Title: Somalis discuss freedom and fear ; U.S. flags, worries of backlash abound as community meets [METRO Edition]
Author: Kavita Kumar, Staff Writer
From: Star TribuneMinneapolis, Minn. (Oct 25, 2001):
Chanting "Long live Somalia and America!" in Somali, about 500 Somalis gathered Wednesday night in Minneapolis to show solidarity with fellow Americans in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
The Somalis, many of whom waved American flags at the meeting and news conference, also expressed heightened fears of backlash because of the attacks and media reports that they say have wounded their community.
The meeting came nearly two weeks after Somali and Muslim leaders denounced as inaccurate and irresponsible an Oct. 14 Star Tribune article that said federal investigators believe that some Twin Cities- area Somalis sent money to a group linked to Osama bin Laden.
The story said that some Somalis said people may have thought the group was a charity. The newspaper has said it stands by the story.
Law enforcement and elected officials also spoke Wednesday night, telling the crowd that hate crimes will not be tolerated and that any such cases will be prosecuted aggressively.
In the lobby of the Brian Coyle Community Center, where the meeting was held, Somali students held signs that read "We are part of what makes America!" and "We send money to our parents."
Somalis came to Minnesota fleeing from a civil war and were heartened by the welcome they received in Minnesota, said Asha Ali, who gave a poetic reading through a translator.
"We have no history of terrorism," she said. "Our hearts fell with the twin towers. Our hearts bleed with the families" of the victims, she said while holding two American flags and one Somali flag.
Zabat Awed, who read a statement from the Minnesota Somali community, said: "One elder is already dead, beaten by hate mongers, many women have been harassed, children were taunted and rumors of death threats have spread through the community like wildfire. Stares from passersby in the streets have us wondering who is a friend or a foe."
The elder she referred to is Ali W. Ali, a Somali man and Minneapolis resident who died Wednesday apparently of natural causes after he was assaulted at a bus stop on Oct. 14. Somali and Muslim leaders have said they thought the Star Tribune story contributed to the assault. Police said there is no indication it was a hate crime.
Inspector Sharon Lubinski, a Minneapolis Police Department precinct commander, asked audience members to call 911 if they are robbed or assaulted. She told them that if they do not speak English, the dispatcher can connect them to a translator.
"We want to make sure you have a safe and happy home here in Minnesota," she said. "We take your safety seriously."
U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said the United States is waging a war against "bad people," not against a particular religion or race.
"It is against the law, immoral, unethical and un-American to target people because of their race, where they are from, or their religion," he said.
He said, though, that he cannot protect people in the community unless they report hate crimes: "So please call the police."
Halima Farah, a Somali resident of Minneapolis, said she came to the meeting to express her feelings of vulnerability and to denounce the terrorist attacks as an American and Somali.
"I hate terrorism," she said. "I came from war and we came here looking for peace. We don't need any more war."
Saeed Fahia, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Communities in Minnesota and one of the meeting's organizers, said he wanted the Somali community to hear from the authorities that they are standing behind them. He said the meeting's second purpose was to empower the community by giving them an opportunity to express their fear. Many, for instance, are apprehensive about riding the bus, he said.
"This meeting is the community coming together to discuss how to make this fear into a strength," he said. "It's really important we show our feelings."
- Kavita Kumar is at kkumar@startribune.com.
Title: Man Named In Note in Hijacker's Car Is Indicted [FINAL Edition]
Author: Brooke A. Masters
From: The Washington PostWashington, D.C. (Oct 24, 2001):
An Alexandria security guard whose name and phone number were found in the car left behind by the hijackers who attacked the Pentagon was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on 12 counts of forgery unrelated to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But law enforcement sources said federal authorities remain suspicious of Mohammed Abdi's ties to the hijackers. Authorities believe that Abdi was being evasive or not truthful during a polygraph examination, sources said, and he has not cooperated with agents since his Sept. 23 arrest.
Abdi's phone number and the name "Mohumed" were found scrawled in yellow highlighter on a map of Washington in Nawaf Alhazmi's blue Toyota at Dulles International Airport, according to court documents. When Abdi was arrested, the documents say, agents found a newspaper clipping in one of his pockets about Algerian terrorist Ahmed Ressam, who was convicted in April of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport during millennium celebrations.
Sources said authorities have found other items among Abdi's possessions that they find curious, but nothing that would definitively tie him to the attacks. The sources would not specify what was found.
Abdi, 44, was indicted on charges that he forged his landlord's signature on checks from an Arlington County rent subsidy program. Abdi cashed 12 checks worth more than $2,500 even as he ran thousands of dollars behind on his rent, the 12-page indictment said. He has been jailed without bond since his arrest.
"This is just for the forgery. Frankly, his exposure to jail time on this is not great," said Abdi's attorney, Joseph Bowman. "I honestly don't think they intend to indict him on anything else."
Bowman said that his client passed the part of the FBI polygraph in which he was asked whether he had knowledge of the events of Sept. 11 but that the examiner was not satisfied with Abdi's answer to the question "Did you have contact with the hijackers?"
Abdi has not been charged with anything connected to the attack -- unlike a second man whose phone number was found in the same hijacker's car. Osama Awadallah was arrested last week on charges that he lied to a grand jury in New York. Awadallah acknowledged knowing Alhazmi but denied that he had had contact with Khalid Almihdhar, a second hijacker on the Pentagon flight, prosecutors said.
