Understanding Somalia

Media Talk: Understanding Somalia Tue 2nd September Chaired by Martin Plaut (BBC) Awale Kullane (New Somali Youth League) Tom Quinn (MSF) Khadija Ali by skype (Somali peace activist) Juliana Ruhfus (Al Jazeera) Location: 13 Norfolk Place, London W1 1QY This event will be webcast live - you can

the forum Who or What is Fueling the War in Somalia?

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Forum, hosted by Yvonne Ridley

the panellists are:

Abdirahman Abdishakur – Vice Chair of Central Committee - Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia

HE Tesfamicael Gerahtu – Eritrean Ambassador to UK

Awale Kullane – Chair, Somali Youth League

Alun Michael – Labour MP / Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group for Somaliland

The progress in the mess of power conflict

Somalia From stateless to a country with a state, from an institution only existing in nominal level to a power shifting institution, where the charter and bylaws are activated and employed to be engaged in the decision making and distinguishing the borders of powers.

Prior to the new millennium in Somalia terminologies such as parliament, president, Prime minister, governors, mayors, parliament-motions, resignations, ministers, and parliamentary committees, have been non-existent since the early 1990s in a national level.

Today in the dust of the political struggle between the president and the prime minister the two most powerful political figures in Somalia, which is instigated by the Prime-Minister relieving the governor and mayor of Mogadishu from his duties and the president objecting to that action, had lead to resignations of some ministers and reshuffle of the government, however in this mess there is a certainty that in the Somali political realm, political power can be contested without involving blood shed among the contenders.

Yes Somalia was one of the first democracies in Africa and consistently until 1969, nevertheless such notion is still just a relic among the Somalis who have experienced pain and the lack of democracy in the past few decades.

It is impossible to claim that we have the best of institutions in Somalia at the moment, nevertheless under the circumstances we have a fragile institution that is hardening and maturing, This is not an entitlement of a utopia of success story of Somali institutions, however to asses the shift of power indications, the terminology and measures. Hitherto those who are vigorously against the institution can not refute that today they are trapped or entertained by pondering about the process and the debate it presents of the charter and identifying the roles of president and the prime-minister, questions such as, when is the government dissolved? Who has the power to do so? These questions have been a centre topic of political discussions of Somalia.

There is no turning of a blind eye to the mess and its vastness, in regards to the bombs that exploded to the 20 women cleaners, and the increase in death toll due to the continuing conflict in Mogadishu between the resistance fighters and the Ethiopian troops, There is also no turning of a blind eye to the absence of a functioning fully fledged state institutions that is independent of the support of foreign troops. however in some form or another if we sought after a state with its institutions, and in regard to the current state institutions there is a heart beat, despite the poor capacity of the parliament they have started to play a role, and ministers have confront fearlessly for what they thought was right or resigned on those bases, the beauty is there is more room for political debates and disagreement and in the near future no child will be killed for the power struggles to come that’s if we Somalis maintain the institutions, political conflicts between the most powerful without involving armed militias taking up posts, is an achievement in my book.

Nation building in this age of greater communication and technology, as well the blurs distinction between globalization and intense external interference is quite a challenge for the Somali people and many young African nations. In measuring our terminology, we have improved, in measuring hope that will depend on the level of relative deprivation amongst the expectations of the people, however in this case I see progress not due to individuals and leaders not due to conflicts and reconciliation but due to the gradual growth of the state institutions and its imitation to attaining to the public consensus in regards to its bylaws or charter.

RIZ KHAN Somalia: More chaos

Programmes RIZ KHAN
Somalia: More chaos?
	Thousands have been killed in Somalia's civil war [AFP]

Riz speaks with three prominent Somalis with different views on their country's future: Abdi Samatar, a leading Somali academic in the US; Sadia Ali Aden, who heads an attempt to unify the Somali expatriate community in the US; and Awale Kullane, a Somali activist in London.

in QuickList

Riz Khan - Somalia, more chaos - 12 June 08 - Part 1

Watch part one of this episode of Riz Khan

in QuickList

Riz Khan - Somalia, more chaos - 12 June 08 - Part 2

Watch part two of this episode of Riz Khan

Somalia: Revisits the Purpose of War

April 16, 2008

Unlike numerous Somalis, I am very optimistic of the Somali political future, although I think that, there is a mammoth challenge ahead for the current Prime Minister Nur (Ade) Hussein Hassan and the Somali people.

A great number of ready-made solutions, prepared by some Somali political pundits and professors had been debunked under the stress of political reality, predictions such as an all out war in the region, with snowball effect, have failed to play out, and overrated leaders of the opposition proofed to be politically blind of the international and national politics.

