Negotiations to secure the release of the Saudi supertanker Sirus Star are a mere footnote to Somalia's real story, reveals Gamal Nkrumah The pirates are prepared to bargain with the owners of the Saudi Arabian supertanker Sirus Star. Somalia is like a sprawling African market: everyone is conducting some kind of illicit barter -- and the pirates are no exception. Sheikh Sherif Ahmed, the charismatic moderate Somali Islamist leader, urged the international community to facilitate the mobilisation of a peacekeeping force to replace the Ethiopian troops in Somalia, widely seen as a heathen occupying force by the devoutly Muslim Somalis. Disdained in the past by Western intriguers, his sensible, impassioned plea is now being taken seriously as the situation deteriorates. The pirates' cat-and-mouse Sherif is candid about what he wants for his country -- peace and prosperity. But, that is easier said than done. His push to the top faltered over the past few years as the West played games with Ethiopia and its own pet "Transitional Federal Government". He is in danger of being eclipsed by the more stalwart and resolute Shabab jihadists, an outgrow of his Council of Islamic Courts (CICs). The pool contains more fish than at first anticipated -- including pirates and young fiery mullahs. The Shabab, or Islamist Youth, are gaining the upper hand in key areas of the country, controlling huge swathes of territory in southern and central Somalia. Moreover, the Shabab have pledged to contain the threat posed by pirates. As time runs out of the Cisco, the Somalis have started pinning their hopes on this new force to instill a sense of nationhood, and they are encouraged by the purposefulness of the Shabab. The only fear that lingers in the hearts of many Somalis is that the Shabab would prove to be an African replica of Afghanistan's Taliban. And, it is not simply a question of semantics. After all, the Taliban (Islamic students) are a group that appealed to the young, just like the Shabab. But considering that most Afghans now look back fondly on the Taliban period as one of peace and, if not prosperity, at least not starvation and humiliating starvation, this lingering fear is losing its grip. Ethiopia accuses its arch-enemy Eritrea of aiding and abetting the Shabab and other militant Islamist groups, a charge the Eritreans hotly deny, and that Somalians would angrily dismiss. The ferocious 1998-2000 war between Eritrea and Ethiopia poisoned relations between the two neighbours and the hostilities are being played out in Somalia today. That is all. The Shabab are no one's plaything. In some respects the current round of fighting in Somalia marks a return to fundamentals. Sick and tired of war, the Somalis want to see their country as one whole, more at ease with itself and rid of foreign meddling. All this has catalysed in the past year with an intensity not seen since the fall of the Somali strongman Siade Barre in 1991. Somalia is a clan-based society where tribal chieftans and warlords hold sway. The warlords will continue to wield much power, just like the warlords of Afghanistan still do. But the religious element has been forcibly pushed aside so far, excluded from the equation, leaving the warlords to grow arrogant and lawless. Here is the but, though, or rather the buts. The very system that has sustained the people of Somalia has also produced the pirates. Their way of life is a survival strategy in the moral and ethical vacuum created by imperial machinations. The pirates survive precisely because of the power vacuum in Somalia. The Shabab, on the other hand, continue to work the seam of Islam and innuendo. What are the big issues of our time as far as Somalis are concerned? Certainly piracy is not a major concern. That is a footnote to their problem of day-to-day survival. If the truth be know, the foreign ships that ply Somali waters are the real pirates. Many fish the territorial waters illegally for the bountiful maritime wealth. They all use the collapse of authority in the country -- the result of US "anti-terror" concerns -- to dump their toxic and nontoxic waste without concern for any repercussions. The fact that a few of them are forced to pay for the constant harm being done by the vast majority of them is of little consequence to the suffering Somalis. Environmental degradation and piracy are inextricably intertwined. Both ordinary people, the public, and local governments all over Somalia are acutely concerned about the deplorable state of the Somali environment, unlike the foreign powers and foreign commercial interests that are in such a tizzy over the daring exploits of a few Somali pirates. Somalis were once filled with hope of a Greater Somalia, of a new nation unique for its ethnic homogeneity in Africa. What can Somali politicians do to rebuild that trust? The youth of Somalia see that their parents'" generation has failed them in achieving unity under the Western umbrella. The country is turning to the Shabab as the last resort to restore some semblance of order and dignity to the country. Only such a political force, backed by spiritual integrity, can possibly appeal across tribal lines, and has a chance to restore Somalia and its breakaway Somaliland. It is clear beyond a doubt that it is in the best interests of Somalia for the Islamists -- whatever strand appeals the most to Somalis -- to assert full authority and run the country accordingly. The interests of Somalis will best be served when trust is rebuilt. So far, this sensible way out of the crisis has been blocked by the West. Somalis are bitterly disappointed in its Transitional Federal Government (TFG) ensconced in the Kenyan capital, far from the madding crowds. They have lost any residual trust of the people and should be abandoned. The Somali warlords are also hog-wrestling mad about what has become the political future of the country. As in Afghanistan, when Islam is left out of the political equation, personal power, tribal chauvinism and cynical deal-making with the occupiers takes over, to the detriment of even the warlords themselves. Their new puffed-up pretensions to seizing power must be met head on, not kowtowed to as the US and NATO have been doing in Afghanistan, with disastrous results. It's long overdue for sensible observers to accept the obvious and work with the popular forces rather than oppose and repress them by force. That is what creates the Al-Qaedas of the world. Can we take US president-elect Barack Obama at his word that he intends to negotiate rather than bomb his way to a peaceful settlement of world crises? He would be well advised to start his song of peace in this key region -- the Horn of Africa.
