Restoring despair the Ogaden National Liberation Front
(ONLF) a perspective of independence for the Ogaden and southern Somalia.
Having looted the government depots
"THE American military operation in Somalia has had the exact opposite and sacked the bases of the humanitarian organizations, the armed militia are now results for those in that country who long for peace to those promised by threatening supplies to the Somali refugee camps and the local population. A little
This is the opinion of Rakiya Omaar, a Somali lawyer who was sacked more than a year ago Le Monde claimed from her job with Africa Watch, a US-based human rights organization, that the new Ethiopian regime had no on December 2 for her opposition to the American intervention, and Alex control of the eastern province of Harar which was in the grip of tribal struggles de Waal who resigned as director of the same organization when the and brigandage. Furthermore, a significant parent Human Rights Watch organization backed the US initiative.
proportion of Ethiopia's supplies come via
The following article, which first appeared in the Flemish paper De
Berbera and Djibouti, most going from
Morgen on December 24 gives these two experts' views on the real there to the capital by truck. Thus the lack of security on the roads means that the effects of the US operation in Somalia.
Ogaden is cut off from the rest of the country while access to the coast is made difficult by the conflict prevailing through the south of the country.
However, exports from the Ogaden
Plateau of cattle through the natural outlet to the north east (Bosaso) have seen a spectacular improvement (100,000 heads a month. The Ogaden nomads are benefiting from the vast zone of peace represented by north east Somalia. Bosaso's traders have been striving to re-establish networks in the Gulf, Kenya and Yemen.
By securing the main highways and pushing the armed bands out to peripheral regions, the American army has made it
4. Stephen Smith, Libération, December 15, 1992.
5. Stephen Smith, Libération, January 16, 1993.
6. PNUD, Rapport mondial sur le développement humain, Economica Paris 1992, p. 225.
its name, Restore Hope".
DOCUMENT
FEW weeks before the intervention there were an increasing number of hopeful signs. Throughout the country, Somalis were acting to take their country's future back into their own hands. Of course there were plenty of problems and much frustration but there were also striking successes.
Thus on October 5, 1992, Somali clan leamarginalized by a group of clan elders who had resolved to restore peace to their country.
In the south events were less dramatic, but thanks to local agreements humanitarian aid was being successfully delivered in several regions. In the town of Baidoa, in the middle of the famine stricken territory, these local agreements had made possible the transport of food aid from the airport to the town and the surrounding villages; loo ting of food convoys was more or less halted.
In the region around Baidoa, the trucks were able to provide maize and sorghum in quantity and at a low price. While serious incidents still took place, overall the situation was improving. The death rate fell by 90% between July and November.
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International Viewpoint #242 February 1993
On the political level also, there were encouraging developments. For the first time in years clan elders and intellectuals were having meetings at which a consensus was emerging that it was necessary to isolate the warlords and create social structures that would give people back their confidence. The leaders of the Hawiye clan, who had at first supported General Mohamed Farah Aydeed, realized that it was in their own interest to break with him. Aydeed's power declined as the clan leaders became more alert and independent.
Another striking initiative was the organization by the European Community of a series of meetings of intellectuals and clan elders. This initiative was the first victim of the American intervention. As soon as Bush announced his intention of sending soldiers to Somalia the situation became so unstable that all the meetings were cancel-
While Somalia lacks a central government, meaningful political, social and eco nomic structures exist even if they have been seriously damaged. Without the practical knowledge, political understanding and efforts of clan leaders, doctors, nurses, emergency workers, truck drivers and Somali volunteers, the international aid programmes would have never had the slightest chance of success.
However, no clan elders, experts or volunteers were consulted about the American operation. Those we talked to were appalled by the prospect of foreign troops landing in Somalia without any coordination or thought out plan for political reconciliation, disarmament and reconstruction.
The lack of consultation is more than just an insult. It undermines the credibility of those overlooked and can only damage the prospects for rebuilding civil structures in Somalia. A week after the American intervention it is clear that many peace initiatives have been halted. The fragile network of local initiatives that had improved the situation in the Baidoa area has collap-
There are two reasons for this: the first is that the militia of General Aydeed, in flight from the Americans, is once again sowing death and destruction there. The second is that each politician or militia leader is seeking to draw the maximum advantage from the intervention and in these conditions patiently negotiated agreements are quickly abandoned.
Baidoa has seen an orgy of violence, with at least 70 deaths, thousands fleeing the town and a breakdown of aid programmes. The national death rate has risen from 40 to 100 persons a day. However the most worrying development has been the much vaunted diplomatic coup that brought General Aydeed to embrace the self-proclaimed interim president Mohamed Ali Mahdi. People who know something about Somalia have pointed out that the seven-point peace plan they signed is without real meaning.
The armistice announced by the agreement was in fact agreed nine months ago while establishment of free access to all parts of Mogadishu had already been accomplished by the American occupation. The surveillance of the so-called technicals -trucks equipped with heavy weapons -is an empty gesture since most have been evacuated as the US troops approached.
Furthermore, the announcement of a conference of national reconciliation is a repeat of an agreement previously made. The real sticking points in the convocation of such a conference, such as the status of the participating parties, has not, however, been addressed. Furthermore, Ali Mahdi has effectively thrown the agreement straight in the bin by announcing that, in any case, he will stay president.
Most Somalis view the militia chiefs as war criminals and were revolted by the
→ BEN HAMID sight of them being welcomed on TV. It is highly disturbing that just a few days after their arrival the US troops decided to talk to these two bandits.
Both Aydeed and Ali Mahdi are after international recognition. Until now the only success registered by all the international pressure has been that they have been denied such legitimacy, giving credible pro-peace forces in Somali society room for manoeuvre. Now, in their greed for media success the US have undermined these efforts and reinforced Aydeed's murderous grip on some parts of Somalia.
Warlords cozy up to UN
The American occupation has drastically changed the ground rules. Since it will almost certainly lead to the installation of a United Nations controlled zone, the warlords are going to work hard to ingratiate themselves with the neo-colonial authorities.
The UN, through its incompetence and negligence, bears a heavy responsibility for the Somali catastrophe. The American occupation may give the UN some brea thing space — if a UN zone is created this Will give that organization a good opportunity to expand its influence and avoid direct criticism of its disastrous policies.
One significant cause of the recent deterioration of the situation in Somalia has been the forced resignation of UN special envoy Mohamed Sahnun, who enjoys great prestige in Somalia. He had the brilliant idea of involving the Somalis themselves in the effort to resolve their country's problems. He worked closely with clan elders, women's organizations and intellectuals. Unfortunately, his successor Ismat Kittani has shown no interest in such alternative structures.
During a recent visit to Somalia, Kittani behaved in the brutal and undiplomatic way that Somalis have often seen from UN officials. In an arrogant speech to a committee of clan chiefs who had succeeded through patient negotiation in bringing to an end months of bitter fighting, he ordered them to reach a complete agreement in two hours. The clan elders expelled him from their territory.
If the UN feels itself in danger of being upstaged by the success of clan chiefs it will surely react, as it has in the south of the country, with a mix of militarist exhibitionism and inept diplomacy which will be exploited by the opportunists who are quite willing to throw themselves into the arms of American generals.*
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ex-YUGOSLAVIA