January 2009 – The Somali Piracy Records. XII – The African Union is Africa’s Worst Enemy

The African Union is a postcolonial institution whereby unrepresentative appointees of the colonial powers, France, England and America, frequent, interact and cooperate with barbaric tyrants, cruel dictators and murderous swindlers whose best has more or less killed his own mother.

The disreputable institution is shamelessly headquartered in Finfinne, occupied capital of Oromia, the country dissolved through successive plots schemed by the barbaric Amhara elites and the racist British colonialists. Naming the location ‘Addis Ababa’ automatically discredits the African Union, turning it to a lawless realm of criminal accomplices.

The mostly unelected corrupt pseudo-leaders who frequent AU’s headquarters to purposefully play the fallacious game of supposed international recognition did not react against the illegal Abyssinian invasion of the southern part of Somalia; but now, when the defeated Amhara and Tigray Monophysitic Abyssinian death squads left Somalia, and the Somali liberators occupied Baidoa and other parts of Somalia, intending to pacify and re-unify the tormented country, AU’s shameful members, tyrants and corrupt gangsters like Meles Zenawi, launched the new anti-Somali propaganda campaign.

It’s not Islam and the Islamic liberators of Somalia who scare so much the AU’s butchers and crooks; it’s the fact that an African people rising to self-determination consists in a threat for their illegal interests, and those of their colonial masters. The liberation and pacification of Somalia heralds the collapse of the atrocious tyranny of Abyssinia (fallaciously re-baptized Ethiopia) and the end of the African tyrannies.

To avert this development, the colonial powers incited Somali fishermen to impersonate the pirates in order to thus bring about an international intervention in Somalia. This is precisely what has to be avoided; to save their own interests, the Somali pirates must go back to their earlier occupations. Only a united Somalia can guarantee socio-economic rehabilitation and progress for all the Somalis.

I publish here the Ecoterra 121st Press Release Update that illuminates further the current situation in the Horn of Africa region.

121st Update 2009-01-27 15h55:23 UTC

Ecoterra Intl. - Stay Calm & Solve it Peaceful & Fast !

Ecoterra International – Update & Media Release on the stand-off concerning the Ukrainian weapons-ship hi-jacked by Somali pirates and related news.

We also can make sea-piracy in Somalia an issue of the past - with empathy and strength and through coastal and marine development as well as protection!

New EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: +254-738-497979
East African Seafarers Assistance Programme - Media Officer: +254-733-385868
EA Illegal Fishing and Dumping Hot line: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed)

Day 125 - 2977 long hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary

Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the four months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved. Contacts and direct negotiations had been arranged and commenced, but the talks are said to have stalled again.

According to a Moscow Correspondent of The Cargo Letter, Mikhail Voitenko, who also is the editor-in-chief of a Maritime Bulletin, said the families are worried about a cover up: "We fear freeing our children may cause problems for somebody. Someone might be interested in keeping them there not to let the truth about the cargo come out". In the four months of the M/V FAINA stalemate, the families have tried virtually everything to get their next of kin back - from picketing the presidential administration to spreading leaflets in downtown Kiev. They've even collected money for the ransom. But all they've managed to get so far are broken promises from the authorities. "We heard assurances from our foreign minister that our boys would be released by New Year. It didn't happen. So we don't know anymore who to believe", Voitenko said. Mother of a detained sailor, Olga Girzheva, said: "The people who made us promises, it seems that they themselves don't believe in what they're telling us". According to the negotiating team, the ransom has been finalized and the sailors could be freed any time. The pirates are said to be willing to talk and are no longer threatening to blow up the vessel with everyone on board. But signals from the ground maintain to suggest that the talks actually are not going ahead.

Families of the MV FAINA seafarers in a live televised conference came out in desperation yesterday, accusing their government officials of inactivity, and received a wide support from feedbacks of the audience of the station airing the voices of a pleading mother, father and other relatives.

(See: http://shuster.kanalukraina.tv/video/337_ezhednevnyi_vypusk/ )

Another live interview was already aired on 06.11.2008: http://shuster.kanalukraina.tv/video/97_faina__42_dnya_morskogo_plena/

Meanwhile the widow of deceased MV FAINA Captain Kolobkov, spoke out now too and revealed how her husband was put on the dangerous job with the promise of a new contract and more money. She stated that she was at first lied to by official information saying that the body of her husband had been given already a seamen's grave but later was told that he would be sent to her when the vessel arrives in Mombassa. She also was told that she only would receive the financial compensation after the vessel would have been freed. Since then, two month ago, she never received any more calls and no help has come forward from the company, the owner or the state.

