AWDAL SOOL SANAAG COALITION AGAINST SECESSION (ASSCàS)

“The Somaliland” Occupation 

Press Release

April 10, 2008

Knowing well the absurdity of clan warfare and the senseless fratricide of the last twenty years (1988-2008) that reduced the Somali people to the lowest rung of human destitution, we advise the Hargeisa-based secessionist enclave in the Northwest region of the Somali Republic to stop their expansionist policies and not to lead the Somali people into another bloody fray which will cause an unnecessary loss of life and the destruction of the meager resources of these people.

We are flabbergasted by how any one can forget the number of times the Somali warlords, satisfying only their egos, took an irresponsible act, and played poker with the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. We are dumfounded by how any one can overlook the fact that the warlords, guided by their whims, dragged the Somali nation over a precipitous cliff and down into a dark abyss of nightmarish anarchy. And we are stunned by how any one can ignore the destructiveness of a civil war that pits one brother or sister against another and lays asunder the cohesiveness of entire communities, communities whose people have lived together for centuries in peace and harmony. A temporary victory may flatter the ego of an aggressor for a moment but at the end of the day when the dust settles, the fogs clear, and the stark reality of death and destruction stares one from every direction, everybody will regret; as war, especially civil war, benefits no one; and besides the loss of life and the material destruction, it degrades our humanity and leaves an indelible scars of animosity and bitterness in the hearts and souls of the belligerents.

The last thing most Somalis need is another cycle of violence that deepens the wounds of the Somali nation. Enough is enough. No more war.  Now is the time to reconcile and bid farewell the animalistic ambition of tion. Now is the time to act as rational human beings, to behave as responsible citizens, and to promote peace among the Somali people everywhere.     

Finally, we congratulate the Elders, Sultans, Women Leaders, and the religious Imams and scholars in Sool, who for the last twenty years have resolved problems in their region with wisdom and responsibility and have encouraged peaceful co-existence with their neighbors. We commend their foresight and their deep respect for the human life that they have shown once again.

In the absence of an effective government in the country the Somali people are relying on their Traditional Leaders (Sultans, Akels, Garaads and so on) for guidance and leadership. Therefore, it should be noted that Sool’s Traditional Leaders, representing every segment/sub-clan of Sool, denounced and rejected the secessionists’ occupation of their capital in a clear and unequivocal language, as reflected in their widely publicized Boocame Declaration of November 23, 2007.

ASSCàS supports Sool’s Traditional Leaders’ demand of the immediate withdrawal of “Somaliland” militia from their clan territory, thus restoring peaceful neighborly co-existence and co-operation among northern Somali clans.

We hope that those who are beating the drums of war and who are trying to secure imaginary boundaries among the Somali people will heed the wisdom of the Somali poet, Ismail Mire,

” Ragaw kibirka waa lagu kufaa kaa ha la ogaado.”  (Pride and Arrogance come before a Fall).

Long lives the Somali Republic: United and Peaceful.

For further information, please contact Hamid Mashaeye Or Gamal Hassan at:

againstsecession@yahoo.com

AWDAL SOOL SANAAG COALITION AGAINST SECESSION (ASSCàS) is a grass-roots Somali advocacy organization dedicated to the preservation and safe-guarding of the unity and territorial integrity of our beloved country, the Somali Republic. Our membership hails mainly from the pro-unity anti-secessionist regions of Awdal, Sool, Sanaag, and Ayn of the Somali Republic. We invite Somali citizens both back home and in the diasporas to join us defend our country against those who, with the material and moral help of external forces, are aggressively working to dismember our country and create a chasm of mistrust and conflict among people bonded by ethnicity, language, religion, and shared centuries-old culture and  traditions.

egeh @ 4/18/2008 11:51 PM EST  Camel Girl, Your English is way too complicated for us to understand and as a result we fail to benefit from your wisdom. I think a translation in Somali will help a lot.

Camel Girl @ 4/18/2008 4:26 PM EST  Can this two p just stop we are in a good dinner any you try we are SOMALIS AND WHAT FOR DIRTY  IN THE SOURTH WE WERE BEING PUSHED BY MOM/DAD MY GARANDS BUT ONE  WORD O REMEBER SOMALI.  cOME CLEAN I AM ON A HUNT. a Somali I am and a dirty wolrd watcher .  How much did this humans cross/cross Love/Peace.

egeh @ 4/17/2008 5:37 PM EST  The people of Las Anod got rid of the Puntland blood sucking regime and invited Somaliland to help sort out the mess left behind by the greedy, ignornat and destructive puntlanders whose only contribution was corruption and subjugation instead of development. Now since the arrival of the Somalilanders the people of Las Anod are in a celebratory mood and are reaping the benefits  of their rightful share in the Somaliland economy.  I suggest the authors visit Las Anod and verify this fact  and also give themselves the chance to see the real change in the affairs of the people.

boqor jama @ 4/17/2008 8:07 AM EST  all those dhulmahante who are against somaliland should be noted are against it cos of cuqdad qabil and not 4 nationalist interest as they like u to believe especially cuqdad against beesha habar jeclo who they argue forcefully took there land from caynaba to ceelafweyn .

kucadaye @ 4/14/2008 12:01 PM EST  Gaadh-Haye (I am not sure what you are protecting!) wrote: "Who speaks for the people of Sool, Sanaag & Cayn, traditional leaders or politicians? Please re-read the Press Release and you will find the answer to your question: "In the absence of an effective government in the country the Somali people are relying on their Traditional Leaders (Sultans, Akels,  Garaads and so on) for guidance and leadership.". Opportunists and mercenaries such as Xaabsade and Fagadhe do not have the moral authority to speak on behalf of the people of Sool or Sanaag. While these types are daily chewing qat in Hargeisa, or in Las Anod under the protection of the secessionists' militia the Traditional Leaders are meeting in a village in the interior of Sool determined to liberate their people from the yoke of occupation. Kucadaye