Ecoterra Press Release 239 – The Somalia Chronicle June – December 2009, no 51
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 17, 2010
ECOTERRA Intl.
SMCM
Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor
ECOTERRA INTERNATIONAL - UPDATES & STATEMENTS, REVIEW & CLEARING-HOUSE
2009-09-07 MON 06h26:12 UTC
Issue No. 239
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.
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 necessary.)
Breaking:
End of 3 Seychellois sailor's ordeal in last blotch
Ill-planned operation by Seychelles government leads to misunderstanding in Somalia
Efforts are, however, under way to set the planes free and to fly the 3 Seychellois hostages home.
Puntland 'seizes Kenya-bound planes that transported pirate suspects' - garoweonline
Authorities in Somalia's Puntland State government have seized two Kenya-bound airplanes that allegedly transported pirate suspects to Puntland without the local government's knowledge, government sources tell Garowe Online.
The two airplanes were seized by Puntland security forces on Sunday after landing at the airport in Galkayo, the provincial capital of Mudug region. Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Farole," the president of Puntland, and most of Puntland's government officials are currently in Galkayo.
Puntland Aviation Minister Ahmed Elmi "Karash" confirmed to independent Somali news agency Garowe Online that the two small airplanes originally landed in Puntland's coastal town of Gara'ad, where 23 pirate suspects reportedly got off.
A group of fishermen from the Seychelles Islands – who were being held hostage by Gara'ad-based pirates – then boarded the plane, Minister Karash said.
The two small planes took off from the dirt airstrip in Gara'ad but landed at the Galkayo airport to refuel, with plans to return to their final destination in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
"The pilots informed our [Puntland] Ministry of Aviation that they were transporting humanitarian supplies when they entered Puntland air space," Minister Karash added.
Puntland security sources tell Garowe Online that the 23 pirate suspects were "exchanged" for the Seychelles hostages.
The two airplanes are parked at Galkayo's airport and all the crewmen and passengers have been unboarded as Puntland authorities continue their investigation.
French news agency AFP has reported that Seychelles authorities have repatriated 23 pirate suspects captured off Somalia's long coastline, but AFP could not ascertain where the pirate suspects were taken.
It is not clear what step Puntland's government will take next, but Kenya and Seychelles are two countries that have actively participated in the campaign against Somali pirates. There are many convicted pirates from Somalia currently in Kenyan jails.
Puntland's new government, elected last January with Dr. Farole as president, has waged an active campaign to arrest and sentence pirates in the region, while delivering anti-piracy messages to the public through mass media and Islamic centers.
The governments of Kenya and Seychelles have not spoken about this latest development and the extent of their involvement in this story remains unclear.
Plane with 37 pirates held in Nairobi
By Sammy Cheboi for Daily Nation and Presidential Press Service (PPS)
By late Sunday afternoon, an aircraft carrying 37 pirates was still being being guarded at a secluded location of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi near the military barracks.
An aircraft carrying 37 pirates was on Sunday still being held at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport under heavy guard as high-level negotiations continued.
The pirates are said to have been released by the Seychelles Government before their Kenyan contact made arrangements and paid the aircraft company to fly them through JKIA on their way to Mogadishu.
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga had been informed about the aircraft and its human cargo and were said to be in negotiations with both the Seychelles and Somali governments.
The Kenyan Government was said to be navigating the diplomatic minefield on the implications of allowing the pirates into the country, which is perceived by the international community to be helping in the fight against piracy and terrorism.
Police remained tight-lipped about the saga despite heavy presence of General Service Unit (GSU) officers at the JKIA.
The Nation has established that the 40-seater Dash-8 aircraft arrived at JKIA from the Seychelles on Saturday night and was immediately surrounded by police officers.
The passengers and crew of three were not allowed to disembark. The crew comprises pilot Jimmy Owino; a Mr Anil, the first officer; and flight attendant Lorraine Nyaboke.
The aircraft, which belongs to a local company, was hooked onto a ground power unit for its lighting, air conditioning and toilet system so that the occupants use its facilities and not have the excuse to disembark.
According to sources in the aviation industry privy to the incident, the owners of the aircraft had been hired by a person in Kenya who told them that the passengers had been cleared by both the Kenyan and Seychelles governments to fly from Seychelles International Airport in Victoria city on Mahe Island.
They were scheduled to disembark from the plane and enter Nairobi from where they would have either sneaked back into Somalia or remained in the country to enjoy their ill-gotten riches.
The aircraft was, however, intercepted and the passengers detained after it was established that it had no clearance and neither had any been arranged between Kenya and Seychelles or Kenya and Somalia. By late Sunday afternoon, the aircraft was being guarded at a secluded location of the JKIA near the military barracks.
N.B.: How the Kenyans found a figure of 37 people is not known.]
Seychelles repatriates 23 suspected Somali pirates (AFP)
The Seychelles has repatriated 23 Somalis it had been holding on suspicion of piracy for lack of evidence, an official statement said Sunday.
"We have taken the decision to repatriate the men because of the difficulty of bringing them to successful prosecution for acts of piracy," said Joel Morgan, the Indian Ocean archipelago's minister for environment, natural resources and transport.
"We do not have sufficient evidence for a trial to take place, and based on that we have respected international laws and repatriated them to their homeland," he added.
The statement said the 23 were flown back on Saturday but did not specify to where in Somalia.
Following the deployment of foreign naval powers off the coast of Somalia last year to curb spiralling attacks on one of the world's busiest maritime trade corridors, pirates expanded their area of operation.
Several attacks were carried out hundreds of miles away from Somalia and near the Seychelles' waters.
The Seychelles has sought international help in combating piracy, which it fears could undermine an economy heavily reliant on fishing and tourism, notably luxury cruises.
Of the hundreds of suspected pirates detained by regional or international navies over the past year, many have been released for lack of evidence and due to the lack of an appropriate legal framework allowing prosecution.
Republic of Seychelles
Office of the President
PRESS RELEASE
06-09-09
Somali Men Repatriated
The 23 Somali men who were held in custody in Seychelles on suspicion of piracy have been repatriated to Somalia.
The men were captured on separate occasions in Seychelles waters, and were awaiting trial in the Seychelles.
"We have taken the decision to repatriated the men because of the difficultly of bringing them to successful prosecution for acts of piracy. We do not have sufficient evidence for a trial to take place, and based on that we have respected international laws and repatriated them to their homeland," said Minister Joel Morgan, mandated by the President to work on the piracy portfolio.
The Somali men were flown out of the country on Saturday to Somalia.
News from sea-jackings, abductions, newly attacked ships and vessels in distress
Does MOFA care about ´Win Far´?
By Chiang Huang-chih 姜皇池 (*) (translated by Julian Clegg)
MOFA´s perfunctory handling of the matter looks like an evasion of its responsibilities. Only after receiving news of the attack on the US Navy helicopter did MOFA announce that the ship and its crew were safe ... and that the ship´s owners were waiting for the right moment to get them out´
On April 6, the Taiwanese fishing vessel Win Far 161 was hijacked by Somali pirates in waters north of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, along with its crew of 30: the Taiwanese captain, engineer and 28 fishermen — five Chinese, six Indonesians and 17 Filipinos. Taiwan´s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said it tried hard to rescue the crew, but was not able to offer further assistance because the pirates did not demand a ransom and because Taiwan has no diplomatic relations with Somalia. After that, news of the incident disappeared from the media and the memory began to fade. For a while, no one knew whether the crew were safe.
Then, on Aug. 27, the US Navy said Somali pirates had used the stolen Win Far 161 as a base ship for speedboat attacks on other vessels and that its captors had fired a rocket at a US Navy helicopter. The US Navy said one of the targets of attacks launched from the Win Far 161 over the past 130-odd days was the US-flagged container ship Maersk Alabama, which was seized by pirates on April 10.
If it were not for this announcement, which attracted enough attention to be reported in some Taiwanese media, the public would probably have forgotten all about the Win Far 161.
The news, when it came, was both good and bad. The crew were reported to be safe. However, the fishermen might be used as human shields or forced to collaborate with the pirates.
Somali pirates chose to use the Win Far 161 as a base ship because it is a large fishing vessel weighing nearly 800 tonnes. The pirates have been using it for a long time now, but its navigation and maintenance are probably beyond their abilities.
Have the ship´s crew been forced to take part in some of the pirates´ actions by performing tasks such as steering the ship, maintaining its engine and using its radar system to help the pirates locate potential targets? Only the Taiwanese captain and engineer have the necessary skills.
Article 101, clause 2 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea includes within its definition of piracy "any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft."
Under international law, all countries have complete jurisdiction over people who engage in such activities, and anyone who does such things may be charged with the crime of piracy.
If the Taiwanese on board have taken part in the pirates´ actions, will they be considered completely guiltless?
Of course, it may be argued in their defense that the crew were coerced by the pirates and were acting against their own will. Imagine their state of mind if they are forced to help the pirates use a stolen ship as a means of perpetrating criminal activities against other ships.
Looking back over this case, many developments have been frustrating. What is most difficult to accept is the seemingly inadequate actions and complacent attitude of MOFA.
The ministry says it has tried its best to locate the ship and rescue its crew through Taiwan´s representative office in South Africa and other avenues, but it never received a ransom demand from the pirates and was never able to get in contact with the crew.
MOFA´s perfunctory handling of the matter looks like an evasion of its responsibilities. Only after receiving news of the attack on the US Navy helicopter did MOFA announce that the ship and its crew were safe, despite being stuck on the far side of the Indian Ocean, and that the ship´s owners were waiting for the right moment to get them out.
Only then did the public find out that the crew were still alive.
However, in suggesting that the matter was now in the hands of the ship´s owners, is MOFA willing but unable to help, or is it simply unwilling?
The Spanish have a saying about fishermen: "Don´t just see the fish. It was brought to you by the blood and sweat of the fishermen."
The story of the Win Far 161 will be even more tragic if fishermen pay for their catch not just with their blood and sweat, but with their lives.
Still, all is not lost. As long as we know the men are still alive, there is still a chance of saving them.
MOFA must reach out its hand to help the crew, either directly or through the ship´s owners, and test all avenues of negotiation.
(*) Chiang Huang-chih is an associate professor at National Taiwan University´s Department of Law.
Shipping News (Updated)
By Clarice Feldman
A few weeks ago, rather buried in other news was an odd report of a Russian ship which apparently had been hijacked after picking up "timber "in Finland. Various conflicting accounts of its whereabouts and cargo and the details of the hijacking appeared and I could find no consistent picture of what had occurred though it certainly aroused my suspicions.
Today we have accounts in the overseas press, which might help us figure out what happened. The online friend (Professor Charles Lipson) who alerted me to these stories accurately says:
"This is like something from a Tom Clancy novel, with the Mossad tipping the Russians, who then stopped gun-running former Russian military officers who were selling high-tech anti-aircraft weapons to Iran. Still, there are some obvious lingering questions, particularly whether this really traces back to the Kremlin itself, which might have been using cut-outs, since it is hard to imagine that former officers could get hold of the most advanced anti-aircraft weapons and ship them out of the country in wholesale lots."
Here are the two reports. I think my friend is right and I wish I were in a position to answer his lingering questions. First, the London Times:
CARGO ship that vanished in the Channel was carrying arms to Iran and was being tracked by Mossad, the Israeli security service, according to sources in both Russia and Israel.
The Arctic Sea, officially carrying a cargo of timber worth £1.3m, disappeared en route from Finland to Algeria on July 24. It was recovered off West Africa on August 17 when eight alleged hijackers were arrested. The Kremlin has consistently denied that the vessel was carrying a secret cargo. It claims the ship was hijacked by criminals who demanded a £1m ransom.
The official version was challenged by sources in Tel Aviv and Moscow who claimed the ship had been loaded with S-300 missiles, Russia´s most advanced anti-aircraft weapon, while undergoing repairs in the Russian port of Kaliningrad.
Mossad, which closely monitors arms supplies to Iran, is said to have tipped off the Russian government that the shipment had been sold by former military officers linked to the underworld.
Under this version, the missiles were loaded in Kalingrad; and Mossad put together a group of criminals who knew nothing of the real cargo and had them make a fuss about the hijacking so that the Russians were forced to act to retake the ship and thereby stop the weapon flow.
The Jerusalem Post prominently carried the Times story that besides the details of the Times hijacking account also had observed:
in Kaliningrad, former high-ranking Russian military officers impoverished since the fall of the Soviet empire have been said to trade in Russian weaponry clandestinely, without Moscow's approval or knowledge.
The visit of President Shimon Peres to Russia began a day after the ship was rescued. Peres discussed at length the issue of Russian arms sales to Israel's enemies, and a statement issued by his office after the meeting said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised that Russia would not supply arms to Iran or Syria.
A Russian official said the timing of the president's visit to Russia was not coincidental.
"Clearly the Israelis played a role in the whole Arctic Sea saga," a military source is quoted by the Times as saying. "Peres used the incident as a bargaining chip over the issue of arms sales to Arab states, while Israel allowed the Kremlin a way out with its claims to have successfully foiled a piracy incident."
Now, if Hollywood wanted to make money again instead of glorifying jihadis it would produce a film featuring this adventure story about people who risk all every day to keep the thugs from blowing up all that is near and dear to us—the kind of inspiring and exciting work which might actually bring folks to movie houses again.
Larrey Anderson adds:
All kinds of strange things going on with pirates and Russian ships nowadays. This is from New Dehli news reports:
Authorities have confirmed the first case of alleged Pakistani involvement with Somali pirates in a revelation that has raised concerns here about a possible link between piracy and suspected terrorist groups.
On April 28, a Russian warship apprehended 12 Pak nationals — along with Somali pirates — for attempting to attack a tanker off Somalia´s coast.
With the latest captures and releases now still at least 5 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. 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 161 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 150 Somalis are held in foreign prisons (Kenya, Yemen, Seychelles, France, Netherlands) under charges of piracy. 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: YELLOW (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = possible, Green = unlikely).
