January
2, 2013
The setting up of local
public administration in the regions of Gedo, Lower Jubba and Middle Jubba yet
to be entirely liberated from the Al Qaeda affiliated Al Shabab has generated
passionate debate for four reasons. First, as result of clan based federalism, it stirred the majority and minority struggle between
communities in those regions at village, district and regional levels. Second, it
brought to the front the divergent interests and goals of the multiple foreign,
national and local actors claiming stakes in the process; Third, it represented
a special significance for the federal government since it defines the values
and meaning of the post-transition political dispensation and concretizes
implementation of the Provisional Constitution (PC) on territorial jurisdiction
and citizenship supremacy. Fourth, the ban of the UN Security Council on the
export of the charcoal piled up in the area hit hard the local economy.
Concomitantly, the
debate has reignited clan grievances and repudiation of past reconciliation. Lies,
clan scapegoating and foreign praise over fellow citizens filled in the
avalanche of opinion articles published by certain respected Somali websites
like Wardheernews (WDN) or said in some gatherings of the Somali Diaspora, call
for clarification and appeal for reality
check. See Goobaale delegation, Somalia's constitutional
decomposition.
The claims that General
Mohamed Roble Jim'ale Gobale and General Yusuf Mohamed Siad Indha’adde were
members or leaders of the delegation sent by the federal Government to Kismaio
are deliberately fabricated lies with sinister objectives. The attack against them,
their sub clan, the defunct Jubba Valley Alliance (JVA) at this juncture will
not rectify any abuse suffered by certain individuals or groups. The infinite narration
of grievances from all Somali groups constitutes the misfortune of Somalia.
The names of the FG delegation sent to Kismaio are
the following:
1.
Gen. Abdullahi Ali Anod Somali National Army
2.
Mr. Liban Abdulqadir Hiddig Ministry of Finance
3.
Mr. Hussein Abdi Shakul Ministry of Interior
4.
Mr. Ahmed Abdikarim Hussein Port Authority
5.
Mr. Hamza R Civil Society
6.
Mr. Abdishakur Ali Mire Civil Society
7.
Mr. Ali Yusuf Hersi Expert
8.
Miss Barlin Mohamed Ali Environmental Activist
9.
Mr. Salad Elmi Ahmed Chamber of Commerce
The delegation was
accompanied by the spokesman of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Gen
Osman Subagle and a group of independent journalists. The unfulfilled objectives
of the mission were three:
a)
To discuss with
the newly formed authority in Kismaio the process for establishing a permanent
administration at district and regional levels;
b)
To consult with
the local authority, business community, traditional leaders and AMISOM
officials about the charcoal available at Kismaio port and surrounding areas;
c)
To assess the
support and cooperation needed to strengthen the security situation in the city and the
region.
The crimes and abuses committed
during the civil war have been discussed in the Somali peace and reconciliation
conferences held in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, New York, Egypt and
other places. All those reconciliations were participated by “faction cum clan”
representatives. , some insist that the
agreements reached in these conferences were not sufficient to redress the
crimes committed. This group will probably be energized by the new book of
Prof. Lidwein Kapteijins with the title “Clan Cleansing in
Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991.” I’m looking forward to reading
the book but I assume that the following excerpts of WardheerNews’ Editor’s
note introducing an interview with the author summarize the book’s negative
effects:
It
[book] will no doubt bring back memories
that many have buried away to move
forward with their lives. Witnessing a country that is still divided along clan lines, we hope this book is the
beginning of the dialogue needed to come to terms with the violence that has transpired the homeland.
Others argue that the reconciliation
agreements were consensual collective decisions
rooted in the Somali traditions, embraced since 2000 and key to moving forward
for the formation of transitional governments on behalf of the Somali people
and for the ratification of the new provisional constitution which symbolizes
national unity in 2012. Most probably, many triggers of Somalia’s clan violence,
which moved from rural to urban settlements, eludes the well crafted definitions
and explanations by scholars sucked in the clan maelstrom of Somalia. The
sovereign coercive power of Government based on the rule of law for justice,
fairness and accountability is the best tool for preventing and eliminating
clan violence in Somalia.
Many warlords, former
politicians and security officials accused of serious crimes participated those
reconciliations and became members of parliament and leaders of the successive national
governments. During the formation of the current federal government in September
2012, the international sponsors of the roadmap process attempted to exclude
former warlords and politicians suspected of crimes but at the end of the day
those targeted have been absolved and sworn-in as members of the federal
parliament. This fact must inform us that the debate over the the civil war
crimes should be kept in perspective but should not spoil the highest goal of
forming a national government which has to serve the present and future
generations of Somalia.
A brief review of the surreal
metamorphosis the leader of Raskamboni militia, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam
(Ahmed Madobe) underwent in seven years provides an example of the complexity
of the Somali problem. During the invasion and occupation of Ethiopia in Somalia
in 2005, Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, General Mohamed Gobale and Yusuf Indha’adde were
allies under the Islamic Court Union (ICU).
The Raskamboni leader touts himself as one of the key founders of Al
Shabab in Mogadishu and became the Governor (Wali) of Al Shabab/in Kismaio. Later,
he was wounded and captured as terrorist and handed over to Ethiopia where he
was treated and released to join the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) led
by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. He then defected and joined Hizbul Islam led by
Dr. Sheikh Omar Iman Abubakar and Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys battling along side
Al Shabab against the TFG. Again, Sheikh Ahmed Madobe became leader in Kismaio
before Al Shabab suspected him of disloyalty and chased him out of Kismaio.
When Hizbul Islam
merged with Al Shabab, Sheikh Ahmed Madobe left Hizbul Islam, entered deal with
Ethiopia and Kenya and declared war against Al Shabab. Prof Mohamed Abdi
Ghandi, president of Azania State-another name of Jubba and Gedo regions,
rejects Sheikh Ahmed Madobe’s leadership. In the face of this puzzling background,
the local population must be granted the opportunity and structure to exercise their
constitutional power for the selection/election of their leaders.
It is vile to fabricate
lies or insult clans in order to criticize the performance or policy positions
of the federal government or to tramp the rights of citizens of Somalia. The following words of late
Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi quoted from his interview with Newsweek on April
9, 2008 must haunt forever the moral fiber of Somalis:
An oversupply of national sentiment is not the problem in
Somalia. The problem in Somalia is a lack of it. The problem in Somalia is
oversupply sub sub clannish attitude. Our efforts together with the TFG have
been focused on bridging the gaps of the sub sub sub clans of Somalia…………
The
above statement must be the mirror to which every Somali must look every
morning. As remainder, in Sura Ra’ad (13:11) Allah says :” ……..Verily never will Allah Change the
Condition of a People until They Change what is
in Themselves……….” Thus, without commonly disproving the above
characterization and adhering to Allah’s message, the future of Somalia is
doomed.
Mr.
Mohamud M Uluso
mohamuduluso@gmail.com
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