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Brussels, 23/04/2021 – 17:19, UNIQUE ID: 210423_13Statements by the HR/VP
The conclusions in the African Union’s Peace and Security Council’s 22nd April Communique on the political and security situation in Somalia are decisive and welcome.
The European Union supports the rejection of any mandate extension and looks forward to a prompt return to negotiations, facilitated by an African Union envoy, to achieve consensus for elections, based on the agreement of 17 September 2020. The EU also welcomes the call for a Troop Contributing Countries (TCC) meeting to assess the security situation in Somalia.
The EU stands ready to cooperate closely with the AU envoy and, meanwhile, appeals for calm and the avoidance of any further action that might exacerbate tension.
With six minutes of warm applause, on the streets, balconies, windows, the whole Country applauded for 6 minutes – spectacular example of leadership and defense of humanity, chapeaux !
The Germans elected her to lead them, and she led 80 million Germans for 18 years with competence, skill, dedication and sincerity. She did not utter nonsense. She did not appear in the alleys of Berlin to be photographed. She was dubbed “The Lady of the World” and who was described as the equivalent of six million men.
During these eighteen years of her leadership of the authority in her Country, no transgressions were recorded against her. She did not assign any of her relatives to a government post. She did not claim that she was the maker of glories. She did not get millions in payment, nor did anyone cheer her performance, she did not receive charters and pledges, she did not fight those who preceded her.
Yesterday, Merkel left the party leadership position and handed it over to those after her, and Germany and it’s German people are in the best condition ever.
The reaction of the Germans was unprecedented in the history of the Country. The entire population went out to their balconies of their houses and clapped for her spontaneously for 6 continuous minutes. A standing ovation nationwide.
Germany stood as one body bidding farewell to their leader, a chemical physicist who was not tempted by the fashion or the lights and did not buy real estate, cars, yachts and private planes, knowing that she is from former East Germany.
She left her post after leaving Germany at the top. She left and her relatives did not claim advantage. Eighteen years and she never changed her wardrobe. God be upon this silent leader.
At a press conference, a female Journalist asked Merkel : We notice that you’re wearing the same suit, don’t you have any other? She replied: “I am a government employee and not a model“
At another press conference, they asked her : Do you have housemaids who clean your house, prepare your meals and so on? Her answer was: “No, I do not have servants and I do not need them. My husband and I do this work at home every day.
Then another journalist asked : Who is washing the clothes, you or your husband? Her answer: “I arrange the clothes, and my husband is the one who operates the washing machine, and it is usually at night, because electricity is available and there is no pressure on it, and the most important thing is to take into the account the possible inconvenience for the neighbours, thankfully the wall separating our apartment from the neighbours is thick. She said to them, “I expected you to ask me about the successes and failures in our work in the government??”
Mrs. Merkel lives in a normal apartment like any other citizen. She lived in this apartment before being elected Chancellor of Germany. She did not leave it and does not own a villa, servants, swimming pools or gardens.
Merkel, the now former Chancellor of Germany, the largest economy in Europe !!
How would you answer to the question: What is the existential national security threat to Somalia and its people’s continued survival? Is it Al-Shabab, tribalism, ignorance, poverty, diseases, the neighbours of Kenya and Ethiopia, dictatorship or Farmajo? What do you think?
You will be surprised to find out that none of the above is the right answer. In my opinion, the biggest threat to Somalia’s continued existence as a nation-state is lack of discipline among its inhabitants. This affects them precariously in many ways: Relationships with one another, work ethics, rule of law and the constitution, organisations and national security. Somalia is a group of individuals, who have yet to learn the tools and trades of collective organisation with a common vision for survival. They have yet to watch out their faulty and red lines not to cross in order to be.
Is it easy to fix this quickly? We need expert advice on this. It seems to me, though, that changing the collective behaviour of a society would take many generations, concerted public efforts and mass education. The question is how long would you hold a nation safely together when it needs centuries to change the cultural behaviours of its people? Would the rest of world wait forever for your nation to get out of its cultural impediments? Have your your say.
All doors are closing in on him now because of his unconstitutional behavior and unwillingness to compromise as a political tool for consensus building. His disregard for the rule of law couldn’t fly in the end. Paradoxically, all Somali political stakeholders were ready for him to find a common ground for their political differences – he stubbornly resisted sitting down with them to search for Somali-driven and Somali-owned solutions. It was unnecessary to travel all the way to Kinshasa to seek help against his own constituency.
