Clearing the Way for a Calamitous Military Intervention in Somalia
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
January 05, 2009
Framing every free opinion in the bogus dilemma "consent with the attack on the pirates or you are an Islamic terrorist" is only one of the ways the Apostate Freemasonic Lodge pursues in order to implement their evil machinations.
I herewith republish integrally the 91st Update of the Ecoterra Press Release that offers a bird´s eye view on the MV FAINA piracy case, other piracy cases, and related developments.
91st Update 2008-12-29 13:51:27 UTC
Ecoterra Intl. - Stay Calm & Solve it Peaceful & Fast !
Ecoterra International – Update & Media Release on the stand-off concerning the Ukrainian weapons-ship hi-jacked by Somali pirates
We also can make sea-piracy in Somalia an issue of the past - with empathy and strength and through coastal and marine development as well as protection!
New EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: +254-738-497979
East African Seafarers Assistance Programme - Media Officer: +254-733-385868
Day 96 - 2279 hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary :
Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the now over three months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved finally, though intensive negotiations have continued.
It is reported that the fuel to run the power-generator on MV FAINA is coming to an end again. It is planned, however, that the body of the deceased captain of the ill-fated vessel shall be released together with the vessel, which according to the hopes of Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko according to his statement shall happen before the end of the year - only two more days left. The Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on 6th of January and by that time the sailors at least should be already home.
Ecoterra Intl. repeats it's call to solve the FAINA and the SIRIUS STAR cases with first priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen or by those who believe they are capable to try an attempt of a military solution must be held fully responsible for the surely resulting disaster.
Clearing-house:
News from other abducted ships ----
Local reports confirmed that the crew on the relatively small Malaysian Tug MASINDRA 7 with a gross tonnage of 262 is so far all right. The food will last at least another 5 days, but there is a shortage of freshwater according to the captain. The 11 seafarers of the tug boat are all of Indonesian nationality and stay on board. The tug boat and its attached barge ADM 1 actually could be secured and are anchored now off Hawo at the very tip of the Horn of Africa. Luckily the barge seems to be floating now and is secured with a 400m steel cable attached to the tug. The captain of the vessel says that he also will be able to repair the faulty second engine, which does not produce power, using means he has on board. But unfortunately the negotiations with the owner MASINDRA SHIPPING from Port Klang in Malaysia seem not to go well, though the captors had lowered the demanded ransom by 50% already.
Not far from the MASNIDRA 7 is the 1975 built Nigerian offshore tug and supply ship YENEGOA OCEAN with a gross tonnage of 1101 being held already since 04th August 2008 with 10 Nigerian crew and several luxury cars on board. It is reported that the tug has received recently some fuel and could her engines could be started. The vessel is managed by NICO MIDDLE EAST LTD of Dubai / UAE, is insured by Det Norske Veritas, but has as registered owner ESL INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD of Panama while the office of SL Integrated Services Ltd. is in Nigeria. It is the presently longest pending case in Somalia - since nearly five month. It is believed that the vessel has been operating as decoy or radio-station, using call-signs like SEA OCEAN or PUMA OCEAN, in recent piracy operations.
18 seamen, all crew members of the Greek owned cargo vessel MV Centauri, arrived safely at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport [NAIA] on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH-704 from the Kenyan port of Mombassa, via Kuala Lumpur. They were met at the airport by their respective wives, children and relatives assisted by some officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and Trade Philippine Shipping, the recruiting agency of the seamen. The Filipino sailors were abducted in the Gulf of Aden on Sept. 17 when heavily-armed Somali pirates hijacked their Greek cargo ship loaded with 15.500 tons of salt.
Hostage Peter French is set to usher in the New Year on board the hijacked Sirius Star, 43 days after Somali pirates seized the oil tanker. The chief engineer, 45, from County Durham in the UK, is one of 25 crew members being held hostage on the Saudi-owned tanker which was sea-jacked off the coast of Somalia. Hazel, his wife and 18-year-old daughter, Amy, will most likely have to spend New Years eve without him, if no miracle occurs. Officials are in frequent contact with the family, and Mr. French has spoken to ITV news, making light of his ordeal.
