By: Abdirahman Mohamed Diriye
Somalilandsun – The worst thing is that when your partner wants not to divorce even though you technically divorced and he or she pretends to look a couple living under one roof, now that is the case of Somaliland and Somalia. A week ago, Somaliland president met his counterpart Sheikh Hassan in Ankara and struck a deal with him paving the way for eventual disunity and redistribution of national assets.
The anti-Somaliland who seemed getting tired of baseless allegations against peace-loving Somaliland people and animosity seemingly died down have recently reemerged from their hideouts from Chicago to Toronto shivering of tribal sense of doom yelling at Somalia’s president: where is my invincible tribe in all this landmark agreements in London, Dubai, and Ankara? Hell with you.
The good news of “exit” talks caused a panic in tiny corners. These are simply remnants of dictator Siad Barre who are wary of revenge by their ex surviving victims because they brutalized both the people of Mogadishu and Hargeisa, however; Somaliland pardoned all former war criminals who tried to annihilate Somalilanders looking forward to the future. But criminals’ nightmares come whenever Somalia is closer to permanent solution because the children and women they buried or burnt alive still haunt them.
Restore sovereignty or die
Somalilanders jealously attach to their independence and fully prepared for all eventualities, be it sacrifice for life or not. When Somalia was in better shape in terms of political stability, Somalilanders opted to reassert their lost independence, for better or worse, they ready to concede everything apart from their freedom which born out of gun and bloodshed.
Sheikh Hassan, more pragmatic than any Somali leader in the past, realized to think the unthinkable now rather, entertaining of the past gaffes. There is only one or two talks to go, then the whole of story of what once referred to as Republic of Somalia be into two friendly countries of Somaliland and Somalia working together more effectively as equal partners, not dominated union at the expense of Somaliland public as before.
Somaliland is in urgent need of international recognition while Somalia needs reliable partner to stop infiltrations of militants. Both need each other to survive and tackle common challenges.
paying lip service to dead union
Tiny minority divided alone borders want to play different cards to ignite another deadly civil war but Sheikh Hassan called to agree on single autonomy to be administered by him. Kismayo, once the breadbasket of Somali, has fell to the hands of one clan at the backing of Kenyan forces, many Somalis are worried what the fate of the territory will be in fifty years from now, probably be Kenyan administered Kashmir. Ali Khalif Galayr, Somalia’s former prime minister is in favor of to be ruled from Nairobi than from Hargaysa! That is the mindset of many of his colleagues.
Somalia’s new government showed balls to tackle issues of major concern and turned deaf ears to hatemongers, armchair warriors in the diaspora, and other lazybones who meddle in the business of Somali government, on the other hand, Somaliland is lucky to have pragmatic leadership to deal with rather than flying to other countries in search of solutions.
Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye is a Somaliland activist based in Ethiopia. He is Democracy Chronicles Senior Editor for Africa and can be reached by his email: dirye@democracychronicles.com
