Abdullahi Ahmed Barise and Afyare Abdi Elmi IHT
For far too long, the international community has refused to become involved in ending the civil war in Somalia. Instead, it has ceded its role as peacemaker to an incompetent and divided regional organization, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, made up of seven East African countries. Unfortunately, the authority's members - especially Ethiopia - have proved more interested in exploiting Somalia's misery for their own purposes than in bringing about peace. It's time for the world to step in.
Negotiating sessions led by the authority have been going on in Nairobi since October, yet the process has not yet reached its final stage. The foreign ministers running the sessions have become famous for missing the deadlines they set. This month many Somali delegates to the peace talks were evicted from their hotel because the authority had not paid the bill. While the delegates were collecting their bags, dozens of people died in fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
So far, the Nairobi conference has failed to deal with the obstacles that are keeping Somalia, which hasn't had a real central government since the downfall of Muhammad Siad Barre in 1991, from re-establishing its own state: the hostile policies of Ethiopia, the Somali warlords' lack of interest in peace and the thorny issue of representation in a future government. The sooner the international community realizes this and takes a role in removing these obstacles, the sooner there will be a lasting solution.
To start with, the international community needs to put diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia, which, according to a United Nations Security Council sanctions report, has repeatedly violated a UN arms embargo by sending weapons to the Somali warlords it favors. Since the beginning of the civil war, Ethiopia has been manipulating the Somali factions in an effort to eliminate its historical enemy and get unlimited access to Somalia's ports. The result of Ethiopia's shifting loyalties - supporting one faction, then another - has been to keep Somalia in turmoil.
When Ali Mahdi Muhammad was chosen to head an interim government in 1992, for example, Ethiopia supported his main rival, General Muhammad Farah Aidid. When Aidid created his own administration in 1994, Ethiopia threw its support to Ali Mahdi and his groups. When a peace accord was signed in Cairo in 1997, Ethiopia induced two faction leaders, Abdallah Youssef and Aden Abdallah Nur, to abandon the agreement. When Somalis formed a transitional national government in 2000, Ethiopia gave military aid to a warlord group, the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Committee, that opposed the new administration.
Somalia's unscrupulous warlords are also major barriers to peace. By now, it should be clear that they have neither have the will nor the capacity to end the civil war. Many of them are under the influence of Ethiopia, and benefit financially and politically from the conflict. Further, these warlords have committed grave atrocities against civilians. The United Nations should pressure warlords who will not commit to peace, and an international criminal tribunal should be created to prosecute those guilty of war crimes.
Finally, the international community must take a clear position on the issue of how Somalis will be represented in a future Parliament. Although the Nairobi conference has endorsed in principle a clan-based formula, it has not settled the selection process. The world should encourage the adoption of this formula and support a role for traditional leaders and civil-society groups, which seems more likely to produce a workable system during a transition to an effective government. The creation of a powerful traditional leaders' upper house, like that in the breakaway region of Somaliland, would be a step in the right direction.
In short, the United Nations should fill the role of the peacemaking third party, encourage member states to pressure Ethiopia and impose sanctions on Somali warlords who do not commit to peace. The international community has to take the lead in ending Somalia's civil war.
Abdullahi Ahmed Barise is a professor of psychology at Zayed University in Dubai. Afyare Abdi Elmi is a graduate student at the University of Toronto. Civil war
For far too long, the international community has refused to become involved in ending the civil war in Somalia. Instead, it has ceded its role as peacemaker to an incompetent and divided regional organization, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, made up of seven East African countries. Unfortunately, the authority's members - especially Ethiopia - have proved more interested in exploiting Somalia's misery for their own purposes than in bringing about peace. It's time for the world to step in.
Negotiating sessions led by the authority have been going on in Nairobi since October, yet the process has not yet reached its final stage. The foreign ministers running the sessions have become famous for missing the deadlines they set. This month many Somali delegates to the peace talks were evicted from their hotel because the authority had not paid the bill. While the delegates were collecting their bags, dozens of people died in fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
So far, the Nairobi conference has failed to deal with the obstacles that are keeping Somalia, which hasn't had a real central government since the downfall of Muhammad Siad Barre in 1991, from re-establishing its own state: the hostile policies of Ethiopia, the Somali warlords' lack of interest in peace and the thorny issue of representation in a future government. The sooner the international community realizes this and takes a role in removing these obstacles, the sooner there will be a lasting solution.
To start with, the international community needs to put diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia, which, according to a United Nations Security Council sanctions report, has repeatedly violated a UN arms embargo by sending weapons to the Somali warlords it favors. Since the beginning of the civil war, Ethiopia has been manipulating the Somali factions in an effort to eliminate its historical enemy and get unlimited access to Somalia's ports. The result of Ethiopia's shifting loyalties - supporting one faction, then another - has been to keep Somalia in turmoil.
