by Jama Mohamed Ghalib
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
According to BBC News today, Wednesday 11 July 2007, an international delegation led by the European representative for Somalia visited Mogadishu. Under pressure from the United States, the international community seems poised to support the holding of a so-called reconciliation conference by the Ethiopian foisted and dictated TFG entity in Somalia. The delegation included representative(s) of the United Nations who were reported carrying handbag (s) containing cash in US$ not only for financing that bogus conference, but also possibly to bribe people for their participation.
The delegation also included representatives of member countries of the so-called Somalia Contact Group (CG) that have notoriety for becoming rubber stamp for the US Bush administration. And furthermore, these included those like Italy and Norway who had previously contributed to miss-spent finances for similar Ethiopian manipulated Somali meetings. These included the one-sided Sodere meeting not only organized but unilaterally sponsored by the Ethiopian government during November 1996 – January 1997 with no fruitful results. And the intended bogus conference will be met with a similar fate.
It now seems that the bogus conference may be held under the following untenable conditions:
a) in an insecure environment that is bound to preclude many Somali stakeholders;
b) under threat of Ethiopian occupation forces who at their whims arrest/detain people for extortion or ransom;
Under no circumstances can viable outcome result from such bogus conference to be held under Ethiopian occupation.
And adding insult to injury, the visit of the international delegation coincides with the siege of the Mogadishu Bakaara Market under pretext for security reasons. The Bakaara had always been the most secure area, because people pooled their security arrangements together and fended off any threat of lawlessness. Why then the siege of the Bakaara? The answer is simple! To rob the assets of the people as is customary of Ethiopian forces since the Menelik II era. These forces were never given regular budgets apart from their weapons and uniforms, have the live upon the resources of conquered or occupied peoples.
The international delegation could have done some justice if they questioned the reason for the Bakaara siege!