During the Cold War Somalia and Ethiopia went a war over Ogaden territory and Somali National Army defeated the largest Army of Africa at the time, Ethiopian National Defense Forces or (ENDF) that forced the former Ethiopian Derge Regime of Mengistu Haile Merriam to seek assistance from the Soviet Union and Cuban troops including South Yemen, but unfortunately when the warlords toppled the former Somalia dictator, Mohammed Siad Barre regime they did not come up in an advance a plan with them to form a government and control the entire country and that led a naked foreign interference from Somalia’s big, bad neighbor of Ethiopia, which has been meddling in Somalia’s domestic affairs over the last two decades to create chaos. And Somali people that was known for pride and victory loving had been failed by their politicians who are bowing down in front of their former arch-enemy of
Ethiopia which is more divided than ever before is controlling Somalia politics directly and indirectly at will. Somali Federal government sent its former minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunication, Abdullahi Elmoge Hersi, to participate in Ethiopia’s Nations, Nationalities and People day. That time, as the international protocols dictate, his presence as a foreign dignitary has to be mentioned by the Ethiopian media, but he gained neither attention nor respect from Ethiopian government that behaved as if he was a delegation from one of the Ethiopian Kilil. The same were the Somaliland and Puntland delegation. The best presentation of them was made by the well known Somali cartoonist Mr. Amin Amir who depicted them as new members of the so-called Ethiopian National Kilils.
The scenario is the same of what happened for the Somali Defense Minister Gen. Mohammed Sheikh Hassan that hails from Mirifle tribe who were openly expressing their opposition towards the Jubbe Administration. The Defense Minister had signed a treaty with the Ethiopian government that indicates the Ethiopian Security agents can freely operate inside Somalia and can kill or abduct any person that is suspected of being an ONLF-Sympathizer. Nobody could say now at what capacity did he signed that treaty, which made people of Somalis upset, as is indicated by the many Somali Websites. Moreover the minister signed the treaty with the absence of the Somalia flag while Ethiopian flags were every corner of the Somali defense minister. This is a deliberate political gesture of the Ethiopians. If this action is connected with what happened to the Somali Minister of Information and the other P/S/Land delegations, the picture Ethiopia wants to show the outside World is clear. There is no Somali Sovereign State in East Africa. That is the true message of Ethiopia. But the Somalis did not understand. What kind of diplomacy do you call this?
Since ONLF is limited beyond its borders, what is behind this decision is understandably clear. Both Ethiopia and Somali Federal government want to play the card of ONLF in order to fight against Ahmed Madobes administration and the Ogadeni tribes in Jubaland.
