How to Untie the Current “Gordian Knot” of Somalia?
By Abukar Sanei
“The wisdom is a lost property of the believer. Whenever he finds it, he is the most rightest person to own it” Prophet Mohamed [pbuh].
The current situation of Somalia is just a metaphor to the situation of the “Gordian knot” time, as peace and stability are out of hand. Attacks against the TFG and the Ethiopian forces are occurring Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, in a daily basis. The plan of collecting arms from Mogadishu residents apparently does not work even though some warlords turned their machine guns. The leaders of the TFG lose the trust of the majority of Somalis, because they are seen as “puppets” for the Ethiopian regime. The remarks that have been made by the Interior Minister and the deputy of the PM, Hussien Aided, that the border between Ethiopia and Somalia should be “eliminated,” has, in fact, added salt to the injury, because these remarks came after the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, and put the country in a vulnerable situation. Moreover, the most casualties of the U.S. airstrike against the southern Somalia was reported that they were innocent people and livestock, and Yusuf and Gedi did not even bother themselves to denounce the civilian casualties that is caused by the U.S. airstrike. The vote of the parliament against the speaker, Mr. Hassan, is not, however, a good sign for the reconciliation process that Mr. Yusuf’s government was founded in the late 2004.
If you add up all these issues that are currently on the ground in Somalia, you may find that it is not still yet to decipher how to untie “the Gordian knot” of Somalia that has been the reason of the suffering of Somalis for the last sixteen years. However, in order to come up with a lasting peace in Somalia and to get out of this barren situation, a couple of points should be taken into consideration by the TFG leaders.
The first thing that ordinary Somalis are troubled with is the presence of the Ethiopian forces in Somalia. Despite the fact that president Yusuf and Gedi have told them to come and help for kicking out the ICU, they are not a solution for pacification of Somalia. The reason is simple, and it is comparable to Iraq. The Iraqi regime insists to keep the U.S. forces in their country despite the insurgency groups, who have the notion that their country is under occupation of the U.S., and should keep their fighting against the invaders and their “puppets.” The same analogy applies in Somalia. Therefore, those who are now conducting the “guerrilla war” style in Mogadishu are just the same as what is seen in Iraq against the Iraqi and U.S. forces. From that sense, and in order to change the situation, the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces from Somalia is a must since they have “accomplished” their “mission” to oust the ICU. If the Ethiopian forces leave the country, it is for sure that Somalis will solve their problems, because they used to solve their disputes under a tree. And it is the job of the TFG to mediate the reconciliation process and work for securing the country by establishing a governance system.
Since the TFG and its leaders came to Mogadishu in the late December last year, they have done many things that may intensify the peace process. Meeting with Abdiqasim and Ali Mahdi, and having discussion with them was an excellent move towards the security of Mogadishu and the rest of the country. It was reported that they totally agreed on the issues that they have discussed about in their meeting, but no body knows whether the agreed upon issues between the former leaders and Mr. Yusuf was implemented or not. For instance, having discussion with Mogadishu warlords was another step forward for the security of the capital. However, even though these meetings with the two former presidents and the warlords were fruitful for the current situation, gaining the hearts and minds of the people are the one that needs to be focused on at this time. Everyone sees this government as an institution that cannot take its decisions by itself, and lacks the trust of the majority of Somalis. Therefore, how is it possible to win the hearts and minds of the people? And how do they listen to you? Putting the needs and interests of the people and answering their demands on the top priority are some of the ways that this government can succeed in order to reach its goals and objectives.
Flexibility, humbleness and politically correctness from the top leaders of the TFG will help to untie this “Gordian knot” situation that Somalis have been living with since 1991. These are part of the qualities that should be found from anyone who tries to hold a leadership position. Therefore, ousting the ICU doesn’t mean that dictatorship and arrogance attitudes can be used to rule, but trying to reach the society with smoothness and friendly character plus providing the service that they need should be the model that this government uses to achieve its well-being on the ground and effectiveness in its ruling. Nevertheless, one of the politically incorrectness, and can be seen as a treason against Somalis, was the rhetoric remarks that have been made by the Interior Minister, Mr. Aided. Whatever intention that the former member of the U.S. Marine Corps had in mind, he should have thought about his statement of “eliminating the border of the two countries” before he uttered it. For instance, European nations can not be used as an example here. Every European country has its own political geography that separates from the one that is close to its border, and at the same time, they don’t use one passport despite the fact that they share the same heritage that binds them together. However, this kind of political immaturity from a top “leader” is what Mr. Yusuf’s government needs to fix in order to gain recognition and respect from its people before anyone else.
These steps and mechanisms are my humble advice that I should contribute to the TFG. For instance, these steps can be used to close any gap that may exist between the TFG and anyone who lives under its control. This government should be a hope for every Somali as it should try to erase the memory and the nightmares of sixteen years of anarchy and lawlessness from the minds of those who lived and suffered with it. The era of warlords and roadblocks should have come to its end, and a system of respecting the law and towards a new page of civilization should be created. The system of law and order will never be achieved unless it becomes the top priority of every Somali individual, who cares about the future of Somalia. Only that way, God willing, there will be a time to untie this long lived “Gordian knot” that has been puzzled by every Somali for the last sixteen years.
* The author is based in Westerville, OH USA. He can be reached at [email protected]