15th November 2011 Nairobi, Kenya
Remembering the Victims of Conflict in Somalia
The past few weeks have been dominated by military issues: AMISOM’s ongoing campaign and Kenya’s fight against Al Shabaab. On 8 November, Lord Howell, the Foreign Office Minister, made clear our support for Kenya in the House of Lords. Kenya bears much of the burden of the threat emanating from Somalia and the UK shares Kenya’s concerns about the threat to its national and international security.
The past few days, however, have been a moment to remember the fallen, including those seeking to establish peace, and others who have fallen victim to Somalia’s civil war. Friday was Armistice Day – when, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, people across the UK stop to mark the moment when the guns fell silent at the end of World War I. Sunday was Remembrance Sunday when, at war memorials and cenotaphs around the world, people gather to remember those brave servicemen and women who have died in conflict.
As the Ugandan High Commissioner led the tributes at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on Sunday, I not only reflected on those that fallen in the two World Wars, but also those friends and family that have served in more recent conflicts. My thoughts also turned to the bravery and commitment shown by the Ugandan and Burundian soldiers serving in AMISOM and with the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu. And I reflected on the many other, often nameless, victims of conflict in Somalia – the starving, the displaced and those suffering at the hands of Al Shabaab.
So it is with Laurence Binyon’s poem ‘For the Fallen’ that I want to end this blog. First published in 1914, the poem was written to honour the dead of World War I. But its words ring as true today as they did in 1914 – and are a powerful reminder that our Act of Remembrance is not just for those that died in two World Wars, nor simply for those outstanding British service personnel that have died in recent conflicts and those that continue to serve. Our Remembrance Day is also to pay tribute to those brave and dedicated soldiers in AMISOM and the TFG that have paid the ultimate sacrifice. We will remember them.
“They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn;
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.”
The [human] costs outweighs everything else.
I know that the Kenya, Ethiopia, AMISOM invasions will cause greate suffering to the people of Somalia. That they will be forced to flee their homes. That there will be many hundreds if not thousands of civilian casualties. That vital infrastructure will be destroyed. That commerce supply lined will be cut off. That famine conditions will be infinately worsened. That there is no plan beyond ‘defeating Al-shabab’. That foreign actors cannot and do not, as one would expect, represent or look out for the interests of Somalis! What is the point of winning if this is the cost ? That Kenya, at least not its corrupt elite (who would even let their own country go the the furthest brinks of civil war and stoke ethnic conflict, just for their personal interests), have Somalias interest at heart! That foreign intervention is the problem and not the solution! All these are reasons enough for me to vehemently oppose the Kenyan/Ethiopian/Ugandan interference in Somalia. Somali civilian casualties, direct and indirect, may be dispensible and irrelevant to foreigners but they are not to me.
This invasion by Kenya/Ethiopia/AMISOM and others will not achieve much (at least not for Somalis).
Kenya/AMISOM/Ethiopia cannot defeat Al-shabab on its own – it needs help. They do not have the reach, scope, weaponry, intelligence, experience or air cover to successfully, entirely and sustainably defeat al-shabab; to capture and hold southern Somalia; nor to gain the complete support of the Somali people. Assuming that with foreign support (UN/U.S/E.U/UK) AMISOM/TFG/Kenya/Ethiopia militaryly defeat al-shabab. Even if they were they to militarily defeat al-shabab, there is no political plan or progress. Allied foreign forces may defeat alshabab and capture towns and cities. Alshbab will still be embedded in the bush and countryside in this nomadic country.
They will blend into the landscape and carry out attacks only for alshabab or some other group to return once the occupying forces have left as the installed ‘government’ has not the support of the Somali people nor is elected, nor is effective, nor has the interests of Somali people at heart (as is expected from a foreign imposed government). This installed government will quickly fall and the cycle begins again (see ethiopia 2006 invasion). The problem is that the government is imposed rather than organically grown. So what was the point of all the deaths/displacement/disease/hunger/damage caused by the war ?
[insert foreign actor] has a plan/agenda/vision for [insert foreign actor], not Somalia.
Assuming that Kenya/AMISOM/Ethiopia allied forces do defeat alshabab, capture entire swathes of southern Somalia and have a monopoly on power and the use of force, there is so far no sign of a political plan. Who will govern this new entity ? Who will fill the vacuum ? How ? with what institutions ? How will the support of the public be garnered ? There is little road beyond the waging of war and the thumping of chests. There is no comprehensive or forwardlooking plan.
Foreign actors want to install a puppet ‘government’ of corrupt, self-interested, crooks, former warlords and incompetent ‘politicians’ whose integrity is subdued by their personal ambitions, without any domestic political support or base, so as to advance their own agendas (TFG). How is this in the interests of the Somali people ?
