Opinions

Op-Ed:Somalia’s Special Envoy to United States Warns U.S. against Engaging Somaliland

November 22, 2010   ·   1927815 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2Fsomalia%25e2%2580%2599s-special-envoy-to-united-states-warns-u-s-against-engaging-somaliland-19278Op-Ed%3ASomalia%E2%80%99s+Special+Envoy+to+United+States+Warns+U.S.+against+Engaging+Somaliland2010-11-22+23%3A20%3A20Mo+Guledhttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2F%3Fp%3D19278

Somalia’s Special Envoy to the United States, Abukar Arman, a rookie politician, whose shady political credentials don’t go beyond the claims that he wrote “prolific” articles about Somalia, recently published an opinion that was anything but “prolific”. His article entitled, “Somalia, US, and the Dual-Track Letdown”, published on The Huffington Post on November 05, 2010, supposed to shed some light on why the new U.S. dual track approach to contain Alshabab terror group in Somalia would either succeed or fail. Instead, Mr. Arman not only echoed an impending disaster if the U.S. supports the democratic republic of Somaliland, but also his ill-conceived arguments abound with contradiction was compounded by his misjudgment about the U.S. policy towards Somaliland. Worse still, he put himself on the spot as yet another clueless Somali politician wannabe—which precisely explains why Somalia remained in a free-fall motion for two decades.

In Somalia’s leadership, traditionally, inept autocrats scrapped from the bottom of the barrel are often at the helm. And when you thought it could not get worse, inexperienced politician wannabes who know diddlysquat about the Somali politics or the geopolitics of East Africa are nominated for high posts, such as: Special Envoy to the United States. No wonders why all the efforts to pull Somalia’s head out of its rear end posed an insurmountable challenge, not only for the Somalis but also for the International community.

Now, Mr. Arman spent a good portion of his lifetime in the United States. But beyond his “op-ed” articles everything surrounding him remains a mystery. For instance, no one could prove beyond a shadow of doubt that he has a postsecondary degree much less explain his experience and qualifications for his post. Then, how on earth did he become Somalia’s Special Envoy to the United States? Baffling, isn’t it? But my guess is as good as yours. Read about his credentials: http://tinyurl.com/262epdv

Coming back to the drawing board, Mr. Arman’s recent article—a misplaced argument—disguised as a political analysis not only chastised the U.S. which keeps his regime on life support but also marginalized the democratic republic of Somaliland and labeled it as a tribal enclave that the U.S. should not deal with directly.

Well, if the U.S. should not deal with one of the most democratic nations in Africa—Somaliland which maintained peace and tranquility throughout its territory for the past two decades and held successful elections, why should the U.S. continue backing up Somali regimes prone to fail that never controlled more than few blocks in Mogadishu? Clearly, where common sense prevails, Mr. Arman’s logic fails.

The U.S. dual track policy to weed-out Alshabab terror group or at least stop the proliferation of terrorism in Horn of Africa includes supporting the democratic institutions of the republic of Somaliland which recently held its second successful presidential elections. The U.S. policy also calls for strengthening Somaliland’s economy to discourage the unemployed youth (over 90%) joining Alshabab.

Equally, the U.S. policy supports the Somali region of Puntland which struggles with security, piracy, and human trafficking problems but wants to keep Alshabab at bay. In fact, Puntland also bitterly protested against Mr. Arman’s unjustifiable opposition to have the U.S. help Puntland. Read more: http://tinyurl.com/28lhnz4

In response to the U.S. policy, Mr. Arman writes, “…the US seems to have inadvertently stepped into a clan minefield that could cause it, and indeed the TFG [transitional Federal Government of Somalia], significant political setback and long-term threat.”

Now, one of the “clan minefields” that Mr. Arman is pointing his daggers at is a nation that chose in 1991 not to have anything to do with Somalia’s never-ending turmoil. That is, Somaliland which received its independence before Somalia in 1960. And then Somaliland voluntary joined Somalia, just to find out thirty-one years later that the emotional union between Somaliland and Somalia in 1960 was the biggest blunder.

