Ecoterra Press Release 235 – The Somalia Chronicle June – December 2009, no 47
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 16, 2010
ECOTERRA Intl.
SMCM
Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor
ECOTERRA INTERNATIONAL - UPDATES & STATEMENTS, REVIEW & CLEARING-HOUSE
2009-08-31 MON 17h45:56 UTC
Issue No. 235
A Voice from the Truth- & Justice-Seekers, who sit between all chairs, because they are not part of organized white-collar or no-collar-crime in Somalia or elsewhere, and who neither benefit from global naval militarization, from the illegal fishing and dumping in Somali waters or the piracy of merchant vessels, nor from the booming insurance business or the exorbitant ransom-, risk-management- or security industry, while neither the protection of the sea, the development of fishing communities or the humanitarian assistance to abducted seafarers and their families is receiving the required adequate attention, care and funding.
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." George Orwell
EA ILLEGAL FISHING AND DUMPING HOTLINE: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed) - email: somalia[at]ecoterra.net
EA Seafarers Assistance Programme EMERGENCY HELPLINE : SMS to +254-738-497979 or sms/call +254-733-633-733
"The pirates must not be allowed to destroy our dream !"
Cpt. Florent Lemaçon - F/Y Tanit - killed by French commandos - 10. April 2009 / Ras Hafun
NON A LA GUERRE - YES FOR PEACE
(Inscription on the sail of F/Y TANIT - shot down on day one of the French assault)
We have the obligation to fight oppression and cruelty wherever it appears, and believe that anybody who is degrading other people and peoples has to be fought against with whatever appropriate tools people have available.
Breaking:
Scandal: Captured Somalis handed over by Egypt to Somali Embassy for extradition
What was feared all the way along, after EUNAVFOR in the first place didn't arrest the eight Somalis captured by the crew of two Egyptian vessels, which had been impounded for illegal fishing, has now transpired as becoming reality. The eight captured Somalis have been handed over to the Somali embassy in Cairo for repatriation to Puntland, intelligence sources revealed.
Despite the fact that highest Egyptian government officials and diplomats had promised a fair and public trial according to international standards in Egypt, the Somalis from the Warsangeli clan are now extradited to Puntland, which is governed by the Majerteen and thereby this extradition is not only flawed but a serious human rights violation, since no fair trial can be expected.
It is obvious that Egypt thereby tries to cover up the true story of the ill-fated voyage of the two illegally fishing vessels, the persistent lies of the owners and can no longer be seen as what it had set out to be - a regional hub for the legal fight against piracy in all its forms (incl. IUU fishing).
Captured Ukrainian crew plead for help (AFP)
The Ukrainian crew of a cargo ship held for more than three months by Somali pirates pleaded Sunday for authorities to speed up efforts to gain their release and urgently evacuate a female hostage.
"We are exhausted and desperate," the Ukrainian skipper of the MV Ariana, who gave his name only as Captain Voronov, told AFP by phone from the ship anchored off northern Somalia.
One of two female members of the 24-strong crew "risks death" without proper medical treatment, according to a Ukrainian doctor who spoke to her by phone from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
The tearful young woman pleaded for help in the phone call, said the doctor, who said she ran the risk of generalised infection due to a gynaecological condition.
Both the captain and the woman spoke for about 20 minutes in a satellite phone call set up by ECOTERRA International, a non-governmental organisation monitoring the impact of piracy on the region.
The pirates have up to now refused to free the woman separately.
Voronov expressed frustration in the phone call with the lack of progress in negotiations to free the crew. He demanded that pressure be put on the shipowners "so that they can begin real negotiations," adding that the crew's reserves of clean rain water was likely to run out within days.
The pirates demanded a ransom for the vessel within days of the hijacking, and a spokesman for the Athens-based owners, All Ocean Shipping, said on May 8 that negotiations were under way. But no progress has been reported since.
The Maltese-flagged vessel was seized north of Madagascar while on its way to the Middle East from Brazil on May 2 with a cargo of 10,000 tonnes of soya beans.
Ismail Haji Noor, a Somali anti-piracy official in the country's northern Galmudug region, quoted local elders as saying that the pirates demanded five million dollars for the ship.
Noor suggested middlemen were hampering progress in the negotiations.
"Seafarers' lives should be given priority. Stop the so-called negotiators and the real owners must involve themselves directly," Noor told AFP. "We will do what we can to help without any condition."
"This ship should be the last to be held in the area. We will not allow any one to bring piracy any more into... Galmudug state."
The Ariana is among at least six vessels currently being held by Somali pirates who ramped up attacks in the first half of this year despite the deployment of anti-piracy patrols by a multinational naval along the approaches to the Red Sea.
At least 123 sailors also remain in the hands of Somali pirates, according to ECOTERRA.
Pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships last year in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, a rise of more than 200 percent over 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
More than 30,000 vessels a year transit the Gulf of Aden, heading to and from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
So far this year there have been 114 attempted attacks on merchant vessels in the region, 29 of them successful, according to the US navy.
Clearing-House: Cut out the clutter - focus on facts !
(If you find this compilation too large or if you can't grasp the multitude and magnitude of important, inter-related and complex issues influencing the Horn of Africa - you better do not deal with Somalia or other man-made "conflict zones". We try to make it as easy and condensed as possibly.)
U.S.-American Navy Helicopter endangers hostages
What was reported as attack by pirates turns more and more out to actually have been an attack by US navy chopper
Somali pirates on Wednesday morning reportedly fired on a U.S. Navy helicopter as it did a routine surveillance flight over a Taiwanese fishing vessel held in Somalia, according to a news release from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs in Bahrain.
On Aug. 26, at approximately 8:00 a.m. local time, Somali pirates aboard Motor Vessel Win Far, fired what appeared to be a large caliber weapon at a U.S. Navy SH-60B Helicopter from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 49, embarked aboard USS Chancellorsville, admitted the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
No rounds of ammunition struck the SH-60B. The SH-60 crew did not return fire the Central Command says - to what later appeared to allegedly have been "a rocket". No personnel injuries resulted from the incident.
FV Win Far 161 is a Taiwanese-flagged vessel that was pirated on April 6, 2009 allegedly near the Seychelles, and over the past 135 days it has been also used as a "mother ship" to conduct other known pirate attacks, most notably the U.S. flagged Maersk-Alabama in April 2009. Somali sources , however, claim that the vessel had been involved in illegal fishing in Somalia since quiet some time and was known to the group, which captured it, allegedly operating from a Seychelles registered catamaran, SY SERENITY, which in the meantime has been burned and was sunk off the Somali coast. Insider information actually spoke of an involvement of the sailing ship in drug smuggling activities.
The helicopter was conducting a routine surveillance flight of FV Win Far 161 currently held at anchorage by Somali pirates south of Garacad, within the 12nm zone at the northern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, when the incident occurred.
During the flight, the aircrew observed activity, but could not ascertain they were fired upon until their return to USS Chancellorsville and a review of the Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) video, which recorded the incident. The helicopter was approximately 3,000 yards from the hostage ship when it was fired upon.
The 30 crew members of the fishing vessel remain as hostages aboard the vessel, while release negotiations with the evasive owner of the vessel have broken down several times and not even really commenced.
But the more interesting part of the information comes from Puntland. The captors of FV WIN FAR 161 claim that they never shot at the helicopter, but that actually the helicopter had opened fire and only stopped when they could see crew being held at gunpoint on deck. This information was also confirmed by a high ranking official from the Puntland government.
According to local reports, the gang holding the vessel has vowed to shoot down any naval aircraft and to fight back any other attempt to militarily interfere, which certainly would also endanger the hostages seriously.
The negative outcome of this irresponsible US-American behaviour by interfering and endangering a hostage situation is that most likely now the captors will keep some crew on the land.
It is therefore mandatory to bring the helicopter pilot, the gunner and their commander in front of a court to really get down to the truth.
Whom To Believe ?
Investigative journalist James Bamford examined how the Bush administration and Iraqi National Congress used the PR firm Rendon Group to feed journalists–including Judith Miller—fabricated stories in an effort to sell the war. The firm has received millions in government contracts since 1991 when it was USed by the CIA to help "create the conditions for the removal of Hussein from power." Iraq wasn´t the first regime change case for Rendon. In 1989 the CIA turned to Rendon to use a variety of campaign and psychological techniques in Panama to put the CIA´s choice, Guillermo Endara, into the presidential palace to replace Gen. Manuel Noriega.
Contrary to the insistence of Pentagon officials last week that they are not rating the work of reporters covering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Army newspaper Stars and Stripes has obtained documents that prove that reporters´ coverage is being graded.
Moreover, the documents — recent confidential profiles of the work of individual reporters prepared by a Pentagon contractor — indicate that the ratings are intended to help Pentagon image-makers manipulate the types of stories that reporters produce while they are embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
The US Army in Afghanistan has already admitted it pays a private company to produce background profiles on journalists covering the war. The Pentagon has been on the defensive ever since the newspaper that journalists were being screened by the Washington-based public relations firm, the Rendon Group, under a $1.5 million contract with the military. Documents obtained by the paper reveal journalists were evaluated with pie charts breaking down their coverage into percentages of "positive," "neutral" or "negative."
News from sea-jackings, abductions, newly attacked ships and vessels in distress
Ship with Indian crew attacked by pirates in the Gulf
A traditional wooden ship with Indian crew sailing from the United Arab Emirates toward Bahrain was the target of the first act of sea piracy reported in Persian Gulf waters in years, according to details of the attack that emerged on Sunday.
The Bahraini dhow was intercepted on Friday night by another ship with an armed crew, security sources said.
The four pirates threatened the six-man Indian crew with guns and assaulted them before taking their cargo of fish and mobile phones, sources said. The crew members said they believed the pirates were Iranian, but their nationality could not be positively confirmed.
The Indian sailors were unharmed. They were released and arrived in a Bahraini port on Sunday.
The case represents the first time an act of piracy has been reported inside the Gulf since the issue of piracy again came to the forefront of international attention off the Somali coast in recent years.
In recent months Somali pirates had expanded their operations beyond the Somali coast line and the Gulf of Aden reaching areas as far as the east coast of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
According to figures from the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB), piracy attacks around the world more than doubled in the first six months of 2009 with 240 cases being reported, up from 114 in the same period last year.
The IMB attributed the rise in piracy mainly to attacks off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden, southern Red Sea, east coast of Oman and Arabian Sea, where 148 out the 240 piracy attacks took place.
In July the Bahrain-based US Navy 5th Fleet Command warned against increased pirate activity off the Somali coast when the monsoon season ends.
The fleet had established a combined task force in January to conduct counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Somalia basin.
NATO and European Union forces are also working in the area to combat piracy. Russia, China, and India also sent warships to the area to help protect and convoy vessels flying their flags.
Pirate attack on Italian ship – MarineLog
With piracy incidents off Somalia likely to increase as the monsoon season ends, an attack on an Italian ship yesterday may well be a taste of things to come.
An EU NAVFOR ship and helicopter intervened yesterday when an Italian general cargo ship came under pirate attack. A South Korean navy helicopter from CTF 151 also cooperated in the response to an emergency call from MV Southern Cross, which is managed by Rimorchiatori Laziali of Naples.
The attack was successfully thwarted by the Southern Cross herself, says EU NAVFOR.
The Norwegian warship HNOMS Fridtjof Nansen received an emergency call late morning yesterday from Southern Cross saying she was under attack from pirates. The Southern Cross was transiting the Gulf of Aden, some 80 nautical miles south of Al Mukkala.
HNOMS Fridtjof Nansen and the helicopter of the South Korean warship Daejoyoung from CTF 151 responded directly to the situation.
While the Fridtjof Nansen and the helicopter were approaching, the skiff with five people on board broke off the attack after having fired several shots at the pilot house of Southern Cross and escaped to the south.
The EU NAVFOR German warship FGS Bremen launched a helicopter to join the search for the pirate skiff. In the afternoon FGS Bremen's helicopter detected a suspicious skiff. HNOMS Fridtjof Nansen launched her fast rhibs with her boarding team and conducted a boarding. Weapons were seen thrown overboard. The skiff was released at dusk.
US warship thwarts pirate attack in Gulf of Aden but pirates escape
The Yemeni Coastguards police have said a U.S. warship thwarted on Thursday a piracy attempt against a merchant vessel called MV Thorncross in the Gulf of Aden.
The media center of Yemen's Interior Ministry quoted the police as saying that the Yemen Coastguards had received a distress call from a security protection team of the vessel that Somali pirates were approaching the ship in a skiff as it was 47 nautical miles off Yemeni coasts.
"A U.S. warship of international counterpiracy navies was patrolling the seas in the Gulf of Aden and prevented the piracy attempt but the pirates could escape", added the police.
It has become common malpractice that the navy vessels themselves do not report, neither to the Somali Government nor to the UN, though this is prescribed for any of their actions under the UN mandate.
The full truth must come out - just give it a chance and put them all on trial
Returning fishermen accuse ship owner of stealing the glory
By Amro Hassan in Cairo for LATimes
Since their return to Egypt earlier this week, many of the 34 fisherman who overpowered Somali pirates to release their ships after four months of captivity have accused Hassan Khalil -- owner of one of the vessels -- of claiming too much glory for himself.
Khalil, who wasn´t aboard the vessel Momtaz 1 when it first departed Egyptian waters, was credited with organizing the rescue plan that freed the fisherman. After ransom talks with the pirates reached a dead end in Somalia, Khalil claims he hired mercenaries and helped the fishermen rise against the pirates At least two pirates were killed. The crew locked up eight other bandits and sailed home for Egypt.
However, many of the fishermen have different views of what happened. "We have always thought about escaping ourselves, but we never set a date for an action because Khalil used to call us and ensure that he will be paying the ransom," Abdel Salam Emara, one of the fishermen said.
"Khalil arrived in Somalia two months after we were captured. He said the pirates wanted $550,000 and that he couldn't afford to pay them that much. He urged us to see a way out, otherwise we will stay in their hands until forever," adds Mahmoud El Fekki, another fisherman.
Emara and El Fekki say that the fishermen decided to carry out the plan themselves and keep the ransom money as a reward in case they returned to Egypt alive. The men claimed this week that Khalil has said he will not pay them for their months in captivity.
