Why Not Have A Party Of My Own

By Dr. Omar Ibrahim Hussein

Under the current political System, we have limited choices due to the narrow agenda of the existing three political Parties. Although one Party may be more inclusive than the other, the choice we have is not between different values and platforms of three different political Parties, but a choice between Rayale, Sillanyo and Faisal. Instead of calling UDUP, KULMIYE or UCID you could very well call them by their real names, RAYALE, SILANYO and FAISAL Parties. That is why I believe Gabose and Hashi want to have one of their own. The logic is if they can have it, I can have it too. However in all fairness they had their Parties and they failed. You can’t logically put that blame on the doorsteps of the Government or the three Party Chiefs. If somebody is to blame it is Gabose and Hashi and their inability to attract people to their agenda. Still there is nothing to show that they can do better this time. I only hope against hope this time they have something new to offer to the electorate who gave them the boot in earlier elections.

Apart from any speculation on my part, if the Qaran Party is a different breed of a Party with new ideas and values, we must welcome it with open arms. If it is another Party called Gabose, I have my reservations. My intuitions tells me it will be ‘me too’ Party. The debate on the BBC was a bad harbinger of what to expect from Gabose, for he could not articulate a unique platform why his Party will be different this time from the other three Parties or his defunct Party; to justify the need for a new party. He only emphasized the right to have a Party; "The constitution gives every citizen the right to form a political party," So technically we could have three million parties in Somaliland. Every citizen can have one. But is that constitutionally and politically correct. To me the right to form a political Party is given but it will be weighed against the law of the land.

Qaran or Gabose Party whichever way it goes should raise that right to the constitutional court, but on condition he accepts the verdict of the Court as the ultimate judge of all legal matters without the implicit threat of the use of force. The founders of Qaran party never entertained the idea that they could be denied registration on legal constitutional grounds. They feel bigger than that. If they feel so, I do not share that feeling with them. For me the law of the land is my guru and guidance; I feel bigger when I respect the law.

Mr. Sillanyo was extremely gracious about the Party and cautiously welcomes it provided it is in line with the law of the land, although many people think he stands to lose more than the other Parties. The other two national Parties flatly denied the legality and the need for a fourth Party in the country. I wish the new Qaran party good luck and I want them to succeed for I have an agenda of my own for a new Party; a party with a difference.

The United Somaliland Party (U.S.P):

I plan to name my party the United Somaliland Party (U.S.P) and it will advocate the union with Somalia. Detractors could twist the name of my party to suit their twisted minds, but I will not blink. It will be a national party open to all Somalilanders from Ziela to Lasqorey. Some may twist the name and call it ‘the United Samaron Party (USP)’; others may call it ‘the United Sool Party (USP)’. The detractors will not stop there and may call it the Fagash Party; but we call it ‘the United Somaliland Party USP’. Its motto will be ‘unity is power’. It will be a political Party with a difference and not a copy cat of the present day political Parties who are ideologically identical.

On a nostalgic note, won’t the name USP ring a bell in your memory lane of good old days, when Somaliland was Somaliland before the union ever took place? If we have to go back in time to 1960 and reclaim our independence once again, wouldn’t it be wise to regain the old nationalistic names such as SNL/USP and NUF when we were all equal without having all the new heavy baggages; Faqash, Mijahid, Calan Cas, SNM etc.

When the Somali National Movement (SNM) was established, the aim was to move it from Ethiopia to Somalia. But now that the movement has already taken place, the word ‘Movement’ has to be dropped out and be replaced with the word ‘League’, unless of course another Movement is being contemplated to a place called ‘M’. The Movement has to settle down at some time and I think it is not too late to do so. The fact that the Movement has not changed its name from Somali National Movement to Somaliland National Movement supports my hunch that may be Movement to the South is still in the cards. Wouldn’t it be nice to have SNL/USP and start all over again and throw away the thinly disguised tribal political parties and be born again!!

