COUNTER-PIRACY UPDATES

STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN  AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 22. December 2011)

PROTECTING AND MONITORING LIFE, BIODIVERSITY AND THE ECOSYSTEMS OF SOMALIA AND ITS SEAS SINCE 1986 - ECOTERRA Intl.
ECOTERRA Intl. and ECOP-marine serve concerning the counter-piracy issues as advocacy groups in their capacity as human rights, marine and maritime monitors as well as in co-operation with numerous other organizations, groups and individuals as information clearing-house. In difficult cases we have successfully served as mediators, helped hostages to get medical or humanitarian relief and released, assisted in negotiations and helped the families of victims. Our focus to make piracy an issue of the past is concentrating on holistic coastal development as key to uplift communities from abhorrent poverty and to secure their marine and coastal ecosystems against any harm.

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STATUS-SUMMARY:

Today, 22. December 2011 at 21h00 UTC, at least 25 larger plus 18 smaller foreign vessels plus one stranded barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least  418 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple, two (or now only one) frail elderly ladies and four aid-workers - suffer to be released.
But even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, admitted now that many dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping.
Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR's operation ATALANTA felt now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were abducted. EU NAVFOR also admitted in February 2011 for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is held hostage than those listed on their file.
Since EU NAVFOR's inception at the end of 2008 the piracy off Somalia started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts recognized the link.
Please see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011) and the CPU-ARCHIVE
ECOTERRA members can also request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor for background info.

- see also HELD HOSTAGE BY PIRATES OFF SOMALIA

and don't forget that SOMALI PIRACY IS CUT-THROAT CAPITALISM

WHAT THE NAVIES OFF SOMALIA NEVER SEE:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/fighting_for_control_of_somali.html

What Foreign Soldiers in Somalia and even their Officers Never Seem to Realize:
The Scramble For Somalia

PEACE KEEPERS OR BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS ?
SG Ban Ki-Moon (UN) and President Ram Baran Yadav (Nepal) should resign and take the responsibility for now over 7,000 Haitians having been killed by an Asian Cholera strain introduced by unchecked, so-called UN Peace-Keepers from Nepal into Haiti. Ban Ki-Moon is lying when he says that it has not yet been proven scientifically. He has to take responsibility, pay financial reparations and console as well as compensate the families of those killed and those almost 500,000 infected as well as the future losses in country which has eradicated Cholera over 100 years ago - until Ban Ki-Moon sent sick biological agents from Nepal.


LATEST:

STILL OVER 400 SEAFARERS ARE HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA !
ECOTERRA Intl. has been the first group to clearly and publicly state that the piracy phenomenon off the Somali coasts can only become an issue of the past again, if tangible and sustainable, appropriate and holistic development for the coastal communities kicks in. Solutions to piracy have to tackle the root causes: Abhorrent poverty, environmental degradation, injustice, outside interference. While still billions are spend for the navies, for the general militarization or for mercenaries or conferences, still no real and financially substantial help is coming forward to pacify and develop the coastal areas of Somalia as well as to help the Somali people and government to protect and police their own waters.
Updates and latest news on known cases of piracy - see the status section :


PIRATED CREW AND TANKER FREED IN SOMALIA JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS (ecop-marine)
Yesterday's reports from our observers on the ground were confirmed today when diplomatic and industry sources stated today that MT SAVINA CAYLYN and her 22 unharmed crew were released against a massive ransom for the medium-seized tanker.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti expressed “great satisfaction” at the release of the Savina Caylyn tanker and its crew of five Italians and 17 Indians. “The Italian government never contemplated the possibility of direct negotiations with the pirates, much less the payment of ransom for the liberation of the hostages” aboard the vessel, the ministry said in a statement. However, a presumedly Italian naval vessel was observed in the vincinity.
The ransom was dropped from an aircraft in two stages, according to a pirate speaking to Reuters by phone.
“We have just received the remaining ransom. We have abandoned the ship,” a pirate calling himself Abdiwali told Reuters from Harardheere, one of the pirates’ coastal bases.
The pirates released the tanker’s Indian crew members after the first ransom drop was made, Abdiwali said, awaiting the second instalment before releasing the five Italian sailors a few hours later.
BACKGROUND (ecop-marine)
MT SAVINA CAYLYN: Seized February 08, 2011.  At 04h27 UTC (07h27 local time) Somali pirates sea-jacked the huge Italian crude oil tanker MT SAVINA CAYLYN (IMO 9489285) with 22 crew members in the Indian Ocean en route from the Bashayer oil terminal in Sudan to the port of Pasir Gudang in Malaysia. The attack took place in position Latitude: 12°10N  Longitude: 066°00E on the Indian Ocean, which is 673 nm straight east from Socotra Island at the tip of the Horn of Africa and around 360 nm west of the Indian Lakshadweep Islands. The ship is carrying a load of crude oil for ARCADIA, a commodities trading company.
Though Italian newspapers first published the tanker had escaped, European Union Naval Force Somalia spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy confirmed later the Italian flagged and owned MT SAVINA CAYLYN was hijacked. "The vessel was boarded after a sustained attack by one skiff with five suspected pirates firing small arms and four rocket propelled grenades," O'Kennedy said and added: "There is presently no communication with the vessel and no information regarding the condition of the crew of 22 - 5 Italians and 17 Indians."
The 104,255 dwt MT SAVINA CAYLYN had registered with the Maritime Security Centre - Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) and was reporting to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The Aframax of Chinese make was built in 2008 at the Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding shipyard and is insured through Standard P&I Club per Charles Taylor & Co., but so far no information concerning an ITF agreement for the crew was found.
Registered owner is DOLPHIN TANKER SRL for managers FRATELLI D'AMATO SPA , Naples NA, Italy. Fratelli D'Amato Spa is fully owned by Luigi D'Amato, who is also the sole administrator.
Dolphin Tanker s.r.l. is a 50% joint venture between Scerni Group and Fratelli D'Amato S.p.a., and a joint venture between Luigi D’Amato, president of Fratelli D’Amato International Group, and Paolo Scerni, president of Scerni Group - which presently owns 6 tankers. The joint venture might come to an end by mutual consent and banks which granted credit lines for their ships in the past years – i.e., Milan-based Centrobanca, Genoa-based Banca Carige, and Deutsche Bank AG – have been informed of the ongoing restructuring, necessary in order to preserve the earnings from a pool of ships which made last year a 4 million Euros profit.
So far Il Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labor) Luigi D’Amato serves as the President.
Italian Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro of the Italian coast guard said the coast guard was alerted by a satellite alarm system about the attack. All Italian ships that register with the coast guard's operations center in Rome have such an alarm system. "T here was an exchange of fire between the pirates and crew," Nicastro said and it was observed that the 266 metre long ship slowed down almost to a standstill before it then sped up again and resumed its course , leading the coast guard to think the pirates had climbed on board and are now in command.
Where the pirates instructed to wait for this vessel, like it was the case in other sea-jackings - for instance the weapons-transporting Ro-Ro FAINA or now admittedly the MV SAMHO JEWELRY case?
Initial reports then said no-one was hurt in the attack and Commander Pio Schiano, from the Fratelli D'Amato shipping company in Naples, told a local television channel that he had been in communication with the tanker, stating that the crew were well but no ransom demands had been made.
Italy's foreign ministry released a statement following the attack to announce that a task force had been set up to monitor the situation along with the ministry of defence.
The vessel was then commandeered towards Somalia, while the Italian Navy frigate ZEFFORO , which was some 500 miles away, was heading to the area too.
The 266-m long and 46-m wide vessel was expected in Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean Coast, when satellite imagery showed it early morning on 10. February still about 330 km off the Somalia coast.
Vessel and crew have meanwhile arrived on 12. February off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast and negotiations are reportedly under way. However the vessel and crew had then been transferred further south to the Harardheere district coast, where the vessel was held off Ceel Gaan and now has been moved to Hobyo.
Two Spaniards, hijacked earlier from VEGA 5 were at the end of their ordeal held hostage on this vessel until their release against a multi-million dollar ransom. The vessel is still moored off Hobyo, while the crew is awaiting progress and conclusion in the negotiations for their own release.
At the time Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said officials were working with the Somali government to free Italian sailors held by pirates and observers were wondering if he wouldn't care for the other nationalities on board.
Frattani, speaking on Italian TV, said new measures against the Somali pirates were agreed upon at the United Nations summit in New York end of September, ANSA reported. Frattani told the father of one of the captives the government and intelligence groups are taking action along the Somali coast where 11 crew members from two Italian ships are being held.
Frattini said he and Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali have had long discussions and agreed to a joint action. An international agreement reached earlier this year forbids governments from paying ransom to the pirates.
"In the past we have succeeded in freeing other ships with patience and undercover work. Intelligence services have been mobilized," Frattini said.
These contra-productive wrangles among vessel-owner, insurance, risk-management company and government entities caused the extended hostage situation of almost eleven months and at the end an increased ransom payment.

