Israeli offer causes cracks in Kenya’s diplomatic offensive
Prime Minister Raila Odinga with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Tel Aviv during Mr Odinga’s recent visit. Photo/PMPS
By MUGUMO MUNENE mmunene_at_ke.nationmedia.com Posted Saturday, November 19 2011 at 22:30
The government is staring at a diplomatic crisis over the war against Al-Shabaab with top officials taking contradicting positions on whether Kenya should accept Israeli help.
The divisions came to the open on Friday when Defence Minister Yusuf Haji contradicted Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s move to look for help from Israel for Kenya’s onslaught against the Al-Shabaab militants. (Read: Israeli experts to help police secure towns)
Mr Haji suggested that the position expressed by Mr Odinga when he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “probably personal” and did not fall in with the wider strategy to seek international support.
The Defence Minister spoke a day after Mr Odinga returned home after his visit to Israel.
“We have not dealt with any individual state and neither have we asked for any assistance. As Minister for Defence in charge of the operation, I can tell you that there is no time when the Kenya Government has decided to contact any country except through Igad, AU, EU and the UN,” Mr Haji said.
But on Saturday, the Prime Minister’s office sought to clarify that the nature of help he asked for during his visit to Israel was about homeland security and not the external pursuit of Al-Shabaab militants.
The PM’s spokesman, Mr Dennis Onyango, said Mr Odinga’s discussions in Israel had nothing to do with defence, which focuses on external threats to the nation.
“It was about internal security, focusing on home-based threats to security. That is why it was signed by Internal Security minister. It was not about Operation Linda Nchi or any cross-border operations. It was about increasing the capacity of police to detect and pre-empt crimes, including deterring recruitment of Kenyans into criminal networks. It was based on an understanding that the capacity to detect and arrest criminals, not necessarily Al-Shabaab, is lacking,” said Mr Onyango.
“Up to today, nobody knows who bombed the “No Rally” at Uhuru Park last year. Nobody knows how the grenade found in the PM’s office compound a few weeks ago got there. Nobody knows the arms being kept by criminals in the country. Nobody knows how militants have been able to tell which guests are in which hotels and come for them as happened at the Coast. The agreement was therefore not about the operation in Somalia. It’s about these internal threats. Israel was clear it did not intend to provide air surveillance or help Kenya pursue external threats. The agreement consistently talks of homeland security.”
Mr Haji briefed EU ambassadors to Nairobi on Friday at the Serena Hotel on why Kenya had entered Somalia and the help it needed to treat and feed the population in “liberated areas”.
“We have told them that we need food and medical aid for the civilian population in the liberated areas. We have also told them that we have no expansionist intentions. I’m not aware of any other support for the military,” he added.
The diplomatic charm offensive was started by Mr Haji and his Foreign Affairs counterpart Moses Wetang’ula who first briefed the Heads of State of neighbouring Uganda and Ethiopia.
They also visited Burundi, and then approached the African Union in Addis Ababa.
This week, Mr Wetang’ula travelled to Morocco to seek humanitarian and medical assistance for residents in the areas from which Al-Shabaab has been driven out.
In an interview with the Sunday Nation on Friday, Mr Haji appeared to have been taken by surprise by Mr Odinga’s announcement from Tel Aviv where the latter sought help for Kenya from Israeli leaders.
“Kenya got the backing of the top leadership of the State of Israel in its war to rid its territory of fundamentalist elements, with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that they will help Kenya in its struggles to secure its borders,” the prime minister’s office said.
On Friday, the Israeli ambassador to Kenya Gil Haskel said the two countries had reached a pact that will see Israel flying in anti-terrorism experts to offer technical support to Kenyan security agencies.
“Israel is willing to send consultants to Kenya to help Kenya secure its cities from terrorist threats and share experience with Kenya because the operation in Somalia is very similar to Israel’s operations in the past, first in Lebanon and then in Gaza Strip,” Mr Haskel said.
This week, the international news agency AP quoted a spokesman for the Al-Shabaab as saying that Mr Odinga was in Israel to seek assistance in “destroying Muslim people and their religion”.
Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage also issued unspecified threats against Kenya according to the report.
It is also expected that the Al-Shabaab militia may want to use Kenya’s dalliance with Israel to seek support from Arab countries which perennially oppose the Jewish state.
In the statement, Al-Shabaab was trying to rally its militiamen and their sympathisers by forging a religious front that Kenya was a Christian nation targeting Muslims, a statement which Mr Haji sought to overturn.
“This is not a religious war. It has nothing to do with religion. Al-Shabaab’s links to the Al-Qaida terrorist network are clear and acknowledged internationally. The terrorist organisations pose a serious threat to peace and security in the region and internationally,” Mr Haji said.
The Defence minister also told the Sunday Nation that he was not aware about any help from Israel for the military incursion into Somalia in the hunt for the militia.
As Minister for Defence in charge of the operation, I can tell you that there is no time when the Kenya Government has decided to contact any country except through IGAD, AU, EU and the UN.
We have told them that we need food and medical aid for the civilian populations in the liberated areas. We have also told them that we have no expansionist intentions. I’m not aware of any other support for the military,” Mr Haji said.
Security experts independently interviewed by the Sunday Nation say that Kenya has taken some risky strategic moves especially on the diplomatic front.
“For one we have had security cooperation with Israel for so long. Why publicise the security deal now when Al-Shabaab is desperately looking for a rallying propaganda and Israel provides that? After all Israel is viewed as an enemy by all Muslims, even the moderate ones, and provides a powerful tool for Al-Shabaab internally and internationally where they can claim Kenya has aligned itself with the ‘Zionist’ regime,” said a security expert who requested anonymity due to the nature of his consultancies.
“Also it might make our allies, especially the Arab states, hold back from openly supporting our campaign since their position vis-a-vis Israel is a critical factor in determining their legitimacy internally. For instance, Turkey which is having serious differences with Israel, is a key player in Somalia through humanitarian assistance and can carry more influence than Israel especially now when it is trying to re-assert its influence in the Muslim world.”
Its support is invaluable,” the security expert added.
The expert argued that Kenya should also relook at its diplomatic position on Ethiopia, Eritrea and quietly open back channels where the Al Shabaab can negotiate a peaceful settlement to the issues at hand.
“War and diplomacy are not exclusive. They are Siamese twins where you fight and negotiate simultaneously. The fact is a clear analysis evidences that there exist serious cracks in Al-Shabaab. What are our key objectives in Somalia? To safeguard our territory, economy and national security. The rest is secondary. Whoever can guarantee this is welcome even if it is the Islamists provided they denounce terror the way Muslim brotherhood in Egypt did. We have a better experience in dealing with inter-faith relations than the West and we do not have an oppressed Muslim population in Kenya. Here a church and Mosque can co-exist side by side and the increased visibility of Muslims in our national affairs is a positive factor,” the expert said.
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