Let the killing of Somali Parliamentary Women Juwaria Subcis embolden the Somali Regional State to take an action and implement a policy that protects the security of the region’s airports. Ku akhri Soomaali
A few days ago, an Ethiopian federal policeman entrusted to the security of passengers at Garaad Wiil-Waal Airport in Jigjiga splintered the female politician’s head and killed her instantly. He gunned down the politician. And it was an intentional killing, according to reports.
Juwaira was a member of the Somali Regional State’s Parliament. She was also a member of the central committee of Ethiopia’s ruling party – the Prosperity Party. How a person of such caliber and status can be simply shot dead in public in broad daylight is a question that demands a befitting answer.
The region’s administration must thoroughly investigate the matter and bring the culprit to justice. The region’s president Mustafa Omer asserted that the killing was an intentional one, and the criminal will be dealt with accordingly. He is in detention and confessed to the heinous crime.
Strangely, non-Somali Ethiopians are responsible for airports’ security and operation, while the vast majority of passengers are Somalis. This fact complicates the whole situation. The passengers need security personnel and employees with whom they can relate and understand their language.
Even if it is the mandate of the Ethiopian federal government to run the country’s airports, it has to position federal policemen men and women of ethnic Somalis at the Somali Regional State’s airports. So President Mustafa and his administration have to push for this issue. They should demand well-trained and funded Somali, federal police, and staff personnel stationed at the region’s airports. The region speaks and operates in Somali after all.
Somalis must not only work in the confines of their region. They need to work in the country’s federal institutions. Unfortunately, they are not visible in the country’s countless federal institutions. For whatever reason. Are they equal citizens, though?
Let Somalis break barriers and partake in the security and wellbeing of the airports. They are part of Ethiopia and deserve to access the country’s multifaceted resources.