|
||||
Opinions expressed in this column are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of SW.
SHASNA
MediaWatch BOSTON,
MA [November
30, 2001] Month-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. Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia Nairobi,
Kenya Mogadishu,
Somalia This
is the second part of a serious of research writings by Mr. Tadesse. His
work speaks for itself, but we will give you some highlights that Mr.
Randolph Kent and his friends at the UN have lately been trying to
deliberately sidestep and therefore deem them moot: “When
the most organized and dangerous terrorist group, the Al-Itihad
al-islamia, militarily attacked Ethiopia in several occasions, there
were more than a dozen of Afghan-Arabs in its ranks. Still young Arab
and Pakistani zealots are in the TNG controlled part of Mogadishu in the
name of business. Colonel Abdirahman Baadiye and Colonel Ibrahim awes,
both leaders of Al-Itihad Al-Islamiya, are heads of the security in
Somalia and the main link with outside Islamist forces including Bin
Laden.” On
Al-Itihad businesses and their overnight rags to riches businessmen that
Mr. Randolph Kent is so much in awe and in love with: “All
money transfer agencies (such as El-Barakat, Dahabshil, Al-Mustaqbal),
telecommunication [only Al-Barakat’s], import-export agencies,
food-stuffs and the supply of building materials is owned by Islamist
forces.” Now,
dear readers, we ask you: can these know it all, superbly ingenious and
highly superior UN Masters give us an answer as to how anyone of
these wealthy Mogadishu individuals - who one day left home penniless
only to return home with tremendous amount of wealthy of which no one
dares question their new found status - arrived their wealth and where
such wealth is derived from? We very much doubt! On
Messrs. David Stephens and Randolph Kent’s TNG: “Moreover, the
Islamist forces (or mujahidins) in Somalia control their own militia,
their own international terrorist training camps including the so-called
Islamic courts [Marka and Mogadishu]. All the security in Mogadisho and
Kismayo is controlled by the Al-Itihad Al-Islamiya. This terrorist
organization which tried to destabilize Ethiopia and Kenya, is the
backbone of the newly created TNG in Mogadisho. The TNG does not have
its own army and depends on the military machine of the Al-Itihad while
the islamists promote their agenda using the international recognition
of the TNG.” Mr.
Tadesse firmly recommends that “Something should be done to check the
movement of terrorist forces in Somalia (who now control parts of
Mogadishu-TNG controlled area, Kismayo and recently are engaged in
destabilizing the port of Bosaso in Puntland) before they control the
whole of Somalia and embark on destabilizing neighboring countries and
develop the capacity to attack the interests of the civilized world at
large.” Salih Omer, AIGA Forum – November 27, 2001: Somalia’s
[TNG] Credibility and its Terrorist Enterprises And
the revelations keep on piling up. “…The dysfunctional transitional
government, which has been holed into one part of Mogadishu, did little
to alleviate the suffering of the Somali people in a year of its
existence. Instead, it managed to systematically polarize the already
fractious Somali society, using thousands of Al Qaeda and Al-Itihad
fighters and their financial resources funneled by the Al-Barakaat
financial network.” The
lessons for the UN’s incompetents and “paperclip” suppliers
continues: “Despite the continued pledge of the officials of the
Somalia Transitional Government to the United States and the United
Nations about terrorism in that country, there are strong indications
that the Al Qaeda veteran fighters are being accepted with open arms in
Mogadishu and certain parts of Somalia.” “The
recent battles in Puntland, Mogadishu, and southern Somalia are part of
the Al-Itihad strategy to create secure bases for the returning Al Qaeda
fighters. The close relations between the terrorist groups are clearly
indicated by the similarity of the Al-Qaeda administrative structure in
both Somalia and Afghanistan. For example, the Al-Itihad is in charge of
the affairs of the transitional government in Somalia as was the case
with Al Qaeda controlling the Talaban in Afghanistan. In reality, the
unwillingness of the Al-Itihad organization to create a representative
government has been the main reason why the UN and the Inter Government
