A new social media campaign has been launched to counter messages of extremism within the Australian Somali community.
Religious leaders and youth workers have teamed up with the Community Relations Commission to send a positive message to young people who are struggling with a sense of belonging.
Malik Osman, 24, who came to Australia when he was three, is leading the podcast project.
“What we try to do with the Somali podcasts is try to promote positive messages to try and challenge any negative or bad messages that are out there,” he said.
Mr Osman says the podcasts focus on home-grown success stories and engaging with the “mainstream”.
“You’re a Somali, you’re a black person, you’re a Muslim. All of these things can coexist and there should not be any strife. You can have a balance between all three,” he said.
When three men were convicted in 2011 of conspiring to plan a terrorist attack at Holdsworthy Army base, it sent shockwaves through the Somali community.
All three men had been members of the Somalia-based terrorist organisation Al Shabaab, which has links to Al Qaeda .
Melbourne-based Sheikh Issa Musse, from the Virgin Mary Mosque in Melbourne, says the word “shabaab” is attractive to young people because it means “the youth”.
In 2011 the Federal Government moved quickly to list Al Shabaab as a terrorist organisation.
“Before the legislation came into being people were attracted by the Shabaab and their ideas,” Sheikh Musse said.
“It’s hard to get a young person who openly sympathises with the Shabaab to say so openly. The first thing to do is to talk to the family to make sure they’re aware of this change and talk to the person to canvas why.”
But he says religious leaders can only do so much and social media can play a crucial role.
“They are on it day and night,” he said.
“The young are susceptible to ideas – if there’s social media they can connect.
“There is a proverb in Somali [that] says ‘have information first, then you will be able to make the right decision’. So once the message is out people can make up their own mind and see where they fit.”
‘Identity struggle’
The Community Relations Commission’s has almost 1,000 members.
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has labelled it “an online alternative to violent extremist ideologies”.
Mr Osman says it is about urging young Somalis to find alternative ways to resolve complicated issues.
“What we are trying to say is success is achievable in Australia, there are a lot of opportunities and if you do take the right step and if you take the opportunity in both hands you can be one of these successful young people, making a great life,” he said.
One of the podcast’s participants, artist Idil Abdullahi, says a sense of belonging is missing in a lot of young Somali lives.
“You realise all of a sudden that you look different – you don’t belong here,” she said.
“You somehow have this feeling of not belonging here and it’s been quite a difficult journey.
“I feel a lot of the younger kids are growing up, the only reflection they see is the poverty and war and terrorism and they don’t want to identify as a Somali kid.
“They just want to run away because they don’t see anything positive.”
Ms Abdullahi, now 33 years old, came to Australia when she was a child.
“Identity is one of the things you struggle with and I also have a daughter and I don’t want her to struggle with that for the rest of her life,” she said.
Over the past two decades almost 8,000 people have fled war-torn Somalia to call Australia home.
BERLIN (AP) — German police arrested a man who allegedly acted as an accountant for Somali pirates blamed for the hijacking of an oil tanker in 2010, authorities said Monday.
The man, who was identified only by the initial ‘M’, was arrested Wednesday at a center for asylum seekers in the central city of Giessen, Lower Saxony state police said in a statement.
“According to initial investigations he was responsible for the seized ship’s food supply as well as the bookkeeping, which formed the basis for distributing the ransom money to the pirates involved,” police said, adding that the man had made a partial confession.
A court has ordered him held pending an indictment on charges of kidnapping and serious bodily harm, which can carry a prison sentence of five to 15 years.
Police said the man’s fingerprints were found on the Marida Marguerite, a German-operated tanker carrying $10 million worth of fuel when it was hijacked in early May 2010.
The Somali pirates allegedly tortured the 22 crewmembers “in indescribable ways” for hours at a time before receiving several million dollars’ ransom and releasing the ship on Dec. 27, 2010, police said.
German authorities said the man’s arrest was the result of close international cooperation to crack down on piracy in the Gulf of Aden. A court in the United States last year ordered another man involved in the seizure of the Marida Marguerite to serve a dozen life sentences in prison.
