Last month (February 2003), Hargeisa consecutively played host to two regional conferences where Somalilanders rubbed shoulders with delegates representing international organizations and civil society groups in neighboring Somalia. On the first occasion, an Amnesty International workshop for human rights defenders from Somaliland and Somalia was held. Facilitators and lecturers at this meeting included AI’s Martin Hill and the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights in Somaliland and Somalia, Dr. Ghanim Al-Najjar, Mohamed Barud of Samotalis and representatives of 23 human rights organizations working in Somaliland and Somalia. The organizers of the human rights workshop were people who are familiar with the internal situation in both Somaliland and Somalia. More importantly they were knowledgeable about the recent past of the former Somalia, particularly the tragic period of the eighties during which wide-scale atrocities had been committed against civilians in present day Somaliland. As individuals, these organizers were the type of people who closely followed what has been going on in Somaliland and Somalia since the collapse of Barre’s regime. Moreover, participants knew in advance the issues to be discussed at the meeting and most of them had formed some kind of a vision before or during the meeting as to the outcome. As a result, the workshop went on smoothly and was concluded successfully.
The other meeting, a symposium on civil society organizations, was held in the last week of February. This was a much bigger meeting, attended by hundreds of delegates, mostly from Somalia, and to a lesser extent Somaliland. Bringing such a large number of people together was certainly a very ambitious project. However, one of the weak points that later had a negative impact on this meeting was the fact that the organizers, NOVIB, have not been conscious enough about Somaliland's sensitivities, particularly when it comes to the issue of independence and past war crimes.
Operating from Nairobi and served by Somali political entrepreneurs and consultants posing as human rights or civil rights activists, NOVIB presented two studies: Mapping Somali Civil Society and Donor Assistance towards Somalia. But it seemed that the authors had only "Somalia" in their minds for most of the time while writing these two reports. The two studies not only smacked of anti-Somaliland perspectives but also contained such misleading and deceptive statements as "There is recognition that it was not only the people of Somaliland who were wronged under the regime of Siyad Barre but that the majority of all Somalis suffered during this period."
This is of course something often repeated by Somalis who fear that they as individuals, or members of their clans, could be implicated in the genocides that took place in Somaliland during the eighties. It is also akin to saying "It was not only the Jews who had suffered during the holocaust but also most of the Germans as well." Because of the repetition of some insensitive literature, Somaliland organizations boycotted signing the Hargeisa Consensus Declaration during the last session of the symposium on Wednesday.
NOVIB’s Somaliland counterparts that were involved in launching the symposium cannot escape blame for not sensitizing the organizing Dutch NGO as well as stakeholders from Somalia with the prevalent attitudes, values and aspirations in Somaliland. The reservations voiced by representatives of most of Somaliland's civil society organizations against the final declaration should be understood within this context.
Despite this setback, a lot of good work was done in the symposium in terms of exchanging experience and networking. To some extent, the people and government of Somaliland should feel proud for hosting two big regional events. But if international organizations want to sponsor gatherings of this type in the future, they should bear in mind that Somaliland need not be confused with Somalia. At least for the people of this country, these two places are not the same and can’t be the same.
It is also essential not to engage consultants who are politically biased against Somaliland in the preparation of reports on the state of affairs in Somaliland. And above everything else, Somaliland's local NGOs and government agencies must be involved from the beginning in any studies or reports to be made on Somaliland issues.
Before and during engagement in any local or regional endeavors, it is necessary that Somaliland's public is kept informed about what is going.
Finally, international organizations should avoid thinking on behalf of Somaliland's people and government; the agenda of every collaboration must be laid down and legitimacy of representation established in a transparent manner; and Somaliland's government should show a more pro-active involvement in leading and coordinating such efforts in the future, for Somalia may not have a central government but Somaliland does have one.
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