Dalmar Kaahin
In October 2008, when a Kenyan lawyer named, Donald Kipkorir proposed that his country along with Ethiopia—natural adversaries of Somalia—divide Somalia between themselves he wasn't bluffing. Among the Somalis, however, the proposed annexation of their country left them astounded.
Their furies more explosive than volcano irruptions, some grabbed their guns—others relied on their mighty pens. So many people who never wrote a paragraph about Somalia’s turmoil: the plight of its people, the tones of toxic waste dumped into its waters, and the 700 plus illegal fishing fleets pillaging its rich marine resources under the full protection of multinational navies, flooded the Internet with articles. But despite their outcry, the Kenyan lawyer’s proposal finally bore some fruits.
As he explained in his paper, his country could summon the Somali leaders whom Kenya parachuted into power, in the first place, into a hotel in Nairobi. Then Kenya could coerce them to agree to his proposal. A cakewalk effort claimed Mr. Kipkorir boastfully.
http://tinyurl.com/cr6fnz Well guess what! You might be surprised how things turned out.
Recently, Kenya while taking advantage of Somalia’s violent turbulence signed a bogus maritime treaty with the current Somali regime which barley controls few blocks in Mogadishu much less govern its territorial waters near Kenyan border. http://tinyurl.com/d8xll6
This treaty allows Kenya to take chunks of Somalia’s territorial waters (perhaps, for exchange of canceling Somali leaders’ compounded hotel expenses in Kenya). However, selling parts of Somalia's territorial waters could in fact revive diminishing support for Alshabaab and for other rebel groups who are already beating war drums about the looted Somali territorial waters. http://tinyurl.com/cmjt8b
The so-called opposition groups threaten Kenya with sticks and AK 47 guns. But what they cannot sink into their thick skulls is: while they are busy with how to enforce prayer times, girls’ dress codes and more important how to guard their [girls] virginities (Somalis need coast guards, not chastity belts), Somalia’s territorial waters are not only turned into a dumping ground but are also up for grabs.
These religious warmongers may have an innate talent for finding out whatever the little girls in Somali cities are up to, but these belligerent men remain oblivious of the unprotected Somalia's rich marine resources and the hundreds of nuclear-waste containers stacked in its sea floors.
And as long as opposition warmongers wage a causeless war against the current regime, more territorial waters and land will fall into the hands of foreigners.
The treaty itself was so illegal that it really stunk: for one thing, it was never brought in front of the acting Somali MPs to rectify it. For another, the timing for the accord was not only questionable but was also unethical for the Kenyan government to take advantage of Somalia when it was (and still is) at its lowest point in its history. And to top it up, how much territorial waters Kenya gained were unclear; equally ambiguous were the details of the agreement.
As for the U.N, it must not endorse an immoral treaty. In fact, any treaties signed after Gen. Mohammed Siyad Barre’s collapsed Somali regime in 1990 is void and null. Period! Because of the absence of a legitimate Somali government since 1990, any treaties singed by warlords namely, Gen. Aideed, Ali Mahdi, and Col. Abdillahi Yusuf as well as Arta and current regime factions will not be honored. It is impossible to honor unethical treaties signed by regional Somali tribal warlords.
Also, it wasn't just the Kenyans that signed phony agreements with the Somali factions; the Europeans dumped tones of toxic waste into Somalia’s seabed as they claimed that the earlier Somali “governments”—factions that controlled only few sections in the capital—gave them [Europeans] the green light. What a baloney! See the Canadian CBC report about toxic dumping and the root cause of piracy:
http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/video/internationalus/pirates_of_somalia.html
The spurious maritime pact between Kenya and Somalia is nullified. Why? First Somalis didn't discuss or approve the agreement. Second, the Somali government never allowed Somalia’s maritime experts to study the treaty. Third, the government doesn’t even control Mogadishu much less govern the rest of the country. Worse yet, it is at war with opposition groups. So how on earth could the Somali regime sign maritime treaties with Kenya?
The Kenyan government must not kid itself. Somalis won’t buy bogus treaties signed with factions—not now, not ever.
dalmar_k@yahoo.com
 

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