Jacaylbaro Posted August 27, 2009 A few days ago a colleague of mine mentioned that he had seen some interesting articles on Somaliland. I was somewhat taken aback because this fellow´s political interest didn´t seem to extend to Somaliland, or even international affairs for that matter. Don´t get me wrong, he is a well-read, intelligent and curious person, but, I had no idea that he had any ideas about the issues of Somaliland. I am aware that he is aware of my deep interest in my country of birth, but his questions on Somaliland were very interesting; allow me to share them with you... "Ahmed, I read this article on Somaliland regarding the upcoming elections there, there appears be some lively political debate, what is going on?" he asked After giving this question much thought, I responded in the following manner… "Dave, glad you asked, also I am quite glad that you have taken an interest in my country of birth, remind to block my pc when I browsing or updating Somaliland websites. Ahem!!" "As you know Dave, or may not know, Somaliland received its independence from Britain after almost a century of colonial rule on June 26th, 1960. After a few heady days of independence in which almost 38 nations, including the USA, UK, USSR, Egypt, recognised Somaliland, our people and their political leaders, driven by the illusive elixir of " pan-Somalism" or the mirage of a "greater Somalia" decided to throw in their lot with Italian Somaliland which recently gained its independence from Italy on July 1st, 1960" "Now remember, Dave, this union was on the spur of the moment, it was not debated or ratified by an act of Parliament, it was purely driven by false nationalism, which in truth was not greatly reciprocated by the Somalis in Italian Somaliland. Nevertheless, off we marched to Mogadishu, wherein, everything was conceded by the officials from Somaliland. It was a lopsided division of power which led to resentment and eventually a catastrophic chain of events, culminating after almost 30 years of neglect and prosecution, in a civil war" I responded. "Not a very good deal then" said Dave. "Not at all, after the heady days of "nationalistic euphoria", Somaliland and its patriots came to the conclusion, that the ill-fated, un-ratified union had been a mistake. On May 18th, 1991 that error was rectified, after much loss of life and bloodshed" I replied. "How so?" asked Dave. "Well, after the overthrow of last Somali dictator in January 1991 by many opposition forces, including from the north and the south. The agreement had been to get together and talk about the future of the union" I stated. "So, what happened?" wondered Dave. "Well, lo and behold some politicians in Mogadishu decided to form a new government without consultation or representation" I replied. "Shafted again!" exclaimed Dave. "Precisely, then at a great forum in Buroa, that is a major town in Somaliland, attended by all the elders, politicians, intellectuals, and people from every social strata and clan fellowship, it was decided that Somaliland will again reclaim its independence of June 26th, 1960, and the un-ratified union of the 1st of July, 1960, with Italian Somaliland is null and void" I responded. "Well, talk about once bitten twice shy, so, I guess it has been plain sailing since" remarked Dave "On the whole yes, that is to say, the last nineteen years have seen remarkable progress in Somaliland through dialogue, discussion and consensus. However, there have also been some periods of trials and tribulations" I replied. "How so?" asked Dave. "Well, not only were the people of Somaliland dealing with after effects of a civil war, the total destruction of infrastructure, refugees, displacements, mass graves, etc, there also the question of constructing a state, disarming the militias, creating a standing army, police force, all the institutions of a viable state, from scratch" I responded. "I suppose Somaliland received help from the international community, I seem to recall President Clinton sending some troops down there" enquired Dave. "No, the troops you are thinking about went to Somalia, and Mogadishu, you know Black Hawk down, no, that wasn´t Somaliland" I clarified. "Really!" said Dave. "Really, in Somaliland, after a few miss-steps, including a needles internal conflict, and also some lingering border issues which will be dealt with through diplomacy and consensus, the people of Somaliland managed to begin the work of building a viable, democratic and progress nation, which included an overwhelming "Yes" on a referendum on the new Somaliland constitution and the reclamation of sovereignty. Which, brings nicely back to the up-coming elections, I think, the fourth or fifth, peaceful elections held in Somaliland. In fact, in the last Presidential elections, the current incumbent won by less than 80 votes" I stated. "Less than 80 votes and nobody made a fuss?" asked Dave. "They did, But, through the courts, not through the use of the gun, you know, like Bush/Gore in 2000" I replied. "No hanging chads then" chuckled Dave. " No, there have been so far, three peaceful and orderly transfer of power in Somaliland, the first President, the late Abdirahman Tuur gave way to his successor, the late Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, who was succeeded on his death by his Vice-President. And all Somalilanders expect, that irrespective of the victor in the up-coming elections, the nation´s democratic path to continue" I responded. "But, what about all these stuff I hear of pirates and so-called terrorist" question Dave. "Well, they are not "so-called terrorist", they are actual terrorist! Who carried out suicide attacks in Hargeisa last year. The Somaliland government and its people have been confronting these elements, successfully, for quite sometime. It is not the nature of the Somaliland society to foster intolerance, in fact, the intolerance of the previous Somali regimes during the ill-fated union, led directly to the civil war and to Somaliland reclaiming its sovereignty. As for the pirates, they operate in the Puntland region of Somalia, which a close neighbour, and once again, Somaliland with its small navy has managed to capture, try and sentence quite a few them" I replied. "Quite interesting, you know, sometimes, miss-representation and lies can often lead to someone getting the wrong end of the stick, So, tell me Ahmed, what is really going in Somaliland now ahead of the elections?" asked Dave. "What is really going in Somaliland are the political manoeuvrings of a democratic nation in the midst of an election campaign; you know, we have a free and vociferous press, a highly politicized population, and an election to hold. Indeed, after the holy month of Ramadan, it all begins again. Which is quite interesting, because, in the article you mentioned Dave, Somaliland is being held to a higher level of scrutiny by the international community, which show the maturity of our democracy and the success of the dialogue, discussion and consensus formula that has made Somaliland, Africa´s best kept secret" I explained. " I did not know that" stated Dave. " Now you know, Dave" I responded "Now you know". Ahmed Kheyre Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Somalia Posted August 27, 2009 Dave or no Dave, a genius like yourself should know that revisionism will not work with Somalis at all. Clearly you need something to do in your obvious excess of leisure time. Try picking the trash on the streets of Hargaysa -- it enriches the soul. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