Some fishermen also refuted claims that Egyptian authorities had a hand in the rescue. While it is not known what, if any, role Egyptian intelligence may have played, Khalil earlier stated that officials in the country's foreign ministry helped connect him to people in Somalia who helped in arranging the release.
Egyptian law enforcement officials in the presence of Assistant Foreign Minister Ahmed Rizk and Egyptian Ambassador to Somalia Said Mursi as well as Damietta and Suez governors Mohamed Fathi El-Baradei and Seif Galal stated that the 8 Somalis brought into Egypt with the vessels were taken into custody on arrival and will be tried at an Egyptian court. For his part Mursi said their had been no contact between the embassy and the pirates or the Somali government, and that the fate of the pirates now in custody would be determined by lawful means.
Hidden in Plain View
By Roland Oliphant - Russia Profile
Does the Urgent Russian Response to the Hijacking of the Arctic Sea Reflect Concern for the Crew, or For a Secret Cargo?
On August 17 the Russian patrol vessel Ladny apprehended and boarded the Maltese-flagged, Finnish owned cargo ship Arctic Sea, which had apparently been hijacked in Swedish waters three weeks earlier. The rescue operation – accomplished "without a shot being fired," according to the Russian navy – marked the end of the three-week mystery of the missing cargo vessel. But the subsequent criminal investigation may well last longer, and prove even more of an enigma, than the ship´s original "disappearance."
The Russians, along with the Swedes, Finns and Maltese, are now claiming that the Arctic Sea was never "lost" at all, and experts believe that the speed with which the Russian navy apprehended the stolen vessel (the navy was deployed on August 12, and the Ladny caught the Arctic Sea five days later) backs up that claim. Even if a vessel can turn off its Automated Identification System (AIS), "if you know what vessel you´re looking for, and you have satellite tracking and so on, it´s actually pretty easy," said one maritime expert who asked not to be named.
So that´s one mystery solved. If one accepts that releasing details of the investigation would have endangered the crew´s lives (and not everyone will), then the authorities´ silence becomes understandable.
One reason the case has caused so much head-scratching is that it has flouted all the conventions of piracy that the maritime world has become accustomed to in recent years. "Somali pirates are successful because they can take refuge in a lawless state," said Stephen Askins, a London-based maritime lawyer experienced in handling piracy cases. "Drifting about off Cape Verde with a vague rumour of a ransom demand suggests a lack of a clear exit strategy."
And the differences do not end there. The international anti-piracy force has found it difficult to free ships captured off Somalia because the pirates tend to put up a fight and use their prisoners as hostages. But the hijackers of the Arctic Sea apparently gave up without a fight. And now the Russians have taken the robust step of flying them to Moscow to stand trail, something that has almost never happened to captured Somali pirates.
Normal procedure after a Somali hijacking would be to head for a port of refuge, repair the ship, perhaps repatriate the crew, and allow the vessel to continue to its port of destination to deliver its cargo. Instead the Russians seem to be treating the Arctic Sea as a pirate ship, rather than a ship captured by pirates. The Basmanny District court has issued a writ seizing the ship, and the Russian navy is towing the vessel to Novorossiysk, apparently without stopping to unload its timber in Algeria. And rather than being released, the crew has apparently been detained in Moscow for what Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigative Committee, called "urgent interrogation."
The Legal Wrangles Begin
The suspects have already been assigned lawyers, who in turn lost no time in appealing their arrest by the Basmanny District Court, citing procedural violations. The men´s lawyers have even questioned Russia´s jurisdiction. "The cargo ship was hijacked on July 24 in Swedish territorial waters, the vessel was carrying cargo from Finland to Algeria, and sailed under the Maltese flag," Omar Akhmedov, representing two of the suspects, told the Kommersant daily.
Actually, in this case the Russians probably have a good claim to jurisdiction. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), each state has jurisdiction to try anyone apprehended for piracy on international waters – regardless of the attackers´ nationality. And as a signatory to the convention on Suppression of Unlawful Acts at Sea (SUA), Russia may take action if its nationals are the victims of piracy or terrorism.
Nonetheless, the trial promises to get interesting. Although it will be held in Moscow, under Russian law, the investigation includes no less than four other countries; Malta, where the Arctic Sea is registered; Finland, where the company that owns the vessel is based and from where the Arctic Sea set sail; Sweden, in whose waters the alleged hijacking took place; and Estonia, where six of the eight suspects are permanent residents (the other two are Latvian).
To further complicate things, only one of those six is actually an Estonian citizen. Of the other five, two are Russian passport holders, and three are stateless persons on "grey" passports. All are reported to be Russian speakers. The Estonian prosecutor´s office says it has not yet decided whether to ask Russia for extradition, but a criminal case has also been opened in Estonia. Piracy carries a twenty-year sentence in both jurisdictions, so it seems likely that the two sides will be able to come to some arrangement over where the convicts serve their sentences.
But like any well-crafted piece of crime fiction, the heart of the mystery is the motive. On this score the authorities have been as tight-lipped in their public pronouncements as the press has been exuberantly creative. Bastrykin told the Rossiskaya Gazeta daily in an interview on Wednesday that he could not "rule out that the ship was carrying not only timber." Given the audacity of the attack and the urgency of the Russian response, the Russian media have already ruled out everything but that.
The "secret cargo" has been variously described as nuclear material (denied by the Finns, who carried out a dock-side radiation test), drugs, or weapons. A theory first floated by the liberal Novaya Gazeta weekly says the weapons in question were anti-aircraft and cruise missiles destined for Iran, and that the "pirates" were in the pay of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.
Moskovsky Komsomolets in turn claimed that the hijacking was the work of "the special services of a European Union country," intending either to "blackmail Russia in the international arena" or simply looking to make a quick profit in the knowledge that the owners of the contraband "were unlikely to kick up a big fuss."
Bastrykin says the Arctic Sea is being towed to Novorossiysk to get to the bottom of these claims. Cynics respond that the plan is to remove the embarrassing cargo, not to discover it. Meanwhile, the Arctic Sea has not reappeared on AIS tracking services since it disappeared in the Bay of Biscay. To the eyes of the world, it is as lost as it was three weeks ago.
With the latest captures and releases now still at least 6 foreign vessels with a total of not less than 123 crew members are accounted for (of which 42 are confirmed to be Filipinos) and are held in Somali waters. They are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. MV JAIKUR 1 remains in Mogadishu harbor, but is an insurance and not a piracy case - all foreign crew was evacuated. MV INDIAN EXPLORER and S/Y SERENITY are allegedly dead ships. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) had been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (for Somalia, incl. presently held ones) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by a naval force. For 2009 the account stands at 157 attacks (incl. averted or abandoned attacks) with 47 sea-jackings on the Somali/Yemeni pirate side as well as at least six wrongful attacks (incl. one friendly fire incident) on the side of the naval forces. More than 116 Somalis are held in foreign prisons under charges of piracy.
Mystery pirate mother-vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean as well as not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures. Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season in winter and rise gradually by the end of the monsoon season starting from mid February and early April every year.
Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: GoA: YELLOW IO: BLUE (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = possible, Green = unlikely). Allegedly still/again two groups from Puntland alone are out hunting on the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean, where also groups from Harardheere have set out again, despite the heavy seas and the rough weather.
Directly piracy or naval upsurge related reports
China urges US to end military surveillance near its shores (ANI)
After a series of territorial disputes between China and US earlier this year, China has urged US to reduce, and eventually end the military surveillance, which it does by both aircraft and ships near its shores.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense made the request during a session about maritime safety involving the countries on Thursday, which came after both the countries agreed to resume military relations during the two-day Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SAED) held in Washington in July.
"China believes the constant US military air and sea surveillance and survey operations in China´s exclusive economic zone led to military confrontations between the two sides," The China Daily quoted a ministry official, as saying.
"The way to resolve China-US maritime incidents is for the US to change its surveillance and survey operations policies against China. Decrease and eventually stop such operations," the official added.
Chinese ships have confronted US surveillance ships near its territory on five occasions.
Meanwhile, spokeswoman at the US Embassy in China Susan Stevenson, confirmed the report about the request, and said that US government position has not changed.
Stevenson further supported an earlier statement made by US Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy, which said that the US "exercises its freedom of navigation while putting emphasis on taking care to avoid any unwanted incidents".
The US says that waters 12 miles from China´s shoreline are open to shipping, while China says that US should not venture without permission inside its 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
End military surveillance missions, China tells US
By Christopher Bodeen
China tells US to end contentious military air-and-sea surveillance missions off Chinese coast
China demanded Thursday that the U.S. military cease its surveillance missions off the Chinese coast, reviving a dispute that continues to upset relations between the sides.
Bilateral ties have been repeatedly roiled this year by standoffs between Chinese vessels and U.S. Navy surveillance ships operating inside China´s exclusive economic zone.
China insists it has a right to restrict foreign military surveillance within its zone, but the U.S. says international agreements permit it to carry out such missions.
"China believes the constant U.S. military air and sea surveillance and survey operations in China´s exclusive economic zone had led to military confrontations between the two sides," the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Defense Ministry statement.
"The way to resolve China-U.S. maritime incidents is for the U.S. to change its surveillance and survey operations policies against China, decrease and eventually stop such operations," the statement said.
The demand came at the close of a two-day meeting Thursday in Beijing, conducted under the 1998 China-U.S. Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, which was supposed to provide a framework for resolving incidents between their forces.
China, however, has chosen to largely ignore the agreement during subsequent confrontations, including a 2001 aerial collision between a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea. The incident led to the death of the Chinese pilot and the brief detention of the U.S. crew after landing the damaged plane at a Chinese naval air base.
No immediate information was available on how the U.S. side responded to China´s demand.
Run-ins between the two military powers have become more frequent as the Chinese navy, after years of expansion, undertakes more missions, encountering a U.S. Navy used to manoeuvring unchallenged.
As its power grows, China has also pressed claims to the entire South China Sea and coastal waters and asserted that surveillance by the U.S. military there was illegal.
The U.S. doesn´t take a position on sovereignty claims to the sea — subject to dispute among various Asian nations — but insists on the U.S. Navy´s right to transit the area and collect surveillance data.
Pentagon officials have said there were four incidents earlier this year where Chinese-flagged fishing vessels maneuvered close to unarmed U.S. ships crewed by civilians and used by the Pentagon to do underwater surveillance and submarine-hunting missions.
U.S. experts have urged the two sides to use the MMCA to reach a more comprehensive pact, similar to the 1972 U.S.-Soviet Incidents at Sea Agreement, under which violations are dealt with by senior Chinese and U.S. officials.
Thursday´s Xinhua report made no mention of a discussion of any such agreement, although a top Chinese general said in June that the sides had agreed to work together to avoid future incidents.
Seafarers have rights to get compensated from piracy liability
Despite a legal ruling in Denmark otherwise, seafarers can demand compensation when their ship´s owner fails to prevent piracy, a rights group told Lloyd's Fairplay today.
The comments from Ken Peters, director of the Mission to Seafarers in the UK, followed the news that four crew members held by pirates failed to win compensation yesterday in Denmark.
"If shipping companies don´t take precautionary measures, then seafarers have every right to demand something more," Peters declared.
Navy Historian Traces Rise of Piracy
By Judith Snyderman - OSDPA
Pirates often are in the news for their criminal activities at sea, but their antics are far from new.
Pirates have been around since man first took to the high seas, and a type of sea raider known as a privateer made a mark between the 15th and 19th centuries.
Michael Crawford, a senior Navy historian, traced the rise of privateering and touched on strategies to combat modern pirates during an Aug. 24 "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable.
"A privateer is a private man of war who has a license from his sovereign government to attack the ships belonging to citizens of a country with which he is at war," Crawford said. "If he does capture an enemy ship, he has to go through all the legal requirements; he has to bring the ship into port and have it tried in an admiralty court."
Crawford traced the rise of privateering to the 15th century, when members of the merchant marine appealed to their kings after losing property in attacks at sea. The monarchs issued them letters of "marque and reprisal," giving them permission to retaliate and recoup their losses.
The use of privateers eventually expanded from peacetime to wartime, Crawford said. "The kings realized they could take advantage of these private merchant men who had armed ships to supplement their navies."
Privateers played a key role in the War of 1812, he said. Crawford estimates that the U.S. State Department issued a few thousand privateer ship commissions during the conflict with activity centered around Boston and Salem, Mass., and in Baltimore. The Baltimore privateers used highly maneuverable schooners and deployed them in pairs, Crawford said.
"One of these Baltimore clippers would go off and try to distract the British warships that were guarding the convoy of merchant men, and while that privateer was occupying the protecting ships, the other privateer would swoop in onto the merchant men and try to pick off as many of them as it could," he explained.
As a result, Crawford said, "the attack on Baltimore was, in large part, because the British hated the city for its role in sending out the privateers, which were actually doing a lot of damage to British commerce."
International conventions drafted in the 19th century effectively ended the recognition of privateering as a legitimate form of warfare. However, pirates continue to attack commercial and naval ships and to threaten regional security.
On Aug. 26, Navy officials reported that Somali pirates aboard a hijacked ship fired at, but did not hit, a Navy helicopter from the USS Chancellorsville. Somali pirates hijacked the Taiwanese-flagged Win Far vessel in April and have since used it as a "mother ship" to conduct attacks, including an attack on the U.S.-flagged Maersk-Alabama in the Indian Ocean south of Garacad, Somalia.
Meanwhile, Dutch Navy Commodore Pieter Bindt, commander of the European Union counter-piracy task group, visited the Combined Task Force 151 flagship USS Anzio at sea earlier this week to discuss counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
About 30 ships from 17 nations are taking part in missions to deter, disrupt and suppress acts of piracy off the Somalia coast.
"Piracy is a threat to the security of all nations," Navy Rear Adm. Scott Sanders, task force commander, said. "We are committed to continuing operations with our naval counterparts to create a lawful maritime order and deter acts of piracy activity here."
The strategies used to fight privateers in centuries past still hold true today, Crawford said.
"One is you can't fight pirates with large warships. You have to have ships that have shallow drafts that can go in and chase the pirates close to shore," he explained. "And the other thing we learned is that it's best to hit the pirates in their shore facilities. It's easier to stop their deprivations ashore than it is to do it on the high seas."
