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Girl, 15, is raped by A Somali Man
A Somali Man who twice raped a 15-year old girl after offering to help her faces years behind bars before he is sent back to Somalia.
Abdi Ali, 25, befriended the girl on a bus travelling from Woolwich, after she had rowed with her mother.
When she confided to him about the argument, Ali lured her back to his friend's shared flat in Stepney, east London, promising she could stay the night.
Isobel Ascherson, prosecuting, told Snaresbrook Crown Court how the girl slept one night in the flat undisturbed, but the next evening, April 23, 2002, she was left alone with Ali.
Mrs Ascherson said: "She was asked by the defendant, 'Are you going to have sex with me?' which she said no to. "At that stage she started to complain she was sick and wanted and needed to leave."
But she was pinned down and raped once by Ali, then again 10 minutes later.
After her ordeal, Ali left the flat but his friend came into the flat and raped the distraught teenager after threatening her with a knife and hitting her. In a bid to escape, the terrified girl pretended she wanted to go with her attackers to a cafe they had mentioned.
Eventually the girl was allowed out of the flat and travelled to the cafe where she told a customer what had happened and police were called.
Ali, of Leven Road, Canning Town, was arrested and interviewed on July 1 but denied knowing the girl or raping her.
When he was challenged with DNA evidence he claimed the sex had been consensual.
He then admitted one charge of rape on the first day of his trial.
Ali, who has a wife in Somalia, had been granted exceptional leave to remain in the UK for two years.
The second man has never been traced.
Last Tuesday, Judge Timothy King adjourned sentence until January 9 so that forms necessary to recommend his deportation after his jail term could be served.
© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2004
Posted on Wednesday 31st December at 13:59:26 Somali Faction Threatens To Boycott Jan 9 Talks
NAIROBI, Dec 31 (Reuters) - A group of Somali faction leaders threatened on Wednesday to boycott reconciliation talks hosted by Kenya to try to revive the country's stalled peace process if mediators invited rival leaders.
Kenya has said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will open the 10-day gathering on January 9. It has been delayed on numerous occasions in recent weeks due to disagreements among Somali warlords about who should attend.
Museveni is current chairman of a regional peace-making body called the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that has worked for years to end conflicts in east Africa.
IGAD wants about 42 leaders including more warlords, university professors and professionals to attend the retreat.
But the faction leaders want only the 24 members of a committee that signed a peace pact in Kenya in October, 2002 and Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, head of Somalia's defunct interim government, to attend the reconciliation talks.
"IGAD and the international community don't have the right to overrule the process," Mowlid Ma'ane Mohamud, a faction leader, told a news conference in Nairobi.
"They don't have the right to decide for Somalis, it is Somalis who will decide this process," he said.
An IGAD official said the Somali leaders' stance had caused the postponement of the retreat on several occasions.
"Having a retreat of the 25 Somali leaders only will not help much. What we need is inclusivity in the peace process," said the IGAD official who did not want to be identified.
Lacking central authority after the overthrow of a military leader in 1991, rival warlords have carved Somalia into a patchwork of fiefdoms, defying 14 peace initiatives in a decade.
Kenya has hosted more than a year of talks but the process has faltered with the withdrawal of some key faction leaders who want to set up parallel peace talks in Somalia.
Posted on Wednesday 31st December at 13:49:34 Beesha Caalamka iyo IGAD oo Kulmay
Mbagathi ayaa waxaa shir dhowr saacadood qaatay ku yeeshay wakiillo ka socda beesha caalamka iyo guddiga fududaynta ee IGAD si ay uga hadlaan go'aanada cusub ee ay isla meel dhigeen Madaxwaynaha Uganda, Yuweri Musaveni iyo Wasiirka Arimaha Dibadda ee Kenya, Kalonzo Musyoka, ee ku saabsan kulanka hoggaamiyayaasha Soomaalida ee 9ka January ee 2004.
Labada dhinac waxay aad uga doodeen qorshaha la damacsan yahay in dhamaan hogaamiyayaasha shirka ka maqan ee uu ka mid yahay Madaxwaynaha dawladda ku meel gaarka ee Soomaaliya, Cabdiqaasim Salaad Xasan iyo Gudoomiyaha Golaha samata bixinta, Muusa Suudi Yalaxoow.
Xubnaha beesha caalamku waxay qabaan in tiradda hoggaamiyayaasha shirka laga marti qaadayaa ay noqoto 42 hoggaamiye inkastoo kooxaha ku sugan shirka arintaasi ay ka biya diideen oo ay ku adkaysanayaan in kulankaas ay ka qayb galaan 25 hogaamiye oo kaliya.
Kulanka beesha caalamka iyo IGAD markii la soo gaba gabeeyay ayaa hoggaamiyayaasha Soomaalidu ay ku kala qaybsameen in ay la kulmaan Danjire Kiplagat iyo in kale. Qaarkood waxay ku eedeeyeen inuu shirka carqaladeynayo.
Hoggaamiyayaashaas waxaa ka mid ah Maxamed Qanyare Afrax, Mowliid Macaane, Cumar-Finish, Maxamed Siciid Morgan.
Markaa waxaa khasab noqotay in shirkooda loo qabto madal kale oo aan wali la cayimin.
Dhinaca kale waxaa Talaadadii gaaray magaalada Jowhar wafdi uu hogaaminayo Maxamed-Dheere oo ay weheliyaan Cabdicasiis Sheekh Yusuf-Direed, Maxamud Sayid Aden iyo labo wakiil oo ka socda Sheekh Aden-Madoobe iyo General Moorgan.
Waxay sheegeen in ay booqasho u tageen Jowhar oo ay dib ugu soo noqon doonaan shirka.
By Ridwaan Xaaji Cabdiweli
BBC, Laanta Soomaaliga
Posted on Wednesday 31st December at 13:49:45 Tension Rising In North
NAIROBI, 30 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - Tension is rising between the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the neighbouring self-declared autonomous region of Puntland over the disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag, local sources told IRIN on Tuesday.
Puntland forces took total control of the Sool regional capital, Las Anod, last week. Hitherto, both sides had official representation in the town. According to the sources, the Puntland troops were led by the commander of the Puntland police force, Col Abdirazzaq Mahmud Yusuf.
Puntland spokesman Awad Ahmad Ashara told IRIN that the forces had gone to Las Anod "to stop fighting between two feuding clans in the area".
The move came after the Somaliland House of Representatives on 21 December called on the government to secure Somaliland's borders. According to a local journalist in Bosaso, the Puntland commercial capital, "this was seen here [Puntland] as an attempt by Somaliland to assert its authority over the two regions".
Sool and Sanaag fall geographically within the borders of pre-independence British Somaliland, but most of the clans there are associated with Puntland. These are the Warsangeli and the Dhulbahante, which, along with Majerteen - the main clan in Puntland - form the Harti sub-group of the Darood.
Ashara said it was normal for the Puntland authorities to send police forces to the area "since both regions are part and parcel of Puntland". "The people in these regions consider themselves as part of Puntland," he said, adding that Puntland wanted peace and stability in the area "and wants to solve everything through dialogue and peaceful means".
Sources in the Somaliland capital, Hargeysa, told IRIN that the authorities had dispatched "combat-ready" troops to Sool region.
"Somaliland is very serious in wanting to secure its borders, and these include the borders of Sool and Sanaag," said a local journalist. "They are determined to resolve this issue once and for all."
Meanwhile, the Somaliland-government daily 'Mandeeq', reported on Tuesday that people were fleeing from Las Anod town in fear of fighting between the advancing Somaliland forces and those of Puntland.
Attempts by IRIN to contact the Somaliland government for comment were unsuccessful.
Humanitarian agencies recently delivered food to thousands of drought-affected nomads in the Sool Plateau, which is within the disputed regions. A humanitarian source told IRIN that "any conflict in that area will complicate an already precarious humanitarian situation".
"We urge the authorities on both sides to resolve any differences peacefully and continue to enable humanitarian agencies to deliver assistance to the drought-affected communities", said Calum McLean, head of UNOCHA-Somalia.
Posted on Tuesday 30th December at 19:19:01 Leaders' Retreat Rescheduled
NAIROBI, 30 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - A proposed retreat for Somali political leaders which has been postponed several times is now set to start in Nairobi on 9 January.
The retreat - which had originally been fixed for 9 December, then put back to 18 December - is expected to bring Somali leaders together to "iron out all outstanding differences, engage in dialogue and deepen reconciliation", said an official from the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), which is facilitating the talks.
"The retreat will convene on 9 January [in Nairobi] and then move to Mombasa on 10 January," the official, James Kiboi, said.
He added that the number of leaders to be invited had not yet been finalised, but a final list "will probably be out by next week". The invitation list has been a bone of contention, with some leaders arguing that the number should be limited to 24, while IGAD has said 42 leaders should attend.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, Awad Ahmad Ashara, who is also the region's justice and religious affairs minister, told IRIN there was "no need" for a retreat. He said it would not promote the peace process "but would lead to its collapse".
"I believe it is a ploy to destroy the peace process and then blame the Somalis for the failure," he added.
Kiboi, however, rejected this view, saying "this is a very wrong sentiment".
"The retreat is an opportunity to jump-start the process and move it from the current impasse," he stated.
The IGAD-sponsored talks which began in Kenya over a year ago, have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as an interim charter (draft constitution), the number of participants in the talks and the selection of future parliamentarians.
Many Somalis and international observers see the retreat as a last chance to salvage the peace process.
Posted on Tuesday 30th December at 13:07:19 Horn Anti-Terror Axis Formed
The leaders of Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen formed an anti-terror axis on Monday in the fight against extremists operating in the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced the pact as the three countries attempt to shed their image as a haven for Islamic militants.
They will share information and experience in fighting terrorists in a bid to boost efforts to hunt down suspected al-Qaeda members or supporters in the Horn, the leaders said.
Meles said security forces and intelligence services had already spent the last year working together to foil terrorists planning potential attacks.
"Our cooperation has focused on exchange of information with regard to terrorists operating in either one of these three countries or in the region as a whole," Meles told a press conference in Addis Ababa.
"This is progressing very well," he added.
His comments came as the three countries signed a tripartite treaty focused on boosting economic, political and security cooperation.
Sudanese President Omar Hasan al-Bashir and his Yemeni counterpart Ali Abdallah Saleh were in the Ethiopian capital for the day-long summit. The nations agreed to set up the new pact in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in October last year.
Among groups the three countries will target is the Somali extremist group Al Ittihad which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.
Al Ittihad, which operates from Somalia, was placed on the US list of terrorist groups after the September 11 attacks. It has been accused of harbouring al-Qaeda terrorists who fled Afghanistan after the collapse of the Taliban.
"They are and continue to be a threat," said Meles, adding that the fight against extremists would form part of the global war on terror.
The Sudanese president told journalists that he expected peace talks between government and rebel forces being held in Kenya to come to an end in a week.
He said the final sticking points of distribution of political power and wealth and the status of three disputed regions would be overcome.
Sudan and Ethiopia also accused Eritrea of "destabilising" the Horn of Africa, but said they would welcome Eritrea as a member of their alliance.
"It is not a secret that Eritrea is creating huge efforts to create instability in Sudan," Bashir claimed at the press conference.
Yemen and Eritrea have also faced problems over ownership of a group of islands in the Red Sea, known as the Hanish.
Eritrea has described the alliance as an "axis of belligerence" and accused the countries of conspiring against the tiny Red Sea state.
Copyright © 2003 UN Integrated Regional Information Networks.
Posted on Monday 29th December at 23:04:30 Somali State Official Warns that Talks Could Harm Peace Process
A Somali state official says an upcoming meeting of Somali warlords and leaders aimed at putting the stalled peace process back on track will do more harm than good.
The spokesman for the Somali state of Puntland, Awad Ahmed Ashara, told reporters in Nairobi that next month's planned meeting of 40 warlords and selected leaders is not only unnecessary, but will cause divisions among delegates who have been attending the year-long Somali peace talks in Kenya.
Mr. Ashara, who is also Puntland State's minister of justice and religious affairs, said the invited leaders do not represent a balanced mix of the country's four major clans and civil society, which could cause some clans to feel left out. "This will create a new confrontation even, and will take back all what we have done throughout the process," he said.
Mr. Ashara also calls the meeting unnecessary, since the leaders agree on basic issues. Mr. Ashara points out how more than 20 warlords signed a cease-fire agreement last year, which he calls historic.
Kenya's foreign affairs minister, Kalonzo Musyoka, recently announced that the 10 day, make-or-break meeting would open January 9 in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The warlords and selected representatives are supposed to evaluate the progress of the year-long peace process and try to iron out any major sticking points that prevent them from reaching a peace deal.
After the January meeting, the leaders and more than 350 participants in the talks are expected to finalize the country's constitution and choose a parliament, speaker, and president of the country's next transitional government.
Mr. Musyoka said officials of the seven-nation Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which has been mediating the talks in Kenya for more than a year, as well as international partners, donors, and others are all getting tired of the talks' slow pace and the fact that little has been achieved. "Patience is running out on the part of everybody, all the people of goodwill for the people of Somalia. I just want to stress that any leader who will not show up will be seen to be an enemy of this process and will be treated as such," he said.
The meeting has been postponed a number of times because of disagreement about who exactly should attend.
The Somali talks are seeking to end more than a decade of civil war. The talks have been characterized by frequent walkouts of warlords and infighting, which officials want the January meeting to resolve.
Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
Posted on Monday 29th December at 22:56:35 Shir Looga Hadlayo HIV/AIDS oo Hargeysa Laga Furey
Shir ku saabsan isku xidhka hay'adaha ku howllan barnaamijyada ku xidhiidha cudurka HIV/AIDS ayaa Hargeysa laga furey.
Shirkaasi oo ka furmay Hotel Ambassador Hargeysa waxaa ka qayb gelaaya 65 Hay'adood oo ah kuwa samofalka waddaniga ah ee ka shaqeeya wacyigelinta dadweynaha ee khatarta cudurka HIV/AIDS oo ka kala yimid lixda gobol ee ay ka koobantahay Somaliland.
Shirkan oo ah kii ugu horreeyay ee noociisa oo kale ah oo ay isugu yimaaddaan tiro intaa le'eg oo ah ururada samofalku, wuxuu socon doonaa muddo shan maalmood ah, waxaana soo qabanqaabisay hay'ad samofal caalami ah oo la yidhaahdo ICD iyadoo kaashaneysa qaar ka mid ah ururada samofalka waddaniga ah.
Sida uu furitaankii shirkaasi ka sheegay Cabdikariim Axmed Mooge oo ka mid qabanqaabiyayaasha, waxaa ujeedadu tahay xoojinta wada shaqeynta hay'adaha samofalka ee ADSK-ka ka shaqeeya iyo sidii shirkaasi loogu aasaasi lahaa dallad guud oo ay ku kulmaan ururadaasi tirada badan ee ku howllan wacyigelinta dadka ee HIV/AIDS.
Mr Mooge wuxuu kaloo intaa ku daray in ujeedadu tahay sidii ururada loogu kala qorsheyn lahaa nooca iyo deeganada ay ka fulinayaan howlahooda samofaleed ee ku abbaaran sidii loo fahamsiin lahaa bulshada sida uu u fido AIDS-ku iyo sida looga hortago.
Wasiirka Wasaaradda Horumarinta Qoyska, Faadumo Suudi oo iyaduna ka hadashay shirkaasi waxay ku nuuxnuuxsatay inaanay aheyn in NGO-du ka baayacmushtaraan howlahooda AIDS-ka ee loo baahanyahay hawlqabad dhab oo ku baahsan dhammaanba deeganada dadweynaha siiba dhulka miyiga ah.
Wasiirka Wasaaradda Caafimaadska Cismaan Qaasim Qodax, ayaa isaguna wuxuu ka sheegay madashaasi oo dadka ka soo qayb galay ay dhallinyaro wiilal iyo gabdho isugu jira u badnaayeen in xakameynta cudurka dilaaga ah ee AIDS-ku u baahanyahay inay dhammaanba qaybaha bulshadu ka qayb qaataan siiba haweenku.
Wuxuu sheegay Mr Qodax, in NGO-da looga baahan yahay inay leeyihiin khibraddii iyo cilmigii lagama maarmaanka u ahaa marka dadka loo soo bandhigayo halista cudrkan dilaaga ah ee aan weli daawada loo helin ee AIDS-ka.
Waxaa munaasabaddaasi ku soo bandhigay heeso ka tarjumayay in loo naxariisto qofka uu ku dhaco AIDS-ku fanaaniinta caanka ah qaarkood.
Posted on Sunday 28th December at 17:07:33 Mainers Who Made an Impact In 2003
Abdirizak Mahboub wasn't in the headlines early in the year when Lewiston was embroiled in controversy after the mayor asked Somali immigrants to slow their migration to the working-class city. But he has since emerged as a leader in the ongoing efforts to break down barriers for the Somali community.
Abdirizak Mahboub never imagined he'd live in Lewiston, Maine, or run a social service agency.
That was before he spent the past year helping the city's Somali immigrant community establish a foothold in a community that was not always receptive. Now he's convinced he was in the right place at the right time.
Mahboub came to the United States from Somalia in 1981 to get an education. And one of the first things he learned is how difficult it can be to start life in a new country.
