- Title: [SW Country] ( Nuradin Aden
Dirie) Recycle of Failed Leaders and Failed
Governance Systems In Somalia
- Posted by/on:[AAJ][14 Oct 2000]
Recycle
of Failed Leaders and Failed Governance Systems In Somalia
By:
Nuradin Aden Dirie - Email: ndirie@hotmail.com
Present Situation on
the Ground in Somalia
During the last decade the public opinion in Somalia has evolved,
Somalis have learned painfully the hard way that the system of
governance that suits them the best is a devolved federal system. It
is not something the ordinary people would want to be philosophical
about, or wish to continuously dwell on its fine ideology, rather a
simple feeling of long-term security guarantees. People's memory is
still fresh with what can happen when a civil war breaks out and you
happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Somalis did not yet
forget what has happened when many people found themselves in a
"non-traditional" region of theirs, despite the strong
feeling that it was actually theirs. People would like to be governed
within their enclave and have a nationalistic common agenda at the
same time. People would like to have their own feel good factor within
the confines of their traditional areas in Somalia. People would like
to make decisions closer to home and would greatly cherish to
contribute to any national issue that will hold Somalia together. One
might question how these conclusions have been reached when there is
no sophisticated opinion polling system in Somalia? However, one would
note that these ideas have formed strongly until it has been put in
practice in large areas of Somalia, particularly in Puntland and in
Somaliland though with different premises. The spirit of regionalism
is also transparent from business practices as it is from
rehabilitation trends of the people after the civil war.
Real Outcome of Arta
(Djibouti) Conference
ü
Confusion and
Misrepresentation of Facts on the Ground
What we have attained after Arta conference is a set of structures,
which aims to return us to those dark days of centralized authority.
Dark on intent and dark with content. The days when governmental
structures were centralized in order to control the nation with firm
hands. The days when you could not get a passport or obtain a visa
until you travel to Mogadishu. The days when you could not import
anything essential into the country unless you do it via Mogadishu
port despite having the longest coastline in Africa. The days when you
could not go to a university unless you have a home in Mogadishu or
become stranded in Mogadishu suburbs. Some people within these
structures could conceptualize the days when Somalia was nothing but
Mogadishu, and when Mogadishu collapsed Somalia was nothing altogether
and still struggles to be something. The parable seems to be on going
with these people when they still imagine if Mogadishu is something
again, Somalia will be something altogether again. The people who are
spearheading these hauled structures from Djibouti, have graduated
from nothing other that Siyad Barre's academy of dictatorship and
control, and have even done post Siyad specialization in tribal
cleansing and looting technology. What they have not done so far is to
ever participate in any representative democratic forum or appreciate
any self-governance on the grass roots level.
It is strange to be participating in any debate regarding the
conference in Djibouti and its outcome. When such a debate starts and
you hint any reservations you might have about the process, its
principles and practices, you are confronted with questions like are
you against peace in Somalia? It is a big and frightening question as
there could be no sane person who will oppose peace in anywhere in the
world let alone your own country. Even the media have picked up some
headlines like "peace and stability at last". Like it has
rained peace and stability in an upstream neighboring country to
swiftly pour on us on a downstream level. In this instance, there are
two issues, which are confused intentionally or unintentionally. The
first is what has been set up in Arta Djibouti and the second is a
lasting peace and a credible government in Somalia. The Somali people
who gathered in Arta Djibouti have succeeded in appointing a
parliament and electing a president however debatable the method and
the process of that election might be, nevertheless that was the end
result in Djibouti. It is also worth mentioning that there are many
people as well as the sole existing and peaceful regional
administrations that oppose the whole conference and its outcome.
What we have to achieve yet in Somalia is a lasting peace and a
credible government in all over Somalia. Instead of declaring peace at
last or asking whether someone is against peace in Somalia or not,
wouldn't it be more appropriate if we dealt with the more relevant
points and asked more appropriate questions such as; would this
government bring peace to Somalia? On the other hand, will it be
credible enough to bring all Somalis onboard? Wouldn't it be more
relevant if we deliberated about whether we can trust the same people
who shackled us with devastating tribal and hate policies for more
than two decades? Wouldn’t it be more befitting if we thought about
the system in which we handed those people to hit us again hard on
where it hurts? Wouldn’t it be more applicable if we reason more
about whether this government would work to return the looted
properties to its rightful owners and how will it do that? Wouldn’t
it be more equitable if we decide what to do about those who committed
the crimes of genocide against Somali people and talked about whether
it is worth to extend parliamentary amnesty to the people who
committed those grievous crimes?
ü
Recycle of Failed Leaders
and Failed Governance Systems
For two apparent reasons, it is difficult to imagine how we can get
a credible government in all Somalia out of the current saga as well
as from the same familiar faces. For the system in which it has been
set up with, the tribal system, which is neither representative
nor maintainable in the future. In addition, for the old faces
who had everything to do with our misery and where we stand today. In
a recent interview with Mr. Hassan by Al-Hayat (Arabic paper) reporter
he was specifically asked why should the Somali people trust him when
he loyally served under a dictatorial regime. The answer he gave did
not give us any scrap of comfort but instead made us more dismal about
our future being in the hands of these people. He blatantly said
"the Somali people must trust, and they have already trusted
me" he showed us how complacently he took our trust for granted.
