The Massacre in Lascanod

[A_Khadar]

The massacre that Somaliland's occupation forces committed in Lascanod on Sunday 21 January 2012, in which a number of people were cold-bloodedly killed and many fatally wounded, may be the first of its kind. But it is only part of the wider crimes against humanity which the one-clan secessionist enclave calling itself "Somaliland" had adopted as their instruments of occupation and suppression since they occupied the capital city and other parts of the Khaatumo State of Somalia (formerly SSC) in October 2007.

 

Outsiders may only be aware of some headline-catching instances of the odious nature of this occupation. Just to mention some, memories are still fresh of what they did at Kalshaale in Feburary 2011 when their tanks chased and deliberately run over scores of SSC nomads in the area; or at Widhwidh when elders were rounded up and gunned down on the spot; or at Bali Hadhac when people sitting around an open air tea shop were over run by an armoured truck, killing several of them, including one pregnant woman; or their night assault on Buuhoodle town last week when their attacking militia opened fire indiscriminately on the sleeping residents, killing a number of them and wounding many others, not to speak of the considerable damage to properties.

 

Much as these specific cases may generate greater shock, yet they are part of unpublicised daily violations of the human rights of the residents of the capital, including extra-judicial killings, rape, indiscriminate detentions without trial, kidnappings, curfews, intimidations, humiliations, the closure of schools and businesses etc. And it is through these egregious actions that the occupying authority use as part of their ethnic cleansing policy in order to force the local SSC population to flee from the city. Most of the displaced have found their way to the Somali refugee camps in Kenya.

 

These widespread, systematic and inhumane practices by the secessionists against the people of the partially occupied Khaatimo State amount to crimes against humanity as enunciated in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Those in Somaliland who are associated with these practices, whether as leaders or perpetrators, are liable to be indicted at the ICC. If in the past the SSC people had been always on the receiving end, voiceless, powerless and helpless, this time they have their Khaatimo State of Somalia and their own regional government that would henceforth not only defend them physically but will also pursue justice against those in Somaliland who had committed crimes against their human rights.

 

Somaliland's make-belief that the Khaatimo State and clan regions in the north are their patrimony bequeathed to them by the former colonial power, or that the people in these regions are disposable at the behest of the ruling clan are part of the prevailing conventional wisdom in the enclave. No one articulates this chauvinistic ideology better than Abdi Waraabe, better known as Abdi the Hyena. He called the other day for the removal of the SSC people en masse from their regions unless they succumb to Hargeisa's dictate. As the most senior citizen in the area and a member of their Parliament, he was simply echoing what their political, religious, traditional and the masses espouse and have been saying so ad nauseam.

 

Coming back to the massacre at Lascanod on Sunday, this is the first time when the occupying Somaliland authority of Sool called for their army to shoot on sight kids and women demonstrators whose only crime was to oppose the occupation, wave the national flag of Somalia and shout slogans in support of Somalia and the establishment of the Khaatimo State of Somalia. Putting this heinous crime in its right perspective, one has to remember that the British colonial authority has never committed anything of this sort for all their 80 plus years rule of their former colony.

 

Rather, this cowardly and unspeakable act of firing at peaceful and defenceless demonstrators is normally associated with fascist authorities or criminal outlaws. In particular, it has similarity with the infamous action of the government of South Africa during the Apartheid era when their police opened fire in March 1960 on unarmed black African demonstrators, killing many of them, in what has come to be known as the Sharpeville Massacre. This time, the Lascanod Massacre of women and kids was committed by no other than people we look upon as our own "brothers" in the secessionist enclave. Unfortunately, these are people for whom any association with Somalia or other Somalis is an anathema. Such relentless inhumane actions on the occupied from the SSC regions will only widen the unbridgeable gulf between the communities and make the emergence of a united people under a country by the name of Somaliland well neigh impossible.

 

With the establishments of Awdal State, Makhir State and finally the Khaatimo State of Somalia, Somaliland is in a state of delirium and desperation as all the other clans it occupied as hostages to facilitate its recognition are slipping away one by one from its control and as it comes face to face with the demise of its phantom state. Desperate people invariably embark on desperate, destructive and self-defeating actions. This is how one should see their actions on the ground and their recent call to their people to bear arms, young and old, and fight the SSC people in order to nip the nascent Khaatimo State of Somalia in the bud.

