US rules out attacks on Somali pirate bases Written by Reuters April 22, 2009: The United States is unlikely to attack Somali pirate bases on land due to the risk of civilian deaths but it may help local authorities fight the scourge, a senior US defence official says. Somali gangs have captured dozens of ships and earned tens of millions of dollars in ransom, pushing the issue up the US security agenda, particularly after pirates tried to hijack a US.-flagged ship with an American crew this month. Collateral damage The brief seizure of the Maersk Alabama and the subsequent hostage drama involving the ship’s captain have led to calls from lawmakers in Washington and former military officers for US forces to attack the pirates’ base camps on land. But US officials are wary of any action that could kill civilians and lead the pirates to seek common cause with Islamist militants such as Somalia’s al-Shabab group. “We are not really looking at, from a US standpoint, doing anything on land,” the senior defence official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. “These base camps are located, co-located essentially, with villages so the potential for collateral damage is significant.” Asked about the possibility of air strikes, the official said “never say never,” but they were unlikely for the same reasons. The United States has used air strikes in the past to target Islamist militants in lawless Somalia. The solution to the Somali piracy scourge involved many elements, the official said. They included more effort by shipping companies to protect their vessels and possible US assistance to the semi-autonomous northern Somali region of Puntland. Puntland, where most of the pirates’ base camps are located, has a small coast guard which is not very effective and the United States is considering whether it could provide help to beef up that force, the official said. Another problem posed by piracy is how and where to prosecute those responsible. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday the release of pirates by NATO forces over the weekend sent the wrong signal to the Somali gangs. “We are going to have to determine the best way to bring pirates to justice after they are captured and there will have to be additional discussion of this at NATO as well,” she said. Last week, Clinton said the United States would also explore ways to track and seize pirates’ assets. The US defence official said the United States had gained a greater understanding in recent months of how pirate operations were financed using a model adapted from camel raiding. Investors funded the raids and provided money to supply the pirates and their captives while the hijacked vessels were held close to shore and ransom talks took place, the official said. “One of the ways to impact (the problem) is to go after the investors,” the official said. “There’s not that many of them ... They’re probably moving around in major capitals -- Europe, the Middle East.”More naval vessels would not solve the problem and the shipping industry had to do more, the official said.Shipping firms are reluctant to place armed guards on their vessels but the official said measures such as surrounding a ship’s deck with barbed wire or keeping slow, easy-to-board ships away from the area off Somalia could be effective. “Industry is still looking for an external solution and not looking at itself,” the official said. “There is going to be more talk about how to a certain extent this piracy wound has become self-inflicted,” added the official. “The solution just isn’t in more navy vessels and certainly, not in the short term, it’s not in trying to make Somali fishermen, you know, middle class with satellite TV and that kind of stuff,” the official said. Meanwhile, donors will later this week meet in Brussels to discuss urgent funding for Somali security forces and African Union peacekeepers in what will be an important test of support for the chaotic country’s new government.President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed’s administration is the 15th attempt in 18 years to set up a central government in Somalia, which has been ravaged by an insurgency and feuding warlords. More than one million people have been uprooted by fighting in the past two years, a third of the population survives on food aid, and the turmoil has spilled into the international shipping lanes offshore, where Somali pirates are wreaking havoc. Ahmed, a former Islamist rebel leader elected in January at UN-brokered talks, is seen by many diplomats monitoring Somalia as the best hope in some time for restoring stability.The UN special envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said Thursday’s conference must send all Somalis a clear message that the whole international community was focused on fixing the Horn of Africa country’s problems once and for all. “For me, money is indicative, we may get more, we may get less. But the overall result should not be about money. It’s the message we send, to say: enough is enough,” he told Reuters. “I’m optimistic about the diplomatic message ... it’s a show of solidarity with the people of Somalia.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will co-chair the meeting with Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission. Amr Moussa, head of the Arab League, will attend, as well as senior officials from the European Union and United States. It will be the first time in many years that a UN chief has chaired a conference on Somalia, Ould-Abdallah said. Security will be top of the agenda.Hardline Islamist insurgent groups—ncluding al Shabaab, which Washington says is linked to al Qaeda — have been battling government forces and Ugandan and Burundian soldiers from the 4,300-strong AU mission AMISOM for two years. Meeting organisers say $165 million is needed over the next 12 months to pay for a 6,000-strong new national security force, 10,000 Somali police, and to support the AMISOM troops.In an April 3 letter to Somalis living abroad, Ould-Abdallah said US President Barack Obama’s government was very worried about a rise in extremist ideology among young Somali-Americans.An American of Somali origin from Minnesota carried out a suicide bombing in Hargeisa, in northern Somalia, last October.

