Somalia, Renegade Somaliland,
and the Abyssinian Fear of Egypt Dr. Muhammad
Shamsaddin Megalommatis
April,13,2008
Orientalist, Historian, Political Scientist, Dr.
Megalommatis, 51, is the author of 12 books, dozens
of scholarly articles, hundreds of encyclopedia
entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads
and writes more than 15, modern and ancient,
languages. He refuted Greek nationalism, supported
Martin Bernal´s Black Athena, and rejected the
Greco-Romano-centric version of History. He pleaded
for the European History by J. B. Duroselle, and
defended the rights of the Turkish, Pomak,
Macedonian, Vlachian, Arvanitic, Latin Catholic, and
Jewish minorities of Greece. Born Christian
Orthodox, he adhered to Islam when 36, devoted to
ideas of Muhyieldin Ibn al Arabi.
Greek citizen of Turkish origin, Prof. Megalommatis
studied and/or worked in Turkey, Greece, France,
England, Belgium, Germany, Syria, Israel, Iraq,
Iran, Egypt and Russia, and carried out research
trips throughout the Middle East, Northeastern
Africa and Central Asia. His career extended from
Research & Education, Journalism, Publications,
Photography, and Translation to Website Development,
Human Rights Advocacy, Marketing, Sales & Brokerage.
He traveled in more than 80 countries in 5
continents. He defends the Right of Aramaeans,
Oromos, Ogadenis, Sidamas, Berbers, Afars, Anuak,
Darfuris, Bejas and Tibetans to National
Independence, demands international recognition for
Kosovo, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and
Transnistria, calls for National Unity in Somalia,
and denounces Islamic Terrorism.
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
April 12, 2008
In three earlier articles, entitled ´The Nile,
Egypt, Abyssinia, Somalia, and Somaliland´ (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/57815),
´Nile Politics, Egypt, Sudan, Abyssinia, and the
Horn of Africa´
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/58054),
and ´Futureless Somaliland, Somalia, Abyssinia, and
Egypt´ (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/58173),
I refuted Mr. Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Sabeyse´s response
to my earlier article ´Kosova and Somaliland: the
Impossible Equation´ (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/53122).
Mr. Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Sabeyse´s response seems to be
a series of articles. Following his first response
(entitled ´Kosovo and Somaliland: the Impossible
Equation – The Egyptian Position ´), he came back
with a second part that - like the first - was
published in several East African portals; it seems
he will go on, and I must admit that I find this
juxtaposition as a very good opportunity for many
East African readers (and not only) to seriously
mull over the subject discussed.
Mr. Sabeyse´s second article, entitled ´The Somali
Irredentism and Regional Politics´ (http://www.somalilandtalk.com/node/3229),
consists in an effort to present what was not
delivered in the first diatribe, and more
specifically to demonstrate that Egypt´s position
against a formal recognition of the breakaway state
of Somaliland is due to an Egyptian – Abyssinian
rivalry. In this regard, Mr. Sabeyse fails again to
provide solid proofs for his assumptions that
resonate Abyssinian racist aberrations, historical
forgery, and political trickery.
In the present article, I will continue my criticism
of, and comments on, Mr. Sabeyse´s second article; I
will first re-publish the uncommented part, and then
comment extensively. Numbers encrusted in the text
refer to my comments.
The Somali Irredentism and Regional Politics
By Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Sabeyse
 The
people of Somaliland have no desire to fall prey to
the tangled web of a proxy war. 16 Like any other
post conflict society, 17 we ask ourselves the
following question: Are we 18 better off charting
our own destiny? 19 Certainly we are, compared with
the experience of thirty-and-half years of a
dysfunctional union 20 with ´southern Somalis.´ 21
The professor's one-dimensional analysis 22 has no
substance at all- it is an extension of the
preceding rigid Egyptian Foreign policy. 23 The
shenanigans of these faulty assumptions 24
consequently lead to equally flawed conclusions. 25
Without a thorough examination of contemporary
political history of post independence Somalia, 26
Dr. Megalommatis offers an over simplistic view of
the situation. 27 The union of the two former
colonies 28 failed to develop a cohesive national
identity. 29 The Somali creed is culturally,
socially, ethnically, linguistically, and
religiously a homogeneous society is a misnomer 30
that no is longer applicable. 31 The same thing
applies to the outdated misconception that "the
unity, the sovereignty, the territorial integrity,
and the national independence of Somalia is
sacrosanct." 32 May I draw to the attention of the
distinguished professor that the nations of the Arab
League are homogeneous if culture, religion,
language, and ethnicity 33 are the only criteria
determining the characteristics of a unitary state?
