Hassan Muallem Mahmoud: We use our own resources to develop and enhance our security capabilities, and this requires a good defense (Anatolia)
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs of the Republic of Somalia, Hassan Moalim Mahmoud, said that the defense agreement with Turkey does not constitute a violation of anyone’s rights, but rather relates to the fields of defense security, developing our resources in order to achieve development and prosperity for our people, and building maritime capabilities to protect the country’s lands and residents.
Moallem Mahmoud added - in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net - that “we cannot fold our arms when we see aggression, and we saw that, and it was extremely foolish, and Somalia as a nation is now recovering from a long and complex conflict, and has liberated many areas from Al-Shabaab.”
The Somali Minister of Justice referred to the memorandum of understanding that the Ethiopian government signed with the separatist region of Somaliland, and described it as “a provocative step, a clear violation of international treaties and agreements, and a clear violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.”
Last Wednesday, the Somali government and parliament agreed to a defense agreement with Turkey against the backdrop of regional tensions with Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region and the recent events in Bab al-Mandab.
In this detailed dialogue, the Somali Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs provides an overview of the reasons for the agreement, its duration, the most important provisions it included, why Somalia signed this agreement with Turkey specifically, and other features of the political and legislative scene in his country.
Hassan Maalim Mahmoud was born in the 1970s in the capital, Mogadishu. He was a member of the political leadership of the Somali resistance, and began his political career as Minister of Presidential Affairs in the government of President Sheikh Sharif.
He founded the "Talghar" (Protectors of the Homeland) party and assumed its leadership, then allied with the "Peace and Development" Party led by President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud and together they formed an alliance that won rule of the country in the 2022 elections. He currently holds the position of Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
We are grateful that Turkey has responded in this way, and not just today, but has been doing so for the past 10 years
why now?
There is a principle that says that peace cannot be divided, and “it never occurred to us that this regional leader called Musa Bihi and the very reckless Ethiopian Prime Minister (Abiy Ahmed) would sign an agreement that would provide access to the sea.”
Somalia is a member of the United Nations, recognized by the international community, and what they did showed what they can do, and since then we have taken the actions that we have taken.
On the ground, Somalia was fighting the enemy from the Al-Shabaab movement, and the government was expanding its authority and liberating many regions and territories from this movement, and “at that time it was the only enemy, not only of Somalia, but of the world and the region,” and we wanted from the regional countries in the Horn of Africa - Including Ethiopia and Djibouti - to cooperate in eradicating this scourge and removing it from the face of the earth, “but unfortunately what happened is that they did the opposite, and this was a blessing or support and strengthening for the Al-Shabaab movement, because this is the only way through which they can recruit people for their benefit, which is Which means that Somalia's sovereignty has been violated.
I believe now that they will admit the terrible mistakes they made, and will refrain from doing it again, or "continue doing this kind of foolish actions."
Why Türkiye?
We were knocking on doors and they were the ones who responded first and responded to this agreement more than others, and support comes in many forms, and we received support in other ways and from different institutions, so we are grateful that Turkey responded in this way, and not only today, but it has been doing so for the past ten years. It stands to reason that when a friend or partner asks for support, you show your commitment and true will to support them.
This agreement will not be in any way a violation of anyone’s rights. We are the ones looking for support, and we are the ones calling for peace, but - at the same time - we will not fold our arms when we see aggression, and we saw that, and “it was extremely foolish.” Somalia as a nation is now recovering from a long and complex conflict, and this was the last thing they wanted to happen now, because that serves no one except the terrorists.
In the Horn of Africa we all need to catch up with the world, we need economic development, we need to bring prosperity to our people, and we have great potential if we cooperate in that, think now the leaders of the two countries that have historically and at times been at odds with each other, but now " The moment came to realize that cooperation is better than conflict, so our leadership chose the first option, which is cooperation, but unfortunately Prime Minister Abiy (Ahmed) chose the second option, which is a conflict that does not serve - as I said - the goal or interests of any party.”
I think now they will admit the huge mistakes they made, and will refrain from doing it again, or continuing to do this kind of foolish act.
What are the most important items?
The main points of this agreement between Turkey and Somalia relate to security and economy, developing Somalia's resources for development and building maritime capabilities to protect the country's territory, population and resources.
Somalia is fighting the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab, which is present in the Horn of Africa and Somalia, and since the inauguration of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, we have worked to eliminate this enemy and erase it from Somalia, which has caused the loss of many lives.
Therefore, the country could not develop, and the main priority of this government was to attack, undermine and defeat the enemy.
What happened is that Ethiopia, which has been our neighbor for many years or even centuries, decided to take a provocative step by claiming that it had signed a so-called memorandum of understanding with a regional leader named Musa Bihi, and this in itself is a violation of international treaties and agreements, and a clear violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.
