Diplomatic Gains and Disunited Somalis: Challenges to President Hassan

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Diplomatic Gains and Disunited Somalis:

Challenges to President Hassan

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By Faisal A. Roble

Jan 24, 2013

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Instead of promoting wedge politics in public, the nation expects from him words of wisdom that

call for “out of many, one” or E PLURIBUS UNUM.

President Hassan Mohamud’s visit to America during the week of January 16-19 could be

viewed as an episodic opportune time albeit a challenging one. Following a highly visible visit

with Secretary Hillary Clinton, a brief stint with President Obama, a robust discussion with the

World Bank, a well-received presentation at Center for Strategic and International Studies

(CSIC), and a face-to-face clash with a vocal and well organized Diaspora Somalis, President

Hassan would have enough on his plate once he reaches his tattered city of Mogadishu.

The 21-year-old diplomatic hiatus between Somalia and the US came to an end on January 16,

2013. As a result, Somalia may have inched towards reversing the course of a “failed state.” The

timely congratulatory note by the government of Puntland on the occasion of the resumption of

diplomatic relationship by USA with Somalia is an indication of Puntland’s majority and

dedication to the journey ahead. Puntland government also stressed that Somalia is country

where the power is divided and so does it expect matters to remain.

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My next article in this series would look at the reason why it is not the right time for lifting the

arms embargo. Suffice here to quote my colleague Markus V. Hoehne, who wrote on

Wardheernews.com: “it is also worth remembering that it was actually the western protected

and armed regime of Mohamed Siyad Barre (1969-91) against which Somali guerrillas rose in

the first place in the 1980s, and then the opening of the arms arsenal of the cold war (provided

by the usual suspects) that led to the state collapse in Somalia.”

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A press release by the government of Puntland said the following: “Puntland expects the

Somali Federal Government to adhere to the country’s adopted Federal Constitution, fairly

allocate share of international security sector support programs and planning to the regions of

Somalia, advance completion of the federal system of government in Somalia, support formation

of the remaining Federated States, promote genuine national reconciliation, establish the Upper 2

Diplomatic Gains and Disunited Somalis: Challenges to President Hassan

By Faisal A. Roble

Copyright © 2013 WardheerNews.com

Somalia in the past has misused its access to international financial institutions and arms

supplied by donor countries. The most recent past history of the 1990s civil war is a constant

reminder that such a recognition given back to Hassan, if not handled well, could enhance the

insecurity of its own citizens or even threaten the embryonic federal system.

The absence of diplomatic recognition has not been the root cause of Somalia’s debacle. On the

contrary, disunity and the manipulation of clan sentiments inside the country have always been

the source of Somalia’s ills, and both disunity and clan politics still thrive. Alas, the pervasive

disunity among the regions and clans is indeed worrisome and could wipe out this small gain

which has temporarily blurred the underlying division of Somalis.

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Sooner than later, the President better start assessing the challenges and complaints raised by

dissenting Diaspora groups.

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His attention to mending relations with critics and patching up his

fractured society is the only way his office can regain the legitimacy it so cherished only few

months ago, when millions of Somalis across the country

accorded to him a broad-based support. Putting an end to

his divisive rhetoric is as an urgent matter as any other

issue in the country.

Diplomatic Gains

Wearing a reflexive and knee-jerk smiles and vocal ‘aahs”

to denote agreement and satisfaction with his host,

President Hassan stood tall, as did previous Somali leaders

 

House of Federal Parliament to represent the Federated States in accordance with the

constitution, and enact equitable distribution of international humanitarian and development

assistance granted in the name of Somalia in a credible and transparent process.

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If the country is not in peace with itself, international recognition, translated by Somalis as

cash and military cache, could be more dangerous than expected. International recognition

shall not be translated by recalcitrant leaders as “boor ahaw ama buur ku tiirso,” meaning,

“You have to either be a power yourself or have a powerful friend”. Hassan Sheikh’s recent

rhetoric on the Jubland region has immensely contributed to clan strife among Somalia’s

disparate groups.

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According to Minneapolis based TV footages, there were about 500-600 highly committed and

foot soldiers who vocally demonstrated against the President’s visit. They claim that he is

biased against certain groups of the nation and does undermine the local governance of the

Jubaland regions; they also called for maintaining the arms embargo which the world imposed

on Somalia following the vicious clan wars of the 1990s. 3

Diplomatic Gains and Disunited Somalis: Challenges to President Hassan

By Faisal A. Roble

Copyright © 2013 WardheerNews.com

before the civil war, besides Secretary Clinton; he proudly accepted her proposal to resume the

US diplomatic relationship with his country. He deservedly reveled and basked in the victory

while meeting with different Somali Diaspora groups in Washington DC and in Minneapolis.

