Sat, 23 Sep 2000

Once bitten in Somalia, West faces tough decision

By Kieran Murray

MOGADISHU (Reuters): The steady crack of a sledgehammer echoes out over the barren land that once housed the U.S. embassy and United Nations headquarters in Mogadishu.

Dozens of buildings, made of reinforced concrete and bulletproof glass, used to stand here in a vast complex but they were stripped clean by looters and knocked down after the UN abandoned its disastrous peacekeeping mission in 1995.

Now trees and cactus plants grow inside the remains of the plush UN offices, shops and radio stations, and the compound is controlled by some of the very militiamen who harassed and ultimately humiliated U.S. troops here.

There are only two structures left half-standing and they too are slowly but surely being dismantled.

Inside the former residence of U.S. Admiral Jonathan Howe, who headed the UN operation, five Somalis use sledgehammers to knock down its walls and pull out the steel rods that fetch US$1.50 each in Mogadishu's markets.

"I don't think the Americans will ever come back here," says one of the men, nicknamed "Jejebiye" (Destroyer), with a laugh.

But the Americans, and the United Nations, now face exactly that choice: go back to Somalia to help its new president establish control and restore order, or stay away and risk undermining a new sense of hope in the country.

Western governments abandoned Somalia after the debacle of the UN peacekeeping mission, in which more than 100 foreign troops were killed, and the country then went through round after round of devastating war between its rival clans.

The last few months, however, have seen some positive steps.

Rival clan representatives meeting in neighboring Djibouti set up a new parliament which then quickly elected veteran politician Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as the country's first president since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre fled in early 1991.

Abdiqassim Salad is backed by most Somalis, desperate for a functioning government and an end to a decade of chaos.

He has also drawn support from the United Nations, the U.S. government, Europe, Arab states and Somalia's neighbors.

Just how much tangible help he gets could be decisive because Abdiqassim Salad faces huge challenges from clan warlords who have vowed to stop him taking office and from two northern regions that have broken away from the south.

Setting up a government and security force, rebuilding shattered cities, providing even basic health and education services and resurrecting the economy will all be expensive and he starts without a penny in state coffers.

The West could help but it remains very wary of Somalia with no diplomatic missions and very little humanitarian work in Mogadishu and the rest of the south.

"The Somalis strongly believe we are going to roll in there with huge amounts of money but I strongly doubt that is going to happen," said one regional diplomat.

"Everyone wants Somalia to succeed but they'll want to see real progress before opening their chequebooks," said another.

Some prominent Somalis say they understand why the United States and Europe might be reluctant to throw their full support behind Somalia and believe Arab nations could fill the void.

"The Europeans and Americans have neglected Somalia," said Mohamed Nur Gutale, a businessman in Mogadishu. "In 20 years, the people here will be speaking Arabic. Politically, culturally and in business, they will be focused towards the Arab world."

When the UN pulled out of Somalia in March 1995, militiamen and civilians were already moving into the airport and onto the UN compound as the last troops left.

They immediately set about looting everything, from computers and furniture to light bulbs and underground cables.

Inside what remains of Admiral Howe's residence, militiamen and Jejebiye's crew of looters sat in the rubble this week, talking about the UN operation, which began as an attempt to save millions from starvation but went wrong when its military forces tried to take on Mogadishu's clan warlords.

"They gave us food at first but then they started to kill us and hunt us," said one gunman who fought the UN forces.

Jejebiye said he worked as a laborer and painter here when it was the U.S. embassy but was one of the first to start looting when the UN, which took over the compound once the Americans left in 1994, pulled its own forces out a year later.

"If they come back, we will rebuild what we have destroyed," he said, before giving in to the temptation of another joke. "And when they go again, we'll destroy it again."