Deputy UN special envoy to Somalia Charles Petrie yesterday during a previously unannounced brief visit to the Somali capital Mogadishu said the UN Somalia office currently based in Nairobi, Kenya, will be relocated to the Somali capital.
The UN envoy held meetings with Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdurashid Ali Sharmarkeh and the two officials discussed various issues including the relocating and reopening of the UN Somalia office in Mogadishu, Abdelkadir Walaayo, spokesman for the Somali government, said.
"The UN envoy promised that the office of the United Nations for Somalia will be moved from Nairobi to Mogadishu as soon as possible," Walaayo told reporters in Mogadishu.
Walaayo said the UN deputy envoy told Somali government officials that a senior UN official will be appointed for UN office in Mogadishu.
May just be a translation-related grammatical gaff, but Shabelle Media is reporting that Walaayo said he was told he was getting that appointment
The spokesman said that the official took part the meeting of the transitional cabinet which took place in Mogadishu today and led by the Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharma’arke adding that Mr. Charles Patria said he would be appointed as a high official of the UN Security Council for the Somalia.
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Press Release from the Republic of Seychelles, November 11
Seychelles and EU sign S.O.F.A
Joint statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British High Commission- representing the European Union
Seychelles and the European Union have signed a Status of Forces Agreement this morning which established the legal status of foreign military and civilian personnel participating in the framework of the EU Military Operation Atalanta. This Agreement will provide legal basis to the deployment of the European Union-led Forces (EUNAVFOR) units and personnel in the territory of the Republic of Seychelles.
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The signature of the Status of Forces Agreement with EU agreement will formally authorize EUNAVFOR units and personnel to pursue pirates and armed robbers from the high seas to the territorial sea, the archipelagic and internal waters of Seychelles and to use necessary force, including the right to arrest and detain persons.
On the other hand, the agreement makes provisions for the usual privileges and immunities to the EUNAVFOR personnel and units such as exemption from visa regulations and freedom of movement within our territory as per the norms of international military agreements.
The SOFA also builds on an exchange of letters between Minister Morgan, and Mr. Javier Solana, Secretary General/ High representative of the Council of the European Union on the subject of the modalities for the arrest, prosecution and transfer of persons involved in piracy.
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The Status of Forces Agreement with EU also follows a similar agreement signed with US and France to enable enhanced surveillance activities against piracy.
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European Voice: Support for training Somali security forces
Ministers to back training mission in Uganda.
EU foreign ministers are on Tuesday (17 November) to endorse a plan to train several thousand Somali security forces in Uganda. It will become an EU mission, running in parallel to the EU's anti-piracy mission operating off the coast of Somalia.
Member states' ambassadors on the political and security committee of the Council of Ministers yesterday (11 November) agreed a text inviting the Union's foreign policy chief to start operational planning for the training mission. The text includes broad outlines of the training mission, which is fraught with difficulties because the new security forces are supposed to absorb clan fighters and Islamist militias.
The European Commission is worried that Somalia has no functioning government that could guarantee financing for security forces. Under current rules, EU money cannot be used to pay the wages of security forces, but providing military training to militia members risks undermining the government unless there is a guarantee that they can be paid in the future.
Only two governments – the United States and Italy – provide direct financing to Somali government forces. The international community pledged at a donors' conference in April to support the training of a 10,000-strong Somali police force and a national army of around 5,000 men.
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IPS: Rendition Redux?
On the heels of a federal appeals court ruling that only the U.S. Congress and the executive branch of government - not the courts - can interfere with government-sponsored "extraordinary rendition", a U.S. citizen from New Jersey is asking another court to tell the government it wasn't okay to secretly imprison and abuse him in three different African countries over a period of four months.
The citizen is Amir Meshal, 24, the son of Muslim immigrants from Egypt. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the lawsuit in Meshal's behalf, after fleeing hostilities in Somalia in 2006, Meshal was arrested, secretly imprisoned in inhumane conditions and subjected to harsh interrogations by U.S. officials over 30 times in three different countries before ultimately being released four months later without charge,
"This case challenges the U.S. government's effort to evade accountability for illegal detention and interrogations in counterterrorism operations by masking and hiding its involvement," Jonathan Hafetz, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project, told IPS.
According to the ACLU, Meshal was studying Islam in Mogadishu, Somalia, in December 2006, when hostilities broke out. With the airport disabled by bombing, Meshal fled to neighboring Kenya, where he wandered in the forest for three weeks seeking shelter and assistance before being arrested.
Following his arrest, he was detained and repeatedly interrogated by U.S. officials who threatened to harm him, denied him access to counsel and accused him of receiving training from al Qaeda, which Meshal denied.
