In Pictures: Ellusive Peace in Eastern Congo

An excellent BBC photojournal illustrating the suffering of the people of Eastern Congo.

Quotable: Israel's creation was divinely inspired by God

Lieberman to Christians United for Israel:

In a literal sense, Christians United for Israel was founded a little more than a year ago, in February 2006. But in a larger sense, it began more than 4,000 years ago with the first words God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12:1: "Now get thee unto the land that I will show thee, and I will make thee a great nation."

And he continues:

I believe that Israel's rebirth in 1948 was divinely inspired by God, but I know that it was realized by the men and women here on earth who worked so hard to make it happen. Israel will be sustained by the work of men and women like you here on Earth. And I know you know how truly American is your support of Israel.

Shocked? don't be, it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Youtube removes top Iraqi blogger's account

Zeyad of Healing Iraq, father of the Iraqi blogsphere, have been posting amazing showing the extent of the sectarian violence on Youtube. These videos show Mahdi Army along with Iraqi police attacking Sunni districts and blowing up mosques. Another video shows Kurdish militias (the Pashmerga) executing a man on the street. Youtube closed his account and removed all his videos and the reason? ""repeated attempts to upload inappropriate videos".

These videos showed a reality on the ground in Iraq but Youtube is probably being pressured from elsewhere. I wonder how will the blogsphere react.

Hussein Aideed subtitled

Aljazeera interviewed Hussein Aideed, yet again, for what? I don't know. He was thrown out of Mogadishu by other warlords before the Islamic Courts came and defeated the rest of the warlord. He came back to Mogadishu on an Ethiopian tank and he now says he's against Ethiopia.

In the interview he says that he's the chairman of a party which has PM Gedi and President Abdullah Yusuf as members, I've no clue of what he's talk about - I doubt anyone does. You also notice that his English is quite poor, Aljazeera has to add subtitles. Aideed spent over a decade in US. I won't say anything of his facial expressions.



There are many decent and articulate individuals who also oppose the Ethiopian presence in Somalia, but Aideed can only hurt the cause.

US plans to sell sophisticated weapons to Arab states

This is a big development, US is planning to sell billions of dollars worth of sophisticated weapons to Arab countries to defend themselves against Iran, or so the argument goes. To assure Israel, US will give a $30 billion military aid for the next 10 years and 13 billion for Egypt.

This isn't about sending signals to Iran, it seems US administration has decided to attack Iran. If Iran is attacked they're likely to retaliate against US bases in Saudi, Qatar and elsewhere in the region. So arming these countries with sophisticated weaponry such as satellite guided missiles makes sense.

Condi and Gates will fly to Saudi next week to pressure Saudi to support the Iraqi government but also discussing other issues in the region; suppressing Hamas and the upcoming Lebanese presidential battle. Iraq war might have been only the begining.

Eritrea ships weapons into Somalia, the proxy war continues

The United Nations says Eritrea is arming insurgents (the Islamic Courts militias and Al Shabab) to get back at Ethiopia. These weapons have been used to attack not only Ethiopian troops but government officials and civilians. Ethiopia and Eritrea have been fighting a proxy war in Somalia at least for past tens years. So this isn't new, but what's new is that Ethiopia is on the side of a legitimate - be it dysfunctional - Somali government supported by the international community.

Eritrea backed and armed Islamic Courts before the TFG took control of Mogadishu - be it with Ethiopian support - but Ethiopia's assertion of the presence of thousands Eritreans in Mogadishu at the time wasn't true. After the Islamic Courts were defeated they fell fully into the hands of Isaias Afewerki. He hosted the leaders of the Islamic Courts and other disgruntled warlords and politicians to create a 'new front'. That was all a sideshow. Eritrea's main objective is for the Islamic Courts, or anyone else for that matter, to carry out attacks against Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu and to replace the current Somali government with someone loyal to them.

When I met Sheikh Sharif last month in Doha, I asked him about their reliance on Eritrea and what Eritrea wants in return? I must say the question made him uncomfortable. He acknowledged that Eritrea had its objectives but he asserted that nothing was imposed on them. Islamic Courts leaders don't seem to see the irony when they accuse the government of being an Ethiopian puppet.

Photo: from left: Sheikh Sharif of the Islamic Courts, the ousted parliament speaker Sharif Aden and the Hussein Aideed who came into Mogadishu on an Ethiopian tank.