In complete contrast our Party will be a Somaliland party. All its members will hail from Somaliland community. The Party has no elusions that the people of Somaliland had decided freely to secede from Somalia and the Party will respect the wish of the people. But I am not sure whether that secession is carved on a rock, or whether there will be yet another change of heart. I am perfectly aware that the history of Somaliland repeats itself.

It makes no sense at least to me to call ourselves the most democratic country and yet have limited sovereignty. We think it is high time we practiced what we preach. Our Party will be aware of the 97 percent of the people of Somaliland who voted for separation and sovereignty. Three percent of the population voted against secession. The United Somaliland Party will serve and protect the rights of those three percent in a democratic arena. Although a minority, we believe the minority too has the right to form its political party. Our aim is to have the right to association as guaranteed by our constitution. We have the inalienable right to belong to a Party and the current political Parties do not meet our ideological aspirations. If the political affiliation of the minority is not met, the minority may be forced to cross the border to a place where their political rights are guaranteed. Some have already done so when they were denied to have their own political association in Somaliland. Those who do not see things in their true perspective may say they are too small to make a difference. I strongly disagree with that notion, because it is almost always the vocal minority that makes the big political waves in any country.

The USP party will not allow political renegades who went to Somalia in search of power at the expenses of the people of Somaliland. The members of our Party could only go or join Somalia when the majority of the people vote for that or otherwise reverse the secession act of 1991. Our aim is not to go to Mogadishu individually but collectively. We want to convince our- selves that we could not persuade the people of Somaliland to our political agenda, not because we were denied the right to have a differing view or a different political agenda in a democracy.

We believe Somaliland should be a country of equals under the rule of law, not a country where some people are more equal than others as some may let us to believe. I was shocked to read the other day that some individuals can’t be ‘suspected’ or ‘accused’ in any form or manner even if their hands are seen in the till. It will be difficult to have equal justice between those and people who are not allowed to have their political association. The members of the Jihadists group who call themselves the Mujahideen will not be allowed membership in our Party purely on ideological basis, for we don’t understand the relevance of a Mujahid in the context of the current political environment in all Muslim Somaliland. To the best of our knowledge UDUB or for that matter any other body or any part of Somaliland is a Christian crusader.

What about the rights of the people of Soul and East Sanaag who are adamantly opposed to secession? The Soul region is the soul of Somaliland and I can’t envision Somaliland without soul nor can I envision a soul without its body. They need each other and they belong to one another. Our party believes that Soul can be won but only after a long honest Soul search, and not by the use of force.

When I think of Somalia and Somaliland, I find myself between the rock and the hard place. Part of me loves unity and the other party rationalizes secession. My heart loves Somaliweyn and my mind likes Somaliland; my mind accuses my heart of being Fagash, and my heart accuses my mind of being a Mujahid; the two antagonists will never get a common ground. Whenever I hear Somaliland, 1960 and the nostalgic nationalist songs come to my heart:

“Shantu waa isku hooyoo iskusoo hilobee, ninwalbow xagaaga yaanu cadow haleelin’. My mind tells my heart we have been had once and it will be foolhardy if we are bitten from the same hole twice. Mogadishu is no go area; it is the death city of Somalia. There is no life in Mogadishu. Its residence is fleeing the town in the thousands. I don’t want to get hurt again. My hearts refuted that and said; but that is not good enough reason for me not to love Mogadishu, and accused my mind of nurturing dictatorial tendencies. We are in a democracy and we have the inalienable right to move, express and above all to love. My love knows no bounds. As a Muslim, I have to love my neighbor too. Somalia is my neighbor; you tend to forget that; argued my heart. The act of union of 1960 was the result of my loving heart; this time it will be my mind that will call all the shots. You had your day; this is my day, you have to reserve your love for another day. Your blind love took us to all the mess in the first place. Have a little hate in you my dear; we are tired of your unbridled love, said my mind to my heart.