There is no limit to what a person can do or how far one can go to help - if one doesn't mind who gets the credit!

The Somali as well as the Ukrainian/Russian/Israeli sides must come to terms now and set the innocent seafarers free with first priority ! And in order to avoid the destruction of the vessel and its cargo by anybody as well as to avert the subsequent humanitarian, health and environmental horror-scenario, such can only be achieved together with the release of the ship, where also the body of deceased Capt. Vladimir Kolobkov is still kept.

If the stand-off can not be resolved within the next days Ecoterra Intl. demands immediate humanitarian assistance to be allowed, facilitated and dispatched to the vessel and the body of deceased Capt. Vladimir Kolobkov transferred to his family with respect. Ecoterra Intl. also calls for human rights protection to be provided for all crew members, their families in Russia, the Ukraine and Latvia as well as for all well-meaning people assisting in solving the case, many of whom have been subjected already to serious threats, acts of intimidation and persecution.

Ecoterra Intl. repeats its call to solve the FAINA case now with absolute top priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed by the captors and facilitated by the owners. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen or those, who believe they would be capable to try an attempt of a military solution, must be held fully responsible for the surely resulting disaster. The saga and secrecy surrounding MV FAINA must not - like in the MS ESTONIA case, which is the worst naval disaster in Europe since WWII - become the shroud for its 20 seafarers.

The MV FAINA is one of at least 49 ships that pirates seized last year off the Horn of Africa during a surge in piracy driven in part by Somalia's growing poverty and instability. The multimillion dollar ransoms are believed by many to be one of the only ways to "make money" in the impoverished nation. But while the many cases of sea-jacked merchant vessels on innocent passage (sailing even outside the EEZ e.g. in the Indian Ocean) constitutes clear piracy, Somali actions against illegal fishing or against any transport of illegitimate or clandestine goods has a legal standing. Ecoterra advocates to end all destructive, detrimental, criminal and illegal activities in Somali waters.

Raising public awareness through legitimate criticism of government actions is a fundamental part of human rights work. We know the Ukrainian authorities don’t welcome facts or information about allegations, but governments trying to prevent torture or other internationally outlawed human rights violations or crimes should encourage reporting of complaints, but not retaliate against human rights defenders. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that, "Citizens also take part in the conduct of public affairs by exerting influence through public debate". States also have obligations specifically relating to protecting and ensuring the right of human rights defenders to do their work. The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders states that everyone has the right to promote the protection and realization of human rights and that individuals or groups have the right to articulate criticism and make proposals for improving the work of government bodies, among other rights. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee free speech. Government officials are expected to be more receptive to criticism than private citizens, especially when it concerns the carrying out of their official duties.

Clearing-house:

News from other abducted or newly attacked ships --------

Games Crazy People Play: Kidnapping, Pirating, and War & Naval War-games to protect Fish-piracy and to cover the real agenda

Puntland "forces", who are not clearly identified as having legal power by the government, are engaged in several skirmishes. Local observes maintain that these are positioning fights among several groups of pirates. An owner, who paid a substantial amount of money to one of the militia groups to get the release of his tug facilitated, realized now that he was obviously duped by conmen, who had no agreement with the pirates of his vessel. With more and more heavy weapons brought into the Eyl region we will see some serious fighting, analysts predict.

Must read: Combating Maritime Piracy http://www.cfr.org/publication/18376/combating_maritime_piracy.html?breadcrumb=%2F

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 15 foreign vessels with a total of 248 crew members accounted for (of which 44 are Filipinos) are held in Somali waters and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (for Somalia, incl. the presently held) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by a naval force. For 2009 the account stands at 14 abandoned attacks and 4 sea-jackings on the Somali/Yemeni pirate side as well as one wrongful attack by friendly fire on the side of the naval forces. Mystery pirate mother-vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean as well as not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures.

Directly related news -------

UN officials were stopped from visiting centers of Islamic courts in Beled Weyne, such as the police station and the main prison, mareeg reports. Officials from the UN tried to pay a visit to the central police station in Beled Weyne, Hiiraan Region, and the bases of the Islamic courts fighters in the city. The attempted visit was flatly opposed by fighters of the Islamic courts who said that they would never allow officials of the UN to visit police stations and other bases in the city.