^^^Puntland needs to get direct assistance, this is whats required more support for the security and if the President plan is implemented our seas will be the new cash cow. Good move more needs to be done by the huge Puntland diaspora..

M/weyne Faroole oo ka xog waramay la kulamidii safar uu kaga soo laabtay Kenya. Garowe, Apr 23 - M/weynaha Puntland C/raxmaan M. Faroole iyo wafti uu hogaaminayo oo todobaadkii la soo dhaafay ku sugnaa Nairobi ayaa maanta dalka ku soo laabtay. M/weyne Faroole oo ka xog waramay kulamdii uu la yeeshay madaxda hay'adaha samafalka iyo danjirayaasha beesha caalamka ee fadhigoodu yahay Nairobi ayaa sheegay in ay gorfeeyeen arrimo badan oo ay ka mid yihiin xiriirka u dhexeeya hay'adaha iyo maamulka Puntland, la dagaalanka burcad badeeda, hawlaha dawlada federaalka ah, iyo taageerida dawlada. Mar uu ka hadlay burcad badeeda ayaa uu sheegay in burcad badeedu ay sumcad xumo iyo dhib badan ay u soo jiideen Puntland iyo Somaliya oo idilba, ayna lama huraan tahay in lala dagaalamo. Mar uu ka hadlay xiriirka u dhexeeya Puntland iyo madaxda hay'adaha iyo wadamada uu la kulmay ayaa uu sheegay in ay isku afgarteen sare u qaadid iskaashi iyo wada shaqayn dhex marta Puntland iyo hay'adaha samafalka ah ee ka hawlgala Puntland. M/weyne Faroole iyo waftigiisu mudadii ay ku sugnaanyeen Kenya waxaa ay la kulmeen danjirayaasha wadamada daneeya arrimaha Somaliya ee fadhigoodu yahay Kenya, ayna ka wada hadleen xal ka gaarida burcad badeeda ka ugaarata xeebaha Somaliya, iyo taageerida dawlada Somaliya. Waxaa sidoo kale ay la kulmeen R/wasaaraha Somaliya oo isna hadda ku sugan Nairobi, oo ay ka wada hadleen iskaashi dhex mara dawlada federaalka ah iyo dawlada goboleedka Puntland. M/weynaha iyo waftigiisa waxaa soo soo dhaweeyey madaxda golayaasha iyo hay'adaha dawlada, iyo shacabka ku nool caasimada Puntland ee Garowe. M/weyne Faroole iyo waftigiisa ayaa hore safar hawleed ugu maray wadamada Ethiopia & Jabuuti. Diiwaanka Wararka, Idaacada Daljir.

^^^Not really its to get the Puntland message across to the powers thaat be in Washington a good move in my books. Puntland is an important state covering around 1/3 of Somalia and 800km of its coast. Its central to the war on Piracy.

