Magacaabista Maxamed Faroole oo sii kordhisay walaacii horay loo qabey

Madaxweynaha dawladda Puntland, Cabdiraxmaan Maxamed Faroole ayaa wareegto uu xafiiskiisa ka soo saaray maalintii Axadda (29/11/2009) la taliye dhinaca saxaafadda ah oo ay dawladdu yeelato ugu magacaabay isla wiilkiisa Maxamed Cabdiraxmaan Maxamed Faroole taas oo noqotay warkii ugu dareenka badnaa toddobaadkan.

Waa dhab in ay suurta gal tahay in Maxamed Cabdiraxmaan uu xilkaas u qalmo sidoo kalena uu xaq u leeyahay in xil loo magacaabo hase yeeshee meesha lagu magacaabay ayaa ah gole ceebeed, marba haddii horay inankaas loogu xaman jirey in uu dhegta wax ugu sheego aabbihiis isla markaasna uu fara gelin ba’an ku hayo maamulka.

Gaar ahaan saxafiyiinta Puntland ayaa sas iyo walaac hor leh ka muujiyey arrintan, halka qaarkood ay sheegeen in warkanu uu ku noqday dhul-gariir naxdin ah, maaddaama Maxamed Cabdiraxmaan oo isaga laftuusu suxufi ah horay loogu eedeeyey in uu maamulkii iyo saxaafaddii amaba saxafiyiintii iska hor keenay.

Doc kale haddii laga eego Madaxweyne Faroole uma wanaagsanayn in uu wiilkiisa jagadan u magacaabo iyadoo loo arki karo ansixin iyo sharciyayn cilladaha wiilkiisa, waxanay dhabbaha u xaareysaa in uu ku amar ku taagleeyo saaxaafadda iyo dadka ka hawl gala intaba.

Waxaa kale oo ay magacaabisani daaha ka rogeysaa in odaygu uu u dhaqmayo sidii boqortooyooyinka iyo keligood taliyayaasha oo xubnaha qoysaskooda ku xardha jagooyinka ugu muhiimsan qaranka.

Muxiyadiin Hiirad Kaatun oo aan arrintan kala sheekaystay ayaa ii sheegay in uu aad uga walaacsan yahay xil magacaabista Maxamed C/raxmaan faroole oo buu yiri u dhiganta “maandhow wiilasha wax qorqora iyo kuwa hadla ii soo basaas oo soo xirxir, saxafiyiinna u aqoonso inta i taageersan”.

Anigu shakhsiyan kamamid ihi ddaka walaacaas qaba waayo wiilka madaxwaynuhu xilwuuqabankaa maxaayeelay waa nin muwaadin ah maaha in shaqadiisa lagu xiro aabihii waxase la taliyaha la magacaabay sidatan
* * In uu karti iyo furfurnaan muujiyo oo uu dawladda Puntland iyo saxaafadda Puntland xiriir iyo wada shaqayn hor leh u sameeyo si shakigu u baxo.

Somali Foreign Minister Says MYM, Al-Qaeda Behind Mogadishu Bombing

Report by Khalid Mahmud in Cairo: “The Somali Foreign Minister to Al-Sharq al-Awsat: the Mogadishu Bombing Has All the Hallmarks of the Youth Mujahidin Movement and Al-Qaeda; Such Bombings Are Not Known in Somalia or Even in Most World Countries”



Several Somali Government officials and international community figures have expressed skepticism about the denial by the Somali Mujahidin Youth Movement (MYM), which is opposed to the Somali transitional government, led by Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad, and to the foreign military presence in Somalia, of its responsibility for the terrorist bombing that occurred during a medical students graduation ceremony in a hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The suicide bombing left 32dead, including cabinet ministers, journalists, doctors, and 40 others injured.



Somali Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Jami Jengeli told Al-Sharq al-Awsat by telephone from Mogadishu that the mode of the bombing had all the hallmarks of the MYM, which is linked to Al-Qaeda, noting that the way the bombing took place is not known in Somalia, the African countries, or and even in most countries of the world.



According to official and unofficial stories, the bomber entered the graduation ceremony hall disguised in veiled woman`s clothes and sat for some time listening to the speeches made before approaching the platform and detonating himself. After the bombing, the police showed journalists the mutilated body parts of the bomber.



The Somali foreign minister confirmed to Al-Sharq al-Awsat that the MYM usually commits such acts. He added: “I have learned that the MYM denied responsibility for the incident, but this is due to the people`s anger at the magnitude of the destruction and losses in life. However, we suspect that the MYM has a hand in the bombing, and it usually behaves in this way.”



In reply to a question on whether he means that Al-Qaeda and the MYM are involved in the bombing, the Somali foreign minister said: “There are indications of this involvement, and previously they carried out similar acts of terror. So far we have no definite evidence of their involvement, but we will conduct a broad investigation and after which we will announce the details, including the parties behind the bombing. We have to wait until we have examined the evidence before issuing a final judgment, and we will be prepared to do that.”



In reply to a question on whether the Somali Government will ask for foreign security assistance in the investigation, the foreign minister said: “This depends on the investigators. If they ask for experts, they have all the powers to do that. But I have no information on whether there is a need foreign assistance in the investigation. There is a need to learn the whole truth to tell the world and the Somali people. We will share all the information that we will obtain with the countries concerned and certainly with our people.”



The UN envoy to Somalia, Ahmed Ould Abdallah, has held those he called Islamist rebels responsible for most of the major acts of violence plaguing the country. In a statement he made in Tokyo, he said: “I think that it is utter delusion to suggest that those behind the atrocity are not the same group that killed the security minister, that attacked the peacekeeping force, and that stoned women and children to death.”



It is to be recalled that MYM spokesman Ali Mahmoud Raji had denied his group`s responsibility for the latest bombing in Mogadishu. He said: “We declare that the MYM did not engineer that bombing. We believe it is a conspiracy by the Somali Government. It is not in the nature of the MYM to target innocent people.” He said that deep political differences surfaced a long time ago among senior officials of the fragile government of Somali President Shaykh Sharif, which is in control of only limited areas of the capital Mogadishu. He added: “As you know, there is a power struggle, which has been going on for a long time.” He said: “We know that some of those who call themselves government officials had left the scene of the explosion minutes before the bombing occurred, and so it is clear that they are responsible for the carnage.”



In an attempt to distance the Islamic Party from the Mogadishu incident, Islamic Party leader Hasan Dahir Aweys condemned the bombing. He said that it was engineered by “our enemies who want to kill Somali intellectuals and spread an atmosphere of hostility to prevent reconciliation.” He stressed that the bombing “could not have possibly been carried out by a Somali citizen; it was engineered by enemies, perhaps in cooperation with foreign conspirators who seek to occupy Somalia, in reference to the African Union peacekeeping force composed of approximately 4,000 soldiers from Burundi and Uganda.”



Several observers believe that the latest bombing will undermine the prestige of the Somali Government and put it to the test amid fears that the Islamist rebels may succeed in penetrating the security and military agencies loyal to them. In his statement to Al-Sharq al-Awsat, however, the Somali foreign minister ruled out the possibility of the collapse of the transitional government, led by President Shaykh Sharif, which came to power early this year, because of the latest bombing. He said that this terrorist attack will not intimidate the interim authority (the president, government, and parliament) or prevent officials from continuing to perform their duties. He added: “We have undertaken a noble mission to help our people who have placed their trust in us. Nothing will prevent us from performing our duty to restore security and stability and help our people.” He added: “We will continue our efforts on this path because we shoulder a major and important responsibility, which, we believe, have the Somali people`s support.” He pointed out that President Sharif emphasized this approach in a statement he made the day before yesterday. He said: “We are resolved to continue to work in the interest of the Somali people and to achieve peace. The bombing will not frighten us; it will only increase our determination and insistence to go ahead to achieve our goals and national reconciliation.”



The Somali foreign minister appealed to those he called our “friends in the Arab world” to help the Somali people and government at this crucial time. He told Al-Sharqal-Awsat : “We need the support and assistance of our friends in the Arab world. We assume major missions to achieve peace and stability. Many international parties are helping us, and we are exerting efforts to restore security to the country.”

idee Loo Arkey Mamnuucida Minaaradaha ee Dalka Switzerland?

udaahaardyo, canbaarayn ba’an, wel wel iyo dabaaldeg ayaa lagu soo dhaweeyay go’aankii ay qaateen shacabka Swiss-ka kadib markii ay maalintii shalay(29.11.2009) u codeeyeen in la mamnuuco Minaaradaha laga taago masaajida Muslimiinta.

Magaalooyinka waaweyn ee dalka Switzerland ee Zürich iyo Bern waxaa isugu soo baxay dad gaaraya boqolaal kuwaas oo muujiyey sida ay uga soo horjeedaan go’aanka ay qaateen shacabka Swiss-ku.

Amnesty International ayaa ku shaagtay natiijada codeynta mid denbi ku ah xoriyada diimeed ee aadanaha, sidoo kale xisbiga Cagaarka ee Switzerland ayaa sheegay in ay dacwad u gudbinayaan Maxkmadda xuquuqda aadanaha ee wadamada Yurub, sidaas si lamid ah waxaa wel wel u muujiyey Hay’adda Qaramada Midoobey qaybtiisa xuquuqda aadanaha xafiiskiida Genève.

Maskuri Abdilah oo ah hogaamiyaha Muslimiinta Induniisiya “Nahdlatul Ulama” ayaa canbaareyn xoogan dusha uga tuurey mamnuucida Minaaradaha ” Arintan macnaheedu waa sida shacabka Swiss-ku u necebyihiin Muslimiinta, ma doonayaan in ay arkaan dad muslimiin ah ku sugan dalkooda” ayuu yiri Maskur.

Sidaas si lamid ah waxaa u canbaareeyay Muftiga dalka Masar Cali Jomaa “Go’aanka mamnuucidda minaaradahu maaha mid ku wajahan xornimada diinta ee waxa loo socdaa waa ururada Islaamka ee dalkaas ka jira” ayuu yiri mar uu u waramaayey warbaahinta Mena.

