The affirmative action kicks in at that stage so that they don't come in just out of desperation and lack of any alternative. It is a way of giving them an honourable entry strategy. Also to kill any ill-feeling and resentment.

Right Honourable Stoic, Do you know the level of unemployment, destitution, tahriib-bound youth, and food insecurity in Somaliland? When was the last time you visted this land? Do you take visting landers like Alpha and Ibtisam's cozy sojourn in Ambassador and Mansoor Hotels as representative of life in Somaliland? Don't you think a diplomatic isolation will force the youth to flock to Mogadishu to get new passports? Don't you think the businessmen will want to do something more than 'air-to-air' contraband trade from Arabia? What does the land of Somaliland produce? Nothing. Tomatoes go from Jigjiga!

Saalax;767323 wrote: If Somalia provides direct support for anti Somaliland groups Somaliland can do the same and provide support for unruly anti Somalia groups within Somalia to destroy it within. Two can play the game. In truth, It can't! It hasn't been able to do this when South Somalia was in paralysis. It can urge Godane and Aghani to elevate the level of terror, but that will be sucidal. It will weaken somaliland in the international arena (whose endorsement they covete). There are no other groups they can influence in the South. Che, affirmative action is a must in the initial phase at least.

Good news is coming from the South. The trial period will soon be over, to give way to a sedentary government, at least for four years. It is optimistic to celebrate, but the battle of assembling the missing blocks in the indecipherable Soduku of Statehood in Somalia is about to be won. The Eureka moment is near, best epitomized by Firdhiye’s (Faroole) espousal of broad nationalist vision, over and above denominational tomfooleries. But any impending victory is partial. Any fiesta of triumph is hasty. For half of the state we seek to rebuild is missing, sulking in the North. The victory of getting the south work again is not a full conquest; it is ammunition to get ready for the final battle. But the question remains how do we reclaim and bring Somaliland back to the Somalia fold? Here, I offer some ideas. Anyone who thinks the aspersions I heap on the secessionists is counter-productive, and will only force them to get entrenched in their extremist pursuit of clan statehood, is either too young or too disconnected from the reality in the ground. For a broken hymen of a widower cannot be shattered anew, no matter hard a lustful lover pushes. The secessionists have already gone far, and belligerent or beseeching words are not going to change anything. The game-changer is not appeal to their conscience, to obsolete Somalinimo brotherhood, or assurances of mutual progress this time around. Nor is it fretful salvos and lamentations against them. The Somaliland project has the appeal of delivering goodies to those who espouse it. Contrary to how it started, it is no more about ending oppression and fighting marginalization. It is about hegemony, economic rents, diplomatic tourism, ministerial portfolios, and easy white-collar jobs. Unthinking clan urchins fed this nirvana of abundance for two decades are unlikely to look for a re-union that has the potential to stifle this dream through forbidding reality. Reality, which is not about economic depression to be experienced, absent jobs, or arrested social and democratic development. These are guaranteed through the vast markets and opportunities the south offers. But the fake ‘Ambassadors’ of ‘Somaliland’, “foreign Ministers”, “Representatives” will reduce. Some will still be Ambassadors, Ministers and commissioners, but as part of the political elite and civil service of Somalia. To make the dreamers regain sense, a series of political and diplomatic maneuvers will have to be taken by a resurgent Somalia. Politically, (1) support the unionists in Somaliland (Awdal, SSC, Salal). (2) Provide strong financial and political muscle to the unionists from the recalcitrant clan, and enable these politicians to appeal to their fellow clansmen. There is no shortage of these genuine Somali unionists. (3) Institute an employment programme that will give priority to the youth and intellectuals from Somaliland, in the Somalia state Ministries and Agencies (including diplomatic missions). (4) Provide lucrative franchises and monopolies for big businessmen from Somaliland in South Somalia. (5) Embark on a diplomatic offensive and ensure all States do not entertain any travel documents other than those issues by the Foreign Ministry and Immigration authorities in Somalia. (6) mount a coherent propaganda campaign that emphasize the benefits of unity and disseminate it through popular Somali and foreign media (7) Use religious leaders to also spread the message through sermons in Mosques and the media (8) Create Somali artists and musicians forum and provide adequate funding to them: this should be led by artists from Somaliland as much as possible (9) give scholarships and educational opportunities to students from Somaliland ( disproportionately) to expel any fears about marginalization (10) include in the national plan and give priority to big projects in Somaliland, such as, upgrading of Egal international airport, Berbera port, new Universities, etc These actions will not change every poisoned mind, but the incurable minds will be pushed to the margins of the society. A shrinking euphoria about impending clan statehood will make the sensible to embrace unity and benefit from it. But there will always be a venomous minority who keep on talking vitriol and will try to stop the winds of change. These will be the Ku Klux Klan the SNM experiment would have yielded. They will be dealt with by the law and courts and will be finally cleansed.

