Death Knell rings for TFG

[Qudhac]

As the Somali “national” reconciliation conference in Kenya gave birth prematurely to the Transitional Federal Government TFG (or Tigray Founded Government), in October 2004, the demise of the foreign-imposed rogue regime appeared on the horizon. Colonel Abdullahi Yussuf—an inept leader at the helm, and the greatest hog at the trough—no sooner than parachuted into the presidential seat, demanded the deployment of foreign troops—not aid—to Somalia.

 

 

 

Worse yet, the TFG made fetish out its version of terrorism, and smeared anyone that stepped on its shadow as being a member of Al-Qaeda. That is any opposition to the TFG's policy is tantamounted to "terrorism". However, both Col. Abudullahi Yussuf’s carrying wolfs about imagined Al-Qaeda hideouts in Mogadishu, and the deployment of foreign troops to Somalia proved effective in warning of an impending disaster. But no one paid a scant attention to the ominous disaster—the tinderbox—that appeared on the horizon.

 

 

 

Almost a year later, the Ethiopian killing machines squished to death over 2000 Somali civilians, and thousands more may also perish due to starvations and diseases. The lucky ones that escaped from death are either shipped to the Ethiopian torture chambers or terrorized in their motherland. What’s more, thousands of Somali intellectuals, tribal leaders, and young men also found themselves prisoners in their own country. Rape of Somali women is rampant and unreported due to the Somali cultural taboo which further victimizes the victims.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Mogadishu has been pulverized to dust. Factories, businesses, and properties are either destroyed or looted by the Ethiopian troops, Abdullahi Yussuf’s militias, and local gangs. Bililiqo all over again! A city that was once booming is now deserted. And Mogadishu shares the same fate as Hargeisa, the Somaliland capital, went through in late 80s.

 

 

 

Worse still, the Somali Diasporas that invested every penny of their savings into businesses in Mogadishu for the past two decades, now face the grim reality of starting everything from scratch.

 

 

 

On the other hand, many baffled Somalis struggle to understand the TFG’s logic and wish to take a journey into its mind. Good luck! How does the TFG's logic work? Is it the more civilians slaughtered, the sooner the TFG would establish its legitimacy in Somalia; or is it the more destruction inflected against the country, the quicker civilians would be cowed to submit to the TFG’s demands? Is that what the TFG’s creativity and nation building approaches are all about? This is a mind-boggling exercise!

 

 

 

Surprisingly, everything that the TFG has done so far has been counter-productive. As it seems none of its members have any knowledge of public relations. The TFG’s logic is nothing, but a gangstersm and thuggish. To transform the TFG gangs from warlords to peace-lords, took many turns and twists but produced only quisling leaders. You can’t teach an old dog new trick. In Somalia, the future looks even bleaker than it was few years ago.

 

 

 

However, while foreign occupation forces disguised as “peacekeepers” surround and safeguard the TFG from the “terrorists”—the Somali citizens—the same vultures that feasted on dead bodies of civilians in Mogadishu also wait impatiently for the demise of the TF, and the death knell may soon ring.

 

 

 

Dalmar Kaahin

 

Ottawa, Canada