Snowden still in Moscow despite Bolivian plane drama

Associated Press/Hans Punz - Bolivia's President Evo Morales, center, enters his plane at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. The plane of Morales was rerouted to Austria after various European

By Angelika Gruber and Emma Farge

VIENNA/GENEVA (Reuters) - Bolivia accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to "kidnap" its president, Evo Morales, after his plane was denied permission to fly over some European countries on suspicion he was taking fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden to Latin America.

Bolivia said the incident, in which the plane was denied permission to fly over France and Portugal before making a stop in Vienna, was an act of aggression and a violation of international law.

Snowden was not on the plane when it landed in Vienna, an Austrian official said. He is believed to be stranded in the transit lounge of a Moscow airport and the United States has been trying to get its hands on him since he revealed details of its secret surveillance programs last month.

The White House declined to comment on the Bolivian assertion.

The furor was the latest twist in a saga that has raised debate over the balance between privacy rights and national security. Revelations of U.S. surveillance on European countries have also strained transatlantic relations.

France said on Wednesday that free-trade talks between the European Union and the United States should be delayed by two weeks given tensions over media reports, stemming from the Snowden case, that Washington is spying on the 28-nation bloc.

'NO ONE ELSE ON BOARD'

The Bolivian plane was taking Morales home from an energy conference in Moscow when it landed at Vienna airport on Tuesday evening. Austrian Deputy Chancellor Michael Spindelegger said Morales personally denied that Snowden was aboard his jet and agreed to a voluntary inspection.

"Based on this invitation from Bolivia, a colleague boarded the plane, looked at everything and there was no one else on board," Spindelegger told reporters.

But Bolivian Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra said Morales' plane was not searched because Morales had refused Austrian authorities entry.

Bolivia's ambassador to the United Nations, Sacha Llorenti Soliz, expressed outrage at the chain of events.

"We're talking about the president on an official trip after an official summit being kidnapped," he said in Geneva.

"We have no doubt that it was an order from the White House. By no means should a diplomatic plane with the president be diverted from its route and forced to land in another country."

The ambassador said Bolivia's anger was directed at the United States and the countries that prevented the plane from flying over them.

The Obama administration has advised foreign governments that allowing Snowden to land on their territory could seriously damage their relations with the United States, U.S. and European national security sources said.

The sources said the administration believed such lobbying played a role in persuading countries to which Snowden had applied for asylum to reject or not respond to his bid. The United States believes its diplomacy also has caused countries whose leaders publicly expressed sympathy for Snowden to have second thoughts about the matter in private, they said.

The plane eventually left Vienna and landed in Spain's Canary Islands for refueling before heading back to Bolivia. But the incident was not likely to be forgotten quickly.

Llorenti said Bolivia, which is part of a Venezuelan-led leftist alliance that has challenged U.S. political and economic influence in Latin America, would complain to the United Nations.

'UNJUSTIFIABLE ACTS'

Leaders of the South American bloc Unasur, which promotes trade and cooperation among their governments, demanded an explanation for what they called "unfriendly and unjustifiable acts". A Brazilian government official said Unasur would hold a ministerial meeting in Lima on Thursday to discuss the diversion of Morales' plane.

In a statement from Peru's government, which holds the group's presidency, Unasur expressed outrage and indignation that the plane was not allowed to land in Portugal and France.

Bolivia is among more than a dozen countries where Snowden has sought asylum and Morales has said he would consider granting the American refuge.

The 30-year-old Snowden, who worked for the National Security Agency as a contractor in Hawaii, has been trying since June 23 to find a country that will offer him refuge from prosecution in the United States on espionage charges.

But his options have narrowed since he arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong with no valid travel documents after the United States revoked his passport.

Five countries have rejected granting Snowden asylum, seven have said they would consider a request if made on their soil, and eight said they had either not made a decision or not received a request.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is unwilling to send Snowden to the United States, with which Russia has no extradition treaty. But he is also reluctant to damage ties over a man for whom Putin, a former KGB spy, has little sympathy.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was also in Moscow for the energy conference, said on Tuesday he would consider any asylum application from Snowden. There was no new word from him on Wednesday.

Despite France's role in the plane incident, Paris called on Wednesday for a delay in talks between the European Union and the United States on a free-trade accord.

Government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said Paris did not want to halt the negotiations on a deal that could boost the EU and U.S. economies by more than $100 billion each per year.

"On the other hand, it would seem wise to us to suspend them for a couple of weeks to avoid any controversy and have the time to obtain the information we've asked for," she said.

