By Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra
Monday, May 31, 2010
Reading the daily news coming out of Somalia, one may be tempted to join those calling for disengagement from what many see as the “failed state” of Somalia.
After all, why support a country that for two decades now has failed to put its house in order? The answer to this somewhat baffling question lies in refocusing our attention on the people of Somalia.
While the debate continues as to whether or not Somalia is a failed state, the fact remains that nine million Somalis are living in that state.
This single fact must be the guiding force behind the world’s policies on Somalia. It is certainly the single most important element informing the African Union’s involvement in Somalia through its peacekeeping mission, Amisom.
We view all support to the Transitional Federal Government, which is part of our mandate, not as an end in itself, but as a means to assist the Somali people, the ultimate targets of our endeavours.
A partnership between the people of Somalia, the government of Somalia and the international community is really the most sustainable way to help Somalia. While the process continues of building the institutions that constitute the state, the Somali people must be assisted to live as normal a life as possible.
The growing infiltration of foreign extremists into Somalia raises the spectre of an even more complex and more protracted conflict than at first appeared to be the case.
There is increasing evidence of the presence of foreign extremists in the country. Just this past week, a top al Qaeda commander was reported killed in Somalia.
There is rising concern that this phenomenon poses a threat to regional and international peace. But we need to understand that the bigger threat is first and foremost to the Somali people, who now live under constant threat to their lives.
The extremists’ menu for the people of Somalia keeps unfolding like a horror film, except that this is real life: Threats against and assassination of anyone they think does not support their agenda; assassination of journalists as a way to intimidate them into either silence or collaboration; the murder of civilians at their most vulnerable moments, be it students at a graduation ceremony, patients waiting for treatment at a hospital or people praying at the mosque.
To compound this, the extremists are denying the Somali people simple pleasures that other people around the world enjoy as a right, including music and dance, which the extremists say is taboo.
Their desecration of Somali shrines violates the people’s right to pay respect to their dead. Claiming to be the defenders of Islam, the extremists are committing acts that are totally against Islam and against Somali culture.
Their agenda? To make sure that Somalia degenerates into total disorder, the more easily to serve as a base for their international terrorist agenda. If we disengage from Somalia, we shall be leaving the people of Somalia to fight this international war on our behalf.
This is not the time to distance ourselves from Somalia. On the contrary, it is exactly the time to rally behind the people of that country who are faced with a double threat: from Somali extremists fighting to take power through terror and from international extremists bent on using Somalia to carry out an international terrorist agenda.
We owe it to the Somali people to help them deal with these challenges. So we must make them close partners in whatever we do, recognising that progress in Somalia will come only if the Somali people participate in the process to rebuild Somalia.
Issues of security constitute a major challenge to life especially in the capital, Mogadishu. Amisom recognises this.
One of the Mission’s major tasks is to assist in the provision of national security by strengthening the pillars of the state, which comprise the transitional government, the military and the police.
First, by providing support to the Transitional Federal Institutions in their efforts to stabilise Somalia and promote dialogue and reconciliation. Second, by providing training to both the police and the military.
Additionally, the Mission interacts directly with the Somali people by providing free purified drinking water as well as free medical services, treating around 12000 outpatients monthly.
All these activities complement Amisom’s support to the Djibouti peace process, an aspect of which is to encourage the TFG to reach out to other political players in Somalia. Earlier this year, Amisom was instrumental in the signing of the agreement between the TFG and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jammah in Addis Ababa.
These activities constitute the essence of the partnership between Amisom, the transitional government, and the people of Somalia.
Last week’s conference in Istanbul, focusing on development and reconstruction, was an opportunity for the international community to reaffirm its commitment to help the people of Somalia.
Let us not entertain calls for disengagement of whatever type. For disengagement today will mean re-engagement tomorrow.
Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra is the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia