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- [SW Column]( SHASNA MediaWatch) Somalia: UN Humanitarian,
Development, Political & Peace
Efforts :Posted on 13 Aug
2002
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Opinions expressed in this column
are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of SW.
SHASNA MediaWatch
Subject: Somalia: UN Humanitarian, Development, Political
& Peace
Efforts
Nairobi, Kenya
[August 12, 2002]
Somalia: UN Humanitarian, Development, Political & Peace Efforts
Has There Been any Tangible UN Assisted Developmental Projects in Somalia?
Of all the So-called UN Pet Projects in Somalia, Did the UN Participate,
Assist and/or Strengthen any Private Somali Enterprises? Has the UN
Improved any Existing Infrastructure or Help Create New Ones?
In times of turmoil in Somalia, one recurring UN theme has always been to
admit guilt in not anticipating the turmoil, and not having extended a
helping hand to existing local administrations. And the international
community sings in unison: "we should have helped...; we could have
helped..." However the truth is much simpler than that. Let us help you
understand and navigate through Somalia's troubled UN waters.
Two and half years ago, Somalia was much more peaceful than today. After a
prolonged civil war, Somali community members were coming together. Without
the help of the UN, private enterprises were mushrooming in every major
city. The business community was coming together. Politicians, warlords and
community elders were discussing the viability of the buttom-up approach.
According to a large segments of the community, an inclusive Somali
government was not that far off. Somali people and their leaders were
seeing a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. They were going to
solve their own problems; they were going to create their own homemade
solutions.
But it was never to be! The head of the UN's Political Office for Somalia
(UNPOS), Mr. David Stephen, and the UN's Resident and Humanitarian
Coordinator, Mr. Randolph Kent, together with Ismail Omer Ghelle of
Djibouti and other sinister Middle East Arab interests averted all possible
peaceful scenarios of creating an inclusive Somali government. In turn,
they have created what is today known as Mogadishu's Arta Faction, a
radical Arab financed and UN-sponsored international terror cartel. A major
figure who helped create this cartel, and currently in hiding in Syria, is
none other than Col. Dahir Aweys, a US most wanted terror figure and a
cousin of the UN appointed president of Somalia's transitional national
government (TNG), better known as Mogadishu's Arta Faction. Numerous others
remain in hiding in Mogadishu and in Saudi Arabia. True to its name, the
Arta presence was to be a transition from stability to chaos and into death
and debilitation.
Having created this terror cartel, the next UN agenda, by hook or crook,
was to extend it to everywhere in Somalia. But that was never to be either!
In propelling the Arta goals, certain UN officials indirectly participated
in helping discredit the governing local authorities of Somalia's Recovery
Zones. They have sowed Mogadishu's instability seeds in Somalia's stable
zones. When in the name of Jama Ali Jama, Mogadishu's instability reared
its ugly head in Puntland, the UNPOS recognized him as Puntland's
legitimate president. But that was never to be either! When confrontation
and instability was the game du jour in Puntland's major cities, the UN, as
usual again dusted off its always recurring theme of not having helped
local authorities implement and develop self-sustaining projects. And
again, their recurring theme is dusted off: we should have...; we could
have...!
Almost one year later, now that Puntland's trouble are behind it, UN
officials are again at it. At the behest of Arta's Jama Ali Jama, after the
UN has unilaterally departed from the region, the UN is again expressing
"deep concerns" about an allegedly "deteriorating
humanitarian situation"
in Puntland. Is there really a "deteriorating humanitarian
situation" in
Puntland? Do certain UN policies and officials indirectly contribute to
Somalia's deteriorating humanitarian situation? Now that peace and
stability reigns in Puntland, will the UN implement developmental projects
in the region? We hope they will! We hope sitting UN officials have
learned well from their predecessors' mistakes.
And when the UN and the international community wake up from their
self-induced inaction and hibernation, here is how they can help Puntland's
rejuvenated administration:
- On the political front, we kindly ask you to refrain from inflammatory
language, and to remain politically neutral
- On the developmental front, we kindly ask you to undertake and increase
specific assistance to the following vital areas:
a) Help and strengthen private enterprises, and help livestock exporters
access new and closed markets in Arab Gulf countries
b) Help, fund, renovate and build educational institutions
c) Help and fund research institutions and media companies that promote
good governance and the rule of law, including property rights - reward
good governance at the local level
d) Help and build new infrastructure, including but not limited to roads,
bridges, ports, fishing jetties and landing strips. Renovate and repair the
meager existing infrastructure
This new model of cooperation will go a long way to make the region
self-sufficient and humanitarian crisis proof. And most of all, it will
open up local commerce and will encourage private enterprises, including
the region's flourishing seafood, meat processing, banking, transportation,
media and telecommunication companies charge ahead. That is a success
formula in how you could make a real difference in Puntland and Somalia in
general.
SHASNA* Editorial Board
cc: SHASNA Members
[Column]