Ethiopia
’s
betrayal and hidden agendas towards
Somalia
:
In
early 1992, Meles Zenawi and his Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF)
came up with the idea of paying back
Somalia
.
The TPLF government noted that Somalia provided to it millions of
dollars during its long struggle against the regime of Mingistu
Hailemarium and openly admitted that for over fifteen years it used to
purchase arms in the official documents of Somalia’s defence
ministry. It continued to say that most of its Executive committee
members, including Meles have
been provided with Somali Diplomatic passports that they used to
travel a round the World as well as with special luxurious villas in
Mogadishu and Meles used to stay in a villa just behind Towfiiq Hotel.
Because of all the above cited, TPLF said that its intended to pay
back Somalia by helping them to reconcile and thus create a government
of national unity in Somalia, however, later on it become clear that
such intentions weren’t true at all.
As
the deputy minister of health of
Ethiopia
,
I led a nine member Ethiopian delegation and participated in the first
International meeting on Peace, and Rehabilitation of
Somalia
that has been organized by the United Nations in October 1992, in
Geneva
,
Switzerland
.
Our main mission was to lobby for the continuation of successive
meetings on
Somalia
to be held in
Addis
Ababa
,
Ethiopia
.
Most of the countries that were represented in the conference
voted in favour of our proposal on the second day of the meeting and
that was a big achievement for Meles and his Foreign minister, both of
whom warmly congratulated us on the successful mission while we were
still in
Geneva
.
The
first Meeting on Peace, Reconciliation and Rehabilitation of
Somalia
was organized by the UN in
Addis
Ababa
on January 03-05, 1993. Besides the UN and Ethiopia, delegations from
the Western nations, Africa, Arab countries and others participated
actively in the first three meetings that were held in Addis Ababa in
1993 and I was the Deputy-Chief Delegate of the Ethiopian delegation
to those meetings. The leaders of
Somalia
’s
warring factions met face to face for the first time but nothing
tangible come out of that first meeting. Several member of our
delegation met with the warlords and their delegations at the Ghion
hotel before they left and told them to include in their next
delegations representatives of their communities, like elders,
women’s groups, doctors and other with the intentions that the
Somalis might interact more among themselves and the next meeting
might be more productive, however, the foreign Minister was upset by
our move and ordered us not to take further actions in the future
without his consent and knowledge.
The
second meeting was on 11-13 March 1993 and it started in more
optimistic atmosphere since the warlords were shaking hands without
our interventions and more than one thousand Somalis participated.
However, I noticed policy changes in the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry,
which started to favour some of the warlords. The Ethiopian delegation
was instructed for the first time to keep in mind
Ethiopia
’s
interests as a priority during these meetings and the whole attitudes
of the Ethiopian government changed to the opposite of its originally
declared policies. Again, the foreign minister through the
instructions of Meles informed our delegation that some of the
warlords were hostile to
Ethiopia
while others were friendlier and hence the latter should be put in
power in
Somalia
.
At the same time the foreign ministry started to provide secretly
large amounts of money to the pro-Ethiopian warlords so that they will
not sign to the agreements at all unless it was in our interests and
later on, the Minister of defence was order similarly to supply arms
to the friendlier warlords. It was of utmost importance in keeping
these manoeuvres secretly from the other Somali warlords, the UN and
other international delegates, particularly those from the Western
Nations and their Embassies in
Addis
Ababa
.
At
this point in time, I complained to Meles about our policy changes,
but he told me that we will support the pro-Ethiopia warlords. Now, I
came to realize the motives
of why Ethiopia wanted in the first place the meetings to be held in
Addis Ababa, which were to road block in the reconciliation of the
warring factions and thus prevent the creation of a national
government of unity in Somalia. The meeting in March ended with the
Somali warring factions more divided than ever and the delegates
headed home once more empty handed. Within a month the pro-Ethiopian
warlords were invited back to
Addis
Ababa
and as guests of the foreign ministry stayed in lavish hotels with all
services available and more secret meetings were planned. I wasn’t
invited to these secret meetings, but was still able to get
information through some of the members of our delegation who
weren’t TPLF.
The
3rd meeting was held in
Addis
Ababa
on November 29-
December
03, 1993
.
Meles refused my request to be excluded from the Ethiopian delegation
saying that such a move will cause suspicions to the Somali factions.
They knew my stand and excluded me from the briefings of our
delegation with Meles as they continued to plan for the failure of the
meeting. Again, the third meeting concluded in absolute chaos and with
the Somali warring factions much further and further apart than they
were in their first meeting of January 1993, but for the Ethiopian
regime it ended with success in accordance to its hidden plans towards
the peace process, reconciliation and rehabilitation of
Somalia
.
