Hypocritical praise: Response to Mr. Goth's comments on Somaliland , Mr. Goth’s Article Represents an Old Disease

"History gets thicker as it approaches recent times" [A.J.P. Taylor English History 1914-45]

Let me begin by asserting that the intent of this article is not to undermine or damage Mr. Goth's credibility. I personally enjoy reading Mr. Goth's  conflicting stories. But what puzzles me most is his tendency to treachery and dishonest. Time and again, it has been difficult to comprehend his reasoning when it comes to the fundamental issue: 'the Somali Unity." In his most recent controversial piece titled: Somaliland: America’s underestimated friend, Mr. Goth unapologetically bashed Somalia and stamped it as a nonexistent entity, while he depicted the North-Western part of the same country an exceptional place of oasis and progress.

To contemplate the author's past, in retrospect, in May 1991, Mr. Goth was quoted number of times in an editorial magazine which I have possession of it. In the MIDEEYE Magazine, issue No. 002, Mr. Goth describes SNM (Somali National Movement), a historical perspective as it puts it. Segments of his book 'Awdal Phenomenon' appeared in the magazine. "The unity of Somalia is one which is based on people having one culture, one language, one religion and one national integrity. And no single clan however powerful they assume themselves to be will never be able to nudge let alone move the mountain of Somali Nationalism," Bashir Omar Goth. Apparently Mr. Goth changed his relative place after his uncle Dahir Riyaale Kaahin became the president of the enclave he has been obsessed with lately.

Likewise the magazine cited Mr. Goth's past clan animus. When the secessionist's (SNM) embarked to declare independent state in the Northern Somalia, Mr. Goth was in the front to combat secessionist's agenda. He manifested a thorough hostility to the SNM and their proponents. Mr. Goth wrote:"Today, the civil war ragging on in the North of Somalia is an Issaq monitored war aimed at annihilating all the other Somali clans existing in the area, so that the Issaq cherished dream of creating an Issaq Independent State, could be achieved. I am sure, many foreign people who were misled by the false propaganda published by the SNM would reconsider their positions towards the SNM." He went on and explained how North Westerners opposed The Dervish Patriotic Movement and SYL. Further, he wrote:"As Somalis strived towards the idea of nationhood, it has been the Issaq clan that stood alone in resisting the unity of the Somali people. Like ...who throws a tantrum when he does not get his own way, the Issaq clan has repeatedly displayed the selfish shortsightedness and violence of such ...outbursts but with dire consequences."

Mr. Goth also emphasized in his essay that the people of the Northern Somalia willfully joined their brethren Southern Somalia in July 01, 1960. Right! However, according to MIDEEYE, in his book he wrote: "When the Northern part of Somalia won independence on 26 June, 1960, the United Somali Party (USP) which had the Gadabursi and the Dhulbahante clans behind it called for an immediate reunion with the South which was under the Italian rule. Again it was the Issaq of the SNL who with instructions from the British government severely fought the idea of unification. And against their will the two Somali parts united to form a single state on 1st of July 1960." In 2010 Mr. Goth tells us the opposite: "... Somaliland, a country that gained its independence from Britain in 1960 and has become a full member of the United Nations before it joined the Italian colonized South in a union that brought them only destruction and misery." Amazingly, Mr. Goth rather underestimated his audience and perhaps aimed his whim to lure the younger unsuspecting minds.

In addition, let alone the peace and stability Mr. Goth proclaimed exists in Somaliland, the Riyaale administration which he supports has no mandate. Secondly, the conflict in Laascaanood looms on despite the torture and harassment of ordinary civilians. Indeed, it has been troublesome for the occupying forces to exert law and order on the people of Laascaanood. Recently, detainees from Laascaanood Prison were shipped to Berbera for security reasons; the leader of the SSC Resistance Forces, Suleiman Haglo Toosiye entered the region via Bandiiradley Airport in Central Mudug; Puntland military leaders also conferred with the clan chiefs to devise a plan that will free Laascaanood from the occupying Somaliland militia.

To conclude, Mr. Goth's diversion of the facts and his ever changing stand on the 'Somali Unity' is a clear indication of yet another hypocritical learned man who forfeited his own believes. The heedlessness of some of the Somali scholars and their whimsical nature bewilders the minds of the innocent. But thanks to the technology and research materials available to examine the perplexing arguments.

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Mohamud Ahmed
E-mail: Email: maash68@gmail.com

Bashir Sh. Omer Goth

Mr. Goth’s Article Represents an Old Disease

The era of Somali warlords has ended, but sadly, another dimension of warlordism has began to emerge: a new generation of warlords who are armed, not with guns, but with poisonous pens full of venom and whose aim is to spread secessionism and an archetype of disintegration among the Somali people. And this brings me to Bashir Gosh’s article entitled: “Somaliland: America’s underestimated friend”, currently posted on Hiiraan Online and WardheerNews respectively. The title of Mr. Goth’s article is very attractive, but the downhill slope of his writing is steep and quick. From the first few lines, it was already messy and abusive. If I were asked to revise its title, I would put it as: “Somaliland: Ethiopia’s Underestimated Friend”.

