     kharqabe | Saturday, December 09, 2000 - 10:33 am
To all my fellow Somali countrymen, all of your rights are encroached upon and very few of you have spoken openly to confront the current leaders in the regional administrations. It is you in Somalia whose lives are at risk of death, because of the insecurity that existed in Somalia for the last ten years. It is you whose rights are being taken away, and their properties looted by these armed gangsters, it is you whose kids are fleeing the country because of the current situation. Therefore, all of you, young and elderly, must stand up to confront those leaders who want to refuse the current peace process in order to stay in power, in spite of their bad records of committing crimes against humanity and suppressing the massive majority.
Every Somali citizen is aware of the results of this endless war, which ravaged the lives of everybody and destroyed the basic elements of life. Therefore, if we want to save the remaining, we must fully support the new administration to help them rebuild the country.
It is regretful to see those warlords who put Somalia into this current situation, trying to oppose the new government just because they were not given any cabinet posts neither they were included in the parliament as some of them demanded, in which the new president referred to when he was talking about Somali politics "they proposed that the parliament, which now has 245 members of parliament, should be expanded." The president said (Ayaamaha), saying that matter is for the Somali parliament.
These leaders are putting their personal ambitions before the national interest of the country; unfortunately there are still some people who consider them as role models, and repeat the same words of the warlords in every corner of the globe. These so-called political leaders have won little support from some of their clan members, who are supporting just because they are from the same clan group.
Let me tell all Somali people to think one more time about their future and what they want for the coming generation, let me say that you must stop giving your support to these barbaric leaders. All they care are their personal goals, while crashing any groups who have opposite opinions to their agenda. These warlords do not have any respect to the value of human lives, whereas the new administration has already established the groundwork for a democratic country, in which all people will have equality and freedom. Therefore, you must support the government by demanding the regional administrations to follow the current peace process that is going on in Somalia. You also have to tell them that you are not going to accept the secession of your regions from the rest of Somalia.
If these local administrations do not accept your demand for full support
to the new government, you must demonstrate against them, demanding that they should step aside from the power with which they were entrusted. The local administration has to follow the will of the majority of its citizens. Moreover, the hardships they created have forced millions of Somalis to flee the country; therefore, we should establish an inducive environment, which can attract all Somalis back to their motherland.
During the war the country lost more than 1.1 million lives for no obvious reason, and millions more are living with the scars it has left on their lives. Therefore If we want to save the remaining and heal the scars of our loved ones we must support the new government, so that all of us will enjoy the security and civil liberties which the new government has promised us to enjoy if it succeeds.
Unlike the factional leaders, the new government has pledged to rebuild the destroyed social relations among Somali's different tribes, which reached its worst level throughout Somali's history. For thirty-one years Somalia has witnessed the worst type of "Divide and Rule" tactics under these barbaric leaders and the prior revolutionary military regime, both of them was based on the beliefs of the rule of the jungle where the powerful rules the weaker one.
If we also want to have the destroyed physical infrastructure repaired we must be ready to support the new administration. Somalia's new government will offer thousands of militiamen food, vocational training and cash in exchange for their guns, a government official said. Hussein Ali Ahmed, a member of a Somali government committee set up to organize the demobilization program, said the goal is convince at least 75,000 gunmen to hand in their guns over the next three years. In exchange for the guns, militiamen would enroll in camps where they would be given a basic education, vocational training and a salary (Associated Press). Which will pave the way to a peaceful creation of a disciplined national army.
Some of you may not be aware that Ethiopian military forces has been present on the Somalian soil since 1993, the longest time in this new world order where foreign troops have been operating in an independent state, all that happened because of the lack of a central government. Therefore if we want to have our dignity restored we must all support the new government which some Somali intellectuals called "Halyeeyadii naftooda u huray nabadeynta iyo soo celinta sharafta ummaddooda".
On the other side some of our own so-called leaders have used the national treasuries for their personal benefits, to the extent that the government-owned factories were sold to private companies in neighboring countries. Others sold national monuments as scrap metal to private firms in the Gulf States. While other warlords planted hashish and harmful drugs in private farms for export to finance their struggle for the destruction of their own country, they want to get richer and richer at the expense of starving poor. The line is too long to count, whereas the new government sacrificed the most valuable any human can own, their lives, they put it at risk for the sake of your safety, may god bless those who died in their path for our freedom.
The new government has pledged to keep the country together, and fight any secession sentiments from any groups whatsoever, and to fight for the rights of all Somalis in the horn of Africa whether under the Ethiopian occupation of Ogaden, Bay and Gedo regions.
