President Hassan’s first year leads to polarization and disunity in Somalia
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- Posted On 16-08-2014, 08:18AM
GAROWE ONLINE EDITORIAL | President Hassan’s first year in office is characterized by a failed domestic policy strategy, which has renewed mistrust amongst Somali people, deepened disunity and further polarized the nation-state.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud completed his first year in office in September 2013. Following the successful conclusion of the Roadmap Process in 2012, the new Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) received international recognition and the President has been warmly received at international capitals, world diplomats speak of progress in Somalia, and the international media describes any progress achieved with caution and concern.
The ruthless terrorist attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi on Sept. 21 threw Somalia back on the international stage, followed subsequently by U.S. military raid on Oct. 5 on a house in the southern port town of Barawe, with officials saying they targeted Somalia-based Al Shabaab group responsible for organizing the attack on Westgate mall.
In late September 2013, President Hassan visited Washington, D.C., and New York and was featured on TV interviews with Fareed Zakaria of CNN and Charlie Rose of PBS, with both interviews centered primarily on the recent terrorist attack on a popular shopping mall in Nairobi by Al Shabaab militants, who have waged a relentless wave of suicide bombings, assassinations and guerrilla-style attacks inside Somalia since 2006. In both interviews, President Hassan was asked very specific questions about the nature, history and tactics of Al Shabaab, as if he was the head of Somali intelligence service and not the president of a republic.
As president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was expected to agree to an interview on international TV centered on the relevant and holistic topic of rebuilding Somalia – whereby terrorism is only a component, within the topic of security, fully cognizant that the relevantly important issue of rebuilding Somalia consists of a range of topics, be it social, political, economic, cultural, infrastructural, among other areas that need recovery, and therefore rebuilding Somalia is not limited to terrorism.
It was disappointing to witness the President of Somalia answer a series of repetitive and even trivial questions, not on state-building, but exclusively about terrorism and its nature in Somalia, as such interviews are ordinarily conducted by self-proclaimed “terrorism experts” that routinely appear on TV interviews.
Mogadishu clan elders declare ‘Jihad’ on Kenya
Certainly, the Westgate massacre in Nairobi has refocused attention on Somalia, a country that is remembered only when terrorists attack foreign targets or pirates hijack foreign vessels, and sometimes when a famine disaster ravages the countryside.
On the Charlie Rose talk show on Sept. 23, President Hassan said that he spoke with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta “many times during the siege” at Westgate mall and indicated that he planned to “visit Kenya” on his return trip from New York.
However, President Hassan traveled straight to Mogadishu, leading to local media speculation that the Kenyan leadership rebuffed a visit by President Hassan. Some Somali media reported that the Kenyan government raised serious concerns about clan elders in Mogadishu – President Hassan’s kinsmen – who called for “jihad” against Kenya only a few weeks before the Westgate terrorist attack in Nairobi, and the Kenyan government protested that President Hassan “did nothing” to stop clan elders promoting violence and hatred against Kenya.
On Oct. 1, Kenya's leader President Uhuru Kenyatta sent a strong message to Somalia to "get your house in order", according to Kenyan media, a public statement that shamed Mogadishu's inability to exert any control in Somali territories and underlined the growing divide between Nairobi and Mogadishu.
Leadership without substance
Over the past year, President Hassan has visited dozens of world capitals. His supporters, and indeed the federal government officials themselves, hail his “foreign policy achievement” but such perspective is a far cry from the truth.
The “foreign policy achievement” wrongly attributed to President Hassan by FGS and his supporters is a direct result of: 1) the successful conclusion of the Roadmap Process; and 2) international recognition by the U.S., E.U. and others, which brought a dramatic shift in arrangement for the FGS at international meetings and events. This is to say, quite blankly, that the penalty kick was set up and scored, and all President Hassan did was commence a victory lap dance running between world capitals.
If true change did take place in Mogadishu, President Hassan would not be forced to accept the shameful fate of traveling by AMISOM armored convoy from Villa Somalia presidential compound to Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport to receive mid-level diplomats from the West.
Failed domestic policy
President Hassan’s first year in office is characterized by a failed domestic policy strategy, which has renewed mistrust amongst Somali people, deepened disunity and further polarized the nation-state. In Jubaland, President Hassan initially refused in early 2013 for FGS to partake in Jubaland state formation process, and later rejected recognizing the newly elected Jubaland administration. A few months later in Addis Ababa, under the auspices of foreign intervention (IGAD, in this case), President Hassan succumbed to recognizing Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) as the leader of Jubaland in an Aug. 27 agreement. Last month, Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari – a close associate of President Hassan – joined his Digil and Mirifle clan in Baidoa in denouncing the Jubaland agreement and demanding the establishment of a new state comprised of six regions – including Jubaland’s three regions – without the consent or consultation of local communities, and in open opposition to the Jubaland agreement praised by IGAD, AU, UN, US, and EU. President Hassan has failed to address Speaker Jawari’s spoiler role, and silence equals acceptance.
In Lower Shabelle region, the U.N. Monitoring Group reported the “Somali government forces” engaging in widespread crimes against local communities, displacing civilians, and illegally seizing community lands. Lower Shabelle is one of the regions where, since the outbreak of Somali civil war in 1991, entire communities were uprooted, their properties including homes and farms looted and occupied to this day by "armed clans". This grave injustice, conducted by clan militia legitimized by President Hassan’s administration, has bolstered local support for Al Shabaab, which exploits community grievances to gain new recruits and funding support. To counter this true image of reality on the ground, President Hassan traveled to Lower Shabelle region and swam in Marka’s famous beach, a propaganda show of peace to the world; however, Al Shabaab launched a military-style attack on President Hassan’s convoy as he traveled from Mogadishu to Marka by road on Sept. 3, 2013, underscoring that Al Shabaab has a strong presence in Mogadishu and its environs (Marka is 90km south of Mogadishu), as the militants continue to exploit community grievances.
