Sunday, October 21, 2000
Ref. SF/EC-023-2000
Mr. Salad, the self-styled president of Somalia, has finally appointed his cabinet. True to form, Mr. Salad, who was the Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister in dictator Siyad Barre’s regime, has chosen many of his corrupt cohorts and the list of cabinet members reads like a “who’s who” of Siyad Barre’s cabinets and military officers. Mr. Salad is reported (AP Friday 20/10/200) to have said that this government “is for the poor, disabled, refugees and unarmed people.” The truth is it is a government of the few, by the few and for the few.
This government does not concern the Republic of Somaliland, which has had a representative government and a peaceful state since 1991. Mr. Salad has included in his cabinet a few handpicked mainly former Siyad Barre ex‑ministers who were born in the Somaliland territory so as to give credence to his claim that he is inheriting the mantle of the now defunct state of the Somali Democratic Republic (the SDR). Whatever positions have been given to these cronies, the fact remains that they represent no one but themselves. Furthermore, the truth is that Siyad Barre’s state of the SDR has gone and cannot be revived, and all that Mr. Salad inherited is the people who used to run it and its mode of operation which brought about its extinction at a high cost to the Somali people. The people of Somalia proper are very much opposed to the return of any form of Siyadism.
The appointments have been completed just in time for the Arab Conference with a view to gaining funds from the Arab nations and the world at large, so that Mr. Salad can buy arms for his clique and enlarge his precarious foothold in Mogadishu by force or bribery.
“We are cautioning the Arab countries that recognising and backing this government of the few and for the few is going to lead to further conflict in Mogadishu and the whole region. Mr. Salad has already shown his intention to get his government accepted at all costs without any regard to the fact that creating the much needed peace in Somalia proper (the ex-Italian colony) requires peace and reconciliation conferences held inside the country before national institutions are established (the bottomup approach), as successfully done in Somaliland and in parts of Somalia. We urge the Arab nations to provide humanitarian and development aid to all the peaceful parts of the former Somalia, specially in the light of the ban on livestock exports to Arabia, and to ensure that these funds are equitably distributed to the Republic of Somaliland and to all the regions of Somalia,” said Amina Malko, Chair of the Somaliland Forum.
SOMALILAND FORUM
SLF Background:
The Somaliland Forum (SLF) is an international organization that brings together Somalilanders from all parts of the world mainly, through the medium of the Internet. The primary objective of the Forum is to work with the Somaliland communities around the world in order to provide some lasting solutions to the needs of the Republic of Somaliland and its people. For more information, Please visit forum’s web site at: http://www.somalilandforum.com