The Secretary General of the African Federation of Environmental Journalists (AFEJ) Mr. Daud Abdi Daud who has been tracking the rape case and was among few journalists present at the attorney general on Tuesday 22 January to follow the case affirmed that the raped women clearly stated her position and tells the attorney general that she was raped by uniformed government soldiers even her father and uncle were confirmed the case as well as her husband who is in a one of the detained people publicly voted for that his wife was raped by uniformed government soldiers.
The drivers and dynamic in this case should be investigated and prosecuted by the African Union and the United Nations as publicly acknowledged that rape violence is a tactics of war crime according Zeinab Hawa Bangura the special secretary general representative in conflict related sexual violence.
The human rights groups worried the situation and issued triangle statement today to address the rape violence and the journalist custody. For your information kindly have looked the below statement from the Committee to Protect the Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International.

Somalia: Free Journalist, Others Unlawfully Detained
Police Response to Sexual Violence Chills Media Freedom
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/12/somalia-free-journalist-others-linked-rape-allegation

The African Federation of Environmental Journalists (AFEJ) calls in need of attention release by all the detained innocent people including the journalist without political row among the Somalia government institutions over the ongoing rape violence and generally solicited Somalia environmental journalists to do accurate coverage over the rape issues which is now imperative one with a lot of worry.
For more information of the ongoing Somalia rape violence please contact AFEJ Secretary General Mr. Daud Abdi Daud who is now tracking the cases wholly on +252616349997 or email dimbil@afejnews.org

(Addis Ababa, January 21, 2013) – The African Union (AU) should make human rights central to its discussions about crises situations in Africa at its summit meeting this week in Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to the AU chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The Ordinary Summit begins on January 21, 2013, and AU heads of state are due to meet on January 27 and 28 in Addis Ababa.

The AU summit should address the human rights crises in Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Somalia as well as the human rights challenges around upcoming elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe, Human Rights Watch said. Of particular concern are the human rights implications of the deployment of an African Union/United Nations-supported international military force in Mali and the need to ensure proper safeguards for protecting civilians and a human rights monitoring capability. Potential abuses not only by the Malian security forces but also by the armed forces of countries potentially taking part in the operation bring particular urgency to the situation, with the recent resumption of hostilities in Mali.

“The AU summit is an important regional forum for ensuring that human rights considerations are injected into every crisis response,” said Tiseke Kasambala, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The AU has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the military intervention in Mali does not contribute to further human rights violations in already insecure environments. That means abiding by international law and making civilian protection a priority.”

In eastern Congo, concerted regional and international action is required to help end the cycle of abuses, Human Rights Watch said. Over the past nine months, M23 rebels in eastern Congo have committed widespread abuses amounting to war crimes, including deliberate killings of civilians, summary executions, rapes, and recruitment of child soldiers. The rebels have received significant logistical and military support from neighboring Rwanda.

Talks between the M23 and the Congolese government, which began in December 2012 and resumed in January, appear to be faltering and so far, have made little progress.

“The violence in eastern Congo continues to lead to appalling loss of civilian life,” Kasambala said. “Rwanda should immediately stop supporting the abusive rebel group M23 and the AU should insist that M23 commanders implicated in war crimes are brought to justice.”

Ongoing talks over the deployment of an African-led intervention brigade as part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo should consider mandating this force to support arrest operations of suspects sought on international and national warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said.

In Sudan, the human rights and humanitarian situation has deteriorated, particularly in the conflict-affected areas of Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Darfur. The fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-North) in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states has affected nearly one million people, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands from both states since mid-2011. The Sudanese military has used indiscriminate aerial bombardments in populated areas of both states. 

Government forces along with government-affiliated militia are also responsible for other serious abuses against civilians in both states, such as ground attacks on villages, destruction of grain and water sources that are critical to the survival of the population, arbitrary detention, and sexual violence against women and girls. Sudan has blocked humanitarian aid groups from the areas outside government-controlled towns where civilians are in dire need of food aid.

In Darfur, armed conflict between the government forces and militias and the rebel groups continues, in addition to inter-ethnic clashes over resources. Scores of people have been killed in the fighting and the AU/UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) peacekeepers have repeatedly come under attack. The Sudanese government restricts the movement of AU/UN peacekeepers and nongovernmental organizations, preventing access to large parts of the region. The AU should press the government of Sudan to grant immediate and unfettered access to humanitarian agencies in the conflict-affected areas of Darfur, and Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, Human Rights Watch said.

“An urgent response is required to resolve the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Sudan,” Kasambala said. “The AU should demand that the Sudanese government immediately stop the indiscriminate aerial bombardments and other violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.”

During the past year, a new government replaced the transitional authority in Somalia, and AMISOM troops made significant military advances into territory held by the Islamist armed group Al-Shabaab. The human rights situation in Somalia nonetheless remains poor, Human Rights Watch said. State security forces have been implicated in serious violations of fundamental rights that contribute to the insecurity of the population. These include killings of journalists in government-controlled areas, rape, and severe restrictions on access to food and shelter for displaced people.  

Foreign forces including Kenyan forces under AMISOM command, as well as Ethiopian forces, have also committed abuses in south-central Somalia during military operations, including indiscriminate shelling.

“The AU should urge the Somali authorities to end abuses by state security forces,” Kasambala said. “The AU should also ensure that respect for humanitarian law and accountability for abuses during military operations by AMISOM are a priority.”