Other, potentially more effective, almost certainly less destructive options
Aside from war, war and war, other options for peace are not perseud. Reconcillian, negotiation, arbitration, cease-fire etc. Half of the country is already peaceful; it is just the southern half that needs pacifying. Foreigners quickly brand al-shabab a terrorist group that needs to wiped of the face of the earth and some Somalis quickly follow them in saying this. People who say such things need to appreciate that there has to be a peaceful, broad, all-inclusive solution. We need to stick a hand out to the moderates among al-shabab and exclude the mainly foreign or foreign influenced extremist elements from (U.S.A, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraqi, Yemeni who influence the group). Somalia is a 100% muslim country, they should not be denied sharia if they so wish. UK/U.S/E.U/U.N has no problem dealing with countries who have sharia as their law (U.A.E, Saudi etc.) If foreign actors try to impose a ‘government’ on Somalia, it will simply not work.
But they are not interested in what will work because as I said they do not have the Somalia interests at heart. To give you an example, in 2006, the moderate ICU gained power in the south with the support of the people. It controlled pretty much all of the south and created peace/stability/governance; then in came the foreigners u.s.a/ethiopia et al and they made sure the status quo was prolonged.
These invasions have been done before; it is not by somalis or for somalis. The human cost is too great to ignore. Without committment of powerful actors and a comprehensive plan it is only to prolong the status quo. There are other potentially more effective and less damaging course of actions. The solution will always be a Somali one; inclusive, broad based internally driven. Foreign actors have always only acted to prolong and worsen the conflict – Ethiopia in particular.
But Mr. Baugh, I will not be surprised if you are not interested in what will work because as I said I do not expect you to have Somalia’s interests at heart. After all you are a diplomat of Britain. That said, perhaps you will stop to think and see the countless ways in which a peaceful and prosperous Somalia could help to advance the U.K/U.S/E.U interests by having a mutually beneficial and friendly relations; considering Somalia’s strategic location, unexplored natural resources, historic relations and the large diapora who are born and bred in the U.K/U.S/E.U.
That is all,
Thank you for taking the rime to read my comment.
Why has the UK government ignored the war crimes Ethiopia has committed in both Somalia and the Somali region of Ethiopia ? Are we to assume that the UK government condones these henious crimes against humanity ? Why does the UK government continue to overlook and turn a blind eye to the atrocities taking place in the Somali region of Ethiopia where the dictatorial regime is not only denying the people their right to self determination and killing, imprisoning and torturing thousands of Somalis every year.
Will there be a change of policy with regards to this matter ? Will you, Mr. Baugh, personally condemn these crimes and take steps to encourage the UK government to reprimand the Ethiopian dicatorship for these crimes against humanity.
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Ethiopian soldiers commit of war crimes in Somalia
Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Ethiopian troops in Somalia of killing civilians and committing atrocities, including slitting people’s throats, gouging out eyes and gang-raping women.
In a new report, the human rights group, which is based in London, detailed chilling witness accounts of indiscriminate killings in Somalia and called on the international community to stop the bloodshed.
The rights group said it had scores of reports of killings by Ethiopian troops. In one case, “a young child’s throat was slit by Ethiopian soldiers in front of the child’s mother,” the report says.
“The people of Somalia are being killed, raped, tortured. Looting is widespread and entire neighborhoods are being destroyed,” Michelle Kagari, the Amnesty deputy director for Africa, said in a statement from Nairobi that accompanied the report.
Haboon, 56, said her neighbor’s 17-year-old daughter had been raped by Ethiopian troops. The girl’s brothers tried to defend their sister, but the soldiers beat them and gouged their eyes out with a bayonet, Haboon was quoted as telling Amnesty.”
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In its battle against rebels in eastern Ethiopia’s Somali Region, Ethiopia’s army has subjected civilians to executions, torture, and rape, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The widespread violence, part of a vicious counterinsurgency campaign that amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, has contributed to a looming humanitarian crisis, threatening the survival of thousands of ethnic Somali nomads.
The 130-page report “Collective Punishment: War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in the Ogaden Area of Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State,” documents a dramatic rise in unchecked violence against civilians since June 2007, when the Ethiopian army launched a counterinsurgency campaign against rebels who attacked a Chinese-run oil installation. The Human Rights Watch report provides the first in-depth look at the patterns of abuse in a conflict that remains virtually unknown because of severe restrictions imposed by the Ethiopian government.
“The Ethiopian army’s answer to the rebels has been to viciously attack civilians in the Ogaden,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These widespread and systematic atrocities amount to crimes against humanity. Yet Ethiopia’s major donors, Washington, London and Brussels, seem to be maintaining a conspiracy of silence around the crimes.”