Authority for Development (IGAD) have been unable to resolve the
political crisis in Somalia for the last ten years.” And
the lessons for the deaf and hard of hearing continue on a weekly basis;
stay tuned! In
the meantime, we should point out that it is also about tracking the TNG
and Al-Barakaat funds and following the money trail to Djibouti’s
notorious banks in the corrupt city-state of Djibouti (see previous
SHASNA reports.) Once this lifeline has been shut, including the Saudi
fanatics’ supply line, the terror cells’ oxygen supply will quickly
run out; and from there on, the Somali people will root them out and
reclaim their country from these foreign imports and associates. And
just like Kapul and Kundus, justice will be swift! And
as we keep exposing the truth, nothing but the truth, we wish,
hope and trust that every individual, 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
and Mr. Randolph Kent’s Mogadishu TNG terror cell will belong to “history’s
unmarked graveyards of discarded lies.” And
now contrast above facts with the following phone and cocktail
conversations: Reuters
- Simon Denyer - Nov 25, 2001 – Gunmen Hold Somali Government to
Ransom Financial
Times – Mark Turner – Nov 19, 2001 – Failures in Somalia… And Mr. Randolph Kent keeps up working on the telephone lines:
Now that you have read about the truth in Somalia and Mogadishu in
particular, let us share with you what Mr. Randolph Kent has been busy
about lately. He
has been trying to convince the ever-gullible foreign correspondents in
Nairobi’s Grand Regency Hotel that Afghanistan’s LOYA JIRGA is
similar to Mr. Salad Hassan’s clan elders and the Djibouti elite that
appointed him during the Arta ‘Qaad’ festival. Well, Mr. Denyer,
nothing could be further from the truth; and please trust us instead of
Mr. Kent: unlike the Loya Jirga, there were no legitimate Somali
clan elders in Djibouti. Indeed it was more like the rooted out Taliban
clan elders; as a matter of fact, Al-Qaeda and friends were behind the
whole Arta scam! Mr.
Denyer, you tell us that Mr. Kent told you “Somalia’s efforts to
build a new government have been a success” “ with only a small
amount of outside support.” We ask you Mr. Denyer, how do you and Mr.
Kent define a success? Do you consider the dislodging of indigenous
tribes in Marka, Kismayo and Ras kamboni a success? Do you consider the
thousands of massacred villagers from Baraawe, Hejmacood, to Garasweyne
and Kuunyo-Barrow and to Kismayo a success? Do you consider the recent
deaths in the Recovery Zones a success? If not, please tell us what you
mean by a “success.” Messrs.
Denyer, Turner and Kent, we know what a dismal failure your TNG has
been, and no amount of UN window dressing, foreign correspondent
rhetoric, and humanitarian aid, can change that fact. Let us call evil
an evil, and failure a failure! And
Mr. Denyer, did you ask Mr. Kent to define what “a small amount of
outside support” means? Does that “small amount” include the
millions from Saudi religious fanatics, the same fanatics who provide
the bulk of Mr. Bin Laden’s finances to his Al-Qaeda network and its
subsidiary Al-Barakaat? Does that “small amount” also include Mr.
Randolph Kent’s welfare agency handouts? And since some organizations
- such as the Doctors without Borders - have withdrawn from his agency
“for lack of neutrality,” is it really a welfare agency, an
aid-lord, or the head of yet unspecified international protectorate
without the necessary powers? We keep wondering! Mr.
Denyer, not only that, but Mr. Kent continues, “ This does not involve
pouring millions of dollars in. Far more importantly, it involves
determining how to use best…” Dear Mr. Denyer, Which Mr. Kent should
we believe? The one you interviewed, the one Mark Turner Interviewed,
the BBC one or the Randolph Kent of IRIN? On
Mark Turner’s piece, he claims that the “building blocks” approach
has been tried and it failed. Dear Mr. Turner, when was it tried and who
tried it? Please raise your head up a little bit and look around. This
little bit of semblance and development in Somalia is through the
“building blocks” approach. It is created not by the UN and Mr.
Randolph Kent’s SACB – surprise, surprise - but by us Somalis and,
surprisingly, it is working! And
about Mr. Randolph Kent’s “instructive experiences” in Somalia, we
hope none of it will be applied in Afghanistan; it doesn’t work and it
has been a dismal failure! Mr.
