Puntlanders and Somalilanders: Do you care the casualties of your men and the .......

[Nationalist]

Before you read it, may I add that the comments of certain individuals whom shamelessly attacked me for thinking I'm enjoying the war.

It's a disgrace from those individuals to utter such words and let those dark thoughts reign your mind. I was merely reporting what happenned, since 90% of Somaliaonline topics in the politics forum are about Abdullahi Yusuf's presidency and the Pland-Sland conflict.

Shame on you!

 

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Puntlanders and Somalilanders: Do you care the casualties of your men and the destruction of your meager resources?

 

 

Omar Dhollawaa

Melbourne - Australia

Tuesday, November 02 2004

 

It is unfortunate and shameful for you to enjoy and sometimes feel proud to see the human casualties and the destruction of your meager resources. It is my believe that Puntland and Somaliland should put every efforts to explore some kind of viable initiative to end or at least to rein the border dispute between two States –Puntland and Somaliland.

 

The people of Puntland and Somaliland are neighbors who for a longtime enjoyed a very good relationship in the areas of trade and people to people contact. Now, more than ever before, undoubtedly, it is the interest of all sides to preserve and maintain a peaceful relationship. It is the two administration’s duty to redirect their meager resources to health, education and employment sectors than war efforts. Claiming and counter claiming of your casualties bears no benefit to either side but creating more orphans, widows and the grieving of mothers and fathers.

 

If I may briefly touch the contentious issues between Puntland and Somaliland, the two parts have to rationally reconsider and re-evaluate the following two important matters that are the centre of your problem:

 

First, given the facts that anywhere in Somalia, well before the colonial era, we, the Somalis particularly those in Northern part of Somalia (North West and North East) had known traditional demarcations. Every tribe knew his borders and his grazing territory, where his livestock go for grazing, so that a formal demarcation was there since we started to occupy in this part of the world. Nevertheless, it is a fact, that when the British came here for colonial adventure they made demarcations that fit their geopolitical interest but NOT for the interest of either Harte or Isak - the main inhabitants of this region. Similarly, none of them, the Isak or Harte , had born with the arrival of the British colony. Therefore, the Somalilanders have to recognize their pre-colonial existence, and the facts that they were here with their known territorial borders before the colonial powers. They should not use as a stick yard to measure this matter with the reference of the British’s divide and rule tactics in the Somali’s contemporary political map.

 

Second, both Puntland and Somaliland leaders have to seriously address the behavior of the few but high profile Laasanood politicians and traditional leaders who are criss-crossing the borders between the capitals of the two States. These politicians are sending the wrong signal to all sides, and they have to find their home either in Garowe or Hargeisa not the capital that milk the most. Obviously, this will help to clear the suspicious clouds that hover over the political and social position of the people in question.

 

In relation to the current border accident, as result of the claims and counter claims from both sides, very few of us in the diasporas may know who started the war, but whoever did this was on the wrong and committed crimes against humanity. However, one thing is certain in this war, despite the claims of the Somaliland politicians and news portals, the President of the Somali Federal Interim Government Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was not responsible on this war. Any logic and rational Somali politician knows that this war was Abdullahi’s last wish for many reasons. However, that doesn’t mean the present State government had not provoked or started the war indefinitely. However, on the contrary, Somalilanders may gain more to start the war to attract more attention and try to discredit their traditional foe – but all these remains to be known in the future for us – the diasporas.

 

In conclusion, I would urge all the politicians, on both sides of the border, to be considerate and avoid politicizing the border issue and explore a different ways and means to end their differences. Similarly, I would like to remind the masses on both sides to realize that the politicians will not be the victims of the war but the orphans, widows, the grieving mothers and fathers that the war will produce.

 

Omar Dhollawaa

Melbourne - Australia

dhollawaa@yahoo.com.au

 

Disclaimer: This article is the authors's own responsibility, it does not represent the editorial opinion of Burtinle.com

[Gabbal]

I was merely reporting what happenned, since 90% of Somaliaonline topics in the politics forum are about Abdullahi Yusuf's presidency and the Pland-Sland conflict.

And you wonder why. :rolleyes:

[Coloow]

Assalamu calaykum, I am suspecting that Qaad has played a major role in the esclation of the conflict. No proper muslim would use guns on other muslims, specially during this holly month of Ramadhaan.

 

Those poor "soldiers" have been fed qaad and tribal propaganda. A horrible combination!

 

I think this ****** war and the election of the warlord by the warlords is getting more attention than they deserve.

 

But, it is better to fight/express opinions than fighting with AK47-

 

If only the warlords and the soldiers they hold hostage on the evil missions could log on SOL, there would be less somali deaths.

 

May Allah help somalis become good muslims and free them from tribalism and Qaad.

[Tahliil]

I was once told about an incident that took place in the hieght of the savage wars in the 1990s in the country. A bunch of malitia men, captured a man, an old hunched somali elder, took him to the city square, forced him to kneel down b4 a crowd, and as one of the thugs was gettin ready to blow his head up, another one, a slightly older one caught his gun in his hand and told the young savage to hold for a minute... He walked toward the old man and asked the victim on the leash there, if he wanted Biyo Wayso and wants to say prayers before his 'departure'..The grizly old man said yes, nothing would please him more than to pray b4 he faces his creator...trempling he took wayso and prayed two rak'a...the young monster again grabbed his gun,released the safety button, came up to the old guy and realesed three bullets in the head of the man, the kind of bullets that leaves a glowin trace behind them when they r fired at night time...Then the militia jumped on their wagons, jubilant as ever and left the old man there, his bearded face sunk in the hot desert sand...

 

The by-standers, more than 50 pple, who were watchin the incident as it unfolded right b4 their eyes collected the dead body and burried the guy

 

My point is; Aren't those same ruthless thugs still in power in Somalia, wandering around, searching for victims of the opposite tribe? Don't they have the guns, the ammunations, the reason and the will to kill one many more times? Does it make any difference if it is the holy month of Ramadan,or in the mosque or simpy innocent people got hit, do they care life at all, includin their own cursed lives? I don't know; politics in some countries u can take sides, and support issues and pple but in Somalia, I am lost...Not a single soul, including the one in the suit in Nairobi or the one in the wagon cuttin off heads is clean from innocent blood..and simply i dont want to b part of that.

[Rahima]

^ My God, that is sickening . How could people do that- i know how evil Somalis can be, but at times it slips my mind.

 

May Allah have mercy on us, it is only by the grace of Allah that we still remain.

 

But we shall worry not, Allahs justice is a surety. All of these people will get their dues in the akhira, if not in this world.

[Tahliil]

Sorry, I know it’s been difficult but it amazes me when I c pple throwing their support blindly behind some warlord here and some warlord there... Defending them, protecting their "name", portraying them as heroes, and favoring them in their words and comments...knowing of course in the end that these thugs, war mongers, death dealing, tribe invokers, want nothing less than making the torture of innocent persons 'the law of the land' simply because the innocent ones belong to a different tribe....I don’t know how horrible it can get than that..BTW, the hardest thing a person can confront is reality...