FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Somali Diaspora Network (SDN)
contact@somalidiaspora.org
http://www.somalidiaspora.org
Somalia's Warlord
President Belongs In A Courtroom At The
Hague Not At UN Security Council
Fairfax, Virginia, USA, 20 April 2008:
An invitation from South Africa, the holder
of the rotating presidency of the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC), brings Mr.
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the President of the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of
Somalia, to New York this week. Ostensibly,
his visit is part of an effort aimed at
convincing the UNSC to send peacekeeping
troops to Somalia. The country, which is
currently under an illegal occupation by
neighboring Ethiopia, is in the abyss of an
acute humanitarian suffering. Aid and
humanitarian agencies are unanimous in their
designation of Somalia as the worst crisis
on earth today. Mr. Yusuf’s stated goal of
the visit is to urge the UNSC to send a
United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force to
help his teetering government.
A former military Colonel in the National
Somali Army, Mr. Yusuf has been on the
Somali political scene for nearly five
decades. His arrival in Mogadishu in
January, 2007, as the unpopular President of
an even less popular, some would even say
imposed, government, ended a decades-long
absence from the capital. It also marked the
invasion and the start of an Ethiopian
occupation of Somalia that is now in its
second year. Caught between the
indiscriminate use of force by Ethiopian
occupation forces and a growing insurgency
opposed to their presence, over 60% of
Mogadishu’s residents of one million have
been displaced and are now living in the
“worst humanitarian crisis in Africa”,
according to the UN Special Representative
to Somalia, Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah.
The head of an unelected government, Mr.
Yusuf arrives in New York with a legitimacy
bestowed upon him by Ethiopian military
might, financing by the West and
indifference by the rest of the world. This
feigned legitimacy, however, pales in
comparison to the contempt and distrust with
which Mr. Yusuf and his government are
viewed by Somalis. Any benefit of the doubt
Mr. Yusuf and his TFG may have hoped to
garner has dissipated with the blanket
shelling of residential neighborhoods in
Mogadishu by Ethiopian forces. Shelling to
which Mr. Yusuf arrogantly, and accurately,
predicted there will be more of in his April
10th, 2007 interview on Voice of America
Radio. Whether Mr. Yusuf is aware of the
international laws governing war crimes and
violations of human rights is unclear, but
what is clear is that Mr. Yusuf and his
ineffective government brazenly continue the
culture of impunity that has plagued Somalia
for the past 17 years. This culture which
continues to impede any progress towards
serious and long lasting efforts towards
peace has warlords, like Mr. Yusuf and
others, as its protagonists.
Since arriving at the UN, the divisive
Mr. Yusuf wasted little time before
introducing new obstacles to the mediation
efforts recommended by the very UN whose
assistance he seeks to solicit. In a BBC
Radio interview on April 15, 2008, Mr. Yusuf
insisted that demands made by the opposition
for withdrawal of Ethiopian forces were not
part of any negotiations. He also insisted
that senior government positions such as the
President, Speaker of the Parliament and
Prime Minister were also not negotiable.
When asked in the same interview what else
could be the basis of reconciliation and
negotiation, Mr. Yusuf had no response.
These statements were made intentionally; it
seems, to disrupt the peace talks currently
being arranged by the UN special envoy to
Somalia.
In describing the purpose
of Mr. Yusuf’s visit this week, it is
instructive to quote a recent report
released by Refugees International (RI)
entitled “Somalia: Proceed with Caution.” In
this report, RI “urges members of the UN
Security Council to cautiously approach the
authorization of a UN peacekeeping
operation, and to seriously consider the
UN’s own political and financial
capacities.” RI further warns that “before
designing and authorizing any UN force, the
Security Council should assess the scope and
complexity of the conflict in Somalia, the
resources that will be necessary, and the
ability to provide it with the political,
material and human resources that it needs
to succeed. A Security Council mandate that
amounts to no more than a symbolic gesture
would be one more betrayal in two decades of
missed opportunities and broken promises.”
In the spirit of Refugee International’s
recent report, the Somali Diaspora Network
warns against providing what may
inadvertently amount to a replacement
military force to keep Mr. Yusuf’s weak and
unpopular government from collapsing when
the over-stretched Ethiopian occupation
troops eventually find it too costly to
stay. Furthermore, and as Refugee
International has succinctly indicated,
“insecurity will continue to challenge the
delivery of aid; the UN in particular should
take a hard look at its mode of operation.”
RI further decried the “UN’s political role
in Somalia” and how it “has hampered [its]
reputation as an impartial humanitarian
actor.” RI concluded its report by noting
how the “UN’s inability to dissociate
politics and aid [in Somalia] presents the
greatest obstacle.”
And while Somalia is in the worst shape
it has ever been, continuing to legitimize
and provide an international platform for
failed leaders such as Mr. Yusuf only serves
to further erode the Somali people’s trust
in the United Nations while also distancing
any hope of recovery for this long battered
nation. In the eyes of the Somali people,
and not unlike Charles Taylor of Liberia,
Mr. Yusuf belongs in a court room in The
Hague rather than the halls of the UN in New
York. It devalues the prestige and integrity
of the Security Council to host such a man.
To ensure the success of any efforts
undertaken by the UN to help Somalia, the
Somali Diaspora Network recommends that:
- The UN withdraws its support from
the TFG as it exists today.
Comprehensive reconciliation is
necessary and an inclusive government
must be in place before the UN provides
any support. Any assistance to the
current TFG amounts to supporting the
human rights violations visited upon the
Somali people.
- War crimes investigations commence
immediately to enable reconciliation and
discourage those who may not be
interested in achieving peace.
- The UN condemns and investigates the
Ethiopian occupation and the violation
of UNSC resolution 1725 (2006).
ABOUT SOMALI DIASPORA NETWORK (SDN) – SDN
is a grass-roots organization committed to
advocate on critical policy matters
pertaining to Somali-American interest and
issues of concern through communication and
information sharing, raising public
awareness, and educating the public and
government officials. SDN is a member of
Somali Cause. Somali Cause is an umbrella of
Somali organizations united to: (a) Work to
end the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia and
its replacement with Muslim & non-frontline
troops with a clear mandate, (b) Educate the
world about the plight of the Somali people,
(c) Provide humanitarian assistance to the
suffering people of Somalia, (d) Provide an
alternative to the clan and regional based
politics, and (e) Safeguard the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Somalia.
Somali Diaspora Network (SDN)
contact@somalidiaspora.org
http://www.somalidiaspora.org
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