The Somali Manifesto and what should have been

By MOHAMED HAJI  (email the author)

Posted Sunday, December 26 2010 at 17:10

The making of the Somali Manifesto twenty years ago was a turning point in Somali history.

On May 15 1990, something of a miracle happened in Mogadishu when 114 intellectual and economic élites consisting of the most brilliant politicians as well as prominent professionals of the nation issued an manifesto and sent it to Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, urging him to step down in order to salvage the nation from complete collapse. That manifesto was prophetic.

The Somali élites, later to be called ‘Manifesto group’, explicitly wrote:

We, the undersigned elders, who took part in the national struggle for independence – sultans and chiefs of the Somali communities from the various regions, religious leaders, businessmen, intellectuals and others – strongly and unanimously feel that we can no longer remain passive spectators, nor ignore the duties and responsibilities that we owe to our people and our country, both from Somali and Islamic points of view, given the sufferings, the bloodshed and the incalculable loss of life and property that our people have suffered for so long; as well as all the consequent unforeseeable and negative repercussion and risks that these may result vis-à-vis our national integrity and security.

Among others things, we are deeply disturbed by;Read More