Turner continues “ Somalia has become a living testament to the
futility of political solutions driven by outsiders, where western-style
state institutions have little meaning and attempts by foreigners to
introduce societal change have faced constant failure.”
And
Mr. Kent concurs: “We have to learn how to engage, but not
impose.” If this is not hypocritical, we don’t what is! On one day
he is imposing his euro centric views on Somalia, and the next day he
denies it. One day he is against terrorism, and the next day he is
supporting Al-Qaeda’s Al-Barakaat subsidiary. On one day he tells us
Somalia doesn’t need that much funds; and then the next day he
requests $83,683,971 vs $130 million for last year “to support a range
of humanitarian and development interventions” of which we haven’t
yet seen any of it being accounted for! On one day he is supporting
Al-Barakaat’s TNG; and then the next day he is preaching support for
Somali-bred solutions while at the same time opposing the building
blocks approach! Is Mr. Kent speaking on both sides of his mouth or
what? We
hope Mr. Kent pays attention to the following comments by Walter
Kansteiner, the US undersecretary of state for Africa: “Total benign
neglect is problematic; but total engagement and obsession is
problematic as well.” We think that by now you know at what end of
that spectrum Mr. Kent stands! Will
the real Randolph Kent please stand up! And
where does Mr. Kent and his IRIN organization get the facts about Somali
remittances dropping by 50%? Could it be that as always this is a made
up number? Or could it be that fortunately Al Qaeda remittances to
Al-Barakaat and the TNG have ceased? Either way, we can tell you that
individual Somali remittances have not dropped one penny. The mere
monthly $50 to $150 remittances per family are still going on with no
disruptions what so ever and the slack has been filled by other hungry
and angry Somali entrepreneurs! And by the way, when was the last time
that Mr. Kent has seen a Somali family? Just a thought! 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 official
propaganda to may be a mere headline a day. And we sincerely thank you
for sticking to that one headline pledge a day! And
the Masters at IRIN are at it again with their gloom and doom
predictions in Somalia and about Al-Barakaat’s closure! This time the
Masters are informing the world community that without Al-Barakaat, the
Somali people who were just like “…dogs walking on their hind
legs” are about “to fall down on all four!” Trust us, we will
be better off without Al-Barakaat and associates! They
are also informing the world that “Somalia’s economy is on the verge
of collapse” because of “relentless inflation.” Notice they have
also previously informed us that Mr. Salad Hassan’s TNG has fixed the
economy by providing the economy with US dollars. Again, which one is
it? Of course we know which one and it is as follows: Somalia’s
inflation is due to the Mr. Salad Hassan and his cousin, Mr. Ina
Deylaaf’s excessive printing and importation of fake and illegal
Somali currency. And about the second one and them growing the economy,
we know nothing about it; we only read it on the UN’s IRIN
organization website! And
what did IRIN say of Mr. Salad Hassan and about his knowledge of
Al-Qaeda and their subsidiary Al-Barakaat? Well this is what Mr. Kent
told the BBC news: “While
the UN was not in the Business of investigation, the alleged link
between al-Barakaat and al-Qaeda does not seem very evident.” Here we
go again! If that is not defending Bin Laden, Al-Itihad and associates,
we don’t know what is! And by the way, Mr. Kent, did you ever get the
chance to ask yourself how a clerk in Jeddah, SA, got to know the Saudi
religious fanatics and just in a very short period of time gets to own a
controlling interest in Al-Barakaat group of companies? It doesn’t get
simpler than this, Mr. Kent! But
then again, he is the same Mr. Kent who has been vainly trying to
exonerate the TNG criminals in Hotel Ramadan (see asides – The Hague);
why would we be surprised if he again vainly tries to exonerate
Al-Qaeda’s subsidiary? And whom should you believe, him and
Yusuf-Garad or the US Treasury Department? Case dismissed! Osama’s
