By Elie Smith [Paris - France]

What may come up in the mind of the majority, could easily be the sad situation still going on in Western Sudan, however, that is not the worst case. Even though it has just come to show what those who cared, had always known and denounced (1). But the disgrace of African diplomacies and also that of the International community headed by the UN are manifest in the unsolved crisis in Somalia, Western Sahara, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Somalia is or was a country located on a section of the east of the Dark Continent known as the horn of Africa. It was a former Anglo-Italian protectorate which got its independence in 1960. Like most African newly created states, it got involved in the cold war rivalry.

Somali leaders opted for the Eastern block, which was Communism, headed at that time by the former USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). And it also fought many senseless border wars with it larger and more organised neighbour, Ethiopia, which also shared the same ideology. Nevertheless, all wars fought by erstwhile Somalia ended in humiliations in the hands of a much more organised Ethiopian military force. As the wind of change began blowing in Eastern Europe, it also extended to Africa, and consequently, Mohamed Siyad Barre, Somalia’s long serving president was overthrown in 1991 and eventually fled to Lagos, Nigeria where he died.

Since then, Somalia has not known peace; it began topping headlines negatively when 18 US soldiers under the Clinton era ill prepared Operation Restore Hope failed and at present, the country or what is left, tops the headlines in piracy, an act that makes the Red sea maritime front of Somalia a dangerous place to navigate. More recently, the success registered by the Islamic courts to drive away the mercantile warlords from Mogadishu has also earned the failed state its own share of negative headlines in the Press. The triumph of the Islamists has given room to outlandish reactions and fantasies about the intentions of the new victors in the apocalyptic part of erstwhile Somalia.

It is also odd that, a group that has brought some degree of law and order in areas under her control is being vilified by the incompetent African Union and a section of the International community. But at the same time, those presented as villains are being asked to speak for all of Somalia including Somaliland which is a country that is governed decently. But she (Somaliland) is oddly denied recognition by the myopic African Union at the instigation of Egypt which only recognises her belongingness to Africa when she wants to deny or foment trouble against East African nations that desires to use the Nile River for the benefit of their populations.

The pre-eminence of chaos in Somalia should not sound as though nothing has been attempted to help her out of her present state of affairs. A peace treaty brokered by a regional political body in 2000 in Djibouti, resulted in the designation of Abdul Kassim Salat Hassan as president of a transitory government. Nevertheless it is needless to point out that, the transition government never worked out. Chiefly because of infighting and greed and the latest effort to help Somalia was in 2004 in Kenya. This time around, the subterfuge was to set up a government and parliament.

A sort of embryonic administration which organisers hoped would inspire Somalis to revamp their moribund land. In that regard, parliamentarians and other government functionaries were appointed and were lodged in sumptuous Hotels in Nairobi and paid by the UN. These group or groups had to elect its own president and the lucky man was or is Abdillahi Yusuf.

Since then, they have been making gesticulations and their latest game because it is one, was their attempt to resettle in Somalia’s capital. As mentioned above, their recent military defeat shows that, the gimmick hatched out in Kenya and supported by the UN was a farce and waste of time and money that, the UN does not even have. Another proof that Abdillahi Yusuf’s government represented only itself and those who acquiesced in the duplicity was that, when it was announced, it instead sparked revolt and bloodsheds in the part of Somalia that is now an example of the three certified failed states in the world. The remaining two are: Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo,

Although the early performances of those the UN have turbaned as the legal face or government of the corpse or failed state called Somalia was lacklustre, their moves did win attention mostly from the BBC and other international media outfits. But it has to be pointed out clearly that, the new administration and its president and whatever publicity may be or was given to them; they have/had no legitimacy in the eyes of the people in what is left of that former country, which is allegedly presently serving as hideout for Islamic terrorist groups.

In all, more than 14 endeavours have been made to help Somalia out; conversely its self centred and selfish politicians have spoiled them all. With the expression such cacophony, the English-speaking part of Somalia known as Somaliland has opted out of the kangaroo union rampantly created in Africa during the cold war and since then, she is doing well administratively and democratically. The break up of Somalia shows that, similar fictitious unions on the continent such as those of British southern Cameroon’s with the French-speaking Republic of Cameroon which resulted in the Federal Republic of Cameroon in 1961 or that of Zanzibar and Tanganyika which gave birth to Tanzania in 1964 are bound at a long run to rupture.

Brief overview of Somaliland

Weirdly, the prowess of Somaliland in good governance and democracy, which is a mark difference with the apocalyptic scenes of Mogadishu, the capital of erstwhile Somalia is seldom appreciated, not to mention that they are neither seen, read nor heard in the mainstream media. Contrary to norms in other African states, the 3.5 million people of the Republic of Somaliland whose president is Dahir Rayale Kahin have held transparent elections several times and in September 2005 again, they held their parliamentary elections.