The European Commission in Brussels and Germany both said they wanted the first round of talks to start as scheduled on Monday in Washington.

The EU has demanded the United States explain a German magazine report that Washington was spying on the bloc, calling such surveillance shocking if true. French President Francois Hollande said the alleged action was intolerable and could hinder U.S. relations with Paris and the EU.

(Additional reporting by Michael Shields in Vienna, Emma Farge in Geneva, Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris, Teresa Cespedes; in Lima, Daniel Ramos in La Paz, Anthony Boadle in Brasilia and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Jim Loney and Peter Cooney)

U.S. declines to criticize Egypt's military as Mursi is ousted

Reuters/Reuters - Army soldiers take their positions in front of protesters who are against Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, near the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo July 3, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah

By Susan Heavey and Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States declined on Wednesday to criticize Egypt's military, even as it was ousting Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi from power.

Minutes before Egypt's army commander announced that Mursi, the country's first democratically elected president, had been deposed and the constitution suspended, the U.S. State Department criticized Mursi, but gave no public signal it was opposed to the army's action.

Asked whether the Egyptian army had the legitimacy to remove Mursi from power, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, "We're not taking sides in this."

The muted U.S. response - at least thus far - to the dramatic events in Cairo suggested that Washington may be willing to accept the military's move as a way of ending a political crisis that has paralyzed Egypt, a longtime U.S. ally.

Still, the distant attitude toward Mursi, who has come under U.S. criticism in recent days, could open up President Barack Obama to complaints he has not supported democracy in the Arab world.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House or the State Department to the military's announcement that it was installing a technocratic government eventually to be followed by new elections.

But the fact the Egyptian military announced plans for elections and a constitutional review, and that those plans were immediately backed by the country's leading Muslim and Christian clerics, could help the transition road map earn Washington's backing.

Earlier, Psaki made clear that U.S. officials were disappointed in Mursi's speech on Tuesday night. In that speech, Mursi said he would defend the legitimacy of his elected office with his life.

Mursi must "do more to be truly responsive" to the concerns of Egyptian people" after huge rallies over the weekend, she said. "We are calling on him to take more steps."

ROLE OF MILITARY

Specifically, Psaki said Mursi should call for an end to violence, including violence against women. He should also take steps to engage with the opposition and the military and work through the crisis in a political fashion, she added.

In a daily briefing with journalists, Psaki was asked at least six times either to give an opinion about the Egyptian military's role in the crisis, or to say whether their actions amounted to a coup.

"We think that all sides need to engage with each other and need to listen to the voices of the Egyptian people and what they are calling for and peacefully protesting about. And, you know, that's a message we've conveyed at all levels to all sides," she said when asked whether Washington sided more with the armed forces than with Mursi.

The head of the Egyptian armed forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, spent a year at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2006.

The military move also presents Obama with a dilemma over continuing U.S. aid to Egypt. Underlying the importance for Washington of keeping ties to Egypt's military, Secretary of State John Kerry in May quietly approved $1.3 billion in military assistance, even though the country did not meet democracy standards set by the U.S. Congress for it to receive the aid.

U.S. law requires most American aid to be cut off "to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup d'etat or decree."

But the law gives the State Department discretion to decide whether a coup has taken place, according to Republican and Democratic congressional aides.

Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees foreign aid, said on Wednesday his panel would review the $1.5 billion in annual assistance the country sends to Egypt in the wake of the Mursi's ouster.

"Egypt's military leaders say they have no intent or desire to govern, and I hope they make good on their promise," Leahy said in a statement. "In the meantime, our law is clear: U.S. aid is cut off when a democratically elected government is deposed by military coup or decree."

The International Monetary Fund is likely to wait until it is clear who is in charge in Egypt before considering whether to renew talks on a $4.8 billion loan program. The Washington-based lender traditionally does not do business with countries undergoing serious political turmoil.

"We are following the situation in Egypt closely. The developments of the last few days are very serious. We hope all of the participants will work constructively for a peaceful outcome," an IMF spokesperson said.

Egypt and the IMF have held protracted negotiations over a loan needed to help combat a severe economic crisis. The talks have stalled as Mursi rebuffed IMF conditions that he cut fuel subsidies and raise sales taxes.

(Additional reporting by Laura MacInnis; Writing by Warren Strobel; Editing by Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney)

Exclusive: Arms ship seized by Yemen may have been Somalia-bound: U.N.