Ecosystems, marine environment, IUU fishing and dumping, ecology
Helicopters hunt wildlife, residents say
Residents and elders in the Somali Coastal village of Gara´ad have voiced concern over helicopters hunting various types of wildlife, including ostrich and gazelles, Radio Garowe has reported.
According to the elders who have made contact with the Puntland-based radio, helicopters have been used to dart the wildlife before taking them onboard.
"For the last five days, the hunters have been anaesthetizing the animals before taking them onboard to ships based on the high seas" said Tahug Muse Ahmed, one of the elders who made contact with the Radio.
He added that local elders have agreed to conserve the wildlife nine years ago and imposed fines on anybody found hunting after the wildlife in the area was close to extinction.
However, it is not clear which country owns the helicopters but international naval powers, including NATO have deployed warships to the waters off Somalia over the past years to escort aid-carrying ships bound to Somalia and to protect the maritime trade routes from Somali pirates.
N.B.: In a similar incident reported last year, a US-American naval commander promised that any helicopter pilot, crew or naval ship commander found to hunt or capture wildlife or remove plants from Somalia would face serious consequences. Any tangible evidence or contacts of witnesses therefore should be provided to ECOTERRA Intl. to follow up.]
Global Warming Warps Marine Food Webs
By Erik Stokstad for ScienceNOW
Teasing apart the complex ways in which global warming will affect ocean life has been tough. But new research suggests that a simple ecological theory may explain at least one piece of the puzzle: the effect on marine food webs. And the news may not be all bad.
New experiments confirm that phytoplankton, which form a bottom rung of oceanic food chains, will become less productive in warmer, nutrient-rich water. However, the results also show that zooplankton should boom in these warmer areas, which could benefit certain fisheries.
The food-web theory hinges on the assumption that temperature affects the metabolism of organisms that rely on other creatures for food, like zooplankton, while not having much of an impact on photosynthetic organisms like phytoplankton. That suggests that in warmer waters, zooplankton should generally grow faster and start reproducing sooner than they do in cooler waters. As zooplankton become more abundant and eat more phytoplankton, the population of phytoplankton should shrink.
Mary O'Connor, now a postdoc at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, California, and her colleagues set up an experiment to test the theory. They put zooplankton and phytoplankton into 4-liter tubs and let them sit for 8 days. Some were kept at the ambient temperature; others were heated by 2°, 4°, or 6°C. Recognizing that nutrient levels vary in the ocean, they added extra nitrogen and phosphorous to half the tubs in each group.
As temperatures rose, the productivity of the communities without extra nutrients hardly changed. Nor did the food web. This suggests to O'Connor and her colleagues that nutrient-poor food webs may be relatively resilient to global warming. The tubs that got additional nutrients were another story: The zooplankton in warmer water became more abundant while the numbers of
phytoplankton fell. In fact, the ratio of zooplankton to phytoplankton rose 10-fold, the team reports in a paper posted online on 25 August in PloS Biology. "It matched our predictions really well," O'Connor says. She adds that even though overall biological productivity declined as temperature rose, the increase in zooplankton could benefit fish that eat them in nutrient-rich waters.
Ulrich Sommer, a plankton ecologist at the Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften in Kiel, Germany, calls the shift in the food web "quite dramatic." (The new findings match those from a similar experiment in which Sommer and colleagues varied light levels rather than nutrients.)
Sommer notes that fish eat only certain kinds of zooplankton, so more analysis is needed to gauge the impact on the food supply. And physical differences between regions, such as currents and the stratification of the water column, will also complicate the response of food webs.
Anti-piracy measures
Anti-piracy measures update – MGN
An updated version of the Industry Best Management Practices (BMP) against piracy in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia has been released to the shipping industry.
Tanker owner's association Intertanko says: "The updated BMP are of particular importance and urgency to reach ship owners/operators/masters/crew before the expected end of the monsoons later this month, which is likely to correspond with an increase in piracy attacks."
A number of changes have been incorporated into the new version, based on lessons learned from vessels´ owners/operators, and in cooperation with EUNAVFOR (the EU Naval Forces in the region), and also on improvements regarding communications and reporting.
The BMP updates include: • Weather and registration information • Transit Corridor systems • Additional protective measures • Ship manoeuvring recommendations • Harmonising piracy reporting • Streamlining contact information in the event of an attack
Intertanko says that, via its role as Merchant Navy Liaison Officer (MNLO) with EU NAVFOR's Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA), it has been instrumental in coordinating the revisions with the industry supporting associations
see the update of: Best Management Practices to deal with the piracy threat
Paris-based Group Says Accused Somali Pirates Denied Rights
By Alisha Ryu - VOA
A Paris-based legal aid network, Lawyers of the World, says agreements signed by the United States, Britain, the European Union, and Denmark to transfer suspected Somali pirates to Kenya for trial violate the human rights of the suspects. The legal group is representing more than 40 detainees captured by European navies off the coast of Somalia and handed over to Kenya for prosecution.
Lawyers of the World representative Avi Singh tells VOA his organization has written to the United Nations, the European Union, and to Kenya's foreign ministry, expressing deep concern that more than 100 suspected pirates awaiting trial in Kenya are being denied basic human rights and the right to a fair trial.
"Under Kenyan domestic law, there is no entitlement to legal aid for anybody who is not accused of a capital offense," said Singh. "So, suspected pirates have no opportunity to have a lawyer. They have no opportunity to review the evidence against them. At no point is there any independent adjudication of whether these people are actually pirates, have actually committed a crime or not. So, basically, you have ship-catching to conviction."
In Kenya, convicted pirates can face life in prison. The east African nation became a venue for piracy trials after a surge in ship hijackings off the coast of Somalia stiffened international resolve to prosecute suspects caught at sea.
Under agreements signed in the past year with the United States, Britain, the European Union, and most recently with Denmark, Kenyan courts are responsible for trying suspected pirates apprehended anywhere in the region by foreign navies. In return, Kenya is said to be receiving funding and support to reform its much-criticized judicial system.
Earlier this year, U.N. human-rights investigator Phillip Alston published a scathing report on widespread judicial corruption in Kenya. The country's courts are also reportedly overwhelmed by a backlog of more than 80,000 cases.
Singh says none of the funds given to the prosecution and courts are making their way to Shimo la Tewa, a notoriously overcrowded prison in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa. He says many of the accused hijackers have been there for months without adequate medical care and access to such basic amenities as soap.
"There are juveniles in there and they all have medical ailments," continued Singh. "There is actually a 14 year-old kid with bullet wounds. There is somebody with a bullet still in the body. They have had no contact with any family members or any opportunity for contact with anybody in Somalia since their arrest."
Earlier this month, Singh and several of his colleagues convinced a court in Mombasa to postpone the trial of 11 alleged hijackers captured by a French warship and in Kenyan custody since April. Singh says he requested the two-month postponement so that the defense could mount a proper case.
Lawyers of the World has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to piracy suspects and to monitor their treatment in jail.
Horn of Africa analyst Roger Middleton says he agrees that depending on Kenya to help solve the piracy problem in Somalia is less than ideal.
"What it shows, the fact that we are having to use Kenya, is the problem when you o not have a proper legal entity to deal with inside Somalia," said Middleton. "Now, if you pick up a pirate off Portugal, you hand them over to Portugal. If it is Indonesia, you hand them over to Indonesia. And that is the way it should work and the way it works quite sufficiently. But because Somalia is such a mess, you cannot do that and it creates all these problems."
Danish Navy forges deal with Kenya over Somali piracy
By A. Rienstra
As Denmark prepares to send a second warship to the Gulf of Aden to help patrol the pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast, it has sealed an important deal with Kenya to process any pirates the Danes catch in the area. The new bilateral agreement will greatly ease the lingering issue of what to do with the pirates after they are apprehended by Danish patrol boats.
Kenyan authorities will now assume responsibility for any pirate captured by Danish forces patrolling the waters off Somalia. The pirates will be tried by Kenyan courts and given appropriate sentences, though one major clause of the agreement is that they cannot be executed, a method still legal in Kenya.
The Copenhagen Post reports that Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller was pleased with the deal, as it will prevent a repeat of incidents like the one in 2008 when the Danish Navy had to let 10 captured pirates go because no nation would accept them and put them on trial.
Moller says he had hoped to sign agreements with several African nations, including Tanzania, but Kenya was the only country willing to step up and help with this ever-growing problem. Kenya already has similar deals with the US, EU, UK, and China.
It looks likely that Denmark will send another navy frigate to the region by January, when the country assumes command of one of the NATO patrol fleets. Although NATO still runs the overall operation, Denmark expects to be heavily involved in the pirate hunt next year.
Updated details by the Russian Navy for escort convoys service
By Daniel Conway (with thanks to Adrian McCourt of Watkins for his assistance)
The Russian Navy has now confirmed the following changes for the dates of their escort convoys.
31st of Aug.2009 Westbound convoy - ETD eastern point (15"00' N - 57"00' E) " 16:00 Lt;
4th of Sept. 2009 Eastbound convoy - ETD western point (12"20" N - 43"50" E) " 09:00 Lt;
Previous details for the convoys on these dates were reported on the 25th of August on Synfo.com, along with details for the application forms which must be filled out by any vessel wishing to use the service.
The Russian Navy are providing these escort convoys to assist vessels wishing to transit the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.
AFRICOM: U.S. To Deploy Reaper Drones To Indian Ocean
U.S. plans land-based UAV patrols to combat piracy
By Mark Abramson
About 75 U.S. military personnel and civilians will be headed to the Seychelles islands in the coming weeks to set up the Reaper operations, which could start in October or November. U.S. Africa Command is calling the Navy-led mission Ocean Look.
The U.S. will base the Reapers — to be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — at Seychelles´ Mahe regional airport, Vince Crawley, AFRICOM spokesman, said.
The Navy has been using ship-based UAVs in the region for some time, but using land-based drones for counterpiracy work is new, he said.
The mission should last several months, with a Reaper airborne at all times, Crawley said. Details on exactly how long the UAVs would be in the Seychelles are still being worked out, he said.
"We will get it up and running and see for a few months if it is the right assets and location (for counterpiracy) . It is a very strategic location," Crawley said.
According to San Diego-based General Atomics, which manufactures the Reaper, the UAV can stay in the air for 30 hours and fly at speeds up to 275 mph.
In addition to Reapers, the Navy has experimented with operating P-3 Orion patrol aircraft at the same Seychelles airport. A P-3 crew with Squadron VP-10 operating out of Djibouti stopped off at the Seychelles overnight from Aug. 12 to Aug. 13 to test the idea.
Orions with a combat radius of 2,380 nautical miles can cover and survey a large area, the captain said.
US-American cruiser awaits action in Gulf of Aden
By Andrew Scutro - Navy Times
Since deploying in May, this ship and crew have been all through the waters of the Middle East, but they still wait to encounter a ship hijacker or board a suspicious vessel.
If it does happen, it will probably be soon.
Positioned along the heavily travelled corridor between Yemen and Somalia, Anzio and warships from around the globe are set to pounce on suspected pirates and escort merchant ships as they pass.
Every night there´s a staff briefing in the wardroom for Rear Adm. Scott Sanders, commander of counterpiracy Task Force 151, explaining recent actions, positions and conditions of forces and upcoming plans.
During one such brief, Anzio´s commanding officer Capt. Frank Olmo spoke for the crew.
"I want to patrol safely," he said. "I want to find some pirates."
Task Force 151 is operating with NATO and European Union forces as well as independent deployers from China, Russia, India and Japan.
While a handful of warships is far south in the Somali basin where captured ships are held during ransom negotiations, the main effort is in a section of the Gulf of Aden called the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor. Some naval forces guide their nation´s ships through the area, while ships like Anzio serve as a sort of naval sheepdog, watching from on high for danger near the vulnerable merchant ships.
In order to be fully prepared should Anzio see action, the ship has a surgical team capable of treating traumas such as gunshot wounds. Also aboard is a four-man Coast Guard law enforcement detachment from Galveston, Texas. While Anzio has its own boarding teams, the LEDET takes cases for eventual prosecution if suspected pirates are captured.
"It´s our bread and butter," said Machinery Technician 1st Class Dan Morales. "We free up the rest of the ship. It´s a collateral duty for them. It´s a full-time job for us."
Morales and the others have thousands of ship boardings among them, both in the Middle East and in drug interdiction missions in the Americas. With the monsoon season ended, they fully expect to encounter ship hijackers here.
"Without a doubt we´ll get some work," he said. "Now we´re in the waiting phase."
While transiting, the Coasties held a session on rules of engagement and escalation of force for Anzio´s boarding team. They showed how to differentiate dhows rigged for fishing from those loaded with extra fuel, food and communications gear that are likely serving as mother ships for pirates. Details such as scrapes on a dhow´s hull from skiffs tied alongside can be telling clues.
On the morning of Aug. 24, Anzio was positioned in its patrol box with enough time for the crew to practice shooting M16s.
Ensign Brian Jones, ordnance officer and a former boatswain´s mate, oversaw the shooting practice. "This is a weapons familiarization for personnel who´ve received nothing but classroom training," he said.
A group of 50 sailors from the boarding team, machine gun crews as well as candidates for the boarding team and topside watch mustered at the fo´c´s´le. Constrained by the dimensions of the ship, they shot from port to starboard over about 40 feet of deck.
Fire Controlman 3rd Class Erik Rhodes shot in the first round. He has a few guns at home but had never shot an M16. Recruits train on pistols and shotguns during boot camp.
"It was the first time I´ve held one. It´s a nice gun. Low recoil like they say. And it appears to be very accurate," he said. "Being an FC for Tomahawks I don´t stand too many watches. It looks too good to have the qualification and you can stand more watches, which doesn´t shorthand the rest of the crew."
Not all his shipmates were as familiar with shooting. When told to start off in the prone position, one of them asked the instructor, "Prone is on the ground, right?"
Iranian Navy Returns Home
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has returned from the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia, after successfully guarding Iranian commercial ships in the region.
IRGC thwarted pirate attacks in Gulf of Aden'
Special tactics of the IRGC Navy in the Gulf of Aden foiled the pirates' attacks on the Iranian ships," Deputy Commander of the IRGC Navy, Brig. Gen. Ali Fadavi said in a ceremony held on Thursday to welcome the naval unit, which had wrapped up its mission off Somalia.
