Ecoterra Press Release 241 – The Somalia Chronicle June – December 2009, no 53
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 18, 2010
ECOTERRA Intl.
SMCM
Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor
ECOTERRA INTERNATIONAL - UPDATES & STATEMENTS, REVIEW & CLEARING-HOUSE
2009-09-10 THU 11h47:12 UTC
Issue No. 241
A Voice from the Truth- & Justice-Seekers, who sit between all chairs, because they are not part of organized white-collar or no-collar-crime in Somalia or elsewhere, and who neither benefit from global naval militarization, from the illegal fishing and dumping in Somali waters or the piracy of merchant vessels, nor from the booming insurance business or the exorbitant ransom-, risk-management- or security industry, while neither the protection of the sea, the development of fishing communities or the humanitarian assistance to abducted seafarers and their families is receiving the required adequate attention, care and funding.
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." George Orwell
EA ILLEGAL FISHING AND DUMPING HOTLINE: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed) - email: somalia[at]ecoterra.net
EA Seafarers Assistance Programme EMERGENCY HELPLINE : SMS to +254-738-497979 or sms/call +254-733-633-733
"The pirates must not be allowed to destroy our dream !"
Cpt. Florent Lemaçon - F/Y Tanit - killed by French commandos - 10. April 2009 / Ras Hafun
NON A LA GUERRE - YES FOR PEACE
(Inscription on the sail of F/Y TANIT - shot down on day one of the French assault)
We have the obligation to fight oppression and cruelty wherever it appears, and believe that anybody who is degrading other people and peoples has to be fought against with whatever appropriate tools people have available.
Clearing-House: Cut out the clutter - focus on facts !
(If you find this compilation too large or if you can't grasp the multitude and magnitude of important, inter-related and complex issues influencing the Horn of Africa - you better do not deal with Somalia or other man-made "conflict zones". We try to make it as easy and condensed as necessary.)
Breaking:
Swap deal fails for cruising sailors held by pirates for seven months by Nancy Knudsen
A deal to swap three crew of the cruising catamaran SV Serenity and held by Somali pirates for seven months, with 23 prisoners accused of piracy, has come unstuck soon after the three had boarded an aeroplane to freedom. The plane was in the process of refuelling when halted by Somali authorities who also took the aircraft crew into custody.
SV Serenity left the Seychelles for Madagascar in February and was hijacked by Somali pirates soon after. Soon after the abduction the sailors called home in the Seychelles, saying they were being held by pirates and begging for help. As a leisure vessel there was no-one to pay a ransom, and the sailors have been left as hostages. The swap was to be their salvation, organised by the Seychelles Government.
Somali authorities say they were not informed of the swap plan, officials said Monday. It appeared to be the first attempt to exchange hostages for prisoners in Somalia's multimillion-dollar pirate industry. Hostages are usually only released after a ransom payment.
There are conflicting reports about the fate of the SY Serenity. A catamaran similar to the cruising yacht was seen rafted to another hijacked vessel, the fishing vessel Win Far 161 from Taiwan, on the coastline between Harardheere and Hobyo. While the crew of 30 on the fishing vessel were held on their boat, Gilbert Victor and Andre Conrad and another crew member, from SY Serentiy, were held on land, lending credence to other reports that the catamaran had sunk in bad weather.
The 23 suspected Somali pirates had been held in the Seychelles after being detained by international warships on anti-piracy missions. On Monday, the Seychelles government issued a statement saying the suspects were released because the government lacks evidence needed to prosecute them.
We do not have sufficient evidence for a trial to take place, and based on that we have respected international laws and repatriated them to their homeland,' said Minister Joel Morgan, who was mandated by Seychelles' president to work on the country's piracy portfolio.
Somali authorities say the 23 were released and flown to Somalia aboard two private planes as part of a deal to free the three sailors. The governor of Somalia's Mudug region, Ahmed Ali Salad, said the planes' crews misinformed authorities about the nature of their mission, claiming they were carrying humanitarian supplies.
Ahmed Elmi Karash, the aviation minister in Somalia's semiautonomous northern region of Puntland, said the 23 suspects disembarked from the two planes there late Sunday and that the three former hostages boarded the planes, which were then detained by Somali officials while refueling. The seven crew members flying the two planes also were held.
In May seven sailors from the yacht Ocean Explorer also hijacked in March in Seychelles waters were released by Somali pirates after two months in captivity and flown home to the Seychelles. A ransom of US$450,000 was paid for Ocean Explorer, whose seven crew had just put their paying guests ashore before they were hijacked. However the pirates judged that it was not sufficient, and they set fire to the vessel, destroying it completely, in retribution.
Pirates captured more than 100 ships last year, and attacks off Somalia's pirate-infested coastline are expected to increase dramatically in coming months as the monsoon season ends.
The plague of pirates has attracted warships from nations as diverse as Japan, America, Germany and Portugal. When the warships capture suspected pirates, the prisoners are often delivered to nearby Kenya or the Seychelles for trial.
Getting through the Pirate Zone successfully:
Commander Chris Davies of the NATO Maritime Component Command, a force combating Somalia piracy, said ships should continue to follow industry guidelines intended to reduce vulnerability: 'Inform the maritime authorities (of the voyage). Use the internationally-recognised (Gulf of Aden) transit corridor. Use speed. Use manoeuvres. Use water cannon to deter attack. Keep a good lookout.'
There are not too many yachts which carry water cannon, but some yachts, even some yacht rallies - eg. the round-world Blue Water Rally, have transited the transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden in 2009 successfully, and there are some who intend to use the route when this year's monsoon season is over.
Seychellois citizens held as hostages could be leaving Somalia soon
The Seychelles head of the "Hostage Negotiation Team," Minister Joel Morgan, has said that the three Seychellois citizens who were being detained in Galkayo, Somalia, are in safe hands and expecting a flight home soon.
" I can confirm that our three Seychellois are safe and currently in the protective custody of the Puntland authorities, the minister said. "We have every indication they will be released imminently but we have not be given an exact date or time of release. "
He added, "We are continuing to liaise with the Puntland authorities and we are confident our compatriots will be in Seychelles soon."
News from sea-jackings, abductions, newly attacked ships and vessels in distress --------
Inappropriate Action by German Navy causes death
German navy kills Somali man
"The pirates ignored warning shots", the German navy said - after they killed a suspected Somali pirate during an attack in the Gulf of Aden.
According to a German navy statement, marines from the frigate Brandenburg fired on a Somali fishing-boat carrying five men. The German warship Brandenburg investigated a suspected pirate skiff with a crew of five in the Gulf of Aden just south of Al Mukalla.
The warship under EU NAVFOR command had earlier launched a helicopter that observed, and apparently filmed, the skiff's crew throwing ladders and weapons overboard. The skiff was ordered to stop but continued on at speed. The commander of the German frigatte, through an interpreter, exhorted the skiff to stop but the skiff continued. Further shots were fired and the skiff stopped. A naval team boarded the skiff from a Rhib.
Though the German Navy claims that they first filmed the crew to have thrown their weapons over board, the official statement claimed that the boarding team found weapons on board.
One of the five men was so badly wounded by the German bullets that he died, although he received medical treatment onboard the Brandenburg for his critical injuries.
Since the EUNAVFOR commander had given only instructions to the commander of the German warship to disable the movement of the small boat, the operation must be seen as inappropriate and thereby illegal, especially because no attack against any other vessel had been launched from the skiff. The carrying of arms by Somali boat-crews in these dangerous waters is certainly not a reason for European naval forces to execute a death-sentence on the spot.
If the reported location of the incident is true, then it happened in the EEZ of Yemen, where the Germany navy could have easily informed the Yemeni coastguard to deal with "armed intruders".
The other four Somali men are held on the Brandenburg and it still has not been made public what will be done with the detainees.
The German naval headquarters in Potsdam as well as EUNAVFOR headquarters in the UK remain mum, citing ongoing investigations.
Third Spanish fishing trawler escapes pirate attack off Somalia
A Spanish fishing trawler escaped an alleged attack by Somalis off the coast of Somalia Wednesday, the ship's captain said, in the third such incident involving a Spanish boat in the region in the past week.
The tuna fish trawler Intertuna II, based in Spain's northern Basque Country, was about 440 nautical miles off the Somali coast when crew members spotted a small boat carrying pirates about 11 miles away, the captain told Basque public radio.
The crew immediately put its emergency procedures in place and were able to escape the pirates, he added.
The Campo Libre Alai escaped an attack last Monday and the Alakrana avoided capture four days earlier. Both trawlers are likewise based in the Basque Country.
In April last year one of the roughly 30 Spanish tuna trawlers that operate in the waters near Somalia, the Playa de Bakio, was captured by pirates and its crew held for six days before being freed.
Spain is taking part in Atalante, the European Union's anti-piracy mission in the region, which began operations in December in an effort to stop attacks in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest trade routes.
With the latest captures and releases now still at least 5 foreign vessels with a total of not less than 120 crew members are accounted for (of which 42 are confirmed to be Filipinos) and are held in Somali waters. Three former hostages are held by the local ad ministration. The cases 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 too. 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 163 attacks (incl. averted or abandoned attacks) with 47 sea-jackings on the Somali/Yemeni pirate side as well as at least six wrongful attacks (incl. one friendly fire incident) on the side of the naval forces.
More than 150 Somalis are held in foreign prisons (Kenya, Yemen, Seychelles, France, Netherlands) under charges of piracy. Not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures.
Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season in winter and rise gradually by the end of the monsoon season starting from mid February and early April every year. Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: GoA: YELLOW IO: YELLOW (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = possible, Green = unlikely).
Directly piracy or naval upsurge related reports
Somali pirates profit western firms - Al Jazeera
Many of the pirates operating off the coast of Somalia were given special forces-style training from Western firms, a special report by Al Jazeera has found.
Some security firms currently protecting shipping from the pirates had been engaged to train them a decade ago.
One company, Hart Group, coached trainees to be the "coastguard" of Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region - providing protection from illegal fishing in the region.
In this exclusive report, Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan found that Western companies, involved at all levels of the business, can now expect to make up to half a million dollars from the avergage $2m "ransom and release" contracts they are awarded to solve. - see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OmpYSB5WQY
Puntland frees planes at centre of piracy row with Seychelles
Authorities in Somalia's breakaway Puntland region on Wednesday released two planes and five crew at the centre of a row over piracy with the Seychelles government, police said.
The planes and their crew were detained at the weekend for landing illegally at a remote airstrip to deliver 23 Somali pirates released by Victoria in what Puntland says was a swap for three Seychellois seamen freed by pirates.
"The planes have been released with their pilots and co-pilots," said Jama Abdurahman, a Puntland police officer.
Another police officer who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said a fine had been paid to free the planes, but did not specify the amount or who paid it.
"The aircraft violated aviation rules by landing at Galkayo airstrip without giving details on their arrivals and also misleading aviation officials," the officer said.
"Therefore the local authorities fined them and they agreed to pay the money."
Abdirahman Mohamed Hasan, the mayor of Galkayo -- a town at the border between Puntland and the rest of Somalia -- confirmed their release.
"The planes have gone free but we will give details later on," he told AFP by phone.
Seychelles authorities denied the 23 Somalis were repatriated in exchange for the release by Somali pirates of three Seychelles nationals, insisting that the 23, picked up in the Indian Ocean in recent months, were freed due to lack of evidence to prosecute them.
The three Seychelles nationals are still in Galkayo with two facilitators.
Joel Morgan, the Seychelles minister for the environment, natural resources and transport, said the three were safe.
"We have every indication they will be released imminently but we have not been given an exact date or time of release," he said in a statement.
"We are continuing to liaise with the Puntland authorities and we are confident our compatriots will be in Seychelles soon."
Three detained Seychellois in Somalia to be freed (Xinhua)
The authorities in the north-eastern Somali region of Puntland on Wednesday said they will release three Seychellois nationals detained after an attempt to exchange them for pirates was foiled by local police.
Ten foreigners and two aircraft they used were detained on Sunday after they allegedly smuggled 23 Somali pirates released from Seychelles to swap them for three nationals from the Indian Ocean islands held hostage in Somalia since February, Ahmed Elmi Osman, a local aviation official in Puntland told Xinhua.
The official added that the three men will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for transfer to their home country "as soon as possible".
The two planes and five foreigners, four Kenyans and an Australian who were crew, were released due to a lack of sufficient evidence, said the local official.
Osman said the other two foreigners, a British and a Kenyan, were still being held for further investigation and will be tried for "smuggling pirates released from the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles" illegally.
The three Seychellois nationals were taken hostage by Somali pirates early in the year after a ship they were travelling in was seized by pirates off the Somali coast.
