If these offenders have abused the law, then Siilaanyo’s Government raped the Somaliland constitution! Siilaanyo has ‘remedied’ one abuse of the law with a bigger and uglier one with potentially far-reaching consequnces for the democratic governance of Somaliland. As we celebrate the 21^st Anniversary of the Reclamation of Somaliland’s Sovereignty, I cannot believe a Somaliland military court condemns 17 civilians to death within 24 hours of their arrest? A fair Judge would take longer than that to ascertain their names! And why would civilians be taken to a military court?

While those who started the reported bloodshed took the law into their hands and deserve to be condemned and subjected to the full force of the law, it is incredulously shocking that a court in the Somaliland can take just LESS THAN 24 hours of their arrest to sentence these 17 people to death! This is reminiscent of Dictator Barre’s Kangaroo courts- the so called security courts who at a certain time sentenced ten religious leaders to death within less than twenty four hours of their arrest

Isn’t opposing this kind of political thuggery and human rights violations why we have lost so many heroes in the 1980s?

Furthermore, in an effort to cover up this sad event, at least two journalists are in jail for being engaged in their professional work. Some of them were arrested reportedly for taking photos of the event.If Siilaanyo’s Government believes the offenders committed a crime, why would journalists reporting on this debacle be illegally arrested?What is Siilaanyo hiding? Given the lack of any logical explanation to their illegal arrest, the claim that Siilanyo has used this sad event as a cover to take revenge on the Editor of Yool, a daily paper who publishes a weekly satire of Siilaanyo’s Government, makes a lot of sense. Siilaanyo is known to be very sensitive to criticism.

If these offenders have abused the law, then Siilaanyo’s Government raped the Somaliland constitution! Siilaanyo has ‘remedied’ one abuse of the law with a bigger and uglier one with potentially far-reaching consequnces for the democratic governance of Somaliland.After all, unlike these offenders of the law, Siilaanyo was elected by the people and has solemnly sworn to uphold the constitution of Somaliland. In my firm opinion, Siilaanyo could be guilty of abusing the Somaliland constitution and must be equally taken to court. That is if there is a Rule of Law in Somaliland.

It is also sad that a President who was elected in one of the most democratic elections that had given Somaliland the reputation of being a haven of peace and democracy, has, since he was elected, been engaged in unending violations of human rights violations, thus tarnishing the good name of Somaliland in the international community, a good name that the previous Presidents had worked so hard for.

It could be that Siilaanyo is applying lessons from his former boss Dictator Barre and is trying to intimidate the Somaliland people so that no one can dare to oppose his abuse of power. And just as Siyaad Barre did before him, I believe he is planning to claim the higher moral ground later by pardoning these offenders. This is no less than adding insult to injury! The people of Somaliland cannot be deceived by these old tricks any longer.

It is the practice of dictators to push the boundaries of the law and the constitution and then watch the reaction of the people. If people fail to react, then they push these boundaries even further until eventually the people find themselves under a dictatorship when it is too late. Siilaanyo’s unending violation of the constitution and laws of the country can only make sense if viewed in this light.

That is why Siilaanyo must not be allowed get away with this naked abuse of Somaliland’s constitution. It is NOW or NEVER.

Sahardeed Roobleh

Perth WA

Western Australia