The deployment of a long-term AU election observer mission to Kenya this coming March is an important contribution to free and fair elections, but the possibility of election-related violence is a growing concern, Human Rights Watch said. In the past year, 400 people have been killed and over 200,000 people displaced in incidents of ethnic, resource-based, and politically motivated violence in the coast region of Northern Kenya and parts of Nairobi. The pre-election violence has been among the worst in Kenya since 1992.

Few of those responsible for the violence that followed the 2007 elections in Kenya have been brought to justice, raising fears that those responsible for the violence during the 2007 elections could carry out further acts of violence in 2013.

“The ongoing violence and lack of justice for victims of human rights abuses during the 2007 elections makes it vital for the AU to send a strong message to the Kenyan authorities that grave abuses should not go unpunished,” Kasambala said.

The AU should provide for early deployment and sufficient numbers of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and AU election observers to Zimbabwe, where a lack of institutional and legal reform has raised the specter of violence and other rights abuses during elections to be held in 2013. The AU should keep the monitors on the ground after the elections, long enough to deter violence and intimidation.

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Mali, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/mali
 For more Human Rights Watch reporting on the Democratic Republic of Congo, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/drc
 For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Sudan, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/sudan

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Somalia, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/somalia

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Kenya, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/kenya
 

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Zimbabwe, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/zimbabwe

For more information, please contact:
In Addis Ababa, Tiseke Kasambala (English): +251-927-423-196 (mobile); or kasambt@hrw.org
In New York, Daniel Bekele (English, Amharic): +1-212-216-1223; or +1-917-385-3878 (mobile); or bekeled@hrw.org
In Amsterdam, Leslie Lefkow (English): +31-6-21-59-73-56 (mobile); or lefkowl@hrw.org
In Paris, Jean-Marie Fardeau (French, English, Portuguese): +33-6-45-85-24-87 (mobile); or fardeaj@hrw.org
In London, Carina Tertsakian (English, French): +44-207-713-2764; or +44-790-350-3297 (mobile)

“The Kenyan authority decision is an intimidation to the laws and conventions of the human rights as I believe and is also a threat to many civilians who similarly escaped terrorist acts by Shabab due to reprisal including women, children, human rights activists and journalists”said Daud Abdi Daud the Secretary General of AFEJ from Mogadishu, Somalia.

“ As Kenya’s President H.E. Mwai Kibaki said that his country is malleted with terrorist attacks and attributed the incursions of being planned from neighborhood Somalia. I’ agree with the president of Kenya that shabab is threat to Kenya security but women, children and journalists cannot be similar to Shabab and they need to be protected as 18 journalists killed in Somalia only this year of 2012 by Shabab, however, this quandary among Kenya and Somalia authorities still waits global involvement by United Nations and the African Union” Mr. Daud added
This statement from the secretary General of AFEJ comes after when the President of Somalia H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud traveled to Kenya today and met Kenya authorities since he was elected as a president.

The political scene of the two countries recently was not good and its widely believed that this bilateral presidential meeting could boost the hope of many Somalis or pave the way a new humanitarian upheavals against dozens of Somalia refugees.

(Nairobi, December 11, 2012) – Sudanese authorities should immediately investigate the deaths of four student protesters and the disappearance of two others at the beginning of December 2012, in Madani, Jazeera state, and hold those responsible to account, Human Rights Watch said today.

“The murky circumstances of these deaths are fueling more protests and violence,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Sudanese authorities should immediately investigate, bring those responsible for these deaths and disappearances to justice, and stop its security forces from using violence and excessive force against protesters.”

The student deaths have caused violent protests in Khartoum and other towns, with protesters calling for justice and for the government to be replaced. Sudanese security forces used teargas, beat protesters with sticks and batons, and arrested dozens, including lawyers and high profile opposition party members, on December 9 and 10.

News emerged on December 7 that the bodies of three students, Mohamed Younis al-Nil, Adel Mohamed Ahmed, and Alsadiq Abdullah Yagoub, had been found in a sewage canal near Al Jazeera University. The body of a fourth student, Nu’man Ahmed Koreishi, was also found later in the canal. The students were reported missing earlier in the week during protests over the university’s refusal to register Darfuri students unless they paid full tuition. Under the Darfur peace agreements of 2006 and 2010, Darfuri students qualify for a tuition exemption. Sudanese universities have interpreted the provision inconsistently, however, prompting protests by Darfuri students at several campuses in recent years.

On December 2, national security officials entered the university and arrested 11 Darfuri students who had appealed to the administration for a fee waiver. In the following days, students protested at the university. Police, national security officers, and pro-government students clashed with the protesters.

Approximately 60 were arrested on December 5, according to Sudanese groups following the case. Witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch said the government security forces pushed the protesters toward the canal, causing several students to fall in. Six protesters were reported missing, including the four whose bodies were later recovered from the canal. Two other students are still missing.

The circumstances of the deaths are unclear. One witness told Human Rights Watch the bodies of three of the deceased bore signs of beatings, suggesting at a minimum that they had been beaten, most likely by security forces, before they died. The university administration said the students drowned. Authorities have refused to provide the medical examiner’s report. National security officials arrested Mohammed Zain Osman, a lawyer for one of the deceased students’ families, when he requested the report on December 7.

Sudan’s Justice Ministry announced on December 10 the formation of a commission of inquiry into the deaths. The investigation should be independent, transparent, and capable of identifying those responsible for the deaths, Human Rights Watch said.

