Wadani Party Press Release: THE RRU TAKES OVER THE SOMALILAND PARLIAMENT (14 Nov. 2015)

The Rapid Response Unit (RRU) has taken over the Somaliland Parliamentary compound yesterday on 13^th Nov. 2014, to replace the ordinary police force unit which was responsible for the security of the parliament and which took orders from the Speaker; the RRU unit is not expected to take orders from the House Speaker.

The RRU is trained and supported to fight terrorism and has no business in meddling in the internal democratic Parliamentary process. It has been a very controversial topic in Somaliland for quite a while now, that the RRU is diverted from its mandate and is used by the Government to silence the opposition and other democratic voices such as the media. This action proves that beyond doubt.

The reason for their deployment is alleged to be, to muscle through an anticipated government driven impeachment attempt of the Speaker of the House of Representatives HE Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi – Cirro, who is also the Chairman of the strongest opposition party in Somaliland (WADDANI), in this session of the House, which is scheduled for this Saturday, the 15th of November 2014.

The most important agenda item for this session is the approval of the new National Electoral Commission (NEC) and that is what the Government is trying to derail by impeaching the Speaker. Its approval was planned to take place on the 25^th of October, but was delayed for lack of a quorum, when the majority KULMIYE MPs abstained from attending the session.

The RRU taking over the Parliament compound is an ominous development in Somaliland for an election year; the Presidential/Parliamentary election is due on 26 June 2015. It is unfortunately a repeat of the 2009 episode, when the current President - Silanyo was in the opposition;-the then reigning UDUB party brought Somaliland to the brink of a civil war after it locked out the MPS, but after mass demonstrations, which involved loss of live, the reigning President Rayaale had to back down; and also after the timely intervention of the international community had to accept a successful election roadmap; (refer ISG, 13t Sept 2009 – Political Brinkmanship – A Close Call for Somaliland).

The current political crisis revolves around two opposing political stands: a) President Silanyo and his party KULMIYE are determined to get a two-year extension of their mandate without holding an election and b) the opposition parties WADDANI and UCID, are determined to have the election take place on time in 26 June 2015, with the support of the civil society forces including the National Dialogue Forum (MADASHA) and the other mainstream civic and civil society forces as well as the Somaliland public.

To achieve its ends, the Government is blocking these two key agenda items which are now going through the two Houses of Parliament: the approval of the new National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the passing of the Voter and Civil Registration Law. If these two agenda items are accomplished, then the election preparation process will start and could be held around its due date.

However, if the Government continues to block them, then valuable time will be lost and the Government plans to ask the Guurti to give it the extension it is craving for. It is already in the media that the leadership of Guurti and the Presidency/KULMIYE have taken the decision behind closed doors to execute a two-year extension. The leadership of the Guurti has openly participated in the delay tactic process, by blocking the Voter Registration Law to go through the House Elders and returning it for the second time to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Finally, the ominous undemocratic collusion of the Guurti and the Presidency/KULMIYE is clearly leading to the destabilization of Somaliland. The WADDANI party is determined to use all its powers in the Parliament and in the Party, and in collaboration with the other opposition party and the civil society to mobilize the Somaliland public to accomplish the Voter Registration and to have Presidential and Parliamentary elections held around their due date in 2015.

We call upon our international partners to support us rescue Somaliland democracy, stability and its hard-won oasis of peace status before it is too late.

Mr. Mohamed Abdillahi Uradde

The Secretary General of WADDANI Party

Hargeisa City Living and the Traffic Jams

FX--Hargeisa is becoming quiet the metropolitan with sprawling buildings that seem to be erected overnight by the numbers with ever increasing shops, coffee places, restaurants  and other bazaars providing mixture of services for residents, new and old.

Diaspora with extra bucks to spend seem to be enjoying more than they should  but local emerging middle class with their purchasing power  is by far demanding better goods and services.

That entire buzz is generating traffic jams in already narrowed, degraded, bad roads that in need of immediate attention to overhaul the entire faded streets that look like as they were paved a century earlier. Pot holes, street vendors inching closer to the two lane roadways and teenage boys that think walking in the middle is a fashion make already difficult driving conditions even worst.