 

In contrast with the hostile and blood-curdling threats from Somaliland, the SSC people at their conference at Taleex, exercising their inalienable right to self-determination to establish their own State of Somalia, had affirmed their irreversible membership of Somalia, the supremacy of the central government of Somalia, under which the State comes, and their wish to live in peace with all their neighbours. While all other Somali clans and regions have supported the Khaatimo conference at Taleex, and welcomed the new Khaatimo State of Somalia, the exception has been the one-clan secessionist enclave. Their response is to call for an all-out attack on SSC people. When this threat is against regions and its people whom the international community consider as part and parcel of Somalia, the secessionists' mindset is a throwback to the by-gone age of colonial gunboat dictations to the "natives".

 

Needless to say, the people of Khaatimo State of Somalia will defend their inalienable rights to run their own affairs through their own freely chosen regional institutions and liberate their occupied regions preferably by peaceful means but, failing that, by other means compatible with international and national laws. But at all times, they will defend their people and territory from all possible aggressions from the secessionists. The onus is therefore on them for plunging the region into a new conflagration that could draw other regions and clans.

 

Hitherto, the international community, seeing the SSC people voiceless, occupied and subject of gratuitous dispute between Somaliland and Puntland chose to close their eyes and minds to the crimes Somaliland was committing in the SSC Now that the latter has their own State, on par with Somaliland and Puntland, the international community should no longer sit on the fence or look the other way.

 

If peace is to be maintained, it behoves the international community, above all Great Britain and the USA, to use their considerable leverage over the enclave and persuade them that they consider the Khaatimo State as part of Somalia and as such Somaliland has no right to claim it let alone occupy it. For his part, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (SRSG)bears part of the secessions' self-delusion when he recently told them for his own reasons that they deserve recognition as a country based on the borders of the former British colony. This amounts to giving away part of Somalia, but also the Khaatimo State on a plate. The least the SRSG can do for the sake of peace is to hitherto confine himself faithfully to his mandate which clearly requires him to defend Somalia's unity and territorial integrity and not ingratiate himself with the secessionists.

 

Osman Hassan

Chairperson

Foreign Relations Commission

Khaatimo State of Somalia

email: osman.hassan2 @gmail.com

[NGONGE]

Stuff and nonsense. Osman Hassan is a sensationalist demagogue, ya Khadar. What constitutes a massacare may I ask?

 

p.s.

Maxaad la baxsatay warya? I replied to you in that SS thread.

[xiinfaniin]

Right on ya Ikhwanna Min Wilayatel Khaatimah

[AsadSL]

These people and thier propaganda..

[A_Khadar]

^^ Waryaa ma baxsan but may day just started again.. It may be a bit of exaggeration to say what happened in LA and entire SSC regions commited by your militia is an actually and complete massacre yet, but accumulating the daily atrocities, killings, displacing people, looting, economic hardship, occupying cities, current militia build up in and around Buuhoodle which could explode any given hour, stopping nomads from accessing their water wells, all these and many other violations can lead to the direction of massacre or clan cleansing.. Are you denying all these? Are you supporting what your clan militia is doing Buhodle, Lasanod and Cerigabo against Khatumo communties? If you are not, why don't you ever denounce them.. Silence is an agreements..

 

Hope you watched the wounds in LA hospital and the merciless of your militia and I only hope you are not happy with that like JB..

[xiinfaniin]

AKhadar,

 

NGONGE is a man with a good heart, and he can never be happy with the killings in SSC area. His problem is that he is timid in nature and lacks courage to take a hard stance on not only the clan atrocities happening in LA, but in general on the overall madness of the secessionist project.

[NGONGE]

A_Khadar;779494 wrote:

^^ Waryaa ma baxsan but may day just started again.. It may be a bit of exaggeration to say what happened in LA and entire SSC regions commited by your militia is an actually and complete massacre yet, but accumulating the daily atrocities, killings, displacing people, looting, economic hardship, occupying cities, current militia build up in and around Buuhoodle which could explode any given hour, stopping nomads from accessing their water wells, all these and many other violations can lead to the direction of massacre or clan cleansing.. Are you denying all these? Are you supporting what your clan militia is doing Buhodle, Lasanod and Cerigabo against Khatumo communties? If you are not, why don't you ever denounce them.. Silence is an agreements..

 

Hope you watched the wounds in LA hospital and the merciless of your militia and I only hope you are not happy with that like JB..

Because you are not telling the truth, ya Khadar. When killings take place you complain of 'clannish cleansing' but when SL soldiers defect to Khaatumo, you sit back and talk about welcoming your cousins home. When you tell the truth and say that it's your kin who are taking part in most of these killings.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ngongne walaalkeen A khadar hadhow wuxu ku odhan kuwa wax laayaa eeh dadka dhiba wa ngogne iyo jb reerkooda kuwa isi soo dhiiba eeh nadiifta ah wa reerkayaga oo waanu jecelnahay oo hadh iyo habeen wanu u mushaxaradna

 

Hada wuxu iyagu isku jira bu odhanaya waa qabil oo qaranki bu dafiraya:D

[Taleexi]

May be the massacre thing is taken out of proportion - nevertheless, human tragedy which most of the secessionist lot rejoice. If what the leaders of the enclave, most intellectuals, and most religious men are saying is taking into account they are all promoting ethnic cleansing and that is the sad part.

