Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Somali Asks for Iran's Aids in Reconstruction
Somali Asks for Iran's Aids in Reconstruction TEHRAN (FNA)- Somalia's Foreign Minister Ahmad Ali Jangeli on Tuesday called on Iran to aid the war-torn African country in reconstructing its infrastructure. |  | |
"We want Iran's support in all fields. Somalia is in need of reconstruction. Our health care and hygiene systems have been destroyed. In addition, our schools need to be reconstructed," Jangeli said in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki here in Tehran today.
"Iran can help us organize governmental entities and institutions," the minister added.
Jangeli further noted that during his two-day visit to Iran, he will continue discussions with Iranian officials to the very same end.
He stated that Tehran and Mogadishu are in talks to identify possible grounds for Iran's assistance and aids.
The minister described as "constructive" the meetings between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Somalian counterpart Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on the sidelines of Istanbul COMSEC conference as well as the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
"Our president believes that the two countries' relations should be strengthened and expanded, and that closer ties between the regional states will provide a further chance and opportunity for stability and security in the region," Jangeli noted.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Taxi driver delivering blood to cancer patients abandoned car and battled blizzards on foot
Taxi driver delivering blood to cancer patients abandoned car and battled blizzards on foot
A taxi driver delivering vital blood to cancer patients abandoned his car and battled through the blizzards on foot.
Father-of-one Abdirashid Issa was taking the blood from Southampton to Basingstoke Winchester when he was caught in Monday's chaos.
He left at 5pm and made his drop in Winchester but had to walk four miles from the M3 to North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke in "horrible" conditions and didn't arrive until 11pm.
Somali-born Mr Issa, who came to the UK six years ago was then stranded overnight and had to sleep on a waiting room chair.
He said: "I had to make sacrifices because they might be dying."
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Gitmo Detainees Sent to Country that Does Not Exist
Gitmo Detainees Sent to Country that Does Not Exist
The Department of Justice announced Sunday that 12 detainees from Guantanamo Bay would be repatriated to Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somaliland.
That we are sending these people back to largely-lawless Afghanistan and terrorist-hotbed Yemen is bad, bad news. However, it's the third country mentioned that's really bothersome.
Technically speaking, Somaliland does not exist.
Don't get me wrong -- the Republic of Somaliland is a very real entity. It has a government that has been functioning relatively smoothly since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991. The problem, however, is that every nation on Earth (including the U.S.) recognizes the area as a non-independent part of Somalia. There are no diplomatic ties between Somaliland and...well...anyone, and the government is universally viewed as illegitimate.
And we are going to trust these people with two jihadist detainees from Guantanamo Bay?
The only conclusion that one can draw from this story is that President Obama and Attorney General Holder are so desperate to clear out Gitmo that they are willing to do absolutely anything to accomplish their goal -- including the handing dangerous prisoners to a "country" that they themselves will not recognize.
In all fairness, it's probably much safer to give these people to the Somaliland "government" than to let them loose in the anarchy of Somalia-proper -- but not by much. Somaliland faces it's own rebel movements and boundary disputes, and the "government" is not as strong as it could be. It would not be hard for the terrorists in question to slip out of Somaliland and rendezvous with the jihadi groups in South Somalia (assuming they aren't shot by warlords or intercepted by pirates in route).
From a geopolitical standpoint, international recognition of Somaliland's independence may be overdue. In fact, that might be at least a partial solution to eventually resolving the problems in the failed state of Somalia. However, until such time as that recognition occurs, we have absolutely no business "repatriating" terrorist prisoners to a non-existent phantom-nation.
Posted by Adam Brickley on December 21, 2009 09:57 AM | Permalink
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Mission: Peace in the Horn of Africa
Mission: Peace in the Horn of Africa
Wednesday, 16 December 2009 06:21 Petros Haile
The Forum that won many nicknames before it even began left participants with hope. It has been called an historic conference, never done before. Even coordinators won nicknames: risk takers, visionaries, concerned citizens, dreamers and so on. What matters the most, after all, for organizers and the attendees was accomplishing one objective: bringing these communities together to talk about their common future.
“Well, if that was the case, it was accomplished,” said Ahmed Jaber, an Eritrean, former UN employee who came from New York for the meeting. The conference brought together academics, human rights activists and intellectuals in the largest gathering of Horn of Africans ever in Minnesota.
The educators, clerics, and statesmen gathered Friday, December 5th at Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs to set the stage for intentional movement toward peace and reconciliation in the Horn of Africa.
Saeed Fahia of Somali Confederation, a member of the organizers, read the introduction speech and reminded the audience that for the past 50 years, governments and opposition groups have been brought together without any tangible results. This time, he said, “we want to target and give opportunity to people, use the people power. The purpose of the conference today is to engage the Horn of Africans, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Somalis, Djiboutians and others, to engage peace- making efforts in their respective countries.”
“In this region, we have seen all kinds problems --famine, wars, droughts or even genocides and I think it is time for the Horn of Africans to take the matters into our own hands and try to find a last solution for our people. How can we stop the ongoing problems? One of the objectives among others of this conference is to open a genuine dialogue between us. So, now we begin our long awaited discussion for the future of our people in the Horn of Africa and rest assure, it will not be the last one,” said Fahia.
