Published On: Wed, Jan 30th, 2013

Clan federalism tears Somalia apart‏. by Mohamud M Uluso

somali-mapClan politics, rivalry and hatred have ruined the social bond, moral principles and trust among Somalis who share common language, culture, territory, history, and religion. Now, three political manifestations -secession, clan based federalism and unitary decentralized political system- divide them and are obstacle to the recovery of the lost nation of Somalia.

The Provisional Constitution (PC) rejects secession, suggests voluntary federalism of regions while it establishes a unitary democratic central government. Respect of human rights, political and civil rights for all citizens, free market economic system, political pluralism, and promotion of peace constitute the basic foundation of the new constitution. The US diplomatic recognition of the government of Somalia gives impetus to the implementation of these goals and offers space and encouragement for internal unity and dialogue.

Therefore, the people of Somalia led by their farsighted and legitimate leaders have the responsibility to engage a national dialogue that aims to respond to the sentiments and anxieties underlying the three political manifestations so that strong Somalia can bargain with the International Community. In his 1963 book on Somali nationalism, Saadia Touval wrote, “Somali nationalism stems from a feeling of national consciousness in the sense of “we” as opposed to “they” which has existed among the Somalis for many centuries. It was nurtured by tribal genealogies and traditions, by the Islamic religious ties, and by conflicts with foreign people.” This kind of exceptional Somali nationalism is now needed more than ever. Bad faith political negotiations fail Somalia.

Today’s acrimonious relation among Somalis is in full public display. Late Said Osman Kenedid captured this sad situation when he said in his book “xusuusqor”, a Somali becomes foe of the other when clan diversity is discovered. This approximates the present social breakdown.

Clan federalism worsens the situation and tears Somalia apart. It’s an overstatement or wrong to claim that the PC has created a federal government for Somalia. Yes, article 1(1) stipulates the establishment of the Federal Republic of Somalia (FG). The stakeholders of this FG are the 4.5 clans represented by the 275 members of the Federal Parliament (FP) and not by Federal Member States (FMS), Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama, Ras Kamboni or other factions.

In accordance with articles 48 and 49 of the PC, the FP must enact a law establishing the parameters and conditions to be used for the establishment of FMS and appoint a commission that will study the issue. The findings of the commission will determine the options. Article 49 (6) sets only one parameter: The voluntary merger of two or more regions based on the 1991 boundaries can form a FMS. In the interim, FG will represent the country and administer the regions and districts.

Clan-based federalism is against many articles of the PC. For example it is against article 8 on the people and citizenship; Article 11 concerning equality of all citizens and prohibition of clan based discrimination; Article 21 on the freedom of movement and residence; Article 46 which prescribes that the power of self-governance begins and ends with the people.  Article 142 does not recognize in name the existing FMSs and harms national interest.

To appreciate the concept of federalism in Somalia, a review of the different views, motivations and perceptions propounded by Dighil and Mirifle and Harti Darod (Puntland) for their resolute support of federalism is helpful. In 1991, some politicians suggested a federal system between the two territories united on July 1, 1960.

Hizbia Dighil and Mirifle (HDM) Party of “Dighil and Mirifle clan” proposed in 1947 a clan-based federal system later debated in 1957 and rejected by the parliament. In his paper titled “the emergence and role of political parties in the inter-river region (1989),” Prof Mohamed H. Mukhtar noted that HDM divided the Somali Italian territory into two regions: North of the Shabelle River and South of it. Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed (Bogodi), founder of HDM told the Four Power Commission sent to Somalia in 1947 the following:

My people are those who behave themselves better than others.  We always prevent other people from making trouble or robbing. .. The Other people who are not Dighil and Mirifle, they may live and stay with us, but we want them behind us recognizing the land as belonging to us and not to them. One of the three things the founder requested the Commission was that “the country in which Dighil and Mirifle live always to be regarded as belonging to them  and if the government who live with them  wish anything from them they want the government to be discussed with them.”

As a result, HDM federalism was for land ownership and intended to take place between Dighil and Mirifle clan and the rest. No significant power was allowed to the central Government.

In May 1998, sub clan Harti Darod decided to form a “Puntland State” composed of five regions –Mudug, Nugal, Bari, Sol and Sanag- and to make “clan federalism” the national form of government. On October 9, 2010, Mr. Mohamed Abshir Waldo published a paper on Federalism: Birth of Puntland  in which he put forward three reasons why Puntland decided to predetermine a federal system for Somalia. They are: (1) to heal and overcome the fear, hatred and distrust of the bloody civil war; (2) To take a middle solution between an autocratic, centralized system of government -which is an imaginary future government, and the outright secession of Somaliland. Sanag and Sol regions are claimed by Somaliland; 3. To emphasize district level socio economic development.

Residents in Puntland became divided into two categories: Puntland citizens and refugees. There was no economic, social political and legal study about the feasibility of a federal system for Somalia or preliminary discussion among Somalis. Mr. Waldo stressed that “It [the decision] was not borne out of emotion, clan sentimentalism or as resentment resulting from the clan cleansing massacre of thousands of people originating from the current Puntland regions that took place in what is now known as South-Central Somalia (SCS) mainly in Mogadishu.”

Puntland State is now in confrontation with FG over the formation of Jubbaland State which will comprise three regions-Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Gedo and will be under the rule of Harti, Ogaden, and Marehan as the majority group out of 38 clans in the area.

As consequence, Bay, Bakol and Lower Shabelle regions will be under Dighil and Mirifle rule. Middle Shabelle, Hiran, and Galgudud regions will be under Hawiye rule. Togdher, North West, and Awdal regions will be under Isaq rule. In consideration of clan imagination, Mogadishu, the capital and seat of FG will be under sub-clan Abgal-Habargidir rule. To revive HDM federalism, a preparatory conference for a new State of six regions-Bay, Bakol, Gedo, Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Lower Shabelle is underway in Baidoa, Bay region.

