A UN-promoted joint Law of the Sea filing by Kenya and those Somalis the UN works with, about Somalia's offshore rights, has finally been acknowledged by the UN as rejected by the Somalia parliament.
On March 12, 2010, the UN web site quietly added the notation that the "Memorandum of Understanding" about the filing, pushed by Nairobi based UN envoy Ahmedou Ould Abdallah and funded by oil drilling Norway, "has been rejected by the Parliament of the Transitional Federal Government Somalia, and is to be hence treated as non-actionable."
Inner City Press has reported extensively about this controversial MOU, which despite rejection in Somalia has been defended by the UN, Ould Abdallah and Norway. Another analysis by some Inner City Press sources is below.
But the UN's quiet admission that its plan for the Somali coastline was rejected by Somalis comes as the UN's Sanctions Group on Somalia is promoting its findings about widespread diversion of aid to Al Shabab. As Inner City Press reported, the Sanctions report has subject last week to a staged leak, first to the New York Times and then to wire services. Some UN correspondents reported did not appreciate the exposure of how the document was shown. But it is relevant, and should have been reported in the initial stories.
Here now is an alternative telling of the UN - Somali story, an update to Inner City Press' previous reporting on the MOU:From the [beginning, many] Somalis were furious about the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), saying “Somali territorial waters would have been lost had this MOU succeed”. And any where that the Somali TFG delegations travel they were confronted by angry citizens asking them “why did they sign that MOU” and demanding answers from them.
While many Somali lawmakers (MPs) were criticizing the government about the controversial MOU with Kenya, and hand full of TFG ministers were shying away from defending it, Deputy Prime Minister ( he is also Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources) Abdirahman Adan Ibbi (AKA Prof. Ibbi) became the biggest lobbyist for the MOU - Weird huh!
Prof. Ibbi fought very had so that the MOU would go forward. In doing so he wrote a letter* to Ban Ki Moon on August 19, 2009 supporting the MOU – it was after the Somali parliament rejected the same MOU (and voted down on August 1, 2009).
What is serious about that letter was: it was signed by him, Prof. Ibbi, but is says it was written by TFG Prime Minister Omer Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke who was out of town at the time. When that letter became public Prof. Ibbi started to fade away into the background.
Prof. Ibbi had a backing of the TFG president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who also defended the MOU .
When the Somali PM Sharmarke realized that his deputy used his name, he (Sharmarke) wrote his own letter to Ban Ki Moon on October 10, 2009, supporting the Parliament decision. The funny thing is, Sharmarke’s office did not send that letter to The Secretary-General of UN as they should. Much later, realizing again, Sharmarke handed the letter to Somalia's Foreign Minister, Ali Jama Jangali so that he could hand deliver to Ban Ki Moon or at least send through appropriate channel.
Nobody knows whether Jangali handed that letter to The Secretary-General – at least it was not posted at the UN website as they did the previous letters regarding the same MOU.
While all these were going on, a group of Somali lawmakers, who were fed up with government, sent their own letter to Ban-Ki Moon asking him not to accept the controversial maritime deal between Kenyan and Somalia and remind him that Somali Parliament rejected it. Again that letter also was not posted at UN website and as far as we aware of, The Secretary-General of the United Nations did not respond the Somali MPs’ letter – at least he did send reply back.
We do not know what did it or which letter reached at the Ban Ki Moon’s desk. But we do know that there was an update at UN website on 12 March 2010 stating that: “The MOU has been rejected by the Parliament of the Transitional Federal Government Somalia, and is to be hence treated as non-actionable.
This has been a huge relief for Somalis in general as they realize that the MOU between Somalia and Kenya is non-actionable – which in legal term means NULL & VOID.
Somalis think this is very good statement from UN headquarters, why? The MOU between Somalia and Kenya had a backing of UN Somalia Office (based mainly in Nairobi Kenya). This has been a concern for Somali people. And that is why many believe that UN Headquarters did not acknowledge quickly when Somali Parliament rejected the same MOU.
This is also a news dawn for Somali political system, some say, as members of parliament realize that they can overrule any law (for Somalia) even if the president doesn’t approve it. There had been even a talk to impeach the Somali parliament speaker, Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur (AKA Aaden Madoobe) as he did not act swiftly when the TFG government started the maritime MOU between Somalia/Kenya.
* Below is the link of Prof. Ibbi’s letter (at UN website)
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/ken35_09/som_re_ken_clcs35.pdf
You can compare with the Somali PM’s signature at following link (UN website).
