Destroying Somaliland from Within – A 16-Year Betrayal

It’s naive to believe Somaliland’s sudden push for reconciliation with Somalia started with the new government. This betrayal didn’t happen overnight—it has been brewing since 2009, when President Riyale refused to attend a suspicious “reconciliation” conference in Washington, D.C. This so-called reconciliation process, orchestrated by foreign powers, was designed to undermine Somaliland’s hard-won sovereignty.

While Riyale stood firm, refusing to fall into the trap set by the U.S. State Department, EU, and UN, others began plotting behind the scenes. The State Department even went so far as to directly threaten Somaliland and its people (see the video attached to this article). This is where many analysts from Somaliland go wrong—they focus on Somalia without asking the real question: Who recreated Somalia?

Somalia was too fractured and weak to rebuild itself—it was rebuilt by external powers. Primarily, it was the U.S. and the various UN agencies it funds that propped up the TNG, TFG, and later the FGS, which was literally installed in Mogadishu through Ethiopian military intervention.

Somaliland was pressured to engage in these so-called reconciliation talks. Make no mistake—this was not for peace (spare us the humanitarian platitudes), but to preserve foreign interests in the Horn of Africa, even if it meant ignoring the will of the Somaliland people.

Ignored Democracy, Favored Interests

Recognition isn’t about democracy—it’s about foreign interests. Somaliland, with its democratic governance and brief period of sovereignty in 1960, has been ignored while South Sudan, a country with zero democratic history, was recognized almost instantly. Why? Because Somaliland’s recognition would disrupt the regional power balance that foreign powers—whether from the West or BRICS—seek to control.

The Real Traitors

The betrayal began long before President Cirro’s appointment of a Somali businessman with family ties to the Mogadishu government as Somaliland’s official envoy for Somaliland-Somalia “peace talks.” It started in 2009, when Mohamed Abdilahi Omar, then a member of the opposition party, secretly met with U.S. State Department official Donald Payne, not long after Somaliland’s government refused to attend the pointless meeting with Faroole and other clowns from Somalia. Somaliland’s strategy of maintaining separation from the fake TFG marionette was an impeccable display of what it means to be sovereign.

Then there was Hirsi, who allegedly held secret talks with leaders of the TFG, preparing the groundwork for Somaliland’s participation in the disastrous London 2012 Somalia Conference.

In 2012, during a joint session of Parliament and the Guurti, the law prohibiting engagement with Somalia was amended. Key figures—including the Chairman of Parliament Irro, Mohamud Hashi, Hirsi, Gaboose, Saad Ali Shire, and Cukuse—along with the President and Foreign Minister, were all present. Not a single objection was raised to the motion. They were all complicit. The betrayal was formalized in silence, and now, when it’s reaching its conclusion, we act surprised?

A Call for Accountability

Western powers, with their own agendas, continue to deny Somaliland’s rightful place in the world. But it’s the local collaborators—past and present—who must answer for this betrayal. The will of Somaliland’s people has been clear for decades: independence, not reconciliation. Yet those entrusted to uphold it have conspired to sell it out.

It’s time to stop pretending. Somaliland’s freedom is being dismantled from within. Will we hold the traitors accountable, or will we let loyalty to party and clan shield them once again?

As Thomas Jefferson said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Somaliland’s future demands that vigilance—before it’s too late.

-NI