READ FULL REPORT: Somalia report of UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea (12 July 2013)
In Mogadishu, New York-based Human Rights Watch reported the horrendous conduct of local clan militia in Mogadishu, in inflicting much suffering including threats, beatings, killings and rape, against Internally Displaced Communities (IDPs), sometimes in collusion with “Somali government forces” in Mogadishu. President Hassan and the Federal Government have done nothing to prosecute those responsible, because such criminals are protected by powerful clan and/or commercial interests in Mogadishu.
In February 2013, a court in Mogadishu sentenced to one year in prison a woman who alleged that she was raped by government forces, and the case was later dismissed after an international outcry embarrassed the FGS leadership in Mogadishu. While this was a high-profile case, aided when FGS arrested a Mogadishu journalist who bravely reported the rape allegation, how many rape cases or violent attacks go unreported and injustice continues to prevail in Mogadishu?
The case of Puntland
President Hassan’s administration has worked hard to undermine Puntland State – domestically and at international venues. Despite the Federal Government’s bickering and manipulation, President Hassan and the world witnessed the President of Puntland government – Abdirahman Mohamed Farole – address the international community at the New Deal Conference, hosted by European Union in Brussels on September 16, 2013. On July 25, when a E.U. delegation visited Puntland, President Farole clearly informed the world that Puntland would attend the New Deal Conference with its own status and speak on its own behalf. Indeed, President Farole’s prophetic words rang true in Brussels and President Hassan’s unexplained obsession with where President Farole sits or whether Farole addresses the international community, portrayed President Hassan’s true face of personal envy, political naivety, misplaced priority, and even perhaps hatred for Puntland and its people.
On Aug. 5, Puntland government suspended all relations and cooperation with Federal Government pending a return to the country’s agreed federal constitution (as the current “constitution” was changed unilaterally and unlawfully by Speaker Jawari and Puntland rejects to recognize a tampered constitution), ensuring consultation with Puntland on federal and security matters (as enshrined in federal constitution), and guaranteeing fair distribution of foreign aid to Somalia. Since the Federal Government under President Hassan’s leadership has not achieved any such task, it can be expected that President Hassan’s authority will not extend to Puntland and Puntland will continue to exercise its authority under its own constitution.
As some Mogadishu politicians still harbor grievances against progress in Puntland due to clan wars of the past, the people of Puntland will not miss anything as Mogadishu did not and cannot provide any support to Puntland, as Mogadishu itself is on life support. For example, in recent weeks, there has been much progress in Puntland including the beginning of an airport runway construction project in Bossaso, new road projects in Garowe, Bossaso and Galkayo, new construction project of Garowe airport and a university in Sanaag region, and a new literacy and girls education education campaign was launched. Mogadishu's media, whether radio, TV or online, has not reported any of this progress and the FGS officials are not congratulating Puntland, a clear sign that hostilities still linger in Mogadishu. The FGS under President Hassan's leadership continues to meddle in Puntland politics, hoping that if a new leader is elected in Puntland on Jan. 8, 2014, that the new leader will favor Mogadishu's centrist policy, and this is a pipe-dream as no leader will emerge in Puntland who dares to compromise Puntland's hard-won stability, autonomy and progress.
As Mogadishu was not providing anything to Puntland to begin with, because Mogadishu itself is on life support, and Puntland can manage and will continue to manage its own affairs independently.
Federal Government alienates Somaliland
It is no surprise that political newcomers (as President Hassan himself is a newcomer) including Somali Minister of Natural Resources, retort to fancy speeches in foreign locations such as London, to declare messages that fall on deaf ears (something like “the federal government will not recognize oil deals signed by Somaliland and Puntland”) as reported by Bloomberg news agency.
In 2012, Puntland is the only location in Somalia where the Puntland government and its partners – Canadian and Australian companies – conducted the first-ever oil drilling since the state collapse over 22 years ago, and certainly Puntland did not need Mogadishu’s approval, support or manpower. Puntland proved to the world that oil exploration can be conducted in Puntland, whatever the case might be for Mogadishu.
The Natural Resources Minister’s public remarks via the media do not concern Puntland, but in fact, such comments risk further alienating Somaliland which has invested hope in Mogadishu by engaging in “political dialogue” mediated by Turkish government. How will the Natural Resources Minister’s remark impact the dialogue process with Somaliland, as Puntland has already suspended all relations with Federal Government? How does such a polarizing message contrast with the wise words of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who told President Hassan to engage with Somaliland and Puntland? Some reports say that the U.S. government rejected President Hassan's efforts to get US$25million in Somali national assets (including gold) released in the hands of President Hassan's family members, indicating a culture of shameless corruption.
No one knows the future, but by judging President Hassan’s first year in office, Somalia and the world can expect a leader that fixes nothing but only celebrates, a leader that foments new trouble in peaceful territories, a leader that worsens clan tensions in a war-ravaged country, a leader that exacerbates social injustices such as Lower Shabelle region, a leader that turns focus away from Al Shabaab which in turn bolsters the terror group, a leader that mismanages public funds and thus changes the Central Bank governor only after U.N. allegations of widespread corruption, and a leader that produces no result in the right direction because he is a leader without his people.
After one complete year in office, the honeymoon is over and we know who Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is.
