Somalia's Opposition Regrouping, Planning

[BiLaaL]

It seems the whole world, apart from the rotting TFG and its misinformed supporters, is starting to recognize the increasing strength of the resistance as well as its strong resolve in driving out the occupiers.

 

By Stephanie McCrummen

Washington Post Foreign Service

Wednesday, June 20, 2007; Page A15

 

NAIROBI, June 19 -- Far from being defeated, Somalia's opposition groups are politically uniting, strengthening and planning a conference next month to hone their strategy for ousting the Somali government and the Ethiopian troops backing it, according to a recent statement issued by the groups and to a foreign diplomat in the Somali capital.

 

The official, who is closely involved in the country's faltering reconciliation process and spoke on condition of anonymity because of his position, said that Somali insurgents "are reaching out to different clans and to the general public without any conditions" and that "

it is becoming a war between Somalia and Ethiopia

."

 

"Things are getting worse instead of better," the official said, stating what is perhaps obvious to families who have lost relatives to the insurgents' bombs and Ethiopian attacks.

 

The U.S. government supported Ethiopia's military intervention in Somalia, which ousted the Islamic Courts movement, which was popular for the security it brought to parts of the country but which included leaders the United States accused of having ties to al-Qaeda, a charge the leaders denied.

 

In a pattern that analysts have compared to Iraq on a small scale, Ethiopia's incursion was followed by an insurgency, composed of Islamic Courts fighters and militias drawn mainly from Mogadishu's powerful ****** clan, who accuse Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf of excluding them.

 

In late March and April, Ethiopian and Somali government troops launched a major offensive with tanks and attack helicopters against insurgents hiding in Mogadishu's civilian neighborhoods, and afterward, they declared victory.

 

But after a brief calm, insurgent attacks have again flared. A roadside bomb exploded Monday in the capital, killing two civilians, and an assassination attempt was made Tuesday on a high-ranking official.

 

In a move to assuage the opposition, a spokesman for Yusuf said later Tuesday that the government would offer amnesty to former Islamic movement fighters and release others from jail.

 

But the opposition appears only to be growing. Groups that once were quarrelsome and fragmented are unifying against their common enemies, including the United States, which has launched two airstrikes and one naval strike against insurgents since January.

 

Earlier this month, a group calling itself the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign met in Doha, Qatar, and issued a statement condemning "Ethiopian naked aggression" and Ethiopia's "collaborators."

 

Attendees included former Islamic Courts leader Sharif Ahmed, the former speaker of the Somali parliament and members of the Somali diaspora. According to the statement,

the group will hold a conference next month to establish a "Somali national movement for the liberation of the country from the foreign oppressive occupation by all legitimate means available

."

 

A national reconciliation conference aimed at bringing political stability to the troubled nation in the Horn of Africa is also scheduled for next month, having been postponed last week for a fourth time.

 

Somali officials said various groups needed more time to choose their delegates, but opposition leaders called the conference a sham, saying it is merely an attempt by Yusuf to consolidate his power.

 

The complaint is hardly confined to Yusuf's opponents. The diplomat in Mogadishu said on Monday that the United Nations, the United States and other nations are "sleepwalking to failure" in Somalia by continuing to back a government that refuses to acknowledge the opposition except by fighting it.

 

"The Somali government is in a state of denial," the official said. "They can't accept that there is an opposition, and that's very foolish

. There are daily roadside bombs in Mogadishu. Today for example. And it's almost every day."

[Peacenow]

That magic word -UNITY-. It is sweet to my ears.

[BiLaaL]

^It's sweet to mine too bro.

[BiLaaL]

Doha Communiqué

 

A tripartite conference under the title: Foreign Interventions and the future of the Horn of Africa was held in Doha, 6-8 June 2007 participated by Union of Islamic courts (UIC) led by the Chairman, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, The Somali Parliamentarians led by the Speaker Hon. Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and representatives of Somali Diaspora, under the auspices of the Global Anti Aggression Campaign.

 

After frank extensive discussions and full review of all the circumstances surrounding the Somali people and the tragedies they have been suffering as a result of the barbaric Ethiopian occupation which committed atrocities, looting, mass displacement and rape. After long deliberation on these issues the participants have agreed on the following points:

 

1. Deploring that Somalia has fallen under Ethiopian occupation

 

2. Condemnation of the Ethiopian naked aggression on the Somali people and its barbaric and brutal behaviour and she bears responsibility for the destruction and spread of violence and instability in the Horn of Africa.

 

3. The indiscriminate and systematic killing, collective punishment and other acts of atrocities are obviously war crimes and genocide according to the International Law. The conference urges and calls on the international community to establish a specific international tribunal for war crimes for Somalia.

 

4. Demand immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Somalia.

 

5. Ethiopian government, its collaborators such as the so-called Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and other powers that give support will be equally responsible for all atrocities that take place in Somalia.

 

6. Appeal to the international community and all non- governmental relief agencies and philanthropists to extend urgent and necessary relief to the Somali people who are suffering from that brutal occupation.

 

7. Demand the United Nations and the UN Security Council to take its responsibilities towards the affected and displaced persons and to punish those who obstruct relief to reach the needy people.

 

8. Condemn the so-called Transitional Federal Government (TFG) for its disgraceful role in the invasion and occupation of the country.

 

9. Consider the reconciliation conference in Somalia called by the TFG as a new chapter of fragmenting the Somali society with the hands of its arch enemy and cement the occupation. Such actions are devoid of any credibility and legitimacy. Under no circumstances can any legitimate meeting be held under Ethiopian occupation.

 

10. Somali national reconciliation is a national demand. However, it must be based on national agenda and should be held in neutral venue in which all concerned parties can participate with sense of security. Such conference should deal with the political differences among Somali stakeholders to decide the future of the country and the destiny of the nation.

 

11. Denounce the indiscriminate and repeated bombardments of Somali territories in which innocent civilians have been killed and wounded in various regions under the pretext of curbing alleged terrorism without any evidence.

 

12. We call upon all Arab and Islamic countries to play their leading positive role in the ongoing Somali crises

 

13. Recognise the legitimacy of the resistance as a national duty and of necessity a religious obligation of honour that all citizens should contribute.

 

14. To establish a Somali national movement for the liberation of the country from the foreign oppressive occupation by all legitimate means available to the Somali people, through the following steps inter alia:

 

A. Appointment of a preparatory committee composed of 15 members representing the Islamic courts, members of the Somali Parliament, Somali Diaspora and various segments of Somali society.

 

B. The conference is being organised to be held within the next 45 days.

 

Finally, we offer our sincere thanks and appreciation to the State of the Qatar and its Amir for the generosity and standing beside the Somali people in their hour of need.

 

We also extend our sincere thanks to the global anti aggression campaign for its role in the success of the conference.