Somalia in the balance

This week’s fighting in Mogadishu should come as a sobering reminder that Somalia is not yet out of the woods. The fighting that has occurred this week in Mogadishu is a reminder that the international community as well as Somalis is failing to capitalize on the recent good fortunes of bringing in a government finally to a country that have existed lawless for years. Yes, one can understand in the light of recent incidents in the Middleeast and elsewhere that if the international community engages in a such a matter that they need to be in it for the long haul.

What most fail to see is that waiting things out has not brought anything but more chaos and mayhem to Somalia. Inaction is not an option we all need to act if we do not want to see this nation revert to lawlessness. Pledges have been made, why are they not being fulfilled? Is it a case of rhetoric or sound bytes for media and pressure groups. Somalia is in a balance and there is a need to stop the bloodletting and start re-building. How many lives can we afford to throw at the bonfire of conflict? Have we not seen enough deaths and miseries? Somalia today is a pale resemblance of what it once was, the capital Mogadishu is a city that lies in ruins- its past glory visible only when seeing spectacular landmarks gutted by civil war and conflict.

President Abdullahi yusuf, this week, with optimism said that if people worked Somalia would re- emerge in six months. His optimism is rightly put- this can happen but not when ulterior motives and stubbornness cloud reasoning. The conflict in Somalia is not similar to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is not a war on terrorism, it is a conflict based on ill placed enthusiasm. The Transitional government of Somalia is a legitimate government; it has gained international recognition and support. We all have to live with this fact. It is a transitional government which facilitates the setting up of government bodies that help re-establish bureaucracies and rule of law during an interim period. Once that interim period passes, elections will be carried out and the people will choose who leads their nation. The TFG is the first step towards normalcy not the last, bickering or taking up arms whenever differences in opinion arise is counterproductive.

The reconciliation process that is slotted for April 16th is the right remedy for Somalis to close gaps between them. It should be the type of outlet and dialogue for peace that the Somalis need. However, its success and failure fall completely on Somalis, they decide whether the deadlock can be broken or continue to push the nation in an endless cycle of violence. Somalis need to put pressures on the various fighting factions to try and solve their differences through the reconciliation forum. Those external forces that are intimately involved in Somali politics on their part should change tact and help Somalis in the reconciliation process rather than pollute the atmosphere of reconciliation with fear and conspiracies. If one looks at the situation, the number of nations directly involved in the conflict in Somalia during the conflict between the TFG and the UIC far exceeds the number of nations that are now trying to help Somalia out. The international community cannot continue ehming and ahing about helping Somalia. It is a duty and a moral obligation!!! •

March 23, 2007