"It's easy when you're planning it," he said. "But doing it, you have a lot of obstacles to overcome."
Mahboub overcame obstacles such as language and got a degree in mechanical engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Massachusetts. He was laid off in 2002, which left him and his wife looking to relocate for work.
She saw an opportunity for a social work job in Lewiston, but he wasn't sure what he could do there. "Maine was like the country for me," he said.
Mahboub started a restaurant on Lisbon Street called the Red Sea. His career plans shifted in the fall of 2002 when then-Mayor Larry Raymond wrote a letter discouraging the migration of Somalis to the city. The controversy created by the letter culminated in January, when more than 4,500 people attended a Lewiston rally to support diversity and the city's immigrants to counter a demonstration by white supremacists.
The letter shocked Mahboub, an American citizen. "No one can tell me where should you go," he said.
He began helping fellow immigrants with far less experience in this country. "I really put myself to be between the Somali community and the locals."
Mahboub got a group from Clark University in Worcester, Mass., to spend time in Lewiston and report on the needs of the growing Somali community. Chief among the needs identified in the study were leadership and coordination.
Mahboub also created Somali Community Services Inc., one of two agencies working to help immigrants settle into schools, jobs, homes and new lives. The nonprofit moved into new offices on Main Street in November and appears to be on the verge of major growth.
Bates College donated 14 computers, which will soon be linked in a network and available to provide job skills to Somali adults. In another room, Mahboub said, there will soon be places for counseling and for tutoring.
Even without the equipment ready, the agency is already a busy resource for the community.
"He has the phone ringing all the time," said Christos Gianopolous, a consultant who shares the office building and is helping Mahboub apply for grants to finance the nonprofit. "He's very savvy. He doesn't need to be taught a lot. He knows the ropes."
Now a 43-year-old father of three, Mahboub feels glad he ended up in Lewiston when he did. "It's like I have something to offer the world," he said.
By JOHN RICHARDSON , Portland Press Herald Writer
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Posted on Sunday 28th December at 16:46:46 Somalis Infuriated By Religious Persecution Claims
MOGADISHU, December 27 (IslamOnline.net) – Somalis reacted angry to a claim by a British Christian organization that there is a Christian minority in the East African country and that they are being religiously persecuted.
The Barnabas Fund – a charity concerned about Christian minorities across the world – alleged on December 18 that 50,000 – or 5.% - of Somalia’s 10-million population are Christians, and that several cases of violent attacks against them took place during 2003.
The two allegations were vehemently repudiated by Somalis.
“These are baseless claims because Muslims make up 100 per cent of the Somalia’s population – which means there is Christian minority in the country,” the Somali Ulema Council deputy chairman told IslamOnline.net.
Nur Baroud said there are Christian Somalis in European countries, but they should not be artificially inflated as a minority group.
Somalia’s tribal traditions make it necessary for inhabitants to show loyalty to their all-Muslim tribes, a fact which had ended all Christian missions in failure and made the country declare Islam its official religion.
Baroud also refuted the Fund’s claims that Muslims in Somalia regard Christianity as a foreign religion of their historic enemies in Ethiopia and of their former colonial masters, the Italians and the British.
“Somalis do not hate those people for their religion, but rather because they had occupied their country. The occupation is still there, as Somalis still feel its pinch 40 years since,” he asserted.
The fund had alleged that a number of Christians have been imprisoned and killed over the years, churches destroyed and Christians persecuted.
‘Charade’
Islamic scholars in the country dismissed the allegations as a new attempt to interfere into the country’s domestic affairs.
“Creating a Christian minority that does not exist here could pave the road for these ambitions to materialise,” said Islamic scholar Youssef Torhami.
He noted that Somalia would not have denied Christian minority if it had really existed.
No problems have sprung up from the presence of Christians in Muslim countries, as the precincts of Islam determine the relation between Muslims and people of other faiths.
He challenged the British charity to come up with a trace of a single Christian citizen in Somalia.
“It is rather a media charade to tarnish the image of the country’s Islamic identity here,” charged the scholar.
The Barnabas Fund said on its website that it would organize a February meeting to hear first hand testimonies of allegedly persecuted Christians from the Muslim world.
Analysts said that religious persecution is a ready-made accusation that could be tailored to chalk up political gains.
By Ali Halni, IOL Correspondent
Copyright © 1999-2003 Islam Online
Posted on Saturday 27th December at 15:25:22 Kenyan Efforts Open Way for Peace in Somalia
Peacemaking was the foremost activity in East Africa this year, with the Sudanese and Somali peace talks taking place in Kenya and Tanzania hosting the Burundi talks.
Peace negotiations have achieved a degree of success in 2003. The Sudanese government and Sudan People's Liberation Army agreed to have two separate armies as well as integrated units and an internationally monitored cease-fire agreement. For the first time ever, rebel leader John Garang and First Vice President Ali Osman Taha met face to face, and a rebel delegation had an unscheduled visit with government officials in the country's capital, Khartoum.
Both sides to the talks and Kenyan officials are saying a deal is possible before the year is out.
Delegates to the Somali talks have put together a draft constitution, which has received widespread support and is currently being fine-tuned.
And, the Burundi government and a faction of the Hutu rebel group, Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), signed a peace deal under which the rebels have been integrated into the government and army.
But not all peacemaking has been successful. And even talks that are making progress might not achieve peace because not all the factions are taking part in them.
In the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, clashes between another rebel group, government troops and Arab militias, that many say are backed by the government, have caused a major humanitarian crisis. Analysts say, unless those rebels are included in the negotiations, there will be no peace in Sudan.
The Somali talks have been plagued by infighting among warlords and other participants. Several of the warlords had stormed out of the negotiations earlier and have attempted to set up their own peace processes.
And, in Burundi, a Hutu rebel faction called the National Liberation Forces that was not part of the peace process continues to carry out attacks against government troops and former FDD rebels.
The year closes with an air of impatience about the progress of the Sudanese and Somali talks, which international partners say are taking too long.
To nudge the parties into a deal, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited the Sudanese talks in October and predicted that both sides would sign a comprehensive peace deal by the end of December. He also hinted that the U.S. would lift sanctions against Sudan if a deal were signed and if it the authorities joined in the fight against terrorism.
U.S. special envoy to Sudan, former Senator John Danforth, had expressed optimism about peace in Sudan back in July when he visited Kenya.
"I've said to President Bush that I think this is the end game, that we are very close, that we will know very soon whether there is the prospect of peace, whether there's going to be a peace agreement, and if there isn't, as his representative, I don't know what else I can do," said Mr. Danforth.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka, who has been predicting an imminent peace agreement in Sudan, is equally optimistic about the Somali talks. He said 40 of the leading participants in the talks will meet January 9 to try to get the deadlocked talks going again.
"Patience is running out on the part of everybody, all the people of goodwill for the people of Somalia. Any leader who will not show up [to the January meeting] will be seen to be an enemy of this process, and will be treated as such," he said.
Mr. Musyoka says he hopes the meeting will pave the way for the selection of Somalia's new interim government.
Clearly, bringing peace to eastern Africa will continue to be the region's main challenge in the coming year. In Burundi, the government and Forces for the Defense of Democracy rebels will have to convince the National Liberation Forces to lay down their arms.
The Sudanese government and rebels still have to find a way to share power and wealth, and resolve territorial problems in the central part of the country. Meanwhile, even whether the Somali leaders' meeting in January will be held is far from certain; it has been postponed twice already.
But already, Kenya, with its efforts to bring warring parties in the region together, is establishing itself as a regional peacemaker.
Nairobi-based political analyst Mustapha Hassouna says Kenya is keenly aware of its responsibilities in the region.
"Kenya today is in the position of saying to the world that they're quite capable not only of undertaking peace processes, but also quite capable of bringing about a result which would not only suit Kenya but also suit the region," he said.
He says Kenya knows that resolving conflicts in Sudan and Somalia will guarantee its own security, as well as the security of other nations in the region, particularly with respect to reducing or stopping the flow of arms in and out of the war-torn areas.
Regional protection from terrorist threats was also high on the region's agenda in 2003. U.S. President Bush pledged $150 million to fight terrorism in five East African countries, with initiatives ranging from new security equipment at airports to beefed-up police surveillance.
Kenya's security minister Chris Murungaru says his government has made great strides in fighting terrorism.
"We have achieved a lot," said Mr. Murungaru. "We have set up the Kenya counter terrorism police unit, we have developed a counter terrorism strategy, and because of those interventions, we have been able to secure ourselves against terrorism in the past one year in spite of heightened threats."
The government has also drafted anti-terrorism legislation, modeled after the U.S. Patriot Act, and is bringing to trial a number of suspects in last year's suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel on the coast.
But these and other measures have created their own conflicts. Muslims in Kenya and the surrounding areas feel they are being targeted by the anti-terrorism measures, especially by provisions in the draft legislation that say people can be arrested for wearing clothing or displaying objects that can be associated with terrorism.
A spokesperson for the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, Nazal Rajput, says Muslim unease in Kenya reflects global patterns.
"The Muslims globally don't consider this to be a war waged by U.S. on terrorism" said Ms. Rajput. "It's more like a terrorist war waged on the Muslim community and Islam itself."
Ms. Rajput says she feels the U.S. is putting tremendous pressure on the Kenyan government to enact the legislation.
Kenya's big challenge in the new year will be to try to woo back tourists, who have been scared away by travel warning issued by the United States, Britain and other countries.
Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
Posted on Friday 26th December at 15:48:42 Lawyer Says Detained Somali Has Been Sent to N.Y.
A Somali man who was being held here as a material witness in an unspecified terrorism-related investigation was flown to New York on Tuesday, his lawyer said.
Dan Scott, the chief federal public defender for Minnesota, said he was with Mohammed Warsame at the Hennepin County jail when federal marshals came to take him away Tuesday afternoon. He said he assumed authorities planned to fly Warsame directly to New York but didn't know that for certain.
Scott said he expected that Warsame would appear before a federal judge in New York either today or Friday. Warsame made a brief appearance Dec. 16 here before Magistrate Judge J. Earl Cudd.
Warsame's case has been shrouded in secrecy since he was arrested Dec. 8. He hasn't been charged with a crime. He's being held as a material witness, but federal authorities have refused to publicly explain why, or even confirm he was being held.
News reports have linked Warsame to terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, but Scott said he still couldn't comment on them because the information in the case remains sealed.
Moussaoui was arrested while learning to fly a Boeing 747 jet at an Eagan flight simulator school two years ago and is the subject of the only U.S. prosecution related to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Warsame's wife, Fartun Farah, has said she doesn't know whether her husband knows Moussaoui.
Warsame, 30, a Canadian citizen of Somali descent, had been living in Minneapolis and was a student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. His arrest and the secrecy have aroused concern in the local Somali community, which numbers an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 and is believed to be the largest in the United States.
Scott commented before speaking about the case at a meeting of about 70 members of the Somali community. The meeting was closed to reporters.
Prosecutors can keep material witnesses in custody indefinitely for questioning as long as a judge agrees.
"It's an affront to civil rights," said Larry Leventhal, a local civil rights attorney who attended the meeting and has been helping with the case. He said the law wasn't meant to allow authorities to hold a witness indefinitely.
Omar Jamal, head of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center who has acted as a liaison to Warsame's family, said his group is working with the Somali community in New York to find an attorney there to represent Warsame.
BY STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press
Posted on Wednesday 24th December at 15:33:56 WFP Delivers Desperately Needed Food in North
NAIROBI, 23 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - The World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered food rations to thousands of drought-affected nomads in the Sool Plateau in northern Somalia.
In a statement issued on Monday, the agency said that over the past three weeks it had delivered 732 mt of "mixed food commodities" to 39 villages in the area.
"We have managed to reach nearly 77,000 people affected by the most severe drought in the region for more than 20 years. We targeted those least able to cope - malnourished children, the destitute, the disabled and the aged," said Robert Hauser, the WFP representative for Somalia.
Humanitarian access to the region was guaranteed following extensive discussions on security issues between the WFP and the administrations of the self-declared republic Somaliland and the neighbouring self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, both of which claim the area. The Sool Plateau falls geographically within Somaliland, but most of the clans who live there are associated with neighbouring Puntland.
These negotiations had also opened up access to other humanitarian agencies, the statement added.
WFP said it required 14,912 mt of food, worth about US $11.5 million, for the drought emergency operation and other projects in Somalia until the end of 2004.
Posted on Tuesday 23rd December at 18:17:32 Somalia's Tiny Christian Community Reportedly Under Fire
Nairobi, Kenya (CNSNews.com) - Christian persecution in Islamic Somalia is on the rise, and humanitarian aid workers from the West are also under attack by Muslim radicals, according to a Christian human rights organization.
The UK-based Barnabas Fund is hoping to draw international attention to an unreported situation in the Horn of African country, which has been without a functioning administration for more than a decade.
A regional observer here said crimes against Christians and Westerners would likely lead to further isolation of Somalia, and also accelerate the growth of Islamic fundamentalism there.
About 99.5 percent of the Somalia population is Muslim. The small Christian minority comprises ethnic Bantus as well as humanitarian workers and expatriates.
The recent wave of violence began early last October, when two armed men killed an elderly Italian nun, Dr. Annalena Tonneli, in front of a hospital in Borama. Tonneli had been involved in humanitarian work in Somalia for 30 years.
Later that month, expatriates Richard and Enid Eyeington, were shot dead by several gunmen in their home inside a school compound.
The Eyeingtons, a British couple in their 60s, had been working for SOS Children's villages in Somaliland.
A Kenyan national working for a Seventh Day Adventist mission southwest Somalia, was murdered last month by Islamist radicals.
Campaigners believe these victims may have been targeted for their faith.
Early last year an extremist Islamist group in Mogadishu called Kulanka Culimada issued a statement saying all Somali Christians were apostates from Islam and should be killed.
The Barnabas Fund, which works among Christians in Islamic nations, said the threats were reportedly prompted by the Christian decision to send delegates to peace talks, which are currently being held in neighboring Kenya.
It said extremists were trying to prevent representatives of the Christian community from participating in the efforts to bring an end to decades of war and unrest.
At a session of the peace talks, where Somali Christian representatives called for freedom of religion and assembly, movement and political representation, they were shouted down by Muslim delegates, Barnabas Fund said.
The Muslims insisted Somalia had no Christians needing representation at the negotiating table, and declared Islam to be the country's official religion.
Several religious figures in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, told CNSNews.com there seemed little hope that the issue of Christian persecution would be addressed soon.
They said evangelism efforts were not going ahead in Somalia because of the volatile security situation.
One Catholic priest, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the persecution issue was "the greatest challenge" facing Christians in countries neighboring Somalia.
"It's a problem very close to our hearts, but action is yet to be taken," he said.
Somali Bantus are a minority Christian group whose physical, cultural and linguistic characteristics distinguish them from the Cushitic majority.
They have long been considered as second-class citizens in Somali society, exploited as laborers, and excluded from education, land ownership and political opportunities and representation.
Many are in refugee camps in Kenya, and a significant number has migrated to the United States, to avoid further persecution in their homeland.
Earlier this year, Somalia delegates participating in the peace talks agreed to a charter providing for freedom of worship but also recognizing Islam as the official religion.
According to the Barnabas Fund, Somali Muslims regard Christianity as "a foreign religion of their historic enemies in Ethiopia and of their former colonial masters, the Italians and the British."
"Most Somalis take it for granted that a true Somali is a Muslim and converts to Christianity must be traitors," it said in a statement.
The State Department's recently released report on international religious freedom described the Christian minority in Somalia as "small" and "extremely low profile".
It also reported that the number of Somalis adhering to "strains of conservative Islam" was growing, as was the number of Islamic schools funded by "religiously conservative sources."
Stories from CNSNews.com are Copyright © 2000 by the Cybercast News Service.
Posted on Tuesday 23rd December at 18:00:21 Somalia Negotiators Engage In Fist-Cuffs
There was drama at a Five Star Hotel in Nairobi yesterday evening when two senior delegates to the on-going Somali Peace Talks engaged in a physical fight, posing a major security threat.
The two had disagreed on the mode of conducting a closed-door meeting which was being held in one of the rooms at the hotel.
The delegates who clashed were identified as the chairman of the Somali Patriotic Movement Ahmed Mahed Lohos and the chairman of the United Somali Congress who also heads Group Eight in the Somali Reconciliation and Resolution Conference Mr Mahed Qanyare Afrah.
Mr Afrah sustained lip injuries when his opponent hit him with a rungu (club).
Visitors checking in and out of the hotel and others who had been booked in watched in disbelief as the two delegates, both of them leaders of the on-going talks, came to blows.
Efforts by their fellow delegates to separate the two proved futile as they ran up and down with rungus as the fight went on.
There was confusion in the entire hotel as the delegates fought vigorously at the entrance into a room in which the closed-door talks were being held.
It took the intervention of police officers from Central Police station who calm the situation by arresting the two.
Attempts by the two to defy police arrest failed and were arrested and whisked them away. They were bundled into a taxi which sped off to Central Police Station.
A police source confirmed to the Kenya Times that two other delegates were later picked up from the hotel.
