By Abdulkadir Abdirahman
Monday, July 16, 2007
For some everything that could go wrong for Somalia has came to pass, for others, considering how rapidly Mogadishu is turning into Baghdad, the worst, both for Somalia and the region, is yet to come. However, there is no dispute that each day that passes makes it more evident that occupation leads neither to "reconciliation" nor to a "way forward."
Seven months after disrupting what was widely recognized as "semblance of peace" that enabled Mogadishu to experience glimpses of normalcy, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) who arrived in the Somali capitol on top of Ethiopian tanks continues on its brutal and self-sabotaging path.
June 26th would probably remain in Prime Minister Gedi's mind as the most politically challenging day of his three-year career. It is the day when Mr. Gedi came to Washington on an unofficial visit on his way to New York to address the UN Security Council.
His day started with an off the record meeting hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Along with Mr. Gedi, the center invited some academicians, policy researchers, and prominent Somali activists and organizational leaders.
In that meeting Mr. Gedi was rigorously scrutinized on three specific issues: "security, governance, and reconciliation." He scrambled desperately to provide cogent answers to some of the questions. On several occasions he had to rely entirely on his non-Somali spin-doctors who passed him notes.
He was asked whether or not his government (in light of the renewed violence and chaos) was capable of expanding its power outside Mogadishu and if it has the capacity and the vision to move Somalia out of its current turmoil. His response was expectedly "yes." He said "It was our strategic position to control the city in a peaceful manner. We have succeeded in bringing peace to the city with the support of the Ethiopian government…," leaving the audience with sense of disbelief and dismay.
When asked about how Ethiopia could be part of the solution considering its lingering political animosity and suspicion in relation to Somalia, his answer was "True that there was a history between Somalia and Ethiopia, but that history has changed and that is the perception of the Somali people."
Furthermore, he was asked about the evident corruption and the viability of his "warlord infested government" and how characters such as Abdi Qaybdiid with 17 year record of killing, displacing, and starving countless Somalis, who is believed to have masterminded the Black Hawk Down battle that killed 18 US Rangers and over a thousand Somalis could ever be part of the solution. Also Mohammed Dheere (one of the most brutal of all the warlords- a man who is Mr. Gedi's closest of kin and the one who vacated his parliament seat to enable the Prime Minister who was never elected through the clan representation process to win office) and appointing him as the Mayor of Mogadishu in charge of restoring peace and order.
Brushing off the question, Mr. Gedi's said that only time will tell if the TFG has become a warlord-infested government. Of course forgetting the statement he made as he appointed this ruthless character: "This is not the time for soft, reflective consensus builders…We need strong leaders who can implement their programs. Mohammed Dheere is the right man at the right time." The new Mayor of Mogadishu has his own private militia to implement his program.
Perhaps the question that cornered Mr. Gedi the most and put him through political dire straights as it gave a human face to what became a routine power-abuse is the one raised by one of the Somali activists: "Mr. Prime Minister, since the Ethiopian invasion, Somalis have suffered- young men, businessmen and the leaders of the civil society became a daily target. People were and still are being taken out of their homes in the dead of the night; NGOs' officers are being detained and their basic rights violated. A member of our organization is currently in Somalia and has sadly detailed to us the violation of your personal security forces that invaded their NGO and took everything that was movable. You know these people as they are your neighbors. My question is when will these violent efforts of silencing the civil society (organizations) end?"
Mr. Gedi resorted to his routine equivocation and baseless accusations claiming that "Some of these NGOs had 1000s of metric tons of weapons which we found and that should not be." although none have been charged nor convicted.
Later that same day, a coalition of eleven Diaspora-based Somali organizations has organized a rally outside the State Department. This marked the first time since the bloody fratricide that a coalition of Somali organizations transcending clan and regional divisions were formed.
The day closed with a delegation of six individuals representing the coalition meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary James Swan of the US State Department and expressing their concerns regarding the Ethiopian occupation, the recent Mogadishu massacre and continued brutality, the violation of the system of checks and balances which led to the unconstitutional termination of the "free Parliamentarians" (the oppositions in the Parliament), the humanitarian and human rights abuses, and the "extraordinary renditions" condemned by Amnesty International.
The delegation stressed that genuine peace and reconciliation hinges upon the removal of these barriers- something that they would reiterate in an official letter to the UN Secretary General and members of the Security Council.
Abdulkadir Abdirahman
E-mail: abdulkadir.abdirahman@gmail.com
Abdulkadir A. is Somali American Community activist who lives in Washington DC Metro Area.
