BAIDOA CONFERENCE ON RECONCILIATION AND DIALOGUE FOR SOUTH WEST STATE

In May of 2022 upon his re-election for a historic second term in Somalia’s political history, H.E. Dr. Hassan Sheikh expressed a firm commitment that his government will focus on security, economic recovery, political stability, and debt relief. An element of this commitment is political stability was threatened last year amid ongoing problems when in December 2022, political unrest unfolded in Baidoa, the former capital of Southwest state. The conflict involved the current President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Lafta Gareyn whose the term expired last year and the opposition candidate, Mohamed Aden Farketi. The opposition candidate’s residence was raided two months ago with the opposition candidate, Farketi, resisting the attack.

Several soldiers on both sides were killed between the regional forces and the opposition’s bodyguards. Additionally, some of the opposition leaders were arrested by Southwest’s president. Due to the unfolding of these events and the president’s commitment to political stability at all levels of the federal government, the speaker of the lower house chamber of the Somali federal parliament Aden Madobe initiated a resolution of the crisis on 19th November 2022 in his constituency through dialogue.

To this end, a conference in Baidoa in the Southwest state where the conflict ensued was set to occur on the 5th of January 2023 however being delayed due to the opposition and technical Reasons. Nonetheless, the conference did eventually happen on the 16th of January 2023 when the president along with other ministers and government officials arrived at Shaati Gaduud Airport. In this first conference, no major concessions and resolutions were concluded thus necessitating the need for phase II of the conflict resolution.

This second meeting of Ministers, Southwest state president, and H.E. Dr. Hasssan Sheikh Mohamud occurred over the course of two days from 2nd February to 4th February. The agenda of the meeting is to achieve a peaceful and amicable agreement for this conflict to bring about unity and cooperation among the people of this region. This signifies a huge step forward for Somalia’s political arena which has been marked by violence and instability with the current administration serious and committed to political stability at all levels, a feat not seen in the previous administrations.

Furthermore, the current administration continues to set an example for all Somalis in the ways conflicts are to be resolved from now on in the country through its response to the conflict in Baidoa. Respect for the rule of law and for soft forms of conflict resolution are indispensable to a country like Somalia that is in recovery and in the midst of state building. Recourse to violence and use of force cannot remain the only means of conflict resolution and the president is cognizant of this hence this approach. Additionally, a key component of stabilization in a largely unstable country like Somalia is social inclusion, peacebuilding, and dialogue which conferences like this provide the opportunity for.

On a different tangent, phase two of the conference that was concluded on Sunday is important for another major reason. The Southwest state in Somalia is largely known as an Al-Shabab hotspot where the dangerous ideology of the terrorist group thrives. In line with the current administration’s war against the group’s ideology and as part of the government’s triple offensive against al-Shabab which is the military, financial, and ideological components, political stability and security are key and vital in the most affected region of the country by al-Shabab. Terrorist group in the past have strategically taken advantage of civil unrest and political instability in regions of Somalia where the government does not have a foothold to imprint their ideology and enforce their extremist agendas.

Therefore, it is commendable that the president and his administration took the initiative to swiftly and in a timely manner respond to the conflict in Baidoa and in the right manner at that, through dialogue. The president in his post-conference speech heralded the progress made from the conference on the night of 4th February with the opposition leader Mohamed Aden Farketi and the president of the Southwest state visibly present.
Finally, among other resolutions from the conference, it was agreed that the traditional elders of the Southwest state should appoint and select members of the parliament in line with the Southwest state constitution from November 2023 to December of the same year. In addition, an election of a new Southwest state president should be held in the January of 2024 as per the southwest state constitution with both the opposition leaders agreeing to this. Lastly, the final agreement from the conference as agreed by key stakeholders including the presidential candidates of the southwest state is that the Interior Ministry of the Federal Government shall oversee the implementation and application of the agreement.