Calm returned to Baidoa, after the police and local militia finished looting the presidential palace and the parliament building as well as police stations, local observers report. Fierce fighting took place earlier between the local militia and the police who have splintered into clan groups. At mid morning an explosion targeted a vehicle being driven by police at Suuqa Xoolaha [livestock market] where they were on a mission of plunder. The explosion wounded 10 people including policemen and killed five civilians. Meanwhile Somalia's hardline Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab said on Tuesday it had introduced sharia law in Baidoa. Somali government officials agreed to handover their weapons to al-Shabab fighters after the opposition group captured the city of Baidoa. The officials will fly to neighboring Djibouti to join other lawmakers, who are due to elect a new president. An al-Shabab spokesman has called on Baidoa residents to inform members of the group of the whereabouts of any armed Somali soldiers currently in hiding. "We take their guns and if they need, we will give them money. We do not want to kill our Somali soldiers, they are our sons and we do not want to hurt them", said Sheikh Mukhtar Rowbow Ali Abu Mansur. "We will establish an Islamic administration for the town, and appeal residents to remain calm", al-Shabab spokesman Sheik Muktar Robow said. African Union commission chairman Jean Ping said Tuesday the capture of Baidoa was not unexpected. "It's not with three battalions that we can cover all of Somalia", he said at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The African Union has sharply condemned Monday's reported takeover of the Somali parliament building in Baidoa and surrounding areas by Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents, reports VOA. The Islamic group described by Washington as a terrorist organization promised to institute Sharia law shortly after taking over the town. Al-Shabaab took control of most of Baidoa with reportedly little resistance from local militia groups and government troops who controlled the city after the departure of the Ethiopian troops a few hours earlier. The takeover of Baidoa came as Somali parliamentarians, meeting in neighboring Djibouti overwhelmingly agreed to expand parliament from 275 to 550 members. The new parliament is expected to begin meeting today ahead of the possible extension of the deadline for electing a new president. Mohammed Ali Ahmed, a former education minister, told VOA that residents of Baidoa welcomed the Al-Shabaab takeover. "The residents believed that they (Al-Shabaab) will come after the withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops. They were expecting that they will come because there were contacts between the civil societies and especially the chiefs and elders and intellectuals as well as religious leaders. They all said if you (Al-Shabaab) come to Baidoa but now there are no Ethiopian troops so we are Islamists and we will welcome you if you do not conflict with us", Ali Ahmed noted. He said the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) failed to adequately provide security in Baidoa before the seat of parliament was prior to moving the seat of parliament there.

"Before the TFG came to Baidoa there was a quarrel between members of the TFG and because the government was weak so they were not able to settle security matters, and that really undermined the confidence of most residents of Baidoa because they were expecting changes. But when the Ethiopian troops left, there were few members of parliament and soldiers left who were trying to fend off Al-Shabaab. So the community asked the members of parliament to go away and not fight with Al-Shabaab because it would cause a distraction in the lives of people in the town", he said. Ali Ahmed said the Islamic group promised to soon institute sharia law in Baidoa. "They said they would implement sharia law and urged everybody to remain calm. They also said they would not harm the people who were supporting the Ethiopian troops or other factions adding that everybody would be free to do what they want, except that they would implement the Sharia law or obey the Sharia law", Ali Ahmed pointed out. He said residents of Baidoa have hailed the Islamic takeover of Baidoa and the subsequent promise to institute the Islamic sharia law. "The people are welcoming it because they are fed up with the troops of Ethiopia and the TFG supporters, who were not able to maintain or enforce law and order in the town. So, they think that if Al-Shabaab comes to Baidoa they will have good security and there would be peace. So they expected that and they will thank the Al-Shabaab people", he said.