The IRGC Navy accomplished a trans-regional mission to provide security for the Iranian commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and once again proved that it has the capability to establish security outside its geographical region," the Fars news agency quoted the Iranian commander as saying.
He noted that during the 107-day mission of the military unit in the Gulf of Aden, pirates 'did not dare to approach the Iranian ships'.
This is while, despite the presence of their advanced naval fleets, the US and European countries have failed to repel the piracy threat facing their vessels, Fadavi said.
Iran sends more warships to fight piracy
More Iranian warships are to be sent to the Gulf of Aden, to protect the fifth-largest crude exporter's oil tankers from pirate attacks.
The naval units are to be sent to the waterway linking the Red and the Arabian Seas 8:00am local time (12:40 GMT), Monday, the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency reported on Sunday.
The warships are to join the existing two unites stationed at the Gulf where international forces from a number of countries including the United States, India, Britain, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea have been fighting pirates preying on commercial vessels.
According to Ecoterra, an environmental group that monitors Somali piracy, pirates had seized 28 ships off the coast of Somalia up to August 10, 2009.
The release of the Italian-owned Buccaneer earlier this month left eight ships and 163 seamen in the hands of pirates.
Piracy at sea is a major source of income for criminal gangs in the Horn of Africa country, who take the ship, its cargo and crew hostages and hold them for ransom.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The country also suffers from a high unemployment rate and almost half the population needs food aid after 17 years of non-stop conflict.
How to easily get your badges, ribbons or a medal - but not get shot?
Instead of joining troops for dealy Afghanistan - go to safe Somali waters.
Finnish Soldiers Ready to Volunteer for Anti-Pirate Duty
Dozens of Finnish soldiers have indicated willingness to sail in a naval vessel to the coast of Somalia to protect international shipping against pirates.
The Finish Navy has prepared for a possible naval crisis management operation by looking for volunteers and by refurbishing ships so that they might be suitable for the hot conditions that prevail off Somalia.
Finnish leaders are expected to decide on Finland´s possible participation in the EU operation.
Mesmerized by the French Navy
By Mikhail Barabanov (*)
Most people had trouble believing media reports last month that the Russian Navy was planning to buy a $1 billion helicopter carrier from France. First, the Kremlin has always adhered to the sacred principle of producing big-ticket military projects domestically at any cost. After all, it is a given that a superpower must be able to manufacture its own ships, fighter jets and missiles. Second, France is a NATO country. Third, Russia is supposed to be in a deep economic crisis. Where would the military come up with $1 billion to buy a single ship? Fourth, Russian officials themselves denied the reports.
But on Wednesday, General Staff chief Nikolai Makarov put an end to all of the speculation. He announced at a news conference in Ulan Bator that Russia is indeed planning to sign an agreement by the end of the year on the purchase of a Mistral-class helicopter carrier. This represents Russia´s largest foreign military purchase in history — and the first from a NATO member. Moreover, Makarov announced plans to manufacture jointly with France three or four additional carriers, but in Russian shipyards.
The head of the Navy, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, is thought to be the chief initiator of the idea to buy the Mistral. Last year when he visited France, his jaw dropped once he saw the French carrier. It is also believed that the Kremlin supported his idea for political reasons — to thank French President Nicolas Sarkozy for his pro-Moscow stance on many foreign policy issues.
If the Navy does indeed have an extra $1 billion in its budget, shouldn´t it spend this money on more important projects? Perhaps the money should be spent on improving the country´s own shipbuilding industry, which has been underfinanced for years. The Navy has spent a disproportionate amount of its funds on building nuclear submarines, such as the Yury Dolgoruky, which have run into problems being fitted for Bulava missiles. Meanwhile, few new ships are being built, existing ships are poorly maintained, and an increasing number of old, dilapidated ones are being decommissioned. This may explain why Makarov and many in the Kremlin fantasize about adding a modern, French-built aircraft assault carrier that can carry 16 helicopters, 40 tanks or 900 troops and is equipped with a fully functional hospital.
The real question, of course, is whether the Navy even needs such an expensive helicopter carrier. Just where does Makarov plan on deploying the Mistral? In Somalia? Perhaps it would make much more sense to concentrate on beefing up its naval defense capabilities closer to home — in the Baltic, Black and Barents seas — before it gets itself bogged down in interventions overseas.
As for Makarov´s idea of building a series of French-designed carriers in Russian shipyards, how will Russia finance these huge projects? It can´t even finance the manufacturing of simple corvettes. More likely than not, the Navy will wreck its new expensive toy even faster than it has destroyed and neglected its Russian ships.
It is mind-boggling that the Navy and the Kremlin are willing to let the country´s domestic shipbuilding industry die out because of chronic underfunding and misallocation of funds, but they do not mind heaping $1 billion — which could easily increase — to support ship building in a NATO country.
Needless to say, the Mistral purchase will have a devastating effect on Russian shipbuilders´ already difficult task of selling their ships to other countries. It would be hard to develop a more damaging advertising campaign for Russia´s defense industry. Russia´s shipbuilders don´t deserve this negative PR. After all, they are not to blame when the military refuses to pay them for already completed jobs.
The military´s top brass is tight-fisted with its own shipbuilders but is more than willing to squander a huge amount of money on French ones. Maybe this is because travelling to Paris to negotiate purchasing contracts is more enjoyable than trekking to dismal Severodvinsk or Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
(*) Mikhail Barabanov is editor-in-chief of the Moscow Defense Brief.
No real peace in sight yet
Somali president meets with Qatari leader
Somalia's president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has met with Amir of Qatar Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa al Thani in Doha, Qatar, officials said on Friday, reports MareegNews.
President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has also met with Qatari foreign minister and other governmnet officials.
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed flew from Mogadishu to Qatar on Thursday and presidential associates said the president was also planning to travel other countries in the region.
The two leaders discussed issues concerning the Somali problems and how the Qatari government would help negotiate between the government and the opposition.
Qatar has a close relationship with Somali factions and it can play an important role of solving the differences between the Somali groups fighting in the country.
The president is seeking from the Arab countries to support his fragile government and help the Somali people during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Somalia PM travels to Libya for AU summit on conflicts
Somalia's Prime Minister has led a delegation to Libya to participate at the African Union's special summit on conflicts, Radio Garowe reports.
Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake's delegation included the Minister for Planning and International Cooperation, Mr. Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, and Somali lawmakers.
The delegation flew from Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport on Saturday en route to Tripoli, Libya, where Libyan President and current AU Chairman, Col. Muammar Qadafi, will host a special summit on resolving conflicts that have plagued the African continent, including Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr. Abdikadir Mohamud Walayo, the Somali government's spokesman, told reporters at the airport that Prime Minister Sharmake will present security and political developments in Somalia to African leaders at the Tripoli summit.
The Prime Minister is expected to push AU member states to bolster the 5,000-strong AU peacekeeping force (AMISOM) serving in Mogadishu since March 2007.
Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who is currently on an official visit to Middle Eastern countries, is expected to arrive in Tripoli to attend celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of President Qadafi's ascension to power in Libya.
22 Killed fighting between Somali Gov. & Islamist Rebels
The AU Protection Force supporting President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed Government have been fighting Islamist rebels in Mogadishu.
The fighting sweeping through central and southern Somalia over the past week, has seen pro-government militia trying to re-claim strongholds from the Shabaab and Hizbul Islam rebel insurgencies.
The clashes resulted in 33 deaths on Thursday in Southern Hiran followed by 12 more deaths in Bulahawa.
On Friday morning rebel troops fired mortars in Mogadishu wounding civilians. The attack was said to have been instigated by AU troop patrols in Shebaab governed districts on Thursday which were regarded by insurgents as ´provocative.´
The rebel collective have vowed to increase their activity ahead of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan.
Islamic rebels control strategic strongholds across Somalia´s Kenyan and Ethiopian borders, including Kishmayu, Bulahawa and Luuq.
The United States are backing President´s Sheikh Sharif Ahmed´s Government. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said at a joint news conference with Ahmed at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
In accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, The United States announced that they would send ammunition aid to Ahmed´s Government "The United States and the international community must serve as an active partner in helping the transitional federal government and the people of Somalia confront and ultimately move beyond the conflict and poverty that have gripped their country" Several rebel groups are fighting the UN-backed interim government for control of Somalia causing humanitarian organizations to withdraw from the country while a third of civilians are dependent on food aid. Three foreign aid workers from the Action Contre la Faim were captured by Shebab militants last month in Mandera.
Somalia President Defends US-American "Cooperation"
The Qatari Arabic television of Aljazeera held 40-minute interview with Somali President Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad, correspondent Fahd Yasin in Mogadishu. Interviewed him.
Yasin begins by asking the president about the earlier fall of the (Beled Xaawo) town on the Kenyan-Somali border to the Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama´a Islamic group after the Al-Shabab al-Mujahidin [Mujahidin Youth Movement] evacuated it, and the government´s relations with the Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama´a. He says that this is part of the recent clashes between the two, and adds: "The current position is that all must support the government because without the presence of a central government to control all the Somali areas there will be further bloodshed. The attempts to implement the shari´ah law on individuals and groups and impose this on the people by force will lead to many problems. We believe that Islam orders us to uphold unity and reject disunity. Their current interpretation of Islam is a wrong interpretation."
Asked about his previous stand in support of the Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama´a, he replies: "We supported them because they came under attack by the Al-Shabab. This is our duty because we are responsible for protecting them." Asked if there is no contradiction in an Islamic awakening movement like his movement supporting a Sufic group, Shaykh Ahmad replies that all Sufic movement in history called for the Islamic religion. He adds: "In my capacity as president, I must deal with people without any discrimination. That is what Islam demands. Islam orders us to treat people kindly."
Yasin asks Shaykh Ahmad about reports that the Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama´a group is supported by the Ethiopian forces and regime, and if his government contacted Ethiopia to stop Ethiopian support for the Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama´a, given that the transitional government does not control the Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama´a politically or in matters of security, he says: "Of course any interference in any Somali groups by any state is considered interference and we reject it. We have made our position clear to the Ethiopian government and others that no state should support them except their own country, and we are prepared to deal with them and support them."
Asked with which group he prefers to deal, Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama´a group or the Al-Shabab al-Mujahidin, he says he deals with all movements and all sectors of the society as president of the Somali people. Asked what achievements he has realized for the Somali people since he took over seven months ago, he replies: "There are great achievements that many might not know about. First of all, the government moved to the capital after the elections, and this is a great achievement because its presence in the capital demonstrates its seriousness in establishing security in the country. Secondly, the Al-Shabab and the Islamic Party prepared a plan to pounce upon the government, but the government was able to survive and pass this stage. Thirdly, the most important aim of the Somali people is to find a government to rule them by Islam. God be praised this has been realized. We have improved the administration – the banks and financial institutions – and improved relations among the various sectors of the Somali society, and they had never experienced this before."
Asked about "what you have described as terrorists and foreigners who entered Somalia," and when they arrived in the country and if he had known about their entry, he says: "Most probably they appeared during the reconciliation talks in Djibouti because this was a period of struggle and transition to a new authority. After the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces, they found an opportunity to enter the country and they infiltrated the ranks of the resistance and began recruiting youths and others." He says he cannot specifically say when they entered the country.
Asked if he does not feel that his rhetoric and his statements about terrorists and foreigners are similar to the rhetoric and statements of former president Abdullah Yusuf, given that he rejected Yusuf´s claims in the past, he says: "To begin with, all the acts that the Al-Shabab al-Mujahidin and others are perpetrating, in terms of bombing and the killing and displacement of people are considered acts of terrorism. The Al-Qa´idah´s rhetoric, including that of Usamah Bin-Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri and their call for overthrowing the government, and the new policy that Al-Qa´idah is implementing in the Islamic world is a proof that what we say is right." He adds: "A short while ago, we spoke about the infiltration of terrorist individuals and groups of Somalia and when this happened. This declaration and these acts, as well as the recordings that we have now and the positive response of the Al-Shabab al-Mujahidin to this call do not require much explanation."
Asked if he had known during his leadership of the Islamic Courts that the persons who planned the attacks against the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998 were present in Somalia as the United States claimed, he says: "Not at all. Moreover, it might be true and it might not be true that they were present because the Islamic courts did not control all areas. We had no information on this." Asked to react to Western reports that he had personal relations with these men, he replies: "This information is baseless. We know how the Islamic courts began and spread," adding that the Al-Shabab Movement was not present during the time of the Islamic courts.
Asked if he does not think that "he was a terrorist" by US standards and that he should have known these men, he says: "This was not my responsibility. I was fighting for the cause of my homeland and I am still fighting for it. I cannot influence the US views and I think your question should be addressed to the US administration."
Shaykh Ahmad says: "We want security and stability to return to Somalia. The Al-Qa´idah organization does not believe in this. If you speak on any form of a Somali state, be it Islamic or non-Islamic, they will not support you. The US government now realizes that its war against the Islamic courts and the Somali people is not being fruitful. The shari´ah principle is a legitimate demand and the Somali people will never concede this in any case whatsoever. Therefore, the United States is reconsidering its attitude towards Somalia."
Asked if he agrees with the United States that the Al-Shabab al-Mujahidin is a terrorist group, he says: "Their actions and ideological principles make this description appropriate to the Al-Shabab al-Mujahidin because they cannot approve of any Muslim outside their organization. This never happened in Islamic history. Differences in views happen among Muslims and among the members of the same family. This never reached the extent of holding other Muslims to be infidels or kill them. This group in my opinion is holding people to be infidels, killing them, and permitting the shedding of their blood and the transgression on their honour. It is inventing various methods to terrorize the people. It seems that they want to rule people by terrorizing them and this tarnishes the image of Muslims."
Asked if those who belong to the Al-Qa´idah organization in Somalia are violating the Somali law, he says: "No doubt Al-Qa´idah organization is a terrorist organization. It uses all sorts of terrorist methods, including bombings and terrorizing people and killing them. Regrettably, their ideas have nothing to do with Islam because Islam cares for Muslims and spares their blood, their honour, and property. This group hurts Muslims more than others. No doubt this organization is a terrorist one and it plays a negative role in its attitude towards Muslims and Islam."
