‎“I Urge The President Of Somaliland To ‎Disband The Local City Assembly of ‎Hargeysa Municipality” ‎‎

Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 11, 2006 – The Chair of Somaliland Sultans, Sultan Mohamed Sultan Abdi-Qadir issued a statement a day after Hargeysa witnessed the worst civil unrest since end of Somaliland civil war in 1995, when last Saturday (04/02/06) five people died and eleven people with serious gun shot wounds were admitted to Hargeysa Hospital and scores of other people were treated for minor injuries at Hargeysa Hospital’s outpatient department. The unrest occurred when a land dispute in Dumbuluq neighbourhood, district of Ahmed Dhagah in Hargeysa flared into a large inter-clan conflict.

In his statement, Sultan Mohamed urged the President of Somaliland, Mr Dahir Kahin Riyaale to use the constitutional power accredited to his office of the Presidency, when it necessitates the stern action needed to safeguard the country and its citizens against the corrupt actions and practices rampant in any local municipal authority. Sultan Mohamed urged the President to dissolve and disband the Hargeysa city municipal assembly because of the rampant corruption prevailing within its authority is the chief cause of all conflicts arising from land disputes in Hargeysa.

Sultan Mohamed said in his statement that the Saturday unrest in Dumbuluq was as result of the local municipality’s maladministration of public land. The Sultan said the city is on a verge of major catastrophe if the local city assembly continues to administer the local authority. He said every person has to know who was responsible for Saturday’s unrest, because the municipality decided to award the local government (Inji) warehouse stores in Dumbuluq to private individuals who constructed buildings which blocked the main market entrances to (Inji) market stalls adjacent to the warehouse.

Sultan Mohamed said “the small time traders and sellers of fruit and meat in the (Inji) market could not gain access to their market stalls that Saturday morning when private individuals had bought illegally public land belonging to the local authority and blocked the only entrance to their market stalls. Sultan Mohamed said “what do you expect these small time traders to do? How were they to reach their stalls, do you expect them to use a helicopter to fly them onto their market stalls or Inji market compound?”.

Sultan Mohamed said that he holds the local city municipality solely responsible for Saturday’s unrest and says, that they should all be held accountable for the deaths and injuries and loss/damage of all properties burnt and vandalized on Saturday.

The Sultan urged the President that “if you (the President) want this country or this city, Hargeysa to be a safe haven I urge you to disband the entire twenty five man assembly from the city municipality”, and said “I am certain that if you were to take my sincere and passionate plea of advice into action and disband the entire Hargeysa city assembly, the citizens of Hargeysa who are at present pumping lead (bullets) into one another over land disputes, and all this negative ness instilled in the citizens of Hargeysa by the city assembly members will evolve and turn into positive energy of joy and relief as a result of your action disbanding the entire assembly in Hargeysa municipality”.

Sultan Mohamed, also urged the security forces to use what ever force and power necessary in quelling city unrest the like of Saturday’s in Dumbuluq. He said “even if it means shooting dead rioters on the spot it is a necessity because peace and security is the basis to our existence and without these Somaliland will not exist. Sultan Mohamed urged the government to be firm and resilient in its actions and not to be afraid of clashing head on with clans involved in any unrest.

Source: Somaliland Times

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