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His
Excellency Ambassador
Mahmoud Dirir, Minister
of Culture &
Tourism, Federal
Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia
A Life in Politics and
Diplomacy
By
Seifu
Mahifere
 As
fascinating and
challenging the world of
journalism is, it is
also clear that,
especially in this era
of globalization, the
rewards that could be
reaped from a proper and
committed application of
the enormous powers of
the profession are
indeed great and
decisive. It was thus
only natural that the
first step Ambassador
Mohammed Dirir took to
contribute his share to
the salvation of the
traditionally
disadvantaged - and
relegated - people of
his home town in the
Somali Region of
Ethiopia was to take
refuge behind the
multifarious effects of
that noble instrument we
call the
press.
Freshly
back home in the early
1990s from a grueling
refugee life in the
Middle East countries of
Iraq, Turkey and later a
successful university
education in Syria,
Ambassador Mahmoud
Dirir's first strategic
measure to initiate his
people to fight for
their democratic rights
and social and economic
development, was to
launch a weekly
Somali-language
newspaper called Waayaha
Diri Dhabe or The Somali
Times. The timing, too,
could not have been any
better for those were
the years when a new
government replaced the
Dergue regime and the
country was in a
transition to a new
leadership and thus, by
definition, set on a new
path of democracy,
economic and social
development.
In
creating "the first
Somali newspaper in
Ethiopia," in his home
town of Dire Dawa ,
Ambassador Mahmoud
Dirir, who was born to a
one time pastoralist and
later seaman father,
thought of waging a
bitter educational and
propaganda campaign that
would initiate the
spirit of confidence,
democratic rights, and
commitment to economic
and social development
in the people of the
region. "Our targets
were the Somali
community in Somalia,
Dire Dawa, Kabri Dahar
and in the diaspora and
we thought out ways of
focusing on the
democratic rights of the
[Ethiopian]
Somali people with their
anticipated, equal
participation in the
economic and social
development of the
country together with
their brethren in the
vast nations and
nationalities of
Ethiopia.
The
Ambassador's spirit of
commitment in the
struggle for the
democratic rights of the
peoples of the region,
however, dates back to
his childhood years,
when he took active part
in Somali movements
opposing both the Haile
Selassie and Dergue
governments. With a
particularly painful
history of neglect and
exploitation by the two
successive governments,
the region of Ethiopian
Somalis had been then
turned in to a military
garrison with no
infrastructure like
schools and clinics
built for the people,
and they were not even
considered Ethiopians.
It was thus natural, he
says, that the
Ambassador and other
compatriots had to
launch a determined
struggle for the right
to self-determination of
the Ethiopian Somali
people with the noble
intention of creating a
unity based on the
goodwill of the people
and the equal
participation of all the
nations and
nationalities of the
country. "In fact ", he
says, "the struggle of
the Ethiopian Somalis
was the forerunner of
the struggle or the
national question for
Ethiopia in the era of
both the Emperor and the
Dergue, with other
fronts in other parts of
Ethiopia joining the
fray
later."
But
even at these early ages
the Ambassador, who is
now the new Minister of
Culture & Tourism of
the FDRE, the sense of
depravation of the
people of the region was
so strong that he had to
consider migrating to
neighboring Somalia,
rebelling against the
Derue regime, when he
joined the Western
Somali Liberation front
where he soon becomes
the Chairman of the
Western Somali Youth
League. But with a
threat coming from Ziad
Barre to invade the
Ethiopian Somali region
at the time, Ambassador
Mohamoud Dirir, who was
temporarily working as a
teacher in Somalia had
to flee that country and
migrate to Iraq and face
a difficult refugee life
at that time when Iraq
itself was at war with
neighboring Iran. He
would soon escape to
Turkey and after
sometime there manage to
make it to Syria where
he would get the chance
to study in the
university of Damascus
and graduate in English
and Arabic
Literature.
Back
in Dire Dawa in 1991, he
joined and later became
chairman of the
Issa-Grgura Liberation
Front, which was also
one of the various
fronts in the country
that signed the
Transitional Charter of
Post-Dergue Ethiopia.
The Ambassador, however,
expresses his
satisfaction that he was
also one of the
personalities who were
instrumental in the
creation of a coalition
of 13 different fronts
in the region to create
the Ethiopian Somali
Democratic League
(ESDL), which had Dr.
Abdul Mejid Hussein (the
let Ethiopian ambassador
to the UN who passed
away in 2004) as its
chairman and Ambassador
Mahmoud as its
secretary. Not only this
but they also manage to
form another coalition
between the ESDL and the
Ogaden Natonal
Liberation Front and
create the larger Somali
People's Democratic
Party, of which he
became chairman. "The
formation of the
coalition of political
parties and groups was
particularly important
in that it helped avoid
contradictions between
the groups that would
have obviously
obstructed the chance of
the Somali people to
properly utilize the
economic opportunities
and the democratization
process," he says.
Ambassador Mahmoud, who
considers himself as, "a
federalist to the bones"
says that the SPDP works
towards enhancing the
philosophy of unity of
the Ethiopian People in
diversity, the
prevalence of the rule
of law, democratization
and genuine commitments
for poverty reduction
and
alleviation."