While we welcome AU mediation efforts, it was uncalled for, and a Farmajo’s own making and self-inflicted political trap. It would be one of the political irony and strange behavior of Farmajo to record a leader running away from his people to seek political self-preservation elsewhere. He would be also the first, who had tried to stage security/military/constitutional coup d’etat in Somalia since Dictator Siyad Barre. The April 12, 2021 Lower House chamber of Parliament resolution to extend his mandate was a flagrant violation of the law of the land (constitution). So was his concerted efforts and policies to dismantle Federal Member States, as it is sinful to cling to the presidency while he has lost all legitimacy to be in Villa Somalia. Farmajo would be remembered as a man, who, after spending many years in-exile due to civil war in his country of origin, returned home to re-impose the tyranny that destroyed his native country in the first place.
Farmajo now has to choose one of the two options available to him:
Resign immediately
Help resolve the problems he has created for himself and country.
Communique of the 993rd meeting of the PSC held on 22 April 2021, on the political and security situation in Somalia
COMMUNIQUE
Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 993rd meeting held on 22 April 2021, on the political and security situation in Somalia:
The Peace and Security Council,
Noting the opening remarks made by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Djibouti to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for month of April 2021, H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Idriss Farah, as well as the statement of the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs and Peace and Security, H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye; and also noting the briefing by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia and Head of AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira;
Further noting the statements made by H.E. Mohamed Abdirizak, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia; the representative of the Republic of Sudan as the current Chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD); the representatives of the United Nations; as well as the European Union;
Recalling its previous decisions and pronouncements on the situation in Somalia and the activities of AMISOM, particularly Communique[PSC/PR/COMM.(CMLXXVIII)] adopted its 978th meeting held on 9 February 2021; as well as the joint communique issued by the AU, IGAD, UN and EU on 10 April 2021;
Also recalling the AU Constitutive Act and the relevant provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, as well as the July 2000 Lomé Declaration [AHG/Decl.5 (XXXVI)] on a Framework for an OAU Response to Unconstitutional Changes of Government;
Reaffirming the commitment of the AU to respect the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Somalia, as well as AU’s solidarity with the Government and people of Somalia; and
Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:
1. Expresses deep concern over the unilateral action by Somalia’s House of the People on 12 April 2021, of passing a resolution signed into law on 13 April 2021 by the President, superseding the 17 September 2020 Agreement on modalities for the conduct of elections in Somalia;
2. Condemns the actions of 12 April 2021 by the House of People, which extended the mandate of the President and the Parliament, as effectively delaying the elections, thereby undermining unity and stability of the country, the nascent democratic and constitutional processes, which also threaten the relative peace and security, as well as the important gains that Somalia has made over the years with the support of the AU and other partners with huge sacrifices;
3. Further expresses deep concern with the possible impact of the current political situation and climate on the cohesion of the Somali federation, the unity of the Somali army and security apparatuses, the process of force generation and the capability to continue to degrade Al Shabaab;
4. While acknowledging that the September 2020 Agreement was a result of a Somali-owned and led dialogue among the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Federal Member States (FMS) leaders, as well as opposition parties, on the need for timely elections, and that Somalia is unable to implement a one-person, one vote universal suffrage in 2020/21; reaffirms that the Agreement remains the basis and the most viable path towards the holding of timely, transparent and credible elections in Somalia;
5. Urges the Somali political leaders to prioritize the country’s national interests and to immediately resume dialogue, on the basis of the September 2020 Agreement and Baidoa technical committee recommendations, in search for consensual solutions to outstanding issues that impede the organization of elections;
6. Calls on all Somali political leaders to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from any actions that may lead to an escalation of tensions and further undermine the stability of Somalia, the Horn of Africa region and the Continent;
7. Underscores the need for the Somali stakeholders to embrace an inclusive dialogue that ensures participation of women and the youth;
