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Opinions expressed in this column are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of SW.
SHASNA MediaWatch BOSTON, MA <Shantasomali@aol.com> [November
09, 2001] Week-in-Review SHASNA
MediaWatch department follows news analysis, commentaries, trends, news
reports and press releases of the week. We pay special attention to
Somali news in general, and to Arab financed and UN supported ‘ARTA
TERROR CELLS’ in particular. We analyze, digest and separate facts
from fiction. With so many news outlets and so many groups, each one
vying for your attention, we will try our very best to fairly analyze
what you have read or missed reading. Washington,
USA (Washingtonpost.com
- November 4, 2001: Somalia
Draws Anti-Terrorist Focus) Unfortunately,
instead of the Nairobi based foreign correspondents in their luxurious
compounds, in Nairobi’s Grand Regency and or Intercontinental Hotel,
it has taken the Washington Post Staff Writers to reveal the truth in
Somalia and about the TNG sub-clan terror cells in Mogadishu and their
Al-Itihad Al-Islamiya militia and Al-Qaeda funders and collaborators
from Boosaaso, Garoowe to Marka and Ras Kamboni. Kudos to the Post’s
Staff Writers; you have upped up the ante. While
the report on the Post was right on target about the operations and
intentions of these terror cells in Somalia, it has largely missed of
who props up, funds and maintains these terror cells in Somalia as a
legitimate government, i.e., TNG or TNA and or humanitarian entities. It
is foreign Arab influences from the Middle East of which Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Sudan, Yemen and Libya are the foremost supporters of these
terror cells in Somalia. It is also the UN political officers and UNDP
officials in Nairobi, Kenya that give them the needed cover. It is for
sure more than that meets the eye. Therefore,
before Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asks his CINCS (the regional commanders
in chief) to draw up and devise plans to fight these terror cells in
East Africa, he should first have a talk with President Bush and have
him devise plans for the Security Council. During this Saturday’s UN
session, the President should, point blank, ask certain members of the
Security Council: who is with us in our fight against terror cells and
who isn’t? Who is politically and financially supporting the terror
cells in Somalia? Warning: Messrs Bush and Rumsfeld the answers from certain
Security Council members will not be pretty; and unless and until
you figure out who is with you and who isn’t, this struggle will
surely be a very long one! Mr.
David Stephens, Mr. Randolph Kent, please get ready for some serious and
credible answers besides your usual blether of “territorial
integrity” and assertions that the “…Arta Process remained the
only viable option.” We Somalis can, should and would do better than
your Arta scam! And we wish, hope and trust that every government and
organization that supports these terror cells will be “stopped and
defeated.” And by gosh, Somalis everywhere will see to it that Sir
David Stephen’s Mogadishu TNG terror cell will belong to
“history’s unmarked graveyards of discarded lies.” Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia And
slowly but surely, the world wakes up to Somali realities and unfettered
news and analysis from ground zero. This is a great analysis and a must
read for anyone who is interested in understanding the realities in
Somalia. We would recommend that the UN Governor General for Somalia,
Sir David Stephens, pick up a copy and slowly digest the truth in
Somalia. We would also expect that Ms. Pat Banks and Mr. Randolph Kent
would also, for a change, savor the truth and do likewise! And
we conclude this piece with Mr. Tadesse’s own words: “After all it
is not difficult to realize that there will always be clan politics in
Somalia but there will never be clan supremacy.” What a fitting line
for the Governor General, Sir David Stephens and cohorts!
Asides The
Hague – The war criminals who directed Siad Barre’s war against all
Somalis, and headed by none other than Mr. AbdiQasim Salad Hassan, related
terror cells and certain entourage in Hotel Ramadan, are also
today directing other crimes against humanity: the massacres of Baraawe
and Kismayo; and the torching of Garasweyne, Hejmacood and Kuunyo-Barrow
villages and where most of the resident were either massacred or chased
away by the terror cells (Islamic court militias) and sub-clan militias.
We hope the UN and their highly regarded political officers pay close
attention to these devastating wars and heinous crimes against humanity
committed by the Arta sub-clan. These men in Hotel Ramadan and many
others, members of the UN pet project, got us where we are today. The UN
should not only pay lip service to human rights abuses, but also should
lead the way and show some action. Unless of course, as always, crimes
against the Blackman and Africans in particular are not considered real
crimes! We sincerely hope it ain’t so. IRIN
– UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a misnomer,
should be appropriately renamed the UN Office for the Coordination of
instability in East Africa! With
or without the UN’s IRIN redesigned website, all still remains the
same. It is the same UN propaganda machine full of verifiable lies. But,
we do sincerely appreciate your attempts to at least limit the
propaganda to may be one headline a day. With
the Puntland people and their police forces finally reclaiming their
city (Garoowe) from Al-Itihad militias, IRIN unfortunately ups the
propaganda ante by claiming that “it could turn into a political
scenario, with those opposed to the conference taking advantage of it,
thereby plunging the region into confusion.” (IRIN – 7 Nov 2001:
Puntland delegates denied entry to conference hall) We wonder: who is
confusing whom? Let
us examine one of their more verifiable lies about the people and the
region of Puntland. On that above IRIN Nov 7, news article, they claim
“ Puntland traditional elders meeting in Garowe, the regional capital,
in July rejected Abdullahi Yusuf’s extension…” Well, nothing could
be further from the truth. According
to Ken Menkhaus, a professor at Davidson College in North Carolina,
“there are no secrets in Somalia.” Well IRIN, there are no secrets
in Somalia and neither in Puntland. Let us please try to explain to you
that there are about sixty traditional elders or Issims in Puntland, of
which about 19 of them (some actually not even legitimate Issims but
made up by the Al-Itihad committee in Garoowe) sided with their
Al-Itihad sponsors and militias that attempted to overthrow the legally
elected leadership; and the remaining 40 something Issims stayed behind
and supported their leader and representatives. Again, it is may be 19
vs. 40 something. Let us again repeat one more time: it is 40 something
Issims voting for the extension of the President’s mandate and may be
19 against it. What is so hard in understanding the above stated fact?