Following his arrest and detention in Kenya, the suit says Meshal was illegally rendered to Somalia and then to Ethiopia where he was imprisoned in secret for over three months. There, U.S. officials allegedly subjected him to harsh interrogations while denying him due process and access to a lawyer, his family or anyone else in the outside world.
"The harsh treatment and mental anguish this individual suffered should never be experienced by anyone, let alone an American citizen at the hands of his own government," said Hafetz. "This violation of basic constitutional rights must be remedied."
Court filings say that during his detention, Meshal was kept in "filthy, crowded conditions in cells infested with cockroaches and given inadequate access to food, water and toilets. While in Kenya, the Americans who interrogated him repeatedly threatened him with torture."
"The interrogators warned Meshal that he could be sent to Somalia or Egypt, where the Egyptians 'had ways of making him talk', if he refused to answer questions or agree to the interrogators' allegations. Meshal was also threatened with being sent to Israel, where, the interrogators said, the Israelis would "make him disappear," the papers charge.
At least one consular affairs official from the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi met with Meshal and was aware of his detention, but later claimed he lost contact with Meshal following his rendition to Ethiopia. Meshal was finally released in May 2007 with no additional explanation.
"This is a U.S. citizen who was caught in hostilities abroad, and instead of helping him return, U.S. officials abused him and mistreated him and never charged him with a crime," said Nusrat Choudhury, one of the lead lawyers from the ACLU representing Meshal. "Should they be allowed to do that without helping a U.S. citizen get home, and instead, denying him access to lawyers?"
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two other unnamed U.S. government officials.
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Ecoterra Intl: Owners Of Weapons Ship In Efforts TO Cover Up
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Confusion about the weapons find on MV ALMEZAAN was also created, because on Sunday the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) reportedly received a "military consignment" for its troops in Mogadishu and harbour workers were told to "remain behind the barbed wire until the unloading of the consignment is through” said Yussuf Ahmed a worker in the seaport while speaking to local radio, adding that it would be usual to halt the activities at the seaport whenever there is a military consignment offloaded from a ship which is carrying military equipment for the African Union troops in Somalia.
Early reports about the weapons ship at Garacad therefore had even triggered frantic calls by TFG officials into Hobyo and Garacad claiming that the weapons on the seized vessel were for the Somali government.
But others also seem to be interested in the clandestine cargo of MV ALMEZAAN, because a heavily armed Al-Shebaab convoy from Mogadishu has arrived yesterday in the area.
Meanwhile it transpired that the owner of the vessel from Dubai called the captors and cautioned them against revealing anything about the cargo.
Thereby a similar saga seems to evolve as during the previous event, when the same vessel was briefly captured on May 1, 2009 about 60 nm off Mogadishu and first reports directly from the captured ship spoke of a consignment, which also comprised of some armoured vehicles with UN logo. Also back then a frantic effort ensued to cover up and to come to a quick arrangement with the captors. Is it too far fetched to assume that those vehicles might have been the ones used in the double suicide bombing of the AU headquarters in Mogadishu? The UN and FBI investigations into the origin of those vehicles has not been released.
Why has the UN, who unisono (sic) with the US and the transitional federal government of Somalia persistently claimed that e.g. Eritrea would deliver weapons to the Islamic insurgents in Somalia, not a single time achieved to impound a single of the illegal weapons transports - despite the fact that a whole global armada watches the Somali coasts. Apparently already some of the deadly cargo from MV ALMEZAAN has been offloaded.
If one leaves cases like this just to the media-spin of easily intimidated Somali journalists with access to the wires, also this case will be solve "the Somali way", which not necessarily provides for more transparency and peace or less weapons in the country.
also
Ship at Somali coast was carrying arms, says Somali official
An anti-piracy official in Somalia's transitional government said on Wednesday that a cargo ship seized at the weekend by pirates had been carrying weapons, a charge denied by the owners of the ship's cargo.
"On November 7 a cargo ship carrying a wide range of weapons was seized by Somali buccaneers," said the official, Ismail Haji Noor, in a statement.
He said he had informed the EU's anti-piracy operation, Atalanta, of the capture of the ship and about "the unfortunate possibility that the captors themselves could now offload the weapons and bring them to shore - to either use or sell them".
He said that despite his warning, no naval vessel in the area had sailed to Garacad, where the "weapons ship" is now moored, to investigate or prevent the arms from being offloaded.
Now is this the same "Ismail Haji Noor" that was involved in at least two propaganda stories back in March, which I followed here? Or is it a different character altogether who just happens to share the same name? As "Special Envoy for Anti-Piracy from the Somali governmental side [who] was appointed and serves also as liaison to the international navies", Noor has been showing up in the media more regularly.
