Malika Posted May 22, 2008 Don't Miss!!! Monday 26 May 2008 Channel 4 - 8:00pm In Warlords Next Door, Dispatches reveals how key politicians at the heart of the vicious fighting in Somalia - described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis - enjoy incredibly close links to Britain.They have British or EU passports, their families live here and they commute between Somalia and homes in English cities. British taxpayersare financing them in the name of democracy - yet in Somalia they arelinked to allegations of mass murder, torture, extortion and corruption. In this edition of Dispatches, reporter Aidan Hartley sets off on thetrail of four senior figures in Somalia's Western-backed government -an investigation which takes him from Leicester and Birmingham to Mogadishu - a city so dangerous that he and director Jim Foster arethe only Western journalists on the ground. The leaders of the current government, installed 17 months ago when Ethiopian forces seized Mogadishu from Islamic militants, were expected to restore peace after years of civil war, but also to destroy Al Qaeda and its allies in the Horn of Africa. The investigation begins in Britain. Among the British-Somali community,Hartley finds anger and frustration that taxpayers are sponsoring politicians who they claim are ruling by the gun and profit from conflict. In Leicester, one British-Somali tells Hartley he was recently told to pay ransoms for the release of several relatives languishing in a dungeon controlled by a senior official in the Somali government who has a house in the same Leicester neighbourhood. To find out more, Hartley and Foster travel to Mogadishu where theyfind a city descending into chaos and extreme violence. Vicious fighting between insurgents and the government forces has killed morethan 7,000 civilians and produced the largest exodus from a capitalcity since Pol Pot's Cambodia. The immediate horrors of the fighting are captured on film when a roadside bomb hits a vehicle escorting the Dispatches team while they're driving in convoy with armed security guards, used to fend off kidnappers and bandits. Three people are killed and three others wounded. Attacks like this are a daily occurrence, together with indiscriminate artillery shelling,assassinations and street skirmishes. Hartley investigates allegations that the government's National Security Agency (NSA), the counterpart to MI6 and the CIA incounter-terrorism operations, is operating with extreme methods. He hears first-hand claims of false imprisonment, torture and extortionfrom prisoners who are only freed when ransoms are paid. Dispatches heads to the outskirts of Mogadishu where hundreds of thousands of terrified civilians from the city have fled to live insqualid camps. They live in huts of plastic and sticks among the sand dunes. They all rely on humanitarian aid from Britain and other donor countries, but they're already starving and falling sick. Hartley investigates why aid workers rarely set foot in Mogadishu and why the desperate victims of war are not receiving the food and medical aid they so badly need. And finally, the investigation examines claims of indiscriminate bombardment of civilian districts where insurgents are thought to live. Back in the UK Hartley interviews Minister for Africa Lord MarkMalloch-Brown about British support for this Somali government that is presiding over the worst phase of conflict in 17 years of vicious civil war in Somalia. Press Contact: Marion Bentley: 020 7306 3747/mjbentley@channel4.co.ukPicture Publicity: Nathalie Mohoboob 020 7306 8761/nmohoboob@channel4.co.ukProd/***: Jim FosterExec Prods: Eamonn MatthewsComm Ed: Ed BramanProd Co: Quicksilver Media Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wacdaraha_aduunka Posted May 23, 2008 This is explosive man and thats why i love this programme and am definetly tuning for this one Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fabregas Posted May 23, 2008 Warlords Qarxis, good job! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AYOUB Posted May 23, 2008 In Warlords Next Door, Dispatches reveals how key politicians at the heart of the vicious fighting in Somalia - described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis - enjoy incredibly close links to Britain.They have British or EU passports, their families live here and they commute between Somalia and homes in English cities. British taxpayersare financing them in the name of democracy - yet in Somalia they arelinked to allegations of mass murder, torture, extortion and corruption. Reminds me of one SOL warlords cheerleader boasting of being "British". About time Dispatches puts faces to the shameless! :cool: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emperor Posted May 23, 2008 Good progam thanks for the info Malika, my space in the Sofa have to be pre-booked... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cynical lady Posted May 23, 2008 lol@my space in the Sofa have to be pre-booked Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dhubad. Posted May 23, 2008 Good program, can't wait to see who these shameless men are. Taloow Midka Xuub Sireedle ladhahaayo maku jiraa? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted May 23, 2008 Originally posted by Emperor: Good progam thanks for the info Malika, my space in the Sofa have to be pre-booked... You better hope you don't appear on the show Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nuune Posted May 23, 2008 Dhubad, yeah, he lives in Liverpool da Xuub-caaro one, I was told he is married to someone I know. Then waxaaba la igu dhahay, the guy is good husband and takes care of his children and his wife, cajjiib!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fabregas Posted May 23, 2008 Note: this programe comes with a warlord supporters advisory certificate. May contain traces of criticism against warlord heroes, which could have disturbing Psychological and phsyical side effects on die-hard warlord supporters! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ms DD Posted May 23, 2008 Looks promising programme. Hartley should have come to me for inside info Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Centurion Posted May 23, 2008 This should be interesting to watch. Never in modern history has a society so successfully managed to prolong its own suffering, and they are one of the reasons why. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paragon Posted May 23, 2008 Lol. At last! Oh At Last, the much awaited is out! Hopefully, more to follow.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emperor Posted May 23, 2008 Loooooool@Norf, you have a joke on me man, that would be a priveledge, will it not? Imagine how people are dying to be on the TV nowadays... but I will wait for your turn to appear on Britian's got talent show Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