Somali national Mohammad Saaili Shibin was also involved in the 2009 hijacking of a U.S. yacht during which four Americans were shot to death.
The chairman of Wagosha Movement of Somalia Eng Yarow Sharif Aden and the President of the Federal Government of Somalia have met in London, shortly after the international conference on Somalia. President Hassan and Engineer Aden discussed range of issues, including the reconstruction of Somalia, formation of the regional administrations, including the Jubbaland disputed plan.
During the meeting the leader of Wagosha Movement, expressed the support of Wagosha people to the new federal government of Somalia and President Hassan. “We fully support the government and its plans to stabilize Somalia after decades of civil war and destruction, and we will show this in action” said Engineer Aden, who is former senior official in Somalia’s mineral and water ministry.
President Hassan has in the meeting reiterated his pledge to serve all Somalis regardless of their political and regional affiliation, adding that justice will be the base of everything in the country.
Regarding the issue of Jubbaland administration, Eng Aden said the Wagosha people do fully support President Hassan’s initiative of bottom-up approach of setting up all-inclusive regional administrations in the country. He said the illegitimate conference in Kismayo by a single clan does not reflect the reality in the country, and that will lead to fresh fighting among the Somali clans, who are already tired of the endless civil war.
President Hassan has reassured all Somali people that every clan in Jubba regions will have its rights observed in any political process in their lands without hindrance.
Earlier Eng Aden attended the Chatham House setting agenda meeting for Somalia’s International London conference.
LONDON – Somalia’s armed forces have not received “a single bullet” despite the partial lifting of a United Nations arms embargo because the East African country lacks funds, its defense minister said on Wednesday.
Somalia’s new leaders aim to train and equip a professional army of around 28,000 soldiers within three years but are hamstrung by a lack of cash, Abdihakim Fiqi said during a trip to London to drum up donor support.
“The arms embargo was lifted almost two months ago and we haven’t received a single bullet or one single AK-47 or gun. Nothing. Because of lack of resources,” Fiqi told the Royal United Services Institute defense think tank in London.
The Horn of Africa nation is only just emerging from two decades of civil war, and is struggling to rebuild a country riven by clan divisions and whose infrastructure and institutions are in tatters.
A newly appointed parliament last year elected a new president, the first vote of its kind since the toppling of former military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
In recognition of the legitimacy of Somalia’s new leadership, the United Nations in March partially lifted an arms embargo on Somalia, allowing it to buy light weapons.
Somali forces currently number in the low thousands, and are a poorly equipped and fragmented mixture of state troops and militias struggling to battle al Shabaab Islamist militants, who want to impose their brand of Islamic law on Somalia.
“For the last four months our soldiers are just sitting back not doing anything. Al Shabaab are fighting them, engaging them, attacking them. They are just in the defense position … due to a lack of weapons and ammunition,” Fiqi said.
African Union peacekeepers have been largely responsible for pushing al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab out of the capital Mogadishu and other urban centers in the past two years, but the group is still able to launch major attacks, including a suicide bombing on Sunday that killed at least eight people.
Fiqi declined to give an estimate for the number al Shabaab fighters remaining, but said due to a lack of funding the group was mired in “leadership wrangling”, and was “increasingly weakening, contained and losing ground every day”.
However, al Shabaab is highly mobile, a reason why Somalia aims to build an army made up of agile light infantry units.
“Our national security stabilization plan indicates up to 28,000 soldiers within three years,” Fiqi said, putting the cost of raising such an army at about $160 million.
The minister is part of a Somali delegation that includes President Hassan Sheikh
Mogadishu, Somalia – An international conference on Somalia attended by representatives from 50 countries and organisations was held in London on Tuesday.
Its aim was to garner support for the Somali government in its effort to rebuild the war-torn country, and prevent it from slipping back into lawlessness.
The conference, co-hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and UK Prime Minister David Cameron, saw donors pledge some $130m in aid to Somalia.