As captors stood over him, the Newcastle United fan said: "The pirates are no problem whatsoever. "We have had no mistreatment or anything. Hopefully, we are going to get some more phone calls to our families soon. Our families don´t have too much to worry about at the moment. All in all, we are not too badly off. The boys are quite happy. We are talking to them all the time, reassuring them. Apart from the inconvenience of being locked up, our life is not too bad. We´re not locked up in cabins or anything, we go about our normal daily work. We´re just continuing doing our normal day". Last night, the Foreign Office said there had been no recent developments in the stand-off between the pirates — who are said to be demanding a £10m (~ US $ 15 m) ransom — and the tanker´s owner, Vela International.
With the latest captures and releases now at least 18 foreign vessels with a total of at least 350 crew members (of which 92 are Filipinos) are held in Somali waters and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 133 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded to far for 2008 with until today 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (incl. the presently held 18). Mystery mother vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean and not fully documented cases of vessels are not listed in the hi-jack count any more until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures.
Directly related news -------
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, elected president of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government since 2004 has resigned today, a day after he saw the exodus of 25 parliamentarians, who fled to his native region of Puntland after another legislator, who was a vice-minister, was killed in Baidoa. His resignation is ending a deadlock at the top of the interim government, where Abdullahi Yussuf was at loggerheads with Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein (Nur Cadde), but it is leaving also an extremely dangerous power-vacuum. A section of Abdullahi Yussuf's militia already passed Galkayo and it is expected that Abdullahi Yusuf will have his escort back in his stronghold, the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, which is the key area for Somali piracy.
For the time being Abdullahi Yussuf declared that the speaker of the parliament Sheikh Aden Madobe will take over the duties. Ex-President Abdullahi Yusuf declared before parliament in Baido today: "As I promised when you elected me on October 14th 2004, I would stand down if I failed to fulfill my duty, I have decided to return the responsibility you gave me". He explained further: "When I took power I pledged three things. If I was unable to fulfill my duty I will resign. Second, I said I will do everything in my power to make government work across the country. That did not happen either. Third, I asked the leaders to cooperate with me for the common good of the people. That did not happen". The former president declared in a national radio broadcast also: "Most of the country was not in our hands and we had nothing to give our soldiers. The international community has also failed to help us". Yusuf thereafter flew home to Puntland. The former president of Somalia's fractured, Western-backed government had become increasingly unpopular at home and abroad and was blamed by the United States, Europe and other African nations for stalling a peace process sponsored by the United Nations. Diplomats welcomed Yusuf's decision. They said that, with his departure, a planned withdrawal of Ethiopian troops and growing opposition to hard-line Islamists, there was now real hope for political progress in Somalia.
Since fighting has erupted between two Islamist organizations within Somalia, the A-Shabab and the Ahl A-Sunna wal-Jama'a, the head of the Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, said in an interview with Abdinasir Mohamed Guled for media line regarding that fighting: "It's deplorable to fight one other, especially as the Ethiopian troops are expected to leave. To seize new areas, to kill civilians in the name of religion – those matters are dangerous and can lead the country into a new crisis. Those battles are out of place today, as are their motives. The fighting should be stopped. It's not right to spill the blood of Somali people who are trying to implement everything [the peace accord]. You've seen what's happened over the last 18 years. You see after more violence that no one can claim control of the country. So, I'm saying it's improper to spill civilian blood once again. I'm urging the warring sides to end their disputes around the negotiating table". Over the weekend, the group, the Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama, killed more than 10 fighters from the Shabab, a rival Islamist faction that was known as one of Somalia's toughest. On Sunday, the powerful, newly militarized Islamist group condemned the al-Shabab for its behaviour and declared a "holy war" against other Islamist factions. It seems to have the muscle to back up its intentions, since Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama took back already two towns that the Shabab had controlled, Guriel and Dusa Marreb, and they vowed to roll back recent Shabab gains in other parts of the country.
Until recently, Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama was known as a religious brotherhood of moderate Islamists, and it did not have a formidable military wing.
Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama issued a statement calling on its followers to "prepare themselves for jihad against these heretic groups", referring to some of the other, more hard-line Islamist factions, and "to restore stability and harmony in Somalia and achieve a genuine government of national unity".
The Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs states: Exactly two years ago, on 26 December 2006, Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia to topple the popular Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which had succeeded in bringing a semblance of stability and order to the country, thus ending 15 years of internecine fighting and turmoil. Foreseeing the perils of Ethiopia's reckless blunder into Somalia at that early stage, the Eritrean government sternly admonished the violation of Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Indeed, in the IGAD meetings of the Council of Ministers that were held prior to Ethiopia's impending invasion, Eritrea sought, persistently and vigorously, to cultivate a regional consensus for a comprehensive solution on the basis of the following five points:
i. External Military Intervention: Any external military intervention will further polarize the political realities of Somalia and induce greater conflagration. Ethiopia's military intervention, under whatever guise or justification, is particularly dangerous both for reasons of historical animosity and because of the events of the past few years. Ethiopia must therefore cease its intermittent military intervention and withdraw the forces that it has deployed in the past few days.
ii. Linkages with International Terrorism: The portrayal of developments in Somalia in terms of the global war on terrorism is factually untenable and politically imprudent. The overarching national cause of the Somali people should not indeed be reduced to or lumped together with this singular concern. It must be acknowledged that external support to the warlords under the rubric of fighting terrorism was a factor of complication. Some regional and local actors have also found this portrayal convenient to camouflage other ulterior motives.
iii. Lifting of Arms Embargo: A recent call by some forces for a selective lifting of the UN embargo on arms is unbalanced, misguided and fraught with dangerous consequences. Indeed, this can only imperil the political process of reconciliation and durable political arrangement in Somali. Appropriate adjustments can be contemplated when there is irreversible progress in the political arrangement giving rise to national institutions that have credible legitimacy and popular support.
iv. Political Process of National Reconciliation: The daunting problem in Somalia is essentially an internal political problem that must be solved through negotiations between Somali political forces. The role of IGAD and our partners in peace must be focused on facilitating and promoting these negotiations through appropriate forums and mechanisms.
v. Territorial Disputes: The current situation in Somalia is raising the specter of territorial claims and disputes between Somalia and its neighbors. Territorial disputes and claims can only be settled by strict adherence to the sanctity of colonial boundaries and IGAD should adopt this stance firmly and unequivocally.
Despite sincere hopes that IGAD, and the international community at large, would act with a sense of purpose and urgency along these forward-looking points, Ethiopia's illegal invasion and continued occupation of Somalia were condoned and abetted. Two years hence, Somalia remains gripped by a humanitarian catastrophe. Thousands of Somalis have become victims of indiscriminate Ethiopian atrocities. Meanwhile, over 500,000 civilians have been internally displaced or exiled by the incessant fighting. What little stability Somalia witnessed with the advent of the UIC vanished with the invasion which ushered in mayhem and lawlessness. To add to this abysmal situation, piracy with all its intertwined causes and ramifications, has become endemic along the Somali coast.
The port of Eyl, in Puntland, a staunch supporter of Ethiopian presence, has for instance become a haven and springboard for pirates. Meanwhile, the notion of a lasting political solution continues to elude the international community. Instead, forums on Somalia are increasingly seeking palliative remedies that will only exacerbate the situation and prolong the crisis. Without a viable political process that embraces all Somali political forces, strengthening the AU peacekeepers or replacing them with blue helmets will only be an exercise in futility. Moreover, providing support for one faction while marginalizing another cannot be a tenable means towards achieving a political settlement in Somalia. All external support must not seek ulterior political motives, it must be founded on a genuine desire to strive for the common good of the Somali people. To recapitulate, Somalia's worries can be solved along, the following lines:
First, it must he recognized that external military intervention, under any pretext or label, will not mitigate but only exacerbate the turmoil that has gripped Somalia.
Secondly, it must be recognized that the various schemes of balkanizing and fragmenting Somalia into fragile mini-States will continue to be a recipe for continuous conflict.
Thirdly and most importantly, Somalis must be allowed to pursue the objectives of national reconstitution through their own devices.
The Ethiopian Government invited a group of Puntland government leaders and tribal elders to come to Ethiopia to discuss matters of mutual interest. One solution for the Somali pirates would be a few thousand Ethiopian peacekeepers clearing out the port towns and villages the pirates use as bases. Ethiopia isn't eager to do any more peacekeeping among Somalis, but will do so to control border security (a lot of Somalis live in Ethiopian border areas), or secure its access to the sea. Ethiopia uses ports in Djibouti for all its imports and exports, and the growing Somali pirate menace is making that seaborne trade more expensive and less reliable.
