Since the formation of the TFI, we have never heard a conflict among its leaders based on ideas – economic policy, political programme or foreign policy, but on only personal matters. From President Abdiqasim Salad to the current president – Sheikh Sharif – the fighting between the leaders has only been on personal interests and, the most corrupted of all is the current regime, according the International Non-governmental Organisations that works in the region.

Similar to previous tussles between the leaders of the TFI, the civil war political class are divided by the current conflict between the president Sharif and the speaker of the parliament. Government – with claims of advancement against AL-Shabab, and as a team of wisdom who deserve more time to finish up the transitional tasks – for instance, supports the president hopping if the president Sharif wins in this fight they would stay in their posts. Whilst the general Somali public, particularly the Diaspora, seem to be indifferent, the international community including the UN and the neighbours are seem to be supporting either side of this power struggle between the TFI leaders.

Due to their educational and their tribalist political orientation, one doubts if these leaders have a capability to reconcile even if that is in their best interest. We were told that there will be a four days reconciliation conference in this June, held in Mogadishu, chaired by Maghiga. What would we expect from this four day conference chaired and financed by foreigners? What is the best outcome of this conference for Somalis? If we just sit back and wait, as usual, the civil war political class and their supporters will choose for us, not in our interest but to their interest – making sure that they enjoy Nairobi hotels while Somalis are suffering – mainly due to the corruption and lack of leadership of this unpatriotic political class.

It seems we have two main choices: a) to support the Mahiga and his supporters and ‘elect’ new president whilst the 550 MPs and their 4.5 framework stays for foreseeable future, generating what they do best – tribalism and nepotism and incompetence; b) to give one or two more years to all the TFI so that they can finish up the transitional tasks such as the constitution and the pacification of at least Mogadishu city albeit one doubt if they have the will, ability nor the legitimacy to do such delicate tasks. It is a dilemma, isn’t it?

One thinks, if we let Mahiga and his team succeed to change the president for us, who is going to replace Sheikh Sharif? Sharif Hassan? Can he? Can we afford that? It is conceivable that a capable president could come out of this mayhem; however, if history has any bearing, the future will be the same, if not worse, because the new president will probably face the same obstacles that his predecessors have encountered. A good capable president will have to be either be part of this illegitimate and corrupted system and end up being like them, or he will not be able to operate such environment and hence probably will not achieve what he is expected – either way he will fail. 

One would never support the most corrupted regime, however, if we give TFI one more year or one and a halve year with a schedule of the tasks that they are expected during this period- law and order in Mogadishu, constitution, and the empowerment of regional administrators and Ahlusuna Waljameca – and an end day of their existence, then we have achieved something. If we do this, we will be able to prepare the TFI and its imprudent political class for the burial they deserve – flush them out at one go, that is when the one year or so ends; that is not only the president and the speaker but also the 550 MPs and their 4.5 tribal framework; only then we Somalis will be able to hold genuine reconciliation, and get the institutions and the leaders that we deserve.

They will not achieve that much but at least Somali public will learn that Islamists and tribalists will not do any good but instead only will create chaos and destitution.  In fact, the current administration seems to have more opportunity of successes – due to the president Sharif’s experience of the current political setting and the cabinet’s know how – than a new president and a new cabinet who might need months, if not years, to understand the tribalists and their vices.

Whilst an election of a new president legitimises the current good for nothing 550 MPs, Sheikh Sharif, on the contrary, would be a rival of the parliament and hence would be a check and balance for us – the public – and even would be happy to agree signing the end of the TFI after an agreed period. Let us assume we extend the existence of the TFI for one year; when this year ends, whether TFG has achieved the transitional tasks or not, its 550 MPs and its 4.5 framework will be flashed out, and we try again to draft new social contract, hoping this time the wise man and women will be in the driving seat, and The Civil War Politicians – warlords, extremists and opportunists – will go back to their traditional posts.            

Hassan Ossoble is a freelance researcher whose interests includes Somali peace building and how the widespread chronic poverty relates to the protracted civil war. The author can be reached at xasanruush1@yahoo.co.uk.