But not all leaders from Somalia’s patchwork of self-governing regions attended. Here’s what residents of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, thought about the conference and their country’s future:
I listened to the conference on the radio and I think our country is coming back. A lot of pledges were made, which I think – if fulfilled – will bring us a lot of development and a big moral boost. For me, I’m hoping the government uses some of the money pledged to fix the city’s roads and recruit good police officers.
It was a good conference in general, in my opinion.
I haven’t heard about the conference. And honestly, I couldn’t care about a conference in London. Ask me about the price of meat and how much a goat costs in Mogadishu – that I know a lot about.
This conference is news to me, and I don’t know what another Somali conference in a foreign land will bring for us.
I didn’t follow the conference. To me, this conference looked no different than the many other conferences held for Somalia that accomplished nothing.
The conference didn’t feel inclusive. Presidents from Somaliland and Puntland were missing. The whole country was not represented.
More pressing for me is the need to re-open Makka al-Mukarama road, because since the government closed the road our hotel has lost clients and business
I didn’t have the chance to watch or listen to the conference as I had to work, but I hope this conference is not like the many conferences before it.
I hope for the best, but I don’t think it was representative. Puntland’s president was missing from the conference. I think change will happen when all regions of Somalia come together
I fully support the conference and I think it is the right move to bring Somalis together, like the conference did.
I don’t think this conference is like previous ones, because this conference is taking place when we have peace in Mogadishu. Other conferences took place when there was war here.
But what is more important for me is for the road in front of my shop to open again, so I can have customers again. I have rent and family to support, and the conference will not pay my rent or feed my family.
I liked the conference. A lot of good promises and pledges were made, which is what our country needs now after 23 years of war. I can’t tell the difference between this conference and the others before it, but I have hope.
We have peace in the city, which we didn’t have before. Anything is possible.
The Norwegian ruling governments led by Prime Minister Stoltenberg and the Norwegian Stortinget (Parliament) have today received letters issued by the East African Energy Forum (EAEF) warning them to stay clear of involvement in Somalia’s waters.
Attempt to Re-Instate the 2009 MOU between Somalia and Kenya
The EAEF is referring to Norway’s deep involvement in attempting to influence Somalia to concede sovereignty over its southern waters to Kenya. The group says Norway was a chief architect of the disastrous 2009 MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the then TFG and Kenyan Governments. The MOU was a slippery document that combined two seperate concepts and took advantage of the then ensuing deadline of 2009 of a weak and ill advised TFG which would have signed off over to Kenya approximately 116,000 square kilometers of Somali southern waters, an area larger than the size of Malawi.
“It is extremely regrettable that a supposed neutral actor in East Africa such as Norway, would act so recklessly against the Somali national interest in favor of a quick profit for its national oil company.”
says Abdillahi Mohamud, head of the EAEF.
“The Somali public have begun educating themselves on the boundaries of their territorial sovereignty, the insistence of the Norwegian government to influence Somalia to accept the 2009 MOU even to this day, which was widely rejected by the Somali Parliament and its people, has caused Norway’s image to suffer an insurmountable damage”
Somalia’s Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ)
The group is also countering Norway’s insistence that Somalia must declare its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) urgently in order to retain its sovereignty over its waters.
“Norway’s attempt to rush Somalia into declaring it’s EEZ is unwarranted and based on its political aims rather than international law and standards. Other countries have historically declared an EEZ when they felt it was in their national interest and no country has the right to pressure Somalia. In fact there are other countries that have ratified UNCLOS and not declared an EEZ until this day.” says Feysal Mayow, Director of the group’s technical team tasked with monitoring infringement of Somali waters.
“The EAEF does not foresee any deadline for Somalia to declare its EEZ, rather it is a detriment and against our national interest to declare our EEZ without having functioning naval forces or the ability to monitor our waters” Mayow adds.
He continues to note that if Somalia declares its EEZ without the capacity to monitor it, certain obligations will be forced upon it such as granting landlocked Ethiopia access to Somali waters, as well as foreign commercial fishing rights to quotas not met by the Somali fishing industry.
