Why anarchy suits us sometimes. (one example)

[Koora-Tuunshe]

But what is the long-term effect on the overall country since, as Marxists argue and it is true by the way, that people's consciousness are shaped by the socio-economic condition they live in. If we let Somalia fester in prolonged absence of state, we would live to witness horrific actions with long-term ramifications beyond our borders.

We have only seen the smaller of the bigger consequences to come.

 

 

Telecoms Flourish In Strife-Torn Somalia

Mogadishu, Somalia, April 15, 2008 (APA) - Telecommunications is one of the rare business successes in strife-torn Somalia, with three major phone companies. The major companies are Hormuud, Nationlink and Telecom, which compete in the field of mobile and landline phones.

 

Two new phone companies providing mobile telephony, Somfone and Awale, have recently been introduced and are providing the established companies with stiff competition by offering lower charges for international calls.

 

"We charge only 50 US cents for international calls per minute and local calls are free for a monthly fee of just $10 only" Yasin Sharif Hassan, a manager for Hormuud told APA.

 

In Somalia it takes only a couple of days for a landline company and only hours for a mobile service to be launched, whereas it takes several months if not years in neighbouring countries.

 

It is easier to set up a telecommunications business in Somali because there is no need to get a license and there is no state-run monopoly which hinders new competitors from entering the market.

 

Additionally, there are no taxes and hence the low charges.

 

"Telecoms and post services were a monopoly managed by the government before the civil war, but after the regime was toppled, everybody who has money can take part in such businesses," Lutfi Sheriff Mohammed, an economist, told APA.

 

"There is massive demand for telecoms services because of the large numbers of Somalis in the diaspora who still have families and relatives living in Somalia,” he added.

 

Since there is no reliable law and order and a functional court system, bills are paid and contracts are enforced by relying on the traditional clan based system.

 

Somalia’s telecommunication companies are looking forward to even a brighter future with the support of a functioning government.

 

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Story from Cellular News

[Koora-Tuunshe]

Somalia wants multinational force to help peace process

 

New York, April 15, 2008 (DPA) - Somalia called Tuesday for the deployment of a multinational force to assist its work in ending the decades-long civil war and carrying out national reconciliation and institutional building. Somalia's transitional government's President Abdullah Yussuf Ahmed will attend a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday with counterparts from South Africa, the current chair of the council, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

South African President Thabo Mbeki will be on hand to preside over the meeting, which was called by his country to discuss the working relationship between the UN and African Union.

 

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi also will be present. Other attendees include AU chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare and delegations to be headed by deputy ministers or their ambassadors at the UN.

 

Somalia's Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Jama told reporters on Tuesday that his president will pitch for a multinational force and for the 15-nation council to assume its role as keeper of peace and security around the world.

 

"We want to ask the Security Council to take over security and deploy an international force to Somalia," said Jama. "We think the Security Council should assume its responsibility in Somalia."

 

Jama was calling for the deployment of several more battalions of troops in addition to the two battalions from Uganda already in Somalia.

 

The UN has been hesitant to agree to send a peacekeeping operation to Somalia because of the lack of a peace process in that country. But the idea has been backed by South Africa.

 

The meeting has been dubbed a summit to strengthen ties with and seek resources to support the AU's peacekeeping role in the African continent.

 

South African UN Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo said the council meeting is expected to adopt a resolution to reinforce the UN-AU relationship and to back a decision by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a panel to study ways to support AU peacekeeping efforts in Africa.

 

The AU's most recent involvement was in Sudan's Darfur, where its 7,000 troops were unable to stop the ethnic conflict, hampered by the lack of logistics, war equipment and money to do their work. Those troops have been merged into a joint UN-AU peacekeeping operations in Darfur, which when fully deployed would reach 30,000 military and civilian personnel, the largest UN operation in the world.

 

A draft resolution to be adopted by the council on Wednesday calls for further enhancing the UN-AU relationship and to strengthen the AU's peacekeeping capacity in Africa. It would also welcome the cooperation between the AU and other organizations like the European Union aimed at building up AU capacities.

 

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Story from DPA

[Koora-Tuunshe]

Ending conflicts must remain priority for UN and African Union

 

 

16 April 2008 – Preventing and resolving conflicts peacefully must remain high on the shared agenda of the United Nations and the African Union, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a high-level Security Council meeting today at UN Headquarters, calling for deeper cooperation between the two institutions.

In a speech to a meeting on peace and security in Africa, attended by many heads of State and other high-level figures, Mr. Ban said he would “spare no effort” in making the partnership between the UN and the AU complementary, effective and inclusive.

 

The Secretary-General said the two bodies have already started taking concrete steps to work more closely together on peace and security issues, from deploying good offices and mediation on border issues to developing early warning strategies and building operational capacity on conflict prevention.

 

“We have established a dedicated team to help operationalize the concept of an African Stand-by Force, which would build on the valiant and pioneering efforts of the African Union’s missions in Burundi, in Somalia, in Sudan,” he said.

 

“Today, the DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] team develops training, operational capacity and technical advice, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the sub-regional organizations and donors.”

 

Mr. Ban said that given the importance he attached to preventing and resolving conflicts, he welcomed the recent announcement of a new Government in Kenya, which has been torn by deadly ethnic violence since disputed elections were held at the end of last year.

 

“Now that the immediate power-sharing issues have been addressed, I urge all sides to stay committed to resolving the longer-term causes of the recent unrest.”

 

But he voiced deep concern at the uncertainty in Zimbabwe, where the results of the presidential election on 29 March have still not been released.

 

“Absent a transparent solution to the impasse, the situation could deteriorate further with serious implications for the people of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean authorities and the countries of the region have insisted that these matters are for the region to resolve, but the international community continues to watch and wait for decisive action.

 

“The credibility of the democratic process in Africa could be at stake here. If there is a second round of elections, they must be conducted in a fair and transparent manner, with international observers. I urge the leaders of the Southern African Development Community to continue their efforts.”

 

The Secretary-General also called for accelerated efforts to achieve “desperately needed progress” to the crises in Sudan’s Darfur region and to Somalia, both beset by deadly violence, massive displacement and humanitarian suffering.

 

Under-Secretary-General B. Lynn Pascoe also addressed the open Council meeting, presenting two reports from Mr. Ban regarding UN cooperation with regional organizations and on conflict prevention, especially in Africa. He was followed by more than 40 other speakers.

 

Later, Council members unanimously adopted a resolution that called for measures to strengthen the relationship between the UN and regional organizations, including the AU, on peace and security issues.

 

Regional and subregional organizations should be encouraged to play a role in settling disputes and to promoting regional dialogue as a way of preventing disputes from emerging, the resolution stated.

 

The Council also called for the AU and other groups to strengthen their peacekeeping capacity on the African continent and to develop an early-warning system on conflicts and an enhanced mediation capacity.