April 20, 2008
Haatuf News’s Latest Scare Tactics Failed to Catch on With War Weary Somalilanders…!!!!
Recently Haatuf News Splashed Across it’s front page a false report purported to be real news, stating that a contingent of elite special troops carefully selected from a tribal militia (President Rayale’s sub-clan in Awdal region) are prowling in the streets of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, to hunt down former members of the SNM.
This erroneous report was widely circulated in Somaliland’s opposition media apparently to raise the specter of clan hostilities in the relatively peaceful country, but fortunately most people in Somaliland are by now familiar with such fear mongering which Haatuf News and it’s amen corner are famous for. While this patently false report by Haatuf News did not accomplish it’s intended purpose, the under lying assumptions to portray certain clans in Somaliland as outsiders intent on destroying the majority Isaaq Identity remains popular with supporters of Haatuf News and its chief ally the Kulmiye Party.
Such fear mongering “to leverage the opinions and actions of others towards some end” is not however peculiar to Somaliland’s now depressed opposition, actually it is a world wide phenomenon used by both governments and outside groups alike to scare the citizenry to achieve narrowly defined political goals.
The following article from http://www.wisegeek.com/ explains in greater detail the use of scare tactics “to force people into making uninformed decisions or taking rash actions” against their political opponents. See if you can find any parallels between the ideas expressed in this short expose and Haatuf’s constant drum beat to incite violence among the Somaliland People.
What are Scare Tactics?
When it comes to motivating the masses to take action, sometimes straight facts aren’t enough. People who hear a frightening statistic or an alarming fact often take that information at face value and act out of fear. This is the purpose of using "scare tactics," manipulative words or actions which create a sense of fear or shock in the recipients.
These fears, rational or irrational as they may be, are often enough to force people into making uninformed decisions or taking rash actions. Scare tactics such as pointing out the worst case scenario or associating the issue with a much greater threat are commonly used by leaders to gain popular support for military actions or other controversial decisions.
Scare tactics do not have to reach the level of verbal terrorism in order to be effective, however. Sometimes the mere mention of a disastrous alternative may be enough to manipulate others into a certain way of thinking. Successful scare tactics must instill a true sense of fear or else they may be seen as weak attempts to sway public opinion. This is why many verbal scare tactics are often backed up by more tangible ones, such as grisly photographs, personal testimonies and displays of force. Hanging a noose over a voting booth, for example, would be an extreme example of scare tactics designed to discourage free elections.
Scare tactics are commonplace in world politics, since it is generally difficult for one dictator to keep dissidents under control without the threat of violence, real or perceived. The key word in "scare tactics" is "scare." It doesn’t matter if most of the stories of political reprisals are apocryphal or mere rumors, as long as the scare tactics instill a real sense of fear in the populace.
Most scare tactics are not meant to cause widespread harm or damage, but to play on the recipient’s innate sense of security. Many professional athletes use scare tactics to keep their opponents off-balance, such as a pitcher intentionally throwing a ball close to the batter or a race car driver tapping another car for intimidation purposes. Scare tactics often keep an opponent from becoming too comfortable or too confident. While the use of most scare tactics is seen as unfair or unethical, the advantage they can provide can be significant. Many scare tactics are designed to stay within the bounds of the law, but still inflict maximum psychological pressure on the intended audience.