ID OF SEIZED CHARCOAL DHOW (ecop-marine)
The one of three illegally operating cargo-dhows collecting the charcoal contraband for customers in the United Arab Emirates which had been abducted with 12 Indian nationals and two Somalis on board was identified by our observers as MSV KRISHNA SADAN, Ecop-marine reported on December 20, 2011.
The seized vessel is apparently belonging to an Indian company, which regularly circumvents the embargo set by the Indian government while cross-flagging the vessel with an UAE and a Somali flag.
DG Shipping in Mumbai and the navies have been informed.
Vessel and crew are missing and wanted.

©2011 - ecoterra / ecop-marine - articles above are exclusive reports and, if not specifically ©-marked , free for publication as long as cited correctly and the source is quoted.
The maritime articles below are cleared or commented. If you don't find a specific article, it most likely was not worth to be republished here, but if you feel we have overlooked an important publication, please mail it to us.
What you always wanted to know about piracy, but never dared to ask:
SEARCH THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE INTERNET PORTAL ON PIRACY


SHAMEFUL: EU ONLY STILL COUNTS ONLY LARGER VESSELS AND THEIR CREWS
Merchant ship crews held hostage in Somalia (EU NAVFOR)

While the issue of piracy off the coast of Somalia has received significant coverage over the past 4 years, with the exception a number of high-profile individuals, the fate of the merchant crews which make up the majority of those held hostage, is not often considered or reported.
This humanitarian tragedy is especially pertinent over Christmas, a time when families normally gather to celebrate.
There are currently 199 men and one woman held hostage in Somalia [N.B.: THAT IS CLEARLY INCORRECT AND A MUCH TOO LOW FIGURE] following the pirating of their ships in the Indian Ocean and all are being held against their will to be used by criminal gangs as part of a ransom business. Since the start of the EU NAVFOR counter-piracy mission in December 2008, a total of 2317 merchant seamen have been held hostage for an average of nearly 5 months. The longest period in captivity is 19 months for the 24 crew members of the M/V ICEBERG 1, who are still being held.
It is estimated that at least 60 merchant seamen have died as a result of their captivity in the hands of the pirates and many more have suffered torture and abuse. 49 of the 200 hostages are held without the collateral of a ship, following the ship sinking or being abandoned which means that their future is less clear as their value is seen as less than that of a ship. Additionally, a recent tactic of the criminal gangs has been to agree to the ransom payment for the return of ship and crew and then hold-back some of the crew when the ship is released to use to negotiate for the release of convicted Somali pirates from the home country of the detained crew members. Currently 4 South Korean and 7 Indian crew members from the M/V GEMINI and the ASPHALT VENTURE are held following the release of the ships.
Today, there are 3 ships abandoned and derelict on the beach, creating a source of potential pollution, whilst their crews, totalling 54 men, remain in captivity.
Piracy in the Indian Ocean affects us all, adding a significant cost to every barrel of oil and every 40ft container which passes through the area. The navies of the world have between 20-30 warships in the region and for the people of Somalia, piracy means that even essential food-aid provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) has to be escorted to prevent the delivery ships being captured.
In the longer term the underlying causes of the piracy crisis need to be resolved within Somalia but at present, the situation for the 200 hostages remains uncertain.

Sailing-Ocean race enters anti-piracy stealth zone (Reuters)
French team Groupama vanished off the public radar on Thursday as they led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet into an anti-piracy stealth zone.
The fleet will be hidden in the zone, which is one of several security measures introduced to protect competitors from pirates operating off the coast of Somalia.
The main pack, including U.S.-based Puma in second place, Spain's Telefonica in third and New Zealand/Spanish entry Camper in fourth, were due to reach the zone by Thursday night.
The exact location of the boats will continue to be masked, but their positions relative to each other will be updated until they reach a secret Indian Ocean 'safe haven' port in around a week's time.
An armed ship will then be used to transport the yachts through the area where pirates are most active and on to Sharjah, where teams will resume racing and finish at Abu Dhabi in the New Year.
The race, in which the teams cover more then 39,000 nautical miles (72,000 kms), finishes in Galway in July.


From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news of events with an impact on Somalia)

The articles below - except where stated otherwise - are reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and are for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions held by ECOTERRA Intl.
Articles below were vetted and basically found to report correctly - or otherwise are commented.
Somalis say:
NO TO UN-TRUSTEESHIP OVER SOMALIA AND NO TO AU AND IGAD MILITARIZATION
NO foreign or local military governance on land or foreign naval governance on the Somali seas.
NO to any threat infringing on the sovereignty of Somalia, especially concerning the 200nm territorial waters, given since 1972, and the 200nm EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone / UNCLOS) already in place since 1989 as well as the 350nm continental shelf zone.
NO to any Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in relief food or Genetically Engineered (GE) seed supplies.

Peace cannot be kept by force.
It can only be achieved by understanding.
— Albert Einstein

Fistfight erupts again in Somalia parliament (PressTV)

Somali lawmakers have for the second time in a week engaged in fistfight following a sharp division that emerged after a vote of no confidence was passed against Somali Transitional Federal Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan whom the legislators accused of slowing down parliament proceedings.
Security forces denied the lawmakers entry into parliament that saw the MPs engage in confrontations with the law enforces with the Somali police finally allowing the lawmakers to progress inside the chambers.
On Wednesday 290 Somali legislators met in parliament under the leadership of the second Deputy Somali speaker as well as the recently nominated speaker Madobe Nunow with the legislators raising their views to the deputy speaker over the latest parliament row.
MPs accused Somali leaders and especially the President and Prime minister for turning a deaf ear to the parliament crisis and called on the Somali leaders to come up with a lasting solution to the latest crisis that has paralyzed parliamentary operations.
Political infighting has plagued the TFG since 2004; this infighting led many prominent politicians to resign including former TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf, who resigned in 2008 after four years in office.
Three TFG Prime Ministers have also resigned since 2004 as a result of political disputes, with the most recent resignation of Prime Minister Mohamed in June leading to the Kampala Accord that paved the way for the UN-backed Roadmap peace process to end the Somali transitional period by August, 2012.
Despite political infighting among MPs of the TFP and the possibility of delaying the Somalia Constitutional conference both President and the Speaker of Parliament arrived in Garowe town ready for the second phase of the UN sponsored consultative conference.
It's barely a week after 280 legislators voted out the Somali parliament speaker through a vote of no confidence that has ignited a series of heated debate with the Speaker clinging to his sit leaving the Somali parliamentarians divided into two groups.



