NEW DIMENSION IN THE CURRENT SOMALIA SITUATION
Kanini Evans Kariuki
May 16, 2009
The Somalia peace process seems to have taken a new toll which raises the concern of the whole region in particular, and global agitation.
The fighting of the newly-formed government in Djibouti headed by president Sheriff, the former chairman of the United Islamic Courts who had lost the support of the majority of Islamic courts, found himself deserted, when his forces from the Islamic courts joined his opponents at the Shabaab and the Muslim party.
The Somali president, Mr. Sheriff, reliable sources say, will resort to support of his clan which may diminish his popularity among the citizenry.
The Asmara group which is supported by Eritrea and other governments, had received arms and logistics support, and have free access and control of eight regions of southern Somalia that gave them the advantage of reasonable forces that can besiege the Somali capital from England.
The Shabaab group controls all these regions, and has sympathizers both in Puntland and Somaliland.
President Sheriff lacks the capability and the trust of his opposition who regard him as a traitor because they feel he was one of the juniors of the Islamic court, and that he hijacked the leadership of the united Islamic court.
This makes it difficult for the current government to reconcile with the opposition of Asmara-Eritreaīs capital city.
Since the Djibouti conference was ill-prepared and it created the split of the United Islamic courts, those who organized the conference were deceived by the false impression that president Sheriff enjoys the confidence, trust and support of the Islamic courts.
The faulty reconciliation conference of the Djibouti had also, and without consideration, produced 550 members of parliament equal to the worldīs second most populated country, India.
Somalia which ranks as the second nation in corruption, cannot bear the cost of such a big number of legislators.
The fragile government of Mr. Sherif has to perform a daunting task that includes disarmament and demobilization and integration of the militias, inclusive reconciliation, establishment of law enforcement bodies to restore law and order, establishment of a state public finance system to reinstate civil servants, to have a dialogue with Somaliland and Puntland and have them on board to make Somalia united, and lastly, to place a package for fighting the sea piracy, and creating employment for the youngsters who are engaged in the vice.
AlShabaab have been trained in Afghanistan during the Russian war there, and are presently co-operating with the Islamic party with the sole aim of fighting the current government of Somalia.
It is likely that the above mentioned two groups may disagree should they succeed in defeating the government,and consequently, Somalia may enter another new cycle of civil strife.
Already,over 200 civilians have perished in Somalia in the past one week as the hardline Islamist group AL-Shabaab, and the government battle for control of the capital and South Somalia, where 18 years of war has destabilized the region, created hundreds of thousands of refugees, drawn in foreign armies and militants, and spawned an unprecedented wave of piracy offshore.
Eritrea and Ethiopia who are having their own boundary conflicts, are also involved in the Somalia conflict which may exacerbate and prolong the Somalia crisis.
The Somalis feel that they have been alienated, while Ethiopia have been saved from the civil war by president Jimmy Carterīs organization which had prepared civil seats for the deposed Ethiopian president Haile Mengistu, and peaceful transfer of Power, while curiously, the Kenyan election crisis was met with an immediate intervention by foreign powers, and solved through the formation of the coalition government.
In the same token,both the Liberian and Sierra Leonean conflict was settled.
The Somalia peace process system was not properly formulated owing to the fact that there are Somalis who had benefited from the civil war and accumulated illegal wealth appropriated from properties in Somalia,
and the farms they have taken by force from the rightful owners will certainly obstruct any peaceful settlement in the country, if it is not in their interests.
It has to come within their terms that boils over retaining possession of what they have acquired illegally.
Mr. Sheriff and his opposition, regardless of their confrontations in power, have in common clan principles which are geared towards appointing their clansmen to senior government positions.
It is worth mentioning that this particular shortcoming unfortunately derailed the regime of ex-president Abdulahi Yusuf.
Mr. Sheriff and his opponents are not considering the plight of Somalis who are dying in their hundreds in the Mediterranean sea, the Red sea, the Gulf of Eden and the Sahara between Sudan and Libya, those killed in South Africa, the desperate hundreds of thousands refugees suffering malnutrition without proper shelter in the neighboring countries, the severe drought in Puntland and the central region which consumed the lives of human beings and livestock.
The Somalis feel that their marine resources were looted, and their marine environment polluted by the nuclear toxic waste and other hazardous or obnoxious material.
Somalis are astonished by foreign nations which had de-ployed their navy forces in Somalia waters to fight the sea pirates,while, at the same, turning a blind eye to the need of rescuing the Somalis who are perishing in the Red sea and the Gulf of Eden during their illegal journey to the Gulf States whereby expectant mothers,children, the aged and the disabled are dying and drowning in their hundreds.
Foreign nations are spending millions of dollars in patrolling Somalia territorial waters, while the marine insurance companies are charging goods transported from the West to East and vice-versa, at exorbitant rates.
It is indeed worth advancing the contention that if one out of a 100 of the foreign nations expenditure is used to protect Somaliaīs waters, then it will be more sufficient to establish effective Somali navy that can protect Somali and stamp out the sea pirates, and keep this important sea route safe and peaceful to navigate without fear.
It is of paramount importance to empower the law enforcing bodies of Puntland and Somaliland ,and provide the necessary logistics and financial assistance.
Against the backdrop of the foregoing, some pertinent questions abound.