Abdi's landlord, William E. Barr, said he has been to see his tenant once in jail -- to find out when Abdi's family would be moving out of the apartment. Barr said Abdi told him that his wife and four children would be out by the end of the month. Barr said he would not be sorry to see the family go because of its financial straits. In September, Barr forgave the family more than $6,000 in back rent, according to court testimony. Barr said he did not ask Abdi about any terrorist ties.
Abdi, an immigrant from Somalia who became a U.S. citizen, has lived in the Washington area since 1993. He has worked for seven years as a $22,000-a-year security guard for Burns International and was assigned to Freddie Mac's office in the District. He also worked for Wells Fargo as a security guard and for an airline catering company called Caterair at Reagan National Airport.
The sole support for his wife and six children -- four here and two in Somalia -- Abdi qualified for the Arlington program because his family was living in a low-income apartment complex in Arna Valley that was demolished for redevelopment.
Bowman said family friends and members of Abdi's Muslim congregation are helping the family while Abdi is in jail.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. Mellin declined to comment. Abdi is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 5.
Abdi's indictment comes a day after a Saudi man was arrested in Missouri on bank fraud charges. Adel F. Badri, who holds a student pilot's license, has been charged with depositing three checks drawn on a now-closed Falls Church account of Chevy Chase Bank. The checks, worth $10,750, later bounced.
The checks were written on the account of a woman named Fatmah Ibrahim who used the Saudi Arabian Embassy's phone number in Washington as her work number on her account application, said Lt. Randy Eich, of the Warrensburg, Mo., police.
But the account was closed in June, and when the FBI contacted the embassy this month, officials there said they had no record of Ibrahim, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Missouri.
Title: Somali prime minister outlines country's anti-terrorism efforts [METRO Edition]
Author: Sarah T. Williams, Staff Writer
From: Star TribuneMinneapolis, Minn. (Oct 25, 2001):
Ali Khalif Galaydh, prime minister of Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG), has read the news reports alleging that Muslim extremists linked to Al-Qaida are being trained in Somalia and that Osama bin Laden might seek refuge there.
And he has seen the news stories suggesting that his government is accepting money from Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (Islamic Union) - an organization whose assets were frozen by President Bush because of alleged links to terrorism.
But, he said Wednesday, he's aligned with the "people of Missouri - the `Show Me State.'
While acknowledging that there may well be people in Somalia who are involved in terrorist activities, Galaydh said that his government is not accepting money from terrorists and that there are no training camps in Somalia.
The allegations, he said, are being made by Ethiopians and "spiteful forces" bent on discrediting and weakening the fledgling TNG, which he said is trying to restore democratic order after 10 years of civil war.
Galaydh is in Owatonna this week visiting family members, including his wife and children, who took refuge in Minnesota during the 20-year-long dictatorship of Muhammad Siad Barre. In an interview Wednesday, he appealed for international help to keep Somalia from becoming "another Afghanistan."
Willing partners
Somalia is one of seven countries listed by the United States as a sponsor of international terrorism.
But Galaydh said he and President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan are willing partners in the international fight against terrorism. Since Sept. 11, he said, the government has:
- Created an Anti-Terrorism Task Force of top cabinet, police and intelligence officials whose job is to collect and share information on terrorist activities in Somalia. But the flow of information needs to go both ways, Galaydh said. "We are not very impressed with the level of communication from the United States." He said Somalia cannot be accused of harboring terrorists and at the same time be kept in the dark.
- Made and issued new hard-to-forge passports (though Galaydh acknowledged that the TNG does not control all of Somalia's ports and borders).
- Engaged religious leaders in the battle: "There is nothing in Islam that supports the horrific events of September 11th," Galaydh said.
- Finally, he said, the government will insist on transparency and access to the computers of Somalia's hawala (money exchangers), who are the country's banking system and lifeline to impoverished millions.
After Sept. 11, the United States acted to stem the flow of cash from Somalis living abroad. "If one or two hawala are found to be working with the terrorists, they should have their day in court," Galaydh said. But if the remittances are stopped, "believe me, the whole economy of Somalia will be on its face," he said. "Entire towns depend on them."
Bottom-up approach
"Somalia is a small country with king-sized problems," Galaydh said. It needs help - preferably in the form of nation-building, not bombing, he said.
After 10 years of civil war, "there's very little left to destroy." What is available, he said, is a whole population of desperate people who might begin to see extremist groups as the only solution.
Bombing will only "inflame the Somalis, who will see the United States as a loose cannon," he said. "It might give [the United States] temporary relief, but what happens afterward?"
Nation-building in Somalia will require a bottom-up approach, he said. "No one has time or patience for that, but that's the only way it can be done."
Why should Americans care?
"I can understand the mentality of people here - struggling with their own lives, worrying about sending their kids to college and paying their bills, and seeing their tax dollars spent on `a bunch of lunatics,' " Galaydh said. "They are asking themselves, `How can you be kind to people who are out to kill each other?' "
But the United States is the only superpower remaining with the resources to keep international order, he said.
"Americans think it's wrong-headed to sponsor nation-building. But there's no viable alternative. The alternative is chaos, and I'm not overdramatizing."