The Role of Traditional Leaders of Somalia Vice Versa UN Diplomacy By Ayuub A. Aden (Keydmedia)
The Status Quo of Traditional Leaders
It is a historical fact that traditional leaders and religious exponents of communities are the gatekeepers of the fate of the country, as well as the social life of the people in every conceivable aspect since immemorial times.
This democratic platform is in place, and the pecking order is respected. The lower ranks of the leaders discuss the issue of the day and debate on its merits, while the maxims of the group put the final touch ups of the debate and forward the ultimate solution to the public for adoption, which is based on egalitarian consensus.
Being the vanguard of the civil society, traditional leaders play pivotal roles in everyday social life in terms of reconciliation and conflict resolution, as well as taking care of the mundane disputes of their followers. In such settings, you see a full blown democracy at work where even a teenager boy has to voice his concerns and be listened.
“Age does not matter as long as the kid has a valid point relevant to the issue in discussion,” goes the word. Such settings are respected and the outcome is adopted unanimously.
In regard to the local affairs, such culture goes on the same footing as the ruling system of the supreme court of USA.
Political & Social Profile of Traditional Leaders
Since the scramble of Africa in Berlin Conference in 1881, Somalia was the cross-roads of colonial contenders, including: The Great Britain, France, Italy, and the Arab Sultanate of Zanzibar at the time, the Ethiopian hermit emperors, and Germany and Portuguese, to some extent.
Each one of these countries wanted a piece of Somalia, and some of them did succeed in their colonial ventures by fighting the Somalis, and in the event of great resistance by the local people, they had eventually to sit down with the elders under the shade of peace tree, learn their points of views and negotiate as equal parties and work out bilateral treats.
Such well predicated hierarchy is still outstanding, and is unlikely to erode such broad-based traditional system in the foreseeable future by Ambassador Mahiga, the special envoy of the Secretary General of the UN, nor the house speaker and a few of his political supporters.
Promoters of Customary Laws & Upholders of Social welfare
As always is the case, the community leaders formulate and promulgate customary laws between respective clans in the area as the law of the land. When parties disagree on certain issues of interest, the grieving party(s) calls upon the attention of dispute settlers (the community leaders), who prompt a short-noticed meeting and hammering out adequate formula for reconciliation palatable to conflicted parties. In no time, personal enmity, hard feelings and revenge phase out and the conflicting concern becomes a thing of the past. 
This effective intervention is due to timely involvement and impartial gudjment of local leaders, which what avert an otherwise bloody confrontation.
Did the colonial domination affect such respected social values? No. Did the national constitution replaced or down-graded the customary laws of the society? No. Does the UN recognize the validity of such important social tools in order to broker stability and political harmony in the country? No. Do the neighboring East African heads of states or IGAD learn the uniqueness of the Somali character and social fiber? No. In my views, much has to be learned about Somali character.
Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga VS. Traditional Leaders
As the pre-eminent segment of the Somali society, the community leaders are the glue factor that connects the broken pieces of the country, on one hand, while upholding the legitimacy of the TFG establishment, on the other hand. Since his nomination to serve Somalia, Ambassador Mahiga has marginalized the political and social profile of the maxims of the people.
The elders may not be PHD holders from Harvard or Princeton Universities, but they are down to earth social workers for lifetime and know better how to Shepard their flocks. Now the local leaders find themselves at loss with the interfering works of the UN envoy who threatens the status quo of traditional leaders by undercutting their social standing in confrontational manners.
“As we see him now, the Ambassador handles the southern regions of Somalia in an arbitrary way without sharing the views of the community leaders, admit the elders. “In a thinly disguised way, he encourages the speaker of the parliament to keep the legislature chamber closed for months so that legislators may not get into the house and debate on the merits of the Road Map before the next August, 2012, which marks the end of the transitional period of the TFG,” voice out fuming legislators.
This manipulation by a NU diplomat may sound inconceivable to perplexed civil society, but the subtlety of Mr. Mahiga is the stark truth. In doing so, Ambassador Mahiga may succeed to destabilizing the weak authority of the TFG by putting the legislators in loggerheads with the speaker of the parliament, who has lost his position due to his ineffectual parochial views.
Both ambassador Mahiga and the deposed house speaker are adamant to turn the tide in their favor to the expense of peace and stability and rocking the fragile TFG establishment.
They argue that they are not yet done with the legislators, a situation that puts the President of the TFG in a difficult dilemma, which could lead to the demise of the precarious establishment, and is ticking.
Reflecting to UN past mistakes, Ambassador Mahiga’s role follows the same footing with Admiral Jonathan Howe, the former UNISOM boss that had failed the humanitarian discourse of the UN in 1992-94 by undercutting the political profile of traditional leaders, and going in bed with a given number of favored politicians, while alienating the authority of the majority of the community leaders.
Instead of fleeting with the interest group, Mr. Mahiga has to rally the back up support of social service agents- such as the community leaders and the religious exponents, by undertaking these talking points:

• Play less with unpredictable Somali politicians who are jockeying for leadership position or promoting clan supremacy on the expense of the Somali population.
• To give due attention to the dare needs of the civil society by promoting restoration of defunct social services, such as: Clinics, hospitals, schools, drilling borehole wells for the people and the livestock.
• To help out the banning nuclear wastes and toxic chemicals being dumped in the territorial waters of Somalia as you read this paper.
• Flagging fish trawling fleets that deplete the ecosystem of potential fishing grounds
• Restoration of defunct educational system of the country collapsed since the fall of the military regime in1991.
• Confront the threat of sea piracy.
• Upholding reconciliation process and conflict resolution

Counter-productive measures
Here is a piece of valuable advice for the handlers of Somali politics-Never, ever dispense unpalatable political measure into the throats of conflicting Somalis. It backfires. Moreover, undermining the role of the traditional elders is a big mistake; but threatening the work of genuine legislators may also escalate conflicting chain-reactions beyond control, which poses dare consequences that can put the efforts and the hopes of the UN and well-wishing world communities down to the drain.
In fact, almost 95% of the civil society and 82% of the TFG legislators would like to see the Road Map policy debated in parliament as a way of normal house procedure. Legislators advocate to see the negative and positive aspects of the Road Map; and ratifying it if need be so, because much depend on its success for the future of the country.
To evade such normal, legal procedure is tantamount to pure trickery and extortion against the aspiration of the Somali population.
The same percentage applies also for the dismissal of the speaker of the parliament and his two lieutenants because of coming short of their responsibilities. In that regard, the legislators voted him out of office a week ago, a step that follows in conformity with the standing laws that governs the country, while Ambassador Mahiga puts all his weight to undo the ruling of the legislative branch and trying to resuscitate the politically moribund house speaker.
But how subtle could Ambassador Mahiga circumvents such arduous challenge, and much less confronting the opposition of the civil society, as well as the traditional leaders and the majority of the legislators? For Ambassador Mahiga and Mr. Ban Ki Moon, there’s an uphill battle to wage and win before the next August, 2012
Different Political tools, Different Results
Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga gives more attention and privileges to politicians who cajole to remain on the spotlight; while he marginalizes the concerns of 95% of the civil society; and this posture flies right in the face of the traditional leaders, as well as the public masses.
The Somali public wishes all the success for the ambassador’s lopsided diplomacy, but he is not heeding the genuine advice that can carry him through turbulent political storms. True to his policy, it is his way or the highway, and most likely, and it sounds that he could hardly have in both ways. Again, the theory of the “New World Order” is at work, after the UNISOM debacle in 1994, and Somalia happens to be on the altar of sacrifice.
Worst of it, this time we see more spoilers at work than any time before.
(*) Dr. Ayuub A. Aden – Sana’a – Keydmedia Political Analyst - can be reached via Ayuub.a.aden@keydmedia.net