Puntland federalism aims to deal with past and future “clan cleansing” and to control the central power if ever emerges. In Somalia, “clan cleansing” takes place every day as long as clans fight and people leave their homes for new destinations. It happened different parts of the country.

Somalia clan federalism resembles the clan division suggested by President Yuweri K. Museveni of Uganda in his letter dated July 15, 2009 for handling the Banyoro political grievance against Bafuruki in Banyuro region.  Banyoro are considered an indigenous (natives) clan, while Bafuruki (migrants/settlers) – a derogatory word- are Ugandan citizens whose ancestral land is not Banyuro region even if they they were born in it. The President proposed clan land ownership and ring-fencing the positions of local councils and Member of Parliament for the indigenous (native) Banyoro clan. This has raised firestorm inside and outside Uganda because it was seen as tribalism, unpatriotic and unconstitutional and later President Museveni backtracked.

The signs of many problems associated with clan federalism like violent minority dissent within are now visible in Puntland. In fact, clan federalism rather than solving the problems of bad governance expands them. Only Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa practice clan based federalism in the African continent. A comparative study carried out in 2012 shows that African federalism fails for at least nine causes like a lack of commitment to democratic values and obstruction of the central government authority.

In the gloomy prospect for Somalia’s future, the observations of Saadia Touval about Somali nationalism provide pride and hope. He testified that Somali leaders were always striving to eradicate “political tribalism” because it was and still is detrimental to national harmony. In 1958, political parties with clan names were banned. He also stated that Somali leaders (northerners) gave up their privileged positions for the sake of realizing the broader nationalist goals of unifying the British and Italian territories in 1960. These kinds of patriotism are deeply rooted in the Somali culture and could re-emergence at the right moment like today.

 

 

Mr. MohamudM Uluso

mohamuduluso@gmail.com


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There have been no elections in Somalia since 1967 and there won’t be any this year either. But the country has a new parliament (appointed on the advice of clan elders) who have elected a new president, and the new government actually now controls a significant part of the country. The world’s only fully “failed state” may finally be starting to return to normality.A failed state is a horrendous thing: no government, no army, no police, no courts, no law, just bands of armed men taking what they want. Somalia has been like that for more than 20 years, but now there is hope. So much hope that last month the United Nations Security Council partially lifted its embargo on arms sales to Somalia in order to let the new Somali government buy arms, and last week the U.S. government followed suit.The new government replaces the “Transitional Federal Government”, another unelected body that had enjoyed the support of the UN and the African Union for eight pointless years. Then last year a World Bank report demonstrated the sheer scale of its corruption: seven out of every ten dollars of foreign aid vanished into the pockets of TFG officials before reaching the state’s coffers.Fully a quarter of the “national budget” was being absorbed by the offices of the president, the vice-president and the speaker of parliament. The fact that after all that the TFG still only controlled about one square kilometre (less than one square mile) of Mogadishu, the capital, while the rest of the shattered city was run by the Islamist al-Shabaab militia, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, also contributed to the international disillusionment.That tiny patch of ground, moreover, was being defended not by Somali troops but by thousands of Ugandan and Burundian soldiers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Unisom). More than 500 of them had lost their lives defending the useless TFG, and the foreign donors were losing faith in the mission. But the Unisom soldiers did achieve one major thing: they fought al-Shabaab to a standstill in Mogadishu.In August 2011 the Islamist militia pulled its troops out of the capital. That created an opening, and the international community seized it. It ruthlessly initiated a process designed to push the TFG aside: Somali clan elders were asked to nominate members for a new 250-seat parliament, which was then asked to vote for a new president and government.It was obviously impossible to hold a free election in a country much of which was still under al-Shabaab’s control, but this process also had the advantage that it allowed the foreigners to shape the result. The corrupt officials who had run the old TFG all re-applied for their old jobs, but none of them succeeded.The new president who emerged from this process, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, is a former academic and human rights worker who only entered politics in 2011. No whiff of corruption clings to him, and he has worked tirelessly to bring about national reconciliation. And he has the wind at his back: just after he was chosen last September, a Kenyan force evicted al-Shebaab from Somalia’s second city, Kismayo.That still leaves about 95 percent of the country’s territory and three-quarters of its population beyond the government’s direct control. Al-Shabaab still rules in most rural parts of the country, and Ethiopian troops and their militia allies control much of the western border areas. Pirates with a lot of guns and money effectively dominate much of the north.One whole chunk of the country, calling itself Somaliland, has declared its independence (and runs its affairs much more peacefully and efficiently than any other part of Somalia). No other country recognizes its independence at the moment, but it used to be a British colony, quite separate from Italian-ruled Somalia, and in principle it can make exactly the same case for independence as Eritrea did when it broke away from Ethiopia.The worst problem facing President Mohamud is the venal and cunning politicians who have exploited the clan loyalties that pervade every aspect of Somali life to carve out their own little empires. Some are frankly and unashamedly warlords; others, including all the senior officials in the defunct TFG, masquerade as national politicians but work for their own interests.They have not gone away, nor have the clan rivalries that kept the fighting going for 21 years. Drawing up the rules and sharing out the power for a new federal Somalia (none of which has yet been decided) will give them plenty of opportunities to make trouble for the new president and regain their former power. Mohamud definitely has his work cut out for him.Nevertheless, he has strong UN and African Union support, and he now has a chance to create a spreading zone of peace in the country and start rebuilding national institutions. So last week the United States declared that it was now willing to provide military aid, including arms exports, to Somalia. Weirdly, that actually means that thing are looking up in the world’s only failed state.Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.