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While not specifically dealing with Somalia, I'm throwing these two VOA reports and some related links into the mix
Ethiopia's Meles says US at Fault for Africa's Econ Woes
Ethiopia Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says failures in the U.S. financial system are largely to blame for Africa's economic crisis, and pointed to China as a possible key to recovery. Our correspondent in Addis Ababa has details of the Ethiopian leader's keynote address to the annual African Economic Conference.
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Mr. Meles, a former Marxist rebel leader, launched a blistering attack on what he called "discredited neo-liberal economic policies" imposed on Africa from outside. He said unsustainable consumption by the United States when times were good had condemned Africa to a protracted period of low growth ahead.
"The United States has hitherto served as the consumer of last resort and helped to maintain the unsustainable division of labor and division of production and consumption," he said. "It is no longer able to do it, and this is the main cause of the current crisis."
Mr. Meles suggested Africa's best hope might be a massive infusion of cash from China and other countries that have amassed surplus savings by producing goods for the consumers.
"It is possible to imagine that the Chinese will decided to redirect some of their surplus savings to infrastructural development in Africa," said Meles Zenawi. "It is possible to do so because to some extent it is already happening. Such a shift would mean tens of billions of dollars per annum invested in African infrastructure, again opening the opportunity for the transformation of the overall economy. Indeed, it is not only possible but highly probable that the Chinese will take steps that would widen the window of opportunity for Africa."
Skeptic At African Econ Meeting Questions Benefits of Development Aid
A leading development aid skeptic has told a conference of African economists and academics the key to ending poverty in Africa is not better development strategies but greater individual liberty.
New York University Professor William Easterly stunned a conference dedicated to fostering development in Africa by saying, for the most part, development strategies don't work.
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Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi argued in his keynote address that African governments had been doing 'rather well' with poverty reduction strategies until the economic crisis hit last year.
Easterly counters that planners and strategists would do better to listen to the crowds of small and medium sized businesses that have traditionally been the engine of economic growth. He says the best plan is to have no plan. "I think way too much effort is wasted on the overall development strategy. Now does that mean there's nothing professionals and experts can do. No. I don't say that. What we learned from what we observe in successful development is that they depend not on the wisdom of a single individual but on the wisdom of the crowds. The crowds of entrepreneurs, political entrepreneurs, economic private sectors entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, aid entrepreneurs," he said.
Easterly is something of an odd man out at this conference of economic planners. He is author of two provocative books that examine why the more than $700 billion spent on foreign aid in Africa over the past 50 years has done so little to promote sustainable growth.
He says the main cause of poor performance is that most strategies are designed by foreign experts rather than by the people themselves. "One thing in common to all success is that they are all home grownprograms. They did not give power to outside experts. The guidance of the program was homegrown and not driven by foreign experts," he said.
Many conference participants expressed doubt home grown development schemes could thrive in Africa, where authoritarian regimes are commonplace and investors are wary. Easterly agrees it would be difficult to build a prosperous society in the absence of economic freedom. "In the long run, it does seem to be both necessary and sufficient to have political and economic liberty to achieve broad based development," he said.
Easterly said the record is clear that small and medium-sized businesses generate the jobs and demand that lift countries out of poverty.
Observations from a couple of Easterly's September posts on his blog, Aid Watch
How the British Invented “Development” to Keep the Empire and Substitute for Racism
During the early years of World War II, Japan won major victories (such as the capture of Singapore) against the British and threatened India. Japanese propaganda pointed to British racism and offered themselves as the defenders of non-white peoples. The British feared that non-white people in the colonies might side with the Japanese rather than their colonial masters. The British had to come up with a new justification for colonial rule to replace the unpopular and increasingly implausible idea that they were a superior race destined to rule inferior races. In response, they invented the concept of economic development.
This story is told in an undeservedly obscure book by Suke Wolton, 2000, Lord Hailey, the Colonial Office, and the Politics of Race and Empire in the Second World War..
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Of course, changing the language from racist to economic development did not mean racism suddenly disappeared. As Wolton shows, “the white Western elites still believed in their fundamental superiority.” In the end, Wolton says, “The major powers would continue to be able to determine the future of the colonial territories – only this time the source of their legitimacy was based less on racial difference and more on their new role as protector and developmental economist.” After the war, even more officials went out to the Empire in what became known as the “second colonial occupation.”
Why does this history matter today? After all, the Empire fell apart much sooner than expected, and racism did diminish a lot over time. And I do NOT mean to imply guilt by association for development as imperialist and racist; there are many theories of development and many who work on development (including many from developing countries themselves) that have nothing to do with imperialism and racism.