An official source in the Yemeni Coastguards Authorities said on Monday that 12 Somali pirates handed over by the Indian navy to Yemen recently will be referred to the prosecutor after interrogations with them have been completed. The source was quoted by the state run 26 sep.net as saying that the Somali pirates have involved in many piracy acts in the Gulf of Aden. According to the investigations, Yemeni fishermen handed over in the same incident by the Indian navy also to Yemen, were released by the authorities later. The official added that the Somali pirates had captured the Yemeni fishermen on 13 December in the Gulf of Aden and used them as human shields.
A Voice of America journalist has filed reports from Hobyo in the Galmudug region of central Somalia which indicate that ransom money is not being diverted directly to Islamic terrorist or rebel groups, despite some media reports to that effect and that the main Islamic militia, Shabab, is clamping down on pirates. Hobyo, which has been a pirate stronghold is now under Shabab's control. Also, contrary to some reports, Alisha Ryu found that local people did not support the pirates at Hobyo and that virtually none of the ransom money was being used to their improve living conditions or benefit the local community. The growing strength of Islamic groups in the coastal area may, she says, be tied to local anger over piracy and deepening poverty.
Ms Ryu also reports that the Shabab Islamic militia which is doing much of the fighting against the central government and is in control of large areas of southern and central Somalia is strongly opposed to piracy. It fought a pitched battle with the pirates who have been operating out of Hobyo on 22 December and took control of the town. The VOA reporter quotes a pirate as saying that all pirates in central Somalia are under severe pressure from Islamists to disband. He says that, in recent months, pirates trying to go ashore in any area controlled by the Islamists have been threatened and chased away. She says that Somali sources tell VOA that the Islamists' tough stance against piracy has prompted many poor people in coastal communities to quietly begin supporting the return of Islamist rule. Ms Ryu notes in one of her reports: "While the loss of Hobyo to the Shabab has dealt a clear blow to piracy, it raises another troubling question, especially for the United States and its western allies. They must now decide which, pirates or militant Islamists, pose a greater threat to global security and economy".
Sudan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Abdalmahmood Mohamad, said action was also needed to strengthen political institutions in Somalia, which has been without a functioning central government since 1991. "Some forces may take advantage of this resolution to stay there, in this very sensitive and volatile region. After all, we would like the Security Council to address the root causes of the issue or the problem in Somalia because piracy is just a symptom of a malaise, of a disease. This is why I think efforts should be mobilised to ensure that root causes are addressed, and the political process is enhanced in Somalia", he said. The Somali transitional government's Foreign Minister, Ali Ahmed Jama, said it condemned the piracy, but it needed international help to tackle the problem. "These acts of piracy are categorically unacceptable and should be put to an end. But Somalia has no capacity to interdict or patrol its long coastline to ensure the security of the sea lanes, but we have indeed co-operated with the international community in the fight against piracy and we will continue to do so fully now, and in the future".
Yemeni military sources said that a Russian warship for anti-piracy mission off Somalia arrived Sunday at the southern harbour of Aden in a few-day visit. Speaking to the governmental news agency Saba, the sources said that the Russian warship would be supplied in Aden with fuel and supplies. Another warship of the Russian navy called "Elena" entered yesterday Aden port for the same purpose. The sources affirmed that the arrival of the Russian warships repeatedly to Aden was in the framework of the military cooperation between Yemen and Russia and for enforcing the two countries' efforts to fight the piracy's acts off the coast of Somalia. The two warships are among a number of the Russian Navy's warships located in the international waters of the Arab Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Somali government has asked Russia to intervene against pirates who are seizing several ships. Somali government officials had "allowed" the Russian naval ships to enter the Somali waters, and fight against pirates both in the sea and on the land in line with the UN Security Council resolutions calling on the international community to take an active part in the fight against piracy off the Somali coast, but the Somali parliament has not yet ratified any such permission.
