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RICHARD M. ONYONKA
Saturday, November 29, 2008
As the United Nations Security Council held unprecedented eight-hour talks on the Somalia crisis last week, the country was quickly falling into the hands of the Islamists, the Al Shabaab.
With a weakened Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from most strategic parts of the country and the increase in piracy that is threatening international trade, the result of the deliberations was inaction on the world organisation’s part.
This has unfortunately been Somalia’s curse for the past 17 years. Of course, the buck stops with the people and their leaders for the inability to address the problems peacefully.
But Africa and the international community bear responsibility, too. Instead of complementing Igad’s efforts, the African Union and the UN have issued numerous declarations and resolutions that lead to nowhere.
The Security Council continues to renew every six months the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)’s mandate without taking any responsibility for the funding.
Given that the UN is unwilling to send a peace-keeping force to Somalia, the AU Commission has asked the UN for financial and logistical support to sustain AMISOM.
The modest request would be a shadow of the force’s $1.48 billion (Sh115 billion) annual budget in Darfur and the 20,000-strong mandated force in the Congo.
Rather than respond to the request, the UN has cited its bureaucratic rules as the reason for not providing the much needed funds.
Rather than find creative ways of solving the problem, the UN planners have spent the past two years elaborating on a contingency plan for a multi-national force that is too complex to be achieved.
All these plans are, of course, formulated under the broad disclaimer that there are no conditions for a peacekeeping operation.
Were the conditions there the world would surely not need peacekeepers. Given the international community’s inaction and the TFG’s failure to govern, the Islamists are returning to take over Somalia. The international community has two options. One is to accept the Islamists as the new government and begin working with them.
This would have wide-ranging implications for the region, given the Islamists’ expansionist ideas — the dream of a greater Somalia.
There are also the legitimate concerns over the Islamists’ link with known al Qaeda operatives, the promotion of Islamic fundamentalism with all threats to international peace and security and fundamental human rights, especially women’s.
Two, the international community could begin earnest political dialogue in Somalia that could lead to a representative, all-inclusive transitional government. To do this, creative ways must be found to secure Mogadishu and allow mediators to reach out to the different groups.
Political stability in Somalia needs more than a political approach and agreements in various African capitals. It needs the international community’s determination to have a security presence that will allow a real national reconciliation conference inside Somalia that leads to a government that belongs to the Somali people.
It needs the commitment of all the regional actors to settle their political differences bilaterally and give peace a chance.
There needs to be a strong engagement by the Washington administration and the European Union, which will lead to a change of approach in the war against terrorism. This will also lead to the need for flexibility on the part of all the players by investing in state building.
There is a need for serious leadership from the UN, the African Union and Igad for this to be achieved. And above all, it needs the political will of the Somalia people themselves to salvage what is left in their country.
The writer is the Member of Parliament for Kitutu Chache and assistant minister for Foreign Affairs.