“Withholding the autopsy report only gives the impression the authorities have something to hide,” Bekele said. “Sudan needs to find out what happened to these students and make the findings public. The government should impartially investigate the deaths and prosecute those responsible for these deaths and disappearances.”

Sudan has consistently failed to follow through on promises to investigate abuses in which officials and government forces are implicated. Its failure to investigate crimes in Darfur led the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, which hears cases when a government is unable or unwilling to investigate on its own. In 2010, the government said it would investigate the death of Mohammed Musa following a demonstration in Khartoum, but investigation results were never made public and no one was identified as responsible or prosecuted for the crime.

Crackdown on student protests
From June through August of 2012, Sudanese security forces cracked down on a wave of student protests, sparked initially by austerity measures, in towns across Sudan. National security officials detained protesters for weeks or months, subjecting many to beatings, insults, and other mistreatment and torture while in detention.

Darfuri students were treated particularly harshly during the protests, former detainees told Human Rights Watch, describing beatings, sleep deprivation, and racist insults. Security forces also responded particularly harshly to protests in Darfur, shooting live ammunition to disperse protests and killing 13 in South Darfur in August.

For more information, please contact:
In New York, Jehanne Henry (English, French): +1-212-216-1291; or +1-917-443-2724 (mobile); or henryj@hrw.org
In Amsterdam, Leslie Lefkow (English): +31-6-21-59-7356 (mobile); or lefkowl@hrw.org
In Johannesburg, Tiseke Kasambala (English): +27-11-484-2640 (mobile); or kasambt@hrw.org
In London, David Mepham, (English): +44-20-7713-2766; or +44-7572-603995 (mobile); or mephamd@hrw.org

By Jocelyne Sambira

When a Turkish Airlines flight touched down at Aden Adde International Airport near the Somali capital of Mogadishu on 16 March, it seemed like a sign of good things to come. It was the first time in more than 20 years that a passenger plane from Europe had flown into the volatile city.

Once labelled “the most dangerous city in the world,” Mogadishu is now bustling with activity. Augustine Mahiga, the UN special representative to Somalia, recalls his first visit in 2010. The city was a ghost town, he told reporters in Nairobi. “There wasn’t a single building that didn’t have bullet holes, and most had been destroyed.” While he was meeting with a Somali leader, for two or three hours “it was just the sounds of guns, guns of different calibres, small guns, big guns and big booms.…”

Mogadishu has been free from the iron grip of the Al-Shabaab rebel group since August 2011, when it was flushed out by forces of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government with the help of troops from the 9,000-strong African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). In early October, the already weakened Al-Shabaab forces lost another strategic city, Kismayo. Its capture has been a major blow to the group, which is linked to Al-Qaeda.

A vote for change

A UN-backed plan known as the “Roadmap for the End of the Transition” has been lauded for breaking an eight-year political deadlock in Somalia. The Roadmap spelled out priority measures to end the transition by 20 August 2012 and restore stability to the country. After the dissolution of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which was established in 2004, strenuous negotiations between political actors in Somalia took place to adopt a provisional constitution, elect a new parliament, and appoint a new president and prime minister.

So for the first time since the collapse of the government of Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, a new federal parliament was selected. Since security conditions still did not allow for general elections, 135 traditional elders from various clans and regions convened in Mogadishu to elect 275 members of parliament, including women, by secret ballot. Somali elders are influential leaders chosen by their communities to serve for life.

UN envoy Mahiga had earlier urged the elders to use the power of the secret ballot: “Between you and the box, it is only God watching you.” The new legislators seemed to take the advice to heart. They surprised most Somalis by voting in a new kind of leadership. They chose Professor Mohammed Oswan Jawari, an attorney with a strong track record in public service, as the new speaker. And they elected a political outsider, Hassan Sheikh Mahmud, to the highest office on 10 September, a clear break from former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a familiar figure in the Somali political scene and former commander of the Islamic Courts Union (Al-Shabaab was formed in a split away from his group). In contrast, Mr. Mahmud, an academic and activist, had only launched his political career a year before with his Peace and Development Party. President Mahmud in turn appointed as his prime minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, an economist and businessman who has vowed to fight nepotism and corruption. More recently, Mr. Shirdon named Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan as his deputy and the country’s new foreign minister — the first time a woman has held such high positions in Somalia.

Abdul Sharif, a Somali-American freelance journalist and Africa analyst based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. “The Somali people have taken a great step forward on the path to prosperity. Many people thought the transitional government would not end, that it was going to be a failure. But the Somali people proved many wrong.”

Good for business

Having survived an assassination attempt by suicide bombers just 48 hours after taking office, President Mahmud made clear his number-one priority: “Security.” Although Al-Shabaab is in retreat, the group still poses a threat around Mogadishu, the recently liberated Kismayo and other areas in south-central Somalia.

Abdirashid Duale, the chief executive of Dahabshiil, the largest money-transfer business in the Horn of Africa, knows only too well the cost of doing business in Somalia. After two decades of serving the residents of Mogadishu, his offices have not been spared from the violence. In 2009, an Al-Shabaab attack that took the lives of some of his staff forced him to close some outlets.

Such attacks have so far not stopped the commercial boom the capital is experiencing. Dahabshiil has seen a 20 per cent rise in its Mogadishu transactions in recent months, and the Somali shilling has been getting stronger against the dollar, Mr. Duale wrote to Africa Renewal. “We have noticed that some of our customers are rebuilding their properties. There is also a high demand for rental properties, especially for business premises.”

