Hiiraan Online

By Abdulakdir Aden Mohamud “Jangeli”
Sunday, December 14, 2008

The literature you are about to read is divided into several parts. Its contents are based on facts and fictions. The main players are Ethiopians and Somalis.

PART I

Zirrow: What shall we do now?

In mid November of 2008, Minister Zirrow raised that question again in a meeting at the red room with his newly appointed four advisors: Tesfaye, Feleke, Yilma, Ketema.

Ketema: Mr. Minster, would you please explain what you have in mind, so we can give you a right answer.

Zirrow: Ten months ago I fired Girgis, Tassafa, Berhanu and Wolde who were sitting on these “chairs” that you are enjoying today. I got rid of them because they were giving me dreadful advise about Somali issues. Now, I need a real solution from all of you to solve these problems that we are facing today, especially on Somalia.

Yilma: Your excellence, we need some hints about the prior advise you received on Somali issues… I mean, what worked and what didn’t?

Zirrow: No, I want to test how familiar you are on this subject matter.

While Zirrow was talking, Feleke whispered in Ketema’s ear asking him if he knew the whereabouts of Tessafa, Berhanu and Wolde.

.

Zirrow: Hey, you two, why are you whispering? Feleke, whatever you were saying to Ketema you can say aloud.

Feleke: Sir, I was just trying to figure out where the previous advisers are so that we can learn from their mistakes. That way we can identify what you like to hear.

Zirrow: You are funny Feleke, but I pray that you never go to the miserable place they are locked in now. Nevertheless, it is irrelevant to learn anything from those damned men. Therefore, in three weeks I want original and fresh ideas regarding Somalia. Ok, this meeting is adjourned.

The advisors headed to their cars, chatting in low voices as they stood in the parking lot.

Yilma: We should see Mr. Asfayum, who is our foreign czar. He has been advising Minister Zirrow since 1974, when he joined the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front. He knows everything about the Minister.

Ketema: Good idea. But, I am wondering why Asfayum did not go to prison like all the other former advisors?

Feleke: Are you serious? I thought everybody knew the reason.

Ketema: No, I don’t know! It must be a good reason then.

Feleke: It is a long story, but I will make it short. Years ago, the Minister imprisoned Seven men who were the brains of  the Tigrayan Peoples Libration Front. Most of them died in the prison. Then the Tigrinya elders and the chiefs gathered in Mek’ele and made Mr. Zirrow swear to not dismiss or to harm Mr. Asfayum, or they would abandon and disown the Minister. The pledge was not limited to Mr. Asfayum, but to any Tigrayan who held higher positions in the government.

Ketema:  Wow! That’s why the Minister has never appointed Tigrayans for top positions because he can’t fire them or imprison them.

Feleke: Yup! That is why we were hired. We are dispensable and nobody will cry for us except our families.

Yilma: Its like a double edge sword.  Those chiefs saved the Tigrayans who are already in the government, but the Minister denies the rights of the young educated Tigrayan who are hoping to be part of the federal authority. 

Feleke: Shuush… Do you know that within a week the Mr. Zirrow and Asfayum are going to Adwa, Zirrow’s birth place ?

Yilma: No. Why are they going there?

Feleke: Shuuush! It is just a rumor, but I will find out tonight. They say that the minister is not happy about how Asfayum treated and cursed an old friend of Ethiopia, the president of Somalia. And since the minister can’t fire him he wants to complain and take the case to the Tigrinya chiefs and elders, who are gathering in Adwa.

Yilma: Which one? Somalia has three presidents: President Abdullahi, President Riyale and President Adde Muse.

Feleke: Kahkahkaaaa! Sorry, as an African and a neighbor I should not laugh about this tragedy of my fellow east Africans. They have three presidents and none of them is recognized by the international community. The irony is while the Somali children have no schools in this 21^st century, these presidents enjoy just the title “Mr. President”. They are willing to even kill thousands of Somalis just for this fake title.

Katema: Feleke, you should take back your laugh!…Why have thousands of our young enlisted Ethiopians died, for a pretend Somali president?

Tesfaye: President Abdullahi is recognized by the African Unity and United Nations and has missions with recognized ambassadors who are representing Somalia in Addis Ababa and in New York. Therefore, our solders did not die in vain, but they where defending an African president from his people.

Feleke: Come on be honest, at least among us. First, I’ve never heard of foreign troops defending a leader from his people. Second, this world has a leader which is the USA and it refuses to recognize the government of Abdullahi. You heard the State Departments explanation a couple of months ago about how they were not willing to recognize such a government. Third, our beloved solders did not die for the Somali “president” but for the future of Ethiopia’s dream for seaports. Fourth, the Somali missions in Addis Ababa and New York have not closed since 1960. This means they were functioning during the last 17 lawless years, even before Abdullahi Yusuf became the “president”.  And finally, do you think our foreign minister would have cursed or threatened a genuine president as he did last Tuesday, if we sincerely recognized him as a real president?

Yilma: Hey! You guys, lets just stop there and leave the premises. 

FACTS:

By no means could the Ethiopian leaders have predicted the impressive resistance that their troops encountered in Mogadishu and Beletweyne by the Somalis, once they defeated the UIC. The absurdity of the Ethiopian leaders was to copy the blue prints of the military art of Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush. They should have looked at and understood what was happening in Bagdad before they rolled their military machine into Mogadishu using that same blue print. It was unwise to follow the foot steps of baby Bush. But as usual, Prime Minister Zenawi launched his blame games towards the warlords he had been sponsoring for the last 17 years. This was because his mighty military was bogged down in Mogadishu, in quagmire.

