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By Claire Elder
Oxford University – Poets, writers and bloggers have recently been the target of political repression in the self-proclaimed independent state of Somaliland. Somaliland declared itself independent in 1991 after the collapse of Somali following the overthrow of military dictator Siad Barre. The international community regards Somaliland as an autonomous region of Somalia. They do not recognize it as an official state.
The arrest earlier this year in Somaliland of Naima Qorane (27) highlights the fragility of the situation between Somaliland and Somalia. Although Somalilander, the poet is a rare and outspoken activist for the unity between the two regions. Much of his poetry deals with the lost unity of Somalia.
Qorane also holds a Somali pbadport and lives in Mogadishu. His arrest in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, followed reports of death threats because of his cause of "the unity of Somalia". Three months later, she was found guilty of damaging the nation or the state. Qorane was sentenced to three years in prison.
There has been an international outcry about his appalling conditions of detention and allegations of ill-treatment. After media coverage and calls from her father, she was released on May 7 by presidential pardon.
In Somaliland and Somalia, arrests of dissidents have increased since 2017, as new administrations seek to consolidate authority. In Somalia, opposition figures report badbadination attempts in a tense political and security environment.
Deterioration of relations
Arrests intensify in a context of deteriorating relations between Somaliland and Somalia. This is partly due to increased bilateral engagement and foreign investment in both countries. Somaliland, with a population of 3.5 million, has all the attributes of a state. It has a fully operational army, government and foreign investment.
But the lack of formal international recognition makes it increasingly precarious relative to Somalia, which has 10.8 million inhabitants and has received considerable help. The election of Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed in Somalia in 2017 and the renewal of the aid pact pushed the country to badert its land claims while the government seeks to consolidate the authority and to lead state-led reconstruction.
The conflict between regions over irreconcilable visions of the state and new alliances have reinforced radical policies. New administrations on both sides seized them in order to build internal legitimacy given the zero-sum nature of politics
Prosecution and counter-accusation
Somaliland often accuses Somalia of interfering in its political affairs internal. He claims that Somalia is using Somalilanders in Mogadishu to mobilize dissent in his country.
The case of Qorane was therefore not unusual, but the severe sentence was. Somaliland's new president, Muse Bihi Abdi, reacts with escalating tactics to political dissent
TV journalist Mohamed Digaale was arrested in February 2018 for interviewing new Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. , the author Mohamed Kayse Mohamoud was sentenced to 18 months in prison for "insulting the president's honor". Mohamoud described Abdi as "local" president. Ten days later, a traditional elder, Osman Burmadow, was sentenced to five years in prison for attending a ceremony in neighboring Puntland. Like Somaliland, Puntland is also a self-proclaimed independent state. Unlike Qorane, they were detained for much longer
Hardline Policy
The arrest and imprisonment of Qorane indicate a harsher Somaliland policy towards cross-border movements to and from from Mogadishu. The restrictions will have political and financial implications for the small state. People from Somaliland travel frequently for business and jobs.
Tighter borders may also further marginalize key groups that support (conditionally) Somaliland's national program. This will reinforce the growing perception that politics in the region is not consensual.
In the immediate future, this does not bode well for the negotiations with Somalia. The armed conflict in the disputed region between Somaliland and Puntland has escalated.
Somaliland suspended talks with Somalia in March after rejecting a $ 422 million US port deal. The agreement was signed between Ethiopia, Somaliland and DP World, a port logistics company of the United Arab Emirates. The agreement included plans for a United Arab Emirates military base in the port of Berbera in Somaliland.
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