News Week in Review

After years of being forgotten and neglected by the world press and the international community, Somalia has lately been given a place of prominence in the news community because of the current political situation.

Here is a summary of "news-worthy" events in Somalia being reported today:

Mogadishu port re-opens under the UIC's control. This is a very visible effort by the UIC leaders to show that they are restoring stability to Somalia. They seem to be adopting the Hamas and Hezbollah model of providing social services to win over the public, while simultaneously adopting a Taliban-like law enforcement stance. The former has proven effective in other countries; the latter has proven disastrous when implemented in other countries. Time will tell how effective they will be.

Puntland leaders admit to having Ethiopia soldiers on their land. This seems to be the tactic to fight the UIC. Puntland, as a self-declared autonomous state, can invite in Ethiopian troops without the same complications that the TFG in Baidoa can. This may be leading to a two-front attack on the UIC militias. One coming from the Puntland/Ethiopia forces in the north and another front from TFG forces in the west.

Second Anniversary of the TFG celebrated with military parade in Baidoa. TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf is trying his best to show a strong, united front in Baidoa. Is it a facade?

An ex-president of Somalia's most recently failed attempt at a government is looking to become relevant again in the political picture. This press conference news conference has him aligning himself with the UIC. He is a known sympathizer with Islamist groups. His strong ties to these and Arab groups are what seemed to help speed the collapse of his TNG government.

One of the forgotten humanitarian crises in Somalia. This is just another sad tale of what is happening to common rural Somali's as the politicians on all sides bicker for power.

A Land of City-States

In the Middle Ages, before the dawn of the concept of the nation-state, there were city-states. These autonomous, self-governing cities were what controlled most of civilizaton. With the current state of Somalia, the world is provided a glimpse back into the world of the city-state.

Practically speaking, there are 4 cities-states within the boundries formerly known as Somalia. They are Hargeisa, Bossaso, Mogadisho, and Baidoa. In each, there are local governments now that (although claiming regional or national entitlement) only control their particular city. In between are huge stretches of desert and mountains and plains with intersparced villages and towns.

These vast swaths of undeloped land and these small villages and towns are what make up an overwhelming majority of the geographic territory of Somalia. The nomads and the small towns and villiages generally don't see the Hargeisa, Bossaso, Mogadisho, and Baidoa leaders as their government. They're government is local and they listen to the local elders of their clan.

When a few soldiers from the UIC storms into a remote villiage and 'takes control' of a area, it just means there are soldiers in the village. A group 'takes control' of an area when a majority of the people are either forced to accept the authority of their invaders, or are bribed into believing their invaders will make life better for them. There is some of both cases happening in areas controlled by each these city-states.

Hargeisa and Bossaso have sustained themselves relatively well over the last few years, with Hargeisa having more stability and recognized success. Yet, both of these cities are dominated by one paricular clan. The UIC in Mogadisho is also tilted toward one major clan. Only the TFG in Baidoa is a 'successful' effort to create a multi-clan government. The TFG has done this through a long and democratic reconcilliation process. The UIC, on the other hand hopes to become a united multi-clan government through an appeal to pious Islam.

Are these city-states sustainable? Hargeisa and Bossaso can only be sustained long-term if there is no strong central government, or if they break away and form independent countries. The TFG can only be sustained if they take control of Mogadisho. The UIC can only be sustained if they force the TFG to collapse, or they give up their ideas of becoming a government body.

Rights Group in Somalia Criticizes Islamic Courts

By Pearse Lynch www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-18-voa46.cfm

Islamic militiamen in Mogadishu

On August, 18th a meeting at a Mogadishu hotel to commemorate the anniversary of a Somali Islamic movement 28 years ago was forcibly broken up by heavily armed Islamic militiamen, who said the gathering was illegal because it had not been approved by Islamic leaders.

In a press statement released immediately after the incident, the chairman of the Somali Human Rights Defenders Network, Ahmed Mohamed Ali, said the actions of the Islamists were a direct violation of the basic human right of free assembly.

The statement also rejected claims that the Islamists have restored law and order in areas under their control. The group says that Islamic militias are carrying out murders and prominent figures in Mogadishu have been arbitrarily detained and imprisoned.

Islamic Courts Militia patrol a street of Mogadishu

A spokesman for the Islamic leadership, Abdukraim Ali Mudday, has dismissed the group's accusations. He says that unauthorized public gatherings are a direct threat to the security the Islamists have restored to many parts of the country after seizing the capital in early June. He also insists that public gatherings held without the supervision of Islamic authorities violate Islamic laws, known as sharia.

Nairobi-based Somali analyst, Najum Mushtaq, says whenever a system based on sharia law is enforced, it often comes in conflict with Western views of human rights as defined by the United Nations charter and the Geneva Convention.

