Jigjiga Officials Persecute Somalilanders

Borama, Somaliland, November 24, 2007 (SL Times) – There has been an increase in reports coming from Jigjiga, the capital of the Ethiopian autonomous Somali region, of government officials ill-treating Somalilanders visiting, working or living in the Somali regional state.

The Awdal region Haatuf newspaper correspondent, Muhammad Sheikh Omar said that there has been a dramatic rise in incidents where Somalilanders in Jigjiga are being targeted by the regional Somali state officials belonging to the Ogaden clan in acts of retribution for the Somaliland government’s arresting of suspected members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

Muhammad Sheikh Omar reported that, so far, the brunt of victimization has fallen upon people from the Awdal region of Somaliland, and on the Jibril Yonis, in particular, the sub-clan of Somaliland’s President Rayale (80% of the traditional Jibril Yonis clan territory comes under the jurisdiction of the Jigjiga government and region, whereas only 20% of the ‘Jibril Yonis’ clans reside in Somaliland’s Awdal region).

One Jigjiga trader from the Jibril Yonis who preferred not to reveal his identity said to the Haatuf correspondent, Muhamad Omar: “all my life I have lived in Jigjiga and never been or seen Somaliland. I own two houses in Jigjiga which I bought ten years ago. All of a sudden, I get a court summons from the Jigjiga district court demanding proof of my purchase and ownership of the two houses. I have shown the court all the necessary legal documents. Yet, the court judge, for no reason at all, insisted on seeing at least two of the previous owners who owned the properties before me. He even threatened me at one time and said, ‘bring the men you [Somaliland] handed to the enemy [ Ethiopia], otherwise, you will end up where they ended up’. I don’t know why I was issued with a court summons, or who is responsible. The court has confiscated the title deeds to my houses and won’t give them back. I’ve even been to the higher regional court in Jigjiga to appeal against the district court’s wrongful possession of my properties. And this regional court won’t even look into my complaint, unless, I pay the court officials. It’s pretty clear that I am being treated like this because I and Rayale are from the same clan, although, I have nothing to do with Rayale or what is going on in Somaliland.”

In this month alone, Haatuf newspaper correspondents in Wajale, Gabiley and Borama have recorded over twenty odd testimonies from Somalilanders visiting Jigjiga for private/business reasons of being unlawfully arrested, detained or threatened by officials belonging to the Ogaden clan who hold positions in Ethiopia’s Somali regional state. Although they work for the Ethiopian government, these officials from the Ogaden clan are unhappy with the good relations between the Ethiopian government and Somaliland.

Source: Somaliland Times