- Sarah T. Williams is at swilliams@startribune.com.
More information on Somalia:
Somalia's official Web site.
http://www.somaligov.com
"Finding Refuge in Owatonna: A rural town in southern Minnesota is getting to know hundreds of Somali refugees, including the wife of the African country's new prime minister" by Sarah T. Williams. Star Tribune, Dec. 17, 2000, page 29A. A profile of Mariam Mohamed, wife of Ali Khalif Galaydh. Find it at
http://www.startribune.com/ nationworld
Title: Fear of Osama drives Somalia to seek UN help.
From: Statesman (India) , Oct 21, 2001,
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA UNHQ, Oct. 20. Somalia has sought assistance from the United Nations to save the country from becoming a vacuum that can breed terrorism.
Addressing the Security Council yesterday, Prime Minister Ali Khalif Galaydh expressed fear that Osama bin Laden may make Somalia his base. UN assistance can be in the form of training and the provision of the logistic for the state intelligence services, he said. He urged the international community to help his government seal the borders.
Mr Galayadh said less than $ 1 million had been given to the country to train security personnel for establishing internal peace and to protect the borders. Galayadhs administration controls part of the capital Mogadishu while the countryside is ruled by warlords. About a year back, a central government headed by President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan was established but it is still shaky.
The French ambassador said Somalia could become another Afghanistan if the government is not helped.
Title: Annan Considers Setting up "Committee of Friends" for Somalia.
From: Xinhua News Agency , Oct 15, 2001
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 15, 2001
Concerned about the lack of progress in the Somali peace process and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the African country, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is considering establishing a "Committee of Friends" for the war-torn country.
In his latest periodic report to the Security Council on Somalia, issued here Monday, Annan said that the process of rebuilding national institutions in that country should go forward with strong and impartial efforts at local reconciliation.
To help that process, Annan said that he intends to consult with all concerned parties on setting up a Committee of Friends of Somalia that could bring together interested countries and organizations in the search for a lasting peace, and to help mobilize funds for rehabilitation and development.
Annan concluded that it is not possible at present to recommend the deployment of a post-conflict peace-building mission in Somalia, although he intends to submit a detailed proposal to the Security Council once the situation there improves sufficiently.
Title: Policy Statement.
From: Africa News Service , Oct 15, 2001,
Baidoa, Somalia, Oct 10, 2001 (Somali Reconciliation & Restoration Council/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- From the moment the Art group took place the stage of politics and national crisis in Somalia, under the false claim of being a government. Some countries have come forward, unscrupulously, to pump money and weapons into Somalia to bolster the the military ,and financial capacity of the group by using, as a cover up ,the legitimacy of the international personality of the state of Somalia for a sinister motivation, as all post Art development of events prove.
It is clear to all observers that, in the absence of an internally recognized legitimacy, functioning, as an agreed national authority in Somalia, the international state personality of our country would be automatically devoid of any legal content according of any to norms and acceptable practice of the international law.
Any action, not respecting these precincts of international law is nothing but a conspiracy with a disastrous effect on the prospects of peace and stability in Somalia and nearby countries too, in an open contrast to the vital interests of the Somalia people to shape their own destiny and form the kind of authority, state structures and leadership they would find appropriate for the solution of the root causes of the conflict in Somalia, whether it is political, clan complexity, constitutional, military of form governance, etc.
Outside imposed formula, cannot override or circumvent the wishes of the Somali people, what ever may be the volume of he accountable aid it may be receiving as life substance It is a pity and rather astonishing to see like Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Qatar, Yemen and surprisingly, Italy , getting involved in this dangerous game of extending financial, political, military and material support to a non existing authority in Somalia .
Arms delivery through Ballidogle airfield from Egypt , Libya, Yemen and Djibouti : plus tons of food aid shipment and logistical supplies such as fuel, are being ferried, by see and air lift, to Somalia, through Merca , El-ma,an (Mogadishu), and Shimbirale to enable the Art group impose itself as a fictitious government, despite an all out rejection it is suffering in all corners of the country and the desperate enclave survivalist life it is experiencing within the capital, Mogadishu, itself over a year now.
Italy's role in support of the Arta group, by indirect means and unviable and dubious schemes, such as fictitious demobilization programmers and other so called instructional civil protection and Admintrative capacity building, intended for self enrichment, self armament and private militia sustenance , is too, a source of grave concern to the Somali people and constitute serious threat to peace and reconciliation taking advent in Somalia.
The big question is : what are the aims of these countries or the central point of their collusion; and in whose interest they are acting ?
Obviously , it is not for peace ; neither for the well being of the Somali people, nor it has an altruistic objective, to be any value. The strange collusion in behavior can only have (5) aims;
1. To keep Somalia under a perpetual turmoil denying it stability and development, in complete disregard to the vita intrinsic interests of our nation to live in peace with it self and with its neighbors .
2.To use Somalia, as a staging point for strategic encirclement of the Nile sources, simply transforming our country into empty lunching pad, under the control of unrepresentative groups, using false pan Arabism or extremist pan Islam ideology, as instructions of power grapping and destabilization of neighboring countries as much as possible.
3. To prevent independent patriotic thinking forces from taking over the reigns of leadership and promote peaceful democratic transition to restore Somalia back into one and united state .