Lobbyist hired to combat more Somali pirates By Roxana Tiron Posted: 04/22/09 07:04 PM [ET] A region of Somalia that is home to many of the pirates who have made national news terrorizing area waters is seeking help from K Street to calm the troubled seas. The Puntland State of Somalia, an autonomous region in northeastern Somalia formed in 1998, has hired a lobbying firm in Washington, hoping to make the case that lawmakers on Capitol Hill should send money their way to combat piracy and reduce terrorism in the chaotic Gulf of Aden region. Puntland’s president hired Duane Morris at the end of February, according to Department of Justice records. Piracy has become a high-profile issue in the United States after pirates attacked two U.S.-flag ships off the coast of Somalia this month. Lawmakers in the House and Senate are pressing for solutions to the problem, and the Obama administration is working with the international community to try to stabilize Somalia. Most Somali pirates operate out of Puntland and are members of different clans, according to a Congressional Research Service report published in February. Many of the pirates are reportedly fishermen and former militia members of the Somali warlords. Though autonomous, Puntland said it wants to work with the government of Somalia. Duane Morris, a law and government affairs firm, has agreed to represent Puntland in Washington and make the case in Congress and within the Obama administration to obtain assistance and funds for security, infrastructure, social services, healthcare, mass media and the democratization process. According to documents filed with the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) at the Justice Department, Duane Morris is assisting Puntland for a period of three months, until May 29. After that, the contract will continue on a month-to-month basis at a consulting fee of $10,000 a month. The managing director on the contract is James Hill, who joined Duane Morris in October 2008. At press time, Hill was traveling in Nairobi, Kenya, where he met with Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud Farole. Hill said in an e-mail exchange that Farole on Wednesday personally signed an anti-piracy statement and action plan. Hill did not elaborate on the anti-piracy statement, and a spokesman for Duane Morris, Joshua Peck, said the firm would not comment further on the nature of its contract and activities with Puntland’s government. Farole lived in Australia for 10 years before his election and attended the State University of New York at Albany. In his victory speech, Farole vowed to tackle the pervasive piracy problem off the Somali coast, including cracking down on local authorities who have reportedly collaborated with pirates in return for a share of the profits. Farole, who has been in power for three months, was in Nairobi this week to plead for international assistance to set up a task force that could rein in soaring pirate attacks against ships in the region. He said he was drawing up plans for a special anti-piracy task force, composed of 2,400 men, according to Agence France Presse. International donors had been reluctant to pour cash into homegrown anti-piracy efforts for fear that senior officials had stakes in piracy. Farole, according to reports, denied such links. Almost 200 representatives from around the world, including Somalia’s new president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, will attend an international donors conference in Belgium to help stabilize Somalia. The struggling Somali government has also been presenting a plan to envoys from the European Union and the United States to fight pirates by building up military forces and establishing intelligence-gatheri ng posts along its coastline. Somalia’s coastline is 1,900 miles long, but the shaky Somali government controls only a few square blocks of the capital, Mogadishu, with the help of African peacekeepers. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week that a State Department diplomatic team will meet with the Somali government and regional leaders in Puntland. Congress still has to approve a $5 million administration request to improve Somali security services. As of Wednesday, pirates still held 17 ships and more than 250 crewmembers hostage, none of them American. The only surviving pirate of a group that attacked the Maersk Alabama this month and held the U.S. captain hostage is facing trial in New York. Experts say that in 2008, pirates launching from Puntland attacked more than 130 ships and hijacked close to 50. Ransom payments for the past year amounted to around $50 million, nearly matching the total budget of the Puntland government. Puntland’s new contract with Duane Morris is not the breakaway region’s first foray into Washington lobbying. Puntland hired Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvellas Meeds for several months in 2002, but the contract was terminated at the beginning of 2003. Also, Somalia’s former president,Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, comes from the Puntland region, which he led for years. He became the president of Somalia’s Transitional Federal government in October 2004 and stepped down at the end of December 2008. His government in 2006 signed a contract with Africa United States Friendship & Economic Development Group (U.S. FED Group). According to Justice Department records, that account is still active, but requests for comment were not returned by press time.

