United Arab Emirates (UAE) is leading Arab League member in supporting and aiding the self-styled regime in Mogadishu, Somalia. UAE provides humanitarian aid, security training, and educational training in addition to health facilities.
UAE is the only Arab nation that built and runs hospitals, schools, military training centers in Mogadishu; UAE believed the possibility of building a nation in Mogadishu that can represent the citizens of former Somali Republic, however, the goodwill of Abu Dhabi was misused by the regime in Mogadishu.
In 2014, the former President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh signed an agreement with UAE, asking the Abu Dhabi government to provide aid and improve the security in Somalia. UAE injected a huge amount of money in Somalia to defeat Al-Shabaab terror group and to restore law and order in Somalia.
However, after current President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo came to power in 2017, he started revenge-based policy by arresting Somalis who are not in his clan line. He allied with the governments that sponsor terrorism, leading the country into another era of chaos and instability. Al-Shabab increased their attack across Somalia where the highest number of victims recorded in the history of Somalia.
The policy of Farmajo undermines the efforts of the international community in Somalia that aims at restoring hope. The Somalians welcomed the nomination of Farmajo, however, the public witnessed policy of marginalizing tribes other than his, including ousting other politicians and arrests in addition to recent political coup like changing the parliament speaker. Farmajo is planning to install henchmen to implement his tribe-based dictatorship.
The international community must reconsider sending the aid and financial support through Farmajo regime because he is using it for his personal and political gains. This could result in a fresh round of violence which could include rebirth of warlords as result of Farmajo’s tribe-based discrimination. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Somaliland expressed concerns over militia sponsored by Farmajo, who infiltrated Somaliland from its border with Somalia. The infiltration happened at a time that Farmajo was on a visit to Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
Farmajo sponsors diplomatic war against Somaliland by using the aid money; he pays to international news icons to write false articles against Somaliland; he sponsors few politicians of Somaliland origin to create violence in Somaliland including the downgrade of election results.
Farmajo knows that if Somaliland gets an international recognition, many of his close associates will be sued in ICC on crimes committed against Somalilanders during Siyad Barre regime, in which Farmajo was a member.
The Mogadishu regime requested from UAE government to cancel the Berbera Port development project with the Government of Somaliland. Abu Dhabi rejected the request, which triggered political dispute between a self-styled regime of Farmajo and the Government of UAE.
Later, Farmajo regime accused UAE of violating the sovereignty of Somalia because he is against development in Somaliland. Farmajo overlooked the support of UAE to Somalia and allied with Qatar and Turkey.
Due to the conflict created by the self-styled regime of Farmarjo, the UAE closed hospitals, military training centers, and today, thousands of Somalians are without medical care and schools as result of this failed policy of Farmajo
Farmajoo’s new allies, State of Qatar, promised to fill up the vacuum created by the departure of UAE.
As part of the illegal diplomatic campaign against Somaliland and UAE, Farmajo submitted complain to both UN and Arab League, in a desperate attempt to block Berbera Development Project. Both Arab League and UN turned down the complaint request without action.
Farmajo is claiming ownership of Somaliland on the bases of an illegal union between Somaliland and Somalia in 1st July 1960, which was not documented. Somaliland withdrew from such union in 1991, but Somalia is not accepting such withdrawal because Somalia cannot survive without Somaliland.
By\ Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
Email: az.almutairi@yahoo.com
