Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
VOA News.com English
East Africa
8 Killed as Insurgents Clash in Mogadishu
Photo: AP
Al-Shabaab fighters which are fighting with the Somali government, provide security during a demonstration in Suqa Holaha neighborhood in Mogadishu, Somalia, 05 Jul 2010
Fighting between rival Islamist groups in Somalia's capital has killed at least eight people.
The French news agency, AFP, reports that six Hizbul Islam fighters were shot and killed by gunmen in a minivan. It says two al-Shabab fighters were killed minutes later outside a nearby mosque in apparent retaliation.
The two groups are fighting Somalia's fragile transitional government, and between them control most of Mogadishu and southern Somalia. The groups have been allies at times, but also have clashed over territory and other matters.
On Monday, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed made an urgent appeal for military help at a summit of East African leaders.
The East Africa bloc of countries known as IGAD, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, pledged to send 2,000 troops immediately. The troops would bolster an African Union peacekeeping force supporting the government.
That AU force has helped the government keep control of key sites, including the airport, seaport and presidential palace.
Somalia has not had a stable central government since 1991.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
Share This
Related Articles
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Death penalty in India 'honour killings' case
BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8595168.stm
Page last updated at 15:08 GMT, Tuesday, 30 March 2010 16:08 UK
Five men have been sentenced to death and one jailed for life over the 2007 murder of a couple who married against the wishes of village elders.
The court in the northern state of Haryana last week convicted the men of the murders of Manoj and Babli, who were killed a month after they eloped.
Elders said they violated local customs by marrying within the same sub-caste.
Observers say this may be the first time an Indian court has awarded such a penalty over an "honour killing" case.
The young couple were kidnapped while they were travelling on a bus in Haryana in 2007. Their bodies were discovered later.
Those sentenced to death are all relatives of the girl, Babli, and include her brother, two uncles and two cousins, Indian media reports say.
The head of the village council in Haryana's Kaithal district, which ruled against the couple's marriage, was given life imprisonment. A driver found to have helped abduct the couple was given a seven-year prison term.
The village council said that by local tradition people within the same sub-caste are considered to be siblings.
The case was brought by the family of Manoj, Babli's husband. Unconfirmed media reports say that the couple had approached the police with their fears shortly before they were kidnapped and killed.
Campaigners hailed the verdict as a blow against "honour killings", which are quite common in parts of northern India.
Correspondents say such killings have often not been reported or widely discussed in the past because families usually accept the verdicts.
Those found guilty in the case have the right to appeal. Death sentences in India are rarely handed down and even more rarely carried out.
Page last updated at 15:08 GMT, Tuesday, 30 March 2010 16:08 UK
Five men have been sentenced to death and one jailed for life over the 2007 murder of a couple who married against the wishes of village elders.
The court in the northern state of Haryana last week convicted the men of the murders of Manoj and Babli, who were killed a month after they eloped.
Elders said they violated local customs by marrying within the same sub-caste.
Observers say this may be the first time an Indian court has awarded such a penalty over an "honour killing" case.
The young couple were kidnapped while they were travelling on a bus in Haryana in 2007. Their bodies were discovered later.
Those sentenced to death are all relatives of the girl, Babli, and include her brother, two uncles and two cousins, Indian media reports say.
The head of the village council in Haryana's Kaithal district, which ruled against the couple's marriage, was given life imprisonment. A driver found to have helped abduct the couple was given a seven-year prison term.
The village council said that by local tradition people within the same sub-caste are considered to be siblings.
The case was brought by the family of Manoj, Babli's husband. Unconfirmed media reports say that the couple had approached the police with their fears shortly before they were kidnapped and killed.
Campaigners hailed the verdict as a blow against "honour killings", which are quite common in parts of northern India.
Correspondents say such killings have often not been reported or widely discussed in the past because families usually accept the verdicts.
Those found guilty in the case have the right to appeal. Death sentences in India are rarely handed down and even more rarely carried out.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
YouTube - sexandmoneyglobal's Channel
YouTube
- sexandmoneyglobal's Channel: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9kuIBmFdrE"
- sexandmoneyglobal's Channel: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9kuIBmFdrE"
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Somalia: Al-Shabab bans bell rings for schools | Before It's News
Contributed by Abdulkarim Jimale (Reporter)
Thursday, April 15, 2010 8:04
Mogadishu, Thursday, April 15, 2010 (BIN) – Al-Shabab the Somali militant group banned bell rings for schools in southern Somalia on Thursday, because they say it sounds too similar to those of Christian churches.
Al-Shabab, the Al-Qaeda wing in Somalia has ordered schools in Jowhar town of middle Shabelle region about 90km north of capital to stop using bells to signal the end of classes. The group said the bell ring sounds like those of Christian churches.
According to Reuters teachers and a school headmaster in Shabaab-controlled Jowhar town, said an Al-Shabaab member had ordered schools to silence their bells because the sound was too similar to those in Christian churches.
"We were called by Sheikh Farah, the head of Al Shabaab's education, and he told us that we can't use bell sounds from now on. He said any school heard using bell sounds after now will be brought to Islamic justice," a school teacher in Jowhar told Reuters by telephone.
The militias are the most powerful rebel group in Somalia and controls large parts in south and central regions including large parts of the restive capital Mogadishu.
The group is fighting UN-backed government to control Somalia.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 when clan warlords overthrown Siad Barre’s administration.
Thursday, April 15, 2010 8:04
Mogadishu, Thursday, April 15, 2010 (BIN) – Al-Shabab the Somali militant group banned bell rings for schools in southern Somalia on Thursday, because they say it sounds too similar to those of Christian churches.
Al-Shabab, the Al-Qaeda wing in Somalia has ordered schools in Jowhar town of middle Shabelle region about 90km north of capital to stop using bells to signal the end of classes. The group said the bell ring sounds like those of Christian churches.
According to Reuters teachers and a school headmaster in Shabaab-controlled Jowhar town, said an Al-Shabaab member had ordered schools to silence their bells because the sound was too similar to those in Christian churches.
"We were called by Sheikh Farah, the head of Al Shabaab's education, and he told us that we can't use bell sounds from now on. He said any school heard using bell sounds after now will be brought to Islamic justice," a school teacher in Jowhar told Reuters by telephone.
The militias are the most powerful rebel group in Somalia and controls large parts in south and central regions including large parts of the restive capital Mogadishu.
The group is fighting UN-backed government to control Somalia.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 when clan warlords overthrown Siad Barre’s administration.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
US sanctions target Somali fighters
News Africa
The executive order will target individuals seen as aiding insecurity in Somalia [AFP]
Barack Obama, the US president, has issued an executive order to freeze assets of individuals with ties to Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab movement.
Obama's directive allows the US treasury department to sanction or freeze the assets of individuals with suspected links to the piracy off Somalia's coast or those who have in any way been involved in threatening Somalia's stability.
The piracy and eroding security in Somalia "constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States," Obama said in his executive order on Tuesday.
The decree specifically targets anyone who threatens the peace, interferes with the delivery of humanitarian assistance or violates the United Nations arms embargo in the lawless nation.
Target
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a prominent Somali opposition figure, is one of those targeted by the new sanctions.
Last year Aweys said he was working to unite his Islamic Party with al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab is battling to overthrow the US-backed Somali government. Somalia has not had an effective government for about two decades.
US authorities say they are increasingly concerned that Somalia has become a safe haven for Islamic extremists and a sanctuary for al-Qaeda-linked training camps.
Meanwhile, al-Shabab fighters are claiming to have gained full control of the city of Baidoa in southern Somalia, which they have declared to be an Islamist province.
According to reports, the group's fighters last week disarmed guards at a UN World Food Programmes (WFP) base in Wajid, near Baidoa, and also seized control of the nearby airstrip.
The WFP, however, said that its base was empty and the move would not affect its operations.
The executive order will target individuals seen as aiding insecurity in Somalia [AFP]
Barack Obama, the US president, has issued an executive order to freeze assets of individuals with ties to Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab movement.
Obama's directive allows the US treasury department to sanction or freeze the assets of individuals with suspected links to the piracy off Somalia's coast or those who have in any way been involved in threatening Somalia's stability.
The piracy and eroding security in Somalia "constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States," Obama said in his executive order on Tuesday.
The decree specifically targets anyone who threatens the peace, interferes with the delivery of humanitarian assistance or violates the United Nations arms embargo in the lawless nation.
Target
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a prominent Somali opposition figure, is one of those targeted by the new sanctions.
Last year Aweys said he was working to unite his Islamic Party with al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab is battling to overthrow the US-backed Somali government. Somalia has not had an effective government for about two decades.
US authorities say they are increasingly concerned that Somalia has become a safe haven for Islamic extremists and a sanctuary for al-Qaeda-linked training camps.
Meanwhile, al-Shabab fighters are claiming to have gained full control of the city of Baidoa in southern Somalia, which they have declared to be an Islamist province.
According to reports, the group's fighters last week disarmed guards at a UN World Food Programmes (WFP) base in Wajid, near Baidoa, and also seized control of the nearby airstrip.
The WFP, however, said that its base was empty and the move would not affect its operations.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Somalia Islamists al-Shabab ban BBC transmissions
Somalia Islamists al-Shabab ban BBC transmissions By Peter Greste
The Somali Islamist movement al-Shabab has banned the BBC and closed down transmitters broadcasting the Somali language service inside the country.
Al-Shabab accused the BBC of fighting against Islam and supporting the transitional federal government, which the rebels are fighting to overthrow.
The group said the BBC had been broadcasting the agenda of crusaders and colonialists against Muslims.
The BBC said it was strictly impartial and spoke to all sides in the conflict.
BBC
East Africa correspondent, BBC News
Al-Shabab accused the BBC of fighting against Islam and supporting the transitional federal government, which the rebels are fighting to overthrow.
The group said the BBC had been broadcasting the agenda of crusaders and colonialists against Muslims.
The BBC said it was strictly impartial and spoke to all sides in the conflict.
The BBC has been broadcasting its services in Somali, Arabic and English across the country on a series of FM frequencies for at least a decade, and surveys suggest it is one of the most widely listened-to news services in Somalia.
'Strict standards'
Al-Shabab ordered all of the BBC's transmitters to be shut down.
A statement by al-Shabab demanded that any organisation transmitting the BBC, or the Washington-based Voice of America, should cancel their contracts.
