Hotbed for Terrorists: Ethiopia or Somalia?

[Wiilo]

Hotbed for Terrorists: Ethiopia or Somalia?

 

By Sophia Tesfamariam

Al-Jazeerah, February 20, 2007

 

Africans, especially Somalis, stood by stunned by the manner with which international law was violated, trampled on and discarded by the US-backed Ethiopian war of aggression and invasion against Somalia. Why was the international community as deafeningly silent as innocent Somalis were bombed by US and Ethiopian bombers? Why was there no public outrage as innocent men, women and children were massacred in cold blood by the invading Ethiopian forces and labeled “extremists”, “Islamists” etc. etc.? Have we reached the point where human lives no longer merit our concern and that by simply labeling populations as “extremists”, “Islamists”, “jihadists”, etc. etc. that we can look the other way as thousands are massacred in front of our eyes and not care. Do we believe that we are somehow absolved of any responsibility in the carnage perpetuated under the auspices of the “global war on terrorism”? It is high time that we claimed humanity back!

 

The other day, I listened as several terrorism experts from the US War College and Women in International Security discussed the global war on terrorism. I didn’t agree with some of the views presented by the panelists, some went out of their way to reinforce the racists and biased stereotypes that we have been hearing about Islam and its followers for the last few years. Some were there just to reinforce and feed into the public fear, by engaging in more of the same defamation, misinformation and disinformation under the guise of “research”, “analysis” etc. etc. but that is not my topic for today. I want to take a look at what happened in Somalia on Christmas Eve 2006 and how so many reasonable persons of high intellect fell for the deceptive, exaggerated claims by Jendayi E. Frazier and Meles Zenawi and remained deaf, dumb and mute as innocent people were pulverized and terrorized by Ethiopian aerial bombardments, supposedly targeted at “extremists”, “jihadists”, “fundamentalists”,

 

etc. etc.

Jendayi E. Frazier’s deliberate, very vocal and calculated vilification and demonization of the Union of Islamic Courts succeeded in dividing the international community and rendering it totally helpless and off guard as Ethiopia’s war of aggression and invasion of Somalia progressed. Suppression of the truth in the US media and the many tentacles policy institutions through “seminars”, “hearings”, “briefings”, “statements” etc. etc. raised the FEAR, UNCERTAINTY and DOUBT (FUD) about the UIC and its constituents and both Washington and Ethiopia took advantage of the situation. Ethiopia and its puppet the Transitional National Government of Somalia led by Abdulahi Yusuf and Ali Mohammed Geedi, and Jendayi E. Frazier ran a coordinated defamation campaign designed to alter the very positive public’s perception of the UIC and its popular support, to isolate it as they planned the end of year illegal aggressive invasion of Somalia.

 

 

The FUDists, those that spread FEAR, UNCERTAINTY and DOUBT about the UIC, went out of their way to accuse other nations of violating the UN Arms Embargo on Somalia, while covering up their own 17 year long meddling in Somalia that has contributed to the chaos and anarchy that has earned Somalia the dubious title of being “a hotbed for terrorists”. It was Ethiopia and Washington that funneled funds into Somalia that exacerbated the crisis in Somalia as various warring factions, hired by the US (through the CIA) and Ethiopia, spread death and violence in Somalia. Washington and Ethiopia exploited the inter-clan fighting to advance their own selfish interests in Somalia and contributed to the balkanization of Somalia. Self-fulfilling prophecy….

 

 

Today, they are busy pointing fingers at others for not following their suit. They are still spreading FUD as they criticize and demonize those who did not support their misadventures into Somalia. To cover up their desperate and evil end of year invasion of Somalia, they are now engaged in bullying, blackmailing, coercing, intimidations and harassments as they try to put together the illegal AU “stabilization force” for Somalia, to replace the marauding Ethiopian forces, in order to prop up the illegitimate puppet TNG, further violating Somalia’s sovereignty or territorial integrity. This mistake will perpetuate the chaos and turmoil that has engulfed Somalia since the aggressive Ethiopian invasion and occupation.

