COMMUNIQUÉ, Thursday, October 12, 2000
Ref. SF/EC-022-2000
Subsequent to the Djibouti appointed “parliament” and “president” (Mr. Abdulkasim Salad Hassan) for Somalia, the so‑called “president” has, through what he calls a “security committee,” under the auspices of his own clan members, embarked on recruiting his own militia. This armament and militia accumulation is ironically referred to as “demobilization.” Naturally, Mr. Hassan and his one‑man government need funds to lure militiamen away from rival warlords in Mogadishu and its environs. The reality is that Mr. Hassan has no territory to attest to his “presidency.’ His objective is, therefore, to carve his own turf in Mogadishu, which is already divided into several fiefdoms, for a “presidency” without a territory. Mr. Hassan, as the new warlord on the block, therefore, evidently needs a lot of money.
For now, Mr. Hassan’s search for funds to finance his fiefdom involves several strategies, among them:
Assets in international banks: It appears that Mr. Hassan, with the help of Ismail O. Guelleh, the president of Djibouti, is campaigning to acquire the frozen assets of the defunct Somali Democratic Republic. According to a very reliable source, Guelleh and Hassan have been scurrying to get the money freed from the international banks. The governor of the National Bank of Djibouti, Mr. Hayd, has been in touch with diplomats in Belgium and Geneva with whom he explored the feasibility of acquiring those assets by persuading the international banks to release the assets to Mr. Hassan’s “government.”
Assistance from Arab countries: Here, Mr. Hassan’s strategy is to make the rounds in the Arab capitals, especially those willing to give cash handouts, and have no one to answer to. Reportedly, Mr. Hassan has already received some seed money for the advent of his warlordship from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Already, before even having formed his “cabinet” or “government” for that matter, the Djibouti‑appointed parliament in‑exile is discussing the “president’s” behavior on several issues. He is being accused of violating the so‑called “transitional charter” (adopted by those invited to the Djibouti conference by Mr. Guelleh), by engaging in unapproved activities, including misuse of funds donated by the international community during his overseas tour (see BBC Monitoring Service, October 8, 2000). These recent accusations of misappropriation of public funds are consistent with the past record of Mr. Hassan and most of the individuals in his administration, who like him were ministers in the government of the late Somali dictator Siad Barre, and who are in many ways responsible for the Somali tragedy. To give just one example, Mr. Ali Khalif Galaydh, who was recently chosen as “prime minister” by Mr. Hassan, became widely known to have been involved in the Mareeray sugar factory scam, when he was in charge of that project in the early 1980s (see AFP October 9, 2000; see also the Republican, an independent Somaliland newspaper, Issue 127, September 2, 2000). Most of the money for the sugar project came from international sources such as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
EU and ACP (Lomé Convention) funds: Mr. Hassan’s scheme appears to request for restoration of assistance to Somalia, which would mean handing the funds to him, since there is no government to speak of in Somalia.
It is evident that Mr. Hassan is bent on using these funds to become the highest bidder for the Mogadishu gunmen-for-hire, thereby undermining any semblance of peace and equilibrium that has been achieved between the several factions of Mogadishu before his arrival on the scene. However, in the grand scheme of things, what difference would it make if one warlord from a clan displaces another from the same clan? Mogadishu has other Somali clans such as the Abgal who have yet to reconcile with the Haber Gidir. The truth is, so far, no cease-fire or conflict resolution has been concluded between the existing Mogadishu factions and if Mr. Hassan succeeds in establishing a new faction it would not bring peace and stability to the Benadir Region, but would rather sow fresh uncertainties and new violence between the southern factions.
Already, the telltale signs of fresh round of factional war are in the air. Right now, the situation in Mogadishu has worsened. Inflation has skyrocketed and trade, which was flourishing before the Djibouti Conference, has decreased while the price of arms and ammunition has gone up. Violence and communal strife have increased dramatically. Targeting humanitarian workers is in the rise, and, as a result, on September 19, the UN had to evacuate its employees in Merka, near Mogadishu. Gun battles involving artillery barrage and heavy weapons have resumed in Mogadishu with deadly results to the civilian population.
The Somaliland Forum, therefore, appeals to the international community not to overlook the damages that new funds for a new warlord can inflict on all Somalis and to be conscious of their unintentional contribution to these damages. We call upon the international donors and specifically the Arab leaders to provide humanitarian assistance through humanitarian instruments such as the Red Crescent or the IRC to the populations afflicted by the civil war.
We also call on the international banks and donors that any assets or accumulated funds belonging to the defunct Somali State must not be released to Mr. Hassan or to any future “contender” who would claim to be a successor government of a state that no longer exists. We appeal to the concerned authorities to keep frozen any funds or assets held in the name of the Somali Democratic Republic until such a time when an agreement on the partition of such funds can be reached between the government of Somaliland and a representative government of Somalia.
We urge, on the other hand, the international community and western donors to continue providing humanitarian assistance through the existing humanitarian agencies. We also urge the UN and concerned world leaders to help with genuine peacemaking negotiations that would be held within Somalia proper so the process would be free from foreign manipulation.
SOMALILAND FORUM