Kenya planes attack Somali 'militant camp' in Hosingow (BBC)

Kenyan troops have not made huge gains since their incursion began in October

At least 15 civilians have been killed in two air raids on an Islamist-controlled village in Somalia near the Kenyan border, witnesses told the BBC.
Kenya's military confirmed it had carried out two attacks by air on an al-Shabab camp in the area of Hosingow village, killing 17 militants.
Recent grenade attacks over the border near Dadaab refugee camp were planned from Hosingow, the Kenyan army says.
Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October in pursuit of al-Shabab.
It accused the al-Qaeda-linked group, which controls much of central and southern Somalia, of a spate of abductions from its territory - charges denied by the militants.
Al-Shabab has said it views the presence of Kenyan troops in southern Somalia as an act of war.
The attacks happened on Tuesday at 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) and 15:30 (12:30 GMT), Kenya's military spokesman Maj Emmanuel Chirchir said on his micro-blogging Twitter account.
A senior al-Shabab commander, an al-Shabab administrator and 15 fighters died in the two raids, he later told the BBC.
"There are no civilians that were injured in this incursion," he said.
But a village elder in Hosingow, Abdallahi Abdi Mahad, told the BBC's Somali Service that 15 civilians had died, including a whole family in one house, and more than 20 people had been wounded in the attacks.
Without a hospital in the area, the number of casualties was likely to rise, he said.
He said the first raid was on the outskirts of the village and the second struck the village directly.
"One of the bombs struck near a street where people were running their businesses," another witness, Ahmed Yusuf, told the AFP news agency.
'Air attacks to intensify'
Maj Chirchir said that the administrator's family was likely to have been residing in the camp with the fighters, "who were dug in trenches".
"We call on peace loving Somalis not to interact Al Shabaab as KDF [Kenya Defence Force] intensifies air attacks in South-Central Somalia," the major tweeted.

Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp, home to 450,000 Somalis who have fled famine and conflict

On Monday, a Kenyan policeman died when a suspected roadside bomb detonated near Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp which houses about 450,000 people who have fled famine and conflict in Somalia.
Earlier this month, another policeman was killed and another three wounded in a similar blast around Dadaab.
Two Spanish women working for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Dadaab were kidnapped in October.
Other abductions include a Kenyan driver also seized from Dadaab, a British woman taken from a coastal resort and a French woman who suffered from cancer.
French authorities say she has since died in Somalia.
Somalia has not had a functioning central government for more than 20 years, with various militias battling for control.
The UN says it is the world's worst humanitarian situation, with famine conditions in three southern areas.
UN-sponsored talks about the future of Somalia and the transitional government are taking place in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
The government, which only controls the capital, Mogadishu, thanks to the 10,000-strong African Union force, had its term extended earlier this year until August 2012.
Correspondents say the administration is dogged by infighting and must try and pass a constitution and organise inclusive elections before then.

Kenyan Air Strike Kills At Least 10 Somali Civilians
Kenyan jets kill 10 in south Somalia air raid (AzeriPressAgency)
Kenyan fighter jets pounded rebel-held southern Somalia in a strike that Nairobi said on Wednesday had killed Al Qaeda linked fighters but witnesses claimed caused several civilian deaths, APA reports quoting AFP.
Military jets targeted several locations late Tuesday in Hosingow in the Lower Juba region, close to the Kenyan border, local elders said.
"There were at least three military planes that dropped bombs on Hosingow, and one hit a house killing civilians", said Abdi Isak, a witness.
"There were 11 people, most of them civilians, killed in the raid."
"One of the bombs struck near a street where people were running their businesses - they dropped bombs and went away without knowing who they have killed," Ahmed Yusuf, another witness told AFP.
"More than ten have died and 13 others are injured, some of them seriously," he added.
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Wednesday claimed responsibility for the raid, saying it believed it had killed a senior Shebab commander it did not name.
Kenyan military officials vowed last week to carry out further air strikes deeper into rebel-held territory, claiming to have already killed several Shebab fighters in earlier raids.

KENYA KILLS AGAIN CIVILIANS INSIDE SOMALIA
Update: Meanwhile Kenya has admitted that it's warplanes had bombed Hosingow. a small village inside Somalia not very far from the disputed border, but claimed the attack had targeted and killed an unnamed "Al Shabaab administrator" and an "Al Shabaab Commander". Kenya stated it had no knowledge of civilian death but claimed to have intelligence information from the ground. A similar refuting statement recently aired by the Kenya Government after an attack hit an IDP camp in Southern Somalia could be proven to have been false. Meanwhile the number of killed, maimed or wounded Kenyan soldiers in the ill-advised incursion into Somalia seems to have become a state-secret.
Air strike hits rebel-held Somali village-residents (Reuters)

* Residents say several civilians killed
* Somali military, al Shabaab confirm strike
A warplane bombed a Somali village held by Islamist rebels near the border with Kenya on Tuesday, killing several civilians, residents and a Somali military official said.
It was not immediately possible to identify who carried out the attack in the village of Hosungow near the area of Dhobley, which is under the control of Somali government and Kenyan troops as well as a militia allied to Somalia's government.
But neighbouring Kenya, which sent troops across the border into Somalia to crush the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants, has intensified its air strikes in recent weeks since the ground-and-air offensive began in October.
"The jet first dropped bombs in the suburbs of the village ... but then returned in the afternoon, dropping bombs in the village's centre. Parts of the village, especially shops, are now burning," Hosungow resident Mohamed Gelle told Reuters.
Another resident, Bakar Hussein, described a similar sequence of events saying a jet first bombed the suburb then later returned to strike the village centre.
The residents gave different numbers for those dead, saying between 12 and 14 civilians had been killed.
"Casualties were taken to their homes since there are no hospitals," Hussein said.
A Kenyan military spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
The spokesman for Somalia's government forces in Dhobley confirmed an air strike took place not far from the militant-controlled Hosungow.
"The target was a military base and training camp for al Shabaab. We do not know the loss but there was big damage," Mahmud Farah told Reuters.
Al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab said a jet had targeted the group in the village but denied suffering any casualties and said nine civilians had been killed.
Kenyan troops crossed into Somalia in October after a wave of kidnappings and cross-border raids it blamed on the rebels who control large swathes of southern and central Somalia.
Its forces initially advanced smoothly on militant towns in Somalia's southern border regions but have since become bogged down by heavy rains and a lack of clear strategy.
The militants have adopted a strategy of melting into the population from where they can launch hit-and-run attacks on Kenyans, rather than confront the army head on.
Kenya wants its forces in Somalia to be integrated into the African Union AMISOM force that has peacekeepers in Mogadishu. On Tuesday, the first of a 900-strong Djiboutian force arrived to augment the African peacekeeping force.

