The Qaranka online
By Ahmed Ahmed
USA
Email: Dalmar1631@gmail.com
4 jan. 08

- Since the collapse of the central government in Somalia in the early 1990s, I had hoped that at least one of the fifty plus sovereign African states would take the lead to rebuke the destabilizing interference of the Ethiopian regime in the Somali affairs. Admittingly this has been a long and painful wait with no end in sight.

Because of Ethiopia’s sabotage of any peace process in Somalia, its cunning, albeit, tenuous campaign to break up Somalia into multiple weak regional states, each one under her full control; its un-abating effort to find other nations to recognize the breakaway regional government of the British Somaliland; its blatant transgression and violation to the territorial integrity of Somalia; its invasion, occupation, indiscriminate killings, assassinations, shelling, bombarding and subsequent destruction and devastation of more than two-thirds of all structures in Mogadishu, a vast city with a population of two million; its gross human rights violation against defenseless Somali civilians in Mogadishu and other areas in Somalia, and the resulting displacement of over 600,000 of residents in Mogadishu, it is unbefitting for the African union to keep its headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of the most ruthless regime in Africa today.

According to Arab news reports:
“The occupation [of the Ethiopian army in Somalia] has been one of the most brutal on record … and Ethiopian counterinsurgency tactics are not gentle. As early as last April Germany’s ambassador to Somalia, Walter Lindner, wrote a public letter condemning the indiscriminate use of air strikes and heavy artillery in densely populated parts of Mogadishu, the systematic rape of women, and even the bombing of hospitals. By now, the Ethiopian Army’s attempts to terrorize the residents of Mogadishu into submission have driven 600,000 of them — 60 percent of the population — to flee the city.

You will notice that some of the phrases used above do not appear in the agency reports about Somalia. The wire services do not talk about an Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, and they refer to the local Somali collaborators as the “transitional federal government” (TFG). This is mainly in deference to the United States, which organized and backed the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia.”

The African Union headquarters should be moved out of Addis Ababa and relocated to another truly neutral African nation that does not interfere with other nations’ internal affairs for their own selfish interest and petty politics. It should be relocated to another African nation which does not support the destabilization of other sovereign nations; a nation that does not arm and finance warlords.

Furthermore, Ethiopia should not be held accountable for violating the stability, sovereignty, and the territorial integrity of Somalia. If the African Union fails to summon Ethiopia and demand answers for its destabilizing actions in Somalia, this will impair the African Union’s integrity, impartiality, prominence, and influence in both Africa and world affairs.

I think it is about time – if not long overdue – for genuinely responsible African states to encourage member states to severe ties with Ethiopia if it does not come clean of Somalia’s internal affairs. African nations who interfere with the internal affairs of other nations should be dealt with in the severest form of punishment in the charter of the AU. Otherwise every rouge state and her collaborators (warlords) will experiment with the same brutal and repressive behaviors and tactics that Ethiopian has successfully been employing against Somali civilian in the last 17 years. No nation should be rewarded for acting against the stability of another African country. In this way aggressors would refrain from their death, destruction and devastation policies.

Other reasons why AU headquarters should be relocated to another neutral country is Ethiopia’s human rights violations and abuses against its own people. These violations are very well documented and include: unlawful killings, beating, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces; arbitrary arrest and detention; detention of thousands of civilians, and political opponents without charge and due legal process; lengthy pre-trial detention; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical of government policies; violence and discrimination against members of Somalis and Oromo communities.

Indiscriminate killings, assassinations, and the destruction of whole villages in the Somali region of Ethiopia for revenge against freedom fighters of the Oromo and the Ogaden Liberation movements have caused thousands of Somali civilians to disappear following Ethiopian military operations in their towns and villages.

Although the Ethiopian constitution prohibits violations against human rights, torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of dissidents and ethnic Somalis are common in Ethiopia. Similarly, arbitrary arrests or detentions have placed many civilians and political opponents behind bars without warrants, access to legal representation, or family members.

The Ethiopian military and intelligence apparatus carry out killings and assassinations inside Somalia and those captured in these operations are normally transferred to prisons in Ethiopia where they have no rights of any kind, and their whereabouts, and conditions may never be found.

Also, due military operations in the Somali region of Ethiopia, hundreds and thousands of people have been displaced and fled to neighboring Somalia, Kenya, or Djibouti.

In addition to the above, the following points would also illustrate why a move of the African Union headquarters to a neutral African nation is justified:

Moving to a neutral country would give a clear indication of the seriousness and the vital role that the African Union could in future play in relation to conflicts that arise between African nations In a time of great suspicion and uncertainty, it would demonstrate the African Union’s commitment and impartiality to the challenges of the Somali peace process.
It would shift criticism of the international community against Ethiopian interference in Somali affairs from Ethiopia and help provide a bridging role to the impoverished populations of East Africa
It would help focus the reconstruction of Somalia and prevent the conflict from becoming a long-lasting symbol of the failures of the African Union, international community, and the UN.
It would position the African Union in a positive nation-building capacity in the post-Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, thus offering a stabilizing atmosphere for the whole East African region.
It would lessen the political manipulation and intimidation that Ethiopia security intelligence puts through the delegates of many African nations in Addis Ababa.
It would send a clear signal to other African leaders who have the military or political capacity to interfere with other nations’ internal affairs, that the African Union would not tolerate such behavior in the future.
It would ensure that the African Union would not tolerate aggression and unilateral invasion and occupation of other nations and that those who commit horrible crimes against unarmed civilian populations would be brought to face justice.
It would affirm that the African Union headquarters is unsuited to be located in a country whose government has little regard for human life, and no respect for the sovereignty of other countries and internationally recognized borders, thus relocating to a neutral country which does not have any special interest in prolonging the Somali conflict, or other conflicts in the African continent.
Finally, in my view, failure to relocate the AU headquarters to a neutral country can seriously damage the reputation, integrity and role of the African Union in the continent as well as in the international community. It would also encourage Ethiopia and others with similar agendas to continue to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries without fear of being held accountable.
Ahmed Ahmed
USA
Dalmar1631@gmail.com

Qaranka online