Absence of peace: Can there be Progress toward Democracy & Development?
“Peace is the key for any development.” said Dr. Bereket Habteselassie, Professor of African Studies & Law at the University of North Carolina. Bereket Habteselassie, who was the first speaker from four speakers of scholars and human rights activists, expressed that how in the Horn of Africa, the word peace is “a valued and hot commodity.”
Habteselassie argued the need of democracy in the region. “Democracy is a prerequisite for everything and development should follows, not vice versa. That is dictators’ arguments, they say development now and if you bear with me, I will hold the elections later, sometimes, setting up fake dates for elections. That is lie. Democracy should be first.”
He said the whole world now embraces democracy including China, but what happened to the Horn of Africa. “I know and you know, the region is ailing and we can change that. The question is how?” said Habteselassie.
“This is the “People to People” initiative. That is crucial, because our governments failed us. It is common problem throughout the continent of Africa,” said Habteselassie. “Even though some are better than others, like Botoswana before and Ghana now, we still have a long way to go in all Africa before our governments become accountable to the people. What we need, at minimum, is accountability and officials elected by the people for the people. Until we see that, we will not reach our goal of stability and development. Human security is important, my friends, for human development. Making secure anyone from any danger from violent and non-violent threats to their lives and well being is crucial, that is a human security. So, peace brings democracy and democracy vise versa, let us embrace all.”
Somalia experience: What the rest can learn
Dr. Ahmed Samatar, Dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship, Macalester College gave a stern warning to the Horn of Africans: “I am warning you, Horn of Africans, please, listen to me carefully, accept the principle of non-violence and you have a chance to survive in the Horn.”
He told the audience that Somalia currently have three scenario that in combination of all becomes “catastrophic”. The Somali people confront now these elements; some of the Somalis know, while others don’t. The elements are: Loss of Sense of being one People (nothing else we have in common except we look alike, talk alike….etc. & meet places like coffee shops), the death of national institutions (lack of the rule of law) and the bad odor of leadership (the absence of a leader capable of facing the current challenges through legitimacy, wisdom and skills). “With those scenarios, I think we are facing the catastrophic,” Samatar said elaborating on each scenario in detail at the Conference.
He said that “the other point I want to present in this forum that somehow relates to what I mentioned before: Can Somalis survive their own political death? Responding to his question, he said, “I am not sure, if they can. One can't give up on human beings who are still alive.”
He said recent report shows that Somali population in Somalia is now 45-50% malnourished: “even when the current president came to Minnesota recently, he never spoke about it.”
Somalia’s fate, he said, is currently in between the hands of a weak and incompetent government and merciless militia that want to force onto the Somali people what he called an “Islamist Project.”
So, what are the lessons that the other people in the Horn of Africa can learn from the Somali case?
The answer lies on the flip side. Despite the animosity between the Ethiopians and Eritreans, I think these communities should think bigger. He called for triple identity, Eritrean should become Eritrean first, then Ethiopian and then Pan-Africanist and Ethiopians vise versa. He warned that if you don’t do that and retreat to nationalism or your own comfort, it will not solve anything including the challenges we face in the Horn of Africa.
“Triple identity concept with action not just talk can bring results and can make you survive from political death.” Dr. Samatar told the audience.
In the final analysis, Dr. Samatar concluded that the people in the Horn of Africa need: Freedom – respecting of individual liberty, equality – Everyone equal under law, democracy – accepting the differences and adopting principle of non-violence.
Putting Humanity Before Ethnicity
Obang Metho who travelled from Canada, where he currently resides, to this conference told the audience repeatedly that no one is immune from abuse until we all embrace that all human beings are equal. Obang who came from the Gambela region, South West of Ethiopia said when he went back to his region after studying in Canada, he was shocked by what he saw there. One hospital for half million people, one doctor for all, no access for clean water, less than 10% of the population have an access to clean water. He said Gambela is the most marginalized region in Ethiopia.
Obang mentioned the massacre that took place in Gambela on Dec. 2003. He said Ethiopian forces from the Ethiopian government went from house to house killing civilians mostly educated, some of the people I was working with. The idea of the government was to “kill the snake from the head and the rest of the body is nonsense no matter how big it is.” In that killing, the head of the Enuak people was eliminated.
I think until we can come together and value the lives of everyone, we will not be where we want. Governments abuse their power on to one group while others watch, then, what happens next, the abuse moves to another group, and another group. Obang said the educators told us the academic solution but I will tell you humane solution, put yourself in shoes of others and think. The only way we can stop any form of violence or injustice is to put our humanity first and ethnicity second or third. Let us respect the universal law of individual rights as a human right.
Saving the Horn: The urgent need for Track-2- “The People Diplomacy”
“There are those who may question the very idea of a Diaspora community far away from the daily suffering and challenges of the people of the Horn of Africa trying to get involved in a civic effort that is intended to enhance the possibility of peace in a region desperately starving for lasting peace.” Begun the speech by Seyoum Tesfaye, Chairman of Eritrean Global Solidarity...
He said “do we have a right or a duty to get involved in a very volatile region that we have left behind voluntarily or were forced to abandon it due the crisis that seems endemic to the region? It is a legitimate doubt presented by a way of question.”
