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It is not my intention to rebuttal point by point but, it is to share with the readers of how my views of Somalia and the world at large differ from those of Dr. Yahya. Who’s responsible of Somali’s dilemma? Dr. Yahya’s characterization of the previous Somali civilian government as democratic and transparent and the military regime as tyrannical communists, responsible of the total destruction of the Somali state is something beyond comprehension. In my humble opinion, the roots of our present problems stem all the way from the colonial times -- After we gained independence, the Italians and the British transitioned the power to a group of administrators, trained in such way, to ensure the colonial interest are protected even in their absence. These leaders continued the policies of their masters (divide and rule) and took care of their personal interests. They began to solidify their power and get re-elected every term by corrupting their clansmen. Elections for Member Parliaments were rigged and clan domination and group interests were the order of the day. The end game came when in broad day light, President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was murdered and immediately after that, a power struggle ensued -- July, 1, 1960, Independence Day was the day we planted the seeds of destruction. The 1969 Revolution A group of young officers headed by Siad Barre took the reigns of power and quickly instituted law and order and averted chaos and tribal conflicts. They began rebuilding the schools, hospitals and social services. Not only did they introduce the Somali script (one thing Dr. Yahya and I agree on), they built one of the strongest military machines in Africa. Somalia became a respected nation in the world communities and made a good name among the African Union, United Nations and the Arab union. Somalia assisted the struggle for independence for a number of African countries including South Africa, Namibia, & Rhodesia. The Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) implemented self-help projects, a world class National University, Sports Stadiums, big hospitals and different agricultural projects. In the latter years of the military regime, the leaders began to falter and adopt nepotism and corruption, something they accused the previous civilian government before them. The 1977 war with Ethiopia weakened the government‘s power grip, opposition groups formed rebel armies in Ethiopia and began assaulting their own regions, which they hail from. The intention of the Ogaden war was the unification and liberation of the greater Somalia, not what Dr. Yahya suggests as diversion tactics. I was a critic of the military regime and advocated a peaceful change of power and up until now, I honestly believed that a path to peaceful transition of power, a change of regime was possible at the time -- some of my friends who supported the movements from Ethiopia believed that solution lies through the barrel of the gun. I reminded my colleagues the old saying “He who lives by the sword, dies by sword” – guns are not the ultimate solution. Was Somalia a communist state? I totally disagree with Dr. Yahya; Somalia was never a socialist state, much less a communist. I know what communism is, I have lived in the Soviet Union during the high day of the cold war, the Brezhnev era, I have walked the halls of the Kremlin and I know what communism is like. Somalia was never being a state, we are anarchic nomads, and we are still a nation in search of state. Opposition groups Unlike Dr. Yahya, It is my sincere belief that opposition movements such as SNM, USC, SSDF and others are to blame for much of the continuing carnage that takes place up to this moment. The motive of these groups is greed and none of them wanted to save the country and the people. They ignited a fire that can’t be extinguished. They killed a half-million Somalis and displaced over three million individuals. Islamic Movements If I'm Dr. Yahya, I would not call the current Islamization in Some parts of Somalia a Talibanism, this is the continuation of the work of the opposition groups (SNM, USC and SSDF) -- it came in the form of warlordism and now in the name of Islam. Just like their brethren, they want to pillage and plunder our nation, they have no sense of dignity, and they are criminals disguised as men of religion. They killed many innocent people by roadside or suicide bombings. The truth Intellectuals and experts all agree that Somalia was never a communist or a Taliban regime any time during our history. Contrary to Dr. Yahya's view, there are no real Wahabis or Al-qaeda in Somalia, but opportunists and men with criminal enterprises. "If I had known that Somalia will end-up this way, I wish to take the clock back to where the situation was before the civil war" this is a remark from one of my armchair wrestlers and former supporter of Somali warlords from Virginia, a colleague that I meet with every Saturday evening at our weekly get-together. Perhaps, the key thing to notice about Yahya's diatribe against the military regime comes from his personal experience while he worked with the government, he may have been unjustly imprisoned or wronged. My best advice to him is “to get over it" it has been over 20 years, so many thing have happened. At the height of the civil war, I witnessed the murders of some of my family members, my properties were looted, my unbearable suffering continued until I reached a safe place. Though angry at times, I came to the conclusion to forget and forgive, I realized that even the Moryans are also victims and all of us take some responsibility of what had happened in Somalia -- we either supported it morally or financially or took part of the killing spree physically. The late poet "Yamyam" noted in one of his famous poems (Gacan ku dhiigle, Maskax ku dhiigle). Dr Yahya, I see that you felt heart broken at the death of Mohamed Hassan Aden at the hands of Al-shabaab; I know you spent most of your time outside the country, not witnessing the death and destruction of Somalia. We have lost so many precious lives from all segments of our society. It is time to forgive and forget and stop blaming each other; it is time for genuine reconciliation among us. And if you look back of what has happened in the past twenty years, our late Jaalle Siyaad as an elder and statesman, and despite his short coming like any leader, he is still one of us and stands one among the great leaders of Somalia. I hope one day to visit his grave and lay a wreath. We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com |
