by Osman Jama Ali and Mohamed Sharif Mohamud
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
The massacre at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi has shocked Somalis throughout the world. The most senior politicians in the Somali government and parliament, as well as the Somali people at home and abroad, have condemned it in the strongest terms and sent their condolences to the Kenyan people.
The attack was intended to sow discord and friction among Kenyans and to damage the country's economic success story. But its consequences for Somalia are potentially even more destructive.
As a result of al-Shabaab being driven out of Somalia's major cities, Somalis are returning from abroad, the economy is booming, the main roads in Mogadishu are being reconstructed, and the airport and port are expanding.
Westgate was al-Shabaab's revenge on Somalia and the international community that backed it, for defeating them. It was an attempt to persuade the international community not to go on helping Somalia, and thus give al-Shabaab the chance to regain power.
The justification that al-Shabaab gave to their act was the presence of Kenyan forces in Somalia. Of course, this is totally hypocritical: their ideology is based on denying national statehood, so they are against establishing a Somali state. They dishonour the Somali national flag by flying the black flag of al-Qaida, representing an imaginary global state. And so, purely in order to stir up nationalist feelings, they shed crocodile tears for the loss of Somali sovereignty.
Nevertheless, the presence of the Kenyan forces there was not invited by Somalia, nor welcomed by the African Union; it has embarrassed the great powers allied to Kenya and is in contravention of international law. This is a matter of serious concern that threatens to destabilise both Kenya and Somalia.
Kenya has bluntly rejected the resolution, reached in Kampala by the African countries that have sent forces to Somalia, calling on Kenya to withdraw its forces and to respect Somali sovereignty.
What is Kenya's interest in south Somalia or Lower Juba? It is the richest area in Somalia for agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, tourist attractions – and oil. There are also oil reserves in the offshore waters. Early in the mandate of the previous transitional government, Kenya persuaded the former Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to recognise that an area of territorial waters off the Somali coast in fact belonged to Kenya. The attempt was thwarted by the Somali parliament.
Another significant reason that Kenyan forces may be trying to create in Somalia a vassal state – or "buffer zone", as the Kenyan government prefers to call it – is to protect its own projects. Kenya is embarking on a multibillion-dollar development around the port of Lamu, just 15km from the border, building roads and railways to give access to Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Somalia has resources that are the envy of the world. There are vast oil and gas deposits on- and off-shore across the country. It is rich in maritime resources, agriculture and rare minerals.
Somalia and Kenya have a common border of 800km, so our destinies are inextricably linked. Our appeal is not to let extremists divide us, but instead to join forces to fight the common enemy and focus our attention on longer-term interests, based on respect for each other's sovereignty, and the benefits for our future generations of living in peace, stability and prosperity.
This article was originally published in THE GUARDIAN