Seyoum said that those of us who feel that we have a duty and a responsibility to do our share to contribute, to the extent that is possible, be it from the comfort zone of an air-conditioned American conference room, must take the doubt raised with all the seriousness we could master. The effort to add our modest voice to the expanding conversation on how best to give back to our former homeland while at the same time waging an all-out efforts to find our rightful place in the American quilt will not be an easy process.
Which comes first: the egg or the chicken?
Should the Diaspora first focus in finding a more accelerated way of becoming an integral part of the ongoing American grand experiment or stay confined within the margin while being consumed by cascading events in the country or region of origin? This is not counterpoising two possibilities but setting up the parameters of the challenge to stress the choice being faced by newly arriving immigrants from the Horn Region like all other previous immigrants that had finally blended in into the American society empowered and integrated into the very fiber of the political and economic system.
Then Mr. Tesfaye pose a question: Could a Diaspora community experimenting with its newly enshrined hyphenated existence be formidable enough to leverage its limited integration into the American civilization to help enhance the possibility of peace in a besieged region?
Responding to his question he said “the most optimistically simple and simplistic answer will be yes it could.”
He said that he is a firm believer that our duty to America, once we have voluntarily accepted US citizenship, comes ahead of our loyalty to our former country. Cultural ambiguity and sense of loss that most immigrants feel when giving up their original citizenship is understandable. But failing to grasp the full legal implication of being an American citizen and not deploying this new privilege in its correct and legitimate way has grave consequences. … We must stand for democracy, rule of law, justice, human rights and fairness.
Seyoum concluded by saying: “Like all other immigrants who wish to do their best to help their country of origin we will slowly build our skill level and, whether we like it or not, be absorbed into the American system as Eritrean American, Ethiopian American and Somali American- with the hyphenation as a comforting concession to our African (ancestral) soul. We are citizens of the USA. We are Americans. We have to respect the American Constitution and present our concerns under the protection of the Bill of Rights.”
The event is sponsored by the African News Journal and The Eritrean Global Solidarity, hosted by Al McFarlane of Insight News, coordinated by Saeed Fahia of Somali Confederation, Dr. Magn Nyang of Gambella Relief Organization and Petros Haile, of Eritrean Global Solidarity, Minnesota Chapter.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Indian firm bags order for road construction in Djibouti
17 Dec 2009, 1346 hrs IST,
"Patel Engineering Works has bagged the order. The work which commenced six months ago is being carried out on Build-Operate-Transfer basis, Saban told reporters here yesterday.
HRD and CO, another Mumbai firm, has been given an order for a geo-thermal energy project in Djibouti. It was a power purchase agreement, Saban said.
"We are also looking at tie-ups with Indian computer-education firms like NIIT and Aptech to start such institutes in Djibouti and are looking at student-exchange programmes. We have almost 750 students in India from Djibouti", he added.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Israel fury at UK attempt to arrest Tzipi Livni
Israel has reacted angrily to the issuing by a British court of an arrest warrant for the former Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni.
The warrant, granted by a London court on Saturday, was revoked on Monday when it was found Ms Livni was not visiting the UK.
Ms Livni was foreign minister during Israel's Gaza assault last winter.
It is the first time a UK court has issued a warrant for the arrest of a former Israeli minister.
Ms Livni said the court had been "abused" by the Palestinian plaintiffs who requested the warrant.
"What needs to be put on trial here is the abuse of the British legal system," she told the BBC.
"This is not a suit against Tzipi Livni, this is not a law suit against Israel. This is a lawsuit against any democracy that fights terror."
She stood by her decisions during the three-week assault Gaza offensive which began in December last year, she said.
Israel's foreign ministry summoned the UK's ambassador to Israel to deliver a rebuke over the warrant.
 |  We completely reject this absurdity taking place in Britain  Benjamin Netanyahu Israeli Prime Minister |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the situation was "an absurdity".
"We will not accept a situation in which [former Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Olmert, [Defence Minister] Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni will be summoned to the defendants' chair," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.
"We will not agree to have Israel Defence Force soldiers, who defended the citizens of Israel bravely and ethically against a cruel and criminal enemy, be recognised as war criminals. We completely reject this absurdity taking place in Britain," he said.
Pro-Palestinian campaigners have tried several times to have Israeli officials arrested under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
'Cynical act'
This allows domestic courts in countries around the world to try war crimes suspects, even if the crime took place outside the country and the suspect is not a citizen.
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Israel denies claims by human rights groups and the UN investigator Richard Goldstone that its forces committed war crimes during the operation, which it said was aimed at ending Palestinian rocket fire at its southern towns.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas has also been accused of committing war crimes during the conflict.
Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday: "Israel rejects the cynical act taken in a British court," against Ms Livni, now the head of the opposition Kadima party, "at the initiative of extreme elements".
It called on the British government to "act against the exploitation of the British legal system against Israel".
Addressing a conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Ms Livni did not refer specifically to the arrest attempt.
But she said: "Israel must do what is right for Israel, regardless of judgements, statements and arrest warrants. It's the leadership's duty, and I would repeat each and every decision," Israeli media reported.
