Cairo Al-Musawwar (in Arabic); pages 24-26, 58

[Interview with President Mohammed Siad Barre by Muhammad Sa’id in Mogadishu — date not given]

A few hours before the time set for the interview, I received a telephone call from the Somali president’s press adviser. He told me that the president wanted to know if it were possible for Al-Musawwar’s representative to travel to Hargeisa, capital of northern Somalia.

When I asked why I was told that it was because of the reports carried by the BBC in its Somali, Arabic, and English broadcasts and cited later by VOA, AFP, and some Arabic newspapers to the effect that there were clashes and exchanges of fire between the Somali forces and elements of the opposition in northern Somalia, which used to be known as British Somalia, that 100 officers had been killed and many others wounded, and that a state of alert had been declared and a curfew imposed.

So my interview with President Siad Barre was postponed until after my return from Hargeisa. I traveled by air to Hargeisa. The flight took over 3 hours. I suddenly felt the difference between the pleasant fall climate of Mogadishu, spoiled only by the high humidity and proximity to the equator, and that of Hargeisa, which is more than 2,000 meters above sea level and is as cold as any European capital in winter.

On my return to the capital, Mogadishu, I had my interview with President Siad Barre. He received me in the guest hall of the presidential palace. Before I could begin the interview, the president addressed the following question to me:

How did you find the situation in northern Somalia?

I replied: I could find no material evidence of what I read in the reports disseminated by the BBC, VOA, the press, or AFP in Djibouti. He asked:

Will you mention that in Al-Musawwar?

I replied: God willing. Then, before the president could ask me another question or change the course of the dialogue, I asked President Barre: How do you explain the timing of these reports and why has this kind of report been chosen? With a question mark written all over his face, he replied:

I am really surprised by this behavior and puzzled as to the purpose of such reports. We do not know what they want. Do they want to drive Somalia to take a certain attitude? This is war, but it is a different kind of war. We must realize that this media war is a war against the Somali people and we must stand up to it.

I was surprised when the BBC broadcast these fabricated reports, but I was pained when I learned that some Arab papers published the reports without verification. They should have waited and checked with Somali sources or, if not, with neutral sources.

[Interview starts]

[Question] Why did Somali official sources not deny these reports and allegations at the time?

[Answer] An official statement denying these allegations was in fact issued, but it is unreasonable that we should waste all our time in replying to these lies and allegations. I do not care what foreign sources say, but it hurts me to see some sectors of our Arab press relying on hostile sources in their reporting without verification or analysis. I ask: Why did they not go to the authentic sources. They should seek the truth.

[Question] Somalia is a member of the Nonaligned Movement, the Arab family, the Islamic family, and the OAU. How do you assess Somalia’s relations with the two superpowers, bearing in mind the risks of international polarization in the nonaligned countries?

[Answer] As I have said, we live in peace with others. In fact we have good relations with those who do not stand against Somali interests. Since we serve our people’s interests, we should always remember this fact as we face more than one viewpoint on any particular issue. In the Arab world we, prompted by a feeling of fraternity, try to be friendly to everyone, including those who launch campaigns against Somalia and attack its national choice.

We refuse to extend a hand to those who do not believe in God and his religions and who do not believe in genuine human values. Except for those, our relations are good with everyone and we always endeavor to keep them that way.

I asked President Siad Barre about Somalia’s relations with its neighbors in view of the continuous conflict in the Horn of Africa. Interrupting, the Somali president said:

I know that you have interviewed more than one Mogadishu official on the Horn of Africa. You have discussed this issue with Mohamed Ali Hamid, the minister in charge of foreign affairs (as published), but I could explain to you the nature of our relations with our neighbors if you like.

[Question] Djibouti?

[Answer] There are no problems between us. We must cooperate. Ever since Djibouti’s independence 7 years ago we have been trying to help it. We want to increase our cooperation with it but the war has exhausted some of our forces. We and Djibouti are parts of the same body. We are not only neighbors. We are brothers.

[Question] What about Yemen – Aden?

[Answer] Our relations are not good. We believe that our differences are foolish because we are brothers and neighbors. Although our views differ we should not have disputes.

[Question] What about Yemen – Sanaa?

[Answer] We have the amity of friends and brothers.

[Question] Kenya?

[Answer] We have no problems with our southern neighbor Kenya. Our relations have improved as a result of the Arab- African dialogue and because we are both OAU members. I have visited Nairobi several times. We hold consultations regularly.

[Question] And Ethiopia?

[Answer] Ethiopia moves in accordance with Moscow’s attitude and seeks the help of Havana. That has added to the tension between our two countries. They have never tried to knock on the door of good-neighborliness and African fraternity. Whenever something happens they blame the Somali regime.

[Question] What are the chances of a summit conference between you and Ethiopian Chairman Mengistu Haile Mariam to agree on practical solutions to the problems of the Horn of Africa and establish good-neighborly relations between the two countries?

[Answer] We have explained our position frankly. We are willing to go to the negotiating table, but first we request the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from the Somali positions of (Halanbal) and Balumbale which were occupied by the Ethiopian forces during the clashes which occurred about 2 years ago.

[Question] How do you view Egyptian-Somali relations and what positive developments have occurred in connection with the strengthening of these already strong relations?

[Answer] I can say that Egyptian-Somali relations are good. It has always been our aim to have excellent relations with Egypt because we are interested in more cooperation with Egypt.

We urge Egypt to adopt a stand toward Somalia equal to Egypt’s portion in the hearts of the Somali people. We hope that the positive Egyptian attitude will continue because of our national closeness and because of Somalia’s warm feelings for Egypt.

While thanking Egypt for its fraternal attitude, we hope for and expect an Egyptian response that would make us appreciate the real value of the Egyptian attitude toward Somalia. I think that Egypt knows best to what extent Somalia wishes to increase joint cooperation between the two countries.

For further explanation I addressed the following question to President Barre:

[Question] Could you be specific as to what you believe should be the order of priorities in Egyptian-Somali relations?

Using his fingers to enumerate the priorities, the Somali president said:

1. The Egyptian Arab role in helping to secure Somalia’s defenses.
2. Increasing economic cooperation. We have recently signed some agreements providing for the export of livestock to Egypt and the import of medicine and ready-made clothes from Egypt, but we look forward to more joint investment projects. We are interested in exporting fruits, grain, and various popular kinds of fish in return for Egyptian oil and industrial products.
3. We look forward to an Egyptian cultural role.

_{FBIS-MEA-84-227, 23 Nov. 1984, pp. R2-R4}