Hiiraan Online

by Jama Mohamed
Saturday, September 18, 2010

Somaliland presidential elections came after successive delayed timelines and bitter disputes on the outcome of the electronic voter registration system which did not only result in widened rift among parties but created political instability giving a rise to public protests that claimed the lives of citizens in the capital of Hargeisa. To the utter dismay of citizens and well wishers for Somaliland stability, all political actors apparently failed to reach consensus. Instead each political party was selfishly bent on mobilizing tribal and political support for their sole benefits to the detriment of national interest. Had it not been for strong external pressures exerted on political parties or in better word rival groups, such political bickering would have pushed them into escalation of violent crises.

However, the agreed Memorandum of Understanding diffused tensions. Finally, presidential election described by observers as a fair and free election by international standards was held on June 26th, 2010. Prior to the voting day, a relative sense of responsibility and maturity was shown by contesting political parties through peaceful electioneering.  Then, Ahmed Mohamoud Silanyo, the chairman of Kulmiye Party, was officially declared to have won in the election and was sworn in as a president for the coming five years. It is worth noting that such event did not only draw attention of peace & conflict analysts and international community to the genuine democratic change which is even hardly practiced in the African continent, but it also revived the hope of possible replication of Somaliland’s experience in the war torn southern regions of Somalia and beyond.

For Somaliland subjects, having free and fair election was a crucial turning point in their quest for international recognition; a feeling created and instilled in their minds by prevailing political discourse singling out international recognition as the prime goal of their embryonic internationally unrecognized republic to the extent that politicians seemingly depict it as a panacea to all its contemporary ailments. It is by all accounts a target unanimously adopted by successive administrations for the last two decades and failure to secure it will inevitably result in demoralising frustration leading to scepticism about viability of unilateral declaration of Somaliland sovereignty in 1991.

Furthermore, there is a growing separatist thinking created in the minds of the society by existing education system, political rhetoric and the media which even hardly mention the word ‘Somalia’ let alone to include recent tragic development in Mogadishu as a news item. Somalia or the South is merely referred to on occasions intended to commemorate deaths and destructions befallen on population in the North West region during armed civil war between SNM and armies of military government in late 80s. This gives a chance to separatists to deliver contagious speeches blaming the South for inhuman atrocities committed against people in Somaliland while ignoring the fact that perpetrators included some high ranking officers of Somaliland origin who did not only get away with committed crimes, but managed to hold public office until today. Justice means to mete out punishment to all criminals irrespective of their place of origin, but use of such double standard judgement constitutes solely a political manoeuvre employed to justify separatism and to ground it in minds of youngsters.

I frequently look at my little two year old beloved son struggling with recitation of a song hailing secessionism (Somaliland dalkayga) due to the influence of local media. Tactfully, trying to put Somali nationalist song into his mouth while playing him, I fail and my efforts end in vain, because I very often find him chanting Somaliland dalkayga in the following day unexpectedly. It is a scene portraying how separatism is progressively becoming deep rooted culture in children and young generations. At the back of my mind I wonder when Somali children will chant songs about Somalia unity and be taught in schools about contemporary civil war and disintegration of State territory as a past history. It is a sad fact of life that a great segment of the population has already been indoctrinated with such secessionist ideology.

Nonetheless, there seems to be a glimpse of hope as a quite number of elites are of the conviction that what matters a lot and ought to be conceived as a sacred unassailable aspiration is to have a system under which rights and freedoms of the society are protected irrespective of its name and form. To them Somaliland as a sovereign state is merely one of the possible options including reunification with the South in the form of federal system anchored on democratic principles and rule of law.

Apparently, this view may not appeal to certain hardened political amateurs of the former Somali National Movement and their followers who react frantically to any call for Somali unity. But, shrewd politicians like Silanyo are well cognizant of futility of pursuing an unrealistic goal fraught with all kinds of impeding constraints. Even certain moderates may argue that time is not yet ripe for engaging political dialogue with the South as a legitimate administration is inexistent there. Hence, Somaliland should not be thrown into ocean of dramatically changing chaos but it had better wait until a functional government emerges.

Conversely, exponents of unionist ideology perceive that is a religious and national obligation on the incumbent president of Somaliland, Mr. Silanyo, to endeavour to restore peace and instability in the South in order bring back Somali State to its feet. Unlike Dahir Rayale Kahin who lacked confidence to mend fences with the South, Mr. Silanyo has the courage to come up with a pan-Somalist agenda to convince the south and international community by being on the vanguard of establishing a federal government, making Somaliland territory its hub and transforming Hargeisa into its permanent capital. With the support of the international community, the newly established federal government can build national institutions including well-trained military forces of 200,000 personnel who can wipe out Islamist armed militias easily. In doing so, president Silanyo is not doing a favour to our war afflicted brethren in the South to help put an end to ongoing protracted civil wars, but he is doing a nice job of emancipating ‘Somalilanders, from being captives to the dream of getting international recognition for the de facto republic of Somaliland as well.

Our God given consciousness and creativity dictates us to be pragmatic to seize available opportunities without being dogmatic to an illogical aim like a Christian priest whose fallacious trinity is questioned. It is high time that our leaders developed a culture of self-critiquing in order to review secession vis-a-vis reunification with the South under a federal system based on democratic principles and equitable powering sharing formula.