Shifts in Somalia as exile returns

Medeshi April28, 2009
Shifts in Somalia as exile returns
By Mohamed Mohamed BBC Somali Service
The return of the Islamist opposition leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys to Somalia after two years in exile is the latest move in the seemingly perpetually shifting sands of Somali politics.
He fled to Eritrea in 2007 after Ethiopian troops ousted his movement, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).
While in Eritrea, Mr Aweys broke ranks with fellow UIC leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, because the latter started talks with the Somali government.
Mr Ahmed is now Somali president, after UN-brokered talks, while the US labels Mr Aweys a terrorist.
In Somalia, however, he is still considered to be the spiritual leader of all Islamist groups and is seen by many as being the country's real king-maker.
So who he chooses to aligned himself with matters for the future of Somalia.
'Bacteria'
President Sharif welcomed his return and hinted at the possibility of talks.
But Mr Aweys does not seem to be interested in making up with his former colleague.
Speaking to supporters in Mogadishu, Mr Aweys described the government of President Sharif as being appointed by the enemies of Somalia.
"Mr Sharif's government was not elected by the Somali people and it is not representing the interests the Somali people," he said.
He described the African Union peacekeepers is Somalia as "bacteria" who should leave or he will fight them.
Members of the radical Islamist group al-Shabab were said to have been at his welcoming rally and reliable sources say that Mr Aweys is talking to its leadership and other Islamist groups, including the newly formed umbrella organisation Hisbul Islam or Islamic Party.
Open War
If this is the case, it confirms fears that the kingmaker is more interested in toppling the president than supporting him.
Negotiating with al-Shabab is certain to provoke the anger of the government because it has been waging an open war on President Ahmed's administration.
“ Al-Shabab want to kill meaningful people in society ” Ahmed Dirie
They have attacked members of the government including the Interior Minister, Sheik Omar, who was slightly injured in an assassination attempt which killed one of his bodyguards.
Before that ambush, Mr Omar could move freely around Mogadishu.
He was a senior UIC official and the only one who stayed in the country to fight against Ethiopian troops and government forces led by former President Abdullahi Yusuf.
After the assassination attempt, Mr Omar's forces raided al-Shabab hideouts in Mogadishu.
In one, three al-Shabab members were killed and another injured member was captured.
In the other, al-Shabab fought back and captured two members from the militia and a battle wagon (a vehicle mounted with an anti-aircraft gun).
Al-Shabab retaliated by killing a close friend of Mr Omar whose militia were thought to have been involved in the al-Shabab raids.
Government reaction
In response, the government seems to have adopted a twin-track policy.
First, it wants to negotiate with Islamist groups who are willing to talk.
“ We must deal with the mayhem of al-Shabab ” Omar Haashi Security minister
A senior source told the BBC Somali Service that the president recently sent four close associates to meet Mr Aweys when he was in Sudan.
But Mr Aweys refused to talk to the delegation and also declined an offer of Sudanese mediation.
Second, it has taken the decision to fight back against any group that takes up arms against it and in particular al-Shabab.
In a strident statement, the Security Minister Omar Haashi declared war on the "satanic" al-Shabab.
He said: "We must deal with the mayhem of al-Shabab".
The Somali parliament also changed the law so that anyone who fights against President Sharif is guilty of fighting against Islam.
But al-Shabab has also antagonised the leaders of the Hawiye clan, which dominates the area around Mogadishu. Their spokesman Ahmed Dire said he had been targeted.
Mr Dire said that the council was neutral and was "working for peace and talking to every group involved in the violence".
"But whenever we try to contact al-Shabab, they lie to us or never call back". He accused the group of wanting "to kill meaningful people in society".
Political storm
The battle lines seem to be drawn and al-Shabab seem to sense that a political storm is growing around it.
They deny that they attack members of the government or that they target Mogadishu elders.
Meanwhile local analysts say that moderate Islamists led by the president are on the verge of a violent confrontation with al-Shabab which could create little fiefdoms controlled by different factions in Mogadishu.
The government would be one of those factions and given past experience it would have a serious fight on its hands.
Perhaps looking ahead to this possibility, President Sharif has been travelling around a number of countries to get financial and technical support for his government to help with security.
The United Nations, European Union, Arab league and African Union have all pledged support worth millions of dollars.
Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke has said that AU forces will have to stay in the country to train Somali government troops - a statement which, given Mr Aweys' recent comments, is bound to ratchet up tension.
The president says he has plans to deal with the security and piracy issues in Somalia, but if Mr Aweys openly sides with radical Islamists and al-Shabab, the president will have to decide what to deal with him too.
All eyes are on Mr Aweys.
Can an alliance be formed which could lead to peace? Or will the two former colleagues be locked in violent struggle?
From here, opposition and conflict look the most likely outcome.

Cruise line CEO: Cruising in waters around Somalia 'not safe'

Medeshi April 28, 2009

Cruise line CEO: Cruising in waters around Somalia 'not safe'

The chief executive of one of the world's biggest cruise lines says a route cruise ships commonly take around the Horn of Africa is "not safe" and he no longer will send ships there.
MSC Cruises CEO Pierfrancesco Vago tells travelweekly.co.uk today the line's vessels no longer will cruise around Somalia to the Suez Canal in the wake of a pirate attack this weekend on one of the line's vessels in the region.
Pirates fired upon and attempted to board the 1,062-passenger MSC Melody late Saturday as it sailed hundreds of miles off the coast of Somalia on its way to the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and, eventually, Europe. They were repelled by security officers on the ship who fired back.
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"We were in an area that was considered to be safe," Vago tells the trade publication. "MSC will no longer take the risk. I will never have a ship there again until the area is secure."
Several dozen cruise ships operated by Cunard Line, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and other globetrotting lines must sail past the coast of Somalia each year -- either along its northern coast, which faces the Gulf of Aden, or its eastern coast, which faces the Indian Ocean -- as they reposition between Africa, Asia and Europe.
Piracy off Somalia has intensified in recent months, with more attacks against a wider range of targets, including at least two other cruise ships.
The 684-passenger Oceania Nautica, attacked on Nov. 30 by pirates in two small boats, was able to outrun its attackers, but not before they fired shots at the upscale vessel. A similar raid on Nov. 28 on Transocean Tours' 492-passenger Astor was broken up when a German naval ship fired warning shots at the attackers, sending them fleeing.
No one was injured in either incident.
Cruise Loggers, share your thoughts on the topic below.