US spent millions on Dahlan to bring down Hamas, where did the money go?

Dahlan, the man who was paid by Israel and US to bring down Hamas, resigned from his official post as national security adviser to Abbas. Apart from his official title, he was the man Israeli, US and many Arab countries were counting on to remove the Hamas victory nightmare, but Hamas's takeover of Gaza turned these plans upside down.

Fatah seems more than ever as a bunch of privileged sellouts trying to hang on to what they've. A committee setup by Abbas concluded that many of the security services, of Fatah, should be fired because they weren't able to hold their own against Hamas forces. But they said nothing of Dahlan's criminal behavior. Hamas says they've recovered damning tapes from Dahlan's house, they say some of these show how Dahlan blackmailed even Fatah ministers. To me this puts to rest the argument that Abbas and others in the PLO didn't know what Dahlan was up to, they were part of the plan.

Another question that US lawmakers and those who invented in Dahlan should be asking themselves where did all the money go?

The Red Mosque saga continues

The stand off continues at the Red mosque in Pakistan. After the government took full control of the mosque, they've installed a new Imam to lead the prayers. On Friday prayer, the weekly day off of the Muslims, protesters prevented the government appointed cleric from performing the sermon demanding the release of the former Imam who's detained by the government.

Since the government took control of the mosques, bomb attacks against the police and the army increased killing dozens.

Christians for Israel, the extreme

Watching this video you can see how disturbed these people are. They're gathered to support Israel but think Jews won't go to heaven (take a guess, there's only one other alternative). And they're waiting for the second coming.

Turkish Elections: A Resounding Victory for the AK Party

Links for 24-07-2007

Independent: How Murdoch had a hotline to the PM in the run-up to Iraq war
An interesting story revealing how Tony Blair had several telephone conversations with Rubert Murdoch. The documents were released under the freedom of information act the day after Blair left office. It's know that Murdoch was a staunch supporter of the Iraq war.

NY Book Review: Iraq - The Way to Go
An excellent account of the lack of progress in Iraq eventhough we keep hearing about handover(s) to Iraqi security. Great reading.

Hezbollah can strike anywhere in Israel

In an interesting interview with Aljazeera, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah revealed that Syria offered to get into last summer's war alongside Hezbollah but he says he declined. On whether Hezbollah was weakened by the war, Nasrallah insists that Hezbollah is stronger than ever and can strike anywhere in Israel ... Here's the full interview:

Turkish Elections: A Resounding Victory for the AK Party

The Turkish people overwhelmingly reelected the AK Party in a landmark election. Held four months early, the election followed massive secularist protests against the AK Party’s presidential candidate, Abdullah Gül. Critics argued that the AK Party posed a threat to Turkey’s secular identity, particularly because Gül’s wife wears a headscarf. However, these protests were widely seen as an attempt by the secular elite to maintain their influence. The election results reflect the public’s approval of the AK Party’s unprecedented five years of economic growth.

In addition to the AK Party’s success, pro-Kurdish independents secured about 27 seats, adding a new dynamic to the Turkish parliament. Meanwhile, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), a hardline nationalist faction, won just over 100 seats. The CHP has vowed to take a strong stance against Kurdish separatists, including pushing for the execution of the imprisoned PKK leader.

What’s Next for the AK Party?

With this vote of confidence, the key question is whether the AK Party will persist with Abdullah Gül as their presidential candidate. If they do, the secularist opposition, including the military, may have limited options to block his election—particularly if pro-Kurdish independents align with the AK Party.

However, if Gül becomes president, tensions with the military—guardians of Atatürk’s secular legacy—could escalate. The military has explicitly stated its readiness to intervene to “protect Atatürk’s legacy,” seeing a first lady who wears a headscarf as incompatible with the presidency. Yet, such an intervention would likely derail Turkey’s aspirations of joining the European Union.

Alternatively, Prime Minister Erdogan might choose a compromise candidate to avoid another political crisis and maintain stability.

Regional Implications

The Turkish election has garnered significant attention across the Middle East. In recent years, Islamic-leaning parties have gained prominence in fair elections, including Hamas in Palestine, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria during the early 1990s. This trend reflects widespread disillusionment with corrupt regimes and a perception of Islamic parties as cleaner alternatives. The AK Party’s governance offers a compelling model of balancing Islamic values with economic development and democratic principles.

