Here Comes Khaatumo 3 Conference ! Long Live Somali Unity

Khaatumo State of Somalia was born in January 2012 in the famous town Taleex, the citadel of the Darwiish movement, in a hostile environment where its enemies, Somaliland and Puntland, were united by their common desire to abort its birth right from its inception and derail its development ever since . It has prevailed over all that, and has since come of age with its third conference, named Khaatumo 3, taking place once again at Taleex. It is of great pride to the people of Khaatumo State that they had been able to score this achievement against all odds and above all in the face of relentless opposition and open warfare from the duo who care less about Somalia’s unity or are sworn to its demise – respectively Puntland and Somaliland. Understandably, there is much well-deserved rejoicing and party atmosphere at Khaatumo 3 as there is full awareness of the arduous road ahead as it enters a new chapter in its brief history.

Since establishment of Puntland and Somaliland, following the collapse of the Somali State, there has been simmering bad blood between these two clan-based enclaves. Both covet, for their own reasons, the regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn (SSC) on which Khaatumo State is now based. For the secessionist enclave, there is well-founded realisation that Somaliland’s recognition, as a State separate from Somalia, is unattainable at the best of times and more so without the SSC regions forming  part of it, through force or free will. And since the likelihood of the SSC people (and others in Awdal and Makhir regions) choosing freely to be part of the renegade enclave is unthinkable, the secessionist enclave could only resort to outright force or, if that fails, fall back on a policy of divide and destabilisation in seeking to bring the SSC regions (now Khaatumo State) under their heels.

For the rest of Somalia and the international community, Somaliland’s claim to the SSC regions is not only baseless but ludicrous. For one thing, the SSC regions were not part of “Isaaqland” during the British colonial rule but a separate entity forced to be part of the British colony only after the defeat of the Derwiish freedom fighters. And since independence and unity in July 1960, the SSC have remained regions of Somalia. For all these obvious reasons, they can no longer be part of the defunct ” British Somaliland” territory that ceased to exist after independence and unity with Italian Somaliland just as they can not belong to another “Somaliland” illegitimate brand concocted by its adherents after the collapse of the Somali State in 1991.

Unfortunately for all concerned, facts and logic do not cut much ice with the secessionist mindset. Survival of the fittest, in the era of Stateless Somalia,  is the only logic they embrace in which might tramples over unhelpful legal and historical facts that stand in their way to achieve their ends. The result of this mindset is the invasion and occupation of the SSC regional capital, Lascanod, and their subsequent disastrous assaults on Buuhoodle town and its Cayn region in which they were repeatedly repulsed and given a bloody nose by local determined defenders. Thanks to this sobering lesson, Somaliland has been forced to rely mainly on fomenting possible schisms among the SSC people, a throwback to the old colonial ways of divide and rule. This too has backfired.

In the case of Puntland, its petulant self-serving leader, Faroole, has over the years morphed into the Pharaoh of the land of Punt where his whims have became the law of the land. Such are his diktats that, if he has his way, he would deny the SSC/Khaatumo people the choice to exercise their inalienable God-given right to voluntarily unsubscribe from Puntland and establish their own Khaatumo State. What is deriving Faroole’s opposition towards Khaatumo could be explained as partly due to genuine trepidation about the inevitable downsizing or downgrading of Puntland following the separation of the SSC regions, partly to his innate animus towards the SSC people, and partly to his desperate need to shore up his own political survival. For the Khaatumo people, it all amounts to a vendetta against them by a sworn enemy.

In the previous Puntland presidential election, it was the block vote of the SSC members of Parliament who assured Faroole his election. For that, they were rewarded with the usual crumbs but at the cost of sowing division and disarray in order to subvert Khaatumo at his behest. As ever in hock to their benefactor, they are more than happy to give their votes to him once again in the forthcoming election. But that is something they can not do when they are currently “disowned” by both Khaatumo State and their own sub-clan leaders to represent them again in Puntland.That is why Faroole is growling as he searches for ways to scupper Khaatumo 3 short of military action.  He knows Garawe is much closer to Khaatumo than Hargeisa is, and fears enraged Darwiish warriors marching to his capital to get him. That fear is the deterrence which keeps him in check.

But to be fair to Faroole, he is not alone in wishing to hold on to the SSC regions on an asymmetric relationships in which they merely serve Garawe’s interests but little or nothing in return- not even defence against external aggression as when Somaliland invaded and occupied Lascanod in 2007 and Puntland defending forces simply abandoned it to the enemy without firing a shot. Puntland’s elite, political leading lights and traditional leaders all share Faroole’s stance but take cover in silence. The proof is that none has spoken out against Faroole’s flagrant hostilities to Khaatumo and its people or dared to call for the liberation of Lascanod.

Former Prime Minister, Abdiweli Gas, is now casting himself as the friend of Khaatumo, judging by his recent interviews in which he is electioneering for Puntland’s presidency and clearly fishing for votes from the SSC regions. To earn that, he is now heaping all the blame on Faroole for letting down Khaatumo and ignoring its “justified” grievances when he himself did nothing for Khaatumo when he was Prime Minister of Somalia. Just to redeem his image as he left office, he wrote a letter recognising Khaatumo which he disingenuously backdated it to the time when he was in office. He must see the people of Khaatumo as either idiots or having short memory!!

But if the ludicrous claim to the “ownership” of the SSC regions is what divides Somaliland and Puntland, what unites them also is their common opposition to an autonomous Khaatumo State. In default of  outright “owning” the SSC regions, their common and coordinated approaches is to thwart the emergence of an autonomous Khaatumo State by maintaining the occupation of its capital and jointly claiming as “disputed” and “unsettled” regions amongst them. This conspiracy against Khaatumo has been imbibed by a number of UN agencies based in Nairobi. To their credit, most are now beginning to come to terms with the reality to which they can no longer overlook.

With the election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud  as President, there was so much jubilation in Khaatumo that at last a true nationalist Somali President was at the helm of the Somali State and soon would rally to unionist Khaatumo against its secessionist Somaliland foes. Alas, he did rally but unfortunately rallied to the wrong side!

As for Khaatumo 3 conference, it is now in full swing. As everyone expects, a stronger government is to emerge that is bound to liberate its territory and take its rightful place in Somalia. What is good for the goose is bad for the gender for a change. Khaatumo’s finest hour at Taleex is keeping Faroole and Siilaanyo sleepless as both desperately play their trump cards to upset its apple cart. It is a sign of Somaliland’s desperation that all they could master was to dispatch turncoat Xagle Toosiye. He was briefly sighted in Lascanod but was soon back to his sanctuary in Hargeisa. For his part, Faroole sent his equally disgraced handyman, Abdisamad, now marooned in Taleex, cutting a pathetic lonely figure.

With Somaliland and Puntland in the doldrums, under the shaky hands of Siilaanyo and Faroole, both politically lame ducks and on the way-out, time is on the side of Khaatumo. As the tide turns in their favour, they will have the last laugh over their enemies. Long Live Somalia, Long Live the Unity.

Osman Hassan

Chairperson

Khaatumo Forum for Peace, Unity and Development

email: osman.hassan2@gmail.com