Haweenku way ilmaynayaa madaxda qaarkeed indhahooda waxaa laga dareemayaa qiiro Soomaalinimo. There has never been a deficit of QIIRO in Somalia. Nonetheless, seems a good deal. Four years is good time to come up with new census and then base representation on districts and along party lines. This is a historic development. trying to reject the useless 4.5 system right away would have precipitated wrangling and would have jeopardised the roadmap. Give credit where it is due, Faroole (more recently re-baptised as Firdhiye among puntlanders) played well here. We bless you dear uncle for this!

Infact, I meant those two would be districts. UNDP figures show about 94,000 for Mudug (urban) and 50,000 (for Nugaal). Small other villages are included as urban in this calculation. Anyway, the real issue is that in the absence of any agreed-upon criteria (also absence of proper census), it is not possible to talk about districts in Somalia without opening new arguments and infighting among clans.

General Duke;767222 wrote: 4.5 is outdated and hated by everyone. So let's get deputies from every district and regions of the 18 regions of Somalia. Mogadishu alone has 16 districts. And MPs would represent districts and not clans: Let's see how this plays out. 18 regions? That is outdated and most somalis believe those regions were formed for the hegemony of a certain clan during the siyaad days. Districts mean clans in somalia, so the clan issue will not die because we are calling it districts now. Also, it will fuel a drive to have new districts everywhere, as demographic changes in the last 20 years mean there must be new ones. That is if the formula for designating an area a district is based on a cut-off number of population. If a district is anywhere with a population size of 50,000 for instance, Garowe and Galkacyo will BE districts.

which 'history' is this fake Dr. talking about? For the secessionists, killing history is not an accident; it is a goal. A goal they have already achieved judging by the warped narrations of brain-washed kids like Abokor Omar (here in SOL).

wayna kaa hadaba! Pirates as spoilers, as usual. Their rejection of the 4.5 is not to benefit the 0.5 clan. It is to usurp disproportinate political representation. The 4.5 is not good but to amend it is not to open a pandora's box with this lame 'districts' business but to elevate it to 5 and allowing the minorities togather as one unit. There is hardly any other formula that will pass without bringing issues far harder to solve than the ones the 4.5 has resulted in.

My knowledge of the religious books is, admittedly, suspect. By choice! I am very much an earthly man, through and through. My knowledge is suspect not from not learning the texts, but from not pursuing what I learned. But that doesn’t mean I can’t tell when all kinds of tales are smuggled into the celestial books and is presented as xadith’s and even as verses in rare cases. I have the feeling some sheikhs are borrowing stories told by various story-tellers across the world and are presenting as ‘Qisooyin’ captured in the holy syllabus. Some of these ‘Qisooyin’ are very identical to those told through La fontaine's lucidly conversing animals, and even Mullah Nasruddin of the East Asia . For instance, a mullah was narrating a fascinating story of a woman who after suffering all indignities and betrayal finally ends up becoming a queen of some land, on Universal TV. On the day of her coronation, all of her past abusers and supporters attend to hear her verdict on them. No one died, no one travelled. They all mysteriously were present. The moral import of the story was that to requite bad deeds with good ones is always going to be rewarding. Not a bad message. But what is divine about it? Why is it different than all the ethics we are thought in schools and at home? The story was engrossing, one with assured good ending for the protagonist woman, like an Indian movie. But all along the sheikh did not mention the setting: where, when and who told it. Hence, raising my suspicions. This isn’t the only one I heard. I feel mullahs are getting imaginative in an effort to attract audiences. Perhaps they feel the enchanting Qisooyin of prophet Yusuf and Nuh are getting bit monotonous and want to vet the appetite of the faithful with expedient nifty epilogues. Before you call for my lynching for blasphemy, please be attentive to some of these types of tales which are increasingly becoming ubiquitous. Tell us if you have heard some that sounded unusually fresh.

