Editorial
Somalia: Seeking reconciliation in a world at war
By
Mar 16, 2008 - 8:37:10 PM

SUNDAY EDITORIAL | With wars raging in many parts of the world, it is difficult to hear the Somali Prime Minister's genuine calls for peace.

Some would say Somalia's interim Prime Minister, Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein, is a dreamer pursuing Aladdin's magic carpet to transport him to a better world. He is new to the Somali political landscape, a treacherous terrain of double-crosses and bloodletting, where parasites survive and the weak are ravaged. Prime Minister Nur Adde is a new brand of politician, one many believe is seeking momentous and genuine reconciliation among the people of Somalia, who have endured a long civil war and lost so much.

In recent weeks, the Prime Minister has repeatedly invited the armed opposition to his Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to the negotiating table. He has even called on the al-Shabaab guerrillas, whom the U.S. government is considering to add on the terrorism list, to negotiate with the TFG. But armed groups like al-Shabaab have shown no sign of negotiating with the TFG; in fact, the group's spokesman has openly said that they will not stop the guerrilla war until Ethiopian troops and the TFG leaders vacate Somali soil. Al-Shabaab and like-minded groups want nothing short of reestablishing Islamic rule in Somalia, as the Islamic Courts movement did briefly in 2006.

The war in Somalia goes far and beyond the Somali people. The war is clearly between 'secular government' and 'Islamic rule.' The Western-backed TFG calls for reconciliation, but the Islamist-led armed opposition does not want reconciliation. They are demanding the full liberation of Somalia from the tyranny of Ethiopian troops and Somali warlords.

Many people in Somalia agree with them. Since the Ethiopian army came in December 2006, the country has not known peace or the semblance of national order. The TFG mandate expires next year, yet government institutions are in shambles and the security situation is as dangerous as at any time since the violent collapse of central governance in 1991. Both TFG supporters and critics must wonder: where are the results?

Clearly, the visible results remain the growing number of dead civilians and the mass displacement of families. Drought in many parts of Somalia is not being addressed, while resources are spent to reinforce the occupation of Mogadishu. These factors fuel the Mogadishu insurgency by providing a pool of young fighters willing to take up arms to forcefully change the current balance of power, dominated by foreign interests.

This raises the question: Does the reconciliation Prime Minister Nur Adde is calling for relate only to the Somali people? Or does it extend to reconciliation between the Somalis and their Ethiopian neighbors? But why stop there. What about reconciliation between the Christian West and the Islamic world?

With wars raging in many parts of the world, it is difficult to hear the Somali Prime Minister's genuine calls for peace and reconciliation. If Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi wanted peace, he would not send his soldiers into Somalia. By contrast, if the Islamist guerrillas desired reconciliation, they could easily implement a ceasefire.

So much for Aladdin's magic carpet.

Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com