'Strategic partner'
Israel says it fully complies with international law, which it says it interprets in line with other Western countries such as the US and UK.
| PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO ARREST ISRAELI OFFICIALS Oct 2009: Former military chief Moshe Yaalon cancelled a UK visit because of fears of arrest for alleged war crimes Oct 2009: Filed attempt to raise warrant against Defence Minister Ehud Barak. Court ruled he had diplomatic immunity Sept 2005: Arrest warrant issued for a former head of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip Gen Doron Almog. He received warning before disembarking from an aircraft at Heathrow Airport, and flew back to Israel |
On Monday Ms Livni's office denied the reports that a warrant had been issued and that she had cancelled plans to visit the UK because of fears of arrest.
It said a planned trip had been cancelled two weeks earlier because of scheduling problems.
The British foreign office said it was "urgently looking into the implications of the case".
"The UK is determined to do all it can to promote peace in the Middle East, and to be a strategic partner of Israel," it said in a statement. "To do this, Israel's leaders need to be able to come to the UK for talks with the British government."
Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 people were killed during Israel's Cast Lead operation between 27 December 2008 and 16 January 2009, more than half of them civilians.
Israel puts the number of deaths at 1,166 - fewer than 300 of them civilians. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers were also killed.
The BBC's Tim Franks says that, privately, senior Israeli figures are warning of what they see as an increasing anti-Israeli bent in the British establishment.
In turn, our correspondent adds, there is clearly concern among British officials that should further arrest warrants be issued, relations with Israel could be damaged.
Somali Man Stoned To Death By Militants For Adultery (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)
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Somali Man Stoned To Death By Militants For Adultery (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)
n Sunday, Islamic militants stoned a man to death for adultery in front of hundreds of local residents in Somalia. The man, named Mohamed Abukar Ibrahim, 48, was killed by members of the rebel group Hizbul Islam in Afgoye, 20 miles from the capital Mogadishu, according to the AFP. A second man, Ahmed Mohamoud Awale, 61, who was accused of murder, was shot to death. Hundreds of villagers were forced to watch the stoning by the militants, multiple reports said.The girl with whom Ibrahim was accused of having an affair received 100 lashes; she escaped being put to death because she was not married at the time of the alleged sexual relations.
As multiple reports noted, this was the first time Hizbul Islam had carried out these type of executions -- such punishments are more commonly associated with the Shabaab, a hardline militant group that is said to be an al-Qaeda proxy in the African state.
Below are photos, from the AP, of Ibrahim's stoning. Please note: They are extremely graphic and do show Ibrahim after the stoning.
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES
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Monday, December 14, 2009
At a Peace Forum, Seeking Solutions to a Holocaust in the Horn
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – It was a peaceful peace conference, which in itself was a kind of miracle.
It was a miracle because the countries represented at the conference – the “Africa Peace Forum” held last Friday at the Hubert Humphrey Institute in Minneapolis — are all in one way or another at war today, either with each other or in a state of civil war.
Filling the auditorium were immigrants from the Horn of Africa including Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti. On the podium, the four main conference speakers – academic experts and human rights activists — painted a picture of crisis that was not only tragic, but practically apocalyptic.
“Can Somalis survive their own political death?” asked Ahmed Samatar, a professor of international studies at Macalester College. “I’m not so sure. One never gives up on others who are still alive, but I’m not sure.” Nearly half of Somalis living today in the Horn of Africa are malnourished, Samatar said, adding that Somalia today “is now objectively speaking the worst country in the world.”
In Ethiopia, the government uses genocide and ethnic cleansing to stay in power, according to Obang Metho, the executive director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia. His own tribe, the Anuak of western Ethiopia, have been targeted for elimination by the Ethiopian government, Metho said, and an even larger-scale massacre, of Somali-speaking Ethiopians in the eastern Ogaden region, is also underway.
Unfolding Holocaust
In eastern Sudan, a refugee crisis virtually hidden from the world’s view is worsening by the day where thousands of refugees are fleeing from Eritrea into 35 camps in Sudan, according to a documentary film shown at the conference and prepared by the American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa (ARAHA).
A drought and famine of several years in the making is also now sweeping across the Horn of Africa, massively intensifying the ravages of war and repression.
“It makes you wonder whether life is worth living” to fully absorb all these crises, said Bereket Habte Selassie, the key speaker at the forum and the chief architect of the Eritrean Constitution. The constitution was presented in 1997 but was never ratified because the country’s President, Isaias Afwerki, assumed dictatorial power by cancelling national elections, shutting down the national press and jailing his opponents.
The four speakers each offered a different angle on the unfolding holocaust.
Bereket’s key question was “In the Horn of Africa, what is ailing us? How has our region become a kind of metaphor for disaster?” His answer was a lack of democracy. “Our governments have failed us,” he said. “What is democracy if not accountability? We have to have governments that are accountable to the people.”
Islamist Project
In Somalia, Samatar suggested, the key problem is not so much an unaccountable or even a corrupt government as the complete lack of a functioning government.
“As we speak there is a vicious war going on between an incompetent and legless transitional federal government, with no capacity and no competence, against a very vicious Islamist project, who social purpose is to force the Somali people to surrender. This is the drama that’s unfolding on the streets of Mogadishu.”
Seyoum Tesfaye, an Atlanta-based journalist and human rights activist from Eritrea, struck a resonant theme for Horn of Africa immigrants now living in the U.S.