Firearms, recently seized by police on the streets of Yemen's capital Sanaa and roads leading to it, are seen stored at a security force base in Sanaa May 5, 2013 Credit: Reuters/Khaled Abdullah

By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS 

(Reuters) - An Iranian ship laden with arms seized by Yemeni authorities in January may also have been bound for Somalia, according to a confidential U.N. report seen by Reuters on Monday.

Yemeni forces intercepted the ship, the Jihan 1, off Yemen's coast on January 23. U.S. and Yemeni officials said it was carrying a large cache of weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, being smuggled from Iran to insurgents in Yemen.

 

The confidential U.N. report, by the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, cited Yemeni officials as saying that it was possible diesel carried aboard the ship could have been intended for shipment to Somalia.

 

The group, which tracks compliance with Security Council sanctions, raised concerns in the report about the flow of weapons to Islamist al-Shabaab militants since the U.N. Security Council eased an arms embargo on Somalia's fragile Western-backed government earlier this year.

 

The report did not explicitly say that weapons on the ship were headed for Somalia, but one U.N. Security Council diplomat said that if it was true that the diesel was intended for Somalia, it could not be ruled out that other items on the ship, including weapons, might also have been intended for there.

 

Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for Iran's U.N. mission, rejected the suggestion that Iran could be connected in any way with arms supplies to al-Shabaab.

 

"These are some baseless allegations and ridiculous fabrications about the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said. "This alleged report by the Monitoring Group on Somalia on arms shipments from Iran carries no basis or the minimum rationality."

 

A Western diplomat said that the fact that there were 16,716 blocks of C4 explosive on the Jihan 1 suggested a potential connection between Iran and al-Shabaab in Somalia, as Huthi rebels, unlike al-Shabaab, were not known to use C4.

 

The U.N. mission for Somalia did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

 

The U.N. experts wrote that according to Yemeni security officials, the arms and ammunition were well-packed in small containers concealed inside several large compartments filled with diesel fuel.

 

"Yemeni officials indicated that this arms consignment was to be delivered to the Huthi rebellion in north Yemen," the report to the Security Council's sanctions committee said. "However the Monitoring Group investigated if some of the Jihan 1 cargo could have been intended for delivery in Somalia."

 

"When asked about this, security officials confirmed that the diesel could have been bound for Somalia," the report said. "Members of the crew have also divulged to a diplomatic source who interviewed them in Aden that the diesel was bound for Somalia."

 

The potential Somalia connection was not raised in a recent report by the U.N. Panel of Experts on Iran that monitors compliance with the U.N. sanctions regime against Tehran.

 

That report said five of the Iran panel's eight members found that all available information clearly placed Tehran at the center of the Jihan arms smuggling operation. But three panel members - who U.N. diplomats said were from Russia, China and Nigeria - said the Jihan incident was a "probable", not definite, violation of the U.N. ban on Iranian arms exports.

 

AL-SHABAAB REMAINS STRONG

 

The latest experts' report said Yemen was the top source of arms in Somalia.

 

The group wrote that authorities in Puntland - a semi-autonomous region of Somalia which has a fractious relationship with Mogadishu - had said that one reason they had passed a law banning Yemeni petroleum imports the ease with which arms were smuggled in diesel containers like the ones on the Jihan 1.

 

"Additional evidence indicates the involvement of an individual entity based in Djibouti as part of a network that supplies arms and ammunition to al-Shabaab in Somalia," it said.

 

The report said that al-Shabaab remained strong, even though it had been driven out of a number of cities and towns.

 

"The military strength of al-Shabaab, with an approximately 5,000-strong force, remains arguably intact, in terms of operational readiness, chain of command, discipline, and communication capabilities," it said. "At present, al-Shabaab remains the principal threat to peace and security in Somalia."

 

The monitoring group said it was concerned about the possible export from Somalia of know-how in the manufacture of suicide vests and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to Kenya and Uganda. It said it had analyzed a suicide vest discovered in Kenya in March, which was similar to ones used by al-Shabaab.

 

This, the group said, "suggests a transfer of know-how between al-Shabaab in Somalia and al-Shabaab members or its sympathizers operating in Kenya."

 

Although piracy off Somalia's coast had decreased, it said some of the demobilized pirates were providing private security services to unlicensed fishing vessels off Somalia's coast.

 

"Puntland officials estimate that tens of thousands of metric tons (1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) of illegal catch has been fished from Puntland's coastline between 2012 and 2013 by hundreds of illegal fishing vessels," the report said.

 

"The vessels are predominantly Iranian and Yemeni owned and all use Somali armed security," it said.

