UK Assistance For The Security Sector

EDITORIAL

The British government seems to have finally decided to provide a major contribution toward the strengthening of Somaliland’s capabilities for law enforcement. British officials have shown that they are particularly interested in assisting Somaliland’s efforts to counter terrorism. The move to help Somaliland address its security needs has long been overdue.

Terrorist groups in the region have been trying to undermine Somaliland’s security and stability for years. Their strategy has been to stir chaos and confusion in Somaliland’s midst and wait for the resultant anarchy to propel them to power. The so-called Islamists saw and still see Somaliland’s successful state-building and democratization processes as a direct challenge to their ultimate goal of establishing an extremist Islamic state in the whole Somali peninsula. The campaign to stop Somaliland took various forms including economic sabotage and attacks against international aid workers.

While the extremists in their efforts to bring down Somaliland to its knees, enjoyed access to huge financial resources, material and political support provided by Wahabist Arab sympathizers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Somaliland stood alone. It is therefore encouraging to hear that the Somaliland and UK governments have agreed to enhance their cooperation on security issues on the basis of mutual interests.

Today’s Britain is home to the largest concentration of Somalilanders anywhere outside Somaliland. Many of the over 200,000 people of Somaliland origin that live there have become UK citizens. Somaliland diasporas particularly those living in Britain have been this country’s prime source of investment as well as lifeline to hundreds of thousands of families who depend on the monthly remittances from abroad for their income support.

Given what is at stake, Somalilanders have a good reason to feel highly concerned about any threats to the UK’s security.

However for external assistance to become effective, it is necessary that the Somaliland government takes immediate steps to reform the security sector. The present structure which groups the immigration under the Ciidanka Sirdoonka Qaranka (National Security Intelligence) doesn’t make sense.

The Ciidanka Sirdoonka Qaranka which comes directly under the president is actually unconstitutional. (The police, the Military and the Custodial Corps are the only security forces that the state is allowed to have under the constitution). Both the Immigration and the CSQ may be restructured to operate as same autonomous units under the general inspection of the Police Commissioner.

The focus should be to strengthen the capacity of the police to enable it perform its law enforcement duties. But both the UK and Somaliland governments must take care not to confine their cooperation to the security sector alone. There should be a broader engagement with the aim of addressing this country’s developmental priorities in education, health and reconstruction of critical public infrastructure.

Source: Somaliland Times

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