Opinions

Op-Ed: Horn of Africa needs an internal hero

September 2, 2010   ·   1801714 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2Fop-ed-horn-of-africa-needs-an-internal-hero-18017Op-Ed%3A+Horn+of+Africa+needs+an+internal+hero2010-09-02+08%3A03%3A13Mohamed+H.+Gulaidhttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2F%3Fp%3D18017

JOHANNESBURG (Somalilandpress) — Somalia once again made headlines this week when al­Shabaab militants killed 31 people at a Mogadishu hotel.

But, “Somalia”, as seen on the map, simply doesn’t exist. There is Southern Somalia, the Federal State of Puntland to the North­East, and the Republic of Somaliland on the northwestern flank.

This is a region that, for decades, has been associated with internecine conflicts, religious extremism and famine.

The larger part of Southern Somalia is in the hands of al­Shabaab, which is implicated in two recent terrorist bombings in Kampala, Uganda.

Of the three, only Somaliland is relatively stable after successful elections in June.

“Somalia” and its problems have become the veritable poster boy for the disintegrated African state. The issue has been thrown into sharp relief following the Kampala bombings and the subsequent debate over whether South Africa should send troops to the region.

To answer this question, it would be necessary to look at previous military campaigns by foreign governments into the region. It’s a depressing chronicle of failure and disaster. History is littered with references to failed missions across the Horn. Between 1991 and 1993, a well­trained 37 000­ strong UN­ and US­backed force came nowhere near defeating warlords. Then there is the latest effort: a push for a 6,300­ strong African Union (AU) mission in Somalia, protecting the transitional federal government along its paltry 4km territory.

So why is the UN Security Council stepping in when it knows past efforts have failed?

Behind the scenes, informed observers are aware that the Bush administration pushed Uganda, Burundi and other countries to go into Mogadishu.

By endorsing this, the Security Council undermined its own obligations, prompting observers such as Ghanaian Colonel Festus Aboagye to ask whether it was a case of African troops being used as ‘‘cannon fodder’’ for vested interests.

Instead of foreign military interventions, one would do well to consider that Somalis – when left to indigenous, home­grown processes – can succeed in implementing grassroots approaches to nation building.

Four years ago, we saw the Union of Islamic Courts bring reasonable stability to Mogadishu until Ethiopian troops pushed them out.

The northeast area of Puntland has a fragile peace under the vulnerability of huge piracy money and al­Shabaab guerrilla cells, and aspires to be a part of a federal Somalia.

This, after it developed a social pact of nominated elders and clan parliamentary representation in 1998.

But it is Somaliland that has accurately been dubbed Africa’s best­kept secret.

In June this year, the region held its second democratic presidential election, which was observed to be free, fair and credible by observers from the US, the UK, Norway and South Africa. To top it all, Somaliland witnessed a continental rarity in the peaceful transfer of power to the opposition candidate, Ahmed Mohamed Silaanyo.

South Africa has an excellent peacekeeping record and one would caution against this being blemished by the rash judgment of some AU “experts’’, who now insist that the AU mission in Somalia needs to up its troop levels to 10 000 – a conservative estimate by all accounts.

Ultimately, foreign military interventions should be discouraged. A new internally driven political process is required of all the Southern Somali political groups.

Bringing peace and stability to the Horn is doable and a great chance for Africa to show that it is in control of its own affairs.

By Iqbal Jhazbhay
Professor, University of South Africa. And Director on the Board of the Institute for Global Dialogue.
Author: Somaliland: An African Struggle for Nationhood and International Recognition

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By Mohamed H. Gulaid

Tags: somalia somaliland troops peackeeping al shabab