Since 1991 and the overthrow of Siyad Barre’s regime, warlordism has been part of Somalia’s political culture, and hence these warlords and the anarchy that associated with them, deprived Somalis from a lasting peace and economic development. More than dozen attempts were made to organise the same warlords, assuming that they would create peace and security in Somalia. Indeed, the last warlord gathering was the one that was created the current Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The TFG, which comprises the warlords who killed and forced millions of Somalis to migrate from their motherland, have created more problems than they have solved; in fact it can be argued that they did not achieve anything other than the creation of more kidnapping, piracy, illegal currency and fake passports. These warlords helped Ethiopians to invade Somalia, killing Thousands of Somalis and destroying their livelihoods.

Meanwhile islamists have been preparing themselves by buying weapons and recruiting youngsters, and have tried a number of times to gain power by using violence, but the military warlords such as General Eydid (senior and junior), Abdullahi Yusuf (the current TFG president) and other less profile warlords contained them until they unexpectedly got power 2006 – claiming their full status of warlord hood – by overpowering the American sponsored established warlords of Mogadishu; they were in power only until the established warlords (the TFG and others) asked assistance to their backer – the Ethiopians. This has led to the Ethiopian invasions and its current de facto rule on Somalia. This made many Somali intellectuals and farsighted people to feel as though they were morally crashed, and left no option for the rest of the general public but to either support the Islamists warlords or the TFG for desperation, making impossible to think beyond these two similar regimes of terror – the old warlords and the new warlords.

The old and the new warlords share a number of similarities including assassinations of foreign aid workers and their local staff, destruction of the people’s properties and to rule at any cost – even if that does mean the destruction of our sovereignty and culture. What is more damaging is, in order to implement their wicked strategies, the old and the new warlords target the elders including traditional leaders and the learned people, and indeed anyone they find against their ill informed approaches. We know ‘Puntland’, ‘Somaliland’ and other regions and cities that have managed some sort of order, the traditional elders were able to reassert authority over the warlords. Hiiran region was peaceful until recently, but Omar Hanshi – an old warlord in disguise – and other warlords such ‘Governor’ Dabageed and others bypassed the traditional elders and created the current chaos and lawlessness; that is why we have been witnessing hostilities in Hiiraan region, despite being one of the regions that have the most respected traditional institutions in Somalia. Similarly, the Islamist warlords have accused the Beletwein elders that they are with the Ethiopians therefore would not speak to them, as a result of this marginalization of the traditional elders or threats from the Islamist warlords, the Beletwein residents are being constantly bombed by both the Islamism warlords and the Ethiopians. It is reported that the elders can not do anything about this current disorder in Beletwein due to the assassination operations and threats conducted by the Islamist warlords on one hand, and the Ethiopians and their collaborators on the other to the community leaders in this region.

Moreover, the old and the new warlords have no economic and political strategy which we the general public and the international community can understand. For example, TFG looks as though the only thing that they know about governance is to be a minister or Member of Parliament (MP) even though they might not understand the responsibilities that being minister or being MP entails. Similarly, whilst they expect the support of the international community, Islamists warlords claim that they would create Sharia based system even though there is no place that it has been implemented such system all over the world; let them first reach consensus about the kind of Sharia that they are introducing. If implementation of Sharia were easy, the richer Muslim nations would have implemented; we are not ready yet and we should implement when we are prepared to do so. Even if the leaders of the current world order – the west – allow the islamist fanatics to terrorise their people with their rigid foreign ideologies, can we, Somalis, allow the Islamists warlords to transgress our culture and our way of life by brainwashing our future generations with an alien cultures without any concern our authentic cultural heritage. Our Islam should be based our interpretation of our Holly Book and shouldn’t be one borrowed from other countries.

