by Ahmedweli Sh. Omer Goth
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
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| Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, left, Somalian President, Abdullahi Yusuf, middle, and Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi , right, during their meeting in Mogadishu , Tuesday, June 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Mohamed Abdulle Hassan Siidi) |
My recent participation in the Friday debate program on the BBC- Somali service- gave me the courage to highlight some of the unique ideas that I firmly believe. I was also emboldened by positive remarks of a number of friends who asked me to express my views on the current situation in the Somali region.
Therefore on behalf of my like-minded friends, I would like to say it loud and straight that I welcome the clear thinking and political stances of the Ethiopian politicians. I am one of the Awdalian Diaspora who lives in the United Kingdom and like many of my people I am interested in the politics of the Horn of Africa.
Usually in my spare time I browse the Somali and Ethiopian websites to follow up the latest news about home. Sometimes, I feel empathy sometimes I feel proud, depending on the ever-changing political situation. When I make a quick review of emphatic statements by politicians I revel in picking their brains so to speak by prudently following up their respective views on a number of different but yet critical issues relating to the pressing issues in the Horn of Africa.
The opening of the Ethiopian Embassy in the capital of Somalia was one of the remarkable events in the history of the Horn. It was heartening to hear Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, saying: “Our peace and stability have been jeopardized by a handful of extremists who profess to be the holy men ... which contradicts the tenets of Islam as peaceful, tolerant and accommodating,” In line with the known positions of his prime minister Ato Meles Zanawi, Mesfin also reminded the people that the Somali and Ethiopian people are brothers and neighbors and what they need is to move forward: “the only enemy we share is poverty but we are not enemies,” he said.
It is a fact that we are one people, we share many things and we need each other. Forgetting the gloomy past history is very important for us and for the coming generations. The Ethiopians have demonstrated to us that we cannot be enemies for good. We are at the verge of a new era of Somali-Ethiopian companionship, an era that needs sound thinking, deep understanding and intelligence.
I would like to make clear to my fellow peace-loving countrymen, as my elder brother Bashir Goth believes, that I am not with the politics of aggression and hate. My religion and culture is peaceful and tolerant. I am not against anybody except those who do not want stability and revel in killing the innocent people. We need to strive for justice, equality, respect for our cultural differences and religious beliefs; not arrogance and imposing our political views at home by force and terror. Only fools, idiots and warmongers are those who would like to perpetuate the plight of the Somali people and the scourge young minds of the future with alien ideologies. .
A change in the situation and change of the current Somali leaders are inevitable, the ex-warlords and the old soldiers will clear the way for the new democratic process.
I hope the Somalis would finally find the peace and stability that eluded them for so long thanks to the political vision and regional leadership of Ato Meles of Ethiopia.
A Goth
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