Monday, June 20, 2011

Sharief Eats Farmajo,Thanks to Gunboat Diplomacy

We learned yesterday that PM Farmajo resigned all of a sudden despite wide popular support, and the evidence of growing parliamentary support as well. His resignation was entirely unexpected and must come as a shock to all those who displayed their support in public demonstrations inside the country and outside it, the latest of which was the public demonstration that was held in London yesterday. The news leaking from Villa Somalia states that he was given in the presence of Sheikh Sharief, the President, a one-hour ultimatum by the general commanding AMISOM troops to which the PM had no option but to comply. Deputy Prime Minister Abdulweli, a friend, was appointed as PM ad interim. With an impeccable background Abdulweli will, I am sure, equate himself of the tasks entrusted to him. But this should be a dark day for Somalia, for what happened represents the triumph of power over principle, of treachery over nationalism, and of personal rule of constitutional rule.
Despite the repeated reaffirmation of the UN Security Council of Somalia’s sovereignty, political unity and territorial integrity we are confronted today with the stark, ugly and shocking reality that the country’s sovereignty is only nominal and the old gunboat diplomacy is alive and well. That kind of diplomacy was the modus operandi of imperialist powers in ages past. But, since the rise of a liberal world order following the Atlantic Charter, the formation of the United Nations Organization, and improvements in transport and communication between different parts of the world, the demise of imperialism was hastened and gunboat diplomacy has been condemned, discarded and relegated to that dark age in which nations were bullying one another. Nevertheless, there are instances such as the one we witnessed in Mogadishu today where it evinces some signs of life.
Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda, flew to Mogadishu the other day to salvage the Kampala Accord which had been signed under his auspices a few days before and which was now teetering on the brink of collapse in consequence of widespread rejection. He of course has boots on the ground in Somalia and can influence, if not dictate, the decisions of the TFG. Obviously, his country has an interest in the restoration of peace to Somalia owing to the fact that it has more than five thousand of its uniform-bearing sons fighting the Shabab on Somali soil. I have no doubt that they want to go back home as soon as possible instead of being maimed and killed on a foreign soil and for a cause which is not really their own. I am sure we should all be grateful that the AU and President Museveni in particular are trying to prevent the country from falling into the hands of the Shabab.
However, there is a world of difference between helping a sister country fight an internal insurgency in order to restore peace and order and preventing the natural growth of its political institutions. President Museveni is apparently confusing helping Somalia militarily – a much needed help, no doubt – and helping Sheikh Sharief politically against his own people: the former is laudable; the latter despicable. But we have to understand President Museveni did not come to power through the ballot box but by ‘other means’ (to use the language of Bismarck who said that “war is diplomacy by other means). To his everlasting credit President Museveni saved his country from ruin and disintegration, but I am not sure whether this should entitle him to be its life-president. He has been in power for twenty-five years, which would not have been possible without extending his term of office whenever it expired. He does not therefore see anything wrong with Sheikh Sharief’s clamor for extension. Likewise, he cannot understand why Farmajo should be so ‘impudent’ as to go over and above his President to Parliament, or why Parliament should have a say in an agreement that was negotiated and signed by its Speaker and the Head of State. It seems that Mr. Museveni took Farmajo’s attempt to stay in office by making recourse to Parliament as a personal affront to him, which required a retaliatory response. According to the news coming out of Mogadishu that response, delivered by the Commander of the Ugandan troops to Prime Minister Farmajo in the presence of Sheikh Sharief, came in the form of an ultimatum, which stated that Farmajo would lose Ugandan protection of his personal security unless he tendered his resignation in writing within an hour. Facing this threat to his life Prime Minister Farmajo had no option but to resign without further ado.
This desperate and dishonorable act was also taken to pre-empt any action on the part of Parliament to annul the Kampala Accord and confirm Farmajo in office. Parliament had been paralyzed, for it was not allowed to meet for the last four months in spite of motions that accumulated and petitions by the parliamentarians to the Speaker. This morning about one hundred and fifty members of Parliament assembled to meet in the hall where Parliament generally meets, but a Deputy Speaker locked the facility and walked away with the keys, mirabile dictu
All this is plain thuggery and shows that a President and a Speaker who take the law into their own hands and feel answerable to no one have destroyed the democratic institutions, which the internal community spent so much time, effort and resources to build, with foreign connivance. However, sooner or later Parliament will have to assemble and it is up to it to save the Nation from the shariefs and their ilk.
The presence of foreign troops in a country reduces the sovereignty of the host country. It is easy to invite foreign troops, but it is difficult to get rid of them when they prove counterproductive or to give them instructions when they deviate from their original mission. What the Somalis are experiencing under the Ugandans is exactly the same as what they were experiencing under the Ethiopians; it is the same also as what the Lebanese were undergoing under the Syrian army and what the Egyptians suffered when the British forces where occupying the canal zone. As a matter of fact a classic example of gunboat diplomacy happened in Egypt in the late 1930s and early 1940s when the British Ambassador, Sir Miles Lampson, used to tell the monarch what to do, whom to dismiss as prime minister and whom to appoint in his place, as well as whom to appoint as minister and to what portfolio. In 1940 Lampson asked the King to sack PM Ali Mahar who was reported to have pro-Italian leanings which incensed the ambassador even though the latter’s own wife was Italian. Though King Farouk resisted at first he had to comply in the end. In 1942 Lampson told the King to appoint Nahas (an arch-enemy of the King himself) as Prime Minister. He in fact sent the King an ultimatum to the King saying that unless Nahas was invited to form a government by six o’clock that evening the King should either abdicate or he would be deposed. Just compare this with what happened in Mogadishu today.
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Mr. Ismail Ali Ismail is the author of the new book “Governance: the Scourge and Hope for Somalia" which is available at Amazon and Zailai books.he is a Terror Free Somalia Political Analyst He can be reached at: geeldoonia@gmail.com
Museveni sneaks into Somalia

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

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

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)

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.

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

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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