Saxaafadda Swiss-ka ayaa muujisey welwelka ay arintan ka qabaan joornaalka maalinlaha ah ee Le Temps ayaa qoray ” codeyntii waxa ay soo jiidey cabsi, xagjirnimo” waxa ay ka digtey in arimahaani ay dhawaacaan booska dadka Swiss-ku ay beesha caalamka kaga jiraan.

Joornaalka kale ee , 24 Heures ee xaruntiisu tahay magaalada Lausanne, ayaa ka digay in dalxiiska,ganacaiga, iyo alaabaha Swiss-ku soo saaraan la iska mamnuuco iyada oo sabab looga dhigaayo mamnuucida minaaradaha.

Joornaalka kale ee la yiraahdo Tagesanzeiger ee xaruntiisu tahay Zürich ayaa cinwaan uga dhigay dadka Swiss-ka oo u kala qaybsamay labo “Xadaarad cusub iyo caalaminimo” “Taqliidi iyo wadaninimo”.

Wasiirka arimaha dibadda ee Faransiiska Bernard Kouchner ayaa go’aanka ugu yeeray “mid maanefesto u ah tacasub, waxaana quman in shacabka Swiss-ku deg deg uga laabtaan”.

Sidoo kale wasiirka arimaha dibadda ee dalka Sweden isla markaasna haya madaxtinimada Midowga Yurub Carl Bildt, ayaa dhankiisa ka canbaareeyay go’aanka.

Halka ay wel welka ka muujinayaan hogaamiyaasha muslimiinta, saxaafadda, iyo ururada xuquuqda aadanaha, waxaa dhankooda dabaaldeg iyo feesto wada xisbiyada dhanka midig ee Yurub.

Xagjirka Faransiiska ah Jean-Marie Le Pen ayaa aad u soo dhaweeyay natiijada doorashada Le Pen ayaa u sheegay warbaahinta AFP, “waa in laga baxaa cabsida la qabo, oo la mamnuucaa dhamaan calaamadaha siyaasadeed iyo kuwa diimeed ee la doonaayo in Yurub laga asaaso”

Sidoo kale Wasiir ka tirsan dawladda Talyaaniga oo lagu magacaabo Reberto Calderoli ayaa sheegay in uu aad u soo dhaweynaayo go’aanka mamnuucida minaaradaha, waxa uu yiri mar uu u waramaayey hay’adda warbaahinta Talyaaniga ee ANSA “Dadka Swiss-ku waxa ay noo soo direen baaq cad kaas oo ah Haa derbiga dheer ee saacaddu ku taalo ee kaniisadda maya Minaaradaha masaajida, waxaa loo baahan yahay wax joojiyaha u qabta siyaasadda muslimiinta ee ku fideysa Yurub”.

Dalka Denmark xisbiga Folk party ayaa sheegay in ay doonayaan in ay isu yimaadaan folketinget si loo meelmariyo cod loo qaado arintan oo kale Hogaamiyaha xisbiga DF gabadha la yiraahdo Pia Kjærsgaard, ayaa sheegtay in ay ku fekereyso sidii loo soo jeedin lahaa hindise kan oo kale ah, waxayse shegtay in loo baahan yahay sadex meelood laba meelood folketinget isku raacaan in ay taageeraan qorshaha codeynta, laakiin xisbiyada kale ee Denmark arintan may qabaan.

Sidey doontaba ha noqotee arintan ayaa muujisey welwel iyo walbahaar kaas oo ay qabaan dadka Muslimiinta ah iyo siyaasiyiinta fur furan ee wadamada Yurub kuwaas oo doonaaya in ay markasta xiriir wacan la leeyihiin dadka Muslimiinta ah, halka wadamada aadka ugu fogaadey nidaamka dimoqraadiyaddu ay u arkaan meelkadhac xoriyada diimeed loo geystey.

Maalintii shalay ayaa shacabka ku dhaqan dalka Switzerlandu codeeyeen hinise ah in la mamnuuco minaaradaha ka taagan Masaajida Switzerland waxaa qorshahan gadaal ka riixayeen xisbiga xagjirka ah ee SPP, waxaana u codeeyay in la mamnuuco minaaradaha 57%, natiijada ayaa noqotey mid aan la fileyn, waxaana sabab looga dhigey dedaalka dheeraadka ah ee ay ku bixiyeen dadka u ololeynaaya in la mamnuuco.

mohamud mire

Magaalada Garoowe oo laga xusay Maalinta Xuquuqda Aadanaha(Sawirro).

Kulan balaaran oo lagu maamusaayay maalinta xuquuqda aduunka oo ay soo qaban qaabisay Wasaarada Haweenka iyo Qoyska Dowlada Puntland ayaa maanta ka dhacday guriga Wasaarada ee Magaalada Garoowe.
Waxaana ka soo qaybgalay masuuliyin ka kala socday Golaha Wasiirada,Golaha Barlamaankaa Puntland iyo Ururada Bulshada.
Masuuliyinti ka soo qaybgalay ayaa waxaa ka mid ahaa Gudoomiyaha Barlamaanka C/rashiid Maxamed Xirsi,Wasiirdowlaha maamul wanaaga Puntland Maxamed Faarax Gaashaan,Wasiir labaad ee arimaha gudaha Cali Yuusuf Xoosha,Wasiir kuxigeenka Haweenka iyo arimaha qoyska Xaliimo Cali Warsame iyo masuuliyin kale.
Ugu horeyn Gudoomiyaha Barlamaanka Puntland oo ka hadlay kulankaasi ayaa sheegay in loo baahanyahay in si wadajir ay maamulka iyo dadweynaha Puntland ay wax uga qabtaan arimaha Xuquuqda Bin’aadamka ka dhanka ah.
Waxaana u intaasi ku daray Gudoomiyuhu in Dowlada Puntland ay heegan u tahay ilaalinta iyo dhowrida xuquuqda Bin’aadamka.
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Wasiiru-dowlaha maamul wanaaga Puntland Maxamed Faarax Gaashaan oo ka mid ahaa masuuliyinti masraxa khudbada ka soo muuqday ayaa u mahadceliyey Wasaarada Haweenka iyo Qoyska Puntland oo ku amaanay qaban qaabada munaasabada iyo sida had iyo goor ay ugu heelan tahay horumarinta arimaha Haweenka iyo Qoyska.
Waxaana u sheegay in Puntland ay ka go’aantahay dhowrida xuquuqda Bin’aadamka iyadoo tixraacaysa qawaaniinta u yaala caalamka ee ku aadan xuquuqda aadanaha.
Wasiir kuxigeenka Wasaarada Haweenka iyo Qoyska Xaliimo Cali Warsame ayaa iyaduna halkaas ka sheegtay ayna ku dheeraatay howlaha Wasaarada ay ka qabatay arimaha haweenka iyo qoyska.
”Haweenku waa dhextaalka Bulshada,Hooyo kastana waxaa ay u baahantahay tixgelin sida daraadeed waa in la qiimeeya hooyada lagana ilaaliya tacadiyada”,ayay tiri.
Si kastaba Maalinta Xuquuqda Aadanaha ayaa maanta si weyn looga xusay caalamka

