Haatuf: A Catalyst For Reform

EDITORIAL

Despite all the injustice that accompanied the arrest of Haatuf journalists yet there could be one positive benefit from it: reform. The Haatuf case has shown how badly Somaliland needs reform. First, Haatuf was able to show through print and photographs how deep and widespread is President Rayale’s corruption. Second, the government’s reaction of rounding up Haatuf journalists and throwing them in jail, without any regard to legal procedures, has unmasked the president and shown his true colors as someone who thinks the law applies only to others and that he is free to commit any crime. The president’s behavior, and the fact that many of those in charge of important institutions that are supposed to protect the public have colluded with him in taking revenge on Haatuf reporters, has convinced even the most gullible that Somaliland is ruled by a lawless bunch who will not stop at any thing in order to protect their ill gotten gains.

Although the Haatuf case has thrown the government’s corruption into stark relief, the issue of corruption per se is not new. Most Somalilanders know it exists because they experience it in their daily life. But it is one thing to know that corruption exists, and another to see your president being caught red handed, and then watch him use and abuse the government’s power against those who blew the whistle on him.

It is clear now to a large number of citizens that corruption is not limited to some petty bureaucrats or lowly clerks but is practiced and defended by the president himself. Having realized the depth and breadth of the problem, the next step is to do something about it. That next step is called reform.

Source: Somaliland Times

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