Secret Somalia-Egypt Pact Endangers Peace, Security and Stability of the Horn of Africa Region - November 05, 2004 - 00:04
04 November,2004
According to reliable sources, there are alarming reports that Col. Abdullahi Yusuf, the War Lord of Puntland turned president-elect of Somalia has reached a secret deal with some high ranking Egyptian officials in its Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya to revive the age old hostilities between the Somalis and Ethiopians in order to covertly resurrect the “Greater Somalia” dream and thereby to fuel the territorial dispute between its neighbours particularly Ethiopia.
The reports further indicate that the objectives of this pact are believed to be as follows:
1.) To forge close political, economic, and military cooperation between Somaia and Egypt.
2.) To defend the unity of Somalia at the expense of Somaliland.
3.) To undermine the peace, aspirations, cause, and existence of Republic of Somaliland, the only beacon of democracy in the Horn of Africa region.
4.) To injure the pro-Western, pro-Israeli foreign policy or stance of Somaliland.
5.) To undermine the recognition efforts and international standing of Somaliland.
6.) To damage the good, warm, and brotherly relations between Somaliland and Ethiopia.
7.) To work against any possibility that the Somalis and Ethiopians might in the future have good neighbourly relations, coexist peacefully, cooperate, and live in an amicable manner in the region.
8.) To create a climate of permanent enmity and hostilities and create an atmosphere that will induce both countries to build their respective military, get into an arms race frenzy, and to generally retard progress and development in the Horn of Africa region.
9.) 7) To disrupt peace, security and stability of the Horn of Africa region, and
10.) To create a state of permanent wars in the Horn of Africa region.
Nevertheless, to sum up the major objectives and goals of the Somalia-Egypt pact are: a) For Egypt to once again hijack the foreign policy of Somalia and to revive the dormant Somali nationalism and to inject in them the poisonous tribal fervour or the illogic “Greater Somalia,” dream that will in the process undermine the cause and existence of the Republic of Somaliland, and b) to put Ethiopia into a constant defensive mode and military conflict with Somalia so as to busy them from tapping into the waters of the Nile for agricultural purposes regardless of the thousands of the innocent and poor people who succumb to famine, hunger and day each year in this poor country. And That is the real root cause of the lack of peace, security and stability in the Horn of Africa over the years. However, the only way to put to rest or resolve this problem is to simply recognize the independent and democratically elected Republic of Somaliland. In fact, the recognition of Somaliland will put the final nail in coffin of Somali nationalism that is the causes of poverty, hostilities, and constant wars in the region.
Moreover, these reports further suggests that the Somalia-Egypt pact may have the blessing of the Arab League or the Arab World and that a mechanism for covert channeling of financial and military assistance to Somalia through a third party country close to the region and a middleman to work between the War Lord and that Arab leader has been put in place. Also, they shade more light to a host of suspicious movements believed to be related to the partial implementation of the pact that has already been noticed and already taking place in Yemen.
In fact, Yemen is suspected to be that chosen third party country and the middle man, in this case, has been identified as being non other than Mr. Munye Abu Munye, an unscrupulous Yemeni businessman with a Somalia citizenship who has illegally amassed much wealth out of the five (5) fishing fleet jointly owned by Somalia and SHIFCO, an Italian parastatal agency, which he stole and fled with to Yemen after the fall of the fascist regime of Dictator Siad Bare.
Furthermore, the War Lord’s prompt action in sending recently a three man delegation to Yemen, which included non other than Mr. Yusuf Ahmed, his 25 year old son, Mr. Yusuf Omar Azhari, his cousin, and unnamed man believed to be his uncle and political advisor raises enormous suspicion and further illuminates the existence of this secret pact between these two countries. Consequently, given the small number of the delegation all of whom were his family or close confidantes is not a coincidence, but a concerted plan to introduce his most trusted agents to the Yemeni authorities as being the official middlemen responsible for future contacts and transactions between the War Lord and the president of Yemen until such time that security is restored and the government establishes its authority in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia.
It is not a secret that the stated shadowy Arab businessman has already donated a lump sum of $1,000,000 in cash to the War Lord upon his arrival in the country shortly before he was elected, not as a ransom, but as an advance payment of some of the benefits of the pact reached in Kenya. It is also heavily suspected that the stated Arab businessman or middleman who wants to be known as the “Adnan Khashoggi, the infamous international arms dealer” of the Gulf of Eden and Horn of Africa region is also responsible for arranging the meeting that took place between the president of Yemen and the War Lord before he turned president-elect of Somalia. Some believe that Mr. Munye Abu Munye has a robust relations with key War Lords, Al-Itihaad extremists, and possibly with Alqaida operatives in Somalia, and that he from time to time grants them some financial assistance and ship to them small arms and ammunitions so that they do not mount a unified opposition for his continued illegal possession of the Somalia ships or national assets. This further signifies the level of cooperation between these shadowy characters or dangerous groups and that it is about time that they must be exposed, flushed out, and held responsible for their evil activities before they cause more problems in the region and the world in general.
