Ecoterra Press Release 237 – The Somalia Chronicle June – December 2009, no 49

Following the Somalia Spring 2009 Chronicles, I herewith republish the Ecoterra press releases issued in the second half of 2009. I reproduce the integral version of all Ecoterra press releases in a recapitulative effort to provide the global readership with the most comprehensive collection of texts published worldwide about the most abominable Western postcolonial involvement in Africa, namely the systematic effort of extermination of the Somali Nation. The vast documentation provided serves as basic point of reference to students, researchers, analysts and intellectuals.

ECOTERRA Intl.

SMCM

Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor

ECOTERRA INTERNATIONAL - UPDATES & STATEMENTS, REVIEW & CLEARING-HOUSE

2009-09-03 THU 16h47:24 UTC

Issue No. 237

A Voice from the Truth- & Justice-Seekers, who sit between all chairs, because they are not part of organized white-collar or no-collar-crime in Somalia or elsewhere, and who neither benefit from global naval militarization, from the illegal fishing and dumping in Somali waters or the piracy of merchant vessels, nor from the booming insurance business or the exorbitant ransom-, risk-management- or security industry, while neither the protection of the sea, the development of fishing communities or the humanitarian assistance to abducted seafarers and their families is receiving the required adequate attention, care and funding.

"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." George Orwell

EA ILLEGAL FISHING AND DUMPING HOTLINE: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed) - email: somalia[at]ecoterra.net

EA Seafarers Assistance Programme EMERGENCY HELPLINE : SMS to +254-738-497979 or sms/call +254-733-633-733

"The pirates must not be allowed to destroy our dream !"

Cpt. Florent Lemaçon - F/Y Tanit - killed by French commandos - 10. April 2009 / Ras Hafun

NON A LA GUERRE - YES FOR PEACE

(Inscription on the sail of F/Y TANIT - shot down on day one of the French assault)

We have the obligation to fight oppression and cruelty wherever it appears, and believe that anybody who is degrading other people and peoples has to be fought against with whatever appropriate tools people have available.

Breaking:

Russia ship mystery editor flees (BBC)

A journalist has fled Russia after suggesting the Arctic Sea cargo ship that was apparently hijacked in July may have been carrying illegal weapons.

Mikhail Voitenko said he had been told to leave Moscow or face arrest.

The editor of Sovfracht, an online maritime journal, fled on Wednesday, saying he may not be able to return as his life would be in danger.

Eight men, mainly from Estonia, have been charged with hijacking and piracy over the case.

The men are suspected of seizing the ship and its 15-man Russian crew after raiding it disguised as police.

The alleged hijackers were taken to Russia after the ship was spotted 300 miles (480km) off the west coast of Africa on 16 August.

Secret shipment

Mr Voitenko - who was among the first to cast doubt on official explanations about the ship's disappearance - told the BBC it was nonsense to suggest pirates had been involved.

Instead he suggested the ship may have been carrying a secret shipment of weapons as part of a private business deal by state officials.

Speaking to the BBC from Turkey, Mr Voitenko said he had received a threatening phone call from "serious people" whom he suggested may have been members of Russia's intelligence agency, the FSB.

The caller told Mr Voitenko that those involved in the mysterious case of the Arctic Sea were very angry with him because he had spoken publicly, and were planning on taking action against him, he said.

"As long as I am out of Russia I feel safe," Mr Voitenko told the BBC. "At least they won't be able to get me back to Russia and convict [me]."

He also said Nato knew exactly what had happened to the Arctic Sea.

A Nato spokesman said the alliance had been in contact with Russia throughout the crisis, but would not say anything more.

The FSB refused to comment on the allegations.

Further inspection

Mystery continues to surround the ship's disappearance, amid speculation the ship may have been intercepted by Mossad - Israel's foreign intelligence service - in order to prevent a shipment of illegal arms to the Middle East.

The 4,000-tonne Maltese-flagged vessel vanished in July days after leaving Finland with an apparent cargo of timber worth $1.8m (£1.1m), destined for the Algerian port of Bejaia.

Observers have questioned why the alleged hijackers would risk seizing the Arctic Sea in one of Europe's busiest shipping lanes for a relatively inexpensive cargo.

Russian authorities said nothing suspicious was found aboard the ship when it was found last month, but have said a more thorough inspection would be carried out when the Arctic Sea arrives in the Russian port of Novorossiisk.

Clearing-House: Cut out the clutter - focus on facts !

(If you find this compilation too large or if you can't grasp the multitude and magnitude of important, inter-related and complex issues influencing the Horn of Africa - you better do not deal with Somalia or other man-made "conflict zones". We try to make it as easy and condensed as possibly.)

Ariana crew despairs after four months as high seas hostages

By Yuliya Popova, Kyiv Post

The 24 Ukrainians held hostage off the Somali coast since May know what their lives are worth to the sea pirates who kidnapped them: $5 million, price negotiable.

The crew members of the MV Ariana cargo ship also have a good idea what will happen to them if nobody meets the ransom demands of their kidnappers.

One of the two female crew members, Larysa Salinska, who suffered a miscarriage in captivity, put it this way in an interview with the Kyiv Post: "I have a feeling that no one needs us, like we are waste material which they can step over as they do their business," she said indignantly.

In an extraordinary telephone call to the ship on Aug. 30, arranged through an intermediary, the Kyiv Post talked to Salinska, as well as the ship´s captain, a third crew member and the leader of the pirates holding the Ariana crew.

Their lives are grim, as one would expect from two dozen people held captive for four months. The duration of their imprisonment is perhaps itself a record in the spate of high seas piracy that has taken place off the lawless eastern coast of Africa in recent years. They are believed to be adrift on the Indian Ocean about 100 kilometers from the coastal village of Hobyo, in the Galmudug region of Somalia.

Salinska suffered a miscarriage during her sixth month of pregnancy and urgently needed help. But the pirates even showed her little mercy.

"I was bleeding like a tap. I thought I would die from bleeding," Salinska, 39, the ship´s cook, said tearfully. "I was begging on my knees to at least arrange for a conversation with a doctor. He [pirate] allowed two phone calls and said it was my only chance. But no one has even provided for a gynecologist to call me."

The crew members described an unending ordeal of fear, hardship and frustration. They are upset that Ukrainian authorities and the ship´s owner haven´t been able to secure their release. The Greek vessel, sailing under a Maltese flag, was seized north of Madagascar with a cargo of 10,000 tons of soya beans on May 2. It was en route from Brazil to Iran.

"President [Victor Yushchenko] promised a commission [to help us], they promised help and nothing at all [has happened]. I have two kids at home, so I must come back alive," said Salinska, whose husband is with her on the Ariana. (On May 5, a spokesperson for Yushchenko said the president ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cooperate with nations and international organizations in securing the crew´s freedom.)

MV Ariana´s owner, Greek-based All Oceans Shipping, said its representatives were negotiating the crew's release.

"It´s not true [that we don´t negotiate]. We talk by phone. In fact, negotiations are going smoothly," said Captain Spyros Minas, the Athens-based director of the company. Minas said the company has had contact with the crew when the pirates allow it. He also said that, to his knowledge, the two women on board "were OK."

Minas refused to discuss the ransom amount in deference to "the safety of the crew."

However, the seized ship's captain, hostage Genadiy Voronov, was not happy with the negotiations. He thought that All Oceans Shipping offered to pay $820,000, a sum rejected.

Voronov described the conditions as atrocious.

"We are not allowed to move around the ship. The whole crew is in one cabin," Voronov said. "Half of the crew came down with colds and we keep passing them to each other. They [pirates] give us some rotten rice and that´s all we eat here. A couple of kilos a day for 24 people. No fresh water to drink or to wash up."

He said that the ship´s mechanic, Volodymyr Streshniy, was beaten up and "may have had a concussion. He was nauseous, lacked coordination and was generally weak. For two or three days, he could not get up from the deck. He's better now," Voronov said.

Salinska also said water and food were bad. "When you are hungry, you will eat anything – rotten rice or rustic water, but I can´t. The boys eat it though. The water provided is red. We try to filter it through cotton wool or any way we can. It´s a savage life."

Another female on board, Natalia Los, described conditions as "very bad." Los said the chief pirate sometimes talked to them and reported "that there are no negotiations and that no one cares for us."

The Kyiv Post talked to Muhammed, described by the crew as the pirate´s leader. "There are no negotiations at all. My condition is $5 million and [I will] negotiate," he said "If not, we will kill the crew. Why not? Without diesel, without food, what can I do for them?"

A spokesman for Ukraine´s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vasyl Kyrylych, described the negotiation process as difficult. There is no provision in the Ukrainian law to empower officials to engage in talks or pay ransom in cases of piracy.

Some of the families of the hostages have refused to comment publicly, out of fear that they may damage the chances of freedom for their loved ones.

Galyna Fut, whose husband is held captive at Ariana, said their hopes rest with the ship´s owner. "We approached different organizations but no one would help us. The only opportunity to save them is for the ship owner to pay the pirates," Fut said.

A regional anti-piracy envoy in Somalia, Ismail Haji Noor, said he wanted the ship out of his waters. Noor approached the Kyiv Post with the offer for a telephone link to the ship to "help the innocent seamen."

Noor said the government is trying to rid the Somali coast of pirates.

"The pirates are small in number. The whole of Somali is not pirates. It´s not in our culture or something we believe in our religion," he said. "The community is fed up with them because they bring prostitution and alcohol."

Noor said the pirates from the Ariana were from the Habar Gidir clan in the Galmudug territory. As an envoy, he said he would try to secure release of the two women held hostage through the clan elders.

The ship´s owner, Minas, questioned Noor´s intentions and said he might actually hinder the delicate talks with the pirates. "We know from other vessels, from previous experiences, that when he is involved in the case, the negotiations take longer," said Minas.

Ariana captain Voronov warned against any military operation to save him and the rest of the crew. He pleaded, however, for Ukrainian government intervention. "The minute they [pirates] see a ship at a distance, they summon us to the deck and keep us at gunpoint," he said.

Prior to Ariana, Somali gunmen hijacked the Ukrainian MV Faina crew of 20 people on Sept. 25, releasing its members on Feb. 4. Their imprisonment ended after a $3.2 million ransom was paid, primarily by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk.

N.B.: ECOTERRA Intl. had informed the Ukrainian authorities about the critical condition of the female seafarer on MV ARIANA since mid July and offered humanitarian assistance and ways to evacuate the women, but so far the shipowner has not responded and also efforts by the Human Rights Ombudsman of Ukraine - linking with the EU counterpart - have so far been without any result. As a matter of fact it is known that for a long period of time there was even no communication at all going on between the Greek front for the shipowners and the pirates.]

News from sea-jackings, abductions, newly attacked ships and vessels in distress

Hijacked ship´s crew desperate for aid – RussiaToday

The Ukrainian crew of the Greek bulk carrier "Ariana" that was seized in May by Somali pirates is calling for help. They are being kept in poor conditions and some are in dire need of medical help.

The crew members liaised through a satellite telephone with Ecoterra International – a Nairobi-based ecological organization affiliated with anti-piracy activities off Somalia´s coast and other issues.

According to its officials, the crew, which has been kept hostage for nearly four months now, is urging the authorities to speed up negotiations, as well as to hospitalize one of the two female members of the crew, who is reportedly very ill.

Alert over renewed mock-attacks

Yesterday's alert in North-East Somalia over an alleged US-American invasion at the coast near Garacad turned out to have been a mock-attack at best. No shots were fired residents of the area confirmed. However, helicopters had been seen landing and the pirates of FV WIN FAR 161 felt threatened again. Early reports of the exercise had spread like fire throughout the region with youth from different areas following calls to arms.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 6 foreign vessels with a total of not less than 123 crew members are accounted for (of which 42 are confirmed to be Filipinos) and are held in Somali waters. They are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. MV JAIKUR 1 remains in Mogadishu harbor, but is an insurance and not a piracy case - all foreign crew was evacuated. MV INDIAN EXPLORER and S/Y SERENITY are allegedly dead ships. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) had been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (for Somalia, incl. presently held ones) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by a naval force. For 2009 the account stands at 159 attacks (incl. averted or abandoned attacks) with 47 sea-jackings on the Somali/Yemeni pirate side as well as at least six wrongful attacks (incl. one friendly fire incident) on the side of the naval forces. More than 116 Somalis are held in foreign prisons under charges of piracy. Mystery pirate mother-vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean as well as not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures. Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season in winter and rise gradually by the end of the monsoon season starting from mid February and early April every year.

Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: GoA: YELLOW IO: BLUE (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = possible, Green = unlikely). Allegedly still/again two groups from Puntland alone are out hunting on the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean, where also groups from Harardheere have set out again, despite the heavy seas and the rough weather.

Directly piracy or naval upsurge related reports

Modern Sea Pirates

By Michael Stevens

Korea has recently sent the Daejoyeong a 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyer, to Somali waters to replace one that has operated there under a U.S.-led multinational anti-piracy campaign since April.

Over the last year we have read in The Korea Times many articles dealing with the issue of the pirates that are plaguing the shipping routes off the coast of Somalia. Korea has joined the international effort to help resolve this dilemma by dispatching its own naval ship and military personnel in order to protect commercial ships against these pirates.

Many believe that the only effective way to deal with the increasing danger posed by Somali pirates is to do so on land ― by either arresting the pirates and/or demolishing their bases and boats. However, this may not be a viable solution given the chaotic state of the Somali government and its national military or police force.

Until recently, modern piracy was treated by the international community as a minor nuisance and at best an almost comically insignificant threat.

Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. The Somali pirates have come out in full force and have taken merchant ships and humanitarian aid ― unarmed vessels. This has made the rest of the world sit up and take notice. Where it was once a minor issue, we now have large groups of experts and consultants rushing to come up with solutions to what is now a legitimate threat.

Yet, what is the best way to deal with this ongoing menace?

I believe that the current method in dealing with this complex issue is truly ineffective and this fact should be said very clearly and affirmatively: There is no permanent military solution to this threat.

The money that is being spent on sending both destroyers and military personnel in order to stop these relatively small scale pirates is astronomical; yet, the money being saved by intercepting the pirates is minimal, if not non-existent.

It is like using a baseball bat to kill a mosquito. It doesn't matter how many battleships and destroyers there are off the coast of Somalia, it is truly na?ve and foolish to think that every Somali fisherman that has a speedboat and a rifle should be destroyed. Over the years these fishermen turned pirates have been increasing in number and most likely they will continue to find ways to get around the naval ships. In addition they have become more dangerous as they become more desperate.

However, even if we could capture or destroy all the Somali pirates in the region, it is more vital that we consider if we really want to operate in such a manner as to indiscriminately punish them.

We know that most Somali pirates are not hardened criminals or ruthless murderers ― unfortunately, the vast majority are fishermen who can no longer work for a number of reasons and are unable to find other employment due to the dangerous and unstable environment that is now modern Somalia.

Regrettably, the Western world has abused the absence of a stable Somali government by overfishing Somali waters and dumping toxic and nuclear waste illegally.

This has put legitimate working Somali fishermen out of a job and threatened their livelihoods, which has lead many of them to believe they are fighting against foreign oppression, and that the best way to feed their families and protect their homes is to take to the seas as pirates. Often calling themselves ``the Volunteer Coast Guard of Somalia'' ― and it's not hard to see why.

It was reported in a recent survey that over 70 percent of the Somali people strongly support piracy and believe that it was in fact a form of national defense of the country's territorial waters.

Can we really believe that starving Somalis would stand passively on their beaches; while the world dumped nuclear waste and watch as they stole their greatest natural resources? The international community didn't act on those crimes against the Somali people ― however, when the fishermen responded to this clear threat to both its people and its national sovereignty the world calls foul.

Although this is not to say that there aren't a few ruthless and opportunistic criminals among the Somali pirates ― to say otherwise would be foolish. Nevertheless, it is clear the complexity of this situation calls for a solution that is more complex and less heavy handed than the current gunboat diplomacy that is currently being implemented.

A stable and effective Somali government must be supported and propped up, and international abuse of its territorial waters must be stopped.

The international community including Korea needs to work with the government and the people of Somali to build a stable country where not only is piracy not tolerated, but not needed.

If we really want to deal with piracy, we need to stop its root cause ― other countries crimes against the Somali people ― and only then will we have a lasting and complete solution to the problem of modern piracy.

Piracy and the safety of our seamen

Filipino marine officers and seafarers are the most threatened and harassed among our overseas workers. They have become frequent victims of international pirates, in addition to facing dangers from intermittent storms, rough waters and unpredictable accidents. There is hardly a marine disaster or interdiction where Filipino seamen are not involved, because of their dominant presence on the high seas.

President Gloria Arroyo will take up their plight at the African Union Summit in Tripoli, Libya. The Department of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, said that she will meet several heads of states and governments on the sidelines of the summit scheduled to begin Monday. Currently 22 Filipino seamen crewing for a Greek-owned vessel are being held hostage by Somali pirates for a $2.8-million ransom off the Coast of Aden.

The seizure on the Indian Ocean of foreign vessels, their crew captured and kept as hostages, mainly by Somali terrorists has been a continuing saga for more than a year. Since late 2008, more than 200 Filipinos have been kidnapped on waters between Yemen and Somalia, the "pirate alley," for varying amounts of ransom.

The Philippines is the world´s largest supplier of shipping crew with more than 250,000 sailors working on oil tankers, luxury liners, passenger ships and other international seagoing vessels. The Filipinos constitute a fifth of the world´s supply of seafarers.

President Arroyo will seek the cooperation of the African leaders to address the scourge and the safety of crew and passengers. At home, Manila is seeking a temporary ban on the deployment of Filipinos on the ships sailing the pirate-infested ocean. The government has also given shipowners a free hand to negotiate the release of hostages.

Mrs. Arroyo´s trip to Tripoli is also a good time to build stronger relations with the leaders and governments in the large continent. A great deal of trade, investments, political goodwill and cultural exchange awaits the future of Philippine-African relations.

Let us hope, for the sake of our seafarers, that the President gets attention and help in Libya and in the other African capitals where Filipinos are making a contribution through peacekeeping troops, volunteer staff and overseas workers.

On the other side of the globe, we hope that the US-sponsored training program for Filipino seamen on safety and protection would start on schedule. On the sideline of Mrs. Arroyo´s meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., last month, Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto G. Romulo and US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood signed a timely memorandum of understanding to provide Filipino seafarers training and education against global piracy.

The memorandum seeks to promote cooperation between Manila and Washington on combating piracy and protecting each country´s maritime interests. The agreement commits American resources, including the US Merchant Marine Academy, and those of Philippine maritime training institutions.

The areas of cooperation include exchange of information on vessel security, cooperation on international conventions against piracy, drills and exercises against acts of piracy, rescue and recovery work, and possibilities for student and faculty exchange.

Vigilance, training and preparedness should help in the fight. So would prosperity and growth in Somalia and other African countries. Mrs. Arroyo´s representation in Libya and the RP-US maritime safety training are expected to improve the safety and protection of our seamen. The alternative is to put troops and arms on the merchant vessels. That, or invade the pirates´ fortresses in the beaches of Somalia.

Give the Fil-Am veterans their checks

The United States government should speed up the release of the checks Filipino-American war veterans are entitled to. The survivors of World War II had waited for half a century to get justice from the US Congress. They should not suffer further delay receiving the little money due them.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Filipino nationals and Americans of Filipino ancestry who served in the US Army during the Second World War have complained they have not received the war-related compensation approved by the US Congress.

The compensation package was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the US Economic Stimulus Package, passed by the US Congress and signed into law on February 17 by US President Barack Obama.

The law provides for a one-time payment of $15,000 for veterans who are American citizens, and $9,000 for those who are not. An estimated 8,000 veterans are living in the US and at least 13,000 in the Philippines.

Six months after the bill´s approval, most of the veterans—now in their late seventies and ´80s—continue to wait for the one-time, lump-sum compensation for their wartime services. Most are frail and sickly, a considerable number are without a family. They are dying day after day because of age, poor health and frustration.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs should expedite the processing and release of the checks. The US Embassy in Manila should look into the problem. We could use some of the enthusiasm US Ambassador Kristie Kenney displayed the day the embassy started receiving applications, when she posed happily with the aging veterans on the chancery grounds.

President Gloria Arroyo brought up the subject in passing during her meeting with President Obama at the White House on July 30. A little nudge from the Philippine Embassy and the Filipino-American community in Washington, D.C., should help.

The Philippine Caucus in the US Senate, which includes old-time supporters Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, should flex some muscles. Aside from payment being a matter of honor, the high mortality rate was one reason Senator Inouye insisted on getting his lump-sum amendment in the bill, despite strong opposition from some Republicans.

Time is very important.

Ecosystems, marine environment, IUU fishing and dumping, ecology

Oceans Could Absorb Much More CO2

By Michael Reilly, Discovery News

Earth's oceans are vast reservoirs of carbon dioxide (CO2) with the potential to control the pace of global warming.

It all hinges on the fate of marine "snow" -- a constant sprinkle of carbon-rich bits that flutter down from the sea surface to the cold depths below. And according to a new study, the flurries could suck much more of the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere than previously thought.

Each year, phytoplankton floating in the seas' big blue expanse drink in 10 billion tons of carbon from the air (humans emit about 8 billion tons). Their shells and excretions rain down from the surface, providing a feast for creatures that recycle up to 90 percent of the carbon back into the water as CO2. Only a light dusting lands on the ocean floor.

But small changes in this carbon system have big implications for climate.

Today, most of the recycling happens in the first 210 meters (689 feet) below the ocean surface. According to a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, if that depth sank by just 24 meters, it could remove up to 27 parts per million more of CO2 from the atmosphere.

This is because the deeper the snow falls into the ocean without being eaten, the more carbon-rich snow reaches the ocean floor. Once it is eaten, it becomes dissolved CO2, and it's just a matter of a short time (months to years instead of tens of thousands of years for the snow) before it makes its way back into the atmosphere.

"People are going to be scratching their heads and saying, 'Wow, that's really sensitive,'" Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, who was not involved in the study said. "That's not very big -- natural variability of that depth is several hundred meters."

By comparison, scientists estimate the ocean helped usher in the most recent ice age tens of thousands of years ago when it drained between 30 and 77 parts per million of CO2 from the air.

That won't happen any time soon. Humans have added well over 100 parts per million of CO2 as well as other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere in the last two centuries, and many scientists predict that ocean warming will raise the depth at which most carbon cycles back into the water. If that happens, the seas will hasten global warming as they spew CO2 back out into the air.

"On the other hand, a decrease in oxygen concentration in the ocean, which might be caused by enhanced stratification of the global ocean, might slowdown bacterial metabolic rates," and increase the amount of snow that reaches the deep ocean, Eun Young Kwon of Princeton University, the study's lead author said.

"The answer is I don't know. This is the major gap to be filled in our research community in the future."

Millions facing famine in Ethiopia as rains fail

By Paul Rodgers - The Independent

The specter of famine has returned to the Horn of Africa nearly a quarter of a century after the world's pop stars gathered to banish it at Live Aid, raising £150m for relief efforts in 1985. Millions of impoverished Ethiopians face the threat of malnutrition and possibly starvation this winter in what is shaping up to be the country's worst food crisis for decades.

Estimates of the number of people who need emergency food aid have risen steadily this year from 4.9 million in January to 5.3 million in May and 6.2 million in June. Another 7.5 million are getting aid in return for work on community projects, as part of the National Productive Safety Net Program for people whose food supplies are chronically insecure, bringing the total being fed to 13.7 million.

Donor countries provided sustenance to 12 million Ethiopians last year, more than half of it through the UN's World Food Program (WFP). Having passed that total only eight months into this year, and with the main harvest already in doubt, aid agencies fear the worst is still to come. "We're extremely worried," said Howard Taylor, who heads the Department for International Development's office in Ethiopia. DfID has given £54m in aid to the country this year, and Britain has also contributed through the EU. "This is exactly the time when we shouldn't turn away from the people in need," he said.

"Critical water shortages" were reported in some areas by the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs last week with water-borne diseases such as acute diarrhea spreading as communities resort to drinking from insanitary wells and ponds. Unicef said that the outbreaks are putting extra pressure on its Out-Patient Therapeutic Program, which provides healthcare in some of the most needy areas.

In Somali, the hardest hit region with a third of the humanitarian caseload and complications caused by a low-intensity insurgency, the mortality rate for infants has risen above two per 10,000 per day according to a regional nutrition survey, which gives newborns roughly a one-third chance of dying before their fifth birthdays. While there is no clear definition, one widely used threshold for famine is four infant deaths per 10,000 per day.

Declaring a famine is a political decision. While it can galvanize public opinion and bring millions into aid programs, it is widely seen as a political failure. President George Bush challenged his officials to avoid the word, a policy known as "No famine on my watch". Ethiopia's Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission is charged with preventing famines of the 1984-85 type, the sort that bring down governments, argued Tufts University academics Sue Lautze and Angela Raven-Roberts in a 2004 paper.

Dismissing the warning signals, Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, said earlier this month that there was no danger of famine this year. And Berhanu Kebede, Ethiopia's ambassador to Britain, said at the weekend: "We are addressing the problem. Food is in the pipeline."

The main practical difference between a food crisis and a famine is whether enough aid arrives to keep the starving alive. So while the scope of the problem can be measured in the number of hungry people, the severity depends on the generosity of those in the rich world. And this year they have been miserly.

Despite the promise of G8 leaders at their summit in L'Aquila, Italy, last month to provide $20bn (£12bn) to improve food security in poor countries, contributions have slumped dramatically this year as donor states have shifted priorities to supporting banks and stimulating their own economies. "The international community is not living up to its promise to the World Food Program," Mr. Kebede said.

The WFP had little trouble raising its $6bn budget last year, but in 2009 it has collected less than half of that. Its Ethiopian operation, which had $500m in 2008, is short $127m this year, equivalent to 167,000 tons of food. The Famine Early Warning Network forecast this month that the shortfall would reach 300,000 tons by December.

Rations for the 6.2 million people receiving emergency food aid have, as a result, been slashed by a third from a meager 15kg of cereals, beans and oil a month to just 10kg. Even if the shortfall were made up today, it would take three months for supplies to be loaded on to ships bound for Djibouti, then transferred to trucks for the arduous overland journey to land-locked Ethiopia.

Aid agencies are worried about the main harvest this autumn, arguing that the time for action is now, not when the food runs out in November – usually the driest month – let alone when starving children with distended bellies capture the attention of the West's television viewing public.

Despite its good intentions, Bob Geldof's Live Aid came towards the end of the 1984-85 famine, which killed more than a million people. Since then, Ethiopia's population has doubled to 80 million.

Mr. Zenawi's government has set up a strategic food reserve which has at times reached 500,000 tons – though it is currently thought to be just 200,000 tons – which it uses to speed up delivery. As soon as they get funds, aid agencies can borrow food from this reserve, replacing it with supplies from abroad when they arrive.