EAST AFRICA: Swine flu scare prompts surveillance scale-up

Medeshi
EAST AFRICA: Swine flu scare prompts surveillance scale-up
NAIROBI, 28 April 2009 (IRIN) - The East African region is generally not well prepared for a pandemic like swine flu which has killed more than 100 in Mexico and is spreading to other countries, an expert said.
Most people in the region do not have access even to basic health care and many die from preventable diseases. The main problem is a critical shortage of health workers. While there are 250 doctors per 100,000 people in the UK, Sudan has only 16, according to the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF).
In Addis Ababa, a meeting of African humanitarian NGOs, Red Cross actors and diplomats discussed pandemic preparedness. "We are using Mexico as [a] teaching opportunity to promote planning in this region," said Gregory Pappas, senior coordinator and technical specialist for pandemic preparedness at InterAction, the American Council for Voluntary Action.
Swine influenza or "swine flu" is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of pigs, caused by one of several swine influenza A viruses. Morbidity tends to be high and mortality low, according to WHO. The viruses are normally species specific and only infect pigs, but they sometimes cross the species barrier to cause disease in humans.
"This region cannot even handle cholera," the Nairobi-based pandemics expert said. "An outbreak or pandemic flu would be catastrophic."
Responses to date
Here is how some East African countries are responding so far:
- Somalia: No capacity to deal with such pandemics due to the prolonged civil war and destruction of medical facilities. "We are not prepared for anything like the swine flu; we don’t have the means to deal with it," Awad Abdi, adviser to the Somali Health Ministry said. "God help us if it reaches here."
- Rwanda: Mobile clinics set up for screening visitors at airports and other entry points; pork imports from European countries suspended; sale of grilled pork in cafes prohibited; epidemiologists deployed to work on preparedness in main health facilities and information points set up in 143 centres. However, according to WHO, there is no risk of infection from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products.
- Uganda: All districts are being put on alert. "We met last night and are going to handle this with the ministries of tourism, agriculture and health," Paul Kaggwa, Health Ministry spokesman, told IRIN. "We have contacted airlines, the Civil Aviation Authority and Uganda Revenue Authority to be alert. We are going to screen all entries into the country."
- Kenya: Health facilities around the country have been directed to screen patients suspected of showing symptoms. Preparations to start screening people at all border and other entry points have started. "The government has set up teams for surveillance purposes - [we] had already set up teams to deal with the threat of bird flu a while ago. It is these that we are beefing up to deal with the threat of swine flu," said Shahnaz Shariff, director of public health in the Ministry of Public Health.
- Southern Sudan: Surveillance has been increased at the airport. A meeting between the Health Ministry, NGOs and other health agencies is due to be held on 28 April. "We are doing the necessary information-gathering and disease surveillance," John Runumi, director-general for preventive medicine, told IRIN. At this point, WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders, but encourages people who are ill to delay international travel.
- Ethiopia: The Ethiopian Red Cross (ERC) announced plans to train 800 volunteers on public health messaging. "At this point, we have adopted public health messages which focus on hand-washing, isolation of the sick and following the norms of [handling] respiratory illness, " Mesfin Worku, national coordinator of ERC's human pandemic preparedness project, told IRIN.
- Burundi: No specific measures yet, but planning meetings going on and options for importation of Tamiflu drugs available. According to Fidèle Bizimana, who is in charge of the control of epidemic diseases in the Health Ministry, the government is aware of the swine flu pandemic. "We are confident we will be able to avert its spread," Health Ministry spokesman Louis Mboneko told IRIN.

Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on Somalia Piracy

Medeshi
Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on Somalia Piracy
As Submitted for the Record
Friday, April 24, 2009
Mr. President, I was glad earlier this week to join Senator Leahy in passing a resolution commending Captain Richard Phillips for his brave conduct, and those members of our Armed Services, particularly members of the Navy and Navy SEAL teams, who rescued Captain Phillips. I also want to commend the leadership of the President and the efforts of many U.S. government departments and agencies in their response to this crisis. These many acts of bravery and leadership are deeply inspiring, and we should recognize them.
However, while the episode involving the Maersk Alabama was resolved, we are likely to see more such episodes if we do not take comprehensive measures to address not only piracy on the waters, but also conditions on land that enable it. We cannot ignore the fact that piracy off the coast of Somalia is an outgrowth of the state collapse, lawlessness and humanitarian crisis that have plagued the country for over a decade. In recent Congressional testimony, both Director of National Intelligence Blair and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Army Lt. General Michael Maples cited lawlessness and economic problems on land as the cause of the rise in piracy at sea. Until we address those conditions, we will be relying on stopgap measures, at best, to deter this piracy problem and we are unlikely to succeed in reversing the growing violent extremism in Somalia.
Mr. President, for years I have been calling for the development of a comprehensive, interagency strategy to help establish stability, the rule of law, and functional, inclusive governance in Somalia. This is the only sure and sustainable solution to address the problem of piracy – and the instability in Somalia – over the long term. Moreover, I am convinced that we have a unique window of opportunity for progress as a result of the Ethiopian troop withdrawal earlier this year and the establishment of a new unity government relocated back to Mogadishu. This government has the potential to unite Somalia if it demonstrates a genuine commitment to inclusion and begins to make a real difference in people’s lives – in terms of security and basic services, such as protection, trash collection and job creation. Helping the government to find tangible solutions to expand effective and inclusive governance must be a central part of our overall strategy to stabilize Somalia and address the threats of piracy and terrorism.
To that end, I continue to urge the Obama administration, as it develops its response to piracy, to make it a priority to engage at a high level with the new Somali government. I have written to President Obama, asking him to personally call Somali President Sheik Sharif and indicate a clear commitment to work with his government not just on maritime insecurity, but also on establishing security and governance within the country. We have been engaging with President Sharif at the ambassadorial level for quite some time now, and I met the president in Djibouti in December. In addition, there needs to be a stronger and more sustained diplomatic push to engage with a wide range of actors within Somalia and stakeholders in the wider region – both in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East – if we are going to address the underlying problems that have contributed to piracy and rising extremism.
Mr. President, the events with the Maersk Alabama earlier this month have finally brought increased attention to the problem of piracy in Somalia’s waters. But it will be insufficient if our response only deals with the symptoms and not Somalia’s central problems. I urge my colleagues and the different committees who will examine this issue over the coming weeks and months to take this seriously. For if we do not finally deal with Somalia’s lawlessness and instability, we will continue to see them manifest themselves in activities – be they acts of piracy or terrorism – that threaten U.S. and international security.
I yield the floor.

