MUDANE XASAN KHAYRE XILKA HA KU WAREEJIYO CIDDII UU U HAYAY: SHACABKA SOOMAALIYEED

Haddii ay run tahay warqadda baraha bulshada wareegaysa ee uu RW hore ku codsaday inuu xilka ku wareejiyo RW cusub “si waafaqsan Dastuurka JFS, shuruucda dalka iyo dhaqanka dawladnimo;”

Haddii ay dhab tahay in RW hore loo diiday inuu xilka ku wareejiyo RW Rooble;

Muwaadin Xasan Khayre xilka ha ku wareejiyo ciddii uu markii horeba u hayay: shacabka Soomaaliyeed. Laba dariiq ayuu u mari karaa xil wareejinta:

1) Nuqul qoraal ah ha u gudbiyo Guddoonka Golaha Shacanka, Guddonka Aqalka Sare, iyo Madaxwaynayaasha Dawlad Goboleedyada. Dabeedna warbaahinta haka caddeeyo inuu sidaa sameeyay.

2) Haddii (1) laga hor istaago, waa inuu xil wareejinta ku daabacaa Internetka  warbaahintana la wadaagaa, isagoo madoobaynaya ama ka saarayaa macluumaadka xasaasiga ah.

Muwaadin Khaire siduu sheegay wuxuu u sharraxan yahay xilka MADAXWAYNAH JFS. Muwaadiniinta uu doonayo inay doortaan ama ay kalsooni siiyaan waxay uga fadhiyaan inuu la wadaago si buuxda oo hagar la’aan ah dhacdooyin waawayn, xadgudubyo dastuuri ah, go’aamo masiiri ah iyo gabbodfallo dhacay intii uu RW ka ahaa dalka: Tusaale:

1) Garbaduubkii Muwaadin Qalbidhagax.

2) Afgambigii Golaha Shacabka ee Guddoomiya Jawari loo maleegay.

3) Is-Fahamkii Itoobiya lala gaadhay ee ku saabsanaa 4 dakadood oo Itoobiya lagu wareejinayo ama ay maalgalin ku samaynayso, iyo arrimaha la xiriira is-dhexgalka Geeska Afrika.

4) Faragalintii ciidama Itoobiya ay faragaliyeen doorashooyinka dalka.

5) Sababihii keenay xil-ka-qaadistii lagugu sameeyay iyo qaabkii ay u dhacday.

Waxaa kale oo aad shacabka Soomaaliyeed la wadaagi kartaa Waxaad ka ogayd ama aad kala socotay go’aammadii iyo hindise sharciyeedyadii ay gudbisay xukuumaaddi dhacday intii u dhaxaysay maalinkii xilka lagaa qaaday 25 July iyo maalinkii la magaacaabay RW Rooble 16 Sebtember 2020.

Haddaad intaa samayso waxaad gudatay waajib ku saaran waxaadna soo celisay ammaanadii aad u haysay qaranka Soomaaliyeed.

keynanhassan@yahoo.com

Tyranny Is Ethiopian: A Poem

 

Tyranny is Ethiopian

A perennial anomie

Deeply embedded

In the architecture

And political culture

Of the prison house of nations.

 

Tyranny is Ethiopian.

Every aspiring despot

Inherits a predatory throne

Undergirded by fraud, violence, bigotry

Predation and blood-drenched narratives

To author and unleash

His own signature terror regime.

 

Mad Mengistu

had his multi-purpose Red Terror campaign

Coupled with endless bloody wars.

 

Mercurial Meles

Crafted his own Crimson Terror regime

Complete with brand new implements

And terminology of Terror

And savagely unleashed it

Across the vast plains of the Ogaden.

Who can forget

The notorious Jail Ogaden?

With its macabre methods

Of torture, mass humiliation, and mass slaughter.

 

Delusional Abiy

Lashes out at Oromia

With his murderous Rose Terror

Modeled on the mayhem in the Ogaden.

Majestic landscapes

Blossom in gore and despair.

 

Tyranny is Ethiopian.

A lethal affliction

Blessed with a mighty rage

That consumes

The tyrant and all the people

Of his accursed dominion.

 
© 2020 Hassan Keynan

Urgent Priorities for Somalia’s New Prime Minister

Mohamed Roble, Newly appointed Prime Minister

The Prime Minister appointed by Somalia’s President yesterday needs and deserves the prayers and goodwill of all Somalis as well as Somalia’s true allies and friends. The circumstances and timing that define and inform his appointment are far from being ideal or opportune.

The country is deeply divided and unstable. The Provisional Constitution (PC) is in disarray and highly contested. The state and its federal institutions are fragile and extremely vulnerable to infiltration, destabilization, and even takeover by internal usurpers and/or external predators. Politics is toxic and in the throes of a cutthroat zero-sum game. Corruption is endemic and rife.  The government – executive, legislative, and judiciary – is under the stewardship of leaders unfettered by law, morals, patriotic duty, tradition, or decency. And the country is afflicted with a corrosive and delirious electoral madness.