His
efforts in the party and
the region also gets
rewarded in the fact
that he later became a
member of parliament
representing the
constituency of his
people in the Somali
region of Ethiopia. He
also began actively
participating in the
affairs of the
government and was later
appointed as the
Ethiopian Ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Zambia and
Malawi, with his seat in
Harare. His tenure in
the region helped him to
closely observe the
economic recovery of
Zambia and the
expectations and
ambitions of the people
of Zimbabwe for full
fledged democracy -
experiences that
acquainted him with
useful lessons worth
considering in the
reconstruction efforts
of his native county,
Ethiopia.
His
Ambassadorial post in
Zimbabwe, however, would
end after two and a half
years with his desire to
come back to his native
town of Dire Dawa in
Ethiopia and further
play decisive roles to
foster and strengthen
the unity of Somali
political parties in the
country. The government,
however, soon appointed
him as an acting
Minister of Transport
and Communications, a
now defunct institution
included in the newly
created Ministry of
Infrastructure and
Minister of Mines of the
FDRE, And on a recent
reshuffle in the
government structures
and ministries, he has
been once again
appointed as the
Minister of Culture
& Tourism of the
Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia - a
position that no doubt
would test the strength
of the career diplomat
with the need to revamp
the immense potential of
the Culture and Tourism
industry to the economic
development of the
country.
Meeting
for the first time with
Ambassador Mahmoud
Dirir, one cannot help
it but get surprise with
the Minister's easy
approach and simple
manners to all people
alike. He, in fact,
keeps repeating that he
doesn't have the
characters of a
bureaucrat or a pompous
personality, but that of
a simple man with a
sense of humor and the
urge to communicate ably
with all sections of
people. No wonder then
that the gifted linguist
already speaks a complex
array of national and
international languages
such as Amharic, Simali,
Oromiffa, Harari, as
well as Arabic, English
and French. He is also
at present practicing to
speak
Tigrigna.
These
qualities of the
Ambassador may at first
seem as mere natural
features of the
"transcendentalist'
minded minister. On
second thought, however,
we might think it
possible that his
versatility in character
and mastery of languages
may also have to do with
the fact that the
Ambassador is also a man
of an artistic and
philosophical bent. He,
of course, attributes it
to a means to "to ease
the burden of daily"
work, but the Ambassador
also has remarkable
skills in painting and
spends a portion of his
leisure hours in the
application of his
artistic skills. And
though he cannot be
described as a
professional painter
because the only
training he had in the
art was those of his
elementary school days,
Ambassador Mahmoud also
plans to stage an
exhibition of his
artistic woks in future.
It is also fair to note
here that, an avid
reader, the Ambassador
has also at present
started writing a novel
in the English language
and which features a
"massacre", which he
says was inflicted on
the [Ethio]
Somali people by the
army of Emperor Haile-
Selasie in a district
named Aisha in the
Shinnile Zone of Somali
Regional
State.
Ambassador
Mahmoud Dirir's main
focus is the need for
commitment by all
Ethiopians to work hard
for their country and to
strengthen the roots of
a democratic system for
the country. He notes
that with a recent
history of feudalism and
later communism, this
country carries the
burden of a "hangover"
of those undermining
political systems. "We
thus need to be
magnanimous, tolerant,
and transparent and take
prudent measures to back
up our infantile
democracy with the
appropriate and
full-fledged
institutions, one of
which is the expansion
of a responsible and
committed press," he
says. " The press should
serve as a watchdog of
democracy".
A
family man, Ambassador
Mahmoud Dirir lives with
his wife, who he
describes as "the
backbone of my success,"
and two
daughters.
ility
in character and mastery
of languages may also
have to do with the fact
that the Ambassador is
also a man of an
artistic and
philosophical bent. He,
of course, attributes it
to a means to "to ease
the burden of daily"
work, but the Ambassador
also has remarkable
skills in painting and
spends a portion of his
leisure hours in the
application of his
artistic skills. And
though he cannot be
described as a
professional painter
because the only
training he had in the
art was those of his
elementary school days,
Ambassador Mahmoud also
plans to stage an
exhibition of his
artistic woks in future.
It is also fair to note
here that, an avid
reader, the Ambassador
has also at present
started writing a novel
in the English language
and which features a
"massacre", which he
says was inflicted on
the [Ethio]
Somali people by the
army of Emperor Haile-
Selasie in a district
named Aisha in the
Shinnile Zone of Somali
Regional
State.
Ambassador
Mahmoud Dirir's main
focus is the need for
commitment by all
Ethiopians to work hard
for their country and to
strengthen the roots of
a democratic system for
the country. He notes
that with a recent
history of feudalism and
later communism, this
country carries the
burden of a "hangover"
of those undermining
political systems. "We
thus need to be
magnanimous, tolerant,
and transparent and take
prudent measures to back
up our infantile
democracy with the
appropriate and
full-fledged
institutions, one of
which is the expansion
of a responsible and
committed press," he
says. " The press should
serve as a watchdog of
democracy".
A
family man, Ambassador
Mahmoud Dirir lives with
his wife, who he
describes as "the
backbone of my success,"
and two
daughters.
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