Mogadishu (UM) – The alleged handover of Abdikarim Sheikh Muse better known as (Qalbi-dhagax) to Ethiopia is a monumental incident in the life of the newly elected Somali Government in 2017.
Decisions of this nature have far reaching impacts for historic Somali sovereignty, functions of government, and most crucially on the trust between Somali citizens and its new Government.
It’s an issue that touches the sensitivity of all Somali speaking people across Somalia. Abdikariim Sheikh Muuse and ONLF struggle is construed in different context in Ethiopia. The essence of the ONLF struggle has historical precedents that touches the holistic sovereignty of Somalia.
The critical question is – what are they fighting for? And to what context? It’s an issue that has not been reconciled formally between Somalia and Ethiopia – and between the Somali speaking communities that reside in the Ogaden region.
The absence of effective government communication on this sensitive and substantive matters only leads to public confusion and unhelpful speculation, which adds fuel to the fire, further exacerbated and over- shadowed by complete silence from SFG that has led people to believe in conflicting sources.
With reporting of the incident by Ethiopian media only further misleads the public and at best gives credence to the allegation/ suspicions that SFG have formally handed a Somali national to the Ethiopian authorities without due legal process.
Farmaajo and his Government was elected on a patriotic (Waddaninimo) ticket, ”Danta, Dalka iyo Dadka”. This incident makes a mockery of these sentiments if public speculations are proven to be true even though incident of such kind alone, despite its magnitude and sensitivity will not necessarily bring about the fall of current Somali government.