From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Jun 23 2010 - 18:14:29 EDT
Foreign Policy: The Global Nature Of Somalia's Issues
by OMAR ABDIRASHID ALI SHARMARKE
June 23, 2010
In recent months, many in the United States seem to have given up on
Somalia. In March, for example, the Council on Foreign Relations issued a
special report calling for a "new" policy of "constructive disengagement"
from our country - in other words, the withdrawal of international support
for the Somali government. That idea is undoubtedly tempting to many in
Washington, as well as in London and other Western capitals, given the
difficulty of the problems we face as a government working to restore order
across a hostile land. But this supposedly new approach would be as
disastrous today as it has been in the past, both for Somalia and the
international community.
In fact, "constructive disengagement" is a nice euphemism for the same very
old and thoroughly failed policies that Western countries have used for
years to wrongly argue that Somalia's problems can remain in Somalia. This
was the prevailing attitude of much of the international community during
most of the past two decades - until rampant piracy drew navies from around
the world toward Somali waters. The presence offshore of a flotilla of
warships from the navies of more than two dozen countries illustrates
vividly how our country's internal problems are a pressing international
issue.
The global nature of Somalia's troubles is also visible on the ground, where
an influx of foreign fighters is swelling the ranks of militant
oppositionists who are openly aligned with al Qaeda. Hundreds of foreign
militants are currently in Somalia, ostensibly to fight the Somali
government alongside al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam, extremist groups that draw
inspiration from some of the world's most radical Islamist groups. Indeed, a
recent <http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/04/13/harsh-war-harsh-peace>
Human Rights Watch report looking at life for Somalis in Shabab territory
reads as if it could have come from the organization's old file on
Afghanistan's Taliban. Extremists desecrate the graves of Somalis seen as
somehow un-Islamic under their warped interpretation of Islam. Shabab
authorities regularly issue edicts banning everything from flying our Somali
flag to watching the World Cup, from ringing school bells to using tractors
for farming. Shabab enforcers flog women for failing to wear head-to-toe
garments, even though many families simply cannot afford them. These same
extremists blew up medical students and professors at a graduation ceremony
last year, and they are undoubtedly responsible for the five headless
corpses found in April in Mogadishu. The victims had been working to
construct a new Somali parliament building.
The world has seen this kind of savagery before, when the Taliban destroyed
ancient Buddhist statues in Afghanistan and when al Qaeda-linked militants
systematically bombed holy sites throughout Iraq. As the history of the past
decade shows, the extremists in Somalia will also undoubtedly begin
exporting violence throughout the region and around the world if we do not
confront them. And indeed, Africans are taking the lead in this fight. The
Somali government, backed by African Union peacekeeping forces, is gradually
extending the rule of law in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia. The hard
fight on the ground is ours to win, but we need international support from
afar to remain strong if we hope to succeed.
Yet nothing can be achieved without financial resources. And unfortunately,
all sources of revenue that our government could have used have either
collapsed or been destroyed. What Somalia needs most now from countries like
Britain and the United States is financial support, not troops or
peacekeepers. Our government is closely watching the events unfolding in
Afghanistan, where U.S. and British soldiers are fighting bravely in a war
we consider a distant front of our own. Somalis are eager to do their part
in pushing back against the menace of Islamist extremism, but they lack the
resources to do so. Support from the African Union and the United Nations is
helping us stand up a proper army, but it is not enough. We need more
support for our armed forces if we hope to win on battlefields in Mogadishu
and across Somalia in the coming months.
Somalia also needs more international support for initiatives off the
battlefield. We seek greater help in restoring legitimate commercial
activity so that we can make the most of our vast potential wealth in fish,
oil, gas, and minerals and someday fund long-term governance and development
on our own. For now, we urgently need resources to establish and maintain
public services, such as health care, education, water, and basic
sanitation, in areas under government control. We know better than anyone
what international navies are now learning the hard way: The best way to
overcome terrorism and piracy is ultimately to fill the vacuum in which they
thrive, namely the absence of state authority and good governance.
Our Transitional Federal Government was established in 2004. As the name
makes clear, we will try our best to govern only until the people of Somalia
can choose their leaders in an environment of peace, security, and
hopefulness about the future. Contrary to what some believe, such a day is
within reach, owing to the work our government has done already with help
from the international community. But that day may never arrive if Somalia
is again left standing alone.
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