Forget about the United States of America; their interest in Somalia is not to arrest the plight of the suffering Somali people. Foremost, their goal is to defeat and crush the imagined al Qaeda element in the on-going civil war in that sad country.
There is no way one can be pro-Al Shabaab or pro-Hizbul Islaam. Their visions are lopsided, and their methods of struggle vicious, horrific and anti-religion. My advocation has been for a policy that recognises the pathetic plight of the suffering and dying Somalis, against the gradualist and ineffectual military policy embraced by the African Union and the US.
Across Somalia today there is shortage of food, drugs and shelter. The UN officials say Somalia has not been in such perilous shape since the central government collapsed in 1991, and is in desperate need of help. And now Barack Obama’s team says: “We are compelled to hold any relief following concerns that the aid might be diverted to the camp of the pro-al Qaeda terrorists.â€
On his part Muammar Gaddafi, the AU leader, who should be attending to such problems, is busy with his antics. Is it not possible for a combination of UN and AU troops to invade Somalia and turn that country into a UN “trust territory,†as proper preparations are made to enable the Somali population to elect a legitimate government?
When Idi Amin Dada, Uganda’s treacherous dictator, was on our backs in East Africa, President Julius Nyerere called his top military officers and ordered them: “I want Idi Amin’s head.†Within two weeks the Tanzanian troops were in the field towards Kampala, capturing, slaying and destroying any evidence of Amin.
A little while later Idi Amin was in the air to Libya, while his Ugandan troops were scattered pell-mell, in headlong flight, to the borders.
SINCE THEN WE HAVE HAD SOME peace in East Africa. That is how the globalising world under the UN, should handle the Al Shabaab. This is a terrorist group that administers sharia laws not in the Koran — the book of the Islamic faith that contains the word of Allah.
The Al Shabaab believes that they are a holy movement, sanctioned by God to deliver their country from the infidels. But in truth, it is a murderous international terrorist band that does not listen to anyone. Their international supporters simply supply arms and do not dish out food, drugs, clothing or bedding for the suffering. If you raise your voice against them, they cut your arms, or legs or ears. Would God really approve of such law?
The overall result is that neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Puntland are faced with massive refugees, fleeing from their wrath. To survive, some Somalis have taken to banditry and piracy — as their ancestors did at the Red Sea in the ancient days of Aksum. International navies have been deployed to protect ships in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, but apparently the navies have failed to contain piracy.
It is just as well. The world’s mission is to get on with its commerce, while the people of Somalia live in squalor in the hands of hard-line Islamic groups. After 18 years of anarchy, over three million Somalis need food and liberation.
What is to be done? It looks like only the UN, with its universal mandate, can save the Somalis from their predicament. Had Somalia been a European country, its problems would have been sorted out long time ago by the international community. But being in Africa very few rich and powerful world countries bother; and that is why many in Africa are sceptical about globalisation.
Source: By WILLIAM OCHIENG’
Prof Ochieng’ teaches history at Maseno University
