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Power to the People of Hiran and to all Somalis – By Yusuf Hussein Hassan

“Freedom is never voluntary given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” Martin Luther King.

yusuf-hussein-hassan
By Yusuf Hussein Hassan, October 14, 2016


The people of Hiran celebrated the beginning of their own state – the Hiran State after a long peaceful struggle for freedom and the rights of the Hiran people and for all Somalis.   The people of Hiran finally gained their freedom and rights to form their own state – the Hiran State, a member state of the Somali Federal Republic and to choose their leaders.  The regional officials, clan elders, religious leaders, youth and women’s representatives, civil society organizations, politicians, ordinary citizens, and genuine Hiran traditional leaders took part in the state formation conference for the Hiran region in Beledweyne.

The people of Hiran expressed their gratitude to everyone for the support. The Hiran State, a member state of the Somali Federal Republic was officially recognized by the people of Hiran, by other Somalis in the country or in the Diasporas, and by the world community.  The vast majority of the Hiran people are very optimistic and they always hope for the best and do their best to provide everyone with equal rights. They advocate for democracy, fairness and justice in Somalia and do all they can do for their people and for all Somalis and for the country.  The people of Hiran stand up for their rights and the rights of all Somalis.

The Hiran State will be represented in the Upper and Lower House of the Somali Federal Republic and will have a voice in the decision-making process. The Members of Parliament in the Upper and Lower Houses from the Hiran State will be chosen in Beledweyne by the people of Hiran.

When the people of Hiran and the Hiran Diasporas learned the good news about the Hiran State, they began to dance and cheer as their new state was formally declared.  Then, they celebrated this historic victory for Hiran.

To initiate the celebration process, the people of Hiran talked about Hiran, the cradle of Somalia independence details the highlights of the history of Hiran. The Hiran people do not need someone else to tell them what to do. Only the people of Hiran can decide for themselves; only the people of Hiran can decide the state’s future. The people of Hiran decided to choose their own leaders and to form their own state.

Finally, the people of Hiran and the Hiran Diasporas discussed information regarding the new state: the Hiran State and the early Hiran, when it was one of eight administrative regions after Somalia gained independence in 1960. The first Somali president was from Hiran. Hiran was never split and the rest of the seven regions were split into seventeen regions. The people of Hiran want Hiran to be one of the member states in the Somali Federal Republic as Hiran was one of eight administrative regions in 1960. There were 18 regions in Somalia when the civil war broke out in 1991 in Somalia and the country was destroyed and Somalia is currently battling an al Shabaab insurgency. Many people in Somalia do not get health care and education. The young generation has not received education and all they have seen is the violence and chaos in Somalia.

There is The African Union Mission (AMISOM) of Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti – peacekeeping mission in Somalia approved by the UN. AMISOM under the banner of peacekeepers seem to focus more on a desire to usurp the financial support donated to Somalia and pledged by the world community, mainly from the West.  The UN cannot bring about change in Somalia’s security. The Somalis are the only people who can change the situation in Somalia and bring peace to Somalia. Somalis must fight against corruption in Somalia. Only Somalis can solve the country’s problems. The current administrations of the neighbouring nations benefit from the dire situation in Somali. Their aim is to get attention and money from the Western world and other world financiers.

Also, there is a sea boundary case at the International Court of Justice – the IJC, at The Hague (Netherlands), a case brought by Somalia against Kenya – a dispute between Somalia and Kenya about the sea boundary in the Indian Ocean.

Somalia strongly asked the International Court of Justice at The Hague to rule the sea boundary between Somalia and Kenya.  Somalia also utterly refused the Kenya’s argument “the world court has no jurisdiction because there are two other methods for resolving the dispute — a 2009 memorandum of understanding between the two countries and a United Nations maritime treaty.” Kenya also argued there is a security situation in Somalia.  The sea boundary case is currently with the IJC and the IJC at The Hague will decide whether to take up the case or not in the next two to three months.