This was a triumphant moment that should never result in a politics of triumphantalism.

Without qualifying the President’s victory, one must recognize that he should have mentioned

that this victory came on the heels of previous Transitional Governments’ leaders and the ground

work they laid down for this moment to arrive. The President should have recognized them to

show humility and maturity lest these attributes are important in politics. Unfortunately, the

egoistic nature and his triumphalism stood in the way.

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The suspension of the US-Somali diplomatic relation was precipitated by the botched Black

Hawk Down in 1993 during President Clinton’s term. The ill-conceived mission to capture the

late warlord Aidid Farah under a United Nations mandate

(UNISOM 2) ended up in the killing of eighteen rangers whose

dead bodies’ war gorily paraded in the streets of Mogadishu.

That failed mission became a source of significant irritation and

headache for the administration of President Clinton and his then

Secretary for Defense, Les Aspen.

As a result of his failed mission in Somalia, the late Secretary

Aspen suffered a massive heart attack in the West Wing of the

White House that ultimately claimed his life. Some even

attributed his death to his failure and stress associated with the

failed Somalia mission. President Clinton on his part ordered

afterwards his aids to never raise the Somali issues in the White House corridors. Somalia

became a “dirty” word not to be uttered in his presence.

The Clintons have had something akin to a hate-love-relationship with Somalia. While President

Clinton never felt comfortable with Somalia, even when he authorized 26,000 troops to be sent

there or working through warlords in the 1990s, his wife, Secretary Clinton, empathized with

 

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The renewed reengagement of Somalia by the US government would have been impossible

without several factors, including the role the late Abdulahi Yusuf played in the “war on terror,’

the massive and valuable intelligence materials Sharif Ahmed passed on to the CIA and

Puntland’s and Somaliland’s unquestionable ability to stabilize their respective regions,4

Diplomatic Gains and Disunited Somalis: Challenges to President Hassan

By Faisal A. Roble

Copyright © 2013 WardheerNews.com

Somali indigents, especially the week and the women.

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That empathy was feasible on her tiredlooking face when she delivered the congratulatory news to President Hassan at the lawn of the

recommendation.

Faisal A. Roble

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

State Department.

Was this rushed and unexpected switch of US policy towards Somalia a quest by Hillary Clinton

to leave a legacy behind and a personal attempt to clear her husband’s baggage with Somalia?

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Time will tell or we would know it when some of the documents on Somalia are de-classified.

Until then, the resumption of the relationship is a welcome matter for Somalia.

Patching up a Fractured Society

In his multiple speeches and presentations, President Hassan talked about security, what he

called “a six-point plan” and his commitment to federalism. He often touched the right notes,

like empowerment of the masses, cleaning up corruption and ending the nomenclature of “failed

state” reserved for Somalia. Nonetheless, his rhetoric at times sounded as if they were directly

borrowed from NGOs’ and PVOs’ text books; these phrases often mean nothing and amount to

nothing more than well choreographed empty jargons and buzz words.

What left a bad after taste, though, is that he rubbed sore spots by carelessly flirting with two

issues that, one may assume, were meant to energize and ignite the passion of his political base.

However, these comments gauge either his political naiveté or the political novice of his

administration.

First, he asked all Somalis to forget and forgive what had happened in the past and look to the

future. But how can Somalis forget the bombardment of Hargaisa by South African piloted

mercenaries, the poisoning of water wells of Mudug and Bari regions, or the massive accounts of

atrocities of the 1990s civil war that professor Lidwien Kapteijins of Wellesley College details in

her new book, “Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 199a”? It is an impossible

task for Somali to deliver to the President.

Secondly and more gravely, what he said in reference to the conflict and brouhaha on the

Jubaland that “a person who came from 1,000 Kilometer will not lead Jubaland’s governance,”

 

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The Clinton administration, from 1993-1998 and the Bush Administration worked and armed

various warlords, including Muse Suudi Yalaxow, Qanyare, Rage, and Mohamed Dheere whose

might was broken and defeated by the Union of Islamic Courts.

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In a recent interview with Somali Channel (dated January 19, 2013), Dr Ali Khalif Galydh,

whose aptitude in reading the tea how the Western world operates, viewed the sudden and

hastily orchestrated visit of the President of Somalia to Washington on the weekend of Obama’s

inauguration for his second term, a period when Washington is close 5

Diplomatic Gains and Disunited Somalis: Challenges to President Hassan

By Faisal A. Roble

Copyright © 2013 WardheerNews.com

or “Nin kun kilometer ka yimid uma ogalaanayno in uu dowlad u dhiso Jubooyinka” is troubling

and divisive and a clear revisionist of Somali history and the oneness of the Somalia people.