There is no doubt that this was a crucial, successful, and beneficial meeting since it has quickly yielded some fruits and that the War Lord has already begun to rip its fruits. The financial benefits received from this secretive meeting may have enabled the War Lord to either purchase the huge arms and ammunition supply from Yemen or that the money was for him to line his pocket and that the arms and ammunitions supply were actually delivered to him free of charge and as part of the military component of the pact reached in Kenya.
On the other hand, the War Lord turned president-elect of Somalia is expected to travel to Egypt in early November to sign the secret pact between these two countries. It is also expected that the War Lord will, first, meet Mr. Amar Mousa, the secretary General of the Arab League, an Egyptian himself; in turn, he will arrange for his meeting with Mr. Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt in order to seal the pact for the mutual benefits of their two countries, which is actually to the detriment of both Somaliland and Ethiopia if this dangerous pact is unchecked allowed to prevail.
Other reports suggests that the arms and ammunition from Yemen were recently illegally transported to Puntland, Somalia regardless of the ceasefire arrangements between the warring factions and militias of Somalia signed in Kenya and the imposition of the UN Arms embargo on Somalia in place. These arms and ammunitions has been entirely been issued to the Puntland militia who are locked in a fabricated territorial dispute with the neighbouring peaceful and democratically elected Republic of Somaliland.
Although Somaliland is confined within its colonial territorial boundaries inherited from the British Protectorate of Somaliland, the illogic territorial claims of Puntland provincial administration and its leaders such as War Lord Abdullahi Yusuf, the president-elect of Somalia is absurd and tribally based. The mere fact that some minority tribes in Somaliland such as the Dulbahante and Warsengeli who inhabit the far eastern part of the country being the kin of the Majerteen who inhabit Puntland province of Somalia and being part of Harti sub-clan and for that reason that they should be associated with rest of their kin in Puntland province is absurd, illogic, pure tribalism, and a deplorable argument and this silly idea should not be entertained by the international community at all.
Moreover, the hollow ethnic nationalism of Hartism or Daroodism that War Lord Abdullahi Yusuf and his cohorts are trying champion and their hollow argument that those of the same ethnicity, language, traditions and customs, and religion should live together in an exclusive political society and territory is illogic and dangerous and will only fuel tribalism, poisons the coexistence of the clans particularly that of the nomadic herdsmen, and is truly a recipe for insecurity and a never ending wars in the region therefore the international community must not allow this sort of thinking to take root in Puntland province or anywhere else in the world. These kinds of wild dreams has no place in this modern era and should be quickly discouraged for the sake of peace, humanity, and development in the region.
That above stated silly argument by Puntland and the Harti sub-clan is the root cause of the current fabricated territorial dispute and conflict between Somaliland and Puntland, Somalia. In fact, this artificial dispute and conflict is a covert way to perpetuate the “Greater Somalia” dream that has long died and a means to undermine the peace, security and stability of the independent Republic of Somaliland, the beacon of democracy in the Horn of Africa region.
At the same time, the recent naked aggression by Puntland militia against Somaliland and the audacity to attack Adhi Adheye, sool region from three different positions specifically targeting the three army garrisons stationed at the outskirts of the tiny township denotes that their poor morale have been elevated by the huge arms and ammunition supply, which they recently received from Yemen.
Nevertheless, these gun totting rag tag militias were quickly mowed to death at the battle fields before reaching anywhere and three of their top ranking commanders who used to verbally boast and taunt Somaliland with destruction on a regular basis were quickly killed, more than 100 regular militias were also killed, wounding hundreds more, and captured 17 live militias as prisoners of war (POW); while the rest of the aggressors fled for their lives from the battle ground. The casualties on the Somaliland side was minimal with 9 dead, 11 wounded, and unfortunately 22 an armed and off duty soldiers commuting between their camps and the townships were kidnapped and held prisoner before they begun to mount the aggression on Somaliland territory and Army potions at Adhi Adheye.
Overall, it about time that the international community to be fair, just and come to its senses to alleviate the sufferings and thirst for water of the 160 million peasants who call home the River Nile Basin or more than the 300 million people who live in the ten countries that share the waters of Nile such as Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Egypt. The population of the River Nile Basin is expected to double in the next two decades and there are already serious water crises in the region.
Therefore, the major problem that needs to be resolved here is a) the need to revise or repel the outdated agreements, which were signed during the colonial era, that is, the 1929 Nile Water Agreement and the 1959 Agreement for the Full Utilization of the Nile that unfairly gave Egypt and Sudan extensive rights over the use of the river, and b) the need to grant Somaliland its long over due international recognition in order to nail the final nail in the coffin of the absurd Somali nationalism and illogic fervour for the creation of “Greater Somalia,” the root cause of insecurity, instability, and lack of development in the Horn of Africa region. This will provide both Somaliland and Ethiopia peace of mind. We therefore hope that the international community understands what is at stake here, takes heed, and takes the appropriate actions to reverse this dangerous development in the Horn of Africa region that may result from the secret Somalia-Egypt pact.
Victory and Liberty to Somaliland,
Farah Ali Jama,
Ottawa, ON Canada.
[WM]