Keating or Cheating: The Political Bias of UNSOM

[Deeq A.]

 

The de-escalation of tensions and increase of peaceful political dialogue is the fundamental principle of the United Nations’ mandate for international security. If that is the case, there comes a question of whether the Special Representative of United Nations Secretary-General to Somalia Michael Keating is fulfilling that mandate?

Michael Keating is the head of United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). An organisation established by UN Security Council Resolution 2102, following a comprehensive assessment of the United Nations in support of the establishment of the Federal Government of Somalia. The mandate of UNSOM was subsequently renewed by Security Council resolutions 2158 (2014), 2221 (2015), 2232 (2015), 2275 (2016) and 2358 (2017).

Keating’s specific mandate differ considerably from that of the Forum for the Family of Nations. UNSOM’s machinery is to turn its mission into an instrumental for unilateral backup for what was once called the Somali Republic in the form of Federalised Tribal Regional States. There comes another question, why Somaliland still hosting UNSOM and allowing Keating to fly in and fly out Somaliland soil?

Keating’s record of non-partisan watchdog is full of hypocrisy. He supervises a mission that singled out one portion of the disintegrated Somali Republic – an assignment that is detrimental to the image of the world and that of the United Nations’ mandate as a beacon of hope and world champion of peace.

Mr Keating intentionally overlooked his last statement to the Security Council – the complete success of Somaliland elections, but praised the malfunctioning administration of Mogadishu. Keating never cited why the Somali Republic withered and shrunken into an anarchic domicile due to the despotism command of Siyad Bare and his cluster of thugs in 1991?

Keating, on the other hand, never stated the reasons why the Northern part of the country (currently renowned the Republic of Somaliland) restructured its political system and referred back to its history of ‘’British Somaliland’’ prior the amalgamation of the two regions.

Ill-advisedly, despite Keating’s partiality in a mode of operation and political bias, the Southern part of the very same country, what is vastly renowned Somalia still roaring overhead and going into nosedive once again same as the ash of a cremated dead body.

This resulted in turning the capital city of Somalia (Mogadishu) into clan-based fiefdoms. The political pandemonium created the seizure of the capital into the hands of Islamic extremism, followed chieftains of clansmen puppets, who graft for their individual and tribal interests. Most surprisingly, Mr Keating still supports this inferno state when such an unfortunate annihilation is taking place under the auspices of his so-called UNSOM project. Sad