The Somalia Peace Deal

[mwafrica]

Asalam alaykum my brothers and sisters.

 

Pardon the pun, but I need to hear your various opinions on this piece...

 

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Somalia's rebirth calls for courage and resilience

 

Daily Nation (Kenya)

COMMENTARY

Story by TOM MSHINDI

Publication Date: 3/10/2007

 

Somalia’s top man in Kenya, Ambassador Mohamed al Nur, exudes confidence and optimism that his beleaguered country may at last have taken a decisive turn for the better. It is a confidence tempered with the reality that it is not the first time that hope has been stirred over Somalia for it to be very quickly extinguished. But circumstances this time seem to be somewhat different.

 

At a well attended Press conference this week, he announced that the first batch of the multinational African Union troops that will be stationed in Somali arrived amid pomp and fanfare.

 

Uganda is the first country to send in 1,500 troops of a targeted 8,000 personnel that the African Union (AU) hopes to instal in that country for six months to stabilise it before it is handed over to UN troops.

 

HOPEFULLY, THE DECISION BY Uganda will be quickly followed by Nigeria, Ghana, Burundi and Malawi which, together with the Ugandan troops should bring the initial number to 4,000 troops.

 

Diplomatic efforts are going on to have countries in the region pledge more troops so that the 8,000 figure can be achieved.

 

The arrival of the Ugandan troops in Mogadishu in which the President, the Speaker and the Prime Minister now sit, heightens the sense of normalcy in a capital at the centre of guerrilla type-strikes since the beginning of the year after Ethiopian troops, with significant logistical assistance from the United States, routed the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) that had claimed to take over governance of the Somali republic.

 

The full re-establishment of the government in Mogadishu now awaits the assent of Parliament that earlier had ruled that because of the insecurity in the capital, the government was to be set up temporarily in Baidoa.

 

Mr Nur also announced that within Somalia itself, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has initiated a community policing programme that has seen the integration of more than 8,000 former militias into the civilian police force.

 

“The community police will work alongside youth groups that have volunteered to patrol crime prone areas with the police force,” he says. The TFG has also launched the National Reconciliation Congress that is aimed at discussing the way forward for Somalia and creating institutions of good governance. The process will be going on over the next 45 days and will culminate in a 3,000-people congress to be held on April 16, 2007.

 

An upbeat Mr Nur says that all these have led governments to show interest in re-establishing diplomatic presence in Somalia.

 

Yemen is already there and governments of Belgium, Ethiopia, Libya and Kenya are keen to finalise the establishment of missions based in Mogadishu.

 

Listening to the Ambassador, one is persuaded that there may be a real chance for Somalia to rise from the depths of despair and anarchy and start the long journey of reclaiming its rightful place among other decently governed states regionally and internationally. Restoring the government to Mogadishu is only the first move. Keeping it there will be a much harder task.

 

Of great significance will be the resources needed to keep the 8,000 AU troops in Mogadishu. The AU peace support operation division has sent out a desperate appeal to international agencies and governments interested in peace in the Horn of Africa to urgently contribute.

 

It is expected that the US will lead with substantial support because stabilisation of Somalia is key to the success of the global US-led fight against terrorism.

 

Equally important is the resolve of the countries in the Horn of Africa to stay the course in so far as Somalia is concerned. For far too long, these countries have looked on as the warring factions tore at each other and turned the whole region into an insecurity zone.

 

IT HAD TO TAKE THE COURAGE of Ethiopia to move into Somalia to remove the ICU cells that the Ethiopian government correctly saw as a threat to its national interests and security.

 

Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti and indeed all the IGAD partner countries must invest materially, diplomatically and in every other way to ensure that Somalia survives the early turbulence of its rebirth.

 

Sitting in his Nairobi office, Mr Nur is probably the busiest diplomat in the Somalia’s foreign service no doubt because Nairobi is currently the most important city to that country. In the coming days, his patience, negotiating skills and contact list will be used fully but he appears comfortable.

 

It is a comfort that can only be sustained if all the many elements that will contribute to entrenching the early success come into play. Somalia peace deal will only succeed if the international and regional support continues flowing.