Somalia: Shabaab in internet war

Al Shabaab gave telecommunication firms fifteen days to shut down mobile phone internet 3G and backtrack on plans to offer high-speed fiber optic services

File Photo

World Bulletin/News Desk

The Somali government has called on telecommunication firms in the war-ravaged country to resist a threat by al-Shabaab to stop providing mobile phone internet 3G and renege on plans to launch high-speed internet services in the country.

"Al-Shabaab has lost control of the major cities in Somalia and are now trying to terrorize people and stop them from using Internet," Somali Minister of Internal Security Abdikarim Hussein Guled said in a statement mailed to Anadolu Agency.

"Our message to them is that there can be no safe place in our country from which to launch terrorist and criminal activities."

On Wednesday the group, through its radio station Al-Andalus, gave telecommunication firms fifteen days to shut down mobile phone internet 3G and backtrack on plans to offer high-speed fiber optic services, which are supposed to be launched soon.

"Those who do not comply would be seen as working with the enemy and dealt with according to Islamic law," it threatened.

Al-Shabaab, which controls much of the rural southern and central areas of Somalia, did not give further details about the motive behind wanting to suspend such services.

In an effort to reassure the sector, the Somali government pledged to ensure that the telecommunication firms are free to provide internet services to Somali citizens.

"While the government provides all necessary assistance to protect the public we also caution them not to cooperate and work with terrorist groups or bow to their threats," said the minister.

"Al-Shabaab's strategy is to silence our people to commit extortion against communication companies so they can gain desperately needed financial resources," he suggested.

Ironically, since losing ground to the African Union and government troops in the past two years, al-Shabaab has made prolific use of the cyberspace to propagate its agenda.

Last year, its twitter account was banned after tweeting support for the Westgate Mall siege in Nairobi that saw the killing of at least 69 people.

Out of a population of approximately 9 million people, statistics show that there are more than 126,000 internet users in Somalia.

The two main telecommunication firms in the country, Hortel Inc and Nationlink, are yet to issue a statement on the threat.

In the past al-Shabaab has followed its threats with gun and bomb attacks on those who fail to comply.

The group has banned mobile phone ringtones, listening to music, watching football and money transfer services in areas under its control.

Source: worldbulletin.net

Japan eyes commercial prize as Abe leads visit to Africa

Shinzo Abe's visit will "support Japanese companies’ investments to secure important natural resources”

Shinzo Abe Japanese prime minister

By Javier Blas, Africa Editor

Japan is flexing its diplomatic and commercial muscle in Africa, seeking commodities and new markets in an effort to catch up with other nations, including China, which have poured billions of dollars into the region in recent years.

Shinzo Abe is leading the first visit by a Japanese prime minister to sub-Saharan Africa in eight years this week to support “Japanese companies’ investments to secure important natural resources” in the region, Tokyo said.

The top Japanese trading houses, or sogo shosha, have already started to pour billions of dollars into projects including Mitsui’s project in Mozambique to produce liquefied natural gas. Sumitomo and Mitsubishi are also targeting the region.

David Shinn, professor of international relations at George Washington University and a former US ambassador to several African countries, said the trip was a “belated recognition” that Japan was “falling behind a number of rising countries in Africa”, including China, India, Brazil, South Korea and Turkey.

The increase of Japanese investments in Africa, particularly in commodities, could provide an important counterweight to China’s influence, foreign executives said. In recent years, a growing number of African officials have voiced concern that China is taking the continent’s natural resources and selling back manufactured goods, a relationship that echoes the European colonialists one a century ago.

Hiroyuki Takai, head of research at Sumitomo, the Tokyo-based trading house, said the Japanese push would trigger some “competition between Chinese and Japanese companies”. But he played down the prospect of a clash, saying: “It’s good and healthy to have fair competition on behalf of the African countries.”

Mr Abe is set to announce more than Y60bn ($570m) in loans to Mozambique to help finance a transport network to transport coal to a new export terminal. Last year Tokyo promised more than $30bn in aid to African countries over the next five years.