For further insight into how the Turkish elections were viewed in the Arab world, Marc Lynch provides an excellent overview, which is well worth reading. 

Illusive peace in Somalia, can this be it?

Earlier last week the much-awaited reconciliation conference finally began in Mogadishu. Thousands of Somali tribal elders, politicians and former warlords traveled to Mogadishu to attend the conference. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) hopes this conference will boost its legitimacy and encourage the international community to commit aid and peacekeeping troops to Somalia.

There were more than a dozen peace conferences in the past, all held outside of Somalia, but this is the first to take place inside Somalia, in the capital Mogadishu organized by a Somali government. One of the major obstacles to organizing this conference is the dire security situation in Mogadishu, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Al Shabab fighters, a violent, radical group, and Islamic Courts insurgents have vowed to target conference participants, the attacks started almost immediately. So far dozens of civilians have been killed or injured (so far no participant was harmed).

One of difficult issues facing the conference organizers was that Hawiye tribal elders, the major tribe in Mogadishu, were reluctant to participate in the conference arguing that Somali tribes aren't fighting and therefore tribal reconciliation is pointless. Instead, the say, the TFG should sit with its political opponents, namely the Islamic Courts. But the government refuses to deal with the Islamic Courts as a political entity and insists that Islamic Courts leaders can attend the conference as part of their tribal delegation.

The TFG has a point, the transitional constitution doesn't allow for political entities to be formed until the TFG's mandate ends in about two years. But would Islamic Courts leaders have attended the conference had they been invited? UIC leaders say they wouldn't.

The success of the conference hinges on how well the government can manage it, both in terms of the issues discussed and public relations. But looking back at the TFG's record so far, the signs are not encouraging. The TFG had failed at every turn; on disarmament, building a security service and even enabling aid agencies to deliver aid to refugees. For this conference for example, the agenda and objective of conference is still ambigous specially when the prime minister announces that there'll be a political conference dedicated to 'political issues'. If the participants won't be discussed the political issues, what else would they discuss then. What is suppose be discussed in this conference then.

One positive aspect of this conference is the international involvement and support it has received from the begining. The international community has been advising - and pressuring - the TFG to change the format of the conference and to accommodate its opponents, and the TFG has been listening, they had to.

If at the conclusion of this conference, the tribal elders agree to fully support the TFG and withdraw support, explicit or implicit, from the Islamic Courts and other clan militias, it'll be a great result. And if aid and peacekeeping troops are provided to Somalia, it might just be the best chance Somalia had for a lasting peace.

With Khalid Mashal, Hamas Leader

Interview with Khalid Mashal, in Arabic.



Aljazeera interviewed Khalid Mashal, the charismatic Hamas leader based in Syria. There was an off-record session with were he discussed the current situation in Palestine after Hamas's Gaza take over. Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people in a fair and transparent elections but Fatah, supported by Israel and US, wouldn't let Hamas govern and went even further to destabilize Gaza and the West Bank. It was inevitable for Hamas to take over Gaza as it did. Hamas is known for being capable and incorruptible.

President Bush's speech was expected to be empty and misleading, and it was. He reiterated his support for Palestinian president Abbas and tried, as hard as he could, to sell the West Bank as green, beautiful and wealthy and Gaza as insecure and poor. He completely ignored the election Hamas won. The fact remains that Fatah is the one that couldn't accept the results of the elected and resorted to all sorts of criminal tactics to bring down Hamas. They've also campainged against the release of funds to Hamas and the Palestinian public.

Somalia Update

The security situation in Mogadishu has only deteriorated in the past few weeks. Mortar attacks, bombings and assassination have increased despite government imposed night-time curfews. Also prices of goods and have increased dramatically and many businesses have closed and that's making life harder for Mogadishu residents.

Prime minister Ghedi in a visit to the UN head quarters requested the security council to send UN troops to Somalia but UNSC members remained skeptical and preferred to wait a bit longer and assess the security situation. But African leaders in the AU summit made it clear that peacekeeping troops must be sent urgently to Somalia. The problem is that there isn't much peace in Mogadishu to keep.

Tensions continue in Kismayo where Mareehan clan militias are still holding the city and Puntland troops together with Ethiopian army are threatening to mount an attack to retake the city. But president Abdullah Yusuf doesn't want any fighting, at least now, until the reconciliation conference ends. The government insists that it will not postbone the reconciliation conference again though the security situation in Mogadishu hasn't improved. The dispute within Hawiye tribal elders continues as well over whether or not to participate in the conference. Some of Hawiye elders have met the president and it seems most of them will be attending.

