Devolution of Puntland into Warlord Fiefdoms Accepted By International Media

[Mintid Farayar]

From The Times

September 17, 2008

Somali pirates plunder is used to fund terrorism, experts fear

Jonathan Clayton: Analysis

Years of violence, neglect and misguided policies have left Somalia one of the most dangerous countries and a breeding ground for the pirates attacking one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.

 

Today the northeast area of the country, including Puntland, has been carved up by warlords who finance themselves by drug and gun running. This is also the heartland of the pirates, whose main backers are linked to the Western-backed government. Radical Islamists control much of the south, including the key port of Kismayo and the porous border area with Kenya, a staunch Western ally.

 

This has realised a Western nightmare, which was supposed to have been destroyed by Ethiopia’s American-backed invasion of Somalia two years ago in support of a puppet government created by the international community. That alliance spanned the spectrum from extreme radicals to moderate, devout Muslims. The latter were in charge.

 

Everyone – except Pentagon planners, it seems – knew that Somalia had never proved fertile territory for Saudi-style radical Islam. However, indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas by Ethiopia, Somalia’s historic enemy, with huge casualties, put an end to that. The Islamists were driven out, the moderates went into exile and the hardliners took control of the south with a popular powerbase beyond their wildest dreams.

 

Local peace activists said yesterday that an Iraq-style insurgency against allies of the “transitional government” had led to 838 deaths since June, bringing to more than 9,400 those killed since the Islamist-led uprising began early last year. Thousands have fled into Kenya.

 

Last month a UN report said that the number of Somalis needing aid in a country without government since 1991 had leapt by 77 per cent since January and now stood at more than 3.7 million, more than a third of the population. It added that the country, used as a launch pad to bomb the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, was witnessing its worst insecurity since the early 1990s. “If you gave countries points for anarchy and confusion from one to ten, Somalia gets 20,” a UN source said.

 

The Americans ignored Somalia after 18 US Army Rangers and Delta Force personnel were killed while trying to capture one warlord. Those events were depicted in the film Black Hawk Down.

 

Today there is no appetite for intervention, but there are growing fears that trying to ringfence the country will not stop the plunder of the pirates financing a training ground for a new generation of terrorists, including disillusioned British-born Somalis.

Link to Article

[Che -Guevara]

Devolution of Puntland into Warlord Fiefdoms Accepted By International Media

And ?

[dhulQarnayn]

^^^

 

And I just simply wanted to share that with you all. Waryaa, cut the sarcasm!

 

dhulQarnayn :cool:

Republic Of California

[Abtigiis]

Someone needs to tame this pirate boy!

[Mintid Farayar]

Don't fully understand the context of the previous replies to my post. However to further illuminate what's occurring in the area, here's a recent editorial to further clarify the situation:

 

 

A Disappointment in the Affairs of Puntland and the Disruption of the Diaspora Conference

By Abdiweli M. Ali, Ph.D. Sept 23, 2008

 

The Disrupted Diaspora Conference

 

Back in March 2008 a prominent Puntlander contacted a few of us in the Diaspora to discuss the possibility of organizing a conference in Puntland and to address the deteriorating situation there. He asked us to help him on the selection of the participants with the added instruction that the choice of the participants should be based on their character, skill, education, and experience, but also mindful of the regional and the clan balance. He also requested Puntland Development Research Center (PDRC), the premiere institution of Puntland, to host and seek funding for the conference. Eventually, we submitted the names, set the date, and suggested a tentative agenda and a schedule of the conference. PDRC also secured funding, and the conference was scheduled to start on the second week of August.

 

There was nothing sinister about the conference and none of us had any ulterior political or personal motives. We had pure intentions and a clear purpose; just to persuade and bring the attention of the people and the government to the worsening situation of Puntland; nothing more and nothing less. Most of the participants took time from their families and work to serve a cause they thought was higher than themselves.

 

Little did we know and perhaps naïve we were about the crude and the coarse political high jinks of Puntland. Upon arrival, the Puntland Diaspora was told that the conference was suspended and an order was issued from the highest offices of the government that no conference should take place without the prior knowledge of the Puntland government. However, PDRC informed the President and the relevant ministries, no less than three times, about the impending conference, and were given the permission to hold the conference. As a matter of fact, either the President or the Vice-President was slated to open the conference, and ten members of the government, five from the legislative and 5 from the executive, were included as participants. Therefore, we considered the suspension of the conference as capricious and arbitrary; today’s Puntland is not short of murky and arbitrary set of rules. More stunning than the ruling itself, were the poor and inadequate reasons given for suspending the conference, and some of the Ministers of Puntland were also too cavalier in using inflammatory and provocative remarks over the airwaves. Nonetheless, PDRC heeded the command and decided to postpone the conference. They also requested us to refrain from any controversy that could impair the reputation of Puntland. Therefore, I would like to applaud PDRC for choosing the moral high-ground; revenge is a dish best eaten cold.

 

II. A Bait and a Bizarre Invitation

 

The President then requested a meeting with the Diaspora after he heard a growling protest from some respected elders and probably to put the best face on a bad situation. The invitation piqued our interest and we accepted it, but we also decided to express our dismay and disappointment with his decision of opposing the conference. He came to the meeting accompanied by his circle of useful ****** including the leadership of the parliament. First to speak was the vice President, a straitlaced arrogant fellow. Pursing his lips and barely able to contain his anger, he started his speech with a stridently sardonic comment, ‘Waxaan u haysanaa in shirkan uu ahaa mu’aamarad dhabarka nalaka tooganayey” which can be poorly translated into “this conference was a conspiracy and a political plot against us.”