Things you didn't know about the Somali pirates

Medeshi April 27, 2009
10 Things You Didn't Know About Somali Pirates
By David Axe
In the 15 years since armed Somali fishermen began forcing their way onto commercial ships, pirates have turned East Africa's seas into the world's most dangerous waters. In 2008 alone, Somalia's lawless seamen captured more than 40 large vessels in the Gulf of Aden, a shortcut between Asia and Europe that's vital to the global economy. Wiping out today's pirates won't be easy; they're smarter, better organized, and, frankly, better loved abroad than the swashbucklers of yesteryear. In a special dispatch from Mombasa, Kenya, Mental Floss correspondent David Axe explains.
Associated Press
FBI agents escort the Somali pirate that U.S. officials identify as Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse into FBI headquarters in New York, on April 20, 2009. Muse is the sole surviving Somali pirate from the hostage-taking of commercial ship captain Richard Phillips.
1. They Have a Robin Hood Complex
Many Somali pirates see themselves as good guys. And at one point, they were. After the government in Mogadishu collapsed in 1991, neighboring countries began illegally fishing in Somali waters. The first pirates were simply angry fishermen who boarded these foreign vessels and demanded a "fee." But as the illegal fishing persisted, some early pirates banded together and called themselves "coast guards." They claimed to be looking after Somalia's territorial integrity until the government could pull itself back together.
These weren't the only vigilantes on the scene, however. Other pirates made their debut robbing U.N. ships that were carrying food to refugee camps in Somalia. These bandits argued that if they hadn't taken the food, warlords would have seized it on land. And they had a good point. Warlords gobbled down at lot of Somalia's relief food during the 1990s.
But from these perhaps defensible beginnings, piracy spread farther from Somalia's shores and evolved into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. Today, pirates are blunt about their motives. In late 2008, after a band of pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter full of weapons and demanded $25 million for its release, Sugule Ali, a member of the pirate crew, told a reporter, "We only want the money."
2. Nobody Brings Home the Bacon Like a Pirate
According to some estimates, pirates in 2008 pulled in as much as $150 million, indicating that piracy is now Somalia's biggest industry. In fact, successful pirates are the country's most eligible bachelors. While small-time swashbucklers earn in the low five figures, bosses can pull in $2 million a year—this, in a country where you can buy dinner for less than $1. But as their wallets fatten, many pirates are heading for greener pastures, and the real money is flowing out of the country with them. Many are buying properties on the seashore of Mombasa, Kenya, where new condos are being built every day. If a condo is selling for a few million dollars, there's a good chance the bosses will throw in an extra half-million, just to make sure the Kenyans don't ask too many questions.
3. Being a Pirate Is Easy!
Piracy is so simple that anyone can do it. All you need is a gun, an aluminum ladder (for scaling other ships), and a motorboat. Then you just have to wait for commercial ships to pass by. Best of all, you don't have to worry about your targets shooting back. By international agreement, civilian vessels aren't allowed to carry guns because governments don't want armed ships moving from port to port. "Once pirates are on board, they've got the upper hand," says Martin Murphy, a piracy expert with the Corbett Center for Maritime Policy Studies. The best defense against piracy is speed, but because most commercial ships aren't designed to go fast, pirates don't have any trouble chasing them down. The most sophisticated marauders use machine guns and GPS systems, but many pirates are still low-tech fisherman. After they board a ship, all they have to do is steal or ransom the goods and prisoners. The cargo of a typical commercial ship ransoms for about $1 million.
4. The Law Can't Touch Them
Everybody knows piracy is wrong, but is it illegal? The truth is that the places where pirates operate are actually lawless. In Somali territory, there's no functional government to make or enforce regulations. And because nations don't control much of the ocean, there are no laws on the high seas, either. Throughout history, governments have patched together legal frameworks to bring pirates to justice, but it's never fast or easy. Pirates—even those caught in the act by one navy or another—are often simply released on the nearest Somali beach, without so much as a slap on the wrist.
With Somali piracy on the rise, the world is playing legal catch-up. In November 2008, the United Kingdom signed an agreement to try pirates captured by the Royal Navy in Kenya. And other countries are following Britain's lead, with nations including the United States, Singapore, and Turkey signing similar agreements. But Kenya, despite having the most powerful democracy in East Africa, doesn't appear to have an effective court system. When Britain's first batch of eight captured pirates went on trial in Mombasa in December, the defense argued that Kenya shouldn't have jurisdiction and succeeded in persuading the judge to defer the trial. The long-term solution to piracy is a stable Somali government with a functional judiciary, but that requires peace between the country's warring clans. Somalia's new president, elected in February 2009, is just starting to get groups to talk.
Associated Press
A French Commando escorts one of 11 suspected pirates from the French naval frigate the Nivose on April 22, 2009. France has traditionally been aggressive in fighting piracy - this was its ninth military operation against pirates.
5. Pirates Rarely Kill People (Which is Why They're So Dangerous)