What role should the African diaspora play in trying to bring peace to the countries in the Horn?
“Should the diaspora focus on finding ways of becoming part of the grand American experiment?” Tesfaye asked. “Or, should people stay consumed by cascading events from their countries of origin?”
Pouring oneself into helping one’s homeland before assimilating to America, Tesfaye warned, came with a cost, since it would take longer to reach high positions in society, such as elected public office, where immigrants could make a real difference.
“When we choose to engage in noble efforts to bring peace in the Horn of Africa, we do so as American citizens,” Tesfaye said. “In this sense we help America in a profound way. We become immigrants turned into grassroots ambassadors for our nation, which has overriding strategic interests in the region moving forward from 9/11.”
Spiritual Renewal
Obang Metho, whose coalition represents the many ethnic groups in Ethiopia, was the Martin Luther King of the conference, speaking to the need for spiritual self-renewal among all the people of the Horn, people on whom “the world has lost all hope.”
The endless intramural wars in the Horn of Africa must be put aside, Metho said, in recognition that the crisis has reached a point that unless they are, only death will rule.
“We need to put our humanity above our ethnicity,” Metho said. “Today in Africa we seem to value our ethnicity above our humanity, our language above our humanity, our religion above humanity. But hatreds will get us nowhere. Something we all have in common is our humanity. We have lost that today in the Horn of Africa.”
Metho swept his arm across the audience of immigrants in the audience from the Horn of Africa – men and women who might be fighting each other if they still lived there.
“It can be done in Minnesota,” Metho said. “Why can’t it be done in Africa?”
Source: The McGill Report
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Swiss Muslims protest minaret ban
BERN, Switzerland — Around 700 Swiss Muslims peacefully protested against their country's minaret ban on Saturday, with speakers denouncing what they called a hate campaign against Islam.
The protest in the capital, Bern, was not supported by the country's main Muslim organizations.
It came two weeks after Swiss voters decided to ban the construction of minarets, drawing wide criticism from Muslim and other European nations.
Nicolas Blancho, who organized Saturday's protest, said he did not believe that the country's voters hate Islam but that they had been scared by propaganda from right-wing parties.
The main guest speaker, a controversial Muslim preacher, was absent because Swiss authorities refused him entry, saying he poses a public security risk.
Pierre Vogel, a German former professional boxer who converted to Islam, is known for his conservative positions. Vogel was turned back as he tried to cross into Switzerland by car from Germany late Friday, said frontier corps spokesman Markus Zumbach.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Obama's Nobel Lecture
Obama's Nobel Lecture
The prepared text of U।S. President Barack Obama's address at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway.
DECEMBER 10, 2009
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:
And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize - Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela - my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened of cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women - some known, some obscure to all but those they help - to be far more deserving of this honor than I.
But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by forty three other countries - including Norway - in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.
Still, we are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill. Some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict - filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.
These questions are not new. War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was simply a fact, like drought or disease - the manner in which tribes and then civilizations sought power and settled their differences.
Over time, as codes of law sought to control violence within groups, so did philosophers, clerics, and statesmen seek to regulate the destructive power of war. The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when it meets certain preconditions: if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the forced used is proportional, and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence.
For most of history, this concept of just war was rarely observed. The capacity of human beings to think up new ways to kill one another proved inexhaustible, as did our capacity to exempt from mercy those who look different or pray to a different God. Wars between armies gave way to wars between nations - total wars in which the distinction between combatant and civilian became blurred. In the span of thirty years, such carnage would twice engulf this continent. And while it is hard to conceive of a cause more just than the defeat of the Third Reich and the Axis powers, World War II was a conflict in which the total number of civilians who died exceeded the number of soldiers who perished.
In the wake of such destruction, and with the advent of the nuclear age, it became clear to victor and vanquished alike that the world needed institutions to prevent another World War. And so, a quarter century after the United States Senate rejected the League of Nations - an idea for which Woodrow Wilson received this Prize - America led the world in constructing an architecture to keep the peace: a Marshall Plan and a United Nations, mechanisms to govern the waging of war, treaties to protect human rights, prevent genocide, and restrict the most dangerous weapons.
In many ways, these efforts succeeded. Yes, terrible wars have been fought, and atrocities committed. But there has been no Third World War. The Cold War ended with jubilant crowds dismantling a wall. Commerce has stitched much of the world together. Billions have been lifted from poverty. The ideals of liberty, self-determination, equality and the rule of law have haltingly advanced. We are the heirs of the fortitude and foresight of generations past, and it is a legacy for which my own country is rightfully proud.
A decade into a new century, this old architecture is buckling under the weight of new threats. The world may no longer shudder at the prospect of war between two nuclear superpowers, but proliferation may increase the risk of catastrophe. Terrorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale.
Moreover, wars between nations have increasingly given way to wars within nations. The resurgence of ethnic or sectarian conflicts; the growth of secessionist movements, insurgencies, and failed states; have increasingly trapped civilians in unending chaos. In today's wars, many more civilians are killed than soldiers; the seeds of future conflict are sewn, economies are wrecked, civil societies torn asunder, refugees amassed, and children scarred.