Writing purely from a secessionist point of view and with a great influence of tribe loyalty in its negative perspective, Mr. Gosh has insulted 16 out of 18 provinces that form the Somali Republic as a sovereign nation. He praised the two north-west regions of Somalia on tribal basis. He based his abusive criticism against Somalia on certain problems that are obvious and already known to everyone such as piracy, religious extremism, lawlessness, a weak government and so forth. The man has denied mentioning that similar problems can also be found in the two regions that he gloried blindly. He also intentionally ignored to underscore that the leaders of Alshabab group have made their way from the North to create chaos in the South and to prolong the civil war and political anarchy that have afflicted and still bedevil in the southern part of the country. Alshabab’s misguided interpretation of Islam has finally taken them to destroy the graves of some of Somalia’s most prominent clerics of the last century. When you read his recent article, you will understand how deep the man hates Somalia except his hometown. His biased comparison is only a small part of what he believes about the rest of Somalia. Who knows what he says over the tea and during the “fadhi ku dirir” sessions.  Mr. Goth’s rhetoric and fallacious words reveal that the man wishes to see Somalia remains where it is today. What a fake dream from a secessionist man! 

Previously, Mr. Goth has written many fascinating articles that attracted many readers. He should use his pen to unite his people instead of using it to propagate secessionism. One may ask the motive behind this ridiculous article. Is he seeking a political post in Hargeisa or the man is just desperate to get attention? I don’t know the answer. All I know is that Mr. Goth is contradicting himself and his writing is quite confusing! Why confusing?

Because the man who is insulting Somalia today is the same man who was defending Somalia with his pen when the Kenyan lawyer Mr. Donald B. Kipkorir has made a call to annex Somalia and divide it between Ethiopia and Kenya. In his response to the Kenyan Lawyer, Mr. Goth wrote a wonderful article entitled: “Mr. Kipkorir: Annexing and dividing Somalia is a call for balkanization of Horn of Africa”. In this article which was posted on many Somali websites on October 5, 2008, you will find the following statements:  

“Remember Mr.Kipkorir, it is these people that you call rag-tag army of semi naked men that stood against the British and Italian armies for 20 years in one of the longest drawn out African rebellions against foreign occupation. It was the dervish movement led by the Somali hero Mohammed Abdulla Hassan, known in history as the Mad Mullah, the derogative name given to him by the British, that the Royal army failed to defeat until it used military aircraft against them in the first aerial bombardment ever used by a European power in Africa, even before the Italian air bombardment of Libya.”

In his recent article, he described Somalia as a land of pirates and terrorists, but in his previous article in 2008, he denied all these. He wrote and I quote:

“Somalia was not a haven for terrorists and pirates as you tried to paint it but as you know Somalia had the strongest and best disciplined army in the 70s. It was Somalia that negotiated a peace deal between the neighboring countries of Nyerere’s Tanzania and Idi Amin’s Uganda”.

When the guns fall silent, Somalia will get its old glory:

It is possible that Mr. Goth despises Somalia just because of the chaotic turbulence that the country is going through at the moment. But one should love his country in thin and thick times. There is an Italian proverb that says: “defeat is an orphan, victory has hundred fathers”, meaning to say: when there is a defeat, nobody wants to be part of the team, but when there is a victory, everybody wants to be part of the team. This is really true as there are certain people who have a “socio-pathological distance-taking manner” who prefer to deny their own country in times of deep crisis. Just imagine seeing a stable Somalia, a peaceful Mogadishu where law and order are in place, kids going to school, it economy having a double digit growth, and its people living in harmony and peace. I wonder if Bashir Goth would still be having the same distance-taking behavior that he is displaying today!.    

The Extradition of a Grandma to Ethiopia: Oops! Where is the judiciary system?

It was just a month ago when Bishaaro Wacdi, a 50 years old grandmother was kidnapped from her house in Hargeisa and was handed over to Ethiopia. She was not taken to the court, nor was she allowed to have access to a lawyer. So, where is the judiciary system that Mr. Bashir Goth is talking about? We all know that in Somali culture, women enjoy a great deal of respect in the society. For instance, if a woman does something wrong to a man, the man will never take revenge on her. Instead, he will look for any male to whom the woman is related to. And even according to the modern nation-state system, an extradition can only take place between two sovereign states. A world of nation-states implies an international system of pure sovereign entities, relating to each other legally as equals.

Today, it is very sad to see that the basic principles and values have changed so much in our Somali society. The extradition of a grandmother was extremely shocking. Somalis began to ask themselves: what is the threat that an old woman can impose on Hargeisa or Ethiopia?!  This is an unprecedented act of betrayal and the first of its kind in Somali history? What a shame!

