By The Star Staff Writer
MOGADISHU – In a move that is certain to heighten the raging political tension in Somalia, parliamentary speaker on Saturday called for the “immediate” release of former Islamist leader Mukhtar Robow, whose arrest touched off three days of deadly protests in the southwestern city of Baidoa that so far killed at least 12 people, including a 10-year-old boy and a woman.
Ethiopian forces under the African Union Mission in Somalia arrested Robow on Thursday in an apparent bid to scuttle the former Islamist’s candidacy for the position of southwest’s chief administrator whose election is scheduled for next week.
“The imprisoned candidate must be released immediately and allowed to return to the county from where he was arrested to be a part of the candidates vying to hold the southwestern’s presidential position,” said Speaker Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman in a press conference in the nation’s capital, Mogadishu.
Abdirahman said “the government’s power can’t ever be used to violate dignity and human rights,” adding that it was “unfortunate” that Robow’s arrest caused death and destruction in Baidoa, the southwestern region’s main city.
Deadly protests that erupted on Thursday continued for a third day Saturday and spread to neighboring towns, with a medical officer at the main hospital in Baidoa telling The Somalia Star that 12 people died during the three-day clashes pitting supporters of Robow against Ethiopian and Somali security forces. The dead are: Three Ethiopian soldiers, two Somali soldiers, a local official and six Somali civilians, including a 10-year-old boy and a woman, said the officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. More than a dozen people were also wounded, he said.
Tensions have eased Saturday night, but there are fears that violent riots may erupt again on Sunday.
Although Ethiopian forces under the African Union Mission carried out the arrest, it was evident that the move was sanctioned by Somalia’s Mogadishu-based national government, which is trying to help an ally, Abdulaziz Lafta-Gareen, win the position of southwestern region’s top seat.
The AU peacekeeping mission, popularly known as AMISOM, found itself in an embarrassing position after the operation, with the continental body’s envoy to Somalia, Franscisco Madeira, denying peacekeepers’ involvement in the arrest of Robow, although eye witnesses said Robow was arrested and beaten by Ethiopian soldiers.
“Ambassador Madeira wishes to inform the public and its partners that AMISOM had no part in the arrest of Mr. Robow and his subsequent transfer to Mogadishu,” said a statement from the AU mission in Somalia on Saturday. “AMISOM will continue to recognize and respect the sovereignty of the people and the government of Somalia and reiterate its resolve to remain impartial in the implementation of its mandate in the country.”
It far from clear if the denial was a part of an AU attempt to cover up Ethiopians’ action. Or if the mission decided to throw Addis Ababa under the bus. AMISOM’s statement technically means that the Ethiopian soldiers who arrested Robow did so of their own volition and their country should take responsibility for their action’s consequences.
A group of Somali lawmakers calling itself National Salvation Caucus, or NSC, has asked Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Somalia Jemaludin Mustafa Omar to clarify Ethiopia’s role in the arrest of Robow.
“It’s surprising that Madeira’s statement implies that Ethiopians were acting on orders outside the AMISOM command or alternatively there are Ethiopian forces in Baidoa who are not part of the AMISOM peacekeepers in Somalia,” said the statement signed by the group’s Spokesman Abdifatah Ismael Tahir and copied to Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Isse Awad, the U.N. envoy to Somalia Nicholas Haysom, the U.S. Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu, the UK’s Ambassador David Concar and the AU envoy to Somalia Francisco Madeira.
Speaker Abdirahman’s remarks is certain to further enrage President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmajo” who was already smarting from the man’s decision to sign off on an impeachment motion against him.
The relationship between the two leaders has since worsened, with the speaker moving out of his office in the presidential palace complex and putting up at a hotel in the capital.
“You know that in my previous residence, it was impossible for lawmakers to cross over to me,” he said, without explicitly mentioning the government forces that stopped visors trying to reach his office at the main gate.
The speaker urged the government to allow lawmakers to move around freely and lift the checkpoints it erected on the roads leading to his new office, “so as we seek the solution of what’s solvable.”
“I didn’t take up residence in here to cause uproar and disturbance. I want the interim constitution to be observed,” he said. “It is good for Somalia to restore (the respect of) the law. We shouldn’t continue the chaos.”
The speaker stressed the need to respect the constitution, saying the impeachment motion is “legal,” and that everyone should abide by the law.
He said it was unconstitutional to arrest any Somali citizen illegally.
“Mukhtar Robow was arrested in violation of the law, as he was arrested without a court order,” he said reading from a prepared statement.
Before his arrest, Robow was a favorite to become the southwestern region’s chief administrator, a powerful office whose holder can be a headache for the national government if he decides not to play along with its policies.
The government accused Robow, who defected from the militant group of al Shabab in 2017, of bringing weapons and fighters into Baidoa city and of mobilizing an army with the objective of creating disorder in the country, particularly in Baidoa.
Robow was in government’s good books since his defection, but his decision to run for the critical regional post and his popularity among his people seem to have startled the national government, which is said to be angling for the dissolution of a faulty federal system it sees as a threat to the Horn of Africa nation’s unity.
The speaker urged the government to allow inhabitants of the southwestern region to elect their own leaders without any interference.
“Mukhtar Robow is a Somali citizen who fulfilled the conditions required of him as a candidate, as stated by the electoral commission of southwest(ern region) that presented him a certificate stating that he can vie for the southwestern election,” he said.
Abdirahman’s statement is likely to add to the international pressure on President Farmajo to release Robow, who is being held in the capital.
Late Friday, 15 countries and three international bodies, including the United Nations, the United States, the UK, the European Union and the African Union Mission in Somalia, said they were “concerned about the recent events in South West State.”
They urged “all parties to respect the integrity of the electoral process,” underscoring the need to support the agreed upon framework for the region’s Dec. 19 election.
“We encourage constructive dialogue to resolve political differences and address other challenges in order to advance the political and economic progress of the country,” said the statement.
Speaker Abdirahman called for the region’s acting chief administrator to calm things down and work toward restoring law and order in the territory.
He also called for the postponement of the Dec. 19 election until the area “gets a calm environment that is suitable for the holding of a free and fair election.”
Terming the former Islamist’s arrest as “kidnapping” and demanding his release, senators from Robow’s county on Thursday called on all stakeholders in “SW to consider postponing the elections until there is a stable atmosphere that can be held free and fair elections.”