Mushtaq says despite the Islamists' success in restoring order in towns and cities seized from factional warlords, the recent arrival of refugees from Somalia into neighboring Kenya and Sudan may be a sign that many Somalis are unwilling to live under a strict, Islamic regime.

"The more their laws are seen in action, people will resent them," he said. "Cinemas closing down, restrictions on women's movements in public space, this kind of a Taliban-like culture trying to impose [itself] on a society that is so diverse, this is what I call 'inter-Islam fissure' - people on many sides calling themselves Muslims but with a different culture and a different world view."

Mushtaq predicts the rise of hard line Islamic doctrine could cause lasting divisions within Somalia.

"The point I want to emphasize here is that of sectarianism, which is unheard of in Somalia," he said. "It happened in Afghanistan. It happened in Pakistan - the Sunni, Shi'ite thing all over the Muslim world. But in Somalia, they are Sufis. They follow the same school of thought. So this movement is a departure from the traditional religious structures of Somalia."

Somalia Islamists say they will attack Puntland

The spokesperson for the Islamic Courts Council said on Wednesday that
the presence of Ethiopian and Puntland troops in central Somalia regions to aid warlord Abdi Qeibdid must not be tolerated.

Sheikh Abdirahim Ali Mudey, the ICC's information secretary, said the Islamists spared Colonel Abdi Qeibdid's life after Islamist militiamen defeated him in Mogadishu.

This is the first time the Islamists have shed light on exactly how Qeibdid left Mogadishu after his defenses were overran by the Islamists.

Sheikh Mudey said the ICC leadership talked with Puntland president Mohamud "Adde" Muse and the two sides agreed that Puntland would not cross into south Mudug region and the ICC promised to not enter Puntland-controlled areas.

"We will send our forces into Puntland regions if Puntland forces do not rereat from south Mudug," the ICC's information secretary warned.

Puntland sent hundreds of militias Wednesday to Bandiiradley village, which is located some 60 KM south of Galkayo, the capital of Mudug region.

Bandiiradley was previously under the control of the Islamists but they were forced to retreat with the arrival of Qeibdid's militias supported by Ethiopian troops and Puntland militias.

Residents in Mudug region are reportedly fearful of the outbreak of new wars in the region.

Aug 23, 2006, 19:05
Garowe Online News

Somali woman is flogged for drugs

Men have been whipped for selling drugs

A Somali woman has been flogged in public for selling cannabis by Islamist militias who now control the capital.

This is the first time a woman has received this kind of punishment since the Union of Islamic Courts seized Mogadishu in June. She got 11 lashes.

Arrested for a small bundle of the drug worth $1, she pleaded innocence while being beaten, AP news agency reports.

Most sellers of the mild narcotic khat, widely used in Somalia, are women but the UIC has not opposed this trade.

The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says women often sell khat because during the long civil war, they aroused less suspicion than men when crossing between areas controlled by rival factions.

The UIC was set up two years ago by businessmen who wanted some law and order. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991.

Five men were also whipped in Thursday's ceremony, in which the seized drugs were burnt.

This is only the second time that the UIC has carried out a public flogging in Mogadishu.

The UIC is divided between radicals, who want to impose a Taleban-style state in Somalia, and moderates, who say they have no such plans.

It controls much of southern Somalia, while the internationally recognised government remains confined to Baidoa, some 200km to the north of Mogadishu.

East African diplomats have been trying to bring the Islamists and the government together for talks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5283192.stm

The State of Somalia

I hope to spend much of my time on this blog giving you my understanding, opinions and feedback on current situations in Somalia. I don't have an agenda, aside from the deep hope that peace is possible again in Somalia and the hope that Somalia will become a safe, peaceful and democratic country that I and my family may be able to visit one day.

Somali Islamists ban animal trade.

Birds of prey are among the wildlife exported

The Islamic courts that control large parts of Somalia have banned the export of charcoal and wild animals.

The courts warned businessmen involved in the trade that they will be dealt with firmly if arrested.

Charcoal exports have stripped areas of woodland, causing drought and soil erosion, while many wild animal species are becoming rarer.

Somali companies and individuals run the trade, with exports going mostly to the United Arab Emirates.

Birds of prey, trapped and exported live, form a significant part of the trade.

The exports have been going on since the collapse in 1991 of Somalia's last effective national government.

For the past 15 years, the country has been divided between warring militias.

Some of these factions have tried to control the export of wildlife and charcoal, but with little success.

The Islamic courts and their militia who have controlled the capital, Mogadishu, since earlier this year are taking the issue more seriously, the BBC's Hassan Barise reports from the city.

Their decision to halt the trade is more likely to have an impact, particularly in Mogadishu, our correspondent says.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5274620.stm

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