The old and the new warlords do not only devoid of ideas and misunderstood the current reality of the world that we live in, but also they can not work together contrary to their claims; the so called Djibouti reconciliation conference might have misled us as though they are doing something that could help us. It is nonetheless to be noted that in reality they are fooling us: we know their incompatible objectives – islamazation and militarization of our country. Even if we give them the benefit of the doubt, the practicality of this agreement is highly questionable as they are both divided: the fact the TFG top leaders are divided and went to Ethiopia for ‘mediation’; and the Islamists are between Djibouti and Eritrea – two countries who have recently had open war – an indication that they cannot implement the above agreement. Islamists claim that they are better than their counterpart warlords (the TFG and the other less profile warlords); how can they claim moral superiority while they are using same weapons and tactics to kill us and destroy our properties? If that is the case, why didn’t they unite themselves at the first place; if they can’t unite among themselves how are they going to unite the whole Somalia? Traditionally, the actors who controlled the most of the force would win, but, since neither the old warlords nor the new warlords are designed to come up with the solution of our problems, either of them can not defeat from the other, as either of them is unable to secure the support of the public. In other words, Even if we help one of the warlords to defeat from the other, neither the old nor the new warlords have any prospect of leading our people to solve their own protracted problems.

Today, whether we like it or not, Somalia is under Ethiopian occupation and this occupation was helped by both the old and the new warlords or TFG and Islamists. Equally, local traders, who suffocate local economy by printing money, exporting charcoal and depilating our natural resources, without any concern for the future generations are part of the problem. And of course, the international backers of both the warlords and the rogue traders, who wants us to be where we are at the moment only to justify our misery to their internal injustices and inequalities are also not part of the solution. Paradoxically, the same warlords, who destroyed our country and killed thousands and forced others to migrate, claim that they are the only ones that the peace and security of Somalia should be consulted; they even claim they are the nationalists and even against the warlordism. In fact, that is what the current Somali warlords (both islamists and TFG) and indeed their explicit and implicit supporters are trying to do by exclusively negotiating the future of our country among themselves, without any respect to the other Somalis.

If we really want a meaningful political progress in Somalia, we need to accommodate the other stake holders including the most informed ones – the Diaspora and the traditional Ugaasis and Sultans – because these people are the brain of Somalia, and if they are organised, they might create a meaningful change. Equally, if fruitful political change is aimed at, the legitimate economic interests and the organised civil societies should be fully participated in any political reconciliation. Unlike the old and the new warlords, these groups are those who can run rational modern bureaucratic state if they are empowered.

Since we are not expecting others to liberate us, the question is who will take this heroic task and what are the opportunities and challenges that associated with such endeavour? The answer of these questions is going to be the task of another article. However, what is clear is, unless the informed people take the task of reclaiming our country from the warlords and the invaders, by challenging internally and externally, the liberation and the peace that we desperately need will not be realised. The general public will never forgive us, if we do not do something about it soon; we know that the old and the new warlords are not part of the solution but only part of the problem, so what is holding us back to say this is the case and act accordingly and liberate our people from the abuses of Ethiopian invaders and their warlord supporters on one hand, and the islamist warlords on the other. The organisers of such endeavour or the future leaders will have to be the informed Somalis, not the uninformed warlords whom we have already paid a heavy prize by allowing them to rule us for the last 18 or more correctly for the last 38 years.

If we (the informed Somalis including the students) do not create such entity soon – well before the end of TFG’s five years transitional period – we might not be able to challenge, for example, if the TFG parliament decides to extend their transitional period. We can’t loose another five years or even three; we have already lost 18 years or more, haven’t we? Similarly, if we don’t prepare ourselves, the Islamists would want to take us exactly where Afghans are at the moment: Ungovernable country, where all the outlaws and trouble makers harbour; a country without vision, whose people are dependent on their competitors without their knowledge; and a country of death, where life is short and brutish.

Having said that, we know that warlords are pernicious and tenacious; and also warlords will not accept free riders so as the competitors because they know they will loose power. However, if we organise ourselves and determine to communicate the public and debate about the concerns of our fellow citizens by using the media and the other public venues, we will win the hearts and the minds of the public. In fact, most of Somali public know that the warlords, both the old and the new, are not the way forward and the reason why some of them support the warlords is only because there is no alternative. Once the alternative progressive political program is proposed – one based on the real needs of our nation – the public support will follow; so as the support of the civil society and the legitimate business interests, because these groups can be persuaded that their interest would be better served if we get rid of warlords both clerics and non-clerics. Similarly, once the international community find actors who are determined to help their people whom they can understand, they will work and empower them, and only then we might realise peace in Somalia.

