Somaliland’s New Government Sending The Wrong Message
Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:15 pm
Somaliland’s New Government Sending The Wrong Message To The East.
Dahir Rayale Kahin’s government had a lot of problems but one area in which it was an undisputable success was its eastern policy, a policy based on minimum of rhetoric, the empowerment of the pro-Somaliland communities, and the steady extension of Somaliland administration to all parts of the eastern regions. The success of this policy did not come overnight.
There were many setbacks along the way, chief among which was the armed assault on the president’s entourage when he visited Las Anod. But those setbacks did not make President Dahir Rayale Kahin give up. The setbacks did force him though to recalibrate his policy so it would match the realities on the ground, with the ultimate aim of changing those realities to Somaliland’s favor. The more sharply focused approach which emerged from this re-calibration eventually bore fruit.
We are not sure if President Ahmed Sillanyo’s administration will follow the previous administration’s pattern of initial setbacks and eventual success.
But there is no doubt that the new administration is starting with a serious setback, namely, the signing of an accord by some of the heads of Buro’s clans and Buhoodle’s clan that included a call for Somaliland’s forces to withdraw from Widhwidh and Balihadhac. This is a setback for Somaliland on several levels.
First, by interfering in an issue of national security and making decisions about it, the traditional leaders have challenged the government’s authority. Two, as if interfering in security issues was not bad enough, the traditional leaders gave orders to Somaliland’s army to withdraw from their current positions, an insult to Somaliland’s army which can also have a demoralizing effect in its ranks. Three, the fact that some traditional leaders have arrogated to themselves the authority to make decisions on national security issues has prompted at least one traditional leader to accuse the government of favoritism and double standard.
The reaction of Somaliland’s government showed that the setback in Somaliland’s eastern policy did not come out of nowhere, and that it is part of the government’s faulty approach of unleashing a rhetoric of peace without providing the context in which Somaliland will pursue that peace. The traditional leaders who signed the accord took advantage of the government’s context-less rhetoric of peace and used it to challenge the government and to shore up their own authority, which means that if the government continues in this approach, it is very likely that more and more traditional leaders will enter into all sorts of negotiations and reach agreements on national matters without paying any attention to the government.
Traditional leaders are not the only ones who are taking advantage of Somaliland government’s runaway peace rhetoric. Puntland media is doing the same, especially after Somaliland’s interior minister announced that his department will work with Puntland on security issues without providing any context for such cooperation and what will Puntland have to do in return.
Let us hope that what transpired in Xadhadhan and the minister of interior’s pronouncement on Puntland are temporary setbacks for Somaliland’s current government, and that, like the previous government, it will quickly recover from them. For that to happen though, the current government will have to pursue the tried, tested, and successful policy of the previous administration of restrained rhetoric which gave priority to empowering the pro-Somaliland communities and administering all of Somaliland’s territories. Peace and cooperation with other entities should be sought within the context of this policy, not in a context-less fashion.
Source:- http://www.somalilandtimes.net/sl/2010/446/2.shtml
Dahir Rayale Kahin’s government had a lot of problems but one area in which it was an undisputable success was its eastern policy, a policy based on minimum of rhetoric, the empowerment of the pro-Somaliland communities, and the steady extension of Somaliland administration to all parts of the eastern regions. The success of this policy did not come overnight.
There were many setbacks along the way, chief among which was the armed assault on the president’s entourage when he visited Las Anod. But those setbacks did not make President Dahir Rayale Kahin give up. The setbacks did force him though to recalibrate his policy so it would match the realities on the ground, with the ultimate aim of changing those realities to Somaliland’s favor. The more sharply focused approach which emerged from this re-calibration eventually bore fruit.
We are not sure if President Ahmed Sillanyo’s administration will follow the previous administration’s pattern of initial setbacks and eventual success.
But there is no doubt that the new administration is starting with a serious setback, namely, the signing of an accord by some of the heads of Buro’s clans and Buhoodle’s clan that included a call for Somaliland’s forces to withdraw from Widhwidh and Balihadhac. This is a setback for Somaliland on several levels.
First, by interfering in an issue of national security and making decisions about it, the traditional leaders have challenged the government’s authority. Two, as if interfering in security issues was not bad enough, the traditional leaders gave orders to Somaliland’s army to withdraw from their current positions, an insult to Somaliland’s army which can also have a demoralizing effect in its ranks. Three, the fact that some traditional leaders have arrogated to themselves the authority to make decisions on national security issues has prompted at least one traditional leader to accuse the government of favoritism and double standard.
The reaction of Somaliland’s government showed that the setback in Somaliland’s eastern policy did not come out of nowhere, and that it is part of the government’s faulty approach of unleashing a rhetoric of peace without providing the context in which Somaliland will pursue that peace. The traditional leaders who signed the accord took advantage of the government’s context-less rhetoric of peace and used it to challenge the government and to shore up their own authority, which means that if the government continues in this approach, it is very likely that more and more traditional leaders will enter into all sorts of negotiations and reach agreements on national matters without paying any attention to the government.
Traditional leaders are not the only ones who are taking advantage of Somaliland government’s runaway peace rhetoric. Puntland media is doing the same, especially after Somaliland’s interior minister announced that his department will work with Puntland on security issues without providing any context for such cooperation and what will Puntland have to do in return.
Let us hope that what transpired in Xadhadhan and the minister of interior’s pronouncement on Puntland are temporary setbacks for Somaliland’s current government, and that, like the previous government, it will quickly recover from them. For that to happen though, the current government will have to pursue the tried, tested, and successful policy of the previous administration of restrained rhetoric which gave priority to empowering the pro-Somaliland communities and administering all of Somaliland’s territories. Peace and cooperation with other entities should be sought within the context of this policy, not in a context-less fashion.
Source:- http://www.somalilandtimes.net/sl/2010/446/2.shtml