It's difficult to tell pirates from fishermen, until they climb aboard another ship and pull out their AK-47s. So, there's not much the U.S. Navy and other military forces can do as a deterrent except sail around and look menacing. After pirates have seized a ship, navies rarely attempt to retake it, because hostages could be hurt in the process. In the absence of an effective defense, there were more than 100 documented pirate attacks in 2008 that resulted in more than 40 ships being hijacked. But for all their aggression, the body count is low. One ship's captain died of natural causes while being held hostage, and a few militia men have died in shoot-outs as they tried to rescue prisoners, but in general, little blood has been spilled.
Pirates also prefer to keep their prisoners in good health. Not only are civilians worth hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece in ransom, but the pirates' reputation for not harming their hostages has made governments reluctant to strike back on behalf of shipping companies. While the pirates' hands remain mostly blood-free, the navies patrolling East African waters have taken lives. The Indian navy, for example, destroyed one pirate boat only to discover that the pirates had Thai hostages on board. At least a dozen innocent victims died.
More from Mental Floss
6. Pirates Have Friends in High Places
Pirates prowl about 2 million square miles of the ocean. That's a lot of water, and even with thousands of ships on the high seas, it's possible to sail for days without seeing another vessel. So how do pirates know where to look and which ships to attack? Spies. The biggest gangs have informants in Mombasa, the major port in the region, where ships have to file paperwork stating what they're carrying and where they're going. According to one Mombasa business leader, spies inside the Kenyan maritime agencies pass along this information to pirate bosses—for a price. Pirates are also in cahoots with local big-wigs in northern Somalia. In exchange for a cut of pirates' hauls, officials in the Puntland region of Somalia turn a blind eye to the international crime flourishing under their noses.
7. Sailors Are Fighting Back (And It's Working)
Sailors know what they're getting into when they steer toward East African waters. And because their crews can't carry guns, they've found other ways to fight off pirates. Last year, one Chinese ship used tactics borrowed straight from a medieval castle siege.
When pirates clambered up the side of the Zhenhua 4, the crew climbed onto a higher deck and pulled up the ladder. Then they turned on high-pressure fire hoses and knocked the pirates off their feet. But the crew didn't stop there. Once in better position, the Chinese sailors started hurling down Molotov cocktails, made from beer bottles filled with gasoline.
Four hundred cocktails later, the pirates retreated. One pirate, who wasn't wearing any shoes, saw he was about to walk across a deck paved with shattered glass to get back to his ship. He called up to the ship's stalwart defenders and begged for something to cover his feet.
8. Bigger Ships Mean Bigger Paychecks
Somali pirates are getting bolder. For years, they've chased small fry, such as Kenyan fishermen, small coastal freighters, and U.N. food ships. Today, with faster boats, better weapons, and more accurate information from their spies, they're going after massive cargo ships, super-tankers, and even passenger liners. Nobody's safe. In September, pirates grabbed a Ukrainian ship called the Faina, which was carrying armored vehicles, rockets, and other weapons. They followed up that dramatic heist by overtaking the Saudi oil tanker Sirius Star, which had crude oil aboard valued at $100 million. (Both ships were released earlier this year after ransoms were paid.) Recent attacks on cruise-liners have been unsuccessful, but maritime officials are increasingly worried. Pirates usually attack in groups of about 10 and capture ships with 20 or so passengers. That ratio of captors to captives lets the pirates stay in control. But with cruise ships carrying as many as 2,000 people, there's no way pirates would be able to conduct an orderly capture. Things might get out of hand; and that, officials say, is when people get hurt.
9. Pirates Hurt Somalia the Most
The biggest victims of Somali piracy are the Somalis themselves. Nearly 4 million people there (half the population) depend on food donations to survive. But pirate attacks on food ships have made it difficult for the United Nations to keep sending provisions. In a desperate bid to keep the supplies flowing, the U.N. issued a plea to the world's navies in 2007. As of March 2009, no food ship sets sail from Mombasa without a Dutch, Canadian, French, German, Italian, or Greek warship riding shotgun. "If you don't have an escort, you cannot move food there," says U.N. official Lemma Jembere. But naval deployments are expensive, and warships might not be available forever. This could mean death by starvation for millions, all due to a few thousand opportunistic pirates.
10. It May Be Time for Desperate Measures
Even with the world's navies rushing to protect East African shipping, the sheer size of the ocean and the huge numbers of ships involved mean warships are rarely in the right place at the right time. The mood in Mombasa, where so many ship owners and seafarers are based, is bleak. Karim Kudrati, a shipping director whose four ships have all been hijacked at least once, says it's time for the world to mobilize an army and invade Somalia. "Everybody knows where captured vessels are being taken, and on that aspect of things, nothing is being done."
The United Nations recently passed a resolution allowing an invasion, but the United States military has put the brakes on participating in any operation. Perhaps they're hesitant because of their last experience sending troops to Somalia. In 1993, 18 Americans were killed during a commando raid to capture a few, low-ranking warlords. And yet, it's becoming more and more clear that without major, international intervention, piracy will continue to grow. With the benefits far outweighing the risks, pirates have no incentive to stop pillaging.