Al-Shabab and its allies control most of southern and central Somalia and all but a few districts of the capital, Mogadishu.
They have been fighting to establish an Islamist administration of their own in place of the current government.
The BBC's broadcasts have been taken off the FM bandwidth, but are still available on shortwave and the internet.
In response to the statement, the head of BBC Africa, Jerry Timmins, said the organisation spoke to all sides in the conflict, including al-Shabab, adhered to strict standards of impartiality and editorial independence and rejected any suggestion otherwise.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
The lawlesness in Somalia couse the death of so many children.
HARGEISA, Somalia, 8 December 2009 - In Somalia, more than 40 per cent of children exhibit signs of chronic nutritional deprivation. This can be a life-threatening condition if appropriate interventions are not provided.At the clinic in Hargeisa one of 200 UNICEF supported Outpatient Therapeutic Facilities in Somalia UNICEF and partners have been distributing a new ready-to-use food, Plumpydoz, to vulnerable children aged 6 to 36 months. To date, more than 130,000 young children in Somalia have benefited from this product, which is rich with minerals, high quality proteins and fats.UNICEF also supports 30 in-patient stabilization centres where children with the most severe cases of undernutrition receive round-the-clock medical care.I sometimes dont have work and cant provide for my children, so they get malnourished, said Derer Muse, whose daughter is receiving treatment in the stabilization centre. I have another child who was malnourished too, but was treated in this clinic and will be discharged soon.
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/somalia_52031.html
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/somalia_52031.html
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
THE ACT OF TERRORISM IS UN ISLAMIC.
ReligionProtestTerrorism
.“Quran says – you're free in your religion” – Muslim cleric
permalinke-mail story to a friendprint versionPublished 09 March, 2010, 10:30
Edited 15 March, 2010, 12:05
Only multiculturalism can provide a peaceful atmosphere for mankind, and the first Islamic society created by Prophet Muhammad was multicultural, Dr Mohammed Tahir ul-Qadri told RT.
Propeller Speaking about his recently-issued religious ruling – a fatwa – which condemns terrorism and suicide bombings, Dr Tahir ul-Qadri also said “holy war” is the incorrect translation of jihad and Koran says that there should be freedom of religion.
RT: Here in the UK we mostly know the word fatwa from the one that was issued against Salman Rushdie and his book – The Satanic Verses. Could you explain what fatwa is?
TQ: Fatwa literally means a decree and a ruling and this has a very significant place in sources of Islamic laws and Islamic rulings.
RT: Why are you doing it now and why you didn't issue this fatwa after 9/11 for example?
TQ: I normally never issue a fatwa. But now I thought this was the time because terrorism as a wave became much stronger than earlier in Pakistan and that part of the world last year. Then terrorists started slaughtering people, then terrorists started even killing the people, then taking their dead bodies out of the graves and hanging them on the trees, and they started bombing everywhere and they captured the particular areas, you know, and they took over and then Pakistan military started a very strong operation against them. That was last year. And at that time I found that many scholars and many preachers and even religious political leaders kept silent on that act of brutality committed by the terrorists.
RT: Can we talk in detail – what exactly do you say in the fatwa? Why hasn’t jihad or holy war been mentioned? Why did you miss that out?
TQ: Because I concentrated only on the subject of terrorism. But I mentioned in my book categorically, that an act of terrorism is not jihad.
RT: So in fact terrorism can't be considered as a part of holy war?
TQ: Absolutely not. The holy war is a wrong translation, and I would be clear and you would be the means to communicate this message faster to the world. Its meaning is struggle. That’s it. The word war is not included in the origin and the meaning of the word jihad. Jihad is a much wider concept which means just to strive for, to struggle. If you put your energy and abilities, efforts to achieve your good end – that's known as jihad. So there's no place for aggression in the concept of jihad, no place for brutality when we speak about jihad. The holy war isn't the concept – it is holy struggle.
RT: So did terrorists hijack the concept of jihad?
TQ: Yes they did. They misguided people and youth and their efforts have no links with jihad.
RT: You used terms like “terrorism” and “innocent people” in your fatwa – these are terms that hugely open to interpretation. What did you mean by them?
TQ: I understand they again create an excuse on the base of innocent – the word innocent. I’d like to make it clear: in case of killing or non-killing, the word innocent has never been used in the Koran. This exception of innocent has never been given in Koran. The word which is used in Koran means: if anyone kills a human being without the lawful right which the court exercises if the person was an intentional murderer, so he was liable to capital punishment or he was a rebel, so as the punishment of rebellion with killing of man – he is liable to capital punishment and if he is a terrorist and he kills a person, so as punishment of the act of terrorism he is liable to death punishment. So the Koran says if the person is neither an intentional murderer nor a terrorist, killer, rebel… so if anyone kills a person who doesn't fall within these three categories, then they kill innocent people. Any peaceful population, all men who aren't fighting with you one to one on the battlefield – everybody has a right to kill anyone on the battlefield – so every single civilian person who is non-combatant is innocent.
RT: The aim of your fatwa seems to go against everything that suicide bombers and fundamentals believe about themselves. Who do you think they aimed at and what effect do you think it will have?
TQ: Millions of youngsters who aren't potential extremists but who are available. Some people who are always behind the youth, they again trap them and they again put wrong ideologies in their minds and misguide them by using wrong meanings of this terminology. First of all this will effect them, they'll be clear and they'll never be “kidnapped” by the terrorist people. Secondly, thousands of youth who haven’t been totally brainwashed and who haven't become suicide bombers yet, but they're on the same track. They’re going forward – they've become conservative, living an isolated life, they believe in isolation and don't want to be integrated and we can see a tendency which could lead them to radicalism and terrorism. These thousands of youth will stop. And I hope nobody in the whole Muslim world would be in position to rebut it. They can disagree with me just in slogans, and I can't say to be 100 per cent sure about those who were thoroughly brainwashed – but their number is little. Much larger in number are those thousands who are waiting behind to enter. At least it will stop them and this will have a very big effect on Islam and humanity.
RT: Let’s talk about what is increasingly being known as Islamophobia, particularly in Europe. Dutch politician Geert Wilders made a film which says that Koran is a fascist book – what would you say to him?
TQ: I think these are the same kind of activities – not Osama and Taliban, but their supporters who are acting against non-Muslims. If in Western world some people start to do the same kind of thing, it won't help in developing the peace process. It'll only create hatred. The question is what do they want to achieve out of that? Just hatred? Just reaction? Further disputes? Clashes and further division of humanity?
RT: There's quite a lot of opposition to Islam in Europe at the moment. The Swiss for example have banned the building of more minarets. France is talking about banning the burqa… do you think Europe is ready to accept Islam?
TQ: The best solution for peaceful atmosphere for the mankind is multiculturalism. There should be full democracy, freedom of religions, freedom of cultures and no freedom for terrorism, extremism, no freedom of creating brutality and divisions in the society. The first Islamic society created by the Prophet Muhammad, prophet of Islam in Medina, was a multicultural society. He started this society instead – alliance with Jews, Christians and their allied tribes. And their local customs, cultures, traditions, religions and customary laws were given guaranteed protection. Koran says – there should be freedom of religion. Koran says: you're free in your religion and we are free in our religion.
RT TOP STORIES
.“Quran says – you're free in your religion” – Muslim cleric
permalinke-mail story to a friendprint versionPublished 09 March, 2010, 10:30
Edited 15 March, 2010, 12:05
Only multiculturalism can provide a peaceful atmosphere for mankind, and the first Islamic society created by Prophet Muhammad was multicultural, Dr Mohammed Tahir ul-Qadri told RT.
Propeller Speaking about his recently-issued religious ruling – a fatwa – which condemns terrorism and suicide bombings, Dr Tahir ul-Qadri also said “holy war” is the incorrect translation of jihad and Koran says that there should be freedom of religion.
RT: Here in the UK we mostly know the word fatwa from the one that was issued against Salman Rushdie and his book – The Satanic Verses. Could you explain what fatwa is?
TQ: Fatwa literally means a decree and a ruling and this has a very significant place in sources of Islamic laws and Islamic rulings.
RT: Why are you doing it now and why you didn't issue this fatwa after 9/11 for example?
TQ: I normally never issue a fatwa. But now I thought this was the time because terrorism as a wave became much stronger than earlier in Pakistan and that part of the world last year. Then terrorists started slaughtering people, then terrorists started even killing the people, then taking their dead bodies out of the graves and hanging them on the trees, and they started bombing everywhere and they captured the particular areas, you know, and they took over and then Pakistan military started a very strong operation against them. That was last year. And at that time I found that many scholars and many preachers and even religious political leaders kept silent on that act of brutality committed by the terrorists.
RT: Can we talk in detail – what exactly do you say in the fatwa? Why hasn’t jihad or holy war been mentioned? Why did you miss that out?
TQ: Because I concentrated only on the subject of terrorism. But I mentioned in my book categorically, that an act of terrorism is not jihad.
RT: So in fact terrorism can't be considered as a part of holy war?
TQ: Absolutely not. The holy war is a wrong translation, and I would be clear and you would be the means to communicate this message faster to the world. Its meaning is struggle. That’s it. The word war is not included in the origin and the meaning of the word jihad. Jihad is a much wider concept which means just to strive for, to struggle. If you put your energy and abilities, efforts to achieve your good end – that's known as jihad. So there's no place for aggression in the concept of jihad, no place for brutality when we speak about jihad. The holy war isn't the concept – it is holy struggle.
RT: So did terrorists hijack the concept of jihad?
TQ: Yes they did. They misguided people and youth and their efforts have no links with jihad.
RT: You used terms like “terrorism” and “innocent people” in your fatwa – these are terms that hugely open to interpretation. What did you mean by them?
TQ: I understand they again create an excuse on the base of innocent – the word innocent. I’d like to make it clear: in case of killing or non-killing, the word innocent has never been used in the Koran. This exception of innocent has never been given in Koran. The word which is used in Koran means: if anyone kills a human being without the lawful right which the court exercises if the person was an intentional murderer, so he was liable to capital punishment or he was a rebel, so as the punishment of rebellion with killing of man – he is liable to capital punishment and if he is a terrorist and he kills a person, so as punishment of the act of terrorism he is liable to death punishment. So the Koran says if the person is neither an intentional murderer nor a terrorist, killer, rebel… so if anyone kills a person who doesn't fall within these three categories, then they kill innocent people. Any peaceful population, all men who aren't fighting with you one to one on the battlefield – everybody has a right to kill anyone on the battlefield – so every single civilian person who is non-combatant is innocent.
