Urgently needed: A Sensible US policy toward Somaliland and Somalia

EDITORIAL

It is too early to say whether the appointment of retired diplomat John Yates as special envoy to Somalia is going to help the situation in Somalia or not. It would depend among other things on what his portfolio entails and his government’s agenda.

But based on his recent statements, the outlook for US policy in Somalia does not look good because it is based on imposing the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) on Somalis, an overwhelming majority of whom hate and despise that nominal government. US policy toward Somalis is so lopsided that it has practically ceded the management of the June reconciliation conference to Abdillahi Yusuf and his minions.

Let’s face it, except for support from a few warlords, the US is friendless among Somalis. Most of the people of the south, especially Mogadishu hold the US as sharing in the responsibility for the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia which resulted in the death of more than a thousand people in just the latest battles, the driving of thousands from their homes and the destruction of their properties.

In Somaliland, too, there is a growing sense of disenchantment with the US. Many people have come to the conclusion that the US has nothing to offer Somalis other than war and destruction. People here are asking: if the US truly wants to help Somalis, how come they have not helped Somaliland in rebuilding its infrastructure, health system and schools, let alone its diplomatic recognition?

Every time US officials are asked about their dysfunctional policies toward Somalis, they like to point to the millions of dollars they have given toward humanitarian relief. While Somalis appreciate that humanitarian assistance, it is important to note that the US has played a role in creating the catastrophe in the south to which they are responding. Second, the Somali reality cannot be reduced to the security needs of the US and the humanitarian needs of Somalis. For instance, there is no pressing security problem in Somaliland, neither is there a humanitarian crisis in Somaliland, but there is an urgent need for re-building the infrastructure, improving health care, and delivering services to the population. The US role has been absent or minimal in all these areas compared with European countries that have less at stake in what happens in Somaliland and Somalia. To cite a few examples, the Swedish government has decided to deal directly with Somaliland as a self-governing entity. Similarly the British ambassador comes regularly to Somaliland. Ethiopia has a liaison office in Somaliland. Whereas the US has not embarked on a single positive initiative toward Somaliland. On the contrary, many of the actions and utterances of US diplomats are either wittingly or unwittingly having a destabilizing effect on Somaliland. The fact that the first visit of the American Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer was to Baidoa to support warlord Abdillahi Yusuf and not to Hargeisa where peace and democracy has been flourishing for over a decade and half is an excellent indication of how misguided US policy is. The US lack of any effort to re-assure the people of Somaliland about the unidentified aircraft that have been shuttling between Somaliland’s cities is another measure of US action or inaction that is having a negative effect on Somaliland. Many Somalilanders think that these are American military aircraft and are anxious that their lives might be in danger. The US could have helped by either clarifying that the airplanes have no intention of harming Somalilanders or confirming that the airplanes do not belong to the US. But the US has done neither, and so more and more people are becoming more and more concerned about US intentions.

Jendayi Frazer recently said that the TFG has to change, and that it cannot continue as it is. She was right. But the same applies to her administration. US policy toward Somaliland and Somalia has to change, otherwise the US will find itself totally friendless among Somalis.

Source: Somaliland Times

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