Although the government could release this food without promises of replenishment, it would soon run out; after covering the WFP's 167,000 ton shortfall, the stockpile would be barely enough to feed a million people for three months.

The underlying problem for Ethiopia is the erratic behavior of the country's climate, or rather its regional micro-climates. Moisture-bearing clouds scudding in from the Indian Ocean can pass over the parched eastern lowlands to dump generous amounts of rain on the fertile western highlands. The famine of 1984-85, revealed by BBC reporter Michael Buerk, was actually two separate famines, one in Tigray, in the north, the other in Somali, in the south-east.

Two main rains sustain the people of Ethiopia, the belg in spring and the kiremt, which usually start in July. Both are influenced by variations in sea-surface temperature. The El Niño phenomena in the eastern Pacific usually bring droughts to Ethiopia, and America's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the current El Niño will strengthen over the next six months.

The belg has failed for two years running now, while the kiremt started three weeks late this summer and the amount of rainfall when they did come was below normal. Aid agencies fear that the season could end early, or, equally bad, produce delayed downpours just when farmers need dry weather for the harvest. Even if the kiremt ends on time in October, some crops may not reach maturity because of the late planting.

Ethiopia is overwhelmingly dependent on agriculture, and some 90 per cent of its crops are watered by nature rather than by man-made irrigation systems. During droughts, farmers and nomadic herders tend to sell off their assets to buy food, leaving them with nothing when the next growing season begins. It can take three to five years for pastoral tribes to rebuild their herds.

Although Ethiopia is particularly hard hit, drought has also affected neighboring countries.

Resources in Somali are under additional strain because nomadic tribesmen from Somalia and Kenya have driven unusually large numbers of cattle across the border in search of water and pasture. Estimates of the number of cattle coming into the country range from 95,000 to 200,000.

The spike in global food prices in 2008 exacerbated a worsening situation, hitting the urban poor particularly hard. While they have fallen back this year, the price for grains in the markets of Adis Ababa are still some 50 percent higher than their average in the four years to 2007.

The Ethiopian government is acutely aware of the danger of famine, not least to itself. Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed a year after the 1973 famine and the Derg military junta led by Lt Col Mengistu Haile Mariam was overthrown in 1991 after a civil war driven in part by the 1984-85 famine.

While most other countries with food shortages allow charities to distribute food, Ethiopia's government insists that the bulk of food aid must pass through its hands.

The irony is that the Zenawi regime has done a reasonable job of boosting food production, achieving self-sufficiency in the late 1990s. One agency described it as the "bread basket" of Africa, harvesting more grain in a good year than South Africa. The government promotes best practices and distributes fertilizer to farmers. It also has an ambitious scheme to relocate 2.2 million people to more fertile areas. But even it can't control the rains.

Many Africans blame climate change for the erratic weather patterns and resulting food shortages. Jean Ping, the chairman of the African Union, said last week in Adis Ababa: "Although Africa is least responsible for global warming, it suffers most from a problem it didn't create."

Anti-piracy measures

Government Officials to Wrap Up Training for about 500 Naval Forces

Sea forces officials of the transitional federal government have said on Wednesday that they are going to wrap up the training for about 500 marines in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Admiral Farah Qare, a commander of the TFG sea forces held a press conference in Mogadishu and told reporters that they will conclude the training for about 500 marine forces, stating that this is the first batch.

"When we conclude the first phase of marine forces' training of the transitional government, we shall start the next phase with training sea forces, who will fight against the Somali pirates," Farah said.

Abdalla Boss, the defense minister of the transitional government, who was also present at the occasion, had advised the forces to defend their country, religion and not to harass the people.

However, the statement of sea forces officials of the transitional federal government comes as there are more Somali pirates setting out to target the foreign ships passing allong the coasts of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.

Somali Marines commander welcomes Philippines offer

The commander of the Somali Marines Admiral Farah Qare has welcomed Wednesday the offer of Philippine president who offered to help train the Somali coast guards.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was attending the African Union summit in Libya, expressed fear that pirate attacks will pick up as the East African monsoon was about to end and offered help in training the Somali coast guards.

"We welcome the statement of Philippine president but we are waiting to fulfill her promise," said Admiral Farah Qare.

He noted that the Somali coast guards need training from different sides. He added that the Somali Marines can deter the pirates who hijack foreign ships in the coast off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden if they get training.

France boosts navy powers to arrest pirates

French navy commanders patrolling in pirate-infested waters are to be given new powers to detain suspects in international waters, under the terms of a bill unveiled Wednesday.

"In a context of rising acts of piracy, particularly in the Indian Ocean, an efficient fight against piracy requires us to strengthen the French state's capacity to intervene, especially on the high seas," reads the cabinet bill.

Under the bill, navy commanders "acting under the control of the judicial authorities, will be able to record piracy crimes and offences and to arrest their perpetrators with a view to bringing them to trial," it reads.

Fifteen Somali pirates are being held in France after being captured by the French navy in the Gulf of Aden. They are accused of taking part in the hijacking of two French yachts.

Presented to President Nicolas Sarkozy's cabinet by Defence Minister Herve Morin, the bill aims to provide a judicial framework for France's anti-piracy efforts.

It aims to "enable the commanders of the navy ships, while at sea and in waters that do not depend on any state jurisdiction, to take measures adapted to the exercise of the state's police powers at sea."

"French jurisdiction will apply for acts of piracy when the perpetrators and accomplices are arrested by French agents and that no other state exercises its competence," the bill adds.

France, Russia, China and other nations have deployed dozens of warships in an anti-piracy task force off Somalia. Despite involvement by more than 20 countries, attacks are still regularly reported.

France has also begun deploying marines on boats in its tuna fishing fleet off the Seychelles to help them fight off pirate attacks.

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who's Got The Fairest Ships Of All

By James Dunnigan

Nearly a hundred warships, from over two dozen countries, have served on the Somali anti-piracy patrol so far, and, although the sailors rarely get to meet, they do have a chance to communicate with each other as they patrol, or chase off pirates. Sailors compare notes, and some are shocked at some of the differences between navies. And there are some big differences.

Not all navies have women on warship crews, but the U.S., Britain and many other Western nations do. Ships from temperate zone nations find that their ships are not as well prepared for the tropics (even if equipped with air conditioning). It gets very, very hot off the coast of Somalia.

American sailors are once again reminded that most other navies carry beer, wine and harder stuff for the crew. U.S. ships are "dry" in that respect. Then again, American ships are noted for good food and comfortable (compared to most other navies) living quarters. This is because, the U.S. Navy keeps its ships at sea more than anyone else. Since all American sailors are volunteers (who will not stay in unless there is a certain degree of comfort on board), U.S. ships are built for this. Most other navies save money by building warships that will not spend a lot of time at sea, meaning crew quarters, and amenities, can be more modest. This backfires when you do send your ships off on an "American style" mission.

One American amenity most sailors are very envious of is the Internet access on U.S. warships. The U.S. took the lead in this department, and it's been a big morale boost. Another American fringe benefit is that U.S. sailors can shoot to kill when confronting pirates. Most warships off the Somali coast are under orders to not fire unless fired on, and to practice catch (pirates in the act) and release (after disarming them.)

British ships are similar to the American ones, with the addition of booze. The U.S. modeled many of its ship design policies after those pioneered by the British. While Britain has a much smaller navy these days, the ships are still built for long voyages.

No real peace in sight yet

Analysis: Who is fighting whom in Somalia (IRIN)

Somalia has experienced conflict since 1991 when the late President Mohamed Siad Barre's government was overthrown by opposition forces. Up to 2006, the fighting was largely between clan-based warlords clashing over territory and resources. In the process, one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world was created.

In 2006, Islamic groups in Mogadishu fought fierce battles against a combined force of the warlords and defeated them. The groups, known as the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), initially enjoyed considerable civilian and business support from a community fed up with insecurity in areas controlled by the warlords, including the capital.

The UIC ranks contained both radical elements, in the form of Al-Shabab, and moderate members, but the radicals were a small minority. From June-December 2006, it brought unprecedented calm to Mogadishu and other areas of south and central Somalia.

In December 2006, Ethiopian forces, with backing from the United States - which regarded the UIC as a terrorist organisation - entered Somalia and installed the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu, where it had hardly made its presence felt since coming into being in 2004 after two years of talks in Kenya.

Subsequently, fierce fighting continued between UIC remnants, including Al-Shabab and their supporters, and the combined forces of Ethiopia and the TFG. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were forced to flee their homes.

In December 2008, the Ethiopians withdrew from Somalia, leaving a small African Union (AMISOM) force to defend the government.

In January 2009, a peace deal signed in Djibouti between the UN-backed TFG and a faction of the opposition, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) saw the creation of a parliament which elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as president of the TFG. The former UIC chairman was considered by many as a moderate Islamist.

Many Somalis hoped Ahmed´s election and the departure of Ethiopian troops would end the violence and launch a new era of peace in the country. They were wrong.

Ahmed´s government was opposed by a breakaway group from his own ARS, led by his former ally Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. Aweys, who was based in Asmara, Eritrea, returned to Somalia and set up Hisbul-Islam (Party of Islam).

The Djibouti peace deal was also opposed by Al-Shabab, which had long split from the main UIC.

Whereas previous struggles for power in Somalia were fought along the lines of the country's complex clan system, the current conflict is, ostensibly at least, a war between groups with different interpretations of Islam.

The protagonists

TFG forces comprise fighters who used to serve various warlords, former members of the UIC, clan militia and Ethiopian-trained forces. These disparate groups have weak central command and control, despite the government´s efforts, so are rarely able to carry out a coordinated attack. There have been incidents of fighting between the different units.

The main threat to the TFG is posed by Al-Shabab. It is on a US terror list and is accused of having links with Al-Qaeda. The group controls much of southern and central Somalia, including parts of Mogadishu. Al-Shabab is reportedly led by a shadowy figure who goes by the name of Abu Zubeyr. His real name, according to Somali sources, is Ahmed Godane and he is originally from secessionist Somaliland. His main contact is through taped messages given to Somali radio stations. The group's professed aim is to spread Islam across the globe.

The movement has been accused of kidnapping, assassinating government officials and journalists, and other criminal activity.

While a keynote of Al-Shabab's official rhetoric is that clan affiliation and geographic origin should play no part in governance, and that any Somali should be able to serve as "amir", or leader, in any part of the country, this policy does not appear to be followed in central Somalia, where only locals are appointed amirs.

Al-Shabab views President Ahmed as a traitor to the Islamic cause and has described him and his government as "Murtadiin" (apostates). It believes in the strict application of Sharia law.

Like Al-Shabab, Hisbul-Islam is also fighting the TFG but is not known to engage in kidnapping and assassinations. It also differs in outlook. Hisbul-Islam is inward-looking and concerned with local rather than international issues, according to Somali analysts. Aweys, its leader, considers the Djibouti peace deal a betrayal. The group is reportedly supported by Eritrea, a charge Eritrea consistently denies.

Hisbul-Islam insists it will stop fighting if all "foreign forces" leave Somalia, including AMISOM troops (see below).

Ahlu Sunna Waljama is a Sufi sect, regarded as more moderate in its interpretation of Islam than Al-Shabab. It joined the fighting in late December 2008, dislodging Al-Shabab from the towns of Guri-Eil and Dusamareb in Galgadud region. It now controls all of Galgadud in central Somalia.

Ahlu Sunna Waljama has two branches. The first was formed by Sufi clerics and enjoys support from Ethiopia. This branch is mainly concentrated in central regions. The other is led by former warlords, who apparently are using the name to reinvent themselves. This group is mainly in the south around Gedo, Bay and Bakol regions. They have some links to the TFG.

African forces

AMISOM, staffed mainly by troops from Uganda and Burundi, has been in the country since 2007. In the past the force was confined to protecting the president and prime minister and vital infrastructure, such as the airport and port. In recent months its troops have been drawn into the fighting as insurgents targeted them. Somalis have accused the force of indiscriminate shelling when responding to attacks, a charge they deny.

The 5,000 or so AMISOM troops, supported by the US and UN, are concentrated in Mogadishu.

Ethiopian troops

In January 2009, Ethiopia said it had completed the withdrawal of its forces from Somalia. Since then there have been reports, denied by the Ethiopians, of Ethiopian troops in parts of central Somalia. Local sources in Beletweyne town told IRIN Ethiopian forces entered the town on 28 August and are still there.

Taking Care Of Business – strategypage

September 3, 2009: The pirates keep at it, despite the fleet of warships and aircraft off the coast. In the last 18 months, over a $100 million has been paid in ransoms (for ships, and over 1,000 crew). So far this year, there have been over 250 attacks, more than twice as many as the same time last year. While fewer of these attacks succeed, the increase in attempts keeps merchant ship sailors anxious. In addition to piracy, the former fishermen of northern Somalia have also increased their smuggling efforts (by about a third this year). Smuggling people across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen is steady money, because there are always Somalis, Ethiopians and other Africans reaching northern Somalia and willing to pay a hundred dollars or more to cross over 200 kilometers of shark and pirate filled waters. There are also two patrolled (by foreign warships and aircraft) "safe lanes" for commercial shipping seeking safety from pirate attach in the Gulf of Aden. The east bound lane begins at 45 degrees east (between 11 48 north and 11 53 degrees north), and ends at 053 degrees east (between 14 18 north and 14 23 degrees north). The west bound lane begins at 053 degrees east (between 14 25 north and 14 30 degrees north) and terminates at 045 degrees east (between 11 55 north and 12 00 degrees north.) The smugglers move about a thousand people a week, and lose 1-2 percent of them in the process.