“Our decimated fishing industry can not sustain the optimum utilization of our fisheries as demanded by UNCLOS, this means as soon as Somalia declares its EEZ, it gives free reign for foreign fishing fleets to deplete the surplus allowable catch in Somali waters un-monitored and un-patrolled. We cannot build a vibrant fishing industry when our local fishermen will be competing with huge foreign trawlers”
EU’s Rapidly Declining Oil and Gas Reserves
He suggests Norway and other EU states rapidly declining offshore reserves at home have sparked their interest in East African waters. With Norway as the world’s leader in offshore oil and gas exploration, it is little surprise the country is eyeing Somalia’s untapped offshore reserves.
The group says it is monitoring all attempts to take advantage of Somalia’s current situation and undermine it’s territorial waters and that it will continue to take further action.
“It is a pity that a country which prides itself on its humanitarian reputation, has chosen to exploit Somalia’s current unstable situation to benefit from. This is a massive political miscalculation by the Norwegian government, Somalis are vigilant of their waters and it would have been more wise for Norway to take a neutral position.” says Abdillahi Mohamud.
The Somalia Conference took place at Lancaster House on 7 May 2013, co-hosted by the UK and Somalia, and attended by fifty-four friends and partners of Somalia.
We met at a pivotal moment for Somalia. Last year Somalia’s eight-year transition ended and Somalia chose a new, more legitimate Parliament, President and Government. Security is improving, as Somali and AMISOM forces, and their Ethiopian allies, recover towns and routes from Al Shabaab. The number of pirate attacks committed off the coast of Somalia has drastically reduced. The famine has receded. The diaspora have begun to return. The economy is starting to revive.
But many challenges remain. Al Shabaab is still a threat to peace and security. The constitution is not complete. Piracy and terrorism remain threats. Millions still live in Internally Displaced Persons and refugee camps. The country lacks developed government structures, schools, hospitals, sanitation and other basic services.
The Federal Government of Somalia has set out its plans to address these challenges in its Six Pillar Policy. At the Conference, the international community came together to agree practical measures to support the Federal Government’s plans in three key areas – security, justice and public financial management. The Federal Government presented its vision for the implementation of federalism, the adoption of a permanent constitution and holding of elections. We also agreed to work together to tackle sexual violence in Somalia.
We agreed that partnership between Somalia and the international community would form the basis of our future cooperation: the international community is committed to provide coordinated and sustained support for implementation of the Federal Government’s plans.
Political
We agreed that political progress remains the key to ensuring long-term stability for Somalia. We welcomed the Federal Government’s plans to resolve outstanding constitutional issues, including the sharing of power, resources and revenues between the Federal Government and the regions. We further welcomed the Government’s commitment to hold democratic elections in 2016. We reiterated our support for building capacity in democratic institutions throughout Somalia, beginning with support for local elections in Puntland next month.
We welcomed the dialogue on the future structure of Somalia that has begun between the Federal Government and the regions. We welcomed progress on forming regional administrations and looked forward to the completion of that process. We encouraged the regions to work closely with the Federal Government to form a cohesive national polity consistent with the provisional constitution.
We welcomed the IGAD Extraordinary Summit, held in Addis Ababa on 3 May under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, which agreed a framework for dialogue on regional issues. We looked forward to further progress ahead of a meeting of IGAD in the margins of the African Union Summit in May.
We welcomed the dialogue between the Federal Government and Somaliland at Ankara in April 2013 to clarify their future relationship, building on the meeting at Chevening in June 2012, and welcomed the Ankara communiqué. We expressed our appreciation for the facilitating role played by Turkey.
We welcomed the protection of fundamental rights in the constitution, and the Federal Government’s commitment to uphold human rights, including by establishing an independent National Human Rights Commission. We further welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to protect women and children, and take steps to end the involvement of children in armed conflict. We commended the recent visit of the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to Somalia, and the plan for a Somali and international team of experts to make recommendations on how sexual violence could be addressed. We agreed on the important role a free and independent media should play in Somalia, and welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the killing of journalists, and to promote press freedom.