Yemen; Report on Impact of Qat Plant, Usage on Country`s Health, Economy

Part 6 of report by Abd-al-Sattar Hutaytah in Sanaa: “Happy Yemen: Emerging From the Tunnel: Qat Consumes Health and Water and Yemenis Are Divided Over it. They Spend $4 Million a Day on it. Quick Steps To Replace Qat Trees With Fruit Ones, Move its Markets Outside Cities, and Replace Storing Sessions With Beneficial Exercises”
“In the center of al-zuwwah (storing space) put me”, “like a baby swaddle me”, “the tip of my stem, what a taste” and “the last of my stem, what madness.” Such verses are common among the Yemenis after a large part ofthem have started to realize the problem of continuing to chew Qat whose leaves are taken from shrubs planted everywhere. Sucking its juice gives a sense of pleasant numbness and happiness for several hours which are followed by a sense of nervousness, distress, and sadness.
This realization that Qat has become a problem is not limited to those who use it but has also become the main topic of discussions by politicians and legal experts in what looks likely to be a long way for eliminating a habit for the Yemenis that has lasted around 300 years. The ideas that look small might get bigger and turn into facts, as Abdallah says. He is a doctor and we were brought together in a “storing room.” Such rooms are found in most Yemeni houses. It is one room in the house or an extension to it where friends and acquaintances meet, in the afternoon. Each one brings his share of Qat and the session of chewing, relaxing, telling stories, watching television, reading newspapers, or surfing the internet are pursued with a clear and trouble-free minds and imaginations that sometimes get mixed up with the reality and reach the point of fantasia. Ethiopia in Africa is regarded as the origin country of the Qat plant and many Yemenis believe that Abrahah brought it to the Arabian Peninsula when he was unable to demolish the Ka`bah so as to drug the peninsula people and make them “feel cheerful” and thus achieve his purpose. Centuries passed and Abrahah disappeared leaving behind him one of his most important weapons, “the Qat.”
Sitting in a large room dedicated to storing during the second half of the day, the owner of a Qat farm in the Imran area called Abd-al-Wadud says the habit of chewing Qat and storing it inside the side of the mouth surprises everyone who visits Yemen for the first time. He added that until 200 years ago, this habit was confined to those who were known in Yemen until recently the ruling and rich classes due to its high prices which were beyond the ability of the ordinary people to buy or chew. But today, every Yemeni can plant his house garden with the Qat shrubs, use part and sell apart.”
Abd-al-Wadud planted over almost 20 years around 1,000 trees out of more than 300 million planted all over Yemen.
Yemeni men sell qat in the main qat market in Sanaa May 9, 2007. To match the feature YEMEN-QAT. Picture taken May 9, 2007. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
Other tales do not stop with that of “Abrahah” but add to them another one going back to the Ottoman rule and the Imamate one in the 19th Century and the first half of the last century. One of the tales says that the Ottoman rulers imposed heavy taxes on Yemeni coffee planters which prompted many of them to replace the coffee with Qat trees and that the unfair tax policies of the Yemeni Imamate rule after the departure of the Ottomans made the Yemenis expand more and more in planting Qat at the expense of coffee plantations. One of the studies prepared by specialized Yemeni centers on Qat points out that chewing this shrub`s leaves, storing them inside the mouth, and holding private storing sessions that bring friends together have become one of the popular traditions at the start of the last quarter of the 19th Century “and since the start of the 20th Century, the poorest sectors joined the users of Qat, including women and students.”
The feeling you have after 40 minutes of chewing the Qat at Abd-al-Wadud`s session is a sense of light numbness that gives you rapture close to that obtained after smoking drugs (hashish). But the farm owner objects and says: “It is not like hashish because Qat does not harm the body. It makes you forget your worries, relaxes the nerves, and calms your mind.” Defending the shrubs planted in his house`s courtyard and which are also planted on the mountain ridges opposite it, he adds: “Storing the Qat removes whatever is preoccupying your mind.”
Qat shrubs are not planted in the vast countryside farms only but are found around cities and in houses` gardens. Qat farms are next to vineyards. Kamal, a truck driver with a lean face and body who was present at a Qat session in Abd-al-Wadud`s house says: “You take the Qat that has a strong effect on the mind, Al-Hamadani Qat or Al-Arhabi Qat.”
The price of a bundle of Qat of the same size as a bundle of watercress starts at 1000 riyals (around $5) and the price drops according to the quality and extent of its effect to around 250 riyals of the “Yemeni honey” variety and to 150 riyals for ordinary Qat.
This truck driver stores it all the time he is awake, that is, he is a “Qat addict” according to him: “I start the engine and put my hand inside the bag. With the first gear move, I start to store. I sometimes store without food all day long. I store while I am on the road, at home, and with my friends.”
Storing requires one to drink much water and therefore you see in the main cities` streets many children selling water bottles to Qat users among drivers of private cars, taxis, and other mode of transports. A single bottle costs between 100 and 50 riyals and the truck driver consumes around five bottles a day even though his average wage is 60,000 riyals (around $300). He says: “Thursdays and Fridays are the time when I store most and it costs me around 3,000 riyals a day. I store Qat worth like around 1,000 to 2,000riyals on other days. I started working as a driver when I was 18 years old and at first I used to store after work. I could not drive while storing. But it became normal later after getting used to it. The best Qat are Al-Hamadani, Al-Arhabi, and Al-Ashshi and there is Al-Hudaydah Qat and Al-Shami Qat which comes from the Hajjah Governorate”, which is next to Imran Governorate northwest of Yemen.
A field planted in qat trees over looking San`a as many Yemeni adults chew qat leaves, which are used as a stimulent, each afternoon and most productive fields are planted with this crop are noticeable around the capital of Yemen, Friday, Sept. 19, 2008.
According to various and semi-official estimates, the Yemenis daily spend on Qat an average of 800 million riyals (around $4million). The feelings vocalized by someone about the suffering he had from storing Qat look true to a large extent. After spending nearly five or six hours or more inside the storing room you look as if you sitting in a cell with several inmates and then you feel warmth flowing through your limbs so much so that you do not wish to move or take any action. Just sitting like that leaning on pillows laid on the floor before and behind you believing that you are like the Turkish aga who ruled a Greek village, in one of novelist Kazantakis novels. Thus you feel you own everything but are content to be in a child`s swaddle, smiling in satisfaction while sitting in these Qat sessions` prison. Yes, “the tip of my stem, what a taste” and “the last of my stem, what madness.”
The next day, that is the morning after, you wake up with bones that feel broken, a tired body, absentminded, and nerves that are irritated by the merest provocation. The first thing you wish as you wake up is for noon to come, the time for lunch in Yemen, so as to treat your body and spirit with more Qat until late into the night.
People from all walks of life gather in the storing room. Here is a farm owner in his house and with him are two of his farm workers, a university teacher of eastern literature, a correspondent of one of the foreign radio stations, a fifth who is a retired officer, a sixth who is an internet programmer, and others. Talks flow smoothly from politics to economics, from jurisprudence to metaphysics, from Yemen`s future to the Arab countries` past, and from the Somalia problem to the Arabs` past in Andalusia.
“Do you want to write an article for the newspaper that attracts admiration? Then write about Qat, and not just any Qat”, said by someone to prove the success of Qat in performing a very good job and its benefits for creativity in literature and music. They list the names of known and unknown persons saying the Qat was the reason for their excellence to which no one had preceded them. But the university teacher raises his hand to say with his mouth full of Qat leaves: “I do not advise anyone to try it. It is a curse; a calamity that we must get rid ourselves of it. We are addicts. This Qat is an opiate, like drugs, hated, cursed, and even forbidden. It eats a lot of money and time.” He pointed out that President Ali Abdallah Salih had given up this habit.
The divided opinions over Qat has also reached the state`s higher circles and storing rooms where officials, officials` wives, or people close to ones occupying posts in the state take part. Some consider it a hated habit like smoking “and the number of those having it should be reduced” as the Sanaa governor believes while others believe the issue needs more than that, not only for protecting the Yemenis but also the agricultural lands and the scarce water resources in this country. Thus while some governorates do not take action against the Qat which 12 million of Yemen`s 23 million are using for fear of upsetting the citizens, some other governorates have started to take practical measures. Municipalities in several cities have taken preliminary steps to move the Qat markets outside residential areas on the basis that they “are hated markets” in addition to Qat being a bad habit whose planting requires large quantities of water in a country suffering from scarcity of water resources, grains, and other agricultural products that are necessary for food.
The problem is that there are farmers, like Abd-al-Wadud, who turn their faces when they hear such talk on television. He says planting Qat is not expensive because each shrub needs watering once or twice a week. In some fertile areas, the cost is less than other trees that can be planted. At the central level, there are the Yemeni president`s instructions that water should be used to irrigate beneficial agricultural products and not Qat. There are projects which will be actually implemented before the end of the year and they include a plan to enlighten the youths in schools and at public forums about the health, social, mental, and economic damages caused by chewing the Qat. Groups called “good citizenship” will undertake the task of distributing posters and booklets and organize seminars about “this habit which has become a danger to the Yemenis.” Representatives of the World Bank are taking part in this project which is adopted by the Union of Yemeni Women and financed by the Japanese Government. This coincided with the growing problem of water shortages in the country and the demands by many officials to farmers not toplant Qat but get rid of it raising the slogan of “water before Qat.” Thefirst direct decision against Qat was when several districts issued at the beginning of this year instructions to farmers and owners of water-carrying trucks to stop irrigating the Qat plants due to the water crisis there. Nothing like this local initiative in the south of the country had happened before apart from a central project by the agriculture and irrigation ministry to ban the planting of Qat in low agricultural lands in several areas, among them the Dhammar area where the project there is moving steadily to become a reality by offering facilities to the farmers who uproot the Qat shrubs and replace them with grains and fruits. Pierre Gatter, the World Bank`s adviser in Yemen who is a specialist in Qat trees, says the World Bank is seeking to implement a project aimed at limiting the expansion of this kind of agriculture and an enlightenment project to limit the use of Qat among the next generations is being prepared at present. He made the remarks during a tour of Dhammar Governorate with several officials who back replacing Qat with other food crops. The majority of Yemeni farmers continue to rely on Qat as well as the traders in the markets known by its name in all cities. The volume of the trade in which around 750,000 Yemeni farmers and traders are involved is estimated at around 450 billion riyals annually.
Yemeni men chew qat as they sell qat at their shop in the main qat market in Sanaa May 9, 2007. To match the feature YEMEN-QAT. Picture taken May 9, 2007.
Qat makes up around 42 percent of the crops in the lands where agriculture depends on irrigation against 26 for grains, 14 for coffee,13 for grapes, and 5 percent for other crops. Around 35 percent make up the lands which depend on rains against 59 for grains, six for coffee, and 0.3 for grapes.
According to a study titled “Alternative Agriculture to Qat” by Dr. Isma`il Abdallah Muharram, consumption of Qat increased in way that exceeded all expectations during the second half of the last century and pointed out that Qat`s contribution to the domestic agricultural product reached 33percent.
The raising of the “water or Qat” slogan by many senior officials comes at a time when the individual`s share of water is lessening. According to Dr. Muharram`s study, the annually renewable waters in Yemen are estimated at around 2.1 billion cubic meters and the individual`s share of it is only 130cubic meters, that is, the equivalent of 10 percent for the individual in the Middle East and 2 percent of the individual in the world. The study expects this volume to drop to between 90 and 72 cubic meters between 2010 and 2025.
The Yemeni president instructed the agriculture ministry to supply the farmers with free seeds and seedlings of coffee and nuts trees to plant them instead of Qat. He demanded from the government to stop the haphazard drilling of water wells and also the drilling machinery except when it is necessary for potable water and not “for irrigating Qat shrubs”, saying in the speech he delivered in Ibb Governorate at the beginning of June that the local authority should not repeat the previous excesses of granting the drilling firms licenses to drill water wells randomly because this is depleting the water basins` supplies to irrigate non-food crops, foremost of them the Qat shrub, at the expense of food crops, fruit trees, and coffee.
No day passes in happy Yemen without an increase in the number of those opposed to Qat as a crop and usage. The anti-Qat campaign is adopted by youth gatherings and legal societies as well as some officials who are eager to talk with a low voice for fear of angering the majority which continues to insist on living under one rood with the Qat. Songs of the Qat`s virtues were the most prevalent at one time but new stories have appeared about children, women, and families that have been split and impoverished because of this habit. School teachers and officials at the culture and human rights ministry are urging the students` guardians to buy pencils and books for their children instead of spending the money buying Qat and also to devote time to get close to them and learn about their problems instead of spending most of their time in the Qat storing sessions. Sanaa Governor Nu`man Duwayd who said Qat is not banned in Yemen explained that “Qat is not an opiate and has no effect on the individuals` behavior. On the contrary, we might view it negatively but it has also positive points for the farmer. It has not caused a major migration from the countryside to cities because people are planting Qat and living (on its profits). If at any time it is proved that Qat is forbidden or an opiate, then the Yemeni people will stop using it because they are more compliant with the teaching of religion. The Qat markets are everywhere and so are the agricultural lands. But there is awareness among the people to give up the Qat habit because they believe it is a bad one for Yemen, like smoking and like excessive drinking of tea or sitting too much with friends.”
(Description of Source: London Al-Sharq al-Awsat Online in Arabic -- Website of influential London-based pan-Arab Saudi daily; editorial line reflects Saudi official stance. URL: http://www.asharqalawsat.com/)
© Compiled and distributed by NTIS, US Dept. of Commerce. All rights reserved.
Vendors prepare qat, as a customer, right, looks on, at a qat market, in the Yemeni capital San`a, Friday, Sept. 19, 2008. Qat, which is popular with many Yemeni adults, is a leaf that gives a mild narcotic high when chewed.
Akram Afar and Fawaz Alarashy chew khat for up to five hours a day in a hut overlooking the crop in Yemen, where it is legal