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/preliminary/som_2009_letter.pdf
We'll have more on this.
-- -- --
The A.S.w.J. / TFG agreement was officially signed in Addis Ababa on Monday
Mareeg Online: Islamists sign agreement with government
Ahlu Sunna Walajama’a moderate Islamists and the transitional federal government of Somalia have signed an agreement inAddis Abba on Monday.
Somalia’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Said Yusuf Nur said a ceremony attended by representatives from AU, UN and the International community was held in the Addis Ababa, where the officials from the government and ASWJ signed the agreement.
The two sides have agreed to unite their policy and military to fight against the rebels.
Mr. Nur added that the two sides formed a committee which will work the enforcement of the agreement with in 30 days.
The [new] government will [include] ministers from Ahlu Sunna Walajama’a. The deputy prime minister and finance minister of Somali government, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and the chairman of ASWJ Mohamed Dahir Hefow signed the agreement.
According to the preliminary agreement, signed in February,
Article 2
Allocation of Government Positions to ASWJ
1. ASWJ shall be integrated into the TFG. The TFG shall allocate to the ASWJ government positions as follows:
five (5) Ministers of categories A,B,C;
one (1) Minister of State;
five (5) Assistant Ministers of categories A, B, C;
five (5) Directors-General of categories A, B, C;
five (5) Directors of Departments of categories A, B, C;
three (3) Deputy Commanders of the national armed, police and security forces;
three (3) Ambassadors;
three (3) Consular Officers;
three (3) Commercial Attaches;
three (3) Military Attaches; and
three (3) Cultural Attaches.
Here's a taste of what the new ministers have to look forward to:
Mareeg Online: Lawmaker resigns from Parliament
A Somali lawmaker has announced Monday that he resigned from his post as a Somali parliamentarian.
Speaking to the reporters in Bosasso town in Putland in north eastern Somalia, Said Hassan Shire announced his resignation.
He said the Somali government failed to regain all the Somali regions and the controversial agreement with Kenya about the sea water of Somalia forced him to resign.
MP Salah Nuh Badbaado had also resigned from parliament two months ago. The Somali parliament is consisted of 550 MPs and some of the parliamentarians were complaining about lack of salary.
The deputy speaker of the Somali parliament, Mohamed Omar Dalha said they did not get their salaries for the last nine months.
They can keep adding as many members to parliament as they want - it's all a facade anyway. They don't meet, they don't get paid, and they hardly get a say in what takes place in Somalia. If they can't get money out of their foreign backers, maybe they'll end up joining their brethren in the Somali military in shaking down civilians and bus passengers to earn a living.
-- -- --
IRIN: Without food and unable to bury the dead in Mogadishu
Five days of fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have left residents without food, cut off from their homes and unable to bury their dead, civil society leaders in the city said.
“We cannot go to some of the worst-affected areas and for all we know people may be buried under the rubble of what used to be their homes,” Asha Sha’ur, a civil society activist, told IRIN. The fighting had displaced hundreds of families, she added.
In many areas of the city, people were unable to access their homes or even bury their dead. The fighting had also cut off aid deliveries.
“What little assistance that used to come in is no longer there, so they [civilians] are on their own," Sha'ur added. "It is a tragedy but no one seems to care. Imagine people with small children unable to go out and buy food or milk."
Ali Sheikh Yassin, deputy chairman of the Mogadishu-based Elman Human Rights Organization (EHRO), told IRIN the fighting between government troops and insurgent which began on 9 March "had been the most intense since May 2009".
Local sources estimate that more than 100 people had died before relative calm returned to the city on 15 March. "I would say this was the worst [fighting],” Yassin told IRIN.
Some residents, he added, had ventured out of their homes on 15 March to assess the damage and bury their dead.
"There is a feeling among the population that this is not the end and worse is yet to come," he said. Both sides, he explained, were mobilizing, with tanks belonging to the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) dotting the city.
A medical source said the hospitals had been inundated. "We are barely coping," she told IRIN. "When you think there are no more, more are brought in."
...
While the death toll was more than 100, another 245 people were injured, the medical source said.
“These are the ones we can account for; there may be many more who are unaccounted for,” she said. “I am sure that once we have access to the epicentre of the fighting the death toll will be much higher.”
Most of the injured, she said, were children, citing the case of Salado Ali in Medina, Mogadishu's main hospital. Her six-year-old son and husband were injured when their home in the northern Karan district was hit by a shell.
