Armed Forces to Somalia? We say NO

Bundestag decides training mission with 20 soldiers - Friedensratschlag: What sounds harmless, a harsh reality - There is no military solution

From Federal Friedensratschlag

Berlin / Kassel  - On the occasion of the parliamentary debate on the request of the Federal Government to support the EU-led military training mission in Somalia with up to 20 German soldiers, explain the Speaker of the Federal Committee Friedensratschlag in a statement:

The wealth of the country attracts:

The geo-strategically located in a prominent location at the junction of Africa and Asia, Somalia is a potentially very rich country. Already in a 1991 published list of World Bank-degradable oil resources ranked Somalia before the Sudan at No. 1 among eight countries in Africa. The Somali sources are therefore "huge," as "promising" or as. For about two-thirds of the country holding U.S. corporations since the late 80s concessions but are not used because of the civil war since the early 90s. Meanwhile, other Western companies have been added to take advantage of the concessions in independent from Somalia Somaliland and Puntland in the north. Also, the offshore area along the coast on the Indian Ocean is licensed. With support from the West and the UN installed in September 2012 government of President Hassan Mohamud tried since October 2013 international oil and gas companies to retrieve to Somalia to explore the abundant resources. This can of course only happen in pacified areas.

Foreign troops so far no lasting impact:

Due to the increase of the African Union forces (AMISOM), which are mainly composed of soldiers from Uganda and Burundi, the Shabaab militias were pushed back in August 2011 from Mogadishu. A further increase of AMISOM to 10,000 soldiers (December 2011) and the use of Ethiopian and Kenyan troops allowed offensives, so the Shabaab had to give up of them still held cities. Despite a further increase of AMISOM troops to 18,000 troops in June 2013 and the EU training mission for Somali army (since April 2010), spread the Shabaab militias their territory, since December 2013, and intensify their guerrilla attacks in Somali and Kenyan cities, especially since the beginning.

The "good" and "evil" in Somalia:

The Islamist Shabaab is considered Al-Qaeda affiliate and is fought as such by the United States by special forces and drone attacks, according to experts, it is not, however, but operates independently of al-Qaeda and has a national agenda, to the overthrow of the government aims in Mogadishu. Your benefits from the fact that they can denounce this as stooges of foreign powers, for the salaries of the AMISOM troops are paid by the EU, its armament pay the United States. The Somali government is largely protected by foreign troops and support, because while AMISOM currently has about 22,000 soldiers from six African countries, the strength of the Somali army is specified with only 10,000 what is commonly used, however, to be too high. Right now are over 3,000 Shabaab fighters. In addition, the reputation of the U.S. in Somalia is poor, since U.S. troops in 1993 at her brutal intervention in the civil war killed 6000-10000 Somalis and contribute to the radicalization of the Shabaab drone attacks. The Shabaab militias are a small alliance of Somali sub-clans with mostly foreign jihadist fighters who do not feel represented in the government formed by large clans in Mogadishu.

EU mandate and mission of the Bundeswehr for the "good" is counter-productive:

The EU Training Mission puts on a military solution in favor of a part of Somali society, which is represented in the government. This government came in February at the UN into disrepute because she had secretly passed on arms sales to clan chiefs, who then appeared on arms markets and ended up in the hands of Shabaab militias. It is not even the size of this "systematic" (UN) violation of the UN arms embargo could be determined. The EU training of the Somali army is proving to be counterproductive, because of the previously newly trained 3,600 Somali soldiers, many lay on the street robbery against their countrymen, because their low pay is paid only irregularly, or they close, well trained, the dozens and better paid to private militias.

Only 20 soldiers - but of great symbolic significance:

All federal governments are striving since the end of the confrontation, to give means of the Bundeswehr's foreign policy a military coat. 1993 formed the large-scale deployment of the Bundeswehr with 1,700 soldiers in Somalia the first of a seemingly endless chain of military missions abroad. He failed miserably. Bundeswehr missions abroad to meet a wide rejection in the population. 75 percent oppose an extension of the Bundeswehr missions. Now the federal government is trying with a number of smaller military operations to lower their sights to erheischen acceptance in the population. The up to 20 Bundeswehr instructors draw on the grounds of the AMISOM troops in Mogadishu, thereby strengthening the wrong political approach of a military solution.

We say also that Somalia-use, as the first in 1993, wrong:

The use of 20 German soldiers for the purpose of training of Somali military personnel seems to be harmless. Nevertheless, he is - in connection with the anti pirate action "Atalanta" off the Somali coast, on which the decision of the Federal Government specifically advised - embedded in the Africa policy of the federal government, which should ultimately serve to secure resources and refugee defense. In addition, the tasks and the "Performing strategic consulting the Somali General Staff and of Defense "should belong. Thus, the German participants are brought to the mission directly with the Somali leadership in conjunction and thus get the attention of the insurgents. What sounds harmless, can end up bitter.

It can in this civil war is no military solution against: 

Only negotiations, the first goal must be a ceasefire, leading to a balance of interests. To promote a negotiation process, it is necessary to conditions that are hindering negotiations break down. These include the presence of foreign troops in Somalia Drone attacks by the U.S. and the intervention of U.S. Special Forces in the Civil War. In addition, an arms embargo should be imposed again that includes handguns. Just as the conditions can be created to give the hard-hit by war Somali people a chance to use their resource-rich country - finally free of war, famine and flight.

For the Federal Friedensratschlag:
Peter Strutynski (Kassel)
Lühr Henken (Berlin)

Source: scharf-links.de