As an expanded Somali parliament is due to elect a speaker and president within the next few days, Somali women have demanded a greater and active role in the country’s political leadership, APA reports. After a lengthy meeting in Djibouti on Monday more than 50 Somali women including MPs and civil society groups participating in the UN-backed Somali peace talks asked the international community to help them get their rights to take an active role in their country’s political leadership. "We are not satisfied with the small number we have got from the 275 seats", the women said in a communiqué issued from their meeting. "We are calling for Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed (of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia) to rethink the matter", they said. Seynab Mohamed Amir, Somali minister for women and family affairs and member of the transitional federal parliament, told reporters that they had already 12% of the seats in the transitional federal parliament. "This shows that Somali men are once again cheating and humiliating their women because 12% was already very small and we cannot accept to take a smaller number of seats from the nation’s inclusive parliament, so we call for sudden changes", she said. This is the first time that Somali women are complaining about the number of seats allocated to them in the inclusive Somali parliament. Also the Hawrarsame Minority People (an oppressed sub-clan of the Marehan) protested to the UN Special Representative to Soamlia, and claimed that they have been neglected and not even been invited to the UN-sponsored Djibouti talks. They demand at least 1-2 seats from the 75 seats reserved for civil society.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland, Abdillahi Mohamed Du’ale warned the Somalilanders of participating in the Djibouti conference held for Somalias functions. In a press conference, the Minister argued that Somaliland is not concerned and not part of the talks in Djibouti. Mr. Du’ale slammed a call from the UN envoy to Somalia during the opening of the conference where he called Somaliland to be part of the talks. He praised the government of Djibouti on its efforts to restore peace in Somalia but said Somaliland has nothing to do with Somalia and that conference being held in Djibouti.

Somalia's parliament met in neighbouring Djibouti on Tuesday and extended the time for electing a new president of Somalia and added 5 days for the timeframe which expires on 29 of this month, officials said. "Two hundred lawmakers have participated in today’s meeting, 193 of them agreed to extend the time of election, 6 rejected while 1 abstained, so we will discuss the day of electing president after the new members from the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) take oath " the speaker and acting president Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nor said. Fifty members from ARS flew from Mogadishu to Djibouti today to join the parliament. Suleyman Olad Roble, a member of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia told radio Shabelle they have submitted a list of 200 members to the international community. Sources say there is a dispute between parliament members relating the post of the speaker. The international community and the opposition want the speaker to be elected before voting for presidency but the current speaker Sheik Adan Madobe wants to remain as the speaker of the inclusive parliament. But even if the new parliament would be established and a new president elected, the big question remains: "Where would the Somali Government return to?" - since Baidoa fell to al-Shabab and Mogadishu is still the most insecure place in Somalia.

Despite security and legal experts raised concern, pirates arrested in the Gulf of Aden will be prosecuted in Kenya, Prime Minister Raila Odinga announced. The PM revealed that Kenya had, a few days ago, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US Government to this effect. Details of the agreement, however, remain sketchy. Addressing the media at the US Embassy in Nairobi, Mr. Odinga said piracy posed a serious threat to security and trade in the region and any attempt to stamp it out was welcome. The United States will hand over any suspected pirates its forces capture off the coast of Somalia to Kenya for trial, the American ambassador to Kenya confirmed. The U.S. is leading anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia. The question of where to bring pirates to justice is among the many issues frustrating naval forces struggling to curb rising attacks on merchant vessels off Somalia. U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said it is "a little early to say how (the deal) will be implemented". Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Kenya signed a memorandum on the U.S.-Kenya agreement on the pirates because the hijackings had made it riskier for ships coming to Kenya's main port, Mombassa, which is south of Somalia. Britain has already agreed to hand over captured suspects to Kenya. Eight pirates arrested in the Gulf of Aden last year have been arraigned before a Mombassa court to answer charges of attacking and detaining a ship. The prosecution of pirates is extremely complicated as so many countries are involved. For example in a case before a court in Kenya, Somali pirates arrested by the US navy are being tried for entering a Chinese vessel sailing under a Panamanian flag. The first ruling by the court sentencing the pirates to imprisonment in one of Kenya's most detested maximum security prisons is strongly contested and appealed against.