Posted on Monday 22nd December at 15:36:00 Massive Displacement In Galgadud
NAIROBI, 22 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - Inter-clan fighting in Somalia's central Galgadud region has left over 2,000 families displaced and the numbers are growing, local sources told IRIN on Monday.
Dr Ahmed Madhi, who works at the hospital in the regional capital Dusa-marreb, said the health situation was critical and facilities were overwhelmed by casualties of the fighting.
"The hospital [in Dusa-marreb] does not have the equipment, drugs and the expertise to treat the number and type of wounds we are receiving," he said. "We have no surgeon and not enough drugs for patients."
He appealed to aid agencies to come to the assistance of the victims "and to save lives".
A statement issued by the UN on Monday said fighting between rival militia of the Marehan and Dir (Fiqi Muhumad sub-clan), had left an estimated 400-500 households displaced in Heraale, Abudwaaq district.
A further 1,100 households had fled fighting between the Murusade and Duduble clans in Elbur district, added the statement by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It described the humanitarian situation as serious.
"I urge the conflicting parties to refrain from further fighting, resolve their differences peacefully and to ensure that the rights of civilians are fully respected,” said Calum McLean of UN-OCHA (Somalia). He added that humanitarian workers must be allowed "unrestricted and safe access" to the affected people.
The majority of the displaced are said to be women, young children and the elderly. The fighting has also led to the destruction of houses, berkads (water stores), and the looting or killing of livestock, the UN statement said.
Mediation efforts on the part of elders and religious leaders from neutral clans have so far failed to resolve the dispute, but are said to be continuing.
Posted on Monday 22nd December at 16:16:41 Somali Muslim Group Bans Condoms
Islamic leaders say they have outlawed condoms in Somalia, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim.
The umbrella Somali Ulema Council has said it will use Sharia (Islamic) Law, including flogging, to punish those selling or using condoms.
The council is responding to a United Nations-funded campaign to raise awareness about Aids being aired by a local radio station.
Somalia has been torn apart by fighting between rival militias since 1991.
Unaware
Sheikh Nur Barud, the chairman of the Ulema Council, told a public meeting that the use of condoms will increase adultery and those promoting its use deserve punishment.
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says residents are divided over the declaration by the religious leaders.
Some are in favour of the use of condoms as a protective measure against HIV/Aids while others are not.
Condoms are freely available in medical institutions in Mogadishu.
Due to the fighting, there has been little research into the prevalence of Aids in Somalia but the UN Aids agency says some 70% of young Somali girls have not heard about the disease.
Aid agencies working in Somalia fear that Aids is on the increase as a result of cross-border movements between Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia.
Posted on Monday 22nd December at 16:15:06 Boobka Dhulka Dowladda oo La Mamnuucay
Dowlada ku meel gaarka ah ee Soomaaliya ayaa wareegto ay soo saartay ku mamnuucday boobka dhulka qaranka uu leeyahay.
Ku xigeenka ra'isul wasaaraha dowlada KMG, Xuseen Saalax, ayaa shir
jaraa'id oo uu ku qabtay xarunta madaxtooyada ka sheegay in xafiiska madaxtooyada ay ka wareegtadaasi lagu mamnuucay boobka dhulalkii dowlada.
Wareegtda oo uu saaray madaxweynaha dowladda KMG ah, Cabdiqaasim Salaad Xasan, ayaa faraysa hay'adaha ay ka midka yihiin wasaaradaha hawlah guud, arrimaha gudaha, duqa magaalada Muqdisho, Xeer ilaaliya guud ee Qaranka iyo dhammaan madaxda dagmooyinka gobolka Banaadir in ay xil iska saran sidii
loo badbaadin lahaa hantida dowlada.
Wareegtadan waxa si gaar ah ugu xusnaa dhulal horay loo boobay oo ay ka mid yihiin kuwo bannanaa, warshadihii dowladda iyo dhulkii Jaamacadda Ummadda.
Sidoo kale wareegtada ayaa waxay faraysaa xeer ilaaliyaha guud ee qaranka iyo booliska in ay si deg-deg ah gal dacwadeed ugu furaan dadkii ka qayb qaatay boobka dhulka dowlada ,haddii uu yahay mas'uul ka tirsan dowladda iyo haddii kaleba.
Dowlada ku meel gaarka ah ayaa waxay ku guulaysatay in ay burburiso
dhismooyin waaweyn oo guryo ah oo dad boob ku dhisteen barxadii
tarabuunka ee lagu dabbaaldegi jiray, iyadoo haddana weli ay jiraan
qaar ka tirsan dugsiyadii dowladda, xaruntii telefishanka iyo meelo kale
oo si sharci darro ah ay dad u dhisteen.
Wareegtadan ayaa waxay ku soo beegantay iyadoo toddobaadkii aynu ka soo gudubnay uu dagaal ka dhacay degmada Wardhiigley oo u dhexeeya dhallinyaro reer Isboorti ah iyo qaar doonayey in ay dhistaan garoonkii hore ee Munishiibiyo oo ay dhallinyaradu ku ciyaarto.
Inkastoo ay labo qofi ku dhinteen dagaalkaasi, wuxuu haddana ku dhammaaday in dhallinyaradii ay ceshteen garoonkoodii oo aanan laga dhisan karin, waana astaamo soo kordhaya oo jira Muqdisho oo ay waxgaradka iyo dhallinyaraduba uga hortegayaan damaca dadka doonaya in ay xumeeyaan bilicda magaalada.
Posted on Saturday 20th December at 17:36:20 Secrecy Surrounding Warsame Case Worries Some Somalis
When Abdikarim Ecisse fled to the United States a decade ago, he thought he'd left the secrecy and fear of his native Somalia behind.
In recent days, however, anxiety has crept back into the lives of many in Minnesota's Somali community as they wait for details in the case of Mohammed Warsame. Warsame, a Canadian citizen of Somali descent, was arrested Dec. 8 in an unspecified terrorism-related investigation and has been detained since then as a material witness.
The government has sealed all proceedings, leaving people with nothing to do but speculate.
"As a Somali, you wonder if you're next," Ecisse said. "They have been worried. They have been tortured. They are afraid still. ... Back home, everyone would shut up."
Here, a similar quiet has fallen over much of the community. Minnesota has an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Somalis, believed to be the largest concentration in the United States.
While material witness warrants are nothing new, they traditionally have been used in cases dealing with organized crime -- drugs, gangs and the like. In Minnesota, they were rare, said B. Todd Jones, a former U.S. attorney now in private practice.
But since 9/11, they've been invoked more frequently for terrorism-related cases, he said. Often, the process begins and ends quietly behind closed doors.
"Unless a spouse or relative or community goes public with it, many times nobody knows about it," said Jones, a Democrat appointee from 1998-2001.
In Warsame's case, his wife and others quickly made public what they knew, but that wasn't much.
Fartun Farah, Warsame's wife, said she was shocked when her husband called to say he'd been arrested.
According to his wife, Warsame was given $100 by investigators, told that he would be in custody for two days and that they wanted his cooperation in a terrorism investigation.
It's been nearly two weeks and Warsame is still in custody, due for transfer to New York to face a grand jury. Officials won't even confirm he's being held.
"Until something like this happens, people don't understand the importance of knowing who's been charged with crimes and who's being held in jail," said W. Wat Hopkins, professor of communication studies at Virginia Tech and a specialist in free-speech issues.
"What this does is challenges the trust that has been building for years" between authorities and the Somali community, said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center.
Doug Kelley, a Republican-appointed U.S. attorney in the early 1980s, said when he held the post, there were only a couple of material witness warrants each year.
"My impression is they're being used more now," he said. "I think that 9/11 has changed the landscape dramatically. I would expect that judges would be more amenable."
He acknowledged the secrecy is troubling. But such warrants can help get important information from someone who otherwise wouldn't testify or might flee, he said.
"If I were Somali, I wouldn't be worried that these are going to be granted willy nilly," he said. "There must have been a reason."
Bashir Ali, a 26-year-old Somali who has lived in Minneapolis for about 10 years, has doubts.
"I have met him (Warsame) a couple of times," he said. "It was an innocent man. ... I don't believe anything I see about Warsame." "This could happen to anybody," he said.
Ali said he and other Somalis have been warmly welcomed in America. He worries that cases like this might give the wrong impression of Somali culture.
Somalia's clan-based society is deeply Islamic, but the vast majority of Somalis follow Sufism, which is vehemently opposed to al-Qaida's militant, politically infused interpretation of Islam.
Yosseph Budle, the Somali owner of a travel insurance agency, said he and others fled to the United States because they wanted peace.
"We came here to be free from terrorism, free from torture," he said. "We are here because we love it. We are here because we believe America is fair."
He's not surprised that someone could be detained without charges during wartime. Budle thinks this is an isolated case and that officials will treat Warsame justly.
"Of course, people get scared if someone is detained without charges," he said. "But I have to say through my experience that the majority of our community trusts the system, trusts the Americans."
The material witness category appears to have become a convenient option for questioning and assessing a potential witness' credibility, said Charles Shanor, a law professor at Emory University.
"The bad scenario in a sense is someone brought in as a material witness, detained for a matter of months, ultimately exonerated and let go," he said. "They have lost some months of their lives."
Maybe the government secured valuable information during that time; maybe not.
Said former U.S. Attorney David Lillehaug, "We can only hope that any secret proceedings are supported by a compelling need to have everything secret.
"Generally, a transparent law enforcement system enhances trust and there's always a price to be paid in the community for secrecy."
By ASHLEY H. GRANT, Associated Press Writer
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted on Saturday 20th December at 19:16:37 Somalian Refugees in Kenya Have Little Hope for Peace
The end to Somalia's civil war appears as distant as ever, despite more than a year of talks in neighboring Kenya to find a formula for peace. The one group yearning for peace the most, but excluded from the process all together, are the nearly 140,000 Somali refugees living in squalor in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp.
Dry, dusty, sweltering Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya is a world away from the lush coastal town of Mombasa, where 40 of Somalia's warlords and selected leaders were supposed to have attended a 10-day make-or-break meeting starting Thursday to sort out their differences.
But the meeting is being postponed indefinitely. Officials would not explain why, but analysts say leaders of the warring factions couldn't agree on who should attend and who shouldn't.
This is the latest setback in a peace process marked by internal wrangling among hundreds of delegates who have been meeting in Kenya for more than a year. They were picked to write a new constitution for Somalia and select the next government.
Regional governments that drive the peace process have recognized the unwieldy assembly of warlords, civic organizations and government delegates is unlikely to agree on anything. So they asked the key faction leaders to meet alone in Mombasa and settle differences among themselves.
Conspicuously absent even from the larger assembly are tens of thousands of Somali refugees who fled the fighting more than a decade ago.
Dadaab residents are following the peace talks closely, but have no say in the process and their frustration is growing.
One camp resident, Abshira Aden Mohammed, says she speaks for the forgotten Somalis. Ms. Mohammed says the refugees, who have been in the camp for up to 12 years and who know the suffering of the Somali people, have never been consulted. She says the talks will not be successful unless refugees are included.
Elder Hassan Dagane agrees. He explains that the camp's residents got together and petitioned the peace process sponsors to be included. They have never got an answer.
Another refugee, Abdikadir Hassan Abdi, explains the warlords have an economic stake in the continuation of the civil war and are not the best people to be negotiating peace. Mr. Abdi says the warlords' businesses are flourishing in Somalia because there is no central government to control them. They will always make sure the war continues, he says, so that they can keep on getting richer.
But for Mohammed Jelle, the warlords are not necessarily the problem. Mr. Jelle says people at the camp have been hearing that the Ethiopian government has been entering Somalia with weapons and even control some parts of Somalia. He says Ethiopia is controlling the peace process.
Meanwhile at the camp, the residents live in appalling conditions, sleeping in makeshift shelters made of branches, mud and burlap or plastic sacks, and surviving on dwindling food rations.
Ms. Mohammed sums up the collective frustration. She says, refugees are begging for food and have no freedom. She says the women in the camp suffer the most. When they go to the bush to get firewood, she says, they are raped.
The World Food Program says it sometimes provides less than the minimum daily requirements of food to the refugees because of lack of donations, and warns that it might run out of food aid next year.
With the Somali peace process going nowhere, Dadaab camp residents are unlikely to go back home anytime soon.
Posted on Friday 19th December at 13:40:27 Video Fails to Strike Charge
A lawyer for a Toronto man charged with assaulting a police officer failed yesterday to have the charges dropped based on a videotape showing an officer punching the suspect.
The request by Andrew Vaughan, counsel for Said Jama Jama, was put over until Feb. 16 in the Superior Court of Justice after objections from crown prosecutor Sarah Welch.
Welch told court the case is still under investigation and that Vaughan has not supplied her with a copy of the videotape to review.
"Mr. Vaughan saw fit to go to the media (with the tape) and police only recently got the tape, but they don't have the original," she said.
Welch also said that if Vaughan has new information relevant to the case she has no problem with him presenting a motion to dismiss the charges after she has examined the evidence.
The remand upset Jama Jama, 21, who said outside court he's clearly not guilty and the charges against him should be dropped now.
He also faces a charge of causing a disturbance. About 15 relatives and supporters from the Somali community who attended court were angered by the delay.
The crown "clearly has no prospect of a conviction in this case," Vaughan said. "I've been co-operating with the police since early last week and if the police have the information, the crown should have the information."
Vaughan added that in addition to a copy of the tape, police were given Jama Jama's bloodied shirt and a tooth allegedly knocked out by police in the Aug. 4 clash outside a Tim Hortons on Albion Rd.
Officers who attended the scene said in their notes Jama Jama struck out at the officer but didn't make a note of the officer punching the suspect, a landed immigrant who came from Somalia in 1995.
Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited.
Posted on Friday 19th December at 13:39:18 Security Council to Monitor Arms Embargo Breaches
16 December – Aiming to stem the continued flow of weapons through Somalia, the United Nations Security Council today requested the establishment of an expert group to make recommendations on tightening the arms embargo against the country.
In a resolution that was adopted unanimously, the 15-member Council called for the monitoring group to investigate breaches of the embargo - especially transfers of ammunition, single use weapons and small arms - by land, air and sea. The group would be comprised of up to four experts with a six-month mandate.
The Council wants the Nairobi-based monitoring panel, after carrying out work in Somalia and neighbouring States, to make specific recommendations about how to strengthen the embargo.
The experts will also compile a draft list of "those who continue to violate the arms embargo inside and outside Somalia, and their active supporters, for possible future measures by the Council," according to the resolution.
Today's action comes just over a month after the Council sent a mission to Somalia to explore ways of giving full effect to the embargo, which was put in place in 1992 in a bid to restore peace to the volatile country.
A previous panel of experts, also set up at the request of the Council, found last year that the repeated embargo breaches are undermining attempts to restore peace and stability to the country, which has lacked a central government since 1991.
Posted on Wednesday 17th December at 19:02:44 UN Probes Illegal Arms In Somalia
United Nations Security Council is to set up a unit to investigate violations of an arms embargo on Somalia.
The unit will carry out a six-month investigation in the country and its neighbours.
In 1992 the UN banned the supply of arms in Somalia after the fall of President Mohammed Siad Barre.
Since then the country has been riven by fighting between clans and attempts to form an effective central government have failed.
A previous panel of experts informed the council that there was a continuous influx of small arms into Somalia.
Experts
The monitoring group that will be based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, will prepare a list of those who continue to violate the UN arms embargo.
Last month a panel of experts appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan found evidence linking embargo violations with illegal arms flow to neighbouring countries, piracy and activities of armed groups and extremists beyond Somalia's border.
According to AP news agency, the UN report reveals that weapon shipments originate or are re-routed through Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
A Transitional National Government (TNG) led by President Abdikassim Salat Hassan has failed to gain acceptance outside of some parts of the capital.
Peace talks which have been taking place for a year in Kenya have made little headway.
Posted on Wednesday 17th December at 15:18:28 Hadaladii Wasiirka Maaliyaddu ku Weeraray Siilaanyo
Dad badan ayaa yaab iyo Amakaag ku dhacay Isniintii shalay, Saacadihii hore ee Subaxnimo markii ay Indhaha ku kala qaadeen Ciwaano xiiso leh oo ku xardhanaa Bogagga hore ee Wargeysyada ka soo baxa Hargeysa oo xambaarsanaa sheeko xasaasi ah oo xajiin badan ciwaanadaas oo ku saabsanaa War uu Wasiirka Maaliyadda Somaliland, Ambassador Cawil kaga hadlay dhagaro uu ku eedayay inuu galay Guddoomiyaha Xisbiga KULMIYE, Axmed-Siilaanyo xilligii uu ahaa Guuddoomiyahii Ururkii SNM, kuwaasoo uu sheegay in lagu dilay laba Sarkaal oo ka tirsanaa SNM Adan Sheekh Maxamed “Aadan Shiine” iyo Cabdiqaadir Koosaar. Sidoo kalena, uu Wasiir Cawil warkiisa sheegay mawqifka siyaasadeed ee Axmed Siilaanyo ee ku wajahan Qaranimada Somaliland, isla markaana uu kaga xog waramay Taariikh nololeedkii shaqsiyadda Axmed Siilaanyo iyo Aqoontiisa waxbarasho.