The actions of those manning power in Somaliland’s capital Hargeysa are indelible testimonies that the country is a rock solid multiparty democratic acreage. Hence they have to be helped, not by granting them aid or financial assistance. The international community has a moral obligation to grant Somaliland its right to self determination denied her by Britain and the international community as they did with the people of British Southern Cameroon’s in 1961.

For the contrary might make or transform the courageous people of that part of Africa be disillusioned and fall prey to Islamic influences. Somalilanders do not want to become another mendicant state on the horn of Africa and also a Mecca for people round the world in search of good Press. What the people of Somaliland yearn for is simply an International recognition. For an International recognition will help Somaliland’s administrators to better organise themselves and also fight poverty better for the good of the majority.

This is because, at present, the only sources of finance for Somaliland are monies send from abroad by expatriate Somalilanders and taxes charged on imported Ethiopian goods passing through its ports. What prevents this country to gain International recognition as already noted above are the African Union and within that Union, the country championing or blocking the international recognition of Somaliland is Egypt and also the United Nations Organisations. Their rejection of Somaliland’s independence are based on rationales that are beyond comprehension, for Somalia in its present dispensation has all the ingredients for the application of a Yugoslav solution reached at the Dayton agreements and enacted in 1995.

Western Sahara

This second case is that which is perhaps the longest and also a disfigurement on the hearts of African political leaders and the UN in particular. Located in the North West of Africa, Western Sahara is bordered to the north with the Kingdom of Morocco, to the East with Algeria and in the south by Mauritania. It became a Spanish colony in 1884 and in 1934 its status was transformed into a province of the kingdom of Spain. And in 1973, a self-determination movement known as the ‘Polisario’ was created, meanwhile, on the side lines two African countries were laying claims on her.

The countries that were laying claims over Western Sahara are: the Islamic republic of Mauritania and the Kingdom of Morocco. But two years later, the International Court of justice rejected the African kingdom of Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara. This was because Morocco was the more vocal and assertive of the latter mentioned claimants. While stopping through a court injunction the expansionist tendencies of the Kingdom of Morocco, the UN court was in so doing also recognising the rights of the Saharouis (as the people of Western Sahara are called) for self determination.

However, the UN’s decision did not thwart the late despotic ruler of Morocco, late King Hassan 11 to order in the month of November 1975, his infamous Green march of 300 hundred thousand Moroccans to invade the territory under the nose of the International community and the Organisation of African Unity, the ancestor of the current African Union. What is not clear though is whether the dictator king was buoyed by the Madrid agreement signed on the 14 th of November 1975, which divided the territory into two as the Spanish were leaving or it was his special relationship with the US at the time of the cold war, which made him to violate International accords audacious impunity.

Although under occupation, the people of Western Sahara in 1976 did declare the creation and independence of the Arab Democratic Republic of Western Sahara and its president since then, has been Mohamed Abdelaziz, who is living in exile in Algeria. Algeria for a long time and more recently the Republic of South Africa are perhaps the only African countries that has demonstrated a high level of solidarity to the Saharouis and also up hold the precept of the foundation of the continental body which enunciates the preservation of colonially inherited borders.

However in 1991, the Western Saharan dossier was finally dust off from where it was filed in New York and the UN decided to establish the United Nations Mission for a referendum in Western Sahara. But since then, nothing has changed; for the Moroccans are ignoring all UN injunctions, and up till now, millions is poured in to pay UN staffs who ride around Layoune the capital of Western Sahara, in air conditioned four wheel drives.

These UN bureaucrats who are treated like royal children and paid lump sum have achieved nothing in Western Sahara. What is bizarre here again is that, a similar situation happened in south East Asia, in this specific case, the Indonesians invaded East Timor a former Portuguese territory in 1976.

Nevertheless, the UN did push the Indonesians to vacate from East Timor via a referendum that took place in 1999. In Western Sahara, Moroccan authorities have repeatedly impeded the holding of any referendum and nobody in Africa or at International level seem worried. No sanctions have ever been asked against Morocco’s defiance of International law. Even the Islamic terrorists who are claiming that, their terror is justified because Israel is allegedly occupying a Moslem land called Palestine, have never criticised Morocco’s occupation of another Moslem country.

It is true that the ancestor of the African Union under Secretary Edem Kodjo did recognise Western Sahara which in turn made Morocco to leave the continental body in 1984, but the international community did not give any support to the great action of the Secretary General of the OAU at that time. The go-go European Union that is bankrolling the kingdom of Morocco for fear that all its citizens do not emigrate to Europe, does not care whether her protégés respects human rights or any International norms that some members of the loquacious political organisation seems to fancy.

