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By Ahmed Mohamed
We all know the constant violations that Abdullahi Yussuf of Puntland is committing against Somaliland territory. Before, the issue of controversy was in regard to Lascanod, but over the years it has got worse and now he has not only taken over Lascanod, but he has also pursued an expansionist agenda and have been successful in occupying most of the Sool region, eastern parts of Sanaag and declared Buhodle capital of a new region called Cayn. Despite all these disturbing developments, the Somaliland government in Hargeisa has not halted its Khat chewing sessions, and did not consider taking action to avert this invasion of Somaliland. Even when the current president made a visit to Lascanod and was attacked by militia forces loyal to Abdullahi Yussuf and fled the town, no counterattack or any kind of military response was given.
Once in a while we hear press statements from the presidency stating these actions are “unacceptable” and “will not be tolerated”. These warnings have not helped to stop Abdullahi Yussuf´s constant infringements on Somaliland’s territorial integrity. To make matters worse, when president Rayale came back from Ethiopia a couple of weeks ago, when asked by journalists about the eastern Somaliland problem he described it as a “minor issue”! His answer truly exposes the government’s lack of direction and how lightly it sees the claiming of three regions of Somaliland by a foreign entity. This has been the usual modus operandi of the Somaliland government since the late president Egal took power in 1993. Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war and thousands died for just four or five football fields! Rayale who has been Egal’s vice president for five years slavishly continues with Egal’s policy of nonchalance toward the eastern regions of Somaliland, and literally handing them over to Abdullahi Yussuf.
It cannot be denied that M I Egal set the precedent pertaining to these matters by his inaction, indecisiveness and his policy of appeasement. The difference between now and then, is that now Somaliland has no control of Lascanod, and Puntland’s sphere of control has spread over many parts of the eastern regions of Somaliland. In Cigal´s tenure there was some kind of control in Lascanod – a status quo was maintained. Abdullahi Yussuf has been allowed to do as he pleases in the eastern regions of Somaliland by our successive governments, and soon or later, all of Togdheer, Sanaag and Sool will be under Abdullahi Yussuf´s control. This assertion might seem a little bit far-fetched, but the fact of the matter is he is already claiming Sanaag, Sool and Buhodle (which is part of Togdheer) as part of Puntland. So if he has made claims to both Sool and Sanaag then what would stop him to make claims over Togdheer?
The questions to be asked are why the successive Somaliland governments have not been doing anything to confront this aggression against the territorial integrity of Somaliland? What are the major reasons behind the government’s lack of commitment to the eastern parts of the country?
The paramount causes of the current state of affairs can be explained in different ways:
a) The Ethiopian connection – Both Puntland and the Republic of Somaliland enjoy cordial relations with the Tigrey government in Addis Ababa. The Somaliland government have on many occasions demonstrated a worrying naivety on political issues. Its lack of critical understanding that there is no permanent friendship in relations between states and that there is only permanent interests seems to be absent in the Somaliland governments relations with Ethiopia. One of the sole responsibilities of a government is to protect and safeguard its territorial integrity, and respond in all possible ways to counter foreign claims to its territory. The legacy of Cigal will be that he failed in his duties to uphold the sovereignty of Somaliland. Instead of protecting Somaliland’s interest and confronting this menace, Somaliland presidents have made it a habit to run to Addis Ababa and plea with the government there to restrain Abdullahi Yussuf! This has encouraged Abdillahi Yusuf's belligerence towards Somaliland. The Somaliland leadership’s myopic inability to act, and its bestowing of hope on a foreign power to solve its territorial problems has had grave consequences on the stability of the country. The policy of granting concessions to an enemy so as to maintain peace has been disastrous.
b) The Harti question – A popular misconception among some Somaliland leaders is that taking military action against Abdullahi Yussuf might be seen as a war against the Harti community in the eastern parts of Sanaag and Sool. These belief has, more than any other, been the main factor behind the political paralysis affecting the Hargeisa government. This thesis does not hold any water, because if the rest of Somalilanders were interested in hatred, acrimony and war, that would have happened long ago when the SNM liberated the country from the fascist military regime of Somalia. But instead, the different clans met and decided to let bygones be bygones. Many pro-Somaliland Harti leaders consider this an example of the insincerity and lack of commitment of Somaliland's government and an excuse for not making its presence felt in the areas inhabited by the Harti communities. A large proportion of the Harti community are disenchanted with Somaliland due to the sense that they lack full political representation in the organs of government. This was an underlying feeling during the Borama peace conference (1993), and became clear during the Hargeisa conference (1997) ; subsequently the Egal government and the revered Harti leaders appeared to be on a collision course. The cause of resentment among the Harti is that they were given a raw deal at these conferences. The main point of contention is that during the pre-independence era the sharing of power was divided according to the numerical strength of the different clans. The Harti come second after the Issak in terms of population, therefore, consider that if an Issak is president, a Harti has to be the vice president. The granting of the vice presidency to a Gudabirsi, which is the third largest clan in Somaliland led to a lot of resentment and a feeling of injustice among the Harti.