Also it should be absolutely and without any doubt understood that
Ethiopia wasn’t or isn’t opposing only to the creation of a
national government in Somalia but does so against any Somali region
that was or is peaceful and stable in line with its policy of divide
and rule the Somalis and Somalia.
To
that effect, towards the end of 1993, The Ethiopian regime become
anxious about the peace, stability and unity of the Somalis in the
self-declared
republic
of
Somaliland
and thus started planning for possible actions in order to alleviate
its concerns. The Ethiopian government invited a group of politicians
from some of the clans in
Somaliland
to
Addis
Ababa
and successfully kept this event as secretly as possible. Abdulmajid
Hussein Bare, who was the external economic cooperation minister of
Ethiopia was appointed to be fully responsible for that secret
operation, where he prepared all the necessary arrangements. For over
a month the group met secretly at his residence and several times with
Meles and his foreign minister at their residences and finally, the
group unilaterally declared that they were against the succession of
Somaliland
and joined the warring factions in
Mogadishu
.
It must be noted and clearly understand that at this point in time,
Ethiopia wasn’t advocating at all for the unity of Somalia, but was
rather concerned with the peace, unity and stability of Somaliland and
was simply trying to weaken it. Those manoeuvres have led to the
outbreak of the terrible civil war in
Somaliland
during 1994-1995, and the group hasn’t been allowed to return home
since than and are an opposition to it. Again, look at what
Ethiopia
is currently doing to the Somalis in Puntland, a region that has been
successfully peaceful and stable for the last decade!
The
foreign ministry used to provide secretly money to the pro-Ethiopian
Somali warlords mostly just the night before the reconciliation
agreement signing day in Addis Ababa, and I am convinced that had the
meetings were held in any other East African country or elsewhere in
the World, Somalis would have reconciled and a viable central
government could have been established during 1993-1994. Ethiopia has
tried since early 1993 until today with its power, influences and
efforts to prevent the formation of a national government of unity in
Somalia
.
The Ethiopian Empire has been held together by force for centuries and
now most of the nations and nationalities are opting for their right
for self-determination and is not capable of conquering Somalia, but
might use some warlords to occupy their regions on behalf of Ethiopia
and thereby create mini-Somalia regions under it’s indirect rule!!
Meles
is not concerned with the development of poverty ridden Ethiopia, but
does so in staying power in line with his long believes in
Marxist-Leninism ideology. I remember the night when Meles invited the
late General Mohamed Farah Aidid at his residence in December, 1993.
Upon our arrival, he greeted Aidid warmly and said with raised voice:
“Aidid you are the Hero of
Africa
!”
and congratulated him for fighting against the Americans in that
terrible day of
October
the 3rd, 1993
in
Mogadishu
.
Clearly, he was happy of that human tragedy, asked about the fighting
and later on said: “Americans deserve what has happened to them and
Africa
needs more sons like you”. But now, he is showing one of his other
faces as being pro-American. The fact is that he is a man of many
words! Look at his friendly way of paying back the failed nation,
Somalia
?
Who on earth is going to trust him? he can deceive some people
sometimes but he can’t deceive all the people all the times!!!
Meles
officially opened the first Somali meeting in
Addis
Ababa
on
January
03, 1993
and said repeatedly in his speech: “My Somali brothers and sisters,
Ethiopia
has no hidden agendas towards
Somalia
by hosting these meetings in
Addis
Ababa
and we are willing to help you at any cost”. This was a dishonesty
statement but the Somalis in the meeting honestly believed him and
clapped their hands with joy and happiness and many of them instantly
said: “May be he is a Somali, he is more of a Somali than us!!!”
This man is a hypocrite and that is clearly shown by his destructive
intentions towards
Somalia
,
a nation that has practically brought him to power. Some confused
Somalis might argue that
Ethiopia
has allowed the Somalis to live and stay in
Ethiopia
following the civil war in
Somalia
,
but the Somalis were bringing millions of dollars to the impoverished
economy of
Ethiopia
.
Look at
Ethiopia
’s
current actions: why doesn’t it allow the Somalis to reside in
Ethiopia
without the so called special ID cards for the Somalis only, even
including the Ethiopian-Somalis? Meles told me in 1993: “Somali
clans queue up for my office, each one claiming to be the largest and
friendlier to us, however, we know that they are united in their long
hate and enmity against
Ethiopia
”.