"The doctors have removed the pieces from the boy's stomach," she told IRIN by telephone. "They tell me he is stable."
Salado, whose husband was in another wing of the hospital with a less serious injury, said: "I don't think there is anyone left in our neighbourhood."
-- -- --
SMC: The supreme leader of Al-Shabab warns the warriors to be alert
The supreme leader of Al-Shabab an Islamist faction in Somalia which controls most of the regions in south and central Somalia, Sheikh Abdurrahman Abuu Zubeyr has overnight addressed the local media after along time of silence.
The highest leader of Al-Shabab has seriously warned the fighters of Al-Shabab to be very attentive and loyal to their commanders, and not to violate their commands.
The speech of the leader which was very long was touching various parts in the current situation of Somalia, and has deeply warned the fighters of Al-Shabab to show extra courageousness, and absolute tolerance.
“I recommend you to be very alert, and be obedient to the commands of your commanders, and been obedient to your commanders we can overcome the entire of our foes” said Sheikh Abdurrahman Abuu Zubeyr the supreme commander of Al-Shabab.
Eventually the commander of Al-Shabab has added that the followers of Prophet Mohammed Peace be Upon Him had excellent behaviour to be copied and urged the warriors of Al-Shabab to do the same.
-- -- --
The report from the U.N. Monitoring Group On Somalia is now publicly available. (There is also a mirrored pdf copy available at Hiiraan Online)
No time to read through it in detail at the moment, but here are some noteworthy items from a quick skim
Primary sources of supply remain Yemen and Ethiopia, although contributions to the Transitional Federal Government from the United States, Uganda and other parties have also entered Somali arms markets. Eritrea — once a major sponsor of armed opposition groups — appears to have scaled down its military assistance while continuing to provide political, diplomatic and possibly financial support. There has been little overall change in the types of arms and ammunition entering Somalia, but the Monitoring Group has observed that small numbers of heavy mortars and wire-guided anti-tank weapons are now employed by armed opposition groups.
...
The limited ability of the Transitional Federal Government to pay its officials and security forces is handicapped by entrenched corruption at all levels: commanders and troops alike sell their arms and ammunition — sometimes even to their enemies. Revenues from Mogadishu port and airport are siphoned off.
...
All of Somalia’s immediate neighbours — Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya — are militarily involved in the conflict or plan to become involved in the coming months. A growing number of countries provide military support to the Transitional Federal Government, with or without the approval of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992).
...
..the Monitoring Group believes that reports of a split within Al-Shabaab may be overstated.
Equally overstated is the importance of foreign fighters in Al-Shabaab ranks. Although there is no question that several hundred foreigners now fight within or alongside Al-Shabaab units and provide advice and technical expertise at various levels within the organization, they do not appear to have made a decisive contribution to any single engagement in recent months, nor to the overall course of the conflict.
...
The Monitoring Group distinguishes between two categories of arms embargo violations, namely, technical and substantive violations. Technical violations involve support for Somali security sector institutions, which are eligible for exemptions under paragraph 11 (b) of resolution 1772 (2007), but for which no exemption has been requested in advance and on a case-by-case basis from the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992). Substantive violations involve contraventions of the embargo that would under no circumstances be eligible for exemptions. Arms and ammunition provided with authorization from the Committee, or in technical violation of resolution 1772 (2007), represent a growing proportion of arms flows to Somalia. As noted in the Monitoring Group’s report of December 2008, much of this assistance ends up in the hands of armed opposition groups or on the open market.
Non-State and intergovernmental actors mentioned in this section fall beyond the scope of the Monitoring Group’s mandate: namely, regional and international organizations, aid agencies and private security companies. The absence of any provision for them to obtain exemptions under resolution 1772 (2007) creates ambiguities with respect to their compliance with the arms embargo. In the past, the Monitoring Group has approached this problem by encouraging international organizations to notify the Committee of their intentions, and for private sector actors to obtain the sponsorship of their host Governments vis-à-vis the Committee. As the number of non-State actors involved in Somalia increases, there is an urgent need to clarify and formalize these arrangements.
...
Although some parties to the conflict, notably the Transitional Federal Government and Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a, benefit from direct external military aid, most factions procure their supplies from internal markets nourished by commercial brokers.
...
Throughout the course of the mandate, the Ethiopian National Defence Force has routinely entered Somali territory, notably in the Hiraan and Galguduud regions, and established temporary bases. Late in August 2009, Ethiopian forces stationed at the border town of Ferfer also engaged in joint operations with ASWJ against Al-Shabaab.
