New rapid reaction forces at work in Africa crises

Soldiers with Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's East Africa Response Force (EARF) depart an Air Force C-130 from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Dec. 18. The EARF deployed to South Sudan supporting the ordered departure of the U.S. Embassy. (Tech. Sgt. Micah Theurich/Army)

By Ray Locker 

U.S. military quick-reaction forces put in the field after the September 2012 attack on the U.S. consular compound in Benghazi, Libya, have been in the middle of this month’s evacuation of Americans from strife-torn South Sudan.

Based in Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, soldiers in the Army force first left for South Sudan on Dec. 14 to evacuate diplomats at the embassy in the capital of Juba. Meanwhile, Marines stationed at an air base in Moron, Spain, have deployed to Djibouti and Uganda to help in the evacuations.

These moves follow the unsuccessful evacuation attempt of U.S. nationals by a Djibouti-based Navy SEAL team on Dec. 21. Four SEALs were wounded in the evacuation attempt when their V-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft came under small-arms fire over the town of Bor. Their mission was aborted.

As the U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan winds down, a series of Africa crises in 2013 has led to greater U.S. activity on the continent. That includes ferrying French troops and supplies to that nation’s intervention in the insurgency in Mali in west Africa, continued activity from Djibouti-based units in the east Africa nation of Somalia and a U.S.-backed effort to stop African warlord Joseph Kony.

The anti-Kony effort involves two of the countries now currently racked by ethnic-based fighting that is veering toward civil war — South Sudan and the Central African Republic, where rival Christian and Muslim groups are fighting for control of the government. Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are also participating in the fight against Kony, who been engaged in a regional power struggle that started in Uganda in the 1980s and is accused of directing atrocities during that time. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court and is believed to be hiding in the Central African Republic.

Much of the increased U.S. activity in Africa is based at Camp Lemonnier. Home to at least 3,200 U.S. troops, civilians and contractors, the base has been in operation since 2001 and has grown steadily in the last five years. Surveillance drones routinely fly from the base, as do Air Force U-28 intelligence aircraft.

The 2014 defense bill passed last week includes $29 million for more housing and a Navy armory at Camp Lemonnier, and a military construction provision in the bill extends the Defense secretary’s ability to use money to pay for more military construction projects in various parts of the world, including Djibouti and other African nations.

Source: USA TODAY

The traditional systems of justice of Pashtuns and Somalis

Somali nomadic man

Henry Srebrnik

Two peoples living thousands of miles apart, one in the horn of Africa, the other in south-central Asia, employ similar systems of justice and conflict resolution.

The Pashtuns (also known as Pathans) live in eastern and southern Afghanistan; and in Pakistan, mostly in the old North West Frontier Province, now Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and northern Balochistan.

The Somalis are found in Somalia, a country which has been without a national government since 1991; the de facto state of Somaliland; Djibouti; and parts of Ethiopia and Kenya.

Until the colonial era, both peoples lived in stateless societies without courts of law. They both have very complex clan and tribal loyalties, and these sub-units have historically engaged in feuds among themselves, which were settled, if at all, by traditional methods of adjudication.

The 43 million Pashtuns are divided into four confederacies: the Batani, Gharghasht, Karlani and Sarabans, which in turn consist of hundreds of tribes and sub-tribes. The 16 million Somalis comprise six major clans: the Darood, Dir, Digil, Hawiye, Isaaq and Rahanwayne. These are also subdivided into a host of sub-clans and lineage groups.

Perhaps this is the reason neither people, despite a very strong consciousness of common ethnic, cultural and religious identity (virtually all are Sunni Muslims), has ever generated a modern state-building form of nationalism.

Pashtunwali is the non-written ethical code of the Pashtuns. It dates back to pre-Islamic times and is widely practiced among Pashtuns. They have relied on it to conduct themselves as individuals and as a society in their dealings between themselves and with others. The pashtunwali serves as a set of guidelines for regulating the otherwise anarchic Pashtun society.

One of its principles is badal, a concept which requires a Pashtun to seek justice or take revenge against the wrongdoer. There is no time limit to when the injustice can be avenged. If badal is not exercised, the offended man or his family will be considered stripped of honour. The exercise of this principle can lead to generations of bloodshed, feuds, and hundreds of lives lost for one insult.

However, once the desire for an honorable peace is clear, the tribal elders gather in a jirga, which is obeyed without question by the Pashtuns. It is an assembly of tribal elders, who take decisions on issues based on consensus. In tribal regions, the jirga is still used as a court for criminal offences.

Somali clans are bound to each other by a social contract known as xeer. Under xeer, there is no authority that dictates what the law should be. It is instead formulated by elders as they determine the best way to resolve a dispute. Disputing parties bring their concerns to them, and the proceedings continue until a resolution is achieved.

