From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri May 21 2010 - 07:08:51 EDT
Eritrea's Submission To The Security Council On Peace And Justice In Somalia
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21.05.2010
For the past 19 years, Somalia has been gripped in a spiral of internecine
conflicts and intractable clan cleavages without respite. If has been
virtually reduced to a theatre of chronic rivalry between warlords with
ever-shifting alliances. In spite of its relative ethnic, racial and
religious homogeneity, especially by African standards, Somalia remains
today fragmented into several mini-States: Somali-land, Punt-land,
Benadir-Land etc. The country has become the "epitome" of a "Failed State"
with all the tragic consequences that this implies to its citizens.
The extortion of its citizens by ruthless and callous warlords; the
mushrooming and proliferation of piracy along its coasts and adjacent sea
lanes; the unconscionable plundering of its maritime resources by extraneous
forces; the instrumentalization of the weak and fragmented entities by
neighboring countries both to extract unfair and illicit agreements or to
use these fragile Mini-States as an appendage of their domestic economies
are some of the disturbing realities that this simmering Somali situation
has given rise to.
As a result of this poignant state of affairs, tens of thousands of Somalis
have lost their lives. Hundreds of thousands more have been driven into
internal dislocation; compelled to seek refuge abroad; and/or, are living in
very abject conditions. The crisis has gone beyond Somalia to affect the
stability of the Horn of Africa as a whole. The situation is, furthermore,
deteriorating from bad to worse almost on a daily basis.
Somalia's problems may have indigenous or local origins. But this is only
part of the story. Perceived geopolitical considerations. by major powers
and regional actors, military involvement of external forces,
misrepresentation of Somali political realities in the aftermath of
September 11, and the failure of several ill-conceived peace initiatives
have further compounded the internal commotion.
The crisis that we see unfolding today is the byproduct of all these
complications. Clearly, the complexity of the situation and the multiplicity
of the actors cannot be a reason to absolve the main internal and external
players who have willfully exacerbated the crisis in Somalia to induce gross
and unparalleled sufferings on its population. Eritrea maintains that the UN
Security Council ought to launch a comprehensive investigation of the crisis
in Somalia from its origins through its truncated evolution with a view to
finding a durable solution and ending impunity.
In Eritrea's views, those who bear prime responsibility for the immense
sufferings of the Somali people are: i) Somalia's warlords; ii) Somalia's
immediate neighbors; and iii) the misguided policies of successive US
Administrations.
i) Somalia's Warlords:
Somalia's warlords are primarily responsible for the turmoil and mayhem that
has seized Somalia since 1991. The practices of flagrant extortion,
banditry; piracy and wanton killing of civilians and ransacking of their
property are war crimes that cannot be justified by the absence and
fragmentation of central political authority.
ii) Somalia's Immediate Neighbors:
a) Ethiopia: Among Somalia's immediate neighbors, Ethiopia bears highest
responsibility for its intermittent military invasions of Somalia and other
deliberate acts aimed at destabilizing the country in order to make it
fragile and divided. Ethiopia's motivations emanate from historical
animosity between the two countries - Ethiopia and Somalia had gone to war
twice (1964 and 1977) prior to the current crisis - on account of the
Ogaden. Ethiopia used this historical baggage and its domestic internal
problems to work relentlessly since 1991 to bring about the fragmentation of
Somalia. Ethiopia was instrumental in encouraging the unilateral separation
of Somali-land without due process of law and popular plebiscite.
Furthermore, Ethiopia violated UN Security Council Resolution 1725 (2006) to
invade Somalia at the end of 2006. Ethiopia's invasion was responsible for
the displacement of around half a million Somalis and the death and maiming
of thousands. It must be borne in mind that Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia
represented a clear act of aggression and violation of international law.
b) Kenya and Djibouti: These two governments are also increasingly involved
in exacerbating the current crisis in Somalia. Both countries have
historically had strained relations with independent Somalia since the 1960s
because of their adjoining regions and territories (French Somali-land
(Djibouti) and the Northern Eastern District in Kenya) invariably inhabited
by ethnic Somalis and which were incorporated - in constitutional terms - by
the newly independent Somalia. With the encouragement of the United States,
both Kenya and Djibouti have increasingly augmented their involvements in
the internal affairs of Somalia in the recent years further polarizing and
poisoning the Somali political landscape.
c) The Misguided Policies of the United States: In 1992, the Bush
Administration decided to intervene in Somalia under "humanitarian"
considerations. At the time, many in the region, including Eritrea, had
voiced their reservations about an external military intervention that was
not predicated on a well thought-out peace formula. US military presence in
Somalia came to an abrupt end when a mission by US forces to capture General
Aideed was ambushed and several US army men killed and brutally dragged in
the streets of Mogadishu. The United States was largely absent from the
Somali political arena until the recent times. But its recent interventions
under the rubric of "combating terrorism" have not only been
counterproductive but have contributed to worsening the situation in
Somalia. The United States provided financial support to notorious warlords
in 2006 in its ill-conceived efforts to counter-balance the growing
influence of the Union of Islamic Courts. Washington then pushed Ethiopia to
invade Somalia in contravention of international law and UN Security
Resolutions. In the past years since then, US jet bombers and drones have
carried out several aerial bombings in Somalia and also provided arms,
further inflaming the situation.
Eritrea requests for a sober assessment of these facets of the Somali crisis
with a view to taking remedial action. Eritrea further believes that a
durable and viable solution to the Somalia crisis should be predicated on:
i) The long term objective must be the restoration of a unitary Somali State
with effective institutions of central government.
ii) If the desire is to divide Somalia into several Mini-States (Somaliland,
Punt-land; Juba-Land; Benadir-Land; ... etc), this should transpire only
when and after the requisite legal and political processes are consummated.
To tolerate as accomplished facts the proliferation of fragmented and
non-sovereign entities for an indefinite period' of time is not only devoid
of legal, political and moral justifications but it is also tantamount to
relegating the Somali people and the Horn of Africa region to a situation of
perpetual crisis and destruction.
iii) A "Transitional Political Arrangement" which paves the ground for
achieving the ultimate goal or which can be operational in the interim
period, needs to be in place. To this end, a "Transitional Administration"
would be formed with a clear mandate and for a specific time-frame. (The
flawed approach, repeated three times in recent years, of imposing in
Mogadishu of an externally established government with presumed sovereign
legitimacy and authority on the county as a whole must be avoided for
obvious reasons).
iv) In order to expedite the formation of the "Transitional Political
Arrangement" and the "Transitional Administration", an inclusive political
process would be set in motion. It must be recognized that this process
cannot be achieved through a quick-fix. It would also be vital to ensure
that the process is not hampered and distorted by unacceptable
pre-conditions and/or the exclusion of important stakeholders. In this
regard, the role of facilitators would be critical.
v) The vital issue of the "very survival of Somalia" should not be
intertwined with the problem of "terrorism". The "war against terror" must
be identified clearly by mapping out a common strategy as well as the
mechanism of its implementation. In this connection, it must be acknowledged
that the ultimate remedy rests on the existence of an effective Somali
Government that is equipped with effective institution of defense and
security. Other alternative or interim arrangements will not indeed bring
about a lasting solution.
vi) That the United States can play a pivotal and constructive role is
evident indeed. It is however essential that it disengage first from its
on-going, ill-advised involvement. This will require a fresh start and a new
engagement on the basis of revised policies and strategies.
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