MAXAAD KA TAQAANAA JAAMACADDA UNIVERSITY TECNOLOGY MALAYSIA, WARBIXIN KOOBAN

Jaamacada Universiti Tecnologi Malaysia-UTM- (Technological University of Malaysia) waa jaamacada ugu da’da wayn dalka Malaysia marka la dhoho barida handasada (injineernimada) iyo tiknoolojiyada. Inkastoo Jaamacada aad caan ugu tahay handasada iyo tiknoolajiyada, hadana waxay leedahay kuliyado kale oo lagu barto Sayniska, waxbarashada/tarbiyada, maamulka iyo kuliyado kale. Jaamacada waxaa la aasaasay sanadkii 1904 iyadoo markaas ahayd kuliyad yar oo loogu talagalay in wixii teknikal ah ay ka caawiso shaqaalaha tareenada dalka laga dhisay xiligaas. Hase ahaatee sanadkii 1975 ayaa si rasmi loo siiyay aqoonsi jaamacadeed. Website-ka Spanish-ka ah (Webometrics Ranking of World Universities) ee qaabilsan wax ka ogaashaha tayada jaamacadaha aduunka ayaa sheegay in jaamacada UTM ay tahay jaamacada 15-aad ee ugu fiican bariga iyo koonfurta Asia
Kuliyadaha ay bixiso jaamacada waxaa ka mid ah kuliyada handasada noocyadeeda oo idil, jaamacadan ayaa ah jaamacada koobaad ee ugu tayada fiican dhanka injineernimada dalka Malaysia oo dhan. Waxaa kale oo ay bixisaa tarbiyada, cilmiga computerka, Nidaamka macluumaadka (Information systems), handsada noolaha, (bio-medical engineering), dhismaha, handsada kiimikada (Chemical Engineering), ganacsiga, tiknoolajiyada, daraasaadka Islaamka, Hormurka bulshada iyo kuliyado khaas u ah ardayda baranayso mastareedka iyo PHD-ga. Kuliyadaas ayaa waxay ku qalabaysan tahay agabkii ugu danbeeyay ee jaamacadda.Qiimaha jaamacada ayaa ah mid aad u jaban. Tusaale ahaan kuliyada injineernimada ayaa laga doonayaa ardayga inuu bixiyo 950-1000 oo dollar semester walbo. Taas oo ka dhigaysa fiiska mid macquul ah. Total waxay noqonaysaa 2,000 oo dollar sanadkii. Kuliyada Maamulka waa 900 dollar halkii semester. halka kuliyada aqoonta ay tahay in ku dhow intaas oo kale. Ardayda ayaa leh guryo badan oo ay seexdaan iyaga oo dooran kara meesha ay seexan karaan iyo qiimaha guryaha. Ardaygii doonaya inuu kaligiis dago wuxuu iska bixinayaa inta u dhaxayso 1.30 cent ilaa 2 dollar maalin walbo taas isku iman karto 50-60 dollar bishii halka kii doonayo inuu qofkale la dago bixinayo intaasi in ka yar. Dalbashada jaamacada iyo fiiska la iska qaado ee ku saabsan dhamaystirka dalbashada iyo aqbalaada ayaa ah mid aad u jaban sidoo kale. Jaamcada waxaa gacanta ku hayso dowlada dhexe ee dalka Malaysia waxayna xarunteeda wayn ku taalaa magaalada madaxda gobolka Johore ee Johore Bharu. Magaaladaasi ayaa daris la ah dalka Singapore oo wixii ka horeeyay 1965 ka mid ahaan jiray dalka Malaysia intuusan ka go’in 1965.

Sidee Waxlooga Bartaa dalalka malaysia

Dalka malaysia waadal aad usareeya xaga waxbarasha waanaa tan keentay inay iyimaadaan amaba wax barasha usoodoontaan kumanaal arday ajaaniiba sanad walba kuwaasoo kubiira jaamacada daha kalagedin san ee dalka malaysia hase ahaatee waxaa ardaydaa farahabadan kamid ah ardayda soomalied oo iyagu intii burburku uu ahaa dalkeenu uadaada waxbarasho dalka dibadiisa badanaa waxa ayna aadaan badnaa dalalka kala ah Sudan , Malaysia ,Pakistan, India iyo dalka Masar. hadii aan usoolaabto waxa wax kabarta dalka malaysia arday soomalied oo aad ufarabadan kuwaasoo wax kabarata jaamaacadaha iyo coollege yada ee dalka .
Hasee yeeshee dalka malaysia ilaaxad waa uukanolol adagyhay wdamada akale ee ay wax kabartaan ardayda soomalied taasina waxa ay keen tay in arday soomalied oo aad ufaradan ay kusoolu go aan dalka iyaga oo kuwaasoo soo aada dalka iyaga oo aan kahaysan in formation buuxa waxa kaloo yira iyana arday u soo aada dalka caafimaad kuwaaso iyaguna kusool lu godalka maada dalkan caafimaad kiisu uu aad uqaaliyahay.

Puntland: The Pirate Kings of Puntland

The northeastern town of Eyl is a pirate haven and hive of activity once a ship is captured

They don’t wear eye-patches or peg legs and you won’t find any parrots perched on their shoulders, but they are no less pirates for that.

Twenty-first century piracy Somali style is a far cry from the swashbuckling, sea dogs of old but, in recent months, they have captured both the headlines and the public’s imagination.

Their high seas hijackings have also forced the media to focus on Somalia, arguably the globe’s most neglected tragedy.

But who are these men and what drives them to carry out such audacious attacks?

I set off to Puntland, the semi-autonomous region in Somalia’s north-eastern corner, to find out.

Puntland is one of the poorest parts of war-torn Somalia and it is home to most of Somalia’s dreaded pirates.

In video

Lucrative raids lure Somali youth to piracy

The pirate’s ranks have been swollen by many of the region’s youths – drawn by the potentially huge profits of one of Somalia’s most successful, if unconventional, business enterprises.

Faced with limited options and even less optimism for the country’s future, the young pirates care little about the risks they will run at sea.

In Garowe, the capital of Puntland, I met a well-known pirate; Abdirashid Ahmed – nicknamed Juqraafi or “geography” – still flush from a recent hijacking.

Ransom negotiations

Abdirashid and his colleagues had just taken receipt of a ransom payment of $1.3m after capturing the Greek ship MV Saldanha in February.

Smartly dressed and driving a Toyota four-wheel drive, he cut the perfect figure of prosperous young Somali.

“It took us three months of negotiations with the boat’s owner before we came to an agreement over the ransom money.

“We initially asked for $17m but compromised and accepted $1.3m when we realised it will take a long time to get more out of the shipping company,” he tells me.

Juqraafi [left] tells Mohammed Adow that desperation, not greed, drove him to piracy

However, it was desperation, not greed, he claims, that pushed him to throw in his lot with the pirates.

“We are driven by hunger, just look at our country and how destroyed it is. We are people with no hope and opportunities, that is what is forcing us into piracy,” he says.

Successful ventures like Juqraafi’s have turned piracy in Somalia into a self-financing local industry. Pirate cells operate in well-organised groups, drawing in members of extended family networks.

“Those who have been paid a ransom sponsor the other pirates. For example, if a group is holding a ship and they’re paid ransom and then another ship is captured, the first group will fund the second one till they too get ransom payment,” says Juqraafi.

The piracy industry is controlled by criminal gangs who recruit local youths and take the lion’s share of the profits. They are also well-armed with weapons ranging from Kalashnikovs to rocket launchers.

Sharing the spoils

And every pirate cell, says Juqraafi, has clear policies and guidelines for everything it does – including sharing the ransom.

“The financier is usually a businessman who sponsors the pirates and gets 30 per cent of the ransom. The pirates get 50 per cent,” he explains.

“The remaining 20 per cent is given to the poor and all those who, in one way or another, help the pirates on shore and this includes local government officials who expect bribes from every successful venture.”

About 20 per cent of ransom money goes to the poor and those who help pirates

In their search for ships, Somali pirates have spread themselves across thousands of square miles of water, from the Gulf of Aden at the narrow doorway to the Red Sea, to the Kenyan border along the Indian Ocean.

When they started out, Somalia’s pirates cast themselves as the “Robin Hoods of the sea” – defenders of the nation’s fisheries.

The country’s tuna-rich waters were repeatedly plundered by commercial fishing fleets soon after the country’s last fully-functioning government collapsed in 1991.

Somali fishermen turned armed vigilantes, confronting fishing boats and demanding that they pay a tax.

But what began as a deterrent to illegal fishing has today become a free for all.

“These youths are capable of anything,” Dr Ahmed Abdirahman, a university professor in Puntland, says.

“If the world does not come up with a solution to piracy, its going to take a far worse turn,” he warns.

In 2008 alone, more than 120 pirate attacks occurred in the Gulf of Aden, far more than in any other year in recent memory.

Pirates ‘net $80m’

Experts say the Somali pirates netted more than $80m, an astronomical sum for a war-ravaged country whose economy is in tatters.

At least a dozen vessels and crews are currently being held hostage off the coast of Somalia.

Puntland’s few jails are overflowing with convicted pirates

As on every issue in Somalia, public opinion on piracy is sharply divided. To some within the community, the pirates are amoral thugs bringing yet more trouble to their shores.

But to others and, arguably, they are in the majority, these modern-day buccaneers are heroes who are robbing the rich to feed the poor.

Nowhere is the support for piracy greater than in the town of Eyl, Somalia’s modern-day pirate capital.

Hidden between rocky hills, isolated and lacking good roads, Eyl is the perfect pirate hideout.

