Silanyo’ s led government Fears The Opposition Parties’ Debate And Seeking Lame Excuses To Bar
By Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye
Silanyo’s led administration became quite touchy about everything from criticizing corruption of the Airport Embezzlement Scandal which has been scapegoated for the poor Director-General of the aviation ministry to simply expressing one’s opinion about the overriding issues.
The president had protested the Consultation Forum for legality point of view, and the well-meaning founders simply withdrew the forum for greater good of the nation, not for fear of arbitrary imprisonment. However; the two opposition parties recently declared to convene a national debate to review the country’s overall picture and whether the country on pathway to collapse or just in a sharp decline in terms of security, economy, and democracy. Because it is normal to press the alarm bell when the boat seems sinking; but everyone in government; Uncle Ruckuses jumped in to order “your mouth needs keep shut” and that is their approach to combat piracy and terror “no, only the government can hold a debate” they added “but how?” the national parties: UCID and Wadani asked, but their reply is somewhat more ridiculous and is this: “only the president can do it” without any explanation. And this how it goes when a system gradually becoming totalitarian junta.
Somaliland being a democratic system, in holding a debate about whatsoever does not need a permission from the president or the president to censor the contents, if we censor everything from debates to concerts then Somaliland’s only asset: the democracy and the freedom of speech has gone unwittingly which is quite a sad. Furthermore, calling the debates a tribal conference is new phenomenon, a smear tactic and it speaks volumes of how the administration lost public confidence and become oversensitive.
The opposition parties and ordinary folks have the right to air their opinion unobstructed and uncensored unless Somaliland become military junta of some sort. The media men and women shouldn’t be intimidated to force to please the government.
President Ahmed Mohamoud Silanyo, seemingly a passionate champion of unfettered freedom, who used to criticize his predecessor President Riyale Kahin for arresting journalists and accused him of suppression of media as well as usual democratic activities, has ended up in the opposite direction. It is a clear crystal that he used empty slogans to deceive voters but he did not like it at the all.
The aged president had campaign promises to break the isolation of the global pariah in the first year or so in office but so far does not even took the right approach. Instead the First Family along with extended grandchildren with some ministers and country’s agents who are nominated for they married to cousins or nephews of the president or his wife begun to engage in their the personal welfare: sending money to overseas offshore accounts, building mansions, and siphoning millions of dollars from potential oil explorer firms by issuing multiple patents to different companies and sometimes to the same firm with great embarrassment.
Making business out of politics in a country not internationally recognized—thus unaccountable neither to local kangaroo courts nor UN tribunals is what attracted Somaliland expatriates from the World Bank to Humanitarian NGOs. Of course, some Somalilanders often complain about pickpockets and minor criminals snatching cell phones in the night but they don’t realize the damage the former can do to the country.
Unlike the lady governor, Abraar, of Somalia’s Central Bank who resigned out of her strong beliefs for attempted looting though she was wearing western skirt, not Paki or Arabia’s dress style. In fact, was a woman of high principle, integrity, and model for the next generations, Sheikh ministers in Somaliland with prophetic names who shamelessly extract the golden teeth of the dead with greediness during the funeral, who run so called Cilaj or Rehab centers without having any formal training, be Islamic or not, and who work as tourist guides in the Hajj and paid for! We are a nation of critical deficit of moral values. Imagine Sheikh Minister twisting verses to gain material benefit. In such case we need more freedom, not less, to shed a light on greediness and irregular practices that may reverse our collective effort.
However; why the government wary of debates or televised Talk shows which are similar to the Question Time of the BBC or the Intelligence Squared Debate? Because they may incidentally reveal the wide-scale looting underway sandwiched between Western amoral returnees and so called Sheikhs.
