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| Somaliland is Somaliland |
The one astonishing fact that has got me perplexed here in Somaliland is that, the utter arrogance of NGO's who operate within Somaliland, continuing to refer Somaliland as Somalia within our own territory. What is the point in seeking international recognition when we cannot adequately set standard for agencies that operate within Somaliland, in how they should address our Country? We must be clear on one thing, the sovereignty of Somaliland as a separate State is unequivocal and non negotiable, that is what it say in Article one of the Somaliland constitution and that it cannot be challenged. If this is the case, then these agencies and other business groups who are still referring to Somaliland as Somalia, why are we tolerating them?
I recently came across an Official from the United Nation Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), the UN office that most Somalis blame for the continuance fanning of the problems in Somalia, and who are together with the UNDP, the self anointed proxy government of Somalia. In one of those run of the mill seminars to tick the box in project deliverance, or what I call "dropping grains in exchange of gold", this particular official continuously referred Somaliland as Somalia, even when corrected he just brushed it aside and continued with his speech. I tell you, it would be an underestimation to say that my primal instinct was telling me to thrown my three inch heel right between his eyes but, my better self desisted.
My sudden burst of anger being the product of the love and respect I have for this nation, Country that has gone through an arduous journey to free itself from the iron grip of the merciless hand of an archetypical African dictator, a nation that has buried its dead in the thousands The genocide committed against our people unknown to the world, not written in any text book, unlike the Rwandan’s genocide of the Tutsis which stands as test case of what constitutes as a genocide to the world. No one has ever been brought to court of law charged to face the indiscriminate killing of the Somalilanders, no truth commission set to extract the truth and explain all those mass graves and who were behind it.
No Somaliland government has ever sought to bring to justice to all those officials who were the machinery of the Siyaad Barre regime, no compensation has been sought, no apology has been received, the world stays ignorant of the genocide committed against the people of Somaliland. Even the mass graves that occasionally popup, are discreetly gotten rid off so as not to awaken old wounds. There are thousands of families in Somaliland even today, who do not know what has become of their loved ones, how they died or where they are buried. People just chose to move on from this dark history and start a fresh. They unanimously chose to break away from the nightmare of Somalia, and build on their torn down cities, cities filled with landmines, 80% of the city of Burco was destroyed and 90% of Hargeisa was raised to the ground. Yet without any international help, people picked up the pieces and managed to build their nation from the ground up literally.
So with this backdrop, to hear some ignorant UN official, devoid of any historical understanding and vacant of any sensitivities towards the people of Somaliland to stand in the middle of Hargeisa in Ambassador by describing our Country as being part of Somalia, a nightmare we have long disassociate with is just incredible. It is an incredible failure on a monumental level.
Either some lazy Somaliland Minister does not know the duties he owes to the people of Somaliland which is to represent the interest of the nation at any level, our interest being that these project swinging three piece suit wearing NGO’s to respecting our local laws, the law expressed in Article One of the Somaliland Constitution which states that “.. Declaration of the Conference of the Somaliland communities held in Burao between 27th April 1991 and 15th May 1991 shall hereby and in accordance with this Constitution become a sovereign and independent country known as “The Republic of Somaliland”.
Giving consideration to the above, is the Somaliland Government turning a blind eye to the notion of our constitution, are NGO’s exempt from adhering to our sovereignty and our self asserted independence, within our own territory? Whose job is it to put these people inline? I put the blame totally on head of our government, especially the Ministerial departments, either the Foreign Minister, The Minister of Planning, or Minister of Home Affairs to brief these, paper bundling brief carrying three piece suit wearing geographically challenged NGO reps. They must set a protocols for these foreign agents to adhere to. The command must be simple enough to ring out in any given ears, in that you refer “ Somaliland as Somalia” and you are sent packing simple as that, in my world they would be arrested and thrown away the key.
I have now heard it from too many organisations operating within Somaliland that are continually disregarding our sovereignty within our own territory, how could we expect people to take our cause seriously in seeking international recognition when we do not even assert this right within our own boundary. The buck stops with our own Governments failure to make this point clear. They must take direct and decisive action in correcting these organisations and set a standard of rules/protocols for them to adhere to once they begin operation within Somaliland. Thos who fail to follow these principles then they must be dealt with accordingly based on our local laws. No one is above the law, and certainly not these organisations who are blatantly disregarding our hard earned Sovereignty. Too many Somalilanders have lost their lives for us to be free, why should we tolerate those who choose to ignore our wishes? A separate state, THE REPUBLIC OF SOMALILAND!
This is so distressing and woeful, i have no one to blame but my leaders as they turn there eyes and choose betraying our fallen heroes and neglecting our own constitution while saying one thing and doing another.
ReplyDeleteNGO'S the Cruiser Talibans as they call them in Afghanistan lavishly enjoy there summer cottages in Somaliland where they on top of that complain about been kept them so thirsty since we don't carry there boost and favorite liquor, for the past twenty years they have been doing this as i witness in my past trips back home very small numbers of them where calling as Somaliland where the rest as you put it "when corrected brushing a side and continuing calling us Somalia".
After reading your articulate blog i felted so sad and betrayed not only by those greedy arrogant NGO'S but my own elected government as well, as you said Wiilo in your own world they would have been arrested or jolted and kicked out of the country which i share with you but for the sake of our beloved country there has to be an alternative, an swift and respectful way of getting out of this. Since you are back home what do you think, how can we share this with and discuss with our own government, aren't they getting the message or may be this is a minor issue for them according to what they are dealing every day, i guess there is nothing more disturbing than breaking and ignoring our own constitution, Somalilander's and our own fallen heroes.
Wiilo I thank you so much for sharing this blog with us, please do keep it up no matter how bad it disturbs me i will be looking forward to read your well expressed views.
Thank you so much
Yusuf Dahir.
Whether twisting the name is a slip of the tongue or a sever case of tongue-tie from that UN Offical -definately It stays as Somaliland, it's so weird today to see so many Organizations operating as they're a part of Somalia and for that the budget should be labelled not to Somaliland but for Somalia and why the SOGSOG - a non profitable youth organization in Somaliland does talk about it in details in a sense it suggest to send outside those agencies, but at the same token I think this is what the world that couldn't stop Somaliland wants to see - A needy nation and a poor govrnment figures whom it's okey for them to trade with Somalia's name. In 2009 there was an statement from Eriteria FM in which he delibrately neglected the statue quo of Somaliland and in that moment it was the rolse of Mohammed Abdillahi Duale to respond to him on his selective memories, it was him also who sent Inter peace away because in one hand was distrubing the election and the other was calling for the unity among those entities but today what happened to the people who should deal with everyone including the intel agency but also make a red-line to them about the case of Somaliland and its statue quo, why Mr Mursi from egypt when he came said the same thing as this UN Offical despite the people corrected him on his slip of the tongue or sever case of tongue-tie - people don't realize how serious it's to host an agency that operates in Somalia how dangerious it's to welcome some offices not anymore worked in Mogadishu, what exactly they're doing in our Country doesn't tell it's purely Somalilandism.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that elaborative article.