Contrary to our expectation of prosperity in Eyl, we were confronted not with palaces but a few crumbling houses – a clear indication that the millions of dollars earned from the lucrative business of hijacking passing ships are not invested in the town.

Public support

Despite this, Said Elmi Mohamud, a 55-year-old Eyl resident, began to defend the pirates to us even before we had stepped foot out of our vehicle.

“I know you are here looking for our heroes,” he declared.

“I don’t call them pirates – they are our marines. They are protecting our resources from those looting them… they are not criminals” Said Elmi Mohamud, Eyl resident

“I don’t call them pirates – they are our marines. They are protecting our resources from those looting them. They are not criminals.”

Pirates moor their captive ships off Eyl’s beaches and use the town to supply both them and their hostages with food, water and other necessary provisions.

While in Eyl ourselves, we watch from afar as the Dutch-owned MV Marathon was held by pirates a little further out to sea.

Rows of battered boats lie scattered along the beach. They are used by the pirates to shuttle between the port and the ships at sea.

And whenever word spreads that another ship has been hijacked, activity in Eyl moves up a gear.

There is a lot of money to be made and nearly everybody in the town is anxious for a cut. Elders stream into the town to arbitrate disputes between their young clansmen as gold-digging women flock to Eyl from far and near to get themselves a pirate.

But not everyone in Eyl is happy about piracy.

“We hate the pirates but can do nothing about them. They are more powerful than us,” Mohammed Khalif, one of the town’s Islamic leaders, says.

“Even the international naval powers with all their warships and weapons have not been able to control them.”

‘Lots of killings’

He also laments the negative impact piracy has had on the town.

“They have troubled us a lot. They have brought us alcohol, commercial sex workers and massive inflation. Lots of killings also take place here,” Khalif says.

As piracy in Puntland has become an international issue, so pressure is increasing from within to take action.

Many young Somalis are tempted by the potentially huge profits of piracy

Abdirahman Mohamed Mahmoud, Puntland’s regional president, took office in January on an anti-piracy platform. He says fighting the pirates is high on his agenda.

He sends his fledgling coastguard to sea and, at night, soldiers mount roadblocks in all of Puntland’s major cities.

But Mahmoud says he needs more help to tackle what is now an international problem.

He is critical of the international community’s approach to combating piracy, saying they will never successfully defeat the pirates without collaborating with local forces like his own on land as well as at sea.

About 15 international naval vessels, including three American navy ships, patrol Somalia’s pirate-infested waters, many under an American-led anti-piracy task force.
Most of the patrol vessels are concentrated in the Gulf of Aden and, as a result, the pirates have adapted, simply moving further into open seas.

“We need just a small fraction of the money the naval fleets are wasting now to effectively combat piracy. I think they are not interested in fighting piracy,” Mahmoud says.

Religious leaders from all over Puntland have also embarked on a mission to battle the buccaneers. And what better place to try to reform pirates than in Eyl.

At the town square they hold an assembly. Their sermons focus on the vices the pirates have introduced with the money they earn.

But not far from where they are preaching, business is brisk.

At Eyl’s restaurants, women eagerly serve the pirates, their accountants, middlemen and negotiators. Their four-wheel drive vehicles are never far away.

They are, undoubtedly, the kings of Puntland.

By Mohammed Adow in Puntland, Somalia

Aljazeera

ShareThis

1. Um-Muhammed

   the world had forgotten the war torn country of Somalia, they were happy on how the things are going, (killings of thousands of innocent people, illegal fishing on their sea with out even cosideration of their acceptance, throwing chemicals on the sea, withnessing in the widespread chaos and lack of law of order, It seems that it is time the world would look at the root causes of the problem of this country.the time of double standardzation on somalia’s issue is over. let the world look into the problem as a wholistic and come up with solution.

   Monday, June 15th, 2009

Puntland: The Pirate Kings of Puntland

The northeastern town of Eyl is a pirate haven and hive of activity once a ship is captured

They don’t wear eye-patches or peg legs and you won’t find any parrots perched on their shoulders, but they are no less pirates for that.

Twenty-first century piracy Somali style is a far cry from the swashbuckling, sea dogs of old but, in recent months, they have captured both the headlines and the public’s imagination.

Their high seas hijackings have also forced the media to focus on Somalia, arguably the globe’s most neglected tragedy.

But who are these men and what drives them to carry out such audacious attacks?

I set off to Puntland, the semi-autonomous region in Somalia’s north-eastern corner, to find out.

Puntland is one of the poorest parts of war-torn Somalia and it is home to most of Somalia’s dreaded pirates.

In video

Lucrative raids lure Somali youth to piracy

The pirate’s ranks have been swollen by many of the region’s youths – drawn by the potentially huge profits of one of Somalia’s most successful, if unconventional, business enterprises.

Faced with limited options and even less optimism for the country’s future, the young pirates care little about the risks they will run at sea.

In Garowe, the capital of Puntland, I met a well-known pirate; Abdirashid Ahmed – nicknamed Juqraafi or “geography” – still flush from a recent hijacking.

Ransom negotiations

Abdirashid and his colleagues had just taken receipt of a ransom payment of $1.3m after capturing the Greek ship MV Saldanha in February.

Smartly dressed and driving a Toyota four-wheel drive, he cut the perfect figure of prosperous young Somali.

“It took us three months of negotiations with the boat’s owner before we came to an agreement over the ransom money.

“We initially asked for $17m but compromised and accepted $1.3m when we realised it will take a long time to get more out of the shipping company,” he tells me.

Juqraafi [left] tells Mohammed Adow that desperation, not greed, drove him to piracy

However, it was desperation, not greed, he claims, that pushed him to throw in his lot with the pirates.

“We are driven by hunger, just look at our country and how destroyed it is. We are people with no hope and opportunities, that is what is forcing us into piracy,” he says.

Successful ventures like Juqraafi’s have turned piracy in Somalia into a self-financing local industry. Pirate cells operate in well-organised groups, drawing in members of extended family networks.

“Those who have been paid a ransom sponsor the other pirates. For example, if a group is holding a ship and they’re paid ransom and then another ship is captured, the first group will fund the second one till they too get ransom payment,” says Juqraafi.

The piracy industry is controlled by criminal gangs who recruit local youths and take the lion’s share of the profits. They are also well-armed with weapons ranging from Kalashnikovs to rocket launchers.

Sharing the spoils

And every pirate cell, says Juqraafi, has clear policies and guidelines for everything it does – including sharing the ransom.

“The financier is usually a businessman who sponsors the pirates and gets 30 per cent of the ransom. The pirates get 50 per cent,” he explains.

“The remaining 20 per cent is given to the poor and all those who, in one way or another, help the pirates on shore and this includes local government officials who expect bribes from every successful venture.”

About 20 per cent of ransom money goes to the poor and those who help pirates

In their search for ships, Somali pirates have spread themselves across thousands of square miles of water, from the Gulf of Aden at the narrow doorway to the Red Sea, to the Kenyan border along the Indian Ocean.

When they started out, Somalia’s pirates cast themselves as the “Robin Hoods of the sea” – defenders of the nation’s fisheries.

The country’s tuna-rich waters were repeatedly plundered by commercial fishing fleets soon after the country’s last fully-functioning government collapsed in 1991.

Somali fishermen turned armed vigilantes, confronting fishing boats and demanding that they pay a tax.

But what began as a deterrent to illegal fishing has today become a free for all.

“These youths are capable of anything,” Dr Ahmed Abdirahman, a university professor in Puntland, says.

“If the world does not come up with a solution to piracy, its going to take a far worse turn,” he warns.

In 2008 alone, more than 120 pirate attacks occurred in the Gulf of Aden, far more than in any other year in recent memory.

Pirates ‘net $80m’

Experts say the Somali pirates netted more than $80m, an astronomical sum for a war-ravaged country whose economy is in tatters.

At least a dozen vessels and crews are currently being held hostage off the coast of Somalia.

Puntland’s few jails are overflowing with convicted pirates

As on every issue in Somalia, public opinion on piracy is sharply divided. To some within the community, the pirates are amoral thugs bringing yet more trouble to their shores.

But to others and, arguably, they are in the majority, these modern-day buccaneers are heroes who are robbing the rich to feed the poor.

Nowhere is the support for piracy greater than in the town of Eyl, Somalia’s modern-day pirate capital.

Hidden between rocky hills, isolated and lacking good roads, Eyl is the perfect pirate hideout.

Contrary to our expectation of prosperity in Eyl, we were confronted not with palaces but a few crumbling houses – a clear indication that the millions of dollars earned from the lucrative business of hijacking passing ships are not invested in the town.

Public support

Despite this, Said Elmi Mohamud, a 55-year-old Eyl resident, began to defend the pirates to us even before we had stepped foot out of our vehicle.

“I know you are here looking for our heroes,” he declared.

“I don’t call them pirates – they are our marines. They are protecting our resources from those looting them… they are not criminals” Said Elmi Mohamud, Eyl resident

“I don’t call them pirates – they are our marines. They are protecting our resources from those looting them. They are not criminals.”

Pirates moor their captive ships off Eyl’s beaches and use the town to supply both them and their hostages with food, water and other necessary provisions.

While in Eyl ourselves, we watch from afar as the Dutch-owned MV Marathon was held by pirates a little further out to sea.

Rows of battered boats lie scattered along the beach. They are used by the pirates to shuttle between the port and the ships at sea.

And whenever word spreads that another ship has been hijacked, activity in Eyl moves up a gear.

There is a lot of money to be made and nearly everybody in the town is anxious for a cut. Elders stream into the town to arbitrate disputes between their young clansmen as gold-digging women flock to Eyl from far and near to get themselves a pirate.

But not everyone in Eyl is happy about piracy.

“We hate the pirates but can do nothing about them. They are more powerful than us,” Mohammed Khalif, one of the town’s Islamic leaders, says.

“Even the international naval powers with all their warships and weapons have not been able to control them.”

‘Lots of killings’

He also laments the negative impact piracy has had on the town.

“They have troubled us a lot. They have brought us alcohol, commercial sex workers and massive inflation. Lots of killings also take place here,” Khalif says.