I made a reasonable comprise between my heart and my mind. The day will belong to my mind, but my heart will be entitled to love and dream, for I can control my mind but not my heart. USP party is the embodiment of this compromise within me. Somaliland will prevail but the dream of united Somalia will remain in my heart and in the spirit and imagination of USP party. After that historic compromise, my heart was left with nothing more than a dream:

Shanta oo is weheshadaa wacneydaa: Calan inay wadaagaaney wanaagsaneyda!

I have no regrets for I have made peace and justice within me.

USP party will rigorously oppose any attempt to force unity with Somalia. By the same token members of the USP party can’t accept the use of force to keep their ideology under lock or to silence them with impunity.

We also believe the best way to accommodate the political wishes of the people of Soul and East Sanaag is to open a dialogue and allow them to have their unionist ideologies accepted. They will be free to campaign for their political views without anyone raising an eye brow. USP Party will accommodate those differing views within Somaliland context.

Under the present political turmoil in Dhahar, our Party supports the Ex Minister of defense’s moral position that Somaliland forces should withdraw from East Sanag, because Somaliland army can’t be an occupying force unlike the forces of Puntland. There must be a difference between us and them as we claim. If Mr. Waqaf is kicked out of his UDUB Party he will be welcome to join our USP party.

Waqaf’s tumultuous hero welcome in both Buroa and Hargeisa as reported by Somaliland media speaks volumes of the feeling of the people of Somaliland towards the people of Soul and East Sanaag. These voices we believe only scratched the tip of the iceberg or call it the voices of hitherto silent majority. Our Party will belong to those voices and see them as the voices of moderation and reason. Use of force should not be our way of solving political problems. We can’t champion the cause of liberty, democracy and freedom of expression and at the same time act like a colonial power. This is an area where our Party and the Opposition led by Sillanyo see eye to eye that occupation of some parts of Somaliland by Somaliland forces against the will of the citizens of those areas is ominous and politically unacceptable. The Government should take note and withdraw its army from those contested territories and start a political dialogue with the people of the area. The Government should use the good offices of the Opposition to open that dialogue and Sillanyo can play a pivotal role in that endeavor.

From that standpoint, our Party will be counting on the moral and political support of the big and famous founders of Qaran Party whom we share identical views on the right of every citizen to form his Party as well as all those who directly or indirectly supported Waqafs’ historic decision to withdraw the Somaliland forces from Dhahar.

If Gabose Party is not legally founded, I see trouble in the horizon, because freedom of speech and association means more to Gabose and Mohamed Hashi because both of them were born and bred in a country where such freedoms were unknown; Gabose was born and bred in Mogadishu under Siyad Barre era, and Mohamed Hashi was born and bred in Ethiopia in Haile Selasse era. Both came to Somaliland in search of freedom and we shouldn’t fail them by refusing them to have their own party. The two know what democracy and freedom of speech means better than the regular Somalilander who takes freedom and democracy for granted. They may be over protective of their new found liberty and we can understand that, but they could also do it to excess or over kill it. I am sure the political heavy weights of Qaran Party will support our party and the rights of the people of Soul and East Sanaag as much as we support them. Democracy is not a one way street, it must go both ways.

However the politics of Somaliland is an enigma wrapped in a riddle. Hard to understand why those who love liberty won’t like others to have it. Hard to swallow why those who want their rights protected take away the rights of others. Hard to understand why human rights advocates in Hargeisa, advocate inhuman rights.

Cognizant of all those realities and contradictions, our Party will correct, advocate and protect the rights of all citizens of Somaliland without exception. All people will be treated equal. Members of the Ruling Party and members of the Opposition Parties will be treated with respect and dignity. Our Party will seriously oppose the excesses of the Ruling Party and will equally oppose the opportunistic Machiavellian political tactics of the Opposition Parties who believe all roads lead to the Presidential Palace.

Omarh1980@hotmail.com

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