Ethiopia’s Heavy Burden

EDITORIAL

When the war between Ethiopia and Abdillahi Yusuf’s Embagathi faction (a.k.a TFG) on one side and the Islamic Courts on the other side, started, we warned Ethiopia about civilian massacres (see our Dec.30 th editorial “ Ethiopia’s Moral Responsibility”). Last week’s events in Mogadishu bore out our warning. But our prediction was only partially correct. For when we made those warnings, we thought that massacres would be committed by Abdillahi Yusuf’s militia. The reason we thought so was because we knew what most Somalis know: the vengeful tribal nature of Abdillahi Yusuf and the lack of discipline among his clan militia. It turns out that Abdillahi Yusuf did not have to commit the massacres with his own militia because Ethiopian troops relieved him of the burden and did it for him. So now Ethiopia carries the moral and legal burden of massacring Somali civilians.

It is true that Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu were often provoked by the insurgents who have been attacking them on a regular basis. It is also true that the bodies of dead Ethiopian soldiers were desecrated in Mogadishu. But that is no excuse for indiscriminate shelling of Somali civilians by the Ethiopian army.

Prime Minister Zenawi has said many times that the reason for his country’s military intervention in Somalia was to remove the threat posed by the Islamic Courts and that he was not going to force a political settlement on Somalis. With the defeat of the Islamic Courts, the threat to Ethiopia has been greatly reduced, but Ethiopian troops still remain in Somalia, and there is no indication that they are planning to leave any time soon. On the contrary, there is plenty of evidence that Ethiopia wants to impose Abdillahi Yusuf’s rule on Somalia, something that is unacceptable to the vast majority of Somalis.

Ethiopia has a legitimate right to defend its security, but it has neither the right nor the capability to impose a dictator on Somalia. Clearly, Ethiopia has overreached. Under the circumstances, the best thing for it to do is to withdraw from Somalia, and let Somalis sort out their own affairs. Otherwise, every extra day that Ethiopia stays in Somalia is more likely to lead to an increase in resentment of Ethiopian occupation, an increase in civilian deaths, and an increase in Ethiopia’s moral and legal burden.

Source: Somaliland Times

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