Signing A Peace Agreement

EDITORIAL

About two decades ago, after Ali Mahdi declared himself the president of Somalia in a conference in Djibouti, Saudi Arabia invited Ali Mahdi and the conference participants to come to Saudi Arabia to do the Umrah and to celebrate the outcome of the conference. King Fahd himself attended the celebration where he thanked Omar Arteh and the President of Djibouti Hassan Guled for what he saw as their positive role in the Djibouti conference.

The celebration in Saudi Arabia had an undeclared purpose though. It was right after the first Gulf War where the Americans were able to defeat Saddam Hussein and kick him out of Kuwait. During this war, Saudi Arabia sided with the United States and allowed American troops on its territory which angered a lot of Arabs and Muslims (Bin Laden was among those who were incensed by the presence of American troops on the soil of the country where the two holiest Muslim cities are located, and it caused the final rupture between Bin Laden and the House of Saud). At the Somali peace celebration, King Fahd himself referred to this and other criticisms of Saudi Arabia by saying that Saudi Arabia is unfairly accused of not caring about other Arabs and Muslims, and that the record shows Saudi Arabia has done a lot for Arabs and Muslims and would continue to do so.

King Fahd had his Somali celebration. Ali Mahdi crowned himself president. And the Somali invitees had their bonuses and Umrah. But there was no peace in Somalia. On the contrary, Ali Mahdi’s claim to be president only embittered Gen. Aidid more than he already was, and intensified the war in Mogadishu.

About two decades later, we are back in the same situation. Ali Mahdi collects a bunch of his supporters and contacts and calls it a peace conference. An agreement is signed. The participants are flown to Jeddah to celebrate the peace agreement. The only difference is this time there is another claimant to the presidency than Ali Mahdi, and it is not Djibouti but the U.S that has cajoled the Saudis into holding this event.

Why are the Saudis repeating something that was a complete failure twenty years ago? Because they can use it as an example of how they care about downtrodden Muslims like Somalis. More importantly, since the United States has been pressuring them about doing something for Somalia, it would be an illustration of how they have been a true ally and friend to the United States.

So the Jeddah celebrations have little to do with establishing peace in Somalia or improving the life of the average person there. Ali Mahdi, Geedi, Abdillahi Yusuf, the Saudis and the Americans all know that they are celebrating a non-existent peace, yet in an ultimate act of duplicity and cynicism, they insist on signing fictitious treaties and celebrating a non-existing peace. No wonder Somalia’s mess is getting worse and worse.

Source: Somaliland Times

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