RT: The aim of your fatwa seems to go against everything that suicide bombers and fundamentals believe about themselves. Who do you think they aimed at and what effect do you think it will have?
TQ: Millions of youngsters who aren't potential extremists but who are available. Some people who are always behind the youth, they again trap them and they again put wrong ideologies in their minds and misguide them by using wrong meanings of this terminology. First of all this will effect them, they'll be clear and they'll never be “kidnapped” by the terrorist people. Secondly, thousands of youth who haven’t been totally brainwashed and who haven't become suicide bombers yet, but they're on the same track. They’re going forward – they've become conservative, living an isolated life, they believe in isolation and don't want to be integrated and we can see a tendency which could lead them to radicalism and terrorism. These thousands of youth will stop. And I hope nobody in the whole Muslim world would be in position to rebut it. They can disagree with me just in slogans, and I can't say to be 100 per cent sure about those who were thoroughly brainwashed – but their number is little. Much larger in number are those thousands who are waiting behind to enter. At least it will stop them and this will have a very big effect on Islam and humanity.
RT: Let’s talk about what is increasingly being known as Islamophobia, particularly in Europe. Dutch politician Geert Wilders made a film which says that Koran is a fascist book – what would you say to him?
TQ: I think these are the same kind of activities – not Osama and Taliban, but their supporters who are acting against non-Muslims. If in Western world some people start to do the same kind of thing, it won't help in developing the peace process. It'll only create hatred. The question is what do they want to achieve out of that? Just hatred? Just reaction? Further disputes? Clashes and further division of humanity?
RT: There's quite a lot of opposition to Islam in Europe at the moment. The Swiss for example have banned the building of more minarets. France is talking about banning the burqa… do you think Europe is ready to accept Islam?
TQ: The best solution for peaceful atmosphere for the mankind is multiculturalism. There should be full democracy, freedom of religions, freedom of cultures and no freedom for terrorism, extremism, no freedom of creating brutality and divisions in the society. The first Islamic society created by the Prophet Muhammad, prophet of Islam in Medina, was a multicultural society. He started this society instead – alliance with Jews, Christians and their allied tribes. And their local customs, cultures, traditions, religions and customary laws were given guaranteed protection. Koran says – there should be freedom of religion. Koran says: you're free in your religion and we are free in our religion.
RT TOP STORIES
Saturday, March 27, 2010
BBC NEWS BJP SENIOR MEMBER LINKED TO AYODHYA MOSQUE DEMOLITION
Indian politician accused of 'provoking' mosque riot
The mosque's destruction was one of India's most bitterly contested events
An Indian police officer has claimed that a prominent politician made a provocative speech moments before the 1992 sacking of a mosque in Ayodhya.
The officer, Anju Gupta, said the speech was made by LK Advani, who at the time was a top leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ms Gupta was assigned as a security officer to Mr Advani in 1992.
The mosque was brought down by a Hindu mob and some 2,000 people died in riots across India after its demolition.
It was some of the worst Hindu-Muslim violence since the partition of India in 1947.
'Creating discord'
Ms Gupta said that Mr Advani had declared in his speech that a Hindu temple would be built on the site.
Mr Advani has described the razing as the saddest day in his life
The former bodyguard told a special court in the town of Rae Bareli that Mr Advani had made his "provocative speech" to right-wing Hindus in Ayodhya on the day the mosque was attacked.
Ms Gupta was testifying as a prosecution witness in a case against Mr Advani - a former leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - who has been charged with "provoking people into rioting and arson" and "creating discord among communities".
Mr Advani - who has won plaudits for transforming the BJP into a viable political force - has denied involvement in the demolition, calling it "the saddest day" of his life.
In 2003 Mr Advani - who served as home minister and deputy prime minister under the BJP-led government between 1998 and 2004 - was cleared of being linked to the demolition.
The current case against him came about after a court in the state of Uttar Pradesh revived charges against him.
The hearing has been adjourned for four weeks.
In November 2009 an official report implicated more than 60 people - including the most senior members of the BJP - in the mosque's destruction.
The site of the 16th Century Babri Masjid had been a focus for Hindu-Muslim hostility for decades when on 6 December 1992 a mob of Hindu militants tore the mosque down, claiming that it had been a temple marking the birthplace of the Hindu God Ram.
BBC NEWS
The mosque's destruction was one of India's most bitterly contested events
An Indian police officer has claimed that a prominent politician made a provocative speech moments before the 1992 sacking of a mosque in Ayodhya.
The officer, Anju Gupta, said the speech was made by LK Advani, who at the time was a top leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ms Gupta was assigned as a security officer to Mr Advani in 1992.
The mosque was brought down by a Hindu mob and some 2,000 people died in riots across India after its demolition.
It was some of the worst Hindu-Muslim violence since the partition of India in 1947.
'Creating discord'
Ms Gupta said that Mr Advani had declared in his speech that a Hindu temple would be built on the site.
Mr Advani has described the razing as the saddest day in his life
The former bodyguard told a special court in the town of Rae Bareli that Mr Advani had made his "provocative speech" to right-wing Hindus in Ayodhya on the day the mosque was attacked.
Ms Gupta was testifying as a prosecution witness in a case against Mr Advani - a former leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - who has been charged with "provoking people into rioting and arson" and "creating discord among communities".
Mr Advani - who has won plaudits for transforming the BJP into a viable political force - has denied involvement in the demolition, calling it "the saddest day" of his life.
In 2003 Mr Advani - who served as home minister and deputy prime minister under the BJP-led government between 1998 and 2004 - was cleared of being linked to the demolition.
The current case against him came about after a court in the state of Uttar Pradesh revived charges against him.
The hearing has been adjourned for four weeks.
In November 2009 an official report implicated more than 60 people - including the most senior members of the BJP - in the mosque's destruction.
The site of the 16th Century Babri Masjid had been a focus for Hindu-Muslim hostility for decades when on 6 December 1992 a mob of Hindu militants tore the mosque down, claiming that it had been a temple marking the birthplace of the Hindu God Ram.
BBC NEWS
Saudi prince arrested in Lebanon over drugs
Rafiq Hariri International Airport in Beirut
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:47:30 GMT
Lebanese security forces have arrested a Saudi prince at the Rafiq Hariri International Airport in Beirut after they discovered cocaine in his possession during a routine inspection of passengers.
The 51-year-old prince, identified only by his initials Y.B.A.A., was carrying an estimated about 16.3 grams of cocaine; worth about USD 1,600. He was about to leave Lebanon for France, Beirut-based a-l Akbar daily reported on Thursday.
The Saudi prince was then taken to the Drug Control Office to undergo a full examination.
The prince reportedly told investigators that the cocaine was "for his personal use" and he "got it from a friend who is currently in Saudi Arabia."
However, judicial officials told a-l Akbar daily that the prince has apparently purchased the cocaine from a nightclub in Beirut's neighborhood of Gemmazeh.
Officials at the Saudi Embassy in Beirut were contacted and informed about the arrest. A few hours later, the Saudi user was released on bail.
Press Tv
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:47:30 GMT
Lebanese security forces have arrested a Saudi prince at the Rafiq Hariri International Airport in Beirut after they discovered cocaine in his possession during a routine inspection of passengers.
The 51-year-old prince, identified only by his initials Y.B.A.A., was carrying an estimated about 16.3 grams of cocaine; worth about USD 1,600. He was about to leave Lebanon for France, Beirut-based a-l Akbar daily reported on Thursday.
The Saudi prince was then taken to the Drug Control Office to undergo a full examination.
The prince reportedly told investigators that the cocaine was "for his personal use" and he "got it from a friend who is currently in Saudi Arabia."
However, judicial officials told a-l Akbar daily that the prince has apparently purchased the cocaine from a nightclub in Beirut's neighborhood of Gemmazeh.
Officials at the Saudi Embassy in Beirut were contacted and informed about the arrest. A few hours later, the Saudi user was released on bail.
Press Tv
Friday, March 26, 2010
THE SUFFERING OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF SOMALIA
Terminally ill Somali woman and her son deported from Norway
OSLO, (SomalilandPress) — Fathiya Ahmed Omar and her six year old son, Munir, were forcefully deported from Bergen, Norway, and sent back to the city of Genoa in Italy where she was found to have been a fingered printed and processed as an asylum seeker before entering Norway.
Ms. Omar left Mogadishu, Somalia, carrying her son Munir and walking all the way to Kenya. From Kenya she went to Sudan, and eventually ended up in Libya. On her way to Libya she was held captive by the Libyan human smugglers who raped her for twenty days.
After this tribulation, Fathiya and her child arrived in Italy where she was processed in the city of Genoa as an asylum seeker. Fathiya decided to head to Norway where she had some family members and went to the city of Bergen.
Last week Immigration officers came to Fathiya’s apartment and was given one hour to gather all her belongings and told that she will be deported to Italy because of the Dublin Cooperation regulation (343/2003/EC).
This agreement established a series of criteria in which any member state that permits an applicant to enter or to reside in the territories of the member States of the European Union is obligated to take back its applicants who are irregularly found in another Member State.
At the time of her deportation Fathiya Omar was going intensive medical surgery at the Bergen hospital for the rape that she sustained from the Libyan human smugglers. Doctor Ulf Horlyk who was treating Fathiya before her deportation confirmed that Fathiya not only needed the physical surgery but also that she needs physiological treatment for the torment that she went through.
Fathiya and her son Munir are now in the city of Genoa, Italy, where they are homeless and without the medical treatment that Fathiya requires. She may not make it without assistance from international rights groups and medical teams.
On 18 February 2003, the EU Council of Ministers adopted a regulation (343/2003/EC) establishing a series of criteria which, in general, allocate responsibility for examining an asylum application to the Member State that permitted the applicant to enter or to reside in the territories of the Member States of the European Union. That Member State is responsible for examining the application according to its national law and is obliged to take back its applicants who are irregularly in another Member State.
SomalilandPress, 21 March 2010
OSLO, (SomalilandPress) — Fathiya Ahmed Omar and her six year old son, Munir, were forcefully deported from Bergen, Norway, and sent back to the city of Genoa in Italy where she was found to have been a fingered printed and processed as an asylum seeker before entering Norway.
