We should not allow pride to stand in way of peace; let’s talk with Al-Shabaab

Much as we would like to insist that we will not talk with terrorists, I think the time has come for Kenya to negotiate with Al-Shabaab as this is the only way to secure our elusive peace.

Mr Aden Duale, the Leader of the Majority in Parliament, has hinted that the Kenyan government may be willing to negotiate with the group to save Kenyan lives. I fully support this point of view.

Kenyan troops are in Somalia under the Linda Nchi operation, but there is little protection, if any, that this has offered the country. If anything, things seem to be getting worse, with Al-Shabaab carrying out more and more daring attacks on Kenyan soil.

From Westgate to Mandera, Al-Shabaab is killing and maiming Kenyans. It is scaring away teachers, doctors, and other professionals from northeastern Kenya. From high-end shoppers to quarry workers, no one is safe any more. For how long then will we simply wring our hands and look on?

Defeating Al-Shabaab through military might is a notion that we must now wipe out of our minds. Instead, we must be realistic and support talks to guarantee the safety of all Kenyans.

UNPOPULAR DECISIONS

It is sometimes necessary to make seemingly unpopular decisions in order to secure peace. Look at the Americans. They are now talking about negotiating with Bashar al Assad — the man they have for years labelled as evil incarnate — in order to bring about a peaceful transition in Syria. If the Americans can make such a radical about-turn, why can’t we?

Negotiations with unpopular persons or regimes are common throughout history and Kenya will certainly not be the first to do so.

After the kidnapping of hundreds of girls by Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Nigerian government announced that it was negotiating with the group for their safe release. Some factions of the militia group denied the reports, but it shows that Nigeria saw the need to negotiate.

Although the British government for years denied that it was negotiating with the Irish Republican Army during the crisis in Northern Ireland, we all now know that direct talks were going on behind closed doors. The talks eventually brought results, leading to the Northern Ireland peace process.

As a former Tony Blair chief of staff, Jonathan Powell argues, it is always best to open up lines of communication and start talking sooner rather than later. This is what Kenya should do now.

Although President Barack Obama is vocal that the US does not negotiate with terrorists, his regime did just that last year when it freed five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, held captive since 2009.

The swap was a result of negotiations facilitated by Qatar between the US and the Taliban.

Even former US president Ronald Reagan, who declared that America would never negotiate with terrorists on his watch, secretly engaged “terrorists” in talks and even offered them arms in exchange for prisoners.

NECESSITY FOR PEACE

In the Iran-Contra affair, the Reagan administration facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was under an arms embargo, in the hope that this would secure the release of seven US hostages held in Lebanon by a group with ties to Iran.

From Nelson Mandela and F W de Klerk in South Africa to Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin in the Middle East, diametrically opposed views have been forced to come together to talk, however painful the negotiations may be, because of the necessity for peace.

At one point, Mr Mandela and Mr de Klerk could not see eye to eye, but talking was the only way to avert civil war in South Africa, and this is what they did.

I am not a great admirer of Anwar Sadat, but his 1979 deal with Israel secured peace for Egypt after 30 years of war.

Somalia will always be our neighbour, and we cannot escape the fact that it currently harbours members of Al-Shabaab. We must resolve the insecurity problem soon if we do not want to risk sliding into anarchy. Refusing to recognise these facts is tantamount to burying our heads in the sand.

Mr Muchungu is a Kenyan journalist who produces and directs films in Malawi. [email protected]