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Arms, Miraa Trade Keep Somalia Aflame
Nairobi, October 1, 2003 (The Nation) – United Nations sanctions busters, miraa-traders, property grabbers - these are the people who fuel the Somali conflict. And they have undermined the traditional role of Somali elders as arbitrators and peace negotiators.
As Somalia becomes deeply impoverished, the Somali conflict typically centers on the control of property or income-generating infrastructure. Harbors, airports, markets, bridges, road junctions - anything that can be "taxed" usually is.
The various warlords must continuously struggle to raise sufficient money to pay their militia and obtain arms and, more importantly, ammunition.
Fighting is no longer about higher ideals, such as nation-building. It is about the advancement of personal material interests.
These are some of the conclusions of a Nairobi-based United Nations panel of experts, set up to investigate violations of the UN arms embargo imposed in 1992, following the inter-clan warfare that engulfed that country after the fall of President Siad Barre.
In a report to the Security Council, the experts say neighboring states and other players have, with impunity, flagrantly violated the arms embargo.
The experts say Somali warlords and faction leaders are convinced their business can go on as usual. They have not seen any real enforcement of the embargo by the UN or its member states over the past 12 years.
The "dismissive attitude" to the embargo "will continue to prevail" if the international community does not show any resolve to implement the embargo or remain vigilant in investigating new violations, the experts warn in a report to the Security Council.
"Since the arms embargo has been consistently violated since its imposition, it has no normative value, and none of the Somali faction leaders or regional sponsors has been held accountable.
The experts found Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, the Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait have given arms, equipment, money or training to Somali factions - in violation of the embargo.
Kenya is not mentioned as a sanctions buster. But the experts say it contributes to the financing of the factional fighting through its miraa trade with Somalia. This trade "is a significant source of revenue for the Somali warlords".
It is estimated, for example, that miraa flights to the Daynile airfield (west of Mogadishu) alone amount to nearly $170,000 a month. This is apparently shared among the airstrip owner and other important warlords.
Miraa use increased dramatically after the outbreak of the civil war. Militia members typically chew the substance to combat fear and fatigue.
The trade is associated with a war economy. Its import and distribution is linked to airstrips and the rival militias that control them. Warlords rapidly developed interests in the trade. It helps to finance their weapons purchases and keep their troops loyal.
They import between 5,000 and 7,000 tons of miraa yearly from Kenya.
The experts say that it is because of the sanctions busters that the fighting continues despite numerous peace conferences, including the 14th which opened in Eldoret and resulted in the signing of the Eldoret Declaration last year. It provided for a national government this year.
Nation TV's Farida Karoney's recent three-part series based on a visit to Somalia, which examined the prospects for peace, pinpointed the problem: Somalia is awash with arms. Armed factions and clans rule the territory. Without disarming the various militias, Karoney said, a government picked in Nairobi would find it impossible to restore law and order.
Now the UN is seeking to shore up the arms embargo and, this month, the Security Council will send a mission to the region "to demonstrate the Council's determination to give full effect to the arms embargo".
Mr. Mwaura, a former Editor-in-Chief of the
Nation, is Deputy Director of the United Nations Information Centre in
Nairobi.
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