As piracy in Puntland has become an international issue, so pressure is increasing from within to take action.

Many young Somalis are tempted by the potentially huge profits of piracy

Abdirahman Mohamed Mahmoud, Puntland’s regional president, took office in January on an anti-piracy platform. He says fighting the pirates is high on his agenda.

He sends his fledgling coastguard to sea and, at night, soldiers mount roadblocks in all of Puntland’s major cities.

But Mahmoud says he needs more help to tackle what is now an international problem.

He is critical of the international community’s approach to combating piracy, saying they will never successfully defeat the pirates without collaborating with local forces like his own on land as well as at sea.

About 15 international naval vessels, including three American navy ships, patrol Somalia’s pirate-infested waters, many under an American-led anti-piracy task force.
Most of the patrol vessels are concentrated in the Gulf of Aden and, as a result, the pirates have adapted, simply moving further into open seas.

“We need just a small fraction of the money the naval fleets are wasting now to effectively combat piracy. I think they are not interested in fighting piracy,” Mahmoud says.

Religious leaders from all over Puntland have also embarked on a mission to battle the buccaneers. And what better place to try to reform pirates than in Eyl.

At the town square they hold an assembly. Their sermons focus on the vices the pirates have introduced with the money they earn.

But not far from where they are preaching, business is brisk.

At Eyl’s restaurants, women eagerly serve the pirates, their accountants, middlemen and negotiators. Their four-wheel drive vehicles are never far away.

They are, undoubtedly, the kings of Puntland.

By Mohammed Adow in Puntland, Somalia

Aljazeera

ShareThis

1. Um-Muhammed

   the world had forgotten the war torn country of Somalia, they were happy on how the things are going, (killings of thousands of innocent people, illegal fishing on their sea with out even cosideration of their acceptance, throwing chemicals on the sea, withnessing in the widespread chaos and lack of law of order, It seems that it is time the world would look at the root causes of the problem of this country.the time of double standardzation on somalia’s issue is over. let the world look into the problem as a wholistic and come up with solution.

   Monday, June 15th, 2009

امريكا تقول اريتريا يجب ان تكف عن التدخل في شؤون الصومال

هورصيد ميديا

القاهرة

واشنطن (رويترز) - قال جوني كارسون مساعد وزيرة الخارجية الامريكية للشؤون الافريقية يوم الاثنين ان اريتريا تلعب دورا ضارا في جارتها الصومال ويجب عليها ان تكف عن هذه الافعال ان كانت تريد تحسين علاقاتها مع واشنطن.

وأشار كارسون باصبع الاتهام الى اريتريا في اذكاء العداوات في الصومال. وتقاتل الحكومة الصومالية المتشددين.

وقال كارسون في مقابلة مع رويترز “الدور الذي لعبته اريتريا في الاونة الاخيرة لم يكن مفيدا في تسهيل العودة الى الاستقرار السياسي والاحوال الطبيعية هناك (الصومال).”

واتهم اريتريا “بالمساعدة والتحريض” على انتقال الاسلحة الى الصومال ودعم جماعة الشباب الاسلامية المتشددة وزعمائها.

واتهمت حكومة الصومال اريتريا ايضا بمساندة المتشددين الاسلاميين ببنادق هجومية من طراز ايه.كيه-47 وقذائف صاروخية وأسلحة اخرى.

ونفى الرئيس الاريتري اسياس افورقي هذه الاتهامات قائلا ان عملاء امريكا ينشرون الاكاذيب.

وقال كارسون “تراودنا رغبة قوية في ان يكون لنا علاقات عادية جيدة مع حكومة اريتريا لكن هذا رهن بان تتصرف اريتريا كمواطن صالح في مجتمعه.

“لو كانت اريتريا مستعدة ان تكون لاعبا موثوقا به في المنطقة وان تتصرف على نحو رشيد في ادارة حكمها فان الاحتمالات طيبة لاقامة علاقات افضل.”

وارسلت اثيوبيا خصم اريتريا الرئيسي الاف القوات الى الصومال في عام 2006 للمساعدة في الاطاحة بالحركة الاسلامية التي كانت تسيطر على العاصمة مقديشو ومعظم المناطق الجنوبية. وانسحبت تلك القوات في اوائل العام الجاري ولكن اثيوبيا احتفظت بوجود حدودي قوي لمواجهة اي تهديد من جانب الاسلاميين.

ولكن محللين غربيين يقولون ان اثيوبيا واريتريا تقاتلان حربا بالوكالة في الصومال. ومازالت الدولتان تشعران بمرارة من صراع حدودي قتل فيها 70 الف شخص.

واعترفت اديس ابابا في الاسبوع الماضي ان عسكريين اثيوبيين يقومون بمهام استطلاعية داخل الصومال ولكن كارسون قال انه لا يوجد لديه ما يشير الى عودة الاثيوبيين بأي”عناصر قتالية كبيرة.”

وتقاتل الحكومة الانتقالية الصومالية التي يدعمها الغرب جماعات اسلامية في اعمال عنف ادت الى زيادة عدد النازحين في الصومال لاكثر من مليون شخص. وتقول وكالات اغاثة ان ثلاثة ملايين شخص يحتاجون الى مساعدات غذائية عاجلة في واحدة من أسوأ الازمات الانسانية في العالم.

وبالاضافة الى ذلك قال كارسون ان مخيمات اللاجئين في كينيا تكتظ بعشرات الالاف من الصوماليين المتدفقين الى شمال البلاد كل شهر.

وتعاني كينيا من مشكلات سياسية خاصة بها مع تعرض حكومتها الاتئلافية لانتقادات لعدم معالجتها الفساد او تنفيذ اصلاحات بسرعة كافية.

وقال كارسون”نشعر بقلق من الطريقة البطيئة التي يسير بها تنفيذ اتفاقيات كوفي عنان التي ادت الى انهاء العنف الذي وقع بعد عملية ديسمبر 2007 التي كان بها خلل كبير في كينيا.” مشيرا بذلك الى اتفاقية توسط فيها الامين العام السابق للامم المتحدة كوفي عنان.

وشكل الرئيس الكيني مواي كيباكي حكومة ائتلافية مع زعيم المعارضة رايلا اودينجا في اوائل 2008 لوقف العنف بعد انتخابات متنازع عليها.

وقال كارسون”اذا كان لكينيا ان تحقق نجاحا ومكاسب سياسية واقتصادية فعليها ان تتحرك بسرعة لحل تلك المشكلات السياسية.”

تقرير أفريقي يوجه انتقادات إلى الحكومة الصّومالية ويعتبر أنها في حال احتضار

هورصيد ميديا

(نيروبي - محمد الخضر محمد –مجلة الحياة-)

يقول تقرير سري للاتحاد الأفريقي إن الحكومة الصومالية بقيادة شيخ شريف شيخ أحمد مليئة بالعيوب القاتلة، ومحتضرة، وليس لديها فرصة للنجاح أو القدرة على إلحاق الهزيمة بالمعارضة الإسلامية المسلحة التي أقسمت على إطاحتها.

ويقول التقرير الداخلي الذي حصلت «الحياة» على نسخة منه إن شعبية الريئس أحمد ما زالت تنزف يوماً بعد يوم منذ انتخابه أوائل هذا العام رئيساً للصومال، وإن دعم عشيرته له لا يرقى إلى مستوى الخطر الذي يواجهه، على رغم استنجاده بها ودعوة شبابها إلى الانضمام إلى صفوف الجيش والدفاع عن حكومته.

ويدّعي التقرير أن شريحة من الشعب الصومالي ما زالت من جانبها تعتبر حكومة أحمد «عميلة للأمم المتحدة والغرب»، قائلاً إن الشخصيات التي هيّأت الغرب والأمم المتحدة لقيادة الصومال ما زالت «تتحرك وفق خطوط مصالحها الشخصية، والقبلية الضيقة».

وتأتي هذا المعلومات في وقت عقدت بعثة الاتحاد الأفريقي للصومال مؤتمراً طارئاً في العاصمة الكينية، نيروبي، مع مسؤولين من الأمم المتحدة، وسفراء الاتحاد الأفريقي المعتمدين لدى كينيا بحضور وزير الدفاع الصومالي محمد عبد غاندي بهدف البحث في الوضع الصومالي الحالي المزري.

وكانت الحكومة الصومالية منذ تأسيسها تطلب معدات عسكرية حديثة من الدول الصديقة، وتأهيل جيشها المتهالك لتستطيع التصدي للمسلحين الإسلاميين الأقوى منها من ناحية التنظيم وخبرات القتال. أما قوات حفظ السلام التابعة للاتحاد الأفريقي فكانت تحاول، من جانبها، تعديل تفويضها الضيّق ليسمح لها بشن هجوم على المعارضة الإسلامية، بدل الاكتفاء بحراسة المسؤولين الكبار، والميناء والمطار الدولي في مقديشو، والقصر الرئاسي، وتدريب القوات الصومالية.

وأعلن الرئيس أحمد الخميس الماضي إيقاف كل المحادثات مع المعارضة الإسلامية المسلحة، قائلا إنها رفضت التحاور مع الحكومة، وأن قوات الحكومة ستحاربهم وتهزمهم.

ويقول التقرير الأفريقي «إن الحكومة الانتقالية الصومالية ما زالت في حالة احتضار، وفي شكل كامل»، متهماً إياها بعدم القيام بـ «اتصالات جدية مع (المعارضة). إنها تحاول استجلاب أرباب الحرب وجهاديين ضعفاء. وليس لدى أي طرف منهما نية حقيقية في الاستثمار في الحكم الحقيقي ولا في الحالة الأمنية». وأضاف: «إن لدى الحكومة الانتقالية الفيديرالية عيوباً قاتلة وليس لديها أي فرصة للنجاح. إنها تبقى مضيعة للوقت لأولئك الذين ليس لديهم خيارات أخرى».

ويبرز التقرير الذي يغطي ملاحظات كاتبها عن الوضع العام في وسط وجنوب الصومال في شهر نيسان (أبريل) وبداية شهر أيار (مايو) الماضيين، الأخطاء التي ارتكبها المجتع الدولي تجاه الشعب الصومالي في محاولته لإيجاد حكومة لهذا البلد الغارق في الفوضى منذ عام 1991، عندما أطاح أمراء الحرب آخر حكومة مركزية له ثم بدأوا التناحر في ما بينهم.