Hassan Ossoble
xasanruush1@yahoo.co.uk

According to this lecture, most of the Islamic world’s predicaments are mainly created by colonization (neo-colonization)  and we the third world have perpetuated it.

Sharia does not mean Islam but only historically conditioned of some people’s understanding of Islam. That is why Sharia is contested. Islam is the Quran and the Sunna- the prophet’s examples.  Please click the below link for this lecture – i hope you will enjoy it and will share us your thoughts about it!

 http://www.law.emory.edu/webcast/currie_lecture07.ram

For example, Abdirashid, a Ph.D holder, blames the ills of our country to the warlords who one might say are victims of what I would call the laziness of our learned people or the so called intellectuals. By assuming that warlords created the problem in the first place, he recommends reconciliation is the way forward without any consideration of negotiators. It is true that the warlords have killed many of our people but in reality they were allowed to do so by the elites and intellectuals. Some of the so called intellectuals have helped the warlords to destroy our paradise by being the right hand man or woman of their tribalist warlords. Thus, Abdirashid’s blaim on victims can neither be seen as a good enough concern nor a well thought solution.

Similarly, responding to Abdirashid, Mohamed contend that reconciliation will not create peace reason being both TFG and Islamic Courts are not free entities who can take their own decisions because of the Ethiopian and Eritrean intervention respectively. This might be the case and indeed Mohamed’s ideas have more resonance than Abdirashid’s ones however what Mohamed can be accused of not being able to understand the complexity of our problems. For example, Mohamed can be accused of not being able to appreciate the role of the regional leaders and indeed weakness of his own people when it comes to uniting. Neither broad based conference nor the support of international community that Mohamed have mentioned will not be realised unless we unite and this is what Mohamed’s article have missed to highlight so as how we get the support of the international community and, indeed, how we end the interference of the regional powers and their supporters.

In Sum, with all respect to the authors, my point is not about complaining the endeavour of these equals but rather to urge my fellow Somali students and writers to give thinking to the recommendation that they give the ills of our society. In other words, there must be a relationship between the authors and their qualifications otherwise we will not be able to differentiate those who know and those who do not know. If we did not give enough though to what we write, we will be part of the problem as we send message which says that there is no difference between the informed opinion and the layman’s opinion – this is a culture that we desperately need to overcome if we really want to overcome our current problems.

The Impact of US Raids and Airo’s Death on the Prospected Dialogue and al-Shabab future

Blogged with Flock

Si kasta oo aan eeda u saarno Itoobiya, faragelinteeda ma aha wax dhamaanaa ilaa aay danteeda ka gaareeyso ama Soomaalidu aay danteeda ka garato (qaladaadkeeda soo saxdo). Doowlada ku meelgaarkaahuna sidoo kale ma noqoneeyso doowlad shaqeeysa hadii aanay noqon mid Itoobiya u shaqeeysa ama dadkeedu lashaqeeynaa.  Qabiiliistayaashu ayaguna caqli iyo aqoon waxba kuma falaan ileeyn dani uguma jirta’e Itoobiya iyo Doowlad Kumeelgaarka ahna ayaga ayeeyba ugu jecel yihiin aduunka (waloow mid walba uu sabab gooni ah ka leeyahay). Islaamiyiintu in kasta oo aay taageero fiican aay u keentay 18ka sano oo doowlad la’aanta aheeyd, hadana itoobiya ajandaheeda uun ayeey qeeyb ka yihiin maadaama aay sabab u sameeynaan in aay itoobiya wadanka sii joogto. Maantadaan oo u dambeeysay 15 ayaa Gobolka Hiiraan lagu dilay Wadaadada ka mid ah – in aay wax dilaan iyo in ladilo labadaba waa qasaaro Somaalidana dan uguma jirto – itoobiyana waa u asal raac dhintay ama guul weeyn ayeeyba u tahay labada dhinacba – waa hadii aay Soomaali kale disho ama ayagu aay wax dilaan.

