Mercenaries and the Enemies of Peace in Somalia

With all of the suffering being experienced by the people of Somalia—as a result of the ongoing civil war inside the east African country—one must never lose sight of the fact that the actions certain foreign institutions, inside Somali national territory, are the root causes of the conflict in Somalia. For many years, the creation of a malleable Somali government had clearly been a most desirable outcome from the perspective of the United States Department of State, and by association, the governments of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Indeed, during recent years, and especially since the creation of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, as a result of the Nairobi process in 2004, we have witnessed a marked deterioration of the quality of life for the civilian population of Somalia.

The creation of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, in 2004, has proven to an unmitigated disaster from the perspective of the civilian population of Somalia. Acts of terrible violence have almost become a daily part of life for the civilian population of Somalia, and these acts of violence are a direct reaction to the presence of the much-hated Transitional Federal Government of Somalia on Somali soil. Can we really be surprised by the fact that the civilian population of Somalia resoundingly rejects a body, in the shape of the TFG, formed in neighbouring Kenya?

The president of the TFG, the quisling Cabdullahi Yusuf Axmed, has made every effort imaginable to facilitate the annexation of all Somali national territory by the neighbouring states of Kenya and Ethiopia. Why else does he persistently call for the arrival of more foreign troops to assist him in his nefarious plans? Clearly this man does not serve in the best interests of the Somali people. And is it any wonder that an increasingly youthful army of patriotic volunteers is resisting the ideas of president Cabdullahi Yusuf Axmed so vigorously?

The bitter experiences of the Iraqi civilian population, in recent times, provide enough evidence of the brutal methods being used by foreign troops. This particularly grim evidence is reason enough to support the idea that the occupying foreign troops are to be resisted at all costs by the Somali people. Reason should be allowed to prevail here. It is painfully obvious that the Somali civilians desire peace to prevail in their homeland, but, at the same time, it is quite obvious that the Somali people cannot abide by the idea that foreign troops are currently occupying their sacred homeland. For this reason, it is entirely reasonable that a long-suffering civilian population should wish for the demise of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.

The illegal nature of president Cabdullahi Yusuf Axmed’s request for foreign troops to be deployed inside Somali national territory, and his foolish request for foreign warships to patrol Somali national waters is nothing more than an invitation for the spread of neo-colonial rule in Africa. The civilian population of Somalia is quite right to reject the racist ideals of the tyrannical Ethiopian regime in Addis-Ababa. It appears that the failed policies of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, with respect to Somali national territory, must be reversed if peace is to return to Somalia.

The Somali people must recall with horror the brutal and inhuman behaviour of the United Nations peacekeeping troops deployed in Somalia, as a part of the ridiculously named 'Operation Deliverance' mission, during the early 1990s. The scandalous conduct of Canadian soldiers in particular, when an entire army regiment, the Canadian Airborne Regiment, was eventually disbanded in disgrace as a result of the sickening sexual abuse and murder of Somali civilians under Canadian protection at the time, must never be forgotten. The death of one Somali youth, called Shidane Arone, in particular became embamatic of the human rights abuses perpetrated by the foreign troops then active in Somalia. Indeed, so damaging were the revalations of the public inquiery into what became infamously known as the 'Somali Affair' in Canada that this particular inquiery was eventually cut short by the liberal Canadian government of the day. In addition to this particular example, the Somali people must never forget the behaviour of both Italian and Belgian troops in Somalia during the early 1990s. There exists evidence that Italian troops, stationed in Somalia then, engaged in the systematic raping of Somali women under Italian protection at the time. And the Belgian troops were actually photographed burning Somali civilians, under Belgian protection, on open fires like pieces of butchered meat. These horrendous events are clearly examples of the degree of contempt with which Somali civilian life is held by the various foreign troops who are called to intervene in the internal affairs of the Somali nation.

The Somali people must never underestimate the bestial nature of mercenaries and foreign troops, and every effort must be made in order to prevent the foolish president of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia from realising his disgraceful aim of hosting foreign troops on Somali soil for an indefinite period of time.