The Seychelles government has reportedly distanced itself from the exchange deal which has angered the local authorities, who earlier accused the ten foreigners of being "facilitators in the smuggling of pirates and transfer of ransom payments".
It is so far not clear where the released pirates are, but reports said they were received by a well-armed local pirate gang who exchanged them for the Seychellois hostages, the first instance of its kind.
Puntland releases pilots, but 'facilitators under investigation'
Authorities in Somalia's Puntland State government have decided to release two airplanes accused of violating Somali airspace and illegally transporting pirates into Puntland, Radio Garowe reports.
The two airplanes and all ten people on board were seized on Sep. 6, at the airport in Galkayo by Puntland police and immigration officials, according to a government press release.
Gen. Yusuf Ahmed Kheir, Puntland's deputy interior minister, told Radio Garowe on Wednesday that the two small airplanes and its four crewmen have been released after a fine was paid.
He did not disclose how much the Puntland government fined the airplanes, which local authorities accused of transporting 23 pirates from the Seychelles Islands and allegedly sneaking them into Puntland for exchange with three sailors from the Seychelles.
"The three Seychelles men [sailors] have also been released on humanitarian grounds and the Red Cross has been notified," Puntland's deputy interior minister said, adding that there was sympathy for the sailors who were held hostage by pirates since Feb. 2009.
However, Gen. Kheir said Puntland police are still holding two men – from Kenyan and one Briton – as the investigation deepens in what local authorities have referred to as "pirate smuggling."
Piracy along Somalia's coast has attracted international attention since 2007, when pirates grabbed world headlines by bold hijackings and million-dollar payments.
The phenomenon has intricate international connections, as pirates are well-connected to translators and "facilitators," who serve as middlemen between the pirates and shipowners, and sometimes deliver ransom payments.
Somalia: Briton, Kenyan held over pirate swap
By Mohamed Olad Hassan and Katherine Houreld (AP)
Two security contractors and three former hostages released by Somali pirates are facing prison for an alleged secret plan to swap the hostages for 23 suspected pirates on a desolate Somali airstrip, Somali officials said Wednesday.
The allegations will increase concern over the actions of unregulated private security contractors in Somalia, mired in a civil war for the past 18 years. The country's lawless coastline provides a haven for pirates who prey on one of the world's busiest trade routes. The vessels and their crews are only released for ransoms, which can stretch into millions of dollars.
Last February, three Seychelles sailors on-board the yacht Serenity became the latest victims. The boat sank and the men were stranded with no one willing to pay their ransom. In the meantime, international warships were stopping and searching boats off the Somali coast.
Suspects that the navies judged had enough evidence to prosecute were handed over either to neighbouring Kenya or the tiny Seychelles islands south-east of Somalia for trial.
The events that followed are disputed. Somali officials say the Seychelles authorities secretly planned to release the 23 in exchange for the three captured sailors, a claim Seychelles strenuously denies. But both sides agree the 23 suspected pirates were flown to Somalia on Sunday in two planes, accompanied by two security consultants.
Ahmed Ali Salad, governor of Mudug region in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said the planes' pilots told authorities they were delivering humanitarian goods. Instead, the plane stopped at a run-down airstrip, and the 23 pirates disembarked into the arms of their jubilant comrades. They melted away into Somalia's arid bush, leaving behind the three former hostages.
"We sent the police force but by the time they arrived the planes were already in air, so you can imagine how well organized the plan was," the governor said. The police caught up with the planes at a refuelling stop on Sunday, detaining everyone onboard.
Joel Morgan, the Seychelles minister in charge of anti-piracy operations, denies any deal was struck. He said the 23 were released due to lack of evidence, and picking up the three former hostages was a cost-effective way of using the planes. All the necessary authorities in Somalia were informed, he said, and no ransom was paid.
It is extremely unusual for sailors to be released without ransom and the Somali authorities insist they were not informed. It would be extremely embarrassing for the tiny island nation, which lies south-east of Somalia's pirate plagued shores, to be seen releasing prisoners entrusted to them for trial by allied navies.
Salad said the two planes and five crew members had been released Wednesday morning after paying a fine for violating Somali airspace. He declined to comment on the amount of the money paid. He said the two security contractors, a Briton and a Kenyan, and the three former hostages — who had only the briefest taste of freedom after six months of captivity — will appear in a Puntland court in coming days.
Somali pirates captured more than 100 ships last year, often receiving multimillion dollar ransoms for their release. Attacks have increased this year and are expected to rise steeply as the monsoon period ends in the next few weeks.
Egypt´s Suez Canal revenue drops as risks grow
By Bikya Masr
Suez Canal facing a number of challenges.
Egypt´s Suez Canal Authority reported this week that the passageway´s revenues for August were down. The report comes after analysts had hoped August would continue to show signs of recovery from the global economic crisis and piracy threats in the Gulf of Aden, but the figures reported are not promising.
According to the canal´s oversight organization, last month saw a decrease of $132.7 million as compared to the previous year as well as an $11.1 million drop off from July, which has left officials and analysts bewildered.
"We had expected to continue to see slight gains in revenue from the canal, but it looks like the worst is not behind us at this point. I wonder if the Egyptian ship hijacked had something to do with August´s income. It is too early to tell, but we will look closely at September´s gains or losses to tell," an official at the authority said on Thursday morning, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The official confirmed that canal revenue was at around $370 million in August – compared to $504 million the year before. In July, the canal brought in over $380 million.
The source said that 1453 vessels passed through last month with cargo amounting to 62,5 million tons, a decline over the same period last year by 540 vessels and 68 ships less than July.
Piracy has become a growing threat to canal revenues and just last month, an Egyptian vessel was taken by Somali groups in the Gulf of Aden. This has led to a number of shipping companies looking elsewhere to transport their goods instead of using the Suez Canal.
In a February press release, Grand Alliance, a container consortium of four large shipping lines, announced it would be re-routing some of its vessels sailing east between Europe and Asia around the Cape of Good Hope, citing "high Suez Canal toll fees, which are difficult for carriers to afford in the current economic environment." Piracy is a threat.
Analysts, led by the Chatham House foreign policy think tank, have called for maritime reinforcements to battle the increasing number of piracy acts that have plagued the coastal waters of Somalia. They argue that if drastic measures are not taken immediately, the Suez Canal could be cut off.
This is not good news for the Egyptian government, who has earned over $4 billion from ships passing through the water corridor that links the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. If the situation deteriorates further, the Cape of Good Hope – a 20-day voyage around the southern tip of Africa – could become the main passageway for cargo.
The Chatham House report published last September at the height of hijackings said insurance premiums for shipping through the Gulf of Aden have increased tenfold. The combined danger and cost, it said, could "mean that shipping could be forced to avoid the Gulf of Aden/Suez canal and divert around the Cape of Good Hope."
"This would add considerably to the costs of manufactured goods and oil from Asia and the Middle East," the report said. It also warns that if an oil tanker was seriously damaged in a pirate attack it could cause a "major environmental disaster."
EUNAVFOR Belgian warship BNS Louise-Marie completes WFP escort
On the 7th of September the EUNAVFOR Belgian warship BNS Louise-Marie hands over motor vessel Al Mukhtar to the Coastguard in Somaliland after a two days escort from Djibouti to Berbera.
The Belgian Navy Ship Louise-Marie, participating in the EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta, was tasked to escort the Indian motor vessel Al Mukthar, a ship chartered by the UN in the WFP framework. Al Mukthar left Djibouti on the 6th of September stowed with humanitarian cargo and headed for Berbera, a Somalian port in the Gulf of Aden. Al Mukhtar sailed at slow speed making her very vulnerable to hijacking in a region with a piracy threat. Louise-Marie kept close escort protecting the motor vessel and its cargo. After a two day transit, motor vessel Al Mukhtar arrived safely in Berbera harbor whilst the security of the ship was handed over to the Somaliland Coast Guard. The offload of humanitarian aid started as soon as Al Mukhtar was berthed alongside.
As a sign of goodwill and in order to enhance cooperation between countries in the fight against piracy, a delegation of the Coast Guard has been received on board BNS Louise-Marie for a meeting.
During the meeting with Louise-Marie´s Commanding Officer, Commander Jan De Beurme, the representatives of the Coast Guard appeared to be determined to fight piracy in coastal waters. Due to this successful combined operation between BNS Louise Marie and the coastguard, further cooperation will be investigated to ensure the delivery of humanitarian goods to the needy population of Somalia.
Ecosystems, marine environment, IUU fishing and dumping, UNCLOS, ecology
Half Of Fish Consumed Globally Is Now Raised On Farms, Study Finds (ScienceDaily)
Aquaculture, once a fledgling industry, now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally, according to a new report by an international team of researchers. And while the industry is more efficient than ever, it is also putting a significant strain on marine resources by consuming large amounts of feed made from wild fish harvested from the sea, the authors conclude. Their findings are published in the Sept. 7 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
"Aquaculture is set to reach a landmark in 2009, supplying half of the total fish and shellfish for human consumption," the authors wrote. Between 1995 and 2007, global production of farmed fish nearly tripled in volume, in part because of rising consumer demand for long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Oily fish, such as salmon, are a major source of these omega-3s, which are effective in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.
"The huge expansion is being driven by demand," said lead author Rosamond L. Naylor, a professor of environmental Earth system science at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Program on Food Security and the Environment. "As long as we are a health-conscious population trying to get our most healthy oils from fish, we are going to be demanding more of aquaculture and putting a lot of pressure on marine fisheries to meet that need."
Fishmeal and fish oil
To maximize growth and enhance flavor, aquaculture farms use large quantities of fishmeal and fish oil made from less valuable wild-caught species, including anchoveta and sardine. "With the production of farmed fish eclipsing that of wild fish, another major transition is also underway:
Aquaculture's share of global fishmeal and fish oil consumption more than doubled over the past decade to 68 percent and 88 percent, respectively," the authors wrote.
In 2006, aquaculture production was 51.7 million metric tons, and about 20 million metric tons of wild fish were harvested for the production of fishmeal. "It can take up to 5 pounds of wild fish to produce 1 pound of salmon, and we eat a lot of salmon," said Naylor, the William Wrigley Senior Fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
One way to make salmon farming more environmentally sustainable is to simply lower the amount of fish oil in the salmon's diet. According to the authors, a mere 4 percent reduction in fish oil would significantly reduce the amount of wild fish needed to produce 1 pound of salmon from 5 pounds to just 3.9 pounds. In contrast, reducing fishmeal use by 4 percent would have very little environmental impact, they said.
"Reducing the amount of fish oil in the salmon's diet definitely gets you a lot more bang for the buck than reducing the amount of fishmeal," Naylor said. "Our thirst for long-chain omega-3 oils will continue to put a lot of strain on marine ecosystems, unless we develop commercially viable alternatives soon."
Naylor and her co-authors pointed to several fish-feed substitutes currently being investigated, including protein made from grain and livestock byproducts, and long-chain omega-3 oils extracted from single-cell microorganisms and genetically modified land plants. "With appropriate economic and regulatory incentives, the transition toward alternative feedstuffs could accelerate, paving the way for a consensus that aquaculture is aiding the ocean, not depleting it," the authors wrote.
Vegetarian fish
Fishmeal and fish oil are important staples at farms that produce carnivorous fish, including salmon, trout and tuna. But vegetarian species, such as Chinese carp and tilapia, can be raised on feed made from plants instead of wild-caught fish. That's one reason why farm-raised vegetarian fish have long been considered environmentally friendly.
In the early 1990s, vegetarian fish farms began adding small amounts of fishmeal in their feed to increase yields. However, between 1995 and 2007, farmers actually reduced the share of fishmeal in carp diets by 50 percent and in tilapia diets by nearly two-thirds, according to the PNAS report. Nevertheless, in 2007, tilapia and carp farms together consumed more than 12 million metric tons of fishmeal—more than 1.5 times the amount used by shrimp and salmon farms combined.
"Our assumption about farmed tilapia and carp being environmentally friendly turns out to be wrong in aggregate, because the sheer volume is driving up the demand," Naylor said. "Even the small amounts of fishmeal used to raise vegetarian fish add up to a lot on a global scale." Removing fishmeal from the diet of tilapia and carp would have a very positive impact on the marine environment, she added.
Regulating fisheries
On the policy front, Naylor pointed to California's Sustainable Oceans Act and the proposed National Offshore Aquaculture Act, which call for reductions in the use of fishmeal and fish oil in feeds. She also applauded plans by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a comprehensive national policy that addresses fisheries management issues posed by aquaculture. "No matter how much is done from the demand side, it is essential that there be regulation on the supply side as well," Naylor said. "You won't prevent the collapse of anchoveta, sardine and other wild fisheries unless those fisheries are carefully regulated."
Anti-piracy measures
Somali navy becomes operational
Somalia's newly formed naval forces marched during a ceremony to mark the end of their training in the capital Mogadishu on September 8.The embattled Somali government has begun recruiting its first naval force by admitting some 500 new officers and another 100 senior graduates.
In a ceremony attended by top government officials, Somali Navy commander Admiral Farah Ahmed noted that the recruits will be armed with heavy weapons, including machine guns and RPG, a Press TV correspondent reported.
"From today, the Federal Somali Transition Government has a naval force that would ensure the security of its waters," he said.
The recruits will also get about $175 per month that largely comes from international community donations.
On Tuesday, Somali capital, Mogadishu, witnessed one of its bloodiest scenes over last week with 70 people killed and more than 109 injured.
Both warring sides carried heavy mortar attacks, which resulted in the destruction of parts of Mogadishu.
Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991 and the lawless country depends on UN-backed anti-piracy mission to monitor its pirate-infested waters.
Pirate-plagued Somalia trains 500 navy recruits
By Mohamed Sheikh Nor (AP)
Pirate-plagued Somalia took a step toward policing its own shores with the graduation of its first 500 naval recruits Tuesday. Officials hope the men will form the backbone of the country's first naval force for nearly two decades, but said they need international funding to make it a viable force.
Somalia currently relies on international warships to police its lawless shores, where the U.N.-backed government is fighting Islamist insurgents and clan-based militias fight each other. The chaos provides a perfect refuge for pirates who prey on vessels passing between Asia and Europe — one of the world's busiest trade routes.
Japan, America, Germany, China, Canada and other nations have sent warships to the Gulf of Aden but there are not enough of them to cover the danger zone. The pirates have expanded their operations hundreds of miles offshore in the Indian Ocean. Last year pirates captured over 100 ships and attacks have increased this year. Foreign navies are reluctant to tackle the pirates on land for fear of getting sucked into the bloodbath of Somalia's 18-year-old civil war.
Somalia's new naval commander, Admiral Farah Ahmed, said the new batch of recruits who graduated Tuesday are the first tranche of a new force responsible for tackling piracy. Each man will receive $175 a month and the force will be armed with tanks, machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. He said the navy will set up bases in the ports of Bosasso, Berbera and Kismayo, and its headquarters in the capital of Mogadishu. The scheme is currently funded by the Somali government but Ahmed says members of the international community have also pledged funds.
The new force faces several challenges. The port of Berbera is in Somaliland, a relatively peaceful area in the north that has declared its independence from the government in the chaotic south. The impoverished areas around Bosasso are pirate havens, where the influx of money from the gunmen has made them wildly popular. Kismayo in the south is in the hands of Islamist insurgents who have vowed to topple the U.N.-backed administration and there is daily fighting in the capital of Mogadishu.
The force also has only a dozen boats so far — pirate gangs have used more in a single attack. And although donors all agree on the need for a Somali coast guard, they have so far been reluctant to release funding for more recruits and equipment after a previous scheme to train Somali police was dogged by widespread corruption and desertion.
Many private military companies have expressed an interest in training the new Somali navy but European naval officials have expressed fears that new recruits might simply end up as better trained pirates.
But Ahmed is optimistic.
"We are hopeful that in future we will get warships so we can chase the pirates out of our coast," he said, adding he eventually hoped to have 5,000 sailors under his command.
Somalia: Governor calls for support to deal with Pirates
By Hussein Farah
On Wednesday, the governor of Karkaar region - in north-eastern Somalia - called for the Puntland authorities to help them cope with an increasing number of Pirates coming to major towns in Karkaar region.
In an interview with Horseed Media, Yonis Ali, the governor of Karkaar region says, hundreds of Pirates were coming into towns like Gardo, the regional capital of Karkaar.
The governor says the local administration are unable to take on the heavily armed pirates who are camping in farms just outside Gardo city.
Mr.Ali indicated that there was lack of security forces in the town, acknowledging that many of the security forces were taken to Galkayo city in Mudug region, to help end the recent violence there.
On Tuesday, elders and local community leaders met in Gardo, to discuss to how tackle with the pirates and also the increasing deforestation in the province.
"….they come here with their ransom money, they use the money to buy drugs and alcohol, they are polluting our community…." Says Yonis Ali the governor of Karkaar region.
So far there is no response from the central administration of the semi autonomous region of Puntland.
The 4th Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia
By Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Japan
The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, established as an international cooperation mechanisms based on UN Security Council Resolution for anti-piracy activities off the coast of Somalia, has held three meetings since January 2009.
On September 10, Japan will chair the 4th meeting of the Contact Group in New York (Chairman: Masafumi Ishii, Deputy Director-General, Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan). Japan has been playing active role in tackling piracy off the coast of Somalia. ("Japan´s Actions against Piracy off the Coast of Somalia" is attached for your reference.)
Numerous countries are newly invited to participate and engage in the discussions from this meeting. The participants will hear reports from the four working groups, and are expected to discuss ways for more effective and concerted anti-piracy efforts by the international community, including issues such as operational coordination and the enhancement of legal framework to prosecute pirates.
(Reference 1)
"Japan´s Actions against Piracy off the Coast of Somalia" http://www.apec-tptwg.org.cn/new/Next-Meeting/32th/Maritime/MEG-SEC/Japan.pdf
(Reference 2: The previous meetings)
1st meeting: January 14 (New York) (Chair: U.S.)
2nd meeting: March 17 (Cairo) (Chair: Egypt)
3rd meeting: May 29 (New York) (Chair: U.S.)
The four working groups under the Contact Group have held a number of meetings.
(Reference 3: Four Working Groups)
Improving operational support to counter-piracy operations and establishing a counter-piracy coordination mechanism
Strengthening legal frameworks
Strengthening commercial shipping self-awareness and other capabilities
Pursuing improved diplomatic and public information efforts
Anti-piracy equipment at fair (AFP)
Anti-piracy measures took centre stage at the world's largest defence fair on Tuesday, with the unveiling of a laser to dazzle potential attackers before they can get too close.
Amid stepped up international efforts to halt piracy, in particular in the Gulf of Aden, British defence firm BAE Systems unveiled a new non-lethal system for commercial vessels to help them spot and fend off attackers.
It comprises a radar that enables the detection of ships up to 25km away - current commercial systems have a range of up to about 7km - as well as 360-degree camera systems and early warning mechanisms.
The aim is to identify dangerous vessels with enough time to call for help, but if they fail, ships under attack could use a high-powered, visible laser to effectively blind the pirates and stop them in their tracks.
It would cause no lasting damage, but - able to expand out to 4m wide, almost the size of a small boat - would enable commercial vessel crews to deter any potential attackers without having to use weapons.
Piracy is on the rise,' said Nick Stoppard, BAE Systems director of solutions development.
Attacks in 2008 were double those of the previous year and there is a clear need for better methods to help commercial ships identify and evade pirates before an attack occurs.' Also on show at the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition were high-speed boats designed to combat piracy and illegal immigration, and a live demonstration of new technology to help stop suspect vessels.
On the waterways of east London, two boats re-created a situation that occurred earlier this year in the Gulf when a British ship intercepted a smaller vessel acting suspiciously and had to board it.
A warning message that can be translated into more than 40 languages - and was demonstrated in Somali - alerted the target ship, and military personnel wearing new, lightweight body shields approached before boarding.
Further technology allowed any suspects on board to be photographed, with the images sent back to the mother ship for identification.
New Anti-piracy Device
UK-based BAE systems has launched a new device aimed at protecting merchant ships from pirates. According to British press reports the gadget can incapacitate at a distance of 1,000 yards without causing permanent injury.
The Laser Dazzle System is being marketed with the Somali pirate threat in mind seized a number of vessels off the coast of East Africa.
According to the Telegraph other anti-piracy systems being displayed at the Defence Systems & Equipment International in London' include a radar that can detect a small boat 15 miles away, and another device that can close down a vessel's engine remotely.
BAE sets out to capture a $20bn market as it prepares to test anti-piracy radar b
By David Robertson - The Times
BAE Systems, Europe´s largest defence company, is working with BP to test a system capable of protecting oil tankers against pirate attacks.
The two companies are expected to run trials of the system early next year and, if it is successful, it could open a ship-protection market worth up to $20 billion (£12 billion) for BAE.
Piracy has become a major threat to shipping in areas such as Somalia, the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of West Africa. There were 111 reported attacks last year and 42 ships were successfully hijacked. The ships were then ransomed and between $30 million and $50 million was paid out to the pirates. Defence sources believe that the number of attacks this year may already be double the 2008 total.
Ship owners have been seeking ways to protect their vessels, which can often be carrying cargos worth up to $100 million, but the existing technology on board ships is not advanced enough to detect the small, fast boats favoured by pirates.
BAE said yesterday that it had developed a surface wave radar that was capable of spotting the smallest skiffs even beyond the horizon. BAE´s radar has a range of up to 25 kilometres (16 miles) and covers a 360-degree arc around the ship, while existing radars usually face forward and have a range of only a few kilometres.
The radar will be linked to software that has been developed for the military and is capable of analysing a target´s behaviour to determine whether it is a threat. BAE hopes that this will allow the system to differentiate between fishing and pirate vessels.
Once an attack has been identified, the ship´s captain will be able to speed up and take evasive action. At present, many ships are boarded before the crew even realise they are in danger.
BAE is also working on a system that will prevent attacks if the pirates get close. A number of options are being developed, including a laser that dazzles attackers.
Nick Stoppard, director of solutions development at BAE, said: "Once a pirate has his hands over the railing, it is all over. The priority therefore has to be surveillance, detection and then prevention."
BAE has said that it plans to make the system available at a price that will allow ship owners to install it across their fleets. With an estimated 36,000 oil tankers and other large cargo ships around the world, the potential market is enormous.
The problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden has forced European countries and the United States to send naval vessels to the region but the area is so large that their ability to intercept attackers is limited.
Some ship owners have hired armed guards to protect their vessels but there are fears that this could make the situation worse by encouraging pirates to adopt increasingly aggressive tactics.
Ships also use sonic weapons and water cannons to repel attackers but the effectiveness of these systems has proved limited.
Last year, the MV Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned oil tanker, became the largest vessel to be hijacked when it was attacked off the coast of East Africa. The attack marked a leap forward in the pirates´ ambitions. The ship, which is more than 300 metres (330 yards) long and worth $150 million, was carrying oil worth more than $100 million.
A ransom of $3 million was reported to have been paid but one of the pirate boats later sank in a storm. News reports at the time suggested that the body of one pirate washed ashore with a plastic bag containing $153,000.
Crime on the waves
111 Attacks on shipping reported in 2008
50m Maximum paid in ransom to pirates last year
25km Range of BAE Systems´ new surface wave radar
36,000 Total number of large ships on the world´s seas
U.S. backs piracy pact
The United States and four other nations signed onto an international plan to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia, committing yesterday to playing a leadership role in protecting one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
The so-called "New York Declaration" - masterminded by the United States and channelled through the United Nations - was signed by U.S. Deputy Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo and her counterparts from Britain, Cyprus, Japan and Singapore is an attempt to pool resources and agree on the best ways of deterring the Somali pirates who prey on vessels passing between Europe and Asia.
The agreement is nonbinding.
"We realize that the fight against piracy in the Horn of Africa region cannot be solved entirely at sea," Ms. DiCarlo said. Other needed measures, she said, involve nations adopting legal mechanisms to prosecute suspected pirates and Somalia improving its capacity to police its own territory.
US to signed anti-piracy pact
U.S. Department of State Announces the United States to Sign "New York Declaration" Safeguarding Ships Against Piracy Off the Coast of Somalia
In a September 9 keynote address to the ComDef 2009 defense policy conference in Washington, D.C., Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew J. Shapiro announced that later in the day, the United States will sign the "New York Declaration," a non-binding political document committing ship registry states to promulgate internationally recognized best management practices for protection of their vessels against piracy. Shapiro praised the New York Declaration as part of what Secretary Clinton has called "a 21st century solution to the 17th century problem" of piracy.
The United States´ formal signature indicates its commitment to implement measures that it has already encouraged and followed through compliance with U.S. Coast Guard directives on ship security. U.S. shipping companies have been instrumental in creating and implementing these best practices, having adopted and documented self-protection measures against piracy as part of their compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. Examples of the best practices developed and implemented by all of the major international shipping industry organizations include increasing lookouts, ensuring that ladders are raised, and readying fire pumps to repel boarders.