Baydhabo and Eid al-Adha.

It is eight in the morning and all the residents in Baydhabo are dressed up in their best garments for the Eid al-Adha’s prayer. Baydhabo is the seat of the parliament so the President Abdullahi and the Prime Minister Nur Adde were in Baydhabo lobbying for their different agendas.

Waasuge:  Dad, shall we see the president at the prayer place?

Eenow:  Yes, son. We are fortunate to pray this Eid with the president, the speaker of the

parliament and the prime minister.

Waasuge:  I think God will answer our wishes if we all pray together with our leaders, so Somalia will be in a good shape.

Eenow:  Of course, God will respond to our prayers. We must be willing to work together and pray together so God will help us.

Waasuge: Dad, we must run quickly to reach the prayer place because I want to stand next to the president and the prime minister. I want to tell them my dreams and goals.

Eenow: What dreams and goals!?

Waasuge: You will hear them when I tell the president.

Eenow: I am your dad. First, you should share them with me before anybody else.

Waasuge: Please dad, just wait a couple more minutes. I promise you, you will like it, but I have to save these for our leaders.

Eenow and his 12 year old son Waasuge arrived at the prayer place before it was time. They positioned themselves on the first line. Waasuge never stopped glancing around, as he was trying to spot the arrival of the president and the prime minister.

Waasuge: Dad, are you sure the leaders are coming to pray with us?

Eanow: I believe so. They always come last.

Waasuge: If so, where are the presidential guards? They always come before anybody else!

Imaam Ali: Please set the rows in proper lines. The prayer is about to begin.

Waasuge: Dad, did you bring us to the wrong place?

Eenow: Shuush! Don’t say that!

Waasuge: Please dad, let us go where the president and the prime minister are praying.

Eenow: I don’t know where they are.  This is the center where we always pray with dignitaries on every Eid.

Waasuge: Maybe this Eid they went to the grand Mosque near our house. Please let us check over there!

Eenow: The Imam of the grand Mosque is here and he is about to lead our prayer, so I don’t think they are there.

Waasuge: Maybe the broadcasters on the radio confused Addis Ababa to Baydhabo. I am sure our leaders are in Addis Ababa. They can’t be any where else for the Eid holiday, right?

Eenow: Stop this and start the prayer…

When they completed the Eid prayer, Eenow invited a couple of the clergy members and elders to have the Eid lunch at his house. While every body was busy eating the delicious food, Waasuge was listening to the local radio at the far corner of the house. He wanted to know the whereabouts of the president, the speaker, and the prime minister. He could not understand how the leaders did not show up for prayer, if they were in Baidhabo. Waasuge’s Eid was ruined once he found out from Radio A/G2 that the three leaders of the TFG were in fact in Baydhabo, but decided to pray separately, at a distance of less than quarter of a mile apart. The radio emphasized that the president prayed at his residence in Baydhabo with his body guards; the prime minister at his hotel room with the hotel employees; and the speaker at his house with his family.

FACTS:

Since the day the TFG members were selected by igad/ETHIOPIA, the fighting continued among the top leaders as well as the “former” warlords, who were constantly changing their profession (one day a warlord, the next day a cabinet member, and then later a sheikh; and vice versa). The first clash took place in  Nairobi, where they were negotiating and reconciling for two and half years. The main dividing issues were the deployment of foreign troops and the seat of the TFG.

The group that was spearheaded by the president who wanted Ethiopian troops to be deployed in Somalia, succeeded in passing this “legislation”. Then the Ethiopian troops entered Mogadishu on December 28, 2006. Unfortunately, the TFG and the Ethiopian troops brought into Somalia only destruction and more divisiveness instead of reconciliation and law and order. Ethiopia began to play the mediator among the top TFG leaders, who were constantly arguing over minor issues and personal grudges. During most of these arguments, the Ethiopian government was favoring President Abdullahi, but they haven’t supported him for the last few months. Instead, unlike former Speaker Mr. Sharif and former Prime Minister Mr. Ghedi,  Mr. Nur-Adde has now received the blessings of Addis Ababa.

Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the three top leaders of the TFG were in Baydhabo on December 8, 2008 and did pray separately on the Eid al-Adha instead of celebrating and praying with the community. They could not solve their differences in Mogadishu, Addis-Ababa, Nairobi, or in London, and even extended their nitpicks to Libya, Djibouti and other places.

Ultimately, they came back into Baydhabo to persuade the MPs to their different agendas and after the prayer, they each requested a separate press conference.

Waasuge called his father to listen to the radio and explain to the guests what the leaders were telling the Somali people on this Eid holiday.

Eenow: The president is appealing to the Somali people to protect him from the Ethiopians. He wants the Ethiopian flags that are flying in Mogadishu to be taken down, but the they are threatening him as they did before. He is reminding us of the 1980s, when the Ethiopians imprisoned him in Alambakha for his patriotism in detesting the Ethiopian flags flying in Galdogob and Balabale. In other words, he is claiming to be the victim, and asks us for our sympathy.

Sheikh Cumarow: Oh, well did the others make any appeals to the Somali people?

Eenow: No. Actually the prime minister devoted his press conference only for his love stories.  He was talking enthusiastically about his youth and the love songs he used to play for his…  While the speaker was exploring with his sub-subclan members, if there was a chance for him to be THE…

 ………..To be continued Part II