Ms. Omar left Mogadishu, Somalia, carrying her son Munir and walking all the way to Kenya. From Kenya she went to Sudan, and eventually ended up in Libya. On her way to Libya she was held captive by the Libyan human smugglers who raped her for twenty days.
After this tribulation, Fathiya and her child arrived in Italy where she was processed in the city of Genoa as an asylum seeker. Fathiya decided to head to Norway where she had some family members and went to the city of Bergen.
Last week Immigration officers came to Fathiya’s apartment and was given one hour to gather all her belongings and told that she will be deported to Italy because of the Dublin Cooperation regulation (343/2003/EC).
This agreement established a series of criteria in which any member state that permits an applicant to enter or to reside in the territories of the member States of the European Union is obligated to take back its applicants who are irregularly found in another Member State.
At the time of her deportation Fathiya Omar was going intensive medical surgery at the Bergen hospital for the rape that she sustained from the Libyan human smugglers. Doctor Ulf Horlyk who was treating Fathiya before her deportation confirmed that Fathiya not only needed the physical surgery but also that she needs physiological treatment for the torment that she went through.
Fathiya and her son Munir are now in the city of Genoa, Italy, where they are homeless and without the medical treatment that Fathiya requires. She may not make it without assistance from international rights groups and medical teams.
On 18 February 2003, the EU Council of Ministers adopted a regulation (343/2003/EC) establishing a series of criteria which, in general, allocate responsibility for examining an asylum application to the Member State that permitted the applicant to enter or to reside in the territories of the Member States of the European Union. That Member State is responsible for examining the application according to its national law and is obliged to take back its applicants who are irregularly in another Member State.
SomalilandPress, 21 March 2010
US and NATO's efforts strengthen Afghan drug industry – lecturer
Afghanistan,
24 March, 2010, 16:45
ConflictTerrorismDrugsAfghanistan
.US and NATO's efforts strengthen Afghan drug industry – lecturer
Edited 26 March, 2010, 05:00
Russia's drugs control chief has urged NATO to step up its fight against narcotics production in Afghanistan. Top officials and anti-drug experts have met in Brussels to discuss jointly tackling the growing problem.
Propeller Earlier the US military has said it is using a new approach to fight drug production in Afghanistan, but Julian Mercille, lecturer at University College, Dublin, believes both they and NATO have in fact been supporting the industry.
“The bulk of the income from drugs is captured by other players like traffickers and the police and people in the government. So the problem is that the US and NATO have empowered a lot of people who are involved in drugs in government and the police forces,” says Mercille. “That is one reason why the US and NATO have directly caused the drastic increases in drug production in Afghanistan.”
24 March, 2010, 16:45
ConflictTerrorismDrugsAfghanistan
.US and NATO's efforts strengthen Afghan drug industry – lecturer
Edited 26 March, 2010, 05:00
Russia's drugs control chief has urged NATO to step up its fight against narcotics production in Afghanistan. Top officials and anti-drug experts have met in Brussels to discuss jointly tackling the growing problem.
Propeller Earlier the US military has said it is using a new approach to fight drug production in Afghanistan, but Julian Mercille, lecturer at University College, Dublin, believes both they and NATO have in fact been supporting the industry.
“The bulk of the income from drugs is captured by other players like traffickers and the police and people in the government. So the problem is that the US and NATO have empowered a lot of people who are involved in drugs in government and the police forces,” says Mercille. “That is one reason why the US and NATO have directly caused the drastic increases in drug production in Afghanistan.”
WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Trafficking in persons" shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, or brainwashing and deceiving young for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. When it comes to human trafficking I believe it is the worst thing that has ever happened in our era, it is a slavery that has emerge in the world, we have to join those who are against human trafficking it is all about helping our mankind world wide please don’t hesitate to be part of this kind of good deeds just to stop human trafficking..
Are the Terrorist Human Traffickers?
Brainwashing and deceiving young Muslims.
Many Human trafficking victims, whether domestic or, international are not even aware of the nature of the crime they have been dragged into, they do not believe that they are a victim of a crime. They really believe in the traffickers as a bridge to a better future, or the only helping hand to rescue them from their hardship. And it is difficult to remove the mist and the dark cloud that covers the truth about the traffickers. Because they are people from all kind of walk, class, high possessions and religious leaders can be a trafficker. That contributes to keep their victim away from the reality of being used or cheated till the victims reach the point to depend on their trafficker and see the trafficker as their protector or as those who are holding the keys to heaven and kingdom of God. They do not believe their trafficker has done anything wrong the don’t see them as criminals. In some cases this is often due to their lack of awareness and understanding of human trafficking and without knowing their rights as a victim. As we all know humans are nothing without information, so we have to let the whole world know that modern slavery is here with us in our time.
Many Human trafficking victims, whether domestic or, international are not even aware of the nature of the crime they have been dragged into, they do not believe that they are a victim of a crime. They really believe in the traffickers as a bridge to a better future, or the only helping hand to rescue them from their hardship. And it is difficult to remove the mist and the dark cloud that covers the truth about the traffickers. Because they are people from all kind of walk, class, high possessions and religious leaders can be a trafficker. That contributes to keep their victim away from the reality of being used or cheated till the victims reach the point to depend on their trafficker and see the trafficker as their protector or as those who are holding the keys to heaven and kingdom of God. They do not believe their trafficker has done anything wrong the don’t see them as criminals. In some cases this is often due to their lack of awareness and understanding of human trafficking and without knowing their rights as a victim. As we all know humans are nothing without information, so we have to let the whole world know that modern slavery is here with us in our time.
Terrorism is a money making industry!
FAGHTING IN SOMALIA IS IT JIHAD? !!
We hear a lot about Muslim youth disappear from all over the world specially Somalis; some of them end up being killed in Somalia, they have been smuggled from as far as United Stats, Europe, East Africa and Middle East, after being brainwashed or cheated by false promises such as that they will be taken to better schools where they can learn their religion, and others are offered scholarship if they belong to a very poor families from Africa. And they also target those who are newly converted to Islam and know nothing about the religion and they are very eager to learn their new religion and are willing to go anywhere to join any institutions available. Some of them are told that they will be taken to Somalia, where they are going to join other gropes that are waiting for them, and together they will be sent to Saudi Arabia, Sudan or Yemen. Once they reach Somalia the poor and innocent young men are taken to these training camps, they are told to wait for sometime there for security reason things are bad and they can not reach their destination. and teachers will be assigned to prepare the newly arrival youth And in the camp they mix with other young men who have been already brainwashed and are ready to carry on any crazy mission. And there they will be brainwashed and trained as soldiers of Islam, and their leader is Osama Bin laden someone who does not exist, .
We hear a lot about Muslim youth disappear from all over the world specially Somalis; some of them end up being killed in Somalia, they have been smuggled from as far as United Stats, Europe, East Africa and Middle East, after being brainwashed or cheated by false promises such as that they will be taken to better schools where they can learn their religion, and others are offered scholarship if they belong to a very poor families from Africa. And they also target those who are newly converted to Islam and know nothing about the religion and they are very eager to learn their new religion and are willing to go anywhere to join any institutions available. Some of them are told that they will be taken to Somalia, where they are going to join other gropes that are waiting for them, and together they will be sent to Saudi Arabia, Sudan or Yemen. Once they reach Somalia the poor and innocent young men are taken to these training camps, they are told to wait for sometime there for security reason things are bad and they can not reach their destination. and teachers will be assigned to prepare the newly arrival youth And in the camp they mix with other young men who have been already brainwashed and are ready to carry on any crazy mission. And there they will be brainwashed and trained as soldiers of Islam, and their leader is Osama Bin laden someone who does not exist, .
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Attackers kill 13 in Nigerian village CCTV.
Mar. 25, 2010
Attackers have killed at least 13 people in a central Nigerian village. It's the latest outbreak of violence in a region where hundreds have died from sectarian fighting this year.
One witness says raiders with machetes entered the Christian enclave early Wednesday morning. Most of the victims were women. At least three huts were burned.
The assault took place despite a "dusk to dawn" curfew in the state of Plateau, which lies at the crossroads of Nigeria's Muslim north and Christian south.
The area also suffered through a heavy clash in January, which killed more than 400 people. Competition for control of fertile farmlands among different sectarian groups has repeatedly triggered unrest in the region.
Attackers have killed at least 13 people in a central Nigerian village. It's the latest outbreak of violence in a region where hundreds have died from sectarian fighting this year.
One witness says raiders with machetes entered the Christian enclave early Wednesday morning. Most of the victims were women. At least three huts were burned.
The assault took place despite a "dusk to dawn" curfew in the state of Plateau, which lies at the crossroads of Nigeria's Muslim north and Christian south.
The area also suffered through a heavy clash in January, which killed more than 400 people. Competition for control of fertile farmlands among different sectarian groups has repeatedly triggered unrest in the region.
Somali pirates release a fishing vessel ,
Somali pirates release fishing vessel from Taiwan, China
2010-02-12 08:25 BJT
NAIROBI, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates have released a fishing boat from Taiwan, China, and all of its crew held since April, a regional maritime official said Thursday.
"The Taiwanese ship was released this morning. The fishing vessel which has a crew of 30 from various Asian nationalities was seized in April last year," Andrew Mwangura, East Africa's coordinator of the Africa Seafarers Assistance Program, told Xinhua.
The Win Far 161 was seized last April 4 near an island in the Seychelles, more than 1,100 kilometers off the coast of Somalia.
The ship carried a crew of 30 -- 17 Filipinos, six Indonesians, five from the Chinese Mainland and two from Taiwan, China.
Mwangura said 27 crew members were said to be safe, though a Chinese sailor and two from Indonesia died in captivity.
The coordinator could not confirm whether a ransom was paid to secure the release of the 700-ton ship and crew.
Piracy has been rampant off Somalia since the country slid into chaos after warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
Somali pirates now hold at least seven ships and more than 160 crew members.
The hijackings have prompted the international community to deploy security forces in the area to deter the pirates.
Editor: Du Xiaodan
Source: Xinhua
2010-02-12 08:25 BJT
NAIROBI, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates have released a fishing boat from Taiwan, China, and all of its crew held since April, a regional maritime official said Thursday.
"The Taiwanese ship was released this morning. The fishing vessel which has a crew of 30 from various Asian nationalities was seized in April last year," Andrew Mwangura, East Africa's coordinator of the Africa Seafarers Assistance Program, told Xinhua.
