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Somalia: Illegal Occupation and Tricky Ploy
Ethiopia has quietly
interfered in Somalia for years and directly or
indirectly controlled different parts of this country.
However, on 24th December 2006, Ethiopian troops
unwittingly applied a sharp jolt of electricity to
Somali nationalism, which had been in deep coma for
many years, and revived it. A sense of disbelief and
shock enveloped Somalis when they saw Ethiopian troops
roaming round the streets of Mogadishu, the capital
city of Somalia.
Somalis expressed and
continue to express their deeply resentful indignation
towards Ethiopia by holding worldwide demonstrations
and disapproving the Ethiopian-backed Somali
government. Mogadishu is now the contesting place for
those who want to arrest Ethiopia’s illegal occupation
and those who want to put Mogadishu, the symbol of the
Republic of Somalia, at the mercy of Ethiopia.
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Regrettably, the
revived Somali nationalism is now under threat because
different groups are suggesting or want to present the
current conflict as a conflict between Hawiye, a
Somali clan, and Ethiopian troops. Ethiopia favours
the Hawiye Vs Ethiopia approach because it wants the
world to think that other clans are comfortable with
its presence in Somalia. On the Somali side, some want
to use clan name to avoid being labelled as Jihadists
or terrorists. Others see using clan banner as the
best way to deal with the occupation. Whatever the
motive, Ethiopia’s occupation of Somalia is a national
issue and using clan strategy to liberate Somalia is a
tricky ploy. This approach will derail the liberation
agenda and make it esoteric if not a family business.
Or worse, it may rekindle another brutal Somali clan
war by setting clans against each other.
Clan has no currency.
In 1991, clan-based repel groups managed to overthrow
Siad Barre’s government but they failed to make a
functioning government. As a result, Somalia is the
longest running instance of state collapse in the
history of Africa. In fact, it is the clan war that
claimed many lives, forced many people to flee from
their homes, debilitated the country, and brought
mortification to the Somali people. It is the
prolonged clan conflicts that enabled Ethiopia to
conquer Somalia.
Ethiopia troops use
heavy machine guns to shell Mogadishu residents
indiscriminately. And it gives no pleasure to any
Somali, with a sense of nationalism in his blood, to
see Ethiopian attack helicopters and rocket launchers
targeting thickly populated area of the city.
Non-Somalis are testifying that Mogadishu has plunged
back into the abyss of despair since the Ethiopians
have taken over the control of the capital. Senator
Norm Coleman noted the sufferings of Mogadishu
residents in a letter to Jendayi Frazer, U.S.
Assistant Secretary. He wrote: “there continues to be
a severe humanitarian crisis in Somalia. It is
estimated that the recent violence in Mogadishu
affected over 100, 000 civilians, forcing them to
leave their homes and endure significant suffering.
This large population of internally displaced persons,
who often sleep outside under trees with no food,
water, or sanitary facilities, is in need of urgent
assistance. Consequently, diseases such as diarrhoea
are exacting a very high toll on the displaced
children.” The International Committee of the Red
Cross recently observed that: “The population of
Mogadishu is caught up in the worst fighting in more
than 15 years.” The Ethiopian government and others
have been accused of war crimes. A security adviser to
the European Commission recently advised the
Commission: “I need to advise you that there are
strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian
government and the transitional federal government of
Somalia and the Amisom force commander...have through
commission or omission violated the Rome statute of
the international criminal court.” Although the above
evidence is not exhaustive it clearly shows that
Ethiopian troops are punishing Mogadishu residents
collectively. Therefore, is it reasonable to present
Mogadishu residents as one clan or group?
Since the current
crisis began at the end of last year, the Somali
Diaspora communities have continuously demonstrated
against Ethiopia’s illegal invasion and occupation of
Somalia and have held a number of conferences
discussing the ways and the means of liberating their
motherland. The conferences, held in Stockholm in
February and in Columbus, Ohio, in March 2007, are
relevant examples. The participants of the
demonstrations in various countries and those who
attended the conferences are Somalis from different
backgrounds. These people feel depressed and miserable
as their country and people are under occupation.
Therefore, isn’t it important to recognise and
appreciate the sacrifice and contribution of these
people?
At the meeting of the
International Contact Group in Cairo, Assistant
Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer said: “spoilers
should refrain from making the situation in Somalia
unstable.” It is important to ask: “Who are the
spoilers”? If the name of one clan is used as the only
group which opposes Ethiopia’s occupation of Somalia
that gives the impression as if other clans are happy
to live under Ethiopia’s occupation, which is not the
case. There are a lot of Somalis regardless of their
clan affiliation who show true patriotism and
nationalism and oppose or disapprove Ethiopia’s
presence in Somalia.
Those who are
resisting the occupation are not purely from one clan,
but Somalis faithful to the freedom of their
motherland. To call a name of a clan in the struggle
for the liberation is nothing but the infamous policy
of divide and rule applied by the occupation forces.
Pursuing the clan tactic to liberate Somalia perfectly
suits Ethiopia’s approach of clan manipulation. Buri
Hamza, a Somali writer, explained this point nimbly.
He said: “The policy of manipulation of clan cleavages
and differences in Somalia has provided the Ethiopian
regimes with the conditions that are propitious to the
dismemberment of the Somali homogenous national
identity. The Ethiopian governments have used the
“clan card” skilfully to perpetuate the Somali mayhem
and impede the reconstitution of the Somali state. It
bodes well for any regime in Ethiopia to resort to
“clan card” in its destabilization policy of Somalia.”
Ethiopia is occupying
a country not a clan. Since one clan cannot encompass
all Somalis who are against this illegal occupation
nor can it single-handedly liberate the country,
therefore it is important to oppose Ethiopia’s
occupation of Somalia under a credible national
movement. If this movement is to succeed, it must not
only aim to end Ethiopia’s occupation of Somalia but
it must also address the dynamics behind Somalia’s
ills. Ethiopia’s occupation has awakened Somalia’s
nationalism and this nationalism must not be allowed
to pass out again.
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