What he does not realize is that it will be incomprehensible for
Kosovo-Albanians to be asked to trust anyone who loyally served under
Slobodan Milosevic's government. Nor will it be understandable for
Europeans to trust anyone who was in Hitler's cabinet. For that same
reason it will be hard for the Somali people to trust a loyal
lieutenant of Siyad Barre specially when he surrounded himself with
former colleagues in crimes.
ü
Big Media Campaign
There has been a public relations campaign for Mr Hassan most of it
by the UN information service in Somalia known as IRIN and by the BBC
Somali service. It is clear why most of Somali people do not believe
whatever public relations exercise these two services comes up in
relation to Abdi Qassim Salad Hassan. Many Somalis are aware of the
fact that the editor of IRIN in Somalia is non-other that Abdi Salad
Hassan, Abdi Qassim's own brother. It is not surprising why most
Somalis listen to UN's information service with contempt and regard it
to be very amusing to hear what spin Mr Hassan can master for Mr.
Hassan. Even more Somalis know about the fact that the chief editor of
the BBC Somali service, Mr. Garad, is a close cousin of Mr. Hassan, so
is the BBC's Somali section reporter from Mogadishu. The Somali people
was also made aware of what kind of a man Mr. Garad is, he has even
gone far enough to sack most of the experienced Somali radio
journalists in the BBC's Somali section and substituted them with
three close inexperienced cousins of his. A person who did not shy
away to commit the most outrageous nepotism against informed Somali
journalists should not be expected to impartially inform Somali public
about his close cousin the "elected" president in Djibouti.
ü
Conflicting Signals from the
" President" Elect
Despite the hard work of Mr. Hassan's brother and cousins, and
despite the spins they have tried so hard to put on his image and
presentation, "the president-elect" has frequently let
himself down in the press. That close net media organizations around
him must have got to his head when he somehow thought that he can get
away with whatever contradicting statements he makes to the press on
the first come first serve basis. We are getting mixed messages from
the "president elect" in relation to how he will deal with
the existing administrations, Puntland and Somaliland, and what system
he will be governing the country with. The president elect seems to be
amusing everybody who interviews him without much regard for any
dismal contradictions his statements might make. He sometimes declares
that he will use a dialogue in order to make his administration more
inclusive, while, depending on the addressed person at that time, he
also declares that he will use force to unite Somalia. He declares to
the Somali people that he will rule the country with Islamic Shariah
and that he does not want to be punished by Allah if he chooses to
rule the country with a different system, while on the same rationale
he declares to western journalists that he has absolutely nothing to
do with Islamists and whatever he believes in as a person is totally
different from what he will rule the country with. He concedes that
Siyad Barre's government was a dictatorial regime, while on the same
line he shows his delight to have loyally served under that regime.
All those statements cannot be right, and Mr. Hassan ought to
distinguish which one of them is right and which one of them is wrong.
He must tell us which one of those statements were a true conviction
of his and which one of them was a joke. I am afraid that Mr. Hassan
has to be told that he can not have it both ways, he is either to be
using a dialogue or he is going to use force, or he is either going to
introduce Shariah law or he isn't. He must courageously stand by the
policies he heavily contributed to its making or he must denounce
everything he has done in his life for that long years he remained a
loyal lieutenant to Siyad Barre. He can't be using force and call that
to be a dialogue, as he cannot be believing in the sovereignty of the
people and call that to be the Shariah law or visa versa. He cannot be
calling Siyad Barre's regime to be a dictatorial regime and solely
exempt himself from their dark memory. He must at least have the
decency to state what his convictions are, if there are any that is.
He must state clearly whether he understands the wish of the Somali
people to have a devolved federal system or the need for them to
sustain and build upon the form of decentralization they have so far
achieved.
ü
Choice of 'Prime Minister' -
Adding Insult to Injury
The 'President' Elect has chosen Dr Ali Khalif Galayr as the 'Prime
Minister'. For many this
choice was another example of how absurd and far-removed this whole
Djibouti Process is. The choice of the Prime Minister would probably
not have changed much in
terms of buying legitimacy for the Process in the eyes of many
Somalis, but nevertheless is a bad PR, when the choice becomes
somebody who is accused of robbing the Mareeray Sugar Factory of
hundreds of thousands of US$ in early 1980's when he was the Director
General of the production facilities. At the collapse of the Somali
State in 1991, Dr Galayr
was in the list of 'Most Wanted People' for the alleged infamous cash
heist.
A Final word of Caution
The Somali people's wishes to have a devolved federal system is a
real one, it is the dream of the people to see life being possible in
each one's territory. It is a dream that the people made it closer to
reality in the few years in which they started to do it out of
desperation. It is the cornerstone of security and stability in
today's Somalia and Mr. Hassan must not be allowed to wreck those
fundamental rights of the Somali people. While a lot of emphases have
been made on the need to make a government regardless of the system it
will operate with, it is sad that the central argument on what the
people want have been missed in Djibouti conference. What has been
done in Arta, Djibouti is an imposition of opinions without really
looking down to the practicalities on the ground as well as the strong
and genuine feeling of the people in their respective localities. In
that sense it could only be described not less than a dictatorship of
opinions, and that could only be the worst kind of dictatorship.
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