Somalis believe the woman became a target because: (1) She belongs to the Ogaden clan that constitutes the backbone of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) who is fighting to create an independent homeland for the population dwelling in the Ogaden region in eastern Ethiopia; (2) Authorities in Hargeisa wants to showcase their unquestioning obedience and loyalty to Ethiopia, that they will do everything for Ethiopia including the extradition of a grandmother, if need be.
In my opinion, it was better for Bishaaro Wacdi to live in her homeland Jig-Jiga than in Hargeisa. Perhaps she made a miscalculation assuming that the city of Hargeisa will be a safety net for her. She may forgot that it was Ethiopia – the country of Bilal Al-Habshi -  where our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace from Allah be upon him) asked his companions to emigrate to in order to escape the torture, killings, and the oppression imposed on them by the pagans of Makkah.

Hargeisa Airport: Who is in-charge, please?

Few years back when Dahir Riyale wanted to fly out of Hargeisa, the only choice available was an Ethiopian aircraft. When the “president” wanted to board, the Ethiopian security officers stopped him. They told him that they need to check him and his luggage, in which failure to do so will lead him to miss the flight. After some quarrels and arguments that took some time, the “president” was screened by foreigners in his own city. What a humiliation!

Is this the country that gained its independence from Britain in 1960 and has become a full member of the United Nations, as Mr Bashir Goth claims?!

In my judgment, Mr. Goth’s article is not worthy of reading. His arguments are baseless and beyond rationality. The disgusting description that he gave Somalia is an insult. The way that he glorified his hometown is not more than a fake dream that exists only in his fantasy. As a final point, Somali intellectuals are convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that in a globalized world, believing in tribal allegiance and secession is an old disease, and indeed this is what Mr Goth’s article represents.

Dr. Mohamed Abbas
E-mail:kismaayo91@hotmail.com

Terror Free Somalia Foundation take..
 This article is fraught with distortions, fallacies, lies. The author mr.Bashir Goth is aiding and abetting Ethiopia's concerted effort to dismember Somalia. We are glad that people in "Somaliland have relative peace in comparison with their brethern but it is an outright lie to say there is democracy or political stability.There is no single service that the administration provides. The administration is corrupted and is based on cronism. All my friends from "Somaliland" continue to tell me that. The following is a comment based on an article exposing the hypocracy and contradiction by Goth and his ilk.
It is not only mr Goth who is hypocritical but the whole "Somaliland" misadventure is based on fallacy, lies and deception. To substantiate my point, following arguments are called for. First, Mohamed Egal, the late "president" of "Somaliland" was vehementally againt the seccession and dismemberment of Somalia when he attended the both Djabouti conference in early nineties. He later conveniently changed his standing and adopted seccessionist rhetoric. In the same way, late Abdirahmen Tuur was propogating for the seccession at that time but later went to Mogadishu and became cabinet member of Salbalaar.He subsequently and openly condemned the attempt to dismember Somalia .The whole concept is opportunist facade milked by anyone who wants to claim hight position in North Westren Somalia. The other obvious lie and fallacy is that the reason they claim prompted their attempt to seccede is  human rights is violated. Contrary to that argument, the current head of "Somaliland" was high ranking notorious intelligence officer who was responsible for disappearance of many civilians, however, noone talks about it. Only "South" is blamed for everything. Having said that, my argument is not against people in North Western Somalia and the wrongs inflicted on them by the military dictator, but the issue I am addressing is the blatant lies that so-called leaders are spreading. The current nonsensical article by Goth, where he contradicts himself, must be read against this historical backdrop and it will be easy to understand it in its contextual place.
Somaliland is not an underestimated friend, but a real threat to America.
Here are some important facts:

 MAHAMUD  AHMAD..AND Dr. Mohamed Abbas   Thanks for  your Very good analyzation,exposing the deceptions Tribal enclave The separatist Somaliland Mouthpiece Mr. Goth..Exposing the biggest hypocrite..He is  trying to blackmail international community

Somaliland produces most of Africa's international terrorists!

Ahmed Godane, Alshabab Supreme leader who often imitates Mullah Omar is from Somaliland. Shirwac, American-Aslbabab martyr, is from Somaliland. Mohamed Almuhajiri, Alshabab martyr, is from Somaliland.
Ahmed Godane, Alshabab Supreme Leader is from Somaliland.
Shirwac, the Alshabab-American, blew himself in Hargeisa was from Somaliland.
Mohamed Al-Muhajiri, Alshabab from Toronto, was also from Somaliland.
Two Somali detainees, Mohammed Soliman Barre and Ismael Arale, were transferred to regional authorities in Somaliland. 
The Danish cartoonist attacker was also from Somaliland.

Somaliland Recognition: Why it won’t happen