Mr. Sharif from Minnesota is looking forward to joining his grandmother, who has been living in Hamarweyme, a relatively safe area of Mogadishu. “Somalia is making one of the biggest transformations since the war in 1991. We need to give this government more of a chance to see what it is going to do, rather than criticize.”

Strengthening security

Many people with a vested interest in a peaceful future for Somalia agree that strengthening and reforming the national security forces is essential to keeping the momentum going. The African Union is pushing for the UN Security Council to lift its arms embargo on Somalia, while at the same time keeping it in force against non-state actors. The AU is also asking for an expansion of the UN support package to Somalia, as well as for help in financing the full deployment of military personnel for AMISOM, to reach its agreed level of 12,000 troops.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has agreed with President Mahmud to start peacebuilding activities. Mr. Ban wants the UN to establish a “heavy footprint” in the country, meaning he wants to have all relevant UN agencies, funds and programmes move to Somalia by January 2013 (most have been operating from neighbouring Kenya).

Restoring basic services such as water, education and health is also crucial to the new government’s success, Maxamed Ibrahim, a graduate student of international development at the University of Vermont in the US, told Africa Renewal. He is from Bardera, an agricultural city connected to the port of Kismayo. He left Somalia in 1995 and has not been back since. He remains a bit skeptical about the country’s future. Clan warfare, corruption, security challenges and the aftermath of the famine are problems carried over from the previous administration. “No one talks about reforming the army, paying taxes.… As for AMISOM, military victory is almost all they talk about. But once they capture a city, what’s next? The AU troops are already stretched too thin and the government does not talk about services. People will turn to Al-Shabaab for security and services if they don’t get them from the government.”

The government’s immediate challenge now is to establish local and district administrations, justice and the rule of law. Then it will be in a better position to provide for local populations.

For now, Mr. Ibrahim believes that the Somali people are “tired of groups like Al-Shabaab.” As long as the Somali people remain in control of any future stabilization effort, he concludes, they will be “tolerant” and will give the new government time to resolve longstanding problems.

Press release:

(Statement on the Charcoal Export at Kismayu Port

Mogadishu — October 27, 2012, The Somali government reiterates the ban on charcoal exports In line with the UN Security Council resolution where all member states were asked to take the necessary measures to prevent the export and import of charcoal from Somalia which the Government of Somalia previously originated the request for the ban on the grounds that the charcoal business is not only hazardous to the environment but also detrimental to the security efforts.

Therefore, we express our deep concerns of any possibility to violate the UN security council resolution that bans charcoal and the government is in the process of forming task force to make sure and prevent any violations of the charcoal ban”  .

The Federal Government is pleased by what has been achieved since the takeover of Kismayu by the Somali forces and AMISOM. The local leaders in Kismayu have the responsibility to put the people first, above any political differences and self interests what so ever and to ensure security, stability and restore confidence to the public.

The clear position of the Somali Government is to maintain the seaport and the air port facility solely open for humanitarian assistance, AMISOM and Somali forces are making sure to keep this task until an interim administration is established in due course.

It is the solid belief of the Somali Government that the people of Kismayu are fed up with counter productive politics, worlordism and extresmism and they deserve security, stability, basic serivce delivery and prosperous future. Therefore, the charcoal at the port will be stored for the time being so as the government to come up with the best course of action to deal with it in time.

The Somali Government is committed to comply with the UN Security Council Resolution 2036 and calls for the uphold of the ban and stand ready to continue to assist the people of Kismayu. We are taking full responsibility to mobilize humanatarian assistance and the government is in the process of sending ship of aid from the federal government to the people of Kismayu.

-END-

–
Suldan A. Farahseed
Communication Director
Office of the Somali President
Mogadishu, Somalia

It’s an open secret that Somalia’s failure is the result of miscalculated Somali foreign policies since the independence in 1960.

Somali leaders in 1960ties pursued a policy of creating “Greater Somalia” by claiming regions in Ethiopia and Kenya.

Mogadishu openly supported the Shifta war against Kenya, where in another front it helped movements of Somali ethnic people in Ethiopia’s Zone five region. This prompted Addis Ababa and Nairobi to form some sort of cooperation against Somalia, which included political and military cooperation.  This agreement has been renewed several times, despite changes of governments in both sides.

But when assessing the role of these two countries in Somalia and influence, we have to highlight some key issues that might have its ups and downs.

 

Ethiopian policy on Somalia

The first Somali government soon after the independence in 1960 pursued pan-Somali policy, but it was obvious that the internal politics became bogged down in petty personal and clan rivalries. Despite all these facts the new born country went to war against Ethiopia in 1964 over land dispute. During this ear ties with Britain were severed following British support for Kenya on its stance on the NFD, relations with France soured as the French continued to occupy Somali inhabited territories, which were later to form Djibouti.

In an interview with Voice of Ethiopia in 1948, the Ethiopian King Haile Selassie predicted how an independent Somalia will behave against his country.

“Our attitude to the Somalis who belong to the same race as the Ethiopian people and share with them a common history, has always been crystal clear, namely, that of supporting everything conducive to their well-being and progress. It was in keeping with this policy that we recently invited the leaders of United Nations Trust Somalia and had talks with them here. Our strong appeal to our Somali brothers is to be aware of those who, in the furtherance of their self-interest, seek to plunge this area into chaos, thereby disturbing the peace that has reigned in this part of the world for a long time. Much harm can be avoided by understanding in time the real intentions of these self-seekers”.