Uighurs squeezed out by China's growing influence

China have been persecuting the Uighur people for many decades, and pressure is growing as China's influence grows, from BBC:

Uighurs, who are ethnically Turkic Muslims, share a history in which victims outnumber heroes, and stories of persecution overshadow tales of greatness.

For centuries, Uighurs fought the Chinese over the land they call Eastern Turkistan. But on the map it is called Xinjiang, and it lies in the north of China.

Over the past 200 years, millions of Uighurs fled wars and persecution and settled in Central Asia, but they never gave up the dream of their own land.

And that is a problem for Beijing. As some Uighurs continue to call for greater autonomy from China, Beijing says that their separatism is breeding terrorism.

Khader's story

Terrified to be discovered by the Kazakh authorities, Khader, an asylum seeker from China, agreed to meet us in a secret location.

In a dimly-lit room, Khader and his friends showed us piles of paperwork - thick files of dozens of asylum seekers, with black and white photographs of men and women attached.

Some of them, they said, had been already deported to China, where many had been executed.

Khader's dark, restless eyes were full of deep and disturbing fear, but his voice was measured and calm as he spoke about his experiences in China.

"They never leave us alone. You go out in the street, you go to a market, and police just beat you. I grew up hearing the stories of my neighbours and family members being tortured in the Chinese prisons," he said.

"They call us all terrorists, but what makes us terrorists? Just the fact that we are Uighurs?"

Ten years ago, Khader attended a demonstration in his home town just across the border from Kazakhstan. The rally, which called for more rights for China's Uighur minority, was quickly broken up by the government.

Chinese soldiers, he said, killed his brother and chased him as he ran across the border.

Ever since then, Khader has been hiding in Kazakhstan. For a decade, he has survived with the help of the local Uighur community. But he has no passport, no identity documents and he has been unable to find a job or attain a refugee status.

The only dubious assurance of security he has is a $100 bill that he always carries in his pocket.

"This is what I give to the local police when they stop me. One day, when I can't bribe my way out, the worst can happen."

The worst, he says, is deportation.

"I am not a terrorist, I am just a baker, but if I am sent back I will be killed - I will be hanged or shot," Khader said.

Links for 08-07-07

BBC: Somali soldiers protest over pay
Finally, Somalia has ordinary problems like workers demanding a higher pay, that's progress.

Reuters: Only African troops will end Somalia chaos-AU
African leaders stress for the need to send African troops urgently to Somalia, can they do it, I doubt it.

BBC: China's hunger for African minerals
China isn't only interested in Africa's oil but also minerals and trade.

Who's the illiberal?

It's not a secret that there isn't much love going on between Hugo Chavez and the US but the folks at FP Blog are taking that hate to new level by labeling him "illiberal", say that again?. Chavez was democratically elected and it's the US government that supported a coup against him few years ago, who's illiberal then?

The poor don't want a vote, we all want a better life

Ten years after Hong Kong went back to China, the British are still talking about democracy. My problem with that is that democracy is often times used - by former colonizers - as back door to get back at their enemies, in this case China.

But what do the people of Hong Kong really want?. A BBC reporter asked one of the people of Hong Kong what he thinks:

Across the lane, Ming Chan was crouched over his flower stall, preparing an extravagant bouquet of purple flowers. He too was cynical.

"In the past, if you were poor, you could work hard and get on", he said. "That's not true any more. In today's Hong Kong, you've got to be educated, a middle class professional. Not an uneducated entrepreneur."

So what about democracy, I asked. He laughed. "Democracy? The poor don't want a vote, we all want a better life". "As for democracy", he added, "we barely know what the word means."

Interesting. Check out David Frost's interview with Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong (29th June).

Documentary on Gaza; must see!

Rageh Omar goes back to Gaza after 10 years to film this wonderful documentary. He meets the head of the family that kidnapped Alan Johnston, who denies kidnapping the journalist (but they did) instead he asks why the whole world cares about the fate one westerner and not the thousands of Palestinians killed.

