|
Somalia Siad Barre's Repressive Measures
Faced with shrinking popularity and an armed and organized
domestic resistance, Siad Barre unleashed a reign of terror
against the Majeerteen, the Hawiye, and the Isaaq, carried out by
the Red Berets (Duub Cas), a dreaded elite unit recruited from
among the president's Mareehaan clansmen. Thus, by the beginning
of 1986 Siad Barre's grip on power seemed secure, despite the
host of problems facing the regime. The president received a
severe blow from an unexpected quarter, however. On the evening
of May 23, he was severely injured in an automobile accident.
Astonishingly, although at the time he was in his early seventies
and suffered from chronic diabetes, Siad Barre recovered
sufficiently to resume the reins of government following a
month's recuperation. But the accident unleashed a power struggle
among senior army commandants, elements of the president's
Mareehaan clan, and related factions, whose infighting
practically brought the country to a standstill. Broadly, two
groups contended for power: a constitutional faction and a clan
faction. The constitutional faction was led by the senior vice
president, Brigadier General Mahammad Ali Samantar; the second
vice president, Major General Husseen Kulmiye; and generals Ahmad
Sulaymaan Abdullah and Ahmad Mahamuud Faarah. The four, together
with president Siad Barre, constituted the politburo of the SRSP.
Opposed to the constitutional group were elements from the
president's Mareehaan clan, especially members of his immediate
family, including his brother, Abdirahmaan Jaama Barre; the
president's son, Colonel Masleh Siad, and the formidable Mama
Khadiija, Siad Barre's senior wife. By some accounts, Mama
Khadiija ran her own intelligence network, had well-placed
political contacts, and oversaw a large group who had prospered
under her patronage.
In November 1986, the dreaded Red Berets unleashed a campaign
of terror and intimidation on a frightened citizenry. Meanwhile,
the ministries atrophied and the army's officer corps was purged
of competent career officers on suspicion of insufficient loyalty
to the president. In addition, ministers and bureaucrats
plundered what was left of the national treasury after it had
been repeatedly skimmed by the top family.
The same month, the SRSP held its third congress. The Central
Committee was reshuffled and the president was nominated as the
only candidate for another seven-year term. Thus, with a weak
opposition divided along clan lines, which he skillfully
exploited, Siad Barre seemed invulnerable well into 1988. The
regime might have lingered indefinitely but for the wholesale
disaffection engendered by the genocidal policies carried out
against important lineages of Somali kinship groupings. These
actions were waged first against the Majeerteen clan (of the
Daarood clan-family), then against the Isaaq clans of the north,
and finally against the Hawiye, who occupied the strategic
central area of the country, which included the capital. The
disaffection of the Hawiye and their subsequent organized armed
resistance eventually caused the regime's downfall.
|