Duane Morris & Madaxweynaha Puntland oo heshiis wada saxiixday Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 3:31 pm Horseed Media News Desk Maamul Goboleedka Puntland ayaa heshiis la galay Shirkad laga lee yahay Maraykanka taas oo uga ololeyneysa Washington, Shaqada ugu weyn ee Shirkaddan ayaa ah sidii dhaqaale looga heli lahaa dalka Maraykanka, dhaqaalahaas oo lagu macneeyay bur burinta Burcad Badeeda iyo yaraynta Aragaxisada Geeska Afrika. Heshiiska uu la galay Madaxweyne Faroole Shirkadda la yiraahdo Duane Morris ayaa dhacay dhamaadkii bishii Feberaayo, sida laga soo xigtey Wasaaradda Cadaalada ee Maraykanka. Burcad badeeda ayaa noqdey mowduucyada ugu culus ee horyaala Maamulka Madaxweyne Barack Obama kadib markii Burcad badeedu ay weerar ku qaadeen laba markab oo uu ka babanayo calanka Maraykanka, afduubna ay u ugeysteen kabtan Maraykan ah. Puntland ayaa ah mid kamid ah labada xarumood ee ugu weyn ee Burcadda Badeedu ka hawlgalaan, Burcaddas oo ka soo kala kala jeeda beelo kala duwan, sida laga soo xigtey Congressional Research Service,warbixin ay daabaceen bishii Feberaayo, inta badan Burcadda ayaa ah Kaluumaysato hore iyo Ciidamadii hore ee hogaamiye kooxeedyada. Sida laga soo xigtey Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) ee wasaaradda Cadaalada ee Maraykanka Heshiiska Puntland & Duane Morris ayaa socon doona ilamaa iyo 29 May oo ku beegan dhamaadka bisha soo socota, intaa kadib Kontoroktiga ayaa noqon doona mid bilkasta la cusbooneysiiyo, waxa Puntland ay bixinaysaa bil katsa lacag dhan 10,000$ Toban kun oo Dollarka Maraykanka ah, taas oo lagu macneeyay khidmad ay qaadanayso Shirkaddu sidii ay ku gaari laahayd helida Malaayiin Doollar oo lagu soo qaado magaca ka hortaga Burcad Badeeda. James Hill oo ah agaasimaha Shirkadda Duane Morris, ayaa safar ku tegay Dalka Kenya, halkaas oo uu kula soo kulmey Madaxweyne Faroole, Hill ayaa sheegay in isaga iyo Faroole ay wada saxiixdeen , heshiis ah ka hortaga Burcad Badeeda, iyo qorshahaas sidii lagu fulin lahaa, ilaa iminka wax war ah kama soo bixin dhanka Maamulka Puntland, taas oo ay uga hadlayaan waxa uu shegay James Hill. Shirkadda Duan Morris ayaa ah shirkad ka shaqeysa arimaha sharciga,waxa ayna safka hore kaga jirtaa kuwa loo yaqaan Lobbyist, kuwaas oo kula shaqeeya dawladaha ama shirkadaha dano gaar ah oo khaas ah oo ay leeyihiin,waxa ay degantahay Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, waxa ay waqtigii doorashada Maraykanka taageero dhaqaale siisay Ninkii la tartamaayey Madaxwqeyne Obama ee John Maccain, si ay u hesho, danahooda gaar ahaaneed, Shirkaddan ayaa waxaa u muuqdey fursad ay ku heli karto dhaqaale taas oo ah la dagaalanka Burcad Badeeda waxa ayna ka shaqeeyeen sidii ay ku heli lahaayeen saxiixa Madaxweyne Faroole. Xoghayaha Arimaha dibadda ee Maraykanka Hillary Clinton, ayaa sheegtay todobaadkii hore in ay arimaha burcadda kala shaqeynayaan Dawladda Soomaaliya iyo Maamulka Puntland, ilaa iminka inta la ogyahay waxaa Kongoreyska Maraykanku ay ogolaadeen aduun dhan 5 milyan oo doollarka Maraykanka ah taas oo wax looga qabanaayo Burcad Badeeda. Ma ahan markii u horeysey ee Puntland ay heshiis la gasho mid kamid ah Shirkadaha Sharciyaqaanada ee maraykanka waxaa sidaas si lamid ah Heshiis ula galay Madaxweynihii Hore ee Puntland Col.Cabdullaahi Yusuf Axmed sanadkii 2002diiwaxaana lagu magacaabi jirey shirkaddaas Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvellas Meeds, heshiiskan ayaa iska bur buray bilowgii 2003dii, waqtiyadaas oo Puntland uu ka jirey qalaalse siyaasadeed. Waxaa taariikhdu markey ahayd 23.04.2009 oo ku beegnayd shalay lagu qabtey Magaalada Bruseless ee dalka Biljimka shir looga hadlaayey amaanka Soomaaliya, iyo sidii dhaqaale loogu heli lahaa shirkaas ayaa waxaa Soomaaliya u fadhiyey Wafdi ka socda Dawladda Soomaaliya waxaana hogaaminaayey Madaxweynaha Soomaaliya Shariif Shiikh Axmed, War aan ka helnay diblomaasi u dhashey dalka Yurub oo ku sugnaa Shirka deeq ururinta Soomaaliya ayaa noo sheegay in Madaxweyne Faroole uu codsadey in uu si rasmi ah uga qaybgalo shirka laakiin, Xafiiska qaramada Midoobey ee Soomaaliya iyo Midowga Yurub ayaa ka gaabsadeen in ay casumaad siiyaan Madaxweynaha Puntland. Source The Hill & Horseed Media.