The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs also leads U.S. Government participation in the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, an ad hoc diplomatic grouping of nearly 40 participating nations and international organizations that is coordinating international naval patrols and shipping self-protection, as well as efforts to discourage the payment of ransoms, and build the capacity and political will of countries affected by piracy to interdict and prosecute suspected pirates.
The New York Declaration was initially presented by four of the world´s largest ship registries „Ÿ Panama, the Bahamas, Liberia, and the Marshall Islands „Ÿ at the Contact Group´s May 2009 plenary session. The United States will be joined by China, France, and the United Kingdom, among other countries, in signing the New York Declaration on the eve of the Contact Group´s Fourth Plenary Session, to be held September 10 at U.N. Headquarters in New York.
The Department of State leads the United States Government´s participation in the Contact Group, in close coordination with the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, Transportation, Treasury, and other agencies.
For more information, please visit the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs´ new Counter Piracy Web page, at: http://www.state.gov/t/pm/ppa/piracy/index.htm
On the eve of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on September 10, 2009, representatives from the United States, Japan, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Singapore, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland signed the New York Declaration, a commitment to best management practices to avoid, deter or delay acts of piracy.
New York Declaration
Commitment to Best Management Practices to Avoid, Deter or Delay Acts of Piracy
Introduction
The undersigned countries recognize the increasing problem of acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels and seafarers on innocent passage. All acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels and seafarers are condemned. The undersigned countries note with particular concern the acts of piracy and hijackings off Somalia and East Africa.
The significant efforts of the international community in trying to stop the acts of piracy and hijackings off the coast of Somalia and East Africa are fully recognized. The undersigned countries note with gratitude the international Naval operations taking place off the coast of Somalia and East Africa to prevent acts of piracy and hijackings.
The undersigned countries acknowledge that all vessels, including those on their registers, have an important role in taking self protection measures to reduce the risk of acts of piracy.
Internationally Recognized Best Management Practices to Avoid, Deter or Delay acts of Piracy
The undersigned countries fully recognize that self protection measures taken by vessels can be highly effective in avoiding, deterring or delaying piracy attacks.
The undersigned countries are committed to promulgating internationally recognized best management practices for self protection to vessels on their registers.
International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code
The undersigned countries recognize that self protection measures taken by vessels to avoid, deter or delay piracy attacks are an essential part of compliance with the ISPS Code. The undersigned countries will ensure when carrying out their obligations under the ISPS Code that vessels on their registry have adopted and documented appropriate self protection measures in their Ship Security Plans as part of ISPS Code compliance.
Signed on September 9, 2009:
Republic of Cyprus
Japan
Republic of Singapore
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United States of America
Signed originally on May 29, 2009 by:
The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Republic of Liberia
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Republic of Panama
Panama, the Bahamas, Liberia and the Marshall Islands, four of the leading ship-registry states, originally announced and adopted the New York Declaration during the Contact Group´s previous meeting on May 29, 2009. Now, nine nations have committed to put in place effective measures that make it far more difficult for their flagged vessels to be seized by pirates. Examples of the best practices, developed and implemented by all of the major international shipping industry organizations, include increasing lookouts, ensuring that ladders are raised, and readying fire pumps to repel boarders.
Spain ponders about tuna fleet protection after 3 trawlers escape pirate attacks
All attacks took conveniently place in the Indian Ocean in the past week, just before a shipping meeting in Spain.
Now Spain is to step up protection of its tuna fleet fishing off the coast of Somalia after three attempted assaults by pirates in the past week. The latest was this Wednesday, when the ´Intertuna dos´ managed to escape capture while fishing in the Indian Ocean, allegedly 420 miles from the Somali coast.
All three boats concerned are from the Basque Country.
It´s understood the Spanish frigate ´Canarias´ will remain on deployment in the area throughout this September and October, and will maintain regular communications with the trawlers. The Defence Ministry also announced it will allow the ship owners to send liaison personnel to the Operation Atlanta headquarters for the European Union´s anti-piracy mission in Northwood, London.
Spanish Minister Carme Chacón has however ruled out deploying military personnel on board the trawlers, and noted the work of the Defence and Interior Ministries in laying down the legal framework to allow ship owners to contract private security firms for their vessels. Her advice to the tuna fishermen was to reduce the area they cover while fishing and to keep in closer contact with other boats.
New Spanish counter-piracy measures announced
The Spanish frigate Canarias will support the Spanish tuna fishing fleet that operates in waters near Somalia beginning this month, and in October, to protect it against possible pirate attacks. In addition, a communication mechanism between the frigate and its ship-borne helicopter, the marine patrol airplane and Spanish fishing boats will be initiated.
Those are some of the new safety measures adopted by the Spanish government to fight against piracy in Somali waters within the framework of the Atalanta operation launched by the European Union (EU).
The information was presented by authorities of the ministries of Defence and the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM), during a meeting with representatives of the two main shipowners associations of Spanish tuna freezer vessels.
Officials participating in the meeting included: Secretary General of Defense Policy (SEGENPOL), Luis Cuesta; the Secretary General of Marine Affairs, Juan Carlos Martin Fragueiro; the general director of Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture, Alejandro Polanco; and delegates of the National Association of Freezer Tuna Vessel Owners (ANABAC) and the Big Frozen Tuna Vessels Producers Association (OPAGAC).
Authorities informed tuna fishing sector representatives of the additional safety measures and actions being taken to improve the protection of boats fishing in the South river basin of Somalia.
The Ministry of Defence also confirmed that it will support tuna fishing vessel associations in its efforts by sending personnel to liaison with headquarters in Northwood, the United Kingdom, in a bid to improve information exchange.
Between the months of April and August, Spain assumed control of the Atalanta taskforce and contributed the services of the Numancia frigate, the oil tanker Marques de la Ensenada and maritime patrol plane P-3 Orion.
In addition, shipowners receive a daily report on the state of security in the zone, the military presence in the area, and any information that can alert them to pirate activity.
This data is collected through the Operations Centre of Surveillance and Maritime Actions of the Navy in Cartagena (COVAM).
"To support our fishing vessels, a visit by representatives of tuna fishing vessel associations from was made to the Headquarters of the Atalanta operation in Northwood in late August, where all types of data was furnished on the development of the operation and self-protection recommendations were offered," MARM indicated.
This week, the fishing vessel Alakrana, sailing under the Spanish Flag and with a base in Basque Country, managed to elude a pirate boat attack 495 miles off the coast of Somalia.
According to the owner of the tuna vessel, Ricardo Blach, "luck" played a role, as bad weather and the fact that their nets had been collected conspired in their being able to escape the pirates.
Another incident happened Tuesday, the third attempted assault on the Spanish fleet fishing near Somalia in six days. This time another Basque tuna fishing vessel, Intertuna II, was involved. It managed to elude pirates in Indian Ocean waters, some 400 miles off the coast of the African country.
Force Commander EU NAVFOR talks with President Seychelles about ant-piracy
On Tuesday 8 September the Force Commander EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA CDRe Pieter Bindt met the President of the Republic Seychelles James Michel, during the port visit of The Netherlands EU NAVFOR flagship HNLMS EVERTSEN in Victoria City.
The British High Commissioner Matthew Forbes was also present during this 35 minutes meeting. The President and the commodore stressed the cooperation and mutual support in the fight against piracy.
Piracy is a threat to all shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, particularly for an Island nation as the Seychelles. It inflicts on the fishing fleets operating in the Seychelles's Exclusive Economic zone, ships that bring energy and goods to the Islands and tourism. The President and the Commodore agreed that all authorities, nationally, regionally and internationally, must work together in the fight against piracy.
Two Japenese allies agree to form coalition
By Jun Hongo and Alex Martin
But socialists may yield 'mix of oil and water' while military questions remain.
The agreement, however, papered over major rifts among the DPJ, Social Democratic Party and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) on diplomatic and security policy, including the overseas dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces. The question now is how much influence the partnership will have on the DPJ's already incoherent foreign affairs strategy.
Leaders of the Democratic Party of Japan and two minor parties agreed Wednesday to form a coalition government, laying the groundwork for the launch of the new administration on Sept. 16.
While major points of contention were left out, including specific mention of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, the agreement covered broad-based issues ranging from Japan's security alliance with the U.S. to curbing unemployment.
The coalition will be launched after a special Diet session is called next Wednesday to elect Hatoyama as prime minister.
The deal came after talks failed Tuesday by the three over DPJ-proposed wording on a planned reorganization of U.S. forces in Okinawa, a contentious issue that had kept the SDP, which strongly advocates maintaining the war-renouncing clause in the Constitution and scaling down the U.S. forces in Japan, from giving the final nod.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the three parties' executives earlier in the day, DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada said:
"We articulated on the issues concerning Okinawa, particularly regarding the U.S. bases, the realignment of U.S. forces, and the Status of Forces Agreement," Okada said.
Okada read out the exact wording: "We will propose amending the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces agreement, and will consider revising the planned realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, as well as reviewing the nature of U.S. bases in Japan."
With the wording, the DPJ managed to keep SDP demands at bay. The left-leaning party had demanded the coalition end the Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and modify an accord to close the Futenma base as part of a review of the SOFA with Washington.
But the final agreement did not go into specifics regarding the refueling mission or the MSDF antipiracy patrols off Somalia. Instead, it put an emphasis on Japan's increased role in U.N. peacekeeping operations in general.
"This agreement is like an attempt to mix oil and water," political analyst Hideaki Kase said, adding that a "conflict of interest is highly likely to take place under such a fragile partnership."
No real peace in sight yet
Somalia's Ahmed in Djibouti for peace force talks
By Abdiaziz Hassan (Reuters)
Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed held talks with his counterpart in Djibouti on Wednesday to discuss strengthening a peacekeeping force based in the anarchic Somali capital Mogadishu.
There are just over 5,000 African Union (AU) peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi helping Ahmed's government battle a stubborn insurgency by Islamist militants. Somali officials want the AU mission replaced by a tougher U.N. force.
"Before the upcoming U.N. General Assembly (Sept 15-30), we need to get the region's support for our proposed future U.N. peace mission to Somalia," Abdulkadir Osman, Ahmed's spokesman, told Reuters by telephone from Djibouti.
The AU troops have been able to do little more than guard the Somali capital's presidential palace, sea port, airport and a few streets in between. They have frequently been targeted by insurgent mortar shells and roadside bombs.
Ahmed has repeatedly called for the AU mission to be strengthened and given a tougher mandate, and Osman said he would discuss that with Djibouti's Ismail Omar Guelleh.
"The two presidents will discuss boosting the number of the African mission, and changing their mandate to engage in a more active role," the spokesman said.
Aid Emergency
Osman said Ahmed would also attend the passing-out of more than 1,000 Somali troops who have been trained in Djibouti.
Ahmed, a former Islamist rebel, was elected in January at U.N.-hosted peace talks in Djibouti the 15th attempt to restore central government to Somalia since 1991.
Western security agencies say the lawless Horn of Africa nation has become a safe haven for militants including foreign jihadists who are plotting attacks in the region and beyond.
Violence has killed more than 18,000 Somalis since the start of 2007 and driven another 1.4 million from their homes.
That has triggered one of the world's worst aid emergencies, with the number of people needing help leaping 17.5 percent in a year to 3.76 million or half the population.
Sirad Anod, a university graduate who fled the fighting with her two children to the outskirts of Mogadishu, told Reuters she did not expect the United Nations to help much.
"It's the same United Nations that left us behind in 1993. They can't return us to our home," she said. "Somalis need to discuss their differences ...and come up with a local solution."
Army commander says insurgents have taken Beletwein
An army commander in Somalia has said that the interim government has lost control of a strategic town in the central regions to insurgents, Radio Garowe reports.
Gen. Muktar Hussein Afrah, who commanded Somali government forces in Beletwein, capital of Hiran region, told reporters Wednesday that the town is under the control of Al Shabaab and Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, Hiran's Islamist governor who recently withdrew support to the Somali government.
"The governor [Ma'ow] has joined Al Shabaab and we have left the town," Gen. Afrah said.
Currently, Al Shabaab insurgents control the western neighborhoods of Beletwein while the town's eastern section is empty of soldiers or insurgents.
The army commander defended the decision to withdraw government forces from Beletwein, saying that he listened to the advice of community leaders and aims to protect the public from continued violence.
"We want to show the public that Sheikh Abdirahman [Ibrahim Ma'ow] is a man who wants instability in Hiran region," Gen. Afrah added.
Beletwein is located near the international boundary between Somalia and Ethiopia. Last month, after Ethiopian troops briefly seized control of Beletwein, Sheikh Ma'ow declared that he will no longer support the Somali interim government.