Who are these people he is talking about? His comments were interpreted differently by

different people. Some even extended it to real persons.

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Is he talking about the governor of

Kismayo or the governor of Banadir (governor Tarzan) as both are transplanted from Qorahay

and Mustaxiil, respectively? One can easily be persuaded that the President is not referring to the

governor of Bandari (who was born in Mustaxiil) for he and said governor are political bedfollows from the same clan. His comments undoubtedly appear shrewd on the surface but have

the malicious intent of “otheri-ing” some individuals while embracing others. If left unchecked,

this witch-hunt and manipulation of Somalia’s lethal weapon called “clanism” could and may

have serious import for the nation.

One may ask: why is the President so passionate so publicly about Jubbland at this juncture in

the history of this fractured country. The most obvious reason seems to be that may be, and only

may be, he is trying to appeal to a radical constituent who hold him and his political views

hostage to the days of the “ruinous” civil war of 1990s.

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If so, one surmises that the President is

playing the politics of “us versus them.” Instead of promoting wedge politics in public, the

nation expects from him words of wisdom that call for “out of many, one,” or E PLURIBUS

UNUM.

Otherwise, division and wedge politics in Somalia will perpetuate the “failed state” status of the

last 22 years.

The Somali public must and shall demand public explanation or/and apology on this matter so

that the President can move on to attend to the business for which the nation entrusted in him.

The President, although most of the ideas he presented appealed to the peace-hungry masses,

avoided certain key questions related to the looted/disputed properties in Mogadishu and the

 

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It is also reported that a women’s group who met with him in Washington DC, in the hope of

engendering peace and understanding between his camp and those who oppose him, came out

with empty hand, disappointed. Some of them latter on shared their feelings and said that this

President is travelling on a dangerous and unpredictable course.

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A Somali parliamentarian who has met with him in Mogadishu informed this author that

President Hassan appears to helplessly be a hostage to a radical group (clan and religious wise)

that is literally suffocating him. The same parliamentarian, who empathizes with the President,

informed me that President Hassan is aware of this suffocation and is looking for a safe way out

before he get joked to death. 6

Diplomatic Gains and Disunited Somalis: Challenges to President Hassan

By Faisal A. Roble

Copyright © 2013 WardheerNews.com

diversification of the administration of that city. A capital of the nation should smell and behave

as a national mosaic city. If the President is not willing to clean up Mogadishu and reorganize it

in the image of Somalia, then a national broad-based discourse of selecting the most appropriate

National City is due.

For the sake of patching up the fracture nation, the President shall attend to the following

matters:

1. Establish an independent national commission, accountable to the President and the

national parliament, to study and develop recommendations on how to address the

question of looted/disputed private and public properties in Mogadishu. This issue

should be dealt at three categories with each having a distinct timeline for research and

resolution not necessarily in the following sequence: (a) residential properties; b)

commercial properties; and © public owned land and buildings that are occupied

illegally.

2. Impose a one-year moratorium on all disputed properties not to add, demolish or sell or

put under escrow any disputed properties in Mogadishu until the results of the

commission are in place. This will help stop the unregulated changes to looted/disputed

properties and help reverse past trends resulted from the civil while ensuring that future

investment in Mogadishu is safe and protected,

3. Draft a vision and a master plan showing the road map as to recreate a diversified

Mogadishu so as to make it in the image of the nation, or recommend on the need to

move the nation’s capital from Mogadishu. If Mogadishu stays the National City, it has

to diversify its higher echelon of power seats.

4. Empower the people of Jubaland, Bay, Hiraan or any other entity in the country that is a

member of the federal system without provoking one while endorsing another. In that

connection, he also needs to apologize to the nation for his “other-ing” of some groups in

the hope that he can re-unite the sprite of his nation.

Without resolving these issues, the President’s cry for “one man one vote” is an unattainable

mirage and an empty rhetoric. National traumas like the one that befall on Somalia can’t be

wished away. The nation does not have a magic wand to wipe out pains of the past, and 7

Diplomatic Gains and Disunited Somalis: Challenges to President Hassan

By Faisal A. Roble

Copyright © 2013 WardheerNews.com

therefore needs a workable reconciliation and recovery plan that mirror the above mentioned

[QansaxMeygaag]

Ah, Faisal Roble is at it again? Can the man have a firm stand on things, he keeps flip-flopping....