But I think the origin of development as cover for imperialism and racism did have toxic legacies for some. First, it meant that the concept of development was determined to fit a propaganda imperative; it was NOT a breakthrough in thought by economists. Second, it followed that development from the beginning would stress the central role of Western aid to help the helpless natives (which shows up in the early development theories like the “poverty trap” and the “Big Push,” and the lack of interest in local entrepreneurs and market incentives). Third, the paternalism was so extreme at the beginning that it would last for a long time – I still think it is widespread today, especially after today’s comeback of the early development ideas in some parts of the aid system. And this history also seems strangely relevant with today’s “humanitarian” nouveau-imperialism to invade and fix “failed states” like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Imperial Origins of State-Led Development
Lenin said “Imperialism is the Last Stage of Capitalism.” Globalization protesters routinely link American imperialism to promotion of capitalism overseas. For example, Naomi Klein’s 2008 book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism draws a vivid connection between American interventions overseas (like the CIA overthrowing Allende in Chile, or today’s Iraq) and the promotion of free markets (“neoliberal economics”).
It’s plausible that there are sometimes connections between military interventions and the economic interests of the intervener. Yet it is not so obvious that imperialism promotes free markets. Historically, the most egregious imperialism, such as the British Empire, actually promoted state-led development rather than free markets.
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What about imperialism and attitudes toward development today? One intriguing thing I wonder in the light of both today’s post, and yesterday’s post on colonial racism and paternalism, is the affection of today’s British public and academics for paternalistic and state-led theories of development somehow related to the British colonial past? As compared to the lack of sympathy for such theories among the American public and academics, when America lacks much of a colonial past and traditionally criticized colonialism?
Of course, the US has been no slouch as an imperialist lately. Yet today’s US imperialism does not obviously promote free markets. The US quickly abandoned a brief experiment with trying to create the perfect free market in Iraq (correctly derided by Naomi Klein) after the insurgency arose. Now in both Iraq and Afghanistan, there is heavy reliance on the aid-military-state complex to promote development. It is true that American companies have benefited from both interventions, but NOT from free market opportunities in either country. No, they grow fat on aid-government contracts.
So imperialism is not so clearly linked to capitalism and free markets after all; historically there has been a closer link between colonialism/imperialism and state-led approaches to development. People who like Imperialism are fond of a big military state presence, so it’s not so surprising that they are also fond of a big economic state presence.
Back to Meles...
Bloomberg: Meles Unites 52 Nations to Exert Clout at UN Summit
Africa’s point man at the Copenhagen climate-change summit next month is prime minister of drought- stricken Ethiopia, a former Marxist rebel who favors tailored suits and has coaxed billions of dollars in aid from the West.
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Envoys for the Dec. 7-18 Copenhagen meeting were given a taste of Meles’s clout at climate talks in Barcelona last week when African delegates staged a one-day walkout to demand the developed world cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 40 percent. Meles has threatened a similar exodus at Copenhagen, which could derail an agreement as he’ll represent 52 of the 190 nations present when unanimity is always sought on global UN accords.
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Meles demands industrialized countries such as the U.S. and Britain that released most of the historical emissions to compensate developing nations for climate damage they caused in recent decades. He also seeks subsidies to install clean-energy equipment. The cost to richer nations: $67 billion a year.
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Meles may be the “ideal” climate negotiator for the continent, Rhoda Tumusiime, the African Union’s agriculture commissioner, said Oct. 20 from Uganda, citing his knowledge of the issues and dealings with the U.S., Europe and China.
“We believe he has the charisma to engage with these global powers,” Tumusiime said.
Search for African leaders in power long enough who have international credibility and technical knowledge of climate issues and “you come up with a very short list,” [David] Shinn said of Meles last month.
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Meles has focused on the subject as the effects of climate change hit Ethiopia’s economy, which is dependent on rain-fed agriculture, said Negusu Aklilu, director of the Ethiopia-based Forum for the Environment.
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The cigarette-smoking, tennis-playing Meles says he seeks to build a “lily-white capitalist system.” The government remains the largest force in Ethiopia’s economy, controlling ownership of all land, two-thirds of the banking system and monopolies in electricity, telecommunications and aviation.
After the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, Meles became a closer ally of the U.S., which provided intelligence and logistical support to Ethiopia’s two- year Horn of Africa war against Islamists in Somalia that ended with an Ethiopian withdrawal in January.
Ethiopia won $3.6 billion in debt relief from the World Bank and other donors in 2006 and receives more than $2 billion in aid annually from developed countries, who provide food aid for 13.7 million Ethiopians, about one-sixth of the population.
The U.S. trains the country’s army and provided some $850 million in aid last year, including 464,000 metric tons of food.
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Asked what would happen if the African delegation walked out in Copenhagen like it did in Barcelona, Elliot Diringer, who oversees international strategies at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, said that UN agreements are taken by consensus so “it would make a deal impossible. But that’s in no one’s interest so I wouldn’t expect it to come to that.”
