Somalia - the reality on the ground?

Somalia's  elusive peace?..

For example, in the north, the unrecognized separatist “Republic of Somaliland” in northwestern Somalia claims to be an independent nation, and Puntla

nd State of Somalia in northeastern Somalia claims to be the first established state in the new Federal Republic of Somalia. In the south-central regions, the situation is generally more fluid and volatile: Galmudug State of Somalia controls a number of districts in southern Mudug region, while Ahlu Sunna Sufi militia group controls most districts of Galgadud region, although Al Shabaab group maintains a heavy presence in El Bur district of Galgadud region.

wiki Somaliland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland

wiki Puntland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puntland

Key towns such as Beledweyne and Baidoa remain under the control of Ethiopian armed forces, while Mogadishu and Merka are dominated by African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) from Uganda and Burundi. In the deep south Jubba regions, Kenyan troops under AMISOM mandate are joined by Somali local fighters aiming to re-take the key port of Kismayo from the grip of Al Shabaab, a key source of revenue for the group's guerrilla and terrorist attacks against the country's internationally-backed government. In this land of complexities and intricate dynamics, any wrong move could shift things completely in an unintended direction, and if every step is not carefully planned and actions are undertaken in harmony between the center and the peripheral powers, the outcome could have devastating consequences for Somalia and the wider region.

Above are extracted from Garowe online (operating from Puntland?) http://goo.gl/z1fZ3

Maps on Youtube, (see below) showed 1Somalia = Somaliland + Puntland + the South of Somalia (3).

Al-Shabab rebels pull out of key Somali town 
  ..out of the southern port city of Kismayo, their last stronghold in the  country, after a military assault by Kenyan and Somali troops,  the rebels have said.

The Ogaden national Liberation Front (ONLF) fighting Ethiopia and their agenda is about joining Somalia is still very much kicking & alive - in the equation, see http://goo.gl/9K0G5

MKO supporters attacked Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast near the United Nations headquarters and in the presence of New York City police.

US plan to delist MKO terrorist group another wrong step: Iran UN mission

Iran has warned against a US decision to remove the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from its blacklist of terrorist organizations, saying it would be another “wrong step” by the US administration.

Spokesman for Iran's UN mission in New York Alireza Miryousefi made the remark on Thursday, a day after the MKO supporters attacked Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast near the United Nations headquarters and in the presence of New York City police. 

Mehmanparast and several other Iranian officials were walking to their hotel when they were surrounded and assaulted by supporters of the anti-Iran MKO terrorists. 

“This is while the name of this group is to be taken out of the list of US [State Department] terrorist groups and such violent behaviors must be expected of this terrorist sect,” Miryousefi said. 

Miryousefi added that the US government is responsible for the security of all diplomats attending the UN meetings as the host to the world body.

New York City police and the US security forces made no arrests as the attackers physically abused members of the Iranian delegation accompanying Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his visit to the United States to address the 67th session of the UN General Assembly.

The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community and has committed numerous terrorist acts against Iranians and Iraqis.

However, the United States is reportedly planning to remove the MKO from the US State Department's list of terrorist organizations.

On September 21, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent the US Congress a classified communication about the decision. 

Members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group (file photo)

source here | 28 Sept, 2012  >>>

Analysis : MEDIA & THE MIDDLE EAST:-

Have you see a 'note' that says - hey, Malaysian forget about Iran's under Ayatollah Khamenei stance in International Affairs focus & give weight more to Egyp's under Morsi stance - for they are the Sunni (our Sunni brethren) and the later are Shia (a misguided lot)!

Being Parsi has it advantages & edge over the Arabs. Being Persian - their media can easily be dichotomized into those pro Velayatul Faqeh, though the America's media will try to confuse us between the so called Conservatives & Reformists on the one hand and those anti Velayatul Faqeh ranging from the terrorist MKO - Shah's royalists - and pro western democracy advocates. As such generally speaking the regime's or pro regime media will follow the SCO stance and their opposition will be along NATO's stance.

