Medeshi
Nicole Stremlau
Posted April 16, 2009
The Perils of Intervening in Somalia
Read More: Abdullahi Yusuf, Africa, Al-Shabab, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Foreign Aid, Islamic Courts Union, Kenya, Minnesota, Mogadishu, Pirates, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Somali Pirates, Somalia, Somalia Pirates, Somaliland, US Foreign Policy, World News
The current attention on Somalia's pirates and the reports of youth from Minnesota traveling to Somalia to fight in the jihad forces us to focus on a country that the US often ignores. The challenge is that no one really knows what to do to help foster peace or how to do it. And while there are plenty of ideas, there is little consensus from Somalis.
Americans may remember Black Hawk Down, but for Somalis the events that brought further violence in 2006 and 2007 are fresher. In 2006, America backed warlords on surprisingly uninformed intelligence. And as this strategy appeared to be failing, the US helped Somalia's long-time nemesis, Ethiopia, to oust the popular leader of the Islamic Courts Union, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, accusing him of being too radical. The same Sheikh Sharif is now president of Somalia after his predecessor, Abdullahi Yusuf, proved unable to create a viable government.
In recent months Ethiopian troops have pulled out but the intervention of Ethiopia (which in the region is seen as a US-proxy) has further destabilized the country and radicalized the politics. American and British Somalis have been drawn to fight the jihad against the invaders. This is not a new war. Ethiopia is seen by many Somalis as a Christian colonizer seeking to extend its empire to the sea. Ethiopians on the other hand regard Somalia, and many of the Islamist leaders within it, as having a project to create a greater Somalia that would include significant portions of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. The two countries have fought several wars in the past making the most recent conflict a magnet for galvanizing Somali nationalism.
International collaboration and mutual understanding are key, as Somalia's concerns are best addressed from a Somali perspective. Sheikh Sharif's major task is consolidating power as he only controls a section of Mogadishu and part of south-central Somalia. His greatest challenge for security is not the pirates but al-Shabab and other extremist groups that have been strengthened by the Ethiopian invasion. I have argued previously on this blog that the US should support Sheikh Sharif. But this is a delicate and challenging position for his international backers.
Outright and public US support risks delegitimizing him domestically and can weaken his position. This was part of the problem that faced Abdullahi Yusuf. He appeared exactly as he was: an Ethiopian/US backed leader with a weak domestic constituency. Similarly, this has been part of the failure of the many internationally crafted governments that preceded his presidency. After elaborate and extensive meetings in Nairobi or Djibouti, not only have these governments been reluctant to leave five star hotels but also there is little or no local ownership.
In contrast, the northern part of Somalia, the self-declared republic of Somaliland, has become relatively stable and democratic. Somaliland has successfully established its own constitutional democracy, held peaceful elections, repaired much of its damaged infrastructure and repatriated hundreds of thousands of refugees. This was achieved without external intervention but rather through a lengthy process of inclusive conferences with clan leaders. Many would argue that Somaliland's success is precisely because of the lack of major external interference.
While not exactly transferable, Somaliland's demobilization and demilitarization process suggests some insights. This was a locally driven initiative where the fighters from the Somali National Movement that once armed their neighbors went door to door to take large arms away. While Somalilanders were disarming, the robust UN and aid presence in south created a lucrative market for security. So while Kalashnikovs were losing their value in the north, in the south they were a guarantee for a salary.
Many Somalilanders argue that their peace process and stable government have succeeded because it was not externally driven but rather locally owned. In Somaliland citizens refer to themselves as "hostages of peace" to indicate the extensive efforts they made to bring stability in their country and their reluctance to resort to violence and jeopardize political settlements they struggled for. Conflict is still an issue and, because of internal political disagreements, the situation is particularly tense at the moment. But crucially there are traditional and local mechanisms for dealing with this. Given the enormity of the task Sheikh Sharif faces in crafting a viable government, he and his international supporters may be able to draw some lessons from the north of the country. At a minimum, renewed international interest in Somalia calls for carefully calibrated and coordinated engagement with the current government in Mogadishu, along with regional power bases.
The current attention on Somalia's pirates and the reports of youth from Minnesota traveling to Somalia to fight in the jihad forces us to focus on a country that the US often ignores. The challenge i...
The current attention on Somalia's pirates and the reports of youth from Minnesota traveling to Somalia to fight in the jihad forces us to focus on a country that the US often ignores. The challenge i...
Perils of the sea
Medeshi April 17, 2009
Piracy off Somalia
Perils of the sea
Apr 16th 2009
Perils of the sea
Apr 16th 2009
From The Economist print edition
The world’s navies are trying to stop pirates. But will shooting them solve this growing maritime problem?
Reuters
AS SOON as they heard that Captain Richard Phillips had been rescued by the American navy—snipers had killed three pirates holding him at gunpoint on a lifeboat—the 19-strong crew of the Maersk Alabama whooped for joy. The cargo ship’s horn hooted, flags were flown and flares fired to celebrate the release on April 11th of the skipper who had given himself up to win the release of his crew.
Two days earlier, French commandos had also been in action. They freed four of their compatriots, including a three-year-old boy, held hostage aboard a yacht, the Tanit (pictured above). One captive, Florent Lemaçon, was killed.
The United Nations’ envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said such stern military measures “are sending a strong message to the pirates and, more importantly, to their backers”. But for the moment the strong message has been met with strong defiance. Some pirates said they would kill French or American sailors that fall into their hands. There is little sign, so far, that attacks have been deterred. Since Captain Phillips’s release, at least four more ships have been attacked—two of them were captured in the Gulf of Aden, the area most closely patrolled.
document.write('');
Some 15-20 ships, ranging from bulk carriers to fishing vessels, along with about 300 sailors, are currently being held by Somali pirates. So far they have attacked ships for gain rather than out of ideology. They have almost always treated their hostages well while negotiating ransoms. But Vice-Admiral William Gortney, who commands American naval forces in the region, concedes that things could turn nastier as foreign navies resort to greater force. “This could escalate violence in this part of the world. No question about it,” he says.
The combination of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes (20,000 ships a year pass through the Gulf of Aden) alongside the world’s most utterly failed state makes the waters off Somalia the most prone to piracy. Ransoms of up to $3m make it an attractive profession. Money earned can go towards buying faster boats and fancier navigation equipment. Some captured vessels are used as “mother ships”, floating pirate bases from which speedboats can be launched against merchant vessels sailing hundreds of miles offshore. One was captured by the French navy on April 15th.
The International Maritime Bureau, a private-sector outfit, counted 111 pirate attacks off Somalia in 2008, nearly triple the previous year’s number. That figure includes the capture of 42 vessels, among them the Sirius Star, a Saudi supertanker, and the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks. So far this year, pirates have been more active but less successful. In 68 attacks they have captured only 18 ships, often small ones.
This is partly due to the presence of more foreign warships, including some dispatched by the European Union, NATO, an American-led coalition and by countries such as China and India wanting to protect their own vessels. However, their effect may be merely to shift the problem from the Gulf of Aden to the Indian Ocean.
President Barack Obama says America is “resolved to halt the rise of piracy”. But how? Piracy off the Horn of Africa is of a different order from other maritime troubles, for example along the coast of west Africa where America is also busy (see article). Somali pirates operate up to 800 miles out to sea, loiter for weeks and even attack at night. There are now 20-odd warships patrolling 1.1m square miles (2.8m square km) of ocean off Somalia, two-thirds the area of the EU. “There is a lot of water out there. Twenty assets do not make much of an impact,” says Commodore Tim Lowe, the British deputy commander of the American-led naval coalition. By one assessment, it would take about 140 warships fully to secure the Gulf of Aden, and several times that number to protect the seas off eastern Somalia.
So merchant ships are encouraged to look after themselves. Those making the 500-mile passage through the Gulf of Aden are told to stick to a designated “transit route” and to bunch up for protection in the most dangerous areas and times of day. In this way vessels, particularly slow ones with decks that are low off the water, can be “monitored” (but not escorted) by warships. Such measures have made it harder but not impossible for pirates to capture ships, particularly as some of them prefer to go it alone to save time (and money).
Some suggest protected convoys, but this would slow down shipping and require more warships than are available. Others propose arming merchant seamen, but that could provoke a spiral of bloodshed. For now, passive self-defence is generally the norm: barbed wire, fire hoses to try to push pirates away and, above all, an alert crew to spot attacks as early as possible to let the ship take evasive action.
One Western naval officer says placing all warships under a single command, say of the UN, and adopting the same rules of engagement would make the most of the existing forces. Hillary Clinton, America’s secretary of state, suggests trying to freeze pirates’ assets. In the end, as she acknowledges, the solution is not at sea but on land. Somalia needs a viable government to control its territory and shores. But that is a long way off. Western countries, after their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, are in no hurry to send soldiers to Somalia.
For now, merchant shipping’s best friend may be the weather. The south-west monsoon begins at the end of May and blows until August or so, making life much harder for pirates. Let it blow soon.
The world’s navies are trying to stop pirates. But will shooting them solve this growing maritime problem?
Reuters
AS SOON as they heard that Captain Richard Phillips had been rescued by the American navy—snipers had killed three pirates holding him at gunpoint on a lifeboat—the 19-strong crew of the Maersk Alabama whooped for joy. The cargo ship’s horn hooted, flags were flown and flares fired to celebrate the release on April 11th of the skipper who had given himself up to win the release of his crew.
Two days earlier, French commandos had also been in action. They freed four of their compatriots, including a three-year-old boy, held hostage aboard a yacht, the Tanit (pictured above). One captive, Florent Lemaçon, was killed.
The United Nations’ envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said such stern military measures “are sending a strong message to the pirates and, more importantly, to their backers”. But for the moment the strong message has been met with strong defiance. Some pirates said they would kill French or American sailors that fall into their hands. There is little sign, so far, that attacks have been deterred. Since Captain Phillips’s release, at least four more ships have been attacked—two of them were captured in the Gulf of Aden, the area most closely patrolled.
document.write('');
Some 15-20 ships, ranging from bulk carriers to fishing vessels, along with about 300 sailors, are currently being held by Somali pirates. So far they have attacked ships for gain rather than out of ideology. They have almost always treated their hostages well while negotiating ransoms. But Vice-Admiral William Gortney, who commands American naval forces in the region, concedes that things could turn nastier as foreign navies resort to greater force. “This could escalate violence in this part of the world. No question about it,” he says.
The combination of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes (20,000 ships a year pass through the Gulf of Aden) alongside the world’s most utterly failed state makes the waters off Somalia the most prone to piracy. Ransoms of up to $3m make it an attractive profession. Money earned can go towards buying faster boats and fancier navigation equipment. Some captured vessels are used as “mother ships”, floating pirate bases from which speedboats can be launched against merchant vessels sailing hundreds of miles offshore. One was captured by the French navy on April 15th.
The International Maritime Bureau, a private-sector outfit, counted 111 pirate attacks off Somalia in 2008, nearly triple the previous year’s number. That figure includes the capture of 42 vessels, among them the Sirius Star, a Saudi supertanker, and the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks. So far this year, pirates have been more active but less successful. In 68 attacks they have captured only 18 ships, often small ones.
This is partly due to the presence of more foreign warships, including some dispatched by the European Union, NATO, an American-led coalition and by countries such as China and India wanting to protect their own vessels. However, their effect may be merely to shift the problem from the Gulf of Aden to the Indian Ocean.
President Barack Obama says America is “resolved to halt the rise of piracy”. But how? Piracy off the Horn of Africa is of a different order from other maritime troubles, for example along the coast of west Africa where America is also busy (see article). Somali pirates operate up to 800 miles out to sea, loiter for weeks and even attack at night. There are now 20-odd warships patrolling 1.1m square miles (2.8m square km) of ocean off Somalia, two-thirds the area of the EU. “There is a lot of water out there. Twenty assets do not make much of an impact,” says Commodore Tim Lowe, the British deputy commander of the American-led naval coalition. By one assessment, it would take about 140 warships fully to secure the Gulf of Aden, and several times that number to protect the seas off eastern Somalia.
So merchant ships are encouraged to look after themselves. Those making the 500-mile passage through the Gulf of Aden are told to stick to a designated “transit route” and to bunch up for protection in the most dangerous areas and times of day. In this way vessels, particularly slow ones with decks that are low off the water, can be “monitored” (but not escorted) by warships. Such measures have made it harder but not impossible for pirates to capture ships, particularly as some of them prefer to go it alone to save time (and money).
Some suggest protected convoys, but this would slow down shipping and require more warships than are available. Others propose arming merchant seamen, but that could provoke a spiral of bloodshed. For now, passive self-defence is generally the norm: barbed wire, fire hoses to try to push pirates away and, above all, an alert crew to spot attacks as early as possible to let the ship take evasive action.
One Western naval officer says placing all warships under a single command, say of the UN, and adopting the same rules of engagement would make the most of the existing forces. Hillary Clinton, America’s secretary of state, suggests trying to freeze pirates’ assets. In the end, as she acknowledges, the solution is not at sea but on land. Somalia needs a viable government to control its territory and shores. But that is a long way off. Western countries, after their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, are in no hurry to send soldiers to Somalia.
For now, merchant shipping’s best friend may be the weather. The south-west monsoon begins at the end of May and blows until August or so, making life much harder for pirates. Let it blow soon.