As the rhetoric on climate change escalates ahead of the Copenhagen summit, Meles has “set himself up as the spokesman for Africa,” said Saleemul Huq, a researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development. “The high-level decisions will filter through him.”
Two more...
The man who destroyed Somalia... Meles Zenawi
What you will read here is a clear predictable trends that is used against us to continue chaos in Somalia and never allow it to be a viable state among nations of the world. Unless we understand this trends we will never be able to come out of this hell-hole our enemies have dug for us.
Some of you are asking by now “ what are this predictable trends?”. My fellow Somalis it is a proven strategy that is been used all over the world for centuries to weaken nations and conquer them. The enemies of Somalia started using it soon after the Ethiopia-Somalia war of 1977. The British and the Italians used it quite effectively in Somalia during colonization. Simply put, our enemies have been quite effective in dividing us and arming us against one another. It's been happening for a longtime and it is about time we start to pay attention and inform ourselves on who is our friend and who is our enemy.
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When a detective is investigating a murder, one of the questions he will ask himself to determine who killed the victim is “ who will benefit from the death of this person?”. So, lets put that questions to the case of Somalia. Who benefits or is interested in the permanent destruction of Somalia?. The list is long, but I will use the proactive ones in the Somali political sphere. Lets start with the case of Ethiopia and you will start to see a self reinforcing trend.
Ethiopia and Somalia went to war in 1977 over the Ogaden region. Ethiopia has over five million ethnic somali inhabitants in the Ogaden region, some of them are waging war against Ethiopia itself {ONLF}. Ethiopia is 50 percent muslim but always ruled by christian, so there is balance to be protected there by the christian rulers. Ethiopia is a landlocked country and planning to use port of Berbera for pennies on the dollar. Ethiopia is a loose nation by that I mean a collection of many tribes that can easily be fragmented. Ethiopia has a bitter enemy to north in the name of Eritrea and don't want a possible enemy in name of strong Somalia that has grievances against Ethiopia i.e Ogaden region.
By now we are starting to see Ethiopia is well happy with the current Somali situation as long as we keep fighting among ourselves Ethiopia will supply the weapons and if one group is getting the upper hand, he will be called a terrorist or Ethiopia will come in and crush him with its military. That is what they have been doing for the last 18 yrs. Arming all the groups with the same amount of weapons and if one is winning Ethiopia will decrease his share of arms and Ethiopia will increase his opponents share, so nobody wins and we will continue to be in a perpetual state of war.
The greatest strategist of the 21st century in Africa is Meles Zenawi. He was a rebel leader at the age of 27 and after few years overthrew the strongest military in Africa at that time. Meles is no fool and his potential future enemy is strong Somali republic to his east. He will do anything to keep that from ever becoming a reality. He will use every trick in the book to defame and defeat any viable group that wants to rule Somalia. You should ask this the former president Abdiqassim Salat Hassan. He will tell you it was Ethiopia that was sending weapons to various warlords to oppose his government for apparently no reason. Abdiqassim is not an extremist religious radical. So, why was Ethiopia against his government?. Simple, Ethiopia is safeguarding its self interest. Ethiopian policy is “no Somalia Government”. Now you know the trends. Even the TFG of Sheikh Sharif will be a victim. Ethiopia will find some excuse to secretly arm some group against it. But for now Ethiopia is happy with the dual between Alshabaab, and Ahlu Sunna and TFG. If Ahlu Sunna and the government are winning Ethiopia is not going to allow anyone to dominate Somalia, so Ethiopia will secretly start arming some Somali group against the government and chaos will continue. Ethiopia is so good at and they have done it so many times what I have mentioned in this article that their strategies became a predictable trends.
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Ethiopia is currently arming and training Ahlu Sunna and forces loyal to the TFG. Ethiopia's cover story is Alshabab is a radical terrorist group. In reality Alshabab will not pose a serious threat to Ethiopia for at least 15 yrs because Somalia is such a destroyed country and international community will slap an arms embargo on Alshabab administration in Somalia anyway. But Ethiopia don't want to take the risk of any strong Somali government in the future. They rather have Somalia the way it is now and Ethiopia will make sure Somalia stays that way.
Ethiopia wants the complete disintegration of Somalia. Ethiopia prefers Somalia to be split into smaller states. The prove is, while Ethiopia is claiming to be helping the TFG on the other hand Ethiopia recognized the separatist region of Somaliland. As a matter of fact Ethiopia accepts Somaliland issued passport that is enough sign that Ethiopia recognises Somaliland as a sovereign country with its national flag. What a double standard. Ethiopia is currently in negotiation with Hargeisa over planned use of port of Berbera by Ethiopians. Ethiopia is running away from Djibouti port because Djibouti recently raised taxation and fees on Ethiopian goods passing through Djiboutian ports. And both Djibouti and Somaliland are Somalis. That is how Ethiopia wants, divided people.