With the entire hurdle, people still go on with their usual routine, managing to deal with the hustle and the bustle of this increasingly crowded city, unless government road authority closes arteries that connect the main centers to haphazardly begin construction work in the middle of the day.

This is exactly what happened on Thursday, February 13 2014. Some genius decided to close the main Madaxtooyada road on the most busies morning of the week, the last day of the work week here in Somaliland.

The Hargeisa main road that runs from down town to government offices in former Gobolka administration area is the bottleneck of the city where most business offices and shops are located.  Whoever behind this closer decided, what the heck, it is Thursday morning, busiest morning of the week where majority of residents are rushing to do the last minute errands or to finish the weeks unfinished business before the weekend approaches, so add little spicy on their day.

Little does he know that thousands of cars become stranded on every inch around the 10 block radius surrounding the Madaxtoodayda, (the Presidential Palace). Think of the security nightmare!

 Already untested, unregulated drivers with bad manners whom mostly never put sight of traffic rules become more erratic. Frustrated commuters sought answers from nervous looking, poorly equipped and badly trained militia remnants converted to act as traffic police. No one of these supposed to be traffic police had answers for the city people.

At one point a Lieutenant Major Officer sitting on an old motorcycle got irritated with the drivers and more often used #$%$ word to match their heated query and harshly responded curse words with all the energy he could master (however it seemed weak). I happened to be the receiving end of the curse when I threw comment at him and said, "Who would in his right mind could have ever created such a mess". He made my day when he said that, "we #$%$ the mess so go on boy " ( I later found out this tired looking, chain smoking,  retired old guard on the edge of drawing his gun named Abdi is fed up with all the fuss).

I was thinking to shout to him to, "lay off the Qaad and gather your strength old boy". But I'm sure any provocation would further exacerbate the situation and may jolt him reach his red pistol on his hip. So go on was the right action as he demanded

But, SERIOUSLY, can anyone tell those road guys to get a real plan and stop making this sort of gridlock. The damage to the economy let alone the security problems this sort of decisions to lock down the city create is unimaginable.

Hargeisawians are already grabbling with the government entourage that decides to make a chaos whenever one of them is traveling to and from the airport. Can we just go on with our daily lives like any other normal city dwellers without suffering with the brunt of your incompetence? PLEASE!

WAA HARGEEYSEE!!!

Magan Ibrahim

Ali Khalif’s Disguised Politics of “Somali Unity” A dangerous message

On the faithful day in what supposed to be his smooth inauguration ceremony in Saah-Dheer Village,  75 KM South of Laas Anood and 60 KM North of Ethiopian border, before Somaliland National Army interrupted and took over the village, Ali Khalif Glaydh, newly appointed president of the controversial “Khatumo State” lamented, “…Puntland president claims that our people supports him, we don’t support Puntland”, he continued to switch gears between his chosen words in describing his misgivings about Puntland and his true feelings reserved for the real “enemy”, Somaliland.

“… We call the Federal Government of Somalia to help us in our struggle to free our land from the Somali Diid Administration of Somaliland and if you are not willing to support us, we employ you to at least condemn Somaliland and agree that we have a right to be here”.  At least, he got the second wish as the Minister of Information of Somalia “deplored” Somaliland’s operation to chase Ali Khalif and his team away from Saah-Dheer, according to the news media reports.

He took a deep breath and looked at the camera of the Universal TV, the only Somali TV Channel present at the village that gladly and usually reports the Khatumo group’s message or covers anything anti Somaliland; nothing is too small or too big as long as Somaliland bashing contains the news. The other Channel that has recently stepped up its extensive coverage to spread the propaganda, Kalsan TV, was nowhere near to be seen, to the surprise of many, a media monitoring group based in Hargeisa reported.

When he exhaled, Ali Khalif hit the bunch lines with an emotional tone designed to generate sympathy with words bleeding for his viewers to act, “We are the only people fighting for the Somali Unity. No one forced us to do so but it is our obligation to defend the Somali Unity and we are asking FGS for help.” 

Mr. Ali Khalif repeated in many times in so many words that their struggle is only to preserve the Unity of Somali people. He sounded like a great warrior! A man with a mission! The one and the only that can revive the doomed “Greater Somalia” from the grave yards! This is the corner stone of his claim.