The overrated current opposition leaders have paradoxically and extremely jeopardised, the nations integrity and more importantly, guarded their leadership selfishly with the blood, wealth and wellbeing of the common Somali in Mogadishu, who stood with the Islamic courts and the shabaab, on the grounds that their purpose was to fight for the territorial integrity of Somalia, and later found that they are no more then soldiers of al-Qaeda as admitted by the shabaab and high officials of the courts, a group who have scorched the nations dreams, hopes and existence of development to serve a few long distant radical extremists.

Almost every Somali cheered on with the Islamic courts and fought against the warlords, when the anti-terrorist Alliance Group was formed in Mogadishu, leaders of the Islamic courts where rescued by Somali Civil Societies, Somali media and the Somali people in Mogadishu, who have interpreted the anti-terror group, as a group, paid to beef up a fictional accusations, which is the link between the Islamic courts and Al-Qaeda, an false accusation assumed to be exported by Ethiopian Government and sold to the West.

Only to reveal now, that the fictional accusation is a actually a heartbreaking fact, Looking back now, its agonizing to comprehend how Somalis where mislead to this trap, not by Ethiopian Leaders and Americans Leaders and international community member leaders, who assured openly, that there are links between the Islamic courts and Al-Qaeda, on the contrary, the misleading was done by the leaders of the Islamic courts, who knew this fact however cowardly concealed it from the Somalis, who trusted them, with their lives, Somalis who are betrayed by the leaders of the opposition and the Shabaab.

The opposition leaders mislead Somalis who fought in the name of nationalism, only to uncover that the group leading the war have openly admitted that they are linked with Al-Qaeda, and Somali nationalism, flag and territorial integrity, was not in the list of things to fight for, as far as the shabaab were concerned. To create havoc was the purpose regardless of weather Ethiopian troops where in Somali or not as they currently admitted.

I and many Somalis challenged the world to prove the link of Al-Qaeda to Somalia , just to find out after the death of thousands of people that, the shabaab where proudly serving Al-Qaeda.

Why did this happen?

Probably most Somalis where eager to get rid of the warlords from Mogadishu , thus any group who accomplished such a task where not supposed to be vetted, and that little breach may have caused Somalis thousand of lives. Fortunately or unfortunately the leaders of the shabaab and some high officials of the courts created their own website stating their loyalty to Al-Qaeda, now with this blunt admission, will almost certainly and optimistically persuade many Somalis to revisit the purpose of supporting a war lead by such group, and what would be achieved by doing so?

I strongly condemn the leaders of the opposition and there cowardice actions that masked such disastrous group, Somalia today is at greater peril for the reason that of a few men, who knew the facts and chose to do nothing, while many good Somalis have died and many other politically scammed by the lies of opposition leaders who have continuously denied what now their soldiers the shabaab are admitting, their links and loyalty to Al-Qaeda.

This is not to justify the TFI (Transitional Federal Institutions) mistakes, and I am in no account stating them as Great and Complete, However honest improvements have been made by the TFG (Transitional Federal Government), I also don’t expect a political consensus better then the TFI (Transitional Federal Institutions) to be achieved this quickly for a nation which had a 17 years civil war, and I actually consider healthy, for a nation to have politically different groups with different view points, one of the primary goals of the current TFG (Transitional Federal Government), at the moment is to set the foundations for the platform to allow such political contest elections to take place, without interrupting the peace and the day-to-day businesses of a nation, such step is an important step for strengthening the institution.

The world’s wealthy and poor nations, near and far, are unified by the war against terrorism and Somalis who support groups linked with Al-Qaeda to capitalise or destabilize their political opponents, will only place Somalia in dangerous waters, internally and internationally, with the expense of Somali peoples present and future, Peace and Prosperity.

Ironically Somalis who support these groups such as the shabaab to fight with the Ethiopian troops in order to hope for Ethiopians to withdraw are self-defeating their purpose, for the reason that, the world will plead and pay for the Ethiopian troops to stay in Somalia in fear of international terrorism to spread out from Somalia, and not to leave it in a vacuum so that’s its not filled by groups like the shabaab, Now there are groups admitting such loyalty to Al-Qaeda already, will only increase the need and support for Ethiopian troops in Somalia.

The best way to achieve quicker withdrawal, of all foreign troops is to side with the world against terrorism and the shabaab, and encourage the institution to be broad-based, functional and fair.

Thank you

Mr Awale Kullane
awale@yahoo.com