 

 

Jendayi E. Frazier’s incessant and irrational attacks on the UIC were challenged by many Horn observers and analysts, but there were enough Islam phobic FUDists in Washington that bought her unsubstantiated claims about the nature and makeup of the UIC, lock, stock and barrel. Here is what some of them said:

 

.“…We're going to remain committed to reducing terrorist capabilities when and where we find them. The operation two days ago was an example of that…. It was based on credible intelligence that led us to believe that we had principal Al Qaeda leadership in an area where we could identify them and take action against them…” Bryan Whitman, Pentagon spokesperson

•

“…This is the way you fight the War on Terror. This is a way you hunt them out and take them out…” Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon)

 

•“…My view is we should go after terrorists wherever they are… It depends on who that is and leader of what. They may just be a little small cell leader or they could have quite a bit of influence on the African continent or even beyond that…” Senator Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas).

 

•“…The threat we face is in many, many countries and we have to be vigilant in many, many places…” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington)

 

•Etc. etc.

Jendayi E. Frazier down played Ethiopia’s invasion, and in the public arena, the invasion of Somalia was presented as part of the war on terrorism. The rubber stamp Ethiopian Parliament was equally duped by the street smart Prime Minister and today, Ethiopian forces are paying for Meles Zenawi’s lies, deceptions and mistakes in Somalia. Convincing lawmakers that the UIC was “harboring” terrorists and exaggerating the threats posed by the UIC to the US and Ethiopian, Jendayi E. Frazier got lawmakers to approve her agenda for Somalia, and Meles got his permission from the rubberstamp Ethiopian parliament “to take all necessary actions to defend Ethiopia’s sovereignty”. Jendayi E. Frazier missed the real danger that lurks in the region. She ignored the dangers posed to all the people in the region by the minority regime in Ethiopia led by her friend and confidante Meles Zenawi? While Somalia’s lack of a centralized government is often cited as the reason why Washington considers Somalia a “hotbed for terrorists”, nothing is ever said about the terrorist regime in Ethiopia.

 

 

The people of Somalia are deliberately misrepresented in the mainstream western media and in their multi-tentacled policy institutions as being lawless, violent and anarchic. There is nothing about the Somali people, their culture or their religion that makes them inherently violent or anarchic. Their clan divisions have been exploited and exaggerated for political reasons. On the other hand, the people of Ethiopia with 80 ethnic groups constantly in conflict over scarce resources, with religious conflicts raging in various parts of the country are presented as poor but peaceful and “Christian”. Somalis are victims of self serving, myopic, power hungry individuals who have misrepresented them in the international arena to advance their own interests and agendas. More than anything else, it is the self serving interventions, in contravention of international law, that have contributed to the turmoil in Somalia for the last 15 years.

The Somali people are no more prone to violence and anarchy then are any other peoples in this world who are forced to live under regimes that practice the rule of the jungle, over the rule of law. Somalia’s negative image has been advanced by those who seek to use Somalia in pursuit of their own agendas in the region and have taken advantage of the lack of a central government in Somalia to do so. The people of Somalia were never a threat to any neighboring states and they deserved a chance to rebuild their war torn nation. But because of the corrupt behavior of some Islam phobic officials in Washington and Ethiopia, the dreams and aspirations of the Somali people have been suppressed-temporarily.

 

 

While Somalia’s reputation is muddied in the western press and by ill-informed, ill advised, myopic individuals and groups, the terrorist mercenary regime in Ethiopia seems to be enjoying praises for its violation of international laws, wrecking havoc in the lives of Horn inhabitants, for its warmongering and destabilizing of the entire region, undermining regional peace and security, and with it, destroying any prospects for measurable development for its inhabitants. If Jendayi E. Frazier were to take a few minutes to remove the wool that is over her eyes and distorting the truth, she would see that Meles Zenawi’s minority regime is itself a terrorist regime, and Meles Zenawi has made Ethiopia a “hotbed for terrorists”.

 

 

Today Meles is playing the role of Washington’s dutiful mercenary; tomorrow he will surely seek another sponsor. His TPLF regime’s ugly history is replete with betrayals, broken promises, deceptions and greed. But let us put Meles’ trustworthiness aside and look at his regime through the eyes of the terrorism experts. According to them, Ethiopia under the minority regime led by Meles Zenawi possesses several key characteristics that create the right environments in which terrorists breed, flourish and thrive. These conditions enable Meles Zenawi’s rule of force; his regime has created the environment that fits his rule. A mercenary regime cannot be an ally in the global war on terrorism

 

Ethiopia under the lawless and belligerent genocidal minority regime led by Meles Zenawi:

 

•Is a lawless regime that refuses to abide by international law and agreements it willingly and consciously signed-terrorists operate outside international law and norms of acceptable behavior

 

•Is a regime that believes in “might makes right” and uses force to effectuate its domestic and international policies -terrorists use violence and force to effectuate theirs

 

•Is a regime that has exacerbated poverty in Ethiopia-Ethiopians are left destitute and hopeless.