16 people killed in renewed Mogadishu clashes
At least 16 people have been killed in a series of battles in the Somali capital between African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) and Somali insurgents, Radio Garowe reports.
The fighting erupted overnight Monday after fighters loyal to insurgent factions Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam launched mortars at the military bases of AMISOM peacekeepers in Mogadishu.
At least eight people, mostly civilians, were killed in Mogadishu's Hodan district in an exchange of artillery shells between the pro-government African peacekeepers and the insurgents, local sources reported.
"I saw five dead people, including a mother and her two children," said a witness in Hodan district, who was forced to flee to safety. On Tuesday morning, heavy fighting reignited in parts of Hodan district after AMISOM peacekeepers expanded between their base at KM4 square and Industry Road, a main thoroughfare for insurgents.
Emergency workers in Mogadishu said upwards of 36 wounded persons were rushed to medical hospitals, with fears that the death toll could rise fast.
AMISOM commanders and insurgents have not spoken publicly about the latest round of violence, which comes on the heels of weeks of renewed clashes between government forces and the insurgents during Islam's holy month of Ramadan.
Ramadan fighting in Mogadishu is "worst in 20 years"
By Abdi Sheikh (Reuters)
Clashes kill 32 civilians in four days
Activists blame rebels, government forces
Insurgents amputate thieves' hands in capital
Fighting in Mogadishu during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has so far been some of the worst in 20 years, killing 32 civilians in four days this week, a human rights group in the Somali capital said on Thursday. The Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation said 18 women and seven children were among the dead, and that 82 civilians were wounded between Sept. 5-8 as Islamist insurgents battled the U.N.-backed government and African Union (AU) peacekeepers.
Western security agencies say the failed Horn of Africa state has become a safe haven for militant groups linked to al Qaeda who are plotting attacks across the region and beyond.
"The current human rights situation in Mogadishu is one of the worst in the last 20 years for the displacement, injuring and killing of civilians," the Elman group said in a report. "From Sept. 5-8 ... the fighting in Mogadishu during the Ramadan fasting month is the worst (on record), according to the monitoring of Elman staff," it said.
The group said the behaviour of Islamist militants who launched attacks while civilians were breaking their fast with an evening meal, as well as firing mortar barrages from hiding places in residential neighbourhoods, was unacceptable. It also accused government forces, backed by the AU peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi, of indiscriminately retaliating by shelling civilian areas and business premises.
"Those behind the violations against civilians ... resulting in killing, injuring and destruction of public property must be held accountable," said Elman's vice-chairman Ali Shiekh Yassin. President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's government controls just parts of the coastal capital and central region.
Most of the south is run by Islamist insurgents including the al Shabaab group, which Washington says is al Qaeda's proxy in Somalia.
Rebels Cut Off Hands
On Wednesday, hardline al Shabaab fighters amputated the right hands of two teenage Mogadishu boys they said had been convicted of theft by a militant sharia court. "We whipped another teenager for raping a lady.
We also fined him $150 and expelled him from Mogadishu for a year," said Sheikh Abdul Basid Mohamed, an al Shabaab judge in the city.
The group has carried out executions, floggings and amputations before, mostly in the southern port of Kismayu. Movies and soccer games are banned in the rebels' territory, and men and women cannot travel together on public transport. Al Shabaab's strict practices have shocked many Somalis, who are traditionally moderate Muslims, but some residents credit the insurgents with restoring order to regions they control.
Violence has killed more than 18,000 Somalis since the start of 2007 and driven another 1.5 million from their homes. That has triggered one of the world's worst aid emergencies, with the number of people needing help leaping 17.5 percent in a year to 3.76 million or half the population.
Unmanned aircrafts and choppers over Kismayu
Reports from the coastal town of Kismayu, the capital of Lower Jubbah region in far southern Somalia, say that several unmanned aircraft were seen on Wednesday night flying low over the town and its outskirts. The strategic location is some 500km south of the Somali capital Mogadishu. Others reported to have witnessed that helicopters without any lights were found hovering in the nightly sky over the town.
"Last night till daybreak on Wednesday morning I saw helicopters and other planes hovering over the town, for sure I can say that the planes were unmanned while the helicopters had pilots; in fact they have scared both the people inside the town and those in the suburbs, I cannot actually guess their objectives in the region" said a former Somali Military veteran speaking to Somaliweyn radio.
The officials of Al-Shabab who are in control of the town have not given any comment regarding these aircraft and the nationality of the aircraft were not yet identified.
But the local population is horrified and in constant fear day and night that an attack will happen at any given time. The way these surveillance or men-hunting operations are done is sheer horror and terror.
Already in the beginning of September 2009, the inhabitants of Gar'ad district in North-Eastern Somalia were complaining of choppers chasing the wildlife in their district and eventually taking them with the aid of their choppers.
Somali Islamists cut off two men's hands in capital
By Mohamed Olad Hassan
A Somali Islamic court hacked a hand each from two screaming men accused of theft and lashed another accused of rape on Wednesday, officials and a witness said, the latest in a series of harsh punishments that have elicited both admiration and revulsion from the war-weary population.
A witness said two masked men carried out the amputations immediately after Sheik Abdibasit Mohamed, an Islamic judge in northern Mogadishu, pronounced the sentence in front of a crowd of around a hundred residents. The screaming victims had their hands hacked off by large knives on a wooden table dripping with blood. The two were later taken to the hospital by medical staff, the witness said. He declined to be named for fear of reprisals.
A teenager was given 100 lashes after being accused of rape, he said.
Al-Shabab militia spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said the three men had admitted the charges against them.
Four other men had their hands amputated in June after being accused of theft, one of several such incidents, and Amnesty International reported in October 2008 a 13-year-old girl was publicly stoned to death by 50 militia men after she had reported being gang-raped.
The Islamic courts were the birthplace of Somalia's Islamist insurgency. Initially they enjoyed widespread support as judges handed down harsh sentences to control the crime and killing that had plagued the country since it dissolved into civil war in 1991.
But the amputations and stonings that have been carried out are not traditional punishments in Somalia. Some Somalis have expressed fear the courts may be influenced by stricter ideology as foreign fighters have flooded into the country to try to topple the weak U.N.-backed government. Its forces control only pockets of the capital and cannot even interfere with the public punishments carried out by courts linked to the insurgency.
Uganda to send police units to Somalia
Uganda has announced that it will send some 300 police officers to Somalia, as part of a UN-backed peacekeeping mission to stabilize the war-torn nation would begin in December, adding that it would be independent of other UN operations in Somalia.
Kayihura said that some Ugandan police units are also to be deployed in the troubled western Sudanese region of Darfur.
Uganda, which is one of only two African Union countries sending troops to Somalia, currently has some 2050 soldiers in the war-wracked country.
The 5,100-strong AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which began its operations in March 2007, is made up of soldiers from Burundi and Uganda and is mandated to guard strategic sites in the volatile Somali capital, Mogadishu.
The mission also provides backup to government forces fighting a violent insurgency.
Mogadishu has witnessed fierce fighting and attacks on a daily basis since May, when rebel forces launched a major offensive against President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's UN-backed interim government.
The mission is the only foreign force currently present in Somalia, which has been mired in civil war since 1991.
Somalia asks Djibouti for peace forces – PressTV
Somalia's president is in neighboring Djibouti to appeal for the deployment of Djiboutian troops to his war-torn nation as part of the UN-backed peacekeeping mission.
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed met his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh on Wednesday to discuss the troops' deployment, a Press TV correspondent quoted a spokesman for the presidential office as saying.
Djibouti, which hosted the Somali reconciliation talks that saw the election of Ahmed last year, has recently pledged to send a contingent of its troops to participate in the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM), heeding to Ahmed's June appeal for troops from neighboring countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen to shore up his fragile administration from the powerful insurgency.
AU has more than 5,000-strong peacekeeping troops from Uganda and Burundi who are helping the weak but internationally recognized government fight against militant groups in the restive capital Mogadishu.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting in the Somali capital between rebel fighters and Somali forces backed by AU troops left at least than six civilians killed and scores injured.
Eyewitnesses say heavily armed al-Shabaab fighters carried out the attacks on AU and government troops in the capital's northern neighborhoods of Hodon and Hawlwadag.
Several mortar shells fired by both sides slammed the busy Mogadishu seaport, killing at least 2 workers and injuring seven others.
Somaliland troops seize parliament after lawmakers' dispute
Police and military units in Somalia's breakaway republic of Somaliland have assumed full control of the region's elected parliament, Radio Garowe reports.
Mr. Abdullahi Mohamed "Irro," Speaker of Somaliland's House of Representatives, the lower of house of parliament, told reporters on Tuesday that troops had "fulfilled their original intention" by seizing the parliament building. Somaliland troops have surrounded the parliament building in Hargeisa in recent weeks and intervened on one occasion.
Earlier Tuesday, the House's legal affairs advisor told lawmakers that an impeachment motion against Somaliland President Dahir Riyale and his deputy, Vice President Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, introduced last week by opposition lawmakers is "legal" under Somaliland laws.
Further, the advisor noted that another motion, introduced by members of President Riyale's ruling UDUB party to change bylaws in order to remove Speaker Irro, was illegal because bylaws can only be changed by the House's permanent committee.
This development angered UDUB lawmakers, especially MP Abdirahman Hoogwho pulled out a handgun inside the parliament building and attempted to shoot a fellow lawmaker, MPs and witnesses said.
Somaliland police units, supported by soldiers, immediately surrounded the parliament building in Hargeisa, forcing lawmakers to come outside. Although parliament's leadership initially refused, they eventually succumbed to the order.
Afterwards, Speaker Irro told a press conference in Hargeisa that Somaliland's elected parliament has been seized and "soldiers now hold the keys."
Parliament sources said 67 MPs out of the 82-seat House of Representatives were present during the heated debate.
Somaliland's political crisis deepened last week when the election commission postponed the presidential election scheduled for September 27.
Located in northwest Somalia, Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from the rest of the Horn of Africa country in 1991 but has not been recognized internationally.
African Union Spies caught, says Al-Shabab
The commander of the martyrs Al-Shabab in Banadir region Sheikh Ali Mohamud Hussein has said publicly that they have apprehended local men who were spying for both the African Union troops and the Somali government.
"There are some men whom we have caught, on suspicion grounds, and soon we shall bring them to caught, and if they free from the suspicion they will be set free, and if they are found guilty, they will be punished according to the Islamic law, the number of the espionages of the foes of Islam is not only these there are several others whom we are tracking down and hopefully we shall have them in hand soon" said Sheikh Ali Mohamud Hussein speaking to Somaliweyn radio.
The movement of Al-Shabab has carried out different kinds of punishments, to people accused of different crimes such as hand amputation, cross cutting amputations and public flogging in the Somali capital Mogadishu, and as well as several other regions in the country.
Islamic Radicals Behaving Badly by strategypage
The Somali refugee camps, in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, hold 1.5 million people and are poorly run. The NGOs (from the UN on down) camp operators are fearful and demoralized because of the bandits and militias that use the camps as a resource (a place to park the wives and kids, and draw food and other supplies as needed). Many NGOs are demanding that something be done, but no one wants to send more peacekeepers to Somalia, as the nation is seen as a failed state, and a hopeless case. What has happened in Somalia is not all that unusual, if you examine the history of the region. For thousands of years, the place has been an unstable battleground for tribal militias and warlords. Rarely peaceful, much less united and well governed, European colonial powers (Britain and Italy) imposed order for about a century, then left in the 1960s. The area soon returned to its normal state, which is described as a "failed state." This is a misnomer, as there was never a state there to begin with.
The Transitional Government has taken advantage of widespread discontent with the savage and self-righteous behaviour of the Islamic radicals (who try to force Somalis to live an "Islamic" lifestyle that is not popular here at all), and gathered together a larger and more powerful fighting force. In addition to the militias of the factions comprising the Transitional Government, there are also religiously motivated militias from the Sufi (a normally less-violent, but now persecuted) Islamic sect, and other Somali clans that are just not all that pleased with al Shabaab and the other Islamic radicals. In particular, the al Shabaab use of foreign Islamic radicals is irritating, especially since these guys tend to be arrogant, pushy and just all-round nasty. The Transitional Government plans to drive the Islamic radicals out of Mogadishu in the next month or two, and then go after al Shabaab elsewhere in the country. The Transitional Government is already negotiation with some of the al Shabaab clan militia leaders who agree that a shift in power is taking place, and want to switch sides. This plan may not work, because plans tend to die young in Somalia.
