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Reportage de RFO Reunion/Mayotte sur les lauréats Réunionnais du concours
international de mémorisation du Qour'aan à Makkah, Zakaria et Fasihouddine, de la
Madrassah Riyaadh Oul Qour'aan de Saint-pierre
CNN: U.S. Muslim leaders
denounce al Qaeda's slur toward Obama — NEW YORK (CNN) —
Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities lashed out Friday at a
purported al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language,
comparing him unfavorably to the late Malcolm X.
Last week a Saudi supertanker was hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of
Kenya, making it the largest ship ever to have been seized in this way. The problem of Somali
piracy is growing; in this post we hear bloggers' reactions from around the Middle East.
Saudi blogger Ahmed Ba Aboud wants Arab nations, and international bodies, to do
something about the reasons for the increase in piracy:
Syrian blogger Maysaloon believes there is more to the story than meets the eye:
Apparently this Somali piracy issue has only become a problem since 2005, around the time that
somebody started supplying the men with fast white speedboats. There is probably some truth to
this, and somebody is probably making a lot of money out of this, so the actual pirates are
getting only a fraction of the takings. Still, there are huge sums of money being paid in
ransoms, lots of good which are being stolen and I'm not so sure I understand how well these
goods are being sold in a country with practically no infrastructure. Recently a shipment of
Russian tanks was also seized. Interesting that Somalia was only recently “liberated”
by Ethiopian troops with US blessings.
Iraqi blogger Roads to Iraq also has a conspiracy theory, translating some opinions
found on Arabic news sites:
There is some truth behind Yemen accusations of Western countries with ignoring the piracy to
internationalize the Red Sea. ... This is also what Al-Akhbar reported today saying:
Western fleets raises doubts about the nature of their mission... Puntland’s Minister
of ports, Nur Said, the West fleet led by the United near the coast of Somalia was involved in
the increasing piracy operation...Chairman of the Red Sea shipping company, Abdul Majeed Matar,
recalled how the commander of a British warship, called the company to tell them the details of
hijacking the company’s ship (Al-Mansoura) rather than to militarily intervene to prevent
the operation.
The last clue is reported on Al-Sharq Al-Awsat by asking one of the pirates, who
revealed:
Some countries provide the pirates with information about the routes of the ships in the
area.
John Burgess, who writes about Saudi Arabia at Crossroads Arabia, reports on the
kingdom's plans to get more involved in the attempts to control piracy:
Saudi Arabia has decided that it needs to play its fair role in confronting international piracy,
particularly after the hijacking of Sirius Star, the Saudi-owned supertanker seized over the
weekend. The tanker, which holds 1/4 of one day’s production of Saudi oil is being held off
the coast of Somalia. While Saudi Arabia’s Navy is small, it does have
‘blue water’ capabilities. It can take part in anti-piracy patrols and
is sufficiently armed to sink any pirate vessel, from attack boats to ‘mother
ships’ from which they descend. The Saudi Navy is probably not large enough to do
port-to-port escort duty, even for only the super-est of tankers, but might manage shorter
escorts, through particularly dangerous waters. […] The new Saudi assertiveness is pretty
hot. Arab News, in an editorial, does call for attacks on the port cities of Somalia
that are hosting the pirate fleets. And yes, ‘collateral damage’ is
always a possibility when military action is taken. I don’t see any way to get around that.
But perhaps if Arab armed forces were required to face up to that reality, it might change some
of the overblown rhetoric about other unintended casualties in other wars.
In his post John Burgess mentioned that the Indian Navy sank a pirate ‘mother ship' earlier
this week, and commenter ratherdashingquipped:
Apparently the defense of shipping lanes has been outsourced to India just like everything else.
American-born Israeli Yisrael Medad is looking at the situation from a different
angle:
If these [Arab] countries can't handle a dozen pirates, what can we expect against Iran going
nuclear?
Jordanian blogger Hareega wants to offer the pirates a little encouragement - by linking
to a Japanese animated version of Treasure Island he watched as a child:
Read full story for latest details.div class="feedflare" a
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Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities are lashing out at a purported
al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language, comparing him
unfavorably to the late Malcolm X.div class="feedflare" a
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The escalation of conflict between government troops and Muslim separatist rebels in several
areas of Mindanao Island has affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
Mindanao is located in south Philippines.
The intensified fighting began after a peace agreement was rejected by many politicians, and
finally by the Philippine Supreme Court. Critics believe the agreement was unconstitutional since
it would compromise the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines. They added that the
agreement would pave the way for the establishment of a separate Moro-controlled state within the
territories of the country.
Angered by the rejection of the agreement, a rebel commander attacked military posts which
produced civilian casualties. The government retaliated by launching offensives against the
territories controlled by the rebels.
The fighting has not stopped. More than 610,000 people have been displaced already. The non-stop
fighting has created several “ghost
towns” in some provinces of Mindanao. The situation of
refugees is deteriorating. Children
are among those who are suffering the most.
