Hiiraan Online

An Open Letter to the TFG / ARS / SRSG / Security Council & the Somali People

by Abdirashid Khalif Hashi
Friday, May 30, 2008

Preamble

I request the leadership of the TFG and the Alliance as well as the SRSG, the Members of the Security Council, the Somali people and the international community at large to consider this peace proposal. I encourage all Somalis to put forth their vision for Somalia

The Rationale

Whereas the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance of the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) are the two most organized and internationally (and nationally recognized) political actors in Somalia;

Noting that the TFG and the Alliance accepted to participate in the upcoming reconciliation talk to be help in Djibouti in the last week of May 2008 - organized by the United Nations;

Convinced that durable peace could ONLY be attained in Somalia through a negotiated settlement that produces a win-win situation or at least an acceptable outcome for the TFG and the Alliance;

Cognizant that neither the TFG nor the Alliance (despite their rhetoric) has a clear mandate to govern from the Somali people and that the reason the two entities have their current dominant position in Somalia is due to their war-making capabilities;

Recalling that Somalia has had since 1991, a half a dozen interim and transitional governments who, at the end of their mandate, left a more muddy political scene;

Convinced that establishing, yet again, another prolonged transitional period for incompatible political actors, (i.e. the TFG and the Alliance) could be a recipe for unnecessary and avoidable political quagmire,

Underlining the fact that Somalia went through two-decades of turmoil and that it is a moral responsibility to address the root causes as well as the aggravating factors of the current crises;

The following eighteen-point peace plan is proposed. It attempts to address the needs of the current political actors but also tries to lay the foundation a new Somalia where the Somali people decide the future of their country.

 The Plan:

Stabilize the Situation & Let Somali People Decide Through Free & Fair Election

1. There should be an immediate ceasefire throughout Somalia. The TFG and the Alliance should also commit themselves to a non-violent politics where all differences are solved through dialogue or the ballot box, 

2. It is clear to many that it will rather be difficult for the TFG and the Alliance to form a workable / coalition government where these archenemies govern side-by-side. The ongoing escalation of violence in Mogadishu attests to this sad reality. It is also a fact that the TFG and the Alliance are important political actors whose stabilization in the current political scene of Somalia is indispensable, since they are the most organized political actors in the country. Hence, there should be a compromise solution where the two sides could cooperate (and somewhat) share power in the remaining year and half of the TFG mandate. To overcome this challenge - that is, enabling irreconcilable camps to form a workable partnership):

1. The TFG and the Alliance should co-select an independent / non-aligned / non-partisan Prime Minister and a lean cabinet. This will be a technocrat Caretaker Administration. The main responsibility of this caretaker government shall be to stabilize the situation, act as the executive organ of the state, represent Somalia in the international scene and work with the United Nations. The selection criteria for the cabinet members of the caretaker government shall be merit and not clan affiliation. The caretaker cabinet shouldn’t be no more than eleven members including the Prime Minister and their mandate shall end by August 2009; furthermore they should not run for office in the election of 2009,

2. The TFG and the Alliance shall jointly appoint interim judges of the Supreme Court. The term of this provisional Supreme Court shall end after a national election in 2009. This highly qualified neutral and agreed-upon High Court shall arbitrate all legal disputes between the government camps (the TFG and the Alliance), 

3. In order to end the current situation where everyone is at liberty to issue all sorts of fatwas, a national Mufti / religious leader or religious council shall be agreed by the TFG and the Alliance (as well as other concerned Somalis). The role of the national Mufti / religious Council shall be advancing the peace and to be the voice of Islam in Somalia - not the voice of one religious group – but that of the whole country,

4. The TFG and the Alliance shall accept in principle the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which shall commence its work right after the peace pact. This National Commission shall investigate all atrocities and human rights abuses that took place in Somalia and the Commission shall present its findings to the elected Parliament (in 2009 / 2010) who shall decide the next steps,

3. There should be a UN managed national ELECTION in Somalia. This election should take place at the end of the mandate of the TFG (August 2009). The efforts of the international community should aim at facilitating a free and fair election in Somalia. Rewarding gun-totting men with national political power is what created much of the ongoing and prolonged mayhem in Somalia. Free and Fair election is the oft-ignored but easy and achievable solution for much of the Somalia crises,

4. There should be a UN Peace Building Mission for Somalia and the international community shall organize a donor conference for Somalia. The UN Peace Building Mission should support the work of the Caretaker government (particularly the demobilizing and reintegration of militias) as well as recovery and reconstruction work of the subsequent elected government,

5. All the TFG Members of Parliament whose membership was revoked should be reinstated including the former Speaker of the Parliament who should assume his post until the election of 2009;

6. The Constitution of Somalia (adopted on July 1, 1960) shall be used until the Somali people elect their leaders and decide whether they want to keep using that Constitution or introduce another one. The Constitution of 1960 addresses the aspirations of democratically or Islamically inclined Somalis. Every Somali should read and re-read this neglected national treasure. http://www.benadir-watch.com/Constitution1960.pdf

7. Until the national election, the TFG President should continue his post as the President of the Republic; he should exercise ONLY the powers outlined in the 1960 Constitution;

8. The seat of the TFG President and that of the Parliament should be in Baidoa; the  Caretaker Council of Minister shall operate out of Mogadishu and may have secondary offices in Baidoa;

9. Until the 2009 election, a governor appointed by the Alliance and agreed by the TFG should manage Mogadishu & its environs – under the authority of the Caretaker administration;

10. The President, the Prime Minister and a Representative appointed by the Alliance shall form a National Leaders Forum where important POLITCAL issues and new appointments are discussed and compromise is sought. Issues the Leaders Forum could not agree on maybe be referred to the Supreme Court – to mediate and if not successful to render its judgments which shall be final and binding;

11. A 5000 strong International Stabilization Force, preferably from the Arab and Muslim states – under the auspices of the United Nations - should be deployed to Somalia. The International Stabilization Force shall work with and under the authority of the Caretaker Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers,

12. Within four weeks of the signing of peace agreement between the TFG and the Alliance, all Ethiopian military and security personal must leave the Somali Republic. Somalis, particularly the Alliance and their associates must give the Ethiopians a safe passage and the international community must verify and guarantee the total withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces; Ethiopia should pledge not to reinvade Somalia, Somali parties must commit themselves to a non-aggression policy towards Ethiopia, 

13. During the four weeks that the International Stabilization Force are arriving in Somalia, the Ugandan and Burundi contingents may be deployed to Baidoa and Beli-dogle Airbase to safeguard the TFG President / Parliament, as soon as the International Stabilization Forces arrives, the Ugandan and Burundi contingents shall depart from Somalia;

14. Both the Alliance and the TFG must demobilize all their militias; each group should transfer to the Caretaker government 3000 future soldiers / police officers;

15. The retrained and amalgamated 6000-strong former TFG / Alliance security personnel / militia shall form as the national police / security forces and shall work under the authority of the Caretaker Government;

16. Somali groups and individuals who are interested in political power particularly the TFG and Alliance members should renounce violence as a means to gain power and should  join or form political parties;

17. The TFG and the ARS shall  denounce and oppose all forms of terrorism; the parties should also commit not to equate Islam and citizen’s legitimate political positions with terrorism and the issues relating to terrorism shall be addressed by the ELECTED Government that shall take power after the 2009 election;

18. The TFG and the Alliance should accept the UN as the lead agency in the mediation / recovery / rebuilding efforts. The Security Council shall be the GARANTOR of this peace accord. The caretaker cabinet shall be designated as the Somali counterpart to the international community / UN / Security Council,