Transcript of FT interview with Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, president of Somalia

Medeshi
Transcript of FT interview with Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, president of Somalia
Published: April 28 2009
There have been 15 attempts to create a functioning government in Somalia since the overthrow of dictator Siad Barre in 1991. None of them have come close to working. Overrun by warlords and Islamist insurgents, the country is in the grips of another potential famine.
Proliferating acts of piracy on one of the world’s busiest trading routes off the Somali coast have forced up shipping insurance costs and are affecting global commodity markets. But they are also focusing international attention on the need for stability on land as well as sea.
Before Ethiopia invaded in 2006 Sheikh Ahmed was the leader of the Islamic Courts Union, an alliance of Islamic militias that during a six month period came closer than any other body to re-establishing order. In January he returned to Somalia from exile, and was elected by a UN-backed transitional parliament to lead the country out of chaos.
Last week at an international donors conference in Brussels, he won $213m of backing for African peacekeepers and for his plans to build a national security force, raising hopes that finally a concerted effort to put Somalia back together again is under way.
William Wallis, Financial Times Africa editor, interviewed Sheikh Ahmed at his hotel in Brussels after the conference.
Financial Times: What is the significance of today’s events for Somalia?
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed: What happened today is very important for two reasons. Firstly, there has always been this issue of the international community not being forthcoming enough and not being forthcoming at the right time. Secondly there has been a lack of leadership on the Somali side to seize the opportunity and establish a partnership with the international community. Today we believe these two things have come together.
FT: How do you plan to go about using the goodwill that has been generated at an international level, and the cash that is now coming with it?
SSSA: The funds and the political support need to be translated into actions on the ground first and foremost with regards to security. Security has to be established. Then it is important to translate this security and political will into actions that affect the needs of the public and to help reconstruction, education, and all the elements that give normality to life. The public must feel the change and see the change.
FT: But how will you be able to expand the writ of your government from what appears to be the very small part of Somalia you control?
SSSA: There are already many provinces … where government support and structures are present. Where our administration and reach exists, the delivery of services and justice should be strengthened and reinforced. Where it does not exist yet, these areas we must stretch our reach to.
FT: Will this necessarily involve force?
SSSA: Preparations in terms of the readiness of the public for peace are gathering pace by the day, and are already substantially established. In parallel, if we are also able to get the security forces on the ground and operational and these two forces are able to come together we believe it will be almost a natural process for the rule of law and the administration to reach those parts where they don’t already exist.
FT: How formidable do you consider the forces your government are up against?
SSSA: We believe that in essence there is no logic and no sustainable basis for armed forces opposing the government. The only options open for these opposing forces will be to either come into the reconciliation process either as the government or as opposition. Or, to return to civilian life, into their homes and into normal livelihoods.
FT: They seem pretty determined from the outside and at least a minority of them have backing from another pretty determined bunch [of people] headquartered out of the tribal areas of Pakistan [al-Qaeda].
SSSA: Once the government is strong enough and is fully on the ground there will come a time when those who act illegally either have to leave or will have to give themselves up. That moment will come.
FT: How far are you prepared to accommodate these forces in order to absorb them into the reconciliation process?
SSSA: We are prepared in a major way to accommodate and negotiate but the essential factor is there must be dialogue; there must be negotiation for that to happen.
FT: Are you already talking for example to [radical Islamic cleric] Hassan Dawir Aweys, or some of the leaders of the al Shabab militia?
SSSA: Not directly but many well-intentioned and well meaning Somalis are busy and engaged explaining to them the need for dialogue and peace. From our side they know and we have stated that we are ready for dialogue and negotiation.
FT: What do you make of the arrival in Mogadishu today [after more than two years in exile] of Mr Aweys?
SSSA: I think his return today will remind him that he left at a time when there was conflict and war and show him that today we are rebuilding peace. We believe he will choose to take part and support the peace process and re-establishment of security in the country.
FT: Do you consider him someone who is important in that process?
SSSA: There is no one who is not needed for this process of reconciliation and peace. Everyone is needed.
FT: How signficant is the recent passage in parliament of Sharia law in re-establishing state authority?
SSSA: It is very important for several reasons. One Sharia is a normal part of Muslim life and Muslim culture and tradition. Secondly there were people for whom this was a major factor, necessity, and in passing the bill and putting it through cabinet and parliament this enables us to show goodwill and to take that element out of the conflict and ensure it does not become an obstacle. It is part of the reconciliation process but also bringing people on board for the reconstruction of the state. Both psychologically and practically it is very important.
FT: How quickly can you bring back the court system? Is it something you can do very quickly given your experience at the head of the Islamic Courts Union in 2006?
SSSA: The government is actually very busy with that issue. It will need to absorb and take on experienced and knowledgeable people in that field.
FT: In 2006 the administration you were involved in was very effective in fighting piracy. Is that something you can reproduce now and what was the secret before?
SSSA: This is part and parcel of the security infrastructure and policies that we have. We believe that this will also be effective in tackling that issue successfully.
FT: Some of the countries [US, Ethiopia] that seemed very happy to see the back of you in 2006 when the Ethiopia invaded Somalia are now applauding you. Are these countries you can trust?
SSSA: Without a shadow of doubt we have to look forward and not back.

Somalia: top UN envoy calls for donors' pledges to be turned into action

Medeshi
Somalia: top UN envoy calls for donors' pledges to be turned into action
Published on Apr 27, 2009
April 27, 2009 - Following last week's over $200 million pledge by international donors for Somalia, the top United Nations envoy to the Horn of Africa nation today voiced hope that resources will be mobilized quickly to promote peace and stability.
At the donors' conference in Brussels - under the joint auspices of the UN, the African Union (AU), European Union (EU) and the League of Arab States - pledges of $213 were received for the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and for Somalia security.
That amount surpassed the $166 million requested by the AU.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, characterized last week's international gathering as a "turning point" for Somalia, which has not had a functioning national government since 1991 but has witnessed several encouraging developments in recent months, including the election of a new President and the formation of a Government of National Unity.
"While strengthening security, providing youth employment and delivering humanitarian assistance are essential, lasting peace and stability will come through continued dialogue as laid out in the Djibouti Agreement," he said, referring to the last year's UN-facilitated pact between the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS), in which the two agreed to end their conflict.
Due to that Agreement, uprooted people are returning to their homes, the Parliament is more inclusive and Ethiopian troops withdrew in an orderly manner, the envoy said.
"Now is the time for Somalis to show their people, their region and the international community that they are finally serious about peace and leaving behind the culture of ‘winner takes all' and the ever-shifting alliances that are still devastating their nation," he said.
The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia last week stressed the importance of international assistance to stabilize the political situation in the country, noting that accountability and transitional justice initiatives are essential in Somalia, "where human rights is a victim of endless and myriad violations on a daily basis."
Shamsul Bari pointed out that there is a consensus among many that the "success of the security mechanisms will be judged on their capacity to protect the civilian population rather than abuse."Thus, he stressed, to ensure that security forces are human rights-compliant, vetting processes, command structures and international disciplinary structures and independent oversight are essential