AfricaOwn: Saxib you seldom make a valid point.

Pilgrim: Puntland President Faroole returned to Puntland after a week or so in Nairobi holding talks with members of the international community. He met with the US, Italian, EU, AU and UN Ambassadors and other officials. The talks centered on frank discussion of the Somali security situation in general and Puntland states in particular. Faroole forwarded his plan to combat piracy and it was welcomed. He also had private talks with the Somali PM Sharmarke. Few details are emerging but the President seems to be in an upbeat mood. Duke

Madaxweynaha DGPL oo dib ugu noqdey Puntland 23 Apr 23, 2009 - 2:42:24 PM Abaaro 2:45 daqiiqo ee duhurnimo 23 April ayaa waxaa garoonka diyaaradaha Canoco ee ku yaala duleedka magaalada Gaaowe caasimada waxaa kasoo dagay Madaxwaynaha maamul gobaleedka Somaliyeed ee PL Dr. Cabdiraxman Maxamed Maxmuud ( Farole ) Madaxwaynaha oo kasoo noqdey safar mudo Todobad ah qaatey Magalada Nairobi ee dalka Kenya ayaa intii uu ku sugnaa halkaas kulamo kala duwan la qaatay madax ay kamid yihiin AU , EU , UN , safiirada wadamada reer galbeedka, ururada AU & EU, madaxda Kenya iyo kuwa DKMG ee Soomaaliya. Madaxwaynaha ayaa Nairobi kasoo qaaday diyarad khaas ah oo ay leedahay QM waxaa si wayn loogu soo dhaweeyay magalada caasimada ah ee Garowe , waxaana garoonka diyaradaha ku sugayay xubnaha golayaasha dawlada oo uu hor kacayey Madaxwayne ku xigeenka PL, ururada bulhsada iyo dadwayne farabadan oo safnaa inta u dhaxeysa garoonka diyaaradaha iyo Madaxtoyada. Madaxwaynaha oo hadal kooban u jeediyay xubaha labada gole ee dawlada iyo saxaafada kadib markii uu soo gaaray xarunta Madaxtooyada ayaa sheegay inay guulo kasoo gaareen kulamadii ay kusoo yeesheen magaalada Nairobi waxaanu nasiib daro ku tilmaamay khatarta burcada ku hayso MGPL. Waxaanu uu balan qaaday inuu si faahfaahsan uga hadli doono waxyaabaha uu kala soo hadlay beesha caalamka golayaasha dowlada kulamada ugu horeeya ee uu la yeesho. Safarkan ayaa ahaa kii labaad ee Madaxwaynuha DGPL dibada ku aado tan iyo intii la doortay 8dii Janayo ee sanadkan. Maxamed Kamil ( Qaamuus ) Radio Garowe

Madaxweynaha Puntland oo dib ugu laabtey Garoowe. Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 10:28 pm Horseed Media News Desk Waxaa maanta ka soo degay garoonka diyaaradaha ee Garoowe Madaxweyne Dr.Cabdiraxmaan Faroole, Madaxweynaha ayaa safar ku joogey dalka kenya halkaas oo lagu waday in uu kaga qaybgalo shir looga hadlaayo Burcad badeeda. Madaxweynaha ayaa mudadii uu joogay Kenya waxa uu kulamo la qaatey Diblomaasiyiin kala gedisan, iyo mas’uuliyiin ka tirsan dawladda Kenya. Waxaa madaxweynah ku so dhaeweeyay Garoonka Diyaaradaha ee garoowe Mas’uuliyiin uu ugu horeeyo Madaxwqeyne ku xigeenka Puntland Gen.Cabdisamada Cali Shire. Madaxweyne Faroole ayaa siiyey warbixin kooban saxaafadda, waxa uu sheegay in ay caalamka kala soo hadleen arimo la xiriira Amniga iyo sidii wax looga qaban lahaa dhibta weyn ee maanta caalamka la soo deristey taas oo ah Burcad Badeed, waxa uu sheegay in haddii iyaga Puntland ahaan la kaalmeeyo ay wax ka qaban karaan laakiin waan diidney ayuu yiri in Ciidamo ajnabi ah la keeno ama ay dhulka kula diriraan Burcad badeeda, haddii la qalabeeyo ciidankeena agabka aan u baahanahayna la siiyo wax waa laga qaban karaaa.