The Chinese Navy fleet joining the global mission to counter pirates off the Somali coast is expected to travel through the Strait of Malacca today. Special forces officers on board the destroyer Haikou also conducted their first helicopter drill from the ship's deck at 8 am yesterday. The elite Chinese combat forces told China Daily the drill will prepare them to land on suspicious and hijacked ships. Altogether, 14 doctors and nurses from three military hospitals provide routine medical care, including mental health services and surgeries on board. Doctors so far have been kept busy with several seasick soldiers and journalists. The fleet will follow a W-shaped route through the Strait of Malacca and the Indian Ocean. It is expected to reach the Gulf of Aden near Somalia around Jan 6 to start its mission of protecting Chinese civilian ships in the region.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has expressed deep concern over the big number of Filipino overseas workers still in the hands of Somali pirates as well as those facing the death penalty in various jails abroad as 2008 comes to an end. Romulo admitted that the Department of Foreign Affairs´ assistance to nationals program, including the way it has been able to handle piracy, needed more push. In the Indian Ocean which has become the centre of piracy, Romulo said that six of 17 foreign vessels attacked by pirates still have Filipino seamen on board.
"And we´re not happy with that", Romulo said. "We want them to be free and we keep on working on it". He said the DFA has coordinated the release of 117 Filipino seafarers held hostage in Somalia and was trying to secure the safety and early release of the remaining 91 seafarers still being held hostage. The secretary also said that a United Nation resolution approving military forces of member-nations to pursue pirates on land could pose a serious problem on Filipino hostages. "The problem is you don´t know if they are pirates until you stop the ship. I hope the piracy for profit will be reduced to a minimum", he stressed. In the case of OFWs facing the death penalty, Romulo said that out of the 70 OFWs facing the death row in 2006, 26 have been commuted, of which 11 have been repatriated to the Philippines. Romulo said the DFA was focusing on seeking forgiveness for the accused OFWs from the families of the victims, including the payment of blood money, considering that under the Shariah Law, a crime has both private and public aspects. Romulo said the Philippines was one of the first batch of countries to be reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the United Nations.
The country underwent the process in April 2008 and was commended by delegations for its open, constructive, and comprehensive national report. The report of the Working Group of the Philippines´ UPR was successfully adopted by the Human Rights Council in June 2008 in plenary. Romulo said the DFA participated actively in the preparations and subsequent country presentation in the UPR. As proof of the international confidence in the Philippines and after its re-election in 2007 as Council Member, he said the country was elected as Vice-Chair of the UN Human Rights Council in early 2008. The Philippines commitment to promote and protect the rights and interests of migrant workers in the international arena. With the theme "Protecting and Empowering Migrants for Development", the successful Second Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD) in Manila last October saw the participation of 159 countries and 33 international organizations. According to Romulo, the ASEAN Charter entered into force on December 15, 2008, and included in particular, a provision on the creation of a Human Rights Body which the Philippines has consistently advocated. The DFA is now taking part in the High Level Panel which is drafting the Terms of Reference for this body.
The incoming chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry favours using hot pursuit against pirates in the waters off Somalia, but urges a cautious approach before U.S officials consider sending American forces to chase them ashore. Kerry plans committee hearings next year looking at the problems posed by piracy. The Massachusetts Democrat, who was on President-elect Barack Obama's short list to be secretary of state, said a hot pursuit policy on Somalia's coastline is "long overdue". But he warns against any "haphazard, sloppy" military missions. "You gotta know what you're getting into and where you're going and under what circumstances", Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I mean, if you send five police officers raging into the centre of Mogadishu, you are asking for trouble. You gotta be smart".
Mirek Topolanek, the current Czech prime minister, is taking over the six-month EU presidency on January 1st, 2009. For the first time leading the Union, the Czechs will have to conquer the hearts and minds of their partners. Many member states think that euro-skeptic nationalists will hamper Prague´s European action. With the Lisbon treaty blocked by an institutional stalemate, Mirek Topalanek will have to defend himself from domestic political ambushes, while giving the EU efficient leadership - also concerning the EUNAFOE-ATALANTA and piracy issue as well as the European policy towards Somalia.
The surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia could trigger legal disputes between marine and war risk insurers, a leading QC has warned. Jonathan Gilman, QC, said that piracy could be covered by either type of policy - depending on the number of pirates involved. If 12 or more pirates are involved in an attack, according to Mr. Gilman, the incident is likely be classified under the Public Order Act 1986 as a riot. These are covered by war risk insurers rather than by marine insurers. However, if the attack involves fewer than a dozen pirates, the incident would typically be covered by marine insurance. Mr. Gilman - editor of Arnould's Law of Marine Insurance, published by Sweet & Maxwell - said in an interview with The Times that because it was often very difficult to verify accurately the number of pirates involved in an attack, it could lead to legal conflicts.
