Midnimo

Dhaqdhaqaaqa Midnimada Somaliyeed

Unity

Somali Movement for Unity (SMU)

[email protected]

Columbus, OH,

March 20, 2011

Communiqué

For the last year and a half a group of Somali activists has been visiting,

listening to, and consulting with Somalis in the home country and in the

diaspora. Those travels and public consultations have spanned the Somali

Republic, Djibouti, Kenya, UAE, and the majority of the largest

concentrations of Somali diaspora in North America and Europe.

The consultations led to the conclusion that the Somalis in the home country

and those who live outside Somalia are ready to turn away from clan politics

and sectarianism, and work together in order to save the Somali nation from

the calamity it has been mired in since 1991. The best way to accomplish

that is to found an inclusive, unifying, Somali-owned and Somali-led,

grassroots political movement. So far all attempts to find a solution to the

Somali problem have only produced short-term, top-down, dead-end results

that have thwarted the aspirations of the Somali people. All those attempts,

however, have failed miserably – so will current attempts premised on the

same approach.

If things continue the way they are now, the very existence of the Somali

nation will be in question. Business as usual is not an option nor is the

current status quo acceptable. We cannot let the country remain prey to

politicians who are oblivious to the plight of the long-suffering Somali

people. We have to organize, educate, and prepare the Somali people. With

that in mind, a meeting was held on March 18-20, 2011, in Columbus, OH.

The meeting was attended by a number of Somali activists from a number of

cities in North America. After three days of discussions the meeting adopted

the following resolutions:

1. To establish a grassroots movement whose objective is to organize,

educate, and galvanize the Somali people for political action from the

bottom-up.

2. The name of the movement shall be “Dhaqdhaqaaqa Midnimada

Somaliyeed (Midnimo)” in Somali, and Somali Movement for Unity

(SMU) in English.

3. SMU is not a political party nor is it vying for power.

4. SMU shall be a Somali-owned, Somali-run, grassroots movement that

will recruit its members from Somalis inside the country and from

among the worldwide Somali diaspora.

5. SMU shall strive towards realizing the following vision for the

country:

Sovereign, united Somali Republic, committed to Islamic

values, free from all forms of sectarian divisions, secure in its

borders, at peace with its neighbors, self-reliant in its social and

economic development, governed by strong and just

institutions, led by a transparent and accountable representative

government that adheres to the rule of law.

6. Any Somali who believes in the vision and guiding principles of

SMU, who is willing to take a binding oath to abide by those

principles, who is willing to sacrifice time and money for the sake of

the Somali Republic without expecting any material gain in return,

who is loyal to the Somali cause, who is motivated solely by a desire

to serve the Somali people, and who is willing to do so without a title,

office or remuneration, shall be eligible to be a member of SMU.

7. SMU shall be self-sufficient and shall be governed by the same

principles that it envisions for the Somali people: self-reliance,

integrity, transparency, and accountability.

The meeting also elected a seven-member ad-hoc committee that was

commissioned to accomplish the following tasks:

1. To put together a charter and bylaws by which the movement shall be

governed.

2. To organize a general assembly that shall take place no later than July

1, 2011, to which all members shall be invited and in which the

charter and bylaws shall be debated and passed.

3. To charter SMU chapters in all major cities in the Somali Republic

and in all cities of the world with sizeable Somali diaspora

populations.

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