Meanwhile, the Islamic radical groups declared that they will continue fighting, and using suicide bombing and human shields (two practices that are very unpopular with most Somalis.) The Islamic radical groups practice what they preach, daily, in Mogadishu, leaving dozens of civilians dead or wounded. The Islamic radicals have also implemented some of the more violent aspects of Sharia (Islamic law) by using knives to cut the hands off accused thieves, and whipping other offenders.
Impacting reports from the global village
US risks being sucked into Yemen civil war
By Richard Spencer
Tens of thousands of refugees are fleeing a vicious civil war that threatens to turn the key Arab peninsula state of Yemen into a terrorist stronghold and to suck the US into another sensitive conflict zone.
The Yemeni government is to try to subdue a rebel Shia army in the north of the country. But its assault is meeting fierce resistance, with the Yemeni air force staging desperate forays to pound the rebels into submission.
International observers fear that even if the US, a long-term ally, can stay aloof, the conflict might be subsumed in a regional war by proxy.
Yemen's Zaidi rebels are also known as al-Huthis.
Saudi Arabia helps to finance the government, partly out of fear of its own Shia minority and terrorist elements. The government accuses Iran, which is ruled by a Shia theocracy, of backing the rebels with money and arms, though it has produced no hard evidence.
The government launched a full-scale assault on the rebel stronghold in Saada province last month. Since then, 25,000 refugees have registered with the United Nations refugee agency, but diplomats say as many as 100,000 people may have been displaced by the fighting.
Whole villages are on the move, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), with thousands of people caught in a pocket between the fighting and the Saudi border.
About 35,000 have fled to Saada city, only to find themselves taking refuge in houses under constant shell fire.
"The situation is getting worse and worse and worse," said Gian Carlo Cirri, country director for the WFP. "We're not confronted with a humanitarian crisis, it's becoming a humanitarian tragedy."
One analyst warned that the United States might be forced to intervene as the security situation worsened to prevent Yemen becoming a "failed state".
The country has been used as an al-Qaeda base before, and its strategic location between the oil supply routes of the Gulf and the piracy haven of Somalia means its stability is regarded as a key western interest.
"It's very difficult," said Joost Hiltermann, of the International Crisis Group. "You might well see American advisers, maybe even some special troops, go in for special operations."
President Barack Obama sent a letter this week to President Ali Abdullah Saleh pledging to "stand beside Yemen, its unity, security and stability".
"The security of Yemen is vital for the security of the United States," he said.
Previously, the US had urged a return to the negotiating table.
Any American intervention would risk opening a new front in its hostile relationship with Iran, whose rise to power is increasingly feared by Gulf Arab countries, several of which also have Shia minorities.
The rebellion started as a minor conflict with a local tribe, the al-Houthis. But after its leader was killed in 2004, the insurrection, rather than disappearing, began to spread.
The al-Houthis are followers of a moderate Shia sect known as Zaidi, and their followers are now calling for the return of the so-called Zaidi caliphate which ran Yemen until 1962.
A ceasefire broke down earlier this year, leaving the government facing a double conflict against the Houthis in the north and al-Qaeda groupings throughout the country.
The Houthis were also accused of a string of kidnaps, including of a British engineer who is still being held.
Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world, and since reunification of its northern and southern halves in the nineties it has been mired in both tribal and sectarian strife.
The civil war in the north is also seen as distracting the government from political and economic reforms needed to lift it out of poverty.
Diplomats say there is little evidence of active Saudi and Iranian involvement in the fighting itself. One described a claim that Saudi aircraft had joined in the bombardment of Saada as "far-fetched".
But the diplomat added: "There's a long-term sense that Saudi Arabia and Iran play out their longer term rivalry in Yemen.
"Speculation about international intervention also takes away from the humanitarian issue, which is the most worrying aspect of the war."
Human Rights Council to hold twelfth regular session
The Human Rights Council will hold its twelfth regular session from 14 September to 2 October 2009 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
On the morning of Monday, 14 September, the Council will hear an update by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to be followed by a general debate. Under this item, which covers the reports of the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) and the Secretary-General, the Council will have before it over a dozen reports, including the report of the Secretary-General on human rights and unilateral coercive measures; the consolidated report of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner on the right to development; a study on human rights and transitional justice by the OHCHR; the report of the Secretary-General on the question of death penalty; the report of the High Commissioner on promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism; and the report of the High Commissioner on combating defamation of religions.
Concerning the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, the Council will review reports from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people; the expert mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples (on the rights of indigenous peoples to education); the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, its causes and consequences; the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity; independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to safe drinking water and sanitation; the Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of illicit movement and dumping of toxic wastes; and the Working Group on the Right to Development.
The Council will also hear a presentation on the report of the second session of the expert mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples, in the context of its consideration of human rights bodies and mechanisms. The Council will also consider draft guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members prepared by the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee.
On the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, the Council will discuss follow-up to its special session on grave human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian territories, particularly due to the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. In that context, it will have before it the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, as well as a periodic report of the High Commissioner on the implementation of the resolution adopted at the special session held in January 2009, focusing on some of the key concerns of her Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory covering the period of the Israeli military operations in Gaza codenamed "Cast Lead" up to 10 April 2009.
On racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance: follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Council will have before it the report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
As for technical assistance and capacity-building, the Council will have before it the report of the High Commissioner on the progress achieved in the situation of human rights in Burundi and on the OHCHR activities in the country, and will hold an interactive debate with the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Burundi. It will also hear reports from, and hold interactive debates with, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, and the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia.
Also during the session, the Council will hold general debates on human rights situations that require the Council's attention. It will hold its annual discussion on the integration of a gender perspective in the Council's work, with a focus on the Universal Periodic Review, and a panel discussion on the human rights of migrants in detention centres. The Council will also hold two closed meetings of its complaint procedure. In addition, the Council will appoint two new Special Procedures mandate holders – an independent expert in the field of cultural rights and an independent expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan.
Concerning its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, the Council will consider the final outcome of the Review for the Central African Republic, Monaco, Belize, Chad, Congo, Malta, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Chile, Viet Nam, Uruguay, Yemen, Vanuatu, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Comoros and Slovakia.
For more detailed information about the work of the Council at this session, including with regard to documentation, please refer to the annotated agenda of the session A/HRC/12/1, as well as the Human Rights Council website at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/12session/.
Why did Lieberman really go to Africa?
By Yossi Melman
The journey of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to five African states in nine days is taking place under a hidden cloud of domestic tension. The obvious aspect of the visit, which is stressed by the minister and his entourage, is Israel's willingness to assist countries in the continent to find solutions to their problems: hunger, insufficient clean water, epidemics. The less-publicized aspect is that quite a few Israelis are hoping that the visit will open the way for more defense exports.
On a level that is even more secretive, there is the hope of developing intelligence ties and cooperation in the effort against international jihadist elements, and especially countering the activities of Iran in some of these African countries. This only becomes obvious when the composition of the delegation is analyzed carefully: in addition to the Foreign Ministry officials accompanying Lieberman, there is a delegation from the Defense Ministry's foreign assistance department, Sibat, and also a group of representatives of the intelligence community, including a Mossad official from the Tevel wing, which is responsible for the organization's foreign ties. Similarly, along with representatives from civilian industrial and development firms, there are agents from the country's defense firms.
The Foreign Ministry and the Israel Export Institute believe that there is at least another $1 billion worth of business potential in Africa, in addition to the $3 billion that Israeli firms already export in goods and services to the continent. Lieberman began his trip in Ethiopia, where he met with the country's prime minister and its foreign minister, putting the emphasis on the civilian assistance that Israel provides. The assistance comes in the form of biotechnology and agriculture, advanced water-purification technologies, and medical assistance in combating AIDS. The Foreign Ministry funding these projects out of its own budget, at the cost of several hundred thousand dollars a year.
But Ethiopia is also a key strategic state for Israel, with a long tradition of friendship and cooperation between the countries in military and intelligence matters. Ethiopia's importance lies in its being situated on the Horn of Africa,near a number of Arab states, and overlooking the sea routes to Eilat and the Suez Canal. Moreover, in recent years Iran has been increasingly active in the area, as have been Al-Qaida agents, particularly in nearby Somalia. Naturally these are issues that were discussed during Lieberman's meetings, even though they were not mentioned in the media briefings.
The foreign minister's visit to Kenya was similar in character. There Lieberman met with the vice president and the foreign minister. He announced Israel's intention to offer know-how in combating desertification, and he also agreed to the request of his hosts for Israel's assistance in the reopening of an agricultural training center situated two hours from the capital, Nairobi. Israel had cooperated in the past, together with the U.S., in running the center, activity that stopped in 2002.
The Kenyan vice president, Kalonzo Musyoka, praised Israel's contribution to agriculture and irrigation in his country, but as in Ethiopia, in Nairobi too they discussed other issues that were made less public. Kenya has cooperated with Israel in the past on counter-terrorism.
On Wednesday Lieberman travelled to Nigeria, one of the largest, wealthiest and most important countries in Africa. There is a relatively large community of Israeli businessmen there, working mostly in the fields of agriculture and infrastructure, but it is also an important destination for Israeli defense exports. In recent years, Israel and Nigeria signed arms deals worth about $500 million.
"There is no doubt that the most important need of Africa is countering hunger and the shortage of water, and not arms," said Haim Dibon, deputy director general of Israel's Foreign Ministry.
Lieberman's wish to restore the continent to a place on Israel's foreign policy horizon is also paved with benign intentions. But the experience of the past suggests that the voice of the Foreign Ministry loses ground for the most part when it comes up against the Defense Ministry and the arms industry lobby, which hijacked Israel's foreign policy in recent years in their favour. Therefore, Dibon is trying to make the point back home that military sales will also benefit if they are carried out through "the feeding of the hungry and the quenching of the parched throats of Africa."
Commission allocates a further 53 million euro in humanitarian aid for drought response in Africa
By European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO)
The European Commission has earmarked a further 53.475 million euro, through a series of financing decisions, for expanded humanitarian aid to vulnerable people in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Mauritania. The funds are channelled through the Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) under the responsibility of Karel De Gucht, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid.
Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid said: "The humanitarian consequences of climate change are felt very hard in many countries of sub-Saharan-Africa. An enormous area stretching from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa has been affected by extreme weather hazards in recent months and indeed years. Lasting severe drought with in some cases brutal flooding have had devastating effect on harvests and livestock, and increased the vulnerability of millions of people. In those regions climatic hazards exacerbate further dramatic situations caused by conflicts, poor governance and widespread poverty".
He added: "Such humanitarian crises which require immediate relief are a stark reminder of the crucial importance of getting an agreement in Copenhagen in order to address the root causes of climate change. Lives are at stake."
Each funding decision launched by the Commission is tailor-made to respond to the specific humanitarian needs in the countries concerned. In all cases, the most vulnerable populations have been greatly affected by poor and erratic rainfall leading to smaller harvests, loss of livestock and increased food prices.
Somalia: 20 million euro Somalia faces huge humanitarian needs due to the combined effect of conflict, drought and governance issues. Half of the population - 3.7 million people, including 1.4 million internally displaced (IDPs) - depend on external assistance. The Commission has earmarked a further 20 million euro in humanitarian funding on top of its previous allocations for 2009 (18 million euro) to help victims of continuing insecurity and climatic hazards with a focus on health/nutrition, water/sanitation, food and food security.
Kenya: 8 million euro Kenya's current drought follows a succession of poor rainfall seasons over the past four years.
Around four million people need food assistance. The new funding will focus on providing basic food, nutritional support, protection of livestock assets and other forms of short-term livelihood support. This is in addition to humanitarian support worth 16 million euro already provided in Kenya during 2009.
Ethiopia: 10 million euro In Ethiopia, almost 14 million people (20% of the population) are threatened by the food shortages and rising prices. The new allocation of 10 million euro, which comes on top of 19 million euro already provided in 2009, is for immediate humanitarian food assistance targeting people most affected by acute food insecurity.
Uganda: 5.475 million euro It is estimated that the food security of around 1.5 million people in northern Uganda is threatened by the combination of drought and rising food prices. The Commission's new funding focuses on providing emergency food assistance to the most vulnerable people affected by crop failures in the north. The Commission had already provided 14 million euro in 2009 for humanitarian assistance in Uganda.
Sahel: 10 million euro Persistent malnutrition and food insecurity are among the biggest issues in the Sahel region, affecting people who are already extremely susceptible to poverty and external shocks such as droughts and floods. The Commission has earmarked a further 10 million euro in humanitarian assistance (2 million euro for Chad, 3 million euro for Mauritania and Mali, and 5 million euro for Burkina Faso and Niger). These funds supplement the previous allocation in 2009 of 13 million euro to fight malnutrition in the Sahel. The focus is on meeting nutritional needs and boosting people's coping mechanisms, through improved access to food assistance and healthcare and clean water.