Asked how he succeeded in having himself elected president given that be has an Islamic background, Shaykh Ahmad says this is due to God´s will, adding that when he was in the Islamic Courts he never tried to be a president but "I wanted to play my role as a Somali citizen who wants to restore security and stability to Somalia," and adds: "However, fate has led me to this place." Asked if he still considers himself an Islamist, he says: "No doubt I consider myself Islamist and I am proud of my Islam."
Asked what topics he discussed with the Ethiopian prime minister during his recent visit to Addis Ababa, he replies: "We agreed with him that this government is not an enemy of Ethiopia and is trying to realize Somalia´s interests, and that the Somali interests are the most important at this stage. The painful legacy of the past battles and tragedies must be shaken off."
He says: "Our relations with Ethiopia are within our joint interests. As Somalis and Somali government we want stability in Somalia. I think that the Ethiopians and the Ethiopian government have the same vision." Asked how he can treat the sensitivities that the Somalis feel towards Ethiopian, he says: "Such sensitivities do not exist because what we want is security and stability in Somalia. We do not give Ethiopia any negative role in Somalia. Since they are neighbours, it is more appropriate to reach common grounds with them."
On relations with Eritrea, he says: "Regrettably, our relationship is extremely bad. The Eritrean government interferes in the Somali affairs and rejects this government and the continuation of dialogue among the Somali people. We had never expected Eritrea to have an agenda in Somalia except the restoration of peace and security to Somalia because the Somalis played a role in Eritrea´s independence. We thought they would return our favour but we discovered that they wanted to use the Somali territory against Ethiopia and Somalia and to perpetuate instability in Somalia. Therefore, we have no relations. This is the only state in the African Union that did not recognize this government. "He says if they want normal relations, they must stop interfering in Somali affairs.
Asked how his government was able to improve relations with the United States, he replies: "I believe that the Americans themselves felt that the danger that threatened the Somalis might harm the Americans themselves. If the anarchy that has been prevailing in Somalia for the past 16 years continues they will have to pay a heavy price. They realized that this government can control the situation. Therefore, we felt that the US administration was interested in supporting this government."
Asked to react to the notion that his government will now be prepared to "cooperate with the United States concerning the so-called war on terrorism and strike at the Al-Shabab al-Mujahidin" and if this "led to his meeting with Hillary Clinton," he says: "Not only this, because there are other big and strategic political and economic interests, in addition to the problems of the pirates and the terrorist groups and international terrorist organizations like Al-Qa´idah. However, the basis of this cooperation is that each state has its own interests. Our interest is to restore security and stability to Somalia and have sufficient support to enable us to restore peace and security to Somalia."
Shaykh Ahmad says that the anarchy in Somalia has harmed the Somalis to a great extent and it also affected the neighbouring states and world countries.
On Somali reconciliation, he says it is continuing and "contacts are being held with those who are against us." He adds: "Certain groups have joined the government, such as the Party of Islam as well as the Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama´a group." He says his government "enjoys a wide scale popular support, but terrorist attacks against the government have prevented us from maintaining close contacts with the Somali people. Now we want to build state institutions – army, police, and others." He says he cares for relations with world countries, especially the Western countries to help the Somali people, "because we cannot repair the destruction in Somali all by ourselves."
Asked why he shook hands with Hillary Clinton in front of a large audience, despite his Islamic background and his being from a religious family, and if this was "a political requirement," he replies: "No doubt those who understand the rules of the shari´ah and the current needs and circumstances will understand this." He says there are many shari´ah rules on this issue. He adds" In view of the circumstances, those who understand Islam will understand that this is the right way."
Asked about his plans to effect reconciliation with Shaykh Hasan Dahir Aways and others, he says he still entertains hopes that the reconciliation will be reached, noting that "they do not want reconciliation or understanding with us." He also says that he is prepared to talk with any group or person who wants to hold talks with the government, including the Al-Shabab al-Mujahidin. On the issue of the Puntland autonomous region and the president of the province´s claim that Shaykh Ahmad´s government does not believe in the federal system, he says we have no problem with them, and that this "government was based on the federation covenant," adding: "We have not changed anything." He says that "his claim was based on misunderstanding."
Asked when the AU forces will leave, he says the AU forces want to realize security and stability, noting that the government plans to strengthen the police and the army. Asked why the African forces continue to guard the palace, he says that the government is coming under attacks and they are protecting the government, adding that "we intend to train our forces to enable them to carry out this task." Asked about claims that the AU forces are shelling civilians from the Palace area, he replies that the armed groups intentionally open fire from the market place and from residential areas, adding that sometimes, "we are forced to return the fire and we sometimes miss the target, and we regret what happens to innocent people, but we try as much as possible to hit only the fighters."
Answering a question, he says there is no tribal fighting because the entire Somali people support the government and there is a "large-scale international backing for this government, which is determined and which has a plan to restore security and stability," noting that there are also plans to reconstruct the country. On the economy in Somalia, he says improvement in economy requires security, noting that the recent drought has exacerbated the poor humanitarian conditions. He says the humanitarian assistance that arrived to the government was distributed to those affected.
Asked about reports on a cabinet reshuffle, he says this is natural and the prime minister has the right to do that. He says neither his own tribe nor others oppose the government.
On Arab relations, Shaykh Ahmad is asked why the Somali government rejected Arab assistance that was conditional on reconciliation and, subsequently "you withdrew your request" for assistance, and if the matter was resolved later on, he replies: "Not at all. It was not resolved. I do not know why the Arab governments do not want to help Somalia. We had expected that they would contribute towards restoring security and stability and the establishment of the Somali state. So far we do not know the reason but the problem is still there and the request is still suspended."
Asked why he does not visit the Arab states so that the Somali issue can be presented to Arab heads of state, he says he has been endeavouring to visit Arab states and urge them to help Somalia but "nobody has met our request." He says Somalia has good relations with Yemen and "we hope to visit it shortly, God willing."
In conclusion, Shaykh Ahmad says: "The Somali people have been suffering from lawlessness for the past 19 years and this government represents a genuine opportunity for the Somali people.
The continuation of anarchy will weaken the Somali people. We want our people to continue their support for the government. We ask all those who have relations with the opposition to approach them because many Somalis joined these organizations, which are trying to undermine the government in this country, and this will only lead to bloodshed and anarchy. Everybody shares responsibility, not only the government. What we need is effective participation.
"To the Arab world, we say: You have a moral, religious, and historical obligations to help the Somali people, who are trying to overcome this crisis. It is not right for you to wait until this government controls all the areas without your support. We appeal to you, from this forum, to back the government and the Somali people."
In Somalia, troops for peace end up at war
By Edmund Sanders
African Union soldiers contend with a vague and underfunded mission with no cease-fire to enforce. Among the troops who have died, some apparently succumbed to illness due to malnutrition.
Reporting from Mogadishu, Somalia - When a mystery illness swept through the African Union peacekeeping mission here, killing six soldiers and sickening dozens, doctors were stumped.
With help from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they ruled out swine flu, tropical infection, rat-borne bacteria and even deliberate poisoning, as claimed by Somalia's insurgents.
But the culprit, doctors fear, is just as alarming: beriberi, a vitamin-deficiency disorder typically seen only in famines. Simply put, African Union soldiers appear to have died from a form of malnutrition.
It's the starkest example yet of how the mission in Somalia, which is authorized by the United Nations and largely funded by Washington, has become one of the most dangerous, yet least supported, peacekeeping operations in the world.
More than two years after the AU launched its effort to try to turn around this Horn of Africa nation, only 5,000 of the pledged 8,000 troops are on the ground, nearly all from Uganda and Burundi. Experts say even the full 8,000 would be half of what's really needed.
Though the new commander says he is intent on taking a tougher stance against insurgents who have growing ties to Al Qaeda, his force covers only about 8 square miles -- roughly one-third of Mogadishu, an area that includes the capital's airport, seaport and a cluster of buildings around the presidential palace that are occupied by the weak, internationally backed government.
The mission's projected $800-million-a-year budget has never been fully funded, with the U.S. contributing about $200 million this year. Funding shortfalls have forced commanders to depend also on donations, such as the new hospital building paid for by Britain and food rations from the U.N.
U.N. missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the western Sudanese region of Darfur each have four times as many troops, even though Somalia is the only operation in Africa where peacekeepers are routinely targeted by insurgents with mortars, roadside bombs and suicide attackers. Also, unlike other missions, there is no cease-fire agreement or U.N.-brokered treaty to enforce.
"How do you do a peacekeeping mission in a place that has no peace?" asked Maj. Anthony Lukwago, an AU commander from Uganda.
At a hillside AU outpost along Mogadishu's craggy coastline, soldiers have learned to improvise. They aim their 120-millimeter mortars using three sticks in the dirt, capped with upturned old cigarette packs marking the direction of insurgent strongholds miles away. Only recently did soldiers receive upgraded flak jackets and armored personnel carriers capable of withstanding the kind of roadside bombs they face.
On the campus of Mogadishu University, now serving as headquarters for Burundi's contingent, soldiers face roadside bombs virtually every time they leave the base. Nevertheless, they can't get basic bomb-detection devices to sweep the streets or equipment to defuse the bombs.
Their solution? Drive fast and travel at irregular hours, according to Brig. Gen. Prime Niyongabo, commander of the Burundian contingent.
"There is so much we need," he said.
Erin Weir, a peacekeeping advocate with Refugees International, credited the AU presence with preventing Somalia's transitional government from being chased out of the country altogether, but added that the worsening security situation has altered the character of the mission. "What they are doing is not peacekeeping," she said. "It's more a military task."
It's little surprise that the mission has become one of the deadliest in Africa. Thirty-three AU soldiers have been killed, mostly by roadside bombs. Eleven of these troops died in a suicide truck attack this year. An additional 20 have succumbed to malaria and other diseases, AU officials said, including last month's suspected beriberi outbreak.
Most of those sickened were recovering thanks to vitamin B1 injections, according to AU doctor James Kiyengo. That treatment was followed by preventive thiamine supplements for all soldiers and a reexamination of meal plans. Soldiers complain that the mission supplies them with meat just two or three times a week, no eggs and only rarely fresh vegetables. Commanders said they hadn't come to a conclusion as to what caused the illness.
The peacekeeping mission has also grappled with a vague, ill-fitting mandate that tightly restricts troops' ability to combat insurgents, who scarcely existed when the mission started. The mandate calls for the AU to protect the government and its institutions. Safeguarding Somalia's beleaguered civilians, half of whom survive on international aid, is not part of its responsibility.
As a result, the mission, known as AMISOM, is frequently dismissed as weak and ineffective. "If they are going to hide behind their sandbags while people are suffering, they should go back home and enjoy a glass of wine," said Mahdi Ibrahim, 23, a frustrated Mogadishu resident.
AU officials have attempted to court public opinion by sharing their water supply with neighbors and opening their clinics to the public.
But officials said the mission's mandate mainly permits self-defense. Insurgents "could have a party in front of our gate and we couldn't do anything unless they attacked us first," said Maj. Barigye Ba-Hoku, the mission's spokesman.
African Union soldiers contend with a vague and underfunded mission with no cease-fire to enforce. Among the troops who have died, some apparently succumbed to illness due to malnutrition.
One French agent was released - didn't escape
Escaped French agent flown to Djibouti, then France
The French intelligence agent who escaped his Somali captors has been transferred to neighbouring Djibouti, from where he is to travel back home, a French government official said Thursday.
The Red Sea state is home to France's biggest overseas military base.
He is expected in Paris later in the day, said the official who asked not to be named.
The agent said in a radio interview on Wednesday that he had escaped the previous night as his captors slept and found his way in darkness to Mogadishu's presidential palace.
Gunmen kidnapped two French agents, said to be on an advisory mission to Somalia's traditional government, at a Mogadishu hotel on July 14.
The two men were separated, held by two hardline groups involved in a military offensive against the government.
The second French agent is still being held by the Shebab, an Al Qaeda-inspired group, which has previously said the paid would face a Sharia court for "spying and entering Somalia to assist the enemy of Allah."
Meanwhile the French agent had reached Paris for a thorough debriefing.
Escaped French agent arrives home as partner faces 'trial'
A video grab from French TV channel LCI shows a French intelligence agent who was kidnapped last month by hardline Islamists in Somalia, being helped out of a car after he escaped from his captors in Mogadishu.
The French agent who escaped the clutches of his Somali captors arrived back in Paris on Thursday as insurgents holding his partner said they would put him on trial as a spy.
A top member of the al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab group holding the second agent said the man would be tried under sharia law.
"We know that the other French secret agent has gone free without judgment, but I tell you the one we are holding still waits for Islamic sharia court that will decide his fate as we already said," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"He cannot escape. We keep him in a heavily guarded place, and he has very little chances of escaping," he added by telephone.
Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gele said the government was working for the release of the second French agent.
The French authorities maintain that the two men were on an advisory mission to the Somali transitional government when they were snatched from their Mogadishu hotel on July 14. Several witnesses said they had presented themselves as journalists.
The escaped agent, who has given his name to interviewers as Marc Aubriere, flew out of Mogadishu to a French military base in neighbouring Djibouti and is due to return to Paris later on Thursday, a French official said.
Aubriere said he had escaped while his captors slept and made his way across Mogadishu in darkness to the safety of the presidential palace, guided by the stars. He had fresh scratches on his arms from the cactus he scurried through during his escape, a New York Times correspondent who interviewed him said.
Aubriere had been held for six weeks by the Hezb al-Islam militia group, which has joined forces with the Shebab in a bid to overthrow Somalia's weak transitional government.
Both Hezb al-Islam and Somali government officials said on Wednesday that Abubriere had not escaped but had been released after a ransom had been paid.
The Shebab is seen as the more radical of the two groups. Hezb al-Islam, the groups which was holding Aubriere, is a more political movement led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a former ally of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
Each group took one of the hostages shortly after they were abducted.
Somali government moves to gain the release of the second hostage are hampered by its lack of control over much of the Horn of Africa country, following a major offensive by the insurgents which began in May.
The hardline groups want to topple Sharif and are fiercely opposed to the presence of African Union peacekeepers backing the transitional federal government.
In recent months, armed Somali gangs have carried out scores of kidnappings, often targeting foreigners or Somalis working with international organisations to demand ransoms.
Three aid workers were kidnapped in northern Kenya in late July, while two journalists - a Canadian woman and an Australian man - have been held hostage for a year.
