The Star
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The death of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in a Belgium hospital after months of speculation about his health has dealt a big blow to the fight against Somalia's al Qaeda-linked insurgent group al Shabaab.
Zenawi, whose troops have been in and out of Somalia over the last five years, has been playing a crucial role of incapacitating the insurgent group without being tied down to the bureaucracy and red-tapism associated with the African Mission In Somalia which has about 17,000 troops from Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti and Sierra Leone.
Although its troops have been battling al Shabaab insurgents, experts says Ethiopia tactfully declined to join Amisom and instead opted to retain its operational independence and launch attacks on the insurgents in Somalia without necessarily being bogged down by the Amisom bureaucracy.
The West, especially US, Britain and Germany, have lost an ally who stood his ground. It is in Ethiopia that the US found an ally willing to enter Somalia after the Islamic Courts Union took over the lawless country and installed an Islamic extremist administration which threatened the security of neighbouring nations and the international community at large.
He was praised by the West for sending troops to battle Islamist militants in Somalia when all regional governments were reluctant. Security expert Simiyu Werunga, who is currently in Seychelles on a maritime and anti-piracy security training, says Zenawi's death is likely to affect the international community's fight against extremism and terrorism.
"Zenawi had emerged as the strongman for the region and led in the fight against extremism and terrorism. His departure will shake up the resolve the region had taken and it needs to be filled up before some mischievous groups try to take advantage of the vacuum. Regional leaders and governments must ensure that what the military and political resolves he stood for in the fight against extremism and terrorism is carried on," Werunga said.
The 57-year-old Ethiopian leader played a key role in the region in the two decades he was in power. It is during his tenure that Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia and the two countries went to war. It is during his time that Ethiopia twice sent troops into Somalia to fight al Shabaab. Political leaders in all these countries will be carrying out rapid calculations about what Meles' death means for them.
Barnaba Benjamin, the South Sudan Information minister, said "It's a very, very sad day for the people of the Republic of South Sudan and the people of the East African region as a whole. President Barack Obama, in a hastily arranged press conference, praised Prime Minister Meles Zenawi as a model leader who has put the needs of his people above the needs of the wealthy.
“Today Africa has lost a bright star, his Excellency Prime Minister Zenawi has been a great partner for the West. We shared many uplifting stories at Camp David over wine and kitfo. Prime Minister Zenawi has been an indispensable partner to America and the West as a whole. We have depended on him to free Somalia from Muslim extremists and he has been undertaking yet another quest to stifle Muslim extremism in Ethiopia and in my birthland Kenya. We will sorely miss his leadership and we look forward to the people of Ethiopia voting in a free and fair election as they did in 2005 and voting over 99 per cent for another model Prime Minister that the West can depend on and value as we valued His Excellency Zenawi," President Obama said.
To emphasize how important Zenawi was in the fight against al Shabaab, the group's spokesman told Reuters that they were "very glad" of his death, saying Ethiopia was "sure to collapse". Former US ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn said although the next leader will have to concentrate on domestic policies following Zenawi's death, there will be need to continue the focus on Somalia because of the country's internal security issues.
"I believe that any successor to Meles will focus first on domestic issues and for the most part leave the regional and international engagement to other countries, at least until the new leader is firmly established in office. For internal security reasons, there will be a continuing focus on Somalia and I do not foresee any significant change towards Eritrea," he said, referring to Ethiopia's arch-foe with whom it fought a decade-long border war," Shinn said.