Somaliland In Transition
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Hargeysa, 24 Sept. 2005 (Insidesomaliland.blogtales.com) – Somaliland is on alert once again as the government declared the capture of 8 alleged terrorists in a 2 hour gun fight last night at New Hargeisa.
The captured group was said to be planning an attack on government officials and foreign aid workers to avenge the imprisonment of 10 terrorists responsible for the string of killings of foreign aid workers since 2003. The court decision was scheduled to be handed down tomorrow Sept. 25.
Rumor mills are now filled with theories as to the motives and origin of the alledged terrorists. Whatever the case maybe, one consistent story is the vigilance of one man who alerted the police authorities about the suspicious movements of a group of people in a safe house located at New Hargeisa.
Once again, the people's vigilance paid off. The knowledge that a group is planning an offensive to destabilize the country exists angered many Somalilanders who saw the incident as a direct attack to the country's democratization efforts. However, with the dynamic campaign afflicting Somaliland the past weeks, the incident did not dampen the determined spirit of a nation committed to hurdle the country's commitment to conduct the budget stricken electoral exercise.
The government has tightened security measures, they've increased the number of Special Protection Unit officers assigned to foreign workers and gave strict instructions to do round the clock patrol of city streets and residences of foreign workers. A familiar scenario for people who have stayed and lived in this country in the past three years.
When confronted with threatening thoughts, I remind myself of familiar faces of Somalilanders who have done so much effort in campaigning, providing voter education in remote villages, of elders campaigning for peace, of people spending endless hours of hard work to see to it that the parliamentary elections is conducted come September 29. I remind myself of the vigilance of a nation ready to hurdle any threat to preserve its commitment to walk the nation through its troubled road to a democracy in transition.
By Yvette Lopez
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