 

We heard an earful from him and from few other bozos, professing a pack of lies. Finally, the President spoke and admitted that PDRC informed him about the conference. He came across as more polite and respectful than his more truculent servants. However, he tried to shrink-wrap and seal the clear and unforgivable mistake he made. Most of his speech was also tangential and unrelated to the topic at hand, and was more on his obsession of drilling oil in Puntland. He could not tell us a reason or a rationale of refusing us to hold the conference.

 

The Dire Situation of Puntland and A Need for a Change

 

Puntland is at a cross-road, albeit a dangerous one. It is teetering on the brink of a collapse, and saving it needs a moral fortitude and a political will; dispositions currently lacking in the leaders of Puntland. It is facing an existential crisis caused by an unbridled greed and an insatiable appetite for power and money. The corruption that permeated Puntland and the lack of sound basic institutions created a culture of impunity where the pilfering of the public resources became a shameless and a criminal activity. The government is filled with rogue and runaway ministers who are just there to rack up the meager resources.

 

The creation of Puntland 10 years ago gave hope and meaning to so many lives. However, many others were reluctant to believe that such a political entity will survive in the clan politics of Somalia. It so now seems that their premonition may come to pass, and so many fanatic devotees have come to believe that the whole entity might have been a futile exercise. I disagree, but I also believe that the nature of the people of Puntland is to blame for the current affair of their state. They allowed few feeble minds to rule them and wreak havoc on their future. It is not the system that determines the character of a country, but the character of a people that determines the kind of country it will be. The great British Statesman, Edmund Burke is quoted to have once said “believe me, it is a great truth, that there never was, for any long time …….a mean, sluggish, careless people that ever had a good government of any kind.” The people of Puntland are not mean and sluggish but they sure are careless about the affairs of their land. Burke also added that “great empires and small minds go ill together.” Small minds wedded to dimwitted egos cost Puntland a great deal. The young are confused and perplexed about this feckless generation that destroyed their future and the old are only left with nostalgia for the moral clarity and the mighty role they always played in the political affairs of Somalia.

 

IV. A Bad Omen That Might not Bode Well with Us

 

There is a high probability that the current Puntland administration might win the next election in January, as the alternative candidates failed to offer any substantive policy and political agenda. The likelihood of returning this regime to power might be unpardonable but clearly quite predictable. The people of Puntland are now looking forward for this upcoming election not with merriment but with melancholy and sadness. They deserve better and should do better. I am also hopeful that somehow, somewhere, things will change for the better. There might be a Houdini out there who will carry the lamp and lead the way for a better future. Let us wait and see.

 

Abdiweli M. Ali, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Economics Niagara University, NY 14109 amali@niagara.edu

[dhulQarnayn]

^^^stuff iyo caano boore

 

dhulQarnayn :cool:

Republic Of California

[Koora-Tuunshe]

Dr. Abdiwali should leaf through the platform of General Ilkajiir before coming to the conclusion that "the candidates failed to offer " a viable alternative to the Ade's administration.

 

I sense an implicit endorsement of Ade/AfQurac ticket for a second term despite his criticism of Puntland's current administration.

 

As to the Topic of Puntland's disintegration, I think there will be a paradigm shift. We were seen before as heathens in possession of a very busy commercial sea lane. The rise of the pirates' activities has attracted the attention Somalia needed and a possible neautrality of the zero-sum game policy used against Somalia. They had simply passed all the risk of their wrong policies, but it's time for the world to hedge against these risks of neglect and instability as the insurance cost of these ships and vesells have risen. The recognition of "Somaliland" will only worsen the political crisis of Somalia given the geographic limitation of the secessionists' domain of influence.

[Mintid Farayar]

^^^Don't quite understand how "Recognition of Somaliland" ties in to the topic at hand. Care to explain?

[Koora-Tuunshe]

^Read this Editorial. And let me know what you think? Sorry for the late reply. I have been so busy this past two weeks.

 

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10343&Itemid=5854

[Mintid Farayar]

And the devolution continues...

[ceelayohoyoo]

Great article

[mielmi]

I will be very honest here.....i don't think punt land is gonna survive. They tried very hard to copy Somaliland but failed miserably. I hope this will be a good lesson for the group that is totally surrounded by Somaliland national army. Thats the difference between a clan entity(Puntland) and a nation(Somaliland).

[ceelayohoyoo]

The political will of SNM and its Somaliland fetus is a fiefdom restricted inside its triangle. Spear headed by rotating warlords, from Tur to NSS successor Riyaale. Your story is probably more pitted in clan anguish than any other in Northern Somalia.

[Thankful]

The secessionists are happy today! Yet they do not realize that Puntland is coming of age right now. Mr. Atam has unified the state like never before. You see one of the men in charge of the battle is himself from the region where the criminals are held up and he is trying to liberate his people. Puntland is receiving a great deal of aid from nations that don't want Mr. Atam's ragged men to succeed. We have security forces from every corner including Maakhir participating in the defeat of this man!

 

I am unsure why you are celebrating, what is taking place is solid proof that Puntland has security forces that can launch attacks against armed groups that hide in mountains.

[ceelayohoyoo]

Its the rise of Maakhir and the fall of Puntland. Don't get it twisted Thanful. Your falling apart.