All Somalis see themselves as one small family that can not be divided into smaller parts, and all Somali regions are interdependent in terms of agricultural and trade, which is proven now by the way Somali economy survived the worst disasters and droughts in the last ten years. The Somali shilling has been the steady currency of the country, which maintained most of its value in spite of the lack of functioning government and a central bank. The only reason the currency did so is because of the interdependence of the economy of Somali regions and its people which are considered among the best entrepreneurs in the horn of Africa region, the economy thrived in defiance of the international laws.
All of that shows that Somalia can not be divided into twenty countries where every city wants to be its own country.
It is very sad to see those so-called leaders sinking in the ocean of political wars, wanting to keep the country apart, dividing it into fiefdoms, while other countries like the two Koreas and the Europeans are joining their efforts to create solid nations.
As all of you know, no country can function well without a government; no one can live in a place without the basic necessities of life like security, water and good transportation systems. However, none of those so-called northern administrations ever tried to improve the current failing social infrastructure. Therefore, all of you must demand that the current administrations take part in the on-going peace process or to step from the helm for the righteous, because people need an administration with a clean record. Any administration that shows an interest in ruling our country has to have the willingness and the ability to restore all basic social infrastructures so that the country will come back to normal life. However, the only way you can get this is to participate and fully support the newly elected president and his veteran politicians who are chosen from the best of Somali politicians known in our history. These leaders can be trusted with our beloved country, because they vowed to keep their promises and so far they fulfilled some of their promises. They are ready to restore order and help people get the basic necessities of life and go on with their business, so that every one of us will pursue his/her dream. Otherwise, it is impossible for you to stay under the current situation.
Some parts of our society have shown their unwillingness to accept the current peace process, believing that the new government is going to fail just because the warlords were not invited to participate in the Arta conference, but the reality is that the warlords are the only enemy we have in our country. Moreover, they are the only obstacles to the establishment of a broad-based Somali government. It was the right choice to exclude them from the peace process because they were the ones who destroyed our nation and created animosity among our people and used the sacred human lives as a ladder to reach power. These military leaders, who oppose the current peace process, see the new government as an end to their profession of military dictatorship
As we all know, this new government is the solution for Somalia’s political problem as agreed upon by Somali representatives in the country and around the world and not a creation of new rivalries as Bernard Helander, Lecturer of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University claimed. Hellander asserted that the election of the new president is creating more problems for the country, as was clear in his remarks in which he said “but the point is that having someone named for that position is nothing new and it has not helped to solve anything in the past, just created new rivalries and more instability”(Bernard), referring to the newly elected Somali president.
As you have seen, your brothers in the south have shown a good example for all Somalis by the way they welcomed the president to the capital. Thousands climbed trees and lined the streets in Mogadishu as women dressed in traditional clothes sang his welcome. Others lined the streets waving flags and flowers to welcome the new president. The president's motorcade raced through the streets of north Mogadishu to hotel Ramadan, which will be his temporary home.
A fourteen year-old, Abdullah Issaq summed up what the war-torn country needed. "We need a president and security. There is no education. We need schools," he said as he waved a flag to welcome the president (Cathy Jenkins). All Somalis in the country and around the world eagerly await the day they will see full freedom and democracy in their country.
My fellow Somalis, though you did show your refusal to accept the dictatorial regimes, you need to increase the pressure on them by talking to the incumbent dictators directly, showing that you have withdrawn your support and they need to follow the example set by the majority of the Somali people. Let them see that you are a rapidly growing power, which cannot be ignored by holding large demonstrations so that every one of you has to make the case clear to them.
It is very clear that the Puntland and Somaliland administrations are not interested in seeing any positive and prosperous future for you all, and for the new Somali government which is the result of the will of the majority. As you have heard, General Tallan was murdered on Wednesday Oct. 18, 2000 in the line of duty to help in the restoration of order and civilian rule to the wrecked capital of the country, Somalia (BBC), which is a clear indication that there will be some obstacles and hardships before we realize our aspired peace and democracy.
Therefore, every citizen of northern Somalia has to stand up by coming together to join their forces and create a united front against those who don’t want peace and stability for our country.
To all peace-loving Somalis, you must support the new government, which is the only way Somalia will come back to the international arena and save its existence from disappearance into the dark side of the world history. All of you must not rest until you get rid of these so-called leaders, who are obstacles facing our freedom. After that we will all prevail, the separated families will see one another, the aggressor will be brought to justice, and all properties will be given back to its rightful owners.
All of you, Somalis, must not rest until you see the sacred flag of Somalia back on all Somali territories. When we establish all the bases this new government needs, we will have everything any civilized country should have. We will have a country which will honor those who were killed for no reason, a country which will mourn for their death, a country which will take all measures to ensure the sacredness of people's lives and honor the lives of their children. After that all of its citizens will have all the means for the establishment of life after ten years of destruction.
You must all show your support for the newly created Somali government, and be part of the current movements in the Somali people which will bear fruits soon, and you will be part of the Somali’s golden history |