 

The Monitoring Group said it was investigating reports that illegal fishing vessels were also being used to smuggle weapons.

 

While the reports were unconfirmed, the group had established "other connections between the illegal fishing networks and networks involved in the arms trade and connected to al-Shabaab in northeastern Somalia," the report said.

 

The Monitoring Group said Puntland officials estimated that as many as 180 illegal Iranian and 300 illegal Yemeni vessels were fishing in Somali waters, along with a small number of Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and European-owned vessels.

 

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

“Somaliland is a republic that exists:” Amina Duale profile

Without Wikipedia, Amina Duale wouldn’t be able to point out her country on a map. Literally, her father’s place of birth does not appear on many maps, atlases, globes or even Google Maps.

Amina Duale

The Republic of Somaliland is an autonomous state in the northwest of Somalia, with its own functional parliament, constitution and armed forces. But it is not always recognized by the international community, and good information on the unofficial country is relatively scant.

“If you Google Somaliland, you’ll find it on Wikipedia,” says Duale. “Without that, nobody really gets to know that Somaliland is a republic that exists.”

That’s why Duale, who works as a business consultant with non-profit and non-governmental organizations in South Sudan, Somaliland, Puntland, and other new and contested nations in Africa, donates to Wikipedia.

The article on Somaliland is, as Duale says, one of the few comprehensive, independent sources on the first few pages of Google. But the connection she feels to the site is more personal.

“I thank God for Wikipedia because my life is in it. I am represented,” she says, counting herself as one of the 3.5 million inhabitants of Somaliland.

Like many regions that make up the Horn Of Africa, Somaliland’s recent history has been turbulent. In the early part of the 20th century, it was an area controlled by the British. But since there was no abundance of natural resources, Britain used Somaliland as a stopover on trips to India, and ceded control over the territory in 1960.

That year, British Somaliland merged with Italian Somaliland to form the independent Somali Republic. It was a short-lived country brought down by a military coup d’etat in 1969, which installed Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, then head of the military, as president.

Siad Barre controlled Somalia for 21 years, but became increasingly authoritarian as his tenure continued. Another coup d’etat in 1991, staged by a variety of different factions in region, resulted in the Somali Civil War. In 1991, the war brought down Siad Barre, and a new country, present-day Somalia, would be formed.

Somaliland, conceived by one of the several groups who fought in the civil war, would declare its independence from Somalia that same year. Since then, the would-be nation has been relatively safe and stable compared to southern Somalia – a little known fact outside of the region, according to Duale.

“There are safer places in Somaliland, but you don’t hear about that on mainstream media,” she says. “And that is really a crime, because you’re saying that almost half of a population does not exist.“

Indeed, Al-Shabaab, the Somali sect of the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda, is not a threat in Somaliland, and the gangs of pirates centered around Mogadishu have limited presence there too.

“The crucial part is that Wikipedia talks about places that are not mentioned in mainstream media. If you go to BBC or CNN or many of these mainstream media, they hardly talk about Somaliland. They report that Somalia has been without a government since the 1991 Civil War, which is not true,” she complains.

“It has been a very long and painful history and just to know that we are recognized in Wikipedia, for me that’s an honor really.”

Duale decided to repay that honor when she saw Wikipedia’s fundraising drive last year. In order for the Wikipedia page on Somaliland to compete with what she considers misinformation in the commercial press, she needed to donate.

“For me, Wikipedia is one of the few places I can go to get accurate and independent information. I don’t mind sending $10 or $20 every month. Wikipedia belongs to all of us, and it’s our duty as a community to keep it going.”

Profile by Joshua Errett, Wikimedia Foundation Communications volunteer
Interview by Victor Grigas, Wikimedia Foundation Storyteller

As Somaliland Journalists Jailed, Fight Back by FUNCA Member, UN Contrasted

Matthew Russell Lee

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 3 -- With the UN less and less willing to answer questions, whether about which Congolese Army units it works with or even which Syria villages Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was referring to in a July 2 statement, there's been talk of a media strike at the UN.

Some have proposed not going to the UN noon briefing, not asking questions, even not writing stories. But that might be just what the UN has in mind. And many large media have already reduced their UN presence and coverage substantially.

The view of Inner City Press and the new Free UN Coalition for Access is that in New York and places like it, the better response is simply to report more, to ask more questions and report on the (non) answers, to talk with more sources and dig deeper.

But we realize that in some other places the possibilities and dynamics are different.  