c) The Hargeisa factor – the government has concentrated too much energy on the the western regions in general, and the Hargeisa region in particular. This is not a problem per se; the problem comes when the government ignores the other half of the country. Let alone the Sanaag and Sool regions, Togdheer itself is not under the effective control of the government. The level of neglect is so serious that the legal tender – the Somaliland Shilling is not used in the entire eastern regions of Somaliland. The government which has been in existence during the last twelve years is unable to make the Somaliland Shilling even usable in Burco. The major aid agencies are concentrated in the western regions of the country and the few agencies that send officials to the eastern parts of Somaliland are discouraged! The mayor of Burco disclosed recently that a group of aid workers who came to the city decided to return to Hargeisa the same day. When the mayor inquired to know why, he was told they were ordered by the government to do so because the security situation in Burco is fragile! Imagine a government undermining its own people and the image of the country as a whole! So when these kinds of things occur, people usually become furious and feel they are not getting the “peace dividend” they deserve. It is understandable that the government budget is limited, but it is not understandable that the government, which is supposed to represent all Somalilanders,is a hindrance rather than a facilitator for aid to reach the whole country.
d) Peace “hostage” – one particular reason why the Somaliland government has not been enthusiastic about confronting Abdullahi Yussuf militarily, is its fear that it might jeopardize Somaliland’s international standing as a peaceful state. Although Somaliland’s strong embracing of peace is commendable, the critical question is peace at what price? Will Somaliland only react when Hargeisa is under attack? Instead of performing a thorough analysis of the possible outcomes of conducting a military operation against Abdullahi Yussuf, this government has clung to this false belief of peace at all cost. In our world part of the world, such an approach only encourages dictators like Abdillahi Yusuf. There is a kind of infantile mentality in the Somaliland government wanting to please the international community at all costs, even if it means losing half of the country! As if it’s ultimate goal is to get a pat on the head! The Somaliland people are a peace-loving people with lot of patience, but they will NEVER accept peace when half of their country is being claimed by a foreign entity. The kind of peace enjoyed now in Somaliland is a borrowed peace, due to the fact that the initiative is with Abdullahi Yussuf. We need to be pro-active and do all we can to pre-empt his aggression.
The situation is extremely serious and there are steps Somaliland needs to take to reverse the developments taking place in the eastern parts of the country. The actions taken should be both for the short and long term.
Short term
a) Convening of a national conference – the matter is bigger than the government and the parliament. It is an issue concerning the survival of Somaliland. The conference should gather all the SL clans, political parties and civil society to discuss the Harti grievances. This matter should not be left to the Rayale government or the Gurti. The Gurti has more than once proven its incompetence and is just the presidency sneaked into parliament through the back door! The Gurti has over the last ten years shown that it has abdicated its responsibility to work for and strengthen peace, and instead has become a source which has exacerbated political crisis and stagnation by its partisanship and turned into a tool at the presidency’s disposal. The Boqors, Garaads and Sultans of Somaliland have fully committed themselves to peace and stability in Somaliland and their tireless work for this endeavour is witnessed everyday by the citizens. Without these honourable and treasured leaders Somaliland wouldn’t be where it is today. It is thanks to them and the Almighty that we are an island of peace in an ocean of chaos.
b) Deployment of our military forces – it is totally unacceptable that we spend a lion’s share of our meagre resources on the armed forces and we are getting little value for our money. It is the armed forces foremost responsibility to protect and defend Somaliland against internal and external enemies. Abdullahi Yussuf's forces are at the outskirts of Caynabo, while the Somaliland forces that were formerly stationed in Lascanod are now in Caynabo! Why are we paying salaries for over twenty-two thousand soldiers (22 000) and yet they cannot repel the enemy which is within a stone's throw from them! Or do we have ghost soldiers and the money is looted by senior government and military officials? We cannot negotiate with a stubborn enemy who believes in raw power. For more than five years we have restrained ourselves, now is the critical time to teach this thug a lesson he will never forget. The government should and must deploy our soldiers in all the eastern parts of Somaliland and forcefully and decisively eject Abdullahi Yusuf militia from Somaliland. This should be a rock solid government policy and the government should not waver on this.
