An olive branch for reconciliation through dialogue has been extended to the people of Sool
By M.A. Egge
A major wide-ranging crucial meeting to ponder on the ways and means of securing the peace and stability of the town of Lasanood, which also made a call to the people of Lasanood on the same issue, was held on Thursday at the Presidency.
Ways and means of bringing full and lasting peaceful stability in Lasanood were on focus and discussed intensively and extensively.
The meeting was convened by the President of the Republic of Somaliland H.E. Musa Bihi Abdi was attended by the Speaker of the Senate (GUURTI), former vice-presidents, parliamentarians, politicians, scholars, businessmen, women fraternity, scholars, youth and numerous eminent personalities and intellectuals.
They consulted on the best recourse in addressing the issue concertedly with a unified front through dialogue and fruitfully end the quagmire.
Various members of the community leaders invited to the event addressed the gathering. They included the mayor of Hargeisa Cllr. Abdikarin Ahmed Mooge, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Mr. Jamal Aydeed Ibrahim, Sultan Adan Sultan Farah, the chairman of the umbrella organization of non-governmental organization SONSAF Mr. Anwar Abdirahman Warsame, Director of NAGAAD umbrella Miss. Nafisa Yusuf Osman and the main clergy of Borama, Sheikh Abdillahi Sheikh Ali Jowhar.
They all underscored the importance of reaching an immediate solution to the Lasanood violence while pointing out that Lasaanood is an important pillar for the existence of the nation of the Republic of Somaliland.
Politician Mohamed Jama, who is a former MP made a speech touching on many aspects, hence calling upon the people of Lasanood to understand the value of peace and to take time and make efforts in restoring the development, business and education of the children of Lasanood, which is now stalled, to resume and urged the government to continue its role and efforts of offering an olive branch, a leaf of peace.
Members of the cabinet including the ministers of the Interior Hon. Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, Information Hon. Suleiman Yusuf Ali Koore, Hon. Mohamud Hassan Saad (Saajin), and Religion and Endowments minister Hon. Sheikh Abdirisaq Hussein Ali (Albani) echoed similar sentiments about the value of peaceful stability while underpinning the fact that the government is committed to ending the conflict in Lasaanood through dialogue to ultimate agreements and has convictionally decided to call for a dialogue in order to end the skirmishes.
The Speaker of the Senate Hon. Suleiman Mohamud made many recommendations at the meeting and expressed the importance of finding an immediate solution to the Lasaanod problem, noting that Lasaanod is the core pillar of Somaliland.
He said, “Somaliland has not been without the people of Sool in the past and it cannot be today without them; they are people who are related hence cannot be separated. We have to concertedly find a solution”.
The Head of State H.E. Musa Bihi Abdi expressed his dismay at the violence that evolved in Lasanood pointing out that the government had restrained itself a lot and taken much time to find a lasting solution to the conflict.
He said that the state exerted many efforts to avoid deterioration to violence and repeatedly appealed to the people and intellectuals of Sool to reciprocate the efforts and work towards peaceful solutions.
The President emphasized that “all who have been affected by the Lasaanood crisis have all Somalilanders aggrieved, it hurts all in the country and it is incumbent upon all of us to end it”.
He said that the people of Somaliland are united, indivisible, brethren and in case of animosities arose, always reconciled with each other.
He underscored that as the Head of State it was incumbent upon him to foster the maintenance and perpetuation of peaceful stability hence it his topmost priority to address it.
In this connection, he called for a dialogue to adress the issue while noting that reconciling bones of contention was indispensable.
He said that it was imperative to start a dialogue such that further destruction may be curtailed and that it should be without the imposition of conditions.
He noted that Somaliland’s priority today is peaceful stability.
Finally, President Musa Bihi Abdi called on the people of Lasanood, their leaders and intellectuals to work for peaceful stability and perpetuate a harmonious setting within the community while promising that he would do his best such that the dialogue may fruitfully achieve a lasting solution.