For example in Somaliland, on which Inner City Press has been reporting for months, Free UN Coalition for Access member Mohamoud Walaaleye has protested the Hargeisa Regional Court's sentencing to prison of Hubaal newspaper's manager Mohamed Ahmed Jama Aloley for one year and editor Hassan Hussein Kefkef, for two years.

This was on charges of “propagating false information,” reporting on smuggling by diplomats and the capacities of elected officials, and came after an attack on the newspaper's office by authorities and a suspension of publication.

Mohamoud Walaaleye

Mohamoud Walaaleye, who asks questions not only in Hargeisa but to UN officials, tells us that the “Somaliland media association, (SOLJA) is incapacitated to reach a common stand condemning this action. For that, I, Mohamoud Walaaleye, reached a decision of withholding all my journalism activities till the discharged of the jail sentences of my colleagues at Hubaal newspaper.”

Now that, and to a lesser degree this, is what solidarity is all about. By contrast, UN headquarters' chosen partner UNCA tried in 2012 to get the investigative press thrown out of the UN; its first vice president passed internal “UNCA only” documents immediately to UN officials, here.

Maxkamadda Gobolka Maroodijeex Oo Xukun Ku Riday Masuuliyiinta Wargeyska Hubaal Iyo Ururka SOLJA Oo Cambaareeyay

Maxkamadda Gobolka Hargeysa, ayaa maanta xukun xadhig iyo ganaax iskugu jira ku riday masuuliyiinta wargeyska madaxa banaan ee HUBAAl ka dib markii xayiraad la saaray wargeyska oo dacwad ku saabsan warar ay qoreen ay ka socotay maxkamadda.

 

Maxkamada degmada Hargeysa ayaa Mareeyaha wargeyska Hubaal Maxamed Axmed Jaamac (Caloolay) ku xukuntay hal sano oo xadhig ah iyo laba milyan oo shilin oo ganaax ah, halka Tifaftiraha wageyska Xasan Xuseen Cabdilaahi (Xasan Keef-keef) lagu xukumay laba sanno oo xadhig ah iyo laba milyan oo ganaax ah, iyadoo wageyska la sheegay inay xayiraadu saarnaadoonto illaa inta ka dhamaysanayaan xadhigooda.

 

Garsoore Cismaan Ibraahin Daahir, oo ah garsooraha xukumay masuuliyiinta wargeysa Hubaal, ayaa sheegay inay wargeysa Hubaal ku cadaatay inuu aflagaadeeyey madaxweynaha Somaliland iyo safaarada wadanka Ethiopia ee magaalada Hargeysa.

 

Garsooraha oo ku dhawaaqay xukunkan waxa uu yidhi “Xasan Xuseen Cabdilaahi oo ah tifatiraha Wargeyska Hubaal waxay maxkamadu ku xukuntay laba sano oo xadhig ah iyo laba milyan oo ganaaxa, tifatiruhuna waa ninka qoraalka sameeya ee wixii ceeba iyo wixii kale kala saara, Maxamed Axmed Jaamac oo ah maareeyaha guud ee wargeyska Hubaal waxay maxkamadu ku xukuntay hal sano oo xadhig ah iyo laba milyan oo ganaaxa.”

 

“Danbigan aanu ku qaadnay wargeyska waxa weeye inuu aflagaadooyin iyo been abuur ku sameeyey xukuumadda iyo dad kale, waxaana ka mida inay sheegeen in safaarada wadanka Ethiopia ay khamri soo galiso wadanka taas oo ah been ,”ayuu yidhi Cismaan Ibraahim.

 

Garsoore Cismaan wuxuu intaasi ku ladhay “Waxa kale oo ka mid ah inay wax ka sheegeen xukuumada Somaliland iyo madaxda ugu saraysa qaranka, sidaas darteed anaga oo cuskanayna qodobadda 287 iyo qodobo kale wargeyskaas danbigii wuu ku cadaaday,” ayuu raaciyey hadalkiisa, waxaanu intaas ku daray “ Dacwadan waxa ka hadlay laba daraf kuwaas oo kala ahaa xeer ilaalinta iyo qareenka eedaysanayaasha,kuwaas oo qolana danbiga oogaysay qolada kalana iska difaacaysay. sidaas darteed qareenka eedaysanayaashu iskamay rogin eedayntii loo soo jeediyey, wargeyskana lagama qaadanayo xayiraada, balse waxa laga qaadanayaa marka ay dhamaysteen xukunkooda.”