Fighting in Mogadishu continues, with the daily skirmishes causing several hundred casualties in the last week (including 50 dead.) Al Shabaab, and other Islamic radical groups, have made themselves unpopular with most Somalis, causing several clans and religious groups to form militias to resist the Islamic radicals. Al Shabaab is increasingly dependent on the thousand or so foreign Islamic radicals in the country. While Somalis can be pretty brutal, the foreign radicals can be really nasty, and they are being used to terrorize Somalis into compliance. But al Shabaab still needs more gunmen, and has increased its recruiting efforts among refugees in Kenya, as well as young men from the ethnic Somali population of Kenya. Currently, several hundred Somalis a day cross the border, seeking shelter in refugee camps in north Kenya. Al Shabaab has used NGOs (Islamic charities) as front organizations for this recruiting, and Kenyan police recently shut down two of them. These NGOs had plenty of cash, and offered money for those who were willing to go to Somalia and fight.

The 5,000 AU peacekeepers have proved able to deal with whatever local militias have thrown at them, but have suffered several hundred casualties in the 30 months they have been there. This includes 33 combat (mostly from roadside bombs) dead, and 20 dead from disease (including eight from malnutrition). Mogadishu is a tough neighborhood. The area west and south of Mogadishu is occupied by over a million hungry refugees. Al Shabaab continues to demand payoffs from the aid groups trying to supply the refugees with food, and some medical care. Al Shabaab sees the refugees as a source of recruits.

France revealed that it is still sending advisors to help train Transitional Government security forces. Two of these were kidnapped July 14th, and one of those escaped last week. Thus one is still held, and the French are trying to negotiate his release.

Somali president returns to Mogadishu

Somali president Sharif Sheik Ahmed has returned to the Somali capital Moagdishu on Thursday after a trip in two Arab countries.

The president has been welcomed in Mogadishu airport by government officials and the security of the airport has been tightened by the African Union peace keeprs in the capital.

President Sharif Sheik Ahmed met in Doha with the Emir of Qadar Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani and he also had a meeting with the president of UAE Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed in Dubai.

During his visit in the Arab states he requested from their leaders to support Somalia and take part solving differences between his government and the rebels.

Somali Foreign Minister Ali Jama Jangali and deputy speaker Mohamed Omar Dalha were among the delegation of the president.

Islamists dig big trenches and set up barriers in Mogadishu key road

Somalia´s Islamist rebels fighting against the Somali government and the African Union peace keepers in a bid to stop the movements of AMISOM battle tanks have cut Warhadaha Street in Mogadishu by digging big trenches blocking the road, witnesses said on Tuesday.

Witnesses said the rebels cut the road near Jalle Siad Academy, a base of Burundian troops of the African Union peace keepers in Mogadishu.

The move comes after the African Union troops made reconnaissance missions in the rebel stronghold areas in the capital last month.

Residents said the rebels dug the trenches in the area and have also cut off the road that connects K4 area, a base of Ugandan soldiers near rebel held neighborhoods in Mogadishu.

Warshadaha is a key road that connects north and south of the capital. Most residents fled from the districts controlled by the rebels in fear of mortar shelling from the government and AU soldiers, who fire back mortars toward assumed bases of the rebels when the rebels launch mortars against the presidential palace and other key areas held by the government.

African peacekeepers in Somalia receive 'new mandate': minister

A Somali government minister has said that the African Union has made major changes to the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports.

Mr. Abdirahman Abdishakur, the Somali Planning and International Cooperation Minister, told reporters Wednesday that AU peacekeepers serving in Mogadishu, known as AMISOM, have been "authorized" to fight alongside Somali government forces.

Leaders of African countries met in Tripoli, Libya, for an extraordinary summit earlier this week with Somalia and other African conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo ranking high during the discussions.

Minister Abdishakur, who is part of Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake´s delegation in Tripoli, said the AMISOM mandate has been changed from peacekeeping to "peace-enforcement."

"African leaders have agreed to assist the Somali government in every sector, especially on security, in order to rescue Somalia from 20 years of war," Mr. Abdishakur said.

Further, he noted that the new changes to AMISOM include a provision giving the African peacekeepers the greenlight to conduct military operations outside of Mogadishu "if there are threats emerging from other regions."

The AU originally approved an 8,000-strong AMISOM peacekeeping force for Somalia, but there are around 5,000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi guarding essential government infrastructure in Mogadishu, including the presidential palace.

AMISOM commanders in Mogadishu, who have not publicly endorsed Minister Abdishakur's statements, were unavailable for comment.

Somali insurgents have routinely attacked AMISOM bases, using guerrilla tactics and suicide bombs. In recent weeks, AMISOM peacekeepers have left their bases on military operations for the first time since the African peacekeepers arrived in Mogadishu in March 2007.

President Shariff admits clandestine talks with Aweys

The president of Somalia his Excellency Sheikh Shariff Sheikh Ahmed giving an exclusive interview to ALAAN TV at Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has acknowledged that, there is yet undisclosed dialogue between him and his great archrival the leader of Hizbul-Islam Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, and termed this step as a significant step and added that he has worked with Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys for along time, and still wants to work with him, in returning peace and stability in the country and to get strong central government for Somalia.

In his interview the President of Somalia added that the Al-Shabab forces get funds from, the Somali pirates, the kidnapping of foreigners and some other foreign countries which he has dogged not to mention.

The president has accused Al-Shababs of being terrorists group who are not bothered about the stability of the country, and mentioned that his government is ready for dialogue with any rival group in Somalia to come to the negotiation table.

The president has also added to it is far beyond the healthy brain for what he called as terrorist group to seize the Somali presidential palace, and accused them of denying the Islamic Sharia law.

In the interview the President was asked of at all he recognizes the sovereignty of Somaliland?

I heartily support the great stability in Somaliland, and it really worth to be praised for their efforts, it is there that the people of Somaliland are complain ing of what they have been done to by the former regime of late dictator Mohamed Siyad Barre, but this he said is different.

Somalia president 'talking to Sheikh Aweys'

The president of Somalia´s transitional federal government has said that he is in talks with key Islamist opposition figure and former ally, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, also Radio Garowe reports.

President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who was in the United Arab Emirates, told Alaan TV during a Tuesday interview that his relationship with Sheikh Aweys has been strained since last year, but noted that relations have "improved" since the two leaders began direct talks.

The Somali president expressed willingness to include Sheikh Aweys in peace talks aimed at ending Somalia´s 19-year-old civil war. In April, Sheikh Aweys returned to Mogadishu after spending two years exiled in Eritrea to form Hizbul Islam, an insurgent faction opposed to President Sheikh Sharif´s interim government.

In his most recent public remarks, Sheikh Aweys urged opposition fighters to continue the insurgency during Islam´s holy month of Ramadan. Sheikh Aweys, who is on the U.S. and U.N. terror lists, has called President Sheikh Sharif a traitor and considers the transitional federal government to be a puppet of Western interests.

Separately, President Sheikh Sharif criticized Al Shabaab insurgents for opposing peaceful overtures from the Western-backed Somali interim government.

He accused Al Shabaab of "sheltering foreign fighters" and funding the insurgency through "piracy, kidnappings of foreigners, and support from countries opposed to peace in Somalia," although he did not name any specific countries.

In recent months, the Somali leader has publicly accused Eritrea of funding and arming Somali insurgents aiming to topple the interim government and seize Mogadishu. In 2007, Sheikh Sharif resided in Eritrea where he formed an opposition group alongside Sheikh Aweys before the two men parted ways.

Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam form the core of the insurgency in Mogadishu and other regions in south-central Somalia. The U.S. and Australian governments have blaclisted Al Shabaab as an international terrorist organization with alleged ties to Al Qaeda.

Mogadishu's lost innocents

By Mohamed Olad Hassan

Cradling her baby brother in stick-thin arms, eight-year-old Halima Mayow says little about the incident which wiped out their family in Mogadishu.

But, at a camp on the outskirts of the Somali capital, the only word she does utter - "Mortar! Mortar!" - sums up the tragedy which has spawned two more orphans in this war-torn country.

A neighbour tells me a shell landed on the children's family home at a slum in the Siisii area, north of the city.

"It killed the father, the mother and three of the children," Shamso Abdulle said.

"We took these two children with us after their family was buried by the villagers.

"They will live with us because we don't know where their relatives are and we couldn't leave them there."

Intense fighting between forces in favour of the UN-backed government and radical Islamist guerrillas has triggered a human exodus from the bullet-pocked capital since the second week of May.

The UN refugee agency says more than 100,000 people have been forced out of their homes during the recent bout of bloodletting.

Orphans under trees

It leaves an estimated half a million internally displaced people languishing on the outskirts of the city.

Oxfam's co-ordinator for the failed Horn of Africa state warned last week that the crisis in Somalia was Africa's worst for many years.

According to figures gathered from the cemeteries, hospitals and residential areas by local human right groups, more than 200 people have died over the last month alone.

"Nearly 300 others were injured," said Ali Fadhaa, of the local Elmen rights organisation.

The crump of mortars; the crackle of gunfire; eerily empty streets; prowling guerrillas and looters; sprawling refugee camps; hospitals overflowing with casualties, their bodies smashed open by bullets, shells and shrapnel - these are the everyday scenes of life in Mogadishu.

Those who have managed to flee the carnage have done so with little more than sleeping mats and the clothes they wore.

Food is scarce, water is very costly and there is no sanitation, though some refugees have access to water tanks donated by local non-governmental organisations affiliated to international aid groups.

Relief efforts have been hampered by the lack of security, poor infrastructure and harassment from government soldiers.

As well as her own children, 24-year-old Sahra Ahmed Dahir is caring for six orphaned youngsters under a tree in the Elasha neighbourhood, south-west of the city.

"We're looking for shelter but it's very expensive. I have no-one to support me and and nowhere to go," she said.

"My husband died a week ago before we came here. He was hit by a stray bullet, while trying to go out to bring food to the children."

The internally displaced people's camps are full of young people who have been separated from their adult relatives during the fighting.

Crossfire

Sixteen-year-old Ma'ey Kheyrow has been left caring for her baby brother after losing her parents and sister.

"I only remember a week ago we were separated by gunfire as we were running out of our village in Mogadishu," she says. "We ran in two different directions and since then I haven't heard of them."

Civilians end up slaughtered daily in the crossfire.

The gory civilian by-product of the mayhem can be glimpsed in the city's three hospitals: Medina and Keysaney (run by the International Committee of the Red Cross) and Daynile (run by Medecins Sans Frontieres).

Just 30 days old, the tiny chalky grey body of Sahali Haji Abdi lies trembling on an operating table in Medina Hospital.

His little stomach is slit down the middle.

A nurse tells me a doctor is searching for a bullet in the baby's abdomen; I can see a large hole in his lower back.

Sahali's frantic mother awaits the results of the surgery outside the operating theatre.

"Me and my family were about to flee a house in Jungal [north Mogadishu] when the bullet hit my son," she said.

"I only realised he was hit when I heard him cry out and saw blood streaming out of a cot he was lying on."

Casualty convoy

Whenever there is fighting, a convoy of cars, minibuses and trucks deliver civilians to the already overflowing hospitals.

Those without motor transport have to rely on wheelbarrows or carts.

Dr Mohamed Yusuf, a surgeon at Medina Hospital, told me they could not cope with the patients because of a lack of beds and staff.

"We have the medicine provided by Red Cross, but there are few doctors and nurses," he said.

The hospital has only 100 beds but is often coping with four times that number of patients, many lying on tables, the floor or tents in the corridors.

There are few certainties in Somalia, but one thing seems depressingly inevitable: as battles continue to rage in Mogadishu, more innocents like Halima, Sahali and Ma'ey will endure suffering beyond their tender years.

As Ethiopia Withdraws, Hiran Governor Quits Govt.

Hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers retreated from bases around the key town of Beletwein, the provincial capital of Hiran region, with more than 20 military trucks driving west towards the Somalia-Ethiopia international border, witnesses told local radio garowe-online.

However, unconfirmed reports said some Ethiopian army units based around Janta Kundisho camp in the outskirts of Beletwein had not withdrawn yet.

Ethiopian troops advanced on Beletwein town over the weekend to assist Somali government forces retake full control of the town from insurgents, who controlled the town's western neighborhoods.

There were reports of looting during Saturday's takeover, with local sources reporting that Somali soldiers had looted businesses in the western part of Beletwein.

It is not clear why Ethiopian troops withdrew, but Addis Ababa has repeatedly denied the presence of its forces on Somali soil.

Quit'

Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, the Islamist governor of Hiran region, told a Monday press conference in Beletwein that his regional administration has withdrawn its support for the TFG in Mogadishu.

Sheikh Ma'ow said the TFG is "weak" and has "failed to implement Shari'ah law" across the war-torn Horn of Africa country. The UN-recognized TFG controls pockets of Mogadishu with the backing of a 5,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM.

Appealing to armed factions in Somalia and neighboring countries, he said: "Hiran region is not prepared for war. We are here to defend the interests of Hiran [region]."

He was asked about the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces, saying: "We do not support the presence of Ethiopian troops."

Sheikh Ma'ow said he "welcomes" efforts to establish a regional administration for Hiran and called for such efforts to be "sped up."

He sent an apology and condolences to families whose businesses were looted in Beletwein's western neighborhoods, which had been the stronghold for Somali insurgents in recent weeks.