8. Re-emphasizes the imperative of political compromise and broad based consultations, as well as the return to transparent dialogue and nationwide consultations amongst the Somali political stakeholders, including the FGS and FMS; and thereby affirms the readiness of the AU to support such a process of dialogue through facilitation and mediation, which will identify new ways to reach consensus on the elections modalities and workable calendar;
9. Accordingly requests the Chairperson of the AU Commission to immediately appoint and dispatch to Somalia, a High Representative as Special Envoy for Somalia, to work with the Parties and other concerned stakeholders, with the support of the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission and Head of AMISOM, to reach a mutually acceptable compromise, and to report back to Council within the next four weeks;
10. Underscores the need for the Somali Parties to negotiate in good faith in search for an agreement that would allow for the holding of elections and establish a stable and inclusive political atmosphere;
11. Expresses AU’s determination to assist the Somali authorities and stakeholders to implement a consensual electoral arrangement, including through the deployment of a long-term electoral assistance mission to support efforts towards its realization;
12. Requests AMISOM, pending the renewal of its mandate, to monitor the deployment of Somali Security Forces (SSF), and to this end, requests the Chairperson of the AU Commission, to urgently convene a meetings of Troop and Police Contributing Countries (T/PCCs), at ambassadorial level, as well as of the Military Operations Coordination Committee (MOCC) at the level of Chiefs of Defense Staff, to consider the security implications of the current political impasse, as well as to map options for addressing and mitigating them;
13. Calls on IGAD and the International Community, including the UN and the EU, as well as other key bilateral partners, to continue to work with the AU to bring the Somali parties back to the negotiating table and to assist them to reach a peaceful political settlement;
14. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter
Aden Abdulle Osman International Airport, Mogadishu, today. Disruption and destruction reportedly caused by the Airport employees and Intelligience Service, NISA, fighting to adhere to immigration procedures. This is a developing story. Stay tuned.
The educated minority of Somali intellectuals assume they know better when debating on Somalia’s issues and its recent predicaments. Many had received their professional training elsewhere outside the country of origin. They, therefore, are always in comparative mode in deliberating on Somalia for its best way forward. They never contemplate putting on the shoes of local natives and think of the mundane world of people suffering from trauma of civil wars, deprivations and stateless existence with no protection whatsoever from human and civic rights abuses in an environment fit for the survival of the fittest. This privileged minority of educated Somalis think only of optimum solutions to Somali misery, ignoring realities on the ground. They don’t realise that they are disconnected and delusional about how to rebuild this country. I was having a conversation with one of those guys the other day, when he suggested and asked a question as to why people aren’t willing to organise themselves and start lobbying and promoting their causes for the future? I looked at him, in fact, stared at him, for a moment, before I responded to him that wasn’t as easy as it sounds to him. Then, he complained about what he called “inflation and proliferation of traditional leadership with so many titled leaders being created on daily basis. Ahaa. I asked him, “is that bad or good?” He said that it was definitely bad idea to have so many elders around. I shared with him my notion of why this was happening. Somalis as a predominantly pastoralist society, have no developed civil society. In a nutshell, what you feel and see here are changes happening within the society towards more organized centres of influence and leadership, moving forward. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing or notorious idea. The best example of this disconnect was expressed by a governance expert from Switzerland in secondment placement in Puntland State during the first year of its creation in 1998-1999. I was his contact person at Puntland Presidency. At time there was a severe drought taking place in Puntland and nomads were losing livestock in enmase, turning owners into destitutes influxing into urban centres. The public pressure as result was unbearable – water-trucking alone took a toil.
One evening my Swiss colleague and I were having glasses of camel’s milk ( the guy loved drinking camel’s milk, a habit he picked up in Mauritania) at Zahra Islaan’s restaurant/teashop in Garowe, when he suddenly asked me, “don’t you think nomads are stupid – why don’t they slaughter their herds before they lose them to the drought, and store dried meat in sacks for them to consume it later”. I was dumbfounded.
I am not attempting here to exaggerate the fact that Somalia’s intelligensia don’t fare far better than the impressions of this white Swiss guy.
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Illegal extension of his four-year mandate has soured his relations with Western donors and international organizations. He had to look elsewhere for support in sustaining his unlawful regime. He has contemplated about two fronts to by-pass Western impending sanctions – Arab world and African Union. Both fronts are showing diminishing returns for his pet projects.
