WardheerNews Editorial

The establishment of a viable government that upholds the fledgling constitution of the country is a threat to the warlords who benefit from the chaos and anarchy that is raging in the country. If attained, a functioning government could indeed change the present status quo and impose law and order on the ravaged country. The strong opposition of the various warlords and religious extremists in Mogadishu to reconcile with the Transitional Federal Government is a clear indication of their intention to prolong the present political landscape in Southern Somalia.

These warlords have enriched themselves from the absence of a functioning government. They collect taxes from the goods exported/imported from and into the country and receive generous fees from various makeshift airstrips, seaports, businesses, NGO’s and all entities that trade in illegal drugs.

A prime individual who is adamant in his opposition to any legitimate government ever taking control of the country and setting foot on his turf is Mr. Sheikh Yusuf Indha Cadde, who controls a vast and an agriculturally rich region that includes Jannaale, Buulo Mareerta, Qoryooley and the two old historical port cities of Merka and Brava.

A recent United Nations report alleges that Mr. Indha Cadde, who calls himself “Sheikh Indha Cadde” or “the white-eyed priest,” deals in drugs and thus breaks every law in the book including the Islamic Sharia. He is reported to have his own fishing fleet, collects revenues from Merka Air and Seaports and charges  15% fee to the NGOs that operate in the Lower Shabelle region and provide live-saving services to the week and famine-stricken Somalis in the absence of a functioning government.

Jannaale and its environs, once known as the breadbasket of Somalia for its rich agricultural production and mechanized large scale cultivation of banana and other fruits for export, is said to be bursting with Marijuana. The UN report emphasizes that Mr. Indha Cadde uses modern techniques of crop production to produce the drug, and employs skilled agriculturists to grow high yielding and potent marijuana which he then exports to the local and international markets. Worst he confiscated these farms from their rightful owners who used to grow and export crops such as bananas and grape fruits that were providing employment and earning hard currency for the nation. The replacement of food producing agricultural farmland with centers of drug production in a country closely associated with famine and starvation is undeniably crimes against humanity. Mr. Indha Cadde, a former army soldier is living large at the expense of the innocent citizens of Lower Shabelle region.

Indha Cadde and his associates grow drugs while they publicly display their religious attire and meditate on their rosaries, just as the Taliban religious warlords do in the inpenetratable mountains of Afghanistan. It is the wonders of contemporary Islamic societies where Idha Cadde and his elk pretend to be pious religious leaders that are out there to defend Islam from the secular culture that has crept into the Somali and other muslim societies while profiteering from the growing of pot in place of grain.  Call it sings of dooms day or “qoomul aakhiru zaman,”. These criminals’ goal is to carry and hasten the pillaging of what is left of Somalia by any means necessary.

When the Kenyan government recently banned aircrafts licensed in and originating from their country from flying to Dayniile & Ceel Axmed airports for concerns related to safety and the use of these airstrips as points of export of illegal drugs, both Indha Cadde and warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow threatened to shoot down any aircraft that obeys that order. On October 28, 2005 they were quoted as saying: “We will use artilleries and missiles to down any aircraft that diverts its route from Dayniile and Ceel Axmed air strips”.

These statements are terrorist in nature and are against the International Air Transportation Agreement and the Montreal Convention of 1971 for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of Civil Aviation. These warlords are a threat to the safety of civil aviation,  involved in drug trafficking and other unlawful activities.  The world community needs to deal with them in an effective manner, perhaps by using existing international instruments and international tribunals, which regulate crimes against humanity as well as anti-terrorist laws. 

It is clear that Mr. Indha Cadde and other warlords want to cripple any progress made towards the stabilization of Somalia. These warlords want to continue their thievery of the national resources and criminal activities. For that, they would kill and continue to cause disorder in the country and will no doubt spread instability throughout the region.  The International Community cannot afford to ignore these criminals. They should be accountable and be brought to justice. To that goal, WardheerNews editorial board calls for the following action:

1. All those warlords, who are involved in farming and smuggling drugs from and/or into Somalia, either for production or for trafficking, should be registered and monitored by the United Nations Agency for drug enforcement.
2. The threat to shoot down civilian aircrafts carrying livelihood for millions of Somalis by Indha Cadde and Muse Sudi Yalaxow shall be treated as an active terrorist act and is in total contravention with the 1971 Montreal Convention.  As such, we call on member states of IGAD and the UN to issue warrants of arrest to these criminals and bring them to justice whenever possible.
3. The international community must be serious in its pledge to support the Transitional Federal Government diplomatically and financially to realize its objective to re-establish a functioning national government that has a national reach and can deal with issues of terrorism and international drug trafficking.

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