4. To keep Somalia hostage of the past cold war politics and the revival of dark days of hated, enmity, fundamentalism, narrow nationalism and military confrontation, as basics of the ideological line charted for the Arta group.
5. To generate aid resources for dubious uses and unlawful gains,
These five elements and other scandalous financial aid schemes are the factors, which influence and guide this untenable attitude, harboring no good for Somalia and its people; as the reasons of the unholy involvement, fully, demonstrate. In a nutshell, this strange behavior reveals shattered moral values and a crisis investment conspiracy, to sacrifice the national interests of Somalia to all sorts of careless whims, for a purpose which cannot be concealed any more, as the logics of rationality testy to.
Is it conceivable to pretend fighting extremist terrorist forces at home, with international dimension, while emboldening it in Somalia, just for the sake of blind strategic encirclement purposes and waste of resources, at the detriment of peace and stability in Somalia and the region as a whole? is it reasonable to work for peace and bend on generating conflict in Somalia? is it palatable to pretend assisting Somalia, in its present shape, and look for windfall reaps or gains?
The SRRC denounces this attitude and calls upon the countries involved in this doubt standard conduct to take off their hands from Somalia and stop aggravating the conflict in our country further more.
The SRRC, in the case of persistence on negative and inimical course, contrary to the interests of the Somali people, finds itself compelled to drastically review its stand visa-vis those countries, which are part of these anti- peace collusion in Somalia.
It also strongly appeals to the Arab league and to European Union intervene in the matter before it affects negatively the good links of Somalia with the Arab countries enlisted in this statement and with Italy, as well; if the attitude above referred remains unchanged.
In the same guise, the SRRC officially urges the IGAD member states and its Executive Secretariat to freeze the IPF membership of the countries mentioned above; since their role, on relation to Somalia, has shown to be in function of continuous desalinization in the region and pre-empting all genuine peace efforts in Somalia to evolve .
The SRRC also appeals to the United Nations, the OAU, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to take appropriate measures to redress this situation in the interest of good understanding among all parties involved in the search of peace and reconciliation in Somalia on unbiased ground .
Best regards.
Eng. Hussein M.F.Aideed
Chairman of SRRC
Copyright Somali Reconciliation & Restoration Council. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com)
Title: Tackling female genital cutting in Somalia.
Authors: Ford, Nathan
From: The Lancet , Oct 6, 2001, v358 i9288, p1179
Before the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, there was support for elimination of female genital cutting; the practice was banned from hospitals and health research was conducted. But a decade of civil war put a stop to any attempts at coordinated national action of any kind, and today Somalia has one of the highest rates of genital cutting of any country--98% according to WHO.(1)
The most extreme form of cutting is practised in Somalia, and involves removal of the clitoris, the labia minora, and the labia majora, and subsequent rejoining the cut edges of the labia (infibulation).
This is a pre-Islamic custom dating from the time of the Pharoahs and is also found in Christian and Jewish women in other parts of the Horn of Africa. This procedure is associated with significant morbidity: 39% of women in Somalia are reported to have immediate substantial complications. Haemorrhage, infection, tetanus, and septicaemia are among the immediate health consequences; long-term effects include impaired urinary and menstrual function, chronic genital pain, cysts, neuromas, ulcers, incontinence, and infertility. Childbirth requires cutting and repairing the infibulation, which causes additional morbidity and increases the chances of maternal and child mortality.
At the maternal child health centre in Galcayo, northeastern Somalia, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) noted that more than a third of all admissions to the regional hospital maternity ward between April, 1998, and August, 2001, were for complications of pregnancy. Maternal mortality among women admitted to the hospital is alarmingly high, at 31 deaths in 734 deliveries (4223 in 100 000). All women seen had extensive excision and infibulation--known to increase maternal and perinatal mortality--and all deliveries required an inverted Y incision to open the infibulation, with subsequent repairs in all cases.
MSF opposes female genital cutting, taking all steps to ensure that it is not undertaken in facilities where the agency works, and that instruments supplied are not used for the procedure.(2) While it could be argued that the provision of surgical instruments is a trade off for a less destructive form, such "medicalisation" does not prevent many of the serious health consequences, and is no less a violation of human rights; the practice contravenes human rights laws and conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.
MSF has joined forces with women's groups in Somalia. Health education about female genital cutting, delivered through training given to midwives and traditional birth attendants, has met with some success in parts of the Galcayo community: cutting is now talked about openly as a reason for problems in childbirth. Traditional birth attendants are aware of the health effects and several have said that they would be glad to see the practice stopped; furthermore, the local ministry of health has made infibulation illegal but there is no enforcement of the law. However, birth attendants say that most parents continue to ask for their infants to undergo the larger excisions. Parents who are more aware of the health issues or of the requirements of Islam do not have their daughters infibulated, but they remain a minority.
The practice of female genital cutting is centuries old and persists because it satisfies the interests of people in the societies within which it is practised. Advocacy directed towards eradicating the practice is a cultural negotiation in which the language used is important. It has been suggested that calling the practice mutilation might antagonise the population against any initiative. "Is it helpful", asks one Islamic scholar "to tell a mother that she is mutilating her daughter, or is it better to say that this cutting is harmful because of the health consequences?"(3) A focus on the health consequences provides a fairly uncritical and culture-neutral framework for discussion. Health workers must continue to record women's experiences and use this information to advocate for change at various levels to work towards eradicating the practice.
