Medeshi
Eritrea: slender land, giant prison
Human Rights Watch
May 6, 2009
Ben Rawlence
Ben Rawlence is a researcher for Human Rights Watch
Eritrea has avoided international attention in recent years in ways that may have protected the Red Sea country’s rulers from proper scrutiny but benefit no one else. Even those who recall that the continent’s youngest state gained its unlikely independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a bloody thirty-year struggle may be shocked to hear that the optimistic nationalism of the 1990s has been dissolved under President Isaias Afewerki into a despairing void, causing thousands of Eritreans to flee the country that they fought so hard to establish.Much of the inattention to what is going on in Eritrea is owed to the fact that all independent media were shut down in 2001, at the start of a wave of political repression that continues to this day. Many journalists arrested at the start of the decade remain in prison. Foreign journalists of whom the government disapproves are deported. State-run media broadcast a near-continuous diet of praise of the president and vitriol against Eritrea’s nemesis, Ethiopia.
There is no independent civil society, and human-rights organisations are not allowed to operate. Freedom of worship is limited, and movement is restricted. Citizens travelling inside Eritrea need travel permits while those trying to leave the country need visas, which are rarely granted. Mistrust of Ethiopia frames the government of Eritrea’s relations with its citizens and its neighbours. In May 1998, a border dispute with Ethiopia gave Isaias Afewerki a justification to shelve plans for elections. The fighting killed tens of thousands on both sides before it ended in December 2000 (see Edward Denison, “Eritrea vs Ethiopia: the shadow of war”, 18 January 2006).
A United Nations commission was appointed to demarcate the border between the two countries, but Ethiopia refused to carry out its decision that awarded disputed territory to Eritrea. The government in Asmara, frustrated by the lack of international pressure on Ethiopia, stopped cooperating with a UN border force. The situation remains volatile, even if neither government seems eager to resume direct clashes. The respective governments support the other’s opposition movements; Eritrea has also supported extreme Islamist factions in Somalia, Ethiopia’s rival to the east.
President Isaias uses the border standoff and paranoid claims of “western interference” to justify his increasingly totalitarian rule. The country’s eighteen-month national-service obligation has been indefinitely extended. This means that much of the adult population (in a nation of about 4.4 million people) works at the direction of the state for years for only a token wage. The majority of national-service conscripts serve in the 300,000-member military.
The continuing “emergency” is also used to legitimise sweeping restrictions on political dissent and religion. National-service conscripts who question government policy soon find themselves in Eritrea’s massive and mysterious national network of jails. Among those languishing in appalling conditions in Eritrea’s prisons - underground, in shipping containers and in the notorious Dahlak Kebir island prison in the Red Sea - are students who were caught reading the bible in school, soldiers who tried to flee the army, and political opponents who in 2001 questioned the president and called for the return of democracy in 2001 (the last category includes the former foreign minister and vice-president).
Human Rights Watch interviewed dozens of refugees in Djibouti, Sicily and London in preparing a new report, Service for Life: State Repression and Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea. Many had been forced to work for the state indefinitely for a pittance, either in the military or in back-breaking jobs in farming, building or mining. All had been jailed at some point for their religious beliefs or for trying to flee, in some cases four or five times.
Indeed, it is no surprise that the repression is causing increasing numbers of Eritreans to flee. Every month, hundreds pour into refugee camps in Sudan and Ethiopia; many of them try to reach Europe, despite the risky journey across Darfur, Libya and the Mediterranean. But leaving Eritrea is not easy. The border is sometimes mined, and patrolled by soldiers with “shoot-to-kill” orders.
Even if they do manage to escape, their nightmare is not over. In recent years Malta, Libya, Sudan, Egypt and even Britain have returned asylum- seekers to Eritrea, where they are viewed as traitors to the nation-building cause and treated as such. They face almost certain incarceration, torture and possibly death. The Human Rights Watch report calls for an absolute prohibition on all forcible return of Eritrean asylum-seekers.
Many of the refugees we interviewed in Italy and Djibouti feared for their safety even outside the country. The Eritrean government has an active network of informants in the region, in Europe and the United States. Overseas embassies are also responsible for fundraising for the government; collecting a 2% tax from expatriates; and intimidating and repressing the family members in Eritrea of those who don’t pay.
The threat from this repressive government extends beyond the suffering of Eritrea’s people. Eritrea is also a major impediment to security in the Horn of Africa as a whole.
What should be done? Any serious efforts to stabilise the Horn and prevent Eritrea’s human-rights crisis from getting any worse should start with the poisonous relationship between Asmara and Addis Ababa. The United Nations, the African Union and key governments should make a serious effort to bring Ethiopia and Eritrea to terms, normalise relations and begin to reduce the network of repression that is choking democracy and human rights in both countries and fuelling instability in Somalia.
Update on the Famine Crisis in Eritrea: the Landless and Beggars
Medeshi
Update on the Famine Crisis in Eritrea: the Landless and Beggars
Friday, 08 May 2009
Mussie Hadgu
As the result of the land expropriation, endless national service programs, crop expropriation and restrictions of trade of food and other items as well as the result of the impact of last crop season’s drought, the Eritrean population has been subjected to famine and hunger. Since my last report the prices for grain has almost remained constant because the government has to some degree loosened the control over the movement and trading of specific crop items such as sorghum in the past months while still tight control is being imposed on other food items such oil, wheat, wheat flour, sugar, etc. The implication is the prices for some items such as sugar, oil, pasta has increased by 30 to 40% since my last report. But even so prices have been extremely high for such a long time that for the population of Eritrea with no income sources the main problem at this time is more of lack of affordability. Even the rations that were supplied through the so called “fair price shops” have been slashed or are being distributed occasionally – for example, oil is only being distributed occasionally. The crisis of supply of energy is unresolved yet. Thus the situation is so severe and with every passing day it is getting extremely difficult for people to cope bye. And it is further anticipated that the availability of food crops will be reduced and prices will further rise up because the government has again tightened the control over the trade of food crops and other items as per the 28th of April, 2009.
To many households the only available coping strategy is resorting to migration and begging. As I have already reported in my December, 2008 report, whole communities or villages have migrated to other areas begging for food crops during harvest time and to areas where markets for food items are relatively accessible and affordable. Large numbers of women headed households and children have migrated to urban areas such as Asmara and other towns including Tesseney and are engaged in begging activities.
Let me say a few words on the situation in Asmara to illustrate how the migrants make their living:
Large numbers of households have migrated to Asmara city and have camped within the premises of the churches
and their surroundings. The households are mainly comprised of women, children and infants. Most of the migrants are from Debub Region. They have brought with them some household utensils and materials such as pans, cups and cooking stoves. The migrants have been engaged in begging activities at the church compounds, in streets and in the churches’ neighborhoods where they had camped. Their main target is the mass gathering of people who frequently visit the churches for praying. They also use to move from church to church whenever there are special occasions and celebrations that attract large mass gatherings.
The migrants use to spend day and night in the open air with no shelters and with no adequate clothing. Whatever amount of money they collect from begging activities, they buy food items (sorghum grain, sugar, tea leaves) and charcoal for cooking their meals. Grain is bought from the market and ground in the grinding mills and then prepared in their camping places. The food preparing activities include baking “kicha” (traditional unleavened bread) and tea using charcoal. As there is no adequate income from the begging activities that could meet their daily food requirement, if there is any, their food consumption mainly comprises of “kicha” and tea. This is from my observation. Though I have never stopped thinking of having informal interviews and discussions with them regarding their situations, but as the issue is politically sensitive, I have so far refrained from doing so fearing for my life.
The number of new migrants has added to the already high number of beggars in Asmara city, and the government could not tolerate the scene. As this is a clear manifestation of the prevailing famine and widespread poverty which the government denies its existence, in order to hide it, the government security forces raided all churches and streets on the 7th of April, 2009 (at dawn) and rounded up the beggars and took them to a detention center, a place known as Enda-Saal in Mai Temenai district in Asmara. The rounding up also continued in the subsequent days targeting those who were missed in the first day.
Those beggars who are originally from Asmara were released after their relatives were made to sign as guarantors. This means their relatives are to be hold responsible if the beggars engage again in any begging activiti
es, which will cause the guarantors to pay a fine of 10,000 Nakfa. I have no information yet what the government has done to the beggars who are from Asmara and its surroundings but no relatives have taken responsibility for them. Regarding those migrant beggars that have come from the countryside, the government has forcefully returned them to their respective villages, mandating the government appointed administrators in their respective administrative areas to supervise and control them from migrating again. Moreover, they are warned that they would be relocated to Gash Barka if they try to engage again in any begging activities.
Land expropriation
The government has this year intensified and expanded its land expropriation programs. In the highland, in addition to what had been grabbed in the last year and the years before that, it has continued land expropriating this year too - whatever land the government considered as fertile and potential land, particularly for wheat production. The regions affected most by this program are Debub and Maekel.
In Gash-Barka, i.e. the southern part of Gash which is the fertile area and considered as the food basket of the country, and in which unlike in the highland, land ownership was permanent and land holding is relatively big compared with the highland, the government has cancelled all land ownership and the existing tenure system and put it under direct government control and management (instead of the communal management and control) claiming it is introducing land redistribution program. Under this redistribution program the government redistributes land to the farmers ranging from one to two hectares per household for subsistence farming depending in the geographical locations. According to this plan the allocation is one hectare per household in the Tekombia-Shilalo area and two hectares per household in Tesseney-Omhajer areas. Investors are allowed land that can be tens of hectares according to predetermined criteria – this is classified under concessional land ownership. This means large proportion of the land remains at the hand of the government which the government is planning to cultivate itself.