Security
We shared the Federal Government’s view that security is the essential prerequisite for further progress in all other spheres. We commended the bravery and commitment of Somali and AMISOM forces, and those fighting alongside them. We expressed appreciation to countries contributing troops and police. We applauded the forces’ successes in freeing towns and routes from Al Shabaab. We reiterated the need for adequate and sustained funding for AMISOM, welcomed partners’ support to date, and called upon new donors to contribute.
We welcomed the Federal Government’s determination to take responsibility for providing Somalia’s security. We welcomed the Government’s plans for national security architecture and for developing its armed forces, including the integration of militias, and police. We welcomed the commitment to ensure that these security structures are accountable, inclusive, proportionate and sustainable; and respect a civilian chain of command, the rule of law, and human rights. We recognised the need for support to help the Government manage disengaged fighters.
We agreed to support implementation of the Federal Government’s security plans including through existing structures. We also agreed to provide assistance which should be coordinated by the Federal Government.
We welcomed the extension of AMISOM’s mandate for a further year in UN Security Council Resolution 2093. We noted the partial suspension of the arms embargo as recognition of political progress, and urged the Federal Government to fulfil its obligations to provide safeguards to protect Somalia’s citizens and neighbours.
We commended the Somalis and international partners for progress made in combating piracy over the last year including the efforts of Puntland and other regional or local governments and welcomed the Federal Government’s Maritime Resource and Security Strategy. We reiterated our determination to work with Somalia to eradicate piracy and other maritime crimes, and expressed our support for the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to establish internationally recognised Somali waters, which will help it protect its abundant maritime resources and revitalise economic activities, as well as end toxic dumping and illegal fishing. We welcomed international support to develop Somali maritime security capacities and looked forward to the UAE conference in Dubai on 11-12 September. We welcomed partners’ continued efforts to bring to justice to those behind piracy and positive, ongoing initiatives in Somalia and the region. We recognized the need for these efforts to be complemented by work on land to generate alternative livelihoods and support communities affected by piracy.
Justice and Policing
We welcomed the Federal Government’s vision for equal access for all to a robust, impartial and effective justice system. We commended its justice action plan setting out immediate priorities for assistance, developed at the National Dialogue on Justice in Mogadishu, and applauded this inclusive dialogue with stakeholders.
We welcomed the Government’s four-year action plan to create an accountable, effective and responsive police service for Somalis. We agreed to align our assistance for both justice and police behind Federal Government plans. We looked forward to the establishment of a Rule of Law Fund, under the leadership of the Federal Government, and invited UNDP and the Federal Government to present the agreed governance and technical arrangements for the fund at the Brussels Conference in September.
We committed to support the Government’s efforts to combat terrorism. An effective and secure criminal justice system, including the establishment and maintenance of prisons administered with respect for human dignity, will be central to Somalia’s ability to tackle terrorism in a human rights-compliant manner and reduce the threat from Al Shabaab in the long-term.
Public Financial Management
The Federal Government set out its determination to tackle corruption, and fund public services. We welcomed the Government’s four-year plan to establish transparent and effective public financial management systems. We encouraged the Federal Government to establish more robust controls through the Ministry of Finance’s operations including public reporting of budgets, expenditure and audits. We committed to coordinate assistance using the structure set out by the Government.
We acknowledged the Government’s financing gap and urgent need for short-term support to pay for salaries and operations while public financial management reforms are underway and until sufficient domestic revenues can be collected. In this context we welcomed the Federal Government’s creation of a Special Financing Facility as an early opportunity for the Federal Government to demonstrate its commitment to financial accountability and transparency.
In line with the outcomes of the G8 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, we welcomed the re-engagement of the International Financial Institutions (the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund), including IMF recognition of the Federal Government and progress made at the Spring Meetings.
We recognised the importance of investment and economic growth to increase domestic revenue. We encouraged investment into Somalia, recognising the important role the diaspora could play.