allies – What do Mr. Salad Hassan (TNG), Ina Deylaaf (fake currency
dealer), Col. Hassan Dahir Aweys (US most wanted list –
Kandahar/Marka/Mog), Yusuf Garaad (BBC Somali Sub-clan Section), Hassan
Barrise (BBC Sub-clan reporter in Mogadishu) and A. Salad Hassan (IRIN)
have in common? What
do the above individuals have in common with Ahmed Nur Ali Jimale
(Al-Barakaat and detained in Dubai), Abbas Ali Abdi (US most wanted list
– Mogadishu), Abdullahi Hussein Kahiye “Asbaro” (Mogadishu) and
Mohamed Atef (dead in Kabul)? Is
Mr. Randolph Kent, by any chance, aware of the overlapping relations and
continuous business interests? BBC
Somali Section – The sub-clan militia and so-called Islamic court
radio broadcasters at the BBC Somali Sub-clan 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. And
together with IRIN they are in a war footing. Three days in a row last
week, they have interviewed three different Arta clansmen who all
advocated for the use of bullets and the reinvigoration of Mogadishu’s
killing fields in Puntland, and to boot, the forceful expulsion or the
killing of Puntland’s legitimate leader. One
such character was none other than Mr. Hassan Abshir who is working on
Messrs. David Stephens, Randolph Kent and Salad Hassan’s second round
of Somali reconciliation. What a reconciliation it was and it would be! IRIN
even went one step ahead of the BBC Somali Sub-clan Section and quoted
their non-existing and fabricated sources that “these forces will
certainly attack Yusuf’s positions if the elders fail to persuade him
to leave peacefully.” One more time please: what elders? Where are
they and who are they? Please try to name one single legitimate and
other than Al-itihad elder? Don’t cross your fingers! Galkayo,
Puntland (Yamayska and Yamayska.com) Nov 27, 2001: Al-Itihad Real Power
Behind the TNG sub-clan - Meles Zanawi interview as translated by the
Yamayska from the Arabic language daily, Al-Hayat: “The premier said
if the US supported the ongoing political changes in Somalia, it would
be able to fight terrorism with the support of Somalis and their
neighboring countries, with Ethiopia assuring its support.” “On the
one-year-old transitional government of Mr. Salad Hassan and its
relations with Al-Itihad group and the Al-Barkat money remittance
agency, the premier said that Al-Itihad was the real power behind his
government, with Al-Barakat being the financial wing. And the closure of
this financial institution by the US Treasury Department has now
seriously affected the existence and the resources of Mr. Salad
Hassan’s TNG.” Boosaaso
- According to a previous issue of the Yamayska, Mr. Randolph Kent and
his men, without informing the authorities and under the close cover of
the night, have sometime in October visited the port city of Boosaaso,
Puntland. We seriously wonder why? Sorry
Messrs. Stephens and Kent; you can’t have your cake and eat it too! BBC
World Service – Nov 29, 2001 – Yusuf-Garad Just Back from Somalia:
And the sub-clan members keep shedding tears daily. Yesterday it was
Hassan Barise; today it was none other than the sub-clan Editor-in-Chief
claiming on the BBC World Service that Al-Barakaat was a pure Somali
company and owned by Somali shareholders. Mr. Yusuf-Garad, if you can,
please do the math: the Al-Barakaat numbers don’t add up! Let us
please remind you this quote from Sir Walter Scott: “Oh what a
tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive!” AFP
– Nov 29, 2001 - The
Times of India - No Ethiopian Troops in Country: Mr. Hassan Abshir
Farah, the Arta Sub-clan premier, or so he thinks, said Tuesday
“that the forces who crossed the border were not Ethiopian.” He
said, “These forces are not Ethiopian troops but Somalis belonging to
the Majerteen group, they came to help Abdullahi Yusuf.” Is Hassan
Abshir the Interior Minister of Puntland or the Arta sub-clan premier?
It looks like, once again, the rug has been pulled from underneath Mr.
Salad Hassan’s feet! Will
the real Hassan Abshir Farah please stand up?
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 (Hargeysa, Berbera and Burco). |
||||
Copyright © 1999 by somaliawatch.org. All Rights Reserved. Revised: 19 May 2007 05:04 AM. Webmaster HomePage |