وكمثل التقارير الشهرية، ستتغير معلومات مثل هذه التقرير بتغير الأوضاع في داخل الصومال، غير أنه يوضح القلق العميق الذي يساور الاتحاد الأفريقي الذي نشر قواته في الصومال لحفط الأمن ومساعدة الحكومة الانتقالية في تأهيل قواتها.

ولا شك أن الاتحاد الأفريقي الذي يساعد الحكومة عسكرياً وسياسياً يملك معلومات كثيرة عن الحكومة الصومالية مما يزيد من صدق معلومات هذا التقرير، إلا أن وزير الإعلام الصومالي فرحان علي محمود رفض في شدة أن تكون الحكومة على شفا انهيار قائلاً في اتصال هاتفي مع «الحياة» من مقديشو: «نحن أقوى بكثير مما كنا عليه قبل أشهر. فعدد جنودنا يتجاوز الآن خمسة آلاف فرد. وإننا في وضع هجومي، بينما الطرف الآخر في وضع دفاعي، إنهم في تقهقر بينما نحن نحقق إنجازات في الحانب العسكري وفي محادثاتنا مع المعارضة الراغبة بالسلام». لكنه أحجم عن التعليق على المعلومات الأخرى الواردة في التقرير.

وتوصل التقرير إلى أن تركيز المجتمع الدولي على سياسة «فوق تحت» التي هي بناء القيادة قبل تهيئة الأرضية الصالحة لها من مؤسسات حكومية وغيرها، يعد الشعب الصومالي بمزيد من عدم الاستقرار.

ويقول التقرير إن الإدارة الأميركية الجديدة «اختارت مواصلة سياسة (الرئيس السابق جورج) بوش التي هي «ديبلوماسية خذني إلى أمير حربك» كقطعة واحدة… وهذه السياسة التي تعكس إدارة بوش مرة ثانية ستؤدي إلى فشل السياسة الخارجية في السير على الدرب (الصحيح). إن عمر الحكومة الانتقالية هو 7 سنوات… وتبقى معيبة في شكل قاتل، وأي إسهام في هذه السياسة (خذني إلى أمير حربك) يعني فقط مزيدا من الفوضى للشعب الصومالي، ومزيدا من الوقت والمساحة للجهاديين ليعززوا ويوسعوا بها عملياتهم ومناطق نفوذهم».

ويكشف التقرير المقتضب والمكون من خمس صفحات عن محاولة الرئيس أحمد الشهر الماضي كسب دعم قبيلته عسكرياً ومعنوياً، وذلك إبان الحرب الأخيرة في مقديشو، وبعد أن تلقى دعماً مالياً من دول غربية.

وكانت مقديشو شهدت في التاسع من الشهر الماضي حرباً بين القوات الحكومية القليلة العدد والعدة وبين المعارضة الإسلامية المسلحة أدت إلى وفاة أكثر من 200 شخص ونزوح عشرات آلاف من الأسر من بيوتهم. وكادت المعارضة الإسلامية أن تطيح حكومة أحمد من العاصمة لولا دعم قوات السلام التابعة للاتحاد الأفريقي المنتشرة في مقديشو.

ويقول التقرير إن ما قدّر بـ20 ألفاً من ميليشيات قبيلة أبغال استجاب نداء أحمد. ولكن مراقبين محليين أكدوا لكاتب التقرير، الذي لم يكشف عن اسمه، أن جل هؤلاء يبحثون عن المال والأسلحة والعتاد العسكري. «وأنه لا يخوض أكثر من 100 فرد منهم في حرب حقيقية، مما يبرز الفرق الشاسع بين الجهاديين الذين يحاربون من أجل هدف وبين ميليشيات الحكومة الانتقالية التي تحارب من أجل المال، ولا تؤمن بالحكومة وشخصياتها أو فكرة الحكم». ولم يوضح كاتب التقرير طريقة جمعه لهذه المعلومات، ولا الطريقة التي اعتمدها، إلا أنه يؤكد أنه التقى بعضاً من القادة الإسلاميين في العاصمة، مقديشو، في أثناء إعداد التقرير.

ووفق التقرير، فإن عدد قوات الجيش والشرطة لدى الحكومة الصومالية لا يتعدى 1000 إلى 1500 فرد، وجميعهم من ميليشيات موالية لأمراء حرب وشخصيات متشددة في الحكومة من دون ذكر أسماء هؤلاء الشخصيات.

وفي المقابل، يقول التقرير إن أي دعم علني للحكومة من قبل الغرب والأمم المتحدة يزيد من شعبية الإسلاميين، وإن قرابة 100 إلى 200 أجنبي من باكستان وماليزيا ونيجيريا دخلوا الصومال في نيسان (أبريل) الماضي.

وعلى رغم زيادة عدد الأجانب في صفوف الإسلاميين إلا أن التقرير يستبعد أن يكون لدى المعارضة قدرة، في الوقت الحاضر، على اطاحة الحكومة الانتقالية طالما بقيت قوات الاتحاد الأفريقي في الصومال. ويقول التقرير إن الإسلاميين يحتاجون إلى ستة أشهر من التخطيط وتخزين الذخائر ليشكلوا خطراً حقيقياً على الحكومة، هذا إذا لم تنسحب القوات الأفريقية المنتشرة قي العاصمة.

ويشير التقرير إلى أن استراتيجية دفع آلاف من المسلحين الإسلاميين من أنحاء الصومال إلي العاصمة الشهر الماضي لخلع الحكومة في مقديشو كانت غير صائبة. إلا أنه يؤكد أن قتال الشهر الماضي سيعطي الإسلاميين دعاية تساعدهم في تعبئة الدعم الأجنبي، والخبرة العسكرية المطلوبة في المواجهات القادمة.

ومن الملاحظات الأخرى التي تضمنها التقرير ما يأتي:

- كل رؤساء الوحدات العسكرية التابعة لقوات الجماعات الإسلامية هم من الأجانب، وأن عدد الإسلاميين الصوماليين بجوازات سفر أجنبية يقدر ما بين 300 إلى 400.

- ارتفاع فرص تكوين تحالف موحد بين الإسلاميين بنسبة 5 في المئة من 35 في المئة، وذلك بسبب الدعم العلني للحكومة من الدول الغربية ومن الأمم المتحدة، وزيادة مدة تواجد قوات حفظ السلام الأفريقية.

- أي تماد في سياسة «فوق تحت»، والتي سماها التقرير بـ «الغريبة»، يعني إبعاد الطبقة المثقفة والتي كان من المفترض أن يرعاها الغرب لكونها اللبنة الأساسية في أي حكم فعال في البلاد.

- تسبب الاحتلال الإثيوبي للصومال بين عامي 2007 و 2009 في نزوح 10000 أسرة متعلمة من المجتمع الصومالي، ما يعني فقدان البنية الأساسية التي كان من المفترض أن تدير مؤسسات البلد. و أن عدد المتعلمين النازحين من البلاد ازداد حتى بعد خروج القوات الاثيوبية من دون ذكر سبب ذلك.

- فكرة إجراء تجارب الحلول في الصومال تؤثر سلباً في المدى البعيد في محاولات بناء نظام حكم وأجهزة أمن ناجحين، بالإضافة إلي تأثيرها السلبي في استقرار البلد وتعافيه من قرابة عقدين من التناحر والفوضى.

- تبقى الحكومة جماعة لا ترغب في أن تتقسام مع الطرف الآخر القيادة والثروات والمسؤوليات كما «انه ليس لديها شرعية، ويعتبرها الشعب في شكل قوي على أنها عميلة للأمم المتحدة وللغرب».

- لا يجد الدعم المالي الذي تقدمه الدول الغربية والأمم المتحدة للحكومة الصومالية طريقه إلى المؤسسات الحكومية وبرامجها.

- جل عائدات ميناء مقديشو تنتهي في جيب تاجر من قبيلة أبجال أبرمت الحكومة معه صفقة لإدارة الميناء. لكن بعض هذه العائدات يذهب إلى قيادة الحكومة أيضاً.

- تذهب عائدات الحواجز المقامة في بعض شوارع العاصمة إلى أشخاص موالين للحكومة الانتقالية. وعلى رغم دفع الرئيس رواتب ميليشياته الشخصية، إلا أن المنح المقدمة من الدول الخارجية لا تستهلك في المؤسسات الحكومية ولا في برامجها.

وفي جنيف (أ ف ب)، اعتبرت المفوضية العليا للاجئين للأمم المتحدة أمس الثلثاء «غير مقبول» مصير المدنيين في العاصمة الصومالية التي تشهد معارك ضارية بين القوات الحكومية والميليشيات الاسلامية.

وأعلن الناطق باسم المنظمة وليام سبيندر أن «أطراف النزاع تتقاتل من دون الأخذ في الاعتبار أمن المدنيين في انتهاك واضح لمبادئ القانون الدولي الانساني وحقوق الانسان». وقال في لقاء مع الصحافيين ان «الطريقة التي يعامل بها المدنيون في هذا النزاع غير مقبولة»، مندداً بالخصوص بالعنف الجنسي الذي تتعرض له النساء حتى في ملاجئ العاصمة.