Fears rise of 'new Libya' in Somalia by Paddy McGuffin

The government ratcheted up its rhetoric against Somalia today leading to fears that it may be considering a military intervention on a par with Libya.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell claimed today that Somalia was a direct threat to the Britain's security.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Somalia was "a place from which emanates piracy, drug running, this weight of people trying to come to a more attractive economic shore," Mr Mitchell said.
"There are probably more British passport holders engaged in terrorist training in Somalia than in any other country in the world.
"This is not only about saving the lives of huge numbers of vulnerable babies and children, it is also about doing the right thing to promote British security."
Mr Mitchell ruled out "putting boots on the ground" in Somalia but said the government was involved with the United Nations African Union force, which is clearing terrorists out of the capital city of Mogadishu.
However Lib Dem MP Sir Menzies Campbell, a member of the Commons foreign affairs committee, warned: "The UK should be very wary of military involvement in Somalia.
"As president Clinton found to his cost, even the mightiest military power in the world can come a cropper.
"Libya was a one-off politically, legally and militarily. It does not provide a template for future action."
And Stop the War convenor Lindsey German said it seemed that Britain and the other Western powers appeared to think they had the right to do whatever they wanted.
"In recent weeks we have had talk of interventions in Syria, Iran and now Somalia," she said.
"The government needs to realise that any threat to UK security from Somalia is as a result of the war on terror and that if they want to end the cycle of wars, interventions and occupations Britain and the US need to look at their own foreign policies."

Djibouti troops join AU force in Somalia (BBC)

Troops from Djibouti have arrived in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, to bolster the 9,000-strong African Union (AU) force battling Islamist militants.
It is just the third country to contribute to the AU force, which says it needs extra troops to hold territory gained from the al-Shabab Islamists.
Kenya also says its troops in southern Somalia will join the AU force.
Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab is fighting to overthrow the UN-backed interim government.
It is estimated to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters and controls many southern and central areas of the country.
In August, it announced a tactical withdrawal from Mogadishu after fierce fighting with AU forces.
Broken promises
But the group has continued to detonate bombs in the city, killing five people in an attack at a busy junction earlier this month.
AU commanders say they need up to 20,000 troops to hold on to Mogadishu.
The BBC's Mohamed Dore in Mogadishu says a plane carrying the Djiboutian troops has landed in the city.
They are said to number 200 and will strengthen the AU force, currently made up of Ugandan and Burundian troops.
Other countries that have failed to fulfil promises to send troops include Nigeria and Malawi.
Djibouti borders Somalia and its people speak the same language.
Kenya sent troops in October to pursue al-Shabab after blaming it for a spate of abductions on its side of the border.
The group denies involvement in the abductions.
Somalia has not had a functioning central government for more than 20 years and has been convulsed by fighting between various militias.
The UN says it is the world's worst humanitarian situation, with famine conditions in three southern areas.

Frankincense tree facing uncertain future By Mark Kinver and Victoria Gill (BBC)

Boswellia are weakened if too much resin is drained from the trees' stems, leaving them vulnerableFrankincense - a traditional staple of the Christmas story - faces an uncertain future, according to researchers.

Ecologists have warned that the production of the fragrant resin could decline by half over the next 15 years.
The festive fragrance is produced by tapping the gum of trees in the Boswellia genus.
The findings, based on a study carried out in Ethiopia, have been published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
It is used extensively in religious rituals and in the perfume industry. It has also been investigated for its medicinal properties.
"There are several reasons why [the tree species Boswellia papyifera] it is under threat," explained co-author Frans Bongers, an ecologist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
"The forests that remain are declining because the old individuals are dying continuously, and there there no new individuals coming into the system. That means that the forests are running out of trees."
"In places like Oman and Yemen, it is being cut down systematically. Now, in Ethiopia, it is being cut down as land is being turned over to agriculture."
The small trees, which generally reach a height of no more than 5m (16ft), grow in steep, rocky habitats, providing cover for other plant species.

A sense of frankincense

• Frankincense is an oily gum resin from 16 different species of tree of the Boswellia genus
• Incense extracted from the resin is used in religious rituals, but has also been investigated for its medicinal properties. It is believed to be an anti-inflammatory
• The name frankincense is derived from the old French "franc encens", meaning pure incense

Each year, up to about 3kg of resin can be tapped from an individual tree. After about five years of tapping, management techniques suggest that the tree should be rested for a similar period in order to maximise future yields.
The genus Boswellia, overall, is generally classified as Vulnerable as a result of habitat fragmentation and poor levels of rejuvenation, explained Prof Bongers.
"If the tree germinates, then there is a small plant coming out of the ground, but then in the next dry season it goes down again because it is too dry," he told BBC News.Frankincense is tapped extensively wherever the Boswellia trees grow. Its high value comes mainly from the fact that it is used extensively in religious rituals, particularly in the Islamic and Christian religions [and, historically, in Hebrew rituals].

The species focused on in this study, Boswellia papyrifera, grows in African drylands. It grows in arid areas so any small, deleterious change could have quite devastating effects on the regeneration of the trees.
In this case, it appears to be either fire or over-grazing, but with the general pressures of people and trees depending on the same land, trees tend to lose.
If these trees did disappear, it would be a great loss to the local people who tap the trees to sell the resin and to the ecosystem it grows in.

"Then in the wet season it comes up again. Yet in the next dry season it goes down again. That happens for a number of years, and we don't know how many years this happens - we know that it is at least six years.
"But it may be 10 years and we do not know what triggers what makes it come up above ground forever - maybe it is some sort of reserve, some sort of starch in the soil or root system.
"We are measuring this but we do not have real data, so it is complicated to manage the seedlings."
Prof Bongers added that the encroachment of more opportunistic tree species was also affecting the long-term survival of the frankincense forests.
"In the landscape, this tree has been the dominant species. That is why we can call it a frankincense forest, just like we can refer to beech woodlands in the UK," he said.
"In these woodlands, 80% of the individuals are frankincense trees. Yet some areas at the verges of the distribution of the species, there are other species coming in.
"What we are seeing at the verges of the populations we are following is that that the frankincense trees are phasing out and other species are coming in.
"All the young individuals in the forests are from other species, such as Acacia. We just see the forests running out of frankincense - other species are taking over."
'Alarming' decline
The study examined 13 two-hectare plots, which involve monitoring more than 6,000 trees and collecting more than 20,000 measurements.
Using this data, the team modelled the fate of the species, and found the current levels of frankincense production is set to halve in the next 15 years.
"Current management of Boswellia populations is clearly unsustainable," Prof Bongers warned.
"Our models show that within 50 years, populations of Boswellia will be decimated, and the declining populations mean frankincense production is doomed. This is a rather alarming message for the incense industry and conservation organisations."
He added that tapping the trees for the valued resin was unlikely to be the main cause of the decline. Instead, there were a number of other things affecting the long-term future of the trees.
"Frankincense extraction is unlikely to be the main cause of population decline, which is likely to be caused by burning, grazing and attack by the long-horn beetle, which lays its eggs under the bark of the tree.
In the areas they studied, the team found that older trees in the population were not being replaced because few Boswellia seedlings survived to become saplings.
"The number of fires and intensity of grazing in our study area has increased over recent decades as a result of a large increase in the number of cattle, and this could be why seedlings fail to grow into saplings. At the same time, a large proportion of trees we studied died after being attacked by the long-horn beetle," Prof Bongers observed.
In order to ensure future rejuvenation, he suggested that areas should be set aside for up to a decade so young Boswellia trees could become established.


- FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD (with an influence on Somalia and the water wars) :
"We're fighting terrorists, pirates, and militias. What happened to the days when we fought uniformed armies?"
SEE ALL THE ARTICLES BELOW LIKE A PICTURE, A COLLAGE AND LET THE MAIN COLOUR SINK IN. THEN LISTEN TO THE FINE TUNES AND DETAILS AND COME TO YOUR OWN CONCLUSION. WE TRY TO BALANCE THE FALSE PICTURE IMPLANTED INTO YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS BY THE MAINSTREAM'S RULERS - THE POWERS THAT BE.  .- / .- / .- .- .=

UN agency alarmed by series of blasts in camps for Somali refugees in Kenya (UN)

The United Nations refugee agency today voiced alarm over a spate of deadly attacks using explosive devices in camps in Kenya that shelter more than 460,000 refugees, the majority of them from Somalia.
Three Kenyan police officers have been killed in blasts near the refugee settlements in the Dadaab area of Kenya’s North-Eastern province, including the one who died in the latest explosion on Monday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a press release.
Yesterday, another improvised explosive device went off near the market in the vicinity of Ifo refugee camp. There were no casualties, but a police vehicle was damaged. Four Kenyan police officers have been injured in the attacks since October.
“We are deeply concerned for the well-being and safety of Somali refugees in Dadaab, most of whom are women, children and elderly,” said António Guterres, the High Commissioner for Refugees. “For the sake of refugees and those who are there to help them, it is of paramount importance to preserve the peaceful and civilian character of the camps.”
Conflict, violence against civilians, drought and famine, have forced an estimated 295,000 people to flee Somalia this year. More than half of than number have found shelter at the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, while others sought refuge in Ethiopia, Yemen and Djibouti.
In Dadaab, the development of new sites, registration, delivery of emergency assistance and services continued uninterrupted throughout the year.
However, since October, when two expatriate aid workers were abducted, growing insecurity has mean that aid agencies are only able to deliver life-saving assistance – mainly food, water and health services. UNHCR and its partners are exploring options to enable full operations to resume.
The situation in Dadaab has been further complicated in recent months by an outbreak of cholera, believed to have started among new arrivals who were infected in Somalia or en route to Dadaab. Although the outbreak is now on a downward trend, UNHCR has registered 897 cases, and three deaths, since August.
Somalia remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to UNHCR. More than 950,000 Somalis live as refugees in neighbouring countries, while another 1.46 million are internally displaced.
Meanwhile, a UN-supported reconciliation and constitutional conference for Somalia got under way today in the city of Garowe in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, marking another step towards the implementation of the agreed roadmap to end the current transitional governing arrangements.
Representatives from the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), including the President, civil society, members of parliament and officials from the UN and regional organizations, among others, will discuss the constitution-drafting and adoption process over a three-day period.
A constitution for Somalia is central to a wider series of reforms and actions to be implemented under the roadmap. They fall under the four headings of Security; Constitution; Good Governance; and Outreach and Reconciliation, according to the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS).
In a related development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly today that Somalia’s peace process requires sustained and well coordinated international engagement. He said he looked forward to attending the high-level meeting on the country, which United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron intends to convene in London early next year.
“We must continue to develop a common approach to ending the transition in Somalia and looking beyond August 2012 [when the transition ends],” Mr. Ban told the Assembly, as he briefed the 193-member body on his visit to Somalia and Kenya earlier this month.
“Change will not happen overnight. But we have an obligation to build on the progress to date. Windows of opportunity are not open for long. All of us who care so deeply about the future of Somalia must make the most of this moment for the people of Somalia and the stability of the region,” the Secretary-General added.
Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, who accompanied the Secretary-General on the 9 December visit to Somalia, said there is a “window of opportunity” for the international community to step up assistance.
“This is our opening to be able to support Somali efforts to promote national reconciliation and an inclusive political process. Now is the time to act and to make this process happen for real,” said Mr. Al-Nasser.
He said the visit had sent an important message of support and goodwill to the people of Somalia from the Assembly and the entire UN system.
“I believe that we are all working towards the same goal, to make Somalia a safe and secure country. So let us all join our efforts to achieve peace for Somalia and the Horn of Africa,” he added.

Hypocrite Obama Government: Free Speech only for US !!!
U.S. Considers Combating Somali Militants’ Twitter Use (TheNewYorkTimes)

The United States government is increasingly concerned about the Twitter account of the Shabab militant group of Somalia, with American officials saying Monday that they were “looking closely” at the militants’ use of Twitter and the possible measures to take in response.
American officials would not disclose what action they were considering. But some American officials said the government was exploring legal options to shut down the Shabab’s new Twitter account, potentially opening a debate over the line between free speech and support for terrorism.
Over the past two weeks, the Shabab, brutal Islamists known for chopping off hands and starving the famine-stricken populace, have been firing off pithy Twitter messages referring to their attacks and taunting the Kenyan military, which sent troops into Somalia in October to battle the Shabab.
“Your inexperienced boys flee from confrontation & flinch in the face of death,” said a Shabab post addressed to the Kenyan Army.
Most of the Shabab’s Twitter messages are in English, not Somali, and are clearly meant for an outside audience. American officials said they were worried that the Shabab might be using Twitter to reach potential recruits in the West.
Officials across the American government, from the State Department to local law enforcement, have said one of the top terrorism threats to the United States is the potential for American militants to travel to Somalia to fight with the Shabab and then return home to wreak havoc.
Already, several Americans have killed themselves as suicide bombers in Somalia working for the Shabab, who have claimed hundreds of victims with such attacks. The group has been fighting Somalia’s transitional federal government, which is the internationally recognized authority and a recipient of millions of dollars from the United States government.
American officials say they may have the legal authority to demand that Twitter close the Shabab’s account, @HSMPress, which had more than 4,600 followers as of Monday night.
Twitter, based in San Francisco, has about 100 million users. A company spokesman, Matt Graves, said on Monday, “I appreciate your offer for Twitter to provide perspective for the story, but we are declining comment on this one.”
The Shabab have pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda, and in 2008 the State Department listed the group as a “specially designated global terrorist” and said it posed a significant risk of committing “acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.”
A State Department spokesman said, “We are looking closely at the facts of this situation to determine what the appropriate next steps might be.”
The Shabab have imposed a draconian version of Islam in the areas of southern Somalia that they control, yanking out gold teeth, beheading shopkeepers, sawing off arms and stoning adulterers. Yet, at the same time, they have shown technological savvy, showcasing their work through slick propaganda videos, Web sites and electronic chat rooms.
The State Department said federal law enforcement agencies had taken action in the past against individuals using “Web hosting and related services.”


Obama announces emergency aid for Africa famine (AP)
President Barack Obama is announcing an additional $113 million in emergency aid to the Horn of Africa, where millions of people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are suffering through famine and drought. Tens of thousands have died.

The new emergency relief assistance will go for food, health, shelter, water and other needs. It is on top of $870 million the U.S. already has provided.
Obama said in a statement Thursday that the "heartbreaking accounts" from the region "remind us of our common humanity and the need to reach out to people in need."

Swedish journalists found guilty in Ethiopia (BBC)

Johan Persson  and Martin Schibbye could face more than 18 years in prison

An Ethiopian court has convicted two Swedish journalists of supporting terrorism.
Ethiopian troops captured Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye six months ago during a clash with rebels in the East African state's Somali region.
The court ruled it was "very unlikely" that they had entered Ethiopia illegally only to gather news.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said they were innocent and should be freed.
Judge Shemsu Sirgaga said Persson and Schibbye had failed to prove that they had not supported terrorism - a decision which human rights groups have slammed as absurd, saying the onus must be on the prosecution to demonstrate the crime was committed instead of the defence proving it was not.
'Expressionless'
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebel group - which Ethiopia regards as a a terrorist organisation - had arranged the men's journey from London to Ethiopia, with stop-overs in Kenya and Somalia, Judge Shemsu said, the AFP news agency reports.

