MudugNet

The three days Somali consultative meeting in Mogadishu, attended by the TFG, TFP, Sunnah WalJameeca group, Galmudug, Puntland, the EU, the US, the Arab league, the AU-IGAD etc, did not produce any concrete resolutions upon which all Somali parts had agreed. The consultative meeting nearly collapsed due to the irrational demands made by the representatives of Puntland about how the process of selecting and electing future Somali parliament. It was reported that Puntland wanted the election of future Somali deputies be based on regions earmarked by the last dictatorship regime of Siyad Barre. Siyad Barre based the 18 regions on tribalism and nepotism and the Somali people must not accept the validity of those 18 regions because they were a travesty of justice and favouring particular clans while humiliating other clans and robbing them of their natural rights.

As reported by the mass media, the UN representative for Somalia Mr Mahiga called the consultative meeting a success but the facts remain that there was no success at all but a total failure. Sh. Sharif and Mahiga said that a committee was formed to study the so-called Kampala agreements and then conform or emerge with the consultative accords reached in Mogadishu. This is ludicrous and fishy political exercise that will end in failure because all the ingredients of the consultative meeting in Mogadishu and that of Kampala were based artificial presumptions and self seeking personal interests that will never help peace and the restoration of good governance in Somalia, on the contrary it will prolong Somalia's political and social quagmire.

There were a number of deficiencies that crippled the consultative meeting held in Mogadishu and among them were:

1. The duration of the consultative meeting was insufficient to make any tangible results

2. The consultative meeting was not all inclusive

3. The consultative meeting was a UN initiative and not a Somali owned initiative process

4. As usual States with vested interests were part of the consultative meeting

Conclusions

In broad terms, the consultative meeting ended in failure as there was no any satisfactory outcome.

What Somalia needs badly is a practical peace and national reconciliation process exclusively owned by the Somali people in order to bring to an end the long running misery, anarchy, wars and civil strives in Somalia. Many Somalis believe that as long as foreign interfering and muddling continues in the internal

affairs of Somalia, there will be no peace and the rebirth of a Somalia government in the foreseeable future. States such as Ethiopia and Kenya are sworn enemies of Somalia and they deserve to be banned from Somalia's peace making processes. Overall, it is the responsibility of the Somalis to regain the control of their country and make peace among themselves. Following the political footsteps of countries who have crook vested interests in Somalia would not lead Somalis to peace, statehood or prosperity. It is time for thinking Somali intellectuals to rise above petty tribalism and regionalism and stand for the salvation of Somalia.

By Hassan Shirwa