Two Somaliland politicians, both of them top ex-leaders of the national armed movement which brought down the brutal military regime of General Siad Barre to its knees, finally driving out, called for massive demonstrations against Saudi Arabia and a total boycott of the Somalia-Somaliland talks, respectively.
Ex-veteran fighter, educator-turned politician, Ali Yussuf, popularly known is Ali Gurey – the 
left-handed, called the public to come out in great numbers across the country in protest of the Kingdom’s inhumane step measure to stop livestock destined for the Kingdom on the Hajj season departing from the traditional main port of Berbera. The Saudis said unless livestock importers produced a certificate of Origin from a Mogadishu administration that, incidentally, has no jurisdiction over the Republic of Somaliland, it will not accept the millions of livestock exported each year through Berbera this year around.
The step is widely seen as part of a string of other equally inimical moves the weak Somali administration of Mogadishu has undertaken recently to influence international organizations, the UN offices and countries friendly to its fumbling machinations to impose an economic and development embargo on the 28-year-old, established democracy in the Horn of Africa.
“We have, against our better judgment, sided with the Saudi-led coalition in the Gulf crisis. To our dismay and horrified shock, the Saudis led a war of attrition against a traditionally friendly country, Yemen, causing untold of loss of lives, deprivation and destruction,” Ali-Gurey said at a press conference he held, Tuesday.
On its part, Somalia went the other way and threw its lot with the Qatar, Iran and Turkey camp.
“Not only did those countries plentifully repay the one-street-confined Mogadishu administration, but the Saudis provided it with millions of dollars left and right, derisively laughing at us and our support,” he said.
“The Saudis have, now – again – told us emphatically and in the strongest of terms that we were wrong and Somalia was right. It cast its support with the opposing camp by punishing us where it hurt most – the economy. The condition the Saudis force on the livestock export from Berbera is, effectively, not only an economic neo-colonization but, also, a political statement against the wishes and rightful position of 5 million Somalilanders to re-claim a sovereignty they have not legitimately ceded to anybody but had been tricked out of their hands 58 years ago,” Ali stated.
Ali urged that all Somaliland regions come out to the streets in massive numbers to send their own message to the erring leaders of the Kingdom who, for the first time in the history of trade between the Kingdom and Somaliland, taken a drastic, uncalled for step to subjugate Somaliland will and determination to that of an administration which does not even govern its lands on its own.
Saudi monarchs respected the people of Somaliland for the modest role they have played in establishing the monarchy – a part of history, obviously, Muhammed Bin Salman has not been apprised of.
On the other hand, Ex-Colonel Ibrahim Dhegaweyne, also, referring to the Somalia-
instigated condition against Somaliland livestock export, called the government to stop the impotent talks between Somaliland and Somalia.
“There is no point in continuing a charade which outcome one can already tell. We have wasted 7 years on talks with an enemy that has only one objective in mind: recolonization of a Somaliland and its people who have lost hundreds of lives to throw it off its back. Somalia wishes to regain what it could not in its nutritious war and genocides against us,” the ex-fighter who actively led SNM fighters stated at another press conference he and other colleagues of the now-revived National Consultation Forum called Tuesday.
Dhegaweyne went a step further by branding the Somaliland parliament and the former regime of Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud ‘Siilaanyo’ traitors to the cause by opening the talks with Somalia in 2012.
This comes at a time that President Farmajo of Mogadishu has named a 6-member task force to represent Somalia in the talks with Somaliland. His insincerity, however, shows in including two Somaliland-born members in his nomination of a side that should have been exclusively Somalia-born as each of the two sides is to represent land and people within the borders left by Britain and Italy in 1960.
The names of the committee members to represent Somalia stand presently, hence, as below:
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- MP Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail – Chairman
- Ex-General Abdirahman Abdi Hussein ‘Guulwade’ – Vice Chair
- Dr. Abdirahman Ma’allin Abdullahi ‘Badiyow’
- Brig, Gen. Ahmed Jama Musa (Somaliland-born)
- Ali Ahmed Jama Jengeli (Somaliland-born)
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Somaliland has granted a 30-year concession to the Emirates ports manager, DP World, to run Berbera port. The partnership, apparently, could not sway the Saudi government not to close the shutter on the Red Sea port – a fact which makes many holler for a cancellation of the agreement and that which gave the UAE the right to establish a military/naval base in Berbera which is near completion.