UK swine flu cases confirmed

Medeshi
UK swine flu cases confirmed
Monday, April 27
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed the first British cases of deadly swine flu. Skip related content
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Two people have tested positive for the virus and are being treated in isolation in hospital in Airdrie, near Glasgow, while seven more people among 22 who have been in contact with them have developed "mild symptoms" not confirmed as swine flu.
The pair developed symptoms after returning from a trip to Mexico, where more than 100 people have died following an outbreak of the H1N1 virus.
Ms Sturgeon added: "I would reiterate that the threat to the public remains low and that the precautionary actions we have taken over the last two days have been important in allowing us to respond appropriately and give us the best prospect of disrupting the spread of the virus."
Health Secretary Alan Johnson earlier said ministers have put in place "enhanced" port health checks on passengers arriving in the UK and will use its stockpile of anti-viral drugs if the virus begins to spread widely.
Spain earlier confirmed Europe's first case of swine flu. The man, who had recently been in Mexico, is said to be responding well to treatment and was not in a serious condition.
The European Union's health chief has warned non-essential travel to swine flu-hit parts of Mexico and the US be postponed.
The disease has claimed 103 lives in Mexico with as many as 1,600 carrying the virus. Cases have been confirmed in countries including the US, New Zealand and Canada.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are up to 45 cases of swine flu in five states, including 20 more cases at a New York school, while people who have had contact with confirmed cases are also developing flu-like symptoms.
Passengers returning to Heathrow from Mexico City are being kept aboard their planes while health officials ask them if they feel unwell. But other travellers at Gatwick airport said they had not been stopped as they returned to Britain.
The Government said it has enough medicine to treat half the population.
The NHS has a stockpile of more than £500 million worth of the Tamiflu anti-viral drug, which has proved effective on patients in Mexico, and scientists are working on developing a vaccine against the new strain.
World Health Organisation Director-General Margaret Chan said the outbreak, caused when the H1N1 strain associated with pigs crossed over to the human population, constituted a "public health emergency of international concern".

Q&A: What is swine flu?

Medeshi April 27, 2009

Q&A: What is swine flu?
Infection control experts are scrambling to respond to outbreaks of swine flu in Mexico and the US, and suspected cases elsewhere.
What is swine flu?
Swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza type A which infects pigs.
There are many types, and the infection is constantly changing.
Until now it has not normally infected humans, but the latest form clearly does, and can be spread from person to person - probably through coughing and sneezing.
What is new about this type of swine flu?
The World Health Organization has confirmed that at least some of the human cases are a never-before-seen version of the H1N1 strain of influenza type A.
SWINE FLU
Symptoms usually similar to seasonal flu - but deaths recorded in Mexico
It is a new version of the H1N1 strain which caused the 1918 flu pandemic
Too early to say whether it will lead to a pandemic
Current treatments do work, but there is no vaccine
Good personal hygiene, such as washing hands, covering nose when sneezing advised
H1N1 is the same strain which causes seasonal outbreaks of flu in humans on a regular basis.
But this latest version of H1N1 is different: it contains genetic material that is typically found in strains of the virus that affect humans, birds and swine.
Flu viruses have the ability to swap genetic components with each other, and it seems likely that the new version of H1N1 resulted from a mixing of different versions of the virus, which may usually affect different species, in the same animal host.
Pigs provide an excellent 'melting pot' for these viruses to mix and match with each other.
How dangerous is it?
Symptoms of swine flu in humans appear to be similar to those produced by standard, seasonal flu.
These include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue.
Most cases so far reported around the world appear to be mild, but in Mexico lives have been lost.
How worried should people be?
When any new strain of flu emerges that acquires the ability to pass from person to person, it is monitored very closely in case it has the potential to spark a global epidemic, or pandemic.
FLU PANDEMICS
1918: The Spanish flu pandemic remains the most devastating outbreak of modern times. Caused by a form of the H1N1 strain of flu, it is estimated that up to 40% of the world's population were infected, and more than 50 million people died, with young adults particularly badly affected
1957: Asian flu killed two million people. Caused by a human form of the virus, H2N2, combining with a mutated strain found in wild ducks. The impact of the pandemic was minimised by rapid action by health authorities, who identified the virus, and made vaccine available speedily. The elderly were particularly vulnerable
1968: An outbreak first detected in Hong Kong, and caused by a strain known as H3N2, killed up to one million people globally, with those over 65 most likely to die
The World Health Organization has warned that taken together the Mexican and US cases could potentially trigger a global pandemic, and stress that the situation is serious.
However, experts say it is still too early to accurately assess the situation fully.
Currently, they say the world is closer to a flu pandemic than at any point since 1968 - rating the threat at three on a six-point scale.
Nobody knows the full potential impact of a pandemic, but experts have warned that it could cost millions of lives worldwide. The Spanish flu pandemic, which began in 1918, and was also caused by an H1N1 strain, killed millions of people.
The fact that all the cases in the US have so far produced mild symptoms is encouraging. It suggests that the severity of the Mexican outbreak may be due to an unusual geographically-specific factor - possibly a second unrelated virus circulating in the community - which would be unlikely to come into play in the rest of the world.
Alternatively, people infected in Mexico may have sought treatment at a much later stage than those in other countries.
It may also be the case that the form of the virus circulating in Mexico is subtly different to that elsewhere - although that will only be confirmed by laboratory analysis.
There is also hope that, as humans are often exposed to forms of H1N1 through seasonal flu, our immune systems may have something of a head start in fighting infection.
However, the fact that many of the victims are young does point to something unusual. Normal, seasonal flu tends to affect the elderly disproportionately.
Can the virus be contained?
The virus appears already to have started to spread around the world, and most experts believe that containment of the virus in the era of readily available air travel will be extremely difficult.
Can it be treated?
The US authorities say that two drugs commonly used to treat flu, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem to be effective at treating cases that have occurred there so far. However, the drugs must be administered at an early stage to be effective.
Use of these drugs may also make it less likely that infected people will pass the virus on to others.
The UK Government already has a stockpile of Tamiflu, ordered as a precaution against a pandemic.
It is unclear how effective currently available flu vaccines would be at offering protection against the new strain, as it is genetically distinct from other flu strains.
US scientists are already developing a bespoke new vaccine, but it may take some time to perfect it, and manufacture enough supplies to meet what could be huge demand.
A vaccine was used to protect humans from a version of swine flu in the US in 1976.
However, it caused serious side effects, including an estimated 500 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. There were more deaths from the vaccine than the outbreak.
What should I do to stay safe?
Anyone with flu-like symptoms who might have been in contact with the swine virus - such as those living or travelling in the areas of Mexico that have been affected - should seek medical advice.
But patients are being asked not to go into doctors surgeries in order to minimise the risk of spreading the disease to others. Instead, they should stay at home and call their healthcare provider for advice.
Although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says people "should be aware" of the outbreak, it is not currently advising people against travelling to affected areas of Mexico and the US.
What measures can I take to prevent infection?
Avoid close contact with people who appear unwell and who have fever and cough.
General infection control practices and good respiratory hand hygiene can help to reduce transmission of all viruses, including the human swine influenza. This includes covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible and disposing of it promptly.
It is also important to maintain good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people and cleaning hard surfaces like door handles frequently using a normal cleaning product.
If caring for someone with a flu-like illness, a mask can be worn to cover the nose and mouth to reduce the risk of transmission.
But experts say there is no scientific evidence to support more general wearing of masks to guard against infections.
Is it safe to eat pig meat?