Much more constraining to human liberty than concrete yokes and chains is a virtuous acceptance of evil ideas as fountains of deliverance. The slave thinks obedience will ease his life. The unruly teenager thinks fleeing to the open streets will emancipate him from parental repression. SNM continues to dogmatically embrace secession as the solution to all of its predicaments. It has been carrying this false pregnancy of ‘recognition’ for over two decades. The balloon of grandiloquent opportunities, from a clan for so long mugged, for so long thirsty for recognition, has been swelling and rising. And in this mass drunkenness, the whole clan is on an enchanted island. No one is reflecting, all are punch-drunk by apparitions of luminous abundance. Their brains have gone to sleep, which is why the deflecting baloney of bona fide fraudsters like Faysal Cali Waraabe is taken seriously. If they were not in this state of vertigo, they would have known that there are categories of humans whose utterances, no matter how somber, should always be twisted to firm sardonic humour, all in order to defeat any weightiness in their words. In this sorry state of vertigo, Somaliland has become an oasis of plenty. In this massive seizure of vain clan delight, they have overlooked that it is the stranger — not the duped they — who knows what is in their bedroom. It is us- Abtigiis et al – who know the reality beneath this mounting helium of sporadic farts of a poor nomadic contingent, transported into a castle by a sweet dream of the SNM! Inevitably, the curtain will be lifted for the dazed mass and the present ecstasy of this never-never land of dreams and illusory abundance will stand face to face with punishing reality. The masses will know that what they mistook as a genuine fetus of recognition in the stomach of SNM was, all along, nothing more than a bump of hate. That it was a self-imposed loneliness, onomatopoetically captured by its Somali meaning – Gooni-isu-taag, itself a semantic symbol of solitude. We all know the most vociferous contingent for the secession is a section of the diaspora who are effectively seeking for a backdoor affirmative action, convinced they cannot compete with their skills in a unified Somalia. These mists who fear competition are currently working in quarters where the white men confine their infirm and delirious lunatics. They are what Mugabe rather cheekily referred to as the BBC (British Butt Cleaners). Together with the taxi industry, these men seek high offices and portfolios and think the only way that is assured is by curving out clan niche states, where they will be shielded from the demands of merit. The secession drive is a sort of skill protectionism. I don't understand why a man of proven intellect like Ngonge would fail to notice this fact. He is a global man, he should look at those who are shouting for secession in the TVs and Radios! They don't include men like Mohamed A. Omar and people of big books. They include people of big Bakoorado and Berkado. For sure, a drowning man has no time for the striking lily. The SNM is oblivious to their impending doom, which is the rebirth of Somalia. Abtigiis is still standing, completely unmoved by the bee-like clan vuvuzelas and witch-hunting of the secessionists. Their wailings are all din for no sin committed. The requiem of the unionists is very far, it’s sad last faataxo hardly composed. That means we continue — me, Osman Kaluun, Xinnfanin etc — cloned by truths, facts and the love of Somaliweyn. Having failed to get any wings for two decades, the SNM is a tortoise. A tortoise cannot shit on an eagle in full flight in the skies, and Somalia is about to fly, having regained some of the feathers it lost. The auguries are not good for secessionists.

It is an exaggeration. They are not worse than the NAZI, nor have they done anything compareable to what the German national socialists did to humanity. Their political philosophy is however based on similar beliefs. Both believe their race (in our case clan) is chosen. Both dehumanize those who oppose their political thinking.

Dearest Cambaro, He who brings an ant-infested log into his fireplace must not be surprised when lizards visit his bedroom. The SNM should stop giving us fodder to talk about it.

abokor omar;766988 wrote: i swear this guy is drunk.. Period :D :D :D Does Ngonge second this? let us see. He is the only SOLer who I talk to.