Sheikh Ma'ow was part of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) militia that fought against Ethiopian troops during Ethiopia's two-year military intervention in south-central Somalia that ended in early 2009.

Hiran region has been wrecked by violence among UIC rivals in recent months, especially among the pro-TFG factions and the hardliners, led by Al Shabaab.

Security minister rejects Hiran governor's criticism

A senior member of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has rejected a governor's criticism, saying that the governor was 'expressing his own opinion,' Radio Garowe reports.

Mr. Mohamed Abdullahi "Sanba," the new TFG security minister, told reporters Tuesday that the Hiran governor, Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, "cannot speak on behalf of the people of Hiran region."

"The Governor can have complaints, but he should address his complaints to the government [TFG] instead of reaching unilateral decisions," Security Minister Sanba said.

Sheikh Ma'ow, the Islamic Courts official who governs Hiran region, has been openly critical of the presence of Ethiopian troops in Hiran's provincial capital, Beletwein. He announced yesterday that his regional administration has "quit" its support for the TFG in Mogadishu.

European delegation pledges support for Puntland Administration

A five member European Union delegation who reached in Galkayo has pledged support to the leaders of Puntland, officials said on Wednesday.

Ali Barre, the director of the presidential palace of Puntland told reporters that the EU delegation pledged for Puntland of paying the salaries of the security forces.

The president of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland has received a delegation from the European Union in Galkayo on Tuesday.

The two parties have discussed many issues and agreed of strengthening cooperation in the fight against piracy and human trafficking.

The have also agreed on assisting the Somalis who fled from the fighting in Mogadishu and now in Puntland regions.

The move comes as Puntland and the Transitional Federal government of Somalia signed an agreement allowing Puntland to sign contracts with NGOs and International organizations, while the EU delegation apparently has not signed any agreement with Puntland.

Djibouti to send 500 soldiers to Somalia: report

The government of the Republic of Djibouti is planning to send peacekeepers to neighboring Somalia soon, Radio Garowe reports.

Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mohamud Ali Yusuf recently said that Djiboutian troops would serve as part of the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, known as AMISOM. He noted that Djiboutian soldiers are "ready" and will soon be transported to Somalia with "assistance of France."

His comment was reiterated by Djibouti´s ambassador to the United States, Mr. Roble Olhaye.

Speaking on VOA Somali Service, Ambassador Olhaye said the Djibouti government decided to dispatch peacekeepers to Somalia to assist that country's interim government defeat an insurgency raging since early 2007.

"The Djibouti Government made the decision [to send peacekeepers] after the U.N. rejected sending a peacekeeping force to Somalia. It is our duty to help the Somali government, as this is the only option," Djibouti´s ambassador to the U.S. said during the interview.

He did not specify the number of Djiboutian soldiers being sent to Somalia, but independent sources put that number at around 500 soldiers.

AMISOM currently consists of 5,000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi. The force is short of the 8,000 soldiers approved by the AU to help guard government institutions in Mogadishu and train Somali security forces.

Meanwhile, upwards of 800 Somali soldiers are currently receiving military training in Djibouti camps with the help of French military advisers.

Last month, Somali Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Mr. Abdirahman Abdishakur, announced that Nigeria and Djibouti were sending peacekeepers to boost the AMISOM force in Mogadishu.

Somali insurgents oppose the presence of AMISOM and accuse government leaders of being Western puppets.

Al Shabaab threatens Somaliland

Al Shabaab has threatened the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland and warned the people and the government against any relations with Ethiopia, an official said on Thursday.

The Emir of the militant group of al Shabaab Sheik Mukhtar Abu Subayr, whose real name is Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamud Godane, sent a recorded message to the local media - forcing them to air it.

"The relation between Ethiopia and the Rayale administration is a danger to the people. Allah has called for the Muslim people not to make friends with Jewish and Christians," Abu Subayr said.

"Ethiopia is a Christian country and is an enemy to the Muslim people in the Horn of Africa. Wine, Hashish, Aids. Every bad thing from Ethiopia enters Somaliland," Abu Subayr added.

He warned the people of Somaliland against receiving the Ethiopian people and giving them residence in Somaliland.

"The most dangerous thing is giving land to the Ethiopian people, which will eventually make them to occupy the land of the Muslim people like the Jewish who occupied Palestine,".

Abu Subyr has condemned the Somaliland election and described it as evil.

Journalist arrested in southern Galkayo

Liban Ajib Hajji a Somali journalist working as correspondent at Galkayo town in Mudug region for Shabelle a local radio station in the Somali capital Mogadishu was detained, by the administration of Ahlu-Sunnah Waljama in southern Galkayo.

The journalist has overnight spent in the custody, and has on Thursday morning spoken to his fellow workers at the station in Mogadishu, and told that he is doing fine, and was dealt with him good.

"In fact I cannot understand why I am arrested and what sort of crime I have committed against anybody, I cannot deny that the jail guards have dealt with in very conducive way though I could not take supper overnight due illness which I am feeling, on the other hand I was told that I will be brought before the judge today" said the journalist.

Some unconfirmed reports which Somaliweyn radio has received from the ground says that the journalist is detained for an interview he had with the spokesman of Galmudug state regarding about men dressed in the uniform of the security personnel committing robbery in some parts of Galkyo.

Impacting reports from the global village

World deserves better than the UN

By John O´Shea

The United Nations will be 65 years old next year, but just because it is the only gig in town does not mean that the global community should be forced to persist with it.

Rather, as some commentators have suggested, it should be forced into retirement to make way for an organisation that is capable of dealing effectively with the major crisis that we are faced with across the world every year.

At this stage of its life, the UN should be a slick, well-oiled machine which has the willingness and, more importantly, the power to control and influence corrupt governments and regimes that have inflicted and continue to inflict heinous human rights abuses on their own people.

Instead, it is the possessor of a shameful CV which details in stark terms its many bungled attempts to resolve some of the worst tragedies that the world has had the misfortune to experience over the last six decades.

As if we need to be reminded, the UN has failed dramatically in places such as Cambodia in the 1970s, in Ethiopia in the mid-80s, Srebrenica, Rwanda, and Somalia in the 1990s, and more recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) and Darfur.

Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were displaced, beaten, raped, or murdered. It is damning indictment of an organisation which was established to ensure international peace and security and the promotion of human rights.

The truth about the UN now is as clear as it is uncomfortable. It is a creaking, slow-moving, inflexible, and powerless organisation which has proved time and time again that it is helpless to either prevent or resolve humanitarian disasters. It is time that we did the right thing and shut it down once and for all.

The global community deserves a new organisation with structures which are capable of exerting real influence on despots and dictators who continue to destroy lives and use the world as their own personal playground.

Somali camps 'unfit for humans' (BBC)

The aid agency Oxfam has decried the conditions in which hundreds of thousands of refugees from the conflict in Somalia are being forced to live.

It says the overcrowded and badly managed camps in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are "barely fit for humans".

Dadaab camp in north-eastern Kenya was meant to hold 90,000 refugees, but is now home to almost 300,000 people, and a further 8,000 arrive each month.

Oxfam has called on Kenya's government to urgently allocate more land.

"We really need extra land, extra space, to be able to spread people out," Oxfam's Paul Smith Lomas told the BBC.

"And that land needs to be allocated soon. We've had assurances for months and months now. Now we need action."

Human tragedy'

Kenya's commissioner for refugees, Peter Kusimba, told the BBC that the pace may have been slow, but land was being earmarked to decongest the camp.

As fighting continues in Somalia many are unable to flee the country.

Afgooye, near the capital Mogadishu, is home to almost half a million Somalis and is the world's densest concentration of displaced people, the BBC's Will Ross reports from Nairobi.

Insecurity makes it increasingly difficult for local and international agencies to deliver aid there, he adds.

Oxfam has described the situation as a "human tragedy of unthinkable proportions" and says the international response has been "shamefully inadequate".

"The ultimate solution to the situation and the needs in Somalia has to be peace, has to be a politically negotiated peace settlement," Mr Smith Lomas said.

"Much is being done, and much more must be done. Until people experience safety and peace on the ground, then we will have to continue responding to these humanitarian needs," he added.

Somalia is nominally ruled by a UN-backed government, but Islamist insurgents control large areas.

The failed Horn of Africa state has not had a functioning central government since 1991.

Oxfam calls for global action on Somalia crisis

By Daniel Ooko (Xinhua)

International agency Oxfam on Thursday called on international community to deal firmly with the crisis in Somalia as thousands of Somalis flee deadly violence in the war-torn nation.

The agency warned that a total failure of the international community to deal effectively with the Somalia crisis and help end the war is resulting in a spiral of human suffering and exodus to neighboring countries.

"Somalis flee one of the world's most brutal conflicts and a desperate drought, only to end up in unimaginable conditions in camps that are barely fit for humans," said Robbert Van den Berg, Oxfam International's spokesman for the Horn of Africa.

"Hundreds of thousands of children are affected, and the world is abandoning the next generation of Somalis when they most need our help," said the spokesman.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, Oxfam said hundreds of thousands of Somalis who have fled the violence are now trapped in horrifically overcrowded or poorly managed camps in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia itself.

It noted that poor sanitation and little access to basic services such as water and medicine due to an ineffective response are creating a public health emergency in camps, which needs to be urgently addressed.

Somalia has recently seen a major increase in conflict, and the country is suffering its worst drought in a decade.

The failure of the international community to address adequately these overcrowded and unsanitary camps is shameful, given the level of need and human suffering,

According to Oxfam, each and every month, around 8,000 Somali refugees pour into Dadaab camp in northern Kenya. Now home to 280,000 people, the camp was originally built to only house a third of that amount.

Oxfam said severe overcrowding means many families do not have regular access to latrines or clean water, and in some of the worst parts of the camp, over 20 families share one single latrine.

"The Kenyan government has repeatedly promised to provide more land to ease the overcrowding but has so far failed to do so, despite the urgent and critical needs. More pressure from the international community is needed to make it happen," Van den Berg said.

In Ethiopia's Bokolmayo camp, almost 10,000 people are already in the camp and nearly 1,000 people a month continue to arrive.

Yet the current infrastructure and services are insufficient to cope with more arrivals, and there is still an important funding gap for the operation.

According to Oxfam, the UN refugee agency's response to the impending crisis has been weak and inefficient.

"Ultimately, the root cause of the problems in all of these camps is the ongoing conflict, lawlessness and humanitarian disaster inside Somalia. Our governments must put Somalia top of their list and do more than simply keeping the country on life-support," Van den Berg said.

"What we need is a different approach and sustained senior level commitment to ending this outrageous human suffering that has been going on for over 15 years," he said.

Oxfam called on the agency to exercise much greater leadership in ensuring Somalis get adequate assistance by supporting host countries to respond effectively to the humanitarian crisis.

In Somalia, Oxfam said, many of those fleeing Mogadishu have looked for refuge in the nearby Afgooye area, which with up to at least 485,000 people sheltering on a 15 km strip of land is now said to be the world's densest concentration of displaced people.

The high insecurity makes it extremely difficult for international agencies to deliver enough aid to meet people's needs.

Somalis themselves are now on the frontline of delivering aid through their local organizations, yet they lack funds to carry out their life-saving work and need much more support from donors.

"In all three locations -- Afgooye, Dadaab and Bokolmayo – the services being provided to vulnerable and desperate people are far below international standards. While NGOs need to scale up their response, donors cannot shy away from providing funding for this emergency," Van den Berg said.

"This is a human tragedy of unthinkable proportions where countless people have now been deprived of a home and a sense of normality for months and months," he noted.

Somali militants seek fighters in northeast Kenya

By Noor Ali

Recruiters flee after police make arrests

Sheikhs call on government to monitor groups

Chaos in Somalia is spilling over its borders, fuelling a climate of suspicion in Kenya's remote northeast where recruiters have been seeking new jihadists to send into battle.

Western security agencies say Somalia has become a haven for foreign jihadists and local Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda who are plotting attacks across the region and beyond.

Somalis fleeing the civil war are crossing the frontier into Kenya at a rate of 7,000 a month.

That has piled pressure on the government and aid agencies to shelter them, and has also seen the emergence of groups that local security officials say are linked to Somalia's rebels.

Police said 10 young Kenyan men were arrested last month after being recruited by two bogus charities to go to Somalia and fight for al Shabaab militants. Washington describes al Shabaab as al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state.

Somalia's U.N.-backed administration is battling several insurgent groups including al Shabaab. It controls just pockets of the central region and a few parts of the capital Mogadishu.

Sheikh Abdullahi Dahir Shurie, a respected Muslim cleric in northeastern Kenya's Ijara district, said it was upsetting that so many Kenyan youths had been "misled" into believing fighting for the rebels in Somalia was a religiously sanctioned jihad.

"Some have been recruited, others were killed there," he said. "We must protect those who remain and stop these lies."

Ringleaders fled

A Kenyan intelligence officer who declined to be named said last month's arrests in Eastleigh, a mainly Somali suburb of the capital Nairobi, were made after months of investigation.

He said the officials in charge of both "charities", which purported to provide humanitarian relief in Somalia, had fled.

"We took our time, gathered information in Kenya and Somalia and interviewed communities who are supposed to be assisted (by the charities)," the officer told Reuters. "But they all said that the two organisations were owned and operated by al Shabaab and were used to raise funds and coordinate their activities."

On the Somali border, where the Kenyan authorities have boosted their security forces, Sheikh Shurie said he and other moderate clerics were embracing a government programme to try to stop al Shabaab's ideology from gaining a local foothold.