The Win Far 161 was seized last April 4 near an island in the Seychelles, more than 1,100 kilometers off the coast of Somalia.
The ship carried a crew of 30 -- 17 Filipinos, six Indonesians, five from the Chinese Mainland and two from Taiwan, China.
Mwangura said 27 crew members were said to be safe, though a Chinese sailor and two from Indonesia died in captivity.
The coordinator could not confirm whether a ransom was paid to secure the release of the 700-ton ship and crew.
Piracy has been rampant off Somalia since the country slid into chaos after warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
Somali pirates now hold at least seven ships and more than 160 crew members.
The hijackings have prompted the international community to deploy security forces in the area to deter the pirates.
Editor: Du Xiaodan
Source: Xinhua
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Rageh Omaar: journalism with passion
Sunday Post Online
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Raghe Omaar
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEFORE joining the Witness team at the launch of Al Jazeera English, Somali-born reporter Rageh Omaar worked for the BBC for over 12 years. An international correspondent covering stories from all over the world, he reported on the Kosovo War, and the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict. He was named BBC's Developing World Correspondent and then in 2001, as the BBC's Africa Correspondent.
After 9/11, the Oxford-trained journalist was the only TV correspondent from a Western media house to report from inside Kabul, Afghanistan during the bombing of the city and Taliban forces.
It was, however, his coverage from Baghdad during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 which brought him worldwide attention.
This year, the forty-three-year old is to front a new series for Al Jazeera called The Rageh Omaar Report, which begins on March 24. In this exclusive interview, Omaar talks about his expectations and hopes for the new programme, and offers advice to upcoming journalists.
What motivated you to start the Rageh Omaar Report?
It really didn't need much motivating because it was an offer that I think every journalist dreams of, which is to be given your own programme to explore the issues and the stories that you’re passionate about, that are largely ignored by the mainstream western media. I've returned to the Balkans, Bosnia to look at how the ethnic war in Bosnia has scarred that region and continues to do today. And also to re-tell the story of how Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader evaded justice from war crimes for so long. I've just come back from Zimbabwe, looking at Zimbabwe very differently, not like the one-sided view that's been done in the Western media quite a lot, but trying to explain Zimbabwe from all sides. We've spoken to the opposition and to ZANU-PF. We've spoken to indigenous black farmers who've benefited from land reform and white farmers who have lost everything, and looking at the land issue in a historical context. So these kind of stories and many more to come is a great personal opportunity and professional opportunity, and as I said it's the kind of thing all journalists dream of.
What issues do you want to explore in Africa when you start your programme?
The most important thing I want to do, given that how sometimes one dimension and clichéd the coverage of issues in Africa, is not to come with any agenda. I don't want the Rageh Omaar Report to say, you know, 'we're going to do this kind of reporting in Africa or that kind of reporting'. I just want to look at specific issues and countries and deal with them individually because I think one of the problems that I learnt before my years at Al-Jazeera, working in mainstream media, is that often a lot of the West both journalists and even politicians look at Africa as though it is one country and one place. You know Zambia is the same as Nigeria, and Nigeria is the same as Ethiopia, and Ethiopia is the same as Mozambique. Africa is like one place with all the same, similar problems you know, war and hunger and HIV. So I want to do reports on Africa to try and explain individual countries and societies undergoing difficult and sometimes hopeful change, but within their context, so that they'll be interesting to an African audience. I know that people in Zambia and in Southern Africa are engaged in and are involved in what is happening in Zimbabwe, but that's not true if you were to talk of viewers in maybe Ghana or Ethiopia or Mauritania. So I'd like people in those countries in Africa to be able to watch it and see hopefully a more intelligent, a more levelheaded but still journalistically strong and brave reporting from Africa. I want to approach the continent in all its complexities, as individual societies and think that there's one theme to African problems.
Which specific countries are you looking at on your programme? How did you gain the courage to venture into Kabul at the risk of your life to cover the stories?
In terms of the new programme, it's quite challenging the new programme because we don't just want to be, it's not a background story. We want the stories we cover to be relevant and newsworthy. Which is why we're doing Zimbabwe now and we'll certainly be looking at my own country Somalia which is a big hot issue, regionally in the continent and internationally. We'll be looking at many other sorts of issues. I think we really want to explore America and America under Obama, and how it relates with the world, I think that's very important, how it relates to Africa, the Muslim world. I think especially for a channel like Al-Jazeera, it's very important to examine and look at America and its role in the world, but how Americans explain their policies and their role in the world and vice versa. So that's a big topic, I think especially from a non-Western international news organisation's point of view, like Al-Jazeera, because of course the other big international news channels, BBC, CNN are Western, but to have Al-Jazeera as a way for America to engage and how its engaging with the world is very important, in Africa and elsewhere. So very broad issues really, and timely issues.
In terms of why did I go to Kabul with the Taleban, I was the only news television journalist working for Western news agency, Al-Jazeera Arabic was there. I think, like someone said, it's like a cat, curiousity. In journalists I think the one element that is indispensable (is) you've got to have a natural curiousity: what's happening there? What's really going on? Because also as dangerous as it was, because I was Muslim, because I was not white, I think that was an advantage. I was able to engage with the militia leaders and other people, and they saw me differently, and that's why they decided to take me and only a few other non-Western colleagues into Kabul, and to have the privilege to see the last moments of the fall of Kabul with the Taleban before NATO and its allies took the city.
Will you cover Iraq? How does present-day Iraq compare with the Iraq of 2003?
I think it's very important. Of course it’s different in some ways, and not different in others. The main thing I think we have to remember is that many, many tens of thousands of Iraqis have died for the country to get to where it is today. We've obviously just had elections in Iraq and I read a very interesting headline; it read 'Iraq condemned to democracy'. And I think that was a very telling headline, you know, because there are elections, but politics is not time democratic. You have militia leaders and a lot of people who have sectarian politics, the insecurity is still there but still it's not the place it was in 2003, 2004. But Iraq is still very fragile, it's going to take a very, very long time for you and for me to be able to take a ride in Baghdad and walk around and talk to all Iraqis and see the country differently.
I think it's been very, very incremental changes, and there have been important developments, there is a thriving press and so forth, but we can't describe Iraq as a full democracy in a way that someone in the West would understand it.
And also there is a sectarian fault line in Iraq. It's very different to the kind of Iraq we were all told was going to emerge from the invasion and occupation. If everyone had said in 2003, "by going into Iraq, we'll have six, seven years of bloodshed and upheaval, but at the end of it, we'll have relative democracy, but still authoritarian and sectarian division," would everyone have said, "yes, let's go in"? I don't think so.
What do you think are some of the challenges journalists are facing and do you see any countries in Africa where great strides have been made to allow journalists to practice their profession freely?
I think the profession has changed out of all recognition in the last 10 years.
Because, I think especially in electronic media, the ability to get into it has become more accessible. To have television cameras and editing equipment and software and computers is possible now. You've got television stations, and really good journalism blogs, and newspapers and production, the standards are out of this world. I just think one has to be much braver because of the political context in a lot of Africa to be able to practice the profession freely. I think journalism succeeds not only because you have the ability to do it, but also because you have the support of society and government to practice it freely. You've got to have that. So that's a big challenge in a lot of different places. There are far too many places in Africa where, look at my own country - journalists who write articles about al-Shabaab which is the militant group in Somalia - they're often threatened and killed. That's a real problem. ...the profession is doing incredibly well, but it also needs support and help.
Do you think the media has portrayed your country specifically Somalia in a fair light, considering most of the images we see have to do with what you've mentioned terrorist groups, pirates, lawlessness...?
I think you're right. Somalia has become a cliché. You know, everybody talks about Somalia as a failed state, no government for 20 years and then whenever anyone gets interested in Somalia, Western interests or Westerners are involved; you know the piracy. The piracy is a symptom of what's happening in Somalia and to Somalis. But we have to be honest; this has been done by Somalis to Somalis, there's no getting away from that, you know. And Somalia is in a catastrophic state, but I think the West needs to realise and is beginning to realise now, especially with the support of the transitional government is that there's only going to be a Somali solution to this, with help from the outside, with help from countries in the region, from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, many others. But its only going to be Somalis that can effectively...at the end of the day. So of course these things are happening I can't deny, no Somali can deny, but I think that like the rest of Africa, it's hard to see in the Western media beyond the cliché.
Looking at where you have come from as a journalist, what advice can you give to upcoming journalist today in Africa?
I think journalism as a profession, whether you go from the UK or wherever, it's tough, because sometimes it's a closed shop. You need a lot of persistence. It can seem like it's hard to get ahead. But the advice I'd give first of all, you've got to know what kind of journalism you want to practice.
Don't have like just pipe dreams and say "Oh, I want to be in the media." What is it that you're passionate about? Is it sport? Is it politics? Is it like social commentary? You've got to know what is it that you're passionate about.
Be very direct because you won't get any editor giving you any advice or a chance, unless you're very clear about what you're good at. You've also got to develop a tough character because news is fast-paced, you need to be able to write well. But persist. You got to have persistence, I think that's the main thing because it's a tough, tough business to break into; it's not easy to get into. But you've got to persist.
Source: Sunday Post Online
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Raghe Omaar
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEFORE joining the Witness team at the launch of Al Jazeera English, Somali-born reporter Rageh Omaar worked for the BBC for over 12 years. An international correspondent covering stories from all over the world, he reported on the Kosovo War, and the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict. He was named BBC's Developing World Correspondent and then in 2001, as the BBC's Africa Correspondent.
After 9/11, the Oxford-trained journalist was the only TV correspondent from a Western media house to report from inside Kabul, Afghanistan during the bombing of the city and Taliban forces.
It was, however, his coverage from Baghdad during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 which brought him worldwide attention.
This year, the forty-three-year old is to front a new series for Al Jazeera called The Rageh Omaar Report, which begins on March 24. In this exclusive interview, Omaar talks about his expectations and hopes for the new programme, and offers advice to upcoming journalists.
What motivated you to start the Rageh Omaar Report?
It really didn't need much motivating because it was an offer that I think every journalist dreams of, which is to be given your own programme to explore the issues and the stories that you’re passionate about, that are largely ignored by the mainstream western media. I've returned to the Balkans, Bosnia to look at how the ethnic war in Bosnia has scarred that region and continues to do today. And also to re-tell the story of how Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader evaded justice from war crimes for so long. I've just come back from Zimbabwe, looking at Zimbabwe very differently, not like the one-sided view that's been done in the Western media quite a lot, but trying to explain Zimbabwe from all sides. We've spoken to the opposition and to ZANU-PF. We've spoken to indigenous black farmers who've benefited from land reform and white farmers who have lost everything, and looking at the land issue in a historical context. So these kind of stories and many more to come is a great personal opportunity and professional opportunity, and as I said it's the kind of thing all journalists dream of.
What issues do you want to explore in Africa when you start your programme?
The most important thing I want to do, given that how sometimes one dimension and clichéd the coverage of issues in Africa, is not to come with any agenda. I don't want the Rageh Omaar Report to say, you know, 'we're going to do this kind of reporting in Africa or that kind of reporting'. I just want to look at specific issues and countries and deal with them individually because I think one of the problems that I learnt before my years at Al-Jazeera, working in mainstream media, is that often a lot of the West both journalists and even politicians look at Africa as though it is one country and one place. You know Zambia is the same as Nigeria, and Nigeria is the same as Ethiopia, and Ethiopia is the same as Mozambique. Africa is like one place with all the same, similar problems you know, war and hunger and HIV. So I want to do reports on Africa to try and explain individual countries and societies undergoing difficult and sometimes hopeful change, but within their context, so that they'll be interesting to an African audience. I know that people in Zambia and in Southern Africa are engaged in and are involved in what is happening in Zimbabwe, but that's not true if you were to talk of viewers in maybe Ghana or Ethiopia or Mauritania. So I'd like people in those countries in Africa to be able to watch it and see hopefully a more intelligent, a more levelheaded but still journalistically strong and brave reporting from Africa. I want to approach the continent in all its complexities, as individual societies and think that there's one theme to African problems.
Which specific countries are you looking at on your programme? How did you gain the courage to venture into Kabul at the risk of your life to cover the stories?
In terms of the new programme, it's quite challenging the new programme because we don't just want to be, it's not a background story. We want the stories we cover to be relevant and newsworthy. Which is why we're doing Zimbabwe now and we'll certainly be looking at my own country Somalia which is a big hot issue, regionally in the continent and internationally. We'll be looking at many other sorts of issues. I think we really want to explore America and America under Obama, and how it relates with the world, I think that's very important, how it relates to Africa, the Muslim world. I think especially for a channel like Al-Jazeera, it's very important to examine and look at America and its role in the world, but how Americans explain their policies and their role in the world and vice versa. So that's a big topic, I think especially from a non-Western international news organisation's point of view, like Al-Jazeera, because of course the other big international news channels, BBC, CNN are Western, but to have Al-Jazeera as a way for America to engage and how its engaging with the world is very important, in Africa and elsewhere. So very broad issues really, and timely issues.
In terms of why did I go to Kabul with the Taleban, I was the only news television journalist working for Western news agency, Al-Jazeera Arabic was there. I think, like someone said, it's like a cat, curiousity. In journalists I think the one element that is indispensable (is) you've got to have a natural curiousity: what's happening there? What's really going on? Because also as dangerous as it was, because I was Muslim, because I was not white, I think that was an advantage. I was able to engage with the militia leaders and other people, and they saw me differently, and that's why they decided to take me and only a few other non-Western colleagues into Kabul, and to have the privilege to see the last moments of the fall of Kabul with the Taleban before NATO and its allies took the city.
Will you cover Iraq? How does present-day Iraq compare with the Iraq of 2003?
I think it's very important. Of course it’s different in some ways, and not different in others. The main thing I think we have to remember is that many, many tens of thousands of Iraqis have died for the country to get to where it is today. We've obviously just had elections in Iraq and I read a very interesting headline; it read 'Iraq condemned to democracy'. And I think that was a very telling headline, you know, because there are elections, but politics is not time democratic. You have militia leaders and a lot of people who have sectarian politics, the insecurity is still there but still it's not the place it was in 2003, 2004. But Iraq is still very fragile, it's going to take a very, very long time for you and for me to be able to take a ride in Baghdad and walk around and talk to all Iraqis and see the country differently.
I think it's been very, very incremental changes, and there have been important developments, there is a thriving press and so forth, but we can't describe Iraq as a full democracy in a way that someone in the West would understand it.
And also there is a sectarian fault line in Iraq. It's very different to the kind of Iraq we were all told was going to emerge from the invasion and occupation. If everyone had said in 2003, "by going into Iraq, we'll have six, seven years of bloodshed and upheaval, but at the end of it, we'll have relative democracy, but still authoritarian and sectarian division," would everyone have said, "yes, let's go in"? I don't think so.
What do you think are some of the challenges journalists are facing and do you see any countries in Africa where great strides have been made to allow journalists to practice their profession freely?
I think the profession has changed out of all recognition in the last 10 years.
Because, I think especially in electronic media, the ability to get into it has become more accessible. To have television cameras and editing equipment and software and computers is possible now. You've got television stations, and really good journalism blogs, and newspapers and production, the standards are out of this world. I just think one has to be much braver because of the political context in a lot of Africa to be able to practice the profession freely. I think journalism succeeds not only because you have the ability to do it, but also because you have the support of society and government to practice it freely. You've got to have that. So that's a big challenge in a lot of different places. There are far too many places in Africa where, look at my own country - journalists who write articles about al-Shabaab which is the militant group in Somalia - they're often threatened and killed. That's a real problem. ...the profession is doing incredibly well, but it also needs support and help.
Do you think the media has portrayed your country specifically Somalia in a fair light, considering most of the images we see have to do with what you've mentioned terrorist groups, pirates, lawlessness...?
I think you're right. Somalia has become a cliché. You know, everybody talks about Somalia as a failed state, no government for 20 years and then whenever anyone gets interested in Somalia, Western interests or Westerners are involved; you know the piracy. The piracy is a symptom of what's happening in Somalia and to Somalis. But we have to be honest; this has been done by Somalis to Somalis, there's no getting away from that, you know. And Somalia is in a catastrophic state, but I think the West needs to realise and is beginning to realise now, especially with the support of the transitional government is that there's only going to be a Somali solution to this, with help from the outside, with help from countries in the region, from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, many others. But its only going to be Somalis that can effectively...at the end of the day. So of course these things are happening I can't deny, no Somali can deny, but I think that like the rest of Africa, it's hard to see in the Western media beyond the cliché.
Looking at where you have come from as a journalist, what advice can you give to upcoming journalist today in Africa?
I think journalism as a profession, whether you go from the UK or wherever, it's tough, because sometimes it's a closed shop. You need a lot of persistence. It can seem like it's hard to get ahead. But the advice I'd give first of all, you've got to know what kind of journalism you want to practice.
Don't have like just pipe dreams and say "Oh, I want to be in the media." What is it that you're passionate about? Is it sport? Is it politics? Is it like social commentary? You've got to know what is it that you're passionate about.
Be very direct because you won't get any editor giving you any advice or a chance, unless you're very clear about what you're good at. You've also got to develop a tough character because news is fast-paced, you need to be able to write well. But persist. You got to have persistence, I think that's the main thing because it's a tough, tough business to break into; it's not easy to get into. But you've got to persist.
Source: Sunday Post Online
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Somaliland shelters war-displaced - 12 Nov 09
It list they are in north Somalia It is time to end the suffering
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
THE ONLY WAY OUT OF SOMALIA CIVIL WAR IS DIALOGUE
IPS NORTH AMERICA
INTER PRESS SERVICE
SOMALIA:
U.S. Should Accept Islamist Authority, Report Says
Charles Fromm and Mohammed A. Salih
WASHINGTON, 11 Mar (IPS) - The United States should accept an "Islamist authority" in Somalia as part of a "constructive disengagement" strategy for the war-torn country, according to a new report released here by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on Wednesday.
The 39-page report urges the U.S. to recognise that "Islamist authority" even if it includes al-Shabaab, or "the youth" in Arabic, an Islamist insurgent group that has declared loyalty to al Qaeda.
It calls the current U.S. approach toward Somalia of propping up the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) "counterproductive". Not only is it alienating large sections of the Somali population, but it is effectively polarising its diverse Muslim community into so-called "moderate" and "extremist" camps, the report says.
While the report encourages an "inclusive posture" by the U.S. toward local fundamentalists, it suggests the U.S. should show "zero-tolerance' toward transnational actors attempting to exploit Somalia's conflict", apparently referring to al Qaeda.
"The Shabaab is an alliance of convenience and its hold over territory is weaker than it appears. Somali fundamentalists - whose ambitions are mostly local - are likely to break ranks with al-Qaeda and other foreign operatives as the utility of cooperation diminishes," says the report, authored by Bronwyn Bruton, a CFR international affairs fellow. "The United States and its allies must encourage these fissures to expand."
However, David Shinn, a former U.S. ambassador to neighbouring Ethiopia in the 1990s, disagrees that the al-Shabaab leadership will be ready to join any future political arrangement in the country.
"I think al-Shabaab has become more radicalised and I don't see any pragmatic leaders in al-Shabaab today. Many in the rank and file maybe pragmatic, the gun-carriers, but they are not the leaders," said Shinn, who also served as U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso in the late 1980s.
"I don't see cracks in the leadership and I don't see pragmatics in the leadership. A lot of the report is predicated on the idea that it is possible to negotiate with al-Shabaab and I think that's wishful thinking," he said.
The report also warns against continued support for the U.N.-backed TFG since it has proven "ineffective and costly".
"The TFG is unable to improve security, deliver basic services, or move toward an agreement with Somalia's clans and opposition groups that would provide a stronger basis for governance," the report says.
The TFG was established in 2004 through U.N. mediation in Kenya in an effort to end the ongoing crisis in Somalia. The TFG moved to Somalia in 2005 but has been unable to make "any progress on state building tasks" due to internal divisions, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said.
It was hoped that the installation of Sharif Ahmed, the former head of the Union of Islamic Courts, as president in January 2009 would attract a sufficient number of Islamist leaders to subdue or at least fragment al-Shabaab's forces. But Shinn says the TFG has become "marginally stronger" in recent months.
"She [Bruton] seems to begin with the assumption that the TFG is doomed to fail. I am not convinced that it will fail," said Shinn, who was a member of the Advisory Committee to the report. "The fact the TFG under President Ahmed has now existed for more than a year has already surprised many so-called Somali experts. It's just wrong to make the assumption that it's going to fail."
