The TFG that never was: resuscitating the corpse
By Abdikarim H. Abdi Buh
May 20, 2010
The last of the procession of TFGs (Transitional Federal government) installed by the international community in Mogadishu for the past two decades ended up in total failure. The common denominator of all the 17 so called internationally recognised TFGs, is that they were imposed from the top without participation of the wider stake holders on the one hand and deliberate dismissal to take into account the ideological demographic change engendered by the sustained lawlessness and underdevelopment of two decades in the new Somalia on the other hand.
The firing of the parliament speaker (Quranic school teacher/warlord) in a chaotic way and the unconstitutional dismissal of the Prime Minister (the heavy-eyed one) would have made a big news if the TFG is a real government that functionally governs the country but on the contrary this event is received no better attention than the daily infighting among the TFG militia and their politicians that seldom dare to venture outside Nairobi. The public is conditioned to hear or read on the various Somali websites the foul play of the TFG and this in-flight is just a continuation of the messy culture of the TFG – far from a new phenomenon but an old age culture as this reminds the people Condolelza rice’s statement in 16/12/2006 in which she said “President Abdulahi Yusuf has no constitutional power to depose Premier Nur.”
The current TFG like its predecessors is confined to few blocks in Mogadishu guarded by AMISON troops; so whether the President appoints a new Prime Minister (alert and aggressive one) and speaker (Sharif Sakin – corrupt and illiterate Qat merchant) or chooses to persuade Mr. Sharmarke (the sleepy one) to resign silently; the reality is - it will make no difference on the ground – the TFG members will still be living in the barracks of AMISOM, will still be fighting among themselves and will still be observing their prayers in the presidential palace bunker mosque. The issue is not about the composition of the TFG but the legitimacy and relevance of the institution itself in the eyes of the Somalis.
The TFG faction of Sh. Sharif is mortally wounded and has its soul under the ground as it failed to deliver its supposed mandate - to assert its authority on the country. It was the intend of its sponsors (US, Ethiopia and Kenya) to use this faction to flush out the insurgent Islamists and to pacify the few other pockets through negotiations and other more civilian methods but it proved beyond any doubt that it failed to deliver even the bare minimum – to come out of the AMISOM garrisons and meet directly the people they are supposed to govern. Since its inception the TFG’s undisciplined militias that are known only to rape, rob and shell civilian residential areas and politicians in exile that sign out the resources of the country for few thousands of dollars are the only undisputed tangible outcome of Sharif’s TFG and as such the populace would have rejoiced if it fades away from the scene – the TFG only delivered death and destruction and to add an insult to injury the crooks are to rob the people off their money by funnelling a patch of printed fake currency in to Mogadishu – they shouldn’t be allowed to further starve the people their actions drove to destitution-the Islamists and the Bakara market traders already outlawed its use in Mogadishu.
The firing of the parliament speaker (Quranic school teacher/warlord) in a chaotic way and the unconstitutional dismissal of the Prime Minister (the heavy-eyed one) would have made a big news if the TFG is a real government that functionally governs the country but on the contrary this event is received no better attention than the daily infighting among the TFG militia and their politicians that seldom dare to venture outside Nairobi. The public is conditioned to hear or read on the various Somali websites the foul play of the TFG and this in-flight is just a continuation of the messy culture of the TFG – far from a new phenomenon but an old age culture as this reminds the people Condolelza rice’s statement in 16/12/2006 in which she said “President Abdulahi Yusuf has no constitutional power to depose Premier Nur.”
The current TFG like its predecessors is confined to few blocks in Mogadishu guarded by AMISON troops; so whether the President appoints a new Prime Minister (alert and aggressive one) and speaker (Sharif Sakin – corrupt and illiterate Qat merchant) or chooses to persuade Mr. Sharmarke (the sleepy one) to resign silently; the reality is - it will make no difference on the ground – the TFG members will still be living in the barracks of AMISOM, will still be fighting among themselves and will still be observing their prayers in the presidential palace bunker mosque. The issue is not about the composition of the TFG but the legitimacy and relevance of the institution itself in the eyes of the Somalis.