Warka Cawil oo noqday mid si wayn hadal wayntiisu u maanshaysay Magaalada Hargeysa shalay, waxa badiba dadweynaha ka muuqday Dareen cadho iyo yaab huwan oo ay kaga soo horjeedaan hadalkaas.
Weriyayaal ka tirsan wargeyska Jamhuuriya oo u kuurgalay siday u ogaadeen Jawaabaha iyo aragtiyaha ay dadweynuhu ka bixiyeen Warka ka soo yeedhay Wasiir Cawil, ayaa waxay xaiijiyeen in Boqolkiiba Sagaashan (90%) ay dadweynaha reer Hargeysa ka soo horjeedeen Warkaas, iyada oo dadka qaarkiis ay isweydiinayeen ujeeddada dhabta ah ee xilligan keentay in Wasiir ka tirsan Xukuumaddu ka soo yeedho hadalo xambaarsan xiqdi iyo naxli Abuuri karta xasilooni darro, maadaama aanu jirin tartan doorasho loogu jiro oo ku kelifaa.
“Wasiir Cawil ha keeno caddaymaha uu u hayo inuu Axmed Siilaanyo ka dambeeyay falalkii lagu dilay Aadan shine iyo Cabdiqaadir Koosaar.” …. ”Tolow, wuxuu uga jeedaa arrintani inuu dadweynaha kaga daboolo dhaliilaha Xukuumadda ee tira belay.” Wasiirka Maaliyaddu [Cawil] ma Ra’iisal Wasaare qarsoon baa, illeyn waa kanoo Siyaasadii dawladda dibad iyo gudaba wuu ka hadlaye.” …… “Mise wuxuu damacsan yahay sidii uu colaad uga dhex dhalin lahaa Beelaha Wallaalaha ah…horta cawilkani mxuuu ahaan jiray.”
“In badan baanu u soo joognay Wasiir in yar oo dhegta loo soo saaray ku hadaaqa isaga oo masabkiisu ku ilaashanaya, oo meel daran ku danbeeya.”
Hadalkaas, iyo odhaaho kale oo badinaba waxay ka mid ahaayeen Weedhaha ay ka jawaabayeen, dadweynuhu shalay markii ay ku arkeen warbaahinta warka Wasiirka Maaliyadda ee Cawil, kaasoo uu si isburinaysa ugaga hadlay inuu hayo cadaymo uu ku muujinayo inuu Axmed Siilaanyo ka dambeeyay dilalkii Aadan Shiine iyo Cabdiqaadir Koosaar iyo hadalka Wasiir Cawil oo ku soo beegmay wakhti ay dalka ka jiraan dareeno welwel xambaarsan oo ku wajahan mustaqbalka Dawladnimada.
Iyada oo Xukuumadda Madaxweyne Rayaale loo tirinayo inay tahay mid karti daran, kadib markii ay ku fashilantay muddadii ay xilka haysay inay wax ka qabato dhibaatooyinka kala duwan ee dalka ka jira, ayaa dadka indheer garadka ahi waxay ku tilmaamayeen hadalkan kasoo baxay Wasiir Cawil uu doonayo inuu dadka caad ka saaro fadhiidnimada ragaadisay Maamulkii Xoogganaa ee daloka muddadii ka horreysay Xukuumadda uu ku jiro. Si kastaba ha ahaatee, hadalkan ka soo yeedhay Wasiir Cawil oo loo arkayay Bam qarxiyihii laga soo saaray oo kale, waxa bulshada Somaliland oo lagu xaman jiray fudayd iyo caadifad ka muuqatay bisayl Siyaasadeed oo ay ku fahmaan hadalada ka soo baxaya Masuuliyiinta Xukuumadda iyo Siyaasiyiinta kaleba, ujeeddada dhabta ah ee ka dambaysa.
Jamhuuriya
Posted on Tuesday 16th December at 16:51:03 Somalis Fear for Jailed Al-Qaida Suspect
The first thing Omar Jamal wanted to do during meetings with the Somali community Monday was to put an end to rampant rumors about Mohammed A. Warsame's condition in jail.
His first stop was Edison High School in Minneapolis, where a civics teacher was delivering a presentation about a recent stay in Somalia.
"No, he is not being tortured," Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, told more than 40 people in attendance. "He is in good condition. He is being treated well."
In fact, Jamal said, Warsame's wife, Fartun Farah, visited him for an hour Sunday at the Hennepin County jail. Jamal said the encounter was emotional.
On Monday evening, he attended three gatherings in Minneapolis to address community concerns after the arrest of Warsame in Minneapolis last week. Warsame, a Canadian citizen of Somali descent, is a college student suspected of associating with the Al-Qaida terrorist network.
At Edison, Nathan Busch, a St. Louis Park attorney who consults with Jamal's organization, told attendees that he has advised a public defender to ask for a continuance during Warsame's appearance in court today so that his case can stay in Minneapolis. Busch said he also asked the public defender to try to get Warsame released on bail.
Somali leaders said Monday that there is more surprise and worry in their community.
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there was a temporary shutdown of several Twin Cities money-wiring businesses that many Somalis use to send funds to impoverished family members in Somalia. Last year, Minneapolis police shot and killed a mentally ill Somali man wielding a machete on the street.
"People are very concerned," said Saeed Fahia, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community of Minnesota, regarding Warsame. "People are concerned for him, but it's not the same intensity as when the money-wiring businesses were closed or when [Abu Kassim Jeilani] was shot and killed."
The Twin Cities are home to one of the largest Somali communities in the United States. Warsame is apparently the first Somali to be jailed in the Twin Cities in connection with the FBI's post-Sept. 11 investigations.
"I've expressed to many that there is nothing to be afraid of," said Jamal, who has been helping the family of Warsame, 30, since his arrest. "The case is ongoing, and let's see where it's going. The information is sealed," Jamal said. "The question is, why isn't the government talking about why they are holding him? That's the shock."
Ali Galaydh, who was prime minister of Somalia between September 2000 and December 2001 and who now is a public policy professor at the University of Minnesota, said Monday that he doesn't think local Somalis are being specifically targeted.
"The average Somali is flabbergasted that another Somali would find himself in that crowd," he said. "That is my impression from those I have talked to. The first question I get is, 'Do you know him [Warsame]?' I don't know the guy, and I haven't met any people who know him."
Fahia said he met Warsame last year through his uncle, Abdullah Warsame, who once worked at the Confederation of Somali Community with him. Fahia describes Mohammed Warsame as "a bright and ambitious young man."
"He appeared to be trying to make a better life for himself and his family," said Fahia, who said Mohammed Warsame told him he was into computers. "We encourage such people to do the best they can. Typically when someone arrives, they have to find work right away to support a family here and their family in Somalia, so they don't have an opportunity to go to school."
Fahia said many Somalis have legal questions about Warsame's situation.
"They ask, 'What do they mean by material witness?' Does he know something and is he cooperating?" Fahia said. "I tell them I really don't know much about it except that he is important to an investigation."
Terry Collins, Star Tribune
© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Posted on Tuesday 16th December at 16:48:41 Leaders' Retreat Again Postponed
NAIROBI, 16 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - A proposed retreat for Somali political leaders to discuss contentious issues affecting the peace process has again been postponed.
The retreat had originally been scheduled for 9 December, then postponed to 18 December. Now it has been put off again, said a source from the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) which is facilitating the talks.
Meanwhile Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is the current IGAD chairman, has called a meeting of Somali leaders in Kampala, ahead of any proposed retreat, the source told IRIN. That meeting is due to take place on 22 December.
But no new date has been set for the retreat, and there is now serious doubt that it will ever take place.
"It looks as though the Kampala meeting might replace the retreat," a Somali political source told IRIN. "Museveni is such a strong leader, he might be able to bang heads and accomplish what the retreat aims to do. Besides, he is someone Somalis like and trust."
The Ugandans have not issued an invitation list and it is not clear how many leaders will be invited. "They will most likely invite the most prominent leaders to this meeting," a source close to the international observers at the talks told IRIN. "Probably no more than a dozen will be invited."
The purpose of the original 10-day retreat, due to be held in Mombasa, was "to give the leaders a chance to iron out outstanding issues and engage in personal reconciliation", an IGAD source told IRIN.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, told IRIN that his group was not aware of any invitation to the Kampala meeting.
"Our position on any retreat or meeting is very clear," he said. "Participation in any such meeting should be limited to the 24 leaders who signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement [in Eldoret in October 2002], plus [Transitional National Government President] Abdiqassim Salad Hassan. "Any gathering smaller or larger will not be acceptable to us."
The IGAD-sponsored talks have been underway since October 2002 and have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as an interim charter, the number of participants and the selection of future parliamentarians.
Posted on Tuesday 16th December at 16:45:45 Pressure Mounts On Somali Leaders
The 2nd Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) facilitation committee on the Somalia peace process, meeting here on December 8, urged Somali leaders to respect the Declaration of Cessation of Hostilities signed in October 2002 in Kenya.
Kenya's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kalonzo Musyoka, while urging the international community and IGAD member countries to commit themselves both financially and morally to support the peace process, pointed out that the international community were running out of patience.
"We cannot watch endlessly as the Somali people continue to kill each other," the minister said, adding: "It is the high time they saw the need to sign a cease-fire."
The negotiators will be taking the conference participants for a 10-day retreat in Kenya's coastal town of Mombasa from the 18 December, where they will be given an opportunity to resolve their differences, and possibly agree on how to elect a parliament, a speaker, and president.
"The failure to do so is likely to cast a shadow of doubt on their genuineness to resolve the conflict," Kalonzo said.
Copyright © 2003 African Church Information Service.
Posted on Tuesday 16th December at 16:44:16 From Bad to Worse
The asylum bill returns to the Commons tomorrow for a second reading. Backbench Labour MPs who have lined up in opposition to foundation hospitals and variable university fees, will be faced with something far more fundamental: the danger of Britain returning refugees to the persecutors from whom they were forced to flee. There could hardly be a bigger test of defending liberty. Unless the MPs make a stand, this fifth asylum bill in 10 years, will only make an already oppressive entry system even harsher. Ministers are planning a drastic reduction in legal aid to asylum seekers. They intend to reduce their rights of appeal and are even threatening to take into care the children of asylum seekers who have had their applications rejected. When even Michael Howard, the most hardline home secretary of modern times, has described this last threat as "despicable", it is surely time to act.
The issue causing the Tory leader concern was - to its credit - taken up by the Commons select committee on home affairs in a responsible report published yesterday. Sensibly, the MPs urged ministers to pursue a vigorous policy of swift removal, rather than forcing children to suffer for their parents' actions. They rightly note that the current proposal could have the effect of driving failed asylum seekers underground, making it harder to return them. The reason behind the ministerial moves - revealed by the publication of the immigration minister's evidence for the first time yesterday - does not stand up. She claimed compulsory removals were "extremely expensive" - but taking the children of failed asylum seekers into care would make it even more expensive.
A sensible government would be seeking to improve poor initial decisions. They are so bad that appeals against 20% of these decisions are allowed by the first stage of the appeal system. This represents about 15,000 cases. From some countries, there is an even higher successful appeal rate - 30% from Zimbabwe and 41% from Somali. It is these poor initial decisions that are the main cause of delays in the system. Yet there is little in the bill that will improve the quality of these decisions. Indeed, with its proposals to slash the current legal-aid bill, ministers are only going to make it more difficult for asylum seekers to make an initial claim. MPs should remind ministers of the Refugee Council's comment: "We require lawyers to help us move house and get divorced, yet the government suggests we do not need them when we have fled tyranny and are frightened for our lives."
The Guardian
Posted on Tuesday 16th December at 16:42:50 Fatal Clan Clashes Die Down In Somalia
About 34 people were killed and 80 wounded, some seriously, in two days of clashes this week between rival clans in central Somalia, elders said on Tuesday.
"Around 34 people were killed and 80 others were wounded by renewed clashes [on Monday and Tuesday] in the central Somali town of Herale," said one elder in the region contacted by radio.
"The fighting erupted on Monday afternoon and continued until Tuesday between Dir and Marehan clans," said the elder, who asked not to be named for security reasons.
The fighting had died down by midday on Tuesday, even though no official ceasefire had been agreed, the elder added.
Another elder, Mohamed Ibrahim, said the chances of survival for the wounded were minimal and that most of them had been rushed for treatment in Mogadishu and other clinics in the Mudug region.
"Most of the wounded cannot survive because there are no medical facilities near the town and villages where there was fighting," Ibrahim said, explaining that many people wounded in the previous bouts of fighting fighting had died.
Ahmed Yakubu, a Dir elder, said his clan's efforts to broker a complete ceasefire and reconcilation were thwarted by the Marehan clansmen, "who preffer to continue animosity and hostility".
"Our pleas to the Marehan to end fighting have been rejected. They [the Marehan] prefer to continue fighting. The elders whom we sent to the Marahan villages, where there was no fighting, returned without any agreement," he said.
The clashes were the latest in a series of tit-for-tat confrontations rooted in the April murder of a Marehan elder, allegedly by Dir clansmen.
Since October, at least 39 people were killed and more than 63 wounded in clashes between the same clans in Herale.
The heavily intermarried Dir and Marahen clans have lived side-by-side in Somalia's Gedo region for several decades without much confrontation.
The Dir are affiliated with the Southern Somalia National Movement faction and the Marehan belong to Somalia National Front, both of which were among the 27 factions that signed a ceasefire agreement in Kenya on October 27 2002.
The lastest round of fighting erupted despite calls by the Kenyan government to all warring factions and clans in Somalia to respect a ceasefire agreement.
Posted on Tuesday 16th December at 16:38:24 Question of Justice Divides Village
RANGELEY, Maine When Abdalahi Shakur Abdi, a teenage Somali refugee, moved to this remote mountain village last year, he quickly became a popular student at the overwhelmingly white high school. His all-state soccer skills rocketed the team to the conference championship, pupils chanted his name in the corridors, and the spectacular views at this lakeside resort made Abdi believe he had found the American dream.
One year later, Abdi's dream became a nightmare of multiple rape charges. But whether Abdi brought the nightmare to Rangeley, or whether he was its naive victim, depends on the source in a case described by its prosecutor as the most bizarre he has ever handled. "You charge him with rape, and it's, `Let's make him mayor,' " said Andrew Robinson, the Franklin County prosecutor. "I'd never heard that."
Abdi's soccer coach said the allegations that Abdi raped his white live-in girlfriend throughout the summer of 2002 were astounding. "Nobody could believe it," said the coach, Tom Danforth.
Three months after he pleaded guilty to a reduced felony of unlawful sexual contact, the mention of Abdi's name still elicits a nod of the head and ready comments about someone known as a "soccer god" among classmates. His case also has raised questions about the quality of justice for a poor refugee, and about how an isolated community reacts to issues involving race, sex, and crime.
The case touched a nerve in Rangeley that is rarely exposed in this secluded resort. The local weekly newspaper, the Rangeley Highlander, published a column that seized on Abdi's brief residence as an example of deteriorating small-town values.
"One has to wonder what, if anything, was anyone thinking when a Somali man was admitted to the Rangeley Region School . . . seemingly for the explicit purpose of playing soccer," the column stated. The article, "Life in the Big City," by seasonal resident Rose Collins, went on to postulate that sexual abuse leads to illegitimate births, which leads to a cycle of welfare dependency.
Rene Aucoin, who operates a rival, electronic newspaper in Rangeley, lashed back. "The act of spreading hatred is made more contemptible by the column's cowardly attempt to justify itself in the name of your own children," Aucoin wrote. "We find every social ill confronting our community blamed upon a single black man."
Nowhere was Abdi's support network more pronounced than the 2003 senior class at Rangeley Lakes High School, which broke into prolonged applause when his photograph was shown in a video presentation during graduation ceremonies. Superintendent Ken Coville said he had never seen anything like it. At the time, Abdi was spending five months in jail as his friends tried unsuccessfully to raise $5,000 bail.
But in another part of Rangeley, Robinson said, justice was being served. There, he said, a teenage woman was vindicated when Abdi pleaded guilty to the reduced charge, which requires that he register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.
Abdi said he accepted the plea bargain because of his lawyer's pessimistic view of the case and the probability of deportation if convicted of three counts of rape. Abdi was sentenced in September to time served in jail and two years' probation.
Efforts to contact his former girlfriend and her family were unsuccessful.
Working against him, Abdi said, was the unspoken force of post-Sept. 11, 2001, attitudes toward Muslims. "I feel like they judged me without getting to know me because of who I am, because of where I came from," said Abdi, who had moved to Rangeley from the Somali refugee community in Lewiston.
Fred Jones, a Bangor social worker who advocated for Abdi, said the court-appointed defense counsel argued against fighting the rape charges at trial. Jones said the lawyer, Thomas Dean of Farmington, told him, in effect, that "we can't win against a white girl in the state of Maine."
Dean's law office said the lawyer would not comment.
Abdi's supporters say that the rape charges, filed nearly a year after the alleged attacks began, were trumped up by a teenager who wanted vengeance against a former boyfriend who had left her. Others say that the woman's mother and grandmother, who lived with Abdi and his accuser, used Abdi for his car and for $150 in weekly wages he could contribute to the household.
"I personally don't believe the allegations, and I never will," said Danforth. "I think Shakur was taken advantage of by the family when he was here."