Entitled "Somalia , A New Approach", the report comes at a critical moment in the evolution of U.S. policy toward Somalia . Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) are helping the Somali government, which has about 7,000 troops in the capital, plan an impending TFG military offensive aimed at dislodging al-Shabaab fighters from Mogadishu.
The report details two decades of strife in the Horn of Africa nation, the establishment of the TFG, and its ongoing ensuing power struggle with the al-Shabaab's movement and its allies.
Bruton contends that the U.S. policy of providing indirect diplomatic and military support to the weak TFG has only "served to isolate the government, and...to propel cooperation among previously fractured and quarrelsome extremist groups."
The report calls on the United States to make a final attempt to help the Somali government build public support by drawing in leaders of the other Islamist groups. But it urges the administration of President Barack Obama to consider major policy changes should the TFG fail or continue to be marginalised to the point of powerlessness.
The TGF, which is backed by some 5,000 African Union (AU) troops in a U.N.-authorised peacekeeping mission, controls only several blocks of Somalia's sprawling capital of Mogadishu and the Aden Adde International Airport, while al-Shabaab controls vast swaths of land to the south, and parts of the capital as well.
Historically, Washington's interest in the volatile East African nation has been limited to security issues, and most recently to denying sanctuary to al Qaeda or its affiliates on Somali territory. In recent years, the U.S. has carried out a number of attacks on targets in Somalia believed to be linked to al Qaeda.
However, some analysts believe that the U.S. help could easily lead to strengthening the insurgent movement in an already complicated set of circumstances.
"The administration has decided to move aggressively to support the TFG and is providing training, intelligence, military advice, and hardware to the TFG army in anticipation of a major TFG offensive against al-Shabaab," said David R. Smock, vice president of the United States Institute of Peace's Centre for Mediation and Conflict Resolution.
"This is a major American gamble which could backfire. The offensive could easily fail, which might lead the U.S. to get even more heavily engaged. We have been burned badly in Somalia before, and we could be burned again," he added.
In late 1992, the administration of former President George H. W. Bush sent troops to Somalia as part of a U.N.-authorised operation to protect the delivery of humanitarian and food relief to starving communities there. But, in an aborted "nation-building" enterprise, U.S. military forces became increasingly engaged in the ongoing warfare between and among clans that followed the ouster in 1991 of the Siad Barre regime.
Then-President Bill Clinton began withdrawing U.S. troops after 18 SOF soldiers were killed during a botched helicopter raid against one clan leader in Mogadishu in October, 2003 and completed the withdrawal early in 2004.
The CFR report also recommends a decentralised development strategy in collaboration with "the informal and traditional authorities" on the ground. It calls for restraining Ethiopia, which has been involved in Somalia's conflicts for years.
Bruton suggests that the U.S. should not "own the Somali crisis" and needs to launch a diplomatic campaign to involve European and Middle Eastern countries to support Somalia's stabilisation and address its humanitarian and developments needs.
A U.N. report on Wednesday alleged that up to half of the food aid delivered by the World Food Programme (WFP) to Somalia is being diverted to corrupt contractors, local U.N. workers and Islamist militants in the country. The WFP has rejected the allegations, calling them "unsubstantiated".
(END/2010)
INTER PRESS SERVICE
SOMALIA:
U.S. Should Accept Islamist Authority, Report Says
Charles Fromm and Mohammed A. Salih
WASHINGTON, 11 Mar (IPS) - The United States should accept an "Islamist authority" in Somalia as part of a "constructive disengagement" strategy for the war-torn country, according to a new report released here by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on Wednesday.
The 39-page report urges the U.S. to recognise that "Islamist authority" even if it includes al-Shabaab, or "the youth" in Arabic, an Islamist insurgent group that has declared loyalty to al Qaeda.
It calls the current U.S. approach toward Somalia of propping up the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) "counterproductive". Not only is it alienating large sections of the Somali population, but it is effectively polarising its diverse Muslim community into so-called "moderate" and "extremist" camps, the report says.
While the report encourages an "inclusive posture" by the U.S. toward local fundamentalists, it suggests the U.S. should show "zero-tolerance' toward transnational actors attempting to exploit Somalia's conflict", apparently referring to al Qaeda.
"The Shabaab is an alliance of convenience and its hold over territory is weaker than it appears. Somali fundamentalists - whose ambitions are mostly local - are likely to break ranks with al-Qaeda and other foreign operatives as the utility of cooperation diminishes," says the report, authored by Bronwyn Bruton, a CFR international affairs fellow. "The United States and its allies must encourage these fissures to expand."
However, David Shinn, a former U.S. ambassador to neighbouring Ethiopia in the 1990s, disagrees that the al-Shabaab leadership will be ready to join any future political arrangement in the country.
"I think al-Shabaab has become more radicalised and I don't see any pragmatic leaders in al-Shabaab today. Many in the rank and file maybe pragmatic, the gun-carriers, but they are not the leaders," said Shinn, who also served as U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso in the late 1980s.
"I don't see cracks in the leadership and I don't see pragmatics in the leadership. A lot of the report is predicated on the idea that it is possible to negotiate with al-Shabaab and I think that's wishful thinking," he said.
The report also warns against continued support for the U.N.-backed TFG since it has proven "ineffective and costly".
"The TFG is unable to improve security, deliver basic services, or move toward an agreement with Somalia's clans and opposition groups that would provide a stronger basis for governance," the report says.
The TFG was established in 2004 through U.N. mediation in Kenya in an effort to end the ongoing crisis in Somalia. The TFG moved to Somalia in 2005 but has been unable to make "any progress on state building tasks" due to internal divisions, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said.
It was hoped that the installation of Sharif Ahmed, the former head of the Union of Islamic Courts, as president in January 2009 would attract a sufficient number of Islamist leaders to subdue or at least fragment al-Shabaab's forces. But Shinn says the TFG has become "marginally stronger" in recent months.
"She [Bruton] seems to begin with the assumption that the TFG is doomed to fail. I am not convinced that it will fail," said Shinn, who was a member of the Advisory Committee to the report. "The fact the TFG under President Ahmed has now existed for more than a year has already surprised many so-called Somali experts. It's just wrong to make the assumption that it's going to fail."
Entitled "Somalia , A New Approach", the report comes at a critical moment in the evolution of U.S. policy toward Somalia . Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) are helping the Somali government, which has about 7,000 troops in the capital, plan an impending TFG military offensive aimed at dislodging al-Shabaab fighters from Mogadishu.
The report details two decades of strife in the Horn of Africa nation, the establishment of the TFG, and its ongoing ensuing power struggle with the al-Shabaab's movement and its allies.
Bruton contends that the U.S. policy of providing indirect diplomatic and military support to the weak TFG has only "served to isolate the government, and...to propel cooperation among previously fractured and quarrelsome extremist groups."
The report calls on the United States to make a final attempt to help the Somali government build public support by drawing in leaders of the other Islamist groups. But it urges the administration of President Barack Obama to consider major policy changes should the TFG fail or continue to be marginalised to the point of powerlessness.
The TGF, which is backed by some 5,000 African Union (AU) troops in a U.N.-authorised peacekeeping mission, controls only several blocks of Somalia's sprawling capital of Mogadishu and the Aden Adde International Airport, while al-Shabaab controls vast swaths of land to the south, and parts of the capital as well.
Historically, Washington's interest in the volatile East African nation has been limited to security issues, and most recently to denying sanctuary to al Qaeda or its affiliates on Somali territory. In recent years, the U.S. has carried out a number of attacks on targets in Somalia believed to be linked to al Qaeda.
However, some analysts believe that the U.S. help could easily lead to strengthening the insurgent movement in an already complicated set of circumstances.
"The administration has decided to move aggressively to support the TFG and is providing training, intelligence, military advice, and hardware to the TFG army in anticipation of a major TFG offensive against al-Shabaab," said David R. Smock, vice president of the United States Institute of Peace's Centre for Mediation and Conflict Resolution.
"This is a major American gamble which could backfire. The offensive could easily fail, which might lead the U.S. to get even more heavily engaged. We have been burned badly in Somalia before, and we could be burned again," he added.
In late 1992, the administration of former President George H. W. Bush sent troops to Somalia as part of a U.N.-authorised operation to protect the delivery of humanitarian and food relief to starving communities there. But, in an aborted "nation-building" enterprise, U.S. military forces became increasingly engaged in the ongoing warfare between and among clans that followed the ouster in 1991 of the Siad Barre regime.
Then-President Bill Clinton began withdrawing U.S. troops after 18 SOF soldiers were killed during a botched helicopter raid against one clan leader in Mogadishu in October, 2003 and completed the withdrawal early in 2004.
The CFR report also recommends a decentralised development strategy in collaboration with "the informal and traditional authorities" on the ground. It calls for restraining Ethiopia, which has been involved in Somalia's conflicts for years.
Bruton suggests that the U.S. should not "own the Somali crisis" and needs to launch a diplomatic campaign to involve European and Middle Eastern countries to support Somalia's stabilisation and address its humanitarian and developments needs.
A U.N. report on Wednesday alleged that up to half of the food aid delivered by the World Food Programme (WFP) to Somalia is being diverted to corrupt contractors, local U.N. workers and Islamist militants in the country. The WFP has rejected the allegations, calling them "unsubstantiated".
(END/2010)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
EVEN THE PREGNANT WOMAN WONT BE TREATED WITH MERCY.
REUTERS
By Stephanie Nebehay
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations' human rights chief accused Egypt on Tuesday of shooting unarmed African migrants trying to enter Israel via the Sinai Desert and said 60 of them had been killed since July 2007.
Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for Cairo to urgently launch an independent and credible inquiry into what could be a "shoot-to-kill policy" by some Egyptian security forces.
"While migrants often lose their lives accidentally when travelling in over-crowded boats, or trying to cross remote land borders, I know of no other country where so many unarmed migrants and asylum seekers appear to have been deliberately killed in this way by government forces," Pillay said.
Egyptian police have killed nine migrants this year, including an African man at the weekend, while at least 19 were killed last year. Dozens more have been wounded or have disappeared, according to her statement.
The victims, who include several women and at least one child, were all on the Egyptian side of the Sinai border with Israel.
The great majority killed since Egypt and Israel agreed to toughen border controls in the Sinai in July 2007 are from sub-Saharan Africa; mainly Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia.