Directly piracy or naval upsurge related reports
How diaspora funds Somali pirates
By Githua Kihara
Putting an end to the menace: Somali pirates are now believed to be operating as part of a highly organised operation that has strong international connections.
Somali pirates may be receiving support from foreign sources, including their kin in the diaspora, some of whom provide critical intelligence and other information on shipping expeditions along the Red Sea leading to an increase in the number of attacks on ships off the Somali coast.
The foreign connections also facilitate the acquisition of sophisticated equipment and other infrastructure to enable the pirates carry out their attacks, Col Victor Gamor, the military advisor at the United Nations Political Office of Somali (UNOPS) told a maritime security and safety workshop in Mombasa.
"The sophistication of the operation, for example the selected targeting of ships carrying lucrative cargo gives credence to the allegation that intelligence is passed on to the pirates from external sources," Gamor said. Pirates, he said, now use GPS systems and satellite phones.
It is believed that they are plugged into international networks that feed information from the ports in the Gulf, Europe, Asia and back to Somali.
The pirates have graduated from being simple fishermen with small boats and ordinary weapons into high-tech operators armed with modern weapons travelling in expensive speedboats, said Gamor. As the crime has become more and more lucrative, it has attracted a widening network of players who are stationed in foreign countries, Gamor said.
Last year alone, more than 40 ships were captured along the Somali coastline. With ransoms ranging from $500,000 to $2m, the pirates made a big fortune. Some of the money went to fast cars, new houses and lavish wedding parties, according to Gamor, but a significant portion also went into the acquisition of sophisticated equipment.
One reason why pirates can now operate hundreds of kilometres out to sea is that they can afford faster, more robust boats and satellite tracking systems.
The campaign to curb the involvement of foreign actors in fuelling piracy in Somali is complicated by the absence of an effective central authority in Somali. Although the country has a transitional government in place, it does not have effective control over the entire national territory.
Somaliland, in the north west asserts its independence while Puntland, in the north east, exercises significant autonomy. While Somaliland, according to Gamor, appears in good measure to control piracy, the same cannot be said of Puntland.
In central and south Somali, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) controls a limited stretch of territory around Mogadishu, the capital.
The rest of the territory is under the control of the insurgent forces, or is highly contested, with territory constantly changing hands between the government and its allied forces, on the one hand, and hardline groups on the other.
Amid the chaos that exists in Somali, there is virtually no control of the flow of arms despite the existing international arms embargo, according to Gamor.
Porous borders
"Clandestine arm shipments by some foreign governments, accompanied by the influx of foreign fighters in the country have complicated the security situation in Somali," Gamor said, adding that this is how some of the weapons find their way into the hands of the youth who engage in piracy.
"It is extremely difficult to break the communication network that fuels piracy in Somali without the support of a central government," Gamor said.
The most effective way of dealing with piracy is by controlling their entry into the high sea, which can only be done if the FTG is able to secure the vast Somali coast with its isolated beaches. The long porous Somali borders make it possible to transfer the ransom paid to pirates, in dollars, most of which enters Kenya, according to Gamor.
Somali pirates are increasingly sailing further into the Indian Ocean from their bases in Puntland, in northern Somalia, due to the sophisticated equipment they have been able to acquire.
The largest vessel to have been hijacked in the history of piracy was the Sirius Star, a supertanker carrying two million barrels of oil which was hijacked last year 450 nautical miles (833 kilometres) southeast of Mombasa port, farther south than any previous attack.
"This incident is significant on two counts," said International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Director Pottengal Mukundan.
"Firstly, this is the largest vessel to have been hijacked. Secondly, the distance from the shore would suggest a highly organised operation — this is not mere opportunism."
Professional Pride in an Environment with No Rules
"These are technically sophisticated people who take pride in their work, and when we knock them down they don't just decide to go find something else to do. You could say we are breeding the perfect spammer."
Jim Buckmaster, CEO Craigslist
This is a great quote that captures the idea that global crime has become professionalized, and that the increasingly sophisticated people that are engaged in it take pride in their work/expertise. Remember, capitalism doesn't have an intrinsic morality. The only objective is to match supply with demand and make money doing it.
How you accomplish that goal is irrelevant.
NOTE: In a round about way, this is also one of the reasons why Russian and Chinese hackers are stomping all over US government and corporate networks. Contrast the Darwinian environment (pressures include everything from arrest to financial ruin) where these young professional criminals work with the financially generous (pay and pensions), tenured, and bureaucratically opaque world where the engineers in our technical intelligence agencies work.
Ecosystems, marine environment, IUU fishing and dumping, UNCLOS, ecology
The United States of America are not even a signatory to UNCLOS, but dare to speak up like the European fish-poachers Spain and France, who - though they instructed their fishing vessels not to enter the 200nm EEZ and territorial waters of Somalia, behind the curtains exert pressure even on organizations like the IMO to curb Somalia's sovereignty. In the analysis below it is obvious how the big powers try to twist every rule of the planet for their own gains - only with China they might bite on a hard stone.
The Implications of China´s Naval Modernization for the United States
By Peter A. Dutton - Associate Professor, U.S. Naval War College
Testimony June 11, 2009 before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Committee Hearing
Questions presented:
How does China´s unique view of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) impact regional security?
Is there room for cooperation between the U.S. Navy and the PLAN on global maritime security?
If so, how?
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the EEZ.
Before addressing China´s ´unique´ view of the EEZ, it is helpful to review the specific terms of the Convention itself.
UNCLOS Part V on the EEZ begins with Article 55, which provides 1 coastal states the right to claim this new coastal zone and specifies that "the rights and jurisdiction of the coastal State and the rights and freedoms of other States are [to be] governed by the relevant provisions of this Convention." Article 56 then specifies that coastal states have "sovereign rights in the EEZ for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources … [and] jurisdiction … with regard to installations and structures, marine scientific research, and protection and preservation of the marine environment. (emphases added)" Additionally, Article 58 provides that "In exercising its rights… the coastal state shall have due regard to the rights and duties of other states." There are at least three implications that flow from this Article. First, coastal states do not have sovereignty over the EEZ, but are entitled to claim exclusive resource rights to the detriment of all other states and potential claimants. The second implication is that coastal states in their EEZs are granted a measure of jurisdictional authority to regulate the activity of the vessels of other States with regard to the three specified subject matter areas. The third implication of Article 56 is that all states presumptively retain those freedoms that pre-existed the creation of coastal state authority over the EEZ, other than those affected by the rights and jurisdiction allocated to the coastal state.
Article 58 provides additional clarity about the rights of all states in the EEZ. It specifies that, "In the EEZ, all States … enjoy … the freedoms referred to in Article 87 of navigation and overflight … and other internationally lawful uses of the sea related to these freedoms, such as those associated with the operation of ships … [and] aircraft … and compatible with the other provisions of this Convention." Article 87, found in UNCLOS Part VII on the High Seas, incorporates into UNCLOS the traditional navigational and overflight freedoms enjoyed by all states beyond territorial seas. Thus, Article 58 specifically incorporates into the EEZ those preexisting navigational and overflight freedoms that all states enjoyed when the zone was previously part of the high seas. Article 58 imposes only two conditions on the exercise of these high seas freedoms in the EEZ. A state´s exercise of high seas freedoms must be "internationally lawful" and "compatible with other provisions of this Convention."
One provision of the Convention often cited by Chinese academics in criticizing the U.S. Navy´s exercise of high sea freedoms in the EEZ as being either internationally unlawful or otherwise incompatible with other provisions of the Convention is Article 301. This Article, entitled "Peaceful uses of the seas," states that "In exercising their rights and performing their duties under this Convention, States Parties shall refrain from any threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations (emphasis added)."
The very terms of this Article make clear that it is intended to call to mind duties already imposed upon states by the U.N. Charter, rather than to create new restrictions on the use of a state´s military capacity.2 Nonetheless, Chinese scholars often begin criticism of U.S. military uses of the EEZ with this provision.
The U.S. EEZ and the practice of coastal states.
Shortly after the text of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was completed on December 10, 1982, President Reagan issued a Presidential Proclamation that established the U.S. EEZ.3 In addition to repeating the language of Article 56 concerning sovereign rights and jurisdiction, it repeats three times that the American claim does not affect "other lawful uses of the zone, including navigation and overflight, by other states." The proclamation makes no qualifications of any kind to limit the military activities of all states in the U.S. EEZ. Indeed, the Presidential Statement on United States Oceans Policy accompanying the Proclamation makes clear that UNCLOS protects "traditional uses of the oceans" in that "[w]ithin this Zone all nations will continue to enjoy the high seas rights and freedoms that are not resource related, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight." The Statement further specifies that "the United States will exercise and assert [its navigational and overflight freedoms] .. on a worldwide basis in a manner consistent with the balance of interests reflected in the convention," and that the U.S. "will not … acquiesce in unilateral acts of other states designed to restrict the rights and freedoms of the international community in navigation and overflight and other related high seas uses." 2
The text of the Presidential Proclamation and Statement were further amplified by a simultaneously-issued White House Fact Sheet on United States Oceans Policy. It stated that "The EEZ is a maritime area in which the coastal state may exercise certain limited powers as recognized under international law. The EEZ is not the same as the concept of the territorial sea … [which] means that the freedom of navigation and overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the sea will remain the same within the zone as they are beyond it (emphasis added)." It further emphasized that "Unimpeded commercial and military navigation and overflight are critical to the national interest of the United States. The United States will continue to act to ensure the retention of the necessary rights and freedoms."
Although the U.S. EEZ Proclamation was issued during the Cold War, there is ample record that the U.S. respected the right of the Soviet Union and its client states to undertake military activities in and above the coastal waters of the United States outside the territorial sea. Soviet intelligence-collection ships, hydrographic research vessels, space-support ships and military reconnaissance flights regularly operated off U.S. coastlines without U.S. legal objection.4 This continues to reflect U.S. policy and doctrine. The U.S. Navy´s Commander´s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations, for instance, states that "the coastal nation cannot unduly restrict or impede the exercise of the freedoms of navigation in and overflight of the exclusive economic zone … [s]ince all ships and aircraft, including warships and military aircraft, enjoy the high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the sea related to those freedoms."5 Additionally, Presidential Proclamations establishing Marine Protected Areas and Marine Sanctuaries in U.S. waters to preserve important natural and cultural resources direct that they be established in accordance with international law and Presidential Proclamation 5030 in order to prevent infringement of international freedoms of navigation in the U.S. EEZ.6
China´s views and laws related to the EEZ and the potential impact on U.S. naval operations in East Asia. 3
The views of the vast majority of states are in alignment with U.S. views concerning the legal status of the EEZ. 4 According to the Department of Defense Maritime Claims Reference Manual, of the 150 states with maritime claims, 127 states recognize the right of all states to undertake military activities in the EEZ and 23 make some form of claim to regulate foreign military activities in their EEZ.7 China is among this small minority. 5
Chinese legal scholars employ various arguments to justify their government´s claim of authority to broadly regulate foreign military activities in China´s EEZ. 6 Perhaps the most comprehensive and authoritative Article of Chinese perspectives on this topic was written by two scholars from the China Institute for International Strategic Studies.8 Apparently relying on an overbroad interpretation of the grant to coastal states of jurisdiction in the EEZ by Article 56, they articulate the perspective that "freedom of navigation and overflight" and "other international[ly] lawful uses of the sea in the EEZ … are no longer freedoms of the high seas in the traditional sense," 7because UNCLOS separates the EEZ from the high seas and the EEZ is therefore different. From this they conclude that states no longer have the "freedom to conduct military activities in the EEZ of another state" and that a coastal state has the jurisdictional "right to [make laws that] restrict or even prohibit the activities of foreign military vessels and aircraft in and over its EEZ." In a substantial broadening of the meaning of Article 301, they argue in particular that "military and reconnaissance activities in the EEZ … encroach or infringe on the national security interests of the coastal state and can be considered a use of force or a threat to use force against the state." 8
If the U.S. were to accept China´s ´unique´ legal interpretations of UNCLOS, it could have a significant impact on current U.S. naval activities in part because China claims nearly the entire East and South China Seas as its EEZ. These claims are based in part on China´s 1992 territorial sea law--under which China claims sovereignty over Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands in the East China Sea, and in the South China Sea China claims the Dongsha (Pratas) Islands, the Xisha (Paracel) Islands, the Zhongsha (Macclesfield Bank) Islands and the Nansha (Spratly) Islands.9 China´s 1998 EEZ law then claims an "exclusive economic zone … extending 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured."10 Additionally, in the East China Sea, China´s position in its dispute with Japan over EEZ rights is that in addition to any EEZ that accrues from the Diaoyu Islands (not to mention Taiwan) China is entitled to claim all the waters extending from its coastline eastward to the footsteps of the Ryukyu Island chain.11 These sovereignty and jurisdictional claims to sea space, when combined with China´s broad assertion of authority to restrict or prohibit foreign military activities in the EEZ, begs the question, is China attempting to shape international law to restrict or limit U.S. naval power in East Asia? Or are China´s actions simply designed to create a maritime buffer zone similar to its territorial cushions from major continental powers?
In either case, China has embarked on a program of confrontation of U.S. hydrographic survey vessels in China´s EEZ and in the aftermath of the 2001 EP-3 Incident also objected to U.S. surveillance and reconnaissance flights in the airspace above its EEZ. In addition to the legal arguments against foreign military activities in its EEZ presented above, in the case of U.S. hydrographic surveys China also objects on the basis of the grant of jurisdiction over "marine scientific research" to coastal states under UNCLOS Article 56. Again, this is a case of the overbroad reading of a jurisdictional grant to coastal states.