وفي واشنطن (رويترز)، قال جوني كارسون مساعد وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية للشؤون الافريقية الاثنين إن اريتريا تلعب دوراً ضاراً في جارتها الصومال ويجب عليها ان تكف عن هذه الأفعال إن كانت تريد تحسين علاقاتها مع واشنطن. وأشار كارسون بأصبع الاتهام إلى اريتريا في اذكاء العداوات في الصومال. وقال كارسون في مقابلة مع «رويترز»: «الدور الذي لعبته اريتريا في الآونة الأخيرة لم يكن مفيدا في تسهيل العودة الى الاستقرار السياسي والاحوال الطبيعية هناك (الصومال)». واتهم اريتريا «بالمساعدة والتحريض» على انتقال الاسلحة الى الصومال ودعم جماعة «الشباب» الاسلامية المتشددة وزعمائها. واتهمت حكومة الصومال اريتريا ايضا بمساندة المتشددين الإسلاميين ببنادق هجومية وقذائف صاروخية وأسلحة اخرى. لكن الرئيس الاريتري أساياس أفورقي نفى هذه الاتهامات قائلاً إن عملاء أميركا ينشرون الاكاذيب

President tells audience that `cycle of suspicion and discord must end`
CAIRO (AP) - Quoting from the Quran for emphasis, President Barack Obama called for a “new beginning between the United States and Muslims” Thursday and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East.
“This cycle of suspicion and discord must end,” Obama said in a widely anticipated speech in one of the world`s largest Muslim countries, an address designed to reframe relations after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The White House said Obama`s speech contained no new policy proposals on the Middle East. He said American ties with Israel are unbreakable, yet issued a firm, evenhanded call to the Jewish state and Palestinians alike to live up to their international obligations.
In a gesture to the Islamic world, Obama conceded at the beginning of his remarks that tension “has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations.”
“And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear,” said the president, who recalled hearing prayer calls of “azaan” at dawn and dusk while living in Indonesia as a boy.
At the same time, he said the same principle must apply in reverse. “Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”
Centerpiece of trip
Obama spoke at Cairo University after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the second stop of a four-nation trip to the Middle East and Europe.
The speech was the centerpiece of his journey, and while its tone was striking, the president also covered the Middle East peace process, Iran, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the violent struggle waged by al-Qaida.
Obama arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday, greeted by a new and threatening message from al-Qaida`s leader, Osama bin Laden. In an audio recording, the terrorist leader said the president inflamed the Muslim world by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in the Swat Valley and block Islamic law there.
But Obama said the actions of violent extremist Muslims are “irreconcilable with the rights of human beings,” and quoted the Quran to make his point: “be conscious of God and always speak the truth ...”
“Islam is not part of the problem in combatting violent extremism — it is an important part of promoting peace,” he said.
“Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel`s right to exist,” he said of the organization the United States deems as terrorists.
“The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people,” Obama said.
“At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel`s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements” on the West Bank and outskirts of Jerusalem, he said. “It is time for these settlements to stop.”
As for Jerusalem itself, he said it should be a “secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims ...”
Obama also said the Arab nations should no longer use the conflict with Israel to distract its own people from other problems.
He treaded lightly on one issue that President George W. Bush had made a centerpiece of his second term — the spread of democracy.
Obama said he has a commitment to governments “that reflect the will of the people.” And yet, he said, “No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.”
At times, there was an echo of Obama`s campaign mantra of change in his remarks, and he said many are afraid it cannot occur.
“There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward,” he said.
The president`s brief stay in Cairo included a visit to the Sultan Hassan mosque, a 600-year-old center of Islamic worship and study. A tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza was also on his itinerary.
Attempt to temper expectations
The build-up to the speech was enormous, stoked by the White House although Obama seemed at pains to minimize hopes for immediate consequences.
“One speech is not going to solve all the problems in the Middle East,” he told a French interviewer. “Expectations should be somewhat modest.”
Eager to spread the president`s message as widely as possible, the tech-savvy White House orchestrated a live Webcast of the speech on the White House site; remarks translated into 13 languages; a special State Department site where users could sign up for speech highlights; and distribution of excerpts to social networking giants MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.
Though the speech was co-sponsored by al-Azhar University, which has taught science and Quranic scripture here for nearly a millennium, the actual venue was the more modern and secular Cairo University. The lectern was set up in the domed main auditorium on a stage dominated by a picture of Mubarak.
Human rights advocates found that symbolism troubling: an American president watched over by an aging autocrat who`s ruled Egypt since 1981.
“Egypt`s democrats cannot help being concerned,” wrote Dina Guirguis, executive director of Voices for a Democratic Egypt.
The university`s alumni are among the Arab world`s most famous — and notorious. They include the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfuz. Saddam Hussein studied law in the `60s but did not graduate. And al-Qaida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri earned a medical degree.
Writer Exhorts Arabs, Muslims To Meet Obama Halfway For Change, Peace, DemocracyAl-Hayah OnlineWednesday, June 3, 2009
Residents watch a television broadcasting the speech of U.S. President Barack Obama from Cairo while sitting in a cafe in Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad ,June 4, 2009.
Article by “Egyptian writer” Khalil al-Anani: “Obama and the Limits of Change in the Muslim World”
If the basic goal of Obama`s speech in Cairo tomorrow is to improve the relationship with the Muslim world, the question that is more useful to ask is: What are the signs for improving this relationship in the Muslim world itself? It has become the norm in our countries to blame external forces for corrupting our internal conditions and for causing the tension in relations among the different sides in the Arab and Muslim world. The notion of “clash of civilizations” was tantamount to a gift by the West to perpetuate this mental image among the Arabs and Muslims. It turned into a firm argument after the 11 September 2001 attacks when the neo-conservatives became enamored with taking their revenge from all the Muslims and punishing them for what a very few of them did. George W. Bush unleashed his “crusader wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq and the neo-conservatives vied with one another in supporting Israel until Israel for a moment began to think that it owns the Middle East and everyone in it. It waged two bloody wars in less than two years (in Lebanon and Gaza) and Bush gave it “a promise of guarantees” that clearly undermined the essence of Palestinian and Arab rights.
However, what is said above does not in any way negate the responsibility of the Arabs and Muslims themselves for the tragedies and ordeals that have befallen them or for their relationship with the West. This is clearly obvious when Obama`s desire for change is compared with the desire of the Arabs and Muslims for change as well as in their ability to bring about change. This point can be tested in three major issues. The first is the issue of democracy in the Arab world. The United States has played an important role in propping up certain tyrannical regimes in the Arab and Muslim world over the past six decades. This was openly admitted by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her famous speech at the American University of Cairo four years ago. Nevertheless, the responsibility of the Arab elites - both ruling elites and ruled elites - is also essential in this. These elites were confused by the Bush Administration`s call for change (note Obama`s use of the same term) in the Arab world. On the pages of this newspaper, the Arabs differed on the usefulness of US support for democracy in their countries and the Arab elite became divided on the notion of “by my hands and not by the hands of anyone else”. However, there was a vast distance between the ambitions for change by this elite and its ability to make it. When the empathy of “the hands of anyone else” toward the rise of Islamists in several Arab countries regressed, the Arab “hand” remained in fettered and unable to make this change.
Many are now appealing to President Obama not to forget to talk about democracy in his anticipated speech. However, the Arab regimes seem to be more crafty and cunning. In the past few months and after the departure of the Bush Administration, they enacted several noticeable political changes. Some released their opponents from the jails while others pardoned them. Some regimes proposed sudden institutional amendments while others preferred to amend some charters and constitutions in order to remain in power for ever. It seemed that the implicit message that these regimes wished to convey to the outside world is “we will make no change under duress”. Obama was well aware of this point. In his inaugural address, he avoided talking directly about support for democracy and referred this responsibility to the peoples concerned.
The second issue is the responsibility of the Arabs and Muslims for their conflicts stretching from Somalia to Pakistan. These are basically struggles for power although they may be packaged in slogans of religion, identity, and tribe. What is taking place in Somalia at present is similar to what happened in Afghanistan in the late 1980s after the departure of the Soviet troops. It can be summarized in one phrase “a war of everyone against everyone else”. Everyone in Somalia carries arms. Even Sufism - that we have known to be a moderate spiritual Islamic movement - has entered the armed fray in a confrontation with the “Al-Shabab” movement that is trying hard to establish the “Emirate of Somalistan” in the heart of the Arab world. What is happening in Yemen is incomprehensible. The country is sitting on a hot tin roof not only because of the struggle between the state and the jihadists and insurgents but also because of the re-emergence of the “virus” of national and geographic division after many thought that this virus has left the Yemeni body. Although the Americans have a clear role in it, the roots of what is happening in Pakistan are undermining the Pakistani society and the state`s institutional structure. What is most worth noting in the current confrontation between the Pakistani army and the Pakistani Taliban movement is that it causes more damage to the Muslim world than the damage caused by the neo-conservatives. This is not only because it is taking place between Muslims and the price is being paid by Muslim victims but also because it is sowing the seeds of future conflict that may erupt among the tribes and federal regions in Pakistan that may put an end to the state.
As for the third issue, it is related to the matrix of Arab-Arab relations on one hand and that of Arab-regional relations on the other. Although the US factor - that has played an influential role in this matrix over the past eight years - has changed, the stands of the other sides involved in it have not changed at all. In light of the above, Obama`s chances to make a quality change in the relationship with the Muslim world are governed and dependent on two points. The first point is Arab and Muslim readiness to shoulder part of the responsibility of mending this relationship. This is particularly true regarding a review of the terms of the ideological and religious discourse and lexicon toward the West in general. The second point is readiness to admit our own responsibility for many of our problems and structural differences distant from the American “scapegoat”. With his courageous admission of the mistakes made by his predecessors in managing the relationship with the Muslim world and in his efforts to correct these mistakes, Obama is essentially throwing the ball to the Muslim “court”. He is thus invalidating one of the strong excuses we have used to justify our domestic problems and calamities.
It is true that despite its attractiveness, the change that Obama is proposing aims at safeguarding American interests first. Nonetheless, the way in which Obama is calling for this change leaves the Arabs and Muslims with a freedom of movement and room for maneuvering that have perhaps not been available since the fall of the former Soviet Union. I believe that Obama will not wait long to test the Arab and Muslim reaction to the desire to improve relations with his country. He may end the period of review and testing if he concludes that it is not feasible to mend this relationship. In such a scenario, only interests - without values and principles - will be the basic guide of the US options toward the Arabs and Muslims. And Obama is brilliant at this. Obama may be forced to return to the strategy of “cost and dividend” regarding the issues of the Middle East. Obama, for instance, will not wait long regarding the dialogue with Iran. He will not accept anything less than are view by Iran of its slogans and options not only toward his country but also toward his country`s moderate allies. Obama will not venture angering Israel unless the Palestinians agree on the usefulness of the option of a peaceful settlement. Obama will not sacrifice his allies in Lebanon unless Syria promises to adjust its relations with Iran, Hizballah, and HAMAS. Thus, there will be no change without a price.