I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war. What I do know is that meeting these challenges will require the same vision, hard work, and persistence of those men and women who acted so boldly decades ago. And it will require us to think in new ways about the notions of just war and the imperatives of a just peace.
We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations - acting individually or in concert - will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.
I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King said in this same ceremony years ago - "Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones." As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life's work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there is nothing weak -nothing passive - nothing naïve - in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.
But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism - it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.
I raise this point because in many countries there is a deep ambivalence about military action today, no matter the cause. At times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of America, the world's sole military superpower.
Yet the world must remember that it was not simply international institutions - not just treaties and declarations - that brought stability to a post-World War II world. Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms. The service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has promoted peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea, and enabled democracy to take hold in places like the Balkans. We have borne this burden not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of enlightened self-interest - because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if other peoples' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.
So yes, the instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace. And yet this truth must coexist with another - that no matter how justified, war promises human tragedy. The soldier's courage and sacrifice is full of glory, expressing devotion to country, to cause and to comrades in arms. But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such.
So part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly irreconcilable truths - that war is sometimes necessary, and war is at some level an expression of human feelings. Concretely, we must direct our effort to the task that President Kennedy called for long ago. "Let us focus," he said, "on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions."
What might this evolution look like? What might these practical steps be?
To begin with, I believe that all nations - strong and weak alike - must adhere to standards that govern the use of force. I - like any head of state - reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation. Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards strengthens those who do, and isolates - and weakens - those who don't.
The world rallied around America after the 9/11 attacks, and continues to support our efforts in Afghanistan, because of the horror of those senseless attacks and the recognized principle of self-defense. Likewise, the world recognized the need to confront Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait - a consensus that sent a clear message to all about the cost of aggression.
Furthermore, America cannot insist that others follow the rules of the road if we refuse to follow them ourselves. For when we don't, our action can appear arbitrary, and undercut the legitimacy of future intervention - no matter how justified.
This becomes particularly important when the purpose of military action extends beyond self defense or the defense of one nation against an aggressor. More and more, we all confront difficult questions about how to prevent the slaughter of civilians by their own government, or to stop a civil war whose violence and suffering can engulf an entire region.
I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That is why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace.
America's commitment to global security will never waiver. But in a world in which threats are more diffuse, and missions more complex, America cannot act alone. This is true in Afghanistan. This is true in failed states like Somalia, where terrorism and piracy is joined by famine and human suffering. And sadly, it will continue to be true in unstable regions for years to come.
The leaders and soldiers of NATO countries - and other friends and allies - demonstrate this truth through the capacity and courage they have shown in Afghanistan. But in many countries, there is a disconnect between the efforts of those who serve and the ambivalence of the broader public. I understand why war is not popular. But I also know this: the belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Peace requires responsibility. Peace entails sacrifice. That is why NATO continues to be indispensable. That is why we must strengthen UN and regional peacekeeping, and not leave the task to a few countries. That is why we honor those who return home from peacekeeping and training abroad to Oslo and Rome; to Ottawa and Sydney; to Dhaka and Kigali - we honor them not as makers of war, but as wagers of peace.
Let me make one final point about the use of force. Even as we make difficult decisions about going to war, we must also think clearly about how we fight it. The Nobel Committee recognized this truth in awarding its first prize for peace to Henry Dunant - the founder of the Red Cross, and a driving force behind the Geneva Conventions.
Where force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct. And even as we confront a vicious adversary that abides by no rules, I believe that the United States of America must remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war. That is what makes us different from those whom we fight. That is a source of our strength. That is why I prohibited torture. That is why I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed. And that is why I have reaffirmed America's commitment to abide by the Geneva Conventions. We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. And we honor those ideals by upholding them not just when it is easy, but when it is hard.
I have spoken to the questions that must weigh on our minds and our hearts as we choose to wage war. But let me turn now to our effort to avoid such tragic choices, and speak of three ways that we can build a just and lasting peace.
First, in dealing with those nations that break rules and laws, I believe that we must develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to change behavior - for if we want a lasting peace, then the words of the international community must mean something. Those regimes that break the rules must be held accountable. Sanctions must exact a real price. Intransigence must be met with increased pressure - and such pressure exists only when the world stands together as one.
One urgent example is the effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and to seek a world without them. In the middle of the last century, nations agreed to be bound by a treaty whose bargain is clear: all will have access to peaceful nuclear power; those without nuclear weapons will forsake them; and those with nuclear weapons will work toward disarmament. I am committed to upholding this treaty. It is a centerpiece of my foreign policy. And I am working with President Medvedev to reduce America and Russia's nuclear stockpiles.
But it is also incumbent upon all of us to insist that nations like Iran and North Korea do not game the system. Those who claim to respect international law cannot avert their eyes when those laws are flouted. Those who care for their own security cannot ignore the danger of an arms race in the Middle East or East Asia. Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war.
The same principle applies to those who violate international law by brutalizing their own people. When there is genocide in Darfur; systematic rape in Congo; or repression in Burma - there must be consequences. And the closer we stand together, the less likely we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and complicity in oppression.
This brings me to a second point - the nature of the peace that we seek. For peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based upon the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.
