On 21/02/2014 was another Dark day
for the history of the Somali (Federal) Republic. The
terror/Jihadist Group #Alshabaab attacked the presidential
compound at “Villa Somalia” with car bombs and nine fighters armed with
Guns at noon Friday when everybody was readying himself for the
Friday prayers and the President himself was supposed to attend the Mosque at time Prayers at the Palace. The attack came
at two of the entrances of the Compound close to the Mosque at the East
side of the compound. The first question is “This was an assassination attempt
directed to the President”? While I was writing this article #Alshabaab
spokesman said “It was an operation directed to kill the President”. “Or this
was a spectacular attack by the Al-Shabaab“ Amniyat”( the Amniyat is the
security and intelligence services who is made of the most prepared/trained and
trusted of the Alshabab operatives and cadres and had always direct links with
the Salafist Business Cartels and Organized Crimes/Drug cartels who are
closely allied with the Ethiopian Intelligence) to show their capacity
and strength”? “Or this was just part of the Alshabaab strategy of continuous
destabilization (they don’t have a strong military presence in Mogadishu”?) to
tell the Somalis, International community and some of the
Salafist Business Cartels they are very powerful and can strike
everybody? I will try to answer to these questions relating them to
the last acts by Al-Shabaab in the whole of Somalia linked to this last
attack and especially in South- Central. There was Al-Shabaab
Attack on the entrance of Mogadishu airport in which a UN convoy was attacked
and the UN representative in Somalia of UNHCR escaped unhurt by almost a
whisker. It was on 13 February. But innocent Somalis were killed. After that
Al-Shabaab told the biggest Telekom company owned by Salafist Business Cartels
“Hormud”, which is one of the richest and one of the largest
Conglomerates in Somalia with Hawilad -Banking ,Real Estate,
Telecommunication, Trade interests all over Somalia, to stop all its
Internet-Mobile connections.( everybody uses mobile connections there are
not land line connections) which they acquiesced to that criminal order. Then
they also attacked and killed people at the main gate and parking of one
of that same Conglomerate Hotels, the one Called “Al-Jazeera” close to
the airport. The third act I would like to mention is the “assassination” of
the Chief of Security-Intelligence of the Ras Kamboni group ruling Kismayo Town
-Lower Jubba region in south Somalia. I am taking these last acts because these
parts of Somalia-Central and South are the most important for Al-Shabaab for
their concentration of population density and National resources plus hosting
the biggest Salafist Business Cartels Companies, Organized crimes/Drug
Cartels groups and being the political and commercial hubs/ heart of the
country like Mogadishu. In Kismayo the Capital of the Jubba regions the port
supplies the entire southern regions to include neighboring regions-Sovereign
States and its high volume of business (including the illegal one of the export
of Charcoal to Dubai the U.A.E) is one of the main sources of income for
Al-Shabaab. All Somali ports including Mogadishu, Kismayo, Berbera, and
Bosaso are commercially controlled by the Salafist Business cartels/Organized
crimes/Drug-Cartels who uses them as entry points of illegal goods like the
drug Heroin imported from Afghanistan/Pakistan. (Please read my blog
“wardigley.blogspot.com” at the post titled “The criminal motives behind the
car bombing in Kismayo of Ahmed Madobe…” and “Who are the business people of
Somalia”).
To understand all this acts and how these are interlinked let me make a
brief historical timeline of the President Hassan Presidency and a description
of the main domestic/Regional actors mainly Ethiopia –IGAD countries . What is
their main “strategy” at this time after the formation of the last Council of
Ministers and President Hassan “Political Agenda about Somali Unity in a
so- called Federal system vis-à-vis the “Ethiopian GRAND-GAME PLAN OF HAVING
SOMALIA subdivided in Mini-Clan Enclaves which will be in a Confederation of SOMALI
REGIONAL SOVEREIGN States”?.
President Hassan was elected and inaugurated in September 2012 by a new parliament
were the majority was Elite Clan Puppet Politicians -at least 175-who are
closely allied to the ETHIOPIAN-Tigre regime and the big wigs/warlords were
from the parliament of 2004 made in Mbaghati, Nairobi, Kenya. The parliament is
made of 275 members subdivided in Clan communities from all over Somali
(federal) Republic. (Please read my blog titled “For the New PM: Lessons from a
recent Past”). The President Hassan said in his Manifesto and agenda that he
was for a democracy, Rule of law and a country were ISLAM WAS THE RELIGION OF
THE STATE as already stated in our constitution but with the promise to
fight the JIHADIST Al-Shabaab group. In his first speech he stood for a United
Somalia where the Federal system was a devolved system of governance based in regional
administrative authorities. All that was well for the oppressed people-
citizens of Somalia. But this has brought him in a “collusion
course” with the Elite Clan Puppet Leaders/Regional puppet leaders who were following the
Agenda of ETHIOPIA and IGAD to subdivide the SOMALI REPUBLIC in CLAN ENCLAVES
for the last 23 years and were supported in their game plans now even by the
#AMISOM forces. This was the real problems in 2013 presidential
governance of Hassan Sheik . He also came in disagreement with his PM Mr.
Shirdoon who was more nationalist than his Ministers who were signing agreements
against the “Sovereignty”,"Unity" and "Territorial
integrity" of the Somali (federal) Republic. Those agreements with Kenya
linked with the so- called maritime “dispute” over the Continental Shelf boundaries and
the one on the Air Space with a Somali regional administration called
Somaliland. All those agreements were disowned by the Council of Ministers but
there were also the Addis Ababa agreement on the transitional administration
for the Jubba regions and the so- called Kampala Communiqué who were in some
parts an "appeasement" to the Tigre regime of Ethiopia and curtailing
our Somali National “sovereignty” to have self rule in the internal affairs of
the Somali m (Federal) Republic specially in matters of security.
In few words during the last six /seven
months of his Presidency he has chosen a policy of "compromise" with Ethiopia
when it came to matters of security in what I call “ limited military interference by
Ethiopia like AMISOM participation ” but still with the Somali sovereignty and the “direction in general” of the Somali national affairs as he thought
in the hands of Somalis. Also by reappointing a new PM Mr. Abdiweli Sheik Ahmed, who has yet to became still his "own Man " and think about his would be legacy in Somali political history( the last Shirdoon was totally disliked
by the Ethiopians and the Salafist members of the Ministers of councils ). Our President Hassan has always though
that he was infallible as political thinker and concentrated all powers in himself , made a new council of Ministers with the PM and made of Salafist Business Cartels
representative members to whom he was
linked politically , Elite Clan puppet politicians closely allied to Ethiopia and a small number of honest politicians. With
this kind of ministerial cabinet President Hassan was thinking he will navigate
all waters and compromise with all “politically” interested groups in Somali affairs
domestically and regionally. He was “absolutely Naïve” because he did not understand
the “Real nature of Somali politics” which was totally controlled by “forces
outside” the national interest of the Somali “People-citizens”. That Somali politics was controlled by Salafist Business cartels sitting in the back seat with Organized crimes and Ethiopia linked Elite Clan Puppet Leaders at the front seat.The only group
who tried to represent the Somali national interests was put in the oppositions-those
I call the Clan Nationalist- and he “accepted’ as members of the cabinet those who
represented Organized Crimes/Drug cartels as ministers. The security /Intelligence
and Defense two portfolios were given to Salafist and “representatives” of the
Ethiopian-Iranian interests in Somali politics.
(To be continued)
(To be continued)