Area of Somalia as a whole: 637, 657 sq km South somalia represents roughly 60%(conservative estimate) of the Somali land mass. .60 * 637,657 squarre kilometers = 382,594.2 square kilometers. You got different math ? Kashafa adeer we only agree on the Somali Republics land mass. How did you come up with your 60%? Now how much of that is made up of the Northern regions? Awdal, WaqoyeeGalbeed, Toghdeer, SOOL, Sanaag, Bari, Nugaal, Mudug as a whole, how much does that add up to. Add then Galgaduud, Middle Shabeele and what is left ?

^^^^Kashafa stop sniffing the glue lad. Southern Somalia as a whole is not 300,000 km2 let alone these groups you claim control it. They have no say in the Northern regions, South Mudug, Galgaduud defeated and left with [Ceel Buur] and Middle Shabbele is TFG under Sharif's group. The southern areas are all over the place and they are uncordinated, and thus while Baidoa is under one group Kismayu is under another. Come again and change the figures the exageration is of Tupac proportions.

I must disagree with my kinsmen from SANAAG on this one. You are making a meal out of it. The situation has ended and there is no need for some of the saber rattling and chest beating going on in some quarters. The situation is calm and the peace prevails. Also Xiins assesment seems to be accurate since this was not a clan being targeted by the admin.

JB: Listen to Xiin lad, you lost the plot on the first page of the thread.

^^^Puntland & Somaliland are important regional states within Somalia. You can prefer one over the other thats your choice, but they are the same size and of the same importance. Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia and its in the eye of the storm now. We hope the international community is waking up and has some strong coffee this time.