Robinson, however, said he is amazed at the "blind support" for Abdi in what he called "a classic sexual-assault case."
"When you hear folks say we were railroading him, what we were doing was simply looking at the evidence," Robinson said. "What do you do when you have a victim who tells you she's been raped all summer long?"
Disputes abound in this case, but the undisputed facts are that a Rangeley teenager told police that Abdi had raped her 20 times in the spring and summer of 2002, that he struck her in the presence of witnesses, that he threatened her with a tire iron, and that he was verbally abusive.
According to the woman's statement to police, Abdi "said I get what I want and take what I want." Abdi and his girlfriend were 18 when they began living together in April 2002.
A Rangeley teenage boy also told authorities he saw Abdi shove the woman against a car door, scream that in Somalia he "would have killed her," and order her to "get in the (expletive) house and cook him some damn food." Another teenage girl, whom Abdi dated after breaking up with the accuser, told police that Abdi "would force me to have sex with him because that's how you make a man feel like a man."
Now 19, Abdi lives in a battered house in Bangor, clothes strewn about the floor of his shabby one-room apartment, unregulated heat whipsawing the temperature from the frigid to the tropical. He has no job, nor the ready prospect of one. "I don't have a plan," Abdi said. "It's the same old, same old. I just basically get up in the morning and watch TV." Once a gregarious student in Rangeley, Abdi said he now rarely mingles in public. "I feel like somebody will just accuse me of something again," Abdi said.
Jones is blunt in his assessment of the young man's journey through the legal system. "His defense almost rose to the level of mediocrity," Jones said of Abdi's court-appointed counsel.
But to Robinson, the lesson is that justice always should be blind despite the defendant's background, no matter how deprived, and despite the defendant's popularity, no matter how great. When asked whether Abdi's race or religion played any role in the legal process, Robinson straightened in his chair and replied firmly: "The answer is no. He has fared about 1,000 times better than many people who have been charged with gross sexual assault."
Robinson said in conclusion: "Don't forget the victim."
By Brian MacQuarrie
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
Posted on Monday 15th December at 17:54:52 Leaders Reject Expanded Retreat
NAIROBI, 15 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - Members of the Somali leaders' committee attending peace talks in Kenya say they will reject the expansion of a proposed retreat for Somali leaders, one of the leaders told IRIN on Monday.
Mogadishu-based faction leader Muhammad Qanyare Afrah said the retreat should be limited "to the 24 leaders who signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement [in Eldoret in October 2002], plus [Transitional National Government President] Abdiqassim Salad Hassan".
"We will also welcome observers from the civil society groups, but there should not be an expansion of the leaders' committee," he noted.
Qanyare said the retreat was supposed to be for "recognised leaders and not newly minted leaders". "Our position on this is very clear. If they bring any new ones [leaders] we will not sit with them," he warned.
The 10-day retreat is due to begin in Mombasa on 18 December and is expected to bring together most of the Somali leaders "to give them a chance to iron out outstanding issues and chart the way forward", said James Kiboi of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) technical committee, which is steering the talks.
Kiboi admitted that "there have been problems with the invitation list, but we are hopeful that all those invited will show up". He added that "it is anticipated that the number of invitees might be up to 41".
Qanayare, however, said that such a number would be unacceptable to the "20 leaders who are here".
The IGAD-sponsored talks began in October 2002 in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, but were moved to the capital, Nairobi, in February this year. They have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as an interim charter (draft constitution), the number of participants in the talks and the selection of future parliamentarians.
Posted on Monday 15th December at 17:39:18 Relative, Friends Say Detained Somali Student is Regular Guy
The Minneapolis Community and Technical College student arrested last week as a material witness in the federal government's investigation of Al-Qaida is a polite and friendly member of the Somali community in the Twin Cities, a close relative said Saturday.
Abdullah Warsame, 43, who runs a translation and immigration business in the Somali Community Center in south Minneapolis, said he and other Somali immigrants were shocked at the arrest of 30-year-old Mohammed A. Warsame.
The younger Warsame is expected to appear in court Tuesday in Minneapolis as officials try to transfer him to New York.
He is a dedicated father and observant Muslim who socializes over coffee on the West Bank campus of the University of Minnesota and studies hard in his chosen field of computer science, Abdullah Warsame said.
He is neither political nor overly religious, he said.
"They are detaining a valuable man who is missing his final exams," Abdullah Warsame said.
The elder Warsame said that he is a cousin of Mohammed's father, but that Mohammed calls him uncle.
"I treat him like my son, and he knows that," he said.
He described Mohammed as "sociable, not shy, straightforward, like a typical American."
Minneapolis parking lot attendant Jama Mohammed, an acquaintance of Mohammed Warsame, said he is a "very sweet" person who encouraged him to go to school. Jama Mohammed said that Warsame's mother-in-law died in June of liver disease and that he remembers Warsame going to the hospital night after night.
"He's a man of that character," Jama Mohammed said. "I'm sick over his case right now."
Dahir Mireh Jibreel, a social studies teacher at Edison High School and a close friend of Abdullah Warsame, said Mohammed Warsame is just a regular guy who is too busy with his education and family "to be running in a dark world."
"He is 100 percent mainstream," Jibreel said. "I've had coffee with him at Starbucks. He's not a religious fanatic. He's not on the fringe. He's right in the middle."
That's why members of the Somali community want answers from authorities about his detention, Jibreel said.
Officials have said they can't comment on the case because of federal regulations. The detainment proceedings were held in secret.
Abdullah Warsame said Mohammed never talked about Al-Qaida, nor did he ever mention Zacarias Moussaoui, the accused Sept. 11 conspirator. Mohammed Warsame has been described as knowledgeable about Moussaoui's activities in an Al-Qaida training camp.
Abdullah Warsame said Mohammed fled civil war in Somalia as a teenager. He became a Canadian citizen and moved to the Twin Cities in 1995, where he met his wife, Fartun Farah, who is a U.S. citizen. They have a 5-year-old daughter.
Between 1995 and 2002, Mohammed moved back and forth between Toronto and Minneapolis, working odd jobs and taking courses. In 2002, he became a permanent U.S. resident and was hoping to attend the University of Minnesota after completing his two-year computer training at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Abdullah said.
On Dec. 1, Mohammed Warsame was recommended for a scholarship at the college by one of his professors, Richard Pollak.
"His work has surfaced consistently as one of the top students in the class," according to a copy of a Pollak memo.
Abdullah said he got the memo from Mohammed, who had been showing it around shortly before his arrest.
© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Posted on Sunday 14th December at 16:22:30 Sharing Lessons On Somali Culture
Abdisalam Adam reaches under his desk for a piece of luggage, still packed full of cultural items he picked up on a trip to a Somali region of Ethiopia over the summer.
There's a comb and a spoon intricately carved out of wood, an urn used for milking camels and a koor, which is a camel bell that villagers use to keep track of their livestock.
As the Somali community specialist for St. Paul's public schools, Adam uses the items in presentations he makes about Somali culture. His audiences include school staff, students and older Somali immigrants who now have children in the schools.
"Families are excited when they see stuff they used in their childhood," he said.
Adam taught English Language Learner students in the St. Paul district for years, but this fall he took on a new role. With about 800 Somali students, the district saw a need to reach out to that community and increase its involvement in the schools. Adam jumped at the opportunity.
He started this summer with the trip back home, his first visit in 15 years. He went to Ethiopia to visit his mother and several brothers who still live in his home country.
"It was a good family reunion," he said.
The St. Paul Foundation made the trip possible, providing funds for teachers to travel abroad, get a different view of the world and bring some of the lessons back to an increasingly diverse St. Paul. This year, 11 teachers received grants for international trips.
Three teachers and 15 educational assistants in the St. Paul district are Somali. All are bilingual, and their translation skills are in high demand as Somali parents become more involved in the schools.
In the 1997-98 school year, the district recorded only 25 Somali students. The current enrollment of about 800 is probably a slight undercount, said Steve Schellenberg, director of compliance. That's because it is based on the language spoken at home, and some Somalis speak Arabic or a different African language instead of Somali.
"Parents are still really intimidated by the school system," Abdisalam said. Having someone at the school who speaks the language helps put them at ease. But parents remain concerned about changes in how their children experience Somali culture and religion.
Abdisalam, who taught at Highwood Hills Elementary last year, said the schools have worked to be accommodating. Because Somali students are Muslim and recite daily prayers, schools across the district have set aside rooms that students can use.
He also has a presentation he delivers at schools, teaching staff about Somali history, the reasons behind the wave of migration to Minnesota and Somali customs. He'll explain, for example, that Muslims don't eat pork products and describe the fasting that takes place during Ramadan.
During his trip to Somalia and neighboring countries, Adam took photos of traditional village life. He's also used those around the district to teach about Somali culture. His photos of schoolchildren, marketplaces and his family have been popular. Some of the shots will be made into posters for display at schools, he said.
Ahmed Elmi, one of the district's Somali teachers, has known Adam for 10 years and taught with him last year at Highwood Hills Elementary. The work Adam is doing is important, Elmi said, "as the main focus here is to integrate with the other communities," including Hmong and other ethnic groups in the schools. "Our students need to understand the other cultures also."
BY JOHN WELBES
Pioneer Press
Posted on Sunday 14th December at 16:20:16 Xaaji Cabdi-Waraabe oo Dhaliilay Xukuumadda
Hargeysa (Jam)- Odayga rugcaddaaga ah ee Somaliland, Xaaji Cabdi Xuseen (Cabdi-waraabe), oo ah Xildhibaan ka tirsan Golaha Guurtida Somaliland oo aad loo qadariyo ayaa shalay si kulul ugu dhaliilay Xukuumadda iyo Goleyaasha Qaranka in ay gabeen xilkii shacbigu u igmaday ee ilaalinta nabadgelyada dalka, sidaa daraadeedna ay habboontahay in ay kuraasta banneeyaan haddii ay xilkoodii gudan waayeen.
Mudane Xaaji Cabdi-waraabe, oo ka hadlayey Fagaaraha Khayriyada Hargeysa, xus loo sameeyey munaasibadda maalinta xuquuqda aadanaha ee adduunka waxa uu isaga oo codkiisa iyo dareenkiisaba cadho ay ka muuqato si weyn carrabka ugu adkeeyey in ay nabadgelyadii dalku maalinba maalinta ka dambaysa sii xumaanayso oo hadhka cad Hargeysa dhexdeeda la isku tooganayo, isla markaana aanay jirin tallaabo waxtar leh oo dawladdu wax kaga qabanayso dilka iyo nabadgelyo xumada isa soo taraysa.
Isaga oo arrintaa ka hadlaya Xaajigu waxa uu yidhi; “Xuquuqal Insaanku-na wuxuu u baahan yahay in la is nabadgeliyo.Waxa uu xuquuqul Insaanku ku rakiban yahay oo salka ku hayaa nabad.
Marka nabadgelyo la helo wixii kalena way imanayaan, waxa keliya ee aan laga tagi karayn waxa weeye siday wax innoogu dhaceen ee Shaydaanku ugu dhexdhacay, waayo, duhurka Maalin-weyn ninka la dilaya ee Baabuurka wata ee la arkayo ee aan la sheegaynin Macnaheedu waxa weeye nabadgelyo meesha ma taalo, xuquul Insaan-na ma yaalo. Dadka ayaa qarinaya ninkaas[Dhagarta geysta], dhammaanteen buu nafteena u xun yahay, dawladnimadeena u xun yahay, nabadgelyadeena u xun yahay oo diinteenna ayuu ku xun yahay.
“Xuquuqul Insaankuna waa in run la sheego. Haddii hooyada iyo aabaha aanu ilmahooda wax dilaa run sheegin oo inagu aynaan run sheegin, markaa xuquuqal Iinsaana ma jiro.
“Booliisku meel walba ma taagna, baahida aynu qabno ayay qabaan, waa tiro yar oo suuqay ilaalinayaan, haddii aan qof waliba Boolis noqon, marayo Iskuul la dhigan doonaa, Hooyo wax iibin mayso, xafiis la fadhiyi maayo. Waar adeerayaalow nabadda ma ilaashanaa?” ayuu yidhi Xaaji Cabdi Xuseen.
Xaajigu waxa uu si weyn ugu dhaliilay Xukuumadda iyo Golayaasha Baarlamaanka ee uu ka tirsan yahay ba Wax-qabad la’aan iyo in ay xaslan waayeen nabad-galyadii dalka, isaga oo yidhi;“xukuumadda iyo dadka aan ka midka ahay [Goleyaasha Baarlamanka] ceeb baanu leenahay, tan ugu weyna annagaa leh - Xukuumadda ayaa leh, Guurtidaa leh, oo Wakiilada ayaa leh. Shicibku dilka la qarinayo mooyaane waa sahlan yihiin, Dumarku ha u wanaagsanaadaane.”
Isaga oo Dhaliisha Dawladda sii wada Xaaji Cabdi waxa uu yidhi; “Annagu [Golayaasha Dowladda] waxaanu leenahay balloodh Dhul ah oo laba inan isku haystaan ayaa arrinkoodii go’i waayay, xukunkoodii baa go’i waayay. Ma Madaxweyne arrin balloodh loo geeyo ayaad aragteen, qof waliba wuxuu leeyahay Madaxweynihii baan doonayaa, tayadii dawladeed ee ka sokaysay meeday?, waar bal aynu shicibka waydinee Maxkamadaha - Garsoorka, Golayaashoow, Illaah baan idinku dhaarshee isu keen keena. Ninka shalay (Dorraad) la dilay [Taliyihii Ciidanka Nabad-gelyada] nin xariir ah buu ahaa, weli waan ka samri la’ahay ilaa aan sababtiisii oggaado. In uu wax galabsaday iyo in ay wax baadil ah tahay.”
Waxa uu raaciyey; “waxayna ila tahay waar ninka qallooc tirsadoow wax hay iska dilin ee Golayasha iyo Maxkamadda kaalay, inkasta oo haddii aanu Dowladdii nahay aannu balloodh Dhul ah kala goyn kari waynay. Muxuu Wasiirku wax ku wacdiyayaa oo xaakinku ku wacdiyayaa oo Guurtidu ku wacdiyaysaa haddaynu balloodh xukumi kari weynay, Madaxweyne waliba waa ceeboobayaa oo intii ka sokaysay ayaan irbad dun gelin karinayn.”
“Waar nabadgelyo ayaynu ku soo hoyanay, dahabkii iyo lacagtii suuq ayey yaalaan, haddii aan xukun adagi jirin nimcadu joogi mayso. Waar anigu waxaan leeyahay bal in dad kale la helo inteenna kuraasta ku fadhida [Xiukunka haysa] ha la beddelo, haddii aynu saddex bilood wax ku xallin weyno oo xukunka ku adkayn weyno, Allaa igu og’e waa baabba’aynaa.
“Sidaa ninkii aynu wada naqaanay[Taliyihii Taraafiga] inta loo dilay loo qariyay, ayaa inoo abad’a ah, in balloodh lagu qatalayna waa u dhowdahay. Haddii aan rukuni-ba jirin sidee baynu ku nagaanaynaa?. Waar shicibku ceeb ma leh, ceebtu waxay fadhidaa intii kuraasta fadhiday ee Xilka haysay, waar nin-na kursi ku fadhiyi mooyee, waa in Xukuumadda Somaliland ay meesha keento cid kale oo aan ceeb lahayn [Beddesha ama xilka ay ku wareejiso.” Ayuu yidhi Xaajigu.
Isaga oo la hadlaya Haweenka, waxa uu Xaaji Cabdi-waraabe yidhi; “Hablahana Xaajigu isaga oo Haweenka la hadlaya waxa uu yidhi; “Hablaha waxaan leeyahay maanta Wasiir iyo Agaasimayaal [Dhaween ah] ayaad leedihiin ee hagaag u talaabsada, oo xishoodka kordhiya, oo ha ka tallaabsanina Dhaqanka.”
“Cuqaasha reer Burco-na waxaan leeyahay Ninka Bilayska ah ee wax dilaa yaanu reer noqon oo aan berri reer hebel doonan ee Xukuumadda u daaya. Bilayskana waxaan leeyahay kii Sheekh wax ku dilay waa la hayaa, kii Boorame waa la hayaa, dee haddana waa sidee xaalku? gurigiisa iyo halka [Jeelka] lagu hayaa maxay ku kala duwan yihiin kol haddii aan Caddaalladda iyo maxkamadda la horkeenayn. Goleyaashu ha kaceen oo yaan Kab xun maro lagu duubin oo ninkii aniga gar igu helaa yaanu odhan waa Xaaji Cabdi ee ka xishooda ee ha igu soo oogo dembigayga. markaas ayaa xuquuqal Insaan la helayaa. waxaan ku soo gunaanadayaa waar run aynu sheegno,” ayuu yidhi Xaaji Cabdi Xuseen.
Jamhuuriya
Posted on Saturday 13th December at 17:46:44 Wife Defends Man Arrested in Terror Probe
The wife of a man arrested on suspicion of associating with al-Qaida said her husband has had nothing to do with the terror network.
Fartun Farah, speaking through an interpreter Friday, said she was shocked when her husband, Mohammed Warsame, called her on Monday to say he'd been arrested.