He said: "Piracy is normally covered by marine insurers, the exception being where the incident is legally a riot. There have been House of Lords decisions where it was held the word ´riot' in insurance policies is to be given its strict criminal law meaning, so that the critical question is likely to be whether the number of pirates is 12 or more. It may be very difficult to assess accurately the exact number of pirates involved in any particular incident, which may result in disputes between marine and war risk insurers. Some new clauses were introduced in 2005 to transfer the risks of loss by piracy, violent theft or barratry from the marine to the war risk cover, but so far these have not been widely adopted. That may change as a result of the incidents in Somalia". The legal definition of a riot, under the 1986 Act, is that 12 or more people use or threaten violence for a common purpose. Mr. Gilman said that, in most of the incidents in the Gulf of Aden, the pirates were not captured. He said this made verifying the exact number of attackers potentially very difficult. He added: "The testimony of a scared crew may be quite unreliable and conflicting statements more than likely. The Gulf of Aden has already been treated as an area of enhanced risk under war risk policies for some time. In current circumstances the additional premium rates charge by war risk insurers may well escalate considerably. War risk insurers can cancel and reissue policies at very short notice at a considerable increase if they think the risk of claims is much more likely". Mr. Gilman said that it was difficult to predict what effect these incidents would have on rates for marine cover because there were many other factors affecting premiums at present.
Related news from the global village -------
Breyten Breytenbach, the exiled and formerly jailed South African poet, writer, painter and anti-apartheid activist says on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now: "If I may step back for a minute, there´s a big picture that´s emerging in Africa. Africa is rapidly moving to the point where we´re going to have to reconsider the viability of the nation-state concept, when it comes to the African continent, because governments are falling apart. These are plundering elites, as in the case of Zimbabwe, and as is the case with Senegal, for that matter, who use the notion of sovereignty, of national sovereignty and of national independence to be able to plunder and pillage their own people. African armies don´t fight one another; they fight the civilian population. But you have—parallel to that, you have developing a network, a continental network of civil society organizations, women´s organizations, children´s organizations, the youth, cultural organizations, human rights organizations. Those really, to a large extent, now produce very essential services. One should invest in these organizations. That´s the way it should happen. But, of course, it´s a complicated thing, because you are then denying this club, this very well fed, comfortable club, international club of rulers recognizing one another. And I think that is the road to follow. I think that the possible solution is going to be a long-term one, when it comes to Sudan, when it comes to Darfur—how do you strengthen the possibility of civil society organizations to be involved, to be active, to be on the ground, African organizations? Give them the means. Give them the support to be actually doing so. And if you can twist people´s arms politically, do that, as well. But intervening militarily is disastrous. It´s disastrous. It will not do any [inaudible]. And this is literally a case where the collateral damage far outweighs whatever good could possibly come from it".
The U.S. is being cagey about placing heavy sanctions on Eritrea. Eritrea's role in stirring Somalia's chaos is only one reason. The brief but ugly border fracas between Eritrea and Djibouti signaled a new level of belligerence by the Eritrean government. Rumours of internal troubles within Eritrea make "tailored sanctions" attractive if the U.S. concludes the internal frictions make the current regime more vulnerable to economic and political pressure. That's tricky diplomacy. Eritrea has earned its reputation as a "hard case" resistant to international political pressure and sanctions regimens. That said, the "hard case" may be dealing with internal fissures.
The Israeli bombing of Gaza has killed more than 270 people over the weekend, the bloodiest attack since 1967. Ehud Barak, Israeli Defence Minister, has threatened further attacks on Gaza, one of the most impoverished places on earth. An immediate ceasefire on both sides is demanded.
Al Yaqeen media resumed the distribution of its online magazine "Jihadi Issues", whose publication had stopped for several months. The forth issue featured an article taken from a book by al Zarqawi´s spiritual mentor Abu Mohammed al Maqdisi, in which he praised the Sept. 11 hijackers and explained how the Muslim nation needed this model of "teamwork" to be expanded and replicated. The magazine also included an article by Abu Ammar al Khosti, in which he compares Somali pirates to members of the Iraqi awakening councils and claims that Western countries are using piracy in the Gulf of Aden as a Trojan horse to legitimize the deployment of their forces in Somalia to counter the rise of the Islamist factions. The author anticipated that the militants in Somalia would soon take control of the capital Mogadishu and then tackle the Somali piracy issue.