Apart from the loss of their land, the farmers had made a lot of investments in terms of capital, labor and time in clearing the land to make it fit for farming. In Gash Barka the initial cost of clearing the land is capital and labor intensive. To clear one hectare of land costs tens of thousands of Nakfa. Most of the farmers own more than two hectares, some of them up to ten hectares; thus it is obvious how m
uch the clearing of the land has cost the farmers. As most of the farmers had shortage of money it took them several years to clear them using their family labor. For all the financial costs and labor expended in the clearing of the land the farmers are not being compensated.
Moreover, each farmer is obliged to pay 40 Nakfa for registration to access land under this redistribution program. Further, the farmers are asked to pay a cumulative amount of money as land tax to the government calculated at the rate of 100 Nakfa per hectare per year. The base year for calculating the cumulative tax from area to area varies; for example the base year in the Tesseney area is 2002. This means a household owning 3 hectare of land will pay to the government 2100 Nakfa.
What is more disappointing is that many families or households are denied their right to land ownership according to this redistribution program. These are the households in which the head of the household is supposed to be in the national service but are absent from the national service. This means until the heads of these families report to their units or enlist in the national service the members of these families are denied their rights and subjected to starvation.
Another issue worth paying attention is the forceful resettlement of the resettled population in Hadish –Adi. Hadish Adi is a name given to a newly established (from 2007 – 2009) settlement centre around Gerset, i.e. between Goluj and Tesseney. These people were initially resettled forcefully from the highland to this area and had invested in the construction their houses and clearing of their agricultural lands. Now the government has resettled them forcefully in three areas (Gergef, Tebeldia and Sabnait) without compensating for the investments expenses they had incurred and the labor they exerted in the initial resettlement. They have not also been given any financial support in their new settlement areas for the construction of their shelters and other needs. The resettlement a
ction was taken because the government is going to cultivate itself the area around Gerset under the Warsay-Yekalo program.
Death of livestock
Another worrying development is people are losing one of their livelihood assets – the animals – not only as the result of the sale of their animals to cope with the current food crisis but as the result of death of the animals as the result of the effect of the drought. Taking as an example Maekel and Anseba regions, animals have already started dying and there are many in the verge of dying unless supply of feed is secured which is unlikely. Leaving aside its affordability, there is no feed available – neither the concentrated feed nor the fibrous feed. A donkey’s load of barley straws is selling at 600 Nakfa; the government is making a profitable business by collecting sorghum husks of Gash Barka of last season’s harvest and transporting them to Asmara and selling it at 500 Nakfa per quintal. The death of the draught animals particularly would have a huge negative impact on the capacity of the peasants to plough and cultivate their lands in the coming crop season.
The report on famine in Eritrea will continue …
Friday, 08 May 2009
Mussie Hadgu
As the result of the land expropriation, endless national service programs, crop expropriation and restrictions of trade of food and other items as well as the result of the impact of last crop season’s drought, the Eritrean population has been subjected to famine and hunger. Since my last report the prices for grain has almost remained constant because the government has to some degree loosened the control over the movement and trading of specific crop items such as sorghum in the past months while still tight control is being imposed on other food items such oil, wheat, wheat flour, sugar, etc. The implication is the prices for some items such as sugar, oil, pasta has increased by 30 to 40% since my last report. But even so prices have been extremely high for such a long time that for the population of Eritrea with no income sources the main problem at this time is more of lack of affordability. Even the rations that were supplied through the so called “fair price shops” have been slashed or are being distributed occasionally – for example, oil is only being distributed occasionally. The crisis of supply of energy is unresolved yet. Thus the situation is so severe and with every passing day it is getting extremely difficult for people to cope bye. And it is further anticipated that the availability of food crops will be reduced and prices will further rise up because the government has again tightened the control over the trade of food crops and other items as per the 28th of April, 2009.
To many households the only available coping strategy is resorting to migration and begging. As I have already reported in my December, 2008 report, whole communities or villages have migrated to other areas begging for food crops during harvest time and to areas where markets for food items are relatively accessible and affordable. Large numbers of women headed households and children have migrated to urban areas such as Asmara and other towns including Tesseney and are engaged in begging activities.
Let me say a few words on the situation in Asmara to illustrate how the migrants make their living:
Large numbers of households have migrated to Asmara city and have camped within the premises of the churches
and their surroundings. The households are mainly comprised of women, children and infants. Most of the migrants are from Debub Region. They have brought with them some household utensils and materials such as pans, cups and cooking stoves. The migrants have been engaged in begging activities at the church compounds, in streets and in the churches’ neighborhoods where they had camped. Their main target is the mass gathering of people who frequently visit the churches for praying. They also use to move from church to church whenever there are special occasions and celebrations that attract large mass gatherings.The migrants use to spend day and night in the open air with no shelters and with no adequate clothing. Whatever amount of money they collect from begging activities, they buy food items (sorghum grain, sugar, tea leaves) and charcoal for cooking their meals. Grain is bought from the market and ground in the grinding mills and then prepared in their camping places. The food preparing activities include baking “kicha” (traditional unleavened bread) and tea using charcoal. As there is no adequate income from the begging activities that could meet their daily food requirement, if there is any, their food consumption mainly comprises of “kicha” and tea. This is from my observation. Though I have never stopped thinking of having informal interviews and discussions with them regarding their situations, but as the issue is politically sensitive, I have so far refrained from doing so fearing for my life.
The number of new migrants has added to the already high number of beggars in Asmara city, and the government could not tolerate the scene. As this is a clear manifestation of the prevailing famine and widespread poverty which the government denies its existence, in order to hide it, the government security forces raided all churches and streets on the 7th of April, 2009 (at dawn) and rounded up the beggars and took them to a detention center, a place known as Enda-Saal in Mai Temenai district in Asmara. The rounding up also continued in the subsequent days targeting those who were missed in the first day.
Those beggars who are originally from Asmara were released after their relatives were made to sign as guarantors. This means their relatives are to be hold responsible if the beggars engage again in any begging activiti
es, which will cause the guarantors to pay a fine of 10,000 Nakfa. I have no information yet what the government has done to the beggars who are from Asmara and its surroundings but no relatives have taken responsibility for them. Regarding those migrant beggars that have come from the countryside, the government has forcefully returned them to their respective villages, mandating the government appointed administrators in their respective administrative areas to supervise and control them from migrating again. Moreover, they are warned that they would be relocated to Gash Barka if they try to engage again in any begging activities.Land expropriation
The government has this year intensified and expanded its land expropriation programs. In the highland, in addition to what had been grabbed in the last year and the years before that, it has continued land expropriating this year too - whatever land the government considered as fertile and potential land, particularly for wheat production. The regions affected most by this program are Debub and Maekel.
In Gash-Barka, i.e. the southern part of Gash which is the fertile area and considered as the food basket of the country, and in which unlike in the highland, land ownership was permanent and land holding is relatively big compared with the highland, the government has cancelled all land ownership and the existing tenure system and put it under direct government control and management (instead of the communal management and control) claiming it is introducing land redistribution program. Under this redistribution program the government redistributes land to the farmers ranging from one to two hectares per household for subsistence farming depending in the geographical locations. According to this plan the allocation is one hectare per household in the Tekombia-Shilalo area and two hectares per household in Tesseney-Omhajer areas. Investors are allowed land that can be tens of hectares according to predetermined criteria – this is classified under concessional land ownership. This means large proportion of the land remains at the hand of the government which the government is planning to cultivate itself.
Apart from the loss of their land, the farmers had made a lot of investments in terms of capital, labor and time in clearing the land to make it fit for farming. In Gash Barka the initial cost of clearing the land is capital and labor intensive. To clear one hectare of land costs tens of thousands of Nakfa. Most of the farmers own more than two hectares, some of them up to ten hectares; thus it is obvious how m
uch the clearing of the land has cost the farmers. As most of the farmers had shortage of money it took them several years to clear them using their family labor. For all the financial costs and labor expended in the clearing of the land the farmers are not being compensated.Moreover, each farmer is obliged to pay 40 Nakfa for registration to access land under this redistribution program. Further, the farmers are asked to pay a cumulative amount of money as land tax to the government calculated at the rate of 100 Nakfa per hectare per year. The base year for calculating the cumulative tax from area to area varies; for example the base year in the Tesseney area is 2002. This means a household owning 3 hectare of land will pay to the government 2100 Nakfa.
What is more disappointing is that many families or households are denied their right to land ownership according to this redistribution program. These are the households in which the head of the household is supposed to be in the national service but are absent from the national service. This means until the heads of these families report to their units or enlist in the national service the members of these families are denied their rights and subjected to starvation.
