Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — When President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed mooted the idea “African solutions to African problems”, he knew little of the make-up of African Union committees such as the Peace and Security Council.
The PSC is currectly made up of 15 countries including Djibouti and Kenya, two troop-contributing countries whose forces are now in Somalia under Amisom mandate.
And for the most part, Western Countries welcomed the PSC communiqué. After all, they pay the salaries of Amisom troops and have leverage to influence decisions by AU committees.
The African solution is an oxymoron.
Who gave the PSC the privilege to attack the legislature of a member country that thinks the principle of national sovereignty still matters in unipolar word form?
The AU has not shed its ‘club of dictatorships” image.
One third of AU member states think it is fair to undermine the sovereignty of Somalia through a partisan communiqué, while at the same time touting its role as a mediator.
The PSC can be likened to a judge who declares a conflict of interest but is reluctant to recuse himself from a case.
The Somali political leaders who oppose the mandate extension should not be turning a blind eye to the gradual disempowerment of federal institutions.
They will not bank on the votes of progressive Somali MPs and Senators, who object to the patronising communiqué from the PSC.
In the communiqué, the PSC alluded to the sovereignty of Somalia, but in the same vein made a mockery of it by granting itself a privilege to condemn a parliamentary decision to extend the mandate of the Somali federal institutions.
If Somalia turns the other cheek, the AU will become a tool to bless dictatorships.
It is becoming clear that the AU, as a supranational body, is creaking under the weight of clash(es) of values.
Kenya and Djibouti — PSC members— are beneficiaries of the Somali conflict.
Djibouti midwifed the notorious 4.5 power-sharing system whereas Kenya invaded Somalia in 2011, and rebranded its role as a peacekeeper under the Amisom mandate.
Both countries have felt unease over the institutional progress made by Somali security forces on course to wean Somalia off dependency on Amisom.
Djibouti calls itself Hiil Walaal (a brother’s succour) but it is in the grip of sibling rivalry with Somalia given how it has lent its weight to a communiqué against the sovereignty of Somalia.
Somalia’s response to the PSC communiqué is reasonable and timely.
This article first appeared in the © Puntland Post, 2021 and is republished with permission