 

Dhinaca kale, Xoghaya guud ee ururka suxufiyiinta Somaliland ee Solja Maxamed Rashiid Muxumed Faarax, ayaa sheegay in ururka suxufiyinta Somaliland ay canbaaraynayaan xadhiga lagu xukumay masuuliyiinta wargeyska Hubaal, waxaanu yidhi “Waxaanu aad u canbaaraynaynaa oo aanu ka soo horjeednaa xukunka cadaalada darada ah ee lagu qaaday wargeyska Hubaal oo maalintii labaatanaad xidhan iyo tafatirihii iyo maareeyihii oo lagu xukumay laba sano iyo hal sano, kuwaas oo lagu qaaday xeerka ciqaabta oo aan ahayn xeer madaniya”ayuu yidhi xogyaha ururka saxaafadda, waxaanu intas ku daray “Suxufiyiintu waxay xaq u leeyihiin in lagu qaado xeerka madaniga ah iyo xeerka saxaafada Somaliland ee dalka u yaala,maaha macquul in la yidhaa wargeys ayaa labaatan cisho xidhnaanaya,dadkii laayeyna way maqan yihiin.”

 

Garyaqaan Maxamuud Cabdiraxmaan u doodaya wargeyska HUBAAL, ayaa sheegay inay xukunkan ka qaadanayaan racfaan, waxaanu sheegay in xukunkani aanu ahayn mid cadaaladda ku salaysan.

Somaliland: In Somaliland, Hubaal journalists sentenced to jail said CPJ

Nairobi, July 3, 2013–A court in the capital of the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland today convicted the manager and editor of the independent daily Hubaal of defamation and sentenced them to prison.

 

Hubaal‘s editor, Hussein Hassan Abdullahi, received two years, while the paper’s manager, Mohamed Ahmed Jama, was sentenced to one year in jail on charges of defamation and false publication of news capable of disturbing public order, local journalists told CPJ. The court issued a fine of 2,000,000 Somaliland shillings (US$300) to Hussein and 1,000,000 shillings (US$150) to Mohamed, according to news reports.

 

Defense lawyer Adburahaman Mohamoud said the journalists will appeal. He told CPJ that the conviction contravenes the Somaliland media law and constitution, which require civil as opposed to criminal procedures for alleged press offenses.

 

Judge Osman Fanah of the Regional Court in Hargeisa also ordered that the daily remain suspended for the duration of the journalists’ sentence, local journalists told CPJ. The Attorney General had ordered publication of the paper suspended on June 11.

 

The indictment, filed by Attorney General Farhan Mire, charged the pair in connection with a January article claiming that Ethiopian diplomatic staff used their positions for smuggling illicit goods, as well as a June article alleging that Somaliland’s president was in poor health and relinquished duties to the state minister for the presidency. The charges came amid the paper’s extensive coverage of a dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the latter’s construction of a huge dam across the Nile River. Local journalists said they suspect Somaliland authorities are sensitive to critical media coverage of Ethiopia, given the republic’s close economic ties to that country.

 

“The conviction of the Hubaal journalists is not only an effort to silence the newspaper, but a message to the entire Somaliland press that authorities will abuse the courts to punish their critics,” said Tom Rhodes, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ East Africa consultant. “Authorities should act quickly to overturn this unjust verdict and release Mohamed Ahmed and Hussein Hassan.”

 

The two Hubaal journalists were to be transferred to Hargeisa’s Central Prison around 10 p.m. local time this evening, defense lawyer Adburahaman said.

 

In April, two assailants raided the Hubaal offices and shot at Mohamed, injuring his arm and hand, according to news reports. Despite authorities identifying one of the assailants as a policeman, no one has been charged to date, local journalists said.

 

Journalists are often harassed, arbitrarily detained, or attacked in Somaliland, according to CPJ research.

