Somaliland: A Hostage To Rayaale

Somaliland: A Hostage To Rayaale

Rayaale undeniably changed the landscape of clan balance in the equation of who is pro-or contra-secession. He brings many his clan to the fold of secession, of course with notable exception of names like the Samatar brothers, Dr. Ali Bahar, Nur Hirsi Bahal, to name just a few.  But at the same time he is part of the apparatus that is indicted to have butchered the residents of Berbera district.  As such, his meteoric rise to the highest office has offended the former SNM leaders and their constituents. Whereas his acceptance of secession diversifies the constituents for the cause, his membership of the notorious NSS, a Gestapo organization, that Barre used to purge his critics weakness the moral basis for secession argument.

The Rayaale factor is both an asset as well as a liability in the politics of secession.  It gives the secession agenda a multi clan façade (two clans for secession versus three that oppose). In the same vain, Rayaale's ascent to power has discredited the hitherto morally-based argument of the secessionist vision even within the Somali community.

Although this clear contradiction in the body politic of Somaliland slaps in the face the thousand of victims killed in the north by the Barre regime, it is undeniably arguable that Rayaale expanded the constituent base for secession beyond one clan.  

Thus, reconciling such internally contradictory phenomenon poses a political conundrum in Somaliland. 

Moreover, Hargeysa today is not that much different from the days of Barre. The very notion of Rayaale as the head of Hargeysa, not to mention all the well documented attacks and violations he has so far committed against innocent civilians (like the human rights case of Zamzam Duale, the wanton arrests of journalists, the killing Khadar Dhabar, an innocent man from the minority clans and the failure to prosecute those who murdered him) eroded any sense of morality in Hargaysa.  Hargyasa, it may seem, is trying to have its cake and eat it.

To add insult to an injury, during his relatively short reign in Somaliland, Rayaale has reinstituted everything (from run-away corruption to human rights abuse, to placing his old NSS comrades in sensitive positions) that Hargeysa loathed about the Barre regime.  Yet, time and again, he has proven to be untouchable and he outfoxed the old guard of the SNM.

With all this baggage, Rayaale can not easily be discarded, or even held responsible, for the crimes committed against humanity in the past or present as charged in a report Rakiya Omar authored for Africa Watch in the late 1980s.  Rather, he would stay exactly where he is at least for now and continue dragging and destroying with impunity the entire effort mounted by the secessionists, because touching him would amount to pushing his clan to the unionist side. 

Leaders in Hargeysa are well aware of the infamous overnight switch of Rayaale's clan from the unionist camp and their willingness to do the same complete reversal of political migration in the event that anyone threatens their now powerful "son."  Despite the inflammatory and condescending bravados that one often hears from hardliners (a case in point is the recent statement by Kahin, an SNM hardliner, that he will chase Rayaale out of the state house by whipping him with his cane – in somali, Dhangad baan kaga saari madaxtooyada), Rayaale has crafted his political niche that is totally untouchable. In the words of one commentator who requested to remain anonymous, "Rayaale has Hargaysa and Rer-Sheikh Isaxaaq exactly where he wanted them to be."
 
On his part, Rayaale is the first from his clan who effected global change on his clan's political outlook and caused them migrate, of course there are notable exceptions, from their long held unionist ideology to a more vocal secessionist advocacy.  Thus helping rearrange the clan balance where now two clans (Issaq and Gadabursi) support secession and three (Dhulbahante, Warsangali and Issa) oppose it is not a small feat.  In political parlance, Rayaale has delivered to the secession camp.

As a well placed resident of Hargeysa told me recently, when it come to the Rayaale factor in the politics of Somaliland, he said "haddaan hadalno waa noo hadal baas, haddaan aamusnana waa afsalax ku dhagayagii," that is to say, as they say in English, "if we do we are damned, and if we don't we are damned too."

Rayaale has permanently dented the moral basis of the secessionist cause.  To bank again on Mazrui's rhetorical saying, Somaliland can not live with or without Rayaale and that is its dilemma. 

Faisal A. Roble
E-Mail:fabroble@aol.com