The Star Tribune first reported Warsame's arrest, and said he was being held as a material witness. The paper, citing unidentified law enforcement sources, said Warsame was thought to have some knowledge of the activities of terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui.
Warsame is expected to appear in court Tuesday in Minneapolis as officials try to transfer him to New York, said Reynald Doiron, a spokesman for the Canadian Office of Foreign Affairs.
U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger would not comment on the report nor confirm that Warsame was in custody. Calls to the chief federal public defender in the district weren't returned. A court file in the case was sealed and not available for review.
According to his wife, Warsame was given $100 by investigators, told that he would be in custody for two days and that they wanted his cooperation in a terrorism investigation.
He told her that investigators said he should "tell your wife not to worry about anything," the interpreter said.
Asked if her husband knew Moussaoui, Farah said she didn't know, and added that she'd never heard of Moussaoui and never heard her husband speak of him. She also said she doesn't know if her husband has ever been to Afghanistan, where Moussaoui is alleged to have trained at an al-Qaida camp in 1998.
Warsame, 30, is a Canadian citizen of Somali descent. Minnesota has been a magnet for Somalis settling in the United States, and Farah spoke at a news conference at the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul with about 20 people looking on in support.
She sat with dark glasses and a black head scarf that covered most of her face, speaking quietly through her interpreter. She said when she came home to the couple's Minneapolis apartment on Monday, her husband was gone and the apartment had been "ransacked." She didn't know if anything had been taken, she said.
"She's devastated; she's in a state of shock," her interpreter said.
In an earlier interview with the Star Tribune, Farah said her husband had attended the Minneapolis Community and Technical College for about two years, hoping to pursue a career in computer science. She showed a Dec. 1 letter from an instructor praising Warsame as one of the top students in the his class.
Twice, Warsame spent three-month spans in Minneapolis. He came to the U.S. permanently in 2002, she said.
Warsame's arrest is the latest in a string of terrorism-related investigations in Minnesota.
Moussaoui was arrested while learning to fly a Boeing 747 jet at an Eagan flight school two years ago and now is the subject of the only U.S. prosecution related to the Sept. 11 attacks.
About the same time, the Treasury Department froze the assets of several Twin Cities money-transfer firms used by Somalis to send cash to relatives in their destitute homeland, alleging some of the funds were being siphoned to al-Qaida.
And last winter, St. Paul resident Ilyas Ali was arrested in Hong Kong, along with two Pakistanis. Prosecutors said the men plotted to trade heroin and hashish for weapons they intended to deliver to terrorists.
By Gregg Aamot, Associated Press
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted on Saturday 13th December at 17:42:05 Somali Nationals Get Harsher Sentence
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A Somali refugee who sought to have his jail term reduced after he was convicted of funneling money to a terrorist network was resentenced Friday--to a term nearly four times as long as the original sentence.
Abdillah Abdi will spend 37 months in jail and his uncle, Abdirahman Sheikh-Ali Isse, will spend 18 months for their roles in a scheme to operate a branch of the
Abdi and Isse were originally sentenced last Sept. 11, with Abdi getting 10 months, half of it home detention, and Isse getting 18 months as the leader of the scheme.
They appealed the harshness of the sentences to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and a three-judge panel of the court ruled in September that the jail terms were actually too light and ordered new sentencing hearings.
Isse, who ran the money transfer network branch and had Abdi working for him, received the same sentence as before after attorney Jonathan Shapiro requested a decreased term for his client because Isse has Parkinson's Disease.
Isse's business was one of several raided in November 2001. The Bush administration froze the al-Barakat network's assets, saying the organization funneled $15 million a year to al-Qaida.
Prosecutors had said the business catered to individuals who wanted to transfer money to Somalia. In a plea agreement, Isse and Abdi admitted making deposits in increments smaller than $10,000 to avoid federal reporting requirements.
The men appealed their sentences, arguing they were entitled to a reduction under federal guidelines because they did not know al-Barakat was funneling money to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. The appeals court rejected that argument, saying the men had to prove the funds were legally obtained and would be used for lawful purposes.
The court instead agreed with federal prosecutors who claimed that Cacheris erred in basing the sentences only on the 3 percent commissions paid to al-Barakat. The amounts used to compute the sentences were $127,334 for Isse and $100,588 for Abdi.
The appeals court said the judge should have based the sentences on the entire amount of the deposits that were illegally structured _ $4.2 million for Isse, $3.3 million for Abdi. It sent the case back to Cacheris for resentencing.
On Friday, prosecutors said that they never claimed that Abdi was a member of al-Qaida or had given money to the terrorist network linked to bin Ladin.
Abdi told Cacheris that he came to the United States to start a new life, and that he was unaware that what he was doing was criminal.
"Never ever in my life have I committed a crime," he said. "I've never even seen a police station."
By JUSTIN BERGMAN
Associated Press Writer
Posted on Saturday 13th December at 17:39:29 Jailed Al-Qaida Suspect a Canadian Citizen of Somali Descent
MINNEAPOLIS (December 12, 3:58 a.m. AST) - The man arrested in Minneapolis on suspicion of associating with al-Qaida has been identified as a Canadian citizen and college student of Somali descent, a newspaper reported.
The man arrested Tuesday was Mohammed A. Warsame, the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune reported in Friday editions, citing law enforcement officials who requested anonymity.
Warsame is suspected of having knowledge of some of the activities of Zacarias Moussaoui - who is accused of being a Sept. 11 conspirator - when he was in Minneapolis.
The newspaper said Warsame had been arrested as a material witness, but did not disclose whether he would testify against Moussaoui or others.
Warsame, 30, was also described as knowledgeable about Moussaoui's activities in an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. The indictment against Moussaoui, 35, who was arrested in Eagan shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, alleges he trained at al-Qaida's Khalden Camp in April 1998.
Warsame's wife, Fartun Farah, 28, described her husband as a responsible man. "He is not a terrorist," she told the newspaper through a translator.
She said she has no knowledge of any connection between her husband and Moussaoui.
"He loves the United States just like his home country of Canada," Farah said.
She said her husband is an honest and hard-working student at Minneapolis Community Technical College, where he had attended the college for about two years, hoping to pursue a career in computer sciences.
Farah has since spoken to her husband's public defender. She said that she has tried to see her husband but that authorities won't let her.
Moussaoui was arrested while learning to fly a Boeing 747 jet at an Eagan flight school two years ago and now is the subject of the only U.S. prosecution related to the Sept. 11 attacks.
About the same time, the Treasury Department froze the assets of several Twin Cities money-transfer firms used by Somalis to send cash to relatives in their homeland, alleging some of the funds were being siphoned to al-Qaida.
Copyright © 2003 Nando Media
Copyright © 2003 AP Online
Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Associated Press
Posted on Friday 12th December at 18:28:39 Somali Man Hopes Video Will Clear Him of Assault
A Somali immigrant charged with assaulting a Toronto cop hopes a grainy videotape that appears to show an officer shoving and punching him will prove his innocence.
Jama Said Jama, a 21-year-old landed immigrant from Somalia, maintains he was trying to break up a late-night fight in Toronto last August when police arrived on the scene.
"One officer said 'come here' when he got out of the car," Jama said. "So I stopped, and ... he came to me and he grabbed me by my throat and then he punched me," Jama said.
"Then the same officer who punched me, grabbed me, and he smashed me into the pavement, and then he started stamping on my head, which caused me to lose basically my tooth."
The video, which was shot by a bystander, shows Jama being punched and ends with him running off camera.
The officers, unaware the tape existed until Wednesday, filed disclosure documents to the court that give a much different version of events.
"I have the male (Jama) by the arm, bringing him to the side of the vehicle. Male strikes out with both arms hitting me," read the notes of the officer that Jama accuses of punching him.
The notes say Jama, who has no criminal record, suffered his injuries during a fight earlier that night. They have him apologizing for pushing the officer.
The video, taken without the knowledge of either Jama or the officer, shows Jama with no apparent facial injuries before his encounter with police.
Jama has been charged with assaulting a police officer. If he's convicted, he could be refused citizenship and deported.
But he's hoping the video will end the case quickly.
Jama's lawyer said the tape is a crucial piece of evidence.
"Without the video, I think you can ask any criminal lawyer, it'd be very difficult to defend. He might win. But the chances are that three police officers would be believed over one immigrant from Somalia," Andrew Vaughan said.
Police Chief Julian Fantino, already under fire over cameras in cruisers and allegations of racial profiling by his officers, won't comment because the matter is before the courts.
"We're going to get to the bottom of it," he said after reviewing the taped evidence.
Jama is considering suing the officers, but he first must be cleared of criminal charges.
With a report from CFTO's John Lancaster
© 2003 Bell Globemedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Posted on Friday 12th December at 18:25:12 Liberals to Rein In 'Anti-Islamic' MP
AMSTERDAM — The Dutch Liberal VVD party has moved to stop its outspoken MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali from waging a solo campaign against Islamic schools in the Netherlands. The Somali-born politician had to hide out in the US temporarily in 2002 when her life was threatened due to her criticisms of Islam.
Liberal-Christian daily newspaper Trouw reported on Thursday that VVD officials have been annoyed by what they say is Hirsi Ali's "solo runs" on the controversial issue of the beliefs and practices of Muslim immigrants living in the Netherlands.
VVD leader and Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm has indicated that he wants to see a halt to the creation of additional Islamic schools in the Netherlands, but Hirsi Ali has been accused of pushing the issue publicly without clearance from the party.
Hirsi Ali was brought up as a Muslim in Somalia, but has attacked Islam for repressing women.
In an interview with Trouw in January this year, Hirsi Ali described Islam as "backward" and the Prophet Mohammed as a "perverse tyrant".
"Mohammed is, judged by Western standards, a perverse man. A tyrant. If you don't do what he says, things won't go well for you. That makes me think of megalomaniac dictators in the Middle East, Osama Bin Laden, Ayatollah Khomeini and [former Iraqi dictator] Saddam Hussein."
She also said by modern standards the Prophet Mohammed had been perverse to marry a 12-year-old girl.
More recently, Hirsi Ali has added her voice to growing criticism of Islamic schools in the Netherlands. The schools have been accused of fostering intolerance and preaching anti-Western doctrines.
But a report by the government's schools inspectorate found, in contrast, that Islamic schools often contribute to integration into Dutch society. The report also disagreed with claims that the standard of education provided by Muslim schools is far below that of other schools in the Netherlands.
Banning Islamic schools is a particularly thorny in a country where the freedom of religion is enshrined in the constitution. The VVD's main partner in the centre-right government coalition is the Christian Democrat CDA party.
The CDA is worried trying to block Islamic schools could lead to a restriction on all religious education, including Christian schools.
In 2002, populist politician Pim Fortuyn made it politically acceptable to question the country's multicultural policies and he was the first to say publicly that Islam was backward.
The VVD hoped to benefit from this growing unease about Muslim immigrants by recruiting Hirsi Ali shortly last year. She had resigned from her post as researcher with the Labour PvdA party after accusing Labour of being soft on Islam.
But now Trouw reports that VVD officials are increasingly unhappy by Hirsi Ali's contribution to the debate about the integration of immigrants.
She is accused of deliberately seeking confrontation by making very controversial remarks and by not sticking to the party line.
Her recent comments about banning Islamic schools have led to senior VVD politicians contradict her in the media. She did however receive the backing — public at least — of most of her other colleagues.
But VVD parliamentary party secretary Jan Rijpstra confirmed to the newspaper that the parliamentary grouping was unhappy with the way Hirsi Ali seemed to be making unsanctioned statements.
Rijpstra is also the chairman of the party's immigration and integration commission, which was set up in response to earlier public statements by Hirsi Ali. She is to be told that in future her public comments must conform to the VVD's agreed policies and be sanctioned beforehand by the commission.
Political commentators will be watching closely to see if Hirsi Ali will tailor her media performances to tow the party line or whether differences on the issue will come to a head in the New Year.
Copyright Expatica News 2003
Posted on Thursday 11th December at 18:25:52 Senior Police Officer Shot Dead in Somaliland
NAIROBI, 10 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - A senior police officer was shot dead in Hargeysa, the capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, on Tuesday, according to a local journalist.
He said the Hargeysa regional traffic police chief, Col Mahmud Abdi Jama, was shot twice in front of his house by unknown gunmen who followed him home. "He was rushed to a nearby hospital but died shortly afterwards," the source added.
An investigation into the killing is underway, with many policemen visible on the streets of the city.
The police officer's killing follows the murder in October of two British teachers Richard and Enid Eyeington, and Italian veteran aid worker, Dr Annalena Tonelli.
An official with Somaliland's information ministry said the motive for the latest murder was not yet clear, neither who was behind it nor whether it was linked to the previous murders.
"It is unlikely that this and the earlier incidents are connected," the official told IRIN. "It is too early to speculate on who might have killed the officer and why. We have to wait for the police to arrest suspects before we can comment."
Some 20 people are in police custody for the earlier killings, which were blamed on "elements working to destabilise the region". All those arrested will be brought to court "as soon as ongoing police investigations are completed", the official added.
Posted on Wednesday 10th December at 17:54:46 Delegates: PM 'Null and Void'
Nairobi - Delegates at the Somali peace talks in Nairobi representing the divided Transitional National Government (TNG) on Tuesday dismissed the appointment of a new prime minister by TNG President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan as "null and void."
"These so-called elections and appointments are contrary to the Transitional National Charter adopted by the Somali National Peace Conference in Djibouti in August 2000 and are, therefore, null and void," the delegates said in statement released in Nairobi.
The statement further said that Salat had no legal basis to dismiss or replace either the speaker or the prime minister.
"One-hundred and thirty-two out of 245 members of the transitional parliament, 32 ministers and military and police commanders are currently present at the conference in Nairobi," the statement said.
"Salat is utterly mistaken in thinking that he can stay on as president forever by attempting to extend the expired mandate of the TNG and disregarding the charter on whose basis he was elected," the statement charged.
The delegates were responding to the nomination by Salat on Monday of Mohamed Abdi Yusuf as the new TNG prime minister.
On August 9, parliament in Mogadishu fired Hassan Abshir Farah after he differed with the TNG over the July 5 signing in Kenya of a controversial partial peace accord which called for a federal administration to be set up in Somalia.
Salat had accused Farah, who was the TNG's chief negotiator during the Kenya talks, of signing the accord without the authority of the government.
Farah, however said on Tuesday that he is the legitimate prime minister of Somalia.
"I can't be fired by Salat, whose mandate has already run out," Farah said, describing his one-time ally as "a person who is not appreciating peace effort by Somalis and the wider international community."
Pro-Salat MPs in Mogadishu also said they had appointed a new speaker of parliament to replace Abdalla Deerow Isaaq, who is attending peace talks in Kenya, which Salat and several warlords walked out of several months ago.
Somalia has not had a recognised government since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.
Posted on Wednesday 10th December at 17:53:25 Alarming Drought in Somalia
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) - Norway Four years of failing rain have resulted in the worst drought since 1974 in the Sool region, reports Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) representatives' in Somalia. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently granted USD 450 000 to NPA's relief work in the Somalian Sool region.
The Sool Plateau has been badly affected by the drought through several years. The local pastoralists are totally dependent on their livestock to survive. They move with their animals to wherever they can find water and pasture. The situation is now alarming.
NPA has received unconfirmed reports of the first human deaths. The hospital in Los Anod reports that the patients are weak and malnourished. Most of the livestock have perished as a result of dry pastures and water shortage, or they have been sold in distress. The short rains have failed again this fall ? like it has for four years now. Consequently the water reservoirs have dried out. The few boreholes in the area are operating day and night unable to meet the demand of water. As a result the water price has increased by 600 per cent, a price totally out of range for the local pastoralists.
The grant from The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs helps facilitating water transportation into the affected areas. NPA also builds boreholes and rehabilitates wells by digging deeper and securing them from contamination.
Posted on Tuesday 9th December at 17:43:41 Envoy Sees Glimmer of Hope in Troubled Talks
As Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) foreign ministers meet in Nairobi today (December 8) to restart the stalled Somali peace talks, a senior United Nations official is urging the mediators not to waver until a comprehensive and all-inclusive peace settlement is reached. Our writer, Nernlor Gruduah, reports.
The head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), Mr Winston A Tubman, has said that only an all-inclusive agreement will bring lasting peace in the country, and end the suffering of the people.
Bickering among Somali clan-based factions over the composition of a new political structure has resulted in the current stalemate in the Somali National Reconciliation Conference.
The talks have been taking place in Kenya for more than a year now.
Discussions began in October last year in Eldoret town in western Kenya, before being transferred a few months later to the capital, Nairobi.
Despite an immediate agreement on cessation of hostilities, the various militia groups operating in parts of Somalia have made it impossible for this to be observed.
The foreign ministers meeting here today, drawn from a facilitation committee comprising representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea, are expected to table a proposal that will push forward the process.
Their meeting will be followed by a proposed 10-day retreat of the various Somali factions in the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa, according to Tubman, who is also the representative of UN Secretary-General in Somalia.
"The process should not be abandoned because of this impasse. The foreign ministers should come up with a decision that will unblock the process," says Tubman.
"Our duty is to support IGAD, and we will continue to support it fully," he adds.
