Why Foreign Intellectuals Support Somaliland

EDITORIAL

That many foreign intellectuals and opinion makers support Somaliland’s independence is an established fact. Somalilanders see this as a validation of their quest for independence. This phenomenon however does not sit well with Somaliland’s opponents. But instead of trying to understand just what it is about Somaliland that foreigners find appealing, Somaliland’s adversaries often attack foreign supporters of Somaliland as a way of either getting back at them or scaring them off. And mind you, this crude and unethical tactic is not just employed by the ignorant, but is even used by the educated among the Somaliland-haters, such as Abdi Ismail Samatar and his brother Ahmad. It was actually these two brothers who pioneered this tactic of trying to destroy the reputation of anyone who shows even the least sympathy to Somaliland. For instance, when Anthony J. Carroll and B. Rajagopal published an article in the prestigious Journal of International Law & Politics in which they argued that Somaliland has a sound legal basis for independence, Mr. Abdi Samatar in an article in the Journal of Modern African Studies, v.30 no.4 1992, accused the authors (without providing any evidence) of having received $60, 000 from the SNM for writing the article.

When the above tactics don’t work, then the Somaliland-bashers accuse the foreign person of some sort of sexual malfeasance. If the foreign supporter of Somaliland happens to be married to a Somalilander, then they would say that person is supporting Somaliland only because they are married to someone from there. Lately though, some of them have gone even farther and have been saying that Somalilanders are recruiting Western gays to champion their cause.

The Somaliland haters use these nasty tactics while at the same time mouthing pieties about democracy, integrity and human rights. It is as if it never occurred to them that a person can actually believe in, or support a cause, without some monetary, sexual or any other gain.

One of the people who was recently targeted by the Somaliland haters is the journalist Peter Tachel. But it looks like they got more than they bargained for. They thought they could frighten him and force him to quit having anything to do with Somaliland, instead their poisonous smear campaign only made him double his efforts to bring Somaliland’s case to the world’s attention, as evidenced by the superb TV program that he put together entitled “Somaliland – Africa’s Success Story”.

Here is the program:

http://doughty.gdbtv.com/player.php?h=da465ea81df7521fcd7afda16d1b5ad9

Enjoy it, and let it be a lesson to the Somaliland haters, that there are things in life neither money nor sex can buy.

Source: Somaliland Times

Home | Contact us | Links | Archives | Search