First, Arab countries don’t want to be seen openly propping up illegitimate leader, who had ignored the wishes of his own people for free and fair elections. Arab leaders know they would be sanctioned for openly supporting Farmajo, who has just lost constitutional legitimacy to continue to be president of Somalia. Secondly, the African Union is a major regional block of the international community, working closely and interacting with other world and international blocks such as the UN, European Union, among many others. The current yearly AU Chairperson, President Felix of DRC, has rejected Farmajo’s request for recognition of unconstitutional extension of later’s stint in Villa Somalia. Instead, President Felix counter-proposed AU intervention in Somalia’s political crisis through dialogue with all parties to the electoral impasse. Embarrassed, Farmajo had to accept Felix’s offer. It, however, backfired on him, when Somalis discovered how naive he was as all Somalis were ready to sit with him to sort out their problems and find Somali-driven and owned solutions.
Thirdly, President Felix of DRC had his own agenda as the AU Chair – mediating Farmajo and Kenyatta on their diplomatic breakdown due to maritime dispute and Farmajo’s claim of Kenya’s interference in the internal affairs of Somalia.
Farmajo’s recklessness, brinksmanship, shenanigans and total disregard for the rule of law in Somalia have been sadly exposed.
In the picture, boxes of the Vol. 1 and 2 of the book “Talking Truth to Power in Undemocratic Tribal Context, Articles of Impeachment” by Ismail H. Warsame, being unloaded in the German town of Hagen by amazon.de.
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You can clearly see the difference in reception in Kinshasa, DRC. Farmajo wasn’t received there as Head of State. This is in line with his loss of legitimacy after his mandate expired in February 8, 2021.
The state protocols had reduced Farmajo welcoming in Kinshasa to a mere visiting of a high-level dignitary beneath the full presidential honour ceremony for a visiting Head of State.
Back in my boarding school days at Banadir Secondary School in Mogadishu, three of my childhood friends and I often hung out together after study hours. The school compound housed many Soviet teachers—disciplined, reserved, and highly trained educators, sent on secondment from their institutions to practice their English.
Life at the boarding school had its share of hardships, and one of the worst was the food. The dining hall was notorious for serving bad, tasteless meals. Many students complained of heartburn from the nutritionless diet. Our rice dinners were so sticky and solid that we nicknamed them “cement”—if you overturned your plate, the contents wouldn’t fall off.
Given this dire situation, students needed extra pocket money for an occasional early-evening escape to town for tea with milk. But not all of us could afford it every day.
One evening, we scraped together enough pennies for four cups of tea and two Rothmans cigarettes. We made our way to a little teashop that our school principal, Saleman Gaal—now the Chairman of the Somaliland Senate (the Guurti)—mockingly called Bar Saqajaan. (“Saqajaan” is a derogatory Somali term for someone of bad behavior.)
Our tight-knit group of four was ready to savor every sip and puff. Anshur, the oldest among us, hailed from the village of Buhodle in Togdher, near the Ethiopian border (now part of Puntland’s Ayn region). As we shared a cigarette, he took noticeably longer drags than his co-owner. The other protested, “Hey, you’re taking more than your share!” Without missing a beat, Anshur replied, “Let me puff enough to reach all the way to Buhodle!” We erupted in laughter.
After our tea and meager dose of nicotine, everyone felt content—except for Sharif, who came from the coastal town of Brava. Back home, he loved eating bursalid, a rich, oily Somali baked dough. At Bar Saqajaan, he spotted some in the glass counter but couldn’t afford a piece. With mock longing, he began to sing:
> “Bursalid, nin aan meeso qabin balad haduu joogo, kama baahi beelee ishu balac ku siihaaye.”
Roughly translated: A poor man in town can’t help but keep staring at bursalid.
The entire shop—customers and waiters alike—burst into laughter. The owner, perhaps fearing the “evil eye” of Sharif’s yearning, brought us four pieces of bursalid on the house.
With his craving satisfied, Sharif’s mind wandered again. Just then, a hen darted around the corner of the shop. He turned to Anshur and asked, “Anshur, how soon does a hen deliver her babies after conception?”
Without hesitation, Anshur quipped, “If you mate with it now, it’ll give you plenty of kittens right away!” Another wave of thunderous laughter shook the room.
That night, we all agreed—it had been a rare and wonderful evening, a perfect blend of friendship, humor, and small pleasures in the midst of boarding school hardship.
