Somalia Report – Another senior Al-Shabaab leader, Abu Zubery, called on its members to stop torturing civilians since these inhumane actions could inspire hatred towards the Islamist militia. Despite this call, Al-Shabaab continued its inhumane acts by lashing young Somalis in central and southern Somalia. Somalia Report wonders if these calls are merely publicity stunts or if Al-Shabaab leaders are losing control of their representatives throughout southern Somalia as the calls for civility are clearly being ignored.
POLITICS➢ All Africa News – Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed accepted the diplomatic credentials of the Ethiopian Ambassador to Somalia, Ambassador Abdulaziz Ahmed Adem (photo at right). The Somali President congratulated the Ethiopian ambassador to Somalia and wished him success. http://www.allheadlinenews.com/briefs/articles/90032511?Somali%20president%20accepts%20credentials%20of%20Ethiopian%20ambassador
• Garowe Online and All Headline News – Puntland President Abdirahman Farole reshuffled his cabinet of ministers by firing those accused of having close ties with the Somalia government. He appointed four new ministers and six deputy ministers. Those sacked were: Abdihakim Ahmed Guled, minister of information; Mohammed Nur Agaweyn, minister of sports and labor; Hassan Abdi Mohammed, minister of agriculture; and, Ahmed Ilmi Osman, aviation minister. http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7022353793?Puntland%20sacks%20ministers%20accused%20of%20having%20links%20with%20Somali%20government#ixzz1CNxeUfZE and http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_Puntland_president_appoints_four_new_Cabinet_ministers.shtml
➢ Shabelle – Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed returned to Mogadishu after meeting the Ugandan president in Kampala (photo at right). The two leaders discussed bilateral relations between Somalia and Uganda but their talks were mainly dominated by security related matters. http://shabelle.net/article.php?id=2431
SECURITY➢ All Voices – The Parliament Speaker of the Somali government, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, accused the international community of ignoring security and stability in Somalia. In a press conference in Nairobi, the speaker said the transitional government could not achieve security or conclude the conflicts continuing in Somalia, and called for the international community do more about liberating Al-shabab fighters from the country. http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8029079-parliament-speaker-the-international-community-ignored-somali-security
Al-SHABAAB ➢ Mareeg – A senior Al-Shabaab leader called for Al-Shabaab not to torture civilians or inspire hatred against Al-Shabaab. In a taped message to Somali radio stations, Sheikh Mukhtar (aka Abu Zubery) instructed Al-Shabaab representatives in central and southern Somalia “not lead people to take hatred for Islam and also not harm the civilians.” http://mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=18622&tirsan=3
➢ Shabelle – Seven Somali youths were lashed at El-Buur town in Galgudud region of Central Somalia. The seven young Somalis received 39 lashes each in Public Square after being accused of watching illegal and un-Islamic videos on their mobile phones. The public lashing incident was watched by hundreds of people including women and children. (Somali language) http://shabelle.net/article.php?id=2451
➢ Shabelle – Another seven people were also lashed 25 times each by Al-Shabaab in Afgoye Public Square of Lower Shabelle region. The lashed individuals were accused of watching pornographic materials. http://shabelle.net/article.php?id=2429
MARITIME & PIRACY ➢ Eagle Speak – Indian Coast Guard aircraft foiled an attempted hijacking by Somali pirates of an Indian merchant vessel (MV CMA CGM Berd) at Lakshadweep Island. The Bahamas-flagged container carrier was about to be attacked by two pirate skiffs when the surveillance airplane spotted them. Upon seeing the plane, the pirates abandoned their plan. The Coast Guard also spotted the hijacked PRANTALAY (photo at right) in the vicinity and reported it to the anti-piracy naval force. The vessel is currently being used as a mother ship. http://www.eaglespeak.us/➢ One India News – Somali pirates released a Taiwanese fishing vessel, FV TAI YUAN 227 with its crew of 28 after almost a year in captivity. The spokesman for EU NAVFOR, Mr. Paddy O’Kennedy, said, “Although direct contact with the crew has not been possible, the vessel's owners apparently received a call from the master stating that they had been released but that they did not know why. " The crew was provided with fresh food and water by a US warship after the release. The vessel is currently heading away from Somalia." The FV TAI YUAN 227 was pirated at 700 nautical miles northeast of Seychelles on May 6th 2011. http://news.oneindia.in/2011/01/28/somalipirates-release-taiwanese-vessel-after-nearly-ayear-aid0127.html
CHILDREN➢ Somaliland Press – The residents of Hargeisa complained about the inaction of the Somaliland government to fight the rise of child abductions by foreigners and aided by Somali men. The child abductions are suspected to be for a variety of illegal acts including providing victims for child predators, child traffickers, and organ trafficking syndicates. http://somalilandpress.com/somaliland-abduction-of-children-on-the-rise-19901
TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE (Unedited) “Federalism: The Past and The Present” By Abdulkadir M. Abow Wardheer News Federalism, as it is recently portrayed in the opinion pages of certain websites, is neither an alien idea pushed by foreign interest groups nor a project prone to fail. On the contrary, if properly crafted and executed, it could be the lasting solution for Somalia’s chronic civil strife. And it might actually even create a miracle to realize the dream of greater Somalia.The federal structure was originally proposed by Hizbia Dastur Mustaquil Somalia (HDMS), Somali Independence Constitutional Party, as a way to protect the interest of the non-nomadic communities of southern Somalia. Its leader Ustad Osman, the father of Somali federalism, was killed in Mogadishu for his political views on federalism. 1960 constitution was drafted and ratified in that toxic political environment and far from legitimate, balanced and democratic as some choose to believe. No meaningful, genuine public debates occurred after the killing of Ustad Osman. Somali Youth League (SYL), the main party dominated by pastoralists, won the election in 1960 and administered the referendum of unitary constitution. Despite the huge electoral success enjoyed by HDMS in the then Banadir, Lower Jubba and Upper Jubba, federalism was killed. As a result Radio Mogadishu’s programs in May language were cancelled and a mass media programs designed to make SYL the only national party that has the best interest of people at heart were created. Both during the civilian government and Mohamed Siyad Barre’s Military government, everything, from the design of school curriculum to the national media programs, was based on SYL propaganda. The focus of these successive governments became milking Maandeeq (a she camel which is the symbol of the country) to death instead nurturing it. I believe SYL initially came with noble agenda, and its founders were patriotic citizens, but it was totally hijacked by selfish politicians. That is totally different issue for discussion on a later day.
The issue of federalism resurfaced after failure of several peace conferences. And again it claimed the life of Abdalla Derow, one more prominent, aspiring politician from the south. After he was appointed to become the Minister of Constitution, who supposed to be in charge the process of drafting federal constitution, he was shot on the head in front of the mosque, right after the Friday prayers.
Currently, federalism is the preferred system from Puntland to Lower Jubba. According to the critics of federal system, the following issues are the potential impediments of establishing federal state in Somalia: foreign influence; lack of clearly defined borders of the provinces that are forming the federal state; and lack of human and financial recourses to run federal and provincial governments. Let us closely examine whether these assertions are true.
Foreign elements No one can deny that foreign elements had and will always have some interest in what kind of government Somalia will have. The critics of unitary system can argue that there are foreign elements behind the unitary state system who feel that, it will be easier for them to exploit or corrupt fewer individuals in unitary system to get their interest. No Somali constitution, federal or unitary, will at this point go as far as claiming territories currently under neighboring countries. Neighboring countries are for sure taking advantage of the current failed state and no matter which constitution we agree at this point will change that. The way to change the situation is genuine reconciliation, building trust and building the lost state from the ground with strong foundation. Borders Again the critics of federalism will argue that there are no clearly marked borders of provinces that are going to form the federation. That is not entirely true. Southern provinces (Lower Shabelle, Bay, Bakool, Gedo, Middle Jubba and Lower Jubba) had always favored federal state. Puntland and Galmudug can be other provinces of the federal state. Federalism is like a farm, one has to prepare the land, sow the seeds, water it and take good care of it, before one can harvest the its fruits. The process has to start from the bottom where communities discuss whether they want to be part of provincial government or become federal territory. Having the option of becoming federal territory could alleviate the concerns certain minority communities or people in special zones necessary for federal activities like the capital will have. Resources It is argued that Somalia is a poor nation and it cannot pay the expenses of multiple level legislative bodies and human resources . Currently, that is true, however the constitution has to be forward looking document and Somalis are very resourceful people with potentially rich country. I believe every part of the country is full of natural resources and human talent that need to be inspired and utilized. Country needs, open minded political leaders who inspire the people and stimulate their entrepreneurship and creativity. Telling them they are poor, unable to finance or run provincial governments is an insult and disheartening. There are plenty of evidences that Somalis are capable of running anything provided that they get real leaders with vision. The problem is not lack human resources and capital, but lack of will, creativity and hard work on the parts of the politicians to tackle hard issues. Conclusion One has to look all the pros and cons of both systems to come to the conclusion which system will be the best for Somalis. Dismissing federalism, without genuine discussion in an environment free of assassinations and intimidation, will only hurt trust building process needed for real reconciliation. Somalis are egalitarian people and unique in that way and I am hopeful that they are capable of coming up with system of their own. A real system that we can say it is by the people and for sure it is for the people. At the end of the day whatever we agree in good faith will be something that we all can say it is ours. The future democratic, prosperous, federal state of Somalia might be able to inspire and create opportunities for Somalis in the neighboring countries and Diaspora.Abdulkadir M. Abow Email: abow@idirect.com http://wardheernews.com/Articles_11/Jan/Abow/27_Federalism_The_Past_and_Present.html