In fact, UNCLOS carefully distinguishes between "research" and "surveys." While Article 56 grants coastal states the authority to regulate marine scientific research in support of the economic purposes for which the EEZ was created, surveys were not included within this jurisdictional grant. Surveys are distinct from marine scientific research in that surveys are undertaken to study the non-commercial characteristics of maritime environment in order to gain an improved understanding of the navigational and hydrographic characteristics of an area of water. Indeed, out if respect for a coastal state´s sovereignty in its territorial sea, UNCLOS specifies that "carrying out research or survey activities" is a violation of innocent passage.12
However, the EEZ, unlike the territorial sea, is not a zone of coastal state sovereignty. It is a zone
5 in which all states have a substantial interest in safe navigation among other interests. Thus, that Article 56 did not include a grant of jurisdiction to coastal states over both research and survey activities in the EEZ is no accident. Accordingly, while resource-related research can be regulated by the laws of the coastal state, hydrographic surveys may not be.13
Nonetheless, China´s 2002 Surveying and Mapping Law purports to control all surveying activities "in the waters under China´s jurisdiction," a clear reference to China´s EEZ, and specifies that "for the purpose of this law, surveying … include[s] the activities conducted to determine, collect and formulate the key elements of physical geography." Additionally, China´s law provides that "Foreign organizations … that wish to conduct surveying … in the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People´s Republic of China shall be subject to [government] approval."14 Accordingly, Chinese objections to U.S. hydrographic survey activities in the EEZ cite both international law, in reference to China´s broad interpretation of its jurisdictional authority to regulate marine scientific research under UNCLOS Article 56, and China´s domestic law.15
Problematic aspects of China´s perspective on international law of the sea.
The Chinese approach to law of the sea is problematic on several levels. In a strictly legal sense, it is an attempt to carve out a regional exception to the traditional freedoms of access and rights of maritime communication that have long been protected by international law because they enhance global economic development and promote international political stability. Additionally, law is law, or not at all. In other words, an East Asian regional exception to a rule of international law undermines the applicability of the rule in all places. This could have serious consequences.
At stake … is whether international law [of the sea, as a whole] is interpreted in such a way as to promote the peaceful military uses of the seas or, by contrast, whether law becomes a means to promote the kind of anti-access, national-security focused interpretation that Beijing is attempting to impose. The outcome of this larger struggle will determine the extent to which large swaths of the seas, including disputed maritime and land territories, are "securitized" by coastal states rather than left open to the stabilizing influence of the naval activities of the international community. The outcome has long-term implications for the health of the global system on which the economic health and political independence of every state relies.16
Increased maritime instability would be the logical and inevitable result of the universal application of interpretations of international law of the sea that remove the authority of all states to use non-sovereign maritime zones for traditional naval purposes. This is particularly problematic inasmuch as approximately 38% of the world´s oceans are covered by the EEZ. Just as the lack of governance on land results in the disruptive spill-over effects of failed states, so too at sea would a removal of international authority to provide order result in increased zones of instability. Like Somalia, some key coastal states with long coastlines and extensive EEZs have 6 little or no capacity to provide maritime stability and order. Remove international law authorities to provide order in these regions, and all order is removed.
In addition to freedom of navigation and overflight for the purpose of undertaking maritime security operations, international law of the sea has long protected the right of states to send naval forces abroad for the purpose of gathering information, undertaking exercises, engaging in diplomacy, and signaling political concerns. In this regard, full naval access to the maritime commons has, for instance, enabled peaceful use of naval power to signal the existence of political ´red-lines´ or even to demonstrate shifts in power.17
Additionally, information gathered from outside a coastal state´s sovereign zone can provide a stabilizing influence as major powers seek, such as the NATO and Warsaw Pact states once did, to enhance global security through improved understanding of each other´s capabilities and intentions.
Opportunities to enhance cooperation and reduce confrontation
There is some reason to hope that as Chinese naval power grows, Chinese leaders may gain insight into the benefits of the access-oriented bases of international law of the sea. China´s decision to participate in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, though couched in terms of authorization by the United Nations Security Council and the consent of the Somali Transitional Federal Government, is an encouraging opportunity to demonstrate the power of a global maritime partnership to bring about the order and stability necessary for the well-functioning of the global system on which the economic health and political strength of all major countries relies.18 Such operations enable China to participate meaningfully in the provision of the ´global goods´ that come from maritime humanitarian and constabulary operations which are meaningfully supported by reasonable interpretations of international law of the sea.
Additionally, cooperation is more likely to occur between Chinese and American naval forces the further away they operate from the East Asian coastal regions. China´s relatively recent history of invasion from the sea seems understandably to have left scars in its national psyche that make it likely that the presence of U.S. naval vessels in its EEZ will remain a source of friction. However, China´s aspirations to play a global role as a responsible major power and its willingness to undertake security operations in parallel, if not exactly in direct cooperation, with the U.S. and other maritime states in the Gulf of Aden suggests that future such opportunities will present themselves and should be welcomed. The more that China works with the U.S. and like-minded states away from its shores, the greater the chance that the essential factor of trust will begin to enter into the equation of U.S.-China relations in East Asia. Should opportunities arise for cooperation in East Asia, such as humanitarian assistance or disaster relief, China should be welcomed as a partner. China´s new hospital ship may provide opportunities in this regard.
In the meantime, the U.S. needs to reassert its leadership role as an advocate for the importance of the access-oriented bases of international law of the sea. A comprehensive strategic communications plan should be developed and coordinated across the agencies of the U.S. government. Additionally, since UNCLOS is the basis of most modern international law of the sea—either as a matter of treaty responsibilities for parties, or as a matter of customary law for
7 non-parties--the U.S. should ratify the Convention in order to more effectively exercise leadership from within its ranks, not just from outside them.
1 All references to the text on UNCLOS are taken from the official English language version, which can be found at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/UNCLOS-TOC.htm.
2 See, e.g., Oxman, Bernard H., "The Regime of Warships Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea" (1984), 24 Virginia Journal of International Law at pp. 811-863.
3 Proclamation 5030, March 10, 1983, 19 Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 383 (March 14, 1983). The text of the President´s Statement on United States Oceans Policy that accompanied the Proclamation is also included at this location. The text of all three documents, including the White House Fact Sheet, is available on the website of the Legal Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, at http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/usa2642.pdf.
4 See, e.g., Cuban Armed Forces and the Soviet Military Presence, Reprint of Department of State Special Report No. 103 (August 1982), available at http://www.disam.dsca.mil/pubs/Vol%205-2/Cuban.pdf.
5 The Commander´s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations (NWP 1-14M) July 2007, p. 2-9, available at http://www.nwc.navy.mil/cnws/ild/documents/1-14M_(Jul_2007)_(NWP).pdf.
6 Executive Order 13158, Marine Protected Areas, 65 Federal Register 34909, May 26, 2000, available at http://mpa.gov/pdf/eo/execordermpa.pdf.
7 Maritime Claims Reference Manual (June 2008), available at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/html/20051m.htm.
8 Ren Xiaofeng and Cheng Xizhong, A Chinese Perspective, 29 Marine Policy (2005), pp. 139-146.
9 Law of the People´s Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, February 25, 1992.
10 Law of the People´s Republic of China on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf, June 26, 1998.
11 Peter Dutton, Carving Up the East China Sea, Naval War College Review, Spring 2007, pp. 45-68, available at http://www.usnwc.edu/cnws/cmsi/documents/Dutton_Carving%20Up%20the%20East%20China%20Sea_Spring07.pdf.
12 Article 19(j).
13 Peter Dutton and John Garofano, China Undermines Maritime Laws, Far Eastern Economic Review, April 3, 2009, available at http://www.feer.com/essays/2009/april/china-undermines-maritime-laws.
14 Surveying and Mapping Law of the People´s Republic of China, August 29, 2002, Articles 2 and 7
15 Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu stated on March 13: "When it comes to foreign vessels acting in China´s exclusive economic zones, there are clear provisions in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Law on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf of the People´s Republic of China, and the Regulations of the People´s Republic of China on the Management of Foreign-related Marine Scientific Research." Mr. Ma claimed the Impeccable "engaged in activities in China´s exclusive economic zones without our permission."
16 Dutton and Garofano, China Undermines Maritime Laws.
17 See, e.g., Peter Dutton, Scouting, Signaling, and Gatekeeping: Chinese Naval Operations in Japanese Waters and the International Law Implications, U.S. Naval War College China Maritime Studies #2, February 2009, available at http://www.usnwc.edu/cnws/cmsi/documents/China%20Maritime%20Study_2_Dutton_Naval%20Operations%20in%20Japanese%20Waters%20and%20the%20International%20Law%20Implications.pdf.
18 Peter Dutton, Charting a Course: U.S.-China Cooperation at Sea, China Security, Winter 2009, p. 11-26, available at http://www.chinasecurity.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=Article&id=220.
Anti-piracy measures
James Bond-style 100mph Navy interceptor to take to the seas
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
The XSR military interceptor is the fastest boat ever built and is set to take to the water in the battle against pirates and drug smugglers.
The XSR can achieve speeds of 85 knots (97 mph) and carrys a .50 calibre machine gun hidden under the deck
The British-designed vessel travels at almost 100mph, carries a retractable heavy machine gun and would not look out of place in a 007 film.
With a maximum speed of 85 knots (97mph) and carrying a .50 calibre machine gun hidden under the deck, the boat will be able to overhaul "go-fast" drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and pirate ships off the coast of Somalia. The vessel is part of a raft of new equipment being shown for the first time at the Defence and Security Exhibition in London.
Hailed as the world´s "most advanced performance and pursuit" vessel the XSR will allow navies to deploy special forces on enemy shores, anti-piracy and smuggling patrols, protecting oil platforms and to intercept unidentified vessels in potential terror attacks.
When the XSR comes within range of an enemy ship the machine gun emerges from the forward hull and is trained on the target using a remote controlled system from the cockpit.
In an era where potential adversaries such as Iran use the "swarm" tactic of multiple fast boats attacking a single big target, the XSR can operate as a counter to the threat.
During the Cornwall incident in 2007 the 14 Royal Navy personnel were taken prisoner by the Iranians partly because their small boats were outgunned and slower than their Iranian captors.
The Royal Navy and other international fleets will be able to examine the boat, co- designed by the part-Government owned company QinetiQ, at the Excel centre in London Docklands.
The XSR, which has done 30,000 nautical miles of testing, can be launched and recovered from a warship and the basic cost is estimated at £1.5 million.
The makers, XSMG World, said they had created "a truly unique vessel that redefines the operational boundaries of high speed intercept, pursuit and patrol in coastal waters".
"The XSR is the most advanced product technically in its class by a significant margin."
The composite hull, that includes Kevlar armour, gives increased strength with a lighter weight and the crew sit in "shock mitigation" seats.
In addition to the main machine gun, other weapons can be mounted in the rear cockpit and the boat comes equipped with a small galley, fridge and stretcher positions. The larger version has four bunks, can carry up to 12 additional passengers and has a range of 1,000 nautical miles.
The XSR has a "revolutionary" stabilisation system – Transverse Roll Attenuation and Stabilisation Equipment – which is said to offer "exceptional control in high-speed turns" and greater stability in extreme weather conditions. Inflatable tubes absorb the heavy impact of high speed on the hull and the stability allows for greater accuracy for the weapons.
Fact file
XSR Interceptor 19 and 14
Top speed: 65 knots or 85 knots
Crew: Seven/four
Passengers -14 seated
Carries: 6,000 l fuel, 300 l fresh water, 1095 kg weapons and ammunition, 500 kg stores
Range: 1000 nautical miles
Endurance: 48 hours
No real peace in sight yet
Somali Prime Minister returns to Mogadishu
Somalia´s Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke has returned to Mogadishu on Sunday.
The Prime Minister and his delegation have been welcomed in Aden Ade International airport in Mogadishu by government officials.
Prime Minister Sharmarke attended the summit of the African Union leaders in Libya. The agenda of the Summit was about Somalia and Sudan.
The African Union leaders gave the green light to the AMISOM peace keepers in Mogadishu to attack the Islamist militants.
Abdulqadir Walayo, the spokesman of the Prime Minister said the trip of the Prime Minister was a successful one.
Hizbul Islam rebel chief denies talks with Somalia govt.
The leader of an Islamist insurgent faction in southern Somalia declared on Sunday that he is not in talks with Somalia's weak transitional federal government, Radio Garowe reports.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of Hizbul Islam, told reporters that the country's UN-backed interim government "brought the enemy to Somalia" and urged loyal fighters to continue the insurgency.
"The country [Somalia] is under enemy occupation and we will continue the war until we remove them," Sheikh Aweys said, while referring to a 5,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force (AMISOM) deployed in Mogadishu, the capital.
Sheikh Aweys accused AMISOM and Somali government forces of "shelling civilian areas," saying that the blame for civilian casualties lies with Somali government leaders.
"The Mujahideen are fish and the public is like the ocean. Therefore, everyone will die during the war," said Sheikh Aweys.
The rebel leader was responding to comments by his former Islamist co-leader, interim Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who recently claimed to be in talks with the rebel faction Hizbul Islam.
Upwards of 18,000 people have died since Jan. 2007 when an Islamist insurgency erupted after Ethiopian-backed Somali government forces seized Mogadishu from a coalition of Islamic courts led by Sheikh Sharif and Sheikh Aweys.
The two men turned into bitter enemies when Sheikh Sharif entered UN-brokered peace talks last year and was elected Somali president in Jan. 2009.
Sheikh Aweys, who was exiled in Eritrea, returned to Mogadishu in April to assume leadership of Hizbul Islam. The anti-government insurgency in Mogadishu and other parts of south-central Somalia has since intensified.
Understanding the Collapse of Somalia
By Abdul Ahmed III (*)
Opportunities and Challenges of Restoring a Nation State
The collapse of the former Somalia is often presented and misunderstood as a political conflict or civil conflict between different clan-based political groups throughout Somalia. It is mischaracterized as a nationwide conflict rather than a problem confined to the southern regions of the former Somali Democratic Republic. This mischaracterization of the state of affairs is ubiquitous both in media and policy circles.
It is a misrepresentation that profoundly misconstrues the truth on the ground by adversely affecting decision-makers´ ability to understand the Somali problem. Somalia´s conflict has originated and has been prolonged in part because it is mainly a complex social problem with broad political implications. It is particularly an acute social problem in managing and maintaining a modern state. It certainly is not a just a simple political conflict.
