SOMALI CAUSE POSITION PAPER The formation of the power sharing Transitional Unity Government of Somalia (TUG) in January 2009 and the election of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed have instilled a glimmer of hope in the hearts of many Somalis. Many hoped that Mr. Ahmed who as a former leader of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) presided over the most peaceful six months Somalia has seen in nearly two decades would lead the battered country to the sorely needed peace and stability. That hope is fading fast as some of his former allies in the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) oppose his new government. The main antagonistic groups, Al Shabab and Hisbul Islam, are demanding the withdrawal of all foreign troops in Somalia including the Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers. The armed opposition groups are further demanding the introduction of Islamic Sharia law (a demand to which the government publicly agreed to) to replace the country's constitution while they continue to violently undermine the authority of the new government and wage a ruthless armed campaign to take over many towns and cities in central and southern regions of Somalia. The success of the armed opposition groups can be attributed to many factors. Primarily, they have capitalized on the grave mistakes made by the TUG. An example of such mistakes is the hastily signed and poorly defended maritime memorandum of understanding between Kenya and Somalia, an agreement that purportedly violates the maritime integrity and sovereignty of the nation. By using the governments own mistakes as a rallying point, the armed opposition groups thrived in influencing public opinion, thereby steadily diminishing public support for the TUG. The Speaker of Parliament's call for a second Ethiopian invasion is another example which the armed opposition groups seized upon and through the effective use of the media branded the government as one that is beholden to external powers and influences. Furthermore, the armed opposition groups are more organized and more resourceful than the fledgling TUG whose financial dependence on Western powers has often been described as the kiss of death. With coordinated logistical and financial support from individuals and foreign groups within and outside the country, the armed opposition groups continue to pose an even more serious threat to the new government. There are equally other factors that weaken the government and reduce its credibility in the eyes of the population. For example, the government's utter failure to address the plight of the millions internally displaced by the ongoing conflict and its seeming lack of concern about their horrendous living conditions has created fertile ground for large scale discontent and is further fueling extremism. Yet this same government saw it fit to travel to Kenya and sign a maritime agreement that neither strengthens it nor benefits the population. The Achilles heel of the Sharif government has become a source of strength for the armed opposition groups. This clearly explains why the TUG continues to struggle to assert its authority beyond few kilometers in the capital city of Mogadishu. Abdirizak Omar Mohamed Chairman 647 831-5323 or 202-285-0780
Somali Cause is an umbrella of seven Somali organizations in the USA and Canada that united to: (a) Educate the world about the plight of the Somali people, (b) Provide humanitarian assistance to the suffering people of Somalia, (c) Provide an alternative to the clan and regional based politics, and (e) Safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.
Member organizations include:
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RESOURCE CENTRE OF DEMOCRACY, GOOD GOVERNANCE,TRANSPARENCY,ACCOUNTABILITY,AND HUMAN RIGHTS FOR EMERGING DEMOCRACIES IN THE HORN OF AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. THE BLOG IS TRI-LINGUAL: ENGLISH, SOMALI AND ARABIC. There is no democracy without effective opposition. And there is no effective opposition without free and independent media. CONTACT: samotalis@gmail.com
23 August, 2009
Why the Political Stalemate Persists in Somalia
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