Critiquing Present Day Somaliland: Now & Then

A radical shift is needed and a must to have Somalilanders go back to the spirit of 1991.

In the first 10 years of Somaliland’s existence, we were a nation that was utterly devastated by genocide and subsequent liberation war. But the story of Somaliland; what we stood for, what we believed in, was crystal clear. Somehow this is not the case today. A quick example:

In Feb 1996, the High Court of Somaliland sentenced AUN Abdirahman Tuur, the founding father of this nation, to death in absentia for rejecting Somaliland’s independence. Somaliland was uncompromising and stood firm, even against the very man who led its liberation.

In 2001, our greatest president, AUN Egal, survived parliamentary impeachment on charges related to treason, by just a single vote. His crime? “Not being sufficiently firm in his opposition to union with Somalia.”

 

 

“Mr. Egal narrowly avoided impeachment

In July Somaliland MPs accused president late Egal of violating the constitution and of not sufficiently firm his opposition to union with the rest of Somalia, a charge tantamount to one of treason. The result was a motion for his impeachment brought on 17th by 36 MPS, nearly half of the parliament. However, after more than three weeks of debate the motion was narrowly rejected by 38 votes to 37.”

As recent as 2013, President Silanyo informed then UN Special Representative Nicholas Kay that UNSOM should not operate in Somaliland on grounds that Somaliland is not part of Somalia, and UNSOM was mandated to work in Somalia only.

UN Special Representative – Nicholas Kay – recounts that meeting with president Siilanyo. You can literally feel the sense of respect, perhaps even admiration for Somaliland in his words. A small impoverished unrecognized nation stood firm and said no to UN influence because it ran against its ideals.

And before Nicholas Kay, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Augustine Mahiga came groveling to Hargeisa to issue a full apology for a passing reference to Somaliland as a federal state issued by his office. Somaliland was clear and resolute in its stance.

Former presidents Silanyo and Riyaale dealt directly with British and French ambassadors to Ethiopia and Djibouti respectively, because those ambassadors sent to Somalia have no mandate in Somaliland.

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Now compare that consistent, principled, uncompromising stance of the old Somaliland with the reality we have today. And ask yourself truthfully, is this the same country?

Now, we have president Bihi who have met James Swan UN Representative while touring federal states of Somalia within the same week. There is a clear schism between the old Somaliland and this new Somaliland. Somewhere in the process, we lost direction in exchange for donor projects and their aid dollars.

This was his itinerary when visiting federal regional administrations to discuss elections:

• On 14 January – South West
• On 24 January – Galmudug
• On 25 January – Puntland
• On 28 January – Hirshabelle
• On 31 January – Jubaland
• On 3 February – Somaliland

Would this have happen in the old Somaliland?

In 2013, UN Rep. Nicholas Kay stated that Somaliland authorities told him he has no mandate in Somaliland and is not welcome. But, in 2020, UN Representative casually refers to Somaliland president as a regional leader. It’s not the same country anymore

Today we have Director Generals in Somaliland requesting funds to be transferred to “Care Somalia” to implement projects in Somaliland. Same “Care Somalia” that explicitly refers to SL as a region. Imagine the fate of a DG in the ‘old Somaliland’ sending a similar letter

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In 2023 we have Director General who nonchalantly use Somalia as his location on LinkedIn because he has a business interests in Somalia. A government official of Somaliland with Somalia as their location, would that fly in the ‘old Somaliland’?

In these days. notice how NGOs describe Somaliland on their websites. Language has shifted over the years, eroding our sovereignty. This is Action Aid UK’s Somaliland page over the last 6 years.

Our president broke all protocols when he openly accepted international aid money via Mogadishu following the Waaheen fire. Some argue that we desperately needed the money. I say it’s precisely during tough times when hard principled decisions can be taken.

Perhaps nothing represents the sense of decay we’re discussing than what happened to the genocide memorial in Hargeisa. We had a raw, explicit, honest monument replaced on a whim with a vacuous expensive pastiche devoid of any meaning, but looks fancier.

Somaliland is dying. A planned, slow, calculated death by 10,000 cuts. And what will kill Somaliland eventually, isn’t some bankrupt militia, a little constituency rebellion, or even Somalia’s scheming. It’s the indifference of the sons and daughters of this nation.

Yes the ruling Kulmiye party failed, and so president Bihi, his right hand Kaahin, and lot more of them. But why didn’t we see an uproar in the streets about Somalia conducting a voting exercise on Somaliland soil? Unfortunately it’s not just the politicians. Our people have been infected too.

Our collective indifference in the face of an organized global scheme to slowly but surely amalgamate Somaliland with Somalia, all the while we’re fully absorbed in minutia of inner SL

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