34 The Somalis do not fit into that category. 35
The withdrawal of Somaliland from an ill-fated union
36 with Somalia is one of the latent symptoms of a
much deadlier epidemic that fragmented and
eventually consumed the Somali polity. 37 As a
minimum, the Somali crisis merits an objective
analysis of the causes in order to postulate a
realistic conflict resolution programme. 38 The
Egyptian government views 39 the unity of the old
Somali Republic as a bulwark against any Ethiopian
efforts 40 to divert the waters of the River Nile.
This adds an unsettling new dimension 41 to an
already volatile region. 42
For the benefit of the professor, the chronicles of
the unitary Somali State will shed some light on
this issue.
To be continued...
Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Sabeyse
Comments
16. This is true, but it reveals Mr. Sabeyse´s
erroneous assumptions. Never did Egypt imagine to
ask Somalia´s help in case of a war with Abyssinia.
And I never suggested anything of the sort. So, Mr.
Sabeyse´s position consists in a labyrinthine
aberration. He first assumes something erroneous
that never happened (Egypt´s consideration of
Somalia as a counterweight), and then concludes that
this would not be among the interests of the
Somalis. This reveals only the terrible scare of the
Abyssinians, who managed to project their fear to
the inexperienced author.
Egypt, Abyssinia and Somalia – a scenario
Mr. Sabeyse is relatively naïve. If Egypt truly
wanted to use Somalia as a counterweight to
Abyssinia, in order to keep that country busy with a
conflict and unable to supposedly focus on the Nile
politics, this would be easily done. It would not
take much effort or money to unite forces in the
Somali South or North-East, and drive them to
Hargeysa, without frail Abyssinia being able to do
anything. If Egypt had had an interest in this
regard, it would have been done already in the 90s.
Then, a united Somalia would have triggered further
trouble in Ogaden, and the decomposition of the
Abyssinian relic of tyranny would have been
complete. Simply, all this corroborates what I have
said in previous articles, namely that Egypt is
rather focused on the Arab League, and the Middle
East, and had expressed minimal concern for the Horn
of Africa region.
17. Somaliland is not a post-conflict society;
re-united Somalia will be a post-conflict society.
Somaliland was not exposed to civil war, because it
seceded in 1990. There was no ´conflict´ in Somalia
before 1990, either in the South or in the area
temporarily controlled by Somaliland. Furthermore,
the term ´post-conflict´ societies is rather new,
and has at times caused doubts for its authenticity.
In several cases, the ´post-conflict society´ is a
society in conflict, as we see it clearly in
Afghanistan and in Iraq.
18. Who are you to ask? Can you imagine the citizens
of Hamburg or Napoli ask themselves whether they are
´better off charting their own destiny´? There is no
reasonable foundation to any extreme localism like
that. It is simply mad and impossible. Independence
and national self-determination is a condition that
fits an individual nation, a linguistic and
ethno-religious group. It can be as small as 50000
(fifty thousand) people; if this small nation is
distinct in terms of culture, religion, historical
heritage, and language, and forms the majority on
the territory they occupy, that small nation has the
right to secede and form an independent state.
Contrarily, 11 millions of native Russians living on
a particular city or territory, let´s say the city
of Moscow, have no right to secession and
independence, because they share absolutely the same
culture, religion, historical heritage, and language
with all the other Russians. This applies allover
the world, and the perverse and ominous leaders of
the secessionist Hargeysa establishment have to
realize it as soon as possible, and abandon their
futile efforts in view of formal recognition, which
has been diligently prevented first by their
mendacious and duplicitous masters, the Neo-Nazi
Abyssinian elite.
Again, I have to advise you not to misread me; I
would not oppose a provisory status, like that of
Maakhir, that would be justified by the unclear
character of the developments in the South. Waiting
peace to be established in the Somali South, and
then merge, this is the correct policy for momentary
establishments like Puntland, Maakhir and
Somaliland.
