By WadheerNews
Since positive news about Somalia is rare and almost non existent, the unprecedented move by the weak transitional parliament on August 1st to reject a shoddy deal signed by the TFG and the republic of Kenya was welcoming news. This was with regard to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic (TFG) and the government of the republic of Kenya to grant each other no objection in Nairobi on April 7, 2009 in respect of the submissions on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 2000 nautical miles had members of the Somali parliament and their constituents who interpreted the MOU to confer oil drilling rights in Somali waters to Kenya. While this may not be the case, the fact remains however that the MOU has raised a number of fundamental issues which need to be properly addressed and classified to set the record straight.
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| Mr. Ould Abdallah & Omer Abdirashid |
There was no transparency and no adequate consultation with key Ministries, i.e. Foreign Affairs, Mining, Legal Department, Somali experts etc. Reportedly, the 15 page memo filed with the UN at the request of the Secretary General Representative Ahmedou Ould Abdallahwas prepared and submitted by a Norwegian expert funded by the government of Norway. It is regrettable that there was no time for technical or legal input although this was necessary and appropriate.
Secondly, at a time when Somalia is engulfed in bloody conflict, violence and a humanitarian disaster of enormous proportions, it’s urgent and more appropriate to devote attention and allocate all available resources from donor countries to the pressing priority of Peace and Security in Somalia. WardheerNews believes that the Special Representative Mr. Ould Abdallah was seriously mistaken in his approach to draw and give priority to what is an internal affair of Somalia on maritime questions pertaining to the implementations of the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Even if it is his opinion, this issue needed to be addressed as a post conflict peace building project by the Somalis alone.
Ever since, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah of Mauritania as his Special Representative to Somalia in Sept 2007, Mr. Ould Abdallah dug himself deeply into the messy Somali politics beyond his role as the UN envoy. Mr. Ould Abdallah orchestrated and was the brain power behind the Djibouti agreement that produced the current feeble government headed by Mr. Sharif. This bestowed him leverage and un-wavering access to Mr. Sharif that lent him an extraordinary power that elevated him as the chief executive officer of the current TFG. This of course has been facilitated by the resource provided by his UN office. External forces such as Ould Abdallah are not helping the situation but are rather hindering. His role is confusing at times, as it appears he is the shaker and the mover of the TFG or rather the governor of Somalia. He meddles with local Somali issues sometimes exacerbating the situation. If he has done one thing well, Mr. Ould Abdallah has very much understood the polarization that exists within the Somali people and used that to his advantage. He is usually seen trekking from one Somali Diaspora meeting to the next and finds himself lecturing to crowds who applaud him, thinking he will bring the country from the brink, and never quite understanding his intent and involvement. Reliable sources, told WDN that Mr. Ould Abdallah’s ultimate goal is not to help Somalis or Somalia but his own fame doing all he can to be nominated in the near future for a Noble peace prize on the backs of innocent Somalis who are dying by the dozen of hunger and violence. To get to this goal, he is doing all that is possible. WardheerNews also learned from a reliable sources that Mr. Ould Abdallah pays stipends to one well known Somali website in an effort to control the traffic of negative messages coming through. The said website therefore screens its submissions for negative comments about Mr. Abdallah and the TFG.
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Mr. Ould Abdallah is reckless with his remarks and question-dodging when it comes to clarifying situations he has gotten the ill advised TFG into. In a press conference on May 29, 2009 at the UN, when journalist Matthew Russell Lee from Inner City Press asked him questions about the MOU he helped the Norwegian government draw on May of this year, his answers were evasive, unprofessional and all together misleading. It’s as if he wasn’t even aware of the MOU, or worse, as if he had nothing to do with it. But Mr. Lee was adamant in getting an answer. Instead what the experienced investigative reporter who is the only reporter to question Mr. Abdallah about these issues got a lecture from Mr. Abdallah on how to be a reporter and what to report or avoid.
To say the least, Mr. Ould Abdallah would prefer an environment where journalist and human rights organization are not present, unless they kowtow to him. When Mr. Lee asked Mr. Abdallah about human rights abuses of egregious proportions committed by the TFG police, he accused Inner City Press of being “Irresponsible” and “Accomplice to genocide”. As a matter of fact, he even accused Mr. Lee of asking sophisticated questions. Mr. Abdallah considers these important questions about human rights abuses have no merit in the case of Somalia and are too sophisticated.
On another occasion, Mr. Oud Abdallah made a serious, damming remark when he compared the media that reported an incident when African Union peace keepers fired into a crowd of civilians in Mogadishu to Radio Milles Colines which was the might behind the Rwandan Genocide. Remarks such as these and his reckless answers could have dire consequence for Somalia. It is mind-boggling as to the reason he qualified for such a post which otherwise requires, most of all a calm, composed, experienced, diplomatic envoy to deal with the situation on the ground. Instead Mr. Abdallah, who is turbulent, divisive and manipulative, has been adding fuel to the fire, knowing he will not be accountable to an inexperienced president and prime minster he handpicked for their willingness to have him call the shots nor to United Nations which so far showed indifference to his performance in Somalia.
Finally, on the question of the motion for parliamentary vote on the validity of the MOU between Somalia and Kenya, WardheerNews applauds the rejection by the Somali transitional parliament on the passage of the motion and advices the transitional government to drop such agreement and focus on important issues that have to do with peace, and security. We also urge the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon to look into the actions of his envoy in meddling into the internal affairs of Somalia and take appropriate measures if his representative breached his responsibilities as UN envoy. If Mr. Ould Abdallah continues with his actions, we could witness the downward spiral of the country, and for the situation to deteriorate further.
Any person who plays a principal role in the machinations of a political conundrum is unlikely to beget solutions for his/her own blunder. What Somalia needs today is not the recipe for additional mayhem, incoherent strategies from the usual suspects, and disingenuous propositions simply formulated to prolong the continuing Somali saga. What Somalia lacks is a competent mediator, an honest broker with peace building credentials and with the profile and caliber of Desmond Tutu, George Mitchell and Amb. Richard Holbrooke. WardheerNews hopes that Ban Ki-moon and the international community would take appropriate note of the exigency for an honest mediator for Somalia’s protracted political calamity.
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