The UN envoy, a Liberian, whose country is beginning to emerge from 14 years of brutal civil war, says he is aware of the complexity and intractability of the Somali crisis. He is calling on facilitators not to grow weary, but to ensure that a durable solution is found.
His advice comes amid threats of a boycott of the talks by the recently formed Somali National Salvation Council, an alliance of 12 factions.
The vice chairman of the alliance, Barre Hirale, is quoted as having said that the Nairobi talks were not home-grown, and imposed on them.
He had suggested that a reconciliation conference be held inside Somalia.
But several other past reconciliation conferences have failed to produce a unifying government in the country.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, following the ousting of President Siad Barre.
Clan-based rival warlords have carved out numerous fiefdoms within the country, with the defacto Transitional National Government (TNG), headed by Abdulkassim Salat Hassan, controlling only parts of the capital, Mogadishu.
The main sticking point has been over the number of members of parliament to be chosen by each group, including elders, and clan and faction leaders.
Despite this, an optimistic Tubman maintains that the international community is putting pressure on all the stakeholders, including those threatening a boycott, to turn up and begin the third phase of the talks.
After the withdrawal of the interim president from the talks in July, the UN official explains, other groups opposed to the government felt the delay was unnecessary, and also threatened to boycott the talks.
Salat walked out of the talks, arguing that they were leading to the "dismemberment" of Somalia. He was particularly incensed by plans being negotiated to introduce a federal system in the country.
"We do not want to leave out any group that represents a significant segment of the Somali society, which would be a potential threat to any future arrangement. That is why this conference is different from the one held in Djibouti, that led to the creation of the interim government," Tubman cautions.
The Salat government was appointed in August 2000 by clan elders and other senior Somali leaders at the Djibouti conference, but excluded key warlords.
Consequently, some of the warlords ganged up against the interim government, making it impossible for it to exercise authority over the country.
Groups opposed to the TNG are also allegedly backed by Ethiopia, thereby complicating the situation. Intermittent clan fighting has continued ever since.
Another contentious issue is Salat's refusal to leave office after his three-year mandate expired in August. He argued that his government would not step down until a new government and parliament had been set up.
His sacked Prime Minister, Abshir Farah, told journalists that the TNG became illegitimate as from August 13, and accused Salat of deliberately attempting to make the Somali peace talks fail, so as to justify prolonging his stay in power.
Salat's camp has been joined by the so-called Juba Valley Alliance in opposing other factions at the talks.
The Kenyan head of the facilitation committee, Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat, is quoted as saying the talks have so far cost US$7 million.
Funding is being provided by the European Union, individual EU member states, as well as the Arab League.
Less than two weeks ago, Kenya's foreign affairs minister, Kalonzo Musyoka, also complained that since the talks began last October, no tangible arrangement had been reached at.
Asked about his acceptance by the Somali people to oversee the process, a confident Tubman replied: "I find them very friendly people. They know we in Liberia have had similar problems, so they open up to me."
He added: "Moreover, they know the UN is being headed by an African and as such, there is a lot of trust in us. They are able to convey messages on pertinent issues through me to the Secretary-General."
Copyright © 2003 African Church Information Service
Posted on Tuesday 9th December at 17:42:21 TNG Faction Rejects New Appointments
NAIROBI, 9 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - Divisions are growing within Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) after one faction rejected the recent appointments of an assembly speaker and prime minister by TNG leader Abdiqassim Salad Hassan.
Hasan Abshir Farah and Abdullah Deerow Isaaq were dismissed as prime minister and speaker respectively in August. But they maintain that the TNG has no authority to issue such instructions as its mandate expired that month.
On Monday, Abdiqassim named Muhammad Abdi Yusuf as prime minister and Mustafa Gudow was appointed as speaker of the Transitional National Assembly (TNA).
In a joint press release, Abshir and Deerow said the appointments were contrary to the transitional charter or interim constitution and therefore "null and void".
They accused Abdiqassim of trying to hang on to power and reiterated that there had been no quorum in the TNA to sanction their dismissals. Abdiqassim "has no legal basis to dismiss or replace neither the speaker nor the prime minister", they said.
They added that until a government of national unity was formed, they continued to represent the TNG at the peace talks.
The TNG effectively split into two factions after Abdiqassim returned to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, unhappy over the adoption of a controversial transitional charter at the Nairobi peace conference in July to serve as a blueprint for future Somali institutions. Abshir was a signatory to the charter.
Somali political sources describe Muhammad Abdi Yusuf, a former deputy speaker, as "a trusted and a close ally" of Abdiqassim. Like Abshir, he is from the Darood clan from the Mudug region of central Somalia.
The new speaker, Mustafa Gudow, hails from Bay and Bakool and, like Deerow, is a Rahanweyn.
Posted on Tuesday 9th December at 17:40:39 Somali Reconciliation Talks Put Off Again
The Somali leaders' reconciliation talks were yesterday put off for the second time.
The 10-day retreat that was scheduled to start today after being postponed from November 20, will now be held on December 18 in Mombasa.
It will be launched in Nairobi by Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the chairman of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
President Kibaki and Mozambique President Joachim Chissano are expected to attend.
The second Igad ministerial facilitation committee agreed to postpone the retreat to allow further consultations.
In a communique at the end of a one-day meeting in Nairobi yesterday, the leaders agreed to invite all Somali leaders.
Foreign Affairs minister Kalonzo Musyoka said the talks had reached a critical stage, and urged all faction leaders to take the retreat seriously.
Copyright ©2003, Nation Media Group Ltd.
Posted on Monday 8th December at 23:26:47 Puntland oo Sanaag ku Magacaabay Gobal Cusub
Garoowe (Jam)- Maamulka cabdilaahi Yuusuf ayaa shaaca ka qaaday ansixinta go’aan ay degmooyinka Bari ee Gobolka Sanaag ee Somaliland ugu magacabeen gobol Cusub oo ka tirsan Maamulka Puntland.
Gobolkaas oo lagu magacaabay “Highland Region” waxa ay Magaalo Madax uga dhigeen magaalada Badhan oo ka mid ah degmooyinka Bariga Gobolka sanaag.
Go’aanka Dhul-boobka ah ee Maamulka Cabdilaahi Yuusuf, waxa kale oo uu degmo ka dhigay Tuulada Xiin-galool oo ku taalla Bariga degmada Ceerigaabo, taas oo ay sheegeen in ay ka tirsan tahay gobolka Cusub ee Highland. Waxa kale oo sida go’aanka lagu sheegay Gobolka cusub hoos imanaya degmooyinka kale Bariga Sanaag ee Laas-qoray, Dhahar iyo Hadaaftimo.
Go’aanka Dhul boobka ah ee Maamulka Majeerteeniya ku Gobolka Cusub kaga dhigtay Degmooyinka Bariga Somaliland waxa lagu ansixiyey kulamo ay golaha Wasiiradda ee Maamulka Cabdillaahi Yuusuf ku yeesheen Magaalada Garoowe habeen hore sabtidii, kaas oo ay ku go’aamiyeen in tirada gobolada Maamulka Majeerteeniya lagu kordhiyay laba gobol oo cusub, kaas oo mid yahay degmooyinka Bariga Gonolka Sanaag ee Somaliland oo magaalo Madax ay uga dhigeen Degmada Badhan.Gobolka kale oo ay ku magacaabeen Karkaar waxa ay magaalo madax uga dhigeen Qardho oo hore uga tirsanayd Gobolka Bari oo ay magaalo madax u ahaan jirtay Boosaaso oo hadda loo bixiyey Gobolka Bender-qaasim oo magaalo madaxdiisu tahay Boosaaso.
Warkan oo lagu faafiyay Shabakadaha Wararka ee Internet-ka oo soo xigtay Ninka Wasiirka Warfaafinta u ah Maamulka Majeerteeniya, Cabdikariim Cali Mahdi Suldaan, waxa uu sheegay in Magacaabidda Goboladan cusub ay ka dambaysay baahi ay dadka goboladaasi degani ay u qabeen gobalnimo iyo iyaga oo degmooyinkaasi ay buuxiyeen shuruudihii gobalnimo.
Badhtamahii sannadkan, waxa Maamulka Cabdillaahi Yuusuf uu Gobol cusub oo maamulkiisa ka tirsan uu ku magacaabay degmada Buuuhoodle ee Gobolka Togdheer ee Somaliland, kaas oo uu u bixiyay Gobolka ‘Cayn’.
Tallaabadani waxay qayb ka tahay Dedaalka Cabdillaahi Yuusuf ugu jiro in uu ku sii xoojiyo Sheegashadiisa Gobolada dhulka Somaliland ee Sanaag iyo Sool, isaga oo ku doodaya in ay
Jumhuuriya
Posted on Monday 8th December at 18:02:57 Kenya Urges Somali Leaders to Rejoin Peace Process
NAIROBI, Dec. 8 — A regional body that is mediating stalled Somali peace talks warned on Monday that patience was wearing thin and called on faction leaders to attend a reconciliation meeting later this month.
Any leader who does not show up on December 18 will be seen as an enemy of this process and will be treated as such, Kenya's foreign minister Kalonzo Musyoka told reporters after a meeting of foreign ministers of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Patience is running out on the part of everybody.
The IGAD has postponed the meeting, originally scheduled to begin on Tuesday, until December 18 to allow it carry out further consultations.
Somalia, which lacks central authority after the overthrow of a military leader in 1991, has been carved into a patchwork of fiefdoms by rival warlords who have defied 14 peace initiatives over a decade.
Kenya has hosted more than a year of peace talks aimed at piecing the country of seven million people together, but they have faltered with the withdrawal of key faction leaders who have said they will set up parallel peace talks in Mogadishu.
In a separate development, the leader of the defunct Somali Transitional National Government (TNG), Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, appointed a new prime minister in Mogadishu on Monday.
The international community should understand that Somalia is owned by the Somalis, said Hassan during a swearing-in ceremony for Mohammed Abdi Yusuf. The Mbagathi conference (in Kenya) is already dead,he added.
Hassan, who abandoned the talks in Nairobi, had earlier told IGAD that he would not attend the leaders' meeting.
TNG's mandate expired in August but it still has delegates at the peace conference in Kenya and Hassan is still considered its head.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited.
Posted on Monday 8th December at 17:59:59 IGAD Meeting to Discuss Peace Talks
NAIROBI, 8 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - Foreign ministers of member states of the regional grouping, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), were due to meet in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Monday to discuss the Somali peace talks.
They were expected "to add impetus" to the year-old talks, a source close to the process told IRIN. Among other issues, the ministers "will try to achieve inclusivity in the talks, and to bring all stakeholders on board", he said.
The IGAD-sponsored talks began in October 2002 in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, but were moved to Nairobi in February this year. They have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as an interim charter, the number of participants in the talks and the selection of future parliamentarians.
Moreover, a number of prominent leaders have walked out of the talks. They include Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, the president of the Transitional National Government; prominent Mogadishu-based faction leaders Muse Sudi Yalahow and Usman Hasan Ato; the leader of the Kismayo-based Juba Valley Alliance, Col Barre Adan Hirale; and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army.
The IGAD foreign ministers are also expected to make a decision on a planned retreat for Somali political leaders.
The 10-day retreat was due to begin in Mombasa on 9 December, bringing together most of the Somali leaders. The idea of the retreat was "to give the leaders a chance to iron out outstanding issues and chart the way forward", said James Kiboi of the IGAD facilitation committee, which is steering the talks.
"The retreat will not happen on Tuesday as planned, but will happen soon," he said, adding that consultations on who should be invited were still in progress. "A decision on a final list will be made by the ministers today [Monday]," he stated.
However the list of proposed participants remains a contentious issue, with some of the IGAD members arguing that only the most prominent leaders should be invited first.
"Once they reach consensus it can be expanded - the so-called concentric circle idea," one IGAD source said. "There is no point in inviting briefcase leaders who have little or no influence on the ground."
In a letter to conference chairman Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat of Kenya on 1 December, on behalf of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), its chairman Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud said participation in the retreat should be limited "to the 24 leaders who signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement [in Eldoret in October 2002], plus Abdiqassim Salad Hassan".
Shatigadud also warned the organisers not to allow the proposed retreat to become a parallel conference.
Posted on Monday 8th December at 17:55:20 Police Cited In Beating and Racism Complaints
Police are investigating allegations by a Somali-born man that he was subjected to racist abuse and beaten unconscious at Footscray police station.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Sergeant Creina O'Grady has confirmed that complaints by 23-year-old Hussein Farah over the conduct of two transit police and a sergeant at the Footscray station are being investigated by the ethical standards department.
The claims prompted hundreds of people to march through Footscray and rally at the police station to protest against continuing violence and racism targeting young African migrants.
"I can't go into any of the details about it, but it is an ethical standards investigation," Sergeant O'Grady said.
She said the investigation could take up to eight weeks.
Adverse findings against police members in ESD cases could result in disciplinary and/or court proceedings.
District Inspector Kevin Casey said he was on duty on the day of the alleged abuse and "became aware of (an alleged incident) at some time after the situation had passed".
He denied claims that African youths were being targeted by police.
The director of the Carlton-based Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, Carmel Guerra, said she had heard that young Somali, Eritrean, Sudanese, Ethiopian and other African migrants, mostly in the western suburbs, were being inappropriately targeted by police.
Ms Guerra said it was "reminiscent" of the relationship between police and Vietnamese youths in Melbourne in the early 1990s. "But my experience would be that I haven't quite seen the extent to which the anger and concern from the young people themselves has got to this point, where they've taken up a protest."
The executive director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation, Hass Dellal, said that if the allegations were true, it undermined good work done by many officers and was a setback to "a trusting relationship" between police and migrant communities .
Mr Farah said that the white skullcap he wore attracted two transit police officers after he boarded a train at Flemington station just after noon on Tuesday, October 7.
He said he was on his way to TAFE science classes at Victoria University, when two transit officers, one male and one female, looked his way, appeared to be talking about him and followed him from one platform to another at North Melbourne station, where they demanded to see his ticket. They noticed he had in his pocket a friend's driver's licence, and wrongly accused him of theft.
Mr Farah grew up in Mogadishu. One of 21 siblings, all but two now in Australia, his family fled troubled Somalia in 1997 after years of civil war. He said he "did not come to Australia to get this sort of brutal (treatment)".
"If the police are doing this, how can you feel safe?"
He said he was submitting a written account of his claims of abuse near Footscray railway station and in the police station, where he says he was called a "stupid Osama" and "stupid negro" and repeatedly kicked by an unknown number of officers until he lost consciousness.
Mr Farah, who was doing a bridging course in science with a view to working as a laboratory technician, said that after police forcibly ejected him from the building, he received first aid at the university before being taken by ambulance to Western Hospital, where he was treated for a dislocated thumb and bruised ribs.
A friend, Eritrean-born Khalid Mohamed, 27, blamed media coverage of terrorism and related incidents for vilification. "We are Australians in the same way that other people are Australians," he said, commending Mr Farah for his courage.
Another friend, Somali-born Axmed Ali, 22, one of the organisers of the rally, which was led by the Somali community and Western Suburbs Community Coalition Against Racism, said: "In every society there is good and evil and there are good policemen as well as bad policemen. But sometimes they tend to think people here in this country do not know their rights or how they could achieve their rights. So they pick on them believing they would never report the incident or talk about it." Mr Farah said he had Mr Ali's driver's licence in his pocket when approached by the transit police. It had stuck to the side of his wallet when they asked to see his rail ticket. They would not accept his explanation that he had collected it at Mr Ali's request from a music shop where it had been required for the hire of a PA system for a community sports event the previous weekend.
He said the transit police ignored his plea to be allowed to attend class. The male officer had insulted him as they walked from Footscray station, after he suggested they take him to the police station where he had hoped to encounter an officer he knew.
He did not see the policeman he knew at the station. Instead, a sergeant spoke loudly about "immigrants (who) come to this country stealing people's belongings". At one point he had been told to sign a blue form acknowledging the alleged theft, but had refused to do so. Later the sergeant had scattered the contents of his wallet and told him to "clean your rubbish and get out of here or you'll be charged". He had insisted on first being told why he had been insulted and forced to miss class.
The sergeant had left the room and thrown him from the chair when he returned.
"I fell on the ground and they started kicking me and holding me to the ground."
Copyright © 2003. The Age Company Ltd
Posted on Saturday 6th December at 16:08:04 ADB Loan for Port Project
NAIROBI, 4 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - The African Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of US $10 million to finance a project to build a bulk terminal at the port of Djibouti.
This project involves the development, design, construction, ownership, operation and maintenance of bulk terminal facilities for cereals and fertilisers over an area covering 42,000 sq metres, the ADB said in a statement.
Upon completion, the project is expected to expedite food delivery to Ethiopia by improving port turnaround time.
"It adds value and improves competitiveness of the service sector, the main economic sector, which in turn contributes to improving living standards in the subregion. It will create new business opportunities in servicing the port operations and associated logistics," the statement said.
The total cost of the project, which is jointly financed by the Société Djiboutienne de Gestion du Terminal Vraquier and the ADB, is estimated at US $30 million.
Posted on Friday 5th December at 22:07:22 Money Transfer Companies Form Association
NAIROBI, 5 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - Somali money transfer companies launched the Somali Financial Services Association (SFSA) on Thursday at a two-day conference in London, attended by representatives of remittance companies, financial regulators from Britain, continental Europe and the United States.