Whether some warlords or clans like the Ethiopians or not, for them
the bottom line is: A Somali is a Somali, period! May be you
are living in illusions with the temporary ‘friendships’ that will
be simply terminated any time the present Ethiopian regime loses its
grip on power or while its still in power! This man has been using
some Somali warlords to his advantages; just imagine the Somali
generals, colonels and politicians destroying
Somalia
upon the command of young junior Ethiopian military officers? What
more goals could
Ethiopia
have achieved so easily and cheaply in this historic period?
Tribalism
which is the true opium of the Somalis has been practised early in the
civilization of mankind; unfortunately, Somalis trust and worship it
even now and usually
close their eyes and turn a deaf ear to the truth if it compromises
into their tribal oriented interests and ideological thinking. Most of
the Somali politicians and intellectuals practise tribal-based
politics, which is not compatible with the modern way of governing in
the 21st century. Somali politicians and intellectuals must
wake up now!, the ball has been at your corner for along time and it
is time to re-evaluate fully your responsibility to the Somali society
and act responsibly with positive attitudes for the future of
the Somalis and Somalia in this World, keeping in mind that
unless you decide to change the present history course of Somalia by
yourselves, no body is going to do it for you! Hopefully the Somalis
will come back to think rationally, use their sense of reasonable
judgement and work to bring
Somalia
back to its feet as a nation. Somalis must forgive each other, lessen
or stop practising tribalism and put national interest as a priority
rather than self or the clan for the sake of reconciliation and nation
building in Somalia.
Whatever
happened to the qualities of the Somalis, for the time being they are
living in low life and have buried their dignity, patriotism and
nationalism for clan and selfish interests!
Ethiopia
is considered to be the poorest nation in the World by many experts,
but has been supplying arms worthy millions of dollars to the
pro-Ethiopian warlords for the last eight years. The truth is that
these weapons will haunt back
Ethiopia
sooner or later; what goes around will come back to you! Ethiopia
is a landlocked country but isn’t planning to use permanently even
one of Somalia’s several seaports that have been lured to it freely
by the pro-Ethiopian factions, but has signed an agreement with Sudan
to use permanently it’s seaport at Port Sudan!!! Pro-Ethiopian
factions, whether you like it or not the fact is that the over a
century suspicions, mistrusts and enmity between the Ethiopians and
the Somalis are still strong and alive and Ethiopia is using you for
it’s short term interests only and doesn’t honestly trust you at
all for a long ride!!!
The
Western Nations and the UN should understand the basis of the over a
century hostility between
Ethiopia
and
Somalia
.
Ethiopian regime’s destabilizing policies against some of its
neighbouring countries in
East
Africa
must not be underestimated. Ethiopian soldiers frequently cross the
border into
Somalia
and thereby loot and terrorise the suffering Somalis. Besides, this
regime is terrorizing its own citizens, particularly the Somalis and
the Oromo, and there are 4-5 million Ethiopian-Somalis who have been
exposed to long hidden atrocities, gross human rights violations and
are presently living in subhuman conditions in the Somali region of
Ethiopia, under it’s illegal colonization against their will and
consent. These Somalis
will keep on pressing their long struggle of fighting injustice until
they get back all their human dignities and rights, including their
basic principle right of self-determination, all of which have been
stolen and hidden from them as well as the World by successive brutal
Ethiopian governments for over a century, the present one being the
worst of all of them!!!
Finally,
the World, and particularly the Western Nations, has turned its back
to the plight of
Somalia
for the last eight years, while its hostile neighbouring
Ethiopia
has taken
Somalia
’s
internal affairs into its own hands uncensored. Let us say as an
example that
Pakistan
become like present
Somalia
!
Would the Western Nations and the UN have requested
India
to assist and come up with solutions in establishing a government of
national unity in
Pakistan
or vice versa? Personally, I don’t think so and the enmity between
Ethiopia
and
Somalia
is older and worse than theirs. Why is
Ethiopia
propagating massive propagandas against this failed nation,
Somalia
?
The truth to this question is that
Ethiopia
is trying to deceive the Western Nations in order to get economic aid
and arms that it will use against some of its neighbours in
East
Africa
.
Now, it is high time for the merciful, compassionate and peace loving
Western Nations, the UN and the rest of the World to start to help and
come up with viable solutions to the desperate
situation in anarchized Somalia, brought on by the more than decade
old civil war. Besides,
Ethiopia
should be told clearly once and for all to take off its brutal and
destructive hands from the internal affairs of
Somalia
.
January
30, 2002
Prepared
by Dr. Abdi Aden Mohamed
Orleans
,
Ontario
,
CANADA
.
E-mail:drabdi_9@Hotmail.com