As far back as 1993, the world-renowned Somali affairs expert and anthropologist I M Lewis stressed the importance of recognizing the social clan structure of Somalia. This can also help in understanding the emergence of stable governing structures in the northern regions: Puntland State (the quasi-independent region in northeast), Somaliland (a self-declared independent state in Northwest Somalia). Number of other researchers also pointed out the regional disparities in social cohesion in what some termed order in some regions amidst the disorder that is Somalia.
The fact that many miss that the Somali problem is a social problem with political implications, unique in itself and unlike the dozen or so political conflicts in Africa or elsewhere; Somali society traditionally self organized itself into political orders, often collaborative, occasionally competitive and always independent of each other. This notion is verifiably and empirically confirmed by the political and social realities in today´s Somalia.
In a study titled "Dynamics of Collapse: Emergence of Alternative Forms of Governance" Ahmed and Bearkgaard of Arizona State University presented explanations of how the Somali state collapsed and how did the emergence of stable governing structures in the northern regions materialized over the years since the collapse of the former Somali Democratic Republic. The study concludes that the collapse of Somalia is "irreversible", restoration of Somalia is beyond mechanistic policy design. The study also explains formation of decentralized regional authorities. (Examples of these are the system of governance used by Puntland and Somaliland; emergence of traditional polities and the formation of alternative decentralized governing structures).
The virtue of decentralized regional system is that it elegantly maps out the country´s segmentary social structure. In fact it allows for a bottom-up approach to governing Somalia, a solution that embraces the traditional social structure, local customs and fosters the Somali traditional, egalitarian democracy unique style of participatory governance that imparts a sense ownership. Some sort of egalitarian democracy may call it pastoral traditions of the Somali ethnic groups.
If empirical evidence is a guide and an authority for devising a solution to Somalia´s problems, then one would most certainly and at a minimum explore a solution based on decentralized, traditional or regional authorities.
Equally, empirical evidence points out that the civil conflict in Somalia is indeed confined to certain areas. For instance Northern States (Puntland and Somaliland) and to some extent Central Regions are far more stable than the chaotic south.
Beyond the question of terminology of what to call stable regions of the former Somalia, or steering the general discourse on Somalia, there is an ample evidence of total and utter failure on the part of the international players including the United States to understand the Somalia´s self-organization to decentralized traditional polities.
International community uses a rather obsolete paradigm based on viewing Somalia as a single entity. In reality Somalia has been single unified entity only for 31-years (from 1960 to 1991). The country has completely been decentralized or more precisely divided to areas with some form of functional government in the North and areas with prolonged civil conflict in the south. Sadly however, the international community failed to recognize the reality on the ground or address the so-called "Somali civil conflict" — a misnomer in itself that should be rather called the "Southern Somali Anarchy."
There were a considerable effort in creating some kind of acceptable central government; most recently the UN has helped establish the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). While the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia is perhaps the best hope for Somalia, there are some serious issues with the credibility of the TFG. For Instance, the system upon which the TFG has been established is allegedly bottom-up system, however the TFG seems to conduct itself as a central commanding authority for all Somalia without credible ground support from anywhere in the country.
The TFG was supposed to act as a representative Federal Government that brings together quasi-independent states in a federal system. However there is no a independent regional entity that accepts the TFG with the exception of Puntland State of Somalia.
Moreover, the TFG is also alleged to have brought together diverse group of individuals from various clans, some very credible, some non-credible individuals from different areas of Somalia (an amalgamation of "who is who" of Southern Somali warlords, and some unelected personalities from northern and central Somalia).
This is not meant to be a critique on the TFG, indeed the intentions of TFG and those of the international community are well placed but they may just not understand the irreversible facts that what use to be Somalia is hardly restorable to its pre-1991 state. The de facto partitioning of Somalia is a real outcome that may be just irreversible.
At this juncture it may be just appropriate to point out that the TFG was interpreted by most Somalis in the south to be a government imposed on them. Equally Somaliland viewed the TFG as a possible threat. Similarly, Puntland took different stances at different times.
The scepticism of some Somali groups (whether in Puntland, Somaliland or the chaotic south), creates a dilemma for policy designers interested in a viable and effective policies towards Somalia´s problem. The dilemma that a common centralized governing structure could be perceived as a threat by some clans or regional entities and hence defeat the very objective of creating a credible central government. In fact, the very attempt to create a central government in Somalia can be a launching pad for future tensions, if not outright conflict. (just as it did in Mogadishu after the formation of the first TFG)
The temptation to constitute a central government in Somalia and efforts by the international community to concentrate on Southern Somalia could have perhaps been effective if South Somalia had the same mixed-clan demographic patterns that existed prior to the 1991 collapse of Somalia. However, there are new realities on the ground.
The 1990s were periods of massive human migration and self organization of the clans. The former Somalia has practically dissolved into its traditional clan based social and political entities. For instance, many civilians who live in Somaliland and Puntland are refugees from Mogadishu who may have roots in these northern regions. While the residents of these regions deeply believe in regionalism (in part due to their bitter experience), yet the majority of them would like to see the TFG succeed.
The international community must realize that Somali regionalism (whether it is a virtue or a vice) must be acknowledged. It must also be a parameter to consider when devising a policy for reconciliation and post-conflict institutional building. From policy design perspective, .regionalism is an essential element to consider. US, UN and the international community must view the former Somalia as a country that consists of distinct and divided regions.
It is therefore sensible for the United States, United Nations and the EU to abandon the premise of Somalia as a single monolithic entity. The international community will help its goals and help Somalia by establishing direct consultations with quasi-independent states such as Puntland and Somaliland in addition to the TFG on the future of a Somali nation state. This certainly is not a call to re-configure the TFG or to replace it but a realistic view of the state of affairs in what use to be Somalia; A view that encourages using the regional governments as allies to help in accomplishing peace in Somalia and the greater Horn of Africa region.
The United States in particular has a unique opportunity to treat Somalia as decentralized entities without officially affirming the country´s dissolution. The U.S. must accept the moral and historical imperative of supporting peaceful regions such as of Puntland, Somaliland and hopefully future states in Southern and Central Somalia. Recognizing the importance of regional authorities (as quasi-independent states) is the first step to formulating policies to restore a viable Somali nation-state. For the "Somalia that once was"; the nation state that existed from 1960 to 1991 may not be restorable at all to its original state.
(*) Abdul Ahmed III is a policy modeling specialist; he contributes to research institutions in Arizona, Washington DC and Virginia.
The endless violent behavior of Somalis and the role of media
This report is analyzed by the Somali Journalists´ Rights Agency (SOJRA) particularly the monitoring and evaluation sector.
Change we can but we are not well skilled, its really great victory for the Somali Journalists´ Rights Agency (SOJRA) to spell out what had happened and what is going on right now in order to update the international community who are always keen for organizing Somali reconciliation meetings and all that meetings became fruitless and ended up with failure.
The international community always spent a lot of fund in order to reestablish a new form of government for Somalia.
Everyone, in this world knows that Somalia has not had powerful government which can control the security of the country from corner to corner since the overthrow of Siad Barre regime although there are self stated regional administrations in part of the country such as Puntland and Somaliland but the south and central regions of the country are still under violence and civil war.
Hopefully, you will get good understanding at this report and become well insider the root cause of the failure for all Somali reconciliation conferences.
Since the civil war erupted the country Somali people divided into tribes and each tribe is straggling to lead the policy of the country particularly the majority clans are the first one such as Hawiye, Darood, Dir and Digilmirifle while the minority clans remain marginalized and forgotten victims.
Mostly Hawiye and Darood are active tribes and they have eagle-eyed policy that each one wants to take the leadership and each one has warlord. Therefore this political competition inside the clans is the first figure but there is some hiding groups that the people might not know them although some of them are common such Business community, Diaspora society and Islamists groups are new in the political arena and leadership.
Its widely believed that the above stated groups are those still doing the continuing violence in the country and energizing the civil war which causes a lot of tragedy and massacres among Somalis particularly the innocent people.
As matter-of-fact, media is one of the five figures which is taking part the violence in the country since 1991 from the overthrow of President Siad Barre regime. In general speaking there was two radio stations in the country when the first warlords taking shape namely Ali Mahdi Mohamed who controlled the northern part of the capital Mogadishu and General Mohamed Farah Aided, who controlled the southern part of the city.
The two radios are named Radio Voice of people which was stationed in the former Radio Mogadishu the other one which was called Radio of Somali Republic-SSA.
Each one of that radios supported and exaggerated the policy and interest of the said two warlords: Ali Mahdi and Aided.
During that political competition between Ali and Aided there was also independent newspapers named Shebelle press, Xog-ogaal, Qaran press and so on. Apart from the competition between those two leaders there was also ethnic competition between the Somali journalists who worked under the two different political visions that the two radios at the meantime there was even a competition between the independent newspapers.
Late this leadership competition between Ali and Aided there was also another radio named Radio Voice of Peace rebuilding and led by former warlord Osman Hassan Ali known as "Osman Atto" who is right now a member of Somali parliament TFG.
http://www.sojra.org/the_endless
violent_behavior_of_Somalis_and_the_role_of_media.html
Although most of the Somali independent newspapers play vital role for peace rebuilding at that time and attracted the public attention for peace rebuilding effort they were also highlighted the humanitarian crisis in the country during the civil war.
Journalism is a two edged weaponry!!
The knife it´s easy to use each side and it can do trouble or grave problem against people and it can develop people or create peace and democracy it depends for those using it.
From 1999 an independent radio stations has emerged which was really became a new revolution of press freedom, freedom of expression and speech as well as the coming of that radio stations caused new vision from the people and they succeeded to make social change and development in terms of business, communications, Education, eradicating mortal diseases like HIV-Aids, Tuberculoses (TB) and Malaria, protecting environment and keeping the health as well as hygiene.
Although Somali independent media was doing all that important work which is really vital role according to humanitarian issues, human rights and social development there was a gap and problems that they did since 1999 until now.
Why SOJRA blamed the independent media that they did violence from 1999 until now?
SOJRA reviewed the current media stations which are active how they work and who is leading or who are the owners of these media stations and leant that most of independent media owners are not well experienced persons to manage media outlet and Most of them are not professionals and SOJRA divided them into three categories;
Part of the media owners is business people whose aim is to make money benefits and supporting their tribal policy and do an advertisement for their own individual business agenda.
There are also some media owners who were independent gangsters or militia leader such as warlord.
The professional media owners who are rare in the field has also two aims the first one is creating economy and the second one is to be active policy maker or looking for political leadership for using the energy of his media station.
While this problem is existing, you can see the difference and understand that Somali media stations currently working are mostly neither moderate nor democratic once. As well as its common that Somali media doing higher exaggeration at the fighting news and the other news which can create political sensitive that can cause new violence and confrontations between the clans whether its political or tribal groups.
The other thing which is common inside Somali media field is using the stereotype interview from the policy makers and traditional elders as well as in the public talk shows. That can cause a violence.
However, SOJRA would like to say the independent and under government media are among the the violators so that the international community must be take at immediate action that they make sure for the responsibility of developing the independent media or give them a training for understanding media proficiency to the media owners to change their performance and philosophy.
Conclusion the Somali Journalists´ Rights Agency (SOJRA) calls on the international community to step up their efforts and insure the development of Somali media particularly the media owners otherwise Somalia will not get back again powerful government and the people will not trust any outcome of any Reconciliation conferences/meetings in the future or current.
SOJRA is a Mogadishu based independent not for profit and not for governmental agency that works the safeguard and rights of Somali journalists in across the country. For more details visit: www.sojra.org
Somali Government Enthused About Negotiations with Insurgents
By Peter Clottey (VOA)
Somalia's government has expressed satisfaction about ongoing talks with hard line Islamic insurgents who have vowed to overthrow the administration.
The government says it will continue to negotiate with the insurgents until a solution is found to end the country's instability.
The insurgents including al-Shabab have refused to recognize President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's government, vowing to overthrow the administration and implement the strictest form of Sharia law.
Political analysts say despite the negotiations, it is unclear if the insurgents will join the beleaguered government.
Cabinet minister Abdirashid Irro Mohammed said that the government is determined to continue with its reconciliation efforts.
"Our government is trying to reconcile with our people and the position of our government is that we will like to convince and to call all the Somalis to join (in) the peace process and to support the government," Mohammed said.
He said there is need to finding a solution to the violence.
"We are very keen to talk to our people to continue with the discussion and dialogue and to convince them that they should join the peace process because Somalis are exhausted by killing from one another. And this has prolonged for more than 20 years," he said.
Mohammed said the government is unfazed despite difficulties in negotiations with the insurgents.
"We are not strong with our people we are very weak with our people because we don't want to continue the fighting and killing our people. So that is why we are very soft for the negotiations with our people and we will like to invite them to the peace process," Mohammed said.
He said the government is rebuilding the army.
"We are trying to recruit and organize our national forces. And the national force, the number (have) increased to more than ten thousand," he said.
Mohammed praised the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM).
"We have our brothers who have been supporting this government from the AMISOM; African Union troops especially those who came from Uganda and Rwanda. So militarily we are very strong, but for the negotiations we are not very strong with our people," Mohammed said.
He said there are foreigners who have joined the extremists to destabilize the country.
"We do believe that really those who are against the government, some of them, they are not related to the Somalis' politics. They are getting financial support and also political instructions from the outside, and I don't think that those persons are here to join the peace process. They are not ready for negotiations," he said.
Mohammed said the government is confident in the ongoing negotiations.
"I believe (in) the negotiations. It is better than the armed solution. So we are very keen, and we will insist to continue and to be very keen with the negotiations," Mohammed said.
Meanwhile, al-Shabab threatened Sunday to launch an offensive against the government as it reinforces positions around the capital, Mogadishu.
10 killed in Mogadishu battle, explosion
At least 10 people were killed in the Somali capital overnight Saturday in the latest bout of violence between government forces and insurgents, Radio Garowe reports.