Muslim groups want the government to stop the indiscriminate air strikes by the
military. Like a Rolling Store uploads a
report by a humanitarian mission which visited several evacuation sites in Mindanao:
“The offensives have led to mass evacuations. In the evacuation centers, the displaced
persons suffer from inadequate facilities. Most of them have set up tents in whatever public
place available. With heavy rains and flooding now common at this time of year, many child
evacuees are sick with cough, cold, fever, and diarrhea. A number of evacuees have died of
disease. There is also the trauma experienced by the evacuees, particularly the children.”
Dr. Carol Araullo, a member of the humanitarian mission, emphasizes that more help is
needed:
“The hunger, sickness and generalized misery; the listlessness, the yearning to go back to
their farms and homes safely; the appeal for a return to normalcy, for an end to the military
restrictions over their comings and goings – these images and plaints became
etched in our minds and hearts as we went from one evacuation center to another.
“Scores of victims of human rights abuses were interviewed: those wrongfully arrested,
those beaten up because they were rebel suspects or so that they would point to the rebels/rebel
sympathizers; those whose relatives had been killed or were injured in the course of the
government’s drive to flush out the “rogue elements” of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front; those whose houses and other properties had been destroyed.
“After the teams had tallied the numbers of patients treated, families given relief goods
and victims of human rights violations attended to, we came to the sobering conclusion that what
the Mission had achieved was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the overwhelming needs.”
Journalist Edwin Espejo was affected by what he
witnessed:
“Deep into the heart of the conflict, trails of destruction – burnt
houses, abandoned homes and ubiquitous presence of checkpoints and war materiel
– are eerie testaments of the war.
“Of course, we are living in troubled times and disturbing scenes are fast numbing
one’s senses. Many would argue that journalists covering the conflict in Mindanao cannot
afford to be emotionally attached to events unfolding before their very eyes.
“Yet one cannot totally dissociate his or her self from realizing that the war is affecting
not only the combatants from both sides of the conflicts. It is also sublimely creating different
levels of consciousness and commitment on journalists covering the war and affecting the quality
of their reportage.”
“While many of the politicians and top government officials based in Manila are busy in
expressing their contrasting opinions about the issues related to the “ancestral
domain”, I wonder how the displaced locales of North Cotabato and neighboring provinces are
faring. Do they have any food to ease their hunger? Do they have any medicine or medical
attention to ease their pains? Can they ever sleep amidst the horror of the ongoing
circumstances, or to simplify my question, can they find a shelter, no matter how temporary it
is- for a night's sleep?”
The fighting is turning uglier everyday. An Al Jazeera team has learned that the government has
been recruiting
vigilantes to fight the rebels:
“Civilians are being given jobs normally the preserve of the police and army at an alarming
rate across Mindanao. In North Cotabato Al Jazeera met some new recruits being put through their
paces in a military-backed militia programme that normally takes three months. This training
programme has been accelerated to just six weeks in order to fill what the authorities regard as
a security vacuum.”
Watch the report of Al Jazeera:
And Part II of the report:
The rebel commander who is probably the most wanted man in the
Philippines today insists in a video interview that it was government troops who first
attacked the rebels.
Another controversy is the alleged involvement of
US troops in the fighting. Himagsik Kayumanggi reports:
“US Special Forces were sighted inside the 64th Infantry Battalion Camp in Datu Saudi
Ampatuan, Maguindanao. Bai Ali Indayla of the Moro human rights group Kawagip testified that the
soldiers were engaged in covert operations, such as the supervision of drones or spy planes and
predator missile strikes. This was confimed by Major Gen. Eugenio Cedo, then commander of the
Western Mindanao Command. As usual, the US Embassy denied that the soldiers were involved in
actual combat; they were only responding to the military request for aerial surveillance to
determine conditions of the terrain and visibility, for “future civil-military
projects,” to quote Rebecca Thompson, US Embassy Information Officer.”
Peace
advocates want both parties – the government and Muslim rebels
– to call for a ceasefire. There is an online petition
asking the government to cease its military operations in Mindanao. A letter
was sent to the Holy Pope to intervene. The Philippines is a Catholic-dominated country:
“We hope that Your Holiness could help us bring peace and justice to our brothers and
sisters in Mindanao by expressing concern about the unfolding humanitarian crisis and appeal for
restraint for the protection of all civilians, as well as for the opening of access for the
provision of speedy humanitarian assistance to the affected population.”
“Blogging might not only be limited to blogging about Mindanao and its peoples but also
helping the “voiceless” learn to blog so they, too, can blog about themselves.
“Of course it would be extremely difficult for existing Mindanao bloggers to access many of
the areas safely and for the people in communities to approach which local bloggers can help
them.
But bloggers must continue to try linking them and engaging them for mutual respect and
understanding in an effort to connect more and more people.