The Arabs are more diversified in all terms - regimes, religions & sects. Just looking regimes - several years ago made of mainly despotic absolute monarchy and nationalistic dictatorship. Only in the last couple of years with the Arab spring some form of popular democratic regimes are taking shapes or forms. Historically among them are those aligned to the Soviets and Warsaw Pact. While there are those that aligned to America and NATO. Geopolitics of the past - since Israel is well represented and cared by America, it appeared as if natural for the Palestinians to align to the Soviets.

For Western medias (read America and Western Europe) they are control by a handful of media Moguls - who are said to be generally 'Zionist'. This provide some form of 'unity of thoughts' -along Pro Zionist, Pro Israel stance. The West had poured in money and other forms of assistance to former pro Soviet groups including the Fatah faction of the PLO during the period of Western dominance after the fall of the Soviet State. However the resultant mellowed stance on Israeli occupation and ubiquitous, menacing Israeli settlements led to breakups within their ranks. Hamas for instance have no choice but to align themselves to the rising SCO.

As such within the Arab media their stance is separated within this two polars - SCO & NATO, depending on the regime or faction that particular media is align to. This slant in reporting created confusion on the Muslims readers. The recent speech of President Morsi of Egypt at the UN General Assembly is a classic case:

1] From MAAN : it is reported that.. "Mursi says Egypt opposes foreign intervention in Syria : Egypt opposes foreign military intervention to stop the civil war in Syria and prefers an inclusive, negotiated settlement, Egypt's new Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, said on Wednesday."
http://goo.gl/pKkfT which is a SCO stance.
Wiki tells us about MAAN - : http://goo.gl/ob8pH

2] From MEMO : it is reported that.. "Morsi speaks out at the UN on behalf of Arabs and Muslims : Our support for the Syrians will continue until they achieve their freedom by ousting the current regime which keeps killing the people day and night." http://goo.gl/Xr14V  which is a NATO stance."

wiki tells us about MEMO - : http://goo.gl/8zdGg

Pick your stance?

West Bank Security literally control by Israel!

The Deterioration of the Palestine Situation

September 2011- September 2012

  

After 45 years of Israeli occupation, the daily reality in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem (OPT), continues to deteriorate to the point where the two-state solution is almost inconceivable. The statistics below bear witness to the fact that Israel has no interest in meaningful negotiations. A non-violent and diplomatic way to protect Palestinian inalienable rights and to save the prospects of justice and peace is for Palestine to apply for membership in the most multilateral organization in the world, the United Nations.

Ahead of President Abbas’ speech in the UN General Assembly, we have collected some of the key figures regarding Israeli occupation and colonization policies within the Occupied Palestinian Territory between the last UNGA General Debate and today. The status quo is clearly untenable.

Between the 2011 and 2012 speeches of President Mahmoud Abbas to the U.N. …

• …the Israeli settler population living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (OPT), grew by over 20,000 settlers. There are over half a million settlers living in the OPT today.
• … Israel planned, in different stages (tendering, approvals), at least 11,096 housing units and hotel rooms for settlements in and around Occupied East Jerusalem. The new housing units, if approved, would house around 44,000 new Israeli settlers.
• …991 separate incidents of terrorist acts by Israeli settlers living illegally in the OPT were recorded, including shootings, physical assaults, arson attacks, murder of livestock, and the destruction of property and vehicles. At least 60 of these attacks were against Christian and Muslim religious institutions.

• …Israeli forces demolished approximately 510 Palestinian structures in Area C, displacing close to 770 Palestinians.

In 2011…

• …following the Quartet Statement of September 23:

• • November 17: the Israeli authorities published tenders for 2,190 housing units in settlements in four different locations in the West Bank. Out of the new tenders, 40 are in Ma’ale Adumim, 277 in Ariel and 277 in Efrat.
  • November 27: the Israeli Ministry of Defense approved settlement construction plans for 238 housing units in Shilo settlement north east of Ramallah (aiming to separate Nablus from Ramallah).
  • December 12: the Israeli Ministry of Defense approved the establishment of a new, permanent settlement near Efrat in the Bethlehem area (aiming to separate Bethlehem from Hebron).