Somalia: One on one with president Dahir Rayaale Kaahin of the democratic republic of Somaliland
Medeshi
Somalia: One on one with president Dahir Rayaale Kaahin of the democratic republic of Somaliland
Thursday, 16 Apr 2009 SMC
By Jerry Okungu
Hargeisa, Somaliland
The President of the Democratic of Somaliland, the other Somali state that many people don’t really know outside Somaliland is a different breed of African leaders. I have yet to come across an African head of state as self-effacing as President Dahir Rayaale Kaahin.
I first met him at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi way back in 2006 when he visited Kenya and the rest of East Africa as Head of State. At that time, he was a rather shy president who left most of the talking to his Foreign Affairs and Finance Ministers that had accompanied him. The casualness with which he sat in a coffee shop outside Safari Park Hotel without guards chatting away with his ministers and any other Somali that cared to pass by was amazing.
Three years on, I had a chance to be his guest at his palace for close to one hour. I had requested to meet him because I wanted to know from the president why elections had been postponed several times since May 2008 when his term was supposed to have ended; a development that was causing jitters and rumbles within the main opposition parties. More importantly I wanted to know how he and his colleagues in political leadership had kept Somaliland sane, peaceful and relatively democratic when the other Somalia was permanently embroiled in unending wars among various warlords.
To start off the evening talk, I asked him how he viewed the relationship between Somaliland, Puntland and Somalia their former union members under Siad Barre. President Kahaalin took the opportunity to give me a little history of Somaliland and how several past treaties with England, Italy, France and Ethiopia had all recognized Somaliland as a state as way back as 1896. He reminded me that over the years prior to 1960 when they got their independence, Somaliland was always a British colony while Somalia was ruled by Italy as Djibouti remained a French colony. It is important to remember that in all these treaties, Somaliland was the only state recognized by the colonial powers.
This historical factor has historically bestowed on Somaliland claim to motherhood of the entire Somali occupied territories in the Horn of Africa.
The President musingly referred to the early 1960s when early Somali leaders were determined to unite their people in one greater Somali nation. Part of this drive culminated in the Shifta war with Kenya for the control of the Northern Frontier District of Kenya and the Ogaden dispute with Ethiopia under Haile Selassie. And had it not been for the peaceful President Egal who signed a peace accord with Jomo Kenyatta, the story of Somali nation would be different today.
President Kaahin sees Somaliland’s role in the region in three dimensions. The state must fight human trafficking, piracy and terrorism. He sees these three evils as a threat not only to the stability of Somaliland but to the entire Horn of Africa, Africa and the rest of the world. He is acutely aware that these three evils have become a global problem but impact more negatively on the people of Somaliland due to the proximity of their activities to his country.
He says that though his country is relatively peaceful, terrorists have never hesitated to cross over from Somalia to hit soft targets in his country. A case in point was the October 29, 2008 incident when Somali terrorists hit his palace, the UNDP offices and the Ethiopian Embassy.
Although he is yet to get formal recognition from the rest of the international community, he receives a lot of support from the European Union, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
At the European Union, he has been able to hold several bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of various member states of the Union.
What bothers him however is the apparent hypocrisy and double standards displayed by the international community when it comes to recognizing the legitimacy of the Somaliland State. Despite this state of affairs, he is happy that on his part, his country has in the last 19 years, fulfilled all international standards required from any state that seeks recognition.
Ironically the European Union has always been ready to grant Somaliland international recognition on one condition; that the AU or a good number of African states take the lead in establishing diplomatic and bilateral relations with his country. And he puts it rather musingly; that if today just one African state took the plunge; the rest of the world community would grant Somaliland the much sought after recognition.
President Kaahin says that among the criteria they have fulfilled for recognition include peace and stability in the country, a working judicial system, a functional parliament and an effective executive arm of the state with active military and police departments. For this reason, his government has been able to apprehend pirates and terrorists who have faced trial in open courts and jailed when found guilty.
He is one person who does not believe that pirates are on Somali coastline to fight foreigners polluting their waters with toxic waste and killing their fish. He believes these are just excuses from common criminals for purposes of gaining sympathy from the Somali people and international community.
Asked to explain how Somaliland has survived all these years without aid support from the international community, he laughs and says that is the one proof that any country in the world no matter how poor can survive without depending on donor money. He says African leaders should simply tighten their belts, manage their economies in a frugal manner and with less corruption in government, donor aid would be a surplus rather than a must for us to survive as nations.
On relations with the African Union, he is not amused that a few years ago, he visited the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, had a good meeting with the then AU Commission chairman. The chairman in turn sent a strong delegation to come and assess his country on the ground. A good report was then written urging the AU to grant Somaliland recognition. Unfortunately Chairman Konary left without the AU raising the Somaliland issue in its subsequent summits.
He is happy that Americans finally elected a black president in Barack Obama but quickly adds that Africa must realize that Obama is an American President whose first responsibility is to the American citizens. Currently he has good working relations with successive American governments; Democrats and Republicans alike but has never established such links with Canada.
Since he took power following the death of his predecessor, President Egal, he has faced a number of challenges and accomplished a good number of tasks. From 2002, his government has carried out peaceful and credible local government and parliamentary elections, established the rule of law and entrenched multiparty democratic practice. To date there are three major political parties thriving in Somaliland. They are UDUB, his ruling party, KULMIYE the second largest party and UCID the third largest party in the country.
In the last Parliamentary elections in 2005, which was hotly contested by the three main parties, his party UDUB was declared the winner with a margin of 80 votes, which was subsequently challenged by KULMIYE. However when the court ordered for a recount as demanded by the opposition, the margin increased to 217! To date, of the 80 seats in the House of Representatives, UDUB has a majority of 62 seats that allows his party to pass any laws in Parliament but he has resisted the temptation to exploit this majority in Parliament because he is a believer in a strong multiparty political system. A case in point was when his party asked him to sign a bill that would extend the life of Parliament; he declined because he thought the move would negate the gains Somaliland had made in the area of democracy and because the move would go against the constitution.
On why elections have been postponed, he says that during the earlier voting exercise; a lot of fraudulent activities took place rendering the register invalid. His desire is to promote transparency and accountability is the electoral processes yet this transparency doesn’t go well with opposition parties; the very opposite of what happens in other African countries!
He has promised Somalilanders elections in October 2009; just about five months from now. On this note, Africa wishes you well Mr. President!
jerryokungu@gmail.com
Somaliweyn Media Center “SMC”
Somalia: One on one with president Dahir Rayaale Kaahin of the democratic republic of Somaliland
Thursday, 16 Apr 2009 SMC
By Jerry Okungu
Hargeisa, Somaliland
The President of the Democratic of Somaliland, the other Somali state that many people don’t really know outside Somaliland is a different breed of African leaders. I have yet to come across an African head of state as self-effacing as President Dahir Rayaale Kaahin.
I first met him at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi way back in 2006 when he visited Kenya and the rest of East Africa as Head of State. At that time, he was a rather shy president who left most of the talking to his Foreign Affairs and Finance Ministers that had accompanied him. The casualness with which he sat in a coffee shop outside Safari Park Hotel without guards chatting away with his ministers and any other Somali that cared to pass by was amazing.
Three years on, I had a chance to be his guest at his palace for close to one hour. I had requested to meet him because I wanted to know from the president why elections had been postponed several times since May 2008 when his term was supposed to have ended; a development that was causing jitters and rumbles within the main opposition parties. More importantly I wanted to know how he and his colleagues in political leadership had kept Somaliland sane, peaceful and relatively democratic when the other Somalia was permanently embroiled in unending wars among various warlords.
To start off the evening talk, I asked him how he viewed the relationship between Somaliland, Puntland and Somalia their former union members under Siad Barre. President Kahaalin took the opportunity to give me a little history of Somaliland and how several past treaties with England, Italy, France and Ethiopia had all recognized Somaliland as a state as way back as 1896. He reminded me that over the years prior to 1960 when they got their independence, Somaliland was always a British colony while Somalia was ruled by Italy as Djibouti remained a French colony. It is important to remember that in all these treaties, Somaliland was the only state recognized by the colonial powers.
This historical factor has historically bestowed on Somaliland claim to motherhood of the entire Somali occupied territories in the Horn of Africa.
The President musingly referred to the early 1960s when early Somali leaders were determined to unite their people in one greater Somali nation. Part of this drive culminated in the Shifta war with Kenya for the control of the Northern Frontier District of Kenya and the Ogaden dispute with Ethiopia under Haile Selassie. And had it not been for the peaceful President Egal who signed a peace accord with Jomo Kenyatta, the story of Somali nation would be different today.
President Kaahin sees Somaliland’s role in the region in three dimensions. The state must fight human trafficking, piracy and terrorism. He sees these three evils as a threat not only to the stability of Somaliland but to the entire Horn of Africa, Africa and the rest of the world. He is acutely aware that these three evils have become a global problem but impact more negatively on the people of Somaliland due to the proximity of their activities to his country.
He says that though his country is relatively peaceful, terrorists have never hesitated to cross over from Somalia to hit soft targets in his country. A case in point was the October 29, 2008 incident when Somali terrorists hit his palace, the UNDP offices and the Ethiopian Embassy.
Although he is yet to get formal recognition from the rest of the international community, he receives a lot of support from the European Union, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
At the European Union, he has been able to hold several bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of various member states of the Union.
What bothers him however is the apparent hypocrisy and double standards displayed by the international community when it comes to recognizing the legitimacy of the Somaliland State. Despite this state of affairs, he is happy that on his part, his country has in the last 19 years, fulfilled all international standards required from any state that seeks recognition.
Ironically the European Union has always been ready to grant Somaliland international recognition on one condition; that the AU or a good number of African states take the lead in establishing diplomatic and bilateral relations with his country. And he puts it rather musingly; that if today just one African state took the plunge; the rest of the world community would grant Somaliland the much sought after recognition.
President Kaahin says that among the criteria they have fulfilled for recognition include peace and stability in the country, a working judicial system, a functional parliament and an effective executive arm of the state with active military and police departments. For this reason, his government has been able to apprehend pirates and terrorists who have faced trial in open courts and jailed when found guilty.
He is one person who does not believe that pirates are on Somali coastline to fight foreigners polluting their waters with toxic waste and killing their fish. He believes these are just excuses from common criminals for purposes of gaining sympathy from the Somali people and international community.
Asked to explain how Somaliland has survived all these years without aid support from the international community, he laughs and says that is the one proof that any country in the world no matter how poor can survive without depending on donor money. He says African leaders should simply tighten their belts, manage their economies in a frugal manner and with less corruption in government, donor aid would be a surplus rather than a must for us to survive as nations.
On relations with the African Union, he is not amused that a few years ago, he visited the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, had a good meeting with the then AU Commission chairman. The chairman in turn sent a strong delegation to come and assess his country on the ground. A good report was then written urging the AU to grant Somaliland recognition. Unfortunately Chairman Konary left without the AU raising the Somaliland issue in its subsequent summits.
He is happy that Americans finally elected a black president in Barack Obama but quickly adds that Africa must realize that Obama is an American President whose first responsibility is to the American citizens. Currently he has good working relations with successive American governments; Democrats and Republicans alike but has never established such links with Canada.
Since he took power following the death of his predecessor, President Egal, he has faced a number of challenges and accomplished a good number of tasks. From 2002, his government has carried out peaceful and credible local government and parliamentary elections, established the rule of law and entrenched multiparty democratic practice. To date there are three major political parties thriving in Somaliland. They are UDUB, his ruling party, KULMIYE the second largest party and UCID the third largest party in the country.
In the last Parliamentary elections in 2005, which was hotly contested by the three main parties, his party UDUB was declared the winner with a margin of 80 votes, which was subsequently challenged by KULMIYE. However when the court ordered for a recount as demanded by the opposition, the margin increased to 217! To date, of the 80 seats in the House of Representatives, UDUB has a majority of 62 seats that allows his party to pass any laws in Parliament but he has resisted the temptation to exploit this majority in Parliament because he is a believer in a strong multiparty political system. A case in point was when his party asked him to sign a bill that would extend the life of Parliament; he declined because he thought the move would negate the gains Somaliland had made in the area of democracy and because the move would go against the constitution.
On why elections have been postponed, he says that during the earlier voting exercise; a lot of fraudulent activities took place rendering the register invalid. His desire is to promote transparency and accountability is the electoral processes yet this transparency doesn’t go well with opposition parties; the very opposite of what happens in other African countries!
He has promised Somalilanders elections in October 2009; just about five months from now. On this note, Africa wishes you well Mr. President!
jerryokungu@gmail.com
Somaliweyn Media Center “SMC”
Will US intervention against pirates deepen Somalia's crisis?
Medeshi April 17, 2009
Will US intervention against pirates deepen Somalia's crisis?
Will US intervention against pirates deepen Somalia's crisis?
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a new US initiative April 15 to battle piracy off Somalia, and said she has formed a diplomatic team to press Somali leaders "to take action against pirates operating from bases within their territories." She added: "These pirates are criminals. They are armed gangs on the sea. And those plotting attacks must be stopped."
Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke (whose "government" actually controls very little of Somalia) told the Associated Press that his piracy-fighting plan will be ready next week in time for an international conference on Somalia in Brussels. In Nairobi, Sharmarke and the president of Somalia's autonomous Puntland region met with US diplomats including the ambassador to Kenya. "We want to press them to take action against these pirates who are operating from their territory," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. He said the United States was willing to help but has not decided how best to do so. (AP, AllAfrica.com, April 16)
An April 17 New York Times editorial, "Fighting Piracy in Somalia," applauds the US Navy for the rescue of Richard Phillips, but warns:
The cruel fact is that even as Americans celebrated the rescue, the Somali pirates — in what is business as usual off of Somalia's long ungoverned coast— were grabbing more ships. There are now 17 captured ships and about 260 hostages waiting to be ransomed. The short-term answer is more patrols and better cooperation with regional states; a long-term solution, alas, remains elusive.
The U.S. and French governments were fully within their rights to authorize deadly force against the heavily armed pirates. Though the bandits may only be looking for ransom, their trophies have included giant oil tankers and ships full of sophisticated weapons. They have seriously disrupted shipping in one of the busiest maritime passages in the world, and their tactics could easily be adopted by terrorist groups — including Islamist groups inside Somalia linked to Al Qaeda — looking to cripple global commerce.
Of course, this is an acknowledgement that the pirates aren't Islamists. In fact, the Islamists have threatened to attack the pirate bases in Puntland (after the pirates were so indiscreet as to seize a Saudi ship—given that the Saudis are likely underwriting the Islamists). The Times squawks the standard media line:
Somalia has known only varying degrees of anarchy for 18 years now. A whole generation of Somalis has been raised in a violent free-for-all of warlords, pirates and extremists. Misguided American attempts to impose order produced the "Black Hawk Down" fiasco in 1993 and an ultimately useless Ehtiopian invasion in 2006.
Yet left to its own devices, Somalia can only become more noxious, spreading violence to its East African neighbors, breeding more extremism and making shipping through the Gulf of Aden ever more dangerous and costly. Various approaches are being discussed, such as working through Somalia’s powerful clans to reconstitute first local and then regional and national institutions. These must be urgently explored. One thing is clear: the United States cannot go it alone. This is a problem that can only be solved in partnership with Western allies and East African governments.
Again, no acknowledgement that "Somalia" actually consists of (at least) three distinct entities: the autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland (which govern themselves fairly well) and the oxymoron of "government-controlled Somalia"—which is only one-third of what maps label "Somalia," and isn't controlled by the government. The Great Powers insist on viewing the problem in Somalia as a power vacuum which can be solved by Great Power intervention (whether unilateral, as Bush attempted through his Ethiopian proxies, or multilateral, as the Times would prefer). Instead, it is that part of Somalia (the southern third, and the former Italian colony) which has been a war zone for nearly a generation now, thanks to Great Power efforts to impose governments. The northern two thirds of the country (Puntland and Somaliland, the former British colony), have achieved their own autonomy in spite of the Great Powers, and have relative peace. Going after the pirate bases in Puntland may provide the pretext for putting an end to its hard-won autonomy.
Meanwhile, leave it to the kneejerk Idiot Left to rally uncritically around the pirates. London Independent columnist John Hari, writing April 13 on Huffington Post, has a much-quoted article entitled "You Are Being Lied to About Pirates":
In 1991, the government of Somalia - in the Horn of Africa - collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since - and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.
Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.
At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by over exploitation - and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster and other sea life is being stolen every year by vast trawlers illegally sailing into Somalia's unprotected seas. The local fishermen have suddenly lost their livelihoods, and they are starving.
This is the context in which the men we are calling "pirates" have emerged. Everyone agrees they were ordinary Somalian fishermen who at first took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a 'tax' on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia - and it's not hard to see why. In a surreal telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was "to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters... We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas."
We've noted the claims about toxic waste here—and they are entirely plausible. But before we swallow this "Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia" jazz, we'd like to see some evidence that the voluminous ransom monies have been democratically distributed to impacted coastal communities, or used for ecological remediation. Predictably, Hari is just as blind as the New York Times to the fact that Somalia is not just a lawless zone where a self-styled "Volunteer Coastguard" is needed to come to the rescue. Puntland, from where the pirates operate, has its own rudimentary coast guard, and it has (under foreign pressure) been deployed against the pirates.
Nyankor Matthew, in an April 15 piece for the Liberian Dialogue, "Somali Pirates: International Hypocrisy and Pretext for Military Invasion and Economic Imperialism," sees illegal fishing in Somali waters as a provocation to the crisis:
After years of plundering their resources, the Somali fishermen finally decided to fight off the real pirates, thieves, and terrorists, and instead of being called voluntary coast guards, they are being labeled as criminals, pirates, and terrorists... In my humble opinion they are totally justified in their actions because they are doing nothing different than what is being done to them by the same people calling them pirates. The only difference is that unlike the propagandists, the Somalis don't have a voice.
She quotes a report form the NGO ECOTERRA International:
ECOTERRA International warned ship-owners as far back as 1992, that they were fishing illegally within the Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone. When foreign vessels refused to stop pirating Somalia's ocean resources, EcoTerra repeatedly appealed to the US and the international community for help to protect the coastal waters of the war-torn state to no avail. This void provided an opening for the rise of Somalia's pirate fleets.
Illegal fishing is a serious problem, but we'd like to know how seizing ships loaded with humanitarian aid is addressing the problem. And, alas, even Matthew, with her pan-Africanist perspective, offers no acknowledgement that two-thirds of Somalia is already running its own affairs reasonably well. International recognition of Puntland's autonomy and Somaliland's declared independence—building on the stability that already exists, instead of tearing it down—could provide a way out of the crisis. But hardly anyone is talking about that.
See our last post on Somalia and the pirates.
read also: Somalia: Give them food rather than freeze their assets.
Will US intervention against pirates deepen Somalia's crisis?
Will US intervention against pirates deepen Somalia's crisis?
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a new US initiative April 15 to battle piracy off Somalia, and said she has formed a diplomatic team to press Somali leaders "to take action against pirates operating from bases within their territories." She added: "These pirates are criminals. They are armed gangs on the sea. And those plotting attacks must be stopped."
Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke (whose "government" actually controls very little of Somalia) told the Associated Press that his piracy-fighting plan will be ready next week in time for an international conference on Somalia in Brussels. In Nairobi, Sharmarke and the president of Somalia's autonomous Puntland region met with US diplomats including the ambassador to Kenya. "We want to press them to take action against these pirates who are operating from their territory," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. He said the United States was willing to help but has not decided how best to do so. (AP, AllAfrica.com, April 16)
An April 17 New York Times editorial, "Fighting Piracy in Somalia," applauds the US Navy for the rescue of Richard Phillips, but warns:
The cruel fact is that even as Americans celebrated the rescue, the Somali pirates — in what is business as usual off of Somalia's long ungoverned coast— were grabbing more ships. There are now 17 captured ships and about 260 hostages waiting to be ransomed. The short-term answer is more patrols and better cooperation with regional states; a long-term solution, alas, remains elusive.
The U.S. and French governments were fully within their rights to authorize deadly force against the heavily armed pirates. Though the bandits may only be looking for ransom, their trophies have included giant oil tankers and ships full of sophisticated weapons. They have seriously disrupted shipping in one of the busiest maritime passages in the world, and their tactics could easily be adopted by terrorist groups — including Islamist groups inside Somalia linked to Al Qaeda — looking to cripple global commerce.
Of course, this is an acknowledgement that the pirates aren't Islamists. In fact, the Islamists have threatened to attack the pirate bases in Puntland (after the pirates were so indiscreet as to seize a Saudi ship—given that the Saudis are likely underwriting the Islamists). The Times squawks the standard media line:
Somalia has known only varying degrees of anarchy for 18 years now. A whole generation of Somalis has been raised in a violent free-for-all of warlords, pirates and extremists. Misguided American attempts to impose order produced the "Black Hawk Down" fiasco in 1993 and an ultimately useless Ehtiopian invasion in 2006.
Yet left to its own devices, Somalia can only become more noxious, spreading violence to its East African neighbors, breeding more extremism and making shipping through the Gulf of Aden ever more dangerous and costly. Various approaches are being discussed, such as working through Somalia’s powerful clans to reconstitute first local and then regional and national institutions. These must be urgently explored. One thing is clear: the United States cannot go it alone. This is a problem that can only be solved in partnership with Western allies and East African governments.
Again, no acknowledgement that "Somalia" actually consists of (at least) three distinct entities: the autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland (which govern themselves fairly well) and the oxymoron of "government-controlled Somalia"—which is only one-third of what maps label "Somalia," and isn't controlled by the government. The Great Powers insist on viewing the problem in Somalia as a power vacuum which can be solved by Great Power intervention (whether unilateral, as Bush attempted through his Ethiopian proxies, or multilateral, as the Times would prefer). Instead, it is that part of Somalia (the southern third, and the former Italian colony) which has been a war zone for nearly a generation now, thanks to Great Power efforts to impose governments. The northern two thirds of the country (Puntland and Somaliland, the former British colony), have achieved their own autonomy in spite of the Great Powers, and have relative peace. Going after the pirate bases in Puntland may provide the pretext for putting an end to its hard-won autonomy.
Meanwhile, leave it to the kneejerk Idiot Left to rally uncritically around the pirates. London Independent columnist John Hari, writing April 13 on Huffington Post, has a much-quoted article entitled "You Are Being Lied to About Pirates":
In 1991, the government of Somalia - in the Horn of Africa - collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since - and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.
Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.
At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by over exploitation - and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster and other sea life is being stolen every year by vast trawlers illegally sailing into Somalia's unprotected seas. The local fishermen have suddenly lost their livelihoods, and they are starving.
This is the context in which the men we are calling "pirates" have emerged. Everyone agrees they were ordinary Somalian fishermen who at first took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a 'tax' on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia - and it's not hard to see why. In a surreal telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was "to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters... We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas."
We've noted the claims about toxic waste here—and they are entirely plausible. But before we swallow this "Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia" jazz, we'd like to see some evidence that the voluminous ransom monies have been democratically distributed to impacted coastal communities, or used for ecological remediation. Predictably, Hari is just as blind as the New York Times to the fact that Somalia is not just a lawless zone where a self-styled "Volunteer Coastguard" is needed to come to the rescue. Puntland, from where the pirates operate, has its own rudimentary coast guard, and it has (under foreign pressure) been deployed against the pirates.
Nyankor Matthew, in an April 15 piece for the Liberian Dialogue, "Somali Pirates: International Hypocrisy and Pretext for Military Invasion and Economic Imperialism," sees illegal fishing in Somali waters as a provocation to the crisis:
After years of plundering their resources, the Somali fishermen finally decided to fight off the real pirates, thieves, and terrorists, and instead of being called voluntary coast guards, they are being labeled as criminals, pirates, and terrorists... In my humble opinion they are totally justified in their actions because they are doing nothing different than what is being done to them by the same people calling them pirates. The only difference is that unlike the propagandists, the Somalis don't have a voice.
She quotes a report form the NGO ECOTERRA International:
ECOTERRA International warned ship-owners as far back as 1992, that they were fishing illegally within the Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone. When foreign vessels refused to stop pirating Somalia's ocean resources, EcoTerra repeatedly appealed to the US and the international community for help to protect the coastal waters of the war-torn state to no avail. This void provided an opening for the rise of Somalia's pirate fleets.
Illegal fishing is a serious problem, but we'd like to know how seizing ships loaded with humanitarian aid is addressing the problem. And, alas, even Matthew, with her pan-Africanist perspective, offers no acknowledgement that two-thirds of Somalia is already running its own affairs reasonably well. International recognition of Puntland's autonomy and Somaliland's declared independence—building on the stability that already exists, instead of tearing it down—could provide a way out of the crisis. But hardly anyone is talking about that.
See our last post on Somalia and the pirates.
read also: Somalia: Give them food rather than freeze their assets.
Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A.
Medeshi ,April 17, 2009
Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A.
By MARK MAZZETTI and SCOTT SHANE
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday made public detailed memos describing brutal interrogation techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency, as President Obama sought to reassure the agency that the C.I.A. operatives involved would not be prosecuted.
In dozens of pages of dispassionate legal prose, the methods approved by the Bush administration for extracting information from senior operatives of Al Qaeda are spelled out in careful detail — like keeping detainees awake for up to 11 straight days, placing them in a dark, cramped box or putting insects into the box to exploit their fears.
The interrogation methods were authorized beginning in 2002, and some were used as late as 2005 in the C.I.A.’s secret overseas prisons. The techniques were among the Bush administration’s most closely guarded secrets, and the documents released Thursday afternoon were the most comprehensive public accounting to date of the program.
Some senior Obama administration officials, including Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., have labeled one of the 14 approved techniques, waterboarding, illegal torture. The United States prosecuted some Japanese interrogators at war crimes trials after World War II for waterboarding and other methods detailed in the memos.
The release of the documents came after a bitter debate that divided the Obama administration, with the C.I.A. opposing the Justice Department’s proposal to air the details of the agency’s long-secret program. Fueling the urgency of the discussion was Thursday’s court deadline in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had sued the government for the release of the Justice Department memos.
Together, the four memos give an extraordinarily detailed account of the C.I.A.’s methods and the Justice Department’s long struggle, in the face of graphic descriptions of brutal tactics, to square them with international and domestic law. Passages describing forced nudity, the slamming of detainees into walls, prolonged sleep deprivation and the dousing of detainees with water as cold as 41 degrees alternate with elaborate legal arguments concerning the international Convention Against Torture.