When Ali Mahdi Muhammad was chosen to head an interim government in 1992, for example, Ethiopia supported his main rival, General Muhammad Farah Aidid. When Aidid created his own administration in 1994, Ethiopia threw its support to Ali Mahdi and his groups. When a peace accord was signed in Cairo in 1997, Ethiopia induced two faction leaders, Abdallah Youssef and Aden Abdallah Nur, to abandon the agreement. When Somalis formed a transitional national government in 2000, Ethiopia gave military aid to a warlord group, the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Committee, that opposed the new administration.
Somalia's unscrupulous warlords are also major barriers to peace. By now, it should be clear that they have neither have the will nor the capacity to end the civil war. Many of them are under the influence of Ethiopia, and benefit financially and politically from the conflict. Further, these warlords have committed grave atrocities against civilians. The United Nations should pressure warlords who will not commit to peace, and an international criminal tribunal should be created to prosecute those guilty of war crimes.
Finally, the international community must take a clear position on the issue of how Somalis will be represented in a future Parliament. Although the Nairobi conference has endorsed in principle a clan-based formula, it has not settled the selection process. The world should encourage the adoption of this formula and support a role for traditional leaders and civil-society groups, which seems more likely to produce a workable system during a transition to an effective government. The creation of a powerful traditional leaders' upper house, like that in the breakaway region of Somaliland, would be a step in the right direction.
In short, the United Nations should fill the role of the peacemaking third party, encourage member states to pressure Ethiopia and impose sanctions on Somali warlords who do not commit to peace. The international community has to take the lead in ending Somalia's civil war.
Abdullahi Ahmed Barise is a professor of psychology at Zayed University in Dubai. Afyare Abdi Elmi is a graduate student at the University of Toronto. Civil war
For far too long, the international community has refused to become involved in ending the civil war in Somalia. Instead, it has ceded its role as peacemaker to an incompetent and divided regional organization, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, made up of seven East African countries. Unfortunately, the authority's members - especially Ethiopia - have proved more interested in exploiting Somalia's misery for their own purposes than in bringing about peace. It's time for the world to step in.
Negotiating sessions led by the authority have been going on in Nairobi since October, yet the process has not yet reached its final stage. The foreign ministers running the sessions have become famous for missing the deadlines they set. This month many Somali delegates to the peace talks were evicted from their hotel because the authority had not paid the bill. While the delegates were collecting their bags, dozens of people died in fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
So far, the Nairobi conference has failed to deal with the obstacles that are keeping Somalia, which hasn't had a real central government since the downfall of Muhammad Siad Barre in 1991, from re-establishing its own state: the hostile policies of Ethiopia, the Somali warlords' lack of interest in peace and the thorny issue of representation in a future government. The sooner the international community realizes this and takes a role in removing these obstacles, the sooner there will be a lasting solution.
To start with, the international community needs to put diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia, which, according to a United Nations Security Council sanctions report, has repeatedly violated a UN arms embargo by sending weapons to the Somali warlords it favors. Since the beginning of the civil war, Ethiopia has been manipulating the Somali factions in an effort to eliminate its historical enemy and get unlimited access to Somalia's ports. The result of Ethiopia's shifting loyalties - supporting one faction, then another - has been to keep Somalia in turmoil.
When Ali Mahdi Muhammad was chosen to head an interim government in 1992, for example, Ethiopia supported his main rival, General Muhammad Farah Aidid. When Aidid created his own administration in 1994, Ethiopia threw its support to Ali Mahdi and his groups. When a peace accord was signed in Cairo in 1997, Ethiopia induced two faction leaders, Abdallah Youssef and Aden Abdallah Nur, to abandon the agreement. When Somalis formed a transitional national government in 2000, Ethiopia gave military aid to a warlord group, the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Committee, that opposed the new administration.
Somalia's unscrupulous warlords are also major barriers to peace. By now, it should be clear that they have neither have the will nor the capacity to end the civil war. Many of them are under the influence of Ethiopia, and benefit financially and politically from the conflict. Further, these warlords have committed grave atrocities against civilians. The United Nations should pressure warlords who will not commit to peace, and an international criminal tribunal should be created to prosecute those guilty of war crimes.
Finally, the international community must take a clear position on the issue of how Somalis will be represented in a future Parliament. Although the Nairobi conference has endorsed in principle a clan-based formula, it has not settled the selection process. The world should encourage the adoption of this formula and support a role for traditional leaders and civil-society groups, which seems more likely to produce a workable system during a transition to an effective government. The creation of a powerful traditional leaders' upper house, like that in the breakaway region of Somaliland, would be a step in the right direction.
In short, the United Nations should fill the role of the peacemaking third party, encourage member states to pressure Ethiopia and impose sanctions on Somali warlords who do not commit to peace. The international community has to take the lead in ending Somalia's civil war.
Abdullahi Ahmed Barise is a professor of psychology at Zayed University in Dubai. Afyare Abdi Elmi is a graduate student at the University of Toronto.