It was this insight that drove drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after the Second World War. In the wake of devastation, they recognized that if human rights are not protected, peace is a hollow promise.
And yet all too often, these words are ignored. In some countries, the failure to uphold human rights is excused by the false suggestion that these are Western principles, foreign to local cultures or stages of a nation's development. And within America, there has long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists - a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values.
I reject this choice. I believe that peace is unstable where citizens are denied the right to speak freely or worship as they please; choose their own leaders or assemble without fear. Pent up grievances fester, and the suppression of tribal and religious identity can lead to violence. We also know that the opposite is true. Only when Europe became free did it finally find peace. America has never fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are governments that protect the rights of their citizens. No matter how callously defined, neither America's interests - nor the world's -are served by the denial of human aspirations.
So even as we respect the unique culture and traditions of different countries, America will always be a voice for those aspirations that are universal. We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran. It is telling that the leaders of these governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation. And it is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make clear to these movements that hope and history are on their side
Let me also say this: the promotion of human rights cannot be about exhortation alone. At times, it must be coupled with painstaking diplomacy. I know that engagement with repressive regimes lacks the satisfying purity of indignation. But I also know that sanctions without outreach - and condemnation without discussion - can carry forward a crippling status quo. No repressive regime can move down a new path unless it has the choice of an open door.
In light of the Cultural Revolution's horrors, Nixon's meeting with Mao appeared inexcusable - and yet it surely helped set China on a path where millions of its citizens have been lifted from poverty, and connected to open societies. Pope John Paul's engagement with Poland created space not just for the Catholic Church, but for labor leaders like Lech Walesa. Ronald Reagan's efforts on arms control and embrace of perestroika not only improved relations with the Soviet Union, but empowered dissidents throughout Eastern Europe. There is no simple formula here. But we must try as best we can to balance isolation and engagement; pressure and incentives, so that human rights and dignity are advanced over time.
Third, a just peace includes not only civil and political rights - it must encompass economic security and opportunity. For true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.
It is undoubtedly true that development rarely takes root without security; it is also true that security does not exist where human beings do not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine they need to survive. It does not exist where children cannot aspire to a decent education or a job that supports a family. The absence of hope can rot a society from within.
And that is why helping farmers feed their own people - or nations educate their children and care for the sick - is not mere charity. It is also why the world must come together to confront climate change. There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that will fuel more conflict for decades. For this reason, it is not merely scientists and activists who call for swift and forceful action - it is military leaders in my country and others who understand that our common security hangs in the balance.
Agreements among nations. Strong institutions. Support for human rights. Investments in development. All of these are vital ingredients in bringing about the evolution that President Kennedy spoke about. And yet, I do not believe that we will have the will, or the staying power, to complete this work without something more - and that is the continued expansion of our moral imagination; an insistence that there is something irreducible that we all share.
As the world grows smaller, you might think it would be easier for human beings to recognize how similar we are; to understand that we all basically want the same things; that we all hope for the chance to live out our lives with some measure of happiness and fulfillment for ourselves and our families.
And yet, given the dizzying pace of globalization, and the cultural leveling of modernity, it should come as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish about their particular identities - their race, their tribe, and perhaps most powerfully their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we are moving backwards. We see it in Middle East, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.
Most dangerously, we see it in the way that religion is used to justify the murder of innocents by those who have distorted and defiled the great religion of Islam, and who attacked my country from Afghanistan. These extremists are not the first to kill in the name of God; the cruelties of the Crusades are amply recorded. But they remind us that no Holy War can ever be a just war. For if you truly believe that you are carrying out divine will, then there is no need for restraint - no need to spare the pregnant mother, or the medic, or even a person of one's own faith. Such a warped view of religion is not just incompatible with the concept of peace, but the purpose of faith - for the one rule that lies at the heart of every major religion is that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
Adhering to this law of love has always been the core struggle of human nature. We are fallible. We make mistakes, and fall victim to the temptations of pride, and power, and sometimes evil. Even those of us with the best intentions will at times fail to right the wrongs before us.
But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached - their faith in human progress - must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.
For if we lose that faith - if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace - then we lose what is best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.
Like generations have before us, we must reject that future. As Dr. King said at this occasion so many years ago, "I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him."
So let us reach for the world that ought to be - that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. Somewhere today, in the here and now, a soldier sees he's outgunned but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, who believes that a cruel world still has a place for his dreams.
Let us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of depravation, and still strive for dignity. We can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that - for that is the story of human progress; that is the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.
MUSLIM WORLD: Swiss businessman defiantly builds minaret to protest ban
MUSLIM WORLD: Swiss businessman defiantly builds minaret to protest ban
In a country where failing to use official, region-specific trash bags can incur a hefty fine, defying a architectural ban on minarets is practically an act of terrorism.
But that didn't stop Swiss businessman Guillaume Morand, who protested last month's constitutional amendment banning minarets by building one atop the chimney of his office in the city of Lausanne.
Morand, who owns a chain of shoe stores, told the AFP news agency that the ban is shameful, and blamed liberal parties for failing to counter what he described as right-wing scare tactics. The Swiss People's Party, which spearheaded the initiative to ban minarets on mosques, released an aggressive campaign including posters of women in face-covering burkas and minarets shaped like rockets.