The documents were released with minimal redactions, indicating that President Obama sided against current and former C.I.A. officials who for weeks had pressed the White House to withhold details about specific interrogation techniques. Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, had argued that revealing such information set a dangerous precedent for future disclosures of intelligence sources and methods.
A more pressing concern for the C.I.A. is that the revelations may give new momentum to proposals for a full-blown investigation into Bush administration counterterrorism programs and possible torture prosecutions.
Within minutes of the release of the memos, Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that the memos illustrated the need for his proposed independent commission of inquiry, which would offer immunity in return for candid testimony.
Mr. Obama condemned what he called a “dark and painful chapter in our history” and said that the interrogation techniques would never be used again. But he also repeated his opposition to a lengthy inquiry into the program, saying that “nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past.”
Mr. Obama said that C.I.A. officers who were acting on the Justice Department’s legal advice would not be prosecuted, but he left open the possibility that anyone who acted without legal authorization could still face criminal penalties. He did not address whether lawyers who authorized the use of the interrogation techniques should face some kind of penalty.
The four legal opinions, released in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the A.C.L.U., were written in 2002 and 2005 by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, the highest authority in interpreting the law in the executive branch.
The first of the memos, from August 2002, was signed by Jay S. Bybee, who oversaw the Office of Legal Counsel, and gave the C.I.A. its first detailed legal approval for waterboarding and other harsh treatment. Three others, signed by Steven G. Bradbury, sought to reassure the agency in May 2005 that its methods were still legal, even when multiple methods were used in combination, and despite the prohibition in international law against “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment.
All legal opinions on interrogation were revoked by Mr. Obama on his second day in office, when he also outlawed harsh interrogations and ordered the C.I.A.’s secret prisons closed.
In the memos, the Justice Department authors emphasized precautions the C.I.A. proposed to take, including monitoring by medical personnel, and the urgency of getting information to stop terrorist attacks. They recounted the C.I.A.’s assertions of the effectiveness of the techniques but noted that interrogators could not always tell a prisoner who was withholding information from one who had no more information to offer.
The memos include what in effect are lengthy excerpts from the agency’s interrogation manual, laying out with precision how each method was to be used. Waterboarding, for example, involved strapping a prisoner to a gurney inclined at an angle of “10 to 15 degrees” and pouring water over a cloth covering his nose and mouth “from a height of approximately 6 to 18 inches” for no more than 40 seconds at a time.
But a footnote to a 2005 memo made it clear that the rules were not always followed. Waterboarding was used “with far greater frequency than initially indicated” and with “large volumes of water” rather than the small quantities in the rules, one memo says, citing a 2004 report by the C.I.A.’s inspector general.
Most of the methods have been previously described in news accounts and in a 2006 report of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which interviewed 14 detainees. But one previously unknown tactic the C.I.A. proposed — but never used — against Abu Zubaydah, a terrorist operative, involved exploiting what was thought to be his fear of insects.
“As we understand it, you plan to inform Zubaydah that you are going to place a stinging insect into the box, but you will actually place a harmless insect in the box, such as a caterpillar,” one memo says.
Mr. Bybee, Mr. Bradbury and John Yoo, who was the leading author of the 2002 interrogation memos, are the subjects of an investigation by the Justice Department’s ethics office about their legal analysis on interrogation. Officials have described the draft ethics report, by the Office of Professional Responsibility, as highly critical, but its completion has been delayed to allow the subjects a chance to respond.
The A.C.L.U. said the memos clearly describe criminal conduct and underscore the need to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate who authorized and carried out torture.
But Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, cautioned that the memos were written at a time when C.I.A. officers were frantically working to prevent a repeat of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“Those methods, read on a bright, sunny, safe day in April 2009, appear graphic and disturbing,” said Mr. Blair in a written statement. “But we will absolutely defend those who relied on these memos.”
Charlie Savage contributed reporting.
Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A.
By MARK MAZZETTI and SCOTT SHANE
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday made public detailed memos describing brutal interrogation techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency, as President Obama sought to reassure the agency that the C.I.A. operatives involved would not be prosecuted.
In dozens of pages of dispassionate legal prose, the methods approved by the Bush administration for extracting information from senior operatives of Al Qaeda are spelled out in careful detail — like keeping detainees awake for up to 11 straight days, placing them in a dark, cramped box or putting insects into the box to exploit their fears.
The interrogation methods were authorized beginning in 2002, and some were used as late as 2005 in the C.I.A.’s secret overseas prisons. The techniques were among the Bush administration’s most closely guarded secrets, and the documents released Thursday afternoon were the most comprehensive public accounting to date of the program.
Some senior Obama administration officials, including Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., have labeled one of the 14 approved techniques, waterboarding, illegal torture. The United States prosecuted some Japanese interrogators at war crimes trials after World War II for waterboarding and other methods detailed in the memos.
The release of the documents came after a bitter debate that divided the Obama administration, with the C.I.A. opposing the Justice Department’s proposal to air the details of the agency’s long-secret program. Fueling the urgency of the discussion was Thursday’s court deadline in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had sued the government for the release of the Justice Department memos.
Together, the four memos give an extraordinarily detailed account of the C.I.A.’s methods and the Justice Department’s long struggle, in the face of graphic descriptions of brutal tactics, to square them with international and domestic law. Passages describing forced nudity, the slamming of detainees into walls, prolonged sleep deprivation and the dousing of detainees with water as cold as 41 degrees alternate with elaborate legal arguments concerning the international Convention Against Torture.
The documents were released with minimal redactions, indicating that President Obama sided against current and former C.I.A. officials who for weeks had pressed the White House to withhold details about specific interrogation techniques. Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, had argued that revealing such information set a dangerous precedent for future disclosures of intelligence sources and methods.
A more pressing concern for the C.I.A. is that the revelations may give new momentum to proposals for a full-blown investigation into Bush administration counterterrorism programs and possible torture prosecutions.
Within minutes of the release of the memos, Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that the memos illustrated the need for his proposed independent commission of inquiry, which would offer immunity in return for candid testimony.
Mr. Obama condemned what he called a “dark and painful chapter in our history” and said that the interrogation techniques would never be used again. But he also repeated his opposition to a lengthy inquiry into the program, saying that “nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past.”
Mr. Obama said that C.I.A. officers who were acting on the Justice Department’s legal advice would not be prosecuted, but he left open the possibility that anyone who acted without legal authorization could still face criminal penalties. He did not address whether lawyers who authorized the use of the interrogation techniques should face some kind of penalty.
The four legal opinions, released in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the A.C.L.U., were written in 2002 and 2005 by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, the highest authority in interpreting the law in the executive branch.
The first of the memos, from August 2002, was signed by Jay S. Bybee, who oversaw the Office of Legal Counsel, and gave the C.I.A. its first detailed legal approval for waterboarding and other harsh treatment. Three others, signed by Steven G. Bradbury, sought to reassure the agency in May 2005 that its methods were still legal, even when multiple methods were used in combination, and despite the prohibition in international law against “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment.
All legal opinions on interrogation were revoked by Mr. Obama on his second day in office, when he also outlawed harsh interrogations and ordered the C.I.A.’s secret prisons closed.
In the memos, the Justice Department authors emphasized precautions the C.I.A. proposed to take, including monitoring by medical personnel, and the urgency of getting information to stop terrorist attacks. They recounted the C.I.A.’s assertions of the effectiveness of the techniques but noted that interrogators could not always tell a prisoner who was withholding information from one who had no more information to offer.
The memos include what in effect are lengthy excerpts from the agency’s interrogation manual, laying out with precision how each method was to be used. Waterboarding, for example, involved strapping a prisoner to a gurney inclined at an angle of “10 to 15 degrees” and pouring water over a cloth covering his nose and mouth “from a height of approximately 6 to 18 inches” for no more than 40 seconds at a time.
But a footnote to a 2005 memo made it clear that the rules were not always followed. Waterboarding was used “with far greater frequency than initially indicated” and with “large volumes of water” rather than the small quantities in the rules, one memo says, citing a 2004 report by the C.I.A.’s inspector general.
Most of the methods have been previously described in news accounts and in a 2006 report of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which interviewed 14 detainees. But one previously unknown tactic the C.I.A. proposed — but never used — against Abu Zubaydah, a terrorist operative, involved exploiting what was thought to be his fear of insects.
“As we understand it, you plan to inform Zubaydah that you are going to place a stinging insect into the box, but you will actually place a harmless insect in the box, such as a caterpillar,” one memo says.
Mr. Bybee, Mr. Bradbury and John Yoo, who was the leading author of the 2002 interrogation memos, are the subjects of an investigation by the Justice Department’s ethics office about their legal analysis on interrogation. Officials have described the draft ethics report, by the Office of Professional Responsibility, as highly critical, but its completion has been delayed to allow the subjects a chance to respond.
The A.C.L.U. said the memos clearly describe criminal conduct and underscore the need to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate who authorized and carried out torture.
But Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, cautioned that the memos were written at a time when C.I.A. officers were frantically working to prevent a repeat of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“Those methods, read on a bright, sunny, safe day in April 2009, appear graphic and disturbing,” said Mr. Blair in a written statement. “But we will absolutely defend those who relied on these memos.”
Charlie Savage contributed reporting.
Human tide of misery flees the anarchy of Somalia
Medeshi April 17, 2009
Human tide of misery flees the anarchy of Somalia
As the world follows the escapades of the country's pirates, civilians are fleeing the anarchy on land, creating the world's biggest refugee camp
By Daniel Howden, Africa Correspondent
As the world follows the escapades of the country's pirates, civilians are fleeing the anarchy on land, creating the world's biggest refugee camp
By Daniel Howden, Africa Correspondent
The lucky ones come with their families, others appear out of the thorn bushes, walking alone. Five hundred Somalis are now arriving at this bleak Kenyan outpost every day. They join a population of 267,000 and counting, in a facility built to shelter just 45,000. While the world has been captivated by the high seas drama of Somalia's pirates, this human tide has swollen the ranks of Dadaab, turning it into the world's largest refugee camp.
The new arrivals sit in their hundreds under a makeshift tarpaulin, trying to keep perfectly still in temperatures that reach 40C in the shade. It speaks volumes for the horrors unfolding in Somalia that people will abandon their homes, risk arbitrary arrest, death or starvation to reach the desolate welcome on offer in this corner of northern Kenya.
These people are proof of the human cost of the accelerating collapse of Somalia, yet their fate attracts nothing like the global interest that surrounds Somali piracy and its threat to commerce. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) that runs Dadaab urgently needs new money from international donors and new land from the Kenyan government. Neither has been forthcoming. The annual budget for this camp is $19m (£13m) – roughly half the annual operational cost of a single warship patrolling the Indian Ocean in search of modern-day Blackbeards
The new arrivals sit in their hundreds under a makeshift tarpaulin, trying to keep perfectly still in temperatures that reach 40C in the shade. It speaks volumes for the horrors unfolding in Somalia that people will abandon their homes, risk arbitrary arrest, death or starvation to reach the desolate welcome on offer in this corner of northern Kenya.
These people are proof of the human cost of the accelerating collapse of Somalia, yet their fate attracts nothing like the global interest that surrounds Somali piracy and its threat to commerce. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) that runs Dadaab urgently needs new money from international donors and new land from the Kenyan government. Neither has been forthcoming. The annual budget for this camp is $19m (£13m) – roughly half the annual operational cost of a single warship patrolling the Indian Ocean in search of modern-day Blackbeards
Al Qaeda Urges Somalis To Attack Ships
Medeshi April 16, 2009
Al Qaeda Urges Somalis To Attack Ships
Posted by Khaled Wassef
Posted by Khaled Wassef
A senior Saudi Arabian al Qaeda operative has called on Somali jihadists to step up their attacks on "crusader" forces at sea in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, and on land in neighboring Djibouti, which hosts France’s largest military base in Africa.
"To our steadfast brethren in Somalia, take caution and prepare yourselves," Sa'id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri (aka Abu Sufian al-Azdi) says in a new audiotape acquired by CBS News. "Increase your strikes against the crusaders at sea and in Djibouti."
Shihri warns Somali militants against a conspiracy led by "the crusaders, the Jews and traitor Arab rulers," to put and end to the Muslim extremists' progress in Somalia.
"The crusaders, the Jews and the traitorous rulers did not come to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden except to wage war against you in Somalia and abolish your newly established emirate, and by Allah, they shall be defeated. They shall bring a curse upon their people," Shihri said.
"We shall not leave them this time until we get to their own countries with the help of Allah.”
It was the first clear sign since the U.S. and French navies thwarted recent pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden that al Qaeda is trying to take advantage of anti-Western sentiment, and a ready supply of well-armed young men with access to boats and maritime skills, in the restive country.
Al Qaeda does have links to Islamic extremist groups operating in Somalia but, thus far, piracy and al Qaeda's brand of terrorism have remained largely separate. The pirates in the Gulf of Aden have always sought ransom payments or loot — they have not been motivated by Islamic fundamentalism.
A maritime intelligence source tells CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar that interaction between pirate groups and Somalia's al Qaeda-linked groups was first noticed about nine months ago, and has been on the rise.
The source said it was now "inconceivable" to Western intelligence agencies that al Qaeda would not be getting some financial reward from the successful hijackings. The question, says the intelligence source, is whether that cut will remain sufficient to keep the Islamic extremist group satisfied as piracy gains public attention, and bigger ransoms.