19. Who are you to say that your destiny will be
different? What did you think that this world might
be? Did you think that anybody who wants to say
´goodbye´ and says so, becomes an ´independent´
country´s ´president´? There must be a national
identity for a state to exist; what is yours?
Nothing but an apostasy from your country,
particularly in a moment of difficulty and distress!
Great achievement!
Somaliland, the Epitome of Apostasy and Treachery
Even worse, Somaliland cannot exist, irrespective of
what may happen to Somalia. A nation exists only if
it genuinely represents its historical heritage. To
possibly justify its claim to be a Somali state,
Somaliland must shape a deeply anti-Abyssinian
policy, and set as objective the direct and
irreversible dismemberment of Abyssinia, and the
subsequent liberation of the oppressed and
tyrannized nations that have been entangled therein,
contrarily to their will.
20. The ´unity´ cannot be dysfunctional; perhaps a
state can be dysfunctional, like the backward,
undeveloped, impoverished pseudo-state of Abyssinia,
but still one has to demonstrate why Somalia 1960 –
1990 was dysfunctional. For the entire period 1960 –
1990, all the economic indices of Somalia were far
better and higher than those of (monarchical and
after 1974 pro-communist) Abyssinia.
A small state that fights victoriously against
another much larger, and then faces a nuclear
superpower, is by definition a non-dysfunctional
state. I understand that Somalia was not a developed
state, certainly it was not, but no one is justified
to characterize it as dysfunctional, before making a
comparison with the neighboring state of Abyssinia,
the epitome of malfunction and dysfunction. If we
stay close to the facts, Abyssinia was partly
dismembered, following the secession of Eritrea, so
it is undisputedly proven as the most dysfunctional
state.
And now who says that, even if Somalia 1960 – 1990
were dysfunctional, the remedy to the problem is the
secession of various unrepresentative parts? It
makes no sense!
21. Somaliland authorities cannot diffuse a most
falsified version of History, because the effort
will only turn against them, and help discredit them
even more. The hypothetical dysfunctional unity
encompassed NE Somalis, Central Somalis, and
Southern Somalis. No one can forget all the parts of
Somalia; it was not a simple story of the type: ´Hargeysa
and Mogadishu´! I guess that the brackets used for
the created term (´southern Somalis´) simply express
the idiotic animosity of the Somaliland authorities
against the Somalis of the South. After all, this is
what stands at the basis of their effort of
´justification´ of their secession: animosity
against the other Somalis just because the capital
was not at Hargeysa and Berbera. That´s pathetic and
ludicrous, and it is totally rejected by the
majority of the Somalis who are engulfed in
Somaliland, as they cultivate truly fraternal and
patriotic feelings towards all the other Somalis,
whom they will surely meet in a re-united state.
What a shame for a Muslim and a Somali!
22. My analysis is uni-dimensional, he says. Yet, he
does not specify why. Even worse, he does not
attempt to refute a single point of my articulated
analysis, and to rebut a single position of my
argumentation. And never forget, I was talking about
Somaliland´s impossibility to demand what Kosova had
achieved. Mr. Sabeyse wrote obeying the orders of
his Abyssinian boss just to express the Abyssinian
subconscious fear of Egypt. What a shame for a
Muslim and a Somali! If anything, Mr. Sabeyse should
write about the millions of tyrannized and oppressed
Abyssinian (Amhara and Tigray) Muslims, who all
desire ardently to bring about the dead end of the
paranoid and inhuman Neo-Nazi elites of Abyssinia.
23. Again, not a single proof to substantiate my
hypothetical cooperation with Egyptian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. It all emanates from the Abyssinian
mental sickness that drives them up to the point of
assuming that anyone who lives in a foreign country
may be associated with that country´s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. It´s a matter of mental deficiency;
nothing more.
24. There is no faulty assumption, as long as Mr.
Sabeyse fails to compose a serious text, putting one
of my sentences in brackets, explaining the fault
therein included, and pointing out the possible
reasons. However, like his uneducated and barbaric
masters, whose universities are filthy realms of
dark ignorance, pathetic lies, non-academic
methodology and irrelevant argumentations, Mr.
Sabeyse never learned what a ´text´ means; he never
heard of semantics, semiotics, and linguistics. And
ignorant as he is, he writes to get the monthly pay
from the Abyssinian services who hired him. They
think that writing signifies absurd comments because
absurdity and paranoia is all they have known in
their lives; and Mr. Sabeyse writes in this way in
order not to be fired.