• …the UN reported that a record number of Palestinians were displaced as a result of home demolitions in 2011. More than 1,000 Palestinians in the OPT (including East Jerusalem) lost their homes, double the number from the previous year and the highest number since 2005.
• …560 Palestinian-owned structures, including 200 residential structures and 46 rainwater collection cisterns and pools, were demolished by the Israeli authorities. (ICHAD)
• …the Israeli authorities demolished over 200 Palestinian-owned structures in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area, displacing around 430 people and affecting the livelihoods of another 1,200 Palestinians. (OCHA)
• …Israel demolished 46 Palestinian rainwater-harvesting cisterns, preventing Palestinians from even collecting rainwater, and 25 Palestinian wells primarily used for agricultural and residential use. The situation did not change during 2012.
• … During the olive harvest, about 42% of applications submitted for permits to access Palestinian orchards in the areas behind the illegal wall were rejected. (OCHA)

The situation today:

• Since 2007, incidents of settler attacks against Palestinians have risen by an alarming 315%.
• The UN reports that more than 250,000 Palestinians remain at risk of settler violence, 76,000 of whom are deemed to be at high risk.
• Over the past four decades, the residency of 14,084 Palestinians has been revoked, directly impacting more than 20% of Palestinian families in occupied East Jerusalem. These residents are no longer permitted to live or work in their city. Of all the revocations that have been carried out from 1967 until today, about half have occurred since 2006.
• The Israeli “Mayor” of the so-called “Jerusalem municipality” has proposed depriving Palestinian Jerusalemites east of the illegal wall of their Jerusalem IDs. If successful, this proposal would affect an estimated 80,000 of 361,000 Palestinians and would be the largest act of deportation and de-population of the City since the beginning of the occupation.
• The Israeli military has destroyed over 3,300 Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem since 1967.
• Because of Israeli restrictions, at least 160,000 Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem have no suitable or legal connection to water networks.
• Israel continues to restrict Palestinians’ basic right to worship freely. This includes barring most Palestinians from accessing the Al Aqsa Mosque Compound and allowing only West Bank residents above 40 years of age to enter East Jerusalem and access the compound. 77.4% of Palestinians in the OPT are under the age of 30.
• At Easter, Israel’s policies against Jerusalem are also prominent: While Christians from all over the world take part in Easter ceremonies in occupied East Jerusalem, many indigenous  Palestinian Christians are prevented from worshipping in Jerusalem. Those who are granted access are forced to apply through a discriminatory permit regime, followed by humiliation at checkpoints on their way to worship.
• Over 60% of the West Bank is considered Area C, where Israel retains extensive control, including over security, planning and zoning.
• Water consumption dips to 20 liters/capita/day (l/c/d) in communities without water infrastructure, one fifth of the World Health Organization’s recommendation.
• Communities depending on tankered water pay up to 400% more for every liter than those connected to the water network.
• The Jordan Valley makes up 28.5% of the West Bank and is home to almost 60,000 Palestinians. There are 37 Israeli settlements in the area, with a population of 9,500 settlers in contravention of international law. 94% of the land is effectively off limits to Palestinians.
• The Israeli settlers living in the Jordan valley consume the equivalent of one-third of the entire amount of water made available to all 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. (B’Tselem)
• Approximately 18% of the West Bank has been designated as a closed military zone for training, or “firing zone”; this is roughly the same amount of the West Bank under full Palestinian authority.
• The planned expansion area of the around 135 Israeli settlements in the OPT is 9 times larger than their built-up area. (B’Tselem)
• Over 3,000 demolition orders are outstanding throughout the OPT, including 18 targeting schools.
• In 2010, the estimated total cost of occupation to the Palestinian economy was $6.9 billion, a staggering 84.9% of GDP.
• 70% of Palestinians are refugees most of whom have been waiting 64 years for the recognition and implementation of their rights.
• There is ongoing construction in ALL settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Israel’s actions make it patently clear that there is currently no prospect for meaningful negotiations. If the international community truly wants to resolve this conflict, then the culture of impunity granted to Israel must come to an end. The Palestinian application to the United Nations is an effort to legitimize Palestine in the international arena and is a way to salvage the two-state solution. Self-determination is our sovereign right; international recognition is the legal and moral responsibility of the international community. All those who endorse the two-state solution along the 1967 borders, and wish to see a meaningful and peaceful resolution to this conflict, should vote in favour of admitting Palestine at the United Nations.

original source here : 

New York court okays anti-Muslim subway ad campaign

In the city under Mayor Mr Michael Rubens Blomberg, NY : one of the fathers of the 1percenter, hate activities & hate crimes are license to operate?