Following the rescue of the Maersk Alabama by the U.S. Navy, during which three pirates were killed and another captured, there were threats made by pirates in Somalia against any American crew members found in future hijackings.
Shihri is a Saudi Arabian who was captured near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan in December of 2001. He was one of the first U.S. detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba, arriving on January 21, 2002.
After being held at Guantanamo without charge for almost six years, he was released to Saudi authorities and enrolled in a repatriation and rehabilitation program there.
Following his release, he traveled to Yemen and was subsequently described as a deputy leader in a press release from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Shihri opened his message by addressing the Jihadi leader trio: Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman Zawahiri. He assured them that the militants in the Arabian Peninsula were not letting them down, and pledged to open a new front in the region.
"We say to you, we are not just sitting there watching you as the crusader countries prepare themselves to eradicate you and wipe out your group. By Allah we shall open against them a major front in the Arabian Peninsula which would, Allah willing, be the key to victory that would purge the crusader campaign and put an end to the ambitions of the crusaders and the Jews in the region."
It was a vow to try and take the heat off al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where NATO and domestic forces are putting increasing pressure on militants.
"To our steadfast brethren in Somalia, take caution and prepare yourselves," Sa'id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri (aka Abu Sufian al-Azdi) says in a new audiotape acquired by CBS News. "Increase your strikes against the crusaders at sea and in Djibouti."
Shihri warns Somali militants against a conspiracy led by "the crusaders, the Jews and traitor Arab rulers," to put and end to the Muslim extremists' progress in Somalia.
"The crusaders, the Jews and the traitorous rulers did not come to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden except to wage war against you in Somalia and abolish your newly established emirate, and by Allah, they shall be defeated. They shall bring a curse upon their people," Shihri said.
"We shall not leave them this time until we get to their own countries with the help of Allah.”
It was the first clear sign since the U.S. and French navies thwarted recent pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden that al Qaeda is trying to take advantage of anti-Western sentiment, and a ready supply of well-armed young men with access to boats and maritime skills, in the restive country.
Al Qaeda does have links to Islamic extremist groups operating in Somalia but, thus far, piracy and al Qaeda's brand of terrorism have remained largely separate. The pirates in the Gulf of Aden have always sought ransom payments or loot — they have not been motivated by Islamic fundamentalism.
A maritime intelligence source tells CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar that interaction between pirate groups and Somalia's al Qaeda-linked groups was first noticed about nine months ago, and has been on the rise.
The source said it was now "inconceivable" to Western intelligence agencies that al Qaeda would not be getting some financial reward from the successful hijackings. The question, says the intelligence source, is whether that cut will remain sufficient to keep the Islamic extremist group satisfied as piracy gains public attention, and bigger ransoms.
Following the rescue of the Maersk Alabama by the U.S. Navy, during which three pirates were killed and another captured, there were threats made by pirates in Somalia against any American crew members found in future hijackings.
Shihri is a Saudi Arabian who was captured near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan in December of 2001. He was one of the first U.S. detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba, arriving on January 21, 2002.
After being held at Guantanamo without charge for almost six years, he was released to Saudi authorities and enrolled in a repatriation and rehabilitation program there.
Following his release, he traveled to Yemen and was subsequently described as a deputy leader in a press release from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Shihri opened his message by addressing the Jihadi leader trio: Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman Zawahiri. He assured them that the militants in the Arabian Peninsula were not letting them down, and pledged to open a new front in the region.
"We say to you, we are not just sitting there watching you as the crusader countries prepare themselves to eradicate you and wipe out your group. By Allah we shall open against them a major front in the Arabian Peninsula which would, Allah willing, be the key to victory that would purge the crusader campaign and put an end to the ambitions of the crusaders and the Jews in the region."
It was a vow to try and take the heat off al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where NATO and domestic forces are putting increasing pressure on militants.
Ethiopian opposition stages rare protest
Medeshi April 16 ,2009
Ethiopian opposition stages rare protest
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Opposition protesters staged a rare demonstration in the Ethiopian capital Thursday, demanding the release of an official jailed for life in January.
Some 300 people massed outside the presidential palace and then marched towards Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's office in Addis Ababa in the first such protests since 2005, when disputed poll results sparked violence.
The group called for the release of Birtukan Midekssa, an opposition leader sentenced to life in prison after she reportedly denied ever expressing remorse to obtain a pardon in 2007 for treason and outrage against the constitution among other offences.
Birtukan, the head of the Unity for Democracy Justice (UDJ) party, had been detained with dozens of opposition figures and supporters following the 2005 elections.
"Our aim is to publicise the illegality of her detention, and to demand her immediate release. We demand the restoration of her pardon," Yacob Hailemariam, UDJ's deputy chief, told AFP.
Birtukan was only granted visiting rights by an Ethiopian court on Wednesday, but her release now depends on a government pardon board, which in turn will submit its decision to President Girme Wolde Giorgis.
"It was one big step in the whole process to have her family and lawyer allowed to visit the prison. We will resume our struggle to reach the next stage, which is to have her released," party spokesman Hailu Araya told AFP.
The UDJ made its most spectacular electoral gains ever in the 2005 polls but cried foul over reported fraud, claiming it was robbed of victory by Meles' ruling party.
The United States, a staunch Ethiopian ally and the country's top aid contributor, has expressed concern over the 36-year-old's re-arrest and called for more political freedom in the Horn of Africa nation.
Ethiopia's next general elections are to be held in June 2010.
Meles, whose security forces were blamed for using excessive force four years ago, has vowed to prepare law enforcement agencies to avoid bloodshed in time for next year.
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Opposition protesters staged a rare demonstration in the Ethiopian capital Thursday, demanding the release of an official jailed for life in January.
Some 300 people massed outside the presidential palace and then marched towards Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's office in Addis Ababa in the first such protests since 2005, when disputed poll results sparked violence.
The group called for the release of Birtukan Midekssa, an opposition leader sentenced to life in prison after she reportedly denied ever expressing remorse to obtain a pardon in 2007 for treason and outrage against the constitution among other offences.
Birtukan, the head of the Unity for Democracy Justice (UDJ) party, had been detained with dozens of opposition figures and supporters following the 2005 elections.
"Our aim is to publicise the illegality of her detention, and to demand her immediate release. We demand the restoration of her pardon," Yacob Hailemariam, UDJ's deputy chief, told AFP.
Birtukan was only granted visiting rights by an Ethiopian court on Wednesday, but her release now depends on a government pardon board, which in turn will submit its decision to President Girme Wolde Giorgis.
"It was one big step in the whole process to have her family and lawyer allowed to visit the prison. We will resume our struggle to reach the next stage, which is to have her released," party spokesman Hailu Araya told AFP.
The UDJ made its most spectacular electoral gains ever in the 2005 polls but cried foul over reported fraud, claiming it was robbed of victory by Meles' ruling party.
The United States, a staunch Ethiopian ally and the country's top aid contributor, has expressed concern over the 36-year-old's re-arrest and called for more political freedom in the Horn of Africa nation.
Ethiopia's next general elections are to be held in June 2010.
Meles, whose security forces were blamed for using excessive force four years ago, has vowed to prepare law enforcement agencies to avoid bloodshed in time for next year.
Eritrea becoming 'a giant prison'
Medeshi April 16, 2009
Eritrea becoming 'a giant prison'
The Eritrean government is turning its country into a giant prison, according to Human Rights Watch.
The Horn of Africa nation is widely using military conscription without end, as well as arbitrary detention of its citizens, says HRW.
The Eritrean government is turning its country into a giant prison, according to Human Rights Watch.
The Horn of Africa nation is widely using military conscription without end, as well as arbitrary detention of its citizens, says HRW.
(Photo: Eritrea is accused of using a border dispute to justify endless conscription)
Hundreds of Eritrean refugees forcibly repatriated from countries like Libya, Egypt and Malta face arrest and torture upon their return, says the group.
Religious persecution and forced labour are also rife in Eritrea, says HRW.
The report urges countries not to send back Eritrean asylum-seekers and calls on the international community and donors to exert pressure on the government in Asmara over its rights record.
HRW says every year thousands of Eritreans flee their country, where statutory national service, which used to last 18 months, has been made indefinite.
The advocacy group says most of Eritrea's adult population is currently conscripted.
Sixteen years after it won independence from Ethiopia following a three-decade war, Eritrea is one of the most closed and repressive states in the world, says the report.
It accuses President Isayas Afewerki of using an unresolved border dispute with Ethiopia to keep Eritrea on a permanent war-footing.
HRW says there is no independent civil society and all independent media outlets have been shut down.
People under the age of 50 are rarely granted visas to leave the country and those who try to do so without documentation face imprisonment and torture or being shot at the border, says the group.
Prisoners are often held in underground cells or in shipping containers with dangerously high temperatures, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Christians are being rounded up and tortured on a regular basis, says the group.
The BBC's Pascale Harter spoke to Salamay, a 16-year-old Eritrean refugee in Italy.
She said she fled when police began rounding up youths in her village for national service.
In Sudan, she said a family took her hostage and forced her to work without pay.
In Libya, she was taken to a prison where inmates faced rape every night by the guards.
Hundreds of Eritrean refugees forcibly repatriated from countries like Libya, Egypt and Malta face arrest and torture upon their return, says the group.
Religious persecution and forced labour are also rife in Eritrea, says HRW.
The report urges countries not to send back Eritrean asylum-seekers and calls on the international community and donors to exert pressure on the government in Asmara over its rights record.
HRW says every year thousands of Eritreans flee their country, where statutory national service, which used to last 18 months, has been made indefinite.
The advocacy group says most of Eritrea's adult population is currently conscripted.
Sixteen years after it won independence from Ethiopia following a three-decade war, Eritrea is one of the most closed and repressive states in the world, says the report.
It accuses President Isayas Afewerki of using an unresolved border dispute with Ethiopia to keep Eritrea on a permanent war-footing.
HRW says there is no independent civil society and all independent media outlets have been shut down.
People under the age of 50 are rarely granted visas to leave the country and those who try to do so without documentation face imprisonment and torture or being shot at the border, says the group.
Prisoners are often held in underground cells or in shipping containers with dangerously high temperatures, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Christians are being rounded up and tortured on a regular basis, says the group.
The BBC's Pascale Harter spoke to Salamay, a 16-year-old Eritrean refugee in Italy.
She said she fled when police began rounding up youths in her village for national service.
In Sudan, she said a family took her hostage and forced her to work without pay.
In Libya, she was taken to a prison where inmates faced rape every night by the guards.
Read full report here: Read the full report [848 KB]
Story from BBC NEWS:
Story from BBC NEWS:
Rights groups says Eritrea becoming giant prison
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
Associated Press 2009-04-16 08:02 PM
Forced conscription, secret detentions and the killing of refugees are effectively turning the small African nation of Eritrea into a huge prison, a prominent human rights group said Thursday.
Human Rights Watch said Eritrea's government is secretly holding thousands of people without charge or trial and subjecting many to forced labor. The New York-based group also accused Eritrean authorities of shooting refugees trying to flee across the country's disputed border with Ethiopia and meting out harsh punishments to the families of those who escape.
The Eritrean Embassy in London did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the report and Eritrea's information minister did not return repeated phone messages seeking commment.
"Eritrea's government is turning the country into a giant prison," Georgette Gagnon, the organization's Africa director, said in a statement. "Eritrea should immediately account for hundreds of disappeared prisoners and open its jails to independent scrutiny."
Eritrea, a small coastal nation of about 5 million people at the edge of the Horn of Africa, is locked in a tense standoff with neighboring Ethiopia over the country's shared border. Once part of Ethiopia, Eritrea fought a bloody, three decade-long struggle for independence which ended in 1993. Both nations went to war again in 1998, a conflict which lasted 2 1/2 years and killed tens of thousands but left the border issue unresolved.
The war was followed by a crackdown on political opposition and media, according to Human Rights Watch. Citing interviews with Eritrean refugees and eyewitnesses, it said that conscription and mandatory service imposed by the government amounted to forced labor, and that torture was routine.
"Detention conditions are appalling, with detainees typically held in overcrowded cells sometimes underground or in shipping containers that reach searing temperatures by day and are freezing at night," the report said. It added that people trying to escape the country were shot at, and that families of those who fled were punished with imprisonment or exorbitant fines.
Human Rights Watch urged the United States, the European Union and the United Nations to work together to defuse the border dispute, saying that it was being used as an excuse by Eritrea to clamp down on human rights.
It said the dispute had consequences across the Horn of Africa, including lawless Somalia, which has become the land base for pirates who have seized many vessels in the nearby shipping lanes. ___
On the Net:
http://www.hrw.org/
Forced conscription, secret detentions and the killing of refugees are effectively turning the small African nation of Eritrea into a huge prison, a prominent human rights group said Thursday.
Human Rights Watch said Eritrea's government is secretly holding thousands of people without charge or trial and subjecting many to forced labor. The New York-based group also accused Eritrean authorities of shooting refugees trying to flee across the country's disputed border with Ethiopia and meting out harsh punishments to the families of those who escape.
The Eritrean Embassy in London did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the report and Eritrea's information minister did not return repeated phone messages seeking commment.
"Eritrea's government is turning the country into a giant prison," Georgette Gagnon, the organization's Africa director, said in a statement. "Eritrea should immediately account for hundreds of disappeared prisoners and open its jails to independent scrutiny."
