Suddenly and vociferously, we hear now that the West and the UN are urging that Somaliland should withdraw its troops from SAAX-DHEER district and surroundings. This is very strange and a completely misrepresentation of the facts on the ground. Do they (the West and UN) know where SAAX-DHEER is situated?? Do they understand that Somaliland has neither attacked her neighbours nor crossed to an international border established by the UN charter?? What The Republic of Somaliland has done is nothing more than defending its Territorial Integrity and Sovereignty against Somalia-backed insurgents who are bent on making the whole Horn of Africa region unsafe and unruly. The people of the Republic of Somaliland are fed up of the double-standard nature of the so-called the world super powers. Nevertheless, Somaliland will never be discouraged by such a hypocritical geo-political stance of the West.
The President of Somaliland RepublicHEPresident Ahmed M.M. Silaanyo, as the commander-in-chief of Somaliland armed forces he is fully mandated by the Constitution to defend the Territorial Integrity and Sovereignty of the Country and to ensure the safety and defend the existence of Somaliland irrespective of the political and diplomatic position or concerns of the international community. The judgement to capture SAAX-DHEER was a crucial, coherent and correct decision. As a citizen of the Republic Somaliland, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the President and his cabinet members for this historic and brave decision as well as for their dutiful devotion and dedication to serve and protect their country and people.
The people of the Somaliland Republic have done nothing wrong except being fast determined to realize their ideals and aspirations by exercising their fundamental and universal right for self-determination. Our people have made a clear choice to embrace the democratic norms and values. Some countries may have interpreted this step as a dangerous threat to their dictatorial regimes and they prefer to fight against this phenomenon by any means. Nothing else but it is the choice that our nation has made what created the growing hatred and hostility towards the existence of our country. Somaliland’s democratic achievements, its sustained stability and the belief in a constructive engagement in international issues for peace and security have created a lot of animosity from the neighbouring countries.
The absurdity of the present-day geopolitical interests is: the more the people’s rights being violated, the more is rewarded. Somalia has been a failed State for more than two decades, and the world community regards it as ‘a pit without bottom’. The Western powers and their allies are also convinced that failed states are the seedbed for terrorism and extremism, yet they continue to pump Somalia all kinds of humanitarian aid and military supplies. The government of Somalia has entirely failed to create and develop a rules-based system to protect and promote the peace, security and socio-economic well-being of its population. Incomprehensible and strangely enough the attention of many of the world’s leading developed countries and the international development partners is nowadays increasingly focused on a country that failed to meet even the most basic criteria of statehood and became a synonymous with all human misery.
The Republic of Somaliland should have been long recognised as a member of the international community. The people of Somaliland should have been rewarded for their credentials, democratic achievements and sustained stability in a volatile region. It is utterly incomprehensible the logic and motive why the West, UN and their allies still cling to an absurd notion that Somaliland should rejoin its wayward and unruly neighbour Somalia, knowing the fact that Somalia (often taken as the archetype of a failed state) has for more than two decades exemplified the deficiencies of statelessness.
CONCLUSION:
However regrettable it might be, the right for self-determination of Somaliland people has been time and time again ignored and thwarted by reluctant and unpredictable world powers as well as the UN, AU and Arab League. The Republic of Somaliland became the victim of an ambiguous world of double standards. Democracy, good governance, free market and respect for human rights are all universal standards that fully embraced by the West as long as this serves for their geo-political and economic interests. If that is not the case, democracy and other international standards suddenly become considered to be hazardous and the Western countries look to the other end.
The people of Somaliland have an instinctive ability to resolve a potential crisis whatever nature. Their quality, spirit, moral fibre and social togetherness enable them to pull together in times of challenge and adversity. The Republic of Somaliland should have long been recognized as a member of the international community. No matter what happens next and whatever the future may holds, but one thing is certain: the self-determination and the incredible perseverance of the noble people of Somaliland will ultimately prevail.
God Bless and Protect this Great Nation (The Republic of Somaliland)
By |Eng. Hussein Adan Igeh |Hussein Deyr |Birmingham, United Kingdom|