[Clandestine] Radio Kulmis (in Somali) 1800 GMT

[Excerpt] …hyenas terrorist gang has long been trying to obtain funds from all over the world. Now it has resorted to selling our land to the highest bidder. Barre has decided to sell our land to the American Government for military bases, and particularly the town of Berbera.

The leader of the Mogadishu terrorist gang and the American Government are about to sign an agreement on the sale of Somali land. This will be a thorn in the flesh of every Somali, so the Somali Salvation Front, being the Somali community’s spokesman, considers it necessary to define its attitude on this issue to the Somali people and the world at large.

Here is the acting secretary-general of the SSF, Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, to make a statement on the matter:

[Begin Yusuf recording]

In the name of God: Brothers, as you have heard from Sulayman Dahir Afgarsheh [the announcer], the father of the Mogadishu bandits has been trying for some time to sell Somali land so international imperialism, led by the American Government. We know that this deal has passed through several stages and that Siad Barre has asked for a lot of money in exchange – for this Somali land, on which America will be able to establish bases. We now see that the Americans and Siad Barre’s bandits are concluding an agreement on the sale of pieces of Somali land, the first and most extensive being the town of Berbera.

Brothers, America has decided to establish a large military base with sea, air and land facilities and Siad Barre’s bandits have agreed. Brothers, let us asked ourselves why is a military base–and particularly a base belonging to a superpower–to be established in Somalia? What is the significance of this and what is the significance of this and what is behind it? What it means is that the Mogadishu bandits are betraying their responsibility for Somali land to a foreign government, which will bring in its military forces. It also means that the Somali people’s independence, freedom and integrity are being sold. It means that the foreign forces to be based in Somalia–I mean the American forces–will rule the country, as well as being in the position to deploy dangerous weapons, such as atomic weapons, in the country.

They will be able to do what they like. If the foreign troops–I mean the Americans–can do that, brothers, the Americans will be free to impose their will on Somalia’s territory, independence and freedom by force. They will also be able to attack other in-dependent countries with which the Somali government has relations. This means that once a base is established in Somalia, it can be used to attack other countries, so Somali will become a battlefield for the superpowers. It is likely that dangerous weapons will be used, which will bring about destruction and disaster.

Brothers, I am saying this, because the base is not just a base, but one that belongs to a superpower, which is America. There is no doubt that America will deploy dangerous weapons there, and if there is a war in which such weapons are used, the country in which the war is fought will cease to exist. The dangerous weapons which can be deployed, brothers, will include atomic or hydrogen bombs, biological weapons, chemicals, gases and intercontinental missiles with nuclear warheads. The attention of the whole world will be focused on wherever there is such a base and in the event of a war such places will become primary tar gets, with the result that they and the people of the country they are situated in will be totally destroyed.

The American base will also serve to introduce foreign cultures, traditions and religions very much different from those of the Somali people, whose culture, traditions and religion will be polluted and belittled.

We know that Siad Barre has always been a traitor, stooge and fascist, who has given his personal interests precedence over those of Somalia and Somali people. He has always been the stooge of foreigners who want to oppress the Somali people for their own ends. Siad Barre has oppressed and cheated the Somali people for 11 years and now, realizing that his regime is threatened with extinction, he is doing his best to derive maximum benefits from Somalia by using every possible way to perpetuate his regime’s survival while obtaining material wealth to hide in foreign banks.

Siad Barre knows that the Somali people and the SSF totally oppose his regime and are all out to overthrow him in order to restore to the Somali people their rights to independence, freedom, respect and integrity. Siad Barre believes he can use the American base as a means of perpetuating his regime in Somalia. He is planning to call in the foreign forces to be based in Somalia to help him if his regime is threatened by the Somali people who can no longer tolerate his banditry. Siad Barre is openly selling Somali land for personal gain.

We do not need to agree to any of this. We shall not let our land be sold. We shall resist. I believe that the Americans will face total failure if they go through with the deal to establish a base in Berbera. They will face total loss and leave Berbera more humiliated than they were in Vietnam. America had better look into this matter right away and withdraw from the deal it is making with the Mogadishu bandits.

Brothers, what is the attitude of international organizations, such as the United Nations, the OAU, the nonaligned countries, the Arab League, the Islamic League and others? They are opposed to such bases and to foreign troops being based in independent countries. Such bases are meant to be used for attacking other independent countries or for suppressing the people of the country where the base is situated. Many agreements and charters govern the issue of foreign bases, all of them oppose the establishment of a foreign base in Somalia or any other country. However, Siad Barre, his fascist regime and American imperialism have turned a blind eye on these internationally respected charters and on the international organizations by agreeing to establish a military base at Berbera in the northern region of Somalia.

In view of the fact that the world opposes this, as I have already said, and that the base is to be used as a means of suppressing the Somali people and depriving them of independence, integrity and respect, what is the position of the SSF? [passage in-distinct] The current struggle against the base reportedly given to the United States in Berbera will lead the Somali people to victory, dignity and freedom. The front’s position on this issue is clear, because, as you know, when the front was formed, it issued a clear manifesto defining its foreign policy.

In accordance with its policies and taking into consideration the interests and future of the Somali nation, the front unequivocally opposes the establishment in Somalia of a foreign base, be it by the United States or any other country, and hereby informs the Somali people and the world accordingly. The front’s decision in this regard is prompted by its desire to restore the Somali people’s dignity, independence and sovereignty to enable them to decide their own destiny. The front also opposes the establishment of the base out of its desire to make it possible for Somalia to coexist peacefully with the countries of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean littoral so as to promote their social and economic development towards a bright future. The front, therefore, unequivocally condemns the agreement between Siad Barre’s bandits and the United States, under which a foreign base is to be established in Berbera. Before our wide open eyes our land, independence and people are being sold to the U.S. imperialist, whose sole concern is to promote its own interests.

Brothers, I am tonight addressing an appeal to the Somali people, an appeal relating to the ugly subject on which I have talks to you. Inasmuch as Afweyne [nickname for Barre] has for 11 years killed, robbed, imprisoned and oppressed us–and a great deal more which we will not mention tonight, as it is all well-known to us–inasmuch as the Somali people’s sovereignty, independence and very existence are in jeopardy; inasmuch as affairs have reached a stage where, apart from everything else, he is wresting our land from us to sell it to foreigners in order to promote his own interests, it is incumbent upon us to resist his intentions, collectively, the front and the Somali people together.

It is incumbent on us to resist his intentions, to shed blood if necessary, to topple Siad Barre before the base becomes operational, to defend our people from the impending indignity Said Barre is imposing on them. I appeal to every Somali in particular and the Somali nation in general to resist in conjunction with the front the intention of Siad Barre and to get rid of him so as to blook the establishment of the base or, if the United States expedites its establishment, to dismantle it and save Somalia’s in-dependence. Brothers, I am urging the international community, and particularly our neighbors, the United Nations Organization, the OAU, the Arab League, the Islamic League and other organizations to condemn and oppose Siad Barre, his bandits, and the United States so as to insure that the deal does not go through.

We appeal to the whole world to oppose the serious threat to world peace ensuing from this deal. World peace will be in danger and the Horn and East Africa may become a battlefield upon which the opposing forces may well devastate the region if this deal goes through. There is no doubt that the independence of the countries in the region is in real danger, and that its people face annihilation with everything else razed to the ground. Brothers, I add the following call to this appeal: Long Live the Somali People. Success to the Somali Salvation Front. Down with the hyena of Garba Hanre [Siad] and American imperialism who are planning to establish a military base in Somalia.

[End recording]

_{FBIS-MEA-80-161, 18 Aug. 1980, pp. R1-R3}