Eritrea, a small coastal nation of about 5 million people at the edge of the Horn of Africa, is locked in a tense standoff with neighboring Ethiopia over the country's shared border. Once part of Ethiopia, Eritrea fought a bloody, three decade-long struggle for independence which ended in 1993. Both nations went to war again in 1998, a conflict which lasted 2 1/2 years and killed tens of thousands but left the border issue unresolved.
The war was followed by a crackdown on political opposition and media, according to Human Rights Watch. Citing interviews with Eritrean refugees and eyewitnesses, it said that conscription and mandatory service imposed by the government amounted to forced labor, and that torture was routine.
"Detention conditions are appalling, with detainees typically held in overcrowded cells sometimes underground or in shipping containers that reach searing temperatures by day and are freezing at night," the report said. It added that people trying to escape the country were shot at, and that families of those who fled were punished with imprisonment or exorbitant fines.
Human Rights Watch urged the United States, the European Union and the United Nations to work together to defuse the border dispute, saying that it was being used as an excuse by Eritrea to clamp down on human rights.
It said the dispute had consequences across the Horn of Africa, including lawless Somalia, which has become the land base for pirates who have seized many vessels in the nearby shipping lanes. ___
On the Net:
http://www.hrw.org/
Alleged Somali pirate sues German government
Medeshi
Alleged Somali pirate sues German government
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A suspected Somali pirate has filed a lawsuit against Germany for his alleged inhumane treatment since he was handed over to Kenya. He says Germany must have known of the unsatisfactory prison conditions in Kenya.Ali Mohamed A.D. was captured by the German navy patrolling the Gulf of Aden last month when he allegedly tried to seize a freighter, the MV Courier. He was transferred to Kenya along with eight other Somali suspects for prosecution in the port city of Mombasa under an EU agreement with Kenya.
His lawyer, Oliver Wallasch, said his client, who denies involvement in piracy, was seeking 10,000 euros ($13,300) from the German government before the Berlin regional court for damages incurred after his "unlawful" transfer to Kenya. The lawsuit contends that the interior, defense, justice and foreign ministries must have been aware that a suspect would likely have no access to medical treatment, sanitary facilities or privacy in a Kenyan jail.
According to Wallasch's application to the court, as quoted by the website of German newspaper Bild, "The plaintiff finds himself in a cell designed for four men. However, he shares the cell with nine others." It said there was no privacy, and no account was taken of Muslim dietary restrictions. "Vegetarian food is only available for medical reasons, so that the plaintiff is forced to eat pork if he is not to starve."
The German foreign ministry denied that Germany took no account of the human rights of alleged pirates. A spokesman said the government checked that standards were maintained.
Meanwhile a second suspect, Mohamud Mohamed H., has filed an injunction with the Berlin administrative court aiming to force the German foreign ministry to cover the costs of a public defender in Kenya. His lawyer, Andreas Schulz, said his trial was to begin in Mombasa on April 22 and he currently has no defense attorney there.
Wallasch said another three suspected pirates had hired German lawyers.
Kenya and the EU have signed an agreement under which suspected Somali pirates who are detained in the course of the EU anti-piracy naval mission off the Somali coast are transferred to Kenya. A German ship, the Hansa Stavanger, is currently one of at least 18 ships held by Somali pirates. The German navy has contributed four ships to the EU fleet
Alleged Somali pirate sues German government
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A suspected Somali pirate has filed a lawsuit against Germany for his alleged inhumane treatment since he was handed over to Kenya. He says Germany must have known of the unsatisfactory prison conditions in Kenya.Ali Mohamed A.D. was captured by the German navy patrolling the Gulf of Aden last month when he allegedly tried to seize a freighter, the MV Courier. He was transferred to Kenya along with eight other Somali suspects for prosecution in the port city of Mombasa under an EU agreement with Kenya.
His lawyer, Oliver Wallasch, said his client, who denies involvement in piracy, was seeking 10,000 euros ($13,300) from the German government before the Berlin regional court for damages incurred after his "unlawful" transfer to Kenya. The lawsuit contends that the interior, defense, justice and foreign ministries must have been aware that a suspect would likely have no access to medical treatment, sanitary facilities or privacy in a Kenyan jail.
According to Wallasch's application to the court, as quoted by the website of German newspaper Bild, "The plaintiff finds himself in a cell designed for four men. However, he shares the cell with nine others." It said there was no privacy, and no account was taken of Muslim dietary restrictions. "Vegetarian food is only available for medical reasons, so that the plaintiff is forced to eat pork if he is not to starve."
The German foreign ministry denied that Germany took no account of the human rights of alleged pirates. A spokesman said the government checked that standards were maintained.
Meanwhile a second suspect, Mohamud Mohamed H., has filed an injunction with the Berlin administrative court aiming to force the German foreign ministry to cover the costs of a public defender in Kenya. His lawyer, Andreas Schulz, said his trial was to begin in Mombasa on April 22 and he currently has no defense attorney there.
Wallasch said another three suspected pirates had hired German lawyers.
Kenya and the EU have signed an agreement under which suspected Somali pirates who are detained in the course of the EU anti-piracy naval mission off the Somali coast are transferred to Kenya. A German ship, the Hansa Stavanger, is currently one of at least 18 ships held by Somali pirates. The German navy has contributed four ships to the EU fleet
Payne: it would be a mistake to send in troops to Somalia
Medeshi April 15, 2009
Payne : it would be a mistake to send in troops to Somalia
Kiran Chetry
Rep. Donald Payne speaks to CNN's Kiran Chetry about coming under fire on his trip to Somalia.
There are new developments today in the waters off of the coast of Somalia. Another U.S. ship, the Liberty Sun, was attacked by pirates. This time, the pirates were unsuccessful.
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) is the first American member of the government to visit the country in a decade. His plane came under attack as he left Mogadishu earlier this week. Congressman Payne joined Kiran Chetry on CNN’s American Morning on Wednesday.
Kiran Chetry: You witnessed firsthand what a dangerous place and region this is. Why did you go?
Rep. Donald Payne: I’ve been dealing with that area for the last 20 years. And I had worked during the past two or three years trying to help them form a new government. They had a government I met with three or four times in Nairobi. They were meeting outside of Somalia, called a transitional federal government. They were not strong enough to maintain themselves. There was another group called the I.C.U., the Islamic Courts Union now called the Alliance that then took over a bit. It’s a complicated story but the U.S. suggested that Ethiopia intrude to bring peace, although Ethiopia is hostile to Somalia so that was really the wrong peacekeepers.
Chetry: You said this trip was largely successful. What about being fired on? What happened?
Payne: Well I think there’s certainly a group, the al Shabab, who may be the closest link to al Qaeda. They do not want to see this government work. That’s what it’s all about. I think the fact that I went there, that there were no problems during the day. We went around to the various places, met with women’s groups, the prime minister, the cabinet people. I believe this was desperation. They don’t want to see this new two-month government succeed. I assured President Sheikh Sharif that we would want to engage. They have a plan that they feel they can deal with piracy on the ground, on the land, rather than in the sea, which makes it very difficult. So they will be coming up with a plan in a couple of weeks and will submit it to our government and myself.
Chetry: The good news is that you guys didn’t even know you were fired upon until you were safely in Kenya. The engine noise drowned that out. Thank goodness you guys are safe. Did the leaders you talked to have a handle on how dangerous this is and did they understand the urgency with which the international community wants them to do something?
Payne: No question about it. They think its going to prevent Somalia from moving forward. They know it’s a dark mark on their country. They want to see it end. But, you see, the pirates have money with the cartels and the groups that support them. Al Shabab gets money from extremists who are anti-U.S. The government are the ones with no funds. So they said it’s very difficult even though they’re going to go forward anyway. But they’re the ones that need the support.
Chetry: Would they support Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who said he hasn’t ruled out perhaps attacking within Somalia. Would the government support that, an outside country like the United States launching attacks to cut down piracy?
Payne: I think if we supported the new government, had them form their own police, they have no police, they have no military. They know what to do. They know the terrain. I think it would make a lot more sense to give them the resources to see if they can do it themselves. If that fails, then we can bring in troops. I think it would, at this time, be a mistake to send in troops to try to weed out these terrorists.
Payne : it would be a mistake to send in troops to Somalia
Kiran Chetry
Rep. Donald Payne speaks to CNN's Kiran Chetry about coming under fire on his trip to Somalia.
There are new developments today in the waters off of the coast of Somalia. Another U.S. ship, the Liberty Sun, was attacked by pirates. This time, the pirates were unsuccessful.
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) is the first American member of the government to visit the country in a decade. His plane came under attack as he left Mogadishu earlier this week. Congressman Payne joined Kiran Chetry on CNN’s American Morning on Wednesday.
Kiran Chetry: You witnessed firsthand what a dangerous place and region this is. Why did you go?
Rep. Donald Payne: I’ve been dealing with that area for the last 20 years. And I had worked during the past two or three years trying to help them form a new government. They had a government I met with three or four times in Nairobi. They were meeting outside of Somalia, called a transitional federal government. They were not strong enough to maintain themselves. There was another group called the I.C.U., the Islamic Courts Union now called the Alliance that then took over a bit. It’s a complicated story but the U.S. suggested that Ethiopia intrude to bring peace, although Ethiopia is hostile to Somalia so that was really the wrong peacekeepers.
Chetry: You said this trip was largely successful. What about being fired on? What happened?
Payne: Well I think there’s certainly a group, the al Shabab, who may be the closest link to al Qaeda. They do not want to see this government work. That’s what it’s all about. I think the fact that I went there, that there were no problems during the day. We went around to the various places, met with women’s groups, the prime minister, the cabinet people. I believe this was desperation. They don’t want to see this new two-month government succeed. I assured President Sheikh Sharif that we would want to engage. They have a plan that they feel they can deal with piracy on the ground, on the land, rather than in the sea, which makes it very difficult. So they will be coming up with a plan in a couple of weeks and will submit it to our government and myself.
Chetry: The good news is that you guys didn’t even know you were fired upon until you were safely in Kenya. The engine noise drowned that out. Thank goodness you guys are safe. Did the leaders you talked to have a handle on how dangerous this is and did they understand the urgency with which the international community wants them to do something?
Payne: No question about it. They think its going to prevent Somalia from moving forward. They know it’s a dark mark on their country. They want to see it end. But, you see, the pirates have money with the cartels and the groups that support them. Al Shabab gets money from extremists who are anti-U.S. The government are the ones with no funds. So they said it’s very difficult even though they’re going to go forward anyway. But they’re the ones that need the support.
Chetry: Would they support Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who said he hasn’t ruled out perhaps attacking within Somalia. Would the government support that, an outside country like the United States launching attacks to cut down piracy?
Payne: I think if we supported the new government, had them form their own police, they have no police, they have no military. They know what to do. They know the terrain. I think it would make a lot more sense to give them the resources to see if they can do it themselves. If that fails, then we can bring in troops. I think it would, at this time, be a mistake to send in troops to try to weed out these terrorists.
Somalia: Give them food rather than freeze their assets.
Medeshi
April 15, 2009
Somalia: Give them food rather than freeze their assets.
The United States four point plant to tackle pirate problems in Somalia will not work simply because it aggravates the situation. One of the main reasons why the pirates have resorted to this activity is because they were not able to get food from the sea. This has been due to illegal fishing of huge trawlers at the Somali coast , therefore , depriving these poor and young fisher-men their livelihood.
The plan of freezing assets of the pirates as proposed by the US secretary of State (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jm1_2wEAxWnfgeqyOI8UUqpcndMA) will simply make the pirates look for more ships to hijack , extra cash and ways to hide their money through the complex Somali banking (Xawaala) system.
Creating functioning government in the pirate invested areas along with creating jobs and other activities that would give incentive and self-esteem to these young adventurers would do better than the proposed drastic steps which I think will be fruitless.
US policy has already failed in Somalia and this could be doomed , too, if the US doesn’t consult the stakeholders in–land and stop direct interferences.
April 15, 2009
Somalia: Give them food rather than freeze their assets.
The United States four point plant to tackle pirate problems in Somalia will not work simply because it aggravates the situation. One of the main reasons why the pirates have resorted to this activity is because they were not able to get food from the sea. This has been due to illegal fishing of huge trawlers at the Somali coast , therefore , depriving these poor and young fisher-men their livelihood.
The plan of freezing assets of the pirates as proposed by the US secretary of State (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jm1_2wEAxWnfgeqyOI8UUqpcndMA) will simply make the pirates look for more ships to hijack , extra cash and ways to hide their money through the complex Somali banking (Xawaala) system.
Creating functioning government in the pirate invested areas along with creating jobs and other activities that would give incentive and self-esteem to these young adventurers would do better than the proposed drastic steps which I think will be fruitless.
US policy has already failed in Somalia and this could be doomed , too, if the US doesn’t consult the stakeholders in–land and stop direct interferences.
'Sons of Somalia' to Fight Pirates
Medeshi
'Sons of Somalia' to Fight Pirates? (Updated)
By Nathan Hodge April 15, 2009
Over at Information Dissemination, Galrahn is offering one of the more original proposals that we've seen lately for tackling Somalia's piracy problem: we pay, you fight.