After Somalia independence Haile Selassie’s prediction became true, and Mogadishu put more efforts of destabilizing Ethiopia. The 1977 war of Somalia against Ethiopia was enough reason for Ethiopia to pursue an alternative policy to protect its territory. This new policy mainly focused on using clan differences among the Somalis.

The leaders of Addis Ababa during the late Zenawi’s regime did not hide their role in the collapse of Somalia by “taking the war to Somalia and, along the way, aggravating the contradiction between the Somali clans.”

This shows how Ethiopian leaders are well experienced when it comes dealing with Somalia affairs.

Haile Selassie, Mengistu and Zenawi were gifted with talents of knowing deeply Somalia affairs, better than their Kenyan neighbours.

Although Zenawi was regarded as dictator to some, and to others as a reformist, it’s obvious that he was a good decision maker. There are fears inside and outside Ethiopia that thing might fall apart with his absence in the Ethiopian political stage.

Effects of Zenawi’s death

After the death of Meles Zenawi in August, 2012, the country is facing a political challenge. Since the fall of Mengistu in 1991, all the powers were in the hands of Zenawi, and people respected his decisions, though opposition groups continued to protest against his rule.

His departure means many people will emerge to fill the vacuum. As happened in many countries where dictators die, power struggle erupts, and Ethiopia is not immune from that.

This will have a huge impact on Somalia affairs, and already the signs are cannot be hidden.  For example, while Zenawi was the only one in decision making over Somalia, now even the junior diplomats, deputy ministers, and non- influential officials try to reach national decisions.

Recent talks between Addis Ababa and the rebel group ONLF from the country’s Somali region are not bearing fruits because of the contradicting decisions by the rival Ethiopian leaders.

The issue of Somalia’s Jubbaland is another example, where General Gabra, who works with IGAD and Addis Ababa officials are contradicting each other on the official view of their government.

This puts the international community in awkward situation, in which they do not know who to talk to when it comes to deal with Ethiopia on national and international issues, especially Somalia crisis.

 

Kenya’s role in Somalia

 

The relations between the two states became much tensioned with the start of a war, known as the Shifta War. North-eastern Kenya has been a source of conflict because Somalia has traditional claims on the territory; a large ethnic Somali population has also led to instability. Somalia’s irredentist claims on this region were a serious threat to Kenya in the 1960?s. For four years, Somali guerrillas known as shiftas waged a campaign against the Kenyan police and army through incursions and by means of the Somali National Radio (Radio Mogadishu) based in Mogadishu. This tense predicament was eased when the Somali government changed in 1967, but it revived in 1977 when Somali-Ethiopian warfare once again placed the area in contention after Kenya supported Ethiopia in the Ogaden war.

President Kenyatta and Moi were very firm in dealing with Somalia, though they were not brilliant or well experienced in Somalia affairs like the Ethiopians.  In 1982 when Moi survide a coup attempt by a section of the army, the country got its first high ranking Somali to become the army chief (General Mohamud Mohamed) from Ogaden clan in North Eastern Province.  General Mohammud took the advantage of being trusted by Moi to interfere Somalia’s clan fighting in 1991, when he deployed Kenyan Ogadeni soldiers to Somalia to support warlord Mohamed Said Morgan, who butchered thousands of Somalis in Somaliland, central Somalia, Mogadishu and Jubba regions. (read this link : http://www.keydmedia.net/en/article/article/kenyas_second_intervention_in_southern_somalia/

Its Kenya’s ignorance about Somali affairs that facilitated the Kenyan state minister for defence Mohamed Yusuf Haji and his son Nuradin Haji ( a member of Kenyan intelligence unit) to betray Kenya’s President Kibaki on creating a buffer zone in southern Somalia. But everyone knows that the plan is to occupy Jubbaland for Ogaden clan, in which Haji belongs to.

The Kenyan political system also makes things more difficult. Daniel Moi, though many called him a dictator, but he controlled the country and everything was in the hands of the state. But in 2002, when the coalition government of NARC came into power, you can easily think that the country has got hundreds of presidents and thousands of ministers. For the first time in history government officials who were supposed to work as a team, engaged in power struggle and even making contradicting national decisions.

After a failed referendum in 2005, where President KIbaki’s team lost the people’s votes to approve the draft the constitution, Raila Odinga and other cabinet members were removed to clean the government performance.

But things have not changed, because the post-election violence in the country brought another coalition government that made things worse. The division is deep, and even the junior government officials are making national decisions without the knowledge of the two principals, Kibaki and Raila.

For example very junior staff at Mombasa airport in 2010 arrested and deported members of the UAE royal families without clear reasons. This poor diplomatic tactics has thrown hundreds of thousands of Kenyans working and transiting through Dubai into a nightmare. UAE decided to require degrees from Kenyans who needed visas. The matter was later on resolved.

 

Kenya’s involvement in Jubbaland

Despite being pushed by Ogaden clan in Somalia Jubbaland crisis, Kenyan leaders are yet to understand the tunes of Somali politics. After the fall of Kismayo port city in southern Somalia in October, Kenyan officials gave contradicting statements about the situation and their future plans of Kismayo. Kenya’s state defence minister Yusuf Haji and his son insisted that Kenya should have the mandate of forming a regional administration in Kismayo. The reason behind their stance is to ensure that Ogadeni clan members are handed over the whole Jubbaland regions, and then launch their long term plan of exterminating other clans in Jubbaland with the help of Kenya.

The Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud refused Kenya’s view and the international community backed Mogadishu’s plan to hold all inclusive meeting for Jubbaland administration, though Kenya keeps hesitating to admit the truth on the ground.

Ahmed Madobe an Ogadeni who was born in Ethiopia’s Qorahey region is the man Kenya wants to install as the leader of Jubbaland. Young boys recruited from Ogaden clan in Kenya’s Garisa town and hundreds of ONLF militia are the ones forming his forces. Kenya supplies him with weapons and financial support.

If Nairobi believes it’s doing the right thing, then Somalia should be given the authority to appoint the governor of Mombasa or Nakuru.

Currently the people in Jubbaland are facing longer nights of sleepless with fears of fresh clan fighting; all other Somali clans are being forced to come under Ogaden clan rule with the help of Kenya.

Its also worth to note that the majority of the Ogadeni people who want to conquer Jubbaland with the help of Kenya are refugees from Ethiopia and Kenya’s North Eastern Province.

Background of Ogadeni armed refugees

The problem of Ogadeni armed refugees began after the independence of Somalia in 1960. Somali government supplied weapons to Ogadeni clan members to use against Ethiopia. But When Mohamed Siad Barre came into power in 1966 he came up with dual objective policy to help the Ogadenis. While he used all the national resources to fight against Ethiopia and Kenya, he launched a program to settle massive Ogadeni refugees in Somaliland, Hiiraan and Jubbaland.

Then the government supplied arms to the refugees to displace the owners of these areas.

According to a report by a western historian (Nnoli 1989) the settlement project has displaced the local people, with a consequence of animosity between the Somali local clans and Ogaden refugees.

The Ogadenis were also given high ranking positions in the government regardless of their citizenship (some of them Kenyans and others Ethiopians).

Some of them are as follows:

Adan Abdulahi Nur (Gabyow) , who defected from Kenyan forces and joined Somali Armed Forces. He became Somalia’s defence minister in 1980ties and later formed clan rebellion against Mohamed Siad Barre.

Mohamed Omar Jes, from Ethiopia who served as minister in 1970ties till he died in 1987.

Col Ahmad Omar Jes, from Ethiopia, military commander who later on joined rebel groups that ousted Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Jes was among the most notorious warlords in southern Somalia, and served in Somalia’s interim parliament.

Mohamed Omar Osman, from Ethiopia who served as Somalia’s Navy Forces Commander. After the collapse of Somali state he went to Ethiopia to form Ogaden National Liberation Front that is currently fighting against Addis Ababa administration and causing instability in the whole region.

Others include, General Adan Abdi Duale (former police chief) several ministers and parliamentarians in current Somali Government, and Mohamed Abdi Gandi, who claims to be the head of self-proclaimed regional administration of Jubba regions in southern Somalia. He has never set a foot in Jubba regions, but intends to go there for the first time with the title of a president.

Currently the ONLF militia are in Kismayo helping Ahmed Madobe’s takeover plan of Jubbaland.

Siyad Barre also ensured that In order to preserve the settlement of the Ogadens in Somalia, in all settlement regions the governors were from Ogaden clan.

In 1988 the people of Somaliland had to take up arms to get rid of the armed Ogaden refugees. The Ogadeni refugees took part in the massacre of Somaliland civilians in 1988, but the Somali National Movement finally achieved their goal in 1991.

The same happened in Hiiraan Region, where the people had to take arms to get rid of the armed Ogadeni refugees.

The only place that is remaining in the hands of the armed refugees is Jubbaland, where all clans are armed.

The international community should take very careful measures to prevent clan fighting that is looming in Jubbaland. There are certain countries with interests in Jubbaland, and their approach should reflect the facts on the ground.

The Ogadenis are also needed to learn from the history and go by the modern world. Those in Somalia (who are found in Afmadow and Badhadhe) are Somalis and no-one has a problem with them. Those from Ethiopia’s Zone Five are Ethiopians and those from Kenya are Kenyans. Even in Jubbaland the local Ogadens in Afmadow and Badhaadhe (in Jubbaland) use the term Galti for the Ogadeni refugees, which means a foreigner or someone who does not belong to the area.

Our brothers have to admit that the greater Somalia dream has died, and the country has adopted a federal system.

They also need to remember that with all the help of Somali government under Siyad Barre, they could not take lands owned by other clans by force, and now with the backing of Kenyan military forces they will not be able to subdue people in their lands.

———–

Can 2012 offer a happy ending for Somalia?

Think of Somalia as a child ruled by irresponsible parents, with the UN as its social services. Jamal Osman asks if the strife-torn country can convince investors it is now ready to look after itself.

History dating as far back as the 5th century is literally being chipped away with pick axes and shovels at the hands of an extremist rebel faction in northernMali. Holy Muslim shrines in the ancient city ofTimbuktuhave become targets of the Ansar Dine. For the Islamist faction, the Sufi shrines are a form of idolatry.

But for many others in the overwhelmingly Muslim country, the mausoleums of Islamic saints are religiously significant, and regularly draw crowds of people, including Muslims preparing for the Hajj, or pilgrimage, toMecca. These ancient buildings and monuments — some listed by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as World Heritage Sites — are also an integral part of world history and the collective memory of the people ofMali.Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital that played an essential part of the spread of Islam across Africa’s Sahara andSahel in the 15th and 16th centuries.