Another issue worth paying attention is the forceful resettlement of the resettled population in Hadish –Adi. Hadish Adi is a name given to a newly established (from 2007 – 2009) settlement centre around Gerset, i.e. between Goluj and Tesseney. These people were initially resettled forcefully from the highland to this area and had invested in the construction their houses and clearing of their agricultural lands. Now the government has resettled them forcefully in three areas (Gergef, Tebeldia and Sabnait) without compensating for the investments expenses they had incurred and the labor they exerted in the initial resettlement. They have not also been given any financial support in their new settlement areas for the construction of their shelters and other needs. The resettlement a
ction was taken because the government is going to cultivate itself the area around Gerset under the Warsay-Yekalo program.Death of livestock
Another worrying development is people are losing one of their livelihood assets – the animals – not only as the result of the sale of their animals to cope with the current food crisis but as the result of death of the animals as the result of the effect of the drought. Taking as an example Maekel and Anseba regions, animals have already started dying and there are many in the verge of dying unless supply of feed is secured which is unlikely. Leaving aside its affordability, there is no feed available – neither the concentrated feed nor the fibrous feed. A donkey’s load of barley straws is selling at 600 Nakfa; the government is making a profitable business by collecting sorghum husks of Gash Barka of last season’s harvest and transporting them to Asmara and selling it at 500 Nakfa per quintal. The death of the draught animals particularly would have a huge negative impact on the capacity of the peasants to plough and cultivate their lands in the coming crop season.
The report on famine in Eritrea will continue …
Source: Asmarino Independent
Nearly 20 mln need urgent help in Horn of Africa
Medeshi May 9, 2009Nearly 20 mln need urgent help in Horn of Africa
NAIROBI (AFP) — The global financial crisis, growing conflict and unpredictable weather patterns are threatening the lives of millions of people in the Horn of Africa, a UN agency said Friday.
An estimated 19.8 million people, among them four million children, are in need of emergency relief in the region, a rise of nearly 50 percent from 14 million in September, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.
"Over the last few months we have witnessed a steady increase in the numbers of children suffering from acute malnutrition... more children are at risk of death and disease," said Dorothy Rozga, the agency's deputy director for east and southern Africa.
Rampant piracy off the coast of Somali that is threatening a key shipping route had also contributed to the region's woes, the agency said.
"We are witnessing an all too familiar tragedy unfolding, and unless we act with much greater urgency the situation for children can only get worse," Rozga added.
Malnutrition rates among children in Djibouti, Somalia and parts of Eritrea were high, said UNICEF.
It said its relief efforts were hamstrung by lack of funds. So far this year it has received less than 10 percent of its projected emergency funding requirements.
Wings over Somalia
Medeshi
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wings Over Somalia
Latest from inside Somalia.
Unknown aeroplanes which are said to be low flying have been spotted tonight in various residential areas in Garowe [north-eastern Somalia], Puntland region. The true identity of these planes are not yet known, however, some have said that they belong to the American Navy based along the Somali coast and particularly Puntland and are fighting piracy and terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
Wings Over Somalia
Latest from inside Somalia.
Unknown aeroplanes which are said to be low flying have been spotted tonight in various residential areas in Garowe [north-eastern Somalia], Puntland region. The true identity of these planes are not yet known, however, some have said that they belong to the American Navy based along the Somali coast and particularly Puntland and are fighting piracy and terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
One of the planes flew at a very low range and could be seen by residents of Garoowe who are concerned about possible military operation that might be carried out by these planes along the Puntland coast.
US Navy UAVs are usually high altitude, so maybe its the Air Force?
A military operation inside Somalia wouldn't be something new, nor an unexpected event. The Bush administration hit high value Al Qaeda targets of opportunity in Somalia on several occasions, and I have seen no evidence that suggests that Barack Obama wouldn't do the same thing if the opportunity was there.
But I highly doubt it is related to piracy, there are many problems in Somalia and piracy doesn't rank #1.
informationdissemination
Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia
Medeshi
14 Indonesians on death row seek clemency
Ghazanfar Ali Khan Arab News
RIYADH: The Indonesian government has stepped up efforts to save the lives of 14 of its citizens who are on death row in Saudi Arabia for being convicted of involvement in a range of criminal cases, including murder.
“Our missions in Riyadh and Jeddah will provide legal assistance to these people and help them get a royal pardon or their sentences commuted,” said an Indonesian diplomat while reacting to a recent report on the cases. He refused to divulge more details about the cases.
The report said the Indonesian government had managed to persuade the Saudi side to delay executions, citing appeals for clemency to some of the victims’ families.
“We are intensifying our personal approach to family members of the victims,” said the diplomat. The Indonesian side has already requested the Saudi government to grant royal clemency in some individual cases, but the host government has not responded so far, said another report obtained by Arab News yesterday.
The report added that the Kingdom deported 24,020 Indonesians without valid work permits in 2008. Most of them were employed as housemaids.
Between January and September last year, around 18,000 Indonesians working illegally in the Kingdom were deported. These workers lacked the necessary legal documents and had violated the terms of their visas, according to the Indonesian Embassy.
Most of them entered the Kingdom using Umrah visas but stayed to work, while others had work visas that had expired. The report said more than 20,000 Indonesian workers are deported from Saudi Arabia each year.
Some of 14 workers who are seeking pardon from the Saudi government were found guilty many years ago. Siti Zainab was sentenced to death several years ago for killing her employer. The Indonesian Embassy has repeatedly approached her victim’s family to secure a pardon for her. “The Indonesian president has written to the Saudi government twice about her case,” said the report.
The report claimed that some of these workers committed murders while acting in self-defense.
Others have been handed death sentences for killing compatriots.
Last year, the Indonesian Embassy succeeded in postponing the execution of six workers.
Key suspects in kidnap case face death sentenceMuhammad Abdullah Arab News
MADINAH: The key suspects in the kidnapping of an Afghan girl in Madinah four years ago may face capital punishment as the act has been treated as a major socially corrupting crime deserving execution in accordance with Shariah.
“The case filed against Muhammad Junaidi and his sister Jamalat, prime suspects in the kidnapping and imprisonment of Raziah, has been transferred to the headquarters of the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution in Riyadh in view of the seriousness of the case,” said a reliable source in Madinah legal circles.
“Given the strong evidences gathered by the prosecution and the nature of the crime the final verdict is likely to be execution,” said the source, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Junaidi, an Egyptian, his wife Fatimah and his sister Jamalat were arrested in January in connection with the kidnapping of Raziah who was kept prisoner in their home for four years.
“Abduction and rape are crimes not condoned by the religion because they amount to terrorizing people and disrupting law and order,” said Faihan Al-Mutairi, who teaches law at the Islamic University of Madinah, commenting on the crime.
According to the girl, Jamalat lured her to Junaidi’s house where she was kept prisoner. Raziah said Junaidi wanted to marry her and smuggle her to Egypt. “They changed my name to Duaa and told me that Junaidi would marry me,” Raziah told Arab News after police reunited her with her parents in January.
According to Raziah’s mother, who sold clothes outside the Prophet’s Mosque, Jamalat purportedly took the girl to her hotel room promising to send with her the money for clothes she had bought as she had no cash on her, but Raziah never came back.
Jamalat has been charged with kidnapping and detaining the girl, while Fatimah has been charged with concealing her husband and sister-in-law’s crimes.
Junaidi is currently being held at Abyar Ali General Prison in Madinah. The couple’s four children are currently at the Taiba Children’s Village; a fifth child is with Fatimah in jail.
14 Indonesians on death row seek clemency
Ghazanfar Ali Khan Arab News
RIYADH: The Indonesian government has stepped up efforts to save the lives of 14 of its citizens who are on death row in Saudi Arabia for being convicted of involvement in a range of criminal cases, including murder.
“Our missions in Riyadh and Jeddah will provide legal assistance to these people and help them get a royal pardon or their sentences commuted,” said an Indonesian diplomat while reacting to a recent report on the cases. He refused to divulge more details about the cases.
The report said the Indonesian government had managed to persuade the Saudi side to delay executions, citing appeals for clemency to some of the victims’ families.
“We are intensifying our personal approach to family members of the victims,” said the diplomat. The Indonesian side has already requested the Saudi government to grant royal clemency in some individual cases, but the host government has not responded so far, said another report obtained by Arab News yesterday.
The report added that the Kingdom deported 24,020 Indonesians without valid work permits in 2008. Most of them were employed as housemaids.
Between January and September last year, around 18,000 Indonesians working illegally in the Kingdom were deported. These workers lacked the necessary legal documents and had violated the terms of their visas, according to the Indonesian Embassy.
Most of them entered the Kingdom using Umrah visas but stayed to work, while others had work visas that had expired. The report said more than 20,000 Indonesian workers are deported from Saudi Arabia each year.
Some of 14 workers who are seeking pardon from the Saudi government were found guilty many years ago. Siti Zainab was sentenced to death several years ago for killing her employer. The Indonesian Embassy has repeatedly approached her victim’s family to secure a pardon for her. “The Indonesian president has written to the Saudi government twice about her case,” said the report.
The report claimed that some of these workers committed murders while acting in self-defense.
Others have been handed death sentences for killing compatriots.
Last year, the Indonesian Embassy succeeded in postponing the execution of six workers.
Key suspects in kidnap case face death sentenceMuhammad Abdullah Arab News
MADINAH: The key suspects in the kidnapping of an Afghan girl in Madinah four years ago may face capital punishment as the act has been treated as a major socially corrupting crime deserving execution in accordance with Shariah.
“The case filed against Muhammad Junaidi and his sister Jamalat, prime suspects in the kidnapping and imprisonment of Raziah, has been transferred to the headquarters of the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution in Riyadh in view of the seriousness of the case,” said a reliable source in Madinah legal circles.
“Given the strong evidences gathered by the prosecution and the nature of the crime the final verdict is likely to be execution,” said the source, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Junaidi, an Egyptian, his wife Fatimah and his sister Jamalat were arrested in January in connection with the kidnapping of Raziah who was kept prisoner in their home for four years.
