“Protecting human rights will be high on the list,” Somali State Acting President Mustafa Omer told a local state TV station back in August 2018. On several occasions including the recent Oromo-Somali and Amhara-Somali people to people forums the state administration led by Mustafa reiterated its firm stance to the protection of human rights as well as to the building of democracy and democratic culture.
“We should chart out our future democratically through developing far-sightedness and the culture of listening to one another,” he said recently.The state which saw harsh human rights abuses during the previous administration did not escape an orchestrated ethnic clash. The days before the coming to Office of the acting president were gloomy, just to say the least. The clash resulted in claiming innocent lives and burning to ground religious facilities as well as destroying property. Naysayers had even been saying that the worst was yet to come in the state.
It is not hyperbolic if one concludes now that the appointment of the reformist administration led by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed has born sweet fruits. The State’s Acting President and his administration have walked the talks the utterly dismissed the naysayer’s predictions.We have ample pieces of evidence to say so. In the first place, Somali’s new administration takes the path of peace and inclusivity. Over and above, it has brought a new day of peace to the state’s people. It has returned displaced peoples as well to their former neighborhoods. The move in solidifying the age-old and yet strong ties between the people of Oromo and Somali is also highly mentionable.
What is more, the state also once again proven the enduring religious co-existence as it cooperated in restoring one of the burned churches in the State’s capital, Jigjiga. The Somali regional troops were infamous for human right abuses; it was equipped with only weaponry. The administration, however, has taken an exemplary step in equipping the force with adequate pieces of training on human rights protection and constitution—this is a great stride in making the force part and parcel of the ongoing reform.
If need be, we can mention the effective integration of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) among the society. The state has also been working to lay the foundation of these works on a solid base by offering jobs to the youths as well. The peace and order restored in the state are one of the exemplary gains of the state and the federal bodies indeed. These practical lessons should be doubled, tripled and quadrupled. Other states of the country should also replicate the lessons adapting to their specific cases.
The Ethiopian Herald, August 9/2019