The ban was all the more scandalous, Morand said, given that Switzerland encourages Arabs to "visit the country and to spend their money here."
Morand joins prominent Jewish leaders and the Vatican in condemning the referendum last month, when 53% of Swiss voters went to the polls to decide whether to outlaw the construction of any more minarets, although only four mosques in Switzerland have them. The amendment passed with 57% of the votes.
The Independent of London reported Monday that a group of prominent Swiss intellectuals is already preparing an initiative to overturn the ban, although many have speculated the new amendment will be struck down anyway by the European Court of Human Rights.
The Vatican backed a statement by the Swiss Bishops' Conference calling the decision "a great challenge on the path of integration in dialogue and mutual respect."
Moreover, the statement said, the vote "will not help the Christians oppressed and persecuted in Islamic countries, but will weaken the credibility of their commitment in these countries."
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that European Jews have also come out strongly against the ban, pointing out that in the past, bans and regulations were imposed on synagogues as well.
"Precisely because the Jewish community has firsthand experience of discrimination, it is committed to active opposition to discrimination and to action in favor of religious freedom and peaceful relations between the religions," two Swiss Jewish groups declared in a statement.
Swiss Jewry, the statement said, "takes seriously the fears of the population that extremist ideas could be disseminated in Switzerland. But banning minarets is no solution -- it only creates in Muslims in Switzerland a sense of alienation and discrimination."
The American Anti-Defamation League also released a statement condemning the ban as a "populist political campaign of religious intolerance."
"This is not the first time a Swiss popular vote has been used to promote religious intolerance," the statement read.
"A century ago, a Swiss referendum banned Jewish ritual slaughter in an attempt to drive out its Jewish population," it said. "We share the ... concern that those who initiated the anti-minaret campaign could try to further erode religious freedom through similar means."
The executive director of the American Jewish Committee said the group stands "firmly against these rabble-rousing politics in the name of pluralism and democracy.”
-- Meris Lutz in Beirut
Photo: Swiss businessman Guillaume Morand erected a minaret atop the chimney of his office building to protest the government's ban. Credit: AFP
ARDAA Press Release: 7/11 Crime Still Awaits Justice.
| ARDAA Press Release: 7/11 Crime Still Awaits Justice. |
Dec 11,2009. Adal Resources and Development Assistance Association (ARDAA) Press Release: 7/11 Crime Still Awaits Justice Five months have passed since July 11, 2009 when four innocent civilians from Awdal were kidnapped, tortured, murdered and their bodies mutilated. The victims were travelling on the main road between Dilla and Kalabaydh in order to carry out their routine businesses. They included educators, businessmen and engineers who were busy serving their families as well as their nation. Their lives were cut short simply because of tribal lineage and nothing more. This was indeed a cowardly act perpetuated by well known criminals! The government, Parliament, Gurti, opposition parties, the media and Somaliland civil society are all silent about this heinous crime. The Awdal/Salal communities are even at a loss whether a criminal file pertaining to this case has ever been opened. Silence is a sign of acceptance and it holds true that the position taken by these sectors of the society, the government, and the political parties are surprisingly unconscionable. It appears that clan loyalty has over taken the law of the land and this will certainly have negative consequences on Somaliland's report card by human rights watch groups and other international organizations. We, at ARDAA are here again and again to remind the Somaliland administration, the parliament, Gurti, opposition parties and the Somaliland general public that the families of the victims are still waiting for justice, for answers and for closure about the loss of their loved ones. We are extremely saddened by the fact that the murderers are being protected and shielded from justice, in the name of a clan. This is a very dangerous and unprecedented situation in the history of this young nation and must be categorically condemned by the peace-loving people of Somaliland. 1- The people of Adal regions to stand united and to demand their rights and the rights of the families of the victims untiringly, and not to rest until the perpetrators of this crime are apprehended and brought to justice, 2- The Somaliland government to discharge its responsibilities under the laws of the land and arrest the criminals and those who collaborated with them without any further delay, 3- The opposition parties to live up to their responsibilities as potential candidates of the country's leadership and collaborate with the government in apprehending the criminals of Dilla-Kalabaydh killings on that fateful day of 7/11. 4- The international humanitarian organization to intervene the situation on behalf of the victims and press the Somaliland government to protect human rights, to uphold the law of the land and to bring the culprits of the 7/11 crime to justice. ARDAA believes that this deplorable incident will seriously undermine the peace and stability of Somaliland, the only two achievements that Somaliland sells to the international community. The fact that the perpetrators of this dreadful crime are treated as royalty among certain clans and quarters in the Gabiley and Hargeisa areas adds insult to the injury and shatters the hope and aspirations of Somaliland people for recognition of nationhood. We, at ARDAA once again call upon the Somaliland government institutions, the political parties, traditional leaders, the civil society and the media to rise above the tribal arrogance that promotes internecine fighting and stand for justice, fairness, and equality for all that leads to success and better life for everyone. Finally, we extend our sincere condolences to the families of Ali Aw Omer Bare, Daud Hashi Jama, Mawlid Hassan Omer and Ali Mohamed Nur (Bagaashle) and assure them that we shall keep this issue alive till justice is done. For and on behalf of Adal Resources and Development Assistance Association (ARDAA) |
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