By Mohsin Mahad

For those who grew up under European colonialism, it was the accepted conventional wisdom that domination was a product of foreign rule, something alien to us as Somalis. Little did we know then that their hegemony would be catching, that some of their former subjects would take leaf from their books and prey on those perceived to be easy prey. You don’t have to look no further than what has happened, and continues to happen, in southern and northern Somalia.  The overthrow of President Mohamed Siyad Barre and his regime in January 1991 by clan militias has brought in its wake the collapse of the Somali State and the era of clan warlordism and  the survival of the fittest. Ethnic-cleansing, land and property grab had become the order of the day, leading to the dispossession, displacement and death of millions of Somalis as the case may be. Some of those who were responsible for some of the worst crimes are free today enjoying the fruits of their crimes, some even holding high public positions of the State. In other countries, such people have been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in their own countries or at the International Criminal Court and put behind bars. Only in Somalia are culprits rewarded.

The bane of clan warlordism in the south,  we thought, had run its course and finished, having destroyed the capital, Mogadishu, much of southern Somalia and the Somali State for that matter. Alas, far from seeing the back of it, it has merely receded, making a come-back now and again each time as beastly as before. The  Lower Shebelle  region is now the latest theatre of warlordism where the poor indigenous people of the area (Biyamaal) are now being subjected to naked ethnic-cleansing and dispossession of their land at the hands of  a dominant well -armed clan hailing from far afield. What makes it all the more shocking is that MPs and ministers from the clan are joining the fray and fanning the clan’s predatory campaign.

And all this is happening while Somali government soldiers and 22 thousand so-called AMISOM peacekeeping forces are insight and yet inactive, preferring to look the other way as if nothing untoward is happening. It is considered politically incorrect if not seditious to suggest publicly that the only time clan warlordism over the weak clans was stamped out in the South was when these areas were under al Shabaab’s control, a time when the locals were assured at least peace and crude justice, and above all protection from marauding clan warlords- all preferable, if you ask them, than to be at the mercy of these predators.

This is not meant to advocate al Shabaab’s return to “liberated” areas. Far from it. Rather, it is a call for robust and muscular action by the Somali government and international community against these clan worlords, including their indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity. If the victims of Lower Shabelle – and anywhere else in Somalia where weak clans are being dispossessed and, even worse, “colonised” – feel let down by their own government and the international community, they may have little choice other than to turn to al Shabaab once again as the only force that can protect them, a prospect al Shabaab no doubt would be only too happy to welcome and willing to oblige. If that perception gains widespread acceptance, it could unravel the Somali government’s already tattered legitimacy and could seriously negate, in the eyes of many Somalis, AMISOM’s raison d’ètre in Somalia, both serving as a boon to al Shabaab.

Clan warlordism is not only a scourge specific to southern Somalia but one equally prevailing in the north. Just as the Biyamaal people in Lower Shabeele regions are the victims of clan warlordism, so are the Dhulbahante clan hailing from the regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn (SSC). The only difference between these two cases is that while the Biyamaal are victims of one clan, the Dhulbahante are up against two: the  dominant clan in Somaliland (Isaak) and that of Puntland (Majeerteen). Predators always fight over the prey, and these two clan warlords are themselves on the verge of going to war in their scramble to grab the area. And this over their preposterous “dispute” over the ownership of the SSC regions which of course belong to no one else but their own Khatumo and ultimately to the Federal Republic of Somalia.

What is striking about these two expansionist clan enclaves is the similarity of the basis underpinning their bogus claims. Both claim that they and the SSC regions and its clan were at one time together not so much as part of Somalia but in other relationships which they consider more binding than even belonging to Somalia. For the dominant clan in Puntland, the basis of its claim is that they and the  SSC regions/clan were co-founders of Puntland and consider the concord reached as binding as if it was carved in stone.

