Liqaye Posted February 3, 2004 Letters Tuesday, January 27, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Powell got it absolutely right on Somalia As the Kenyan mediators on the Somali problem continues to ponder how best to assist our sister nation, it might help to reflect on what Gen Colin Powell has to say about Somalia in his autobiography, My American Journey. He says: "Former President George Bush's hope for a January 20 (1993) exit from Somalia became a faded memory. In April, I spent my 56th birthday in Mogadishu trying to move the operation off America's back and onto UN's, where it had been in the first place. "We had accomplished our mission by ending the civil disorder that had disrupted the production and distribution of food and led to mass starvation. It was now up to the UN force to maintain that order. But UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reasoned that since the catastrophe had been provoked by feuding 14th-century style warlords, the solution was a dose of 20th-century style democracy. "From what I have witnessed of history, the will to build a nation originates from within its people, not from the outside. Somalia was not an African version of a Western state. Almost no institutions of law, no credible central government, and no authority existed there apart from clan leaders. "Nation building might have an inspirational ring, but it struck me as a way to get bogged down in Somalia, not get out. The Somali factions were ultimately going to solve their political differences their own way". In conclusion, let me say this. As much as I want Kenya to win a gold medal for restoring a state of normalcy and peace in Somalia, I cannot avoid wondering aloud, where is the glorified Africa? What is its input in all this? And above all, who is financing all these jaunts into Kenya by half-hearted Somali delegates? Why can't they, for example, go meet in Addis Ababa, which is the seat of the African Union? Don't we Kenyans have enough problems of our own? KUNGA NA RUTERE, Nairobi. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