Rationalisation of Funding
The Federal Government appealed to its international partners to provide funding for Somali national plans. The Federal Government expressed its appreciation for continued bilateral support and asked partners to channel funding through mechanisms agreed with the Federal Government, such as the Special Financing Facility and the Rule of Law Fund, wherever possible. We looked forward to development of a longer term sustainable financing architecture for Somalia including a World Bank Multi-Donor Trust Fund which will be important on the path to normalisation of Somalia’s financial relationship with the International Financial Institutions.
Stabilisation
We welcomed the Federal Government’s efforts to develop major initiatives on stabilization, including a comprehensive strategy on disengaged fighters, alternative dispute resolution and at-risk youth. The Federal Government appealed for immediate support for stabilisation projects, to enable local administrations to provide services for their people.
Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons
We recognised the importance of scaling up efforts to create the conditions for the voluntary return and reintegration of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees, in accordance with international law. We praised neighbouring countries for providing protection and assistance for refugees, and agreed to continue supporting them in shouldering this burden. We recognised that the return of refugees and IDPs should take place within a context of increased security conditions and livelihoods opportunities. We endorsed the tripartite dialogue initiated by the Somali and Kenyan governments alongside UNHCR to develop modalities and a framework for safe, orderly, sustainable return and resettlement of Somali refugees on a voluntary basis, and looked forward to the forthcoming conference in Nairobi.
Role of Multilateral Organisations and International Support
We recognised the role of the United Nations and the African Union in Somalia and welcomed their commitment to a strengthened strategic partnership. We underlined the importance of close coordination by both organisations with the Federal Government, other international and regional organisations, and Member States. We welcomed the creation of a new UN Assistance Mission (UNSOM) in Somalia and urged the UN to deploy the mission by the target date of 3 June. We recognised the important role of Somalia’s neighbours in promoting long-term stability in the region, and encouraged IGAD to continue to work to promote dialogue and mutual understanding. We underlined the importance of EU action through its commitments in the fields of security, development and humanitarian aid. We also recognised the role of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference.
We recognised the valuable support provided by bilateral partners, and encouraged them to continue their efforts in coordination with others.
We acknowledged that the Somalia Conference was one of a series of events in 2013 aimed at providing international support to Somalia. We looked forward to the planned Special Conference on Somalia on the socio-economic development agenda in the margins of the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) in late May. Taking note of the Federal Government’s commitment to implement the New Deal engagement in fragile states in the form of a Compact, we welcomed Somalia’s efforts to develop an overarching reconstruction plan encompassing Somali priorities on inclusive politics, security, justice, economic foundations, revenue and services. We looked forward to the EU/Somalia Conference in Brussels in September.
Conclusion
The Conference agreed that Somalia had made significant progress. We congratulated all who had made that possible, notably the Somali people, Federal Government, Members of Parliament, civil society and diaspora. We commended the sustained commitment of Somalia’s international partners, and urged continued results-orientated support. We recognised the need to consolidate progress quickly and reiterated our determination to support Somalia over the long-term.
Somalia asks for more funds at London conference to aid its recent gains in security, justice
LONDON (AP) — Somalia’s president urged donors at an international conference Tuesday to provide “considerable investment and support” for his beleaguered government, arguing that the fate of his country and the region hangs in the balance.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and British Prime Minister David Cameron were co-hosting the conference in London that aimed to bolster Mohamud’s government in Mogadishu.
“There is a huge amount at stake right now,” Mohamud told the delegates. “The future of our country, the security of the region, and the wider world, and the removal of the piracy stranglehold on the Gulf of Aden.”
Somalia was expected to detail its plans to develop the country’s security forces, justice sector and financial management systems in hopes of getting more international aid.
The British prime minister praised the gains made in Somalia over the past year, saying that extremism is in retreat, piracy attacks are down and the government is moving ahead.
