Jun 06, 2007 By:Mohamoud Hassan
Maqaal (Jidbaale.com) Twice in the recent past, I have posted two articles in WardheerNews drawing attention to the nefarious role of the BBC Somali Service in the affairs of Somalia. These articles were made during the time when the newly established Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was being torpedoed by the mighty Mogadishu warlords who had become a law unto themselves since the collapse of the Somali State in 1991. At the time, the BBC Somali Service was blatantly on the side of the warlords and this was what prompted my articles.
Having worked for the BBC Somali Service for nearly a quarter of a century, and having been all along imbibed its self-serving claim for impartiality and objectivity, I and many others have in our different ways highlighted the glaring inconsistency between what the BBC preaches and what in reality it practices as regards it coverage of Somalia’s internecine conflict and power struggle. Indeed, it is not only me but more than a dozen former announcers of the BBC Somali Service, hailing from every region and clan in Somalia, and who served the Service from the early years of independence up to the year 2000, had sent a joint appeal to the head of the BBC complaining how the once enviable reputation of the Somali Service for objectivity and impartiality had fallen by the wayside since the appointment of the current head of the Service.
Sadly, neither the joint appeal of former staff nor those from countless concerned listeners had made any dent on the BBC position. Perhaps, this stand was only to be expected. The BBC World Service, of which the Somali Service is part, rarely ever acknowledges that it had erred even when the facts are to the contrary. More often than not, its predictable knee-jerk reaction is to shield itself behind its claim of professional infallibility rather than concede listeners’ justified complaints and make the necessary amends. As the recent past attests to, the BBC has always chosen to stand shoulder to shoulder with the head of the Service when it comes to a choice between him and heeding the well-founded complaints of its main stakeholders - the listeners. In other words, the head is more important than the recipients of the service, the raison d’étre of the Service!!
Returning to this subject once again might appear to some readers like flogging a dead horse. But the role the BBC Somali Service has played in the recent tragic events in Southern Somalia - prior, during, and subsequent to the Ethiopia intervention - has prompted me to come back to the subject and speak up once again. It is understandable that shocked ordinary Somalis, inside Somalia and worldwide, should react the way they do against what they see as naked Ethiopian invasion of their country, and to single out the leaders of the Somali government, namely President Yussuf and Prime Minister Gedi, for much of their loathing. But in apportioning the blame for the Ethiopian intervention, one has to be objective as to the degree of the government’s culpability and who else shares this blame.
If there is one positive thing one can undeniably say about the TFG, it is its patience in the face of provocative and aggressive designs from its sworn adversaries. That was the case with the Mogadishu warlords and it was the same with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). Memories are short but it should be recalled that the government had been holding negotiations with the UIC in good faith in Khartoum and it was quite clear that they were prepared to share power with the radical Islamists. But as the UIC grabbed more territory all the way to Kismayo and Dhiin Soor, progressively encircling Baidhawa and increasingly tightening the noose around the beleaguered TFG, it was plainly clear that they were paying little heed to the Khartoum negations and were simply going for an all-out offensive to capture Baidhawa and get rid of the weak TFG once and for all. If that was to happen, they would have ended up as the de facto government of Somalia.
With its back to the wall, the TFG had faced three difficult choices: either passively surrender to the UIC without fighting, or fight and defend itself but face an inevitable UIC victory entailing the demise and downfall of the government, or else call on their Ethiopian allies for help. No government worth its salt would entertain the first two options. Hence the government opted for last course of action. As such, the UIC is the principal culprit for the Ethiopian intervention. What we have is cause and reaction. One can call president Yussuf and Prime Minister Gedi all kinds of names- from stooges, puppets or lackeys of Ethiopia. But one thing is certain: Notwithstanding their alleged bondage to Ethiopia, both men would have liked to maintain a modicum of legitimacy and acceptability among their subjects and hence would not have liked to call for an Ethiopian intervention if it was not forced upon them by the UIC.
If the UIC are the principal culprits for the Ethiopian intervention, the BBC Somali Service is their accomplice and therefore shoulders a greater share of the blame. Once the UIC defeated the warlords and threw the gauntlet to the government, the BBC Somali Service, under its current head, was quick to throw all pretences of impartiality and objectivity out of the window. From the outset, it has presented the conflict as one between the goodies and the baddies and allowed the Service as a forum for propelling the UIC with no let-up to the propaganda support it has provided them while at the same time denigrating the TFG as an irrelevant Ethiopian puppet. Apart from the biased contributions of hand-picked stringers in the field, the Friday “Have your say” programme stands out, among other programme slots, as the one shamelessly managed and orchestrated in order to support the UIC.
If the UIC were to occupy the seat of the TFG in Baidhawa, Talibanisation would have been imposed throughout Somalia with Al Qeda gaining a bigger foothold in the country than it was initially alleged to have. Needless to say, if the UIC were to oust the TFG, it would have been a disaster for Somalia and even more so for the West. I do not believe that this is an outcome that the BBC management ever entertained but all the same this is what was being hatched by the head of the Somali Service right under their very noses.