A number ofTimbuktu’s sacred tombs are now gone, reduced to piles of rubble. “Repugnant” is how Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, has described the vandalism. “There is no justification for such wanton destruction. I call on all parties engaged in the conflict to stop these terrible and irreversible acts, to exercise their responsibility and protect this invaluable cultural heritage for future generations.”

Still in danger are the pyramidal structures of the Tomb of Askia, as well as other religious and cultural artifacts, including 1,000-year-old Islamic manuscripts. The manuscripts — a testimony to Africa’s written history — are specific toWest Africaand unique in the Islamic world.

The United Nations has now placedTimbuktuand the Tomb of Askia on its List of World Heritage in Danger. Ansar Dine’s threats to destroy more have broughtFadima Diallo,Mali’s minister of culture, to tears. The African Union called its actions “criminal.” The new chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda of Gambia, has warned that her office will open an investigation into what she calls “war crimes,” under the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

The destruction in the fabled city follows a deepening crisis in the region since a military coup inMali’s capital in March. Separatist Tuareg rebels took advantage of the instability to proclaim northernMalian independent state. The Ansar Dine (“Protector of the Faith”) then in turn ousted the Tuareg rebels and took control ofTimbuktu.

The UN Security Council has condemned the group’s destruction and threatened to impose sanctions against it. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is seeking the Council’s support for an armed intervention to regain control of northernMali.

For hundreds of years,Timbuktuhas endured every major upheaval thrown its way, foreign invasions, armed raids, an earthquake, famine.Africaand the world are hoping that it will survive the current threat.

Rabat

As African cities implode, leaders on the continent are intensifying efforts to address the challenges of urbanization. A forum bringing together Africa’s housing ministers was recently held in Nairobi, Kenyaon 20 March 2012 under the auspices of the African Ministers Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD). The 4^th annual meeting focused on territorial planning and access to basic services for all. It also looked to integrate climate change issues for a smarter more sustainable urban development. In the last 7 years, the conference has allowed members to share ideas and discuss effective strategies in line with the “cities without slums” initiative that was originally adopted in 2005.

For some slum dwellers on the continent, it’s just talk. “I am only interested in being removed from here, to live in a more decent environment,” says Rachid Lashab, who lives in the Essekouila slum inCasablanca. “I am not interested in the many conferences that our leaders attend.”

Crowding and disease

According to estimates by UN-Habitat, 200 million people in sub-SaharanAfricawere living in slums in 2010, or 61.7 per cent of the region’s urban population, the highest rate in the world.North Africahad another 12 million slum dwellers; that was just 13.3 per cent of its urban residents, the lowest rate in the developing world.

The lack of adequate sanitation, potable water and electricity, in addition to substandard housing and overcrowding, aggravates the spread of diseases and avoidable deaths, according to a recent report of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Slums contribute to low life expectancy. InMali, for example, more than 80 per cent of the population lacks good housing and average life expectancy is just 51 years, according to the UN Development Programme.

Mali’s situation reflects that of much of sub-SaharanAfrica. Fofana Gakou Salamah,Mali’s former minister of housing, land affairs and planning, urged urgent measures fromAfrica’s housing ministers. “We must take decisive action,” she said. “Otherwise there is the risk of having an urban population [in Mali] of about 6 million souls still living in informal settlements by 2020,” or nearly twice the current number.

Jugurtha Ait El Hadj, an Algeria-based urban planner, believes that African ministers are on the right course. “Such meetings are especially helpful in that they allow exchange of experiences. But these meetings must be accompanied by concrete steps.”

There are many roadblocks to achieving the dream of cities without slums. Algerian Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nouredine Moussa noted that the expansion of cities inAfricalimits the ability of national and local governments to provide security and supply basic social services in health, education, water and sanitation.

Climate change

In addition, notes Mr. El Hadj, climate change will interact with urbanization in unpredictable ways. In 2007 an assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme, warned that “urbanization and climate change may work synergistically to increase disease burdens.”

Slum dwellers also face harsh environmental challenges due to the low quality of construction materials used in buildings and slums, which are located mostly on marginal land. Many slums are vulnerable to accidental fires. In September 2011, for instance, more than 100 people were killed when a leaking petrol pipeline exploded in Mukuru wa Njenga, a densely populatedNairobislum.

Individual countries’ differences in geography, climate, expertise and financial resources will influence efforts to implement any continent-wide urban development plan. InRabat, the ministers suggested that these challenges can be tackled through effective collaboration and support from international partners, including the UN.

Steady progress

There is some good news. A 2010 UN-Habitat report found that countries such asEgypt,LibyaandMoroccohave “nearly halved their total number of urban slum dwellers, andTunisiahas eradicated them completely.”Ghana,SenegalandUgandahave also made steady progress, reducing their slum populations by up to 20 per cent. InNigeria, the slum population came down from 75 per cent of all urban residents in 1990 to 61.9 per cent in 2010. InSouth Africa, the proportion dropped from 46.2 per cent to 28.7 per cent during the same period.

Morocco’s urban development model continues to draw a spotlight. In 2004 the government launched its own “cities without slums” programme, fashioning an urban development strategy to enable slum dwellers to have decent homes with access to water, power and sanitation. By 2011 about 100,000 new housing units had been created in different parts of the country. Overall, 37 ofMorocco’s 83 cities have been transformed, a change that has benefitted more than 1.5 million people. These cities now boast streetlights, drainage systems, safe water, roads, sanitation and other infrastructure. The development ofBouregregValley(nearRabat) and other “green areas” are also notable.

