Taking a life to prove a point must be condemned

Column
Title: [SW Column] (Faisal Yuule) Taking a life to prove a point must be condemned Posted by/on:[AAJ][28 Mar 2001]

Opinions expressed in this column are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of SW.

By Faisal Yuule, March 28, 2001
yuule@hotmail.com

The act of terrorism by the Mogadishu factions should be condemned by all
Somalis regardless of their clan and political affiliations. It is alleged
that the terror on the MSF compound was solely carried out to prove that
international agencies cannot operate without the permission of the factions
that control mogadishu and to show the world that Mogadishu is not safe. It
is a heinous way of making a point.

Everyone who is aware of the current political situation in Mogadishu would
correctly guess the finger pointing that would follow this act. The TNG
(a.k.a Arta Faction) perhaps accusing Ethiopian hands in this act of
terrorism, others accusing the UN and David Stephen for not listening to the
tell tale signs and the warnings issued by the warlords that the UN cannot
open offices in their parts of Mogadishu without their consultation.

In the middle of this finger pointing and ego games, innocent lives are
lost; humanitarian workers are terrorized. The world nations, however, turn
their eyes toward this troubled corner of the world only when one of their
kind is in the middle of this mess. These acts of terrorism occur on a
daily basis on the residents of Mogadishu, but the UN and the world at large
are mostly either indifferent to the situation or they are fed false
information that everything is peachy in Mogadishu.

Mogadishu is a city of warlords, no matter what they call themselves. Every
"businessman" is a warlord and every politician is a warlord. Testimony to
this is the ownership of the 80 technicals reportedly recently donated to
the TNG; the technicals belonged to the who is who in Mr. Hassan's
government and the so-called businessmen who support the TNG. What goes on
in Mogadishu illustrates (as a microcosm to the larger Somali society) that
the Arta Conference did not address the issue of reconciliation. How else
can one explain what goes on in Mogadishu and its environs?

However, terrorizing the destitute people of Mogadishu and humanitarian
workers would not bring any solution either. Those who seek the upper hand
and attention through violence should be condemned, and every Somali should
deny them sympathy. It should not matter whether they are self-appointed
governments, elected administrations, factions, warlords, and foreign
states. These types of acts should be condemned, period.

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