Will the current Somali president and his government rise to the expectations of their destroyed nation? Will the current American administration initiate its policy that can pacify Somalia and save the region of the East and Horn of Africa from extremism and terrorism which is now making Somalia a safe haven?
The fighting of the newly-formed government in Djibouti headed by president Sheriff, the former chairman of the United Islamic Courts who had lost the support of the majority of Islamic courts, found himself deserted, when his forces from the Islamic courts joined his opponents at the Shabaab and the Muslim party.
The Somali president, Mr. Sheriff, reliable sources say, will resort to support of his clan which may diminish his popularity among the citizenry.
The Asmara group which is supported by Eritrea and other governments, had received arms and logistics support, and have free access and control of eight regions of southern Somalia that gave them the advantage of reasonable forces that can besiege the Somali capital from England.
The Shabaab group controls all these regions, and has sympathizers both in Puntland and Somaliland.
President Sheriff lacks the capability and the trust of his opposition who regard him as a traitor because they feel he was one of the juniors of the Islamic court, and that he hijacked the leadership of the united Islamic court.
This makes it difficult for the current government to reconcile with the opposition of Asmara-Eritreaīs capital city.
Since the Djibouti conference was ill-prepared and it created the split of the United Islamic courts, those who organized the conference were deceived by the false impression that president Sheriff enjoys the confidence, trust and support of the Islamic courts.
The faulty reconciliation conference of the Djibouti had also, and without consideration, produced 550 members of parliament equal to the worldīs second most populated country, India.
Somalia which ranks as the second nation in corruption, cannot bear the cost of such a big number of legislators.
The fragile government of Mr. Sherif has to perform a daunting task that includes disarmament and demobilization and integration of the militias, inclusive reconciliation, establishment of law enforcement bodies to restore law and order, establishment of a state public finance system to reinstate civil servants, to have a dialogue with Somaliland and Puntland and have them on board to make Somalia united, and lastly, to place a package for fighting the sea piracy, and creating employment for the youngsters who are engaged in the vice.
AlShabaab have been trained in Afghanistan during the Russian war there, and are presently co-operating with the Islamic party with the sole aim of fighting the current government of Somalia.
It is likely that the above mentioned two groups may disagree should they succeed in defeating the government,and consequently, Somalia may enter another new cycle of civil strife.
Already,over 200 civilians have perished in Somalia in the past one week as the hardline Islamist group AL-Shabaab, and the government battle for control of the capital and South Somalia, where 18 years of war has destabilized the region, created hundreds of thousands of refugees, drawn in foreign armies and militants, and spawned an unprecedented wave of piracy offshore.
Eritrea and Ethiopia who are having their own boundary conflicts, are also involved in the Somalia conflict which may exacerbate and prolong the Somalia crisis.
The Somalis feel that they have been alienated, while Ethiopia have been saved from the civil war by president Jimmy Carterīs organization which had prepared civil seats for the deposed Ethiopian president Haile Mengistu, and peaceful transfer of Power, while curiously, the Kenyan election crisis was met with an immediate intervention by foreign powers, and solved through the formation of the coalition government.
In the same token,both the Liberian and Sierra Leonean conflict was settled.
The Somalia peace process system was not properly formulated owing to the fact that there are Somalis who had benefited from the civil war and accumulated illegal wealth appropriated from properties in Somalia,
and the farms they have taken by force from the rightful owners will certainly obstruct any peaceful settlement in the country, if it is not in their interests.
It has to come within their terms that boils over retaining possession of what they have acquired illegally.
Mr. Sheriff and his opposition, regardless of their confrontations in power, have in common clan principles which are geared towards appointing their clansmen to senior government positions.
It is worth mentioning that this particular shortcoming unfortunately derailed the regime of ex-president Abdulahi Yusuf.
Mr. Sheriff and his opponents are not considering the plight of Somalis who are dying in their hundreds in the Mediterranean sea, the Red sea, the Gulf of Eden and the Sahara between Sudan and Libya, those killed in South Africa, the desperate hundreds of thousands refugees suffering malnutrition without proper shelter in the neighboring countries, the severe drought in Puntland and the central region which consumed the lives of human beings and livestock.
The Somalis feel that their marine resources were looted, and their marine environment polluted by the nuclear toxic waste and other hazardous or obnoxious material.
Somalis are astonished by foreign nations which had de-ployed their navy forces in Somalia waters to fight the sea pirates,while, at the same, turning a blind eye to the need of rescuing the Somalis who are perishing in the Red sea and the Gulf of Eden during their illegal journey to the Gulf States whereby expectant mothers,children, the aged and the disabled are dying and drowning in their hundreds.
Foreign nations are spending millions of dollars in patrolling Somalia territorial waters, while the marine insurance companies are charging goods transported from the West to East and vice-versa, at exorbitant rates.
It is indeed worth advancing the contention that if one out of a 100 of the foreign nations expenditure is used to protect Somaliaīs waters, then it will be more sufficient to establish effective Somali navy that can protect Somali and stamp out the sea pirates, and keep this important sea route safe and peaceful to navigate without fear.
It is of paramount importance to empower the law enforcing bodies of Puntland and Somaliland ,and provide the necessary logistics and financial assistance.
Against the backdrop of the foregoing, some pertinent questions abound.
Will the current Somali president and his government rise to the expectations of their destroyed nation? Will the current American administration initiate its policy that can pacify Somalia and save the region of the East and Horn of Africa from extremism and terrorism which is now making Somalia a safe haven?
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