The Monitoring Group has also learned of Ethiopian force sorties into Gedo region, apparently for reconnaissance purposes.
The Monitoring Group does not believe that operations of foreign military forces on Somali soil correspond with the definition of support to the Somali security sector under Security Council resolution 1772 (2007), and therefore constitute a substantive violation of the arms embargo.
...
The United States requested authorization to provide cash, as well as arms and ammunition, in May and June 2009. The United States support consisted chiefly of ammunition for light and medium-sized weapons and was purchased from on-hand stocks of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces. The overall amount notified by the United States Government was 94 tons of weapons and ammunition and $2 million in financial assistance. No sophisticated or heavy weapons were delivered.
...
United States contributions to the Transitional Federal Government appear to have been informed in part by past experience. Most of the American consignment was ammunition, and only a limited supply of infantry weapons in order to minimize losses. Nevertheless, there are widespread reports of government forces selling ammunition, and weapons from the same consignment appear to have ended up on the market.
The majority of assistance to the Somali security sector has not been authorized by the Committee. Although the Monitoring Group has attempted to keep track of such contributions, it has not always been able to do so. While some States appear to be unaware of their obligations, others seem to resist transparency and accountability. Whatever their reason or intentions, those States are in technical violation of the general and complete arms embargo on Somalia.
The Monitoring Group is aware of several States that have not met their obligations under resolution 1772 (2007). In several cases, they have also failed to provide clarification to the Monitoring Group when requested to do so. Those States include [U.S. proxy] Ethiopia, [U.S. proxy] Kenya, the Sudan, [U.S. proxy] Uganda and Yemen.
...
Another feature of Somalia’s war economy is the increasing activity of private security companies. Most private security companies are currently focused on protection for merchant vessels, and they do not necessarily conduct operations on Somali territory. A small but growing number, however, are prepared to tackle the challenges of onshore security services, including support to AMISOM, support to the Transitional Federal Government, and protection for private enterprises.
Few private security companies are aware of the arms embargo, and may therefore be operating in violation of its provisions. As mentioned above, resolution 1772 (2007) is [conveniently] silent on whether non-State actors providing support to Somali security sector institutions or private militias might be eligible for waivers or exemptions.
Bancroft Global Development
221. Bancroft provides technical expertise to AMISOM, principally related to counter-improvised explosive device capabilities, and operates under the auspices of AMISOM.
Dyncorp International
222. Dyncorp provides logistical support to AMISOM. Its facilities and personnel were specifically targeted during the suicide attack on 17 September 2009 at AMISOM force headquarters.
CSS Global Inc.
223. According to media reports, a United States-based company named CSS Global, an affiliate of CSS Alliance, has secured a contract with the Transitional Federal Government for services relating to counter-piracy and counter-terrorism. These reports were corroborated by an official of the Transitional Federal Government, Ali Hassan Gulaid, on 14 October 2009.
224. The Monitoring Group is unaware of any authorization of this activity by the Committee and sent a letter on 16 December 2009 to CSS Global seeking clarification. CSS has provided no response to date.
...
Despite infusions of foreign training and assistance, government security forces remain ineffective, disorganized and corrupt — a composite of independent militias loyal to senior government officials and military officers who profit from the business of war and resist their integration under a single command. As a result, external assistance to the Transitional Federal Government continues to function as a major loophole in the general and complete arms embargo, through which arms, ammunition, equipment and skills all flow to armed opposition groups. Although difficult to verify, it is increasingly plausible that the Transitional Federal Government represents a more important source of arms and ammunition than foreign sponsors for its adversaries.
-- -- --
Garowe Online: 3 killed in Mogadishu fighting
At least three people are killed and 10 others injured on Tuesday in fresh shelling that rocked parts of Somalia’s restive capital Mogadishu, medics and witnesses said.
Witnesses said clashes erupted in Mogadishu’s Yaqshid neighbourhood where several mortar shells fired by government forces landed at residential areas and market, killing at least five civilians and injuring more than 10 others.
Several wounded civilians were admitted in various Mogadishu hospitals, according to ambulance workers.
“We collected 10 wounded people from areas that were mostly shelled. These areas include Bakara, Hararyale, Suuq Ba’ad and Sanaa,” Ali Muse of Mogadishu Ambulance service said.
