The current Ethiopia is focused on dealing with internal ethnic political struggles and cross-border rivalry with Eritrea. Somalia of today is too divided and weak to pursue an expansionist or cross-border religious or nationalist agenda. The current political rulers in Ethiopia have an unfinished vendetta to settle with their erstwhile allies – Eritrean political elites. The current Somalia politicians rely on international backing as they strive to bring back their nation. The political rulers in Ethiopia and Somalia are allies, not adversaries. It, therefore, goes that the story about centuries-old religious contest between the two countries is not relevant to the current Ethiopia-Somalia relations. Even if history were to be an issue on the matter at hand, it wouldn’t have been about religious history; perhaps the often-cited Somali irredentism which espouse nationalist ideal rather than a religious one, could slightly have been relevant.

By omitting present-day Ethiopia’s continued hostility with Eritrea in his analysis, Mr. Malone has digressed from the epicenter of the whole instability engulfing the horn of Africa today. The fact is, the current Ethiopian military and political interference in Somalia is not about settling old historical grudge with Somalia, but rather a spill-over of more recent Ethio-Eritrean border conflict.

Eritrea is not the only omission from the analysis of Mr. Malone. While he touched on the Ogaden War between Ethiopia and Somalia, Mr. Maloney did not discuss the current insurgency in the Ogaden region and the international outcry over human rights violations by the Ethiopian regime in this region.  He could, at least, have presented the current Ethiopian military incursions as self-defense measures to deprive the rebel group in the region – the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a foothold in Somalia. That would not have been the truth; but at least, it would have rhymed better as a reason than the fatuous claim of projecting Meles’s war in Somalia as a continuation of medieval religious feud.

Mr. Maloney could also have reflected on the huge demographic changes in religious orientation in Ethiopia since the days of Ahmed Gragn. Today’s Ethiopia cannot be characterized as Christian, simply because Muslims in Ethiopia outnumber those in Somalia by three-fold. This statistics was also missing from Mr. Maloney’s analysis. There are more religious tensions inside Ethiopia than Ethiopia has with neighboring countries today. These religious confrontations pit Orthodox against Protestant Christians, Christians against Muslims etc.

Malone’s depiction of Somalia as a unitary state that is feuding with Ethiopia is bizarre and factually incorrect. Somalia today is composed of tiny, self-declared autonomous States(Puntland, Somaliland, Galmudug, etc) controlled by Ethiopia, and a weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which is blessed by Ethiopia, and on whose behalf Ethiopia claims to be fighting the Alshabab. Almost all armed groups in Somalia (with the exception of Alshabab) are in one way or the other supported by Ethiopia. So, which Somalia is fighting contemporary Ethiopia in this alleged ‘historical religious feud”? Alshabab? Does Mr. Malone recognize Alshabab as the legal and moral representative of Somalia? Aren’t TFG, Puntland, Somaliland, and nearly all other political entities in Somalia logged in bitter fight against these terrorists? Why don’t they count?

Somalia is not a threat to the world security nor to its neighbours; the same way Afghanistan is not a threat to the world! Alshabab and Taliban are the threat to the World security. To transpose these terrorist syndicates in place of Somalia and Afghanistan is deeply offensive to these victim nations. Failed States become a threat to the world when a terrorist group lays egg on their lands. And, often it is the host people that suffer more than the neighbours. All the terrorists in Afghanistan were not Afghanis, nor are those in Somalia all Somalis. There are Americans, there are Asians, and this is truly a global challenge. Somalia is unlucky that it has become one of the venues where this global conflict has to be fought. Malone’s report paints Somalia, and by extension, Somalis as a threat to the region and to the world. This is dangerous and irresponsible. Alshabab are an off-shoot of global terrorism and should not be accorded a national identity.

The Islamists in Somalia do not have a nationalist agenda of pursuing a historical religious feud with Ethiopia. They are global terrorists who have inflicted more pain and suffering on fellow Somalis in Somalia, more than anybody else. Their terrorism and extremism has at times spilled over to neighboring countries, but the brunt of their barbaric rule is borne by Somalis. As such, they are not fighting any neighboring country on behalf of Somalia. The internationally recognized government of Somalia is an ally of Ethiopia, and therefore, to speak about an Ethiopia-Somalia war at this time is to distort the truth.

Mr. Maloney’s reports are often Ethiopia-friendly; but this one has gone far in the sense that it has, inadvertently, painted a whole nation –Somalia, as a flag bearer of Islamic fanaticism. Intermixing historical accounts with contemporary events is fine, but only when and where a clear connection can be established.

To his credit, Mr. Maloney acknowledged that “present-day incursions and clashes are driven by strategic motivations and regional politicking against the backdrop of the global war on terror” but sullied this superb conclusion by adding that “those [religious rivalries] centuries-old grudges, raids and musket-battles still shape events.” The question is where? When? Is Alshabab‘s focal fight against Mulsim Somalis or Christian Ethiopians (if there is any such thing as Christian Ethiopia)?

It is pedantic, but how can an Ethiopian army which is commanded by a Muslim (General Mohamed Yunis, alias General Samora) be portrayed as Christian army, anyway?

Mr. Maloney’s portrayal of Ethiopia-Somalia history as the source of insecurity in the horn of Africa is short on objectivity, and suspect in causality. 

By Muktar M. Omer
WardheerNews Contributor
E-Mail:muktaromer@ymail.com

(1) Barry Malone is  Reuters  Reporter in the Horn of Africa

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