The renewed push into Africa started to gather pace last year but the trip will take it to a new level, diplomats said. A similar push in 2008 fizzled out soon after.

Mr Shinn added that the trip was also a “recognition that there is more money to be made in Africa today than was the case” since a Japanese prime minister last visited the region eight years ago. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the economy of sub-Saharan Africa will grow 6 per cent in 2014, second only to the 6.5 per cent growth rate in the developing Asia region, which includes China.

Analysts cautioned that the Japanese push in Africa had its limits. Tokyo is unlikely to match the firepower of China, which has invested billions of dollars in the region, on top of billions more in no-strings-attached soft loans that have financed railways, power plants and other infrastructure projects across Africa. Chinese trade with Africa is far larger too, rising in 2012 to nearly $180bn, compared with $25bn for Japan.

Perhaps the biggest example of Chinese dominance will become apparent on Tuesday, when Mr Abe gives his policy speech on Africa at the headquarters of the African Union, a $200m building funded by China as a gift to the continent.

The renewed engagement with Africa is part of a broader effort by Mr Abe to put an assertive stamp on Japan’s foreign policy. In the year since he returned to power for a second stint as prime minister, he has made about one overseas trip a month, notably more than his recent predecessors.

Some of the trips, in particular to southeast Asia, have given the impression of an alliance-building campaign directed at China, though commercial motives have also been prominent, from natural-resource development deals to an agreement to sell Japanese nuclear technology to Turkey.

Additional reporting by Jonathan Soble in Tokyo

During his presentation Samatar addressed the question of why it is so difficult for Somaliland to acquire recognition

Difficulties Facing Recognition Quest

Professor Ahmed Ismail Samatar spoke at Burco University on January 4, 2014. The presentation was part of a series of one-sided debates, lessons and discussions with officials and elders; and Isak and Gadabursi intellectuals in Burco, Hargaysa, Gabiley and Borama. He said his second visit was a follow up to his previous trip to Somaliland in June and July of 2013. He did not publish his findings about Somaliland, but has become a vocal and staunch fan of Somaliland, often describing himself as the “free ambassador of Somaliland”. The entourage accompanying him to these gathering includes Isak government officials and some segments of the Gadabursi tribe—primarily a few tribal elders and intellectuals.

During his presentation Samatar addressed the question of why it is so difficult for Somaliland to acquire recognition. He explained that one of the obstacles to recognition is that the recognized government of Somalia is opposed to the division of the country and continues to tell the international community that Somalia is one. Secondly, Somaliland has no friends among “heavy weight” nations to help them achieve recognition. In addition to these issues, Somaliland has not presented an actionable strategic plan to persuade other nations to recognize them. All they have to date are roving “representatives” with empty briefcases.

In order for Somaliland to attain recognition, Samatar advised the government of Somaliland to consider four important steps as they begin to formulate strategic plans. The first step involves the creation of a political message as it pertains to Somaliland’s quest for statehood. The message should focus on the consensus of Somaliland tribal groups in approving secession from Somalia. Somaliland leaders should then carefully select a broad spectrum of knowledgeable and capable personalities representing all the tribes of Somaliland to lobby abroad. The message should be designed to help convince influential countries that can help Somaliland achieve recognition. The third step is to establish a national commission specifically designed to guide the strategic plan to achieve recognition. Professor Samatar said the commission should be backed with sufficient investment and all the resources necessary to conduct its work effectively. The fourth step should be the creation of an organization called Global Solidarity for Somaliland—largely consisting of members of the Somaliland diaspora to fund and lobby for recognition in key countries around the world. In addition to these steps, he called for improving the quality of Somaliland’s “representatives” in various countries. He said capable individuals who can debate with, and convince the political elite of these countries should be appointed.

As it stands today Somaliland in the words of the professor is under “quarantine.” Without access to bilateral relationships (country to country relations), multilateral relations (as a member of the United Nations, African Union, World Bank and other global and regional organizations) and without being part of the international system Somaliland is unable to interact effectively in this era of globalization.

Despite the professor’s bias for approval of Somaliland, some of its tribes, including the Dhulbahanta, Issa, Warsangeli, and Fiqi Shini have come against recognition of Somaliland. The Dhulbahanta—who hold a vast amount of territory in eastern Somaliland—are opposed to Somaliland, with the exception of few individuals who shuttle back and forth between Somaliland and Puntland. The majority of them have a strong desire to be part of a federated Somalia. The Dhulbahante are against Somaliland and are currently in a standoff with Somaliland militia in several towns. The majority of both the youth and elders of these tribes are opposed to Somaliland. Many of the youth of these tribes were orphaned by the ruthless invasion of the Somali National Movement of the 1980s. Subsequent incursions by Somaliland militia have exasperated relations. The professor overlooked renewed civil war in the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions; and the wrongdoings of the highly centralized tribal government in Hargeisa.

Samatar’s assessment is confined to the ruling clan (Isak) who are providing various kinds of support, including the help needed to get around the country. He did not travel to the territories of those tribes opposed to Somaliland to evaluate their concerns and ambitions. The professor traveled only to areas of the ruling administration for fear of being rejected by angry tribes.

The future of Somaliland depends not on lobbying abroad but on internal consensus and country-wide approval of whatever is determined by the majority to be most desirable for the future of the country. The ruling tribe has not been willing to give other tribes their true share of the “pie”. The professor opted to lobby for the ruling tribe and is no longer an impartial figure. Somaliland should not be recognized by the international community as such recognition would renew internal strife and empower a single tribe that is ready and eager to trample over the territory and resources of all the others. It is very unlikely that the tribe in power in Hargaysa would follow everything that the professor advises, but Somali unionists should be aware that Samatar has been gradually duped by the lopsided single-tribe state leadership of Somaliland, and is now purveying their one-sided party line.

Jaafar Jama
jaafarjama@hotmail.com

Apply The International Reporting Project ‘Reporting Trip on Development’ Fellowship 2014

The International Reporting Project ‘Reporting Trip on Development’ Fellowship 2014

Deadline: 3 February 2014

The International Reporting Project (IRP) is pleased to announce a two-week group reporting trip for new media participants on April 5–19 to Brazil. Applications are now being accepted.

Brazil has made major progress on several Millennium Development Goals, including reducing poverty and hunger and improving the health of its citizens, and this trip will examine those topics.

IRP Fellows will travel as a group to focus on issues related to health, poverty, hunger, and development, including successes and challenges in maternal health, child mortality, HIV/AIDS, hunger and food security, technological innovation, economy and business, urban and rural health care, environmental sustainability and women's empowerment, among others.

We will also explore "South-South" cooperation. Brazil continues to invest in Africa and to shore up links with the continent in areas such as pharmaceutical manufacturing and agriculture.

The trip will include visits to Brazil’s urban and rural areas to see how the country has addressed issues of poverty, health, and hunger. We will also examine social factors – such as human rights and equity issues, governance, and marginalized communities – in this geographically and culturally diverse country.

These are particularly timely topics, given Brazil's role hosting the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

“New media journalists” include media professionals, bloggers, influential social media practitioners, and freelance contributors. Some priority will be given to participants from the United States, United Kingdom, India, Nigeria, Kenya and South Arica, but applicants from all nations are eligible.

All candidates must fill out an application form and provide a detailed essay describing the stories they might pursue during the Brazil trip. In their essays, applicants must address how they will cover one or more of the issues related to Millennium Development Goals listed above. While there are many other stories to be found in Brazil, these are the topics upon which this trip will focus. Fellows who wish to cover other topics outside of this group fellowship are encouraged to extend their stay in Brazil.

The deadline for applications is Monday, February 3.

The IRP will purchase the Fellows’ round-trip air tickets to Brazil, pay for hotel costs, meals and local transportation, and reimburse visa costs. Fellows who wish to extend their stay after the fellowship will have the option to arrange that at their own expense.

Participants will be asked to post frequent stories, including blog posts, slideshows, social media posts, video and audio clips, before, during and after the trip. All of the stories produced by Brazil Fellows will be posted on the IRP site and co-owned by the Fellow (or his/her distribution partners, depending on agreements) and the IRP.

In addition, the work produced as a result of the trip will be made available for posting on the social media channels of the IRP’s funders. This trip is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Read our frequently asked questions and apply for the Brazil reporting trip by midnight on Monday, February 3!

Eligibility Criteria –

• New Media Journalists (media professionals, bloggers, influential social media practitioners, and freelance contributors) from all countries are eligible to apply. Some priority is given to participants fromUnited States, United Kingdom, India, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
• Applicants must submit one essay describing the story they will cover during Brazil trip. The story must relate to one or more of Millennium Development Goals.

Participants will frequently post stories, including blog posts, slideshows, social media posts, video and audio clips, before, during and after the trip.

Innaali-laahu wa-innaa-ileyhi Raajucuun. Suxifi Wayn oo ka Geeriyooday Somaliland: Wariye Siciid Guraase,

Marxuum Wariye Siciid Ismaaciil Gurraase EEBOOW u naxariiso aaaaaaaaaaaaamiiiiiiiiiiiin

Hargaysa - Ilaahay Ha U Naxariistee  Siciid Ismaaciil Gurraase oo ka mid ahaa Suxufiyiinta Ruug-caddaaga ah  ee Bahda Warbaahinta Somaliland, isla markaana Wargeyso badan oo Hargeysa ka soo baxa Tifaftire ka soo noqday, ayaa xalay  ku geeriyooday magaalada Hawaas ee duleedka Caasimadda Itoobiya ee Addis Ababa oo maalintii khamiistii loo qaaday, ka dib markii maalmo ka hor uu dhiig madaxa kaga furmay, isla markaana Hargeysa waxba lagaga qaban kari waayey si loogu soo daweeyo itoobiya.

Alle ha u naxariistee Wariye Siciid Guraase, oo hadda ka mid ahaa bahda Wargeyska Waaheen, ayaa waxa afar maalmood ka hor waxa madaxa kaga furmay dhiig, waxaanu saddex maalmood yaallay Cisbitaalka guud ee magaalada Hargeysa, balse Khamiistii  ayaa loo qaaday magaalada Addis Ababa, isagoo isla xalayna ku geeriyooday Hawaas oo ka sokaysa Addis Ababa,

Marxuun Siciid Markii uu diyaaradda qaban-waayey waxa Maalintii khamiistii Hargeysa lagaga qaaday Ambalas maaddaama oo uu ku xidhnaa qalabka neefta ee Ogso-jiintu.

Wariye Siciid Guraase, ayaa ka mid ahaa bahda Saxaafadda Somaliland muddo dheer, waxaanu ahaa Weriyayaasha rug-caddaaga ah ee Saxaafadda muhiimka u ah, waxaanu muddadii dalka lagu soo noqday ka soo shaqeeyay Wargeysyada Jamhuuriya, Haatuf, Maalmaha, Waaheen, Xog-ogaal iyo Himilo oo uu dhawaan bilaabay.

Allaah ha u naxariistee, Marxuumka ayaa lagu wadaa in Maanta Meydkiisa la keeno magaalada Hargeysa si loogu aaso  haddii Illaahay yidhaahno.

Hawlwadeenada Gudida Ilaalada Xuquuqda Aadamiga Geeska Afrika (HORNWATCH)  iyo dhamaan Difaacayaasha Xuquuqda Aadamiga Somaliland ee HORNWATCH waxa ay tacsi u diraysaa eheladii iyo Qaraabadii iyo guud ahaan Bahda Saxaafada Somaliland, qoyskii iyo eheladii  uu ka baxay marxuunku Illaahay Naxariistii Janno Ha Ka Waraabiyo iyagana Samir iyo Iiman haka siiyo ........ Aamiim Aamiin.......Aamiin

Kyrgyz Sex Video: You Can Leave Your Mufti Hat On

BY Hanna Kozlowska 

Here's a story you don't hear every day: The grand mufti of Kyrgyzstan -- the highest Islamic authority in the country -- resigned Tuesday over a sex-tape scandal. The mufti, Rakhmatulla-Hajji Egemberdiev, admitted that the man in a white tank top (sans mufti hat) on the grainy black-and-white video enjoying the company of a young woman is in fact him.

Earlier this week, 60 protesters gathered in front of the Egemberdiev's house demanding his resignation. The mufti complied with the crowd's demands, even though he claimed that the woman on the video was the second wife that he took on four years ago. 

Polygamy is illegal in Kyrgyzstan and is not widely practiced. The tape, which appeared on Kyrgyz websites on New Year's Eve, was reportedly shot using a hidden camera.

"Muslim spiritual leaders are in shock," Bakyt Nurdinov, a Muslim activist told Radio Free Europe. "It's the first time such a thing has happened. It's very upsetting that we've lived to see something like this."

Considering previous Kyrgyz muftis' track records, it seems that the latest scandal shouldn't come as such a shocker. Egemberdiev, according to the Moscow Times, is the sixth mufti to be replaced in four years -- a previous mufti resigned after accusations of corruption, another died after being beaten and kidnapped.

Egemberdiev himself was allegedly involved in a financial scandal when he was chosen to become the country's Muslim leader. Now he is accusing the authorities of sabotaging him with the tape so that they could introduce a more "loyal" candidate.

But the real tragedy here is that he did, in fact, not keep his mufti hat on. Here at FP, we hope the future muftis of Kyrgyzstan will listen to a little more Joe Cocker.

Source: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/01/10/are_saudi_s_princesses_training_for_the_olympics_or_for_the_hunger_games

USG Policy on South Sudan

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, testified on 9 January 2014 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on South Sudan.  In her opening statement, she set forth U.S. policy towards South Sudan:

--The United States will not countenance the armed overthrow of the democratically elected government.

--Hostilities must stop and violence directed at civilian populations must end; those responsible for perpetrating human rights abuses will be held accountable.

--The crisis will not be solved on the battlefield; resolution will come only through dialogue and inclusive reconciliation.

--All parties must permit immediate and unconditional humanitarian access to all in need.

The assistant secretary offered strong support to the efforts by IGAD, former Ethiopian foreign minister Seyoum Mesfin, and Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo to find a peaceful solution through political dialogue. She urged that the South Sudan government release the political prisoners being held in Juba.  She explained that the United States is exploring the possibility of appropriate pressures against individuals on both sides who interfere with the peace and reconciliation process or are responsible for serious human rights abuses.

State's Thomas-Greenfield on Situation in South Sudan

 

 

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield

 

 

 

09 January 2014

U.S. Department of State

Testimony

Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Washington, DC

The Situation in South Sudan

Introduction

Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. I know that the subject before us is one about which you and other members of Congress care deeply. I regret to inform you that Special Envoy Booth is unavailable to testify today as he is in Addis Ababa working to get the peace process underway.

Situation in South Sudan

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Corker, three years ago today, on January 9, 2011, the people of South Sudan voted in overwhelming numbers for independence from the Republic of Sudan. After decades of war, they were peacefully and joyfully voting for separation and for a new future. 

Then-Senator Kerry was there to witness that historic moment. The United States played a critical role in getting the world’s youngest country on the map.

Today, tragically, the world’s youngest country and undoubtedly one of its most fragile democracies is in danger of shattering. The United Nations has reported more than a thousand people have died and over 240,000 have fled their homes including a number of refugees in neighboring countries. Political rivalries have taken on ethnic dimensions, atrocities are being committed, and men, women, and children are caught in the crossfire. This is not the future for which the people of South Sudan voted.

South Sudan’s crisis began less than a month ago, on December 15th, with a political struggle that escalated into broader violence. However the fighting began, a few things are crystal clear. First, neither the United States nor the international community will countenance the armed overthrow of the democratically elected government. Second, hostilities must stop, any and all violence directed at civilian populations must end, and those responsible for perpetrating human rights abuses must be held accountable. Third, this crisis will not be solved on the battlefield. Although fighting started less than one month ago, the roots of this conflict are much deeper, and resolution can only come through immediate dialogue between the two sides and an inclusive reconciliation. Finally, all parties must permit immediate and unconditional humanitarian access to all in need, to tens of thousands of South Sudanese men, women, and children who are the real victims of this violence.

The United States has engaged in an all-out diplomatic effort to help bring an end to the fighting, with engagement by Secretary Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and other high-ranking officials with President Kiir and former Vice President Machar as well as with the heads of state and foreign ministers in neighboring countries and around the world. We have galvanized support to end hostilities and open a broader dialogue between the two sides; called for accountability for atrocities; sought to secure the release of political detainees now being held in Juba.

But while we need a political settlement among the fighting parties, the immediate security situation remains critical – particularly for the thousands of internally displaced civilians who have sought the UN’s protection – and must be addressed as well. As the crisis began to unfold, we proposed and the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution nearly doubling the authorized troop ceiling for UNMISS. In turn, we are now actively encouraging member states to provide additional troops and police units to the UN mission, including through the transfer of contingents from other missions in the region. As my colleague, Assistant Administrator Lindborg will discuss, we have just committed an additional $50 million in emergency humanitarian assistance in response to pressing new needs arising from the crisis.

The President’s Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Donald Booth – who, as I noted, could not be here to testify today because he is in Ethiopia – is actively trying to help resolve this crisis. Ambassador Booth has been in the region since December 22nd, working around the clock, as we all have in supporting his efforts. He has met repeatedly with President Kiir and other officials, had lengthy discussions with former Vice President Machar, secured the first official visit with the group of political detainees, and sat down with local religious leaders and civil society members to help find a way out of this crisis.

This is an all-out effort on our part, and given our special history in South Sudan, we are working closely with South Sudan’s neighbors, through East Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development or IGAD, who are spearheading mediation efforts. A special summit on South Sudan was held at the head of state level just 12 days after the conflict began, and thanks to robust engagement, representatives of both parties arrived in Addis for negotiations just a few days later. 

We are encouraged by IGAD’s leadership in convening the parties and strongly support the efforts of former Ethiopian Minister Seyoum Mesfin and Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo to find a peaceful solution through political dialogue. South Sudan’s neighbors are also providing asylum for new South Sudanese refugees who may number in the hundreds of thousands if the fighting does not end soon.

These negotiations offer the best hope for South Sudan and the region. An agreement to end hostilities will provide much needed time and space for dialogue to begin on the core political and governance issues that are at the root of this crisis. Both sides must recognize that there can be no military solution. We have made clear to the rebels that we will not recognize a violent overthrow of a democratically elected government. At the same time, we are encouraging the government to open political space to allow for greater inclusion. The United States also strongly believes that the political prisoners currently being held in Juba must be released. These individuals should join discussions in Addis to enlarge the chorus of those seeking constructive solutions to resolve this growing catastrophe. Each day that the conflict continues, the risk of all-out civil war grows as ethnic tensions rise, more civilians are killed, injured, or forced to flee, the humanitarian situation grows more dire, and those who have remained on the sidelines are pulled into the conflict.

Let me conclude by saying that I am gravely concerned that the crisis in South Sudan has the potential to escalate even further. While we do not know the scale of atrocities that have been committed thus far, there is clear evidence that targeted killings have taken place, with Dinka killing Nuer, and Nuer killing Dinka. Countless civilians, particularly women and children, have become victims of violence perpetrated by both government and rebel forces alike. Each violent act threatens to return South Sudan to the cycle of violence and destruction that South Sudanese of all ethnicities and backgrounds voted to end when they voted for independence in 2011. Stopping the violence, and ensuring that Africa’s newest nation continues to move forward rather than backwards, is of highest priority to the United States and the international community.

In addition to calling for an end to the violence, humanitarian access, dialogue, and the release of political prisoners in Juba, the United States is exploring the possibility of appropriate pressures against individuals on both sides who interfere with the peace and reconciliation process in South Sudan or are responsible for serious human rights abuses.

I want to thank you for your continued commitment to the people of South Sudan, and I look forward to your questions.

Read more: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2014/01/20140109290233.html#ixzz2q8Nds9KU 

The more I listen to American intelligence officials, the more I edge toward Snowden

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

BY THOMAS E. RICKS

I've been really ambivalent about Edward Snowden, especially since he landed in Russia. At the outset I thought he clearly was wrong, akin to British defectors Kim Philby or Guy Burgess. Yet I have been struck that everyone under the age of 30 I've asked thinks he's a hero. That has made me think some more.

I am not yet on his side, but I think I am becoming more sympathetic to him. I thought a lot about this over the Christmas break. I see four questions here:

Did he do the right thing?

Did he at the same time commit a crime?

Are the activities of the U.S. intelligence community that he exposed legal?

If so, are they wise?

It is possible that Snowden did the right thing but in the wrong way. Indeed, he may have helped the United States but committed a crime in doing so.

Yet that begs the question: What would have been the right way? Especially given the reckless disregard for the law shown by American national security officials over the last decade, he was right to be wary of going the civil disobedience route. We've seen the killing of American citizens held to be "enemy combatants," and intelligence officials certainly talk about Snowden as an enemy who has inflicted severe damage on their operations. Add two and two and you get a secret execution warrant for one Edward Snowden. Is that speculative? Absolutely. Ridiculous? Not if you have been paying attention to the erosion of boundaries (between civilian and military, war and peace, public and private, and most especially the militarization of intelligence operations).

I also think that the U.S. intelligence community, by simply insisting that it is doing the right thing and that Snowden is a contemptible traitor, end of discussion, is going to wind up the loser in this conversation. One well-informed person I know comments that this failure to engage seriously now presents "an existential threat to the entire USIC's ability to operate with the support of the American people, Congress and the media." (He says the solution is to strengthen the director of national intelligence and give that office the powers actually envisioned by the 9/11 Commission, such as budget authority and direct regulatory oversight over all member agencies. That is, of course, another issue, but an important one.)

I especially am becoming more sympathetic to Snowden the more current and former American intelligence officials talk about killing Snowden and holding forth in other ways. Bart Gellman, one of the reporters who has broken a lot of Snowden's news, wrote of a confrontation with a self-righteous general last summer, who angrily said to him, "We didn't have another 9/11 [because intelligence enabled warfighters to find the enemy first]. Until you've got to pull the trigger, until you've had to bury your people, you don't have a clue."

First, we have buried our people.

Second, until there is more accountability for the crimes committed by U.S. intelligence officials over the last 10 years, I am not inclined to let secret policemen and spies be the moral arbiters of our society or the interpreters of our constitutional rights -- in fact, I think the burden is on them, not on me. I was not the one who tortured people, kidnapped others, delivered captives into the hands of governments we knew would torture them, and also wormholed some of our constitutional rights. And I didn't allow 9/11 to happen in the first place, and then get all panicky after that. If we are to ask if Snowden damaged U.S. intelligence operations, we also need to ask how much U.S. intelligence operations damaged the United States over the last 10 years. They will tell you that there is secret evidence of all the attacks they stopped. I will tell you that there is secret evidence of all the laws they broke -- or at least, there was such evidence, until the tapes were destroyed. There are a lot of people calling for accountability for Snowden who seem blind to the much larger crimes committed by U.S. intelligence officials.

SOMALILAND: Can’t get no recognition

IN 1991, after the overthrow of Somalia’s military leader Siad Barre, the northern territory of Somaliland declared independence. While its mother nation has been in meltdown, Somalilanders in Hargeisa established a currency, set up a working government, held a series of free elections and saw through a peaceful transfer of power. But after two decades, they still haven’t won recognition as a country from international partners. 

Mohamed Bihi Yonis, the foreign minister, claims that is about to change, saying that “it will happen soon”. His optimism is overblown, but not entirely without foundation. A number of factors have converged to buoy the independence bid. 

Last year Somalia elected its first permanent government since the fall of the military regime, giving Somaliland a credible partner for negotiations. Ministers have been trying to win Somali leaders over in talks brokered by Turkey.

Mr Yonis says the negotiations have stretched as far as “how best to disengage from each other”. He claims that Somalia's government, which formally recognises its breakaway neighbour as an autonomous region, is willing to make concessions. “They have accepted the understanding that… it is in the best interests of everybody to move things forward,” he says.

Somaliland has a strong legal case for recognition because it sticks to old colonial borders favoured by the international community. Increased financial security may also support its bid. 

The Somaliland government has handed out a number of oil licences to exploration groups like Genel Energy, an Anglo-Turkish firm, in recent years, and is about to sign the biggest business deal in its 22-year history. An offer worth “hundreds of millions [of dollars]” has been tabled by “one of the world’s best port operators” to develop the harbour at Berbera, according to Jason McCue, a human rights lawyer who works as an envoy on the independence bid.

Serving as a trade route for landlocked Ethiopia, which has annual exports of about $1bn, could strengthen Somaliland’s bid for recognition amongst its neighbours. Big international investors could also influence their home governments to acknowledge Somaliland as a country.

But there are limits. Sources close to Somalia’s government say that it is committed to maintaining a unified nation. All public signals from Mogadishu point in the same direction. Somalia wants Somaliland to adopt its planned replacement currency, and is attempting to exercise control over the territory’s airspace. It has also contested the legality of Somaliland handing out oil licenses, saying that right lies with the federal government. A new draft constitution openly lays claim to Somaliland. 
Somaliland doesn’t necessarily need its parent nation’s permission to get legal recognition. 

But unfortunately for it, Western governments, which are mostly impressed with its efforts, say that the first move should come out of Africa. The chances of that happening look slim. The African Union is scared that acknowledging Somaliland could create momentum for other separatist bids, and none of its member states have shown any indication that they will recognise the territory. The current crisis in newly independent South Sudan makes this even more unlikely. 

Somaliland’s problem furthermore is that its case is dwarfed by other concerns in the Horn of Africa. While the northern territory chugs along in relative peace and stability, both rump-Somalia and its international partners are face pressing security problems. Hargeisa will have to wait.

Source: economist.com

 

Somaliland: ANSHAX Media Watchdog Applaud Order on Wayward Journalism

By M.A Egge

HARGEISA - The Somaliland Media Watchdog Group based in Washington DC known as Anshah have praised the stern warning and cautionary notification to wayward press by Interior Minister Hon. Ali Mohammed Waran'ade.

The Minister decried the trend journalism in Somaliland was taking in the country whereby they nowadays perpetrated discord by deviating from ethics hence sanctified tribalism instead of vilifying it.

He warned of stern action to be taken against the errant including revocation of the operating licenses if need be.

The Somali worded Anshah press statement praised the direction the minister took terming the move as "one of bravery".

They underpinned the fact that what he talked of was an onerous "task expected of SOLJA and web-sites" to address.

Anshah particularly named Oodweynnews.com web-site as an example of those whose journalism was tinged with voluminous tribal oriented innuendoes.

They asked the website to desist forthwith from such tendencies hence threatened to blacklist it.
They watchdog group prides itself as having done a lion's share job of liaising understanding between the country's journalists and the state.

The personalized press statement was however not signed and for the groups emblem.

Hon Waran'ade was talking in his office to a press conference he called for on Tuesday day mainly to caution against the grave situation of worsening local media standards.

He warned members of the press that local media houses which condone or thrive in tribally inclined reports stood to lose their operating licenses.

The tendency to imbibe tribally or clannish innuendoes to justify vice or associated means at the expense of justice expediency and etiquettes has more than quadrupled in recent months.