Somalilanders Speak Out: Don’t Stifle Lively Democracy

I was in Gondar town to sightsee the Ethiopia’s mesmerizing view of the natural beauty. During back trip to Addis Ababa, at the checkpoints in-between of my destination and departure point, I saw uniformed military man always get in the bus saying Somali repeatedly and I didn’t fully understand his remarks but one thing was clear to me: something bad specifically targeted against Somalis was going on; that intuition sent me spine chilling .

As I speak Arabic, I have to realign with South Sudanese boy going to the restaurant to lunch with him whenever I get off the car to avoid meeting Amharic speaking folks anywhere other than aboard the bus; I stood and pondered for a second: what would happen to this South Sudanese lad with visible darker skin than me should he had not a government and embassy that represents him and his people in Ethiopia like myself? State is so essential for human survival. I believed.

There I spoke to him feeling guilty by association with the country Somalia, and its warlike people of which has nothing to do with me except they speak my language and tarnish a faith that looks similar to mine but allows to murder each other in mosques. And even their twisted religion of idiosyncrasy obliges to take their dead both perpetrators and their victims to the same burial sites to fistfight in the hereafter: the terrorists bow to their “martyrs” proudly and bury them next to their victims and read over the same funeral rituals while the victimized families skip the mourning for loved ones and lower their heads out of fear when they hear their beloved relatives died like donkeys not engaged in Jihad.

It means the wronged people will split widely open in Hell. That sounds weird? I realized what it means to be associated with terrorist plagued nation of Somalia; the search of new identity which gained momentum in my mind, rebounded, and was must: Somaliland haunted me to document its long history of existence prior to Somalia and I have no choice but to devote much of my time to bring Somaliland back to the world spotlight whenever it skips till we overcome 26 years of diplomatic impasse and international recognition is achieved.

It is a collective obligation and common currency that transcends tribe, party, sectarian faiths in Somaliland. The loyalty of this becoming nation is shared by all despite having diverse society.

For the last seven years, the thin ties Somaliland has with the rest of the world got thinner and blurred because of diplomatic misconduct done by amateur diplomats in liaison offices the region and beyond.

In 1991, Somaliland leadership came under pressure from peace-loving masses to disconnect from Somalia on fire for ultimate rescue. The charismatic leaders have chosen peace and self-determination enshrined in the international laws over suicidal policies of Somalia and reinvented Somaliland that suffered social injustices of 21 years under Barre’s brutal selective murderous campaign against Issaaq ethic community who dwell in almost in everywhere what once was called “the British Somaliland” territory and according to UN archives recognized by 35 countries worldwide including Israel.

The injustice led Somalia to all-out war that sunk it and still raging while Somaliland territory is out of the fire range because the people are different culturally, and racially. Since 90s, the Western taxpayers finance the Somali government and foreign forces to keep semblance of normalcy in Somalia to keep away from each other not to murder each other for no apparent reason but in the name of Islam and ethnicity despite the nonsense claims of homogeneity in terms of religion, language, and race.

The Arabs coined Somalization to elaborate total failure of state, society, and abyss into barbarianism. In fact, in every way you look at the Somalia it fits that utter fiasco and the people reached a point of no return. Americans shouldn’t invest in the restoration of credible system in Mogadishu; because it is an exercise in futility. Turkey the middleman uses Somalia to boost its economy. But it is a time to look at Somaliland with fair eyes given its spectacular achievement without getting any help from the outside world.

Unfortunately, Somaliland lost its status because of ill fated merger with Italian Somaliland (Somalia) whose plantation farm lands were owned not by the locals of Hawiye and Jareerwayne communities but by the Italian white masters even in post-independence era on par with Zimbabwe until a minister from Somaliland told the whites to transfer the fertile farmlands to the workers in the slave-like condition or face the people’s wrath.

During the absorption process, no one in Somaliland elder statesmen have taken second thought of southern Somalis as to what their character and customs were but belatedly were found out they were not the same stock as ours and their faith was as much as the Voodoo Christianity of the West Indies and Islam of Mohamed Al Haj of America.

During the Restore Hope Operation when millions of Somalis at risk of naked death, US marines sans combative role dispatched to provide rations to bony children and eye-socked women giving birth in the wilderness, came under attack from brutal barbarians whom Arab media called “they bite the hands that feeds them”.

British Somaliland once received the independence began to pioneer “Greater Somalia” and liberate the other parts of Somali speaking masses who often outcry on systematic slavery of Kurdisation of their homeland; sacrificed its flag and nationhood for the greater good of creating of ethnic Somalia powerhouse that extends from North Frontier District NFD of Kenya to French Coast of “the land of Isse and Afer” recently known as D Djibouti, a dream if materialized makes Somalia one of the 20^th largest country on earth with unlimited opportunities.

Somaliland not yet deserves statehood despite overcoming the insurmountable challenges, unthinkable? Somaliland entered military protection with the British Empire in early 18 century. That accord can be reactivated immediately to stop the Jihadist forces next door.