Law, and consequently crime, is defined in terms of property rights. Because such rights, if violated, require compensation, rather than punishment, there is no imprisonment, and fines are rare. Such fines as might be imposed seldom exceed the amount of compensation and are paid directly to the victim.

Through xeer, Somalis are committed to paying restitution in the event that physical harm or death is inflicted by a member of one group against a member of another. If a member of one group murders someone, it is the responsibility of the murderer’s group to collectively pay restitution to the group of the victim. If payments are not made or accepted, then vengeance will be taken against any member of the offender’s group.

Xeer can give relationships regularity and reduce violence by creating structures of deterrence. Though enforced by custom and not written law, it is widely followed among Somalis.

The unrecognized state of Somaliland is founded on clan-based power sharing and balanced political representation and it headed off incipient violence soon after its declaration of independence through a shir beeleed (clan conference). The country has incorporated traditional institutions into its government by appointing clan leaders to the 82-member Guurtiida (House of Elders), the upper chamber of parliament. If a clan elder dies or retires, the seat is passed down to one of his descendants. Over the past two decades, clan elders have negotiated inter-clan disputes and kept the peace.

As Muslims, Pashtuns and Somalis may also avail themselves of the Islamic code of justice, the Sharia; however, in most cases not involving religion, pashtunwali and xeer take precedence in the traditions of these two ethnic groups.

But this also helps explain the attraction of Islamists – al-Shabaab among the Somalis and the Taliban in the Pashtun areas. For brutal as they are, their religious fervour enables the Islamists to bring feuding clans together through their harsh and rigid implementation of the Sharia, which supersedes pashtunwali and xeer, and thus, in a way, brings a modicum of peace and safety to these fractious societies. It accustoms them to a form of government that transcends tribe and clan.

Henry Srebrnik is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island.

 Source: ubpost.mongolnews.mn

Somaliland: Mercury Public Affairs Takes Government PR Portfolio from Glover Park Group

Hargeisa - The Government of the Republic is to have new strategies in its engagement with the USA government following the signing of a communications contract with Mercury Public Affair LLC.

The Somaliland minister for foreign affairs, Mohamed BehiYonis, has just signed a contract with New York public relations company Mercury Public Affair LLC for it to lobby with the American government to recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somaliland.

The Ministry of Presidential Affairs of the Republic of Somaliland signed a lobbying and communications contract with Glover Park Group but Mercury Public Affairs is expected to replace the Glover Company. The new company will start its work in 2014 according to Somaliland Foreign Ministry Director General Hon. Mohamed Hassan Said.

Mercury will work on government relations and public relations services on behalf of Somaliland.

The DG said that Mercury worked with former US president the likes of Bill Clinton and the current US president Obama.

He added that the company will work with Somaliland on the cause and lobby of the recognition.

The contract is due to last for one year and is expected to begin in 2014.

Once asked about the price tag of the contract said that it is a bit cheaper than the previous contract that the government signed with Glover Park Group which was estimated to be around 22, 500 dollars per month.

To learn about Mercury visit http://www.mercurypublicaffairs.com

Persecuted Church: New Year in Djibouti

Kim Wenzel

So, when is your next trip to Djibouti? Surely, you have been there before? Just kidding. If you are the average human in North America, you may not know where on earth Djibouti is located.

No, it is not in the South Pacific, and not Antarctica. Look at a map of Africa, and if you go to the northeast side of Ethiopia, you will find a tiny little piece of land next to the Gulf of Aden. That is it, the country of Djibouti!

This tiny country has about 775,000 people, of which about 15,000 are followers of Christ. The rest are Muslim. Although approximately 95% of the people are Sunni Muslim, the government generally respects the constitutional protection of freedom of religion – although they don’t like religious minorities.

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians form the largest Christian group, but there are many service personal from various groups and some Djibouti native Christians. Saudi Arabia is the 800-pound gorilla just across the Gulf of Aden, and has a big influence upon tolerances and intolerance found inside Djibouti. On such a tiny country as Djibouti, al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab also have an influence.

How can you pray for our 15,000 brothers and sisters in Djibouti?

First, pray for native Djibouti believers who may be rejected and persecuted by their own families. Second, pray for Christian TV and internet sites in the French language which spread the gospel of Christ within the country. Third, thank God, the government does not bother that most ex-pat Christians, and most Ethiopian believers are tolerated. With Saudi Arabian influence, this can all change quickly!

Kim Wenzel is a local Open Doors USA ministry representative who speaks in churches and groups about praying for the persecuted church. For more information, persons interested may contact Wenzel at pastorkimwenzel@gmail.com or 918-919-1490. Hear more about the persecuted church at noon, every Monday on KWXC 88.9 FM Christian talk radio.

Source: grandlakenews.com