Somaliland: The protesters and Government Allergic to Demonstrations and Fair Criticism
Voluntary protesters asked the ministry of interior a permit to exercise their basic right: to peacefully demonstrate against what they recognize to be inappropriate bill but unfortunately, their right was denied for no apparent reason. The “propaganda” minister, in my view—because democracies don’t have information ministers but spokesperson for president or premier— jumped in to mislead fully enlightened citizenry. He uttered “they had to ask earlier at the least 48 hours before the demonstration scheduled to happen. The minister lost the sight the fact our democracy has been copied from the West, not from Arabia, and have to act as such unless it become Iranian’s theocracy: the West’s one allows “sidewalk marches” to convey one’s message to the world without even permit, the last option is to go to court to issue the permit— but it is a raw fact that the judiciary is in the pocket of minorities yet powerful whose authority cuts across the ministries, be it Foreign or Health or Defense Ministry. The government looks at the demonstrators as adversaries usurping their power and paid by the opposition parties rather than concerned nationals who simply want to rectify the plain mistakes of the ruling party.
The denial of the right to demonstrate marks new era of authoritarian democracy wrongly funded by the West which serves the interests of the powerful while neglects the vulnerable. It is a democracy that refuses to voice one’s concerns let alone build bridges or highways.
The government says when you air your concerns in English which donors and stakeholders can understand, you are not helping us but want us the government to cripple but this argument is built on sand, of course it is, and they are bushtit Bertie who wants to hear nothing other than pleasing remarks and sycophantic anthems of “ Siilanyo Abaahii Garashadda Gayigow….,” which roughly translates “ oh you are the beginning and the end of intellect and paradigm of wisdom of unparallel level , hold the power our father!” And similar. There hired guns in the UK who write for the pleasure of the government but what wondering they add their big titles to make their flatteries and bootlicking articles more interesting to enlightened readership.
Former dictator’s fault was that he accepted his mind-twisted kinsmen to dictate the national policy which they are not entitled, the late president Siyad bare has good intentions like ours now. Those playing the same rhythms failed to learn any lesson from the past, and “those who failed to learn to the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them”. Some of those PR writers are mercenaries but some are not but out of clannish motive, both are disasters of the same magnitude but the latter is utter garbage gun shooting his own leg.
A person familiar with the workings of the inner circle of the aged president told me that the government whose tail wages the dog, is worried the protesters’ televised footage would clearly signal to donors of how unpopular the government had become over the years in power. Therefore; they determine to neutralize any opposition demonstrators legal or illegal even if they demanded to get water supplies.
The country’s lawmakers have passed any bill of whatsoever that comes to their building without any ifs and buts as long as the government lubricate their hands. The entire Parliament House funded with European taxpayers turned tragically smoke-filled room where hands switch huge of cashes in return of stamp approval, sadly, every time, elections happens, situation go from bad to worse! The good Yesterdays had gone never come back, those voted in favor of the ruling shout louder and bite their tongue for doing so. Nobody knows exactly where the country is heading to or to where it will end up? God willing, won’t die in the hands of the Golden Calves.
The government wants everyone to flatter her even when unprecedented scale corruptions occur and negatively react to plain grave wrongdoings detrimental to the nation, good example of this when $ 10 million Kuwait Zakat was stolen. The president was taken to Burao by Hirsi to launch so called new road of hundreds Kilometers simply to deflect the criticism of foreigners and nationals alike pouring from over the world because the five kilometer runway of the capital had been declared an utter “embezzlement”. Do all the people crazy or all the population become Uncle Ruckus (waji ku macaash)? Somaliland corrupted officials think of themselves as clever and smart guys who fooled the Zakat donors whose aid goal was to rebuild airstrip for few hundred passengers coming from the asylum countries of the West but in fact they damaged their own flesh and blood. The behavior of our elected officials saying to Muslim or non- Muslim donors alike “our corruptions are unstoppable and irreversible” is stumbling block to any future development. “We won’t give aid money to you because it goes to the pocket of certain few individuals while your children languish in the every prison in the world today from Ethiopia to Malta” How foreigners will help us when the immoral greedy people are always calling the shots? Of course no one wants to see his aid misused.
The western returnees trapped in Hargaysa due to Ethiopian flight cancellation may lose their jobs, their livelihood for the love of a country which never gave them a penny other than harm. Some of them fled from Hargaysa in 1988 to Mogadishu and come back to Buroa and fled again when Habar Habarta Conflict broke out, then fled to Berbera, and again met the same scenario. Such people still returning to the country to build houses and establish businesses for the general benefit are in fact ultranationalists and deserve our appreciation, they adore their people but the brutal behavior of some aviation officials would cause disappointment, now many of them are in fatigue point and no hurry to come back to Hargaysa sooner.
Ever since the ruling party narrowly secured the power, the Uncle Ruckuses were dramatically growing, next few months; we may see mercenary Imams defending the corrupted government on clan lines as well as interest citing verses in defense of the wrongdoings of the government. Imams, however, are not infallible.
By Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye