Trivializing the Burco conference

Trivializing the Burco conference



First I would like to thank brother Abdullah for his spirited, humorous and civilized rebuttal. In the face of the never ending name calling and cheap shot scoring abundantly found in Somali websites, Abdullah take on the issue ought to be commended in this regard.

I concur with Abdullah when he says that he would prefer the debate on secession to remain at a more national level; however I chose to run the risk of being redundant to the reader and revisit the issue because the twisted account of the events that have taken place in Burco remain surprisingly the core arguments of all Siadists. To this day, they examine at will this conference, constantly rehearsing great fallacies despite their contentions being time and again roundly refuted. For example, in order to dispel the legitimacy of Somaliland independance, as recently as last month, Professor Abdi Samatar was referring to his research purportedly showing indeed that people were threatened INSIDE the conference by armed SNM members. In this regard, from the highly insightful account of Abdullah, it appears that the Siadist theory of people held at gunpoint by SNM members is sustained neither by media reports nor by participant testimonies.

However there is another reason why it is of prime importance to correctly represent both the process that led up to this conference and its fallout; Burco conference remain the only successful peace gathering in Somalia and the catalyst of Somaliland’s subsequent nation building and democratization in the very region of the biggest genocide in Somalia. However even after witnessing dozens of Somali reconciliation meeting failures, Siadists chose to set themselves against the legitimacy of Burco conference with questionable assertions instead of learning from this process. Haunted by the very evil they want to dismantle, Siadists, continue to claim that the conference saw one clan overtook the others while all reports on the ground hailed the discussion as consensual. And in this regard, Abdullah’s misleading rebuttal does not hold up to analysis and is totally unworthy of the historical importance of the Burco conference.

First, Abdullah’s reading of the conference is somewhat marred by his political stance against secession when he implies that Garaad Abdi Qani was afraid to oppose Somaliland’s independence declaration against the backdrop of the threat of a well-armed militia. During the conference, people have come on both side of the issue and second guessing and questioning the motives of each participant can only enable endless speculations. Abdullah’s highly speculative contention, variation of the nonsense Siadist gunpoint theory, trades on the assumption of a vengeful and all powerful SNM militia, hell bent on separating the country and ready to kill anybody opposing it. However, history teaches otherwise since Sool and Eastern Sanaag were already reaping the benefit of the peace deal signed between Mujahid Kahin and Garaad Abdi Qani. SNM clearly had the might to commit atrocities but fortunately it made clear that no Somalilander would be harmed regardless of the past allegiance, and in this regard, the smooth transfer of the besieged former governmental forces from Borama and Berbera to the South helped soothe jittery population. Unlike Mogadishu and Mudug, it is only fair to admit that no massive retaliation or tribal warfare ever happened in Somaliland after the collapse of Siad Barre dictatorship. And needless to say, no military reprisal was committed when parcel sof SSC began to look toward Mogadishu.

Secondly, Abdullah is right to advocate the right for Sool and Sanaag to renege on any agreements some of their leaders might have entered into with the SNM in the Burao conference regardless of whether those leaders did that under duress or not. Sure Garaad Abdi Qani has every right to turn to Mogadishu, after all Somaliland’s first president ended up serving Aideed junior. But the great fallacy conveyed by Siadists is that SSC was a hotbed of principled Somali unionism, and therefore opposed unanimously and from the beginning Somaliland separation. Nothing could be further from the truth and for example, Garaad Abdi Qani only began to voice his opposition to Somaliland when he entered in a power struggle with the late Egal; the Garaad never accepted that his protégé, Xaabsade, was sacked and replaced without him being in the know. As for Professor Galaydh, he shifted allegiance years later after trying to be elected president at the meeting that ultimately crowned Egal.

In conclusion, SSC is a region where divided loyalty, changing allegiance and political opportunism are the political norm. When president Rayaale was ambushed in Lascanood in 2002, then Somaliland commander in chief for Sool is today in the Puntland camp. And the mastermind of the attack against Rayaale has since settled in Hargeisa. Siadists should not therefore put too much weight on individual political stances in this region and focus on other ways to convince Somalilanders to come back to the fold.

Haboon Ali
haboon_ali@hotmail.com


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© 2007 Awdalnews Network
Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial.

Somaliland army closing in Lascanood

War deg deg ah: Ciidamo loogu tababarayo Somaliland deegaanka kalabaydh ee duleedka magaalada laascaanood.

War dag dag ah oo shabakada allmudug ka soo gaaray magaalada laascaanood ayaa sheegaya in magaalada kalabaydh ee duleedka magaalada laascaanood uu tababar uga socdo ciidamo xoogan oo uu leeyahay maamulka dirta waqooyi iyadoo ciidamadaasi ay ka soo jeedaal hal beel ah oo kamida beelaha daga Gobolka sool.

Ciidamadan oo tiradooda aan la shaacin balse lagu qiyaasay boqolaal ayaa lagu wadaa in marka ay tababarka soo dhamaystaan ay u soo jihaystaan dhinaca magaalada laascaanood si ay uga abuuraan arimo amaanka wax udhimaya lidina ku ah Maamulka Puntland.

Goob jooge ku sugan magaalada laascaanoo lana yiraahdo Jamac cali booqdayna goobta lagu tababarayo ciidamadan ayaa shabakada allmudug u xaqiijiyay in ciidamada tababarku u socdo ay hogaaminayaan rag horay xilal uga hayay maamulka puntland hadana isu badalay mucaarad.

Wuxuu kaloo noo sheegay Jamac cali in ciidamada goobta lagu tababarayo ay yaaleen 4 gaari oo nooca dagaalka ah iyo sidoo kale 2 gaari oo nooca xamuulka ah iyadoo aan loo ogolayn inay dadku usoo dhawaadaan goobta tababarka.

Ciidamadan ayay tababarka siinayaan saraakiil ka socota maamulka dirta waqooyi iyadoo aanaan wali helin magacyada saraakiishaasi balse aan dib idiinka soo gudbin doono hadii eebe yirahdo.

Allmudug.org news desk.

Somaliland army in Badhan

Ciidamada Somaliland oo soo gaadhay Shimbiraale iyo ciidanka Puntland oo heegan sare la gashay
Warkii 03-Sep-2007 iyo Qormadii: c/qaadir gaabuush
Dagaalo si toosa fooda la isu daro ayaa laga cabsi qabaa inay ku dhexmaraan ciidamada Maamulada Somaliland iyo Puntland duleedka degmada badhan ee gobolka sanaag...


Xiisadan colaadeed ayaa timid kadib markii shalay galab ay ciidanka maamulka lamagac baxay Somaliland ka soo ruqaan sadeen fadhiisi mahoodii hore iyagoona soo degay meesha lagu magacaabo Shimbiraale oo masaafo yar u jirta degmada badhan ee gobolka Sanaag...

Mar aanu saaka la xidhiidhnay taliska ciidanka daraawiishta ee gobolka Sool jiida dhi-cadeeye ayaa waxay afnugaal.com u xaqiijiyeen jiraanta xiisada colaadeed ee ka taagan gobolka sanaag, iyagoona intaasi ku daray in ciidanka daraawiishta puntland ee ku sugan gobolka Sanaag ay isla xalaytaba degaan meel u muuqata meesha ciidanka Somaliland ku sugan yihiin hada ..

Dhinaca kale warar aanu iyana ka helayno degmada Ceeri-gaabo ee caasimada Gobolka Sanaag ayaa sheegaya in madaxda maamulka Somaliland ee gobolkaasi ay beryahan danbeba ku howlanaayeen abaabul dhinaca ciidamada ah kaas oo aan hada ka hor la ogayn meesha uu si toosa ugu wajahan yahay..

Labada maamul ee puntland iyo Somaliland ayaa horaantii sanadkan aynu ku jirno uu dagaal faraha looga gubtay ku dhexmaray gobolka sanaag , kaas oo ay puntland sheegatay in ay ku jebisay ciidanka Somaliland isla markaana ay gaadiid dagaal uga qabsatay Somaliland..

Maamulka Hargaysa ayaa la sheegay in waji gabax ka soo gaadhay dagaalkaasi iyadoo uu madaxwayne riyaale ku eedeeyey wasiirkiisii gaashaan dhiga in uu dagaalka si xun umaamulay isla markaana xil ka qaadis deg deg ah ku sameeyey..

C/qaadir Gaabuush

Afnugaal.com

Siadists on the ropes

Siadists on the ropes



If you are an experienced boxer severely battered during the whole round, you know that pulling out some late-round flurry and pumping your fist up could help you influence naïve judges and therefore steal the round. For those unfamiliar with the Sougal-Siadist debate in Awdalnews, let me summarize Sougal contentions:


The majority of NSPU members do not hail from Somaliland
Sool and Sanaag were properly represented during Burco conference
Major politicians from Sool and Sanaag major did belong to SNM, did attend the Burco conference and were subsequently part of Somaliland administration. Remember, pretending falsely that what they call SSC was completely and from the start totally devoted to Somali unity is a major rally cry of Siadist.
Nobody was held at gunpoint during Burco conference.
In regards to these points, Ali H. Abdulla rebuttal is coming in decisively weak. He does not dispute any of them. His only contention refers to Qaybe presence and to the number of Garaad in attendance.

A Chinese proverb states that when the wise points to the moon, the idiot looks at the tip of the finger. The central question is the degree of involvement of senior Lascanooders in the Burao conference and the early days of Somaliland. Even if Qaybe was not present in Burao (which fact we cannot verify since the conference was a long one and people used to come in and come out), it is clear that Qaybe and other senior Lascanooders were no die-hard Somali unionists. They went on to take on prestigious political seats in Somaliland. When NSPU is trying to convey that SSC was monothilically opposed to secession, they are hit hard by crude facts.

According to me, a meaningful rebuttal should address the following questions:


Were Sool and Sanaag delegation truly representative of the political will of this region ? If Qaybe was absent, a lot of others Lascanood politicians like Galayr and Garaad Gani were present, why they should not be considered as legitimate voice for SSC ?
Did any participant of the conference EVER complain of being held at gunpoint ?
When Sougal is asking why SSC representatives did not take refuge into Puntland if they felt threatened by SNM, Abdullah is answering that Puntland did no exist at that time. Of course, Puntland, in terms of political entity, came into play in 1998, but Bari and Mudug were outside SNM influence in 1991 and controlled by warlord Abdillahi Yusuf. Abdullah knows all that but unable to refute Sougal argument, he chose diversion.

Meanwhile, the author says that Garad Saleebaan did voice his objection to the conference in an interview with the BBC English Service. Big deal. Everybody knows that Sool Garaads were and are divided, Garaad Saleebaan being the most vocal in his opposition to Somaliland. But did he mention during the BBC interview that he was held at gunpoint? And did the senior Garaad Qani had any reservations against the outcome?

Thanks to Sougal, it appears to me that Siadists are on the ropes. Their decade old lie of people held at gunpoint is crumbling fast and it seems that none of their rumblings is able to save it.

Haboon Ali
haboon_ali@hotmail.com

Laascanood freedom fighters

Posted on Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 01:00 AM


War deg deg ah: Ciidamo loogu tababarayo Somaliland deegaanka kalabaydh ee duleedka magaalada laascaanood.

War dag dag ah oo shabakada allmudug ka soo gaaray magaalada laascaanood ayaa sheegaya in magaalada kalabaydh ee duleedka magaalada laascaanood uu tababar uga socdo ciidamo xoogan oo uu leeyahay Jamhuuriyada Somaliland iyadoo ciidamadaasi ay ka soo jeedaal hal beel ah oo kamida beelaha daga Gobolka sool.

Ciidamadan oo tiradooda aan la shaacin balse lagu qiyaasay boqolaal ayaa lagu wadaa in marka ay tababarka soo dhamaystaan ay u soo jihaystaan dhinaca magaalada laascaanood si ay uga abuuraan arimo amaanka wax udhimaya lidina ku ah Maamulka Puntland.

Goob jooge ku sugan magaalada laascaanoo lana yiraahdo Jamac cali booqdayna goobta lagu tababarayo ciidamadan ayaa shabakada allmudug u xaqiijiyay in ciidamada tababarku u socdo ay hogaaminayaan rag horay xilal uga hayay maamulka puntland hadana isu badalay mucaarad.

Wuxuu kaloo noo sheegay Jamac cali in ciidamada goobta lagu tababarayo ay yaaleen 4 gaari oo nooca dagaalka ah iyo sidoo kale 2 gaari oo nooca xamuulka ah iyadoo aan loo ogolayn inay dadku usoo dhawaadaan goobta tababarka.

Ciidamadan ayay tababarka siinayaan saraakiil ka socota maamulka Somaliland iyadoo aanaan wali helin magacyada saraakiishaasi balse aan dib idiinka soo gudbin doono hadii eebe yirahdo.

Allmudug.org news desk.

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