(1) WHO. Female genital mutilation, an overview. Geneva: WHO, 1998.
(2) Female genital cutting policy paper. Amsterdam: MSF, 1999.
(3) Abdullahi An-Na'im. In: Ford N, Bedell R, eds. Intentions and consequences: human rights, humanitarianism and culture. Amsterdam: MSF, 1999.
Nathan Ford, Medecins Sans Frontieres, 124-132 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5DJ, UK
Title: Gedo Region "Worst Affected" in Somalia.
From: Africa News Service , Sept 28, 2001
Drought, insecurity and the closure of the Kenya-Somalia border have all contributed to increased levels of severely malnourished children in Gedo Region, which has the most serious humanitarian situation in Somalia.
The European Union-funded and FAO-implemented Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) said in its September nutritional update that there was "little doubt that the health and overall welfare of the population of Gedo Region is already the worst in Somalia... Sheer numbers of malnourished children presenting at health facilities, and observations during screenings for general rations act to reinforce this suggestion".
Meanwhile, the report also warned of a declining nutrition situation in in the towns and poor pastoral villages of northeastern Somalia. FSAU said health facilities, which had previously been recording low malnutrition levels as well as low children attendance figures, "are already noting a rising trend". The major urban centres in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland - Bosaso port and Galcayo - continued to experience increased pressure from migrant labourers. Prices had risen steeply, partly due to inflation, but also because of "the economic downturn in Puntland occasioned by the livestock ban [imposed by the Gulf Arab states in September 2000 in an attempt to control Rift Valley fever] and lately the mounting political tension". [FSAU updates are posted on http:/www.unsomalia.org/unsomalia/reliefweb and http:www.who.int/eha/disasters]
Copyright UN Integrated Regional Information Network. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com)
Title: SOMALIA: IRIN interview with interim President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan.
From: Africa News Service , Sept 27, 2001,
Nairobi, Sep 27, 2001
Somalia is one of the countries the US has singled out as a place where terrorist groups or individuals are known to have operated. Moves to freeze the assets of known extremist groups by the US this week included the organisation Al-Ittihad, which has a presence in the region, and aims to establish a hardline Islamic state in Somalia.
Reports that Islamic extremist groups were successfully taking advantage of the chaos and lack of state controls in Somalia came after the collapse of the former government of Muhammad Siyad Barre in 1991 - including groups linked to Osama bin Laden, now the prime suspect in the attacks in the US on 11 September. Trials this year in the US of those involved in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania also included accusations that an international terrorist network in the region was linked to the killings of American soldiers in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in 1993.
Somalia now has an internationally recognised authority in Mogadishu - the Transitional National Government (TNG) - but this still has little influence outside the capital. In a telephone interview from Mogadishu, interim President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan spoke to IRIN about the situation in Somalia and the government's position on terrorism.
QUESTION: What do you make of the fact that Somalia has been placed on the list of countries by the US as among those known to have terrorist organisations operating?
ANSWER: I don't know of such a list, but one has to understand the recent history of our country, which was for the last 10 years without government. I don't know whether that list was created for that period, but right now we are not having terrorists in this country. We are against terrorism and terrorists.
It is very easy for our detractors to portray Somalia as a playground for terrorists. I think that, first of all, the Somali people generally speaking are peace-loving people, and are very moderate people - they don't like extremism, or the acts of extremists. Secondly, this government is totally opposed to any form of terrorism, any form of destabilisation in neighbouring countries, or other countries in the world. Third, I think it is in the minds of Somalis that it is an unbelievable tragedy what happened in the United States, and we all express our solidarity with the American people... because we understand that what happened in the United States is not only directed against Americans, but is directed against all the international community and the civilised world. We are part of that world; that's why we want to join hands to combat terrorism.
Q: At what level have you spoken with the US government regarding the recent attacks in New York, and the possible consequences for Somalia?
A: I have sent a letter of condolences on behalf of the Somali people and the government and parliament for the barbaric act of terrorism that took place in New York and Washington. We have been expressing our solidarity with the American people and our shock... I have received a letter of thanks from the American government, and expressions of appreciation for the letter of condolence.
Q: Before you were elected, US intelligence had made it clear to Somali leaders that there were concerns about active, internationally funded cells in southern Somalia. Have those concerns been put to you at any time?
A: No, we haven't talked directly to US intelligence about this, but we know that in southern Somalia right now we don't have such terrorist cells. Maybe individuals. And in any case, my government is ready to cooperate with the international community, with the US, to eradicate all kinds of terrorists from this region, along with the other governments of this region - Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti.
Q: Does your security and intelligence have the capacity to keep tabs on extremist groups or individuals active in Somalia?
A: Well, we have only been established for one year. Of course, everything is at the beginning - we don't have all the necessary implements for information-gathering and so on. On the other hand, we know what is happening in our country, and we are willing to cooperate with the international community, in the world and in the region, to combat terrorism in this area.
A: Yes, well of course the training of police and security officers, the gathering of data is important - there are many fields in which we can cooperate together.