"The sheer number of victims suggests that at least some Egyptian security officials have been operating a shoot-to-kill policy. It is unlikely that so many killings would occur otherwise. Sixty killings can hardly be an accident," said Pillay, a former U.N. war crimes judge from South Africa.
Shootings stopped in the first half of 2009, and then resumed, strongly suggesting a pattern, she said. The fact that it was a highly sensitive border and a restricted military zone was "no excuse".
"There needs to be clarity about what has occurred, what policies have been applied to migrants trying to cross this border and what specific orders have been given to security forces patrolling the area," Pillay said.
The first known victim was Hadja Abbas Haroun, a 28-year-old Sudanese woman from Darfur, said to be pregnant at the time, Pillay's spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing.
Israel has a large informal sector employing migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa and the Horn of Africa, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
The Sinai border is a major transit route for African migrants and refugees seeking work or asylum in Israel. Egypt has come under pressure from Israel to staunch the flow, while rights groups complain about the methods of the border police.
Amnesty International called on Egypt earlier this month to check its border guards' use of excessive force against unarmed migrants.
Security forces say they only fire at migrants after repeated orders to stop are disregarded and that smugglers who ferry migrants to the border sometimes fire on security forces.
Source: Reuters
By Stephanie Nebehay
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations' human rights chief accused Egypt on Tuesday of shooting unarmed African migrants trying to enter Israel via the Sinai Desert and said 60 of them had been killed since July 2007.
Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for Cairo to urgently launch an independent and credible inquiry into what could be a "shoot-to-kill policy" by some Egyptian security forces.
"While migrants often lose their lives accidentally when travelling in over-crowded boats, or trying to cross remote land borders, I know of no other country where so many unarmed migrants and asylum seekers appear to have been deliberately killed in this way by government forces," Pillay said.
Egyptian police have killed nine migrants this year, including an African man at the weekend, while at least 19 were killed last year. Dozens more have been wounded or have disappeared, according to her statement.
The victims, who include several women and at least one child, were all on the Egyptian side of the Sinai border with Israel.
The great majority killed since Egypt and Israel agreed to toughen border controls in the Sinai in July 2007 are from sub-Saharan Africa; mainly Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia.
"The sheer number of victims suggests that at least some Egyptian security officials have been operating a shoot-to-kill policy. It is unlikely that so many killings would occur otherwise. Sixty killings can hardly be an accident," said Pillay, a former U.N. war crimes judge from South Africa.
Shootings stopped in the first half of 2009, and then resumed, strongly suggesting a pattern, she said. The fact that it was a highly sensitive border and a restricted military zone was "no excuse".
"There needs to be clarity about what has occurred, what policies have been applied to migrants trying to cross this border and what specific orders have been given to security forces patrolling the area," Pillay said.
The first known victim was Hadja Abbas Haroun, a 28-year-old Sudanese woman from Darfur, said to be pregnant at the time, Pillay's spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing.
Israel has a large informal sector employing migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa and the Horn of Africa, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
The Sinai border is a major transit route for African migrants and refugees seeking work or asylum in Israel. Egypt has come under pressure from Israel to staunch the flow, while rights groups complain about the methods of the border police.
Amnesty International called on Egypt earlier this month to check its border guards' use of excessive force against unarmed migrants.
Security forces say they only fire at migrants after repeated orders to stop are disregarded and that smugglers who ferry migrants to the border sometimes fire on security forces.
Source: Reuters
Friday, February 26, 2010
Somali journalist are extra ordinary people who strive to save Somalia
Somalia: Somali Journalist tortured at Bossaso town in Puntland
Mogadishu Thursday 25 February 2010 SMC
Ahmed Ibrahim Noor commonly known as (Ahmed Somali) was on Wednesday tortured by the sentries of the high court of the coastal town of Bossaso in the semiautonomous state of Puntland in eastern Somalia while he was on duty for his work of journalism.
“In fact I was right inside the court and I have received a hard blow on my cheek and when I turned round to what was really happening I saw Ahmed Dahran the commander of the court guards, hitting me hard again, and before I retaliate there were 7 other soldiers who have all started kicking and bunching me hard and I eventually lost strength and fallen to the ground”
said Ahmed Somali a reporter for radio simba an independent radio station which operates in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
There were several other local journalists who were inside the court waiting to listen the hearing of a criminal case which was not in fact specified, but was adjourned.
The journalist doesn’t know why he was bunched by the commander and his fellow collogues, and termed that the commander of the Bossaso high court of a very brutal human being, who does not respect the entire of the journalists.
So far the authority of Puntland has not talked about the thorough torture of the journalists.
The authority of Puntland has some times back detained a reporter for VOA Somali section, for no genuine grounds.
A journalist to serve in Somali is indeed a hard thing to do Somalia is one of the leading countries in the world where journalists are killed, tortured, threatened or detained.
It was merely the 21st of February when Ali Yuusf a reporter for Somaliweyn radio was arrested by Al-Shabab an armed Islamist faction in Somalia. Somaliweyn English Desk.
Mohammed Omar Hussein+2521-5519235 shiinetown@hotmail.com
Somaliweyn Media Center
Mogadishu Thursday 25 February 2010 SMC
Ahmed Ibrahim Noor commonly known as (Ahmed Somali) was on Wednesday tortured by the sentries of the high court of the coastal town of Bossaso in the semiautonomous state of Puntland in eastern Somalia while he was on duty for his work of journalism.
“In fact I was right inside the court and I have received a hard blow on my cheek and when I turned round to what was really happening I saw Ahmed Dahran the commander of the court guards, hitting me hard again, and before I retaliate there were 7 other soldiers who have all started kicking and bunching me hard and I eventually lost strength and fallen to the ground”
said Ahmed Somali a reporter for radio simba an independent radio station which operates in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
There were several other local journalists who were inside the court waiting to listen the hearing of a criminal case which was not in fact specified, but was adjourned.
The journalist doesn’t know why he was bunched by the commander and his fellow collogues, and termed that the commander of the Bossaso high court of a very brutal human being, who does not respect the entire of the journalists.
So far the authority of Puntland has not talked about the thorough torture of the journalists.
The authority of Puntland has some times back detained a reporter for VOA Somali section, for no genuine grounds.
A journalist to serve in Somali is indeed a hard thing to do Somalia is one of the leading countries in the world where journalists are killed, tortured, threatened or detained.
It was merely the 21st of February when Ali Yuusf a reporter for Somaliweyn radio was arrested by Al-Shabab an armed Islamist faction in Somalia. Somaliweyn English Desk.
Mohammed Omar Hussein+2521-5519235 shiinetown@hotmail.com
Somaliweyn Media Center
Thursday, February 25, 2010
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN
Thursday, April 3, 2009
"If you can encourage more of your children, and more of your neighbors, and anyone around you to send people ... to this jihad, it would be a great asset for us," he says.Gadahn, who goes by the nom de guerre of Abu Azzam al-Amriki, has appeared in videos talking about the defeat of America in Iraq and other battlefields with jihadists and urging Americans to convert to Islam. He has been indicted on treason charges, and the FBI has put a $1 million reward on him, calling him "an integral part of al-Qaida's media and recruitment branch."
It is not known, however, if Gadahn has ever played a leadership role in al-Qaida.
Some members of the thriving Somali community in Minneapolis and St. Paul have reported being questioned by the FBI as it investigates whether some young men are being "radicalized" in Minnesota and recruited to fight with terror groups in their homeland.
"This is the first time an American has been shown in a leadership/senior role advising/teaching a group of jihadists," IntelCenter said in an e-mailed analysis. "This is a significant development and likely to be indicative of other developments within the group."
If you can encourage more of your children, and more of your neighbors, and anyone around you to send people ... to this jihad, it would be a great asset for us," he says. WHO SAID THAT? THE TERRORIST ! DO YOU TRUST THESE GUYS ? THEY ARE BUSINESS PEOPLE ! YOU KNOW WHAT THESE GUYS ARE HUMAN TRAFFICKERS. HEY !WHAT DO YOU KNOW DIRTY MONEY IS VERY HARD TO RESIST IF YOU DON’T HAVE MERCY AND IF YOU ARE NOT KIND .
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Al Shabaab and others are calling for Jihad!
After nineteen years of lawlessness and suffering of the of Somali people under the merciless war lords, who were fighting each other just for the sake of leadership each one of the so called war lords used to raise two fingers and say loudly that he is for a democratic change, some of them will go as far as saying he will wipe the extremist and free the country from them.
and fake mullahs were not more or less than warlords, but what made them different is the religious mask they were hiding under , they were there all the time trying tactics be it good or evil it doesn’t mater as long as it works for them they used the Islamic court to show the people how powerful they are, they used all kind of methods to let the people fear them.
They used to target the minority and mentally sick people, they will capture them lock them in a room that they call it a jail and then sentence them to be killed or to have there hands and lags be imputed, they will do that to create fear among the ordinary people so most of the youth who ware criminals will join them just to be on the save side.
they will never dare to go to any one who belong to the armed and bigger tribes. That is what made the Islamic court to be one of the most powerful group at the time when the transitory federal government of Abdullahi yusuf was formed in Kenya, what destroyed the newly formed government was what Abdullahi yusuf said earlier before he was elected when he was interviewed by an Ethiopian journalist whereby he said he will destroy all Islamist and wipe them all if he become a president.
The Islamic court used those words he uttered to win the support of the people and that was what weaken Abdullahi Yusuf's government. The fake mullahs were not born at the time of Islamic court but they were there since the time of the fall of Siyad barre government , but they never had chances because the war lords were there to use the influence of their tribe and there was no vacuum or cap for the fake mullahs to use, simply everybody was there for his tribe and not for anything to do with Islam. the truth is a lot of people don’t know about Somali people is that they believe in their tribe more then their religion.
The fake lord mullahs just like the war lords when ever they disagree they will split and form a different group like al Ittihad which means unity and Islaah (reformist) and others. They did not make it to the top because nobody believed them among Somalis, even though Al Ittihad group raised million of dollars from Muslim people around the world who believed them as the true leaders who want to save Somalia, there hidden agenda did not last long because they started turning against each other and everyone had to grab what he can and that was the end of Al ittihad that was the end of their mission, and the same thing happened to the Islamic court they disagree and they split and form hisbul Islam Al Shabab and Suna wal jama’ah .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)