The Somali Ambassador in Ethiopia

Hargeisa, 21 June 2009 – I heard the Somalia Ambassador Abdikrin Farah in Addis Ababa saying, this past week, Mogadishu has never been quiet in the last ten days compared with the last sixteen years of violence and anarchy.

The Ambassador went on and said that the counter offensive launched few days ago by the Somali government and its Ethiopian backers crushed the remnants of ICU and secured peace which will pave the way for the national reconciliation conference expected this month.

Of course there will be a “national” reconciliation which is going to exclude major actors including ICU and the Hawiye clan which is at present on a precarious ceasefire with Melse’s forces in Mogadishu.

Ambassador Farah victory speech today is premature andthe Somalia situation will not be tackled by stage-managed conferences which excludes those which have amajor role to play for national reconciliation.

The worst is that The TFG is influenced and backed bya regime in Ethiopia which is known for excluding its opponents and preparing self serving conferences which have not solved the Ethiopian political problems for the last sixteen years.

The statement made by Ambassador Farah remind me the day I met him in September 2006 while we protest infront of UN in New York City on the going killing and human right abuses by Melese Zenawi.

After he received a flyer I hand it to him and see the pictures of the jailed opposition leaders displayedhe told me that I will be shocked if I go to Addis andwitnessed a booming economy and infrastructure build up in the last ten years.

I argue with him that the infrastructure build up and the “booming economy” should not be equated with the rule of law and we have seen the booming economy in China with no human rights and the oil driven booming economy in Karthum did not stop the genocide in Darfur.

I heard the good Ambassador declaring a success in Mogadishu today and I was not surprised by his judgment.

Tedla Asfaw
tedla.asfaw@gmail.com