How Turkey is responsible for the instability in Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Republic of Turkey has been drawn into Somalia’s domestic politics, with opposition leader Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame now claiming that Ankara is directly responsible for the issues plaguing the Horn of Africa nation.
Turkey is a major development, financial and security partner for Somalia, a relationship that has lasted for nearly a decade, even as the country struggles to counter violent extremism, among other challenges. Some of the projects Turkey is involved in include improving roads and hospitals in Somalia.
But it is the training of Haramcad police and GorGor troops that has often sparked dissension in the country, with the opposition accusing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo of “abusing” soldiers for political ends. They are accused of targeting opposition leaders in the crackdown.
In Mogadishu, Turkey has one of the largest overseas military training schools, which targets the recruitment and training of Gor Gor special forces. But Abdishakur believes Turkey is taking the opportunity to train and provide weapons that are being misused.
Turkey must responsibly help Somalia. It is not acceptable to train and supply weapons to soldiers who contribute to the insecurity and repression of the opposition, ”he told Axadlein a conversation on Twitter Space, titled “Democratization and State Building”.
Ankara invested heavily in Somalia in a move that saw equal competition from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates [UAE]. Even in recent weeks, Turkish convoys have often been the target of Al-Shabaab, which seeks to overthrow Somalia’s fragile UN-backed administration.
While acknowledging that Somalia’s problems are enormous, Abdirahman Abdishakur however criticized incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo for focusing on “non-issues” in order to protect his hold on power, even in the short term.
“Either way, no president can solve Somalia’s problems in four years, but he can work to improve it,” he said, adding that: “Farmaajo wasted time crushing his critics and federal states in Somalia, and that’s what kept him busy in the war against Al-Shabaab. “
For a long time, Farmajo has been accused of using the security forces for his personal gain. Ironically, in most of his speeches, the president has often called on the security forces to meet their constitutional obligations to protect the nation and its interests.
Turkey-trained Gor Gor commandos and Haramcad police are often drawn into the country’s internal politics, such as the operation in Gedo and the raid on the residences of opposition leaders in Mogadishu. Recently, fallout in the military nearly plunged the country into civil war after Farmajo’s attempts to extend his tenure.
But Abdishakur suggests that “the power to appoint and replace heads of security agencies in Somalia should not rest with the president.” All over the world, security is a function of national government.
“The goodness and strangeness of the armed forces is not measured by the weapons and uniforms they wear, but by their independence from politics. Outgoing leaders have used the Somali National Army – SNA for political ends in Somalia, ”he added.
Good governance in Somalia
The opposition leader also took the time to dig holes in the current administration whose term expired in February, arguing that it failed to live up to expectations, including, but not limited to, the development of the Horn of Africa nation.
“The government is bigger than the person in power, it took us four years to get this across, we have to start the correction all over again,” said the leader of the opposition, who is among the main presidential candidates. .
“We may disagree on domestic policy, but we must be united in foreign policy and war against an enemy,” he added, referring to Farmajo’s controversial foreign policy, which has often seen the Somalia fall out with Kenya, among other countries.
The opposition leader argued that “we must uphold accountability in Somalia and we must hold accountable those who have been or are in power” as he questioned the government’s commitment to uphold some of the promises made over four years ago.
“The Somali people should not illegally pay taxes to the obsolete government in power,” he said. “Agree on a security policy on the basis of building an effective army, otherwise there will be no solution to the long-standing order.”
Mr. Abdishakur led an attack on incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, whom he accuses of practicing dictatorship in most of his business. He is also a member of the Union of Presidential Candidates in Somalia.
AXADLETM
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