There is no peace to keep in Somalia

[Che -Guevara]

Mogadishu 24, August.07 ( Sh.M.Network)- This week has been a week of hope for the African Union mission in Somalia. The UN Security Council has asked the Secretary General to develop, within thirty days, a contingency plan for a possible UN deployment in the Horn of Africa nation.

Voice of America also announced this week that the UN has decided to scale down the number of troops involved in the Liberia mission, easing the pressure on the countries that had forces there.

 

 

 

Capt. Ankunda is the AU Spokesman in Somalia

A delegation from Burundi will also be in Somalia, mid this week to assess for themselves where their forces will possibly deploy. This indeed is good news for the Somali people.

 

Somalia has already distinguished herself as the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe, with about two million people in displacement.

 

It is the most striking example of Africa’s failed states, having stayed without a central government for close to two decades. MSF president, Christophe Fournier has described the humanitarian situation as "shocking and absolutely unacceptable." This surely calls for a UN intervention.

 

In Somalia, just like in most African conflicts, there is no peace to keep. Unfortunately, the world body has been stuck to its traditional approach of peacekeeping. This, in my opinion, has been outlived by the nature of the conflicts that have to be dealt with.

 

For the UN to say that they only deploy where there is peace is to forget that the AU deployment in Somalia was actually sanctioned by them, and there is no peace to talk of in Somalia.

 

Moreover, the Ugandan troops there are definitely part of the wider UN family given that Uganda is a member of the United Nations.

 

AU is just an implementing agency for the world body's desire to restore peace in Somalia. In fact, if the Ugandan soldiers changed and adorned UN's blue berets, they could easily pass for UN peacekeepers. So what is the problem?

 

The UN's requirement that a country at conflict has to have 'peace to keep' for them to deploy is really mind-boggling. In the first place, the reason why a country's government allows foreign troops to enter their territory to 'keep peace' is because their security forces have failed to keep the peace or have even destroyed it.

 

In the period preceding the escalation of violence, the UN is supposed to foster preventive diplomacy. In most conflicts seen on the globe today, the UN has failed to shuttle this diplomacy, to prevent the escalation of conflicts into violence. This is why the UN should adjust to the more contemporary reality of peace making.

 

The grandiose argument that there has to be political agreements between the warring factions is equally misplaced.

 

This is because prior to the deployment of a neutral party, there is always mistrust between the warring parties and hence no mediator to guide the parties to agreement.

 

 

What should be understood however is that western powers always have their national interests at the back of their mind before deploying their soldiers. Remember, they are the bakers and servers of the big cake.

There is no reason whatsoever why European or American taxpayers should risk their money and troops if there is no guarantee that their sons and daughters will come back home safely or even enable their countries to achieve the national interest.

 

 

This is why African leaders must take the tall order and provide African solutions to African problems. Relying on unpredictable western allies may never help the beleaguered continent to rid itself of the chronic conflicts.

Therefore, the relatively rich nations of Africa; South Africa, Nigeria, Libya, Egypt etcetera should deploy in Somalia, for the good of our mother continent.

 

 

Capt. Ankunda is the AU Spokesman in Somalia

[RedSea]

They have now realized that there is something seriously wrong with all of this so called TFG. They have now found out it's actually what they call the government is destroying the peace itself.

 

What peace is there when a country is being invaded and held hostage by Ethiopian troops.

 

Ethiopian troops presence has no legal rights both in the AU or UN charter. There is absulitely no reason for them to be there.

 

Unless all these issues are assessed, there is indeed won't be any peace to keep.

[Kool_Kat]

Bada Cas, I agree with you...

 

Now don't go around telling people that I agree with you...lol