UNHCR calls on Kenya to stop forcible return of Somali asylum seekers. UNHCR is deeply concerned about the continued forcible return, or refoulement, by the Kenyan government of Somali asylum seekers. The latest incident occurred last week when Kenyan authorities forcibly returned three Somali asylum seekers who had entered the country along the Liboi border area in north-eastern Kenya. The three – one woman and two men – were among several Somalis whose vehicle was intercepted by the border police as it entered Kenyan territory on 16 January. According to border officials, the driver refused instructions to stop and the police opened fire, wounding three passengers. The injured were taken from Liboi to Dadaab, some 90 km away, to receive medical attention. The fate of the other 26 passengers is unknown to UNHCR. In Dadaab, the three wounded were interviewed by UNHCR and said they had fled the fighting in Mogadishu and had come to Kenya to seek asylum. UNHCR officially informed the local authorities and requested that they be handed over to the Kenyan Department of Refugee Affairs and UNHCR for further action. However, on 21 January, according to hospital officials, six policemen turned up at the Dadaab Health Centre, where the three asylum seekers were undergoing medical treatment for their bullet wounds, ordered them into a police van and drove them to the border. Later in the day, the authorities confirmed that they had been returned to Somalia. UNHCR brought to the attention of the Kenyan government similar incidents of refoulement of Somali asylum seekers in 2008. We very much regret the latest decision to forcibly return to Somalia the three wounded Somalis and call upon the Kenyan authorities to fully respect the principle of non-refoulement, as enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and Kenya's own Refugees Act.

The warships and the helicopters are all over the Gulf of Aden. But Somalia’s pirates are still at it: attacking oil tankers, taking hostages and raking in ransom money, writes the Times of India, but reports also that many familiar with the situation in Somalia feel the pirates are more sinned against than sinning. A sizeable section of the Somali Diaspora insists that piracy has emerged in reaction to illegal fishing and unlawful dumping of toxic wastes. A pirate group currently holding a Ukrainian vessel calls itself the "Somali Youth Coastguard". They insist they are discharging the duties of the coastguard Somalia does not have. Their accusations are not entirely unfounded. The tsunami of 2004 had washed some of the evidence ashore. In January 2005 the ministry of fisheries, ports and marine transport of Puntland in north-east Somalia, had asked the UN Environment Programme to assess the environmental damage caused by the tsunami. The report prepared by the UNEP said the tsunami’s impact "stirred up hazardous waste deposits on the beaches." Somalia can barely deal with its own waste but it "reportedly received countless shipments of illegal nuclear and toxic waste dumped along the coastline. From the early 1980s, the hazardous waste comprised uranium radioactive waste, lead, cadmium, mercury, industrial, hospital, chemical, leather treatment and other toxic waste". They poisoned the soil, the water, even the air. Farah Aw-Osman, president, Canadian Friends of Somalia, thinks that in the final analysis, it is illegal fishing that is to blame. "The problem started when illegal fishing trawlers destroyed the nets of local fishermen and depleted fish stock", he says. Somalia-based analyst Mohamed Abshir Waldo, agrees. He says that while the anarchy and the relative ease in gathering ransom are partly responsible for the growth of piracy, "it started with fishermen fighting to protect their fishing grounds from armed illegal vessels". This conflict got out of hand and led to the current situation, they say. On India’s involvement, Waldo says, "We wished India would not join the western wolves. We expected India to help us with practical short and long-term solutions that are both enforceable and sustainable".

Following warnings from shipping companies on the impact of Somali piracy on the global shipping industry, tuna fishermen in the Indian Ocean say pirate activities are also affecting their multi-billion-dollar industry, says VOA. But pirates may also be playing the role of marine conservationists by preventing commercial over-fishing. The head of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, Alejandro Anganuzzi, s says the decline in catches have affected a $6 billion industry that provides roughly a quarter of the world's supply of tuna. He admits that also over-fishing in previous years might have played a role and contributed in some areas to the decline in catches. Two years ago, climate change is thought to have played a part in driving the fish deeper into colder waters and away from fishing nets. In 2008, many of the same problems remained. But fishermen faced another threat. Bands of heavily-armed Somali pirates were searching for ships to hijack in the same area where large schools of fish gathered every year. Pirates attacked tuna vessels at least three times last year. One vessel was captured, leading to a ransom payment that exceeded $1 million dollars. Anganuzzi says the threat of pirate attacks have prompted many vessels to avoid some of the richest fishing spots in the Indian Ocean. "If you look at a map and you look at all these areas that tuna vessels are reluctant to go in, it happens to be prime fishing grounds", he said. Somali pirates have justified the hijackings-for-ransom as compensation for nearly two decades of illegal fishing in Somali waters by various European and Asian countries.

