From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Jul 19 2010 - 18:38:42 EDT
Pathway to End the Somalia War
Dr. M. Omar Hashi -
19/07/2010
_____
Mareeg.com- The most pressing international crisis of the 21st century is
ending the intractable
Somalia conflict and achieving a rapprochement between the West and the long
suffering Somali people.
The Somali conflict will always remain an internationally driven war whose
initial
rationale, objectives and outcomes have now become largely meaningless for
all
stakeholders involved, Somali and foreign alike.
The Western powers, namely the United States and EU for the past 19 years
have
justified continuing a failed policy of funding Ethiopian belligerence in
one form
or another; propping up useless and corrupt "TFG warlords"; supporting
Ethiopian-
allied genocidal Uganda-Burundi so called AMISOM occupation- all on the
faulty
premise that "Ethiopia" would be threatened by a peaceful, united and
prosperous
"Somalia".
Despite having no evidence or basis for continuing such a destructive and
illogical
foreign policy, the United States persists in depriving the Somali people of
a state
and itself of huge economic prospects in the country.
Somalia's untapped potential versus the destructive status quo
Somalia is a land richly endowed with abundant natural resources, strategic
positioning, and a globally connected entrepreneurial class. In fact, it may
well be
the case that with the right management, technical expertise and foreign
direct
investment Somalia's natural resources- including the largest reserves of
oil and
gas in the Northern regions of Somaliland, as well as proven uranium ore in
the
Galguduud region of Central Somalia- can largely rebuild itself. However,
Western
policy to date has blocked the realization of these huge economic potential
and
instead resulted in the continuation of an endless regional war under the
guise of
containing an imaginary "Somalia threat".
For the Somali people-the real victims- have long become too traumatized and
divided
by the legacy of clannish wars; intermittent localized conflicts over
territory and
resources, and politically undermined by the usurpation of uneducated
Ethiopian
lackeys and warlords (foremost being the criminal Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
clique) to
really do anything meaningful to stop this disaster. The only viable
option open
to Somali people since the collapse of the Siad Barre regime has been to
continuously adjust locally to survive the vagaries of Western schemes for
Somalia,
hatched up as they are in New York and Washington - the so called "TFG
reincarnations" ( TFG- Arta, Djibouti I, TFG-Emgathi, Kenya II, TFG-
Djibouti III).
Therefore, the West is caught in a quagmire of its own making in Somalia
where it
does not want to admit decades of failure, but nevertheless ends up
continuing to
fail believing that there is" no other alternative but war" (what Ethiopian
dictator
Meles Zinawi euphemistically calls "stabilizing Somalia"). Thus, the
Western powers
led by the United States stubbornly maintain a destructive intervention in
the
Somalia affairs with no benefit in sight.
In short, this is the status quo of failure and why the Somalia conflict
continues
hopelessly for the Western stakeholders and the Somali people alike. Today,
no
Western leader is yet able to explain how the Somalia war ( going on its
20th year)
has become so futile and illogical that is truly without any benefit for the
Western
interest, be it short term and long-term.
Solution: Pathway to End the Somalia War
There is a solution to this malaise and one worth trying. The only pathway
out of
the intractable Somalia conflict is the realization, first and foremost by
the
Western powers, that Somali people have a right to self- determination of
their
affairs. The US and EU should not see Somalia as a threat, but they should
rather
embrace the Somali people as partners in helping to develop Somalia's
abundant
natural resources and foster regional cooperation.
In the end for real peace and international cooperation to prevail in
Somalia, the
United States in particular will have to publically re-affirm that it will
genuinely
accept the will of the Somali people to reconcile and reconstitute the
Somali state
as independent sovereign nation.
Disingenuous past attempts to use the useless African Union or bogus IGAD
dictatorships as some kind of potential interlocker will only perpetuate the
same
failure and worsen the bloodshed that we are seeing in Somalia today.
Secondly, the broad spectrum of Somali people living inside the country and
in the
Diaspora ( in Europe, North America, Middle East, Australia) should come
together
and nominate representatives (that is to say, respected religious leaders,
businessmen, clan elders, women's groups, skilled professionals, educators,
journalists, former diplomats) for genuine national discussions on the
future of
the country.
These national discussions, unlike before, should be open to all Somalis and
be free
from those unscrupulous mercenaries who would serve only the interests of
Ethiopian
dictatorship to sabotage Somalia's future.
The spurious contention that Somalis cannot make peace in Somalia is nothing
but a
convenient lie that has become a dangerous smokescreen for the West to
cynically
avoid dealing with the Somali crisis.
Conclusion
The Somali crisis has only gotten worse with time, so much so that Western
media is
incessantly talking about the radicalization of Somali young people living
in the
Diaspora. It should be noted that none of these young Somali people have
ever seen
their homeland or understand Somalia's history, but they are nevertheless
understandably enraged at the West for failing to end the destructive
conditions in
place-such as Ethiopian and AMISOM war crimes- which is preventing a return
home for
their families.
If the West truly wants to bring mutual understanding and fix the Somalia
catastrophe, then it should start by giving the Somali people the real
opportunity
and diplomatic space for genuine national dialogue in a neutral setting.
Accordingly, I propose for historical and political reasons holding such a
combined
UN and Arab League National Reconstitution Conference for Somalia in Dar es
Salaam,
Tanzania where Somali delegates from all walks of life and opinions can come
together to resolve the three fundamental concerns of the Somalia conflict,
namely:
1. Political Representation
2. The sharing of economic resources
3. Justice
Key Recommendations
Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, former President of Malaysia- who enjoys the high
regard
of Somalis given the assistance Malaysia provides for Somali citizens to
study-
should be appointed as Special UN and Arab League Mediator for the Somalia
talks in
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
US diplomat Michael Zorick, formerly Somali political affairs officer at the
US
embassy in Kenya should be appointed as US Special Envoy to the talks.
Michael
Zorick is the only American diplomat who not only can represent US interests
in
Somalia, but also has rare credibility in the eyes of the Somalia public for
his
courageous stance in opposing the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia.
The Conference should be predicated on the organizing principle that the
Somalia
problem is for the Somali people to resolve.
A Governing National Council with a rotating presidency of six months should
be
established. In such an arrangement political power, economic resources, and
justice
issues should be delegated to specialized Governmental committees whose
members have
the required training and experience to execute their mandate.
The new Parliament of Somalia should be restricted to 130 members who are
vetted for
ties to war crimes and other human rights abuses committed during the
Somalia war.
Each Somali sub-clan constituency should nominate two members to represent
them in
the National Parliament. wadijir@hotmail.com
<http://mareeg.com/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=wadijir%40h
otmail.com>
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----