The plan was launched in August by Kenyan Defence Minister Mohamed Yussuf Haji, a local member of parliament, and involves the sheikhs making sermons condemning the Somali rebels at the province's mosques and religious schools.

The clerics have also called on the authorities to monitor closely the work of all non-governmental groups in their area.

"The officials who allowed the agencies to operate that were later found recruiting youths must be arrested. They received bribes, no doubt," said Shurie's colleague Sheikh Mukhtar.

"Evil designed as Holy War"

Haji, the defence minister, told Reuters the government would help educate young Kenyans.

"We will tell them the truth ... the conflict in Somalia is not a holy war, it is evil work and evil designed as a holy war," Haji told an audience in the northeast last weekend.

But in the dusty border town of Mandera, where unemployment is high and successive droughts have made life even grimmer than before, the cash offered by militant recruiters can be hard to resist.

One local teacher, Ibrahim Mohamed, said al Shabaab had growing influence in the region, and that his father and other elders had chosen not to denounce them.

"Teachers in Mandera are worried. Al Shabaab stormed a school last month and lectured the pupils," he said. "They told them to quit formal education and join the jihad in Somalia."

Not everyone who takes the money has gone on to fight.

One young man who now drives a taxi in Garissa town said he was approached in 2007 by a heavily bearded recruiter.

"He gave me 50,000 shillings ($650) just a day after we met. The elder who introduced him to me was very sincere. He told me I was to fight in Somalia," the taxi driver said.

"I gave the elder half the money, threw away my phone, enjoyed myself, chewed khat and paid fees for driving school."

Gaddafi and struggle for African unity

By Maje T. Sanusi

Subserveincy has remained to be a major hindrance that continues to devour the progress of the African continent for countless decades. And in- spite of efforts by the so- called western imperialists, who first discovered the bounties of richness abundantly established in the region and thus, attempted to colonise and divide it among their spheres of influence. it's obvious that the western lords had to establish their presence on the African coast, in view of its endowed human and material resources. A lot of machineries were then put in place by the colonialists and various systems employed to technically administer and thus proclaimed the newly acquired goldmine. Ideally, the plan was to enable them continue to reap from the abundant wealth hitherto, established within the continent, even as they had agreed to grant an artificial independence to most member countries.

It's quite disappointing how in this 21st Century, the African region still remained backward and under-developed, since they technically installed their subservient African stooges at the helm of affairs, so that they can continue to serve their purposes and protect their various interests.

Today, most African leaders are ignorant of the needs and aspirations of the people they served, notably the masses, who formed the majority. What is being witnessed in Africa is the aggressiveness, through which African leaders assumed the mantle of leadership and the acute desire to remain permanently in power, so that they continue to amass, as much wealth, as they can and stash same in foreign banks to purposely serve the interests of their foreign lords. Any attempt to change the system will consequently lead to breakdown of law and violence, while their foreign lords continued to supply them with arms and ammunitions to protect their seats and remain in power. It does not matter, if the African masses drink the blood of one another and eat them up in the guise of war, so long as the white lords benefit from the circumstances.

More so, African leaders, who have gotten wise to defend their fatherland and whose system of governance run contrary to the western policies or agenda had allegedly been conspicuously dealt with and subsequently had their governments toppled or even assassinated. We can recall the late Thomas Sankara of blessed memory, who tried to proclaim his country by attempting to change its colonial title from Ivory Coast to Burkina Faso. He was brutally massacred and replaced by Blaise Campaore, who was then his deputy.

In Nigeria we also sadly witnessed the brutal murder of late General Murtala Muhammad known for his open-policy against the west.

In the same vein Nigerien leader Ba'are Mai nasara was tactfully assassinated, while Gorkoni Wadaye of Chad Republic was equally chopped up by Idriss Derby in an internally sponsored war.

We saw the demise of Liberia, under Charles Taylor; we also saw the collapse of Congo Brazzaville, Burundi and Uganda, while Somalia, Sudan and Chad are being difficult to control. Nigeria and Niger Republics are wallowing under the guise of corruption, while they failed to muster the strength to get over their internal differences and forge ahead.

Interestingly, Muammar Gaddafi becomes the only African leader who withstands the test of time and somehow seemed to has continued to defy the western axe, inspite of his revolutionary policies against the western imperialists. He was accused by, notably the US of being a terrorist and consequently sponsoring terrorist activities across the globe. On the contrary, Libya's Gaddafi is perceived by many of his African contemporaries as an international hero in view of his enormous contributions towards the protection and development of the African continent so far.

He was seen to be massively sponsoring and aiding peace and conflict resolution in most of the crisis ridden African nations.

In recent times, Col. Gaddafi was reported to have unilaterally pumped millions of dollars to aid President Robert Mugabe's election when it was fast approaching. Libya was similarly noted to have sent envoys to Serra Leone and Ivory Coast. It equally pledged to provide Ghana with enough fuel to resolve its short falls. Libya was also at the fore-front towards heralding peace initiatives with Sudan , aimed at ending the civil war in Darfur, even as it continued to bolster the economies of countries in the sub-Saharan Africa, among other things.

While I personally congratulate the Libyan leader on his 40th anniversary on the throne, it's obvious that only the unity of the African leaders can help to rescue the African region from imminents collapse. While attempts by the OAU, AU, has failed to register any positive result in the first few decades, the new initiatives by the current Chairman, Libya's luminary and versatile leader, Muammar Gaddafi is seen as the only alternative towards bringing a lasting solution to Africa's problem of under development. No other AU chairman had ever thought of touring the African region to acquaint himself with the problems affecting its member nations, but the Libyan leader did and finally seemed to have emerged with the proposal for a Government of Unity among the African nations. In his great and foresighted idea, Muammar Gaddafi believes that a United States of Africa, under a single unified government can compete favourably with the Europe, USA, Japan or the newly emerging China.

According to the erstwhile leader, the new initiative will equally help to, not only come up with a new unified currency for Africans, but can also check the flow of African migrants to Europe. Additionally, Africa can, at the same time exploit its own resources and create more job opportunities for its teaming populace. Muammar Gaddafi's mission, in this new initiative is vivid, as is geared towards re-awakening African leaders to unite their crisis-laden continent and forge ahead as a single volatile entity and therefore, needs to be supported at all costs, if at all our leaders are serious about the development of the region.

Although, the African union was only formed in the year 2001, that is 8 years ago, Muammar Gaddafi's idea of a single federal government seemed to have echoed the voices of late African leaders, such as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and the first President of Tanzania, late Julius Nyerere, who similarly advocated for the idea.

Imperatively, this great idea should meet with the cooperation of all African leaders and be endorsed at once, following its beauty and numerous benefits. This has become necessary, in view of the fact that it will help to promote unity among all the African countries, establish solidarity, and enhance democracy, economic development and international cooperation, especially in terms of conflict resolution within the continent. In addition, this may similarly include use of a single currency and an integrated defense force, as well as propose for a single cabinet and head of state.

Col. Mu'ammar Gaddafi has been a strong unionist, revolutionary, humanitarian, and a champion of the masses, as an exemplary leader. I feel the current AU summit in Libya will certainly accord him the opportunity of uniting Africa to achieve greatness, while I cherish and appreciate his recent conferment for the new Africa's king of kings. It's crystal clear that the appointment has given him the enormous opportunity to put his house in order by getting the traditional rulers to stand together under a single umbrella. He should therefore, be encouraged by getting the support and cooperation of all and sundry to enable him succeed.

Gaddafi's forty years in power celebrated with a 'gallery of grotesques'

By Daniel Howden

War crimes suspect and notorious Somali pirate turn out for anniversary party in Tripoli

The celebrations marking Colonel Gaddafi's 40th anniversary as Libya's dictator lit up the Tripoli sky last night as a number of international pariahs, described by one diplomat as a "gallery of grotesques", gathered to enjoy a lavish parade, dance spectacles and fighter jets streaking overhead.

The celebration was meant to be the crowning act in Gaddafi's rehabilitation on the international stage, but the Libyan leader's respectability, already undermined by the controversy raging over the release of the only convicted Lockerbie bomber, was further eroded by accusations that a notorious Somali pirate leader was among the VIPs in attendance.

Mohammed Abdi Afweyne, a confessed leader of one of the largest pirate gangs that has been terrorising shipping off the Horn of Africa, has been in Tripoli since Saturday, according to sources in Somalia.

Government sources refused to confirm or deny the presence of Afweyne, the leader of a gang of hijackers that seized control of the MV Faina, a Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons. Reports also suggest that Afweyne had met with senior Libyan officials.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese ruler who is indicted for war crimes in Darfur, were among those enjoying the party which was expected to go on until dawn.

The only European leader to accept an invitation to the opening of the week-long extravaganza marking the Libyan leader's 40 years in power was the Maltese President George Abela. France and Italy were represented at ministerial level while Britain attempted to distance itself by sending an embassy chargé d'affaires, Mark Matthews. The British Government has been deeply embarrassed by repeated accusations that it traded the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber in return for Libyan oil and gas. Britain's ambassador to Libya, Vincent Fean, took the opportunity to visit Malta instead of staying for the party, while in private British diplomats were said to be deeply concerned with the content of last night's show.

As dozens of world leaders were seated behind bulletproof glass to watch the festivities, only Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez broke away from the heavy security to joke with reporters.

European diplomatic sensitivities were best illustrated by a heated last-minute row over the colour of smoke in a planned aerobatics display.

The Italian equivalent of Britain's Red Arrows refused to use exclusively Libyan (and Islamic) green smoke as requested by the hosts. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the jets would not be allowed to take off if they were were not permitted to emit the red, white and green of the Tricolore – Italy's national colours.

Even Mr Berlusconi, often breezily undiplomatic, retreated from Tripoli on Sunday in the face of international criticism of the Libyan leader.

Col. Gaddafi's propensity for embarrassing Western governments, displayed last week by the welcome accorded the released Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, has complicated an occasion meant to mark Libya's return from the international wilderness. The presence of the notorious Somali Afweyne will also raise questions over whether the 67-year-old leader is now sponsoring pirate groups. Col. Gaddafi has used his position as chairman of the African Union (AU) to defend the hijackers who have been involved in a record surge of piracy in and around the Gulf of Aden over the last two years.

Addressing the AU in May, he said piracy was: "a response to greedy Western nations, who invade and exploit Somalia's water resources illegally". "It is not a piracy, it is self defence," he went on. "It is defending the Somalia children's food."

However, Afweyne has previously been behind the hijacking of a cargo ship carrying food relief for those same Somali children that Col. Gaddafi spoke of.

Afweyne is a former warlord sometimes referred to as the father of piracy off the coast of Somalia whose group was behind the capture and ransoming of a World Food Programme vessel carrying emergency aid, the MV Semlow, in 2005.

Until 2006 he headed up a band of Somali pirates based in the city of Haradhere that called themselves the Defenders of Somali Territorial Waters. That group was disbanded by the fledgling authority in Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts Union, which was toppled by a Ethiopian invasion later in the same year backed by the United States. More recently he has been spotted in Hargeisa, the capital of breakaway Somaliland, and is believed to be involved in ransom negotiations for at least one ship still being held off the coast of Somalia.

The Libyan leader, who is expected to speak later this month at the United Nations General Assembly, was officially removed from the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2006, but US government officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have since compared acts of Somali piracy with acts of terrorism.

During the 1970s and 1980s the Libyan regime was involved in arming rebel movements in West Africa, Basque separatists in Spain and the IRA, among others. This led in 1991 to diplomatic isolation and an international wall of sanctions that lasted for more than a decade.

The presence of the pirate leader came as the Philippine President Gloria Arroyo offered, in Tripoli, to help fund and train a Somali coastguard.

Afweyne, along with the majority of Somali pirates, has repeatedly claimed to be acting as a de facto Somali coastguard while a number of Somali groups have been seeking sponsorship to rebrand themselves as coastguards. Since the collapse of the central government in Somalia in 1991 the coast has been targeted by illegal fishing trawlers and toxic dumping operations that have damaged coastal fisheries.

President Arroyo, in Libya attending the African Union summit staged to bolster the VIP ranks ahead of last night's party, met with Somali leader Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed on the sidelines of the AU gathering.

Dying' bomber: Questions over Megrahi's health

here was confusion last night over the health of the released Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi after new claims from the Libyan government that he was close to death.

Tripoli's propaganda chief, Majid al-Dursi, told the Associated Press: "Only God knows when it will be over. He is dying now." Megrahi did not attend Monday's rehearsals for the celebrations of Colonel Gaddafi's 40th anniversary as dictator, appearing instead on video screens, but there has been no independent confirmation of his condition. Officials told The Independent there was no update on his well-being and could not confirm if he was still in hospital.

Stranded Somali-Canadian to come home

An autistic Canadian man of Somali ethnicity, stranded in Kenya for three years, will soon be travelling home. ECOTERRA Intl. staff accompanied the 25 year old on Monday to the Canadian High Commission to fill application forms for an Emergency Travel Document (ETD).

Passport Canada will give 25-year-old Abdihakim Mohamed a one-way travel document, but not a passport, to return from Kenya.

The Canadian authorities had confiscated his passport, which his mother carried for safekeeping.

His mother, Anab Issa, in numerous attempts with the assistance of Canadian organizations and a lawyer had tried unsuccessfully and since three years to get back the passport and to her son back to Canada from the East African country, but Canadian officials insisted that he didn't look like his passport photo, and that he didn't seem to be autistic.