“Abduction and rape are crimes not condoned by the religion because they amount to terrorizing people and disrupting law and order,” said Faihan Al-Mutairi, who teaches law at the Islamic University of Madinah, commenting on the crime.
According to the girl, Jamalat lured her to Junaidi’s house where she was kept prisoner. Raziah said Junaidi wanted to marry her and smuggle her to Egypt. “They changed my name to Duaa and told me that Junaidi would marry me,” Raziah told Arab News after police reunited her with her parents in January.
According to Raziah’s mother, who sold clothes outside the Prophet’s Mosque, Jamalat purportedly took the girl to her hotel room promising to send with her the money for clothes she had bought as she had no cash on her, but Raziah never came back.
Jamalat has been charged with kidnapping and detaining the girl, while Fatimah has been charged with concealing her husband and sister-in-law’s crimes.
Junaidi is currently being held at Abyar Ali General Prison in Madinah. The couple’s four children are currently at the Taiba Children’s Village; a fifth child is with Fatimah in jail.
Saving Somaliland
Medeshi
Saving Somaliland
by Stijn Jaspers
08-05-2009
by Stijn Jaspers
08-05-2009
Once in a while, but definitely not too often, you meet a person that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Edna Adan Ismail, the founder of the Edna Hospital of Somaliland, is one of those people. Her achievements are quite remarkable considering the difficult circumstances she has been working in for the past few years.
Despite the grave problems that the whole region is facing, such as piracy, terrorist violence and drought, Edna Adan has been able to build a private hospital that focuses on mother and child care in the self-declared independent republic of Somaliland.
Since the hospital has been operating it has helped thousands of mothers and children and improved their health significantly. The figures show that the maternal and child mortality rate has dropped dramatically in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, due to the work of the Edna Hospital.
Heart, soul and mindEdna Adan is seventy-two-years-old but still full of energy and not willing to give up on the people of Somaliland. Despite her age she still runs the hospital on a day-to-day basis and is in control of the whole venture. She actually is the heart, soul and mind of the hospital. This also poses a threat to the sustainability of the organization because it relies on her way too much.
To see Edna Adan at work in the hospital is quite enjoyable. Her energy and good spirits are a joy for everybody. She walks through the corridors of the hospital full of energy and has time for a casual, or business, talk with everybody she meets. It so clear that this woman has a vision and a mission that she will pursue.
Sense of hopeAs a former Secretary of State of Somaliland and an employee of the World Health Organization. Edna Adan knows politics, finance and networking. She has used these assets very well to realize her dream to build a hospital (pictured left) which is now considered as one of the best in town. Her experience as a politician also makes it easy to attract foreign donors and expertise such as internships and scientific surveys conducted by students and universities from Europe and the US.
Walking through this hospital gives the visitor, and especially the patients of course, a sense of hope and optimism that things can be achieved in this region that has been almost forgotten by the international community. Edna Adan does not only provide medical assistance via her work and staff, but she spreads hope to a community that has to fight for survival every single day.
Tags: Edna Adan Ismail, Edna Hospital, Hargeisa
Despite the grave problems that the whole region is facing, such as piracy, terrorist violence and drought, Edna Adan has been able to build a private hospital that focuses on mother and child care in the self-declared independent republic of Somaliland.
Since the hospital has been operating it has helped thousands of mothers and children and improved their health significantly. The figures show that the maternal and child mortality rate has dropped dramatically in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, due to the work of the Edna Hospital.
Heart, soul and mindEdna Adan is seventy-two-years-old but still full of energy and not willing to give up on the people of Somaliland. Despite her age she still runs the hospital on a day-to-day basis and is in control of the whole venture. She actually is the heart, soul and mind of the hospital. This also poses a threat to the sustainability of the organization because it relies on her way too much.
To see Edna Adan at work in the hospital is quite enjoyable. Her energy and good spirits are a joy for everybody. She walks through the corridors of the hospital full of energy and has time for a casual, or business, talk with everybody she meets. It so clear that this woman has a vision and a mission that she will pursue.
Sense of hopeAs a former Secretary of State of Somaliland and an employee of the World Health Organization. Edna Adan knows politics, finance and networking. She has used these assets very well to realize her dream to build a hospital (pictured left) which is now considered as one of the best in town. Her experience as a politician also makes it easy to attract foreign donors and expertise such as internships and scientific surveys conducted by students and universities from Europe and the US.
Walking through this hospital gives the visitor, and especially the patients of course, a sense of hope and optimism that things can be achieved in this region that has been almost forgotten by the international community. Edna Adan does not only provide medical assistance via her work and staff, but she spreads hope to a community that has to fight for survival every single day.
Tags: Edna Adan Ismail, Edna Hospital, Hargeisa
UN Warns of Ties Between Lawless Groups in Somalia and Yemen
Medeshi
UN Warns of Ties Between Lawless Groups in Somalia and Yemen
By Alisha Ryu Nairobi07 May 2009
For years, criminals have used ports in the Arab world's poorest country, Yemen, as staging areas for trafficking humans, drugs, and weapons. There are growing fears that criminal groups in Yemen and pirate gangs in Somalia are moving closer together, further complicating international efforts to stabilize the region.
In a report released last December, the U.N. group tasked with monitoring the 1992 arms embargo on Somalia included a paragraph on piracy, alluding to the growing financial ties between Somali pirates and criminal entrepreneurs in Yemen.
The U.N. report said the NATO Shipping Center had identified five ports along the Yemeni coast, which were serving as re-supply stations for mother ships belonging to Somali pirates. Mother ships are usually hijacked fishing trawlers or merchant vessels, used to tow the speedboats needed to attack slow-moving ships sailing in open waters.
Maritime terrorism analyst Peter Lehr at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland says the information is worrisome because it implies that Yemenis, facing high unemployment and widespread poverty in their country, are being increasingly lured into the lucrative world of piracy.
"So far, there is no evidence that Yemeni fishermen are actually working as pirates," said Peter Lehr. "You have just these opportunistic people on the shore, who do not care to whom they sell their stuff. But because of the economic meltdown, we have lots of people descending into even deeper poverty than before. And it is quite logical to me that the Yemeni fishermen there might also embark on piracy because this is, at the moment, the only show in town, even for them. And the Gulf of Aden is perfect for pirates because you have confined waters and lots of targets."
The Gulf of Aden is a narrow waterway that divides Somalia from Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. It is also a vital shipping route for hundreds of maritime companies around the world. In the past year, dozens of vessels have been seized in the area, earning Somali pirates and their associates tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of million of dollars, in ransom.
The U.N. Monitoring Group believes much of the arms, ammunition, and fuel needed to sustain the growth of piracy off the coast of Somalia is being supplied by locals in Yemen. Its adds that pirates, in turn, may be assisting smugglers by using hijacked vessels to move refugees and economic migrants from Somalia to Yemen, and then bringing arms and ammunition on the return journey to Somalia.
An analyst with the global intelligence company Stratfor, Scott Stewart, says the problem is growing largely because the Yemeni government has been unable to crack down on criminal activities taking place in its southern ports.
"They do not have the resources," said Scott Stewart. "It takes people. It takes boats. It takes training, and they simply do not have the bandwidth to devote to that issue. They have got much bigger problems, where they really need to focus at this point. The south is really looking to break away. There are a lot of mass protests and uprisings right now. The country is very, very tense. So, that is a very important dynamic in what is going on here. There are factions and tribes and people trying to make money off this trade, not only for personal gain, but also to use it to foster their independence of the south."
Oil makes up two-thirds of Yemen's public revenue and 90 percent of its export earnings. Most of the oil facilities are in the south, where the people have long complained of being discriminated against by northerners and the government in Sana'a.
Secession would be disastrous for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who took power in the former North Yemen and has been the country's leader since the merger with the south in 1990. His government is already trying to cope with numerous other problems, including a separate tribal rebellion in the north, a rapid population growth, threats from a regional al-Qaida group, and worries that the country's dwindling oil and water resources may soon plunge Yemen into deeper poverty.
Peter Lehr at the University of St. Andrews says he fears Yemen will begin to mirror Somalia, acting not only as a breeding ground for al-Qaida, but also for legions of impoverished youths joining pirate gangs.
"The more the problem persists, the more likely that you will have Yemeni pirate expeditions on the scale comparable to the Somali expeditions," he said. "What you need to do is move fast now to prevent the situation deteriorating in Yemen any further. How you do that is anybody's guess."
In a recent report, London-based Chatham House warned that Yemen faced a potent combination of problems, which, if left unresolved, could expand a lawless zone stretching from northern Kenya, through Somalia and the Gulf of Aden to Saudi Arabia.
UN Warns of Ties Between Lawless Groups in Somalia and Yemen
By Alisha Ryu Nairobi07 May 2009
For years, criminals have used ports in the Arab world's poorest country, Yemen, as staging areas for trafficking humans, drugs, and weapons. There are growing fears that criminal groups in Yemen and pirate gangs in Somalia are moving closer together, further complicating international efforts to stabilize the region.
In a report released last December, the U.N. group tasked with monitoring the 1992 arms embargo on Somalia included a paragraph on piracy, alluding to the growing financial ties between Somali pirates and criminal entrepreneurs in Yemen.