And
West oppresses Ethiopia through Zenawi support
‘No alternative in the opposition,’ they whispered anonymously. What a disgusting phrase to use in justifying support for a ruthless dictatorship. That is apparently the scuttlebutt on Embassy Row in Addis Ababa. Reuters’ Barry Malone reported last week, ‘Most Western governments want Meles to continue because there is no alternative in the opposition. As long as the elections are semi-democratic, they'll probably stay quiet, keep giving aid, hope for liberalisation of the economy and leave full democracy for later.’ Is this the ultimate proof of the triumph of Western moral relativism, hypocrisy and skullduggery in Ethiopia and Africa? Is this the new 21st century Western paradigm of moral capitulation and appeasement of evil? Is the West going to a moral hellhole in a hand basket?
We now have a clear answer to a question that had puzzled us for the past two decades: Why do Western governments and their multilateral lending institutions support Zenawi’s dictatorship with billions of dollars in loans and foreign aid? Answer: Because ‘there is no alternative in the opposition!’ Why do they turn a blind eye to the gross violations of human rights in Ethiopia? Turn a deaf ear to the bootless cries of the thousands of Ethiopian political prisoners rotting in Zenawi’s jail? Pretend to be mute on Birtukan Midekssa’s unjust imprisonment? Prop up a regime that ruthlessly decimates its opposition, crushes the free press, chokes civil society organisations, squanders and defalcates foreign aid and loans and lords imperiously over a famine-ravaged country? Why do ‘most Western governments want Meles to continue?’ Answer: ‘Because there is no alternative in the opposition!’
It is agonising to finally come face to face with the banality of depraved Western diplomatic indifference in Addis Ababa. It is heartbreaking to learn that Western governments have earnestly resolved to humanise and normalise a brutal regime while preaching to Africans in forked tongue that their dictators are on the wrong side of morality and history. They shed crocodile tears for the victims of African dictators. They comfort the helpless and frightened African masses with sweet words of hope and grand promises of democratic renaissance. Now we have come to find out that the hypocrites are secretly in bed with the very dictators they condemn in public! It must be true that ‘politics makes for strange bedfellows.’
The ‘no alternative in the opposition’ Western diplomatic mantra and mindset could have devastating consequences on Ethiopia and other African countries suffering under the stranglehold of dictatorial rule. It means the seeds of the rule of law will die on the barren soil of African dictatorships; that totalitarianism and police states are morally justified and compelled in Africa whenever Western governments conclude there are ‘no alternatives in the opposition’; that state-sponsored violence and repression are necessary moral imperatives for the nurturance of an ‘emerging democracy’; and that dictatorship is necessary to save Ethiopians, and Africans in general, from themselves. Simply stated, the triumph of dictatorship in Africa is a necessary precondition for the rapture of democracy in Africa. Such has become the pitiful logic of moral decay and duplicity of Western governments in Africa today!
Of course, the whole notion of ‘no alternative in the opposition’ is absurd and patently false in its premise and conclusion. There is definitely a viable alternative in the opposition in Ethiopia, but Zenawi ruthlessly eliminates and roots out any opposition before it poses a real challenge to him.
There's much more in that commentary by the Professor-slash-lawyer Alemayehu Mariam and this hypocrisy & duplicity he correctly points out are, of course, nothing new. In the politics of US foreign policy, support for dictators and authoritarianism has been generally viewed as a prerequisite to fostering the stability needed for programs compatible with foreign interests, typically centered around extractables and economic growth, though there are geostrategic aims as well. During the decades of the cold war, for example, US support for allied dictators was ideologically justified as being beneficial for the peoples under that regime since it prevented repressive leftist dictators from coming to power, in which case, the premise went, it would be virtually guaranteed that there'd be no openings for "democracy" to take root.
So to bring this back to Meles and exit the topic (for now) on an interesting note, from the 1991 NYT article, Rebels Who Shed Marxist Rigidity,
The notion that the rebels' early affiliation with Marxism is an insignificant predictor of how they will govern is shared by senior United States officials who say that now is an excellent time to midwife a new nation, since communist ideology is in disrepute with the collapse of the Soviet empire.
One official also described Mr. Meles as "someone who understands Western political thought."
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SMC: Islamists denounce Puntland for Extraditing Somalis to Ethiopia
The Islamist administration in the southern seaport town of Kismayo has denounced the authority of the semi-autonomous state in eastern Somalia, for extraditing Somalis in their region.
The spokesman of Al-Shabab in the southern regions in Somalia Sheikh Hassan Yakub has expressed their concept towards extraditing Somalis to the Ethiopian regime.