Witnesses in Mogadishu's Maka al Mukarrama Road said insurgents attacked a government checkpoint around sundown, a time when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
The fighting was concentrated at the checkpoint, as the two sides used machineguns and heavy artillery against each other. Witnesses reported seeing at least six dead civilians.
There were no independent reports of casualties on the side of government forces or insurgents, however.
Sheikh Abdirisak Mohamed Qeylow, Somali military spokesman, told reporters that government forces "repelled the attack" and stated that there were "no casualties" on the government side.
The spokesman for Hizbul Islam rebels, Sheikh Mohamed Osman Arus, told reporters that the rebels "seized the checkpoint" and denied any casualties on their side.
A truck transporting cargo to the inland town of Baidoa overturned during the battle, wounding all six people on board, witnesses said.
Separately, four men were torn to pieces after a landmine exploded in Waberi district around 2:30am local time, residents reported. All the dead victims are believed to be insurgent fighters who were planting the hidden landmine at the time.
Somalia's UN-recognized interim government is battling insurgents who have threatened to violently seize Mogadishu and overthrow the government, which enjoys Western support.
Somaliland postpones election again, no new date
Authorities in Somalia's breakaway republic of Somaliland have declared that presidential elections scheduled for late September have been postponed again, a day after lawmakers accused government leaders of corruption, Radio Garowe reports.
Somaliland's election commission announced during a Sunday press conference in Hargeisa that the September 27 presidential election will not be held due to prevailing circumstances.
Mr. Jama "Sweden" Mohamud, the election commission's chairman, told reporters that the seven-member commission unanimously agreed on three key issues.
"We reached three decisions after long meetings regarding the possibility of proper elections under the current circumstances," Mr. Sweden said.
He noted that the election commission has "rescinded the decision to hold the elections without the voters' registration data." Somaliland opposition parties had previously threatened to boycott September's presidential election if the voters' list was not used.
Secondly, Mr. Sweden said: "It is impossible to hold the election as scheduled on September 27, when you look at current political, economic and technical conditions." He did not provide a new date for the presidential election, however.
Finally, the election commission decided to "give an opportunity to ongoing talks" aimed at ending the political dispute between Somaliland President Dahir Riyale and the two opposition parties, Kulmiye and UCID.
Mr. Riyale, who was democratically elected in 2003, has stayed in power after his five-year term expired in April 2008. He was since awarded two term-extensions by Somaliland's upper house of parliament, the House of Guurti.
Somaliland opposition parties have not publicy responded to the latest election delay, which comes a day after 39 MPs in the lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives, introduced a motion in parliament accusing President Riyale and members of his administration of "corruption and constitutional violations."
Mr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Irro," the House Speaker, told reporters that the MPs called government leaders, including Vice President Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, to appear in front of parliament and answer lawmakers' questions.
Located in northwest Somalia, Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from the rest of the Horn of Africa country in 1991 but has not been recognized internationally.
Islamist rebels gear up for possible "major Somali government offensive" (Xinhua)
Somali Islamist group of Al-Shabaab on Sunday has said it is ready for a major confrontation with the government as the radical group reinforces its positions around the Somali capital Mogadishu, spokesman for the group said.
Numerous trenches are currently being dug in most of the frontlines between Al-Shabaab and the Somali government forces and African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Mogadishu, in preparation for what the rebel group calls "a major aggression" from Somali government forces and AU peacekeepers.
"We are digging the trenches to prevent the enemy forces from making any progress towards our positions in their planned major aggression against us," Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage, the spokesman for Al-Shabaab, told reporters in Mogadishu on Sunday.
The Islamist group, along with the other allied faction of Hezbul Islam, control much of the restive coastal Somali capital where the daily confrontation with the government forces backed by the 5,000-strong AU peacekeepers have claimed the lives of many, mostly civilians.
Somali government officials have repeatedly stated their determination to regain control of the nation's capital.
Somali Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Jama said the government intends to spread its authority throughout the country and the capital in particular.
Jama revealed that the Somali government, at the AU summit in Libya, requested the full deployment of the 8,000-strong peacekeeping forces and the changing of the mission's mandate to enable the forces to carry out pre-emptive strikes against rebel forces.
Mandate of the AU forces is currently limited to providing protection to senior Somali government officials and guarding main government installations in Mogadishu including the sea and airport.
Impacting reports from the global village
A decade after UNSC resolution 1265
Address by Ms. Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the protection of human rights in armed conflict:
Ambassador Mayr-Harting, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to participate in this important stock-taking discussion on the United Nations Security Council and the protection of civilians in armed conflict since resolution 1265 (1999). Indeed, a decade after the Security Council's initiative, it is imperative to evaluate progress and shortcomings in our responses to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population caught in the midst of violent strife.
In the course of the last decades, millions of civilian lives have been claimed by both international and internal wars. Tens of millions of non-combatants have been injured or permanently displaced. Homes have been destroyed; access to food, medicine and shelter has been denied. Often armed competition in ruthless pursuit of economic interests and appropriation of resources has made a mockery of the fundamental humanitarian concept of inviolability of civilians.
Grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have been a tragic common denominator in these conflicts, as civilians became the primary targets of attacks often motivated by ethnic or religious hatred, and by political confrontation. It has been estimated that the ratio of civilian versus military casualties during the internal conflicts of the 1990s was inversely proportional to that of the two World Wars, or 70 percent versus 30 percent.
Discussions of protection of civilians by the Council have been expanded over time from their limited scope of dedicating additional efforts to the suffering of civilians in ongoing armed conflict. With a view to the increasing protection demands on the UN, following in particular the events in Rwanda and Srebrenica, protection of civilians was described as an 'umbrella concept' of humanitarian policies that brings together protection elements from a number of fields, including international humanitarian and human rights law, military and security sectors, and humanitarian assistance.
Over the years, the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and, more recently, the Human Rights Council have reminded us that in situations involving armed conflict, parties to the conflict have legally binding obligations concerning the rights of persons affected by the conflict under, both, international humanitarian and human rights law. In this regard, the question of protecting human rights in situations of armed conflict is, in fact, not new in the practice of the United Nations.
The Security Council's adoption in 1999 of resolution 1265 on the protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict was, to a certain extent, the result of a process initiated in the International Conference on Human Rights in Teheran in 1968, in the context of the International Year for Human Rights.
That same year, the United Nations General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to prepare a study on the question of respect for human rights in armed conflict. General Assembly resolution 2444 (XXIII), Consequently, several reports by the Secretary-General were submitted to the General Assembly. During the 1970s the General Assembly continued to affirm the need to secure the full observance of human rights in armed conflict. In particular, the General Assembly affirmed in resolution 2675 (XXV) that "fundamental human rights, as accepted in international law and laid down in international instruments, continue to apply fully in situations of armed conflict."
For its part, the Security Council has included human rights considerations in its resolutions dealing with specific country situations where international peace and security is at risk. Already in 1967, the Security Council considered that "essential and inalienable human rights should be respected even during the vicissitudes of war". Security Council resolution 237 (1967) of 14 June 1967.
Since the 1990s the Security Council has further developed its practice of including human rights considerations in its resolutions related to situations of armed conflict. In the case of Sierra Leone, for example, the Council asked that "all factions and forces in Sierra Leone … respect human rights and abide by applicable rules of international humanitarian law." Security Council resolution S/RES/1181. Similar concerns and exhortations were expressed in the resolution dealing with the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the case of Afghanistan, the Council called for "full respect for human rights and international humanitarian law throughout Afghanistan." Security Council resolution S/RES/1746. On various occasions, for example concerning the situation in Somalia, the Security Council has also condemned violations of human rights and humanitarian law during armed conflict and has asked for accountability regarding reported violations.
This stance was further elaborated when the Security Council called for an end to "the climate of impunity" in Darfur. It also expressed the need to identify and bring the perpetrators of widespread human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law to justice. Security Council resolution S/RES/1564. Moreover, the Security Council recognized that development, peace and security and human rights are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. It further noted that the commission of systematic, flagrant and widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law during armed conflict might amount to a threat to international peace and security.
Allow me to underscore that the Security Council has also directed its focus to specific civilian groups, including women and children, whose vulnerability is exacerbated by war.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is important to note that in his 2007 report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, the Secretary-General underscored the need for the Security Council to call upon parties to conflict, and upon the multinational forces that the Council dispatched, to uphold their international humanitarian law and human rights obligations. S/2007/643, para. 25.
With the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998, the Security Council has been given an active role in the fight against impunity for crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. In this respect, the ICC Statute foresees that the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII, may refer to the Court situations in which one or more of such crimes appears to have been committed. In the exercise of this power, the Security Council referred to the Prosecutor the Darfur situation in resolution 1593 (2005), in which it affirmed that justice and accountability are critical to achieve lasting peace and security in Darfur.
Accountability has been accepted as an important element of the protection of civilians. However, conflict and post-conflict countries often lack effective accountability mechanisms and the establishment of basic rule-of-law institutions requires time. In some situations, the Council applied sanctions on the violation of human rights and humanitarian law. In the case of Sudan, as mentioned, the Council referred the situation to the ICC. However, these mechanisms will only apply to a very limited number of suspects. Commissions of Inquiry, as established by the Council in the case of Darfur and Cote d'Ivoire, could have broader application in establishing facts and making recommendations for the prevention of impunity. Measures of the Council could also include temporary institutions to combat impunity and prevent revenge killings. OHCHR could offer expertise in this regard.
Distinguished Participants,
As I noted previously, the General Assembly has been actively involved in the progressive development of human rights in all contexts, including in situations of armed conflict. In its Millennium Declaration, the General Assembly resolved "to ensure the implementation, by States Parties … of international humanitarian law and human rights law." Furthermore, it urged all States to adhere to the International Criminal Court. Ibid, para. 9. Significantly, at the 2005 World Summit, the General Assembly reiterated member States' commitment to the protection of human rights, including the responsibility of each individual State to protect its populations from the worst crimes.
The Security Council discussed the R2P almost exclusively in the context of the protection of civilians. However, in its current definition, the concept of protection of civilians is both broader and narrower than R2P. It is broader as far as it includes a broad set of violations of human rights and humanitarian law, while R2P is limited to a specific set of crimes. It is narrower as it limits the attention to violations occurring at least in the broader context of armed conflict, while genocide and crimes against humanity could be committed independent of such situations. Furthermore, R2P is based on the consensus that the international community must not remain neutral in situations of mass atrocities.
On 21 and 23 July 2009, the GA discussed the implementation of the R2P with a view to the respective SG report. While some fundamental differences on sovereignty and the role of the UN could not be overcome, Member States agreed on the importance of prevention and effective UN response to unfolding situations, within existing mandates, as recommended by the SG in the Annex to the report.
As indicated in my statement on the R2P, it would be important to develop a toolbox of possible UN action in situations of imminent or ongoing large-scale violations of humanitarian or human rights law. Such a tool box would provide the Council with options and, thus, take away many concerns related to the R2P, while responding as well to the core challenges of the protection of civilians.
Excellencies,
The Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council, its successor body, have been the leading intergovernmental human rights institutions. Thus, both the Commission and the Council have consistently regarded the scrutiny of human rights violations committed in the context or armed conflict as falling within their purview.
The Commission, for instance, adopted a number of resolutions referring to human rights violations in the context of armed conflict in Afghanistan, Burundi, Colombia, Palestine, and Uganda, among others. In resolution 2005/63, the Commission also emphasized that conduct that violates international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, may also constitute a gross violation of human rights. This resolution may be seen as the cornerstone of the Human Rights Council's work in the protection of human rights in armed conflict situations.
Indeed, the Human Rights Council has followed the same approach of its predecessor, underscoring that the obligation to protect can not be waived in armed conflict situations. In such situations, the Council held, combatants must ensure that effective measures are put in place to guarantee and monitor the implementation of human rights. This protection extends to all civilians, including those under foreign occupation.
In view of this wealth of practice, it is not surprising that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has moved in the direction of recognizing the importance of protecting human rights in situations of armed conflict, both in its advisory opinions and in its contentious cases. As recent practice shows, the ICJ is increasingly being requested to apply human rights standards to situations of armed conflict. The Court, in its judgment in the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo versus Uganda, included the criteria defined in The Wall advisory opinion on the barrier erected between Israel and the West Bank. This opinion concerned the complementary application of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in situations of armed conflict.
In a similar vein, the International Criminal Court, as demonstrated in its most recent decision regarding the situation in Darfur, has also recognized the importance of human rights in armed conflict. To reach this conclusion, the Pre-Trial chamber relied on information provided by human rights organizations, including my Office.
In sum, the practice of the different institutions has progressively and unequivocally clarified the fact that protecting human rights in situations of armed conflict is not a merely theoretical issue. The impact of this understanding on the ground is visible on a daily basis, and it is potentially of great consequence.
As I have described, the ten years that have followed the adoption of Security Council resolution 1265 have provided a wealth of institutional practices and approaches for the protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict. Questions of implementation and monitoring of human rights obligations in such situations, as well as the issue of accountability for violations, await more consistent and effective responses.
The protection of civilians affected by conflict is an essential element of any meaningful conception of peace and security. But equally important is the recognition that, when the Council enters into questions of protection, it must accept a duty of due diligence to treat these matters with a level of care and rigor befitting their status as matters, essentially, of life and death. This means eschewing amorphous conceptions of protection in favor of greater normative and conceptual clarity, by recognizing that, when we say "protection", we are talking about protection of the human rights of individuals as contained in international law – including international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international refugee law and international criminal law. It also means mandating institutional arrangements on the ground that ensure coherence rather than fragmentation, with robust human rights components in UN peace missions, mandated and resourced to provide effective protection to the full range of vulnerable persons and groups in conflict and post-conflict countries. It means raising the concrete possibility of accountability for perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other gross violations of human rights, and signaling, in a clear and unified voice, that impunity will not stand. And it means mobilizing a higher level of political will among Council members and the broader international community to take timely and effective action to prevent these atrocities, protect the vulnerable, hold perpetrators to account, and ensure redress for victims.
