Foreign Policy or a Policy of Sabotage?

It has been reported that President Silanyo has refused a request from the UN to establish an international court in Somaliland to try the pirates preying upon international shipping that are captured by international navies (Jamhuuriya 14 February 2011). However, as reported by the Attorney General, Dr. Hasan Ahmed Adan, the President has accepted that those pirates which are convicted by courts elsewhere in the world be brought to Somaliland for imprisonment in Hargeisa Central Prison.

I am somewhat confused by the thinking behind this decision, particularly since the reasons given for the President’s refusal for the establishment of the international court in Somaliland were fears of possible reprisals from the kin and comrades of the pirates and the potential instability in the country occasioned thereby. This makes no sense whatsoever for the following reasons. Firstly, Somaliland has already caught, tried and imprisoned several dozen pirates and there have been no major incidents of armed retaliation related thereto by the convicts’ relatives and comrades. Secondly, by accepting to imprison the convicted pirates, Somaliland is already opening itself up to the ‘dangers’ outlined as the rationale for refusing the establishment of the court.

Thirdly, it is well known throughout the world that the home and haven for the pirates is Puntland and there is already a virtual state of war between this pirate state and Somaliland, as evidenced by the recent unprovoked attack by the Puntland/TFG-backed SSC militia upon Somaliland Army garrison near Kalshaale. Thus, if Somaliland is already a target for attacks from Puntland, be they motivated by revenge for submitting their pirates to the rule of law, or be they motivated by a bogus and xenophobic clan hegemony masquerading as nationalism. As the Somali saying goes, “Nin qoyani, biyo is kama ilaaliyo“.

Fourthly, this is the first time that a Somaliland government has ducked its international responsibilities, as well as its national ones, because of some perceived fear. Throughout history Somalilanders have always been known for their courage and fortitude in the face of great perils and overwhelming odds. In the 1980s, the young boys that comprised the SNM guerrillas attacked the largest army in black Africa armed with a few AK47s, spears, bows & arrows and mere clubs. These heroes went on to rout Afweyne’s entire military machine and liberate their country. President Silanyo needs no lessons on the character and bravery of our people from me or anyone else – after all he was SNM Chairman during some of Somaliland’s darkest hours.

So we have to ask the inevitable question: why is he now so afraid of a ragtag group of Puntland criminals with little or no military training or capability that he has refused to grasp with both hands a huge diplomatic victory for Somaliland? Since Somaliland recovered its sovereignty in 1991, the UN has stubbornly persisted in maintaining the fiction that Somaliland is part of Somalia, however during the last couple of years it has been forced to accept the reality it has consistently denied and deal directly with Somaliland as a de facto state. Yet, now when the UN is finally forced by the exigent circumstances of the threat posed by Puntland-based pirates to international trade to come to Somaliland cap-in-hand and seek our cooperation, our President refuses the implicit recognition of establishing the international court in Somaliland, yet accepts to be the jailor for the criminals convicted in other jurisdictions.

On the face of it, this seems like a huge mistake. Why accept the dangers associated with jailing the criminals, but refuse the benefits (tangible and intangible) and global goodwill of hosting the international court to be established to try these criminals. The Silanyo administration promised to leave no stone unturned and to spare no effort in seeking international recognition for Somaliland, yet they turn down out of hand the first opportunity to clearly demonstrate the country’s willingness to discharge its international responsibilities and adhere to the rule of law.

The reasons given for the refusal to establish the court in Somaliland is particularly galling, both because it is so clearly ridiculous since we are already subject to the perceived risks, and because we have never been afraid to stand up for our rights and for what is right. We have never been a timid people, a people who sacrifice their rights for a false safety, a people which cower before bullies and thugs and I resent any intimation to the contrary. Mr. President, we are not frightened of the SSC terrorists, nor of Farole’s criminal pirate-bosses and most certainly not of the misguided and leaderless boy-pirates they use as cannon-fodder, and we cannot understand why you are.

To quote the bard of Avon, at the beginning of Hamlet, Marcellus, a friend of the troubled Prince, observes that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark“. Methinks the same can be said of the state of Somaliland.

By Ahmed M.I. Egal