Many of us who are already blogging about the voiceless must continue doing it and infect others
to do the same.
We can focus on a Mindanao consciousness that is more inclusive, not exclusive.”
Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities lashed out Friday at a
purported al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language,
comparing him unfavorably to the late Malcolm X.
Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities lashed out Friday at a
purported al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language,
comparing him unfavorably to the late Malcolm X.div class="feedflare" a
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divimg alt=""
src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/5413?ns=guardianpageName=World+news%3A+Shipping+industry+urges+EU+governments+to+take+up+arms+against+Somali+piratesch=World+newsc3=The+Guardianc4=Piracy+at+sea+%28News%29%2CSomalia+%28News%29%2CEuropean+Union+%28News%29%2CBusiness%2CWorld+newsc5=Unclassified%2CMiddle+East+Travel%2CBusiness+Markets%2CNot+commercially+usefulc6=Xan+Rice%2CDavid+Gowc7=2008_11_22c8=1122202c9=articlec10=GUc11=World+newsc12=Piracy+at+seac13=c14=h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FPiracy+at+sea"
width="1" height="1" //divpEuropean shipowners are urging EU governments to declare war on Somali
pirates in the Horn of Africa and seize their vessels by force, the Guardian has learned, amid
growing concern that shipping companies will be forced to avoid the area altogether - at huge cost
to global trade./ppA day after the world's biggest shipping company, AP Moller-Maersk, said it
would divert some of its fleet from the Suez Canal and take the longer route around the Cape of
Good Hope, the industry urged more muscular activity against the pirates. Last night, the BBC
reported that the UN had given the green light to warships to go after pirate vessels./ppAlfons
Guinier, the secretary-general of the European Community Shipowners Association (ECSA), said other
companies were considering following the example of Maersk. But he said the ECSA, which claims to
speak for 41% of the global merchant fleet, wanted EU governments to go further after the hijacking
a week ago of the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star more than 400 miles off the Somalian coast. /pp"We
know there will be more military forces in the area, but let's hope they will go after the pirates
and stop this escalation," he said. "We're asking not just for more escorts but for repressive
action." The demand comes after the International Maritime Organisation asked the UN security
council to sanction the dispatch of as many warships and aircraft as possible to "disrupt" pirate
operations, secure shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden and escort vessels, including those bringing
food relief to war-torn Somalia. /ppThe pirate groups who have operated with near impunity for
years may also be about to face a confrontation on land. Yesterday, they were reported to be
strengthening their defences in a town close to where the hijacked supertanker is anchored, amid
signs that Somali Islamists were approaching the town./ppResidents of Harardheere, a well-known
pirate base halfway up Somalia's eastern coast, saw militias arriving in the town yesterday. "Some
of them [militiamen] are inside the town and others are taking shelter in a nearby village and can
be called if need be," a local resident told Agence France-Presse./ppRebels from the hardline
al-Shabaab Islamist movement also entered the town yesterday although their motives were unclear.
Some local people said the fighters wanted to secure a cut of the ransom, while a spokesman for
al-Shabaab claimed they were hunting the pirates for the "bigger crime" of hijacking a ship
belonging to a Muslim country. /ppSomali pirates are also holding at least 15 ships and more than
250 crewmembers. Kenya's foreign minister, Moses Wetangula, claimed yesterday that the pirates had
netted $150m (pound;101m) in ransoms this year, though maritime experts say the figure is closer to
$30m. Iran's biggest shipping firm confirmed that it had also received a ransom demand for a
Hong-Kong-registered ship carrying 36,000 tonnes of wheat that was captured on Tuesday. The British
foreign secretary, David Miliband, has called on shipowners to refuse to negotiate./ppThe ECSA
demand will be made on Monday in talks in with the new EU naval coordination cell set up by foreign
ministers in mid-September. The cell is creating an enforcement unit, under Operation Atalanta,
based in RAF Northwood outside London. It is due to be fully operational in early December and be
headed by a British rear admiral. /ppGuinier said it should coordinate its military efforts with
other forces such as those from Nato, Russia, Japan, Canada and India, which is sending four
warships to the region. An Indian warship destroyed a pirate "mothership" earlier this week./ppThe
IMO's secretary-general, Efthimios Mitropoulos, meanwhile, told the UN that, with more than 12% of
global oil transport passing through the Gulf of Aden, widespread diversions via South Africa would
bring "a series of negative repercussions". "Such diversions would almost double the length of a
typical voyage from the Gulf to Europe, thereby increasing fuel consumption, emissions and
transport costs which would have to be passed on eventually to consumers everywhere," he said in a
statement. /ppPeter Beck-Bang, a Maersk spokesman in Copenhagen, said diversions would add eight
days to transits to the US and 14 days to Europe. If the situation remained unchanged, this would
cost the firm "two-digit millions of dollars" in 2009./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;
margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/piracy"Piracy at sea/a/lilia
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