Kadiir,if you like Arab Islam so much so you think Somalia's national interest gets relegated to the back burner,I have good advice for you.You go and buy a camel,and move to Saudi desert.We are Somalis first,somalis second,and Somalis last.Islam belongs in the Arab desert,not Somalia!!!!!!
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cxasan: Yes, you right Ethios were not colonized except a brief period that they were fighting with Italians(tanyaaniga) when King Hayle Silase fled to Europe and begged the anti-Italian group such as England and promised them to share portion of his Country with them if they helped him defeat Italy. They did help him and he participated at the Berlin, Germany conference called scramble of Africa (kala qabsashadii Africa) approximately in 1889. That was the reason why they were not colonized for an extended priod of time. Ethios were rewarded both Eriteria and Ogaden Somali region.
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Hi there!
could some one explain why Ethiopia was spared from the European conquest of Africa? I 've read the history and couldn't get precise answer.
while the other nations of Africa respect Ethiopia for they have never been colonised.
I am getting that they were part of the colonisers
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And who is more unjust than those who forbid that Allâh's Name be glorified and mentioned much (i.e. prayers and invocations, etc.) in Allâh's Mosques and strive for their ruin? It was not fitting that such should themselves enter them (Allâh's Mosques) except in fear. For them there is disgrace in this world, and they will have a great torment in the Hereafter.
((Baqharah-114))
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Kadiir.
What comes first Muslim or Somali first.
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And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!
and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers,(but) compassionate amongst each other.(48-29)
We are in the struggle, fighting against the Tegree and wicked Embegaati Army to rescue & save our downtrodden helpless
Somali Muslim brothers
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BREAKING NEWS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200707161101.html
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Futile attempts are made to make us deny our senses, frighten us from our beliefs, make us believe our enemy is our friend; the enemy WAS actually our friend all along.
For 700 years we fought and struggled against our own friends! How stupid are these Somalis anyway? It took them 700 years to differentiate a friend from a foe?
Our friend is so generous, as we speak right now; they are arming Barre Hirale and Co
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What progress have the notorious warlords made, bring Somalia under occupation? Kill sevaral thousands of innocent Somalis and force 400,000 people to flee from Mogadishu? These dishonest warlords and their supporters need to realise that this marrigare between warlords and the occupation is doomed to fail. I do agree with the good points raised by Adam Jama.
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Clearly we can state that Geedi has made some progress compared to Ali Khalif, whose intellectual capacity failed to move the TNG in any direction.
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COLKA WARAF MA LAGU DAYEY?
I have three suggestions for any genuine & meaningful reconciliation efforts to consider inorder to achieve both short-term & long-term solution to our nightmare. The solutions I am about to write are simple home-grown Somali solutions that I learned from Somalis themselves, believe me they work.
1)When 10 million Somalis, Unisom, African union, IGAD, and everybody else failed to solve Somali security problem for 17 years, less than three hundred Somali religious people solved it within thirty days, how? They were not rocket scientists & didn't know anything about diplomacy & politics, but they simply realized, as long as there is one war lord in Mogadishu, there is no hope for peace, so, they chased all of them out regardless of their tribal affiliation.
2)Let us give the presidency & the prime ministership to somebody who is from the small tribes other than (Hawiye & Daarood)for the transtional period to get the nation back on its feet & prepare for a fair & free election where qabiil becomes insignificant. This wiil make sure the two opposing factions who cannot agree on anything to sit back & watch the small guys do the nation building. The small guy cannot stray or abuse power because there is bigger watch dogs nearby. I learned this from our brothers in Somaliland.
3)Get the Ethiopians out as soon as possible, because there can never be a genuine reconciliation or any progress where the devil is in charge. I learned this from every Somali poet, president, prime minister, intellectual, religious leader, & everybody who has an ounce of intelligence. How about it boys & girls
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Thanks mr.Abdulkdir Abdirahman for giving Somali people an elaborated story of how Gedi tried futiley to mislead the world. I enjoyed reading your informative peace. I do agree that there cannot be any reconciliation unless Ethiopian colonial occupation ends and the warords are punished for their horrible crimes. These warlords will be unable to fool the world for their farce reconciliation conferences where the blind supporters are gathered. Some warlord apologists may try to attack the writer, but as always, they do not discuss his well-constructed arguments. I think time of the warlords is over and their master Ethiopia will be defeated by the resistance army.
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Another anarchist advocating for clan hegemony, while hiding behind UIC smoke screen------Cajiib!
Didn't the writer learn anything by living in Washignton State area, where thousands of people from different ethnicities and with different faiths live side by side in harmony. The reason we enjoy the freedom that we enjoy in West is because of the "rule of law" that exists in these places. It is sad to see this person denying this god given right (freedom)to his brethren in somalia by advocating unending violence.
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