This means the Prime Minister designate, Mohamed Hussein Roble, has a small and shrinking political space, a multiplicity of challenges that are formidable, complex and diverse, limited opportunities, scant enabling factors, and, most importantly, very little time. Mr. Roble, therefore, is saddled with enormous obstacles, the biggest and most lethal of which is his own boss.

What, then, could Mr. Roble do in the face of these crushing political, security, governance, electoral, and temporal constraints? In reality not much within the limited time and space available. He could, nevertheless, contribute to efforts aimed at pulling the country back from the abyss. The following are some of the key and most urgent actions he could consider to stabilize the country and prepare the nation for elections as per the agreement concluded between the Federal Government and Federal Member States (FMS) and within the framework of the PC:

Unilateral and illegal term extension: Holding elections every four years is arguably the single most stabilizing factor in Somali politics. Tampering with this constitutional requirement is reckless and dangerous. The new Prime Minister should stay clear of any attempt to even consider a unilateral and unconstitutional term extension. Such attempt is very likely to plunge the country into levels of conflict and chaos that could wipe out all the small incremental gains made during the past two decades.

Limit the dominance and excessive power of diaspora Somalis with dual citizenship in the government: There is not any country in Africa or elsewhere where so much power is concentrated in so few individuals with dual citizenship. The numbers are staggering. Access to the reins of power is quick, easy and unfettered for diaspora Somalis with dual citizenship. They hardly go through appropriate background checks. This has become a source of frustration and resentment among non-diaspora Somalis, who feel exploited and marginalized in their own country. The new PM should make every effort to ensure that Somalis who have only Somalia and Somali passport have fair representation and equitable share in the government.

Restore a measure of sanity in the FGS-FMS relationship: Implementing or even clearly understanding federalism has been immensely difficult across the country. The reasons for this unfortunate state of affairs are many, complex, and immensely diverse. However, during the tenure of President Farmaajo a new, lethal complication has been injected into the embryonic and fragile federal political edifice, especially in relation to Jubbaland and Puntland. Federal powers and resources have been deployed to politically destabilize and economically strangle these FMS for personal and partisan gains. These unfortunate and deeply divisive actions have caused a great deal of damage to the unity and cohesion of the nation. Mr. Roble needs to first prevent further and deeper erosion, followed by a series of confidence building measures to restore a sense of trust in the relationship.

End the reckless politicization of education: Politicizing and recklessly gambling with the education and future of young Somalis is unacceptable and unforgivable. It is very clear that the federal education portfolio is being used and deployed as a blunt political instrument to achieve political objectives. It is shameful to hold secondary school graduates and their parents from the Federal State of Puntland hostage for reasons that have no basis in constitution, law, precedent, or even common sense. The new Prime Minister should put an end to this madness. There is isn’t any profit or meaningful gain from this insane undertaking for anyone except weak and insecure men with power in the service of big and fragile egos.

Curb the runaway state and regulatory capture: There is credible evidence of a well-organized and sophisticated state and regulatory capture scheme involving powerful local groups and influential external actors with vested strategic interests in the country. Aspects of these have been evident in the weeks following the ouster of the previous Prime Minister, Hassan Khaire. Mr. Roble should examine these ominous developments, specially the decisions and promulgations that were approved or implemented between 25 July and 16 September 2020.

These propositions could be a tall order for the new Prime Minister. He may find them difficult to achieve given the limited time at his disposal. More importantly, his boss would most probably try to steer him in a completely different direction, one more in line with the electoral ambitions and partisan calculations of President Farmaajo and Company. Whichever situation he finds himself in, Mr. Roble has a duty to look after the broader interests of the nation.

If for whatever reason the new Prime Minister finds it impossible to defend the Constitution and loyally serve the nation, he must do no more harm.


Hassan Keynan is a former Professor and a senior retired UN official who worked in Africa, Asia and Europe

Ethiopia: Is the Empire Collapsing?

 By Hassan Keynan

9 September 2020 marks a critical milestone in modern Ethiopian politics. For months Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has used and manipulated both chambers of the Parliament, the judiciary, and the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to warn Tigray against going ahead with its planned elections. Addis Ababa insisted that any elections held in Tigray would be illegal and unconstitutional, and therefore null and void. The Federal Government even made it clear that it would not hesitate to blockade Tigray and impose severe punitive measures on it.  

However, on the morning of 9 September 2020 Tigray finally called PM Abiy Ahmed’s bluff, keeping the promise to hold elections in defiance of the threats and ultimatums emanating from the executive and legislative branches of Federal Government. Reports from Tigray indicate the polls for the 190-seat regional parliament were held in an environment that was peaceful, orderly, and relatively COVID-19-safe. Close to 90 percent of the nearly 3 million registered voters cast their ballots in 2600 polling stations. Unable to stop the elections in Tigray, PM Abiy Ahmed’s administration resorted to desperate measures aimed at preventing journalists and observers from traveling to Tigray for the purpose of reporting on the elections or monitoring them. The final results are expected on 13 September at the latest.

