President Faroole is throwing Puntland Away for the wolves: - Only an Impeachment can save the day!

The author is a political analyst based in London

Puntland was an oasis of peace and civility for the best part of a decade and was a model regional administration. It was a popular commercial hub for the Somali merchants in general which as a consequence paid off a big dividend –job creation for the local people, investment in properties, investments in service companies and above all raised the status of the Puntlander’s in the eyes of the Somalis to a stage that the rest only envy. It was the norm rather then the exception that merchants from SomaliLand and Somali Regional State preferred Bossaso Port from Berbera due to the responsive taxation regime and swift processing of bureaucratic procedures which I believe compensated for what ever it might have lost to its geographic location.
Puntland’s development, prosperity and progress in the midst of chaos is a legendary legacy that can rightly be attributed to the successive politicians who led Puntland for a decade. The Puntland leaders were known to follow the centre stage of the volatile Somali politics game and were also pragmatic when the situation demanded and if they were to err, when caught off guard, they were famous to err on the prudence side. These political heavy weights glided Puntland through war, famine and hostile plots without ever loosing sight of democracy and human rights and were ultimately rewarded by the Somalis by electing its President at the time, Mr. A. Yusuf, as the Somali Federal Government President.
The possibility of relocating substantial federal institutions to Puntland was a very strong possibility that gathered consensus in response to the stalemate of Mogadishu war. The hosting of federal institutions would have brought with it a windfall of wealth to the region and by extension a lot of favourable political handshakes, international aid and many other perks had president Faroole kept Puntland on the win, win course which sadly seems now as a distant dream.
Mr. Farool’s Puntland: - It is difficult to get off the back of a Tiger
The minimum public expectation from Farool’s regime was to rest under the cool shade of the tree planted by the previous leaders but uprooting the tree itself was not on the cards. It appears the trajectory Farool’s government took will fail Puntland in the very near future if he is not tackled quickly and with urgency because the security and political situation is at present akin to that of 2006 Mogadishu ,when the Alliance of Warlords under the umbrella of counter terrorism were trading the leading clergy men, Ogadeni people and the likes. The same revolt which brought the Union of Islamic Courts to power is already in the making in Puntland and certainly the same fate or even worse is the most likely outcome.
Hardly a day passes by without an assassination of notable person, bombardment of government installations, tribal wars, imprisonment of civilians, harassment of non Majeerteen residents and media shutdowns – the hallmarks of a failed dictatorial regime is a reality that no one can deny but all to ponder as to what the future treasures for the Puntland people.
Mr. Farool’s regime showed time and again that it has no respect for the constitution of Puntland, Islamic brotherhood, Somalism and of course international human rights. This unforgivable heinous crime meted against the five Ogadeni youth on 25th of October attracted the wrath and condemnations of the Somali nation from within and without save the international community’s shock. Mr. Faroole who was a refugee himself and who is a national of Australia must know the sanctity enshrined in the spirit and letter of the human rights instruments – legal proceedings against his person are to be filed shortly with the Australian government and human rights organizations.
The five Ogadeni youth were deported from Yemen and were arrested upon arrival -See Somali Cartoonist. They were subjected to a severe torture under the auspices of the Tigreyan chiefs of the PIS( PL’s infamous terrorist institution) in Boossaso’s Abul Ghraib like prison. Mr. Abdi Hassan Yusuf was officially handed to the Ethiopian security forces and his family and relatives are waiting to hear the inevitable. Mr. Abdillahi Hassan Ali died in his prison cell as direct result of the torture and I have a good reason to believe that this picture is his, smuggled by good hearted Puntland individual. The remaining three detainees, Olad, Bedri and Deeq, are still in prison without chance of seeing a judge as their other friends.
The livestock Minister of Puntland speaking with the press at Boossaaso animal holding and processing centre welcomed the lift of Saudi ban on Somali livestock. Mr. Doonyaale distanced himself from the rogue trading practices employed by some of the livestock merchants in Puntland who are connected to Mr. Faroole “I don’t want to lie, the practice of telling the Ogadeni people that they will be paid $80 per head and then reneging the deal after their animals are brought in Bossaaso is a bad practice. It is robbery and deceit to offer $40 after you make sure that they can neither get pasture for their animals nor able to take back to Wardheer and beyond. This practice will chase away the people this port gets its business and as a consequence we will loose 97% of projected revenue to other ports.”
The Puntland elders and notables protested against the draconian policies of Faroole as this crime against humanity touched the hearts of every one alike except the Tigreyan security chiefs of the PIS. In the last month alone more then 15 were abducted from their homes in Galkayo, Garawo and Bossasso and five were killed and their crime was that they where refugees from Ogaden(Somali Regional State of Ethiopia) . Can any one make sense out of arresting 160 people, men and women, in one go just because they are Ogadeni- four of the inmates delivered babies while in custody.
Chief Abdiassis Yusuf Mohamud(Af Guduud) gave VOA an interview in relation to this human rights abuses and was instantly put Behind the bars. Chief Abdulkadir Iise , who went underground, was among the chiefs who condemned the barbaric acts of Farool’s government . It is worth to mention that the Diaspora from Puntland unequivocally condemned the inhuman conduct of president Faroole and the most interesting and timely was the Nairobi one which coincided with his arrival today. See Warqad Furan
On the 31st of October chief Mohamed Ali Gacal was killed in his home by unknown gun men. The chief was well know figure resident in the north of Galkayo for more then thirty years although he hails from Hiiraan . Chief Abdulaahi Isaaq Baabul Kabiir, from digil & Mirifle, was also assassinated a week earlier in the North of Gaalkayo. On the 3RD of November six of the leading clergy men of Puntland were sentenced to jail terms between 10 and 15 years without a convincing prove of wrong doing. They were alleged to have been sympathizers to Al Shabab and were refused an access to lawyers to defend their case and their names are as follows:-
1. Sheikh Ali Ahmed Hassan “Ali Gacamey”
2. Deeq Yaasin Khalif
3. Ahmed Abdirazaq Maxamed
4. Ibrahim Mohamed Shire
5. Sheikh Mahamud Samatar Mohamud
The celebrated peace deal signed in 1993 by the late Gen. M, Aiddeed and Col. A, Yusuf which ended the civil war in Galkayo is now in tatters. The darling of Mr. Faroole, Mayor of North Galkayo, is to be blamed for starting the battle that resulted the death of 29 people and an injury of 70 more – the highest casualty recorded in Galkayo since 1993. The people in the south and the north of Gaalkayo are said are worried about the imminent possibility that the dark scenes of 1993 which they shelved is about to come back to life because of the confused leadership of Mr. Farool’s regime.
The notorious PIS(PL terrorist institution) are terribly secretive and ruthless as its members are paid for by the Tigreyan Intelligence agency. They are only accountable to their Tigrey chiefs as the same chiefs are powerful enough to dictate to President Faroole himself - members of the public dread to talk about the Tigrey officers though their addresses are known. It is the culture of this institution to assassinate any officer who resigns from them and the latest casualty was Mr. Jama Siibato who was assassinated on 6th of November in Bossaso. He resigned from the PIS due to pressure from his tribe and was earning his living through trade. He was assassinated in the centre of Bossaaso in the evening on his way to his home. Find bellow the names of assassinated Ex PIS officers including their respective clans - non-commissioned officers and privates are excluded:-
1. Abdi Rashiid Laangare(Reer Bicid Yahan Majeerten)
2. Ali Jiis(Siwaakhron Majeerten)
3. Khaliif uur guf(Ree waa Rag Majeerten)
4. Jama Mohamed (Omar Maxamuud Majeerten)
5. Jamac Siibato(Ali saleeban Majeerten) The latest casualty.
The refugees from Southern Somalia and the Sool and Sanaag people in Puntland are under consistent harassment as they are blamed for every thing that goes wrong – insecurity, unemployment, espionage and etc. when ever a bomb goes off the police rounds up members from these residents and put them behind bars and made them buy their freedom at a price they can hardly afford. The Oromos killings and tortures hardly make news but they are treated no better or worse then the Ogadeenis.