“They are political prisoners and nothing else” said Mattias Goransson, the Swedish editor

They entered Ethiopia illegally under the pretext of investigating the impact of potential oil discoveries, he said.
"Instead they accompanied the ONLF into the country and were caught alongside the rebels. This contradicts their claims," the judge said.
"Guilty as charged, period, unanimous vote."
Both reporters appeared expressionless at the verdict and it was not clear whether they understood the judge since they had no translator, AFP reports.
In a statement, Mr Reinfeldt said Sweden viewed the convictions in a very serious light and was already making high-level contact with the Ethiopian government to secure their release.
"Our position is and continues to be that they were in the country on a journalistic assignment. They must be released as soon as possible in order to be reunited with their families in Sweden," Mr Reinfeldt said.
Ethiopian government spokesman Shimelis Kemal, however, denied that the trial was political and said the tribunal was completely independent.
"Every democracy is governed by the rule of law," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme, urging anyone who disagreed with the verdict to follow legal avenues.
During their trial, the journalists admitted entering Ethiopia illegally with the ONLF but denied all other charges, including those of terrorism which were dropped last month.
The prosecution has asked for Persson and Schibbye to be sentenced to 18 years and six months in prison.
The freelance journalists were on an assignment for Filter magazine when they were arrested, the Reuters news agency reports.
Its Swedish-based editor-in-chief Mattias Goransson said they were "political prisoners", it reports.
"When the judge read out the grounds it sounded positive, he had virtually nothing against them," Mr Goransson is quoted as saying.
"Everything he said was speaking for an acquittal, and then he found them guilty anyway. This indicates they are political prisoners and nothing else."
Human rights group Amnesty International said they had been prosecuted for doing "legitimate work".
"The overly broad provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation allow the authorities to criminalize the exercise of freedom of expression," said Claire Beston, the group's Ethiopia researcher.
Since the 1970s, the ONLF has been fighting for the rights of Somali-speaking Ethiopians, who they say have been marginalised by the government in Addis Ababa.
One ONLF faction signed a peace deal with the government last year, but another splinter group has continued to fight the army.
Human rights groups have repeatedly accused the government of widespread atrocities in the Somali-speaking region, where journalists need permission to travel.

• Ethiopia 'using aid as weapon of oppression'
• 'Why I took up arms against Ethiopia'
• In the shadow of Ethiopia's rebels

TWO “BLING”s DON'T MAKE A BANG
Sarkozy and the President of Djibouti sign new defense agreement (Reuters)
Nicolas Sarkozy and the President of Djibouti Ismael Omar Guelleh signed in Paris on Wednesday a new treaty for cooperation in defense matters which replaces the agreement signed in Djibouti after independence in 1977 reported the presidency.
It establishes, according to the Elysee, “the framework of bilateral military cooperation” and said “the facilities granted to our operational forces stationed” in Djibouti, the largest French military base abroad which hosts nearly 3,000 soldiers.
This signature “demonstrates the commitment of both countries to close cooperation in security,” says the Presidency in a statement, noting that “France is firmly committed to the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Djibouti, strategically located in the heart of a fragile area. ”
This text is the sixth defense agreement renegotiated by France with a country of its former “backyard” of Africa.
icolas Sarkozy promised in February 2008, while traveling in South Africa, the renegotiation of all the secret documents of this type, accused of having covered the French military interventions in favor of controversial African regimes “friends”, and their advertising.
Sarkozy and Guelleh also spoke of “strengthening bilateral cooperation,” the situation in Somalia and the fight against piracy off the Horn of Africa.
The statement from the Elysee did not say whether the two leaders also discussed the Borrel case, that poisons relations between France and Djibouti for many years.
The survey of French justice has long favored the theory of suicide, before choosing, after new expertise, that of a murder in which some witnesses have questioned Mr Guelleh and his entourage.
According to the testimony of a French soldier stationed in Djibouti at the time of the facts revealed on Wednesday by France Culture, the French army had been informed of the assassination of Judge Borrel shortly after his death, through listening to the Djiboutian police .
Mr Guelleh, who is also the subject of a complaint filed in Paris for the murder of two family members of an opponent, made no statement to the press after his meeting with Mr Sarkozy.

Slutwalk and Hijab by Gordon Campbell (werewolf)
An interview Professor Leila Ahmed of Harvard Divinity School

While different in obvious ways, the Slutwalk demonstrations and the hijab (or head scarf) worn by increasing numbers of modern Muslim women have one major thing in common. Both involve the deliberate adoption of clothing commonly associated with patriarchal oppression that the wearers are choosing to challenge, by appropriating it. Slutwalk for instance, has set out to ridicule the ways that women’s clothing and appearance are used by some men to justify acts of sexual aggression. To do so, Slutwalk has adopted and mimicked the clothing and behaviours traditionally associated with ‘immoral’ women, in order to challenge and subvert those sort of excuses.

Similarly in Cairo and in the Yemen, many young women – some in hijab, some in the niqab face veil – have been at the forefront of the demonstrations opposed to the old, corrupt order. With differing levels of conscious intent, Muslim women are challenging the subservience traditionally associated with such clothing. Rather than treat the hijab (or even the niqab) as a badge of conservatism, they are using it to assert a cultural identity and to pursue an activism quite at odds with the deference that such forms of dress are commonly taken to mean.

With both Slutwalk and the hijab, there have been some misgivings among older women, who know what such clothing routinely signifies. Clearly, any such act of appropriation runs the risk of further validating the patriarchal meanings still held by the wider public. Slutwalk has not escaped that criticism. More often, it has won the support (albeit grudging at times) of its feminist critics. Similarly, in Egypt, the 79 year old feminist icon Nawal al Saadawi has publicly revised her opposition to the niqab. After fighting it for decades, her reluctant embrace of the garment was noted in this New Yorker report on a recent meeting in her apartment:

[Amina} Shawky was the only attendee wearing a niqab—a full-face covering, something that El Saadawi has strongly criticized. “My friends asked me, ‘How are you going to meet Nawal El Saadawi wearing the niqab? How are you talking about freedom wearing the niqab?’ ” Shawky said. “I used not to look at women in the niqab. That changed in Tahrir,” El Saadawi said. “Tonight, I didn’t ask you why you are wearing it.”

This change in views, it should be stressed, has not altered al Saadawi’s fierce opposition to other allegedly Islamic modes of oppression of women : such as genital circumcision, and those inheritance and divorce law provisions that penalise women. In late July, al Saadawi told Reuters that post-Mubarak, Egypt is still a patriarchal system – and one that is now being re-inforced not by the old and corrupt secular elite, but by the rise of the Salafists:

Alarmed that Mubarak's overthrow has left Islamists free to vie for power, women are forming new advocacy networks and feminists such as Hoda Badran, Mervat Telawi and Al-Saadawi are trying to unite women to defend their rights…..Women played their part in the 18-day popular uprising, occupying Cairo's central Tahrir Square day and night and treating the wounded when police fired on protesters. Many complained of being sexually molested by pro-Mubarak thugs.

Saadawi, 79, has been fighting for women's rights for decades. Jailed for her views in the 1970s, she was once threatened with assassination by religious fundamentalists. Age has not mellowed her forthright opinions. "Sharia is a lie," she said, referring to Islamic law. "It is not written by God but by men. Tunisia banned polygamy, yet Tunisia follows Sharia. This is one of our goals now: to prohibit polygamy and introduce a secular family code."

Now Salafists, ultra-conservative followers of a literal interpretation of Islamic texts, are demanding the government reverse a reform passed in 2000 that grants women a divorce if they return the dowry, give up property rights and provide eyewitness proof of physical abuse by the husband…..

"(Salafists) use Islam to justify all oppression of women," said Al-Saadawi, a three-time divorcee herself. She said the divorce law was "already unfair since a woman has to give up all her economic rights to leave her husband.”

There is no single prevailing view among Muslim women about the revival of the wearing of the veil, whether it be the hijab or the full niqab face veil. See Mona Eltahawy for instance, for a trenchant feminist critique of the veil’s return and also this rejoinder by a Yemeni woman to Eltahawy’s argument.