“Where ever people are ruled in rules which are not the based in the Holy Quran, the authority of that particular place can deal with the citizens under their authority which ever way they want to do, the so called authority of Puntland has extradited number of Somali youths, and elders to the government of Abyssinia, and that act is absolutely contrary against the Islamic Sharia Law” said Sheikh Hassan Yakub the spokesman of Al-Shabab in the Jubbah regions.
The spokesman has also added in his speech that their faction is not in any way involved in the recent instability in some parts of Puntland.
“There are some people pretending to part of the wide network of Al-Shabab who are carrying out operations which have recently created instability in the some parts of Eastern Somalia, we are strongly warning these people to stop the wild acts they are carrying out in that region, and they are not intending to abstain those evil acts we shall take measures against them” added Sheikh Yakub.
This speech from the administration of Al-Shabab coincides at a time when there has been instability in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in the past couple of weeks.
Another report adds
“We know that Puntland authorities jailed more young Somali Muslims who are secretly tortured in custodies while many more were handed over to Ethiopia under the Christian-funded campaign of fight against terrorism which is intended to eradiate Muslims around the world” the Islamist spokesman said.
He called on the residents in Puntland regions to organize uprisings against the government and refuse what he described as the animosity against Islam by the regional government.
“Allah doesn’t watch over those harassing his Muslim followers and we hope that Allah will punish the puppet administrators in Puntland who are killing, arresting and extraditing the innocent Muslims” the militant spokesperson stated.
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Daily Nation: Kenya warned against courting militia
Kenya could be sucked into the Somalia conflict unless the recruitment of youths to take part in the war stops, analysts have warned.
Rashid Abdi, the Horn of Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group, told the Sunday Nation that the drive to prop up the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu risks destabilising the North Eastern Province which has enjoyed relative peace for the past 15 years.
Al Shabaab militants, who some say have links with international terrorist groups, last week threatened they would hit targets in Kenya unless the government stops supporting the TFG. A parliamentary team has been set up to investigate reports that Kenyan youths are being recruited to fight against the Islamist militia.
On Saturday, members of the Defence committee visited the Manyani training camp at the Coast where it has been reported that the youth are receiving training before being dispatched to Somalia. “There appears to have been a major security breach that has occurred on Kenyan soil,” said committee chairman Adan Keynan.
The MP for Wajir West said they had received credible reports that up to 48 youths who had been in the camp were moved out on Friday night in anticipation of the committee’s visit.
“It is becoming clear that Kenya has taken sides in this war, which is very serious for us because we are a frontline state and share a long and porous border with Somalia,” he said.
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Mr Abdi said Kenya should keep out: “The fact we are stepping in to back the TFG shows the fragile nature of the administration and might give the Al Shabaab reason to retaliate against Kenya. “It is a sign of desperation because the TFG has failed to win legitimacy from the people and faces a major challenge from the Islamists who have an advantage in the unconventional war that is the Somalia conflict.”
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Pittsburgh Tribune-Reivew: Pittsburgh native tracks Somali pirates
DJIBOUTI CITY — Pittsburgh native Lt. Nicholas Rueda, 28, commands a P-3 Orion, the Navy plane used during the Cold War to track Russian submarines.
Today, his P-3 operates as a maritime-patrol aircraft, searching for Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off the coasts of Djibouti and Somalia.
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The joint U.S. base here has become a key staging point for U.S. forces battling elusive but daring modern-day pirates.
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He is not permitted to discuss any sightings of pirates, but he says "we know exactly where the pirate ships are."
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"We are typically going out, taking a look at where we know they are and what kind of daily routines they are going through," he explains. "That may help down the road, if some actions are ... taken against the pirates."
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Rear Adm. Anthony Kurta, who commands the joint U.S. task force here, says his force works with Djibouti, Kenya and Tanzania on a comprehensive anti-piracy strategy.
"It is not just building a navy or coast guard to go after them," he says. "It's also helping with their legal structure — anti-piracy laws, the ability of their courts and prosecutors to handle pirates if they are apprehended.
"I think there is a realization that the long-term solution to piracy doesn't lay with the ships offshore, but in ... [nation-building...] the creation of a functioning, stable government in Somalia that provides some economic opportunity other than folks resorting to something like piracy."
From an analysis at Stratfor around the time of the Seychelles visit in August
P-3Cs and Counterpiracy Operations
A U.S. Navy P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft landed in the Seychelles on Aug. 12 for a one-day visit. Orions and other maritime patrol aircraft from the United States — as well as aircraft from Spain, Germany, France and Japan — are operating from Djibouti and Kenya to support counterpiracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
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The Orion has proven to be a remarkably versatile platform, and has been one of the most in-demand U.S. military aircraft recently — not for sea service, but by ground combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The aircraft’s wealth of sensor equipment (particularly the forward-looking infrared, or FLIR, system mounted on the aircraft’s chin) and long loiter time make it an attractive platform for counterinsurgency operations where a high level of tactical situational awareness and extended time on station are critical. Ground combat commanders have even used P-3s as airborne command posts. P-3 crews who deploy to Iraq may not even get a chance to practice maritime surveillance or anti-submarine operations because of their operational tempo ashore.