After meanwhile famous Suad Haji Mohamed, this is the second case , where only massive pressure from a human rights organization, several Canadian MPs and the media could achieve that the Canadian Border Service and other governmental services involved get moving. Though the ETD as well as arrangements for the travel are believed now to finalize over the coming days without any further delay, the Canadian High Commission did not furnish Abdihakim Mohamed with a protection letter or similar documentation which could be endorsed by the Kenyan authorities - stating that he is in Kenya legally until he will fly home.

The Canadian lawyer of the family had called last Thursday for an inquiry into the government's treatment of citizens stranded abroad.

Nuclear Egypt poses a real danger to Ethiopia

By Ayenew Haileselassie

North Korea keeps shooting its long range missiles now and then. These missiles do not just reach all important targets; they can also deliver a nuclear message. Its leaders, or rather leader, has effectively made the world believe that he is unpredictable, that one day he could really strike American or South Korean targets.

Japan, Russia and China are all concerned, but not as badly as the other two countries. He has the gun; he seems to have the will to use it. The missing element is the excuse. (Of course, the other side of the argument is that he is already using them and reaping the benefits at least from the immediate south.) Now there are many of us who think that we are too far away or too detached to be concerned about this issue.

But suppose it was not North Korea, but Egypt. Suppose it tried a missile in its vast deserts. Suppose it stood its ground and kept trying them even at a great cost to its international relations. It would of course regain its old stature in the Arab world, Israel would not leave a stone unturned to destroy the country´s missile capabilities, and we in Ethiopia would at last live in constant fear of the consequences of a grave transboundary issue that followed the currents of the river Nile.

It all begins like a love affair. Abay (the Blue Nile) flees its home meets his lover, the White Nile in Khartoum, and the two disappear into the Egyptian Desert. For all the basin countries, except Sudan and Egypt, this trip is not a honeymoon, but an elopement. Everybody loved them, but they chose the desert.

These figures may clarify this point. A study indicated that Sudan has an irrigation potential of 4,434,000 hectares of which it has so far irrigated 3,266,000 hectares, which is 73.7% of the potential. Egypt is utilizing 53.5% of its irrigation potential by irrigating 1,946,000 hectares out of a total 3,637,000.

Ethiopia and Egypt have the same potential, but Ethiopia has achieved a mere 5.2% (190,000 hectares) compared to Egypt´s 53.5%. Tanzania has achieved only 23% (190,000 hectares) of its 828,000 hectares potential, and Uganda, slightly worse than Ethiopia, has achieved only 4.5% (9,000 hectares) of its 202,000 hectares potential.

The reality behind such numbers is that Ethiopia, for example, has never been able to feed itself, despite the fact that a very large majority of its people are kept in the shackles of poverty ever engaged in the losing struggle to grow enough food for themselves and for the market. Had it not been for the perennial drought which has always effectively wiped out years´ of growth and then put the country in recovery mode for more years, Ethiopia could have been a better country economically.

Traditionally Ethiopian agriculture has been low-input, low-output, always dependent on unreliable rainfall, and, even at the best of times, never fed the nation. According to the Famine Early Warning System Network report for June 2009, 7.5 million Ethiopians were indicated as chronically food insecure. "An additional 4.9 million people require emergency food assistance through June 2009. In addition, about 200,000 people have been displaced in the southern parts of the country due to clan conflict and are receiving humanitarian assistance. However, the official size of the food insecure population will most likely increase following poor performance of the belg/gu season this year," it said.

Ethiopia´s agriculture had, in 1996, delivered a record harvest, following which the government proudly announced that it had finally achieved the long sought after food self-sufficiency. Three years of drought led to an emergency situation in 2000 and a sober assessment of the situation.

It was the following year the Nile Basin Initiative was launched, with its head office in Entebe, Uganda, and seven project offices in seven other places. Since then it has been negotiating. Its purpose was "equitable and reasonable use of the water system" by up and down stream countries "without causing significant harm to down stream countries." With this initiative Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as other Nile basin countries will work to narrow the gap they have with Sudan and Egypt in exploiting the waters of the Blue and White Nile rivers for their maximum benefit. Ethiopia, for example, wants dams for electricity and irrigation. Such is the issue worldwide wherever there are transboundary rivers.

Asfaw Dingamo, Ethiopia´s water minister, returned recently from a Nile Basin Initiative meeting in Cairo apparently proud that Ethiopia´s interests had not been given away in the negotiations. In an interview with Addis Zemen, the state newspaper, he put the situation in a nutshell saying that Egypt had no rainwater at all, that Sudan was only slightly better than Egypt in that respect, and that the population of the Nile basin was growing very fast.

That was no recipe for war, he said, for studies had indicated that there was enough water for all in the basin. His argument in the negotiations is that extensive developments in the basin area in Ethiopia would avert flooding in Sudan and loss of water due to evaporation in Sudan and Egypt. The water flow would be regulated by the dams in Ethiopia for the best benefit of all three countries. Well, the two countries, who have always wanted to be the solitary users of the water, are negotiating for the next best thing, instead of taking Asfaw Dingamo´s words.

The doomsayers that predict war not just in north eastern Africa but wherever there are transboundary waters have a strong case in their favour.

In the 20th century, only seven minor skirmishes took place between nations over shared water resources, while over 300 treaties were signed during the same period of time to avert similar or worse incidents, according to statistics made available during the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, this month. Examine the following related data: • There are 263 transboundary river and lake basins and around 300 transboundary aquifers worldwide.

Transboundary lake and river basins account for an estimated 60 per cent of global freshwater flow and is home to 40 % of the world´s population.

Over 75 percent of all countries, 145 in total, have shared river basins within their boundaries. And 33 nations have over 95 percent of their territory within international river basins.

158 of the world´s 263 international river basins, plus transboundary aquifer systems, lack any type of cooperative management framework.

The following figures give a hint of the human factor involved in this situation.

About 1.4 billion people, mostly impoverished, live in river basins where all the blue water is already committed or overcommitted.

Water withdrawals are predicted to increase by 50 percent by 2025 in developing countries.

In 2030, 47% of world population will be living in areas of high water stress.

By 2075, the number of people in regions with chronic water shortage is estimated to be between 3 and 7 billion.

When we bring this closer to home, Egypt recently announced that eight years from now, 2017, the water need of its growing population would surpass what available resources could provide. In 2006 the Nile water provided Egypt 55.5 billion cubic metres of water, out of the total 64 billion it consumed. The 55.5 billion was the figure that Egypt and Sudan negotiated in 1959 without considering other basin countries.

Soon that generous allotment will no longer be enough. Egypt´s consumption is already well below the water poverty line. So how easy will it be to find a negotiated usage agreement? How long will that agreement hold before increasing population demands for more water from dwindling resources?

According to a recent paper by Fasil Amdetsion, an Ethiopian lawyer in America, those parties that believe that there will not be water war either in the Nile Basin or others, give a number of reasons to support their position. They say that communities afflicted by scarcity are likely to alter lifestyles, make a more efficient use of water, and cope with a dearth of resources. There are also who say that there will not be any water war, because there has never been any. [The last one was fought 4,500 years ago.] Amdetsion repudiates these and other arguments claiming that Egypt has always had interest inn destabilizing Ethiopia. He mentions Egypt´s alleged support the Eritrea during the war with Ethiopia and its support to Somalia during the war with Ethiopia in the 1970´s. He believes that Egypt deliberately foiled the peace talks in Addis Ababa among Somali rebels. He believes that Egypt will do all it could to have the upper hand in Nile negotiations.

Meanwhile natural resources worldwide will continue falling. Population continues to boom against natural expectations. Egypt, a desert country that ought to be sparsely populated, has 76 million people living in it, and as Ethiopia, it is gripped by the concerns of providing for a very fast growing population. So doomsayers say that animal instincts will take over to survive, and those instincts will be the war mongering, blood thirsty type.

May be one day, if that war comes, with Sudan serving as a corridor and a fighter supporting Egypt (or Ethiopia???), that may be nature´s way decreasing our populations enough to fit available resources.

Europe should take in more refugees, Brussels says – dpa

European Union governments should banish xenophobia and work together to host more refugees from the developing world, Jacques Barrot, the bloc's top justice official in Brussels said Wednesday.

"The European Commission has a duty to remind member states of their obligations," Barrot said. "We will not solve this crisis by reacting in a xenophobic manner."

Barrot, who is the EU commissioner responsible for freedom, security and justice issues, made his proposal for a "Joint EU Resettlement Programme" of refugees amid growing European resentment towards immigrants at a time of rising unemployment. He also made his comments against the backdrop of a fierce spat between Rome and the EU's executive arm in Brussels over its request for "clarifications" after Italian officials prevented a boat-load of immigrants - many of them thought to be asylum-seekers from war-torn Somalia - from reaching its territory.

On Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi threatened to bloc all agreements at EU level unless the commission's spokespersons stopped criticizing member states in public. Barrot said Wednesday that the request did not imply criticism and that the commission would only draw its own conclusions after receiving a reply from Rome. But he also cautioned governments against sending immigrants back to Libya in a way that could put their lives at risk.

Thousands of illegal immigrants reach Italy, Malta or Spain each year after crossing the Mediterranean Sea aboard small, often unseaworthy boats, and drownings are frequent. Barrot said one of the thorniest problems involved distinguishing genuine asylum-seekers from illegal immigrants, while non-governmental organizations note that it is wrong to send migrants back to Libya while Tripoli refuses to sign up to international agreements on the protection of human rights. According to UNHCR figures, there are currently some 747,000 refugees in need of resettlement. By the end of 2008, developing countries were hosting 8.4 million refugees - 80 per cent of the total - with Pakistan alone hosting 1.8 million and Syria 1.1 million, many of these from Iraq.

Presenting his call for a common resettlement programme, Barrot noted that of the 65,596 refugees who were resettled worldwide in 2008, only 4,378 of these were relocated to the EU. While declining to speculate on how many refugees the EU should accept in future, Barrot said the bloc should show "concrete solidarity with third countries hosting large numbers of refugees.

"At present, only 10 of the EU's 27 member states have an annual resettlement programme. One of these is Denmark, which made international headlines this week by forcibly deporting 22 Iraqis who had sought shelter in a church in Copenhagen for nearly three months after their asylum applications were turned down by the authorities. The Danish government, like that of Italy, is backed by a right-wing party that is virulently anti-immigration.

According to Barrot's proposal, which would be put in place on a strictly voluntary basis, EU member states should join forces in assisting refugees, for instance by pooling doctors or sending joint missions to their countries of departure. While Sweden, the current holder of the EU presidency, is strongly in favour of international resettlement programmes, officials in Brussels concede that their power is limited, as most immigration-related issues remain under the competence of national governments.

The Maltese phantom vessel

By Enrico Gurioli (*) - Times of Malta

For a long time now, there has been an ongoing press campaign among Italian political parties, which in the pages of newspapers manages to mix politics with gossip. To add further fuel to the controversies, in the last few days new topics have been added, focusing on the Italian government's relations with the Vatican and with Muammar Gaddafi, Silvio Berlusconi's visit to Libya and the Maltese maritime squadron.

It goes without saying that one of the main subjects of debate is the desperate plight of illegal immigrants crossing over by sea from Libya to Sicily. That the problem of illegal immigration cannot be solved at sea is an opinion shared by all men of the sea and of goodwill but it is equally true that this authentic drama is being further exploited to harm the various institutional relations between the governments of the countries involved.

In this complex relationship between the institutions of the countries involved in this human trafficking has now also been added, according to the Italian news magazine L'Espresso, a Maltese "phantom vessel". According to the writer of the feature, "for some time now the Maltese armed forces have equipped a boat to come to the aid of those attempting the crossing from Libya", without specifying whether this information came from Italian or Maltese intelligence sources. In other words, it is about "a phantom fishing vessel, flying no flag and no distinguishing marks", which "boards the ramshackle boats carrying Eritrean survivors, who are dying of thirst.

The sailors all speak English. They do not wear uniforms but do not seem to be fishermen".

The reporting of this mysterious unmarked seacraft seems to have first been made by the five survivors of the umpteenth tragedy at sea. It is quite possible that this could have been the result of an interpretation of a difficult sea rescue but what is not surprising is the blowing up of what in effect seems to be a mysterious, unreliable "story" to create further tension between Italy and Malta.

At the command headquarters of the Italian air and naval forces, which operate in the area concerned, they strongly deny that there could be any phantom "fishing boat", adding that all the documentation in their possession, including aerial photographs, on the behaviour of the Maltese patrol boats have been placed at the disposal of the inquiring magistrates. Meanwhile, the Agrigento magistrate has listed three of the five Eritrean survivors among those being investigated; they have declared that they had received fuel from a "Maltese patrol boat", which told them to continue on their way to Lampedusa.

In certain Italian quarters outrage has been expressed at the presumed lack of sensitivity of the Italian and Maltese governments and some have even questioned the fact that Catholic sensibilities have been ignored by Prime Minister Berlusconi and strenuously defended by Catholic newspapers.

However, Gian Vian, the editor of the official Vatican daily, L'Osservatore Romano, has felt the need to state that "relations between both sides of the Tiber are excellent, as has been confirmed a number of times... In other words, nothing has changed in the relations between the Italian government and the Holy See".

What has happened and what is happening in the Sicilian Channel on board naval craft is creating a complex accumulation of international responsibilities through the decisions of commanding officers which have been taken and must be taken once illegal immigrants are sighted. There is a lot of human trafficking taking place in the sea surrounding Malta and the rescuing of illegal immigrants by civilian vessels can be liable to the charge of aiding and abetting illegal immigration, which is a crime in Italy.