Besides helping Morocco to defy international law by occupying Western Sahara, the European Union also uses the roguish Kingdom to humiliate the African Union which Morocco is no longer a member. One of the visible ruses used by the EU to humiliate the African Union is to organise African summits in Morocco instead of Addis Ababa or other legitimate members of the African Union that, the ambiguous and appalling European organisation claims to be a partner.

Democratic Republic of Congo

While it is very difficult and even unfair to rate or compare the consequences of crimes and all other negative effects caused by human beings, principally those under gone by people of the aforementioned countries, the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo has some thing unique. The DRC as the country is abbreviated, is 80 times bigger than Belgium, five and half times bigger than France with a population of just 60 million (2).

Since she got her independence from Belgium in 1960, this country with almost half the size of Western Europe, has never known peace. Another unique feature with this country is that, it is a potentially rich, containing 78% of all important and even less important solid and liquid mineral in the world.

Yet the country, if it can be called one, is one of the poorest on the continent and the world. In addition, its citizens might easily be one of the most unlucky people on earth. Their most known leader were Moboutou Seseko, who came to power in 1962 with the aid of the CIA, in a bid to prevent the country from going Communist as its earliest leaders notably Patrice Lumumba was alleged to have desired. The reign of Joseph Desire Moboutou was not only brutal, but corrupt and thus brought untold hardship on its citizens. The control of the infamous dictator over his country ended in 1997 when Joseph Desire Kabila took power, since then, the country has been constantly at war.

The peak of the civil war was in 1998, when almost 11 African countries were in the DRC for different reasons. Consequently, about 3.5 million Congolese have died with millions more living in exile around the world. Today, the DRC is de facto divided in five parts and respectively controlled by rebel movements and the official government based in Kinshasa, the capital. Interestingly or not, there is no mark difference between the recognized government and the rebels.

There have been several attempts to bring peace in that large country. The series began in 1999 with the UN Mission, in the DRC known as MUNUC, which was created after the Lusaka* agreement was signed. The agreement did signal an end to a war fought by the Armies of Angola, Chad , Namibia and Zimbabwe against 20 armed groups allegedly supported by Burundi , Rwanda and Uganda .

Ever since the Lusaka agreements were appended by the different belligerent forces, real peace has never taken firm hold on the ground. Hence, in the summer of 2003, Operation Artemis, a code name for a peace keeping operation headed by France under the auspice of the European Union was staged in a locality called Ituri, situated on the East of the country with very limited results.

All those missions has not brought any peace in the DRC, nonetheless, in spite these notorious failures, the UN and the African Union are insisting in maintaining the DRC as one country, while it is clear that, the country is now divided into lines that will make it easier for the creation of five or four states which would have the advantage to bring or install immediate peace to the suffering masses (3). Another funny and also phoney thing going on currently in the DRC will be the holding of presidential and legislative elections on July 30th 2006. the parody because the winner is already known is being presented to the world as the miracle pill that will bring stability and peace in a country whose leaders are perhaps the worst sets the continent has ever produced.

Once again the burlesque of elections, is supported by the European Union whose leaders are in search of a military power that will rival that of the US. Hence they are sending their embryonic pan European military force to the DRC to use the country as experimental ground. The soldiers’ looking more like safari goers are mostly from Germany and France and to crown their ridiculous number, they will be based in Kinshasa and won’t go into the interior of the country and yet the communist and pathological liars of Brussels have marketed their bizarre operation as peace maintenance. The DRC it has to be made abundantly clear to the world that, it is a failed state and must be partitioned.

The newly created states could eventually decide to reunite. In the main time while the UN is prevaricating to choose appropriate resolutions, those suffering from Somalia , Somaliland , Western Sahara and the DRC are children, women, elderly men and women, the sick and all the vulnerable ones. In the interim African politicians and UN staffs seat in air conditioned rooms, ride in trendy Japanese four wheels drive cars and bicker over unnecessary things like hyphens and comas, badly used in the millions of useless resolutions. It is high time they should act or take the high way to oblivion and allow their position for a much more effective body.

The UN should stop throwing monies into the bottomless pit called DRC and the elections that will take place on the 30th of July 2006 is nothing but an international sanctioned farce and it is one reason peace won’t come in that country.

If the International community viewed or regarded African crisis equally as others, they would have longed recalled that, it was the Dayton accords that ended the suffering of millions in the Balkans and also ended the atrocious tribal wars in that part of Europe. Why is a similar agreement not applied in Africa’s many civil wars?

Notes:-

1)       http://www.gamji.com/article4000/NEWS4707.htm

2)       http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1076399.stm

3)       http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5128486.stm

• *Lusaka is the name of the capital of a Southern African country called Zambia.
• For more log on to www.eliesmith.blogspot.com

Source: Ici Cemac,   Cameroon   August 3, 2006