He adds, “The wounded, including some in serious conditions, were admitted in Daynile and Keysaney hospitals.”
-- -- --
A report Tuesday at Afrik.com skips right over the powerless TFG and says it was a deal between A.S.W.J. and AMISOM
Moderate Islamist group joins AU forces against Al-Shabab
Influential Muslim group have joined forces with African Union troops to wage war on al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab military group in Somalia. The Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa group signed the military alliance in the African Union head quarters in Ethiopia.
"We have agreed to share power [Ahlu Sunna African Union forces and Somali government forces]” Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was quoted at the signing ceremony.
The Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa is reportedly fighting al-Shabab over control of areas in central Somalia have decided to gain a military advantage by merging with African Union troops to defeat their insurgent rivals.
...
Head of the African Union Mr. Jean Ping has welcomed the military alliance as a historic opportunity for peace- urging al-Shabab to lay down its arms.
...
Despite the praise of Ahlu Sunma by the African Union, some factions of the group have opposed the deal.
Pressuring some to sign and then hope that everyone falls in line...? That's allegedly what the delay was about over the weekend.
Shabelle Media: Somali group urges members to support recent signed deal with government
Following misunderstandings which came out among Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama'a (Somalia's moderate Islamist group), after the signing of Addis Ababa agreement with Somali Transitional Government, Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama'a officials who attended the talks with the government in Ethiopia, have urged their colleagues from different parts in the country to accept the deal. Shabelle Website reports.
Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama'a delegates in Addis Ababa are now calling all those who oppose the deal for talks, so that they can discuss and resolve their differences.
Shabelle website has quoted Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama'a official, Abdulkadir Awliyow, asking the group members to cooperate in correcting any mistakes in the deal.
The official, Mr Awliyow, told the media that Ethiopian security officials have harassed some of Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama'a delegates in their hotels in Addis Ababa.
As a report at Kismaayo News noted a month ago that
not only the deal convince Ahlu Sunnah take part in this offensive but also TFG will have a territory to govern outside the few blocks in the capital.
The Ethiopia inspired group controls large swaths of central Somalia..
Reports attribute the towns of Gurieel, Dhuusamareeb, and Aabudwaaq under A.S.W.J. rule, but both "controls" and "large" are exaggerations, according to analyst Abdikarim Buh, which was reported here around the same time.
-- -- --
Garowe Online: Ahlu Sunnah members reject agreement with TFG
A section of Somalia’s Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a militia group has vowed not to recognize a deal signed by their fellow group members with the weak UN-backed Somali government in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Led by the group’s foreign relation officer, Sheikh Bashir Abdi Olaad and his colleague Sheikh Abdiqadir Abdirahman (Abu-Zakriya), the section said ' the deal a betrayal to the unity of the group and we feel that this agreement is intended to disintegrate the group,” Sheikh Bashir told reporters in Abudwaq town in central Galgadud region.
“This agreement was a betrayal which is meant to hijack the group. We are making it clear that we do not recognize but also we are not opposed to the government,” Abu Zakariya said.
-- -- --
Damage Control Pt. 2
Asharq Alawsat News: A Talk with Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
Sheikh Ahmad denied that there exists a US proposal for direct military intervention in his country. However, he affirmed that he does not object to a US military support to strengthen the government institutions. To justify his stand, he said that it would be an indirect US support for Somalia.
In an interview that Asharq Al-Awsat conducted with him during his visit to Dubai to attend a conference, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad said Somalia turned into an ideal environment for Al-Qaeda and its ideas. He added that all attempts to remove him from power will fail because Somalia's history is full of failed attempts of this kind, as he put it. [?]
...
Asked if military support is important in controlling the situation, the Somali president said military support is important in order to reinforce the government institutions. He noted that he does not object to asking the Americans for military support. He said: "I do not object to seeking military support from the Americans."
He said there is no direct US intervention in Somalia and that there is no US proposal for direct military intervention. He added: "What we are taking about is support for the government to reinforce the state institutions. This is what I meant and what I seek."
In reply to a question as to whether the Americans bombed the positions of the armed movements that are behind the violence in the country, Sharif said: "With regard to the Al-Qaeda members, if their positions are pinpointed and movements monitored and the Americans want to target them, this is something that we may discuss." Nevertheless, he pointed out that "the government is interested in reaching a solution with" the other armed movements in Somalia.
The Somali president affirmed that he is ready to talk to all Somali parties that are opposed to him with the aim of reaching a settlement to put an end to the massacres in Somalia.