Yet, the people he is using are in the most arid regions of the country and are in need of so much help in terms of development. Mostly nomads living in the roughest edge of the country, unemployment and poverty devastate their families where the only option is a constant migration from place to place.

In addition, the continued skirmishes hamper Somaliland Government’s ability to provide basic services to the area residents. Thus, lack of access to adequate education and poor healthcare systems are hindering any chances for improvement.

Unfortunately, Ali Khalif has not indicated, even once, that he would like to lead his tribesmen in the often mentioned Sool and Sanaag regions from poverty to better standard of living.

Nor has he ever talked about his lifelong ambition to always have or close to be near the helms of power. 

But why should he mention these issues as they will only distract people from this emotional subject that guarantees to produce some devotees to the cause, his cause?

Contrary to what he is promoting now, before he jumped on this “unity” bandwagon, Ali has been for Somaliland in 1990s. History noted that he has even run against the late Egal in Borame for the Somaliland presidency.

So when unsuspecting and ill-informed viewers see him on TV claiming for
“sacred Somali Unity”, with all these colorful, carefully delivered messages, focusing his talking points, they sure will feel sympathy for the guy. The drama generates temporary pity, and that is what he is aiming for, to get empathy, however misguided.

Ali advocated the creation of a State for the Dhulbahante clan, inhabitants in some parts of the Somaliland Eastern Regions in their second meeting in London ahead of the formation of the Somalia Federal Government.

To come to the negotiating table, Ali knew he needed a platform. He wanted to be equal to all the other “mini states” in Somalia taking their share of the pie. He envisioned that if Humin iyo Heeb could be a state within a state, so could Khatumo. He imitated, but miserably failed when then TFG refused to accept Khatumo as a credible state. At the time, the message was delivered by a TFG Minister from Puntland. Ali Khalif couldn’t swallow the fact that Puntland is blocking his dream, yet he is in an open war with Somaliland.  

In Saax-Dheer, a nomadic village with no amenities, a true politician can only deflect the real reason for his presence and Ali Khalif is an expert in tribal politics. A western educated man, he is well versed with the modern diplomatic jargons intended for foreigners as well as Somali clan based politicking.  That is why he plays and exactly understands that the “Unity” drum beat wakes up nostalgic dormant memories that can hear his pleas.

So when he shrewdly appeals for support on the bases of “Somali Unity”, it sounds good to many, but only momentarily, then,  in a heartbeat people can truly see for what it is; dishonest, selfish and dangerous message that is neither attainable nor helpful for the future coexistence of the people in these regions.

Ali’s outcry and the response from the FGS have spoiled the mood. Somaliland cancelled the ongoing Somalia and Somaliland talks.  In their reaction to the media, Somaliland leaders from Guurti, to Government to Opposition figures, FGS’ interference has hardened their stand and seemed to unify their preparation for future conflicts.

Or perhaps this is what Ali Khalif wanted; to find a way to cancel the meetings in Turkey, as he has always been critical for the talks between the two entities, Somaliland and Somalia.

Whatever Ali Khalif has in mind, judging his determination, albeit looking tired, there is a reason why he abandoned his comfortable life in Minnesota. He is a man with a “MISSION”.  But in this daring route to pursue a power, lives will perish along the way, casualties of a war perpetuated by over ambitious man with point of no return in his late in life. His source of support would be plenty of people naïf enough to think the fragile and already fragmented Somalia with its dozen and so autonomies and independent states can be “united” by Ali Khalif et al.

From the beginning, as the chief architect of this “Khatumo” affair, Ali never really believed the idea of creating a viable state. The motive has always been to establish stepping stone enclave for reaching the fruits of power, to claim his share of the prize, a seat with portfolio for him and hopefully for his buddies in the new government.

Therefore, it is rather obvious that the purpose for his current crusade, through the use of the tactics of politics of war where he is exploiting the emotions of the innocent, is to get to that illusive power.

Nevertheless, Ali Akhalif’s latest saga will sure need to come to its end, soon. But to get to the finale, Somaliland Government must reach out to him and present alternative solutions to the wider disgruntled Dhulbahante community. Otherwise, the instability will harm both Somaliland objectives as a country and the development plans for the Eastern Regions. 

Magan Ibrahim

Hargeisa, Somaliland