The U.N. report said the NATO Shipping Center had identified five ports along the Yemeni coast, which were serving as re-supply stations for mother ships belonging to Somali pirates. Mother ships are usually hijacked fishing trawlers or merchant vessels, used to tow the speedboats needed to attack slow-moving ships sailing in open waters.
Maritime terrorism analyst Peter Lehr at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland says the information is worrisome because it implies that Yemenis, facing high unemployment and widespread poverty in their country, are being increasingly lured into the lucrative world of piracy.
"So far, there is no evidence that Yemeni fishermen are actually working as pirates," said Peter Lehr. "You have just these opportunistic people on the shore, who do not care to whom they sell their stuff. But because of the economic meltdown, we have lots of people descending into even deeper poverty than before. And it is quite logical to me that the Yemeni fishermen there might also embark on piracy because this is, at the moment, the only show in town, even for them. And the Gulf of Aden is perfect for pirates because you have confined waters and lots of targets."
The Gulf of Aden is a narrow waterway that divides Somalia from Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. It is also a vital shipping route for hundreds of maritime companies around the world. In the past year, dozens of vessels have been seized in the area, earning Somali pirates and their associates tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of million of dollars, in ransom.
The U.N. Monitoring Group believes much of the arms, ammunition, and fuel needed to sustain the growth of piracy off the coast of Somalia is being supplied by locals in Yemen. Its adds that pirates, in turn, may be assisting smugglers by using hijacked vessels to move refugees and economic migrants from Somalia to Yemen, and then bringing arms and ammunition on the return journey to Somalia.
An analyst with the global intelligence company Stratfor, Scott Stewart, says the problem is growing largely because the Yemeni government has been unable to crack down on criminal activities taking place in its southern ports.
"They do not have the resources," said Scott Stewart. "It takes people. It takes boats. It takes training, and they simply do not have the bandwidth to devote to that issue. They have got much bigger problems, where they really need to focus at this point. The south is really looking to break away. There are a lot of mass protests and uprisings right now. The country is very, very tense. So, that is a very important dynamic in what is going on here. There are factions and tribes and people trying to make money off this trade, not only for personal gain, but also to use it to foster their independence of the south."
Oil makes up two-thirds of Yemen's public revenue and 90 percent of its export earnings. Most of the oil facilities are in the south, where the people have long complained of being discriminated against by northerners and the government in Sana'a.
Secession would be disastrous for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who took power in the former North Yemen and has been the country's leader since the merger with the south in 1990. His government is already trying to cope with numerous other problems, including a separate tribal rebellion in the north, a rapid population growth, threats from a regional al-Qaida group, and worries that the country's dwindling oil and water resources may soon plunge Yemen into deeper poverty.
Peter Lehr at the University of St. Andrews says he fears Yemen will begin to mirror Somalia, acting not only as a breeding ground for al-Qaida, but also for legions of impoverished youths joining pirate gangs.
"The more the problem persists, the more likely that you will have Yemeni pirate expeditions on the scale comparable to the Somali expeditions," he said. "What you need to do is move fast now to prevent the situation deteriorating in Yemen any further. How you do that is anybody's guess."
In a recent report, London-based Chatham House warned that Yemen faced a potent combination of problems, which, if left unresolved, could expand a lawless zone stretching from northern Kenya, through Somalia and the Gulf of Aden to Saudi Arabia.
Potential For Violence Shadows Ethiopia's 2010 Election
Medeshi
Potential For Violence Shadows Ethiopia's 2010 Election
By Peter Heinlein
VOA
Addis Ababa06 May 2009
Ethiopia's next national election is a year away, but tensions are already increasing. At least two opposition politicians have recently been jailed, both possibly facing life in prison, and security forces have arrested dozens of others, accusing them of plotting against the government. Both government and opposition leaders are expressing concern about the potential for election-related violence.
No Ethiopian needs reminding about the horrors that followed the disputed 2005 election. Nearly 200 protesters killed in the streets by security forces, more than 100 opposition leaders, arrested, convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison before being pardoned.
When government spokesman Bereket Simon kicked off the 2010 election season, he said a top priority of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Party would be preventing violence. "This election must be peaceful. Government must do whatever it takes to ensure that our election will be peaceful," he said.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi warned that government forces would have little tolerance for street protests. "The 2005 experience was experience enough for anybody to be able to learn from, and so I'm sure our law enforcement entities will be much better prepared for any eventuality than they were in 2005, not only in terms of handling riots, but also in terms of deterring and preventing riots," he said.
Opposition activists are equally concerned. It was their supporters that were killed in the streets four years ago. Many fear 2010 could be as bad or worse than 2005.
Already, several government opponents have been jailed. Among them, Birtukan Mideksa, a charismatic young former judge who was among those sentenced to life and then pardoned after the 2005 election.
Birtukan had been touted to be a potent force in the 2010 vote. But she was re-arrested and ordered to serve out her sentence after saying she had not asked for the pardon.
Another prominent member of Birtukan's party, Melaku Teferra, was among 40 people accused last month of involvement in a coup plot directed by Berhanu Nega, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005.
Berhanu and Melaku were also among those jailed for life after the last election. Melaku stayed in Ethiopia after being freed. Berhanu fled to the United States, where he teaches economics at a Pennsylvania university and heads a political group that advocates the overthrow of the Meles Zenawi government.
Merera Gudina is another political science professor who doubles as an opposition leader. Merera teaches at Addis Ababa University. His party is among eight opposition groups banding together in hopes of mounting a serious challenge to the ruling EPRDF.
Merera worries, however, that next year's vote may turn into a replay of last year's local and bi-elections, in which the EPRDF and its affiliates won all but three out of nearly 3.6 million seats being contested. Most opposition parties pulled out of the contest in advance, complaining the rules were written so only pro-government parties could win.
Merera says given that the EPRDF now controls all local administrations, this election will be a struggle to prevent Ethiopia from becoming a one-party state.
"Our role is… to make sure this government cannot rule without accepting the rules of multi-party democracy. We are in a struggle. This government is not ready for change, and this government is cheating left and right and its ultimate agenda is revolutionary democracy. We know all these things, and in fact people who were with (Prime Minister) Meles, who used to play those games and clearly know these games, are now with us," he said.
Seeye Abraha Hagos is a former member of Prime Minister Meles's inner circle. He was military commander of the guerrilla force that brought the Meles government to power. After a falling out with the government, he was convicted of corruption and spent several years in prison. But he is still popular among his former military colleagues
Seeye is now a member of the coalition of opposition groups know as the forum. He says the only ways of breaking Ethiopia's long tradition of violence-plagued elections is to ensure opposition parties and their supporters know change is possible through the ballot box.
"There is always violent opposition in Ethiopia. Even if you take out the 2005 elections, there was violent opposition in this country. So if we are ever going to control violence in this country, the only way out is to chart a peaceful political transition. No peaceful elections, no peaceful political transfer of power would mean there will be continuous violence in this country, and this can take this country down the drain given our poverty," he said.
A year before the May, 2010 election, Ethiopia displays all the outward signs of calm. Despite grinding poverty, frequent power cuts, and a severe foreign exchange shortage that has seen imported goods disappear from stores, there is little evidence of the country's violent past.
But opposition leaders and political analysts caution that the outward appearance masks a deep-seated longing among Ethiopians for freedom of political expression. Former defense minister Seeye Abraha likens the country to a dormant volcano. It might look calm, but even a small disturbance could set it off.
Potential For Violence Shadows Ethiopia's 2010 Election
By Peter Heinlein
VOA
Addis Ababa06 May 2009
Ethiopia's next national election is a year away, but tensions are already increasing. At least two opposition politicians have recently been jailed, both possibly facing life in prison, and security forces have arrested dozens of others, accusing them of plotting against the government. Both government and opposition leaders are expressing concern about the potential for election-related violence.
No Ethiopian needs reminding about the horrors that followed the disputed 2005 election. Nearly 200 protesters killed in the streets by security forces, more than 100 opposition leaders, arrested, convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison before being pardoned.
When government spokesman Bereket Simon kicked off the 2010 election season, he said a top priority of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Party would be preventing violence. "This election must be peaceful. Government must do whatever it takes to ensure that our election will be peaceful," he said.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi warned that government forces would have little tolerance for street protests. "The 2005 experience was experience enough for anybody to be able to learn from, and so I'm sure our law enforcement entities will be much better prepared for any eventuality than they were in 2005, not only in terms of handling riots, but also in terms of deterring and preventing riots," he said.
Opposition activists are equally concerned. It was their supporters that were killed in the streets four years ago. Many fear 2010 could be as bad or worse than 2005.
Already, several government opponents have been jailed. Among them, Birtukan Mideksa, a charismatic young former judge who was among those sentenced to life and then pardoned after the 2005 election.
Birtukan had been touted to be a potent force in the 2010 vote. But she was re-arrested and ordered to serve out her sentence after saying she had not asked for the pardon.
Another prominent member of Birtukan's party, Melaku Teferra, was among 40 people accused last month of involvement in a coup plot directed by Berhanu Nega, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005.
Berhanu and Melaku were also among those jailed for life after the last election. Melaku stayed in Ethiopia after being freed. Berhanu fled to the United States, where he teaches economics at a Pennsylvania university and heads a political group that advocates the overthrow of the Meles Zenawi government.
Merera Gudina is another political science professor who doubles as an opposition leader. Merera teaches at Addis Ababa University. His party is among eight opposition groups banding together in hopes of mounting a serious challenge to the ruling EPRDF.
