As we mourn and reflect on the tragedy that befell Uganda on July 11, there remain many unanswered questions. The bombings were senseless and inhuman. Ugandans are now targets anywhere in the world.
However, tragedies and calamities like these help to unite people in grief and also bring out the best of individuals. For example, in the absence of ambulances everything was still done to take casualties to hospitals and doctors and the security agencies tried their best to come to grips with the situation.Tragedies also allow examination of the performance of those who could have prevented them. The security agencies have been caught napping on duty. As they concentrated on suppressing the political opposition, they neglected the security of the country. To be effective they must focus on their core responsibilities and remain non-partisan.which must still be answered is why Ugandans should be targeted if Amisom is indeed an AU mission? How come that other than Burundi, where Ugandan influence is substantial, there is no other member of the African Union sending troops to Somalia? If, as claimed, Ugandan troops are in Somalia as a pan-Africanist duty, why did the pan-Africanist spirit arise only in 2007 when the Somali problem started in 1991 when Siad Barre was overthrown?
Fortunately, the AU summit meeting is taking place in Kampala immediately after the terror attacks and hopefully it will provide answers especially after their excellencies visit the terror sites. But more importantly, I hope they will decide to contribute more troops from other AU members. If they do not do so then President Museveni's commitment to deploy more troops is untenable. Amisom must become an AU mission not a Uganda/Burundi mission. Uganda is paying a heavy price with UPDF soldiers killed and injured in Somalia and now many killed and injured in Kampala. This should cause the AU and Ugandan authorities to reflect on the fate of Amisom.Amisom is not the first intervention in Somalia. The UN created a peace keeping mission, led by the USA and deployment took place in 1993 but the mission was abandoned in 1995 after 19 American and 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Next, in 2006, the Ethiopians overthrew Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which had seized Mogadishu and most of South Somalia. The Ethiopians suffered heavy casualties and withdrew in 2007.Sheik Sharif Ahmed was then installed as President again but this time without any ICU forces. Thus when Ugandan troops, followed by Burundi troops, were deployed to protect the President and vital installations, there was already opposition and resistance to foreign intervention organised by several radical groups (now overshadowed by al Shabaab) influenced by al Qaeda. It is this latter influence that has spawned the terror that hit Kampala.The way forward is not immediate withdrawal but there must be an exit roadmap clearly outlining when other AU countries will contribute troops and how long the AU mandate will last. Therefore, in the short run there must be deployment of more AU, not Ugandan, troops for a definite period. Secondly, the experience of Somaliland, the north eastern half of Somalia, must be examined to find out why the chaos and lawlessness have not taken root there and what can be replicated in southern Somalia. Finally, al Shabaab extremism is not representative of Somalis. Therefore, Ugandans must refrain from collective victimizsation and condemnation of Somalis as they are also victims of Al Shabaab terrorism.
Augustine Ruzindana 21 July 2010
Mr Ruzindana is FDC's deputy secretary general, policy and research
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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir
Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979
Sultan Kenadid
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Sultanate of Obbia
President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,
Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan
Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli
Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )
MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen
Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake
May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government
The Honourable Ronald Reagan,
When our world changed forever
His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Government in Paris from 1974 to 1979.
Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.
Soomaaliya الصومال Somali Republic
Somalia
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