“After two decades of bloodshed and some of the worst poverty on earth, hope is alive in Somalia,” Cameron said. “Now it is time to fulfill the hope for the people of Somalia. That is what they have been living and waiting for, and we must not let them down.”
Cameron acknowledged that the east African nation still faces huge challenges from poverty, malnourishment and extremism.
“These challenges are not just issues for Somalia,” Cameron told the conference. “When young minds are poisoned by radicalism, and they go on to export terrorism and extremism, the security of the whole world, including people here in Britain, is at stake. “
He said support for Somalia must include humanitarian relief and helping the Somali government provide security — which includes protecting women from sexual attacks — as well as stability and services.
Donors should help Somalia develop a transparent government so it can access the funding it needs, Cameron said, adding that Britain will commit 10 million pounds ($15.5 million) to help develop Somalia’s armed forces and 14.5 million pounds ($22.5 million) toward increasing the number of police officers and training judges and lawyers.
Delegates at the conference included a number of African heads of state and representatives from the IMF and the World Bank.
The meeting came under harsh criticism from Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate that seeks to overthrow the Mogadishu-based government and install an Islamic one.
Al-Shabab, which counts several hundred foreign fighters among its ranks, controlled Mogadishu from roughly 2006 to 2011 until African Union troops forced it out of the capital. The group still controls wide swaths of south-central Somalia.
Al-Shabab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr released an audiotape over the weekend in which he called Tuesday’s meeting a plot to “plunder” Somalia’s mineral wealth “under the guise of international trade relations and fighting corruption.” He said the international community wanted to discard Islamic law in Somalia and replace it with Western laws and constitutions.
Zubeyr also urged his followers to increase suicide attacks to “permanently cripple” Mohamud’s government. The next day a suicide car bomb attack in the Somali capital killed at least seven people.
Zubeyr blames the area’s tensions over land and ethnicity on Britain’s colonial-era partitioning of Somalia between Kenya and Ethiopia.
Mohamud, the president, was inaugurated in September at the end of an eight-year U.N.-backed transitional government.
British Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Tuesday that failure to support the rebuilding of Somalia would lead to “terrorism and mass migration”, as he opened an international conference aimed at helping to end more than 20 years of conflict.
Representatives of more than 50 countries and organisations attended the London meeting, which is co-hosted by Cameron and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
The meeting is aimed at boosting political stability in the impoverished Horn of Africa country, which has had no effective government since 1991.
It is also expected to pledge action on rape, which the United Nations says is “pervasive” in Somalia.
Opening the conference, Cameron praised improvements in Somalia’s security in recent months, but warned that huge challenges remained in preventing it from sliding back into abject lawlessness.
“To anyone who says this isn’t a priority or we can’t afford to deal with it, I would say that is what we’ve said in the past and look where it has got us — terrorism and mass migration,” Cameron said.
“These challenges are not just issues for Somalia. They matter to Britain — and to the whole international community. Why? Because when young minds are poisoned by radicalism and they go on to export terrorism and extremism, the security of the whole world is at stake.”
Britain has raised eyebrows by inviting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces an international trial for crimes against humanity, to the meeting.
A British government source said the invitation counted as “essential contact” with Kenyatta, who is due to go on trial at the International Criminal Court in July.
Downing Street said Kenya played a “vital” role in Somalia, because it has nearly 5,000 troops stationed there and it hosts more Somali refugees than any other nation.
The UN, African Union and International Monetary Fund are among the organisations attending.
Somalia has been battered by conflict since 1991 but a new UN-backed government took power in September, ending more than a decade of transitional rule.
Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militants were driven out of the Somali capital Mogadishu by African troops in August 2011, but the Islamists have carried out a series of brutal attacks in recent months.
About a dozen people were killed in the city on Sunday when a suicide bomber rammed a car full of explosives into a government convoy carrying officials from Qatar. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
Despite the unrest, Somalia appears to be slowly turning a corner, with businesses reporting growth in activity. Business is booming at the country’s ports in particular.