The protection of civilians in armed conflict will be significantly advanced when perpetrators understand that impunity is no longer a possibility, when they witness first hand that the law—as well as rhetoric and good intentions—is translated into action on behalf of the victims.
Since the late 1990s, successive High Commissioners for Human Rights have briefed the Council on matters relating to the protection of civilians in armed conflict. These briefings have served to share the expertise and information available within OHCHR, including from our monitoring and investigations in the field. We remain committed to continuing our support for the Council, and to strengthening the flow of crucial human rights information and analysis from our fact-finding capabilities to inform the Council's deliberations. I am convinced that the response capacity of the Council would be enhanced by an ongoing dialogue with my Office.
Thank you.
Source: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
African countries take up laws to fight spread of small arms
By Mathias Ringa / East African
Countries from the Great Lakes region and Horn of Africa are to harmonise their laws to fight the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
"In order to address the problem effectively, we have resolved to harmonise our laws so that we can rein in the culprits. Our state arms are being marked to help in tracing them if they fall into the wrong hands," Tanzania Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Dominic Hayuma said.
The harmonisation programme comes amid prolonged internal wars in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and several other countries that have flooded the region with illegal weapons.
In order to address the scourge, the states — Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia — signed a declaration in Nairobi in 2000 to step up a fight against illicit arms.
From this declaration arose the Regional Centre on Small Arms (Recsa) that is responsible for co-ordinating joint efforts by National Focal Points in member states to prevent, combat and eradicate stockpiling and illicit trafficking of arms.
Representatives from the states have agreed to harmonise crime laws to effectively combat cross border movement of illicit arms as well as preventing arms from landing in the wrong hands.
The countries are also exploring identical penalties for culprits as a deterrent measure.
The resolutions were made during the conclusion of a recent two-day regional harmonisation legislation meeting in Mombasa.
Mr Hayuma said there was a need for the states to carry out joint disarmament of small arms and light weapons to curb the movement of illicit arms.
Tanzania police official said more than 10,000 small arms were recovered and destroyed in the country.
Uganda Commissioner of Police Ahmed Wafuba said the states should have identical penalties to deter illegal possession of arms.
"We want a situation whereby an offender in Kenya gets the same punishment as in Uganda rather than for one country to administer harsher sentences than the other," Mr Wafuba added.
A Burundian police official Ndabaneze Zenon said his government has so far recovered 49,000 illicit arms with 3,000 of them having been recovered last month.
Col Zenon attributed this to forcible disarmament as well as the government incentives such as giving bicycles to those who volunteered to surrender guns.
He added that the proposed small arms policy was passed by parliament some months ago and is expected to become law this month.
Kenya´s Solicitor-General Wanjuki Muchemi, who officially opened the meeting said the government was harmonising the Organised Crime Bill, Terrorism Bill and International Crime Bill to boost the war on illicit arms.
Mr Muchemi noted that the changes include prescribing harsher penalties for people who possess guns illegally and addressing the misuse of firearms by police officers to avoid human rights violations.
Last year, Recsa kicked off the exercise of marking state owned firearms at the South Coast.
The markings, which include a country code, is to be added to all weapons in state stockpiles as well as at the point of manufacture, import or transfer.
The information will then be entered into national databases in which states will be able to trace any illicit weapon that might have been possessed by a state in the region through making a tracing request to Interpol.
States will have automatic access to the database as police and military stockpiles are considered to be a matter of state security.
The marking of state owned guns is a fulfillment of the requirements of both the Nairobi Protocol and the International Tracing Instrument.
Black man´s burden: How Africa subsidizes the West
By Patrick Gathara (*)
Africa needs to wake up and wrest back the problem. It is our problem, not the West´s. The solutions will come from us, not them.
Speaking in advance of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton´s arrival for the 8th Agoa Forum in Nairobi, Kenya´s Prime Minister Raila Odinga was cheered when he declared that we in Africa do not need any lectures from the West.
Of course, lectures are exactly what the African leadership got.
Perhaps the greatest favour that Clinton´s visit would do us is if it led our potentates and their hapless subjects to ask one question: Why is Africa poor?
Our continent´s penury has been proclaimed far and wide. Governments, NGOs, the media and celebrities alike have taken to the rooftops to proclaim their sorry tale of Africa´s woe. We´ve all heard the statistics. To quote just a few: More than 300 million people south of the Sahara have to survive on less than a dollar a day.
Two thirds of the poorest countries in the world are in Africa, as are 34 of the 35 states with the lowest life expectancy.
However this is at best a misrepresentation of the true story and at worst a deliberate attempt to mask the real and fundamental cause of the continent´s underdevelopment.
Africa is possibly the largest producer of raw materials in the world. Our mineral and agricultural resources are what keep the rest of the world churning. Many of the world´s largest corporations make their money on the backs of African peasants who receive little in return for their labour.
For example, according to the Global Policy Forum, we (together with our brothers-in-alms in Asia and Latin America) grow the coffee that drives a $70 billion global business and accept only $6 billion for our troubles.
African countries harvest about two-thirds of the world´s cocoa (the main ingredient for the $75 billion chocolate industry), mine 21 per cent of its gold, control nearly 17 per cent of its oil reserves.
Kenya alone is home to fully 10 per cent of the world´s unexploited titanium reserves, which some have valued at $11 billion. Yet only 1 per cent of the world´s wealth is created in the region between the Sahara and the Cape of Good Hope.
How do we explain this seeming paradox? First, let us disabuse ourselves of this notion that Africa is poor. Africa is not poor. We lack the things of this world because what we have is freely given away to the developed countries.
For example, in what was then described as "an unprecedented act of generosity," the government of Kenya in 2006 gifted the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Company exclusive rights over a total of six out of 11 available oil exploration blocks, after which the Chinese held an auction in London and sold off the concessions.
In the case of the titanium find, Kenya´s colonial-era Mining Act stipulates that mining companies pay only 5 per cent of the value of the minerals to the government. According to Haroun Ndubi of Kituo cha Sheria, "A developed country… would be talking about a third of the value of the mineral deposits."
We could also add that it is doubtful that any developed country would allow $11 billion to sit in the ground for 15 years while its citizens starved.
In these and other ways, Africa effectively subsidises the industrialised world´s economies to a scale that dwarfs any of the agricultural subsidies paid to their farmers or any amount of aid that they decide to favour us with.
And it doesn´t stop there. We spend our money training countless doctors, nurses and other professionals only to freely send them to work in the West. We receive "aid," promptly pay it back to the "donor" nation´s companies, and then are paradoxically still left with a debt whose interest payments are mind-boggling…
Between 1970 and 2002, the countries south of the Sahara received a total of $294 billion in loans. In the same period of time they paid back $268 billion, and accumulated, after interest, a mountain of debt amounting to $210 billion.
Who is responsible for this state of affairs? Not the perennial scapegoats, the West. The truth is that the blame lies squarely with us Africans because we tolerate the situation and accept the rationalisations that support it.
We agree to sell our raw materials on the cheap and cough up to buy back the processed stuff. We accept that the major international commodity exchanges be in the Western capitals that don´t produce any commodity.
We faithfully obey the dictates of a patently skewed market; we take the aid that is no aid at all but a form of internationally sanctioned loan-sharking; we buy the weapons that slaughter millions in pointless wars while at the same time we are busy sending peacekeepers to police the war zones of Europe.
We rip off our brethren then stash their hard-earned money away in foreign banks, boosting foreign economies. This is the real Black Man´s Burden — our largesse.
The West, though, has no interest in solving our root problem because, as we have seen, it benefits handsomely from it. So they foist on us all sorts of agendas and after a lot of soul-searching and wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth, they also provide us with the solutions.
More aid (specifically 0.7 per cent of their GDPs — that´s 70 cents out of every $100).
Some debt cancellation. More talk on market access and subsidies. Anything to avoid dealing with the central inconsistency of an entire continent sitting on a mountain of wealth and living off a pittance.
In spite of the obvious contradiction, our governments and NGOs fall over themselves to implement the latest proposals, gratefully accepting crumbs as their benefactors in the West continue to feast on bread made from our wheat.
In defining the agenda, the West succeeds in owning the problem. It never ceases to amaze me that any show on Africa by the TV networks always ends up interviewing some white guy from the West.
According to the Washington Post, "When the foreign media descend on the latest crisis, the person they look to interview is invariably the foreign saviour, an aid worker from the United States or Europe. African saviours are everywhere, delivering aid on the ground. But they don´t seem to be in [the West´s] cultural belief system."
Anti-poverty shows meanwhile feature plenty of rich whites bemoaning the open sore that is Africa and a token black (probably an "enlightened" Aids victim or a survivor of some horrible famine) as a representative of the redemption a donation of a few dollars can buy.
Bob Geldof´s Live Eight provides this telling scene as related by Margo Kingston: "Geldof introduced a young Ethiopian woman whose photo we saw from 20 years earlier when she was ten minutes away from death. But the moment was quickly lost; not even here could the audience be trusted with time for memory and reflection. ´Live´ overruled Life. The young woman was led onstage to stand by as a prop to Madonna´s Like a Prayer. There was no Miriam Makeba on hand to embrace this African sister. A life ´saved´ but now ready to aspire to the West´s idealised image."
Like the poor Ethiopian, we have become props to the West´s struggle with its conscience. Africa is the stage where they seek absolution for their past misadventures, as Parselelo Kantai amply demonstrates in his insightful article, "Death of a Kenyan Dream." They do so, not to relieve our suffering, but theirs.
In this drama, the African has been assigned his stock role of the "noble savage" needing to be rescued from himself while the West is cast as the heroic, self-sacrificing (the whole 70 cents) harbinger of civilisation.
Having accepted our role and donned the costume of moral and material bankruptcy, we have come to rely on them for answers to everything. When a parastatal is insolvent, bring in some Westerner and hey presto! Problem solved. Endemic corruption? Why, let´s get some Western "experts" to advise us.
Famines and disease? Here come the white messiahs riding on their standard issue luxury 4X4s (and receiving hefty allowances to compensate them for the hardship of exchanging a council house in London for a palatial residence in Muthaiga with several servants thrown in).
Faltering economies? Blame the whole thing on slavery and colonialism. Claim reparations. Sue their imperialist arses. Wait for the handout. Thus Western guilt and greed conspire with African naiveté, incompetence and thievery.
Africa needs to wake up and wrest back the problem. It is our problem, not the West´s. The solutions will come from us, not them. "Fair trade," debt relief, removal of subsidies and "aid" cannot be anything other than a band-aid on a gaping wound.
We need to extract ourselves from a global trade system that is bleeding us dry. Africa needs to be run for the benefit of Africans, not modern-day imperialists.
The Virginia Centre for the Teaching of International Studies, whose central purpose is to enhance the teaching of international studies in Virginia´s middle and high schools, thinks that Grade 8 kids in the US should be able to "identify minerals in sub-Saharan Africa, explain how man uses these minerals and how developed nations need these minerals, identify minerals that are strategically important and examine factors that limit sub-Saharan Africa from becoming more industrialised and using these mineral resources themselves," (italics mine).
I would recommend the same course to Raila and his fellow heads of government.
(*) Patrick Gathara is general secretary of Katuni, the Association of East African. Website: www.gathara.com Blog: http://gathara.blogspot.com/
An East African Federation
Big ambitions, big question-marks - The Economist
The idea of a United States of East Africa is less far-fetched than it was
What exactly is "East Africa" these days? Certainly, the parts of old British East Africa—Uganda, Tanzania (first a German colony) and Kenya. They have trodden very different paths since colonial days. Uganda has had coups, turmoil under Milton Obote, bloody convulsions under Idi Amin, and long spells of civil strife. Under Julius Nyerere, an incompetent or saintly authoritarian (depending on who you ask), Tanzania strove for a socialist ideal that kept its people plodding and poor but united and peaceful. Kenya was more dynamic and worldly, but more violent and corrupt. It may now be the least stable of the trio.
In 1967 these three founded the East African Community (EAC) with a view to federation. Little progress was made; the EAC collapsed in 1977, to general rejoicing among Kenyans, who reckoned they were carrying the other two. In 1999, however, the project was revived. In 2007 it even expanded to include Burundi and Rwanda. Many still doubt whether a European Union-style federation can ever be achieved in the region, despite the EAC´s promise to create a single currency by 2015 and to make a customs union work. But recent developments have made further integration more likely.
Tanzania has usually been the one to put the brakes on the EAC, fearing it will be overrun with land speculators and better-educated Kenyans and Ugandans. But Tanzania´s president, Jakaya Kikwete, now says his people should stop moaning and prepare for a common market. The head of Tanzania´s tiny stock exchange reckons there could be a single east African version in a few years. Work is already under way to create a common trading system.
If Tanzania has lagged behind, Uganda has usually encouraged the federal idea, not least because its president, Yoweri Museveni, has long nurtured a wish to end his career as the EAC´s first president.
Paul Kagame, president of tiny, landlocked Rwanda, is also keen to press ahead. His recent rapprochement with Congo, Rwanda´s vast, ramshackle neighbour to the west, was made in the hope of increasing trade via the fledgling EAC´s market. He is now intent on adding value to Congolese raw materials and shipping them to the world market through the EAC, too.
Congo´s government seems willing. China, by some counts the biggest investor in the region, plainly wants Congo´s timber, iron ore and other minerals shipped across the Indian Ocean via the EAC.
For that and other reasons, Kenya, for its part, wants to build a new deep-sea port near the island of Lamu, close to the border with Somalia. Kenyan officials have so far brushed aside concerns for the mangrove swamps and nearby marine sanctuary. They say the port, refinery and new city will be built on the mainland to preserve Lamu´s heritage and tourist industry. The hope is for roads and railways to Mogadishu, Addis Ababa and Kigali and a pipeline bringing in Ugandan and south Sudanese oil. Funds would flow in from Kuwait and other Arab investors. This would link up east Africa as never before, and a single currency and a customs union would then make much more sense.