Although, Mr. Arman portrays Somaliland as a clan entity, there is an ironic twist to his statement: for one thing, his regime which controls only few blocks of Mogadishu neighborhoods is—in fact—based on the infamous tribal formula, known as 4.5 (4= four major tribes. 0.5 = the so-called others). For another, Mr. Arman himself holds the position of Somalia’s Special Envoy to the United States not because he has qualifications but because his tribe’s influences in the current Somali regime.

To top it up, Mr. Arman naively assumes that Somaliland supposed to ask permission Somalia when dealing with the neighboring countries. He writes, “While it still retains friendly relations with the TFG, Ethiopia has unilaterally been engaging “Somaliland” and “Puntland” in all diplomatic, military and economic fronts as if these two political entities have the absolute autonomy to frame their respective foreign, defense, and monitory policies that are independent of Somalia.”

Was he wearing his sanity helmet when he scribbled the preceding statement? Well, the fact the matter is Somaliland has been independent from Somalia for the past two decades. And although all previous fourteen-failed Somali regimes hypothetically claimed to have an authority over Somaliland, none of the Somali leaders ever dared to venture into Somaliland. Read more about Somali officials’ desperate attempts to hypnotize the world:

http://www.somaliweyn.org/pages/news/Mar_10/14Mar22.html

Just like his predecessors, Mr. Arman daydreams and thinks that Somaliland is still part of his regime. He portrays Somaliland as unauthentic entity. He writes, “…their [Somaliland and Puntland] actions have lend a façade of authenticity to the so-called “building blocks approach” that some special interest groups were adamantly pushing in the past two decades.”

Please excuse my shameful ignorance and enlighten me! If through Mr. Arman’s thick lenses rewarding Somaliland for holding two successful presidential elections and a number of municipal elections while maintaining two decades of peace in its territory and Keeping terrorists on leash tantamount to lending Somaliland “a façade of authenticity”, God help us all.

Mr. Arman is upset because the U.S. changed its traditional approach to Somaliland and Somalia. Traditionally, the U.S. and the International community ignored peaceful, democratic Somaliland and supported Somali regimes which controlled only few neighborhoods in Mogadishu. This process went on for almost twenty years. And Mr. Arman wants to reinvent the wheel at the expense of the American taxpayer’s money. Repeating the same strategy that bears no fruits for decades and pouring millions of dollars into an abyss is something the world isn’t willing to do anymore.

That is, despite the new U.S. approach to keep the TFG on life support, in reality the policy will not have any impact on Alshabab because much of the U.S. supplied weapons to the TFG and trained Somali soldiers end up in the hands of Alshabab. Paradoxically, the more U.S. tries to revive the TFG, the sooner the TFG falls prey to Alshabab.

To the contrary, providing Somaliland military and financial aid will serve a dual purpose. On one hand, the spread of Alshabab will be contained to Somalia. On the other, the internationally community could pressure Somaliland to mediate Somalia’s warring factions. This will be a win-win situation. Somaliland will receive support and the International community will find a viable solution to Somalia’s problems in Somaliland. Clearly, the answer to Somalia’s carnage lies in the hands of the current Somaliland leaders led by President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Silanyo. (See the new democratically elected Somaliland President Mr.Silanyo receiving the red carpet treatment in Djibouti: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/199009See also, The British Prime Minister David Cameron congratulating Somaliland on its successful election
Summing up, Mr. Arman, a short-sighted Somalia’s Special Envoy to the United States, need to understand supporting pockets of Somalia that maintain peace and engaging the democratic republic of Somaliland will be the best panacea for not only Somalia’s turmoil but also for the whole East Africa’s instability. On the flip side, supporting only the TFG, which controls only few sections in Mogadishu while ignoring peaceful Somaliland, as tradition dictates, will bring more unforeseen results—the spread of terrorism in the region.

What Mr. Arman insinuates in his paper is: Somaliland’s independence is far more lethal than Alshabab’s suicide bombings. And if there is one common interest that unites Alshabab and its hostages (Somali leaders) is their objection to Somaliland’s sovereignty.

Dalmar Kaahin
dalmar_k@yahoo.com

 Email this story

By Mo Guled

Tags: Dalmar Kaahin, Mr. Arman, President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Silanyo