Somalia: Concern over 'Puntland secession' or frustration with 'progress?'

[Mr. Somalia]

SUNDAY EDITORIAL | The 'Puntland secession' argument is the boogeyman expression used by every group who opposes the self-determination of all Somali people – Somalis and foreigners alike.

 

The enduring civil war in Somalia has transformed our beloved homeland into humanity’s victim of sorts, not only limited to one of Africa's worst humanitarian situations, but even in the field of intellectual debate on ways to end the civil war. Now that a small number of political orientations has emerged as the final players, it is to be expected that one adheres to one of these political orientations or becomes a neutral observer and completely avoids controversy. When one is unable to make a distinction in these choices, then one risks being catalogued indefinitely as being intellectually void of political reasoning and, worse, as a heartless heathen intent on the continuation of the civil war for the destruction of Somali society and the profiting of the war industry since 1991.

 

Somalia's political landscape has been disintegrated for two decades and the ultimate challenge is to produce the political settlement that can satisfy enough groups to tip the balance of power in the favor of one side of the increasingly volatile conflict. In the north, two political ideologies are in practice: in northwest Somalia, the separatist republic of Somaliland that unilaterally declared independence in 1991 with no international recognition to date; in the northeast, the self-governing State of Puntland that supports a federal structure for Somalia. In the south-central regions (south of Puntland), a myriad of contradicting and inter-changing political ideologies have emerged to confuse the war-battered public and create a new atmosphere of death and mistrust, further polarizing the conflict and potentially throwing the solution key deeper into the black hole.

 

In this environment, it is unexpected that the intellectual debate is thrown into a finger-pointing cycle of “who said it” when the only real and genuine question at hand is how to end the suffering of the Somali people? For love or hate, Puntland represents one of the possible solution scenarios for Somalia if the international community is sincerely committed to creating the paradigm of a trustworthy and working partner who assures domestic stability, in large part due to legitimacy among the public. The insurgents waging war in south-central Somalia came into existence, in part, by taking advantage of public sentiment that was largely against the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which many Somalis saw as a tool of foreign powers playing geopolitical games on the war-torn Horn of Africa country. Now, there is the general public sense that the tide is turning against the hardliners, giving Somalia a new opportunity to seize the moment and displace bands of young Somali men whose ability to enjoy the age 20s like an ordinary person was unfortunately shattered by the enduring civil war years. These young men need an education, earn a legitimate income, become a father – but, most immediately, the fast majority of the young insurgents seek a political settlement to end the military stalemate and new opportunities to a pursue a fresh path in life.

 

The federalism debate in Somalia is certainly not taking on a fresh path. The old deacons who repeatedly spoke of "canonization" or "Balkanization" of Somalia are still singing the same tunes. The separatists say Puntland is a "copy" of Somaliland. The anarchists oppose federalism because they oppose peace and development altogether. The insurgents say they want Islam – but the bloodletting continues. The pirates…well, the pirates don't care for federalism but they want money – and the world feeds them.

 

And in Puntland, the people continue on their day to day affairs. On August 1, 2009, to mark Puntland's 11th year anniversary, the soldiers, the women and youth groups, the singers, and the athletes, paraded in open celebration in front of the State's leadership as a clear testament to the legitimacy Puntland's successive governments and leadership enjoy in the land. Many people have died to secure Puntland's relative peace and neither militant threats nor misleading propaganda can bring down the Puntland society's hard-own peace and stability.

 

The 'Puntland secession' argument is the boogeyman expression used by every group who opposes the self-determination of all Somali people – Somalis and foreigners alike. It is no time for that debate when the insurgents are vowing renewed conflict during Islam's Holy Month of Ramadan. But, many suspect, the war industry that has developed around Somalia's misery over the past two decades, with its entrenched intellectual, financial, economic, food and medical components, is inherently unhappy with peaceful and progressive developments from Somalia as this represents a risk to 'valuable assets.' Remember the rumors about 'frustration' in some (foreign) corners when Somaliland's armed takeover of Las Anod in late 2007 did not spark all-out war between Somaliland and Puntland?

 

Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonli ne.com