Tuna is in great demand throughout the world, especially premium tuna used for sashimi and tuna steaks. Asia's high-end tuna stocks have long been threatened by over-fishing and conservationists have voiced concern that tuna species found in the Indian Ocean will be threatened with extinction as markets shift to a more plentiful source. A U.S.-based marine conservationist, Joni Lawrence, says by denying fishing vessels access to rich hunting grounds in the Indian Ocean, the pirates could be doing the world a favor. "In a strange way, the pirates are definitely doing a good thing because maybe it will raise awareness about the benefits of leaving a fish alone for a while so that people see that it is possible for them to replenish", said Lawrence. "Over-fishing will disrupt the balance of marine eco-systems and will have a critical effect on local and national economies around the world that depend on fishing for their survival". "What we need is limits on catches and a means to monitor those limits", Lawrence continued. "Even those governments who are supporting over-fishing laws and imposing catch limits - the catch limits are great, but they cannot be enforced. So, ideally, in a perfect world, we could employ the pirates and pay them a salary to do this". Economies of Indian Ocean island-nations like the Seychelles are hugely dependent on tuna. In the Seychelles, tuna and related industries make up as much as 40 percent of foreign earnings. Dwindling catches have raised concern that the Seychelles and its neighbor to the south, Mauritius, could face severe economic problems. Lawrence says while eradicating piracy may help boost tuna catches and allow those economies to recover, it is a short-term answer.

The African Union peacekeepers in Somalia (AMISOM), have said that if Somali rival factions agreed and demand the pull out of the AMISOM, then they would implement the demand soon. The spokesman of the AU peacekeepers, Major Barigye Bahoku, told Mareeg that they were ready to pull out if Somali people were united on the demand. Mr. Barigye Bahoku said the aim of their arrival to Somalia was to help the Somali people affected by the civil war in their country. He said that they face tough challenges in their mission to Somalia and would rather carry out other tasks when they withdraw from Somalia. "Our withdrawal from Somalia is a very good thing, but the most important thing that is needed is to see the end of war in Somalia. I mean AMISOM forces are not ready to remain in Somalia. We have other duties that our countries require from us", said Mr. Bahoku. AMISOM forces have been accused of shelling indiscriminately in response to the insurgents attacks at AMISOM bases, in which civilians in the Somali capital, Mogadishu are mostly affected. The AMISOM comments come a day after the leadership of the Islamic Courts inside the country ordered the suspension of attacks against AMISOM and instead urging ways of talking to them about their withdrawal from Somalia.

Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) Commission on Tuesday appealed for financial and technical assistance to train 10,000 Somali security personnel. The call was made in Addis Ababa while Somalia continues to face serious security vacuum after the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops, APA reports. An AU official who made the appeal said that training the Somali security personnel will help the country to deal with its security challenges, currently being supported by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Jean Ping, the AU Commission chairperson told journalists in Addis Ababa that so far the commission has asked Yemen to help train the Somali security personnel and to give financial support for the program. Police officers will constitute the majority of the 10,000 security elements scheduled to be trained by the AU as part of its efforts to bring peace and stability in Somalia. The Somali security personnel to be trained by the AU are expected to serve the TFG of Somalia in stabilizing the country, which is currently being supported by Ugandan and Burundi troops since 2007. The 10,000 security elements are already assisting the weak Transitional federal Government (TFG) of Somalia in various areas, but they need special training. The Africa Union, which keeps asking its member states for troops for its mission in Somalia, is expecting countries to pledge additional troops in this week’s summit in Addis Ababa.

The Swiss government remains undecided over whether or not to dispatch Swiss soldiers to join European Union anti-piracy efforts in the region, with the country’s media reporting this week that the federal council has effectively passed the buck to the foreign ministry. Despite being landlocked, some 35 vessels fly the Swiss flag. The rightwing Swiss People’s Party and the Greens are against the proposal, which has been a topic of political debate for some time. While the decision does not represent a definitive no, the consensus is that the longer the issue drags on, the less chance there is of a Swiss military intervention.

Eleven more American Nationals were arrested in Somaliland. Somaliland authorities arrested 11 Somali-Americans in connection to the smuggling of anti-aircraft weapons. The 11 Somali-Americans were trained by al Shabaab, aka the African Taliban, and according to authorities were supposed to carry out attacks in the capital of Somaliland. That brings the total of Somali-Americans arrested in Somaliland up to 15. At least five more American Nationals are still at large in the Horn of Africa, while al-Shabaab's website has been shut down, it is believed that this should cut down on their recruitment ability.