After his debriefing in Paris, Aubrière, whose espionage colleague is still being held in captivity and faces execution, is expected to undergo medical tests and spend some time with his family.
In what seemed like a calculated affront to French national pride, the two secret agents, on a mission to train soldiers protecting Somalia´s transitional government while posing as journalists, were snatched from their hotel in Mogadishu on Bastille Day – July 14 – by gunmen impersonating police. "They knocked on the door," said Aubrière, 40 and added about the imposters-catch-imposters- game: "They had Kalashnikovs. That was that."
The French denied paying any ransom for Aubrière. But according to Somali military officials, negotiations had been under way in which Hizbul Islam was demanding £2.75m for each man. The French were apparently offering only £700,000, according to the Sunday Times.
Aubrière, who works for the DGSE, as France´s overseas intelligence agency is known, did not think that his escape would endanger his colleague. "If I had killed, maybe," he said. "But if I had used a weapon I would have been caught immediately."
His escape, he said, was "fair game". Of his captors he added: "They played. They lost."
Ad Hoc, Amateurish, And Deadly
By strategypage
About half the population of Somalia (not counting Puntland and Somaliland up north) are now dependent on foreign food aid. Drought, and disruption caused by endemic clan warfare, have damaged the productivity of agriculture in the area. Threats to cut off free food caused clan and warlord (like al Shabaab) leaders to crack down on the attacks against aid group personnel. Such attacks are about half what they were last year. But it is still difficult to get food to people in many parts of the south (Mogadishu, near the Kenyan border, along the coast). Al Shabaab has been demanding thousands of dollars in "registration" fees from aid groups, who have begun to just ignore the extortion attempts. The attitude has become one of "if you don't want us here, we'll leave." That would be a catastrophe for most Somalis, and the warlords (including al Shabaab) know it. The aid groups are tired of being threatened and pushed around, as they have been for years
Most (as in 70 percent) of the 1.4 million refugees in Somalia are around Mogadishu and to the south, along the coast. This is where a lot of the fighting has been going on, as several factions try to take control of the traditional capital (and major economic center), Mogadishu. The fighting there goes on, but Islamic radical attempts to take control of the city continue to fail. The Islamic radicals have that suicidal spirit, but the Transitional Government has some equally determined fighters, along with 5,000 African peacekeepers. The Islamic radicals, of which al Shabaab is the largest group, are also threatened throughout southern Somalia, by tribal and religious militias that refuse to submit, and are successfully fighting back.
The pirates in Puntland are still active, but are much less successful than last year. More alert and better prepared crews of merchant ships have been avoiding the pirates more often. This year, only 23 percent of attacks succeed, compared to 40 percent last year. The anti-piracy patrol is becoming more aggressive at disarming speedboats full of pirates spotted near merchant ships.
Although hundreds of Islamic radicals have come to Somalia over the past two years, they have been disappointed. The country is a mess, with few modern facilities. Not really much use as a base for international terrorists. Most of these foreign radicals have been drafted into combat units, to provide some more disciplined fighting power for the Somali militias (like al Shabaab) that support Islamic radicalism. It's all very ad hoc, amateurish, and deadly.
Kismayo's Al Shabaab rulers reject reports of internal friction
Islamist rulers in southern Somalia´s port city of Kismayo have rejected media reports that there is internal friction among the leadership, Radio Garowe reports.
Sheikh Hassan Yakub, spokesman for the Al Shabaab rulers in Kismayo, told a Wednesday press conference that such reports are "linked to ongoing military movements" in Gedo region, along the Kenya border.
Pro-government Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamee'a captured two districts in Gedo region last week, but quickly withdrew as Al Shabaab sent reinforcements.
"The intention is to create division among us," Sheikh Yakub told reporters, adding that warning pamphlets that have been seen in Kismayo in recent days are "fake."
But Kismayo residents say the pamphlets are signed under the name Ras Kamboni Brigade, one of four Islamist factions that merged to form Hizbul Islam insurgent group in February 2009. Ras Kamboni Brigade is most associated with its notorious leader, Sheikh Hassan Turki.
The pamphlets say that Al Shabaab´s term of rule in Kismayo is over. Kismayo, a strategic port on Somalia´s southern coast, was captured by a coalition of Islamist and clan militia forces in August 2008 after longtime ruler and warlord, Col. Barre Hirale, was forced to flee in a bloody takeover.
Under an agreement, Al Shabaab was allowed to administer Kismayo for a period of six months. Political friction among the divergent groups who control Kismayo has been growing since March, sources said.
Islamists order people to vacate government buildings
The Islamic administration of Gedo region in Somalia has instructed the people in the region to vacate all government buildings within a period of two months, and also warned the traders of explosives in the region.
This instruction consists of two points, the first one is that the people, who are residing in any of the buildings of the Somali government, to vacate them within a period of two months, and the other point is that all the traders in the region should not bring any fireworks to the region for the security of the district, and not to scare their fellow Muslims during the day of the Eid-Festival.
"We are informing the residents of Bardere district, who are currently occupying any government building to take their belongings and seek for another better place, because these buildings are not for individual use but they are public property and the buildings should be used for the public good" Mohamed Hassan Arah the head of the civilian affairs administration of the Islamists in Bardere district, speaking to Somaliweyn radio.
The order of the Islamist administration at Bardere district in Gedo region concerning the vacation of government buildings has become the talking point of the town, since this is the first time that such instruction is coming from any of the recent administrations in Bardere district - be it the Islamists or the government.
NUSOJ condemns mounting suppression and violation of Media rights in Gedo region of Somalia
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has strongly condemned mounting suppression and violation of media rights in Gedo region of southwestern Somalia by the Al-Shabaab Islamic group.
Two journalists in the region were last week barred from performing their duties, and the only news media organization operating in Gedo region restricted and suppressed.
Al-Shabaab, which has established an "Islamic administration" in Bardhere, ordered Radio Markabley to fire two of its journalists. In a written order which was signed by the head of the "Islamic administration" in the region, Abdiwahab Hashi Hassan, the group instructed the management of the radio station to sack Mohamed Abdullahi Farah and Sahro Ali Mohamud.
The two who are both newscasters and producers, have been condemned for unspecified "biased reports" and for "overstating the capacity of the transitional federal government and that of Ahlu Sunnah Islamic movement".
On Saturday, 22 August 2009, the Al-Shabaab leadership convened a meeting with Radio Markabley management and presented the following edicts and accusations:
1. That Radio Markabley has been neutral about "holy war" and has been working "independently".
2. That the radio station eliminates all secular songs from its broadcast.
3. That the station must not use any musical programs, interviews,
advertisements and news.
4. That no woman journalist should work as a broadcaster in the station.
5. That journalist Sahro Ali Mohamud must not work any more at Radio Markabley.
6. That the radio must not give any prominence or preference or titles to members of the transitional government from Gedo region. This must also apply to leaders of the Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jameeca Islamic group.
Not to feature, in any interview, any official of the Transitional government and any leader of the Ahlu-Sunnah Islamic group.
The Radio Station was also commanded to broadcast these seven edicts and accusations, but the Radio responded that they will think and state the station´s position.
Martial law could lead to abuses against the freedom of expression, says NUSOJ
Somalia's parliament has voted to declare three months of martial law, which could lead to more restrictions on free expression, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) warns.
On 19 August, the Transitional Federal Parliament of Somalia voted overwhelmingly to impose martial law to restore order in the conflict-ridden country, say NUSOJ and the Shabelle Media Network in Mogadishu.
The declaration will allow President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to issue decrees on matters of national security.
But NUSOJ is worried that free expression abuses at the hands of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) might ramp up, as they did when martial law was imposed in 2007. Back then, the rules included a ban on "spreading propaganda," interviewing government opponents or reporting on issues of national security, and holding unlawful demonstrations.
"We witnessed several abuses, such as detention of journalists, torture of reporters, arbitrary arrests, closure of media houses and censorship, committed by TFG forces and officials when martial law was imposed in 2007," said NUSOJ secretary general Omar Faruk Osman.
The continuing conflict has made Somalia the most dangerous country for journalists in Africa, and one of the most dangerous in the world. Freelance Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan have been held in captivity for one year in an undisclosed location in Somalia since their abduction by an armed group last August.
According to a UN report released this week, persistent violence and a prolonged drought have plunged Somalia into its worst humanitarian crisis since civil war broke out nearly two decades ago, with an estimated 3.76 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
An anti-government onslaught by Islamist militants earlier this year has deepened that humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of civilians killed and tens of thousands displaced. The increased fighting, mainly in central and eastern Somalia - areas largely inaccessible to aid workers - is also recording the greatest problems of food access and malnutrition, says the UN report.
Puntland police arrests the 4th journalist in 24 hours
Police of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in north-eastern Somalia have arrested the executive director of the Ministry of information Ukun Abdi Aziz, according to MareegNews.
While the arrest of Mr. Ukun was taking place he was accompanied by the radio director of Galkayo, Mr. Hassan Jama Jidka.
When Waagacusub Journalists on the ground decided to question the officials of Puntland about the arrest of the executive director of the Ministry of Information, they were rebuffed and not given any comments, but the arrest of the executive director of the Ministry of Information was verified for Waagacusub by the radio director of Galkayo Mr. Hassn Jama Jidka.
The arrest of Ukun Abdi Aziz is part of ongoing brutal actions against journalists in Puntland state carried out by the Puntland police, who are getting orders from the top officials of Puntland.
Some independent reports say that Mr. Ukun was arrest because of talking at length about the vicious actions by the Puntland authority recently enacted against journalists who are working under its administration, and the latest was the arrest of Mohamed Yasiin who was illegitimately arrested on Tuesday.
In the last 24 hours the administration of Puntland state has arrested 4 famous journalists of the region.
Also Abdi Noor Gesey the former district commissioner of north Mudug region was arrested this week.
Kidnapped journalist a victim of our 'quiet diplomacy'
By Peter Worthington
"Quiet diplomacy" is a Canadian fixation, but does it work?
The government and diplomats like it because it keeps the media off their backs, but when Canadians are in danger in foreign lands, does it help or hurt?
The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no.
Yes, in the case of diplomat Robert Fowler kidnapped to Mali and eventually freed. And CBC reporter Mellissa Fung, kidnapped in Afghanistan and freed 28 days later.
No, in the case of William Sampson, framed for murder by Saudi Arabia and sentenced to public beheading, who spent 2 1/2 years in jail thanks to Canada's silence.
How about the present case of freelance reporter Amanda Lindhout, 28, kidnapped in Somalia a year ago, whose parents in Alberta have dutifully played the Ottawa game and said nothing, trusting Canadian "quiet diplomacy" to rescue Amanda. Australian photographer, Nigel Brennan, 32, was also kidnapped with her.
The $2.5 million ransom demand isn't much -- it's the same amount that Suaad Mohamud wants from our government for thinking her passport photo was a fraud.
One has nothing but sympathy for Amanda and her family, but one wonders if they were wise to be so silent. Such silence may please her captors, but it also lets the government off the hook. Publicity -- especially adverse publicity -- seems the only thing that persuades governments to move quickly.
Still, there's little Canada can do in Somalia. The country is a notch removed from anarchy, with no effective government. Even the pirates have more power and influence than what passes for Somalia's government.
Look at how we deal with Somali pirates we capture. We free them. Why do we do that? Because we don't know what else to do. Gone are the days when captured pirates were hanged from the yard arm, or walked the plank.
These pirates aren't of the Long John Silver type. Cmdr. Craig Baines, captain of the frigate Winnipeg which captured Somali pirates says: "They more like Los Angeles street gangs ... kids."
So what is Canada doing to free Amanda Lindhout?
"We will not comment," says a foreign ministry spokesman.
That's par for the course -- fear of compromising whatever negotiations are underway and endangering the lives of the captives. They always say that.
The Somali kidnappers just want money, and don't think big.
Unlike Israel, Canada is not a country that would send a team to rescue citizens held hostage. We even believe the captors when they say hostages are well treated -- the last Liberal government believed the Saudi ambassador when he said Sampson was guilty and being well treated.
No Crime
It's acceptable not to protest when Canadians are guilty of crimes -- like those sentenced to death for murder in the U.S., or drug dealers in Asia or Latin America. But Amanda committed no crime -- kidnapped en route to write about a refugee camp.
She'd have a better chance if she had a support system, like a media employer who'd make waves and demand action.
Somaliland opposition demands caretaker govt, rejects mediation
Opposition parties in Somalia´s breakaway region of Somaliland have rejected a mediation proposal brought by visiting officials from Ethiopia and the African Union, Radio Garowe reports.
Dr. Tekede Alemu, Ethiopia´s state minister for foreign affairs, and Mr. Nicolas Bwakira, the AU´s Special Envoy to Somalia, visited the Somaliland capital Hargeisa last week to mediate between the government and opposition parties.
But the leaders of the two opposition parties, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo of Kulmiye party and Mr. Faisal Ali Warabe of UCID party, have publicly stated that they refused to sign an agreement that would allow President Dahir Riyale to remain in office after the presidential election.
President Riyale has refused to succumb to the opposition´s demands that he rescind an order banning the use of the voters´ list in the September 27 presidential election, when Riyale faces off against Silanyo and Warabe, a replay of the hotly-contested 2003 election.
The opposition leaders have demanded that the voters' list be used in the election and that a caretaker government be appointed to lead Somaliland until the next presidential election, opposition officials said.
"The delegations asked us for compromise and we refused…we saw this [compromise] as beneficial to the Riyale administration," said Mr. Silanyo, Riyale´s closest challenger who lost the 2003 election by less than 90 votes.
Somaliland´s foreign minister, Mr. Abdullahi Mohamed Du´ale, said the government welcomed proposals from the visiting Ethiopian and AU officials. But the opposition´s refusal deepens the political stalemate that experts say has hurt Somaliland´s public image and threatens the region´s hard-own stability.
Opposition parties reluctantly agreed to two term-extensions for President Riyale, giving the incumbent leader an additional year-and-a-half in office after his five-year term expired in April 2008.
In recent weeks, hundreds of opposition supporters have staged demonstrations in Hargeisa and other towns in Somaliland, a self-declared independent republic in northwest Somalia. Somaliland has not been recognized internationally since declaring independence in 1991.