Q: Does your government have a working definition of "terrorism" and "extremism" - for example, how do you define Al-Ittihad?
A: Our definition of terrorism is same definition as [that of] the international community. Terrorists are those people who are engaged in acts of destruction and killing of innocent people wherever they are, and anyone engaged in that activity should be dealt with and should be eradicated.
Q: Do responsible authorities in Somalia think that extremists with international links were behind attacks on Americans in 1993 in Mogadishu?
A: In 1993 - well, I think many books and interviews and reports have been written about that, and everybody knows, or the people concerned do - that is the Americans - they know what was happening. I have expressed regret for the killings of elements of the UN forces in Somalia, Americans and others. I expressed regret before the body of the United Nations during the Millennium Summit at the General Assembly. It was unfortunate. We are overcoming that period of chaos now.
A: I have no such knowledge. I think that it was mainly due to the Mogadishu-based warlords' activity. I think this is what people think here. I don't think there was any such international linkage.
Q: Much has been made of the so-called "Somali syndrome" - it was a symbol of American military action abroad that failed. Can you see any parallels between what happened then and what might happen in Afghanistan?
A: There are no parallels, as I understand it. On the other hand, I think that what happened to Somalia is known to everybody - the disappearance of the state institutions, the chaos, the warlords... We deeply regret the loss of Somali life, and lives from the international community in Somalia. I think that for those who lost their lives, it would be a good monument for them and for the international community and the United States to be present in Somalia. There is need for the international community to cooperate with the Transitional National Government for the betterment of the Somalis, and for security and stability in this region - and for the fight against terrorism.
Q: Do you think this new turn in world events is going to impact negatively on Somalia, and make it even more difficult to get assistance?
A: Yes, it has made it difficult for the international community, and for the United States in particular. Nevertheless, I think now that we have a government in place it is the duty of the international community to work with us for the best interests of the people of this region, and also for the interests of the world community at large.
Q: The just-completed evacuation of UN international staff comes at a particularly bad time, with concerns about the long term effects of drought in the south. How serious do you think the humanitarian situation is?
A: The humanitarian situation is very bad. We don't have rains; it has been a very long dry season here. We are really very worried about the pull-out of the international agencies from Somalia.
Copyright IRIN. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica
Title: Attacks On US: UN Pulls Out of Somalia.
From: Africa News Service , Sept 27, 2001
The United Nations has pulled its international staff out of Somalia after being told flights to and from Mogadishu can no longer be insured after the suicide attacks on the United States.
The European Union withdrew its expatriate staff last week because of "general tension and uncertainty there" following the attacks on the US.
This comes a day after a massive demonstration in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, in support of Osama bin Laden and against the United States.
Last week, Somalia's Transitional Government denied having any links with bin Laden and said that it was ready to co-operate with the US in its fight against international terrorism in the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington.
US intelligence sources have suggested that the man held responsible for the attacks could be heading for Somalia.
Diplomats in east Africa have said that some radical Islamic groups in Somalia may be linked to his al-Qaeda network.
45 UN staff have been flown to neighbouring Kenya until new insurance cover can be found but the UN said that Somalia has not become any less safe than before.
"I would like to stress that this decision has nothing to do with the security situation in Somalia, which remains stable and unchanged," said UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator Randolph Kent in Nairobi.
Thousands of people from all corners of Mogadishu attended Sunday's demonstration including hundreds of women wearing Islamic headscarves.
Some carried placards and photos of bin Laden, the man the US believes to have been behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The Transitional National Government earlier came out against the demonstration but did nothing to stop it going ahead for fear of provoking violence.
Copyright The Daily Trust. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com)
Title: Interview With UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Randolph Kent.
From: Africa News Service , Sept 25, 2001
Sep 25, 2001
All UN international staff were evacuated from Somalia on Monday 24 September, after insurance coverage for war-risk was withdrawn. The lapse of war-risk coverage was a result of the enormous insurance claims arising out of the attacks in the US on 11 September.
As the UN attempts to renegotiate its insurance policy with insurance underwriters, humanitarian staff worry that the pull-out will be misinterpreted and associated with the security status of Somalia.
Somalia - presently suffering the effects of prolonged drought and a ban on livestock exports - has been placed by the US on a list of countries known to have links with terrorist organisations, although authorities in Somalia have condemned the recent terrorist attacks, and have offered full cooperation with the US and the international community.
In an interview with IRIN, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Randolph Kent talked about the withdrawal and his concerns about Somalia.
Why exactly did the UN have to evacuate its international staff from Somalia this week?
The UN had to evacuate its international staff from Somalia for only one reason only, and that is that the war-liability clause that enables us to fly in and out of Somalia had been withdrawn. We were told by our insurance that of midnight as of 24 September that we would not be insured. But let me emphasise this has nothing to do with the security situation in Somalia.
This is to do with the consequences of the insurance companies around the world now having to cover themselves because of the impact of the devastation of the World Trade Centre, the implications for international airlines, the need for insurance companies to cover themselves to deal with increased insurance obligations. All of that combined just happened to fall on our own efforts to try and get people in and out of Somalia on our regular programmes.
Long term, does this mean it is going to be a lot more expensive for a humanitarian organisation to operate in Somalia?