Or is it that the UN political officers don’t believe that there can
be democracy in Africa? Or is it their policy that the only legitimate
rulers of Somalia can be and should be Al-Itihaad members? Please get
over with your propaganda and destabilization policy; your time and that
of the Arta sub-clan is quite rightly running out of steam! Last
week we also reported about the much-touted IRIN and the TNG conference or
rather no conference in Nairobi. Can anyone please tell us who
arrived and subsequently negotiated with whom? Did anything materialize,
except IRIN and BBC headlines and claims by the TNG sub-clan leader that
peace will be achieved in his time? Sir David Stephens, thank you very
much for this peace breakthrough in Nairobi! Of course, President Daniel
Arap Moi is well versed in Somali politics and pressures from Libya and
friends in the Middle East. Dear readers, now that you know the rest of
the story, what else could President Moi really do? Three cheers Chief! BBC
Somali Section – The sub-clan militia and so called Islamic court
radio broadcasters at the BBC Somali Section and their reporters in
Mogadishu are in full alert! Warning: be skeptical of their news
reports, as always, it is an outlet for the sub-clan and other
associated militia fantasies. By the way, if and when they do, did
anyone ever wonder how IRIN and the BBC Somali Section choose their
sources? And
of course, just like their IRIN online sister magazine, they keep
playing diversionary tactics and reporting about non-existing
conferences in Nairobi. Don’t believe this Libya hyped conference;
their purportedly peaceful conference has taken the same road as that of
the previous Saudi and Egypt conferences. But, hang in there; there will
soon be a real conference somewhere right in the midst of the Motherland
and in Somalia. USA
– Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill: “Millions of dollars have moved
through these U.S. offices of Al-Barakaat. This organization is now
exposed for what it is - a pariah in the civilized world.''
Now, we ask you, ladies and gentlemen, what about Barakaat’s
militia and battlewagons (technicals) that roam the streets of
Mogadishu, Marka, Kismayo and Ras Kamboni? Or, what about their
defenders in the media, i.e., UN’s IRIN organization and Her
Majesty’s BBC Somali Section? We look forward to hearing from
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Secretary
General Kofi Annan. UN – “The Security Council also expressed deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in parts of southern Somalia, where an estimated 300,000 people are at risk of famine.” We wonder if Sir David has yet given them any details of why so many people are displaced and are at risk of famine? Well, we always have the answers and they are not pretty: it is that same TNG sub-clan together with Al-Barakaat militia and battlewagons, headed by Mr. Salad Hassan, and that you are assisting and seeking for more international support, that displaced, robbed, raped, maimed, and is creating more havoc in southern Somalia! Well, if the answer is to give them more aid to create more havoc, we suppose, in the foreseeable future, we will be blessed with Mr. Randolph Kent and UN Governor General, Sir David Stephen’s Nairobi compounds! And the UN solution for world problems will remain unchanged: just close your eyes and throw more money at it! ------------------------------------------------------- TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS AND CONCERNED SOMALIS: Thank
you very much for your support in the ARENA OF IDEAS in these trying
times. The true and tested hard working and devoted Somalis need
leadership and unbiased information. We will try our very best to
provide that. To other Somalis on the fence: the days of one clan
forcefully dominating the other are over. If each one of us doesn’t
clean his/her own house, nobody will clean it for us! For all the young
men and women: don’t waste your time in this clan rubbish. Stay in
school; we may need you someday. For the few who disagree, please be
specific in where we err, if we do at all! SHASNA* Editorial Board *SHASNA is an advocacy group based in Boston, Massachusetts. It stands for the unity and peaceful coexistence of Somali people. It supports the creation of a federal system of governance to safeguard the emerging free markets of the Recovery Zones. SHASNA encourages corporate and individual investments in the Recovery Zones. It has presences in both Puntland (Boosaaso, Garoowe, Buurtinle, Bacaadweyn and Galkayo) and Somaliland (Hergeysa, Berbera and Burco). |
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