The Litany of Somaliland Lies About Laascaanood Conflict

By resorting to spreading disinformation to promote a secession war President Bihi irreparably damaged the Somaliland political brand.

Hargeisa (PP Editorial) — Since the eruption of Laascaanood conflict one month ago the Somaliland administration attempted to mislead the world opinion. It claimed its forces were fighting terrorists In Laascaanood. At one point Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi misappropriated Khawarij, a term the Federal Government of Somalia uses for counterterrorism operations against Al-shabaab.

The shelling of Laascaanood by Somaliland forces ensued. With those two decisions Bihi changed the conflict from one based on an autonomous status within a federal and united Somalia to one through which secessionist forces claim to be enforcing colonial borders. Somaliland negotiators have been unable to reconcile their claim that “Somaliland is a republic” to the sovereignty of Somalia affirmed in United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

Gérard Prunier: “Somaliland silence has to end otherwise you will end. You are too polite and silent in an environment which is not polite and silent.”

Nearly two weeks ago, Somaliland Foreign Minister Essa Kayd told a newspaper reporter in Addis Ababa that Somaliland “is a buffer zone for Ethiopia.” The Ethiopian government policy on Somalia is not based on carving buffer zones in Somalia. The buffer zone concept was propounded by Seyoum Mesfin, the late Ethiopian Foreign Minister, in a 2018 essay. Mesfin argued that since Somalia is incapable of guaranteeing security in its sovereign territory Kenya and Ethiopia would create buffer zones in Somalia to manage the transnational terrorism threats from forces based in the country. TPLFand Somaliland shared a common secession-promoting goals in the Horn of Africa to a point where a disgruntled social group or ethnicity can seek to become a republic.

Somaliland disinformation campaign against Laascaanood intensified yesterday when the Somaliland council of ministers claimed that Ethiopian forces from the Somali region of Ethiopia “are in Laascaanood”. The Somalia region of Ethiopia called on Somaliland leaders “to refrain from statements that drive a wedge between the fraternal societies  of Somaliland and the Somali region of Ethiopia”. Somaliland government accused the Federal Government of Somalia and Puntland State of “waging war against Somaliland”. President Bihi said the forces of “the Federal Republic of Somaliland attacked us”. There is no such thing as the Federal Republic of Somaliland nor did the Federal Government of Somalia send troops to Laascaanood. Somaliland administration leaders adopted siege mentality in the vain belief that secession war can lead to the break-up of Somalia. They took to heart the unsolicited advice of Gérard Prunier, a French historian, who urged Somaliland leaders to destabilise Somalia to achieve secession goals.

© Puntland Post, 2023