Djibouti’s big cargo dream

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Adina Solomon

By John W. McCurry
Djibouti International Airport hopes to become a conduit for air cargo to Africa’s landlocked nations. The airport in the tiny nation of less than one million people on the Horn of Africa took its ambitious plans to the Transport Logistic exhibition in Munich in June. It was the first time the airport had forayed into the world of trade shows.
DIA has big plans for expansion of its cargo infrastructure, and a new airport is scheduled to open in about four years. Airport officials hope that is enough to entice air carriers and logistics specialists to take a long look at Djibouti.
“We are looking for partners,” Moussa Houssein Doualeh, air operations cargo manager for DIA, says. “This is our first trip as an airport. We are trying to catch the rest of the world.”
Djibouti’s air cargo operation is small, just 3,000 tonnes per year. Doualeh hopes the exposure gained in Munich will send those numbers upward in the coming years.
DIA’s facilities, in Doualeh’s words, “do not answer all the requirements” for a significant cargo operation, but that will change later this year when a 4,000-sq.-ft. warehouse with cold storage capabilities opens. Long-range, the plans are more grandiose with a proposed US$600-million project to develop a new airport about 15 miles from Djibouti City. The current airport has just one runway and handles only commercial and military aircraft. A nearby U.S. military base shares the runway.
Djibouti, with the fifth largest container port in Africa, already has a major sea cargo operation, and DIA officials envision development of a sea-air cargo model where products arrive at the Doraleh Container Terminal and are transported to the airport for flights into Africa’s interior. The idea is to entice shippers to bring their sea cargo to Djibouti rather than Dubai.
“Come to Djibouti instead of Dubai,” Doualeh says. “We want to develop a sea-air model and see how we can fit and connect with the landlocked countries in Africa. We want to find partners to bring shipments from the Far East to Djibouti and dispatch them to the landlocked countries.”
Doraleh Container Terminal opened in 2009 and the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority plans further expansion, which will accommodate three million containers per year by 2015. Port officials say this expansion will make the port the largest container terminal on the continent.
Doualeh has talked with Emirates, Etihad Airways and DHL about development of cargo operations at DIA. He says he is optimistic these talks will be fruitful.
Doualeh cites Ethiopia and Nigeria as two significant landlocked markets that could be served with air cargo flights from Djibouti.
“Everything going to Ethiopia comes through Djibouti,” he says. “Eighty million people are being fed by road. We are a very small country, but our seaport is one of the best in the region. We are trying to save time for the shippers, the transporters and the customers. We are working with the seaport to see how we can bring things along with this sea and air movement.”
DIA also envisions air cargo possibilities beyond Africa to Western Europe and the east coast of North and South America.
Doualeh says DIA is prepared to entice air carriers with reduced rates for landings and handling for the first six months.
He says cargo from the Far East takes 80 days to reach Lagos, Nigeria. Developing airfreight infrastructure in Djibouti would allow that time to be reduced drastically.
“It takes just three and a half hours from Djibouti to Lagos by 747. That’s 100 tonnes straight away from Djibouti to Lagos,” Djibouti says. “We need professional logistics people to set it up. The rest will come easy.”

This entry was posted in Air Cargo World Magazine, Middle East. Bookmark the permalink.

- See more at: http://www.aircargoworld.com/Air-Cargo-News/2013/07/djibouti%E2%80%99s-big-cargo-dream/0114360#sthash.oNjN7dgf.dpuf

 

By John W. McCurry

 

Djibouti International Airport hopes to become a conduit for air cargo to Africa’s landlocked nations. The airport in the tiny nation of less than one million people on the Horn of Africa took its ambitious plans to the Transport Logistic exhibition in Munich in June. It was the first time the airport had forayed into the world of trade shows.

 

DIA has big plans for expansion of its cargo infrastructure, and a new airport is scheduled to open in about four years. Airport officials hope that is enough to entice air carriers and logistics specialists to take a long look at Djibouti.

 

“We are looking for partners,” Moussa Houssein Doualeh, air operations cargo manager for DIA, says. “This is our first trip as an airport. We are trying to catch the rest of the world.”

 

Djibouti’s air cargo operation is small, just 3,000 tonnes per year. Doualeh hopes the exposure gained in Munich will send those numbers upward in the coming years.

 

DIA’s facilities, in Doualeh’s words, “do not answer all the requirements” for a significant cargo operation, but that will change later this year when a 4,000-sq.-ft. warehouse with cold storage capabilities opens. Long-range, the plans are more grandiose with a proposed US$600-million project to develop a new airport about 15 miles from Djibouti City. The current airport has just one runway and handles only commercial and military aircraft. A nearby U.S. military base shares the runway.

 

Djibouti, with the fifth largest container port in Africa, already has a major sea cargo operation, and DIA officials envision development of a sea-air cargo model where products arrive at the Doraleh Container Terminal and are transported to the airport for flights into Africa’s interior. The idea is to entice shippers to bring their sea cargo to Djibouti rather than Dubai.

 

“Come to Djibouti instead of Dubai,” Doualeh says. “We want to develop a sea-air model and see how we can fit and connect with the landlocked countries in Africa. We want to find partners to bring shipments from the Far East to Djibouti and dispatch them to the landlocked countries.”

 

Doraleh Container Terminal opened in 2009 and the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority plans further expansion, which will accommodate three million containers per year by 2015. Port officials say this expansion will make the port the largest container terminal on the continent.