Britain last month became the first EU country to re-open an embassy there since the conflict broke out, while the UN Security Council set up a special mission to Somalia last week that will bring in up to 200 security, human rights, political and financial experts to work with the fledgling government.
Somalia’s president urged the international community to pour investment into his country, arguing that his government’s progress over the last year had defied sceptics.
“We are here today to begin a four-year process that must begin with considerable investment and support but which I hope will finish with very little,” he told the conference.
“My vision is for a federal Somalia at peace with itself and its neighbours and which poses no threat to the world; a Somalia with a resurgent economy.”
Mohamud’s government remains weak, and large parts of Somalia are still carved up between rival militias.
Pirates operating from the Somali coast are still causing trouble for international shipping companies, although Cameron said piracy had dropped 80 percent since London hosted the first Somalia conference in February 2012.
A second conference was held in Istanbul four months later.
Campaigners Human Rights Watch say rape by soldiers and gunmen is an “enormous problem” in Somalia.
Britain and the UAE last month announced £1 million ($1.6 million, 1.2 million euros) each to help tackle sexual violence.
More than a million Somalis are refugees in surrounding nations and another million are displaced inside the country, often living in terrible conditions.
Somalia was also hit by a terrible famine between 2010 and 2012, leaving almost 260,000 people dead, half of them children, according to the UN.
London hosts international Somalia conference to aid post-war gains in security, justice
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s president over the weekend received the country’s first pieces of mail in more than two decades. It’s the kind of small but hopeful development that leaders meeting in London on Tuesday want to see more of.
Britain and Somalia on Tuesday co-host an international donors’ conference that aims to provide international support for the Somali government as it continues to leave behind two decades of conflict.
Though Mogadishu still suffers from intermittent terror attacks by the Islamic extremists of al-Shabab, including a car bomb Sunday that killed at least seven people, the capital is much more peaceful today than in years past, when deadly battles took place daily.
The weekend mail delivery to Mogadishu came courtesy of the United Nations Postal Administration. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent letters to Somalia’s president.
“It’s a victory and a sign of development. We have received the first letters now, and we are going to process sending letters soon,” said Abdullahi Elmoge Nor, Somalia’s Minister of Information, Telecoms and Transport.
At the London conference Somalia is set to share its plans to develop the country’s security forces, justice sector and financial management systems. International donors are likely to pledge aid to help get Somalia’s plans moving. Britain said in February it would give 3 million pounds ($4.7 million), with a large chunk intended to help train Somali lawmakers.
Eradicating sexual violence — a cause championed by British Foreign Secretary William Hague — will also be on the agenda. In the run-up to the conference Britain and the United Arab Emirates announced 2 million pounds ($3.1 million) in joint funding to help tackle sexual violence in Somalia.
Britain’s Foreign Office said it expected representatives of “nearly 50 governments,” as well as groups like the United Nations, the African Union, the World Bank, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League. Also expected to attend is Kenya’s new President Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces charges at the International Criminal Court for allegations connected to 2007-08 post-election violence.
After Sunday’s attack in Mogadishu, Britain’s Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds said the bombing demonstrated the importance for the Somali government and international partners to work together to combat extremism. Gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Mogadishu’s Supreme Court complex last month, killing more than 35 people.
Despite the attacks, new construction is up in the capital. New restaurants have opened and citizens are participating in sports leagues, which had been banned by the extremists. Britain last month opened an embassy in Mogadishu for the first time in 20 years.
Human Rights Watch urged international donors meeting in London to make accountability and women’s rights a priority. It also said the government should exclude power brokers who violate human rights from any role in the security forces.
“International goodwill for the new Somali leadership and its proposed reforms should not mean unqualified support,” said David Mepham, Britain director at Human Rights Watch.
The Somalia NGO Consortium — a group of civil society actors — noted that Somalia’s new constitution requires the implementation of federalism but has not yet done so.
The northern Somali region of Somaliland — a semiautonomous region that has been agitating for years for independence — is not attending the conference despite the fact that furthering dialogue between the governments of Mogadishu and Somaliland had been one of the goals of the conference.
