Somalis see through Majeerteenya’s flimsy claims

EDITORIAL

When one of Somaliland’s traditional leaders, Boqor Bur Madow, recently warned against attempts by Majeerteenya (Puntland) to dominate all Somalis, he was not saying something that most Somalis did not know. On the contrary, most Somalis not only see his utterances as stating the obvious, but also agree with him. In other words, most Somalis know what Majeerteenya is up to, and oppose its attempt to dominate them.

What has made it relatively easy for Somalis to see through Majeerteenya’s claims? Answer: For one thing, those claims blatantly contradict each other.

For instance, one of Majeerteenya’s tactics is to say that since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, Somalis have reverted to the pre-colonial status of existing as separate clans. Majeertenya then uses this argument to claim large chunks of eastern Somaliland as well as the city of Kismayo as its own, just because their fellow Harti clans live in those territories. No pretense of Somali brotherhood, let alone nationalism here, just raw clanism.

Another tactic is to mouth the rhetoric of Somali nationalism. An instance of this type of opportunistic nationalism is the often repeated assertion by Majeerteenya’s leaders that since Mogadisho is Somalia’s capital, then it belongs to all Somalis, and does not belong to a particular clan. The purpose behind this argument is to dispossess the Hawiya and to make Mogadishu a free playground for Majeerteenya’s leaders.

In their lust for power, Majeerteenya’s leaders seem to have convinced themselves that the rest of Somalis would not notice that tactic number one (clanism) contradicts tactic number two (nationalism). But most Somalis have noticed these and many other flimsy claims, and they simply won’t wash. That is what Boqor Bur Madow was trying to convey to Majeerteenya’s leaders, and most Somalis agree with him.

Source: Somaliland Times

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