What is clear is that the veil is indeed experiencing a resurgence – despite the assumptions that its use would gradually fall into decline, under the impact of Western social influences. For whatever mix of reasons – cultural identity, resistance to the West’s military adventurism, social pressure and personal choice have all played a part - the veil is on its way back. To date, the most thorough history of the veil’s meaning throughout history has been written by Professor Leila Ahmed of the Harvard Divinity School. Her book A Quiet Revolution: The Veil's Resurgence, from the Middle East to America is pretty much the standard text on the issue, and there is constructive criticism of the book here and in this Guardian review here. In her own article “Veil of Ignorance” published a couple of months ago in Foreign Policy magazine, Professor Ahmed provides a useful potted summary of her book’s main arguments – as she traces the rise and fall and resurgence of the veil, and the historical reasons for it.

In late July, Werewolf editor Gordon Campbell spoke to Professor Ahmed by phone from her home in Boston, Massachusetts about the resurgence of the veil.

Campbell : Why is wearing the veil becoming more prevalent rather than - as some historical trends might have led us to expect – less so?

Ahmed : ….That’s a very deeply political and complicated issue – just as unveiling was. The reasons that women unveiled in the early 20th century were as much political as they were to do with gender. Probably, even more so. They were about colonialism, with the desire to be Westernised, with the colonial view that the veil was backward, and the local acceptance of that. So, there’s no way of separating the unveiling which happened in the early 20th century, or –re-veiling which happened in the second half of the 20th century, from the profound effect of politics - both local politics, and politics in terms of imperialism.

Yes, but that’s what many in the West are struggling with. How can wearing the veil be seen as empowering, when it is more often seen to be dehumanising ? Can you tell me how it can be felt to be empowering?

I don’t think [in the past] it was seen as dehumanising. More as backward, or as less civilised. That’s how I viewed it myself when I began the book. I reacted against the idea of seeing women in veiling – just as many Westerners do, though I didn’t see it as de-humanising. The idea that it is dehumanising is a Western construction which many Middle Easteners like myself accepted, as being actually true. But if you think of the hijab – which is the head scarf or head covering – lets leave aside the burqa for the moment – then its really no different from what nuns used to wear. Some of them are going back to wearing it. I don’t see that as de-humanising.

Right. The usual response in the West conflates two things – one, that the decision to wear the veil (or not) is rarely a free choice. Your Foreign Policy article talks about the ‘ferocious social pressures’ that exist in some societies to wear the veil. Secondly..the reason it is seen as dehumanising is because it is seen as an inherently uncomfortable and inexpressive garment.

There are several important questions here. Lets separate burqa and hijab here. Lets talk just about the head covering. The question is whether if it is enforced in some countries can it be liberating in others? It can. In the countries where it is enforced it is not liberating and can have no positive meaning for women. The only places where it can have positivity and meaning is where women are free to choose to wear it, or not. That’s the number one separation we must make. There is no universal meaning of the hijab or the veil, and no universal sense in which it is oppressive, everywhere. In some countries it is appallingly oppressive, and – in countries [eg France] where it is forbidden – it is actually a form of protest, a call for liberation, a call for the freedom to choose to wear what you wish.

Now, the call for whether it is oppressive. At my age, when I see young women – skinny as anything, because in the West they are told they have to be skinny – or tottering around in high heels that I couldn’t bear to wear (laughs) ……People have to be free to choose perhaps to suffer, in how they want to suffer.

Arguably. choosing not to make your appearance available as a sexual billboard could be felt to be empowering, in itself.

I think it can be. You mentioned Slutwalk, which I wasn’t familiar with until you mentioned it and I looked it up. I certainly remember the bra burning days of feminism and when women were refusing to shave their legs – and in America, this was part of a very similar thing – as a form of protest against how women’s bodies were socially constructed, sexualised and so on. Today in the West…it is generally accepted that where it is freely chosen, dress can certainly be a protest against sexualization, and against manipulation by the media.

Fine. Yet while the burqa doesn’t participate in the sexual display common in the West, to most Westerners it seems a most impractical and uncomfortable garment for the climates where it is often enforced. That’s part of why it gets rejected as being any form of emancipation. Because wearing it is usually enforced, is impractical and its form seems to arise from a sexual fear and ignorance among those men demanding it.

Again, that runs together several questions.

Right. Start with the impracticality one. When women look at their sisters sweltering in hot climates in this black, all encompassing garment it seems hard to believe this could be worn by anything other than oppression .

OK, But again, it comes back to choice. If she chooses to be hot….I really don’t see that as any different [in principle] from wearing high heels or some other bizarre fashions that people are pressured to wear. If it is freely chosen, that is the critical test. To me, a bikini looks extremely uncomfortable, and yet one could say that a bikini is almost obligatory for any young woman in America.

Can any woman feel entirely free to embrace a garment like the burqa that carries patriarchal meanings for sisters elsewhere ? What I mean is…when it comes to matters of solidarity, can one ever freely wear the garment of the oppressed?

Let me put a question to you. Can you think of any country where the dress of men and women is not separate? Dress is symbolic everywhere. Before the feminist revolution – and it is really hardly any different in America – one could have easily argued it was about the inferiority and sexualization of women – in the way women had to dress as distinct from men. There are many feminist analyses as to why men could wear suits, and women wearing trousers isa fairly recent thing for women in America. So dress is always symbolic, is always about gender. And I think the idea that the hijab is necessarily more patriarchal than other dress…if you think of Victorian dress with their corsets and broken ribs…people really broke their ribs to get into them..

Yes,.but we have got past that. Isn’t it alarming that we seem to be reverting to adopting [with the burqa] what is widely seen as a badge of oppression in most contexts ?

But [conversely] in a country which bans the hijab such as France.or like Turkey [wearing the hijab] is an active call for justice, and for equality. How can you tell me I can’t dress this way, when you call yourself a free country…So it depends where it is.

Which is a flaw in the argument. That in order to free Muslim women, the authorities in the West are telling them what they can wear..

Well, exactly.

One of the interesting things about the footage from the Yemen has been that the people at the forefront of those protests have been women wearing full covering. Similarly, some of the important demonstrations during the Arab Spring both in Cairo have been led by women wearing full covering. For you, that must have required a re-appraisal – as someone who has spent a good deal of her life with decidedly mixed feelings about this garment?

That’s right. But by the time I finished the book I had ceased to have mixed feelings. Not to the point where I could wear it myself, that would be too bizarre. But in my own words, I point out something we should be aware of – which is, [those] women in Yemen who were wearing it and are out there protesting –and women in Egypt – this is just normal dress for them. Just as not wearing one is normal dress for me. They would have to twist their heads around to see there is anything wrong with it – just as I would have to twist my head around to start wearing one. So this is just normal dress, and it is us who are constructing this as being an either/or. And you know, in a world where there is a lot of Western aggression and in Muslim countries that are suffering…and they are the targets of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are both Muslim majority countries. The veil can take on meanings – of [saying] that this is not right, this is wrong, we’re human too !

In much the same way Jewish people may have taken to wearing the yarmulke?

Exactly.

In countries where social pressure does exist to wear the burqa, there is a sense that there is an underlying sexual fear involved. Do you see this requirement [to be veiled] as the end result of a misogyny and a sexual tension in any way inherent to Islam ?

No. For one thing, the veil didn’t start in Islam. It was used by the Jews and the Christians when Islam spread. It is not by any means an originally Muslim, or only a Muslim, garment. In fact, it was the norm in and across the Middle East until Western colonialism – regardless of what religion you were after. It was how men dressed too, in that they covered their heads and wore loose robes, and if you think of the Pope…They [Catholic priests] dress like Muslim men, too. And Muslim women [resemble] the nuns.

But to repeat – there is a perception that Islam is