A provocative ad that equates Muslim radicals with savages is set to go up in the New York’s subway system. (Reuters)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 
NEW YORK | TUESDAY, 25 September 2012

A provocative ad that equates Muslim radicals with savages is set to go up in the city’s subway system as violent protests over an anti-Islamic film ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed sweep over much of the Muslim world.

A conservative blogger who once headed a campaign against an Islamic center near the Sept. 11 terror attack site won a court order to post the ad in 10 subway stations next Monday. The ad reads, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”

The ad was plastered on San Francisco city buses in recent weeks, prompting some artists to deface the ads and remove some of the words, including “Jihad,” or holy war. The blogger, Pamela Geller, said she filed suit Thursday in the nation’s capital to post the ad in Washington’s transit system after officials declined to put up the ad in light of the uproar in the Middle East over the anti-Islam film.

Abdul Yasar, a New York subway rider who considers himself an observant Muslim, said Geller’s ad was insensitive in an unsettling climate for Muslims.

more from source here >>

Anti-jihad 'savage' Ads Go Up in NYC Subway

Published on Sep 24, 2012 by AssociatedPress : Many commuters in New York City were uncomfortable with a new series of subway ads that equate Muslim radicals with savages. The MTA was forced to put up the ads in the subway system after a lawsuit by anti-Islamic blogger Pamela Geller.

Was British government minister sacked because he won't support an attack on Iran?

Lib Dem MP Nick Harvey confirmed he considered his sacking as defence minister was linked to mounting speculation of a pre-emptive strike on Iran and the expectation that UK forces would be drawn in.

In September 2012, the United States and over 30 of its allies held thelargest naval exercises ever in the Middle East, with the British navy deploying four ships in the Gulf.

A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT Defence Minister has claimed he was sacked to avoid a damaging Coalition split over a pre-emptive strike on Iran.

Former Armed Forces Minister Sir Nick Harvey told friends that he was fired in the reshuffle to allow Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to sign Britain up to an Israeli-US preventive strike to take out Iran’s nuclear installations.

Friends of Sir Nick  (picture left) – who was handed a knighthood just days later – say that he could have embarrassed the Lib Dem leader by being too critical of Israel’s actions if he had still been in the key Ministry of Defence (MoD) post.

The row broke as sources confirmed that British intelligence agents are already deeply involved in attempts to discover Iran’s nuclear secrets.

It is also understood that the US has asked Britain to provide frigates to patrol the Straits of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil passes.

The sacking of the respected Minister took MPs and Army top brass by surprise. Party sources have insisted the move – which has left the Ministry of Defence staffed entirely by Tories – was due to Mr Clegg’s decision to accept Lib Dem ministerial jobs in other, more ‘voter-friendly’ Government departments.

original source  | 22 September 2012

More film and cartoon protests expected for Friday prayers.

Published on Sep 22, 2012 by Euronews : Friday prayers in the Muslim world, and no let-up is expected in the wave of protests against a blasphemous film made in America, and now some French cartoons.

The day has itself been declared a Friday of "Love for the Prophet" in Pakistan, and protesters are being urged to be peaceful.

President Barack Obama has again made an attempt at direct communication with the Muslim world; paid-for TV adverts in Pakistan in which he condemns the film.

Yesterday around 50 people were injured around the US embassy, and police had to use live rounds and tear gas to control protesters.

France has had to close embassies and other official outposts across the Muslim world; in 20 countries the French are lying low after some satirical cartoons, two featuring the prophet naked, refuelled the blasphemy row.