The TFG faction of Sh. Sharif is mortally wounded and has its soul under the ground as it failed to deliver its supposed mandate - to assert its authority on the country. It was the intend of its sponsors (US, Ethiopia and Kenya) to use this faction to flush out the insurgent Islamists and to pacify the few other pockets through negotiations and other more civilian methods but it proved beyond any doubt that it failed to deliver even the bare minimum – to come out of the AMISOM garrisons and meet directly the people they are supposed to govern. Since its inception the TFG’s undisciplined militias that are known only to rape, rob and shell civilian residential areas and politicians in exile that sign out the resources of the country for few thousands of dollars are the only undisputed tangible outcome of Sharif’s TFG and as such the populace would have rejoiced if it fades away from the scene – the TFG only delivered death and destruction and to add an insult to injury the crooks are to rob the people off their money by funnelling a patch of printed fake currency in to Mogadishu – they shouldn’t be allowed to further starve the people their actions drove to destitution-the Islamists and the Bakara market traders already outlawed its use in Mogadishu.
The chief architect and political engineer of this political manipulation is the infamous General Gabre who flattened the city and chased out President Sharif and his yester mates out of the country during the Christmas of 2006. Where ever he goes, like his shadow, bad luck follows the general as his arrival in Mogadishu coincided with the bombing of Bakara Market mosque by his own agents a fortnight ago.
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The General is delegated by his Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, to sort out the new Mogadishu (the few blocks guarded by AMISOM) as the same tiny enclave is literally administered like an Ethiopian military intelligence base. The Tigrayan style of governance is one that is based on disorder and deception – they say one thing and do the opposite. The Tigrayan regime in Addis is dictatorial and paranoid, one that can trust outright no group lest they turn against them at the last hour. To sustain the strangle hold on Somalia in a way to collect the rent from the US and to accrue undue diplomatic favours that helps them to suppress the pro democracy Ethiopian opposition; the TPLF (Tigryan regime) preferred over other constructive options to play the age old trick of divide along clan lines and keep the nation in disarray without any regard for the long-term negative implications of their acts – further confusion may bring forth a more radicalised breed than Al Shabab. Al Shabab and the TPLF both silenced international communication (BBC, VOA and internet sites) but at least the Islamists has more broader base then the exclusive Tigrayan junta that has the worst human rights violations in Africa and yet classed as US ally while the Islamists (revolutionary group against occupation) are labelled as terrorists – the long standing US double standard.
The Islamists are a force borne out of the chaotic situation of the country and are there, whether we love or loath them, to stay for the long term – only AMISOM occupation troops stand between them and the presidential palace. With all international aid and manpower the TFG failed to reclaim an inch of territory from the Islamists or an iota of legitimacy from the nation. The Islamists managed to send their cadres for training to Uganda and other countries at the expense of the unsuspecting US government and on top of that gets free arms and ammunitions for their fighters from the same sworn enemy of theirs without grace – their intelligence is second to none.
The international community must understand that it needs to update its arsenal, as the single archaic tool in their diplomatic brief case, is no more universal mode to deal with all conflict zones. It is the right time to realize to engage the Islamists rather than waste time on a project (TFG) that passed its sell by date – the Islamists are built-in in to the rank and file of the TFG and perhaps the tea boys in the presidential palace are their eyes and ears – no place is save from their infiltrates and imposters and for sure the departure date of AMISOM troops is fast approaching while the ultimate victory of the Islamists is just round the corner as the secularist platform is completely orphaned and abandoned.
The Islamists are a force borne out of the chaotic situation of the country and are there, whether we love or loath them, to stay for the long term – only AMISOM occupation troops stand between them and the presidential palace. With all international aid and manpower the TFG failed to reclaim an inch of territory from the Islamists or an iota of legitimacy from the nation. The Islamists managed to send their cadres for training to Uganda and other countries at the expense of the unsuspecting US government and on top of that gets free arms and ammunitions for their fighters from the same sworn enemy of theirs without grace – their intelligence is second to none.
The international community must understand that it needs to update its arsenal, as the single archaic tool in their diplomatic brief case, is no more universal mode to deal with all conflict zones. It is the right time to realize to engage the Islamists rather than waste time on a project (TFG) that passed its sell by date – the Islamists are built-in in to the rank and file of the TFG and perhaps the tea boys in the presidential palace are their eyes and ears – no place is save from their infiltrates and imposters and for sure the departure date of AMISOM troops is fast approaching while the ultimate victory of the Islamists is just round the corner as the secularist platform is completely orphaned and abandoned.
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