The Jailings and Spurious Charges Against Journalists in Somaliland

 “Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.” Henry A Grunwald

Recently on a cold morning walking in university of Pretoria’s campus to attend a public interest lecture about human rights violation with reference to Charles Taylor who is currently facing charges of genocide and several other charges, I found myself shedding tears at many lives lost in Africa an elsewhere in the world.

I unconsciously shed tears because of my deep affection for law and social order that develops and advances the quality of human lives in Somaliland and Africa.

The methodical jailings and spurious charges against journalist in Somaliland convey to the world our unpreparedness to begin contemplative debates about national consciousness and diplomacy. It clearly sends a message that we are narrow-minded society whereas we are not, the current Somaliland system is unitelligent and dull. If we are to be liberated from ourselves and chain of bad governance like the current one, we must allow our society to have journalists who can write and publish discourse which is both critical and affirming of our current structures of governance.

Law Reform Commission was recently founded and members thereof recently visited South Africa on a discourse and comparative mission which I can attest was successful. It was successful because we need a law reform commission which will to a great extent assist in advancement of civilised society. We need laws to regulate social order and trade, locally and internationaly.

Law reform is a great project of national importance but we must continue to negotiate our way forward in the forays of international involvement through the media.

Long Live Somaliland.

Sincerely Saeed Furaa

Freelance Journalist

South Africa