Long term
a) Constitutional reform/review – the Somaliland constitution needs to be reformed to correct contradiction and inconsistency. It is an open secret that the current constitution was drafted not for posterity, but was tailor – made for Egal. This explains the enormous powers vested in the presidency. This removes the basic concept of checks and balances between the different organs of government. The executive is so domineering and the parliament is in a dismal state, while the judiciary is in a state of coma. The most tragic thing is with the Gurti, which goes against democratic principles because they are not elected, but can veto legislation passed by elected members. The Gurti is superfluous. It has shown many times that it is not impartial, and on many occasions has failed in its duties. During both the local and presidential elections, the Gurti engaged in inappropriate politicking and exacerbated political tensions. Its lacks a sense of justice and fairness. The reforms should be made to strengthen the rule of law and democracy in Somaliland.
a1) Changing to a true parliamentary democracy – the wonderful thing with a parliamentary democracy is that power is shared between the president, prime minister and parliament. The president can be a ceremonial one while we have an executive prime minister who will be the leader of government business. This will truly enhance a democratic tradition in Somaliland and in many ways compatible with our culture of openness and free debate. It should be stated in the revised constitution that the people of Somaliland shall govern through their parliament. There is lack of transparency in the Somaliland government. When both Egal and Rayale visited Ethiopia on several occasions, we as citizens do not know what kind of agreements they have reached with the Ethiopian government. The parliament is not informed, and neither the political parties are consulted on issues of national importance. It testifies to the old adage that old habits die hard. Information is power. Withholding information from the opposition parties, is a way of denying them their constitutional duty to serve as a government in waiting. In a true parliamentary democracy this kind of situation would not arise. Today’s government is a minority government with 42, 08 % of the vote. If we had a parliamentary system UDUB and UCID or Kulmiye and UCID would have formed a coalition government.
a2) Creating of two vice presidents/deputy prime minister posts – to alleviate the concerns of the Harti community we have to accommodate their aspiration for a full political representation. This can be achieved by creating another vice president post and in the future two deputy prime minister positions. A good rule of thumb should be that both a Harti and Gudabirsi should occupy the vice presidency/deputy premiership if none from the two clans occupy the presidency. This will guarantee the Harti their rightful place in Somaliland.
a3) Setting a limit to the number of the cabinet – we have all witnessed prior to the elections the more than dozen appointments to the cabinet and this was more evident during the presidential elections. This action demonstrated the current president’s lack of understanding about the dire economic situation and the needs of the citizens. The country is now burdened with the biggest cabinet the Republic of Somaliland has ever come across.
The president has bamboozled the electorate by not keeping his promises. The people were expecting fresh blood in government – and a lean and effective administration, but what they got was the same incompetent, corrupt, untrustworthy and Khat chewing individuals back in government. A reviewed constitution has to set a clear upper limit on the number of ministers. Considering the economic condition of Somaliland, and the lack of recognition, the number should not be allowed to go over a dozen. We should strive to have a small government that creates the right conditions for both internal and external investors to invest in the country. It is the private sector that creates wealth for a nation, and not the government. The main purpose of the government should be to facilitate economic growth and safeguard social stability.
a4) The creation of a Public Ombudsman – after the announcement of the presidential election results, we witnessed gross human rights violations by the Somaliland government.
Women and youth were beaten up, while others were detained for several months for their support of the main opposition party. The conduct of the police and security services brought back terrible memories of the reign of terror of the military regime in the former Somali republic. An independent and constitutionally endorsed Public Ombudsman must be established so that any aggrieved citizen can file a complaint against any public official who abuses his office. The government should have clear and consistent policies pertaining to the different issues affecting Somalilanders. It creates confusion and a sense of lack of direction when the government does one thing today, and tomorrow makes a U-turn on the same issue. It is frankly unpardonable to see a government run on sentimentality, clannish mentality and nepotism. Governing Somaliland in this manner will not make it a great and prosperous country, but will do the opposite, and we will become a poor country drowned in social instability, corruption, insecurity – just another African basket case!!!
ahmmoh2002@hotmail.com
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