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- Path: sparky!uunet!olivea!pagesat!netsys!ukma!mont!pencil.cs.missouri.edu!rich
- From: odin@halcyon.halcyon.com (Hank Roth)
- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
- Subject: Western Meddling in Somalia
- Message-ID: <1993Jan22.203533.8424@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
- Date: 22 Jan 93 20:35:33 GMT
- Sender: news@mont.cs.missouri.edu
- Followup-To: alt.activism.d
- Organization: The 23:00 News and Mail Service
- Lines: 51
- Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Nntp-Posting-Host: pencil.cs.missouri.edu
-
- << via P_news/p.news >>
- {From SOCIALIST WORKER, (January 1993) a publication of the
- International Socialist Organization, P.O. Box 16085, Chicago, Il
- 60616}
-
- WESTERN MEDDLING TO BLAME FOR DIVISIONS BETWEEN CLANS
-
- SOMALI CLAN divisions are not "natural." Somalis share a common
- language and religion.
-
- But the European powers sliced Somalia into artificial states as
- part of their division of the world among themselves in the 19th
- century.
-
- Tens of thousands of people were parcelled up and handed from one
- power to another.
-
- Somalis were split between British Somaliland, Italian Somalia,
- French Djibouti and Ethiopian Ogaden. Another group was
- incorporated into Kenya.
-
- To break any resistance, the Western powers played on divisions
- between people and created new ones.
-
- Loyalties to a local leader were built up by favoring one gorup
- at the expense of others.
-
- "They may be made to hate each other and thereby good governance
- is ensured," a British colonial administrator wrote.
-
- After independence in 1960, the British and Italians left behind
- a system of government which further deepened clan rivalries.
-
- Every grouping that claimed a distinct identity could secure the
- right to its own party and seats in parliament.
-
- The recent dictator Siad Barre rewarded clans which backed him
- with jobs and contracts while others faced virtual genocide.
-
- Somalia's disunity comes form the manuevers of the Westgern
- powers and the ruthless local ruling class which they backed.
- --------------------
- From: p.news/P_news
- <Hank Roth> odin@world.std.com
- pnews@igc.apc.org
- fido 151/101
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