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In every
situation, there's a time to speak out and a time to keep
quiet. Too bad many so-called leaders in Somalia have to learn
everything the hard way and with the help of the gun, instead
of peaceful dialogue and compromises.
In many
cases it is tougher task to say nothing in the face of genocide
against innocent civilians, yet speaking up also involves
risk. Recently the editor of a Xeroxed independent daily tabloid
in Mogadishu was face-to-face with heavily armed militia,
just because he criticized clan leaders as well as the TNG
for doing nothing to stop the mass murder in the capital.
Let's
look at the thorny question of why people from the same stock,
profess the same religion and speak the same language have
decided to kill each other and in the process massacre innocent
civilians.
The reason
is obvious. Clan "A" starts causing a fuss about clan "B"
for absorbing the machinery of power while disenfranchising
Clan "A" who claims the province in question is his own exclusive
fiefdom and has the right to run the show. Clan "C" will not
come to reinforce Clan "A" unless he is given a piece of the
"cake".
Then a
neighbour with ulterior motive joins the fray, ignoring a
call from other neighbours to back off. A uniform reaction
to the antics of the faction leaders and the TNG was impossible
because the people at the grassroots lacked strong political
organization and the men in Addis capitalized the clan division.
The strategy worked. The end result was renewed bloodshed
and it was always the civilian non-combatants who paid the
price in a big way.
Tough
talk and trading heavy artillery and mortars on heavily populated
residential areas of the capital will never solve problems.
Nothing can be gained from war-- only death doom and destruction.
The stack reality is that nine of ten people hit were civilians,
who were in no way involved or even remotely instrumental
to the feuding. For a people already enfeebled by eleven years
of intense bombardment and indiscriminate shootings, the ensuing
shocks of political instability, severe shortage of resources
with which to feed and clothe themselves and their children,
erratically unclean drinking water, medical inattention and
schooling have taken their toll--a vicious circle that refuses
to go away, despite efforts by some well meaning people.
Ugo Betti,
the Italian Playwright once wrote: "If friction is to be stopped,
the only way is to remove the cause; if disturbances are to
be put an end, the way is to eliminate the disturber."
In the
case of Somalia, the root cause of the recent confrontation
that took place in Mogadishu between two faction leaders,
Muse Sudi Yalahow and Mohamed Dheere on one hand and the TNG
on the other is the question of who will rule the Province
and assert that the TNG, better known as the Arta Group is
just another faction and had no mandate to rule Banadir and
Lower Shabelleh Regions or even the whole country. History
teaches us that time-tested federal system of government is
the best solution for any country to adopt. The will to take
a firm step forward to adopt this system of government, no
matter on whose toes we tread in the process, should supersede
servility to the rookie politicians who hamper the revival
of Somalia.
We can
no longer trust leaders whose only claim to the position they
occupy is the ability to keep their respective clan-elders
grinning, well-satisfied on the national loot. If the current
political and military uncertainty continues to prevail in
Mogadishu, more fear will be instilled in those who still
cling to life, forcing them to move farther from the battlefield.
Worse, the Kenyan government closed its border for more influx
from Somalia, saying enough is enough.
We at
this Website reiterate once again the people at home and abroad
should not hasten to take sides at the slightest provocation.
To take arms against each other should be the furthest things
from our minds. Lasting stability, international aid and the
reunification of dispersed families all rest on peace. Most
important, unless we discard the clan-tribe virus and restore
the old nationalistic spirit of the 1940s-50s, we will be
piling more woes on ourselves in eternity.
By M.
M. Afrah,
Email:afrah95@hotmail.com
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