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Somali parliament has set a new record: four brawls in one month.
The legislators hurled chairs, punched each other, and even used pens to stab their opponents. All in the name of who would be the Speaker of the parliament? These confrontations, apparently, seem to gain momentum every time the MPs set foot in the chamber. It is odd that an appointed parliament that has not been meeting rergularly in the first place, and hence lacked a sense of purpose, managed to gather four times in the last 30 days only to engage in scuffles. The cause of this melee is the removal of the Speaker of the parliament, Shaif Hasan Sh. Adan. One faction supported the Speaker and the other opposed him vigorously, and they succeeded in replacing him with MP Madobe Nunow. Somali President Shaikh Sharif called for an urgent security meeting, and then later condemned the action of the parliament to remove the Speaker as “null,” and “void.” Moreover, the President lamented about the destruction of parliament furniture and equipments, and described the episode as an unfortunate event. The brawls are now under government investigation. The fighting, according to Somalia expert Professor Afyare Abdi Elmi, is “uncalled for.” In an interview with the Toronto Star (01/05/2012), Professor Elmi pointed out the underlying issue of these brawls as being power struggle. “This is a conflict of political survival of one group against the other,” he said. Even former Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo,” an old nemisis of the Speaker, opined from his cubicle in the state Transportation Department in Buffalo, New York, calling the parliament’s move constitutionally sound. But the outbreak of violence isn’t only a Somali problem. From Ukraine to Great Britain, politics can be hazardous to your health.
Dirty Rotten Eggs! The Ukrainian parliament has seen it all: fistfights among MPs, choking, and chairs hurled. In a debate about extending the Russian navy’s lease in the Crimean port for the Black Sea Fleet-in exchange for cheaper oil- MPs got into fights which resulted in one deputy being taken away from the chamber on a stretcher with a serious head injury. One deputy had a wrist injury. Politicians had to cover their mouths due to smoke bombs in the chamber. The Speaker of the parliament had to be shielded by two of his aides, with an umbrella, to conduct business after some rotten eggs and tomatoes were thrown at him. But one deputy who is a supporter of the government denied if there was even a brawl. “The opposition hit their own heads themselves,” said the deputy.
Bring on the Hardware!South Korean National Assembly has a long history of skirmishes. There is a brawl there, at least, once every nine months. Simply stated, it is a hostile working environment. In a debate aimed at lifting restrictions on ownership of TV stations, the MPs from the opposition did what they had to do to guarantee that the proposed- bill did not pass. They feared that the new bill would lead to sympathetic media coverage for the South Korean President. The opposition members physically prevented ruling party members from entering the chamber by stacking up furniture against the doors. Government supporters responded by introducing chainsaws and ‘makeshift battering rams’ to break down blocked doors. Lawmakers bellowed at each other and pummeled one other. Female lawmakers got into the scuffle and started grabbing each other by the neck. On one occasion, opposition members used sledgehammers to pound on the doors of a committee room that was discussing a bill to ratify a trade pact with the USA. One MP used tear gas in the hall of the National Assembly. The Economist aptly called it, “South Korea: Don’t Shed a Tear.” Don’t You Dare Use that WordKuwait is a small wealthy Arab emirate that has a history of stability. Though most Kuwaitis are Sunnis, there is a Shiite population in the country.
Even tiny Kuwait is represented in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by two of its nationals. Their detention has been a major concern for Kuwaiti officials. Last year, according to Wikileaks, Kuwait’s interior minister was quoted as saying that he hoped the detainees never return to their country. But publicly, Kuwait’s foreign minister, according to AFP, had declared that his country would never abandon “its sons,” who are held in Guantanamo “without trial.” In a parliament session in May, 2011, discussing the case of the detainees, a Shiite lawmaker, Hussein al-Qallaf, committed a faux pas when he referred the two detainees as “terrorists,” and al-Qaida radicals. Using the loathsome expression of the “T” word was tantamount to blasphemy. Violenza ItalianaThe Italian legislature was not the ideal place to serve in ancient Rome. After all, it was where Julius Caesar was assassinated by fellow senators led by Cassius and Brutus in 44 B.C. Caesar’s killing led to a civil war.
These days, the Italian legislators are kinder and gentler souls, compared to ancient times. Yes, they fight, from time to time, but the violence is manageable. Not long ago, the MPs used to hurl chairs at each other regularly. But today, the chairs are tightly screwed to the floors.
Several months ago, the Italian Speaker, Gianfranco Fini, 59, caused a controversy when he gave a TV interview in which he directed much of his woofing against the leader of the opposition, Umberto Bossi. At the time, parliament was debating a controversial retirement reform plan that would have increased retirement age by two years to 67. Fini, in the interview, said, “Everyone knows his wife [Bossi’s] retired at 39.” One thing you do not do in politics is talk about your opponent’s wife, and, definitely, not her age. There is an anecdote about two politicians who were engaged in a heated debate. One of them screamed at the other and said, “What about the powerful interest that controls you?” The other politician yelled back, “You leave my wife out of this!” The parliament session that followed the interview was, by all measures, “molto confrontional.” Supporters of Bossi went after supporters of Fini with vengeance. They exchanged insults and punches. According to Reuters, two legislators were seen going right for the jugular by grabbing each other’s neck. Sadly, the brawl was particularly ill-timed. There were school-children in the chamber who were brought there specifically to teach them how MPs worked. Lesson learned. No Shoes, Please! When an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at visiting American President, George Bush, in a news conference in Baghdad, the incident was seen by many as the epitome of degradation. To many, the act was the defilement of everything sacred to Arab culture. Traditionally, you don’t throw your shoes at anyone, no matter how negatively the person is viewed. Bush was never in danger as the Secret Service agents were close by, but, for the dramatics, he ducked the shoes and made a joke of the incident.
That’s another female lawmaker named Nazifa Zaki. Whereas some male legislators managed to separate the two female lawmakers, but there were others who found the incident amusing. The episode shattered the conventional wisdom that female lawmakers do not throw punches. Indeed, they can do whatever male lawmakers can, or better. Who said politics is boring, even in Afghanistan? (Watch it from here) Crossing the Line It was the famous English parliamentarian, John Bright, who said in 1865 that “England is the mother of Parliaments.” Many legislatures across the globe tried to model after the British model but, unfortunately, few have succeeded in doing so.
And the Winner is… The Taiwanese parliamentarians are known to engage in fistfights when things go sour. It appears to be a political culture that has no space for compromise. There are some politicians who are programmed by rage. Hassan M. Abukar ____________________________________________ We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com |
