Response to Berhanu Kebede,
There is a Somali proverb that goes like this:
“Baqashii fardo la mirataa dhiggood bay is mooddaa” - which literally means: ‘The mule that grazes with the horses assumes it is of the same pedigree’.
In a recent article (Guardian May 3rd 2007), the Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK , Berhanu Kebede, categorically stated that the transitional federal government of Somalia asked his country to save them from a certain brutal sub-clan. One can only conclude that such a statement has the influence of the backers of the Ethiopian mission in Somalia , the United States which uses similar phrases about saving the majority from the minority at the behest of the national governments in other areas of the world.
Ambassador Kebede was bullish in his writing and was adamant that his government was in Somalia at the invitation of the TFG. This would have been ideal and acceptable logic only if the TFG were based in Somalia initially, or on the other hand was established in Somalia as a reconciliation government. This TFG which the Ambassador so legitimizes is neither the offspring of Somali needs, nor structured to solve the Somali crises, but rather devised and designed further to complicate and continue the conflict, not to mention having been forcefully imposed on the Somali people by his own government – the Ethiopian regime. The Ambassador confidently indicates that the TFG is internationally recognized as a national government for Somalia – which is itself questionable and one needs to ask who has being lobbying for it in the international corridors of power – none other than his own regime.
However, what the TFG needs to function is not international recognition but rather the recognition and trust of its own people, and it certainly does not enjoy that decisive element. On the contrary, it is abhorred by the Somali people primarily on the basis that it is a government that has allowed the troops of an historical enemy to venture into the country.
Typically of the representative of a tyrant regime, the Ambassador categorically denies the facts on the ground, and disputes and rejects realistic reports as orchestrated propaganda. On the one hand, he lauds the imaginary international recognition of the TFG, yet on the other minimizes the international outcry and dismay at the genocide and massacre by his government’s troops as non existent. Ironically the Ambassador upholds the word ‘international’ when it best suits his intentions and disregards it when it doesn’t. The victims of the invading troops of his country were countless civilians beyond doubt, and the Ambassador should note, however much he avoids from the fact, that the leaders of his country and that of the TFG will be brought to justice to answer charges of crimes against humanity when the appropriate time arises – however long it takes. Massacring hundreds of innocent civilians on the pretext of endorsing a regime that is suitable to Ethiopian’s policy in Somalia is not a matter that will swept under the carpet in the long run.
The Ambassador in his writing blames the recent conflict, and in fact the whole fiasco in Somalia , to one particular sub-clan, which he even names. This could not have been more frightening in actual terms, but in retrospect it is an apparent reflection of his government’s stance towards Somalia ; dividing Somalis into clans and sub-clans and determining which ones are good and which ones are bad. One wonders who has given them the liberty to do so and in doing so, what is the discriminatory point they use in their determination. Nevertheless, the whole gist of his article which underlines his understanding as to the cause to the conflict being one sub-clan, clearly defines the strategic path of his government – to segregate and rule Somalia along clan lines.
In his article, Ambassador Kebede refutes the human rights report in Mogadishu on the time of Ethiopian troops’ carnage in the city, though he does not have substantial evidence to discredit the report from a reputed organization. He links the chaos to the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). After all, they sold their ill-conceived mission on the basis that they are fighting international terrorists, hence the automatic and unquestioning support from the US – thus they label any form of opposition to them as being linked with the magic word “terrorist”.
Having said that, I think it is fair to ask the Ambassador and his government that since they have, over a period of a week now, declared victory in Mogadishu , whether they have either eliminated or apprehended the extremist elements and known, wanted terrorists in Somalia . Having no evidence of them displaying such achievements, one only wonders whether this is in the same category as the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq .
Finally, it is bewildering to see Ambassador Kebede as a representative of a regime which is well known for its human rights abuses against its own citizens, claiming that his government is doing what is right in Somalia , regardless of whether he has the legal right to do so. However, it clearly demonstrates to the world the unfortunate and despicable situation that has combined with the dilemma that already existed in Somalia .
Harbi Kullane
New SYL, London
kullane@gmail.com
