Abdillahi Irro’s contribution to Somaliland
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EDITORIAL
It is common practice among commentators to blame President Rayale for the deteriorating human rights situation in Somaliland. This is understandable since the president is the highest state executive. But it is also important to point out that the president could not have committed all this violations if he did not get help and encouragement from others in his administration. There are several ministers who have played a key role in planning, executing and justifying the government’s assault on human rights. One of them is the Minister of Interior, Abdillahi Ismail Ali (Irro).
There are several reasons why Abdillahi Irro stands out. First, as the minister of interior, the various branches of internal security such as the police and CID fall under his authority. Unfortunately, it is these security agencies which are supposed to protect the public that are major violators of human rights. It is true that these agencies did not start violating citizen’s rights when he became a minister, but it is also true that since he took over the reigns of that ministry, it has gone through a sharp turn for the worse. Outrageous and shameful trampling on citizens’ rights that previous ministers of interior, including the most controversial Minister of Interior, Ismail Yare, would not dare commit, have become routine occurrence under Abdillahi Irro’s stewardship.
Some of these ugly chapters in Somaliland’s history in which the ministry of interior under Abdillahi Irro’s watch had a major role are:
- The police’s barging into Haatuf newspaper’s office without a warrant and the detention of its reporters.
- Detention of Qaran leaders and the appearance of political prisoners for the first time since Somaliland’s restoration of its independence.
- The Police’s takeover of Shuro Net’s office in collusion with the deputy minister of justice, the coercion of Shuro Net into handing over the keys of their office and the transference of those keys to a fake new committee.
- Abdillahi Irro’s fabrication that members of Qaran’s provisional committee were collecting weapons and intended to shed blood.
- The police’s trespassing and illegally searching the residence of Haatuf Media Chairman
The fact that the ministry of interior has taken a nose dive to the bottom should come as no surprise given that Abdillahi Irro’s real expertise is not in running ministries but in the NSS with whom he stayed until the bitter end. Once his former employer disappeared with the defeat of Siyad Barre, Abdillahi Irro ventured into the world of business where he failed miserably and declared bankruptcy. It was during this time that he had a run in with President Egal over TOTAL which prompted Egal to say that Irro is lucky that he is roaming free in Somaliland given his past. As a former NSS himself, President Rayale, knows very well Irro’s past, a past that they have in common. That’s precisely why Rayale made him a minister: not to run a ministry, not to contribute to the country, but to do Rayale’s dirty work; and Irro is doing it with alacrity.
Source: Somaliland Times
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