Over and over again, we have stressed that we want Somalia to be at peace with itself and with the world, and the world begins with our neighbors, and we did not choose our neighbors and cannot choose them, but this was very unfortunate and provocative.
Since then, Somalia has looked for support internationally and on a large scale.
This is all in order to make sure that our seas and lands are protected, and then we use our own resources to develop and enhance our security capabilities for a long time, and all of this requires good defense in order to develop, build, and prevent the seizure of our land.
The agreement is for a period of 10 years.. Is this period appropriate?
The extent of the agreement was agreed upon by the two countries, and this is the estimate that was reached so that Somalia could develop its own capabilities. It is also subject to renewal, and at any time both parties can review it by either extending or reducing its duration, so this was the appropriate time.
Ten years is the appropriate period that reflects Somalia’s true capabilities. Somalia has the longest coastline in East Africa, and it is never easy. The enemy comes in the form of terrorists, pirates, and other external threats, all of which may endanger Somalia’s security. You cannot separate security on land from security at sea. .
Somalia is one state and one nation, and we need to protect our land from the sea, and we need to protect our land from the land, so this will take time, and every time the two parties need to, we can review the agreement and see if we can extend it or reduce it as necessary.
Is this agreement related to the events in Bab al-Mandab?
Yes, the crisis in Bab al-Mandab is very serious because it is a corridor for the global economy, and it is unfortunate that the conflict has now flared up and this fire may affect neighboring countries and the global economy, and this is very unfortunate for Somalia.
What we do is that we take the necessary precautions when we sign these agreements, and the goal is to prevent any repercussions that could extend to Somalia.
After the collapse of the Somali state and the security chaos and vacuum that occurred, the Al-Shabaab movement took advantage of that. Therefore, Somalia will not allow something like this to happen again. It does not want it to become a land for nomads. We do not want it to be a corridor for organized crimes. We do not want terrorist organizations to find... The international community is a refuge and a safe haven in our country, and we do not want any other elements that would destabilize and threaten our security.
We are the ones looking for support, and we are the ones calling for peace, but at the same time we will not fold our arms when we see aggression, and we have seen that.
We in Somalia are now vigilant, taking proactive steps in anticipation of what could happen before it happens, and we are now actively moving and taking the necessary measures, which are preventive measures, because we now know what can happen when things go wrong around us.
As for what is happening in Bab al-Mandab, Somalia will bear responsibility for its lands, and the special costs resulting from that, and will not leave the possibility of others interfering in its affairs, and we will take the necessary measures to not allow any third party - whether a state or a non-state - to interfere in our land.
Does the agreement include all the territories of the Somali Republic?
The agreement is between the states of Somalia and Turkey. As for Somaliland, it is a separatist region. What they did there was that they declared independence unilaterally, and no one accepted that and no one recognized them.
This means that international law is respected as in the United Nations Charter, so no one can come and say that we can sign an agreement with a region that is part of Somalia, and in the same way Somalia cannot sign an agreement with any part of Ethiopia such as Amhara or Oroma.
“It's unfortunate, and I can say it was really stupid, nothing less.”
Internally.. Is Somalia witnessing changes that parallel this agreement?
On the legislative side, we have an incomplete constitution, and we call it the interim constitution, and this has been the case since 2012, and there have been reviews of this constitution by the Somali people and the Somali authorities, and since the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, one of his election campaign promises was a pledge to finish the Somali constitution. .
So the process began by convening what we call the National Advisory Council, which consists of the federal government and its member states, and they concluded a political agreement on some controversial issues of a political nature. For the first time, the proposed constitutional amendments are discussed in our parliament, and when they are completed, we will have a Somali constitution, and this In itself it means fulfilling the promise our President made during his campaign.
After that, the Somali people will vote in a referendum to say yes or no, because the will of the people is the final word.
This is the true meaning of practicing democracy.
This means that Somalia is at peace with itself and we have a social contract.
Somalia as a nation is now recovering from a long and complex conflict, and this was the last thing they wanted to happen now, because that serves no one except the terrorists.
The memorandum of understanding with Turkey, which mainly relates to security, means that Somalia is building and continuing to build the state, and the gains we have achieved against Al-Shabaab are also an achievement towards building our state.
For the first time, Somalia has been exempted from debt, which means that it is no longer burdened with debts to other countries, and in the past short period we have achieved what we call lifting the embargo on the Somali army.
This enables our country now to stand on its feet, take responsibility for this land and the people, and wish everyone to be at peace and prosperous.
We in Somalia know what we have been through and we have learned our lessons, so we are starting from our people, from the bottom to the top, and we are united in drafting our constitution, and our people are capable of defending our lands, and we have done that many times.
But we first hope to direct all our energies towards economic growth and social development at this point in time, and I repeat again: we want peace, but we are also ready to defend our sovereignty and political independence.
Source: Al Jazeera