Somaliland left the business of pan-Somalia, but keep their fingers across for Somalia, signed long term investment agreements with multinational firms such as the DP World. The UAE’s military base contract of which world analysts say the US forces will take over the base soon enhance security.

Like European sports ongoing 24/7, terrorists detonate car bombs in Mogadishu almost on daily basis in full view of Somalia’s clannish divided army and their outrunning of Somali government bases necessitates the world to recognize Somaliland for global salvation in the form of the US and the United Nations granting a formal recognition to Somaliland to save what could be saved in Somalia and letting doom mongers die alone without others putting others the harms’ way; the lives of peace-loving people in Somaliland is a sacrosanct.

That is the least moral obligation for human rights defenders and the civilized world to do but looking the other way and saying it is Somali mess of which Somalis have to deal with it alone constitutes collective punishment, a violation of basic human rights. Humanity if any, cares each other whenever certain community suffers woes and unimaginable pain.

The British voters for BREXIT justified their departure from the UE over economic anxieties of not securing their utopia and nirvana or perhaps fear from the East European “cheap’ labor but the EU laws accepted their exit with click along with their displeasure of the Great Britain turned its back to the continental allies. Somalilanders endured genocidal war fully documented by the global mass media, Human Rights Watch, and more recently by forensic experts to exhume the killing fields of the mass graves of Malka Durduro to prove their cause of death natural or unnatural and yet no one nodded to them in moral support to sigh relief. Somalia’s president never have apologized his country’s brutality against Somalilanders on behalf of his late uncle president of the same Marehan clan to the family victims but insists on like Turkish government of the Ottoman Empire on Armenian genocide of famine and mass starvation.

Historically, denial alienates people and leads to deadly wars because the wounds remain unhealed. Will Farmaajo who see American way of life and centuries-old conflict ending methods within America regret the atrocity inflicted upon the people who were his brothers-in-laws when everyone shown moral cowardice over the ongoing genocide in Somaliland pretending that it was someone’s else business to solve it until the fire reached his house and forced him to flee naked leaving behind life full of privileges, to the uncertainty of America.

His life of clannish privileges took new turns from diplomat in America to asylum seeker who works in odd jobs to meet the living cost of America; it isn’t wonder since whites in South Africa beg in Durban streets where once Mandela has been languishing in confinement.

Once again, God gave new life to become president of the least priority country on the State Department just to change the painful status quo, leave legacy, and say to Hawiye and Daarood tribes to put their house in order and forget about Somaliland. Because it is a reality on the ground yet needs international legitimacy there he wants to step in to be remembered as a decisive president like the former Somalia’s Prime Minister Mohamed H. Ibrahim Egal who startlingly blurted NFD of Kenya no longer a part of Somalia despite Somali ethnic living there and Ethiopian civilian airlines can fly Somalia’s airspace without any notice in advance.

These historic treaties though at the expenses of Somalis saved lives and avoided another mayhem that may exacerbate the current chaos in Somalia and the Horn of Africa as whole. Southern Somali ‘leaders’ drink the children’s milk of western aid, Arabic Zakat and sell refugees’ food stamps to war profiteering shops in Minnesota then buy presidential post, stay for four years or more, and go unnoticed without taking any concrete steps but keep the status quo, and that is not leadership by definition. Will Farmaajo ever do politics differently or continue fitting mentality leaving Somalia and Somaliland neither in divorce nor meaningful unity?

Quite concerned the integrity of election body of Somaliland, the UK ambassador Mr. David Concar to Somalia declared that they will send sixty British election observers to Somaliland presidential elections at the end of this year, the largest number ever since Somaliland’s democracy born to prevent election fraud and military coup by the ruling party whose military candidate Muse Bihi has been displayed megalomania nakedly backed by the First Lady since the president got sick unaware of what is going.

Opposition party Wadani leader Mr. Abdirahman Iro asks the world particularly the US to follow the UK and send huge number of American election observers. There is one anxiety: the unpopular party of Kulmiye greedy for power will rig the polling stations in Hargaysa and Gabilay, and Berbera openly, so please any foreign election monitors have to come to save Somaliland from deadly power dispute.

Winning the presidential candidacy by the ex-cadet co-pilot narrowly put the government at the risk of disintegration when he refused to hear that his rivals called the whole process “corrupt” and they demand rerun of the race. “Save your advice, all I want to get what I wanted” said the former guerilla ringleader Muse Bihi Abdi who saw bloodshed, feud, and confusion. He needs sanatorium and rehabilitation to take his eyes off power.

Former thug politicians openly called Muse “the unsworn president” and the true successor of the bedridden leader to foolishly to shut door any fair and free elections. “Mr. Muse doesn’t need race to the presidential palace” said the minister Faratuun, The yesterday parliament speaker election dispute and the failure of justice augured badly.

Somaliland next to Jihadist Somalia survived from the overwhelming chaos gushing from the Jihad, animalistic conflicts that made Mogadishu “the doom city”. And yet no single nation dared to come out to recognize Somaliland.

Dirye is Somaliland writer and a member of Wadani Media wing, follow on twitter @mrdirye