The scramble for Africa – Berlin Conference of 1884 – 1885 – the partition (dividing) of Africa – Africa was colonized and divided among European powers. Somalia was divided into five regions – Italian Somaliland, British Somaliland, French Somaliland, Somali region – NFD was given to Kenya by the British Empire and Somali region was given to Ethiopia by the British Empire. Many countries including the neighbouring countries do not favor a united Somalia.

Somalia is a country with a beautiful people strategically located in the Horn of Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden in the north, the Indian Ocean in the east, Ethiopia in the west, Kenya in the southwest and Djibouti in the northeast.

Hiran is one of the densely populated regions of Somalia with people from diverse clans and it is located in the centre of Somalia. Beledweyne city is the capital of Hiran, about 350 km north of Mogadishu, and there is a very popular song about Beledweyne called “Beledweyn”. Hiran has the Shabelle River which zigzags through the region and fertile farming and grazing land encourage agriculture.

The people of Hiran decided to pool their resources to have a strong state – Hiran State and rebuild their state with better roads, schools, hospitals and etc. – that will benefit the people of Hiran and all Somalis.

Currently, the Somali parliament members (clan-based parliament – so called “formula 4.5”) are selected by traditional leaders. The president is elected by these parliament members – Upper and Lower House. The president appoints the prime minister, who is approved by the parliament, and the prime minister appoints his/her cabinet, the ministers in the cabinet, and the government institutions that are then approved by the parliament. As a result, the genuine Hiran traditional leaders must be included among the elders who will select the Member of Parliament in 2016, as they are Somali traditional leaders.

There are many people or politicians from Hiran in Mogadishu ready and willing to bribe the National electoral commission in Mogadishu and other government officials to become members of parliament or members of the government—say, a minister representing their region or clan. These politicians do not care about their region; they only care about gaining power. Most Somali politicians or leaders claim they are protecting their people; however, they have their own hidden agenda to protect and promote their personal aggrandizements such as power, money and fame at the expense of their own people and country. Clearly, these Somali politicians or leaders do not care about the Somali people and the country.

News agencies – gatekeepers from the major New Corporations – BBC, VOA or others, including the Somali version do not allow accurate reporting and insightful and reliable coverage of political, economic, social, security and media news to the long suffering Somalis and the generous international audiences. These news agencies – the gatekeepers and their cohorts often misinform and mislead the passive powerless audiences, sensationalize what is happening in Hiran and the rest of Somalia. They often glorify the stupid Somalis and other thugs.

For the past twenty five years, the vast majority of the Somali politicians and their cohorts have not shown any real interest in a creating a Somalia nation because of their selfishness and power-grabbing mentality. Their real fear is ceding power to a contending clan, which will have the sole controlling the power of the Somali people. Then their chance of sharing the power of the clan-based government would go flying out the window. This premise may ring true when we think of what has been happening in the country for the last five decades or so. Somalis have tolerated this one clan domination system in their country. Somalis relied on a careless selfish political system of the military regime and the previous corrupt governments. Then again, Somalis have carelessly relied on these power-hungry in Mogadishu and cohorts to correct the past mistakes.

The colonialism, European powers in Somalia and dictatorship government era is over. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa needs to refrain from chasing the dream of state formation for the Hiran and Middle Shabelle region if it wants to help Somalia. Also, the current colonial system – the ruling classes of exploiter states, including the Somali government and their cohorts in Mogadishu, whose term expired in September and IGAD have no right to interfere in the internal affairs of Hiran, and they must let the people of Hiran make their own decisions.  This historic victory of the Hiran State, a member state of the Somali Federal Republic, is the start of a new era of peace and prosperity for the people of Hiran and for all Somalis.  Power to the people of Hiran and to all Somalis.  Congratulations to the people of Hiran and to all Somalis!

Yusuf Hussein Hassan majored in sociology (four year program) with a minor in communication studies at the university of Windsor, Canada and Postgraduate certificate in African studies at Ohio University, USA.

Yusuf Hussein Hassan
Windsor, ON. Canada
E-contact: yusuf.h.hassan@gmail.com

Allgedo News Media Network
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