A: Our New York UN headquarters was in discussions with Lloyds of London about this issue on Monday, and the results of those discussions have not yet emerged. We also know that the World Food Programme [WFP], which is the logistics arm of the UN system, is also in discussions with Lloyds and underwriters to determine what the financial consequences are. We would hope to have an answer over the next week or two.
I think the relocation as it is now, if I were optimistic, it would last for 10 days... It depends on the time it will take for the insurance companies to sort this out, and it depends on whether or not we in the UN system can afford the premiums that we may be forced to cover - all of these things will determine whether or not we, the UN programmes, can come back in confidence to Somalia. I think that we need to use this period to look for other ways to engage with the people of Somalia.
For example, we are extremely concerned about the possible impact the drought will have in Bay and Bakol [southern Somalia], and northern Gedo, and parts of Togdeer and Sool [northwestern Somalia] and other places in Somalia. Maybe now we have to start thinking about a cross-border operation in which in collaboration with neighbouring states and with our UN and NGO colleagues the other side of the Kenya and Ethiopia border, have operations which will provide people with assistance rather than just say: "We will have to wait". Good can come out of this unfortunate technical problem.
In terms of security concerns, will it make a difference to humanitarian operations that Somalia is on the US list of countries known to have had links with terrorist activities.
A: Let me emphasise that our concerns are about the welfare of the people of Somalia, and while we have had no indications about the consequences of being on a particular list of a particular member state, or member states, the fact of the matter is the United Nation system has a primary responsibility to those in need. In this case, to those Somalis who may be suffering the effects of drought and impoverishment. So our commitment continues whatever happens... All we are really talking about now is, given the difficulties of not having aircraft at this point, can we fulfil that obligation?
What do you think the effect of the pull-out will be - it comes at a particularly bad time regarding humanitarian concerns.
The pull-out has indeed come at a particularly bad time. But the UN system is more and more anxious to engage in Somalia, and I know - for example - the UN Development Programme will be moving over the next two or three months all of its development programmes and projects into Somalia to be run in the country. In places such as Baidoa there will be a UN compound which will have people from FAO, FSAU [Food Security Analysis Unit], UNESCO and other agencies... We are not doing this blindly: there are more and more areas in which we can work in Somalia. I think that sense of relative security, that sense that the people of Somalia are willing to support and protect us, makes us feel that we should move more and more and more back into Somalia.
I think the effect of the relocation is going to do several things. I have no doubt that this will be seen by the people of Somalia as a reflection of our view that Somalia is insecure. My frustration is that I cannot find a way to convince them that this is a technical issue which has nothing to do with our sense of security. We feel secure in many parts of Somalia, and had it not been for this insurance matter we would still be there.
I was in Baidoa [regional capital of Bay, southern Somalia] and Hargeysa [capital of the self-declared state of Somaliland, northwestern Somalia] this weekend, and the authorities were very understanding... In Hargeysa, what was emphasised by the authorities was, please tell people that Hargeysa is stable and secure, which I have no hesitation in underscoring. In Baidoa I can say with utmost certainty that the response from the authorities was fulsome and supportive, and it was made known that extra police would guard our properties. But we know that whatever the authorities say, people in the villages, in the towns, in the teashops, will be all too prone to say that this is a reflection on Somalia - and it is not, it is a reflection of the tragic events in the US on 11 September, and the global financial consequences which have poured out of that disaster.
Nairobi, 25 September 2001
Copyright UN Integrated Regional Information Network. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com)
Title: Pilots Arrested for Evading Trade Ban.
From: Africa News Service , Sept 5, 2001
Sep 05, 2001
The Kenyan government has said it has arrested three pilots and seized two aircraft for violating the trade ban with Somalia. The pilots had been accused of flying across Kenya's northeastern border, and giving false information to Kenya Airports Authority officers at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, the Kenyan 'Daily Nation' said on Tuesday.
Two of the pilots were seized at Wilson Airport on 31 August by armed policemen on their return from northern Kenya. Another was arrested at Dadaab airstrip, in an isolated area of North Eastern Province which borders on Somalia.
Although the pilots denied the charge, the North Eastern provincial police chief, Alex Rono, told the 'Daily Nation' they had been unable to explain why they had not flown directly to Dadaab, or why their aircraft were carrying no cargo when they finally landed there several hours later. According to Rono, the authorities were aware that more aircraft were flying to Somalia after leaving Wilson Airport. "Some do not land in North Eastern Province, and fly directly to Somalia. Our role is only to confirm that they landed at the stipulated airstrip," he said.
Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, who announced the ban on 28 July, said Kenya could only deal with a legitimate government in Somalia, and that the move was aimed at curbing the flow of small arms into Kenya. However, the business communities in Kenya and Somalia had found ways of evading the ban, including transporting qat (leaves of Catha edulis, a mildly narcotic shrub also known as miraa) to Kenyan towns on the border, from where it was being smuggled into Somalia on trucks; or by briefly landing aircraft at the border towns after returning from direct flights to Somalia in an attempt to confuse security officers, the 'Daily Nation' said.
Copyright UN Integrated Regional Information Network. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com)
Title: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Immigration and Naturalization Service Extension and Redesignation of Somalia under Temporary Protected Status Program.