Su’aashu waxa aay tahay aaway waxgaradkii aay aheeyd in aay su’aalaha dhabtaa is weeydiiyaan saxaana qaladaadka jira? Waxgaradkii waxa aay noqdeen inta badan kuwo duqoobay, kuwa dagaalka dhinacooda ka wada iyo kuwa ka cabsanaa wadankii. Kuwa duqoobay garabkooda alaha galo hase ogaadaan in aanay dhaxal ka tegin ama aay yihiin kuwa su’aalahaa muhiimka ah ee u baahan in leeys weeydiiyo ama wax laga qabto abuuray. Kuwa dagaalka wadaahi oo u badan qabiiliiste iyo asalraac ama mitid waa dad u baahan caawimo shaqsiyan ah ilamaa aay qolada ugu dambeeysa ee ‘waxgaradka’ cabsanaahi aay geesinimo muujiyaan naftana u huraan wadankooda wax horumar oo lagaari karaahi ma jiraan. Nin odoy ah oo Saaxiibkeey ah oo Gudooniye Gobol loo magacaabay dhowaan waxaa dhacay in nin wax garad aan u maleeynaayey uu yiri:

‘Hoo $100 hooyadeey ugeey’

‘Markii uu yiri gudoomiyihii lamagacaabay halkeey joogtaa hooyadaa?’

Waxa uu ku jawaabay ninkii waxgaradka ahaa ‘hooyadeey qiyaama ayeey jirtaa adna qiyaamo ayaad u socotaa.’ Qiyaamadaasi waa Soomaaliya guud ahaan, gaar ahaana Gobolka Hiiraan!

Gudoomiyahaas cusubi waa gudoomiyaha cusub ee Gobolka Hiiraan mudane Axmed Maxamed (Dhegaweeyne). Dhegaweeyne iyo raga asaga lamidka ahba waxaan u rajeeynayaa guul hana ogaadaan in aay taariikhdu xusi doonto.  Qof kasta oo wadanka u damqanaahina waa in uu ogaadaa  ilamaa in badan oo gudoomiyahaaas cusub lamid ahi aay naftooda u huraan dhulkoodii hooyo, aayna isweeydiiyaan jawaabna u helaan su’aalaha aas’aaska u ah dhibaatooyinka keenay xaalada hada wadanka ka jirta, lagama yaabo in Soomaalidu hesho wadan shaqeeynaa.  Hadii waxgaradoow aadan nafta u hurin dadkaa iyo dalkaa dhibta aad badeen, cudurka calaamadahiisa (consequences) sida itoobiya iyo wadaadada iyo wixii lamid ahna aad xoogiina saartaan,  waxa aan rajeeynayaa in eeynaan  layaabi dooninaha  markii Geeska Afrika Itoobiya iyo Ereteriya aay qeeybsadaan – anaguna aan qurbaha ku asqoowno…..

shirqool.com (Beta) – Masha qeystayaal (somali)

For example, capitalists have managed to implement couple ‘development plans’ including Structural Adjustment policies and even though they have created a lot of hardships to billions of our fellow humans yet we are still bombarded the same ideas. Even here in UK the impact of these predatory policies can be seen and instead of addressing their real causes we were told that the problem is lack of schools or NHS or the immigrants as though we are stupid. How can we expect NHS hospitals to deliver better services when private hospitals hire the most able doctors – creating one hospital for the poor and one for the those who run the privatised industries and of course their managers. How can they expect to live safely while some of our fellow citizens are struggling to survive while those who bought the utilities and their managers are getting millions of pounds monthly? How can we expect to live safely when we let these same predators destroy the life of poor people like Iraqis.

Similarly, the extremists say that they are defending the truth and the virtue while at the same time destroying what humanity have achieved – the knowledge and the beauty of our planet believing that they will end up heaven. How can they enter paradise while destroying private properties and harm many innocent people. How can they build civilisation through terror and sheer violence?

The capitalists and the extremists would like us to believe that their destruction and degradation are all about democracy or virtues while in reality they are both doing the opposite. In fact the capitalists and the extremists are terrorists and therefore the obstacles of justice and freedom, and unless we deal with them head to head the future of our universe would be more to one of destruction and destitute.

Liberal Islam Network

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