He said: "I will sit with any Somali party that wants to sit with us, be it the Mujahidin Youth Movement or others, to reach a solution that will stop the bloodshed."
But he refused to say which Somali parties are the most difficult ones to reach a solution with. He remarked: "We seek to enter dialogue with all parties. Therefore, I will not name any party."
...
When asked if he would give up power in favor of the opposition in exchange for a political program to end the violence, how would you deal with such an offer?
Sharif said: "I am not interested in power as much as I am interested in saving the Somali people. But there is a group that tells me that I must leave in order to calm the situation. This is rejected."
He added: "We must agree with any party that seeks to take power on means to allow all parties to share power. I have the right to run [in elections] and govern, and they too, as Somalis, have the same right."
He continued: "I do not exclude anyone from power and do not allow anyone to exclude me from power. When we negotiate, we will reach a solution. But let us say in the beginning to these groups: Stop the war and come with your demands, so that we may negotiate."
-- -- --
Inner City Press: Somali Starvation Shows Security Council Schizophrenia, Humanitarian Window Eyed
Days after the UN Security Council expressed concern about its Somalia Sanctions report of food aid being diverted to Al Shabab, some Council members realized that merely blocking the World Food Program from working with three allegedly Al Shabab affiliated transportation companies had led to starvation.
While the Sanctions Committee's mandate was scheduled to be extended on March 19, now that will be March 22 or later. Inner City Press is told by numerous Council delegations of a discussion of a "humanitarian window" in which needed food aid could be delivered in Somalia, without regard to sanctions.
One delegation explained this to mean that the Sanctions Committee would "look away" for a period of time. "Willful blindness," it was called.
...
The consideration of a humanitarian window seems to be an acknowledgement, if only implicitly, that the UN Sanctions regime has caused humanitarian harm to civilians. Does the U.S. / Obama Administration acknowledge that? One would need to hear from Ambassador Susan Rice, but hasn't.
-- -- --
From Issue 345 of Ecoterra International's SMCM: DUTCH NAVY DESTROYS WORLDBANK AND DANIDA PROJECT BOAT
The media propaganda distributed by EU NAVFOR contained a picture, which shows very clearly that the open fishing boat destroyed by the Dutch navy was project property of NECFISH, a Worldbank and DANIDA financed fisheries development project - the North East Coast Fishing Enterprises (NEC-FISH), implemented with the Somali Ministry of Fisheries.
The main aim of this project was to develop fisheries at the North-East coast of Somalia. It had a budget of US$21.5m provided by the Worldbank and the Danish development agency DANIDA.
What the navy falsely calls a "whaler" (i.e. a powerful boat used to harpoon whales) is in reality the typical Somali fishing boat used for net-fishing, produced in fibreglass by a Swedish development project, which operated south of Mogadishu and equipped with a robust Volvo Penta inboard engine, which is why the Somalis call it "VOLVA" - a slow but reliable workhorse of the fishermen.
That this boat maybe was misused to transport fuel for skiffs used in piracy attacks will have to be proven by the Dutch.
But even if so, the DUTCH had no right to destroy the boat in one of the typical shoot & explode excercises of the bored navies, which also polluted the sea.
The boat is official property of the Somali Government and the Somali people and could have easily be handed back to the rightful owners to be used e.g. in fisheries surveillance or to be given to one of the impoverished fishing communities.
ECOTERRA Intl. has repeatedly protested against such wilful destruction and urged the navies to hand over the confiscated boats to the Somali government or to fisheries development projects in Somalia, to stop illegal foreign fishing vessels from entering the Somali waters, to respect themselves the sovreignty of Somalia and to follow strictly the enshrined international laws - not some constructs which do not hold water. While real acts of piracy against innocent merchant vessel must be countered by a moral and legal means, the "prevention model" applied now reminds of the ideas propagated for an "Endloesung" over 60 years ago!
They also note:
With no more WFP ships to escort, because the World Food Programme has been banned out of Somalia by Al-Shabaab and stripped of funding by the US, while an investigation concerning fraud is ongoing, the European navies have now resorted to hunting any Somali on the waters. While illegal fishing by foreign vessels in Somali waters is rampant the navy vessels around the Horn have not only not in a single case stopped any fish-poacher while they are preventing the Somalis to go after those, they also stand accused even by high governmental officials from Somalia to protect illegal fishing and not permitted geo- and hydro-graphic exploration operations in the Somali waters and along the continental shelf of Somalia.