From: FedNet Government News , Sept 4, 2001
Washington, DC, Sep 04, 2001
On September 16, 1991, the Attorney General designated Somalia under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for a 12-month period that expired on September 16, 1992. That initial designation allowed eligible nationals of Somalia (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Somalia) who had continuously resided in the United States since September 16, 1991, to apply for TPS. That initial designation has been extended each subsequent year. Presently, TPS for Somalia is scheduled to expire on September 17, 2001.
AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.
ACTION: Notice.
Title: Progress Made in Somalia Since New Govt. Coming to Power.
From: Xinhua News Agency , August 26, 2001
MOGADISHU, Aug 26, 2001
The transitional government of Somalia (TNG) led by President Abdiqasin Salad Hassan has achieved several goals after it took power one year ago.
One tangible success is its return to the international political scenarios such as its attendance in the meeting of the United Nations, the OAU, the Arab League and regional one of EGAD where the government has represented Somalia.
The government has also managed to get some financial support from the Arab world, especially from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Yemen and Libya.
With the assistance from the Arab world, the government has demobilized nearly 18,000 former street fighters and former policemen as well as few hundred former military personnel where training has begun for them.
The government's aim to restore the rule of law has been realized at least in Mogadishu and its surrounding areas. Despite serious obstacles from the armed opposition leaders in Mogadishu, the government has still managed to clear several streets and markets of banditry in Mogadishu.
Likewise, the government has embarked on the reconciliation and has managed so far to bring two former warlords onboard. One of these former warlords is now the minister of fishery and marine resources.
The attempts of the government to make some law and order in Mogadishu continue while also on the other hand crying for help from outside both politically and economically.
Nonetheless, one can say so far that the government has never looked into matters relating to the health and education, which are vital to the life and well being of the Somalis.
The new government came to power on August 27, 2000 in the small Djibouti town of Arta where the Somali peace conference elected Somalia's first parliament and head of state since Somali president Mohamed Siyad Barre was overthrown in 1991, leading to a decade of anarchy and separatist rule of warlords.
Title: Somalia Considers to Bring Inside Foreign Troops.
From: Xinhua News Agency , August 13, 2001
MOGADISHU, Aug 12, 2001
The National Transitional Parliament of Somalia Sunday had serious talks for the first time over the possibility of bringing foreign troops inside the country so as to help the improvement of the national security.
Thirty-seven members of the parliament have forwarded to the council a motion suggesting that the transitional government should ask for foreign troops from friendly countries. In their session on Sunday, which is the second day in which the members of parliament (MPs) were talking about this motion, many of them agreed upon the call for foreign troops.
Mohamud Faarah Good, one of the MPs, reiterated that it is now time that the government should ask for foreign troops. "It is now one year already and no security or disarmament has been carried out," he said.
"Still clannish armed confrontations are taking place here and there and it is affecting the parliament as some MPs seem to be sympathizing one side or another," he added.
However, many others are still cautious about the whole affair.Ahmed Dualeh Ghelleh Haf, another MP, said they should first set up a technical committee to make a real assessment of the situation, while Abdi Ahmed Dhuhulow said he would only endorse foreign troops if they would become subordinates to the government norms and regulations.
Hassan Dhimbil, a very cautious MP, characterized such troop intervention as a knife that cuts two ways. "Who can guarantee me that these troops will not topple this government?" he asked.
Parliament speaker, Abdalleh Derow Issak, whom many of the MPs asked that a vote should be cast for the motion, could not handle the job. After the hall in which the MPs had been meeting became very noisy, Issak immediately concluded the meeting by adjourning the session till Monday.
Even though the MPs did not mention the "friendly" countries, still it is understood that they would like troops from the Arabian and neighboring countries with the exception of Ethiopia, which the government has all the time been accusing for intervening into Somalia's internal affairs.
Ethiopia has reportedly been out in the open for supporting the Somali Reconciliation and Reconstruction Council fighting against the government and its supporters in the Lower Jubba and Middle Jubba regions.
It seems that Somalia has since last month been sinking back to the civil war of the past 10 years after serious armed confrontations broke out in Middle and Lower Jubba regions and the northeastern region known as Puntland.
Title: Somalia on Five Dollars a Day: A Soldier's Story.
Authors: Pitt, David
From: Booklist , August 2001, v97 i22, p2082
Stanton, Martin. Somalia on Five Dollars a Day: A Soldier's Story. Aug. 2001. 320p. Presidio, $24.95 (0-89141-741-9). 967.7305.
A sort of unofficial prequel to Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down (1999), this eye-opening chronicle of Operation Restore Hope lets us see the turmoil of Somalia through a soldier's eyes. Restore Hope was a failed peacekeeping operation: U.S. troops (including Stanton) were sent to Somalia in the early 1990s to "save the starving" but were forced to withdraw not quite a year and a half later. What turned a peacekeeping mission into a disaster? There is no simple answer, but Stanton cuts through a lot of the confusion and gives us some idea of what went on there. Too many books of this kind describe events from the commanders' points of view, well removed from the down-and-dirty goings-on. Stanton, on the other hand, shows us the front lines: we see the poverty, the destruction, and the death close-up and personal. We may have only a slightly better understanding of why Restore Hope went wrong, but at least we now know what it must have felt like to be there while it failed. For fans of military nonfiction, this is a must-read.