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Mogadishu (Commentary)—President of the Somali Region of Ethiopia Mustafe Omer has little sympathy for Somalis who betray their country. At the Forum of Ideas organized by Heritage Institute, and sponsored by the Djibouti government, Mustafe candidly expressed his view of Somali politics.
“Unlike in Kenya and Ethiopia, treason is tolerated in Somalia. It is common to see a Somali politician working for a foreign country against his country. Earlier this year a group of politicians organized militias to fight the Federal Government forces in Mogadishu. That is treason” Mustafe said.
Three examples come to my mind: one about Ethiopia, and two on Somalia. Was seeking the help of Eritrea to crush TPLF a patriotic or treasonous action by the Ethiopian government? As for Somalia, treason is a word that seldom features in Somali political palaver (fadhi-ku-dirir).
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In 2009 President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed criticized the Transitional Federal Parliament for annulling a maritime Memorandum of Understanding signed by Somalia and Kenya. In 2016 Sharif claimed that the buck stopped with the Abdirahman Abdishakur, the Minister who signed the MoU on Somalia’s behalf, and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.
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In 2015 former Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud attended the fortieth anniversary of Tigray People’s Liberation Front celebrations in Mekelle. He donned a TPLF cap and waved the organization’s flag. If you hadn’t known him you would be forgiven for thinking that President Mohamud was a senior founding member of TPLF. What President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had done was symbolic treason. TPLF was adept at exploiting weak leadership traits of a leader by persuading him to pose for the camera as a cheerleader. That Somalis have not discussed the nationally demeaning photo of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mekelle corroborates Mustafe’s harsh but timely judgement on Somalis as people who tolerate treason.
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In fact treason begins with the tolerance for dispossession and displacement of Somalis in any part of their country. We are guilty of collective treason for not calling out displacement of Somalis in Las Anod, the continued image of Mogadishu as a clan enclave modelled on 1991 carving up of the capital city under the United Somali Congress’s watch. That is why Britain opposes lifting of the arms embargo on Somalia.
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Somalia is the quintessential example of political impunity and dwindling patriotism. It is unwise to arm forces that can overnight pledge allegiance to a clan or non-state extremist actors, or threaten maritime routes along Somalia’s long coastline. Treason goes hand-in-glove with prolonged state collapse in Somalia. It comes with the territory, as seasoned analysts would say. The argument that treason and extremism are woven into the Somali body politic is an oxymoron.
By Adan M. Dawad
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