-- -- --
ACO: NATO provides airlift support to African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
In response to the African Union request for strategic airlift support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the USA has conducted airlift missions under the NATO banner in support of the Ugandan troop rotations.
The airlift, which commenced on 5 Mar 2010 and was completed on 16 Mar 2010, was undertaken by USA contracted DynCorps International, transporting 1700 Ugandan troops from Uganda into Mogadishu and re-deploying 850 Ugandan troops out of Mogadishu.
NATO began providing support to the African Union in May 2005. The NATO approach in Africa is based on the recognition of the African Union's desire to provide African solutions to African problems. As such, all assistance is based on specific requests from the African Union.
Part of this policy is the NATO standing agreement to provide Strategic sealift and airlift support for African Union Troop Contributing Countries willing to deploy to Somalia, recently extended by NATO until 31 January 2011. Besides NATO's significant airlift contributions to the AU mission in SUDAN (AMIS), before this last airlift request, the first and only support to AMISOM was given in June 2008 to transport a battalion of Burundian peacekeepers to Mogadishu.
-- -- --
Shabelle Media: Meeting on security held in Mogadishu
A meeting on the security of Mogadishu between the administration of Banadir region and the interior ministery of the transitional government has been held in the Somali capital, official said on Saturday.
...
Abdirisak Mohamed Nor, the governor of the transitional government of Somalia told reporters after the meeting saying that the importance of the meeting was how the government would take control of the whole parts of the region.
..the governor said that they agreed all the people around the international airport of Aden Adde to move away from those areas to be saved from clashes saying that those people might affect violence if fighting starts in Mogadishu.
AP: Doubts grow on Somali offensive's chances at peace
Problems including corrupt officials and a lack of supplies have delayed Somalia's military offensive against Islamic insurgents, but even before the first shot has been fired new warnings have emerged that blood may be spilled for little or no gain.
In signs the offensive is approaching, close to 1,000 additional troops arrived from Uganda last week to support the African Union's forces in Mogadishu, and the Islamists have been digging trenches across the capital's streets to impede AU armored cars.
...
But Somalia's government, whose forces are weak and poorly trained and equipped, has not described how it would consolidate any gains made in the offensive or win the support of the people, who are splintered into hundreds of clans.
Experts say the government does not appear to have a political plan ready to deploy after the end of the fighting, which is likely to kill scores of civilians.
...
As the commander in chief, President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed would order the start of the offensive. Ahmed told The Associated Press that efforts are under way to professionalize and better equip the security forces, but the government lacks money to pay the soldiers, many of whom have been trained in neighboring Djibouti by the African Union.
U.S. officials in Washington say they have given money to help pay for Somalia's soldiers, but declined to discuss how the money was delivered, to whom, or how they could be sure it reached the fighters. A U.N. report said the government's ability to pay soldiers is hindered by deep corruption.
...
..the U.S. is encouraging the Somali government to think about what it will do after the battles are over, said a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of departmental policy.
...
..Roland Marchal, a Somalia expert at the Center for International Studies and Research in Paris, said militants can wait for government troops to either start selling their ammunition or simply defect because they're not being paid or given food.
Daily Nation: Militia faction disowns Somalia peace pact
Doubts surround a recent pact with a militia faction aimed at consolidating the power of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia after a section of the militia leadership disowned the deal.
The agreement, signed this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was aimed at bolstering efforts of the fledgling government to root out radical Islamic militias but protests by Ahlu Sunna Wal-Jamea leaders are likely to collapse the drive.
The latest turn of events cast doubts on earlier reports that ongoing talks between the pro-government Islamist group and the Africa Union-backed government had made headway after both parties agreed on certain issues.
In a sign of leadership struggles within the Ahlu Sunna, the most prominent moderate Islamic group in Somalia, vice chairman Sheik Hassan Sheik Abdi convened a press conference in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area to denounce the purported agreement as well as question the leadership of his chairman, Sheikh Mahammud Sheikh Hassan, who was leading “a non-representative delegation” at the talks.
...
The bone of contention, according to Mr Mohamud Abdi, secretary for the leadership committee of Ahlu Sunna, is that there was no official delegation sent to the Addis conference and therefore those at the forum could not enter into a pact on Ahlu Sunna’s behalf.
“There was no official delegation to the conference which had proper authority to sign any agreement with the transitional government on our behalf,” Sheikh Abdi asserted at the Nairobi press conference.
...
