Kampala Accord – Nation Surrenders Its Sovereignty for the Two Sharifs?

Garowe Online (Garowe)

14 June 2011

editorial

What remains abundantly clear to all is the role of Uganda in the signing of “Kampala Accord”.

As a failed state, Somalia is used to being ridiculed, chastised and threatened at will. It is a fact that the lawlessness in Somalia, caused by ignorance and fuelled by hate, has destroyed the country’s unity, integrity and peace. Everything is for sale in Somalia. The leaders have sold the country into various pieces to various agents of foreign governments. Criminality became commonplace and the opportunists profited. The people became victims of lawlessness.

It is a cardinal mistake to write off Somalia, however. The country has suffered immeasurably, yet something keeps Somalia afloat. The war scars and hostilities are there, but below there is a foundation of Somalinimo (Somali-ness) that floats below the surface of dispute.

Somalia gained its independence from European colonialism in 1960, and Uganda gained independence two years later. It is a remarkable turn of fate that Somalia today finds itself in the grip of foreign governments, each persuaded and driven by narrow agendas that put Somali interest somewhere between nonchalance and indifference. Uganda’s role in Somalia is clear to all, as it is one of two African countries (+Burundi) that have contributed troops to the AMISOM peacekeeping force in Mogadishu. As such, Uganda has some political weight in international political circles, when discussing the issue of Somalia.

What remains abundantly clear to all is the role of Uganda in the signing of “Kampala Accord” by TFG President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and TFP Speaker Sharif Hassan. Uganda, like Somalia’s immediate neighbors Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya, has vested interests in Somalia, and particularly with the TFG, due to the AMISOM deployment. The agreement was signed to end the term-extension debate, but in a Somali-flavored political twist, a new debate arose to create further divisions and disputes. In Mogadishu, protestors took to the streets to support TFG Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who is supposed to resign under the terms of the Kampala Accord.

President Sharif is a political amateur by any standard. Politics is an art of finesse, style and efficiency. It is difficult to imagine Sharif’s qualities meet the standards of leading a fragmented, sorrowful, and desperate nation. If anyone had a question, the answer is clearly written and signed in the Kampala Accord. Certainly, no Somali leader would sign such an illegal document, which surrenders Somali sovereignty over to external entities.

The agreement, in effect, is a new constitution. There is no parliament (as the Accord revokes parliament powers) and there is no president (as the president, similar to a parent-child relationship, is repeatedly given orders and chastised under the terms of the Accord). Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signs the document as a witness, but also as an enforcer.

“HE President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda will Guarantee the implementation of this agreement and sign below as a witness.”

The Kampala Accord cannot and must not be implemented in Somalia. The more the international community pushes Somalia towards a corner, and thereby towards the edge, the more resistance will increase and the more bloodshed and chaos – only beneficial for Al Qaeda and its Al Shabaab affiliate. It is a proven theory time and again.

It is an embarrassment for the UN Security Council and the rest of the international community to approve a process of Somali-led consultation initiatives in Nairobi, but conclude that process with a unilateral agreement signed by the TFG President and TFP Speaker. Despite the on-the-surface political differences, the two Sharifs were comrades of the Eritrea-based Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) – the group who hijacked the Somali peace process in 2008 and created the Djibouti Agreement – source of Somalia’s current political crises.

Fool us once, shame on you. Any national agreement in Somalia must include the legitimate stakeholders who represent the various constituencies that form the Somali political entity. But a unilateral agreement signed by old comrades, aiming to trick the Somali people yet again, is an experiment for failure. If anything, Somalia has experienced first-hand a litany of failed experiments.

The UN Security Council must urgently weigh in on the Kampala Accord, which defers elections for another year (if implemented). The TFG term expires on August 20, 2011, after which point there could be a number of ‘presidents’ supported by various foreign interests. It is in the interest of global security and stability to ensure that a smooth political process takes place in Somalia before August 20, as the alternative favors Al Shabaab terrorists. Indeed, the alternative deepens divisions and disunity in Somalia and threatens to further break apart the country. No doubt, most Somali political entities will not recognize the Kampala Accord, no matter the extent of foreign pressure.

The international community now has a chance to the take the side of the Somali people, who have spoken loudly. Somalia needs new leadership to chart a new path towards peace, security and stability, and to guide the country’s post-war recovery. But an illegal term extension proves to the public that the international community does not care about Somalia – playing into the hands of terrorists who recruit young Somalis, indoctrinate them with terrorist propaganda, convince them to leave places like Minnesota, and become suicide bombers in Mogadishu.

The Kampala Accord – the failed experiment – can be stopped now. Yes, Somalis caused the war among themselves, but today – this is the world’s moment.

AllAfrica – All the Time