 

Doualeh has talked with Emirates, Etihad Airways and DHL about development of cargo operations at DIA. He says he is optimistic these talks will be fruitful.

 

Doualeh cites Ethiopia and Nigeria as two significant landlocked markets that could be served with air cargo flights from Djibouti.

 

“Everything going to Ethiopia comes through Djibouti,” he says. “Eighty million people are being fed by road. We are a very small country, but our seaport is one of the best in the region. We are trying to save time for the shippers, the transporters and the customers. We are working with the seaport to see how we can bring things along with this sea and air movement.”

 

DIA also envisions air cargo possibilities beyond Africa to Western Europe and the east coast of North and South America.

 

Doualeh says DIA is prepared to entice air carriers with reduced rates for landings and handling for the first six months.

 

He says cargo from the Far East takes 80 days to reach Lagos, Nigeria. Developing airfreight infrastructure in Djibouti would allow that time to be reduced drastically.

 

“It takes just three and a half hours from Djibouti to Lagos by 747. That’s 100 tonnes straight away from Djibouti to Lagos,” Djibouti says. “We need professional logistics people to set it up. The rest will come easy.”

Somalia in Process of Forming Telecommunications Regulations

Representatives from the Somali government and private businesses met in Dubai to discuss a draft bill to regulate the country's telecommunications sector, Somalia's Hiiraan Online reported Monday (July 1st).

Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications Abdullahi Ilmoge Hirsi praised Somalia's telecommunications sector for providing services over the past two decades of civil war, but warned the unregulated environment cannot continue.

"They made a remarkable effort to expand the country's telecommunications, but lack of regulatory laws led to the misuse of our spectrum," he said. "Our aim is not to interfere with the telecommunications companies but to put in place regulatory laws that can uphold the interests of consumers and suppliers."

The bill is expected to be tabled in parliament after a period to gather stakeholders' opinions.

The International Telecommunications Union, a UN agency that co-ordinates international co-operation and works to improve infrastructure in the developing world, promised to assist the Somali government and telecommunications companies in creating a better cooperative environment so they can work together.

Somalia demands Kenyan troops leave southern port

Photo released by the AU-UN Information Support Team on October 2, 2012 shows soldiers of the Kenyan contingent serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia near the black flag of the Al Qaeda-linked group Shebaab on the wall of Kismayo Airport. Somalia's government has demanded that Kenyan troops stationed in the volatile port city of Kismayo be replaced, accusing them of backing Shebab. (AU-UN IST/AFP/File)

MOGADISHU (AFP) –  Somalia's government has demanded that Kenyan troops stationed in the volatile port city of Kismayo as part of an African Union force be replaced, accusing them of backing a militia force opposing Mogadishu.

Calling for a "more neutral African Union force", Somalia's information ministry accused the troops of supporting militia soldiers "in violation of their mandate", as well as attacking civilians and arresting a top government army commander. 

Several rival factions are battling for control of Kismayo, a strategic and economic hub in the southern Jubaland region: these include former Islamist chief Ahmed Madobe, who in May appointed himself "president" of Jubaland, and Bare Hirale, a former Somali defence minister who also leads a powerful militia.

 

The Kenyan troops, who invaded Somalia in 2011, ousting Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab fighters from Kismayo before joining the 17,700-strong AU force known as AMISOM, back Madobe's control of the region.

But since Mogadishu's weak central government does not recognise the title of "president" or the region of Jubaland, the Kenyan troops are seen as opposing the central government they are mandated -- and funded by the UN and European Union -- to support.

Abdishakur Ali Mire, Somali deputy information minister, called for an "immediate replacement" of Kenyan troops there with AU forces from other nations.

"There was a targeted offensive against civilians and the SNA (Somali National Army) command centre in Kismayo by the AMISOM Section Two forces," Mire said in a statement released late Sunday.

"Kenyan forces arrested and mistreated" the government army commander in Kismayo, he added, calling for his immediate release.

AMISOM's sector two, the Kismayo region, is manned by more than 4,000 Kenyan troops, as well as a small force from Sierra Leone.

Restive Jubaland lies in the far south of Somalia and borders both Kenya and Ethiopia. Control is split between multiple forces including clan militia, Kenyan and Ethiopian soldiers and the Shebab. 

Rich in farmland, and possessing a lucrative charcoal industry, the region is also viewed by Kenya as a key buffer zone to protect its borders.

Kismayo has changed hands more than a dozen times since the collapse of central government in 1991.