 

The whole "SL" project is taking out of proportion indeed.

[AsadSL]

xiinfaniin;779496 wrote:

AKhadar,

 

NGONGE is a man with a good heart, and he can never be happy with the killings in SSC area. His problem is that he is timid in nature and lacks courage to take a hard stance on not only the clan atrocities happening in LA, but in general on the overall madness of the secessionist project.

They are double standard don't pay attention to thier propaganda. I don't support the killging of any humen being but massacre? GET THE FOK OUTTA HERE.

[A_Khadar]

NGONGE;779503 wrote:

Because you are not telling the truth, ya Khadar. When killings take place you complain of 'clannish cleansing' but when SL soldiers defect to Khaatumo, you sit back and talk about welcoming your cousins home. When you tell the truth and say that it's your kin who are taking part in most of these killings.

Now your true color is out just like your cousins JB, XX and Oodweyne and the rest.:mad:

 

My cousins hired by somaliland are not there to kill their own women and children but when they see what your militia is doing, they defected. Of course when they defect and realize what s/l's mere agenda is all about (clan cleasing), I welcome them. Those killing people indiscriminately are your militia from Burco and beyond. That is the truth but keep on denying.

[Carafaat]

A_Khadar;779520 wrote:

Now your true color is out just like your cousins JB, XX and Oodweyne and the rest.:mad:

 

My cousins hired by somaliland are not there to kill their own women and children but when they see what your militia is doing, they defected. Of course when they defect and realize what s/l's mere agenda is all about (clan cleasing), I welcome them. Those killing people indiscriminately are your militia from Burco and beyond. That is the truth but keep on denying.

Can you tell us the number of casualties, name, locations and sub_clans of the victims and of names, ranks and sub_clans of the perpetrouters?

[Taleexi]

Carafaat: You are just asking too much.

[Carafaat]

Taleexi;779513 wrote:

May be the massacre thing is taken out of proportion - nevertheless, human tragedy which most of the secessionist lot rejoice. If what the leaders of the enclave, most intellectuals, and most religious men are saying is taking into account they are all promoting ethnic cleansing and that is the sad part.

 

The whole "SL" project is taking out of proportion indeed.

Taleexi, human suffering should not be proportionalized in any ways. However politics is always a matter of perception and proportion.

[IAmRevolution]

A_Khadar;779520 wrote:

Now your true color is out just like your cousins JB, XX and Oodweyne and the rest.:mad:

 

My cousins hired by somaliland are not there to kill their own women and children but when they see what your militia is doing, they defected. Of course when they defect and realize what s/l's mere agenda is all about (clan cleasing), I welcome them. Those killing people indiscriminately are your militia from Burco and beyond. That is the truth but keep on denying.

Khadar, your Somaliland counterparts in here do have a point, you know. He who betrays you once, will betray you twice, thrice and so forth. To think that the militia that defected from Somaliland will not go back to Somaliland is preposterous and completely childish rhetoric. Remember Mustafe Galal? The guy "Supposedly" defected to SSC, only to defect back to the same base (somaliland) he defected from, along with him, he took his cousin Keyse, who apparently was in bed with Somaliland all along.

 

To denounce the atrocities of the Somalidiid, you must not accept the repentance of their prostitutes. However, one might question themselves and ask, "well why did these men choose to go under Somaliland", and I can sincerely reply to myself, the only reason they decided to fight for Somaliland is because Somaliland was paying their salaries. A man with 5 kids, with no income coming from his Tol or from the Diaspora, will surely be a soldier for his arch-enemy, if and only if, his enemy is speaking words of peace and paying him his monthly salary, of approximately 30 dollars (if I'm correct).

 

On the contrary, the Somaliland commentators in this thread cannot and should not turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the reality. Yes, Somaliland has established itself in 1991 and for the past 21 years it has build it's military strength. It has countless stockpiles ammunitions of weapons' cache. It has military ties to Djibouti and Ethiopia. It hasn't been effected by the Southern Catastrophe. Not to mention, Somaliland has received tremendous amount of Aid from Britain, European Union and the United States, along with aids from Non-Profit Organizations. With that mind, wouldn't it be insanely ridiculous to compare the newly established Khaatumo State, who has never received any Aid whatsoever to it's neighbor Somaliland State, which existed for the past 21 years?