EDITORIAL: ( HALBEEG NEWS) – The main task needed to be done by the politicians is to hold nationwide reconciliation and lead the public towards peace and good governance. But some politicians seem to involve in creating animosity among society while still promote Clannism which is known to be one of the factors that have been triggered the civil war.
Countries whose people engaged in clan clashes took cautious steps to refrain from words that could re-ignite civil war.
For instance, Rwanda which witnessed ethnic cleansing and civil war has learned from its past and banned talking about ethnicity as it also approved act criminalizing negative tribalism.
Though some people criticized the move, Rwanda took the decision to keep away from tribalism and the country stopped carrying out charges related to the past genocide. Despite different opinions related to the move, yet it is a strong exemplary decision to avoid the use of tribalism in the wrong way.
Rwandans are proud of their nationality than their tribes and even by asking one of them who he is, the obviously answer you would get is a Rwandan.
Somalia, a country which was ravaged by civil war still seems to be on the brink of a war ignited by clannism as there are still no measures to limit the use of tribalism and ways to deal with politicians and other individuals working on incitement.
Incitement
This past week, alterations by South West State politicians and their Galmudug counterparts went viral on social media. The argument of politicians shows that some of the politicians are not yet matured for brokering peace and good governance.
Many people in the Galmudug State of Somalia were angered by remarks by Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed aka Laftagareen, South-West State leader during a speech at his 1st anniversary in office. Some politicians from Galmudug including Mahad Salad has responded in a way that also annoyed residents in South West State but apart from the reactions from both sides, the remarks had also irritated many other Somalis.
During his speech, South West State leader had linked opposition politicians from Galmudug to murders who killed locals hailing Southwest state in Galmudug this year, saying the same individuals who killed people from South West in Galmudug are ones accusing his administration of carrying out the massacre.
On the other hand, while responding to Abdiaziz, Mahad Salad had linked the clan of South West State leader to al-Shabaab. The remarks of both politicians soared the relations between the two states through other politicians called on the sides to ease the situations and respect for the brotherhood.
It is notable that the words exchanged by these politicians forced the residents from both states to clash on social media.
During their good times, Somalis live in peace and harmony, but during tensions, they engage in animosity. Therefore, Somali people need to see and be cautious about the politicians using clan as a tool to secure political agenda even though they initially came into power through clan power-sharing.
For instance, the two politicians were each pretending to be defenders of their people but the fact is, their words rub salt into wounds.
People in South West State should not be labelled as al-Shabaab because we know al-Shabaab fighters comprise of all clans and it is also notable the group’s fighters harm all Somali people indiscriminately. Therefore, it is obvious that people in South West State would react if they are associated with al-Shabaab.
Mr. Mahad was claiming to have been touched by the problems of people in Mogadishu, but he forgot that even people hailing from South West State are living in the city and face al-Shabaab violence same as other residents.
On the other hand, the remarks by South West leader associating the public in Galmudug with murder was wrong as the crime was committed by individuals. When the incident happened, people in Galmudug condemned and expressed their sadness about the attack. Finally, clans in Galmudug and South West managed to resolve the problems and reached agreement over the incident.
Need to get active to deal with warmongers
Somalis had been engaging in a war which transformed into different phases, but finally, people got rid of warmongers and the warlords.
When it comes to warmongers, most Somalis think of warlords leading to armed militias who attacked and harmed others who oppose them either politically or ideologically but it is notable that warmongers incite others to engage in war.
Therefore, undigested comments by the politicians could easily ignite into a full-blown war.
Recently, former president of Somalia, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the leader of Iley’s party, Abdikadir Osoble voiced sentiment which could lead people in Mogadishu to engage in clashes.
The criticism only comes from society, but the country is yet to get a punishable act to deal with people inciting violence and tribalism.
Therefore, to preserve the fragile instability restored in the country and refrain from civil war, the Horn of Africa nation should get regulations against incitement.
Getting a solution for racism and stigmatization
Apart from clannism comments, there are other discriminatory issues based on heredity against certain tribes, which need to be eradicated. Despite the public condemnation, racial discrimination has not yet been resolved.
The modern society has taken measures to correct the morale and behaviors of the generation while implementing methods to punish those who use racial discrimination within society.
For instance, the remarks by Abdi Dhanto, a musician early this month in which he termed a female minister as inferior led to public outcry. This incident is one of the cases that show the need for public awareness to annihilate discrimination.
To discriminate somebody based on his/her clan or their background is racism and crime against humanity but this seems to be common in Somalia.
There are more cases related to discrimination that is scaling up and there is a need to be addressed with immediate effect.
For instance, there are certain groups facing marriage and civil partnership discrimination.
Sometimes, these groups may face life threats after they try to have a relationship with other major clans.
For instance, in early 2018, a boy from marginalized clans eloped a girl from the so-called ‘noble clans’ but subsequently the relative bride burnt the paternal uncle of the bridegroom to death and forced the couple to take sanctuary in areas away from their home.
Finally, the lawmakers who were supposed to make laws on fighting against discrimination, seem to have failed to realize their tasks, but it is recommendable the lawmakers to review the situation and table bill to fight against discrimination.
It is necessary for Somalis to debate on clannism, nationalism, and governance to get solutions for these challenges, so as to limit demerits of tribalism.
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