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As the consequences of Kenyan bombardment in Somali soil, killing children as the country still involved in arms conflict in Somalia. I believe that everyone has a full right to a self defence and Somalia has the right to defend itself. We might not have a strong central government or a democraticly elected government but we can still be humans and could apply rule of engagement.
Both Ethiopia and Kenya has a right to worry about their internal security but they absolutely have not the right to enter a free country on an in out mission.
This is what always can undermine a regional security and we hope that Britsh people will share with us this frustration. In terms of the London conference we need that this issue should be addressed seperately.
Currently, there are thousands of Somalis if not millions who are very angry about these attacks by our neighbores as similiar to a beating up a man that already lying on the ground. Most of Somalis do not like al shabaab nor extremists in any form. But this can still be counter productive and could create more young Somalis in desperation and see window of opportunity by supporting groups like al-shabaab.
Thnak you
while we remember the solders of amisom and the brave boys of TFG . my heart is with the somali people who are treated with all manners of cruelty and disrespect . one day they shall stand and dust up . may Allah rest their in souls in janah.
The Somali people who suffered from the devastating civil war, where thousands of innocent victims lost theri lives do welcome the brave steps that Uk government is taking towards reconcilation for all Somalis in 2012. We hope this conference will lay basic ground rules for the return of stable government that could be able to deilver peaceful measures to bring peace and stability to Somalia and the Region as well. I hope the participants of the conference to be selective and inclusive.
I am peacemaker who lives in Minneapolis, MN. I became a Minnister of Tourism and wild life for the first Government that was formed after the Djibout reconcilation conference in 1991. I am now retired and ready to participate any reconcilation that will help my country to became stabe and law abiding and end the famine and starvation thatcaused the lost of thousands of Somalis. I also ended up in 1991as aPolice colonel who has wide experience in law enforcement and security.
Best regards and God bless her Majesty’s government.
Mohamed Hassanqaac
UK need to ratify what GB did to the Somali people,the partition,the killing and the waste dump.
A wonderful tribute to those past & present. Thank you.
Dear Matt Baugh,Somalia needs a bottom up prapoach, its difficult to get positive results in Somalia untill reconciliation starts right at the bottom, where neighbors in a village reconcile, then neighbors in a city, then neighbours in a state then finally neighbours at the national level. But when neighbors in a village haven’t even reconciled it’s a bit much to ask for them to sit down genuinely and talk about national matters.Somalia’s only cure can be reconcilation at the bottom-layers and working up until the national level. Somalia’s religion, culture and traditions needs to also be taken into consideration since on the ground this is what most people follow.Somalia’s main issues are tribal ones, any solution that doesn’t answer this is doomed to fail. The war today in Somalia may appear to have religious over-tones, however when assessed their is an underlying clan over-tone that is hidden. For example the Islamist groups all share the same extreme form of islam yet their divided into groups such as Hisbul Islam, Ras Kamboni, Shabab, etc.Its quite clear what divided then is not the extreme interpretation they have of islam, but clan factors.Somalis in-general before colonialism, lived united but autonomous where each clan took care of it’s own territory and people. This can only be best replicated under a federal united Somalia. When the colonial era came they implemented their own central based system which gave one city everything and everybody else nothing. This made locals view the central government as a by-product of a clan and it incited clan anomousity.The clan anomousity was already occuring right after indepedence at 1960 where somalis had enlisted over 100 parties all of which represented clan interests, their were attempts of coups, and finally resistance groups in the late 70s till the 90s.As for the Somaliland issue, The solution their proposing of dividing the nation will not solve Somalia problems but only add to it. Colonial borders are not what somalis are fighting about, noone at the local level cares which country colonized where. The Colonialism system is the very system that laid the foundation for Somalia’s civil war when everything was politically, militarily, economically, socially located at mogadishu.For Somaliland to suggest to solve Somalia’s issues is to go back to colonialism is obviously not what any sane person would propose. There is also the legality of the issue, Somalia united as one country voluntarily in 1960 and both areas indepedence days were sychronized for hargeisa it was the 26th of june and Mogadishu the 1st of July. This was planned years before and mutually agreed upon.Economically Hargeisa was never discriminated against in Somalia, it was the second largest city after mogadishu. All Somaliland infrastructure today is what the previous Somalia governmentt built such as the ports, airports, roads, water networks. These basic economic infrastructure didn’t exist in other parts of Somalia such as Puntland where it was even referred to by somalis as un-reachable . Politically the Isaaq enjoyed all the powers that other clans enjoyed. They had senior officers in the army, they were prime minister, held major portfolios within the government. Ethnically they are no different to other somalis infact the people who live in Bay and Bakool are ethnically, culturally, and linguistically more different to