Many distrust U.N. report, are surprised by militias' success
BY EMILY GURNON
Pioneer Press
November 20, 2006
Some immigrants also said they believe the Islamic militias that ousted U.S.-backed warlords earlier this year have made great strides toward stabilizing the capital city of Mogadishu — so much so that some are traveling there for the first time in 16 years.
"Here in the Twin Cities, most people actually think that what the Islamists did was a miracle," said Abdul Kadir of the Somali Institute for Peace and Justice, a nonpartisan group based in Minneapolis. "And they think it's the only hope that we have right now."
In a report Friday, U.N.-commissioned experts detailed claims that many foreign governments are violating an arms embargo by providing weapons and other assistance to Somalia.
The report said some nations are aiding the weak but internationally-recognized transitional government. Others are supporting the Islamic militias that seized power of the capital in June and have been spreading their influence since then.
In particular, the report alleged about 700 Somalis fought alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon during its conflict with Israel in July in exchange for support to Somali Islamists from Syria and Iran.
The report's authors also asserted that Iran shipped weapons to Islamists in exchange for help in finding uranium in Somalia.
Such claims are "outrageous and preposterous," said Abdi Aynte, a reporter for the Minnesota Monitor and a fellow with the Center for Independent Media in Washington, D.C.
It is true, however, that the involvement of countries like Ethiopia and Eritrea threatens to push the country into all-out war, Aynte said.
"People from Somalia in Minnesota, and everywhere, I think, are gravely concerned about the situation right now," he said, "partly because the stakes seem to be a lot higher than they were in the past. We used to have a Somali-Somali conflict; at this point it seems to include a number of international players."
The current situation is the talk of Somalis in Minnesota, said Hared Mah, a student at the University of Minnesota and president of the Minnesota Somali Student Union.
"If you go to a Starbucks where Somalis sit, most of what they talk about is what's going on in Somalia," he said.
Local Somalis keep close track of developments in their native country through the Internet and phone calls to relatives there.
They do not always see eye to eye on politics. But most agree that what the Islamists have done in Mogadishu is nothing short of remarkable.
The airport and seaport have been opened for the first time in years. The roadblocks have been removed. And the capital is relatively crime-free, according to media reports.
"Mogadishu was one of the worst, most dangerous cities in the world," said Mah.
Now, one can walk freely on the street without seeing a gunman, he said.
"I was like, 'This doesn't sound like the Mogadishu I know.' "
Abdi Sheikhosman agreed.
"Certainly, the issue of the restoration of peace and law and order of the capital city is something that people were really impressed with," said Sheikhosman, an adjunct professor of Islamic law at the University of Minnesota and director of the Somali American Legal Institute in Minneapolis.
"They took over — sometimes returned properties to their rightful owners," he said. "Not even the multinational force led by the U.S. in 1993 could bring about that complete peace."
Several Somalis said they had heard of people going back to visit, or planning to as soon as they can.
"I know at least one guy who left last week," Aynte said. "He told me that he was waiting almost three months to get the flight." Before, "they always left half-full."
Emily Gurnon can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-5522.
Source: Pioneer Press, Nov 20, 2006