Riyale's assault on Somaliland and the international community

EDITORIAL

With the country reeling from the serious crisis precipitated by the Upper House's (Guurti) decision to illegally extend the president's term, one would have thought that Somaliland's government would do all it could to calm things down. But such thinking proved to be unfounded. Instead of calming things down, the government fanned not only the flames of internal conflict, but picked a fight with the donor community for sticking with the three political parties and not endorsing the Guurtis decision.

There are several things that are noteworthy about Somaliland government's attack on the donors. First, it was led by none other than Somaliland's Foreign Minister, Abdillahi M. Duale, a man whose very position requires him to have a working relationship with the international community. Second, Abdillahi M. Duale did not just politely disagree with the donor community, but went to great length in vilifying the donor community, accusing them, among other things, of stirring "fitna" or dissension in Somaliland, and promising not to allow them to interfere in Somaliland's constitution. Third, as usual with this administration, Abdillahi M. Duale resorted to shameless lies in his attacks on donors. The biggest lie was his claim that Somaliland's government paid most of the expenses for the last elections and will pay most of the costs of the coming elections, and that the role of the international community was limited to sending technical assistance and providing monitors for the elections, when in fact, the international community paid a huge share of past elections and is going to pay around 75% of the coming elections as opposed to only 25% by Somaliland's government.

The attacks on the international community was not limited to demonizing the delegation that came to Somaliland but included accusations by Somaliland's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Said Muhammad Nur, that the international agencies residing in Somaliland engaged in spying and disseminated false information about the country.

For the longest time, Somaliland's domestic and foreign policies were guided by two principles: to keep the country stable and to persuade the international community to acknowledge and reward that stability, ultimately, in the form of diplomatic recognition. The Guurti's declaration (with the blessings of the government) that Somaliland is an unstable place, and the government’s verbal assault on the international community have pulled the rug from under Somaliland. But what Rayale failed to realize is that by rubbishing his country's image and alienating the international community he was also highlighting his unsuitability to lead the country. After all, what country wants to be led by someone who tarnishes its image and wrongs its friends?

Source: Somaliland Times

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