Merera worries, however, that next year's vote may turn into a replay of last year's local and bi-elections, in which the EPRDF and its affiliates won all but three out of nearly 3.6 million seats being contested. Most opposition parties pulled out of the contest in advance, complaining the rules were written so only pro-government parties could win.
Merera says given that the EPRDF now controls all local administrations, this election will be a struggle to prevent Ethiopia from becoming a one-party state.
"Our role is… to make sure this government cannot rule without accepting the rules of multi-party democracy. We are in a struggle. This government is not ready for change, and this government is cheating left and right and its ultimate agenda is revolutionary democracy. We know all these things, and in fact people who were with (Prime Minister) Meles, who used to play those games and clearly know these games, are now with us," he said.
Seeye Abraha Hagos is a former member of Prime Minister Meles's inner circle. He was military commander of the guerrilla force that brought the Meles government to power. After a falling out with the government, he was convicted of corruption and spent several years in prison. But he is still popular among his former military colleagues
Seeye is now a member of the coalition of opposition groups know as the forum. He says the only ways of breaking Ethiopia's long tradition of violence-plagued elections is to ensure opposition parties and their supporters know change is possible through the ballot box.
"There is always violent opposition in Ethiopia. Even if you take out the 2005 elections, there was violent opposition in this country. So if we are ever going to control violence in this country, the only way out is to chart a peaceful political transition. No peaceful elections, no peaceful political transfer of power would mean there will be continuous violence in this country, and this can take this country down the drain given our poverty," he said.
A year before the May, 2010 election, Ethiopia displays all the outward signs of calm. Despite grinding poverty, frequent power cuts, and a severe foreign exchange shortage that has seen imported goods disappear from stores, there is little evidence of the country's violent past.
But opposition leaders and political analysts caution that the outward appearance masks a deep-seated longing among Ethiopians for freedom of political expression. Former defense minister Seeye Abraha likens the country to a dormant volcano. It might look calm, but even a small disturbance could set it off.
Somalia Faces Problems More Critical than Piracy, says New Report
Medeshi
Somalia Faces Problems More Critical than Piracy, says New Report
By Joe DeCapua Washington D.C
07 May 2009
A new report makes recommendations on what the international community should do to help bring peace to Somalia. Beyond Piracy: Next Steps to Stabilize Somalia is published by the Enough Project, part of Center for American Progress in Washington.
The report finds piracy to be the "lowest order of threat" to Somalia, the region and the United States. Davidson College political science professor Ken Menkhaus is one of the authors.
"It's clearly a second order threat compared to the main security issue in Somalia, which is the state of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the status of the Shabaab insurgency and the growing al-Qaida presence in support of Shabaab. That's really of much greater long-term importance both to the Somalis, to the United States and to the region than piracy is," he says.
Menkhaus says the piracy problem should be addressed, but adds, "If it's privileged in US policy or global policy, it could come at a cost of a more coherent strategy toward that first order threat, which is the increased al-Qaida activities and Shabaab's continued strength in southern Somalia."
The ENOUGH Project report makes a number of recommendations to improve security, such as supporting local efforts.
"The Somalis can do that. They have done that… It's important not to address the security needs of the Transitional Federal Government as something that has to become a ward of the international community. The international community can provide support, but this has to be locally owned and it has to be primarily locally funded if it's going to work," he says.
With al-Qaida and al Shabaab are on the US terrorist list, how does the United States address that issue in Somalia? Menkhaus says, "I think the key here is how we define Shabaab. Shabaab is not an organization in which you are a hard and fast member. This is more of a Somali dynamic where there are concentric circles of affiliation. And I think some flexibility on the part of the United States and other external actors as to how a terrorist organization and how individuals are defined is very important."
Change in affiliation and loyalties can happen among the various groups in Somalia. Menkhaus says, "There are lots and lots of people who have re-hatted themselves in Somalia in various ways, including Shabaab (members), who in fact are not indoctrinated into hardcore jihadist ideologies. They can be brought into this broader Transitional Federal Government. They should be."
He agrees with the current approach of the TFG to reach out to the many different groups in Somalia. But he says there should be certain conditions if they join with the TFG.
"They obviously cannot be making the territorial claims on neighbors. They have to respect the security of neighboring states and not be interested in harboring foreign al-Qaida terrorists," he says.
The report also calls for an end to impunity by supporting Somali efforts to seek justice for war crimes.
"War crimes in Somalia have been a plague for 20 years. The past two years have been especially brutal. And of course there are many potentially culpable parties to that, including the old transitional federal government, including the insurgents, including the Ethiopian occupying forces…that all has to be looked at. Ultimately, the dispensation of war criminals is a matter for the Somali people to decide," he says.
The report recommends international support for Somali efforts at transition and good governance. Menkhaus says, "This is one of the things that the international community in general can do and has to do in a supporting role in Somalia. Transitions are very difficult things to achieve. We have a lot of experience internationally with transitional governments from Congo to a host of other places. And we can bring that expertise to the Somalis."
He says Somalis must remember the "principle task" of the TFG is to, among other things, write a new constitution to ensure Somalia has a legitimate government.
Somalia Faces Problems More Critical than Piracy, says New Report
By Joe DeCapua Washington D.C
07 May 2009
A new report makes recommendations on what the international community should do to help bring peace to Somalia. Beyond Piracy: Next Steps to Stabilize Somalia is published by the Enough Project, part of Center for American Progress in Washington.
The report finds piracy to be the "lowest order of threat" to Somalia, the region and the United States. Davidson College political science professor Ken Menkhaus is one of the authors.
"It's clearly a second order threat compared to the main security issue in Somalia, which is the state of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the status of the Shabaab insurgency and the growing al-Qaida presence in support of Shabaab. That's really of much greater long-term importance both to the Somalis, to the United States and to the region than piracy is," he says.
Menkhaus says the piracy problem should be addressed, but adds, "If it's privileged in US policy or global policy, it could come at a cost of a more coherent strategy toward that first order threat, which is the increased al-Qaida activities and Shabaab's continued strength in southern Somalia."
The ENOUGH Project report makes a number of recommendations to improve security, such as supporting local efforts.
"The Somalis can do that. They have done that… It's important not to address the security needs of the Transitional Federal Government as something that has to become a ward of the international community. The international community can provide support, but this has to be locally owned and it has to be primarily locally funded if it's going to work," he says.
With al-Qaida and al Shabaab are on the US terrorist list, how does the United States address that issue in Somalia? Menkhaus says, "I think the key here is how we define Shabaab. Shabaab is not an organization in which you are a hard and fast member. This is more of a Somali dynamic where there are concentric circles of affiliation. And I think some flexibility on the part of the United States and other external actors as to how a terrorist organization and how individuals are defined is very important."
Change in affiliation and loyalties can happen among the various groups in Somalia. Menkhaus says, "There are lots and lots of people who have re-hatted themselves in Somalia in various ways, including Shabaab (members), who in fact are not indoctrinated into hardcore jihadist ideologies. They can be brought into this broader Transitional Federal Government. They should be."
He agrees with the current approach of the TFG to reach out to the many different groups in Somalia. But he says there should be certain conditions if they join with the TFG.
"They obviously cannot be making the territorial claims on neighbors. They have to respect the security of neighboring states and not be interested in harboring foreign al-Qaida terrorists," he says.
The report also calls for an end to impunity by supporting Somali efforts to seek justice for war crimes.
"War crimes in Somalia have been a plague for 20 years. The past two years have been especially brutal. And of course there are many potentially culpable parties to that, including the old transitional federal government, including the insurgents, including the Ethiopian occupying forces…that all has to be looked at. Ultimately, the dispensation of war criminals is a matter for the Somali people to decide," he says.
The report recommends international support for Somali efforts at transition and good governance. Menkhaus says, "This is one of the things that the international community in general can do and has to do in a supporting role in Somalia. Transitions are very difficult things to achieve. We have a lot of experience internationally with transitional governments from Congo to a host of other places. And we can bring that expertise to the Somalis."
He says Somalis must remember the "principle task" of the TFG is to, among other things, write a new constitution to ensure Somalia has a legitimate government.
SOMALIA: Puntland drought getting worse
Medeshi
SOMALIA: Puntland drought getting worse
NAIROBI, 6 May 2009 (IRIN) - Somalia's self-declared autonomous region of Puntland is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis following poor rains that have created severe water and food shortages, officials said.
"We had very little Deyr [October-December 2008] rain and we have had even less rain in the Gu [April-June 2009] season so far, which has exacerbated an already bad situation," Mohamed Said Kashawiito, the director-general of Puntland's Ministry of Interior, told IRIN on 6 May.
Most of the population relies on livestock, but poor rainfall has left them struggling to make ends meet.
"We are getting reports of livestock dying; in some places 30 to 40 percent of the livestock has died," he said. "What little livestock is left is so weak they cannot even sell it, much less use it for milk and meat."
The situation had also forced many nomads to move to urban centres, he said.
Most affected are the regions of Bari, Nugal and parts of Mudug, and parts of Sool and Sanaag, which are claimed by both Puntland and the neighbouring self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Ordinarily, many Puntland residents depend on Barkads (water catchments), but insufficient rains have left most of the catchments dry. The Puntland cabinet, Kashawiito added, was holding an emergency meeting to devise a plan to assist the affected populations.
He called on international aid agencies to scale up their activities to help the affected population.