And why should an East African federation stop with the club´s existing member countries? If defined by the area in which the lingua franca of the Swahili language is used, the range of lorries heading out of the Kenyan port of Mombasa, and the magnet of Nairobi as a hub, east Africa spreads into Ethiopia and includes a chunk of Somalia, a swathe of east Congo, a strip of northern Mozambique and all of southern Sudan, which could become an independent country in 2011, if its people vote in a promised referendum to secede.
The EAC already has 126m people. If it expands, it could add as many as 120m more to that number, making it more than twice as populous as Africa´s 28 smallest countries combined—enough, its backers argue, to make a bigger EAC very attractive to foreign investors. The EAC says it would negotiate better deals with the rich world than individual African countries can.
Local businessmen are still sceptical. They argue that the EAC´s dream of federation could be botched by a trade row, tribal violence or strangled at birth with red tape by venal politicians and bureaucrats. So the mood is mixed. Could east Africa take off as a regional trading bloc? Or will the idea disappointingly fizzle once again? An early test of the EAC´s earnestness will be to see if it can get its member countries jointly to look after Lake Victoria, a common resource that scientists say has been overfished and poisoned by the sewage running off its overpopulated shores.
Kenya MPs reject plan to divide Coast
By Daniel Nyassy / East African
Coast MPs have opposed plans to divide the Coast into three sub-provinces.
Tourism minister Najib Balala, who led the lawmakers in rejecting the proposed divisions, said the move was a ploy by the United States to deny Kenya a new constitution that would bring a majimbo system of government.
The Mvita MP, Education assistant minister Calist Mwatela, Malindi MP Gideon Mung´aro and nominated MP Sheikh Muhamad Dor also demanded the Coast be declared a separate state.
"This is our stand. We will resist all attempts to divide Coast into the so-called Southern, Central and Northern sub-provinces. This is a ploy by the US to deny us a new constitution," said Mr Balala.
The MPs said it was time Coast became an independent state because it had continuously suffered injustice from the government.
"The United Nations Charter allows secession when a people of a region are not satisfied with their state. Other countries have done it and we as Coast people want it this time," said Mr Mwatela, who is also the Mwatate MP.
He said the Coast receives meagre resource allocations yet its contribution to government revenue is high.
Mr Balala criticised the coalition government, saying it had failed to deliver. "Since Coast is not satisfied, we want our own state as spelt out in the UN Charter," he said.
He said the province had been misused by other regions, adding: "We have always continued to dance to other people´s tune. This time round, we want our own which is majimbo."
The MPs supported the inclusion of Kadhis´ Courts in the new constitution, saying this was not a contentious issue.
"The Kadhi´s Courts must be in the new constitution or else we as Coast people reject it," said Mr Mung´aro.
The leaders made the remarks during a funds drive in aid of the Malindi Education and Development Association, where Sh4.6 million was raised.
Mr Mung´aro urged the Coast residents to prepare themselves to defend their province, including its boundaries at Mtito Andei.
"We want to send a strong message to the government that we will not cede an inch of Coast. The boundary between Coast and Eastern will remain at Mtito Andei. If not so, we will mobilise MPs and residents to camp there and erect our beacons and fence," he said.
Out of Africa
By Steve Hughes
Europrats want every member country to accept more refugees from war-torn countries.
Thousands of African immigrants will get a free pass to Britain thanks to barmy new EU laws.
It would mean one in five of all the world´s refugees would be rehomed in Europe.
And Britain would be expected to take thousands of those fleeing war zones in countries such as Sudan and Somalia.
European Commission vice-president Jacques Barrot said: "This important step demonstrates our concrete solidarity with third world countries hosting large numbers of refugees."
Mr Barrot said 200,000 refugees were likely to need resettlement next year, most from poor countries bordering war zones.
The scheme will mean an even bigger population leap for Britain, as the system is already heavily abused by illegal immigrants.
The UK will be offered £3,500 for each of the 5,300 refugees expected to be re-homed here.
Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green said: "There is nothing wrong with trying to plan the numbers of successful refugees – anything would be better than the chaos Britain has suffered in recent years.
"But we could only take part if we had control of the numbers."
A Home Office spokesman welcomed the plan, saying it had "the potential to benefit some of the world´s most vulnerable people".
I Hate to Bother You
By Eduardo Galeano (*) (Translation from Spanish: Dr. Moti Nissani)
I'd like to share with you some questions--some flies that keep buzzing in my head.
Is justice right side up?
Has world justice been frozen in an upside-down position?
The shoe-thrower of Iraq, the man who hurled his shoes at Bush, was condemned to three years in prison. Doesn't he deserve, instead, a medal?
Who is the terrorist? The hurler of shoes or their recipient? Is not the real terrorist the serial killer who, lying, fabricated the Iraq war, massacred a multitude, and legalized and ordered torture?
Who are the guilty ones--the people of Atenco, in Mexico, the indigenous Mapuches of Chile, the Kekchies of Guatemala, the landless peasants of Brazil—all being accused of the crime of terrorism for defending their right to their own land? If the earth is sacred, even if the law does not say so, aren't its defenders sacred too?
According to Foreign Policy Magazine, Somalia is the most dangerous place in the world. But who are the pirates? The starving people who attack ships or the speculators of Wall Street who spent years attacking the world and who are now rewarded with many millions of dollars for their pains?
Why does the world reward its ransackers?
Why is justice a one-eyed blind woman? Wal-Mart, the most powerful corporation on earth, bans trade unions. McDonald's, too. Why do these corporations violate, with criminal impunity, international law? Is it because in this contemporary world of ours, work is valued as lower than trash and workers' rights are valued even less?
Who are the righteous and who are the villains? If international justice really exists, why are the powerful never judged? The masterminds of the worst butcheries are never sent to prison. Is it because it is these butchers themselves who hold the prison keys?
What makes the five nations with veto power in the United Nations inviolable? Is it of a divine origin, that veto power of theirs? Can you trust those who profit from war to guard the peace?
Is it fair that world peace is in the hands of the very five nations who are also the world's main producers of weapons? Without implying any disrespect to the drug runners, couldn't we refer to this arrangement as yet another example of organized crime?
Those who clamor, everywhere, for the death penalty are strangely silent about the owners of the world. Even worse, these clamorers forever complain about knife-wielding murderers, yet say nothing about missile-wielding arch-murderers.
And one asks oneself: Given that these self-righteous world owners are so enamored of killing, why pray don't they try to aim their murderous proclivities at social injustice? Is it a just a world when, every minute, three million dollars are wasted on the military, while at the same time fifteen children perish from hunger or curable disease? Against whom is the so-called international community armed to the teeth?
Against poverty or against the poor?
Why don't the champions of capital punishment direct their ire at the values of the consumer society, values which pose a daily threat to public safety? Or doesn't, perhaps, the constant bombardment of advertising constitute an invitation to crime? Doesn't that bombardment numb millions and millions of unemployed or poorly paid youth, endlessly teaching them the lie that "to be = to have," that life derives its meaning from ownership of such things as cars or brand name shoes? Own, own, they keep saying, implying that he who has nothing is, himself, nothing.
Why isn't the death penalty applied to death itself? The world is organized in the service of death. Isn't it true that the military industrial complex manufactures death and devours the greater part of our resources as well as a good part of our energies? Yet the owners of the world only condemn violence when it is exercised by others. To extraterrestrials, if they existed, such monopoly of violence would appear inexplicable. It likewise appears insupportable to earth dwellers who, against all the available evidence, hope for survival: we humans are the only animals who specialize in mutual extermination, and who have developed a technology of destruction that is annihilating, coincidentally, our planet and all its inhabitants.
This technology sustains itself on fear. It is the fear of enemies that justifies the squandering of resources by the military and police. And speaking about implementing the death penalty, why don't we pass a death sentence on fear itself? Would it not behoove us to end this universal dictatorship of the professional scaremongers? The sowers of panic condemn us to loneliness, keeping solidarity outside our reach: falsely teaching us that we live in a dog-eat-dog world, that he who can must crush his fellows, that danger is lurking behind every neighbor. Watch out, they keep saying, be careful, this neighbor will steal from you, that other one will rape you, that baby carriage hides a Muslim bomb, and that woman who is watching you--that innocent-looking neighbor of yours—will surely infect you with swine flu.
In this upside-down world, they are making us afraid of even the most elementary acts of justice and common sense. When President Evo Morales started to re-build Bolivia, so that his country with its indigenous majority will no longer feel shame facing a mirror, his actions provoked panic. Morales' challenge was indeed catastrophic from the traditional standpoint of the racist order, whose beneficiaries felt that theirs was the only possible option for Bolivia. It was Evo, they felt, who ushered in chaos and violence, and this alleged crime justified efforts to blow up national unity and break Bolivia into pieces. And when President Correa of Ecuador refused to pay the illegitimate debts of his country, the news caused terror in the financial world and Ecuador was threatened with dire punishment, for daring to set such a bad example. If the military dictatorships and roguish politicians have always been pampered by international banks, have we not already conditioned ourselves to accept it as our inevitable fate that the people must pay for the club that hits them and for the greed the plunders them?
But, have common sense and justice always been divorced from each other?
Were not common sense and justice meant to walk hand in hand, intimately linked?
Aren't common sense, and also justice, in accord with the feminist slogan which states that if we, men, had to go through pregnancy, abortion would have been free. Why not legalize the right to have an abortion? Is it because abortion will then cease being the sole privilege of the women who can afford it and of the physicians who can charge for it?
The same thing is observed with another scandalous case of denial of justice and common sense: why aren't drugs legal? Is this not, like abortion, a public health issue? And the very same country that counts in its population more drug addicts than any other country in the world, what moral authority does it have to condemn its drug suppliers? And why don't the mass media, in their dedication to the war against the scourge of drugs, ever divulge that it is Afghanistan which single-handedly satisfies just about all the heroin consumed in the world? Who rules Afghanistan? Is it not militarily occupied by a messianic country which conferred upon itself the mission of saving us all?
Why aren't drugs legalized once and for all? Is it because they provide the best pretext for military invasions, in addition to providing the juiciest profits to the large banks who, in the darkness of night, serve as money-laundering centers?
Nowadays the world is sad because fewer vehicles are sold. One of the consequences of the global crisis is a decline of the otherwise prosperous car industry. Had we some shred of common sense, a mere fragment of a sense of justice, would we not celebrate this good news?
Could anyone deny that a decline in the number of automobiles is good for nature, seeing that she will end up with a bit less poison in her veins? Could anyone deny the value of this decline in car numbers to pedestrians, seeing that fewer of them will die?
Here's how Lewis Carroll's queen explained to Alice how justice is dispensed in a looking-glass world:
"There's the King's Messenger. He's in prison now, being punished: and the trial doesn't begin until next Wednesday: and of course the crime comes last of all."
In El Salvador, Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero found that justice, like a snake, only bites barefoot people. He died of gunshot wounds, for proclaiming that in his country the dispossessed were condemned from the very start, on the day of their birth.
Couldn't the outcome of the recent elections in El Salvador be viewed, in some ways, as a homage to Archbishop Romero and to the thousands who, like him, died fighting for right-side-up justice in this reign of injustice? At times the narratives of History end badly, but she, History itself, never ends. When she says goodbye, she only says: I'll be back.
(*) Among his other achievements, in 1971, Eduardo Galeano wrote The Open Veins of Latin America and, in 1976, escaped death at the hands of CIA-financed Argentine death squads.
Pervasive racial profiling of Muslims in the US
By Javed Zamir
"Yusuf Islam, the former pop singer Cat Stevens, and his daughter were humiliated in 2004 while visiting the US. His problem was also his name —Islam. The Americans had a point there: "Islam" was invading their country and if the US was at war with Islam, two Islams landing on the peaceful shores of America posed a double threat."
Racial profiling in the US is so pervasive that it has affected virtually every Muslim living or visiting there. On August 16, there was the well-publicised case of Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood´s top star, who was subjected to invasive questioning for more than two hours when he arrived on a British Airways flight at Newark, New Jersey airport. Khan has not just millions but hundreds of millions of fans worldwide that are not confined to his native India. His fan base spreads across Pakistan, Afghanistan and indeed throughout the Middle East. He could not be farther from the profile of a terrorist, much less be a terrorist. His interest is in acting and dancing, behaviour the Americans want to encourage among Muslims worldwide away from serious stuff like praying, fasting and following other Islamic acts, like jihad.
So why did customs officials pull Khan over for intrusive questioning? His last name appeared on America´s rapidly expanding computer watch-list. Now this would include tens of millions of people, if not more, with the last name "Khan". But how can the Americans know this; their knowledge of the world is so limited that many of them do not even know who their neighbours are. A survey conducted among university students a few years ago revealed some interesting facts about the state of knowledge of Americans. A full 38 percent of students answered France when asked to name the country that shares a border with the US. And the Americans do not even like the French because in 2003, then French president Jacques Chirac had refused to send troops to join the US invasion of Iraq. With such lack of awareness, it is not surprising that the notoriously ignorant American border guards would make mistakes. Khan, of course, was let go after a few hours of questioning but not before the Indian consulate in New York intervened to explain that he was on a promotional tour of his film and that he had visited the US many times before. Besides, when he applied for a US visa in Delhi, he had provided his photograph, finger prints and other details about himself that should all have been on the computer record.
Yusuf Islam, the former pop singer Cat Stevens, and his daughter were humiliated in 2004 while visiting the US. His problem was also his name —Islam. The Americans had a point there: "Islam" was invading their country and if the US was at war with Islam, two Islams landing on the peaceful shores of America posed a double threat. Something had to be done. Yusuf Islam´s plane was escorted by US air force planes and forced to park away from the terminal building. Both he and his daughter were taken off the plane for intrusive questioning and then put on a flight back to England. This has now been cleared up as was evident from Yusuf Islam´s tour of the US last May.