In line with France's commitment against maritime piracy, the French Government welcomed the Contact Group's consensus on establishing a coordination center on the ground. France obviously supports Djibouti, its former colony and present time naval as well as military stronghold and promotes it as an excellent choice. Djibouti has applied to house this structure. The French believe that it will help them to find operational solutions to coordinate the increasingly numerous naval forces in the area, such as those of India, China and Russia, while respecting their autonomy.

Alert sent on distress calls. Distress calls from ships under attack in the Gulf of Aden are getting lost in an unreliable system, an anti-piracy authority has revealed to Fairplay. "I've lost all faith in the system", the despairing source emphasised. Emergency responders can sometimes fail to connect or, alternatively, go through to inappropriate contacts, added the source, who added that the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office in Dubai operates an emergency response through five mobile phones – which do not ... (more see: http://www.fairplay.co.uk/ )

Finally the naval operations have realized the danger of the Yemen coast and have outlined a new protection corridor farther from Yemen, military authorities have told. Pirates will have to work harder to reach ships transiting the Gulf of Aden.

In a larger regional perspective, Richard J. Samuels, an international affairs expert with a Japan focus, makes a telling comment in an elaborate security study: "Tokyo’s defence specialists are convinced that China intends to establish itself as the world’s second superpower and are concerned that domination of Japan will be part of the process". With China, unlike the old Soviet Union, being seen "determined to be rich as well as strong", Samuels points out that Japanese leaders tend to view the Japan-China "economic complementarities" as a "temporary" phenomenon. These complementarities currently constitute a key foundational element of the Japan-China relationship. These perceptions, regardless of the extent of their hold on the Japanese political psyche at any given time, are as much a pointer to Tokyo’s anti-piracy aspirations as maritime security is to Japan’s well-being.

Impacting news from the global village ----

All seems set for the ministerial meeting of the African Union (AU) preparing the 12th ordinary summit of the pan-African organization, scheduled from February 01 to 03 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). The summit will debate the subject of the United States of Africa and the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Darfur and in Mauritius. Meanwhile, the African ambassadors to the AU are discussing not only the budget of the organization for the current year and the review of the wages of the organization's clerks, but are also debating the report of the Commission on the Review of the Protocol related to the Pan-African Parliament, the Permanent Representatives Committee on refugees, returnees and internal displaced people. The meeting will also debate the report on multilateral cooperation, mainly the EU/Africa dialogue and the integration of Nepad in the structures and processes of the Africa Union. In the aftermath of the global financial meltdown, the AU has also decided to add discussions on how to fend off the financial shock wave onto the agenda of the forthcoming 12th AU summit. Jean Ping expressed the hope that Africa as a whole can be represented at the G20 meeting.

Military Commander in Al-Qaeda Yemen: We Will Respond to Government Actions Against Our Organization. A January 26, 2009 report on the English-language daily Yemen Observer quoted Abu Osama, a self-proclaimed commander of Al-Qaeda Yemen, as saying that his organization was stronger than ever, and that "more than 300 young men from the land of Yemen who are members of our organization joined their brothers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia [in] 2008".

In Yemen, security personnel opened fire on a car driving towards the US embassy in the capital Sanaa. The incident took place on Monday, a few hours after the embassy had received warning of an attack. The car was forced to halt and the three men inside were arrested and taken away to be interrogated. The motivation behind the incident has not yet been determined. In September, 16 people were killed in an attack on the same embassy. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by al-Qaeda.

Tragedies suffered by boat people off the coasts of Africa and elsewhere are horrendous and increasing. Post-arrival detention practices are increasingly characterised by extreme overcrowding, mixing of criminal inmates with non-criminal migrant detainees; mixing of men and women and children, including in toilet and bath arrangements. Centers were reported as regularly having more than double their capacity; for instance, with a capacity of 280, the detention centre on the Greek island of Lesvos was reported to be holding 990 during a visit in late November. At least one centre is so crowded that detainees are not permitted daily exercise in the courtyard. On the Italian island of Lampedusa, the centre built for 850 was holding 1,800 when, on Saturday January 24, some 700 of the immigrant detainees broke out of the centre, complaining of conditions and shouting "Help us!" These reports are graphic, but not unrepresentative. They offer a glimpse of misery on sea crossings. Men, women and children fall victim to violence and trauma on land crossings as well: across deserts, in trucks, on trains. Often the misery continues after these voyages for those who survive, are arrested and detained. The horror that universally precedes their desperate journeys goes often unreported. Indeed, for the large number of refugees among them, this suffering comes only after already fleeing persecution or death in their own country. And whether they are refugees or migrants moving for other reasons, for almost all in these crossings, whether from Africa or in Asia and the Americas, what happens on the high seas and in detention only follows a trail of repeated extortion and brutalisation endured along the way to the crossing—that is, again and again, even before stepping onto the boats.