Abdi Hirsi, the governor of Nugal, said the villages of Kalabeyr, Birta Dheer and Awr Ulus, all in Garowe district, and some others were in desperate need of food and water.
"Some of the populations are no longer able to cope and need immediate intervention in terms of
food," he warned. "We need urgent assistance," he said.
In a February report, the Food Security Analysis Unit of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO/FSAU) for Somalia warned that Puntland had experienced a third consecutive seasonal rainfall failure (Deyr October-December 2008).
At least 195,000 people were facing an acute food and livelihood crisis and humanitarian emergency, particularly in Bari, Nugal and Mudug regions, in addition to the long-term IDPs.
Warsame Abdi, Puntland's information minister, told IRIN on 25 March that at least 133 localities were dependent on water trucking but the local authorities did not have the resources to address the situation.
Abdiaziz Sheikh Yusuf, the district commissioner of Jariiban, in Mudug region, said 42 out of 47 townships in the district were facing major water problems.
Theme(s): (IRIN) Early Warning, (IRIN) Food Security, (IRIN) Natural Disasters [ENDS]
NAIROBI, 6 May 2009 (IRIN) - Somalia's self-declared autonomous region of Puntland is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis following poor rains that have created severe water and food shortages, officials said.
"We had very little Deyr [October-December 2008] rain and we have had even less rain in the Gu [April-June 2009] season so far, which has exacerbated an already bad situation," Mohamed Said Kashawiito, the director-general of Puntland's Ministry of Interior, told IRIN on 6 May.
Most of the population relies on livestock, but poor rainfall has left them struggling to make ends meet.
"We are getting reports of livestock dying; in some places 30 to 40 percent of the livestock has died," he said. "What little livestock is left is so weak they cannot even sell it, much less use it for milk and meat."
The situation had also forced many nomads to move to urban centres, he said.
Most affected are the regions of Bari, Nugal and parts of Mudug, and parts of Sool and Sanaag, which are claimed by both Puntland and the neighbouring self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Ordinarily, many Puntland residents depend on Barkads (water catchments), but insufficient rains have left most of the catchments dry. The Puntland cabinet, Kashawiito added, was holding an emergency meeting to devise a plan to assist the affected populations.
He called on international aid agencies to scale up their activities to help the affected population.
Abdi Hirsi, the governor of Nugal, said the villages of Kalabeyr, Birta Dheer and Awr Ulus, all in Garowe district, and some others were in desperate need of food and water.
"Some of the populations are no longer able to cope and need immediate intervention in terms of
food," he warned. "We need urgent assistance," he said.
In a February report, the Food Security Analysis Unit of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO/FSAU) for Somalia warned that Puntland had experienced a third consecutive seasonal rainfall failure (Deyr October-December 2008).
At least 195,000 people were facing an acute food and livelihood crisis and humanitarian emergency, particularly in Bari, Nugal and Mudug regions, in addition to the long-term IDPs.
Warsame Abdi, Puntland's information minister, told IRIN on 25 March that at least 133 localities were dependent on water trucking but the local authorities did not have the resources to address the situation.
Abdiaziz Sheikh Yusuf, the district commissioner of Jariiban, in Mudug region, said 42 out of 47 townships in the district were facing major water problems.
Theme(s): (IRIN) Early Warning, (IRIN) Food Security, (IRIN) Natural Disasters [ENDS]
Somaliland offers hope to the Horn of Africa
Medeshi
Somaliland offers hope to the Horn of Africa
Published: May 4 2009
From Charles Tannock MEP.
Sir, Your otherwise prescient editorial about the hopelessness of Somalia (“Tackling pirates the hard way”, April 29) omitted one of the few options that could actually bring some stability to the Horn of Africa: greater international engagement with Somaliland.
Having enjoyed a brief period of independence in 1960, this former British protectorate broke away from the Somali Republic in 1991 and since then has constructed a relatively peaceful, democratic and secular society that could scarcely be more different from the chaos and oppression elsewhere in Somalia.
Presidential elections later this year will mark another chapter in Somaliland’s political maturity.
Somaliland’s achievements need to be acknowledged and rewarded, not necessarily by the granting of full statehood, although the rush to recognise Kosovo as an independent country exposes a certain international double standard in this regard.
Charles Tannock,
Conservative,
London,
European Parliament
Somaliland offers hope to the Horn of Africa
Published: May 4 2009
From Charles Tannock MEP.
Sir, Your otherwise prescient editorial about the hopelessness of Somalia (“Tackling pirates the hard way”, April 29) omitted one of the few options that could actually bring some stability to the Horn of Africa: greater international engagement with Somaliland.
Having enjoyed a brief period of independence in 1960, this former British protectorate broke away from the Somali Republic in 1991 and since then has constructed a relatively peaceful, democratic and secular society that could scarcely be more different from the chaos and oppression elsewhere in Somalia.
Presidential elections later this year will mark another chapter in Somaliland’s political maturity.
Somaliland’s achievements need to be acknowledged and rewarded, not necessarily by the granting of full statehood, although the rush to recognise Kosovo as an independent country exposes a certain international double standard in this regard.
Charles Tannock,
Conservative,
London,
European Parliament
Kidnapped yachtie returns to Somaliland to claim his yacht
Medeshi
Kidnapped yachtie returns to Somaliland to claim his yacht
Mon 4 May 2009
'Jurgen and Sabine' .
What would you be prepared to do to go sailing? Many people give up their jobs, their families, their homes. But the most extraordinary story of all must be that of one German sailor who has braved a return to Somalia, where he had been kept a prisoner for 52 days by pirates, to mend and retrieve his boat.
On June 23 2008, Jurgen and his partner Sabine Merz were kidnapped by Somali pirates and held captive with a 2 million dollar ransom on their heads. The German government negotiated with a tribal elder for their release, but the pair were held in a rugged hideout in the mountains pending the outcome.
We caught up with Jurgen Kantner just before he made the decision to return into the very jaws of the pirate gangs who had cost him his freedom before the German government stepped in and paid his ransom.
'We slept in the bush, we had little water and sometimes we had no food for three days,' said Mr Kantner. 'I´ve lived 33 years on a boat, and it was the worst experience of my life.'
The couple were subjected to mock executions. The pirates tied a rope around Mr. Kantner´s neck and threatened to hang him. Once they fired a gun, barely missing his head. At one point, he was separated from his wife when he heard a gunshot. The pirates told him that she had just been killed.
The couple was finally released after a $600,000 ransom was paid. Mr. Kantner said it was not clear if the German government or a private party paid the ransom.
Apart from the gruesome experience, the loss of his boat was a disaster for the couple, and we found Mr Kantner and his partner ready to talk.
“The 'Rockall' is not just a yacht.” he said. “Everything we owned was in it. Everything. We wanted to start a new life in Thailand. We had sold the house and the car, our bank account was gone and all the money invested in the yacht or in cash, which we carried with us.”
“You were leaving Germany for good?”
“Yes. At 28 years of age I bought my first boat, and I have lived now for 33 years mostly on the water. With my first wife I sailed the world's oceans, and my son and daughter virtually grew up on our sailing boats.
“And you, Ms. Merz, you were looking for a great adventure too?”
“No, not at all. I was ready to try sailing such a long distance, but not sure. Then when, after 23 years, I lost my job as an electronic assistant, I decided to see if I liked the life style. If not, I was intending to return to Germany.”
“ It was her first trip.”
“You had never been at sea?”
“No. It was bad. I was often seasick. . Jürgen had to do everything alone.”
“Actually,” confessed Jurgen, “this journey seemed to be under a bad star from the beginning. Our steering gear was damaged in a very heavy storm near Crete, there were earthquakes off the coast of Greece, and we had mechanical problems during our Suez Canal transit.”
“ Is there money from the insurance company?”
“The boat was not insured. So I have no idea what to do next.”
“Can you perhaps find a job?”
“At 61? No, there is only one solution: I think I must get my boat working again. I have nothing else. It is my home - everything is there, not only money and equipment, bu also log books, photographs, all our private property.
“How will you achieve that?”
“As I now hear, the yacht is in Berbera in Somalia's north coast. The mast is intact, and the sails are there. If I go there, I can repair it. I feel I may still be bait for the pirates, but I think if I electrify the rails with 220 volts, I could probably be safe enough to repair the boat and sail away.”
What has allowed the gutsy sailor to return is the emergence of an informal breakaway country of Somaliland, which is a functioning government and is attempting to be part of the solution in ridding the area of piracy.
They even have a small coastguard consisting of just three small patroll boats. It is a big task, an impossible task, for them to patrol the 860kilometre coastline, but they are trying.
'The local community is very aware and they alert us when they suspect pirates are operating in the area,' said Admiral Osman Jibril Hagar, the head of the Somaliland coastguard. 'In Somaliland, the people don´t like piracy. They say it is an evil business.'
In the past two years, the coastguard has arrested about 50 pirates in Somaliland, according to Mr Hagar.
Now Kantner has returned successfully to Somaliland, travelled to Berbera, and spends his days rebuilding his yacht, on the other side of the pier from the Somaliland coastguard base, seemingly safe from pirate attack. He has, however, little belief in the effectiveness of the coastguards. 'They put on a Mickey Mouse show,' he said, dismissing them with a wave of the hand. 'They will never catch a thing.'
The admiral of the coastguard, Osman Jibril Hagar, admits his men stand little chance against the pirates. 'We are struggling,' he said. 'The pirates have bigger boats.'
