Somalilandsun -The Somaliland fraternity should not only pep up their vitality as concerns vigilance, but indeed see to it that the country is truly defended within and without its borders.
Incursions do not only come about through individuals permeating through fences with ill-motives only. As they say that there are many ways to kill a cat (or rather skin a carcass), untold numbers of modus operands are used to dent SL integrity – both moral, territorial or sovereign ones.
Chiefly amongst the modes with which our images are tinctured happens to be through the powers of the pen, whether print or electronic.
Latest of all is IFEX attributed item claiming that SL had “banned” Kalsan TV purporting “motives to be unlicensed” operations. The IFEX article has been picked and amplified by the likes of UK’s The Guardian amongst gigantic publishing houses hence, ironically, the item was well tailored to severely dent the country’s image.
With all resources available to the The Guardian, they never bothered to touch on the fact that SL was a defacto country and was operating independent of Somalia.
It did not bother to contact SOLJA and depended on NUSOJ hence quoted Omar Faruk.
Worst of the entire Guardian never contacted SL’s information ministry whereby they would have been given the real facts.
The truth is that Kalsan TV was operating within the country illegally for they were never registered nor accredited with legal papers.
The article did not bother to show that SL was an entity in itself with its own laws.
It just assumed that Kalsan or any other operator from Mars or Pluto had all the rights to trample over the land.
Similarly the article gave a beautiful summary on press occupational hazard by noting an assassination of a journalist a fortnight prior to the Kalsan TV “ban”, hence in a mastered skill, distorted the article to assume that the murder happened in SL whereas it was in Galkayo (Somalia)!
Surely, Kalsan TV was given a month to have themselves registered and get legal accredition.
If news monitors from any concerned responsible party could have viewed the past Omar Faruk’s participation in media debates aired by UK based Iran’s Press TV, when SL question props up he deviates from the journalist he is supposed to be and becomes a fiery anti-SL politician, just like the war lords the world have now come to learn.
The Guardian, for example, should have been responsible, dug deeper and know his dented image emitted unscrupulous trend.
This reminds us that if we do not keep on toes, we would always fall into potholes- given the latest UK minister’s remark that all was well “in Somalia and they are reviving their developmental institutions like Berbera port”.
Whether the remarks were intended as an aside, or had sacarsm in it, the mirth was clear. It shows that our hands are lowered in a boxing context since Somalia had announced that it included Berbera in its 2013/14 annual budjet!
It is to this strength that we call upon all stakeholders of SL integrity to forge together and works to see that we live upto our expectations and see to it that our dreams come true.
We should step up our virulence in lobbying for good tidings, hence in tandem, should we aggressively defend our rights, future and posterity.
Somalilanders should know better than not.
The Writer M.A.Egge is the editor of The Horn Tribune; a weekly English newspaper published in Hargeisa by the state owned Dawan Media Group