Fathallah Oualalou, former Moroccan minister of housing and currently mayor ofRabat, linked the successful urbanization efforts to effective implementation of the road map developed in 2010 inBamako,Mali, at the third conference of African housing ministers — making the point that such meetings can in fact be useful. The roadmap emphasizes efficiency in land management, sustainable housing, urban transportation and sanitation, among other issues.

Mr. Moussa, the Algerian housing minister, lists other keys to success. These include the efficient and equitable management of land, the enactment of appropriate land laws so that women and other vulnerable groups can have access, and improvements in social conditions in housing projects. The provision of schools, clinics, electricity and sanitation are important, says Mr. Moussa. “We can’t design a sustainable development plan without sustainable urbanization,” he argues. Urbanization should be controlled, he adds, and efforts should be made “to reduce inequality between the rich and the poor by offering basic services to all people.”

      AfricaRenewal www.un.org/africarenewal

One would think that being a citizen of a country with the second-largest oil reserves inAfricacame with some perks. Not so inNigeriawhere scores of people are up in arms after being stripped of a petrol subsidy in effect since 1973.  The price of gas at the pumps more than doubled, sparking massive protests around the nation in early January.

Prior to the subsidy’s removal, the pump price of fuel was 65 naira ($0.40) per litre, against a landing cost of N139. The government therefore contributed a N73 subsidy, for an annual total of N1,200 billion (US$7.6 billion), or 2.6 per cent of the country’s GDP. Divided among nearly 160 million people, the gross domestic product (GDP) averages just $1,695 per person annually.

Reform needed

With 37.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves,Nigeriais the continent’s largest oil producer. YetNigeriais the only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that needs to import refined fuel, and often suffers scarcities.

Most economists, both inNigeriaand abroad, believe that removal of the subsidy is a necessary step towards long-needed reform, since the country can no longer sustain the cost. Political analyst Garba Sani points to the colossal sums spent on the subsidy, N3,700 billion ($23 billion) in 2006–2011 alone. As an oil-producing country, he adds,Nigeriashould not be importing — and subsidizing — refined oil.

A report by Renaissance Capital, a leading investment bank that focuses on emerging markets, argues that removal of the fuel subsidy, combined with other reforms in the power sector, could increase global investors’ interest in the Nigerian market. Potentially, it suggests,Nigeriacould become one of the world’s top “frontier markets.”

‘Just the spark’

In 2011, Transparency International rankedNigeriaas among the 40 most corrupt nations in the world. The oil industry in particular is notoriously corrupt, notes Renaissance Capital.

Years of anger and discontent with government performance fuel much of the resentment among ordinary Nigerians, according to Denja Yaqub, the assistant general secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress.

“All sectors have problems inNigeria, so the subsidy removal was just the spark that Nigerians needed,” says Mr. Yaqub.

Nigerianow has democratic structures, adds Mr. Yaqub, but corruption and mismanagement within the legislative bodies mean they do not adequately perform their democratic duties. “They are constitutionally set up to check each other, but they are all behaving the same way: corrupt, undemocratic, irresponsible and absolutely reckless.”

This corruption, unaccountability and lack of transparency have now been coupled with the government’s apparent inability to tackle increasing religious intolerance, including the attacks of the Islamist sect Boko Haram. All this contributed to the resistance the authorities met when they announced the removal of the fuel subsidy.

Importance of strategy

While President Jonathan may have had the best of intentions forNigeria’s economic future, observers argue, his government lacked an effective implementation and communication strategy. Subsidy removal may have been the right move, but it was done in the wrong way, and at the wrong time: the country was still recovering from multiple bombings by Boko Haram on Christmas Day.

Mr. Garba Sani argues that it would have been better to remove the subsidy in phases, while at the same time refurbishing the country’s four dilapidated oil refineries. Since 2000 the government has spent $1.78 billion on maintaining the four refineries, with very little to show for it. They operate at less than a quarter of capacity, and are 30 years behind modern standards. Some maintain that the money used on the fuel subsidy could have been better put to building new refineries and thus ending the need to import refined petroleum.

In addition, tackling corruption and mismanagement within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation would have helped make removal of the subsidy a more acceptable proposition to the populace.

“If they can simultaneously fight [corruption] as well as increase refinery capacity and withdraw the subsidy gradually,” says Mr. Sani, “the country would have then set up a solid foundation for a permanent removal of the subsidy, a permanent capability of domestic production and a more stable economy.”

According to Thomas Sterner, an expert in environmental economics, getting rid of corruption within the industry may not be easy because of the powerful interests involved. Urban elites directly benefit from the petrol subsidy, he argues, as do smugglers and oil companies such as Oando, which took in $1.4 billion from the subsidized fuel imports last year.

The next time the government contemplates removing the subsidy, it must be “more careful,” argues Mr. Sterner. “You need to have a strategy, and say, ‘We are moving the money immediately. We will use it on health or education or something else’.” That, he says, would make it harder for the beneficiaries of the status quo to say that removing the subsidy hurts the poor.

President Jonathan, it seems, has heeded the experts’ advice. In a sign that the government is moving towards a longer-term strategy to win public acceptance for the subsidy removal, recently inaugurated the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE) programme in mid-February. The programme is intended to monitor the funds saved from the subsidy removal and manage their investment in public works projects that may generate 370,000 new jobs, especially jobs for women and youth.

AfricaRenewal www.un.org/africarenewal