Mr Sheik Abdi said the agenda of the meeting and some contents of the agreement were not in line with Ahlu Sunna’s efforts and successful military operations towards creating an immediate peaceful and stable Somalia.
“Before any external agreements with any second party, Ahlu Sunna wants to complete a reformation meeting that has been going on since January,” he said.
Nairobi Star: Kenya: Nation Stuck With Somali 'Mercenaries'
An estimated 2,500 Somali youths trained by Kenya to fight in Somalia are stranded at Archer's Post in Isiolo, The Star has established.
A report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia which was presented to the UN Security Council indicates the youths, majority of them from the Ogaden clan, started receiving training early last year at the request of President Sheikh Shariff under the auspices of his then Minister of Defence Mohamed Abdi Mohammed "Gandhi".
...
The Star established that the youths cannot be deployed to Somalia as there was a stalemate between Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia about where they would be most useful.
While the Kenyan security forces want to have the youths deployed in the southern Somali regions of Juba and Gedo to create a buffer zone with the militant Al Shabaab, Ethiopia and the Somalia transitional government want them sent to Mogadishu to help repulse the Al Shabaab who have taken control of large parts of the capital.
Somalia President Sheikh Shariff later fell out with his Defence minister Mohamed Ghandi, an Ogadeni, whom he suspected of pushing for the deployment of the youths in Juba and Gedo to not only fight the Al Shabaab but also lay the foundation for the establishment of an Ogaden autonomous region.
Ethiopia's fears the deployment of the contingent in Ogaden might bolster and give the Ogaden National Liberation Front a launching pad for its attacks against Ethiopia.
...
Yesterday Somalia Ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali Nur, confirmed there was a stalemate in the deployment process. He could not comment further "because the issue is sensitive." "The government of Somalia will very soon address that. I am not an authority on this matter. I can't talk about it, but I have heard the reports of the former Somali Defence minister meeting with Somali elders in Nairobi on the deployment issue," said Ali Nur.
...
According to the UN report, two training centres were established at the Kenya Wildlife Service training camp at Manyani, and near Archer's Post in Isiolo.
"A total of 36 Somali officers were recruited to assist in the training under the command of a General Abdi Mahdi and Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail 'Fartaag'. The officers completed one-month training in September 2009".
The youths under the command of General Mahdi, a former Somali warlord, were supposed to be deployed on February 16, 2010 immediately after they completed their training.
They have been at the training camps since then waiting for their deployment.
Yesterday security analysts were fearful that if the squad is allowed back into the communities it would pose a grave security risk. A few of the trainees escaped from the camp when they received reports they might be deployed to Mogadishu to fight the Al-Shabaab militants.
One of the Kenyan Somali trainers who sought anonymity told the Star that he and other trainers have not been paid since the programme started last September.
The youths who were each promised a salary of $150 (Sh11,400) a month after recruitment had also not been paid.
Last Tuesday the former Somalia Defence minister Mohamed Ghandi hosted elders from the Marehan and Ogaden clans to brief them on the training and deployment plans. The meeting, held at Chester House, Nairobi, also discussed the possibility of the two clans withdrawing their support to the Somali government.
Sources at the meeting said Ghandi assured the elders that the youths will be deployed in the Gedo and Juba region as he had initially planned when he was still Minister.
-- -- --
Shabelle Media: Displaced Somalis ask TFG to relocate them
More displaced Somalis around the international airport of Aden Adde in Mogadishu have Sunday asked the transitional government of Somalia to relocate them, just a day after the governor of the transitional government called for the people around airport to move away from the area.
...
The displaced people had repeatedly requested from the transitional government authorities to give them position or places to live pointing out that they did not know what to do and where to go.
The land which the administration of Banadir ordered to move situates at Afisyone in Waberi district near the airport of Mogadishu was belonged by the Somali government earlier, but most of the people living there had reached at the area as they displaced from their houses in Somali capital Mogadishu.
-- -- --
Damage Control, Part Three
Garowe Online: Somalia president rejects direct American military intervention
Somalia’s interim president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed says he does not welcome direct military intervention from the US to support his fragile government in overcoming the powerful insurgents.
“We are requesting the US not engage in direct military in Somalia but provide us with support in rebuilding the forces and weapons,” said Sheikh Sharif who added that he would not allow foreign country to directly intervene in his country.
"Our forces have prepared well and can do the job of flushing terrorist out the country and that is why we are requesting non military interference," President Ahmed said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment