How TFG,
BBC, VOA and Mahiga sustain Somaliland’s Claims. By Osman
Hassan.
(Nairobi, May 03, 2012 Ceegaag Online)
If the collapse of the
State was an almighty calamity for the people ofSomalia, if
not for Somalis everywhere other than the secessionists for
whom it was a blessing, another existential one might be
looming. This time it is the break-up ofSomalia, as talks
are to be held between two parties that care little or
nothing for the union or for that matterSomaliaitself,
depending which side of the table they sit. One party is the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG), an unelected,
foreign-made, lame- duck government. The other party is the
entity calling itselfSomalilandwhich claims to represent the
people andterritoryofnorth westSomaliaand now demanding
formal separation and recognition at the talks.
It is a mark of the
separatist’s success that a secession declared by one clan
that is only one among the five clans who inhabit north west
Somalia (former British Somaliland) has come to be
erroneously seen by theTFGand in various quarters outside
Somalia as representing the people in that part of Somalia.
The only challenge they face to their false claim is not
from the indifferent if not acquiescingTFG, or from the
dehumanised and disinterested people in southernSomalia,
shell-shocked by the endless problems and suffering they had
gone through since the fall of theSomaliState.
Rather, the opposition
to the secessionists and the challenge to their claim is
from within, and from the four unionist clans who refuse to
go along with the secession, typified by the on-going
clashes since 2010 between the people of Sool,Sanaag and
Cayn (now the Khaatumo State of Somalia) and the occupying
Somaliland militia; or the formation of the other regional
States- Makhir and Awdal. These are the defenders and
saviours of the union and not its supposed custodian, theTFG.
This article examines
how the secessionist clan, using the region’s former
colonial name of “Somaliland” as a put-on veil to hide its
true one-clan nature continues to peddle its false
pretensions and claims as a country with one nation, one
people and one government and still find willing believers.
1. Somaliland’s
own efforts
No doubt the
secessionist have been helped by circumstances or by others.
The absence of a Somali government for many years and the
indifference of the currentTFGplay a large part as do the
support they receive from the Somali Services of theBBCand
lately the VOA and Ambassador Augustine Mahiga, the UN
Secretary- General’s Special Representative forSomalia.
Otherwise, much of the secessionist clan’s achievement to
project themselves as the sole representative of the people
ofnorth westSomaliais through their own efforts and
relentless public relations and propaganda campaign.
Unhindered by the
absence of government, and as the only active and organised
clan in the whole of Somalia, facing no organised opposition
within north west Somalia until three years ago, and with
much of southern Somalia fragmented into mutually
antagonistic clan homelands, the secessions had the whole
field to themselves for a long time and it was to be
expected that their baseless claims to receive under the
circumstances receptive ears and minds in the outside world
2.The role of
the TFG
Apart from the support
of others, it is the lack of challenge by theTFGin whatever
form since its formation inEmbagati,Kenya, that has played a
large part in propping upSomalilandand its claims. The
continued silence of the currentTFGheaded by Sheikh Shariif,
with no finger raised or word of condemnation uttered, in
the face of the secessionists’ repeated brutal attacks on
Buuhoodle, presumably part and parcel of Somalia, and
killing hundreds of its citizens, sends an unmistakable
message to the secessionists and to the international
community that the Somali government tacitly accepts the
break-up of Somalia and has no intention to challenge the
secessionists in words or deeds.
One has only to look at
the disheartening leading figures of theTFGto see what is
going right for Somaliland that make one lose all hope: in
terms of treason to the union comes the current minister of
the interior, Mr. Abdesamad Maalin Mohamoud, a self-declared
supporter of Somaliland’s recognition and who, to add insult
to injury, is included in theTFGteam participating in the
talks; then there is the Prime Minister whose preoccupations
are confined to serving the interests of Faroole’s Puntland
within theTFG, keeping his post and endearing himself to his
foreign mentors as the only pair of safe hands who can
safeguard their interests.
And then there is Sheikh
Shariif, the President, whose concern is keeping his office
and making the most of it while the going is good. His
vision otherwise does not go beyond the walls of
VillaSomaliaas far as the country is concerned. Maintaining
the unity of the country does counts little with him. One
day he endorses theKhaatumoStateofSomalia, only to get cold
feet the next day in deference to the secessionist lobby.
His secret talks with their emissary in Abu Dabay,
purportedly about a possible quid pro quo deal in which he
will help with their secession in exchange for support for
his presidential candidacy tell is all. These cases and
others going back to the time he was head of the Union of
Islamic Courts epitomise how the Sheikh changes his colours
like a chameleon in response to his impulses or inclinations
of the moment. We have every reason to worry that he might
do a lasting damage before he leaves office and all the more
to be on the guard.
These trio and others in
theTFGare directly and indirectly supportingSomaliland’s
claims and pretensions. As such, they are the last people to
be trusted with the fate ofSomalia’s unity. It behoves all
those who care aboutSomalia’s unity to ensure this does not
happen. These talks, if ever they have to take place, should
be left to a future legitimate government accountable to its
people and faithful to the constitution.
3. BBC Somali
Service
No outside body had lent
so much legitimacy to the secessionists’ claim
thatSomalilandis a separate country fromSomalia, embracing
all the clans and regions ofnorth westSomalia(formerBritish
Somaliland) and
represented by its government more than theBBCSomali Service
from the moment its current Editor took office. Almost all
the information coming from the area is from the
secessionist enclave and their principal towns- Hargeisa,
Burca and Berbera. The Corporation’s two local
correspondents are both in the secessionist heartland (Hargeisa
and Burca), often reporting government propaganda
masquerading as news.
At Bush House
inLondon,Somaliland’s
affairs would often feature in relevant regular weekly or
daily programmes. VisitingSomalilandleaders, politicians,
academicians, artists, etc are interviewed. All this
mutually reinforcing coverage of the secessionist heartland
while news from other regions and clans have no outlet puts
out the desired but false picture of aSomalilandthat is a
separate country at peace with itself and united behind the
secession and its government. The height of theBBCSomali
Service’s pro -Somalilandsupport was during
theLondonconference onSomaliain February2012 when the period
from 22 to 24 February was devoted to a blatant bonanza
forSomaliland’s propaganda and promotion of its cause.
On the rare occasion
when they are forced to report on the SSC regions (Khaatumo
State), as for example when fighting has taken place between
the occupying Somaliland militia and the defenders of
Khaatumo State, theBBClocal correspondent in Burcao,
hundreds of miles away from the front, will first seek the
authority’s version of the fighting from their defence
minister in Hargeisa. And then, for the sake of appearances
of impartiality, will then seek back-up information form
knownSomalilandlackeys in the SSC who are expected to
corroborateSomaliland’s version of events.
Leaders of the now
defunct SSC Hogaan, established to campaign peacefully for
the end ofSomaliland’s occupation, were smeared as
terrorists bySomaliland, a charge often echoed by theBBC,
disingenuously claiming to be repeating what
theSomaliland”government” has said. The current leaders of
theKhaatumoState, like their predecessors, are described
among other things as terrorists and warmongers – crude
slander imbibed and regurgitated by theBBC. Having been over
the years blacked out, little that happens in
theKhaatumoState(or in the rest of the unionist regions)
that could negateSomaliland’s image or its claims is allowed
to reach the listeners of theBBCSomali Service.
Bowing at last to
complaints, it is only in the last month or so, and rare
occasions, that the leaders ofKhaatumoStatehad been allowed
by the Service to give their versions of events. But this is
nothing more than tokenism, a flash in the pan that does not
dent the wider pro-Somaliland picture To be fair to the
overallBBCmanagement, they could not be accused to be behind
this abuse of the Service for partisan purposes. What they
can be blamed for is to allow it to persist for so long when
it is happening right under their noses.