Male zenawi Is my mentor; if he went away with millions then I can go scotch free with my thousands.

Media is his enemy number one and the president tried his best to silence all forms of media including the international ones such as the BBC and VOA by arresting their correspondents and switching off their FM relay stations see Bashir Goth. A lot of media centres were closed while others were made against their wishes to work as government mouth pieces. Horseed Media, SBC, Radio Garowe, Daljir and ETN are the ones who lost their impartiality at least for the time being.
The irony is that the pirates, human traffickers, drug dealers and other misfits are roaming the streets of Puntland often armed to the teeth and yet only the merchants, clergy, journalists and other law abiding citizens are 90% of the prison population in Puntland. At the time of this writing a bomb went off at the gate of Boossaso port and the casualty is yet to come to light, another bomb went off in the South of Galkayo where General Qaybdiid was hosting a meeting killing six people and finally chief Abdiasiis Mohamoud Yusuf was sentenced to six month in prison for criticising Mr. Farool’s human rights violations.
The catalogue of disasters and crimes against humanity perpetuated by Mr. Faroole is beyond the scope of this paper but my intent is to highlight the political situation of Puntland in light of the events that took place in the last two weeks. I am sure one can feel the political pulse of Puntland and can visualise it destiny by reading through and between the lines of the pattern of events I scraped from the tip of President Farool’s melancholic iceberg.
Conclusions: To the suffering, a day passes like a year.
President Faroole let down his electorate in every venue and proved that he is an expensive liability that Puntland can hardly afford to shoulder one more month. The guy demonstrated that he lacks maturity, self confidence, relevant political experience and above all leadership.
I think it’s an insult to the Somali nation that an Australian (Faroole) takes an expert role to tell them who is Somali and who is non Somali. Even if we take his daft opinion that the Ogadenis are not Somalis; the human rights laws, Islamic jurisprudence and Puntland Constitution won’t condone the Killing, torturing and delivering of refugees. See Press Release
Mr. Faroole has succeeded in preparing the ground works- Galkayo, Garowe, Qardho and Bossaaso are in crises- for a revolution to erupt in Puntland as his government choose to travel the dead end road of 2006 Mogadishu warlords era. The multimillion dollar question is what kind of Islamists would take over? Al Shabab is more likely as they proved to thrive in chaos or may be a more potent strain is lurking in the shadows.
The time has come for the Somali Diaspora to join hands to bring this man to justice to set a precedence to serve as deterrent for future blood thirsty politicians – my email is open for volunteers.