Impacting reports from the global village
The Somali troubadour: K'naan
By Jason Chu
To succeed in the music business as an artist is an everchanging thing, but for Canadian artists it means one thing: break into the U.S. market. It takes many combinations of skills and attributes to "have what it takes" to break into the U.S. pop music industry, but one is more essential than others, namely, determination.
Determination is something Toronto based Hip Hop artist K'naan has in spades. His name, K'naan, means "traveller" in his native Somali language. He was raised in the midst of a civil war in Mogadishu Somaila, and having to flee in the country because of the violence. He landed with family first in Harlem, New York City, before settling in the neighbourhood of Rexdale, Toronto. Growing up in Canada he didn't turn to school to learn his english, but rap and hip hop music from artists like Nas and Bob Marley.
He has performed on tour with the African mega-star Youssou N'Dour
earlier in this decade. Plus his work in his first album "Dusty Foot Philosopher", which was released in 2005 to critical acclaim and numerous awards in Canada.
On his current album, "Troubadour", he has collaborated with such artists as: Mos Def, Damian Marley, Chubb Rock, Kirk Hammett, Adam Levine, and they all make a fine contribution to this work. The album is an ecletic mix of songs that go with almost any mood. Top favorites on the album include: ABC's, Dreamer, Bang Bang, Wavin' Flag, and America.
In many instances, K'naans' musical style can be described as a "fusion of Bob Marley, with up tempo hip hop, and folk-like ballad poetry." His music is hip to listen to, but deep with poetical lyrics and words spoken from his heart. In his music you hear a bit of his homeland, and a longing to return to a peaceful Somalia one day. Social consciousness at its' best, he is a true troubadour.
For those of you waiting to see K'naan play live in concert, he's coming to headline a Toronto gig at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, September 18th. Tickets, $23.50, and are available through Ticketmaster, Soundscapes, and Rotate This.
For more info: Follow K'naan daily to see what he's doing on his Twitter @iamknaan. As well check out his website at: http://www.knaanmusic.com. See all his videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/knaan
Somali-Canadian stranded in Kenya offered travel documents, but questions remain (CP)
A young, autistic Canadian man who has been stranded in Kenya for three years may soon be headed home.
But Passport Canada has told the man's mother that inconsistencies remain about the identity of Abdihakim Mohammed.
It means Mohammed will only be issued an emergency travel document rather than a true passport.
Lawyer Jean Lash, who is representing Mohammed's mother Anab Issa, says the case has been frustrating, especially since friends and family of Mohammed have given Passport Canada no less than six affidavits attesting to his identity.
"They say that there are still discrepancies, but they won't tell me or can't tell me what these discrepancies are," said Lash.
It could also be a month or more before Mohammed returns to Canada, because his low-income mother insists on going to Kenya to retrieve him and is raising the money needed for the flights on her own.
Mohammed, an autistic 25-year-old Somali-Canadian, was taken to Somalia five years ago by his mother when doctors recommended he be near extended family.
But when Issa tried to bring him back to Canada through Kenya three years ago, she was told her son didn't look like his passport photo.
Mohammed's is just one of numerous cases coming to light recently of Canadians left stranded in other countries or unable to obtain passports for travel abroad because of questions surrounding their identities.
A Commons committee heard tearful pleas Wednesday from a Canadian woman who was also stranded for months in Kenya, accused of being an impostor.
Suaad Hagi Mohamud wept openly as she told the foreign affairs committee how she was rejected by Canadian authorities over her passport likeness, despite having multiple pieces of Canadian identification - even Canadian Tire money - in her wallet.
Mohamud urged parliamentarians to find a way to prevent something similar happening to any other Canadians, and demanded an apology from Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon for her treatment.
It is time for changes within the government, at or near the cabinet level, to help deal with cases involving Canadians overseas whose identity may be brought into question, says Dan McTeague, the Liberal critic for Canadians abroad.
"You have no minister responsible for any of these files," said McTeague.
"You have no one specifically designated to these kind of circumstances."
McTeague also suggested that the Department of Foreign Affairs establish a "rapid response team" within the department - with access to the responsible minister - to quickly resolve disputes and prevent Canadians from being stranded at length in other countries.
For Abdihakim Mohammed there is at least some relief.
His mother has sent her brother to Nairobi to care for Mohammed until she can return him to Canada.
But it may be some time before Issa, who works as a cleaner and holds down two jobs, will be able to raise the money she needs to travel to Kenya to retrieve her son.
Saudi, al-Qaeda helping Yemen fight Houthis' – PressTV
Saudi Arabia and al-Qaeda are helping the Yemeni government in its crackdown on Houthis, a dissident Yemeni lawmaker says.
"In recent months [Yemeni President] Ali Abdullah Saleh has taken many recruits of al-Qaeda who were afraid of falling into the hands of their regimes in countries like Egypt, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. His plan was to use these fighters from al-Qaeda to battle the Houthis in Saada," Yahya al-Houthi told Press TV on Saturday.
He said Saudi Arabia also supported the Yemeni government because the Yemeni government "is meeting all Saudi demands especially those related to terrorism."
The Yemeni lawmaker claimed that Saudi Arabia wants Ali Abdullah Salih in power otherwise "many secrets" might be revealed.
"Yemen is now a main party in carrying out terrorist plots sponsored by Saudi Arabia," al-Houthi said.
According the Yemeni dissident, Saudi Arabia is propagating Wahhabi ideology in Yemen and the country is used as a base for Al-Qaeda operatives.
He said a training camp had also been set up for al-Qaeda members in the Waila region.
"The area's of Malahit and Hasana which the Houthis have taken control over were also area's where weapons were transferred from Saudi Arabia to the terrorists," the lawmaker said.
He also dismissed reports that Houthi fighters had been killed in battle with the Yemeni army in the Hamma district and Southern Soufyan, saying that the victims of army raids had been innocent civilians including women and children.
Yemen, which has long been in conflict with the Zaidi Shias, launched its 'Operation Scorched Earth' almost three weeks ago to root out the group.
Yemen accuses the Zaidis of seeking to reinstate the imamate rule which ended in a 1962 coup. Houthi fighters, however, say they are defending their people against the government.
Italy sends boatload of 75 migrants back to Libya: report (AFP)
Italian coastguards on Sunday turned back a boatload of 75 migrants off the coast of the island of Sicily, news agency ANSA reported.
The migrants, thought to be Somali, were travelling in a rubber dinghy which was intercepted by coastguards around 44 kilometres (27 miles) from the shores of the Italian island.
The group, which included 15 women and three children, was transferred to a an Italian police patrol boat and sent back immediately for Libya.
One of the migrants was taken to a Sicilian hospital to be treated for broken ribs.
They were the latest group of migrants to be stopped on the approach to Italy and sent back to the north African country since Tripoli and Rome reached a controversial agreement earlier this year.
Under the accord, Libya has agreed take back migrants leaving from its shores and heading to Italy illegally.
The Maltese army said that earlier Sunday four migrants were transferred from the same boat to the island's capital Valletta for medical treatment.
The two men, a woman and a young child were taken to hospital after the boat was spotted in Maltese waters by a helicopter from Frontex, a European mission set up to combat illegal migration, an army spokesman said.
After the sick migrants were removed, the rest of the party continued on towards Italy where they were picked up by the Italian coastguard.
According to an estimate by news agency ANSA, around 1,000 migrants have been sent back to Libya by Italy since the agreement was reached.
The UN refugee agency said it was thought the migrants were from Somalia, where Islamist rebels are waging a fierce campaign against the government.
"According to initial information, the migrants are originally from Somalia, a country which has been gripped by total anarchy for around 20 years, a situation which particularly affects the civilian population," said Laura Boldrini, a spokeswoman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday kicked off a visit to former Italian colony Libya Sunday, to mark one year since the countries signed a friendship accord.
Man tries to bomb Saudi Prince to hell
Wanted activist blew himself up in the office of a Saudi prince responsible for security, state news agency SPA has reported.
The man had said he wanted to personally tell Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in his Jeddah Interior Ministry office that he would give himself up.
The prince, who was meeting well-wishers for the holy month of Ramadan, was slightly injured.
The news agency did not identify the suicide bomber.
Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television showed Prince Mohammed meeting King Abdullah later.
He has been involved in the kingdom's anti-terror strategy.
This was the first known assassination attempt against a member of the royal family since Saudi Arabia began its operation against militants eight years ago.
Last month, Saudi officials said that a criminal court had convicted and sentenced more than 300 al-Qaeda militants to jail terms and fines - the first known trials of their kind.
Africa: Continent's Big Men Mess Up and Pay Image Cleaners in Washington - Africa Insight Analysis by Daily Nation
The Kenyan government has reportedly retained a top Washington public relations firm to improve its image in the United States at a reported cost of Sh129 million ($1.7 million) over the next two years. According to the Paris-based Indian Ocean Newsletter, CLS & Associates have added the Kenyan Government to their list of clients.
By retaining the firm, Kenya has joined a growing list of countries including some in Africa that rely on lobbyists to protect and promote their interests in Washington. This subculture reflects a steady decline and privatisation of diplomacy and has an impact on growth of democracy in Africa.
Power and influence are the trademarks of Washington D.C.'s K Street, a major thoroughfare that is known as a hotbed for over 14,000 lobbyists, advocacy groups and think tanks who, in 2008, cumulatively made an estimated $3.30 billion (Sh251 billion). Lobbying, a multi-billion dollar profession, involves all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituents, or organized groups.
The strongest lobbies promoting foreign interests are driven by cohesive ethnic population groups in the United States such as Armenians, Greeks, Taiwanese and Irish. Arguably, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is the most influential and well connected lobby in America whose work is to defend Israel's hard line stand on the Palestinians at the same time deflecting criticism of its military operations in the Palestinian territory especially when dealing with Hezbollah.
For Africa, there exists the Africa Action group, which is the oldest organisation in the US working for Africa affairs, lobbying on issues that fit into the broad goal of political, economic and social justice in Africa. The fifty-year old African Studies Association - a vocal conglomerate of people with a scholarly and professional interest in Africa is yet another African lobby. Lastly is the Trans Africa Forum which advocates human rights and social justice in the continent.
John Newhouse in the article 'Diplomacy Inc' (Foreign Affairs May/June 2009) argues that advantages of using lobbyists emanate from the fact that they operate within the system in ways that experienced diplomats cannot. This is not to negate the work of foreign embassies, but lobbyists can identify with a domestic ethnic bloc even though the bloc is paid by a foreign government.
Ethnic politics can hence trump corporate interests and, more important, influence what agencies within the US government may see as the national interest. Lobbying firms are also able to put forward arguments in ways that Ambassadors cannot, in part due to the diplomacy rules they operate under.
Compiled fact sheets on Kenya
It has also been argued that even the US government has become so complex that only insiders, such as former members of Congress or congressional staff members turned lobbyists, can navigate its confusing structure. In addition, foreign missions, including those representing African countries, have limited resources and hence are spread thin, with limited access to the people and offices that matter. Thus, it becomes necessary to engage lobbyists who will cover much of the legwork in Congress for the client country.
Nations retain a specific lobbying firm with an eye to extracting maximum advantage in areas such as foreign aid, investments and trade matters. Whatever it is they want, the lobbying firms in Washington help them get it.
In the initial phase of its work, CLS is said to have compiled a series of eight fact sheets on Kenya for distribution to the US media, government officials in Washington and American corporate executives.
These brief releases attempt to put a positive spin on Kenya's efforts at national reconciliation, its fight against corruption and the country's security ties with the United States. The strategy appears to be designed to highlight considerations that are already at the forefront of President Barrack Obama administration's relations with the Kenya's coalition government.
Lobbying firms are also expected to deflect criticism against their client country, when the US Congress takes note, concerning violations of human rights. Congressional indignation, after all, may lead to partial or total economic and financial sanctions. However, it is this capability of lobbyists to shield its client country from human rights accountability and scrutiny that posses a challenge to Africa's democracy.
Flipping through the US State Department annual global survey of human rights for the past four years, it is noticeable that many of the African countries known as human rights violators have got significant support from the American government whether military assistance (Egypt), development aid (Nigeria), or expanded trade opportunities (Angola, Cameroon).
It is also worth noting that most of these countries have natural resources that they could have appropriated for American support. Nevertheless, even the best natural resource-endowed regimes need help navigating the bureaucratic seas of Washington, and it is their great fortune that, for the right price, countless lobbyists are willing to captain even the foulest of ships.
During the 2008 US Presidential campaigns, the top adviser to US Senator John McCain, then prospective Republican Party nominee for president, was heavily criticised for his work on behalf of former President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya and other past African leaders accused of human rights abuses.
Repackaged Savimbi
Charles Black Jnr, a longtime Washington power broker, was a well-paid lobbyist for Kenya's government in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. A report by the non-governmental Centre for Public Integrity documented that Black's firm, Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly Public Affairs Co., was paid about $1.5 million (Sh114 million) by the Kenyan government from 1990 to 1993. The money was intended to win influence for Kenya with the US Congress, the White House, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and an array of Washington-based NGOs.
Black's firm also helped orchestrate the widely publicised 1989 burning of $3 million (Sh228 million) worth of poached elephant tusks in Nairobi National Park by the former President. Moi's private visit to the United States in 1990 was in part organised by Mr Black's firm and it also handled media relations during the visit, including a press briefing by Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Robert Ouko, who would be assassinated on returning to Kenya. Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly Public Affairs Co. also represented DR Congo (then Zaire) dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, Nigerian military ruler Gen Ibrahim Babangida, Somalia strongman Mohamed Siad Barre, and Angola rebel leader Jonas Savimbi. It greatly helped repackage Savimbi as a valiant anti-communist "freedom fighter."
In 2004, six former members of Congress served as "election observers" in Cameroon and offered positive assessment of President Paul Biya's overwhelming reelection victory. However, it was later found out that the so called observers had been financed by the firm of Patton Boggs, which worked for and was paid by the Biya government.
Egypt, historically one of the largest recipients of US foreign aid, has also mounted a large effort to preserve American funding in a case that shows the power of well connected lobbyists. Nevertheless, critics have voiced that American aid has allowed Cairo's political elite to put off much needed changes especially in democracy and governance that can spur growth.