Israel is closely tracking an Iranian freighter believed to be carrying weaponry for Hamas that is currently docked in the Red Sea outside the Suez Canal, after Egypt refused to permit it to cross the waterway to the Mediterranean. According to a report received at the Defense Ministry from the Pentagon, the US Navy recently boarded an Iranian vessel that was carrying artillery shells and other weaponry. "This is a big test for the Egyptians", a senior defense official said. "So far the Egyptians have prevented the ship from crossing the Suez and we hope it will stay that way". Defense officials said that Iran is trying to supply Hamas with new Grad-model Katyusha rockets and to replace high-grade explosives that were exhausted or destroyed by the IDF during Operation Cast Lead. "There are two main smuggling routes", one official explained. "Some of the weaponry comes by ground from Somalia, Sudan and then into Egypt and through a tunnel into Gaza, while some comes by boat". The boats sometimes unload the shipments in the Sinai's Port Said, where it is smuggled into Gaza by land. Other times, the shipments are dropped overboard in waterproof containers and are picked up by Palestinian fishermen or divers. As reported in The Jerusalem Post last week, the IDF is concerned that Iran will supply Hamas with long-range Fajr missiles that are capable of reaching Tel Aviv. According to the London Times, Combined Task Force 151 of the US Navy, which is fighting pirates in the Gulf of Aden, has been instructed to track Iranian arms shipments to Gaza. Last week, the report claimed, troops from the USS San Antonio boarded a former Russian cargo vessel that was flying a Cypriot flag and was reportedly carrying weaponry destined for Hamas. In addition to the US, the French have also dispatched a frigate to the Mediterranean to participate in the clampdown on the Gaza Strip and to prevent weapons shipments from reaching Hamas. The frigate is carrying a helicopter that can support reconnaissance missions off the Gaza coast. Israeli officials said they are impressed with the international community's efforts to curb the flow of weapons to Gaza, but also expect Egypt to take practical steps along the border with Gaza to uncover and destroy the smuggling tunnels. Head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau Amos Gilad will head to Egypt in the coming week to continue discussions on the new mechanism established to counter the smuggling. The new mechanism Israel has set up with the Egyptians consists of three layers - intelligence cooperation, obstacles in Sinai and the deployment of new tunnel-detection technology along the Egypt-Gaza border. Defense officials said that, since the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead, large quantities of explosives, machine guns and other weaponry had arrived in the Sinai peninsula, but the Egyptians were taking measures to prevent them from being smuggled into Gaza, including erecting road blocks near Rafah and increasing patrols in the area.

Must read: NATO's Drive Into Asia http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12037

India is vowing to continue its national boycott of South Korean goods. Captain Jasprit Chawla and chief officer Syam Chetan were granted bail by Korea’s Supreme Court following a successful appeal against their respective 18 and eight month prison sentences, but they are not able to leave Korea. But they must remain in South Korea pending a further appeal, seeking to reverse the convictions for their part in the country’s worst oil spill. The spill occurred in December 2007 when a crane barge collided with the Hebei Spirit. More than 10,000 tonnes of oil poured into the sea, damaging the resort of Taean. Captain Naveen Sawhney of V.Ships India told Fairplay: "The boycott will continue until [full] exoneration by the Supreme Court".

Cameroon pirates are more deadly: The captain of a Greek-owned, Cameroon-flagged trawler was killed on Saturday while trying to repel an attack by pirates off the coast of Cameroon, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. According to the ministry, Theodoros Mastaloudis was shot at by gunmen aboard one of two vessels that closed in on his ship and another Greek trawler off Douala, Cameroon's largest city. The remaining crew members of the two ships, including another Greek, were safe.

End of the Ecoterra 121st Press Release Update