There it is up to naval units to carry out their duty to rescue illegal immigrants who have been abandoned at sea. It is a difficult task for military sea patrols, which should, above all, prove to be a deterrent to arms trafficking in that "triangle" that historically has been defended by the forts of St Elmo in Malta, Lipari in Italy and La Goulette in Tunisia.

Last May, Italian and Libyan patrol boats started joint patrols along the Libyan coast and ports as provided for in a protocol signed by the Italian and Libyan governments with the aim of stopping ramshackle boats packed with illegal immigrants from leaving Libya. Besides the patrolling of the Libyan coast, Italian naval units carry out surveillance of the Sicilian Channel and of fishing in the "Mammellone" sea bank, south-west of Lampedusa, which is traditionally considered a breeding ground and where fishing is therefore prohibited.

To this one has to add the normal surveillance carried out by patrol boats of the Italian coastguard and Customs police in the territorial waters around Lampedusa and the patrolling by the Maltese armed forces outside Grand Harbour.

There is also the coordination of operations by Frontex, the agency set up to oversee the surveillance of the frontiers of the European Union. This agency has been in operation since 2005 and provides the necessary technical support in controlling the borders of the EU, coordinating operations between member states.

Little or nothing escapes the rigorous control of sea traffic in the various operations rooms, to which one must add the normal air traffic control; but one can argue that, in this media campaign carried out on the backs of illegal immigrants, one also has to consider the request of European countries, which are not Mediterranean states, to take over the command of Frontex.

The Maltese armed forces are responsible for a huge search and rescue area, which reaches both the Italian territorial waters and those of Libya and Greece. However, the bulk of illegal immigration takes place near Lampedusa and not near Greece and, in the words of a senior officer of the Italian Customs police, "the men of the Maltese maritime squadron carry out their duties in such an open manner that they certainly have no need to use a phantom fishing boat". "How can you blame the Italian Foreign Ministry," the editor of L'Osservatore Romano commented, "when it recalls that the Italian government has rescued the largest number of illegal immigrants, whereas others, such as the Spanish government, usually take a much tougher line?"

After what happened recently, when a dinghy with 75 illegal immigrants on board was turned back to Libya, there seems to be a tougher attitude by the Italian government towards illegal immigration which, it bears repeating, is organised by a powerful criminal network, which is certainly not humanitarian, and which requires decisive action by the EU.

Many of these illegal immigrants come from West Africa - Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Ivory Coast - or from the Horn of Africa: Somalia and Eritrea. They are not refugees but desperate men and women at the mercy of a criminal organisation, which then abandons them to their fate at sea for them to be rescued by men of the sea who have never failed to realise that that there could be anything as important as the sea.

The seamen are the protagonists of that culture which leads, in any case, to the "rescue" of the ship with its precious cargo of men and goods. It is a culture which has little in common with the use of a "Maltese phantom vessel", which does not exist and which, being unmarked, would immediately be sunk or used by the Italian government as the main evidence to show the world and the European Union the existence, in that stretch of sea, of a crew of "sailors who speak English".

(*) Mr Gurioli is an Italian journalist who specialises in maritime and communications affairs and has authored a number of books dealing with life at sea.

Guilty by association – MaltaToday

It should come as no surprise that the European Commission has requested a clarification from both Malta and Italy over the forced deportation of over 75 asylum seekers to Libya on Sunday.

If anything, the only surprise is that Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot took so long to finally take action over what can only be described as systematic and flagrant disregard for human rights and the rule of international law.

For make no mistake: the forced repatriation of asylum seekers without evaluating their eligibility to asylum – or for that matter, the deportation of persons to countries where their rights cannot possibly be guaranteed – is by definition a crime against humanity.

Curiously, however, the same government of Malta which sets such store by "Christian values", seems to have deliberately chosen to disregard this simple fact. In its ongoing stand-off with Italy, Malta appears to be quite content to "escort" asylum seekers to Sicily or Lampedusa, knowing full well that – thanks to a bilateral agreement with Gaddafi to the tune of €1 billion in investment over five years – the Italians can simply load these persons onto a Guardia Costiera vessel, and nonchalantly ferry them back to Tripoli as though the exercise were perfectly legal.

But it is not legal: far from it. For one thing, the asylum seekers on this occasion were mostly from Somalia – a war-torn and famine-stricken country in the Horn of Africa, whose citizens are by and large considered to qualify almost automatically for asylum under the terms of the Refugee Convention.

Other immigrants deported last Sunday are believed to be Eritreans, and the situation for these is entirely analogous. And yet, all were deported indiscriminately, without being offered the chance to apply for protection, in flagrant breach of the Charter of Human Rights.

Even if the migrants hailed from countries that do not qualify automatically for protection, their deportation would still have been illegal on the grounds that it violates the principle of "non-refoulement": a proviso whereby the basic rights of deportees must be guaranteed by the receiving country before any deportation can take place.

It is difficult to understand how Italy can have obtained such guarantees, when the destination country is not party to the United Nations Refugee Convention, and has no recognised asylum system of its own.

Furthermore, Libya has a dismal record of abuse and mistreatment of migrants caught trying to flee the country by boat – as attested by video footage aired recently on La Repubblica, in which a Libyan security official was seen firing a machine gun into the hull of a dinghy, when there were women and children on board.

Even without this evidence, Libya cannot seriously be regarded as a partner in any scheme that claims to uphold human rights. Amnesty International accuses the country of failing to address a long-standing pattern of impunity for perpetrators of gross human rights violations. For instance, no public information has been made available about the investigation into events in 1996 at Tripoli´s Abu Salim Prison, in which hundreds of prisoners were allegedly killed.

Nor have the authorities taken steps to address the legacy of gross human rights violations committed in earlier years, notably the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including the enforced disappearance of hundreds of critics and opponents of Gaddafi´s government: many of whom are feared to have died or been killed in custody.

More specific to the case at hand, there have been numerous and persistent reports of torture and other ill-treatment of detained migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers... not to mention also the issue of "double" refoulement, whereby Libya deports incoming asylum seekers back to their country of origin, despite the fact that in many cases, the outcome will be imprisonment, torture and death.

On 15 January 2008, the Libyan authorities announced their intention to deport all "illegal migrants", and subsequently carried out mass expulsions of Ghanaians, Malians, Nigerians and nationals of other countries. At least 700 Eritrean men, women and children were detained and were at risk of forcible return despite fears that they would be subjected to serious human rights abuses in their home country.

Under such circumstances, deporting asylum seekers to Libya is grossly irresponsible from a humanitarian point of view, regardless of the legal implications. From this perspective, Malta´s acquiescence to an ongoing crime against humanity can only severely undermine the present government´s claims to hold the high moral ground, and expose us all to international opprobrium.

It is to say the least disappointing, therefore, that the government of Malta should have played along with Italy in violating such basic human rights as the right to protection from torture and degrading treatment. Evidently, our exasperation with the immigration phenomenon – coupled with our inherent territoriality regarding the Search and Rescue Zone, that Italy would have us relinquish – has not only blinded us to our international obligations, but also to basic human decency.

Advocacy Community To Obama: Live Up To The Rhetoric

The Obama administration's policy toward Sudan is headed in the wrong direction on both the Darfur peace process and implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which ended the 22 year war between North and South Sudan. As the administration prepares to gather it's foreign policy principals for a decision on the Sudan Policy policy review, the time for change is now.

Highlighting the urgency of this issue, CNN.com and ForeignPolicy.com have both run commentaries from the Enough Project's leadership.

CNN.com ran a piece by Co-founder John Prendergast and award winning author Dave Eggers asking: "Were Darfur Promises For Real?"

"But this isn't just a debate about policy towards one country. President Obama, like President Bush before him, has called Darfur an ongoing genocide. So the policy that will be unveiled soon on Sudan will have global ramifications, because it will be the president's first chance to articulate his policy on responding to genocide."

In ForeignPolicy.com, Enough's Executive Director John Norris notes the simmering north-south issues could see Sudan self-destruct in two years.

"Imagine if we had enjoyed the luxury of knowing, two years before it happened, that Yugoslavia would disintegrate in 1991. Or just think if U.S. diplomats had been able to predict years earlier exactly when the Soviet Union was going to collapse. One certainly hopes the United States would have been better positioned to deal with these momentous events. But a current case gives one pause. Sudan might very well split in half in precisely two years, and policymakers have taken far too little notice."

To break down the complex policy issues, John Prendergast in the Ask The Expert series for the Center for American Progress, explains what the U.S. should be doing on Sudan.

To find out more about the ongoing crisis in Sudan, and the steps the Obama administration needs to take to address it, please visit their website at www.enoughproject.org

We do not send pictures with these reports, because of the volume, but picture this emetic scene with your inner eye:

A dying Somali child in the macerated arms of her mother besides their bombed shelter with Islamic graffiti looks at a fat trader, who discusses with a local militia chief and a UN representative at a harbour while USAID provided GM food from subsidised production is off-loaded by WFP into the hands of local "distributors" and dealers - and in the background a western warship and a foreign fishing trawler ply the waters of a once sovereign, prosper and proud nation, which was a role model for honesty and development in the Horn of Africa. (If you feel that this is overdrawn - come with us into Somalia and see the even more cruel reality yourself!)

There is no limit to what a person can do or how far one can go to help - if one doesn't mind who gets the credit !

ECOTERRA Intl. maintains a register for persons missing or abducted in the Somali seas (Foreign seafarers as well as Somalis). Inquiries by family member can be sent by e-mail to office[at]ecoterra-international.org

For families of presently captive seafarers - in order to advise and console their worries - ECOTERRA Intl. can establish contacts with professional seafarers, who had been abducted in Somalia, and their wives as well as of a Captain of a sea-jacked and released ship, who agreed to be addressed "with questions, and we will answer truthfully".

ECOTERRA - ALERTS and pending issues:

PIRATE ATTACK GULF OF ADEN: Advice on Who to Contact and What to Do http://www.noonsite.com/Members/sue/R2008-09-08-2

NATURAL RESOURCES & ARMED FISH POACHERS: Foreign navies entering the 200nm EEZ of Somalia and foreign helicopters and troops must respect the fact that especially all wildlife is protected by Somali national as well as by international laws and that the protection of the marine resources of Somalia from illegally fishing foreign vessels should be an integral part of the anti-piracy operations. Likewise the navies must adhere to international standards and not pollute the coastal waters with oil, ballast water or waste from their own ships but help Somalia to fight against any dumping of any waste (incl. diluted, toxic or nuclear waste). So far and though the AU as well as the UN has called since long on other nations to respect the 200 nm EEZ, only now the two countries (Spain and France) to which the most notorious vessels and fleets are linked have come up with a declaration that they will respect the 200 nm EEZ of Somalia but so far not any of the navies operating in the area pledged to stand against illegal fishing. So far not a single illegal fishing vessel has been detained by the naval forces, though they had been even informed about several actual cases, where an intervention would have been possible. Illegally operating Tuna fishing vessels (many from South Korea, some from Greece and China) carry now armed personnel and force their way into the Somali fishing grounds - uncontrolled or even protected by the naval forces mandated to guard the Somali waters against any criminal activity, which included arms carried by foreign fishing vessels in Somali waters.

LLWs / NLWs: According to recently leaked information the anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden are also used as a cover-up for the live testing of recently developed arsenals of so called non-lethal as well as sub-lethal weapons systems. (Pls request details) Neither the Navies nor the UN has come up with any code of conduct in this respect, while the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program (JNLWP) is sponsoring several service-led acquisition programs, including the VLAD, Joint Integration Program, and Improved Flash Bang Grenade. Alredy in use in Somalia are so called Non-lethal optical distractors, which are visible laser devices that have reversible optical effects. These types of non-blinding laser devices use highly directional optical energy. Somalia is also a testing ground for the further developments of the Active Denial System (ADS) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD). If new developments using millimeter wave sources that will help minimize the size, weight, and system cost of an effective Active Denial System which provides "ADS-ACTD-like" repel effects, are used has not yet been revealed. Obviously not only the US is developing and using these kind of weapons as the case of MV MARATHON showed, where a Spanish naval vessel was using optical lasers - the stand-off was then broken by the killing of one of the hostage seafarers. Local observers also claim that HEMI devices, producing Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation (HEMI) Bioeffects, have been used in the Gulf of Aden against Somalis. Exposure to HEMI devices, which can be understood as a stun-gun shot at an individual over a larger distance, causes muscle contractions that temporarily disable an individual. Research efforts are underway to develop a longer-duration of this effect than is currently available. The live tests are apparently done without that science understands yet the effects of HEMI electrical waveforms on a human body.

ECOTERRA Intl., whose work does focus on nature- and human-rights-protection and - as the last international environmental organization still working in Somalia - had alerted ship-owners since 1992, many of whom were fishing illegally in the 200 nm Exclusive Economic Zone, to stay away from Somali waters. The non-governmental organization had requested the international community many times for help to protect the coastal waters of the war-torn state, but now lawlessness has seriously increased and gone out of hand.

ECOTERRA members with marine and maritime expertise, joined by it's ECOP-marine group, are closely and continuously monitoring and advising on the Somali situation. (for previous information concerning the topics please google keywords ECOTERRA (and) SOMALIA)

The network of the SEAFARERS ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME helped significantly in most sea-jack cases. ECOTERRA Intl. is working in Somalia since 1986 on human-rights and nature protection, while ECOP-marine concentrates on illegal fishing and the protection of the marine ecosystems. Your support counts too.

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