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Not only can the P-3 and other land-based maritime patrol aircraft loiter at higher altitude and monitor a wider area, but also Orions are armed with a variety of ordnance. The Orion’s armament includes Harpoon anti-ship missiles and more traditional naval weapons like torpedoes and mines as well as AGM-65 Maverick guided missiles, which would be more effective against smaller craft.
Technical data on the P-3C from the P-3 Orion Research Group
Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion armament
(up to around 20,000 pounds internal and external loads)
bomb bay
eight MK46/50 torpedoes
eight MK54 depth bombs
three MK36/52 1000 lb mines
three MK57 depth bombs
two MK101 depth bombs
one MK25/39/55/56 2000 lb mines
two center-section pylons
two AGM-84 Harpoon anti ship missiles
two AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface guided missiles
two MK46/50 torpedoes
two 2000 lb mines
four MK20 Rockeye cluster bombs
three under outer wing pylons
(per wing, inboard to outboard)
two MK46/50 torpedoes or 1000 lb mines
two MK46/50 torpedoes or 1000 lb mines or rockets
two MK46/50 torpedoes or 500 lb mines or rockets
three MK20 Rockeye cluster bombs
A total maximum weapon load includes:
six 2000 lb mines under wings
two MK101 depth bombs
four MK50 torpedoes
87 sonobuoys
pyrotechnics, signals
WRT the other hunter/killer drone that AFRICOM is moving onstage into the theater, The East African reports that Crawley alluded to scope creep entailing land-based counterinsurgency operations:
We won’t arm drones in East African waters – US
The United States has “no plans” to arm the pilotless aircraft that are carrying out reconnaissance missions from a base in the Seychelles, a spokesman of the US Africa Command (Africom) has said.
The aerial surveillance vehicles, known as MQ-9 Reaper drones, “will be operating primarily over water,” spokesman Vince Crawley told The EastAfrican in an email from Africom headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.
He was reacting to a story carried in this newspaper last week: “Armed drones to pursue pirates off the Horn”
But he did not rule out other missions for the long-range drones, including flights over Somalia to track Islamist militants fighting to overthrow a government backed by the US, the United Nations and the African Union.
Mr Crawley said deployment of the drones reflects “a commitment to counter-piracy, maritime security, border security, deterrence of international terrorism, and other security-related issues impacting the residents of Seychelles and neighbouring countries.”
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The governments of the United States and Seychelles agreed after several months of discussions to base what Mr Crawley describes as “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance” assets at Mahé regional airport.
About 75 US government personnel are in the Seychelles to help carry out the mission, Mr Crawley said.
With a cruising speed of about 200 knots and a range of more than 3,500 nautical kilometres, the Reaper drones represent “an ideal platform for observing the vast ocean and maritime corridors in the Indian Ocean region and assisting in counter-piracy efforts,” Mr Crawley continued.
The operation could make use of other intelligence-gathering options in addition to the Reapers, he said without specifying those options.
He emphasised, however, that these “assets will not be armed, and we have no plans of doing so.”
The Reaper class of drones can carry several guided bombs and missiles.
The Reapers are more powerful than the drones known as MQ-1 Predators that are regularly used by the US to strike targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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The Seychelles-based mission is expected to last several months as Africom assesses its effectiveness, Mr Crawley said.
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IPS: U.S., Somalia Still Opt Out of Children's Treaty
When the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF) commemorates the 20th anniversary of its landmark international treaty protecting the rights of children next week, there will be two countries skipping the celebrations: the United States and Somalia.
"It is embarrassing to find ourselves in the company of Somalia, a lawless land," presidential candidate Barack Obama said last year during his election campaign.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted unanimously by the United Nations back in 1989, will be 20 years old on Nov. 20.
Described as the world's most rapidly and universally ratified human rights treaty, the Convention has been ratified by 193 states.
But the only two countries that have not ratified the treaty have nothing in common.
"Somalia is understandable," Kul Gautam, a former U.N. assistant secretary-general and ex-UNICEF deputy executive director, told IPS.
It has been a failed state without an effective government for over two decades, he added.
"But the United States does have a functioning government, which claims to be a great champion of human rights in the world. It baffles non-Americans, and even many Americans, as to why the U.S. is reluctant to ratify this Convention," Gautam added.
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