To the extent that the imposition of Talibanisation in Somalia has been averted, one has to therefore grudgingly give the credit to the TFG even if the presence of their Ethiopian backers in the country is a bitter bill to swallow for any Somali nationalist. But taking a broader view, it should be born in mind that the presence of the Ethiopian army is a temporary one and that the TFG itself has less than two years left of its term. Thereafter, the nation has the opportunity, if it can wisely grab it, to choose another government and other leaders. Surely this is a better prospect than promoting or embracing Talibanisation and condemning Somalia as a pariah state and as a battle ground for the foreseeable future for those engaged in the war on terror for their different national interests.
The head of the Somali Service might have burned his fingers in backing the vanquished Islamists but that has not in the least dampened his ardour to flout the impartiality of the Service whenever an opportunity presents itself. A more ominous agenda of the Head of the Service is exploit or stir up inter-clan or inter-regional animosities to the extent that it may weaken the TFG and its leaders. More precisely, such a sinister agenda would include exporting the endless troubles in Southern Somalia to other peaceful regions in the North, namely Somaliland and Puntland.
The dispute between Somaliland and Puntland concerning the status of the regions of Sool, Eastern Sanaag and Cayn is one that the head of the Service has lost no opportunity to exploit for his own purposes. In this dispute, he has chosen to propagate Somaliland’s position while suppressing the voice of the “disputed” regions as one can judge from the Services’ coverage. Under these programme shenanigans, Somaliland obviously gains preferential treatment while the head would ensure himself a supportive regional constituency which is all the more important since it is not his region of origin.
The mutuality of interest between Somaliland and the head would come handy for him in countervailing any hostility towards him emanating from the TFG, or critical listeners which can all be dismissed, as he no doubt articulates, as motivated by clan vindictiveness. Indeed, this has been the well-worn self defence that the Head has been hitherto feeding the credulous BBC management and by all appearances it seems they had swallowed it.
Nothing better exemplifies the one-sidedness of the Service more than the “Have your say” programme on May 18th, the anniversary of the declaration of independence by Somaliland. Since this administration is claiming sovereignty over the whole North West Region (former British Somaliland) and that the secession is supported by all the clans and regions in the territory, this special programme would have been a good opportunity, given an even-handed and balanced programme, to hear the views of the people in the so-called “disputed” region who had repeatedly reaffirmed their loyalty to Somalia and their membership of the Puntland regional administration. All the head can give in the name of impartiality is to allow only one solitary caller from Buuhoodle to give his dissenting say but otherwise the rest of the callers and participants from the NW region were unmistakably those hailing from the main clan supporting the secession.
It is not as though these “disputed” regions lack competent people who can speak on their behalf: they have traditional leaders, parliamentarians and Ministers both in the TFG and the Puntland governments as well as renowned elites. The Head of the Service had never lost an opportunity in the past to invite Prof Ali Khalif in support of the UIC but not to this programme. It was left to Osman Jama (Osman Kaluun), a well-known unionist from Hargeisa, to defend unity but otherwise the voice of the “disputed” regions and their opposition to the secession was deliberately suppressed. The impression listeners not fully informed on the facts may draw is that the pro-secession sentiments they heard was truly representative of the people in the NW region. As we all know, nothing could be further from the truth.
My main concern is not the one-sidedness of the programme of May 18th per se, or that it is the latest of its type, but rather it’s potential to ignite an already simmering powder keg which could plunge Somaliland and Puntland into uncontrollable armed conflict. Conquering Sool, Eastern Sanaag and Cayn is the clarion call that unites almost all Somaliland’s politicians that is often relayed by the BBC’s local correspondent in Hargeisa or by the local media. Such threats are not empty talk. After all, Somaliland’s militia have recently invaded the town of Dhahar in Eastern Sanaag only to be repulsed and driven out. They tried something similar few years to capture Lascanod, the capital of Sool, but were stopped at nearby Adhicadeeye where they remain holed up to the present day.
If a war was to breakout between Puntland and Somaliland, perhaps President Yussuf might be forced to send back his forces in Mogadishu and Southern Somalia to defend Puntland. That would immensely enhance the capacity of the UIC and other insurgents in Mogadishu to recoup lost territory. To speculate that this scenario is perhaps part of the calculations of the head of the Somali Service is not as far fetched as it may appear.
Conclusion:The 50th Anniversary of the BBC
The BBC Somali Service was established in 1957 and hence its 50th anniversary is due in June. Initially, it was only one half-hour transmission. Then that was increased to two half-hour transmissions and today we have four such transmissions. The resources the BBC has allocated to the Service since its creation has increased manifold.
The BBC Somali Service was established in 1957 and hence its 50th anniversary is due in June. Initially, it was only one half-hour transmission. Then that was increased to two half-hour transmissions and today we have four such transmissions. The resources the BBC has allocated to the Service since its creation has increased manifold.
Over the sweep of this 50 years, the Somali Section of the BBC has until recently provided an excellent, reliable impartial service and no other Somali speaking broadcasting service has ever managed to come anywhere near it in terms of the quality of its programme, or the size and loyalties of its listeners. One could today find many surviving Somalis who had been unfailingly listening daily to the Service since its establishment. Such is the importance they attach to the Service that when things are no longer what they used to be, in terms of falling standards, they can only complain.. The BBC may have a lock on its listeners for now but if their complaints are not addressed they surely desert it for other competing services. The prevailing disenchantment with the Service is of a recent origin The 50th anniversary is therefore a good moment for reflection and change in order to restore its credibility. That can only come with change at the top of the Section.
