Hiiraan Online Editorial
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Somalia’s bloated Parliament with over 550 members known for its inaction, fist-fights and incompetence appears to have sabotaged a genuine effort by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to pacify the lawless nation with the nomination of a lean technocrat Government. It was less than a month ago when the parliament resisted the approval process of Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo” a US educated academic quarrelling over what seems to so many as an inconsequential and petty parliamentary procedure—voting by show of hand or through a secret ballot.
After a week of intense impasse colored by shouting matches, the parliament acted to approve the PM only after numerous requests and pressures to do so by the UN and the International Community.
You would think that the Parliament learned a lesson from this ineffective and useless exercise?
A new but similar political stalemate between the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch is currently brewing in Mogadishu where the Parliament is refusing once again to approve the 18 member cabinet selected by the new PM using the same parliamentary procedures as an excuse.
One wonders, if members of the Somali parliament comprehend what is at stake for Somalia and its people today!
Mogadishu Surpasses Baghdad and Kabul in the number of civilian deaths!
A recent report published by a UK-based group states that Somalia is currently the worlds’ most dangerous nation. It has the highest number of civilian deaths from terrorism per population and has surpassed both Iraq and Afghanistan in the number of fatalities per terrorist attack. Less than few days earlier, a Somali-American from Minneapolis, Minnesota assisting the new PM was murdered in a broad daylight few blocks outside of the presidential palace in Mogadishu.
TFG Mandate to End in August 2011
Many Somalia observers believe that Somalia’s parliament, equal in size only to that of populous China, has become a clear and dangerous impediment to the restoration of peace and stability in Somalia thus prolonging the suffering of the Somali people. Some even wonder if President Sharif ought to have rights enshrined in Somalia’s 1960 charter exercising the right to dissolve a disorderly parliament and rule the country by decree to pacify the nation at this critical juncture. Others contend that it is the absence of a presidential vision and leadership skills that is at the core of the problem and the primary cause of the impasse in the first place.
Some parliamentarians believe that a power struggle between the President and the powerful Speaker of the House Sharif Hassan is being fought behind the scenes jockeying for post TFG leadership in Somalia.
Whatever the reasons, it is a known fact that innocent Somali citizens are dying on a daily basis from inhumane killings by Al-Shabab and other terrorist groups and from indiscriminate shelling by AMISOM troops whose primary responsibility should have been to protect the lives of the Somali people in the first place. The humanitarian condition of internally displaced Somalis and others in refugee camps is deplorable, while others are dying on the red sea and the Indian Ocean trying to escape the atrocious conditions they left behind.
Dual Track Policy, the Proposed Naval Blockade and the No-Fly Zone
Rather than debating the potential impact of the US dual track policy on Somalia’s long term statehood and sovereignty, and the emboldening support the US policy directive gives to groups long lobbying for the so- called building blocs approach, dividing Somalia into clan based regional fiefdoms, Somalia’s parliament seems to be insanely preoccupied with post TFG power struggle and prestige when the nation itself is on the verge of a total collapse. In addition, the parliament is utterly silent on a treacherous IGAD proposal putting an unnecessary naval blockade and a no-fly zone over Somalia ostensibly to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as flights and shipments carrying weapons and ammunitions to armed groups inside Somalia. No one it seems has studied or knows the impact of this Gaza-like blockade on the thriving Somali economy and the livelihoods of millions who depend on financial support from their kinfolk in the Diaspora.
The Hope of a Nation Hangs in the Balance
Meanwhile, the Somali people seem jubilant about the appointment of a lean Government of 18 Ministers instead of 39 with most of the cabinet members being technocrats from educated Somalis in the Diaspora. This seems to be a hopeful sign for many Somalis yearning for good governance, peace and stability. The international community is also looking at this technocrat government as the making of a true partner for peace in moving Somalia from a lawless state to a stable and democratic state at peace with itself, its neighbors and the international community.
This can only be realized if Somalia’s parliament moves out of the way.
The Editorial Board of Hiiraan Online urges members of the Parliament to do their sworn duty honorably and approve the new cabinet for the sake of the suffering Somali public.
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