One of Somalia's biggest problems is a complete lack of maritime security. Galrahn's solution? Help Somalia build the rudiments of coast guard. The price tag, he says, would be a mere $130 million per year. Here's how he crunches the numbers: For a 2,000-man Somali coast guard earning $10 a day, plus a 400-man officer corps making $20 a day, the estimated manpower costs would be $10.2 million annually. That's chump change, he argues, when you weigh it against ransom payouts and the cost of skyrocketing insurance premiums.
Galrahn also proposes outfitting Somali coasties with 30 experimental M-80 stealth ships at $15 million a piece; one could presumably find cheaper options than an prototype vessel. But for the sake of argument, that comes in at a total cost of around $130.2 million annually to equip and train a 30-vessel coast guard with 2,400 officers and men.
In essence, Galrahn is taking a page from the program the U.S. military used to co-opt largely Sunni insurgents in Iraq. If a Somali coast guardsman is paid a decent wage, he argues, the economics of piracy start to look a lot less attractive:
I look at this as a "Sons of Somalia" model in the spirit of "Sons of Iraq" except with direct training and military equipment assistance, plus a long term cooperation commitment. If the Somali Coast Guard is paid a wage of $10 - $20 dollars a day, plus using better equipment that interfaces with the modern technology of international naval forces, that job becomes appealing for the Somali kid looking for a way ahead. It would also keep costs low.
But of course, such a payoff program is much easier to do, if your forces are already in charge of the country. Without that sort of wider control, infiltration of your new guns-for-hire teams gets all too easy.
Interestingly enough, we have seen some signals that the Pentagon may be interested in providing military training in Somalia to create functioning security forces. Vice Adm. William Gortney, commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East, stated as much on Sunday, when he said: "the ultimate solution for piracy is on land." And Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said earlier this week that military training for Somalis was one possible option for combating instability and lawlessness.
UPDATE: Then, of course, there's Ron Paul's option. According to Politico, he's "calling on Congress to consider using letters of marque and reprisal, a power written into the Constitution that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep international waters safe."
'Sons of Somalia' to Fight Pirates? (Updated)
By Nathan Hodge April 15, 2009
Over at Information Dissemination, Galrahn is offering one of the more original proposals that we've seen lately for tackling Somalia's piracy problem: we pay, you fight.
One of Somalia's biggest problems is a complete lack of maritime security. Galrahn's solution? Help Somalia build the rudiments of coast guard. The price tag, he says, would be a mere $130 million per year. Here's how he crunches the numbers: For a 2,000-man Somali coast guard earning $10 a day, plus a 400-man officer corps making $20 a day, the estimated manpower costs would be $10.2 million annually. That's chump change, he argues, when you weigh it against ransom payouts and the cost of skyrocketing insurance premiums.
Galrahn also proposes outfitting Somali coasties with 30 experimental M-80 stealth ships at $15 million a piece; one could presumably find cheaper options than an prototype vessel. But for the sake of argument, that comes in at a total cost of around $130.2 million annually to equip and train a 30-vessel coast guard with 2,400 officers and men.
In essence, Galrahn is taking a page from the program the U.S. military used to co-opt largely Sunni insurgents in Iraq. If a Somali coast guardsman is paid a decent wage, he argues, the economics of piracy start to look a lot less attractive:
I look at this as a "Sons of Somalia" model in the spirit of "Sons of Iraq" except with direct training and military equipment assistance, plus a long term cooperation commitment. If the Somali Coast Guard is paid a wage of $10 - $20 dollars a day, plus using better equipment that interfaces with the modern technology of international naval forces, that job becomes appealing for the Somali kid looking for a way ahead. It would also keep costs low.
But of course, such a payoff program is much easier to do, if your forces are already in charge of the country. Without that sort of wider control, infiltration of your new guns-for-hire teams gets all too easy.
Interestingly enough, we have seen some signals that the Pentagon may be interested in providing military training in Somalia to create functioning security forces. Vice Adm. William Gortney, commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East, stated as much on Sunday, when he said: "the ultimate solution for piracy is on land." And Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said earlier this week that military training for Somalis was one possible option for combating instability and lawlessness.
UPDATE: Then, of course, there's Ron Paul's option. According to Politico, he's "calling on Congress to consider using letters of marque and reprisal, a power written into the Constitution that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep international waters safe."
Press Release Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Somaliland
Medeshi April 15, 2009
Press Release Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Somaliland .
On April 10, 2009, Eritrean Foreign Ministry issued a press release in which it negated the existence of the Republic of Somaliland. It seems that the Government of Eritrea deliberately over looks the historical as well as the current prevailing status Quo of the Republic of Somaliland. After a Long and costly struggle the people of Somaliland overthrow the Brutal regime of Siad Barre and on May 18, 1991, Somaliland withdrew from defunct union with Somalia and reclaimed its independent once again.
Somaliland’s declaration of independent is based on its earlier existence as a recognized separate state prior to her merger with Somalia. This is thus not a case of succession, as Eritrea depicts it. Somaliland Borders are demarcated. Somaliland accepts the sanctity of colonially inherited Boundaries in conformity with the African Union charter. The people of Somaliland and many others in the international Community Believe that there is a strong case for diplomatic Recognition of
Somaliland as an independent state based on Precedents in international Law. It is mind-boggling however, that Eritrea dismisses all these facts blindly. Unlike Eritrea, Somaliland is a democratic country based on multiple political party systems. Unlike Eretria, Somaliland plays a significant role in the regional security. Unlike Eretria, Somaliland
enjoys fantastic relationship with all its neighbors which is based on mutual understanding and mutual interests.Many consider the Eritrean regime as a pariah state. It’s well known that Asmara regime has not only interfered the affairs of a number of neighbors, but also violated the territorial integrity of these nations,such as, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen and most recently the Republic of Djibouti. In addition the Asmara administration has been heavily involved in the internal affairs of Somalia. In fact, the regime has been characterized as being part and parcel of Somalia’s unresolved conflict by
engaging an endless proxy war.On several occasions Somaliland apprehended red-handedly dozens of individuals trained by Asmara to disrupt the peace and tranquility of the region. Finally, Somaliland urges the Asmara regime to respect the will of the people of Somaliland and avoid interfering issues related to Somaliland.
Abdillahi Mohamed Duale
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Somaliland
In Somali language:
War-Saxaafadeed ka soo baxay Wasaarada Arimaha Dibada Somaliland.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Hargaysa(Togdhnews)-war-saxaafadeed Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibada Somaliland Md. C/Laahi Maxamed Ducaale, ayaa War-saxaafadeed uu
maanta ka akhriyay shir-jaraa’id oo uu ku qabtay xafiiskiisa, waxa uu dawlada Eritrea ku eedeeyay in aanay faro gelin oo kaliya Somaliland, balse ay isku dayeen in ay qasaan madax banaanida iyo midnimada dalal badan gobolka ku yaala.
hadaba War-saxaafadeedkaasi oo dhamaystirnaa waxa uu qornaa sidan:
"10-kii Bishan April 2009, waxa Wasaarada Arrimaha Dibada Eretrea ay soo saartay war-saxaafadeed ay ku naqdiday kuna diidan tahay jiritaanka Jamhuuriyada Somaliland, waxay dawlada Eretrea si badheedh ah u diidan tahay sooyaalkii taariikheed ee madax banaanida qaranimada Somaliland.
Ka dib Halgan dheer shacbiga Somaliland waxay af-gambiyeen nidaamkii Kali taliska ahaa ee Siyaad Barre, waxaanay 18-kii bishii May ee sanadkii 19991-kii ay ka baxday midowgii Somalia, iyadoo mar kale la soo noqotay madaxbanaanideedii.
Ku dhawaaqista Madax-banaanida Somaliland waxay ku salaysan tahay lana xidhiidhaa jiritaankeedii hore ee loogu aqoonsaday qaran madax banaan, intii aanay la midoobin Somalia oo ay isku tageen, mana aha goosasho siday Eretrea ku andacoonayso, xuduudaha Somaliland-na waxay ku cad yihiin xuduudihii uu ka tagay gumaystihii, oo ku cad axdiga midowga Afrika.
Shacbiga Somaliland iyo in badan oo ka mid ah beesha caalamku waxay rumaysan yihiin in ay soo xoogaysanayso qaddiyada aqoonsiga dublamaasiyadeed ee madaxbanaanida Somaliland, oo waafaqsan sharciga caalamiga.
Si kastaba ha ahaatee waxay Eretrea iska baal-martay xaqiiqooyinkaasi oo dhan, marka laga reebo Eretrea Somaliland waa dal dimuqraadi ah oo ku dhaqma Nidaamka axsaabta badan. Marka laga reebo Eretrea Somaliland waxay door firfircoon ka qaadatay ammaanka Gobolka, waxay Somaliland ku naaloonaysaa xidhiidh adag oo ay la leedahay dalalka jaarka, oo uu ka dhaxeeyo cilaaqaad wanaagsan iyo is-faham wanaagsani.
Waxa in badan maamulka Eretrea loo arkaa mid go’doon ah, waxa kale oo ay caan ku yahay Taliska Asmara inay faro geliyeen Arrimaha dalal badan oo ka mid ah dariskeeda, sida Sudan, Ethoipia, Yemen iyo kii u dambeeyay ee Jabuuti. Waxa intaas u dheer waxay qodqodaa oo ay si weyn ugu lug leeyihiin Arrimaha gudaha Somalia.
Xaqiiqdii Maamulka Eretrea wuxuu caadeystay inuu qaso oo aan xal laga gaadhin colaada Somalia, oo aanay dagaalada ka socda dalkaasina ay noqdaan kuwo aan dhammaan.
Waxa Somaliland marar kala duwan ay qabatay dad badan oo lagu soo Tabo-baray Asmara, si ay u qasaan nabada iyo xasiloonida Gobolka.
Ugu dambayntii waxa Somaliland ugu baaqaysaa dawlada Asmara inay tixgeliso rajada Shacbiga Somaliland kana fogaato farro-gelinta Arrimaha la xidhiidha Somaliland."
Suxufiyiintii ka soo qaybgashay Shirkaa Jaraa,id ayaa su,aalo kala duwan ku hafiyay Wasiirka arimha dibada.
Press Release Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Somaliland .
On April 10, 2009, Eritrean Foreign Ministry issued a press release in which it negated the existence of the Republic of Somaliland. It seems that the Government of Eritrea deliberately over looks the historical as well as the current prevailing status Quo of the Republic of Somaliland. After a Long and costly struggle the people of Somaliland overthrow the Brutal regime of Siad Barre and on May 18, 1991, Somaliland withdrew from defunct union with Somalia and reclaimed its independent once again.
Somaliland’s declaration of independent is based on its earlier existence as a recognized separate state prior to her merger with Somalia. This is thus not a case of succession, as Eritrea depicts it. Somaliland Borders are demarcated. Somaliland accepts the sanctity of colonially inherited Boundaries in conformity with the African Union charter. The people of Somaliland and many others in the international Community Believe that there is a strong case for diplomatic Recognition of
Somaliland as an independent state based on Precedents in international Law. It is mind-boggling however, that Eritrea dismisses all these facts blindly. Unlike Eritrea, Somaliland is a democratic country based on multiple political party systems. Unlike Eretria, Somaliland plays a significant role in the regional security. Unlike Eretria, Somaliland
enjoys fantastic relationship with all its neighbors which is based on mutual understanding and mutual interests.Many consider the Eritrean regime as a pariah state. It’s well known that Asmara regime has not only interfered the affairs of a number of neighbors, but also violated the territorial integrity of these nations,such as, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen and most recently the Republic of Djibouti. In addition the Asmara administration has been heavily involved in the internal affairs of Somalia. In fact, the regime has been characterized as being part and parcel of Somalia’s unresolved conflict by
engaging an endless proxy war.On several occasions Somaliland apprehended red-handedly dozens of individuals trained by Asmara to disrupt the peace and tranquility of the region. Finally, Somaliland urges the Asmara regime to respect the will of the people of Somaliland and avoid interfering issues related to Somaliland.
Abdillahi Mohamed Duale
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Somaliland
In Somali language:
War-Saxaafadeed ka soo baxay Wasaarada Arimaha Dibada Somaliland.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Hargaysa(Togdhnews)-war-saxaafadeed Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibada Somaliland Md. C/Laahi Maxamed Ducaale, ayaa War-saxaafadeed uu
maanta ka akhriyay shir-jaraa’id oo uu ku qabtay xafiiskiisa, waxa uu dawlada Eritrea ku eedeeyay in aanay faro gelin oo kaliya Somaliland, balse ay isku dayeen in ay qasaan madax banaanida iyo midnimada dalal badan gobolka ku yaala.
hadaba War-saxaafadeedkaasi oo dhamaystirnaa waxa uu qornaa sidan:
"10-kii Bishan April 2009, waxa Wasaarada Arrimaha Dibada Eretrea ay soo saartay war-saxaafadeed ay ku naqdiday kuna diidan tahay jiritaanka Jamhuuriyada Somaliland, waxay dawlada Eretrea si badheedh ah u diidan tahay sooyaalkii taariikheed ee madax banaanida qaranimada Somaliland.
Ka dib Halgan dheer shacbiga Somaliland waxay af-gambiyeen nidaamkii Kali taliska ahaa ee Siyaad Barre, waxaanay 18-kii bishii May ee sanadkii 19991-kii ay ka baxday midowgii Somalia, iyadoo mar kale la soo noqotay madaxbanaanideedii.