25. The barbaric and pathetic Abyssinian debteraw
(monks), who are not able to read their own ´holy´
books that are written in Gueze (Ge´ez), imposed
tyrannically (among the Amhara and Tigray
Abyssinians first) a paranoid education for which
anyone can say any lie and any falsehood just
because this might serve the criminal objective of
the survival of their inhuman culture of darkness.
They never understood that all their texts and words
are gone with the wind, unsubstantiated as they are.
Their poor students from Hargeysa try to imitate
them, thus gravely de-Somalizing themselves up to
the point of reproducing the Abyssinian pathetic
sub-culture.
This sub-culture is what stands behind Mr. Sabeyse´s
term ´flawed conclusion´ as regards my earlier
article. He fails to understand that as long as he
does not display an effort to demonstrate what
excerpt of mine is a ´flawed conclusion´, and for
what reason, he simply proves his impossibility to
refute my text and conclusion.
26. Why on earth should I write on Modern Political
History of Somalia, since my topic was a mere
comparison between Kosova and Somaliland?
27. As long as Mr. Sabeyse does not present a
possible analysis of my view, he has no grounds to
call it ´over-simplistic´.
The Anti-Somali and Un-Somali Nature of the
Somaliland pupets
28. ´The two former colonies´: this statement is
ridiculous. However, it highlights very well why
Somaliland authorities should be eradicated from
Somalia; because they are all Anti-Somali. The
essence of the statement reveals a clear willingness
to intentionally undermine the greatly illustrious
History of Somalia.
This for a Somali (either living in Somaliland,
Maakhir, Puntland or the Somali South) is called
High Treason.
This is the epicenter of the problem triggered by
the existence and the unrepresentative government of
the Anti-Somali authorities of Somaliland.
Certainly, the original issue remains that there
cannot be secessionist states among the same nation;
but the formation of an anti-national and
anti-patriotic state is an extreme shame for any
country.
Who could imagine a …. second Italian state in f.i.
Calabria, which would reject all the historical
values and principles of Italy, and would make of
itself a vassal of Libya?
If this sounds incredible, so absurd is Mr.
Sabeyse´s shameful and utterly immoral effort to
reduce his country´s and nation´s History of 4
millennia to just some decades of colonial rule
preceding the independence and the civil war.
In fact, there were never ´two former colonies´;
there was always a great national and cultural
space, more recently named Somalia (earlier also
known as Azania and Punt), which was peremptorily
colonized by Italy and Britain, That is all! That
division was meaningless and insignificant for the
Noble History of Somalia.
29. An incredible paroxysm of the liars! Somalia did
not fail to form a cohesive national identity; this
is what pleased the Somaliland authorities to say;
if they don´t say this, they by themselves
obliterate their reason of existence.
30. Another ridiculous and totally unsubstantiated
statement! Mr. Sabeyse quite ignorantly assumes that
there is no Somali homogeneity at the cultural,
social, linguistic, ethnic, and religious level. He
cannot prove anything in this regard, and that´s why
he does not expand.
The statement is totally erroneous. If taken in
absolute terms, then there is no homogeneity already
within the illegal borders of Somaliland. If taken
in relative terms, then certainly there is
homogeneity among all the Somalis, either they live
in Djibouti, Somaliland, Ogaden, Maakhir, Puntland,
the Somali South, and Kenya. In the same way there
is homogeneity in Germany, Sweden, Yemen and Sri
Lanka.
If Mr. Sabeyse wants, we can expand in this regard,
making extensive comparisons between Italy and
Somalia. The differences between Napoli and Milano
are far greater than the dissimilarities between
Mogadishu and Hargeysa. And Palermo is more
unrelated to Venice than Jigjiga is irrelevant to
Garowe. In fact, Somali homogeneity is undisputed
and unmatched – particularly if we compare the Horn
of Africa country with disparate and incongruent
Abyssinia.
We will complete the refutation of Mr. Sabeyse´s
un-Somali and Anti-Somali text in a forthcoming
article.
Note
Picture: Somalis, depicted before ca. 3500 years on
the walls of Hatshepsut´s mortuary temple at Deir al
Bahari, Western Thebes - Luqsor, highlight 4
millennia of Egyptian – Somali relationship.
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