Yes ( for non-muslims). There is no evidence that swine flu can be transmitted through eating meat from infected animals.
However, it is essential to cook meat properly. A temperature of 70C (158F) would be sure to kill the virus.
What about bird flu?
The strain of bird flu which has caused scores of human deaths in South East Asia in recent years is a different strain to that responsible for the current outbreak of swine flu.
The latest form of swine flu is a new type of the H1N1 strain, while bird, or avian flu, is H5N1.
Experts fear H5N1 hold the potential to trigger a pandemic because of its ability to mutate rapidly.
However, up until now it has remained very much a disease of birds.
Those humans who have been infected have, without exception, worked closely with birds, and cases of human-to-human transmission are extremely rare - there is no suggestion that H5N1 has gained the ability to pass easily from person to person.
Where can I get further advice?
Further information and advice on swine flu can be found at websites of leading health and research organisations around the world.

Asian man found in car with gas cannisters strapped to him

Medeshi April 27, 2009
Asian man found in car with gas cannisters strapped to him
London: In a bizarre incident, an Asian man was found in a car, bound and gagged, with gas canisters strapped around him, raising a bomb threat in Birmingham.
Police officials said the man, in his 30's, had been placed in the white car against his will and was warned by his abductors that he had been placed next to a bomb.
The unnamed man was sent to a hospital with an injured leg after he was found by the police, who have now launched a manhunt for the 'reprehensible' crime.
Army bomb disposal experts, firefighters and specialist police negotiators were on the scene after a shocked trucker driver raised the alarm.
The victim was lying across the front seats of the car surrounded by the canisters that were described as being the size of beer cans. The alert brought widespread disruption to Birmingham's rail network.
Councillor Ayoub Khan, cabinet member for community safety at Birmingham City Council, said an eye witness had told him he had seen "foam coming out of the man mouth and said he was unconscious".
Khan added: "It seems that this man is a victim rather than the assailant".
Chief superintendent Tom Coughlan said: "This incident has now become a criminal investigation. The man appears at this stage to have been placed in the car against his will possibly with a view to scaring him".
The man had been told by his kidnappers that a bomb was placed in the car with him.
"We are seeking to establish the actual nature of the device that was placed in the car," said Coughlan.
He said the action was "reprehensible" and had placed the victim, members of the public and emergency services at risk.
Apart from an injured leg, the victim's health was "fine," he said.
He added: "This was clearly a kidnap situation and almost certainly there will be a criminal motivation to it".

Pak intelligence believes Osama is dead: Zardari

Medeshi April 27, 2009
Pak intelligence believes Osama is dead: Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said his intelligence believes that Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is dead, but admitted they have no proof.
"The Americans tell me they don't know and they are (better) equipped than us to trace him (bin Laden). And our own intelligence services obviously think that he does not exist any more, that he is dead," Zardari told a panel of foreign journalists during an interview at the presidency here.
The President's remarks come as US intelligence and military reports believe that the elusive Al Qaeda chief is hiding in Pakistan's restive tribal region or in the mountains bordering Afghanistan.
Asked about reports that the Taliban in the northwestern Swat valley had said that they would welcome the Al Qaeda chief, Zardari said Pakistan's intelligence set-up believes that Osama bin Laden is dead.
"But there is no evidence, you cannot take that as a fact... We are between facts and fiction," Zardari said.
"The question is whether he is alive or dead. There is no trace of him," he added

Yemen tanker seized from pirates

Medeshi 27 April , 2009

Yemen tanker seized from pirates
Yemeni special forces have freed an oil tanker captured by Somali pirates, Yemeni officials say.
Eleven pirates were arrested in the operation, they said. The Qana was seized on Sunday but was not carrying cargo at the time.
It was one of four tankers attacked off Yemen's coast but coastguards freed the other vessels after a fierce battle.
On Saturday an Italian cruise ship with 1,500 passengers fended off an attack from pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The Qana is being escorted to the Yemeni city of al-Mukalla, according to AFP news agency.
On Sunday pirates freed another Yemeni-owned tanker, the Sea Princess II, which had been held since January. There were no details about the conditions of the release.
Yemen lies 700 miles from Somalia, where the pirates operate from. The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says they are taking advantage of current favourable weather conditions to launch attacks further afield.

Last year, pirates attacked more than 100 ships in the region, demanding huge ransoms for their release. Attacks have intensified recently despite the presence of international warships - part of an effort to counter piracy.
Some 16 vessels and 270 hostages are still being held by pirates demanding vast ransoms for their release our correspondent says.
They have freed a number of ships, but attacks have continued.
Somalia has been without an effective administration since 1991, fuelling the lawlessness which has allowed piracy to thrive.
When first loaded, the map's focus falls on Somalia where most of the pirates are based. Use the arrow icons to scroll left towards Europe and the United States which are both playing a central role in tackling the problem.
Scroll to the right for a story about the Philippines, which supplies many of the world's mariners.
You can zoom in for more detail by using the "+" or "-" signs on the upper left hand side.