Once his boat is seaworthy again, Mr. Kantner plans to continue his voyage to Asia, even though it means braving the pirate-infested waters a second time.
'Next time I will buy a gun,' he says. 'It is the only way. I will be ready. If they attack, I will fight back.'
by Nancy Knudsen
'Jurgen and Sabine' .
What would you be prepared to do to go sailing? Many people give up their jobs, their families, their homes. But the most extraordinary story of all must be that of one German sailor who has braved a return to Somalia, where he had been kept a prisoner for 52 days by pirates, to mend and retrieve his boat.
On June 23 2008, Jurgen and his partner Sabine Merz were kidnapped by Somali pirates and held captive with a 2 million dollar ransom on their heads. The German government negotiated with a tribal elder for their release, but the pair were held in a rugged hideout in the mountains pending the outcome.
We caught up with Jurgen Kantner just before he made the decision to return into the very jaws of the pirate gangs who had cost him his freedom before the German government stepped in and paid his ransom.
'We slept in the bush, we had little water and sometimes we had no food for three days,' said Mr Kantner. 'I´ve lived 33 years on a boat, and it was the worst experience of my life.'
The couple were subjected to mock executions. The pirates tied a rope around Mr. Kantner´s neck and threatened to hang him. Once they fired a gun, barely missing his head. At one point, he was separated from his wife when he heard a gunshot. The pirates told him that she had just been killed.
The couple was finally released after a $600,000 ransom was paid. Mr. Kantner said it was not clear if the German government or a private party paid the ransom.
Apart from the gruesome experience, the loss of his boat was a disaster for the couple, and we found Mr Kantner and his partner ready to talk.
“The 'Rockall' is not just a yacht.” he said. “Everything we owned was in it. Everything. We wanted to start a new life in Thailand. We had sold the house and the car, our bank account was gone and all the money invested in the yacht or in cash, which we carried with us.”
“You were leaving Germany for good?”
“Yes. At 28 years of age I bought my first boat, and I have lived now for 33 years mostly on the water. With my first wife I sailed the world's oceans, and my son and daughter virtually grew up on our sailing boats.
“And you, Ms. Merz, you were looking for a great adventure too?”
“No, not at all. I was ready to try sailing such a long distance, but not sure. Then when, after 23 years, I lost my job as an electronic assistant, I decided to see if I liked the life style. If not, I was intending to return to Germany.”
“ It was her first trip.”
“You had never been at sea?”
“No. It was bad. I was often seasick. . Jürgen had to do everything alone.”
“Actually,” confessed Jurgen, “this journey seemed to be under a bad star from the beginning. Our steering gear was damaged in a very heavy storm near Crete, there were earthquakes off the coast of Greece, and we had mechanical problems during our Suez Canal transit.”
“ Is there money from the insurance company?”
“The boat was not insured. So I have no idea what to do next.”
“Can you perhaps find a job?”
“At 61? No, there is only one solution: I think I must get my boat working again. I have nothing else. It is my home - everything is there, not only money and equipment, bu also log books, photographs, all our private property.
“How will you achieve that?”
“As I now hear, the yacht is in Berbera in Somalia's north coast. The mast is intact, and the sails are there. If I go there, I can repair it. I feel I may still be bait for the pirates, but I think if I electrify the rails with 220 volts, I could probably be safe enough to repair the boat and sail away.”
What has allowed the gutsy sailor to return is the emergence of an informal breakaway country of Somaliland, which is a functioning government and is attempting to be part of the solution in ridding the area of piracy.
They even have a small coastguard consisting of just three small patroll boats. It is a big task, an impossible task, for them to patrol the 860kilometre coastline, but they are trying.
'The local community is very aware and they alert us when they suspect pirates are operating in the area,' said Admiral Osman Jibril Hagar, the head of the Somaliland coastguard. 'In Somaliland, the people don´t like piracy. They say it is an evil business.'
In the past two years, the coastguard has arrested about 50 pirates in Somaliland, according to Mr Hagar.
Now Kantner has returned successfully to Somaliland, travelled to Berbera, and spends his days rebuilding his yacht, on the other side of the pier from the Somaliland coastguard base, seemingly safe from pirate attack. He has, however, little belief in the effectiveness of the coastguards. 'They put on a Mickey Mouse show,' he said, dismissing them with a wave of the hand. 'They will never catch a thing.'
The admiral of the coastguard, Osman Jibril Hagar, admits his men stand little chance against the pirates. 'We are struggling,' he said. 'The pirates have bigger boats.'
Once his boat is seaworthy again, Mr. Kantner plans to continue his voyage to Asia, even though it means braving the pirate-infested waters a second time.
'Next time I will buy a gun,' he says. 'It is the only way. I will be ready. If they attack, I will fight back.'
by Nancy Knudsen
RCA delegation to fight eye diseases in Hargeisa
Medeshi May 4, 2009
RCA delegation to fight eye diseases in Hargeisa
Hargeisa, Somalia - The UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) delegation commenced here yesterday the diagnostic and free treatment services to the needy and remote villages. Many Somalis converged to Horgeisa Hospital when they heard about the arrival of the UAE RCA delegation for anti blindness and treatment of eyes diseases.
In a step to better services provided to over one million people in Hargeisa, the delegation discussed with Dr Yaseen Arab, director of Hargeisa Hospital, necessary medical preparations and equipment. Dr Arab lauded the services rendered by the RCA to Somali people. – Emirates News Agency,
Postcard from Somaliland: The Obama Restaurant & Cafe
Medeshi May 4, 2009
Postcard from Somaliland : The Obama Restaurant & Cafe
Holly Bailey
Holly Bailey
Yes we can… run into Obamamania everywhere.
Jeff Bartholet, Newsweek’s D.C. bureau chief (and your Gaggler’s boss—please forward all complaints to him, thank you very much) is traveling in Africa this week and stumbled upon the Obama Restaurant & Café—yes, named after that Obama—in Hargeisa, Somaliland. (This is an independent republic due west of Puntland, Somalia, an autonomous region where most of the pirates operate.)
Here’s Jeff: The owner, 35-year-old Mohammed Hassan, grew up in California and Oregon, but his family comes from what is now called the Republic of Somaliland. Hassan moved back to the city of Hargeisa three years ago. He says he wanted to "get away from Bush and Bushonomics for a while.
Somali pirate suspects captured
Medeshi May 03, 2009
Somali pirate suspects captured
Fourteen suspected Somali pirates have been captured in separate operations by a French frigate and the Seychelles coast guard.
French commandos on the frigate Nivose caught 11 suspects some 900 kms (560 miles) off the Somali coast, the French Defence Ministry says.
The Nivose is reported to have alerted the Seychelles authorities to help them capture the other three.
Somali pirates are currently holding nearly 20 ships for ransom.
On Saturday a Greek-owned ship with a Ukrainian crew was hijacked by Somali pirates south-west of the Seychelles, a seafarers' group says.
On the same day a Portuguese warship thwarted an attack on a Norwegian vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
Moving south
According to the French navy, the commandos on the Nivose used fast outboard vessels and a helicopter to detain the 11 Somali suspects who were on three vessels.
It is not clear what will happen to them. In earlier cases pirate suspects have been sent for trial in Kenya or to Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland or to France.
The Nivose is part of the European Union's operation to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden. In April it captured 11 presumed pirates off the coast of Kenya.
As foreign navies have stepped up efforts to capture pirates in the Gulf of Aden they have moved further south , operating more in waters of the Seychelles.
The Seychelles government says three more pirates were captured on Sunday.
"The three men identified themselves as Somali. They were travelling in a six-metre skiff with several barrels of fuel and water onboard," a Seychelles presidential statement said, AFP reports.
Somalia has been without a stable government since 1991, allowing piracy to flourish. The problem worsened in the first months of 2009.
Fourteen suspected Somali pirates have been captured in separate operations by a French frigate and the Seychelles coast guard.
French commandos on the frigate Nivose caught 11 suspects some 900 kms (560 miles) off the Somali coast, the French Defence Ministry says.
The Nivose is reported to have alerted the Seychelles authorities to help them capture the other three.
Somali pirates are currently holding nearly 20 ships for ransom.
On Saturday a Greek-owned ship with a Ukrainian crew was hijacked by Somali pirates south-west of the Seychelles, a seafarers' group says.
On the same day a Portuguese warship thwarted an attack on a Norwegian vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
Moving south
According to the French navy, the commandos on the Nivose used fast outboard vessels and a helicopter to detain the 11 Somali suspects who were on three vessels.
It is not clear what will happen to them. In earlier cases pirate suspects have been sent for trial in Kenya or to Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland or to France.
The Nivose is part of the European Union's operation to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden. In April it captured 11 presumed pirates off the coast of Kenya.
As foreign navies have stepped up efforts to capture pirates in the Gulf of Aden they have moved further south , operating more in waters of the Seychelles.
The Seychelles government says three more pirates were captured on Sunday.
"The three men identified themselves as Somali. They were travelling in a six-metre skiff with several barrels of fuel and water onboard," a Seychelles presidential statement said, AFP reports.
Somalia has been without a stable government since 1991, allowing piracy to flourish. The problem worsened in the first months of 2009.
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Qaar ka mid ah Ururada Bulshada Rayidka ah oo walaac ka muujiyay mudo dhaafka golayaasha deegaanada
Annaga oo ah Ururada Bulshada Rayidka ah ee Madaxa-banaan waxaanu si wayn uga walaacsanahay
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