As it is, Puntland continues to be in denial of the fact that the SSC people, having exercised  their inalienable right to freely manage their own affairs, had overwhelmingly opted to establish their own Khatum State of Somalia and as such are no longer part of Puntland. It is as if there can be no divorce between the two former partners unless it is willed and granted by one party- Puntland!! Though they intervene militarily in the SSC regions now and then, each time they see Khatumo State up on its feet, bouncing back from the hammering it receives from its adversaries, they rely more on soft power and their money to undermine and scupper Khatumo. All this calibrated approach is now changing  as Puntland prepares to face up to its far more aggressive Somaliland challenger.

If Puntland’s claim has no legal basis, that of Somaliland is grounded on no legal basis either, and,worse, stands to no reason and beats all logic. Pared down to its essence, it is simply my way or the highway. Their case hinges on one historical fact, no longer relevant or valid – that once upon a time, during the colonial era, they and the SSC clan and its regions used to be together as part of British Somaliland. This “togetherness”  in a bygone irreversible era, amounting to forced colonial status in which all were made British subjects against their will, is claimed by the secessionists to override all other relationships, past and present, including membership of Somalia. This historical colonial status, which they see inviolate and unchangeable, legitimises in their eyes their declaration of secession from Somalia and the revival of the defunct colony to be once again named “Somaliland”, this time without the “British” prefix. To achieve these aims, they are waging a colonial-like war in the SSC regions in which countless people were killed and close to 100,000 displaced inside these regions while the most were forced to seek refugee in the refugee camps in Kenya.

Racing against time, Somaliland has lately been on the rampage, ratcheting its military operations in Sool, capturing the provisional capital of Khatumo, Taleex, and extending  its tentacles deeper into the Sool region. The aim is to occupy as much territory as possible while Khatumo still remains weak. But it is also to pre-empt any likely Puntland military intervention. Their calculation is based on the assumption, misguided as it is, that once they have achieved their military objectives, they would have created facts on the ground and faced the West with a fait accompli leaving them no option other than to bow to the reality.

This reckless brinkmanship and belligerence is shared by the whole political class in the enclave in Hargeisa. Sadly, that goes too for their foreign minister, a man who worked for the UN and other international organisations for almost all his working life. His last post was in Sudan, where he preached peace, unity, brotherhood and respect for human rights until he joined the secessionist enclave last year. He should have been the sane restraining influence to bring sense to his people. Alas, he turned out to be shamelessly more hawkish than the man in the street. Unless they are forcibly restrained by the international community, this misguided mindset could drag the whole region into the abyss. That can be to no ones benefit except al Shabaab who already have their cells in the secessionist enclave awaiting the creation of favourable conditions in order to import their southern campaigns into the north. They can only thank Somaliland (and Puntland) for doing them that favour, willingly or otherwise.

Only a robust action by the West could change this blinkered mindset particularly among the secessionists. The governments of the United States, Britain and the EU are to be commended in telling Somaliland and Puntland in no uncertain terms to get out of the SSC regions. This is more than implicit unspoken support for the right of the SSC/Khatumo people to exercise their fundamental inalienable right to manage their own affairs as do the dominant clans of Puntland and Somaliland and others in the Federal Republic of Somalia. The wider objective is it is to maintain the stability of Somalia, the East African region and beyond.

Puntland is likely to be more amenable to the West’s  demand and accept to keep out of the SSC regions but with one caveat: that Somaliland too should withdraw its militia and keep out of the area too. Unlike Puntland, Somaliland might initially huff and puff, sound intransigent and turn a deaf ear, deluding themselves they can weather the storm by playing for time, and in due course outwit the international community. But unless they are playing with fire and shoot themselves on the foot, they can not afford to be troublesome with their benefactors. If they get the message, if the West maintains the pressure, given the immense leverage at their disposal, Somaliland will have no choice but to come to terms with the reality that clan warlordism does not pay and will get them no where. That lesson when it sinks could also end the secession and bring our brothers led astray back to the fold of Somalia and its unity.

By Mohsin Mahad

Email: mohsinmahad@yahoo.co.uk