Monday, January 17, 2011

Somalia: Puntland-TFG Split may damage federalism


By Liban Ahmad
Jan. 17, 2011

Sheikh Shariif Faroole
The decision of Puntland government to “discontinue its cooperation with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia” (TFG) is, in the eyes of many people, a major political  gamble. Puntland - TFG cooperation was strained by the resignation of the first TFG president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed in December 2008. The second TFG president, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, assumed power in January 2009,  the same month Abdirahman Farole was elected Puntland president. President Abdirahman Farole welcomed the Djibouti reconciliation conference out of which the expansion of the TFG parliament and absorption of a wing of the former Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia into TFG institutions emerged, but now views it as an exercise that deprived Puntland of its privilege for “ participation, consultation and representation … during the 2008-2009 Djibouti Peace Process which led to the formation of the current Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia”.

Other reasons for the discontinuation  of Puntland-TFG cooperation include failure  on the part of the TFG to implement “ the 2009 Galka’ayo Accord and Memorandum of Understanding on Security Cooperation (12 April 2010), signed between the TFG and Puntland; the marginalization of Puntland from the international community’s initiatives and funding intended for the reconstruction and development of Somalia as a whole, including past and ongoing training of Somali security forces in countries like Uganda, Kenya, and Djibouti.”

Puntland administration is against the extension of TFG mandate but is in favor of a new reconciliation conference to be held in Puntland.  All major reconciliation conferences out of which transitional administrations had emerged had been held outside Somalia. It is not clear how Puntland can succeed in persuading the international community, Somalia’s political and traditional leaders to back and attend such a conference in Puntland although Puntland hosted the 18th regional Football Tournament last year.

Puntland-TFG relations deteriorated after the appointment of Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as prime last year. Puntland complained  that its share in ministerial portfolios was “looted”.

TFG Minister of Information,  Abdikarim Hassan Jama , in an interview with the VOA Somali Service, defended  Puntland initiative to have its new anti-piracy force trained by Saracen International , the same company  training security staff for the TFG, a sign that Puntland and TFG were warming up to each other before the split.

Faroole & Farmajo
Last week the TFG prime minister Mohamed Abdi Mohamed left Mogadishu  to attend a  UN Security Council Meeting. “ We will show that we have a coherent and transparent programme for the future and that despite the most difficult of circumstances, we can lay the foundations for a secure government,” prime minster Mohamed said in speech for the UN Security  Council members.  In his 1939-word speech, no mention was made of  Puntland and Somaliland as examples of peaceful parts of Somalia where people have put in place institutions that helped  many Somalis  recover from the collapse  of  state in 1991 and how those two administrations  constitute the solid foundation on which durable political institutions  for Somalia can be built.

Since its inception in 2004 successive Transitional Federal Governments of Somalia have squandered legitimacy bestowed on them by the international community and local administrations such as Puntland. The TFG president Sharif Ahmed had an opportunity to lay out his vision of a federal Somalia. The question is: Have TFG myopia and Puntland impatience put the last nail on federalism project in Somalia?  The political terrain in Somalia seems to be as desolate and forlorn as it was twenty years ago when the twenty-one year rule of military dictatorship was brought to an end by clan-based opposition groups with no plans and vision to change the political conditions for better.
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Liban Ahmad is the editor of Somalia Research Report and a frequent contributor to terror free 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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