See map of how piracy is affecting the region and countries around the world

Deadly flu spreads across the globe

Medeshi April 26, 2009

Deadly flu spreads across the globe

A deadly new strain of flu that has killed more than 80 people in Mexico is spreading across the globe

The new flu strain, a mixture of swine, bird and human viruses, poses the biggest risk of a large-scale pandemic since avian flu surfaced in 1997, killing several hundred people.
Governments around the world have imposed health checks at airports as the disease killed up to 81 people in Mexico and infected 20 in the US. Six cases were also confirmed in Canada.
Two people have been admitted to a Scottish hospital after returning from Mexico with flu-like symptoms, Scotland's health secretary said.
In New Zealand, ten pupils from an Auckland school party that had returned from Mexico were being treated for influenza symptoms in what health authorities said was probably another outbreak of the virus

US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she would declare a public health emergency, release stockpiles of anti-flu drugs and prepare for school closures.
Three people in Spain and two in France are being tested for the disease after they arrived from Mexico with flu symptoms. Tests on a BA cabin crew member taken to a London hospital with flu-like symptoms showed he does not have swine flu.
Countries across Asia, which have grappled with H5N1 bird flu and Sars in recent years, snapped into action. At airports and other border checkpoints in Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, officials screened travellers for symptoms.
Russia imposed curbs on meat imports from Mexico, some US states and the Caribbean, and the United Arab Emirates said it was considering similar action.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the swine flu has killed as many as 81 people in Mexico, and more than 1,300 people were being tested for suspected infection.
Most of the dead are aged 25 to 45, a worrying sign because a hallmark of past pandemics has been high fatalities among healthy young adults.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the flu a "public health event of international concern."
International experts will convene on Tuesday to advise the WHO whether to raise the pandemic alert level, which currently stands at three on a level of one to six.

Ethiopia Arrests 35 Suspects In Alleged Coup Plot

Medeshi
Ethiopia Arrests 35 Suspects In Alleged Coup Plot
By Peter Heinlein
Addis AbabaVOA
26 April 2009
Ethiopian authorities have arrested 35 people suspected of involvement in a plot to overthrow the government. Those arrested are said to be followers of an exiled opposition leader living in the United States.
Government spokesman Ermias Legesse says the 35 arrested included two groups, one comprising soldiers and another that included civilian government employees and others. He tells VOA police found weapons and other incriminating evidence when they raided the homes of suspects. "We have got information from different people and we investigate it, and we have gone to the court and the court gave us an allowance to go to their home and we have checked their home and we have arrested 35 people and in their home we have got so many weapons, landmines, soldier uniforms, and their future plan what they want to do," he said.
All those arrested are said to be members of a group called "Ginbot 7," or "May 15th", which is the date of Ethiopia's disputed 2005 election. Ginbot 7 is led by Berhanu Nega, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in the 2005 election. But he never took office.
He was jailed and convicted of treason along with more than 100 other opposition leaders in connection with violent post-election demonstrations in which nearly 200 protestors were killed. He and the others spent 20 months in prison before being pardoned.
After his release, Berhanu went to the United States, where he is currently a professor of economics at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. A page on the university Web site says he has urged the United States and other western nations to back democratic movements in Ethiopia and other African countries by withdrawing support for dictators.
Opposition Web sites such as "Ginbot 7' are blocked in Ethiopia. Berhanu has in the past accused Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of creating a one-party state.
In a telephone interview, government spokesman Ermias described Ginbot 7 as an illegal organization. "It's not registered as a legal party, and not recognized by the government. It is an illegal party. The groups and the party, who are an illegal party, we call it Ginbot 7. That's our issue," he said.
Ermias declined to say what charges would be filed against those arrested, saying that would be up to the Justice Ministry. He also declined to identify any of the suspects. He said they would all be brought before a judge within a few days.
The arrests come as Ethiopia is beginning preparations for its next parliamentary election in May, 2010. With a little more than a year until election day, most political observers consider the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front an overwhelming favorite to sweep the polls.
Party officials have said one of their top priorities will be preventing the kind of violence that marred the 2005 vote.
In local and bi-elections elections last April, opposition candidates won only three of approximately 3.6 million seats being contested. The annual U.S. State Department human rights report was highly skeptical about whether the results accurately reflected the will of the Ethiopian people.

Somaliland :Somali pirates jailed for 15 to 20 years

Medeshi
Somaliland :Somali pirates jailed for 15 to 20 years
April 26 2009
Mogadishu - Nine Somali pirates have been jailed for 15 to 20 years by a court in the breakaway northern state of Somaliland, an official said on Sunday.
"The nine pirates were found guilty of piracy and seven of them were given a jail term of 15 years, while two others were sentenced to 20 years," Mohamed Hashi, a Somaliland police officer told AFP by telephone from Berbera, Somaliland's main port.
"The pirates also admitted being guilty of chasing ships off Somaliland waters," added Hashi, who was in court for Saturday's hearing in Berbera.
The accused were arrested initially on April 18 by a Dutch navy warship patrolling the Gulf of Aden as part of NATO's anti-piracy mission.
Sixteen Yemeni fishermen they were holding were freed in the operation triggered by a distress call from a Greek merchant vessel, the Handytankers Magic.But the Dutch navy let the pirates go because they could not be prosecuted under Dutch law, the Portuguese commander of the NATO fleet explained.
However, the pirates were apprehended by the Somaliland authorities under circumstances which are not clear.
Somaliland's judicial authorities had already jailed seven pirates for 20 years in February after they were picked up by local coast guards near Berbera.
More than half the suspected pirates captured by international naval forces patrolling off Somalia have been handed over to authorities in the neighbouring self-proclaimed autonomous region of Puntland.
Kenya is the region's only state to have agreements with most major naval powers facilitating the arrest and transfer of suspected pirates.
Nevertheless, the United States -- in its first piracy trial for a century -- is also taking a teenager to court in New York after a US cargo-ship captain was held hostage for five days, forcing a dramatic mid-ocean rescue.
Ransom-hunting pirates off lawless Somalia -- without an effective central government since 1991 -- have defied an increased international naval presence to step up attacks during favourable weather, seizing at least 11 ships in April alone. - Sapa-AFP