Background Commission-funded humanitarian projects are implemented by non-governmental relief organisations, specialised UN agencies and the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement. ECHO has support offices in most of the countries concerned. Its field experts closely follow developments in the humanitarian situation and play an active role in local coordination of relief efforts. They also monitor the use of the Commission's relief funds.
Consolidating, sustaining African peace and security: Issues and perspectives
By Kayode Oladele
By any standard, the last two decades have brought in a new perspective into conflict resolution, mediation, peace - building, peace - keeping, peace-building, peace-enforcement and preventive diplomacy in Africa. Hitherto, and until very recently, the African Union´s (AU) Commission on Mediation, Arbitration and Reconciliation, which is one of the principal organs of the Commission established to maintain and keep peace and security in the region was dormant in spite of the fact that its duties and functions were succinctly spelt out in the Organization´s charter.
The Organization of African Unity (OAU), as it was called, was born in the cold war era and thus shaped its politics and ideology. During that period, Africa was a strategic pawn on the cold war chessboard.
The Communist East was bent on exploiting the decolonization process and the new wave of nationalism going on on the continent of Africa to its advantage while the capitalist West maintained that the decolonized countries of Africa must be ruled by people with anti-communist resume. Consequently, both blocs adopted cold war policies [political and diplomatic initiatives] to prop up allies and installed puppet administrations in Africa.
The effect of this was the emergence of African leaders who had no political mind of their own. These neo-colonial leaders, who unfortunately, were the founding fathers of the Organization of African Unity, turned it into a battleground for advancing the cause of their pay masters.
The African civil society who had just gone through excruciating periods of colonialism had expected their home made leaders to use the platform of the Organization to articulate a new sense of leadership. But this was not to be.
Meanwhile, as African leaders were busy fighting the cause of their ideological mentors/masters in the cold war era the continent was disintegrating and falling into unprecedented genocidal ethnic/resource conflicts.
In West Africa, Nigeria, a big, promising country from the yoke of Union Jack suffered a three- year civil war. The Nigerian civil war coincided with the turbulent years in the USA [1965-1970 which witnessed more than 500 uprisings in urban America] when black communities revolted in a struggle for liberation.
In Central Africa, the secession crises in Congo, another big country like Nigeria, was fueled by the active encouragement of Belgium and the complicity of America´s Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]. The latter was alleged to be involved in the assassination of Patrick Lumumba, a foremost African nationalist and the first Prime Minister of Congo.
In the Horn of Africa, there were civil strifes in Mozambique and Angola based on economic and political ideologies. In Angola, the National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola [UNITA] was locked in a war of attrition with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola [MPLA].
The Mozambique National Resistance [RENAMO] and the Mozambique Liberation Front [FRELIMO] each of whom fought along different ideologies spearheaded the war of destabilization and social dislocation in Mozambique.
In the North African country of Sudan, the cold war mongers [the super powers] capitalized on the ethnic and religious differences in the region thus creating a prolonged armed conflict in the country.
There were wars in Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Rwanda, Burundi and so on. There were conflicts in Zimbabwe, Uganda, and intervention in Lesotho. Few years ago, some elements in Niger killed the President, Ibrahim Bare Mainassarawa in a palace coup.
Ethiopia and Somalia were not spared. In those two countries, local disputes, social and class differences were exacerbated to national conflicts that lasted many years. The case of Ethiopia was indeed a pathetic one.
This was a country that never experienced colonialism. It may be recalled that during the European colonization of Africa, the continent was partitioned and divided among Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Portugal.
At the Berlin Conference of 1884, African countries (then colonies) were shared amongst the countries named above with the exception of Ethiopia, which was allowed to retain its sovereignty. Liberia also retained its sovereignty.
As colonialism was gaining momentum in Africa and the colonialists were busy partitioning Africa, the USA was battling with what status to accord to the freed African slaves in America.
Unable to resolve this vexed issue with expediency, the American Decolonization Society by 1822 decided to return some of the freed slaves to Africa and resettled them in Liberia. In 1807, slavery was outlawed in Britain. From then on, cargoes carrying new slaves were interdicted on the high seas and sent to Liberia to resettle.
It was therefore, not politically expedient to place these freed slaves who were provided with a save haven in Liberia under new colonial overlords. The colonialists also used the place as a trading post.
Unfortunately, the post-cold war Liberia itself was ravaged by a civil war, which was primarily caused by resentments against the continued political domination of the "Americo-Liberian" over the natives.
Apologists of cold war politics have posited that cold war may have contributed to the dislocation of African social, economic and political structure, but it was not the primary cause. They argue that the fundamental causes of armed conflicts and social dislocation in Africa have been with the continent long before the advent of colonialism.
They traced such historical reasons to include issues such as disputes over grazing field, hunting and fishing rights, religious rites and very serious matters like farm land disputes, expansion of territorial rights and political authority as well as ethnic and cultural differences.
Africa´s economic growth and social development have been in bad shape for many years. The economies of many countries on the continent cannot respond to internal needs of the people thus leading to mass poverty and social disorder. The resources are scarce and the scarcer the resources, the greater the propensity for conflict. Where there is poverty, conflict is imminent.
The fragmentation of Africa has also been compounded by an unimaginable decline in international aid to the region. The flow of private investment was very insignificant accounting only for about 10 per cent of liquid capital flow into Africa. This definitely, is a threat to African growth, development, peace and security.
Today, Africa is exhausted by conflicts. The prolonged armed conflicts in the region have not only hindered African progress, this sordid and devastating state of peace and security has led to massive displacement of large number of people many of whom have fled their homelands.
Armed conflicts in Africa affect not only the warring nations but also impact on others that are not at war. In a report produced by the U.S Committee For Refugees, entitled, "World Refugee Survey, 1997", the Committee states that in numerous cases, some African countries both receive and produce refugees. They play a dual role of receiving refugee populations from neighbouring countries while circumstances in their own countries also force their own people to either flee to another country for safety or be permanently displaced in their countries.
On the effects of armed conflict on family life, economic activity and certainty about the future, the National Summit on Africa [NSA] laments that "without protection, there is no security; where armed conflict is the norm, there is no peace".
CIA collusion with "Al Qaeda" financiers and attack planners
By Wayne Madsen
WMR has learned from an intelligence source from a NATO country that elements of the CIA have coordinated their activities with top Gulf state officials who have been connected to "Al Qaeda" networks that have planned and financed various terrorist attacks.
A number of the "Al Qaeda"-associated officials are veterans of the CIA's war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, including a top prince of the Al Thani royal family of Qatar who also serves as a government minister. The prince, who was shot twice in the back while fighting with the Afghan mujaheddin against the Soviets in Afghanistan, maintains close relations with the Taliban in Afghanistan and serves as a conduit between the CIA and both the Taliban and "Al Qaeda."
The prince maintains contact with "Al Qaeda's" financial network through contacts in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The regional security officer for the British embassy in Dubai, believed to be an MI-6 official cover, maintains contact with the Qatari prince and his "Jihadist" financial and logistics network in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. This network, allowed to operate with CIA and MI-6 knowledge and soft support, also, according to our source, involves a top official in the government of Abu Dhabi who is close to the Abu Dhabi royal family.
In 2006, Qatar's interior minister, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalid Al-Thani, rejected a civil judgment against him by a New York federal judge stating that he harbored Al Qaeda's number three man Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and tipped off Mohammed before a CIA attempt to arrest him in 1996. In fact, WMR has learned that the CIA station at the U.S. embassy in Doha, Qatar, has been a key link between the agency and the "Al Qaeda" support network in recent years, even in late 2001 when Al-Thani was accused of harboring both Mohammed and another Al Qaeda operative, Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, who was later allegedly killed by U.S. forces in Iraq.
Another individual with whom the CIA in the UAE maintains close contact is Osama Bin Laden's former financial adviser, a British-Mozambican UK citizen, who once lived in Bin Laden's home in Saudi Arabia where the "Al Qaeda" leader received various diplomats from countries that included Britain and the United States. A cousin of Bin Laden"s financial adviser served at the British Consulate General in Chicago, from which financial support was given to "Al Qaeda" operatives in the United States.
Chicago FBI agents Robert Wright and John Vincent began investigating the Al Qaeda money trail links between Chicago area terrorist cells and Bin Laden after the East Africa U.S. embassy bombings in 1998. However, their investigation was spiked by FBI headquarters in Washington.
Another FBI agent who was getting close to the connections between "Al Qaeda," the Saudi government, and the CIA and MI-6 was John P. O'Neill, the top FBI agent assigned to investigate Al Qaeda. O'Neill discovered the Western intelligence and Saudi/Gulf connections to Al Qaeda but was subjected to a pre-retirement theft of his briefcase that contained classified documents on his investigation. After his stormy retirement from the FBI, O'Neill was hired by Kroll Associates as the head of security for the World Trade Center and after only a day or two on the job, died in the collapse of the World Trade Center.
According to a French DGSE highly classified intelligence document received by WMR, Bin Laden remained under the operational control of the CIA and Britain"s MI-6 until 1995. In July 2001, just weeks before the 9/11 attacks, French media reported that Bin Laden was visited at the American Hospital in Dubai by Larry Mitchell, the CIA's station chief in Dubai. Bin Laden maintained accounts at Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), associated with various CIA operations in the years of the mujaheddin war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. With the knowledge and approval of the CIA, those accounts shifted to other banks after the collapse of BCCI in 1991. Mossad and Middle East banking sources have told WMR that those banks include Citigroup, the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia, and HSBC.
One place where "Al Qaeda" operatives, mostly Saudis but a few nationals of other Middle East countries like Lebanon, often rub shoulders with CIA and MI-6 "liaisons" in Thailand, particularly Bangkok and Pattaya. Ironically, Bangkok was the site of one of the CIA"s secret rendition prisons where "Al Qaeda" suspects were tortured.
Southeast Asia is a preferred place for weapons transfers from Western intelligence agents to the "Al Qaeda" and "Jemaah Islamiya" operatives. Last week, the Philippine Coast Guard intercepted the M/V Captain Ufuk as it entered Manila Bay carrying a cargo of Israeli Galil assault rifles. The Captain Ufuk has a Georgian crew, South African captain, Panamanian registry, and had began its trip in Turkey with an intermediate stop in Indonesia. The Philippines is reported by the CIA to be a center for "Al Qaeda"-affiliated "Abu Sayyaf" terrorist activity. It appears that the CIA and their Israeli friends know much more about the Abu Sayyaf activity as they did about the 2002 nightclub bombing in Bali.
Writing in the Atlantic Free Press on January 15, 2009, Tim Gatto reported: "The main attempt of the administration was to invent a huge group of militant Muslims operating in 87 countries that was led by Osama Bin Laden. The name of this Washington invention was called al Qaeda. This in Arabic means The Base. It was originally a database."
This is what Wayne Madsen wrote about al Qaeda: "Shortly before his untimely death, former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the House of Commons [and wrote in The Guardian] that "Al Qaeda" is not really a terrorist group but a database of international mujaheddin and arms smugglers used by the CIA and Saudis to funnel guerrillas, arms, and money into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan."
"Al Qaeda" has apparently extorted large sums of money from the governments of the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait as "protection insurance" against "Al Qaeda" terrorist attacks within their nations. One such scheme involved a threat to bomb the foundations of several new high-rise skyscrapers on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. The CIA/MI-6 network in the Gulf is also reported to sanctions the Sh'ia Mahdi Army operations in Iraq that have been responsible for a number of deadly terrorist attacks against U.S. and allied troops and Iraqi military and civilian targets.
"An important liaison between the CIA and Bin Laden was Bin Laden's assistant, Ali Mohammed, an Egyptian Army veteran who was officially reported to have been rebuffed by the CIA when he tried to become an agent but was gladly hired by the Special Warfare Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina as an instructor. Ali Mohammed trained some of those who would later serve with the CIA's Special Activities Division and Blackwater. Ali Mohammed was yet another link between the CIA and "Al Qaeda.""
WMR's intelligence source has attempted to inform U.S. military authorities about the connections of the CIA to the Qatar/Abu Dhabi/Dubai "Al Qaeda" jihadist network but was told by a U.S. Army captain at Tallil airbase in Iraq that his safety could not be ensured by the U.S. military.
WMR has learned from our intelligence source that the CIA's assassination team predates the George W. Bush administration and that it was used for special assassination "wet affairs" jobs during both the Clinton and George H. W. Bush administrations.