Ku dhawaaqista Madax-banaanida Somaliland waxay ku salaysan tahay lana xidhiidhaa jiritaankeedii hore ee loogu aqoonsaday qaran madax banaan, intii aanay la midoobin Somalia oo ay isku tageen, mana aha goosasho siday Eretrea ku andacoonayso, xuduudaha Somaliland-na waxay ku cad yihiin xuduudihii uu ka tagay gumaystihii, oo ku cad axdiga midowga Afrika.
Shacbiga Somaliland iyo in badan oo ka mid ah beesha caalamku waxay rumaysan yihiin in ay soo xoogaysanayso qaddiyada aqoonsiga dublamaasiyadeed ee madaxbanaanida Somaliland, oo waafaqsan sharciga caalamiga.
Si kastaba ha ahaatee waxay Eretrea iska baal-martay xaqiiqooyinkaasi oo dhan, marka laga reebo Eretrea Somaliland waa dal dimuqraadi ah oo ku dhaqma Nidaamka axsaabta badan. Marka laga reebo Eretrea Somaliland waxay door firfircoon ka qaadatay ammaanka Gobolka, waxay Somaliland ku naaloonaysaa xidhiidh adag oo ay la leedahay dalalka jaarka, oo uu ka dhaxeeyo cilaaqaad wanaagsan iyo is-faham wanaagsani.
Waxa in badan maamulka Eretrea loo arkaa mid go’doon ah, waxa kale oo ay caan ku yahay Taliska Asmara inay faro geliyeen Arrimaha dalal badan oo ka mid ah dariskeeda, sida Sudan, Ethoipia, Yemen iyo kii u dambeeyay ee Jabuuti. Waxa intaas u dheer waxay qodqodaa oo ay si weyn ugu lug leeyihiin Arrimaha gudaha Somalia.
Xaqiiqdii Maamulka Eretrea wuxuu caadeystay inuu qaso oo aan xal laga gaadhin colaada Somalia, oo aanay dagaalada ka socda dalkaasina ay noqdaan kuwo aan dhammaan.
Waxa Somaliland marar kala duwan ay qabatay dad badan oo lagu soo Tabo-baray Asmara, si ay u qasaan nabada iyo xasiloonida Gobolka.
Ugu dambayntii waxa Somaliland ugu baaqaysaa dawlada Asmara inay tixgeliso rajada Shacbiga Somaliland kana fogaato farro-gelinta Arrimaha la xidhiidha Somaliland."
Suxufiyiintii ka soo qaybgashay Shirkaa Jaraa,id ayaa su,aalo kala duwan ku hafiyay Wasiirka arimha dibada.
Isayas Turned Eritrea Into A Land of Refugees and IDPs
Medeshi April 15, 2009
Isayas Turned Eritrea Into
A Land of Refugees and IDPs
By Sami Mehari
ERITREA TODAY
Why do people leave home only to be subjected to the hardship, humiliation and indignity that uprooted refugees face in new and strange environments? Why did our country lose as refugees a quarter of its population during the long years of our liberation struggle? And why is Eritrea still producing refugees? Why do we keep hearing the horrifying news of our youth dying in the deserts and the high seas while fleeing from home that has become none-home to the majority? Why so many freshly arriving Eritrean refugees to destinations in the neighbourhood and beyond - Libya, Malta, Italy, to mention only a few.
Life has become so cheap in Eritrea that we don’t even take count of how many of our compatriots had died this year only while crossing the border to the Sudan and Ethiopia, or while hiding in the Sudan; while crossing the desert or navigating the high seas in small crowded boats. In a letter addressed to the Eritrea Festival in Kassel this year, representatives of 1,600 newly arrived refugees in Italy informed us that 20 youth died while crossing the desert, three of them committed suicide in Libya and that thousands of our fleeing youth are in the worst danger one can imagine. The 500 or so refugees in Malta also have their own dreadful stories to narrate. The plight of new refugees being created by the so-called ‘Eritrean government’ of PFDJ is startlingly as bad as the fate of Eritrean refugees produced by the Ethiopian regimes of Haile Selassie and Mengistu Hailemariam.
The reasons that cause refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) always remained to be the same; the basic one’s are the following:
Political persecution: During the Ethiopian occupation of the country, Eritreans left home, first in small trickles and later in big numbers, because the Ethiopian security agents made peaceful and secure life impossible to obtain at home. The same situation has revisited Eritrea since its liberation from the Ethiopian occupation in 1991. All of us by now know that Isayas the ‘liberator’ and his cronies have turned Eritrea into a land of fear, insecurity and death. The tragedy started to unfold after the entire people were systematically reduced into wretched and voiceless subjects without rights and the minimize energy to resist.
Armed conflicts: In the old days, our people fled home and became refugees while trying to escape forced conscription by the Ethiopians. They left home after the country was devastated by blind bombardments of the towns and the country and mass killings. However, our people thought that armed conflicts would end with the liberation. How wrong they were. Conflicts increased after liberation thanks to the blind militarist mentality and inhumane policies of the person called Isayas who always which showed that he has little respect and care for human lives and values. The Eritrean people are today disgusted with meaningless forced conscriptions and armed conflicts with neighbours and other Eritreans who have been denied the return to ‘a liberated home’. Many more Eritreans will continue the exodus and try to find save haven abroad until the country is once again liberated – liberated from the clutches of the PFDJ regime and its leader.
Man-made Economic hardships: In the past, the Ethiopians strangulated the economy of our people through many means, including policies designed to systematically break the backbone of our nation. They burned crops and machine-gunned the livestock. The Ethiopians were, naturally, interested only to continue ruling the country by military might and they had no economic strategies to benefit the people who were pauperized to the extremities of human poverty. Many Eritreans also had to flee the country when they knew that the only choice was either to starve to death in one’s village or cross the border and try to live for another day. Poor Eritrea is under the same situation today. Through his wrong economic policies since liberation, his senseless military adventures, his suffocation and silencing of other viewpoints and voices, his virtual imprisonment of about 250,000 of the most productive youth of the country at war trenches and military training camps like the infamous Sawa, Isayas Afeworki has impoverished our people who can be counted only as IDPs inside the country or those their foot out of the country looking for a refuge abroad.
The one-man regime of Isayas Afeworki has turned us into a nation of refugees and IDPs. Short examples can be given to illustrate the point.
· Starting from Day One of our liberation, Isayas Afeworki decided to keep at bay a large chunk of our people by banning and discouraging the return of all the opposition organizations and their members. He made refugees out of the heroes of the liberation struggle, including the heroic members of the Eritrean Liberation Army (ELA) and other patriots.
· For the entire period between 1991 and 2001, Isayas callously ignored, and in effect opposed, the return of our 500,000 or so refugees in the Sudan.
· No one but Isayas bears the sole responsibility for being the cause for the expulsion from Ethiopia of 70,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin, leaving behind them all the fruits of their life-time labour to become wretched IDPs in Eritrea.
· No one but Isayas is the cause for the senseless war with Ethiopia and the displacement of over a million Eritreans during that madness which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of our youth.
In short, Isayas Afeworki is the cause of suffering of our Nation which he reduced to the status of IDPs and refugees.
Shouldn’t we refuse to remain refugees and IDPs? Eritrea must stop being referred as the land of refugees and IDPs. We must stop producing refugees and IDPs. To do that, we must remove the producer of refugees and IDPs.
b) Spelling out the specific tasks of the Preparatory Committee;
c) Convening the National Conference of the opposition forces within a specified period of time.
d) The National Conference (Hagerawi Wa’ala) shall represent all political trends, social institutions including religious establishments, civic societies, national figures and intellectuals and discuss a national agenda.
This plan of action is being actively pursued by the ELF-RC in conjunction with the Alliance and the newly emerging civic societies of the Eritrean Diaspora. NOTE: The only force that has been dragging its feet on this plan of action is, to my observation, the EPLF-DP of Mesfin Hagos. Why??? This is one of the questions posed by our Eritrea of today. The answer must be provided to our people by Mesfin Hagos and his DP.
Isayas Turned Eritrea Into
A Land of Refugees and IDPs
By Sami Mehari
ERITREA TODAY
Why do people leave home only to be subjected to the hardship, humiliation and indignity that uprooted refugees face in new and strange environments? Why did our country lose as refugees a quarter of its population during the long years of our liberation struggle? And why is Eritrea still producing refugees? Why do we keep hearing the horrifying news of our youth dying in the deserts and the high seas while fleeing from home that has become none-home to the majority? Why so many freshly arriving Eritrean refugees to destinations in the neighbourhood and beyond - Libya, Malta, Italy, to mention only a few.
Life has become so cheap in Eritrea that we don’t even take count of how many of our compatriots had died this year only while crossing the border to the Sudan and Ethiopia, or while hiding in the Sudan; while crossing the desert or navigating the high seas in small crowded boats. In a letter addressed to the Eritrea Festival in Kassel this year, representatives of 1,600 newly arrived refugees in Italy informed us that 20 youth died while crossing the desert, three of them committed suicide in Libya and that thousands of our fleeing youth are in the worst danger one can imagine. The 500 or so refugees in Malta also have their own dreadful stories to narrate. The plight of new refugees being created by the so-called ‘Eritrean government’ of PFDJ is startlingly as bad as the fate of Eritrean refugees produced by the Ethiopian regimes of Haile Selassie and Mengistu Hailemariam.
The reasons that cause refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) always remained to be the same; the basic one’s are the following:
Political persecution: During the Ethiopian occupation of the country, Eritreans left home, first in small trickles and later in big numbers, because the Ethiopian security agents made peaceful and secure life impossible to obtain at home. The same situation has revisited Eritrea since its liberation from the Ethiopian occupation in 1991. All of us by now know that Isayas the ‘liberator’ and his cronies have turned Eritrea into a land of fear, insecurity and death. The tragedy started to unfold after the entire people were systematically reduced into wretched and voiceless subjects without rights and the minimize energy to resist.
Armed conflicts: In the old days, our people fled home and became refugees while trying to escape forced conscription by the Ethiopians. They left home after the country was devastated by blind bombardments of the towns and the country and mass killings. However, our people thought that armed conflicts would end with the liberation. How wrong they were. Conflicts increased after liberation thanks to the blind militarist mentality and inhumane policies of the person called Isayas who always which showed that he has little respect and care for human lives and values. The Eritrean people are today disgusted with meaningless forced conscriptions and armed conflicts with neighbours and other Eritreans who have been denied the return to ‘a liberated home’. Many more Eritreans will continue the exodus and try to find save haven abroad until the country is once again liberated – liberated from the clutches of the PFDJ regime and its leader.
Man-made Economic hardships: In the past, the Ethiopians strangulated the economy of our people through many means, including policies designed to systematically break the backbone of our nation. They burned crops and machine-gunned the livestock. The Ethiopians were, naturally, interested only to continue ruling the country by military might and they had no economic strategies to benefit the people who were pauperized to the extremities of human poverty. Many Eritreans also had to flee the country when they knew that the only choice was either to starve to death in one’s village or cross the border and try to live for another day. Poor Eritrea is under the same situation today. Through his wrong economic policies since liberation, his senseless military adventures, his suffocation and silencing of other viewpoints and voices, his virtual imprisonment of about 250,000 of the most productive youth of the country at war trenches and military training camps like the infamous Sawa, Isayas Afeworki has impoverished our people who can be counted only as IDPs inside the country or those their foot out of the country looking for a refuge abroad.
The one-man regime of Isayas Afeworki has turned us into a nation of refugees and IDPs. Short examples can be given to illustrate the point.
· Starting from Day One of our liberation, Isayas Afeworki decided to keep at bay a large chunk of our people by banning and discouraging the return of all the opposition organizations and their members. He made refugees out of the heroes of the liberation struggle, including the heroic members of the Eritrean Liberation Army (ELA) and other patriots.
· For the entire period between 1991 and 2001, Isayas callously ignored, and in effect opposed, the return of our 500,000 or so refugees in the Sudan.
· No one but Isayas bears the sole responsibility for being the cause for the expulsion from Ethiopia of 70,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin, leaving behind them all the fruits of their life-time labour to become wretched IDPs in Eritrea.
· No one but Isayas is the cause for the senseless war with Ethiopia and the displacement of over a million Eritreans during that madness which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of our youth.
In short, Isayas Afeworki is the cause of suffering of our Nation which he reduced to the status of IDPs and refugees.
Shouldn’t we refuse to remain refugees and IDPs? Eritrea must stop being referred as the land of refugees and IDPs. We must stop producing refugees and IDPs. To do that, we must remove the producer of refugees and IDPs.
b) Spelling out the specific tasks of the Preparatory Committee;
c) Convening the National Conference of the opposition forces within a specified period of time.
d) The National Conference (Hagerawi Wa’ala) shall represent all political trends, social institutions including religious establishments, civic societies, national figures and intellectuals and discuss a national agenda.
This plan of action is being actively pursued by the ELF-RC in conjunction with the Alliance and the newly emerging civic societies of the Eritrean Diaspora. NOTE: The only force that has been dragging its feet on this plan of action is, to my observation, the EPLF-DP of Mesfin Hagos. Why??? This is one of the questions posed by our Eritrea of today. The answer must be provided to our people by Mesfin Hagos and his DP.
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Annaga oo ah Ururada Bulshada Rayidka ah ee Madaxa-banaan waxaanu si wayn uga walaacsanahay
