The Nile, Egypt, Abyssinia, Somalia, and Somaliland
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
April 07, 2008
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| The Somalis of Somaliland want unity with Somalia, as they know very well that the traditional enemies of Somalia, the Abyssinians, plan to destroy Somalia, and there are no traitors among the Somali people. |
It is strange how an earlier article of mine on the impossibility of an equation between Kosovo and Somaliland gave birth to an incredible reaction and article from the part of (a supposedly Somali of the breakaway and unrecognized state of Somaliland) Mr. Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Sabeyse.
His attack, which is going to take the form of a series of articles, is not personal, but although phrased in civil terms, attempts to make a link between my subject and an imaginative array of issues that first, do not concern me, and second, are irrelevant to the topic of my aforementioned article.
I find therefore the reason to reply analytically, as this would help many realize that there is actually no apparent reason for the existence of Somaliland, except secret plans machinated among disastrous circles in America, and sheer expansionism of the Neo-Nazi regime of Abyssinia.
As I am going to republish the entire article in order to analytically comment various points therein included, I want only to state beforehand that things are certainly clear. There is no parallel between Kosovo and Somaliland.
No parallel between Kosovo and Somaliland
Kosovo is inhabited by another nation than Serbia, where it had belonged to, and has therefore right to national independence. Albanian Kosovars differ from the Serbs in terms of origin, language, culture and religion; Albanian Kosovars were oppressed and tyrannized for almost a century, ever since the Serbian army invaded their territory in the First Balkan War (1912).
Even worse, Albanian Kosovars were mercilessly persecuted in the winter 1998 – 99, as the masterminded Serbian plan aimed at bringing about the Albanian Kosovars´ forced expulsion or physical extermination in what can be called the 20th century´s last genocide.
Somaliland is not a separate, independent nation, as all the inhabitants of the breakaway and unrecognized state are Somalis. They speak absolutely the same language, and they worship the same religion; there is no cultural, social, behavioural difference among people in Kismayu, Mogadishu, Ras Hafun, Garowe, Laasqoray, Bossasso, Berbera, and Hargeysa.
Certainly the prevailing social infrastructure – due to lack of development – allowed the persistence of tribal traits, but this is meaningless; there are more differences between an Italian from Catania and an Italian from Milano than dissimilarities between a Somali from Berbera and a Somali from Mogadishu.
Needless to say it, in striking difference with what occurred in Kosovo, whereby a nation invaded and subjugated another nation, in Somalia we never attested a situation like that, precisely because the Somalis are all one nation – along with the Ogadenis.
Of course, the entire country was invaded by colonial empires, mainly Italy and Britain (and to a minimal extent France) in the beginning, and then Abyssinia (through the illegal transfer of the political authority in Ogaden from the departing British to the monarchical tyranny of Haile Selassie between 1948 and 1955). For the largest part of Somalia, 1960 signaled independence and unity. During the period of the Somali unity, an attempt was made to bring Ogaden out of the clutches of the murderous tyrants of the pro-Communist regime of Mengistu, but failed.
As one can imagine, despite tribal rivalries, we never attested in Somaliland the Albanian Kosovars´ drama; certainly localisms exist in every country, and there is a rivalry between the Turks of Istanbul and those of Ankara, between the Greeks of Athens and those of Salonica, between the Germans of Munich and those of Berlin, etc. but the story ends there.
And it must end there, if we do not want to see the paradox of integral nations splitting unreasonably to 10 or 20 pieces. This was the basic concept developed in my aforementioned article. The Somalis of the so-called Somaliland cannot present a single reason for which they should be apart from Somalia, and worse, to be recognized as such. One must not read me mistakenly; it is understandable that, when a part of a country is plunged into a civil strife, another stays in peace. There is nothing wrong with it. But,…
The part that remains in peace has the national and the moral obligation to deploy all efforts to solve the prevailing problems among the warring sides of the other part of the country, to help peace prevail there too, and to merge with them as before.
The great majority of the Somalis of Somaliland want passionately peace to prevail in the Somali South, and then an agreement for reunification to be made with all the political parties and groups, leaders and fronts that would bring all, the Somalia South, Puntland, Maakhir and Somaliland, under one umbrella.
The only exception is made by the current regime of Somaliland that turned out to be a band of high traitors sold out to the Neo-Nazi Abyssinian dictator Meles Zenawi. Now, if we take into consideration that the Amhara and Tigray Abyssinians have been the traditional enemy of Somalia, and are currently working on malignant, criminal, and racist projects against Somalia, what sort of legitimacy may the puppet regime of Hargeysa claim to?
An unrepresentative, Anti-Somali regime must not exist on any part of Somalia´s territory.
This said, one can easily realize that the Somaliland predicament concerns exclusively the Somalis and their enemies, the Amhara and Tigray Abyssinians. So foolish the Hargeysa regime people are that they fail to understand the precarious nature of the ailing Abyssinian state that will be decomposed and broken down to pieces.
Assuming that Hargeysa is now recognized by a few states, which is not likely of course, what future can tiny Somaliland have with an Oromo government at Finfinne, and Ogaden achieving independence? Nothing!
However, Somaliland does not concern other states in the area, even nearby Eritrea. How could Somaliland possibly be a matter of interest for Sudan, Egypt or Turkey? The question hints at the contents of the article – attack against my position about Somaliland; this odd argumentation tries to establish a link where there is no link.
At this point, I will publish integrally Mr. Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Sabeyse´s article, encrusting numbers that refer to the comments that are presented after this diatribe. As the text was published in several websites, I don´t know which one was the original, as there is no mention in this regard. Probably, the article was sent to many recipients at the same time, so the links below are just indicative:
http://www.somalilandtalk.com/node/3181, and http://radiohadhwanaag.com/index.php?news=426.
Kosovo and Somaliland: the Impossible Equation – The Egyptian Position
The impetus of the Greek professor´s analysis is anchored on "Somaliland´s insubstantial demand for international recognition." The complexity of issue requires a more holistic and objective approach addressing the dynamics of the creation of the Somali Republic in 1960 as well as the immediate and the latent causes of the failure of the state. At a minimum, the professor should have asked: What went wrong and why? 1 What would have been done differently to avert the failure of the Somali state? 2 A nation that does not meet its full potential 3 is an evolutionary failure 4, and by any stretch of the imagination, Somaliland´s withdrawal from a disastrous union 5 should not and can not be portrayed as the nucleus of all things that went wrong in Somalia.
The subject of recognition of Somaliland is solidly based on indubitable legal and constitutional ground according to international law [law of international treaties, succession of states etc.]. For example, from April 29th to May 5th 2005, a fact finding mission of the African Union, headed by the Right Honourable Mr. Patrick Mazimhaka, 6 Deputy-Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, visited Somaliland, and among its findings and conclusions is the following excerpt:
"The fact that the union between Somaliland and Somalia was never ratified and also malfunctioned when it went into action from 1960 to 1990, makes Somaliland´s search for recognition historically unique and self-justified in African political history. 7 Objectively viewed, the case should not be linked to the notion of ´opening a Pandora´s Box´. As such, the AU should find a special method of dealing with this outstanding case". 8
Having said that, the histrionics of professor