The CIA used a wealthy intermediary in Switzerland who manipulated the market in high-dollar art sales to provide money for special CIA accounts maintained at Bank Hofmann in Zurich, acquired by Clariden Leu AG in 2007. Bank Hofmann, a private bank that also maintained branches in Geneva and London.
Another private bank used to launder CIA hit squad operations was Trufinco of Zurich. Money laundered by the CIA from stolen artwork was reportedly handled by a CIA entity called the Boecking Trust which used various free ports around the world to hide stolen artwork. Some of the paintings stolen and sold by the CIA were to rich Saudis at Marbella in Spain and included four paintings held by the late Princess Diana at Bank Leu, one Van Dyck, two Rubens, and one Rembrandt. Bank Leu, also known as Clariden Leu, is also reportedly a front for secret CIA banking. Ironically, the bank was used by two U.S. spies for Russia, CIA agent Harold Nicholson and FBI agent Robert Hanssen, to maintain secret bank accounts to hide their payments from Russian intelligence.
The CIA assassination covert operational infrastructure also had direct links to CIA fronts in Panama, Japan, France, Italy, Monaco, and Texas. Some of the CIA wet affairs officials also had close relations to former President George H. W. Bush in Texas. There were also links between the CIA death squads and top officials of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, the party of former Pakistan dictator General Pervez Musharraf, as well as large Japanese yakuza organized crime families linked to the Liberal Democratic Party. The CIA hit teams also received funding from narcotics smuggling through the agency's joint operations with the yakuza, Golden Triangle warlords in Burma, and Colombian paramilitary narco-terrorists tied to the government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
Former CIA Executive Director Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard is reported to have helped cement the relationship with Blackwater USA to conduct post-9/11 assassinations for the CIA. Krongard was chairman of Alex, Brown Brothers and vice chairman of Banker's Trust after its acquisition of the Baltimore-based securities investment firm. After he left the CIA, Krongard became a member of Blackwater's advisory board. His brother, Howard "Cookie" Krongard, served as Inspector General for the State Department, and, according to four State Department IG officials, Ron Militana, Brian Rubendall, and John DeDona, ordered them to immediately cease their investigations of Blackwater's State Department contracts.
Two ex-Blackwater employees have submitted affidavits in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria that connects Blackwater to criminal activities, including weapons smuggling, money laundering, murders of whistleblowers, and prostitution, charges that dovetail with WMR's latest information that CIA assassination teams were involved with hiding and funding their activities through deals with criminal syndicates in Japan, Europe, Southeast Asia, Colombia, and the Middle East.
Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. He is the editor and publisher of the Wayne Madsen Report (subscription required).
To Hell With the United Nations
By Prof. Paul Eidelberg
Time for Israel to quit this den of iniquity.
It's time for Israel to quit the United Nations. Indeed, It is demeaning for the Jewish commonwealth to remain in that international cesspool. For decades, the United Nations has passed countless resolutions condemning Israel for its actions against the Palestinians, while almost never formally addressing Israel's security concerns and the ongoing campaign of Palestinian terrorism against Israelis. The UN General Assembly has become an international forum for promoting Palestinian statehood and de-legitimizing Israel.
Before the Oslo Accords, the General Assembly "condemned", "vigorously condemned", "strongly condemned", "deplored", "strongly deplored", "censured", and "denounced" Israel 321 times; the Arabs: zero condemnations. Meanwhile, the Security Council "condemned", "censured", "deplored", "strongly deplored", etc. Israel 49 times; the Arab states: zero.
Yes, it is time for Israel to quit this den of iniquity - and tens of millions of Americans will applaud Israel for doing so. Having a forum at the UN is of dubious value, as is the UN itself.
John Bolton, former acting US Ambassador to the UN, has said, "There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States." He also said that "the Secretariat Building in New York has 38 stories. If you lost ten stories today, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."
Fred Fleitz, a former senior adviser to Bolton, exposes UN waste and corruption and the resulting human costs. His book, Peacekeeping Fiascoes of the 1990s: Causes, Solutions, and U.S. Interests, provides a comprehensive critical assessment of the UN. Among other debacles, he shows how the failed UN mission in Bosnia led to unmitigated atrocities; how the UN debacle in Somalia emboldened terrorists the world over; how the UN peacekeeping operation in Haiti collapsed, with the billions of dollars squandered on it primarily benefiting Haitian President Jean-Bertrande Aristide. And then there was the "oil for food" scam between the UN and Saddam Hussein.
Now let us focus on Iran. It is obvious the UN will do nothing, and can do nothing, to stop Iran's nuclear development program. And judging from Barack Obama's policy of appeasing Islam, the US will do nothing to stop Tehran's nuclear weapons program, which may be only months way from producing its first bomb.
For Israel, a nuclear-armed Iran is an existential issue that raises the specter of another Holocaust. Israel must therefore take its future into its own hands; it must act unilaterally and choose the moment to attack Iran - as former US Ambassador to the United Nations Mr. Bolton urged in the Wall Street Journal on December 7, 2007.
Viewed in this light, the United Nations is passe, and good riddance. If a new UN is desirable, it should consist solely of the ninety or so states classified as democracies by Freedom House; those nations in which the state is the custodian of Man's God-given rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
If any country, from both a historical and theological perspective, is qualified to promote the formation of such a United Nations, it is Israel. Of course, not the Israel that kowtows to terrorist thugs. I mean an Israel on the way to constructing the Third Temple, where once more Jerusalem can stand majestically as in the days of King Solomon, attracting nations near and far. My heart and soul is recalling the prophecy of Zechariah about a time when "ten men of every nationality, speaking different languages, shall take hold of every Jew by the corner of his garment and say, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"
Yes, ten men of every nation. Surely, they will be nations that abide by the Seven Noahide Laws of Universal Morality, the true catholicism included in the Torah for all humanity. Ten men of every nationality journeying to Jerusalem the City of Peace, as well as the City of Truth.
Yet, at this point in time, let us not be carried away by tenderness. For peace and truth to unite and prevail, Israel must first triumph over her enemies, today led by Satanic Iran. Israel is waiting for the moment. She knows that the mullahs of Iran are driven by the memory of the Persian Empire. She knows that a nuclear-armed Iran in control of the Persian Gulf would ensure Iran's hegemony over the Middle East and beyond. Israel also knows that she will be the first target; for if Iran controls Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, a billion Muslims will exult in victory, will explode in frenzy and wreak havoc on the world, screaming "Allahu Akbar!"
So Israel will strike first, and this will mark the beginning of a new Middle East, one that hardly anyone dreams of. While Iran is being devastated, the Israel Defense Forces will crush Hizbullah, Hamas, Fatah and Syria. Israel will eliminate the entire terrorist network west of the Jordan River. Countless Arabs will flee from Judea and Samaria, as well as from Gaza - as they did after the Six-Day War.
The cruel and cynical peace charade will be over. The mendacity of Lilliputian politicians will be silent. The Lion of Judah will have triumphed. During the aftermath of perhaps two decades, Israel will organize the peace in cooperation with Muslim reformers found throughout Middle East; those who have been silenced by the mullahs and dictators.
The Seven Noahide Laws of Morality will unite the region. Non-secular constitutional democracies will begin to flourish. The United States will cooperate, but petro-dollars will no longer lubricate its diplomacy.
And so, at last, the ethos of jihad will cease to torment mankind, and the people of the Middle East, with the cooperation of a God-inspired Israel, will gain a new birth of freedom.
Yehuda HaKohen who has his own show on Israel National Radio called, "The Struggle", states that the Globalists pushing forward a NWO are letting their plans be exposed today, but are blaming it on the Jews as a 'Zionist conspiracy'. This takes the focus off the real perpetrators of a NWO and tries to place it onto 'Zionists' - lovers of Israel and Jewish ethnic nationalists who believe in the right to have their own state in their own country, with defensible national borders - something that the NWO is plotting to destroy. Also, who pays the salaries of those who are most visual in exposing the NWO and blaming it on the Jews? As the saying goes: 'follow the money trail' to see who, is really who.
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!) - and if you need lively stills or video material on Somalia, please do contact us.
There is no limit to what a person can do or how far one can go to help
if one doesn't mind who gets the credit !
ECOTERRA Intl. maintains a register for persons missing or abducted in the Somali seas (Foreign seafarers as well as Somalis). Inquiries by family member can be sent by e-mail to office[at]ecoterra-international.org
For families of presently captive seafarers - in order to advise and console their worries - ECOTERRA Intl. can establish contacts with professional seafarers, who had been abducted in Somalia, and their wives as well as of a Captain of a sea-jacked and released ship, who agreed to be addressed "with questions, and we will answer truthfully".
ECOTERRA - ALERTS and pending issues:
PIRATE ATTACK GULF OF ADEN: Advice on Who to Contact and What to Do http://www.noonsite.com/Members/sue/R2008-09-08-2
NATURAL RESOURCES & ARMED FISH POACHERS: Foreign navies entering the 200nm EEZ of Somalia and foreign helicopters and troops must respect the fact that especially all wildlife is protected by Somali national as well as by international laws and that the protection of the marine resources of Somalia from illegally fishing foreign vessels should be an integral part of the anti-piracy operations. Likewise the navies must adhere to international standards and not pollute the coastal waters with oil, ballast water or waste from their own ships but help Somalia to fight against any dumping of any waste (incl. diluted, toxic or nuclear waste). So far and though the AU as well as the UN has called since long on other nations to respect the 200 nm EEZ, only now the two countries (Spain and France) to which the most notorious vessels and fleets are linked have come up with a declaration that they will respect the 200 nm EEZ of Somalia but so far not any of the navies operating in the area pledged to stand against illegal fishing. So far not a single illegal fishing vessel has been detained by the naval forces, though they had been even informed about several actual cases, where an intervention would have been possible. Illegally operating Tuna fishing vessels (many from South Korea, some from Greece and China) carry now armed personnel and force their way into the Somali fishing grounds - uncontrolled or even protected by the naval forces mandated to guard the Somali waters against any criminal activity, which included arms carried by foreign fishing vessels in Somali waters.
LLWs / NLWs: According to recently leaked information the anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden are also used as a cover-up for the live testing of recently developed arsenals of so called non-lethal as well as sub-lethal weapons systems. (Pls request details) Neither the Navies nor the UN has come up with any code of conduct in this respect, while the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program (JNLWP) is sponsoring several service-led acquisition programs, including the VLAD, Joint Integration Program, and Improved Flash Bang Grenade. Alredy in use in Somalia are so called Non-lethal optical distractors, which are visible laser devices that have reversible optical effects. These types of non-blinding laser devices use highly directional optical energy. Somalia is also a testing ground for the further developments of the Active Denial System (ADS) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD). If new developments using millimeter wave sources that will help minimize the size, weight, and system cost of an effective Active Denial System which provides "ADS-ACTD-like" repel effects, are used has not yet been revealed. Obviously not only the US is developing and using these kind of weapons as the case of MV MARATHON showed, where a Spanish naval vessel was using optical lasers - the stand-off was then broken by the killing of one of the hostage seafarers. Local observers also claim that HEMI devices, producing Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation (HEMI) Bioeffects, have been used in the Gulf of Aden against Somalis. Exposure to HEMI devices, which can be understood as a stun-gun shot at an individual over a larger distance, causes muscle contractions that temporarily disable an individual. Research efforts are underway to develop a longer-duration of this effect than is currently available. The live tests are apparently done without that science understands yet the effects of HEMI electrical waveforms on a human body.
ECOTERRA Intl., whose work does focus on nature- and human-rights-protection and - as the last international environmental organization still working in Somalia - had alerted ship-owners since 1992, many of whom were fishing illegally in the 200 nm Exclusive Economic Zone, to stay away from Somali waters. The non-governmental organization had requested the international community many times for help to protect the coastal waters of the war-torn state, but now lawlessness has seriously increased and gone out of hand.
ECOTERRA members with marine and maritime expertise, joined by it's ECOP-marine group, are closely and continuously monitoring and advising on the Somali situation. (for previous information concerning the topics please google keywords ECOTERRA (and) SOMALIA)
The network of the SEAFARERS ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME helped significantly in most sea-jack cases. ECOTERRA Intl. is working in Somalia since 1986 on human-rights and nature protection, while ECOP-marine concentrates on illegal fishing and the protection of the marine ecosystems. Your support counts too.
Please consider to contribute to the work of SAP, ECOP-marine and ECOTERRA Intl. Please donate to the defence fund.
Contact us for details concerning project-sponsorship or donations via e-mail: ecotrust[at]ecoterra.net
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