Rayale Continues His Attacks On Haatuf

EDITORIAL

The kidnapping of citizens by Somaliland’s government shows no signs of abating. A few days after sending armed police to attack the premises of Haatuf newspaper and taking Ali Dini (the editor of Haatuf Newspaper) and Yusuf Gabobe (the editor of Somaliland Times) as hostages, Somaliland’s CID jailed Mr. Kayse Ahmed Osman a friend of the journalists who came to visit them in jail. When citizens and youth protested the unlawful incarceration of the journalists, they too were detained, and five under-aged children were quickly sentenced to imprisonment by Hargeysa’s Security Committee. A few days later, Haatuf Newspaper’s correspondent in Borama, Mr. Mohammed Omar Sheikh was arrested. All of these attacks came as a result of a series of articles by Muhammad Rashid that exposed corruption and embezzlement by the president, his wife and ministers. Looking at the president’s behavior, one is bound to ask: where does the president get the confidence that not only can he and his family engage in as much corruption as they want, but they can also silence anyone who tries to talk about it. The answer to this question is that he can count on the collusion of some top officials in his administration who pave the way for his illegal activities. Some of these individuals are playing a visible role, while others are acting from behind the scene. If we leave aside for the moment those who are plotting with Rayale from behind the scene and focus on the ones who have played a visible role, three individuals stand out: Muhammad Dubad Saqadhi (the commander of the police), Abdillahi Ismail Cirro (the minister of interior) and the commander of the CID (Suleiman Muse Hasan).

Let us start with the commander of the police, Mr. Saqadhi. The commander of police is supposed to uphold the law and follow procedures. The commander of the police did not follow procedures in that (1) he did not have an arrest warrant when he ordered the arrest of Haatuf journalists (2) his personnel damaged Haatuf’s property and (3) his personnel terrorized peaceful citizens in their workplace. Apparently, the chief of police was so excited about his chance to please the president, he did not care if his action was legal or not.

Let us turn to the minister of interior, Mr. Abdillahi Cirro. Whenever he is asked by concerned citizens about the illegal arrest of Haatuf’s reporters, Mr. Cirro’s stock answer is that he had nothing to do with it. His answer is just too much to swallow and is an insult to the average citizens’ intelligence, because, since he is the minister of interior, if the arrest was done behind his back and he acquiesced to it after it was carried out, it shows he does not have the courage to stand up in the face of those who have usurped the powers of his office to commit an injustice. If on the other hand, he was actually part of the decision to detain the journalists and later denied it, then he is guilty of even greater offense. Either way, since he is the minister of interior, there is no way he can duck his moral and legal responsibility or pass it on to someone else.

Finally, let’s talk about the head of the CID, Suleiman Muse Hasan who has actually played the most active part in this sordid affair. His plain clothes men were part of the squad that attacked Haatuf’s office and kidnapped the journalists. The CID premises is also where the journalists are being held. Suleiman Muse Hasan does not even pretend to follow the law and is known to take bribes. Haatuf had reported on his bribe-taking and as a consequence, he has developed a grudge against the newspaper. The kidnapping of Haatuf journalists is a golden opportunity for Mr. Muse, in that, he can simultaneously strike back at Haatuf while at the same time raising his stock with his master, Rayale.

One thing that stands out about the characters who are taking part in the attacks on Haatuf journalists and other citizens is that several of them, including President Rayale, were part of the late dictator Mohamed Siyad Barre’s dreaded National Security Service ( NSS). The tactics they have followed against Haatuf are straight from Siyad Barre’s playbook: harassment, intimidation, detention, abduction and hostage-taking. Rayale and his partners should remember that the patience of Somalilanders is not endless, and if they continue applying Barre’s methods, they will get the same reaction that Barre got.

Source: Somaliland Times

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