4. VOA Somali
Service
Not to be upstaged or
outdone by theBBCSomali Service, VOA has also lately been
joining the popularity race for the secessionists hearts and
adopted the same approach towards the enclave as theBBC. A
good example is their Friday discussion programme (27 April)
on the talks between theTFGand “Somaliland”.
An impartial broadcaster
staging a serious discussion programme on a nationally
important issue, such as the unity or break-up of the
country, is one that would be mindful of the divide and the
on-going conflict between the secessionist clan and the four
unionist clans in north west Somalia and ensure that the
discussion reflects these critical factors objectively. In
specific terms, the manner the participants are selected,
who they represent, or where they hail from, and, more
importantly the competence of the moderator, are factors
that decide whether that discussion is balanced and
objective or otherwise partisan. VOA has failed to meet
these requirements.
What VOA has done was to
be publicly partisan. It wilfully turned a blind eye to the
realities innorth westSomaliathat needed to be raised and
debated. Instead, it adopted the secessionists’ claim
thatSomalilandand its government represent all the clans and
regions in the territory. Following this false premise, they
chose two separatists from the secessionist clan to join the
four-member discussion panel. It is as if the other four
unionist clans and regions did not exist. The other two were
a writer based in theUSAand a professor resident inQatar.
The discussion boiled
down to how the secessionist enclave (Somaliland) should go
about pursuing its case. Much was expected from the two
non-Somaliland participants to speak up for the absent and
excluded unionists but that did not happen. It was left to
the moderator to raise the opposition to the secession in
the unionist regions but she did not do that either. The
buck ultimately stops at the door of the Editor. It is
difficult to believe that the planning and organisation of
this discussion would have proceeded without his knowledge
and endorsement. The was a programme meant, and not for the
first time, to sustainSomaliland’s claims.
5. Mahiga
Somalilandhas won
influential supporters in the British Parliament, European
Parliament and in theUSA. But winning Ambassador Augustine
Mahiga, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative
for Somalia (SRSG), to their cause beats them all. The
fun-loving, easy-going Tanzanian diplomat has soft spot for
the charms of the place and the attraction of its people and
now openly advocates their recognition. His latest call for
the removal of the arms embargo against them is aimed at
finishing off the resistance they face in the unionist
regions since the enclave is not facing any threat
fromEthiopia,Djiboutior theTFGor for that matter al Shabaab.
Once they achieve this objective, they could, as he reckons,
strengthen their hands at home and abroad and enhance their
recognition prospects.
Mahiga never had it so
good as he is having it inSomalia. When he leaves his post,
which he must at some point, he will have every reason to be
pleased with himself. But what damage will he also leave
behind? The Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, who appointed
him after replacing his predecessor, Ahamoud Ould Abdalla,
shares much of the blame of Mahiga’s excesses. He should by
now know that his SRSG is doing more harm than good and
immediately replace him.
6. Concluding
remarks
The odds that are
stacked against the union are formidable- a determined
“Somaliland” aided among others by foreign lobbyists, the
BBC, VOA, an indifferent TFG, an apathetic public in
southern Somalia and above all by Mahiga. If it can overcome
the opposition from the unionist clans in the territory, it
might be plain sailing from thereon. But that is what it
will never achieve. For one thing, the Khaatumo State of
Somalia, and no less the other unionists, will never
surrender to the secession and ultimately it will be them
who will save Somalia’s unity just as in 1960 it was them,
and the present-day secessionists, who brought about the
union. It takes two to Tango and If the south do not play
their part for the union, what is the alternative for the
unionists in thenorth west? For one thing, the Khaatumo
people, descendents of the Darwiish, who lost half a million
people for the Somali cause, will never join their
occupiers, the ones responsible for the demise of theSomali
State
and nation. Other options will have to be explored if it
comes to that.
Osman Hassan
Email: osman.hassan2 @gmail.com
Opinions
expressed in this article are those of the author and do not
necessarily reflect the views of Ceegaag.com
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