Even if one were charitable and excused overzealous border security officials at US airports for pulling visiting foreigners for extra questioning, what explanation is there for subjecting American citizens to such treatment? This is not confined to Muslims born elsewhere that later acquired American citizenship; even American born Muslims are subjected to these shakedowns each time they fly in and out of the country or even fly within the US. Take the example of Imam Abdul Alim Musa, a respected figure in the American Muslim community and Imam of Masjid al-Islam in Washington DC. He is not only subjected to intrusive questioning and searches when he returns home from a visit abroad, at the end of July he missed his flight to South Africa because he was detained at Atlanta airport for extended questioning. He was forced to spend the night at Atlanta airport and take a flight the following day. What is it necessary to subject a person to such questioning and intrusive searches? What precisely is it that US customs and immigration officials are looking for? Has Imam Musa ever, in the last 30 years, been found to have done anything illegal or is it merely because he is an outspoken Muslim who refuses to endorse Uncle Sam´s criminal behaviour worldwide?
Stories of Muslims being pulled off flights because some "white" passenger felt uncomfortable or did not like his or her looks are so numerous that it is difficult not to conclude that the policy of racial profiling has now infected "ordinary" Americans as well. When it comes to racial profiling, the Americans do not discriminate: Muslims can be of any background or age. The case of two Somali-American scholars at the Univer-sity of Minnesota is illustrative. The husband-wife team of Professors Abdi Samatar and Cawo Abdi has been subjected to repeated invasive questioning and searches while returning from travel abroad. Abdi Samatar is chair of Geography department at the University of Minnesota and his wife Cawo is professor of sociology. Since June, the husband and wife team has been pulled over six times at airports for extended questioning.
"He went through every little thing that was in my wallet, one by one," Professor Samatar said, recalling the inspection of one customs officer. He sports a greying beard and wears bookish, gold-rimmed glasses. Despite the fact that he has frequently been called by the US State Department for consultations on Somali affairs and travels around the world for his research, these things seem not to matter. He says he is of interest to the government because of the kind of work he is doing. Since June, Professor Samatar has gone through four secondary searches, which he described as demeaning and humiliating. US customs officials have rummaged through his personal diary, his toiletries, his kid´s diaper bag, and academic papers on Somali pirates.
One officer took a keen interest in his papers, Professor Samatar said. The officer wanted to know why he was reading them. The professor said he was planning to write about the issue of Somali piracy. When the officer asked why he wanted to write such things, the professor responded: "We are scholars, and we write papers and books." Luckily, the customs official did not ask: why do you write books, otherwise the already-harried professor would have been stuck at the airport for endless additional hours! Professor Samatar said the last time he was pulled aside for additional screening — upon returning to Minnesota from Sweden where he had attended a conference — he refused to answer the customs officer´s questions and was eventually released. Even university professor must sometime tire of questions put to them by ignorant US customs officials.
Professor Samatar and his wife are both US citizens with American passports. Last month, they were returning from South Africa on separate flights and were steered into a waiting room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. "We looked at each other, and we smiled, and we said, ´OK, let´s see where this takes us," recalled Professor Cawo Abdi. "It´s a very unpleasant experience to be interrogated for two or three hours when you have never committed a crime, when you are doing your job, and you of course care about the security of every American," she said. "Being a citizen, I expect, and I have a right, for a certain level of protection, and I don´t feel like I´m treated like an American."
With America´s involvement in Somalia — what place on earth is the US not involved in? — and the resentment felt by some Somali-Americans toward such policy, appears to have led to such aggressive behaviour by US customs officials against people of Somali origin. But this applies to others as well: Pakistanis, Afghans, and Arabs of many different countries. Pakistani officials, including cabinet ministers, presidential advisors and generals on official visits have been subjected to humiliating treatment upon arrival at US airports. Most Pakistani officials, however, accept such mistreatment because visiting the US is one "honour" they cannot pass. Others, like the two Somali-American professors want to air their concerns publicly to draw attention to the rude and crude behaviour of customs officials.
Both believe they are on some kind of government watch list. They also think that the birthplaces listed on their passports may have automatically triggered the extra scrutiny. Professor Cawo Abdi was born in Somalia; her husband was born in neighbouring Djibouti.
But US Customs and Border Protection officials insist they do not practice ethnic or religious profiling. The mountain of evidence points in the other direction. Somali students and residents in Minneapolis-St. Paul are now routinely stopped by federal investigators in shopping malls and even on university campuses for questioning.
Is there any other word for racial profiling?
America is a nation at war: CIA Director - Bureau Report
A top American intelligence official has said that the United States is a nation at war which is facing threat from al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan.
"We are a nation at war. We are confronting a war in Afghanistan and a war in Iraq. We are confronting al-Qaeda and other terrorists in Pakistan," CIA Director Leon Panetta said at the Nationally Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference on Tuesday.
Panetta said his agency's first responsibility is to protect the safety of the US.
"We are confronting the challenge of nuclear proliferation in countries like North Korea and Iran... We are confronting a whole new challenge of something called cyber-security, which has the potential to in fact bring down our markets, bring down our power grid system, bring down our water systems and cripple this country," the CIA chief said.
The US is also confronting the challenge of instability in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and in places like Yemen and Somalia, he said.
"The CIA has to be an intelligence organisation that understands what our adversaries are thinking. What are they doing? What are their secrets? What are their strategies?" he said, adding we have to understand those dangers, those opportunities as America faces a world that confronts a number of challenges to our safety.
"This is not about the past. This is about the present and the future," Panetta argued.
A liberal and a hawk, oh my!
By Michael McFadden
The war in Afghanistan has been in the news a lot recently, which among other things means that it will no longer be called "Forgot-istn" as it was during the last few years of the Bush Administration. The news however, has not been very good. Casualties are piling up and our military leaders seem poised to ask President Obama for still more troops. Republican critics (George Will being the most prominent) are beginning to abandon their previous characterizations of anti-war democrats as embracing the unpatriotic policy of "cut and run", by advocating a policy of "cut and run"! Ah those Republicans, patriotic about war and nothing else!
We are told by these serious minded conservative pundits that Afghanistan is Obama´s Viet Nam, without regard to the fact (they never seem to have much regard for facts) that Obama has only had seven months to wage a war George Bush mismanaged for seven years! While I don´t ascribe to the "Obama´s Viet Nam" foolishness, I do think that, like the economy and just about everything else in America that the Bush administration mismanaged or neglected, Senator Obama is now President Obama and it is his job to fix these things. While I don´t think that history will fault him for the disastrous circumstances he inherited, he will be judged by how or if he is able to correct said disasters. In a nutshell, he didn´t cause the disasters (any of them), but he´s responsible for the fixes!
That being said, one has only to examine the history of Afghanistan and the powers that have sought to tame and concur it to understand that our initial policy (whatever it was) after 9-11 was folly from the beginning. What should have been done then will be harder to do now because the contextual memory of 9-11 has faded, not so much from the recollection of most Americans, but from the minds eye of the rest of the world! By contextual memory, I´m referring to the shock and dread Americans and most civilized people throughout the world felt as they saw the murderous events of that day unfold! The entire world watched as thousands of innocent Americas were massacred and the belief of their fellow countrymen that our nation´s shores provided security shattered! The whole world witnessed this, put as one would expect, its impact resonates much more deeply in the psyche of the American people.
If Obama is to be successful in Afghanistan, he needs to first remind and refocus the world on the events of that day, and the tragedies imposed upon innocent Americans. The world needs to understand, as I think it did when President Bush spoke from the rubble that was the World Trade Center (his finest moment), that America seeks retribution from those responsible for that attack and that said attack was an act of war! He needs to explain, in his calm and conciliatory "Obamian" tone, that while the prior administration established a policy that both sought retribution and attempted to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, he would be seeking a policy the primary focus of which would be one of retribution and the status of the hearts and minds of the Afghan people would be determined more by decisions of their leaders then by him.
Obama needs to make clear that while he also sees virtue in winning the hearts and minds of both the Afghan people and the larger Muslim world, his attempt at accomplishing this goal will manifest itself in the closing of GITMO, the abandoning of the Bush torture policies and ending our practice of rendition! He also needs to inform the world that America has lost unquantifiable amounts of it´s national treasure, along with too many of its son´s and daughters in the pursuit of a policy that, in part, sought to protect the lives of the innocent Afghan people, and the Afghan people have not been grateful!
That undeniable fact having already been established, Obama should then pivot, and announce a new policy, The Obama Doctrine! He should inform the world that while this doctrine initially applies only to Al Qaida, depending upon future world events, it may be expanded to cover other non-state terrorist organizations. The Obama Doctrine will unequivocally state that if any country is knowingly (if you know or if we inform you) harboring Al Qaida cells large enough or with the capacity to attack America and we deem that you have the military capacity to dismantle their cells and deliver their leaders (as we determine them to be) to US authorities, it is your obligation to do so. Your failure to do so will result in the destruction of your population centers (starting with the smallest and increasing in size) with conventional weapons until such time as your leaders or your local citizens demand that these cells be dismantled and their leaders (as we identify them) be turned over to US authorities!
All current ground operations in Afghanistan will cease and our troops will be withdrawn. No further attempts will be made to protect your population or your political leaders and the Afghan military will be responsible for its own training and development. There will be no more invasions, occupations or attempts at nation building. Our military men and women will not be placed in harms way and any loss of innocent life, while regrettable, will be the cost of a conscious decision to harbor Al Qaida by Afghan leaders and not by America!
Obama should inform the world that he sincerely regrets the loss of innocent live that will result from this policy, but unlike the innocent Americans who were murdered on 9-11, the governments of those countries with Al Qaida cells subject to this doctrine are provided with the option of choosing to protect their civilians or protecting Al Qaida murderers! If a country harboring Al Qaida cells has no government (Somalia) or their government doesn´t have a military capacity that we determine is sufficient to capture or kill Al Qaida members, said government will still be required to make their best effort (to our satisfaction) to isolate that cell from their civilian population. Obama must inform them that America reserves the right to use conventional weapons to strike at these cells wherever and whenever we, in our sole discretion and after giving appropriate warning, so decide!
Obama should then, borrowing a phrase from the Bush administration, inform the world that this is indeed a global war on terror, and that all civilized nations are expected to be active participants. He should conclude his remarks by informing America´s allies, that the United States will regard a terrorist attack on their homeland by Al Qaida as indistinguishable from an attack on America!
While the hawkishness of this proposed Obama doctrine continues to give me pause, I am tired of seeing my countrymen and women die while attempting whatever it is their attempting in that God forsaken land. I guess this is one instance where I´m both a liberal and a hawk, oh my!
The Wrath of Khat
By Radley Balko
Several Seattle-area Somali immigrants are suing local police agencies, claiming they were wrongly rounded up in a massive sweep for khat done in conjunction with the DEA. Khat is a mild euphoric stimulant that's usually chewed in leaf form. It's illegal in the U.S. but ubiquitous throughout Africa, and common in U.S. cities with large East African immigrant populations.
Three years ago, armed agents from a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force crashed through the door of a Seattle apartment where Habibo Jama, a Somali refugee and U.S. citizen, lived with her brother, uncle and cousins. Jama, startled awake, opened her bedroom door in her nightshirt to find herself facing several men in black pointing guns at her and ordering her to the floor.
Almost simultaneously, at an apartment 20 miles away in Kent, Ali Dualeh, his wife and their seven children — ages 4 months to 17 years — jolted from bed when they heard a loud noise. Both parents made it to the hallway before they were tackled by agents from the Valley Narcotics Enforcement Team who had broken down their front door.
"Operation Somali Express" was a nationwide crackdown, but it's only real achievement appears to be bad blood between police and local Somali immigrant communities. Of the 19 men arrested in Seattle, 15 were dismissed without charges. According to the Seattle Times, most of those arrested in New York, Ohio, and Minnesota were never charged either. Agents seized money and property from many Somali families who were never charged, some of whom had to wait nearly a year before their savings and belongings were returned.
The paper suggests the raids may amount to yet another anti-drug operation that undermines the war on terror.
Some law-enforcement officials and Somali community leaders are saying the fallout from the operation has poisoned relations between law enforcement and the communities at a time when federal agents are looking for help.
Over the past two years, as many as 20 Somali men have disappeared from Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., apparently recruited in area mosques to wage jihad in their own country.
Some have turned up fighting for a radical Islamic group in Somalia called Al-Shabaab, which U.S. intelligence sources have tied to al-Qaida. One American youth blew himself up at a U.N. checkpoint last October, according to federal investigators...
It is a very difficult community to walk into," said one law-enforcement official assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Seattle who spoke on condition of anonymity because he does not have permission to talk to the media. "There is a lot of mistrust there and part of it is because of these raids."
The lawsuit also alleges the Seattle police department conducts no-knock raids (or at least knock-and-announce raids that don't allow a long enough period of time before forcing entry) for all of its narcotics warrants. If so, the department would be in violation of the U.S. Constitution. But as is often the case with these multi-jurisdictional operations, there seems to be a lot of buck passing about whose procedures were actually being followed.
The city, in a response to the lawsuit, denies its practice is unconstitutional and said its officers were acting under the direction of the DEA. The DEA referred all inquiries about the lawsuit to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The agency, in court filings, said it can't be held liable for what the Seattle police officers may have done in leading the raid on Jama's apartment.
On the addiction/physical harm table, khat ranks below just about every other mood-altering drug available. The harm caused by overly aggressive government efforts to prevent people from ch
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.
Contact us for details concerning project-sponsorship or donations via e-mail: ecotrust[at]ecoterra.net
Kindly note that all the information above is distributed under and is subject to a license under the Creative Commons Attribution.
To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/
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Pls cite ECOTERRA Intl. - www.ecoterra-international.org as source for onward publications, where no other source is quoted.
Press Contacts:
ECOP-marine
East-Africa
254-714-747090
marine[at]ecop.info
www.ecop.info
ECOTERRA Intl.
Nairobi Node
africanode[at]ecoterra.net
254-733-633-733
EA Seafarers Assistance Programme
SAP Media Officers
254-722-613858
254-733-385868
sap[at]ecoterra.net
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For more information see this article in The Nation or this article in Wired News.
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