Hillary Clinton stands with Somalia Federal Transitional Government leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. The imperialist state has pledged more military assistance to prop-up the Somali regime battling resistance forces of Al-Shabab., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Garowe Online (Garowe)
Somalia: President Sharif Walks Out of Signatories' Meeting in Nairobi
5 August 2012
Nairobi — Transitional Federal Government (TFG) President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed reportedly stormed out of a meeting signatories were having in Nairobi on Sunday, Garowe Online reports.
Somali signatories of prior agreements such as the Roadmap, met with US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton in Nairobi on Saturday, to discuss the political process and the end of the transitional government.
After the meeting on Saturday, signatories remained in Nairobi to discuss possible amendments to the political process in the remaining two weeks.
The meeting being hosted in Nariobi's Hotel Panari, began with controversy, as a letter signed by President Sharif appointed Abdiqadir Ma'alin Nuur as TFG President's defense adviser. President Sharif has previously supported Mr. Nuur as Ahlu Sunna representative and signatory.
However, Ahlu Sunna leader Mr. Mohamed Mohamud Aw Libah has disputed Mr. Nuur's credibility as Ahlu Sunna representative and signatory as he is "an employee of President Sharif". Moreover, inside sources tell Garowe Online that President Sharif was irked by a closed door meeting between Puntland President Abdirahman Farole and TFG Prime Minister Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, as the two leaders' meeting concluded thirty minutes late and delayed the opening of today's meeting at 10am in Panari Hotel.
However, sources say, President Sharif was disgruntled prior to the controversial letter, when signatories discussed moving the presidential elections ahead of the parliamentary elections.
This suggestion was supported by UN Ambassador to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, who last week expressed his fear of coercion and incentives for politicians looking for parliamentary seats.
The suggestion was not welcomed by TFG President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who is running for reelection this August.
It is unclear if other signatories ratified the move to advance the presidential elections and delay parliamentary selections.
The campaigning of Somali presidential candidates relies solely on the number of supporters the candidate has in parliament. If the new policy signatories were discussing is ratified, then Somalia's presidential elections will take a new turn.
Ambassador Mahiga followed President Sharif to try to bring the TFG President back to the discussion table, but President Sharif who according to sources was headed to the airport, told Amb. Mahiga, that he would support the outcomes of the meeting.
With less than two weeks left in the transitional government, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday urged leaders to continue their efforts to end the transition on schedule.
Signatories minus TFG President Sharif will continue their one day talks as the international community keeps a close eye on Somalia in the final weeks of its political process.
Monday, August 6th, 2012 at 12:40 am
Somalia: Self-aggrandizement and Self-enrichment in Government at the Expense of the Nation
OPINION
RBC Radio
After the 20th of August 2012, Somalia will enter a new era that will either usher in peaceful existence of the country or in the mire of the status quo or worse. Before delving into the future predictions after August 20 2012, shedding first some light at certain things is not only important but uniquely paramount:
Everyone wants lion’s share of the big positions in government
The desire to govern and not be a member of those governed is something that is embedded in the human nature but it seems citizens of nations love, more than one another, the position of the official authority such as being a president, a prime minister or other important positions in government—nevertheless, the Somali politicians seem that they are too much in love to be a position of authority in government even if the way or the means to that position is at the expense of the country—it is safe to say that the degree of selfishness is immeasurable to the extent that it would be wise for one to just look at it and shut their mouths. But it is not easy for a patriotic Somali person to shut their mouth when there are believable accusations or evidences that the national money is going into the pockets of politicians—this is just embezzlement or corruption as recently reported by the Eritrea/ Somalia Monitoring Group that the top figures of the Somali Transitional Federal Government are not that clean when it comes to how they spend the money given to Somalia by the International Community for the sake of the poor state the country is in now—war, famine, disease and all kinds of eclectic ailments.
Aspirations by Somali politicians to take the big positions in government for the sake of accessing money to play with
Being a position of authority in government as a ladder to stretch your hand to grab some cash is synonymous with the style of African politics and it seems Somalia is worse than its African counterparts as to the degree of the greed to steal money while in government—in other words, being somebody in government has become an easy means to put your hands on easy cash while disregarding the the urgent needs and terrible human suffering of the Somali people, especially those poor internally displaced refugees in makeshift camps inside the country.
Brandishing the clan card with a means to accomplish a personal interest
Using the clan identity, with the end justifies the means, by political-position hopefuls or by a mere warlord or delusional Islamist has become the norm and the Somali nation needs to recognize the dangers and the out of control negative impact such menace is having on the political consciousness of the whole country. This has to change, definitely. Otherwise, it could grow into political and social cancers whose cure will not be easily found.
What the Future Holds for Somalia After August 20 2012 is Possibly Still Being clouded by the Usual Detrimental Bounce of the Somali Politics
Absolutely it would hold a degree of sophistication if somehow humans would see what is coming their way in advance. In a nutshell, nobody knows exactly what will happen in both the near and the long-term future as to Somalia’s calm or crisis or the big picture that will emerge out of the unknown. However, that does not mean that there is no room for prediction. We can make a prediction based on the situation on the ground whether it is inside Somalia with its usual Somali political players or whether it is outside Somalia with its both foreign and Somali political players whereby many of those Somali political players outside Somalia and in the West have dual citizenships and are part of those vying to lead Somalia after the transitional period of the Somali government ends on August 20th 2012.
The positive side of our prediction does not need any form of wordiness and you can infer that from the meeting of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Somali leaders in Nairobi Kenya; we can talk about it concisely while basing our arguments on the notion that the arrangements of ending the transitional period are going on to perfection as to the deadline of August 20th 2012. The negative side of our prediction is the fear that the status quo that plagued Somalia for so long could prolong itself into an eternity of mayhem and confusion, with the concrete happening, for instance, of Somali president Sheikh Sharif walking out of a meeting being participated by the Road Map Signatories in Nairobi, Kenya. Even a seemingly mishap like this could derail the whole peace process, period. And believe it or not, foreign intervention regardless of the intention of such intervention will continue, with the United States leading the financial support and certain auspices in the crisis of Somalia. The United States will also lead any international efforts to bring to justice those Somali political players the international community sees as spoilers in the Somali peace process.
Ahmed Said (Abwaankuluc)
Somali American writer and blogger
xaawaleey1@hotmail.com
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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Raxanreeb’s editorial policy.
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