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.