 

•Is a state suffering from the dangerous and debilitating grip of corruption

 

•Is a brutal apartheid state-where major ethnic groups are marginalized (ex. Somalis in the ******, the Oromos in Oromia, the Anuak and Nuer of Gambela, etc. etc.) Latent tensions among Ethiopia’s 80 ethnic groups are in effect further exacerbated by the government’s ethnic policies

 

•Ranks 170 out of 177 countries in the United Nation’s Human Development Report-adds to the humiliation of an otherwise very proud population

 

•Is a country where between 6 and 13 million people are at risk of starvation each year and depend on food handouts-nothing undermines a person’s sense of self worth than to have to beg for food year in and year out

 

•Is a country where 80% of the nearly 77 million people live below a poverty line of $2 a day-little hope for a better future

 

•Is a country where over 65% of its national budget is subsidized by donors-lack of political independence, lack on confidence in their own ability to govern their nation in peace

 

•Is a country where there is widespread human rights violations-cold blooded massacres, genocides, harassment and intimidation of opposition supporters, detention of all opposition leaders on trumped up charges of treason and inciting genocide etc. etc. Fear and anxiety are on the increase

 

•Is a country where close to 600000 people have been internally displaced because of the regime’s war mongering and its reckless “poverty reduction” schemes, and live on the mercy of aid workers

 

•Is a country that finances and harbors terrorist groups (Ex. Eritrean Islamic Jihad)

In addition, the minority regime in Ethiopia has sponsored cross border terrorist attacks, human trafficking, kidnappings and murders, in Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan and Somalia and continues to harbor and finance the Eritrean Islamic Jihad-now operating under the umbrella organization Eritrean National Alliance (ENA) which has killed innocent civilians, destroyed vital infrastructure and terrorized border populations. ENA, much like the TNG in Somalia is made up of self-serving, greedy, treasonous individuals who have committed grave crimes against the people of Eritrea and they were also formed under the tutelage of Meles Zenawi in Gondar, Ethiopia.

 

Meles Zenawi’s regime has flouted international law, violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all neighboring countries, tortured and massacred thousands of innocent Ethiopians, committed genocide in the Gambela region, has violated over two dozen Security Council Resolutions on Eritrea and Ethiopia, has rejected the Final and Binding Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission’s (EEBC) ruling, has intimidated, harassed and forced the independent EEBC to close its offices and abandon its sole mandate of demarcating the Eritrea Ethiopia border, and continues to violate several articles of the African Union and UN Charters, and yet, Somalia is presented as a lawless country and a “hotbed for terrorists”, and Ethiopia is presented as the US’ staunch ally in the “global war against terrorism”…go figure!

On 15 February 2007, I listened as President George Bush talk about Afghanistan and the fight against the Taliban and how the United States was going to support President Karzai in the rebuilding of Afghan institutions, including the Judicial System. Something he said got my attention. He told his audience the following:

“…we're going to help President Karzai fight corruption. And one place where he needs help is in the judicial system. There's nothing more discouraging when justice is not fair. And Afghans too often see their courts run by crooked judges. It's important to have the confidence of the people in a free society. Crooked judges makes it hard to earn that confidence… The international community is helping this new government build a justice system so they can replace the rule of the Taliban with the rule of law…”

 

 

I agree with the President; corruption breeds lawlessness, corruption undermines the people’s confidence in national and international institutions, and most of all, corruption obscures the truth and obstructs justice. Corruption breeds terrorism.

 

What will it take for President Bush to support justice for the people of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia by supporting the rule of law over the rule of Meles Zenawi? When will Washington stop providing diplomatic, financial, and political support for Meles Zenawi, a certified terrorist in his own rite?

 

The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle!

 

Source: Al-Jazeerah