Editorial (Halbeeg News) – Following the fall of Somalia’s central government three decades ago, the Horn of Africa nation now is likely to have the hope to rise from the ashes.
Prior to the collapse of the government, Somalia had a formidable army which was among the strongest ones in the continent.
But the anarchy and the lawlessness of the country had disintegrated the nation’s army, leading to violation of sovereignty of the country by its close neighbors whose forces cross over the border into anywhere of the country at a will.
Despite this, with the help of our partners, the country now tries bounce back on its feet and revive different governmental departments. Though they are weak but the nation has functioning governmental departments.
Despite disappointment by many Somalis, still the country in cooperation with international partners including Turkey, is struggling to rebuild the army.
The government tries to systematize different militias into one coherent national forces. Turkish government had come for the help of Somali people following 2011 severe drought which hit the Horn of Africa nation. Turkey also played very important role in improving the country’s infrastructure.
In 2017, the Turkish built military academy in Mogadishu, which is Turkey’s largest military base overseas opened its doors.
It marked a major milestone in Somalia’s bid to rebuild its military. The plan was to train 1,500 Somali soldiers at a time. Since then, the framework of the training process took fresh shape. Turkish government announced its commitment to train air and navy forces for Somalia.
Turkey’s neutrality and criticism by opposition
Though the public could see outcome of the Turkish efforts to rebuild the nation, yet there are opposition individuals who see Turkey as imminent threat to their interests.
It is likely that these individuals misunderstood the support of Turkish government and have misconception that Turks empower the office holders by training country’s national forces, thinking the forces is meant to defend specific groups.
Despite being commanded by the president at the time, the forces are national asset.
For instance, recent weeks, some individuals have been politicizing the operations by Somali national forces to stabilize some parts of the country.
They reached extent where some of them called on Turkey government to cease training of the Somali forces.
The opposition individuals were arguing that the army is being used for personal rather than national purpose.
But what the opposition should know is that Turks only train the forces for the country and their management falls on the shoulder of Somali leaders.
Recently, the opposition parties have held their first meeting in Turkey where they discussed their way forward, so this proves that Turkey avoids supporting any party of Somalia’s stakeholders.
Repairing National Forces’ small errors
First and foremost, it is shame to see a politician who hopes to lead the nation one day, oppose the rebuilding of country’s forces. This underscores that there is still intolerance and is one of the factors which influenced the collapse of the country’s central government three decades ago
Thought many believe that the authoritarianism of then rulers of government was cause of the upriser and opposition to fall the government but all in all, those who forced Mohamed Siyad Barre to flee had destroyed all the government systems because they failed to differentiate between the office holders and governance thus vandalised everything.
So, the excuses by the opposition individuals seems to have same traits with that of the rebellions who toppled the government in 1990s.
Therefore, there is no way to blame the forces because they do not involve in politics but are commanded by any individual who takes over the presidency.
However, it is obvious that there might be some unhappy incidents caused by the forces whether they were directed or not. So, to address any complaint, current leaders should be discussed and asked explanation. The current leaders should be kept accountable but not to be obstacles to bar the rebuilding of the armed forces.
Therefore, this shades light on the need to carry out public education on governance so that the country should not plunge into civil war once again.
National Forces and politics
The forces are crucial elements to defend the nationhood and sovereignty of the country therefore it is important that all political stakeholders to respect the army. Likewise, armed forces should remain neutral and not support political side.
But the opposition individuals should know the president is always the commander-in-chief of the armed forces until his or her tenure lapses. There are also some ministries including defense and security ministries which cooperate with the armed forces.
Therefore, should the opposition parties feel that the armed forces misused then they should put the blame on the current leaders and call for rectification of the said issues.
It is also recommendable that the forces to politics and be vigilant against being absorbed into the politics.
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