By Mohamed F Yabarag, London, UK

It is increasingly becoming apparent nowadays that freedom of speech and press are under constant threat in Somaliland. Barely a day or a week goes by without hearing a journalist being arrested on the false pretext that he/she wrote a defamatory or libelous article against the government or against one of its high ranking officers. The current government’s disdain for freedom of speech was never in question as they wrongly incarcerated many journalists in the past on many occasions and consequently created uproar among the peace-loving people of Somaliland as well a few observes from abroad. But what is in question now is the number and frequency at which citizens, mainly journalists, have found themselves their liberties taken away by a government whose last remaining ambition is perhaps to hang on to power as long as they could possible do.

The behavior of the current government seems to suggest that they have lost interest in ruling the country one more term, as any government that has this in mind and worth its salt would have surely behaved differently than they are doing at present. The recent incarceration of journalist Habane of Jamhuuriya (arrested more than eight times in the past) in Borama is an indication of this, in spite of the regional government’s insistence that they have nothing to do with his arrest. The fact that journalists and people from the press are often freed after spending sometime in jail without charges shows that the government has lost high moral ground on this issue. I cannot remember a single journalist found guilty in Somaliland, apart from the four Haatuf journalists wrongly convicted by the Kangaroo court assembled in Mandhera prison and later pardoned by president Rayaale simply to save him from further embarrassment.

In Somaliland, one of the main achievements we treasure in the last sixteen years since we regained our independence from the defunct former Somalia, among other things, is peace. If the current government continues to trample on freedom of press and speech of its citizenry there may be no peace to keep after all. It is incumbent on the government in power to lead by example and avoid anything that may appear to be contemptuous in the eyes of its citizenry as far as the law of the land is concerned.

Despite the existence of press law singed by non other than the head of the state, Somaliland authorities continue to prosecute journalists under all kinds of law, including an old age penal law and the one that was in use during the dictatorial era of the late Somali government, whereby people who happened to differ the government were dealt with in the harshest way possible, often leading long sentences and even death. It is good to have a fine constitution based on democratic principles offering its citizenry freedom of speech, among other things, but it is pointless to have such a constitution if the authority in charge of upholding it is flouting it. Literally nobody should be above the law. In Somaliland, people in power can arrest whoever they want on the false pretence that these individuals are a threat to peace and security, a term often used to intimidate opposition groups.

Today in Somaliland we often see political parties, the house of parliament and the government squaring off each other on points of law, hence bringing to a near halt to each group’s duties and undertakings. Surely there is a way out in this stalemate, but the government seems to be dragging their feet for their selfish interests. Why is the constitutional court of Somaliland silent on these very crucial and crystal clear issues? The answer to this question is very easy to understand according to some insiders: simply to look after their positions as they are appointed by the government. If we have to overcome these malpractices which could easily derail of what we have achieved thus far, we need to build strong institutions that are impartial, accountable, transparent and independent of government interventions. Governments can come and go, but strong institutions can stay forever.

And why does the house of elders (Guurti) always seem to side with the government instead of bringing all sides together for the benefit of the country as a whole? The answer to the first question, again I am afraid, applies to this group as well. According to some experts, there are no grey areas in the Somaliland constitution as far as the roles and responsibilities of both the government and the two houses are concerned. And yet we see both groups squabbling over constitutional issues on umpteenth times. According to some experts, the recent fiasco surrounding the 2007 budget, the issue in respect of the two prospective candidates rejected by the national election council and many, many more contentious issues are largely government’s fault, despite it claiming otherwise and blaming everything on the house of parliament and its leaders.

Somaliland government can no longer afford to stonewall on issues that are of great importance to the well being of its people, including freedom of speech, protection of human rights and freedom of the press. Rayale’s government should stop summary incarceration of its citizens, including the press and members of civil societies. The government should engage dialogue with its political foes and come out of its closet more often with conviction. If we have to achieve a sustainable and long-lasting democracy, the current government should respect the God-given rights of its citizenry be they journalists, civil societies and even members of the opposition parties as they too have rights. Failure to do so will make life difficult for everyone in this country including the government itself, and most certainly made live unbearable for those in search of this country’s illusive international recognition.

myabarag@talktalk.net