According to a UN Development Programme (UNDP) press statement, the two-day conference was an opportunity for both international regulators and the remittance companies to discuss obstacles facing the sector.
The new body, which is supported by UNDP, brings together 14 money transfer companies "and aims to provide both advocacy and technical support to the industry while also serving as a conduit between members and authorities in foreign countries on issues such as legislation".
“Remittance companies are the largest employers in Somalia,” SFSA Secretary General Muhammed Jirdeh Hussein was quoted as saying. “They also handle millions of dollars belonging to the Somali people. We thought it important to set up a supervisory and accountable authority which would also develop a code of conduct and best practices for the industry."
After the 11 September terror attacks, Somali money transfer companies came under international scrutiny and the biggest company Barakat was shut down after the US government accused it of links with terror groups - a charge vehemently denied by the company.
According to the UN, money transfer companies remit approximately US $750 million annually into the country from Somalis living in the Diaspora.
In a recent interview, Abdirashid M Duale, head of Dahab Shiil, currently the largest money transfer company, told IRIN, a significant number of the transactions relate to investments, commerce and social development projects initiated in the region. For the Somali business sector, remittance companies are the main gateway to the rest of the world.
“Remittances into Somalia help to avert humanitarian crises,” said UNDP Somalia Resident Representative Maxwell Gaylard. “The Association will help safeguard this lifeline into Somalia and contribute to the development of the economy and the capacity of those who drive it.”
Posted on Friday 5th December at 18:47:06 Iran, Djibouti Issue Joint Statement
Tehran, Dec 4 - The Islamic Republic of Iran and Djibouti signed a joint statement here Thursday at the end of a visit to the Islamic Republic by Djibouti's President.
The statement was signed by visiting Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh and his Iranian counterpart President Mohammad Khatami.
According to the presidential office, during the current visit of the Djibouti President to the Islamic Republic of Iran the two sides signed a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on cooperation in the economic, industrial and mining sectors.
The statement called for exchange of economic, political and cultural delegations to study bilateral, regional and international developments.
The agreement further pointed to the need for benefiting from vast and untapped potentials in broadening economic ties between the two sides' private and governmental sectors.
The statement calls on the African states to strive to put an end to conflicts, fighting and crisis in the African continent.
It lauded the efforts of Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh in restoration of peace and stability in Somalia.
The joint statement condemns the atrocities and violence of the Zionists against defenseless Palestinians and voiced support for the Palestinians' struggles to liberate their motherland.
Condemning the plots of those who try to distort the image of Islam, the statement lashed out any act of terrorism.
On the Iraq crisis, the statement reaffirmed the need to preserve Iraq's territorial integrity, national unity and independent and called for the immediate withdrawal of occupiers from the country and led the people administer their own affairs through a democratic and free elections under supervision of the United Nations.
The statement also opposed the unipolar system and called for further collaboration and cooperation of the developing countries under the framework of south-south cooperation.
The two sides called for peaceful application of nuclear technology for all members of the NPT.
Posted on Thursday 4th December at 17:53:32 UN Urges Nations to Tighten Somalia Arms Embargo
The United Nations Security Council has called on the international community to tighten the arms embargo on Somalia.
In a statement Wednesday, the Council said the lack of an effective central government in Somalia allowed international terror groups to operate there.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991 when various armed factions overthrew President Mohammed Siad Barre.
The Security Council statement was issued after the group met to discuss a recent U.N. report about continuing arms trafficking to Somalia. The report said the operation is linked to "armed groups and extremists beyond Somalia's borders." The Council urged neighboring countries to comply with the 11-year old U.N. arms embargo on Somalia. The Horn of Africa country has been linked to the shipment of weapons used in terror attacks.
The U.N. report, released last month, said al-Qaida operatives who bombed a hotel in Kenya and tried to down an Israeli airliner the same day last year obtained weapons and trained for the attacks in neighboring Somalia.
The report said al-Qaida operatives brought surface-to-air missiles from Yemen into Somalia and then, into Kenya, three months ahead of the November attacks near the coastal city of Mombasa.
At least 16 people were killed, including suicide bombers, when a truck loaded with explosives slammed into the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel.
Posted on Wednesday 3rd December at 17:50:29 UAE Investing In the Revival of Somalia
Somalia one of the nations from which thousands of people have fled to Tanzania as refugees, is now under the target of petro-dollar investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are targeting the police, army and financial sector, it has been learnt.
According a city businessman who has been in Dubai recently, Juma Pandui, some influential business people from the UAE, having serious interests in Somalia, have revealed that last month the Somalia government, led by President Abdul Quassim Salat, had recently obtained huge investment from the UAE.
During his recent tour through several Arab countries, President Salat of Somalia had obtained the largest investment in three years amounting to more than three million US Dollars, Pandui said.
He added: “These investments, which are meant to finance the Peace Conference in Somalia, proclaimed by President Abdul Quassim Salat two months ago, are also set aside to fund the regular army and police forces of the Transnational Government (TNG).
He also said they are earmarked to foster some Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and banking projects in Mogadishu.
Part of the funds may also be diverted to pay some of the current debts of the Transnational Goverenment,” he said.
Somalia, which plunged into civil war and anarchy after the demise of Siad Barre. became a failed state with no central government.It is now struggling to restore its lost economic and political stability.
The long civil war produced thousands of refugees who fled to the neighbouring countries of Kenya and Tanzania. In Tanzania, hundreds of refugees have been absorbed and granted nationality status to live in Handeni District Tanga Region.
Posted on Wednesday 3rd December at 17:42:17 Parliament State Won't Pay Somali Talks Bills
The Government was under no obligation to settle bills incurred in millions of shillings by Somali delegates discussing peace in the country, assistant minister Foreign Affairs Mr Moses Wetang'ula said.
Mr Wetang'ula said the 927 delegates incurred a bill of Sh327,241,195 at Eldoret hotels when the talks were held in the town between October 15 last year and January 14 this year.
Mr Wetang'ula was answering a question by Mr Joseph Lagat (Eldoret East, Kanu) who sought to know whether the minister was aware that 13 hotels in Eldoret were under a threat of being auctioned by banks and suppliers due to unpaid bills incurred by Somali delegates.
Mr Wetang'ula gave the figures and said that the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) secretariat at Djibouti was responsible for the bills.
He said the Government's letter to the hotels to let free the delegates was only a "comfort letter" and not a commitment to pay.
MPs demanded an explanation what the assistant minister meant by a comfort letter.
Mr Lagat tabled a copy of the Government letter promising that the ministry would pay the bills.
Mr Wetang'ula said Kenya was only a member of the IGAD and it could not pay the money alone.
Mr Abdi Sasura (Saku, Kanu) said asked the Government to tell IGAD that Kenya was unable to host the Somali peace talks, owing to the fact that even in Nairobi, hotels bills have not been honoured.
Mr Wetang'ula said the peace process for Somalia was very crucial to the region and Kenya would not afford disassociating with them.
He said IGAD was soliciting funds from partners and friends, including the European Union to pay for the peace meetings.
Julius Bosire
Copyright © 2003 The Nation.
Posted on Wednesday 3rd December at 17:40:09 Murder Charges Dismissed
A High Court judge has dismissed murder charges against two Somali men accused of killing a Tongan man during a night of violence in Auckland.
Elikena Inia was stabbed during a street brawl between Somali and Pacific Island groups in Mt Albert in January of last year.
Ambar Yusuf and Abdirizak Ismail were charged with Inia's murder, and have been on trial at the High Court in Auckland.
But with the hearing entering its fourth week, Justice Nicholson dismissed the charges because of insufficient evidence.
Defence lawyer Andrew Speed says the judge found the Crown case had failed, but said there was no criticism of the police or prosecution.
Speed says there were no witnesses to prove that the two men were party to the stabbing, and the circumstances and reasons for Inia's death remain a mystery.
Posted on Tuesday 2nd December at 17:56:57 Somalia Gets Per-second Billing
Tecore Wireless Systems says that its customer, Telsom Mobile, has deployed Per-Second Precision Prepaid for their prepaid customers network-wide in Somalia. Telsom is a Joint Venture Company between two telecommunication service providers in Somalia, Somatel and Telcom Somalia, and was established in February 2001.
"We've been able to implement Tecore's solution as a true real-time, pay-for-what-you-say feature for prepaid services - on a per subscriber basis for all calls, across peak and off-peak hours, every day of the week," said M. A. Jama, Telsom Mobile's CEO. "These types of customized features allow us to compete in the market and significantly increase our business while giving the customer more flexibility and freedom of choice."
With the Per-Second Precision Prepaid capability, Tecore operators have unparalleled flexibility to customize their billing increments to match their market needs. They are able to create a variety of billing increments from 1-second to over 5-minute intervals. When carriers face pressure to reduce the per-minute tariffs that they charge to their customers, per-second charging becomes a logical alternative.
"This implementation gives wireless operators the true flexibility of per-second billing to stay ahead and quickly react to changes in the marketplace," said Casey Joseph, Tecore's chief technical officer and vice president of engineering. "Our engineering team is equipped to design such innovative and customized tariff structures on the AirCore System to meet our evolving customer needs," added Joseph.
Posted on Tuesday 2nd December at 17:47:58 Minister Warns Somalia Leaders
The international community is growing impatient with the pace of the Somalia peace talks, Foreign Affairs Minister Kalonzo Musyoka warned yesterday.
Musyoka said the world community was eager for progress in talks being held at the Kenya College of Communications Technology in Mbagathi, Nairobi.
"Without appearing to threaten the Somalia leaders, the world is slowly getting impatient with the pace at which the peace talks are going," he said.
Musyoka said the talks were at a critical stage, and urged factional leaders to be more serious.
"Most of the leaders keep violating their own agreement and unless we see more commitment, I can assure you people are not happy".
He was addressing a press conference in Nairobi after making a ministerial statement on a three-day workshop on strengthening peace initiatives and post-conflict reconstruction.
Musyoka announced that a 10-day Somalia leaders retreat, to be held in Mombasa from December 8, will be the final chance for the factions to strike an agreement on a lasting solution for their country.
"The retreat is firmly on and we are not giving the leaders any conditionalities. They are free to come up with the agenda of the meeting but after that, the world will be watching what step they take next," he said.
If the leaders fail to agree during the retreat, Musyoka said, the rest of the world may not be eager to take over from where the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad), and especially Kenya, will have left.
Over 40 leaders, including the president of the Transitional National Government, are expected at the high level talks on when to move to Mogadishu to start creating a government.
Copyright © 2003 . The Standard Ltd
Posted on Monday 1st December at 22:11:53 Retreat Plan to Speed up Somalia Peace Initiative
Officials taking part in the Somali Peace talks intend to go for a 10-day retreat to speed up the reconciliation.
About 40 of them are expected to take part in the intense consultations, which are to start on December 9.
Speaking during the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) conference on strengthening peace-making initiatives and post-conflict reconstruction in Nairobi yesterday, Foreign minister Kalonzo Musyoka said the talks had reached a critical stage, and urged all the faction leaders to take the retreat seriously.
"The leaders are expected to openly discuss their concerns to overcome difficulties and to move the peace process forward," he said.
During the conference, whose theme was Challenges Kenya Faces in Hosting the Somali and Sudan Peace Talks, Mr Musyoka said there would be no preconditions for the retreat, adding that the various factions were free to state the venue and to set their own agenda.
"Patience is running out. We hope that the retreat will go beyond what has already been achieved. There is need to bring peace and stability in Somalia, and the world cannot witness forever the devastation of this country," he said.
Mr Musyoka said there was a lot of business going on in Somalia, especially with illicit arms threatening the security of neighbouring countries.
"That is why there is need to restore peace in the country so that we may also enjoy safety. The instability brings with it other vices such as threats of terrorism, and the weapons are finding their way into our country," he said.
He said there were more than 17 other low-intensity conflicts in the region which could become active any moment, adding that there was need to urgently dismantle the current propensity for conflict.
He said building trust among the conflicting parties and maintaining it had been elusive and added that the little trust that developed quickly evaporated over suspicions.
"Divisions amongst the parties or factions is a common problem which complicates the reconciliation," he said.
He said there was lack of harmony from the parties, regional member States and the wider International Community on how to resolve the conflicts.
"We appreciate that deadlines are not easy to keep in negotiations of this nature, but open-ended discussions are expensive and may not be beneficial," he said.
By NATION Correspondent
Copyright ©2003, Nation Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.
Posted on Monday 1st December at 22:10:42 Somalia Is Worrisome, But Over-Glorified As a Terror Haven
When one thinks of Somalia, standard pictures come to mind. An utter black hole where a government, albeit a predatory one, used to be. Chaos, clan warfare and the massacre of international peacekeepers. People who live in a state of extreme poverty, poor health and low living standards. A place where porous borders, easily recruited gunmen and piracy reign.
With all this, it is no surprise that such a place might be a haven for al-Qaida and other radical groups. Somalia was the first case study brought before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after Sept. 11, 2001, and singled out as a threat on a very threatening continent. The lawlessness of the country (if one can call it that, because it is at best a geographical expression) has been exploited to others advantage, which for terrorist operatives is a transshipment point for money and weapons and a transit haven for fugitives.
A detailed U.N. report of the arms flow into Somalia, delivered to the U.N. sanctions committee early last month, reports that the terrorists who attacked an Israeli resort and an airliner along the Kenyan coast last November posed as lobstermen while they smuggled missiles and other weapons from Somalia aboard a wooden boat. The SA-7B missiles used in the attack came from Yemen or Eritrea, which had made an arms shipment to one of the major Somali warlords in 1998 in violation of an arms embargo the U.N. Security Council imposed in 1992. The panel also determined that it is relatively easy to obtain not only small arms but also man-portable air defense systems, light anti-tank weapons, explosives and surface-to-air missiles in Somalia.
However, no major terrorist installations have ever been discovered there. Somalia has not produced any Taliban-style radical administrations, nor shown a trend of being heavily infiltrated by al-Qaida. By all measures, it should be a much more active terror base than it is. The reasons it is not are twofold.
First, since Sept. 11, 2001, no organization has been able to put down any sort of physical institution. These types of permanent structures are exactly what can be tracked and destroyed by coalition forces, so any terror cells there must remain small or largely made up of indigenous members to blend in. Second, and possibly most importantly, collapsed states might not be so attractive to terrorist organizations after all.
Somalia provides the same inhospitable environment and challenges for terrorists as it did for peacekeepers and nongovernmental organization relief operations. There is no infrastructure, and terrorists themselves would be vulnerable to threats, extortion and kidnappings. Whatever resources they brought along with them would ensnare them in clan battles, and alliances would not be easy or cost-beneficial to create. Their movement would be visible to Somalis as outsiders, and the terrorists would face serious disadvantages from having to operate in such an exposed environment. The very absence of a recognized government would make it all the easier for U.S. special forces to swoop in and snatch whomever they please.
So is Somalia a concern for the national security of the United States? Definitely. The lack of a more formal terrorist presence doesn’t mean Somalia is immune. Many wanted terrorists are reported to be concealed in Mogadishu, Somalia and other port towns. However, planners should turn a more careful eye on weak and compromised states as well as those that are totally collapsed.
Countries that feature large central governments and serious deficiencies because of corruption, poor economic viability or ethnic tensions are practically inviting groups such as Hezbollah and al-Qaida to set up shop. Similarly, one can easily see from the increasing terrorist attacks within Muslim states directed at their own government and people, such as the recent al-Qaida attacks, that relatively strong states such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan, which are constrained from taking action against Islamic terror or radicals for political reasons, should be of more concern as terror staging grounds.
By Jennifer Shupe
© Copyright 2003 The Minnesota Daily
Posted on Monday 1st December at 18:04:38 UNICEF Urges Leaders to Join Fight Against HIV/AIDS
NAIROBI, 1 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - On the occasion of World AIDS Day, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has appealed to Somali leaders to join the fight against the disease and support the youth in tackling it, according to a press statement issued by the agency on Monday.
"Leaders must rise to this huge challenge and mobilise the youth, not to fight political battles, but to spearhead the fight for their own survival, and that of Somalia against AIDS," the statement quoted Jesper Morch, the UNICEF representative for Somalia, as saying.
Unlike many of the surrounding countries, in Somalia the prevalence of HIV/AIDS had remained relatively low, thereby providing a setting in which an effective, comprehensive and nationwide prevention programme - if put in place now - could achieve a reduction in the number of future HIV infections, said the statement.
Addressing a meeting of community leaders in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, Morch said: "AIDS is an issue on which there can be no disagreement. It knows no clan, no faction nor political allegiance."
World AIDS Day was also marked in other parts of Somalia. In the capital, Mogadishu, a ceremony was held at the Sahafi Hotel, which was attended by politicians, traditional elders, religious leaders, representatives of civil society and women's groups and the UN.
All the leaders present committed themselves to the fight against the pandemic, Dr Muhammad Mahmud Ali Fuje of the World Health Organisation told IRIN.
"This is a breakthrough," he stressed. "It is the first time that religious leaders have come out in public to support the fight against the disease. This shows that Somalis are beginning to take this seriously."
Posted on Monday 1st December at 17:53:37 Back
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