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In the first part of his interview, Dr. Zakaria Haji Abdi acquainted readers with his family background and his formation years, expressed his view of Modern Somali History up to the beginning of Civil War, and focused on parts of his national reconciliation program and on his basic policies with respect to Governance in Somalia. In this second part, Dr. Zakaria Haji Abdi explores the nature of the 21-year long Somali civil war, and gives an outline of his policies as regards Somali National Security and the presence of foreign troops on Somali territory. - What do you think are the main reasons of the Somali Civil War? Foreign involvement? Rise of tribalism as a trend? Earlier catastrophic policies? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - A mixture of all, with the direct foreign involvement as the central pole of all. - Has the Somali Civil War been a positive development for Abyssinia? If so, do they deploy an effort to perpetuate the ominous situation? How? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - I assume it might look like that the Ethiopians have benefitted from their investment and the very chaos situation that they have created, and they continue to do so. However, this will happen only in the short term. I am convinced that in the long term their ill-fated intervention policies against Somalia will backfire to Ethiopia. It goes without saying “who he lives in a glass house must not throw stones on to his neighbors”. It is a well-known fact that Ethiopia is a false state; it is a European make by all standards, a collection of 48 plus different nations enforced to live together. In addition, there has been a tremendous historical animosity among them. We therefore can conclude that Ethiopia suffers from a congenital internal fragility that makes it impossible this country to continue to exist and to sustain by itself a modern state. On other hand, Somalis are the other side of the picture, and sooner than later, they will re-discover themselves in almost every aspect of the life, and this is an eternal and the greatest God-given blessing. Consequently, Somalis are ‘doomed’ to be an inseparable state of nationhood. - Has the Somali Civil War been a positive development for Kenya and eventually other East African countries? If so, do they deploy an effort to perpetuate the ominous situation? How? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - The same as above is true for the situation in Kenya and some other IGAD member-states in the sub-region of the Horn of Africa. - How do you evaluate the role Eritrea has played in the Somali Civil War? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - In the early years of the Somali state, Eritrea was struggling to free herself from a 30-year long Ethiopian tyranny. Having this great experience of national liberation struggle, Eritrea has naturally played a very positive role and acted responsibly during the recent Ethiopian military occupation of Somalia. It was the only country in the entire world that rejected the partly occupation of Somalia by Ethiopia. Unlike Ethiopia, Eritrea has never been involved in the internal affairs of Somalia. If it were not Eritrea, we would not be able to form the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), our liberation political umbrella that unified and led the liberation resistance of the Somali people. We, Somalis, are therefore indebted to the Eritrean people and their government for their unreserved support to our liberation struggle. - How do you evaluate the role Yemen has played in the Somali Civil War under the now deposed president Ali Abdalla Saleh? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - Regrettably, the regime of the deposed president Ali Abdalla Saleh in Yemen, not the brotherly Yemeni people, has explicitly and shamefully stood side by side with the Ethiopian aggression against the Somali people. However, this lamentable policy will not affect the unshakable, historical and geopolitical relationship between the peoples of Somalia and Yemen. - For the period between 1991 and 2008, do you recall initiatives that led Somalia closer to peace? During the said period, were there several moments when Peace seemed to be close? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - Ever since the collapse of the Somali state, the Somali people has been hardly trying to reconcile and put their house in order. Unfortunately, whenever and wherever such local initiatives are close to bear their fruits, external intruders, spearheaded by the Tigray regime of Meles Zanawi in Ethiopia and its allies, used to intervene by all means available to them in order to undermine, divert and outmaneuver those efforts. This is the pattern that persisted and continues to exist to this day. Contrarily to the Tigray regime, I feel that the different nations forced to be included within Ethiopia are brotherly neighbors who are in desperate need of their own country and of their own representative democratic government – not the present clique which is based on a brutal, tyrannical, and ethnocentric minority. - You were present at the Asmara Meeting in July 2007, when the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) was incepted. What were the expectations of the participants, and on what grounds Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected Chairman? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - As a matter of fact, I was not merely present there, but I took the pride being one of the founding fathers and indeed the most prominent figure during and after formation of the ARS. The expectations of the participants in the formation of ARS, as well as of all the Somalis, can be summarized as follows: I. To liberate the Somali Republic from the Ethiopian Occupation, as well as from any other negative foreign intervention II. To end divisions and hostilities among Somali people, which had been created and induced by continues foreign intervention and invasion, and III. To restore the legitimate national government of Somalia, which would in turn re-establish the unity, sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, peace, tranquility, law, and order in the country. The end objective was to establish a modern, democratic state of Somalia able to rejoin the club of the nation states of the world as an effective and respectable member among the other nations; a state able to remarkably contribute to the peace, stability and progress of the entire mankind. The election of Sh. Sharif as chairman of the ARS was effectuated solely on the grounds of him being the last executive chairperson of the ICU (Islamic Courts Union) before the Ethiopian intervention; nothing more, nothing less. - ARS came to split due to the Djibouti Agreement which you disapproved of. Was the Djibouti Agreement in contrast with the targets set in Asmara, and why? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - The so-called Djibouti process was not only in full contrast with the ARS cardinal aims and objectives, but it also contradicted completely the essence of the liberation struggle. As a matter of fact, it betrayed the expectations and aspirations of the Somali people. It was conspiracy at the Olympic level. We can now safely claim that the Djibouti process literally served the purposes of the occupation. It was intended to divide the ARS at the political and armed resistance levels, to destroy the entire liberation efforts, and to undermine the hopes and the will of Somali people; it still is. It was geared to save Ethiopia from the military and political defeat of which the Addis Ababa regime was already feeling the heat. It was geared to deliberately distort the reality on the ground and thus offer a cover up for the war crimes and for the crimes against Humanity that Meles Zenawi and his Addis Ababa regime committed against Somali people. - How do you evaluate the role played by Mr. Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as TFG President; what possible developments do you foresee as long as he does not step down? What if the Shabaab overthrow the TFG establishment? Would that be a positive or a negative development? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - The role Mr. Sharif Sh. Ahmed played within the TFG regime is completely negative and counterproductive in all measures and every aspect. He simply played the role of a traitor, a dedicated stooge to the foreign enemies of Somalia. Mr. Sharif Sh. Ahmed prolonged the agony of the Somali people. Even worse, he triggered new divisions, and he hatched more death, destruction and displacement for hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, mainly Mogadishu residents. As long as the international community entertains the TFG myth, and continues to portray Mr. Sharif Sh. Ahmed as the head of it, concaved inside the Villa Somalia, the aforesaid miserable picture will persist for a foreseeable future. The more he stays in power, the more daily bloodshed and indiscriminate heavy weaponry shelling will be perpetrated in the streets and residential neighborhoods of Mogadishu – of course with impunity by the Ugandan and Burundian brigades that are known as ‘AMISOM contingent’. - Speaking about today’s Somalia, and the impending presidential selection whereby you announced your candidacy, you gave our readers your vision about Somalia’s governance in your interview’s first part. In you Manifesto, you declared among other points the following: “My mission is a Somalia based on true democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights and civil liberties; a nation with no clan favours, nepotism and favouritism. I will strive for opportunities for all citizens, regardless of their background. My goal is to make Somalia the most peaceful, prosperous and corruption-free nation in Africa; to foster a culture of togetherness and transparency in government and media”. If elected as President of Somalia, will you accept the presence of foreign troops in Somalia? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - General recent experience among Somalis suggests that the presence of a large contingent of foreign troops will always be resented by the Somali population and, moreover, fiercely resisted by the various armed clans and factions. Rather than helping the Somali government to broaden its support base, the foreign troops effect is to even further marginalize it. A much larger stabilization force capable of suppressing resistance, holding territory, and providing security for a more ambitious reconstruction effort is imaginable, but even more unrealistic. In the absence of a decisive event, such as the voluntary withdrawal of AMISOM or its resignation, the United States, the United Kingdom and the EU should work with the African Union and the UN to promote and reform the armed parties in Somalia and their structures. In addition, it will be wise to allow the armed parties in Somalia to become a more inclusive governing mechanism, by insisting that the Somali Government plays the role of gatekeeper to any dialogue between the armed Islamist opposition and the government. - Let me ask you now about Somalia’s national security. How do you envision the country’s security? Which will be your presidency’s axis of policy as regards the national security of Somalia? Dr. Zakaria Mohamud Haji Abdi - I recognize the primary purpose of government is the security of the nation, the people and their property. It also goes without saying that the communities cannot prosper and the country’s economic development cannot thrive where people feel insecure. While promoting a humane and transformative judicial system, I will be tough on crime and criminals. The law enforcement agencies, such as the National Army, police, prisons, security, etc. will be properly trained in Human Rights Regulations and as to how to deal fairly with the civil population. I will not tolerate any case of harassment and mistreatment of civilians by police and security forces. In addition, I will establish a Department of Homeland Security to defend and protect private property, including domestic animals, such as camels and goats, fisheries, land property including farms and cultivated lands, processed or stored food supplies, our country’s water resources, and all other types of commerce. Finally, I will strongly encourage traditional local authorities to be involved in keeping security at the grassroots level. (to be continued)
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