There is also a rare interview with Ala’a al Homs, head of Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades, the military wing of Fatah and one of the pioneers of kidnappings in Gaza; Al Homs admits that kidnappings aren't helping the Palestinian cause. The second part of the documentary is even more compelling, Rageh shows the harsh conditions in Gaza that is responsible for the violence and kidnapings in Gaza.

It's a compelling documentary. You can watch it here, part1 and part2

BREAKING NEWS: Israeli troops shoot Palestinian journalists

Just a day after Hamas succeeded in releasing Alan Johnston, Israeli troops were caught on camera shooting Palestinian journalists in Gaza. The soldiers continue shooting even though the journalists are down. One of the journalists lost both his legs and is in a critical stage. This is not the first time the Israelis target journalists.

This is not the first time the Israelis do it and certainly not a mistake. Welcome to the daily lives of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Finally, Alan Johnston released!

I was ecstatic this morning when I heard the news that Alan Johnston was finally released. For four long months, he was held by a group calling themselves "The Army of Islam", actually a violent family called the Dogmush. During his ordeal he was once rumored to have been killed and later shown in video recording wearing an explosive belt.

When Hamas took control of Gaza they made it clear that the release of Alan Johnston is at the top of their agenda, and they've delivered. You can find a detailed account on how Hamas did it on BBC:

Fortunately for Alan, when Hamas took control in Gaza the rules of the game changed.

Hamas's priority is to restore law and order to the Gaza Strip, and one the first items on that agenda was to get Alan Johnston freed.

The group's Executive Forces, a kind of irregular police force in Gaza, and its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, deployed in the Dogmush neighbourhood.

Up to five members of the clan were detained in the last few days. There are reports that water and electricity were cut off in some streets.

Calls also came from senior members of the family from different branches to free Alan.

It is a relief all round that the pro-Hamas forces did not resort to a military solution, which could have endangered the lives of Alan Johnston, as well as captors, rescuers and bystanders.

The captors were clearly afraid of such a possibility. At one point they dressed Alan in what appeared to be an explosives belt, of the type used by suicide bombers, which they said would be detonated if they were attacked.

It took Hamas to take full control of Gaza for Alan to be released, Fatah is much weaker and was unable to pressure the kidnappers (besides Fatah was busy trying to bring down the elected Hamas government, using American money).

This also sends a strong message to the Israelis, if you want the Israeli soldier in captivity to be released you must release some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

I use to listen to Alan's reports on BBC, his prospectives and observations about the living conditions in Gaza were much need and his sympathy to the blight of the Palestinian people was heartwarming. Alan talked about his ordeal and thanked Hamas and everyone who took part in his release.

United States of Africa, SAY WHAT?

When I heard about the idea being discussed in the AU summit of creating a United States of Africa I thought it was just another laughable idea from Gaddafi. But then I found out that it was the only item on the agenda! Believe or not, African leaders will spend full three days debating it. To make matters worse, all of the leaders attending the summit agree principally on the idea, they just differ on when to announce it, now or later. Africa is diverse and each region and country has a different set of problems and orientations. There has been many attempts to establish regional groupings like IGAD or the Arab Maghreb Union and all has failed miserably. So I think instead of actually doing something about Africa's problems through reforming and enhancing the already existing AU, African leaders find it easier to embark on "grand scale" visions and ideas that won't benefit anyone. Gaddaif's advocacy for this idea only shows how ridiculous it's. A dictator who wasn't accepted among Arab dictators and now is trying to show Africans what a great leader he's. Have you heard of Libyan opposition? democracy? elections? free press? of course not, because they don't exist. Is this the man Africa should be taking ideas from?
If Africa comes together through a process of gradual improvement and solving existing problems that would be great. But if these "grand ideas" are debated simply so leaders could scape from actually doing something about the problems Africa then I think Africans are the only losers here.

Links for 3-7-2007

Aljazeera - Sudan refugees return from Uganda (video)
South Sudanese who fled to Uganda during the years of the civil war are returning home. Though there isn't much awaiting them home, they're ready to rebuild their homes and country.

Aljazeera - Zimbabwe's food crisis - 27 June 07 (video)
Thing are getting worse as the price of goods is doubling every couple of days. The Zimbabwean economy is collapsing, some predict it will completely collapse in 2007.

1 July, Somali national day; But not much to celebrate

After forty seven years since the south and north have joined, Somalia has no effective government; and the Somali people still lack security, food, education and pretty much everything a government is supposed to provide.