Ask French mothers in Tunisia what they think of the editor of the magazine that published the cartoons; free speech is all very nice, if you're safe in Paris.

"To the editor, I'd say poor fool, I'm sorry, but you poor fool. You're safe at home, nothing will happen to you, but we're here in Tunisia. All the French who live in the Muslim world are today feeling threatened, targets," said one.

French schools are closed and their residential areas are deserted, while the Tunisian government has banned Friday protests.

SYRIA : UN envoy Brahimi caught in the Middle?

..Syria conflict 'likely to spread'

Published on Sep 18, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish : In his first television interview since seeing the situation in Syria for himself, Lakhdar Brahimi has told Al Jazeera it is getting worse.

The joint UN and Arab League envoy says it is time all sides in Syria, as well as their international allies, realise just how bad the crisis is.

Libya Warned US Three Days Before Consulate Attack

Official Repeatedly Warned About Deteriorating Security

by Jason Ditz, September 16, 2012

Despite US officials angrily condemning reports last week that the Benghazi consulate attack, which killed the US ambassador, came with advanced warning, another Libyan security official came forward today to confirm that he gave the US a specific warning about security three days before the attack.

“The situation is frightening, it scares us,” the battalion commander reportedly told US envoys. He added that this was not the first time he had warned them and that he hadrepeatedly cautioned that security was deteriorating, advice which was apparently ignored.

The US has insisted that nothing could possibly have been done to prevent the attack and claims they had absolutely no “actionable” warnings beforehand. Libyan officials are now scrambling to arrest people, saying they havecaptured 50 people over the attack.

source here  >>

USA : reap what you sow!

Published on Sep 16, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish : At least one Afghan policeman has turned his gun on his US colleagues, killing four soldiers.

It's the latest in a string of insider attacks in Afghanistan. Sunday's attack occured at a camp in southern Zabul province. An Afghan officer also died in a shootout.Five other policemen fled the scene, local officials said.

Profile: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia's determined new president

The 56-year-old peace activist and education reformer has found himself leading the war-torn nation after defeating former president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in a run-off election Tuesday. 

Sept 11,2012  |  During his country's 21-year civil war, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (pic), Somalia's determined new president, remained in his country while most other intellectual reformers fled.

Now the 56-year-old peace activist and education reformer has found himself leading the war-torn nation, after defeating former president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in a run-off election on Tuesday, the first of its kind in decades.

Both the new president — considered a moderate Islamist — and his predecessor hail from the Hawiye clan, which is based on Mogadishu. However, Mohamud's clan affiliations were said not to be the driving force behind his victory.

Instead, many said it is his commitment to the country, and particularly its educational system, that garnered votes, the BBC reported. His career in academia rather than in politics has also made him a less compromised contender than the rest.

On Tuesday, celebratory gunfire marked the election of the new president who won by 190 votes, against 79, in a secret ballot by members of parliament, Reuters reported.

Mohamud was born into a middle-class neighborhood in Somalia's Hiran province in 1955. He was educated at Somalia National University in engineering, and later went on to earn a graduate degree in India.

He returned to Somalia to take up a position in the education ministry before the government's collapse in 1991, said the BBC.

From there, he joined UNICEF to oversee its policies in Somalia, which inspired him to push for educational reform in the country.

Mohamud began one of the first primary schools in Somalia after the war had begun with the help of al Islah — considered the Somali franchise of the Muslim Brotherhood, said the BBC. He also helped negotiate peace between warring clans in the country.

Reuters said that the new president faces daunting challenges, given Somalia's troubled past and present.

Aside from being one of the poorest countries on the planet, Somalia is also one of the most corrupt, with only three out of every 10 dollars of revenue raised by the government actually reaching state accounts, according to a UN report cited by Reuters. AllAfrica listed several key problems the new president must tackle if he is to succeed, including corruption, weak institutions of governance and reconciliation.

In a recent interview with Voice of America, Mohamud spoke of the challenges ahead of him and his hopes for the new government.

“In a clan setting, you can only produce a clan leader; you cannot produce a national leader. Here, in the political parties, we intend to produce national leaders," he said. "Our main focus is that."

source here  >>