Tigray’s well-organized and successful elections mean a great deal more than a mere electoral event. At the heart of the matter is a constitutional crisis that engulfed the country when the incumbent administration indefinitely postponed the federal elections scheduled in August this year, citing reasons related to COVID-19. The unilateral fashion and the speed with which the Prime Minister and his Prosperity Party (PP) framed and managed the case for postponing elections raised legitimate concerns that the tyrannical instincts and the authoritarian demons that have convulsed the Ethiopian state since its inception might be rearing their ugly heads. What particularly irked most people and alienated many was Abiy Ahmed’s creepy flirtation with openly and unashamedly anti-federalist forces hell-bent on rolling back and ultimately getting rid of the ideas, principles, and institutions of federalism that inform and underpin the current constitution. There was widespread fear that Prime Minister Ahmed and his Prosperity Party (PP) were using and exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to stay in power beyond their constitutionally mandated five-year term limit.  

Although this was a corrosive anxiety that has swept across the country, not all the constituent regions and autonomous city administrations of the federation were able or willing to openly confront the PP juggernaut led by its mercurial Nobel Peace Laureate. The bulk of the burden appears to have fallen, not unexpectedly, on the shoulders of the two core regions of the Ethiopia. 

Oromia on fire

When he saw that the opposition to PP’s unconstitutional grab for power was gaining strength and momentum, the Prime Minister decided to wage a war on the most formidable opponents in Oromia, the undisputed heavy weight in the country in terms of territory, demography, politics, and economy.  He struck first and hardest those closest to him. Following the assassination of Haacaalu Hundeessaa, a popular Oromo artist, activist, and icon, by unknown assailants in Addis Ababa on 29 June 2020, the Prime Minister rounded up all senior Oromo opposition politicians, threw them in jail, or put them under house arrest. Leaders and supporters of the two leading opposition parties, Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), have been particularly targeted. These included Jawar Mohamed who is credited to have spearheaded the popular uprising that toppled the previous regime and brought Abiy Ahmed to power, and Lemma Megersa, former President of Oromia and former defense minister. Abiy Ahmed followed up on this with a savage counter insurgency campaign across large swathes of Oromia in an effort to wipe out all signs of opposition to his rule in Oromia. This campaign of terror was conducted in a shroud of secrecy coupled with a complete shutdown of the internet and private media outlets. Abiy’s Rose Terror in Oromia was modelled on the Crimson Terror that was experimented and perfected in the Ogaden, particularly during the ten years between 2007 and 2017.  Although Abiy Ahmed’s administration has set Oromia on fire, the reckless and indiscriminate violence has so far failed to root out opposition in Oromia. In fact, it appears to have backfired as the youth-led popular uprising and economic boycott campaigns continue unabated across much of Oromia, with far-reaching consequences for the political and economic stability of the country.

Tigray on the path to separation

However, it is in Tigray that Abiy Ahmed has found his strongest, most determined, and most vocal opposition. There are many reasons for this. First, Tigray is the birth place and most enduring stronghold of the historical Abyssinian state, the entity that had informed the creation and evolutionary trajectory of modern Ethiopia. Second, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had spearheaded the armed rebellion that toppled the military junta led by Mengistu Hailemariam in 1991 and dominated politics in Ethiopia the following 27 years. Third, Abiy Ahmed has joined forces with Tigray’s historical political rival and arch foe, the Amhara, to discredit the achievements and legacy of the TPLF-dominated EPRDF government, including the formulation and adoption of the current Constitution and ethnic-based federalism. Fourth, Tigray has the capability and the motivation to directly and effectively challenge Addis Ababa on multiple fronts, including a military option should it come to that. Tigray’s geographical location and the wealth of experiences and assets it has accumulated over the past 27 years constitute additional advantages that are not available to other region. Abiy Ahmed’s reluctance to use military and other extreme punitive measures to stop Tigray from holding elections has little to do with enlightened leadership, devotion to lofty ideals, or profound belief in God or country on the part of the Prime Minister. It has a lot to do with a deep concern, even fear, about the outcome of any form of hostile intervention in Tigray. Fear of a protracted and costly conflict with Tigray and fear resulting from the humiliation of losing power weighs heavily on the mind of the Prime Minister.

The Center can no longer hold

With Oromia on fire and Tigray almost divorced from the center and on the path to separation, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed faces a situation that no any other Ethiopia leader had faced. Will the political fiction imagined by Menelik 129 years ago remain united and stable? Can Ethiopia continue to exist without its foundational and ancestral dominion and its demographic and economic stronghold in constant turmoil? These are the questions that torment the self-anointed 7th King of Ethiopia. 

The 2019 Nobel Peace Laureate sits alone, isolated, and unhinged in the Imperial Place in Addis Ababa built by and named after his role model, Menelik, which he renovated at a cost of $170 million with the help of Indian experts flown from Gujrat and Punjab. Consumed by the anxiety and fear of presiding over the end of the of the Ethiopian empire, Abiy Ahmed spends his days routinely thumping the panic button. And the dominion over which he rules remains a dominion with no center nor savior.

Hassan Keynan is a former Professor and a senior retired UN official who worked in Africa, Asia and Europe