Somalis yet they are not calling for separation of the nation. The War-Crime argument they putting forth is no different to when Somalia Military Government genocided areas of mudug province of Puntland, yet Puntland remains staunchly pro-union and pro-somalia. Its no different to the genocides that occurred in Baydhabo by USC militias loyal to Mohamed Farah Aideed, its no different to when a section of somalis were genocided in the capital city in 1991 by USC Clan militants.Infact the SNM movement itself has blood on its own hands where senior milita commanders such as Lihle, Dhegaweyne and many others genocided people on clan basis. The Hargeisa administration till this day calls heros those commanders and even praise people such as Hassan Kulmiye Farah in Hargeisa who were part and parcel of the Military Regime yet they demonize other clans who were part of the military authority. So its very clear for all to see their agenda is a clan based one concealed under colonial premises with a sprinkle of genocide to entice the world to act upon their hidden clan objectives. But Thankfully the UK govt is not blind and can see through it!!!Even if the nation is divided, the clan factor will just continue in Somaliland where other clans in that area are vehemently opposed to it such as the Awdal and SSC areas. The SSC area can have a spill over effect to Puntland and create an all out clan war.The Somaliland administration is also clan based where 66% of the parliament is from the Isaaq clan and 80% of the government post is for the Isaaq clan. Anyone who is rational can see that doesn’t seem like a government that will last long in peace with it neighbours.Finally the piracy issue the best solution is to provide support to the Puntland government in creating an effective coast-guard to protect it’s waters from local piracy and also illegal fishing. Piracy can not only be stopped by naval fleets around the world since they don’t have access to where the pirates are coming from. It cannot even be stopped by mogadishu or hargeisa administration because 90% of the pirates are based in Puntland’s jurisdictions and due to somalia’s clan based territories other administrations cannot go access areas of other clan’s territory without a local uprising or even clan war.Puntland is situated at the redsea and indian ocean channels which is one of the main factors why piracy exists there and not in other parts of Somalia. No Administration in Somalia controls 1600km of Somalia’s 3300km coastline other then Puntland.To ignore this is not going to solve the issue of piracy.The main factors that caused piracy is well known; It is the lack of a strong coastal coast-guard policing it’s waters, a total absense of road infrastructure to reach coastal areas by authorities, local grievances who feel they are not getting any opportunities for development and the strong illegal fishing crisis happening in Puntland.The above factors is what made it so lucrative for pirates to base themselves in Puntland because they are working in the most strategic part of somalia coastline and have access to half of Somalia coastline to conduct their activities and one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The pirates have gained local support to base themselves in their towns due to the local grievance in coastal communities to illegal fishing which is robbing them of their livlihood. The Pirates know full well the lack of local development in the coastal area has made locals think its better to host pirates and finally the pirates have full knowledge knowing they have no threats from local authorities since they know the authorities on land cannot respond quick enough due to the lack of coastal roads, lack of a strong coastal guard, and the local grievances against illegal fishing and lack of development.The UK needs to make sure they answer the following if piracy is to be truly defeated;1. Win back the locals in the coastal areas with development opportunities so they see that as better alternative then hosting pirates.2. Help Puntland build a strong coastal force to respond to pirate bases on-land, this will also give locals coastal community job opportunities.3. Puntland Coastal Guard needs to also deal with the illegal fishing as part of it’s mandate so the pirates cannot use this to win over local fishermen4. UK government needs to tell the international community Somalia waters need to be protected and pass legislations at the U.N.5. Puntland Govt needs to re-educate the locals not to host the pirates since all the issues they were upset about such as illegal fishing, lack of development and no coastal guard would be answered.The above formula is the only way to deal with piracy an
d eradicate it, because it answers many of the factors above and it does in a way taking into consideration realities on the ground. To build a coastal force in Mogadishu or Hargeisa wont stop the issue and the pirates will use the clan card to garner support from the locals and it will be back to square one again.So the only way to end piracy is to work with the Puntland government and coastal communities anything other then that, we will still be holding piracy conferences in 2030!!!
Dear Sir,
Yes, I have noticed from the Prime Minister’s speech last night that there would be a particular support and recognition towards Somalia in the months to come.
I was in awe as I could not figure out how this could come together at this time. Through my parents, I knew of a missionary who spent much of his life in Somalia. To this date, I remember and cherish his kind note written back to me in the midst of his most challenging environment. I was only sitting at my study desk, in the Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of my university here in Oxford then.
He was thankful and encouraging towards me, which I have found rather common amongst the most brave of all in difficult circumstances.
I am grateful for the government’s generosity and thoughtful consideration to support them. Thank you.
Best wishes, Kimberley