Killed anti-Ethiopian bill
In June 2006, the Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act was introduced by Rep. Christopher Smith (Republican, New Jersey) proposing to put limits on military aid to Ethiopia -- with the exception of peacekeeping and anti-terrorism programs -- until the government released all political prisoners and provided fair and speedy trials to other prisoners held without charges. Most of these political prisoners had been arrested during the 2005 post election protests following the re-election of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, which also left more than 500 people dead.
The bill swiftly passed the House International Relations Committee with bipartisan support with the Ethiopian diaspora in America launching letter and e-mail campaigns to push the legislation in Congress. To counter this effort, the Ethiopian government hired a well-established law and lobbying firm, DLA Piper, to protect its interests in Washington at a cost of $2.3million.
The lobby shop in a memo argued that the bill compromised "the national security interests of both the United States and Ethiopia." They also raised concerns about Somalia that Addis Ababa and the United States shared. Through numerous meetings and lobbying, eventually the bill never made it to the House floor. It has been argued that lobbying is undesirable because it allows people with particular interests and who represent a minority to gain special access to law-makers and through contributions and favours have controversial relationships with representatives. This is a danger to Africa's democracy including settling its internal conflicts. A case in point is of Western Sahara which has been fighting for independence from Morocco -- and has been the subject of over 34 UN Security Council resolutions since 1999.
In late 2007 and 2008, the desert region was a top priority for Morocco's hired lobbyists who sought the support of the Congress in the territorial dispute. In 1991, the United Nations had brokered a cease-fire agreement between Morocco and the Polisario Front, a group fighting for Western Sahara's independence. Part of the terms of that deal included holding a referendum to determine the territory's final status.
In 2007, Morocco issued a proposal to grant Western Sahara autonomy within sovereign Morocco. The US initially welcomed the proposal, and direct talks began between Morocco and the Polisario with the involvement of Algeria, which supports self-determination for the Sahrawi tribes from the area.
Behind the scenes was the work of lobbyists for both parties. By the end of negotiations according to records released by Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the Algerian government's lobbyists had 36 contacts with members of Congress and staff promoting self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
The Algerians paid a modest $416,000 (Sh31.6 million) in lobbying fees. By comparison, lobbyists for the government of Morocco had 305 contacts with members of Congress and their staff. Morocco paid $3.4 million (Sh258 million) in lobbying expenses -- putting it among the top foreign government spenders for FARA filings in the period.
The intense campaign resulted in a bipartisan group of some 173 House members signing on to a statement supporting Morocco's offer of autonomy for the region without formal independence. President Bush also expressed support for Morocco's plan, a decision that has since been reversed by President Obama who backs a Western Sahara State.
Obama reining in lobbyists
It is due to this power to influence that President Obama made lobbying a key target of his ethics policies, sharply limiting their access to the administration and forbidding appointment of former lobbyists in the government without special waivers. The moves angered many lobbying groups but it is doubtful if it has made any impact on the booming business on K Street.
It is not only in America where the lobbyists are based. There are currently around 15,000 lobbyists in Brussels, the headquarters of European Union, seeking to influence its legislative process. In Britain, the lobbying industry has been steadily growing in recent years and was estimated by the Hansard Society in 2007 to be worth £1.9 billion (Sh234 billion) and employs 14,000 people. The House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee held an investigation into lobbying, and its 2009 report called for "a statutory register of lobbying activity to bring greater transparency to the dealings between Whitehall decision makers and outside interests."
It is thus clear that lobbyists have gained considerable influence in Washington and their work is affecting how different Africa countries run their affairs. Whereas there are some lobbyists who carry out harmless and good work, others continue to be used by African leaders to stifle the continent's democracy.
For the growth of the continent and stronger foreign policy ties, Washington needs to assist fragile democracies reform and strengthen their institutions instead of bowing to pressure from lobbyists working for the interests of the political elite.
At the same time, Africans need to elect strong capable leaders who view success as delivering development and reducing poverty rather than siphoning public resources and buying support or rigging elections. This will be an easier route to take than the power of lobby groups which is a short term gain mostly for the minority.
World Water Week summit in Stockholm again a flop
For the past week, an international entourage of industry leaders, politicians, and officials from the United Nations (this seems to be the priority listing) have been meeting in Stockholm for the annual World Water Week summit. The official purpose of this event was to improve "access to clean water in communities across the globe" in a bid to slow the high number of deaths each year in poor developing nations. But many groups from the developing world already stay away from the yearly event, because they say its just a meeting instigated by the global water-corporations and their UN-stooges.
In 2007, the organisers of World Water Week faced heavy criticism and protest actions for allowing Nestle to sponsor the conference and for serving bottled water to the participants. For this year's edition of World Water Week, the organisers had skipped the bottled water, but Nestle again features as the prime sponsor of the event.
Nestle, the company which had caused death and misery the world over with an ill-conceived demotion of breastfeeding to boost sales of the industries' infant-milk, is meanwhile the world's biggest producer of bottled water, which has caused again anger and Attac Sweden said it is very problematic that the organisers link up with a corporation that has such clear interests and such a problematic record.
Turning water into a commodity like oil and leaving it to multinational corporations and the private sector to own and manage, many critcs say, not only exacerbates poverty, raises environmental risk and increases the potential for social disruption and conflict, it further burdens farmers, ranchers and small businesses in economic sectors that aren't currently able to pay the rates necessary to meet the return on investment (ROI) thresholds private sector companies and their shareholders require.
The summit is apparently still masterminded by the self-styled World Water Council, a multi-stakeholder coalition of government, public and private sector organizations critics contend is largely a front for a worldwide campaign by private, multinational water companies whose aim is to persuade governments to cede water rights and management to the private sector.
"Controlled by multinational groups of that industrial sector, this private organization has succeeded in imposing itself as an unavoidable intermediary for a number of governments and international institutions. Moreover, it has achieved acceptance of the idea that attaching economic value to water is necessary for resolving the issues of access to water and sanitation," Petrella was quoted as saying in a report on People's Weekly World.
So no wonder that the Stockholm conference faced harsh criticism. Some experts say the World Water Week is just a romping place for the industry.
Still some 2,000 attendees reportedly converged on Stockholm to tackle important issues related to our planet´s most vital resource. Sweden´s Minister for International Development, Gunilla Carlsson, opened the conference by pointing out that millions of people die every year from preventable hygiene-related diseases.
"By increasing access to water we can change the lives and health of poor women, men and children for the better," said Gunilla Carlsson. "Nearly four million people die every year due to water- and sanitation-related diseases."
The summit this year focused particularly on cross-border waterways and the way they both create conflict and have the potential to develop better relations between neighbouring countries. Carlsson urged "coherence and compassion" between the full spectrum of agencies involved in water management to help make progress on this sensitive issue.
But meanwhile more than one billion people around the world lack access to clean drinking water. That number is expected to double in 20 years, while water quality overall is expected to decline due to ongoing pollution, according to the UN World Health Organization and Children's Fund.
"In agricultural societies people in small communities were for the most part directly involved in producing pretty much everything they consumed–food, water, clothing, etc. The rise of industrialism– whether in the US or the USSR, Western Europe or communist China– drove a wedge between and separated that relationship, creating a sort of 'schizophrenia' and tension in people's psyches as well as the nature and type of roles they play in society that has only intensified as industrialization has evolved, grown and spread," writes Andrew Burger insightful in "The Water Rights Grab: Big Business, Investors Push for Privatization".
This summit was said to be one of several events leading up to Copenhagen´s big conference on climate change in December, but seeing the negative outcome one can only fear that the process of climate conferences will only serve to delay tangible action, which certainly has to lead by the people and not by the industries. Only 100 days left to Seal the Deal!
S. America calls for expulsion of US troops - Press TV
Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) wraps up its extraordinary summit in Argentina amongst angry protests aimed at the US-Colombia military pact.
Regional leaders from the bloc of 12 nations in South America concluded the special UNASUR summit meeting held in the southern Argentine town of Bariloche on August 28, after the member states called for enduring peace and territorial integrity of the region's mostly leftist countries.
The leaders joined voices in expressing concerns about the presence of foreign forces in the region that might pose threats to the sovereignty of the bloc's Member States - a reference to a recent military pact between the United States and Colombia.
The heads of South American states in UNASUR also pledged to "abstain from using threats or force against the integrity of other states from the UNASUR."
UNASUR's Friday declaration, signed by the Member States including Colombia, reiterates the bloc's commitment "to strengthen the fight and cooperation against terrorism and transnational organized crime and its related crimes," including "the trafficking of small and light guns."
The signed document requires the UNASUR countries to refrain from posing any military threats against other nations, specifying that "military cooperation agreements must be directed by the unconditional respect to the principles and aims of the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of the UNASUR Constitutive treaty."
The move appears to be directed at Colombia where President Alvaro Uribe has allowed US military to use seven army bases in the country.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters took to the streets around the summit venue, demanding the expulsion of hundreds of US troops to be stationed in bases across South America.
Demonstrators, accompanied by non-governmental organization activists and social campaigners, also protested against the presence of Uribe at the summit.
Several unions and political parties have signed a letter of protest against the presence of the US in Latin America. The letter was delivered to the regional leaders gathered in the Argentine mountain resort of Bariloche.
UNASUR, launched in 2008 to strengthen regional ties and fight drug trafficking and corruption, comprises of 12 South American nations including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela.
We do not send pictures with these reports, because of the volume, but picture this emetic scene with your inner eye:
A dying Somali child in the macerated arms of her mother besides their bombed shelter with Islamic graffiti looks at a fat trader, who discusses with a local militia chief and a UN representative at a harbour while USAID provided GM food from subsidised production is off-loaded by WFP into the hands of local "distributors" and dealers - and in the background a western warship and a foreign fishing trawler ply the waters of a once sovereign, prosper and proud nation, which was a role model for honesty and development in the Horn of Africa. (If you feel that this is overdrawn - come with us into Somalia and see the even more cruel reality yourself!)
There is no limit to what a person can do or how far one can go to help - if one doesn't mind who gets the credit !
ECOTERRA Intl. maintains a register for persons missing or abducted in the Somali seas (Foreign seafarers as well as Somalis). Inquiries by family member can be sent by e-mail to office[at]ecoterra-international.org
For families of presently captive seafarers - in order to advise and console their worries - ECOTERRA Intl. can establish contacts with professional seafarers, who had been abducted in Somalia, and their wives as well as of a Captain of a sea-jacked and released ship, who agreed to be addressed "with questions, and we will answer truthfully".
ECOTERRA - ALERTS and pending issues:
PIRATE ATTACK GULF OF ADEN: Advice on Who to Contact and What to Do http://www.noonsite.com/Members/sue/R2008-09-08-2
NATURAL RESOURCES & ARMED FISH POACHERS: Foreign navies entering the 200nm EEZ of Somalia and foreign helicopters and troops must respect the fact that especially all wildlife is protected by Somali national as well as by international laws and that the protection of the marine resources of Somalia from illegally fishing foreign vessels should be an integral part of the anti-piracy operations. Likewise the navies must adhere to international standards and not pollute the coastal waters with oil, ballast water or waste from their own ships but help Somalia to fight against any dumping of any waste (incl. diluted, toxic or nuclear waste). So far and though the AU as well as the UN has called since long on other nations to respect the 200 nm EEZ, only now the two countries (Spain and France) to which the most notorious vessels and fleets are linked have come up with a declaration that they will respect the 200 nm EEZ of Somalia but so far not any of the navies operating in the area pledged to stand against illegal fishing. So far not a single illegal fishing vessel has been detained by the naval forces, though they had been even informed about several actual cases, where an intervention would have been possible. Illegally operating Tuna fishing vessels (many from South Korea, some from Greece and China) carry now armed personnel and force their way into the Somali fishing grounds - uncontrolled or even protected by the naval forces mandated to guard the Somali waters against any criminal activity, which included arms carried by foreign fishing vessels in Somali waters.
LLWs / NLWs: According to recently leaked information the anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden are also used as a cover-up for the live testing of recently developed arsenals of so called non-lethal as well as sub-lethal weapons systems. (Pls request details) Neither the Navies nor the UN has come up with any code of conduct in this respect, while the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program (JNLWP) is sponsoring several service-led acquisition programs, including the VLAD, Joint Integration Program, and Improved Flash Bang Grenade. Alredy in use in Somalia are so called Non-lethal optical distractors, which are visible laser devices that have reversible optical effects. These types of non-blinding laser devices use highly directional optical energy. Somalia is also a testing ground for the further developments of the Active Denial System (ADS) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD). If new developments using millimeter wave sources that will help minimize the size, weight, and system cost of an effective Active Denial System which provides "ADS-ACTD-like" repel effects, are used has not yet been revealed. Obviously not only the US is developing and using these kind of weapons as the case of MV MARATHON showed, where a Spanish naval vessel was using optical lasers - the stand-off was then broken by the killing of one of the hostage seafarers. Local observers also claim that HEMI devices, producing Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation (HEMI) Bioeffects, have been used in the Gulf of Aden against Somalis. Exposure to HEMI devices, which can be understood as a stun-gun shot at an individual over a larger distance, causes muscle contractions that temporarily disable an individual. Research efforts are underway to develop a longer-duration of this effect than is currently available. The live tests are apparently done without that science understands yet the effects of HEMI electrical waveforms on a human body.
ECOTERRA Intl., whose work does focus on nature- and human-rights-protection and - as the last international environmental organization still working in Somalia - had alerted ship-owners since 1992, many of whom were fishing illegally in the 200 nm Exclusive Economic Zone, to stay away from Somali waters. The non-governmental organization had requested the international community many times for help to protect the coastal waters of the war-torn state, but now lawlessness has seriously increased and gone out of hand.
ECOTERRA members with marine and maritime expertise, joined by it's ECOP-marine group, are closely and continuously monitoring and advising on the Somali situation. (for previous information concerning the topics please google keywords ECOTERRA (and) SOMALIA)
The network of the SEAFARERS ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME helped significantly in most sea-jack cases. ECOTERRA Intl. is working in Somalia since 1986 on human-rights and nature protection, while ECOP-marine concentrates on illegal fishing and the protection of the marine ecosystems. Your support counts too.
Please consider to contribute to the work of SAP, ECOP-marine and ECOTERRA Intl. Please donate to the defence fund.
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