You may recall that recently Kenya had declined to participate in final proceedings of the International Court of Justice in the Hague, on maritime delimitation dispute in the Indian Ocean between Somalia and Kenya. Since then intelligence and diplomatic sources indicated that Kenya has been engaged in diplomatic offensive in countries allied with and supporting Farmajo government like Qatar and Turkey. Qatar is said to be a major investment shareholder of ENI, the Italian oil firm known to have been conducting seismic and feasibility studies in the disputed portion of the Ocean on behest of Kenya. Turkey and Qatar are strategic allies in the Middle East, and Qatar has great diplomatic influence on President Erdogan of Turkey.
President Kenyatta has been lobbying the leaders of Tutkey and Qatar to persuade Farmajo abandon his hardline position on maritime dispute with Kenya, even if the ICJ were to rule the dispute in favour of Somalia, efforts that may paving the way to resources-sharing arrangements between the two countries. There are intelligence reporters as well pointing out that the director of NISA, Fahad Haji Yassin Haji Dahir is heavily involved in these negotiations between Farmajo and leaders of Turkey and Qatar. Observators believe that a neutral venue was needed to bring Farmajo and Kenya to a meeting face to face under the auspices of DRC president flex, and that is why the venue (Congo) was chosen. Further, Farmajo is bound to pay a long-delayed visit to Abyi Ahmed of Ethiopia to discuss on the Somalia’s constitutional crisis, following Farmajo’s illegal extension of his mandate for two more years. He will continue to attend the inauguration of Ismail Ghuelleh of Djibouti before he flies on to UN Security Council Session on Somalia’s crisis. Farmajo is now in a weaker political and diplomatic position because of his problem of constitutional legitimacy at home.
For both Farmajo and Kenyatta, the stakes are high. This is a developing story. Stay tuned.
Postscript: Since posting this article, Ismail Ghuelleh declined to invite Farmajo to the inauguration, and Farmajo, instead, sent his foreign minister to US as he wasn’t welcome there hinself for illegally extending his mandate for two more years.
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The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a body of declarations of Canadian human and civic rights attached to their constitution as an amendment and update for every Canadian rights, fully recognized by law and before a court of justice.
Here, Hon. Ahmed Hussen, a Federal Liberal Party politician of Somali origin, and current minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cabinet, and the former prime minister of Canada and former minister of justice in the cabinet of Trudeau the father, Mr. Jean Chretein, are marking a televised podcast, celebrating the 39th Anniversary of that historic Canadian bill of rights. Mr Chretein was minister of justice when Canadian Constitutiom was patriated from UK Westminister. “In 1982, Canada fully broke from its colonial past and “patriated” its Constitution. It transferred the country’s highest law, the British North America Act (which was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867), from the authority of the British Parliament to Canada’s federal and provincial legislatures. The Constitution was also updated with a new amending formula and a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These changes occurred after a fierce, 18-month political and legal struggle that dominated headlines and the agendas of every government in the country”
Those are characteristics needed in a Somali political leader or in anyone in a position of leadership in any field of human endeavors. Every grown up person has some history of doing something in their past life, which may indicate how they perfomed, expecially in dealing with people (people’s skills) and managed their responsibilities towards public and private properties. Chinese Communist Party, worried about the chance of untested leaders getting into positions of power accidentally, had developed a method to select their leaders. It is called “Selection Through Democracy by Merit”. In other words, tested leaders through their experiences are allowed to advance slowly towards positions of power. No room for mistakes for power grab by individuals in tightly controlled power of the state and the party.
A government is a dangerous organisation that can do more damages and harm to citizens and vital national interests of a country, if it is allowed to fall into the wrong hands of dangerous and irresponsible individual or a junta. Public businesses must be made transparent to seek consent of the citizens and the governed. No backroom deals and doing businesses in the darkness.
We, the Somalis, were doing the opposite of Chinnese method – no vetting of those who aspire to attain positions of responsibilities; the more unknown a politician is, the better; the more he acts as hustler, the better; the more he is aggressive and rude, the better. The more he is popular with his clansmen and interest groups, the better. and the more he is corrupt, the more he is powerful and influential. This practice had led to Somalia’s ruin, and the current political impasse and national quagmire. It is time to rethink and review carefully how we choose those whom want to lead us.
Warsame Policy & Media Network (WAPMEN) 
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