Commission ready to investigate European illegal fishing off Somalia 21 April, 2009 11:15:00 Diinah Font size: BRUSSELS,23-April-20 09:- The European Commission has said it is ready to investigate and take action against any European boats or European-owned fishing companies that fly flags of convenience that engage in illegal fishing off the coast of Somalia. This month, Abdirahman Ibbi, the deputy prime minister and minister of fisheries and marine resources in the new Somali national unity government, said that an estimated 220 foreign-owned vessels were still engaged in unlicensed and illegal fishing in Somali waters, most of them of European origin. The European commissioner for fisheries, Joe Borg, on Wednesday (22 April) told reporters that he had no information regarding Mr Ibbi's allegation. "I am certainly prepared to look into it if we are provided with specific details on this," he said during a press conference presenting a paper reviewing the state of the European Common Fisheries Policy. "But the information I have is that it is nowhere near close to those figures that have been mentioned." "But certainly ... if we see that there are any European fishers or European-owned vessels that are operating illegally, there are ways and means whereby ... we can have those vessels blacklisted as IUU operators if they are operating illegal fishing." He said that one way this could be achieved would be via Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and that the commission had already tried to tackle the issue of tracking down illegal fishing boats near Somali waters at the international level. "The only pity is that the commission has tried within the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to introduce such measures [to get the IOTC also to chase down illegal fishers], but it wasn't supported by the majority of partner countries within IOTC over the last couple of weeks." At the same time, the commissioner said he felt other regions bore a heavier responsibility for illegal fishing in the region. "I would be the first to say that our fishers are not the major culprits when it comes to illegal, unregulated and unreported [iUU] fishing." He added that the commission is working to end illegal fishing in Somali waters and elsewhere: "This problem needs to be addressed," he said, "and we are introducing measures which will come into effect from 1 January 2010 in order to bring about a situation where fish that cannot be certified as legally caught cannot end up on the plates of the European consumer." Illegal fishing over the last two decades by European boats and European firms that operate boats that fly flags of convenience - when the nationality of the owner is different from the country of registration - as well as the regular dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters by Swiss and Italian companies has been described by analysts and development and green NGOs as the twin root causes of the current piracy crisis. Spain meanwhile has requested that the issue be discussed at Thursday's meeting of EU fisheries ministers in Luxembourg, and will inform the fisheries ministers about recent attacks by Somali pirates on vessels inside the Seychelles fishing zone and northeast of Madagascar. One senior commission official was more critical of the Somali minister's allegation, saying that he had to deal with similar "facile and ****** rumours" in 2008. He said that having checked satellite readings, they found no EU-flagged ships in Somali waters at the time. He added that they had counted only 50 to 60 such vessels engaging in illegal activities in the region over the last ten years. Nevertheless, he conceded that there was indeed a problem in Somali waters with fishing by boats owned by European companies but that fly flags of convenience. "It's rare that purse seiners do this as they are very large vessels, but there are lots of little longliners that engage in this practice. Lots." Wadankanews reported, that illegal fishing by European-owned boats with flags of convenience continues to be reported - particularly Greek ships. According to the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor update from April, these vessels belong to the Greek firm Greco Ltd. and have reportedly flown Cambodian and Panamanian flags. "It's very difficult to deal with this, although new legislation in January will help," the commission official added. "At the same time, there are other, financial, political ways of tackling the problem." "Once given evidence of this, the commission is ready to take action, indeed we are obliged to do so, but without evidence we can do nothing," he said, placing the ball in the Somali government's court. Julie Castor, of Oceana, the environmental group that focuses on threats to the sea and that has long been studying illegal fishing in the region, said that it is important that the commission and EU member states distinguish between the EU-flagged illegal fishing, which has indeed declined since the pirate attacks began to explode, and illegal fishing by European-owned vessels that fly flags of convenience, which continues to occur. She added that her organisation will inform the member state concerned, their coast guard and the commission as well when they come across further instances of illegal fishing in Somali waters to ensure

^^^Somaliland is a regional state like Puntland, which is just as secure. The Capital of all Somali's Mogadishu will insha Allah get secured. This post and the money pledges will go along way to secure it. Thats the nightmare for the secessionists, they cant deal with Puntland what will they do against all of Somalia when the time comes? It is coming lad.

JB: Abdiqasin had many weaknesses and 9-11 did a great deal of damage to his admin. Yusuf lasted a full four years and the institutions were transfered to Sharif. As for you are HERE, so is Puntland which has had four President and much changes, thus my brother we are equals and the centre is being revived. Nothing wrong with that.

^^^The secessionist have played their part to bring back Somalia. Today the NW is secure, the NE is secure, large tracts of the centre is becoming more secure. The Juba regions are secure and Mogadishu will eb the end game. Once Mogadishu is secure for at least 1 year the nation is back. The rest will be pen talks and no more warfare.

^^^What do you want to see?

^^^Its not the same adeer, concrete things have taken root. Abdiqasin started it, Yusuf added abit more and Sharif will add to it and before you know it, the republic is back and functioning as a whole.

^^^lool. Meiji is cloutching to straws. The dude does not know the difference between actual money and pledged money. The EU has according to the news outslets $60 million avliable now for securityand thats what my report entails. We will know by the end of the summit how much is pledged in total and by who. Meiji try again dear lad. JB: Dont worry things have changed and for the better. The world is realising the importance of this little nation.

Madaxweynaha ayaa intaasi ku daray in uu si aad ah ugu faraxsanyahay soodhaweynta balaaran ee ay u sameeyeen Masuuliyiintii soo dhaweysay uuna u mahad celinayo , waxuuna sidookale madaxweynaha soo hadal qaaday arimo farabadan oo ay ka mid ahaayeen arimaha Burcad badeeda isagoo sheegay in uu si aad ah uga xunyahay in kooxahani burcada ah ay sii laxaad sadaan islamarkaaana ay sumcad xumi weyn ay u soo jiideen Deegaanada Punland waxuuna carabka ku dhuftay waxkaqabashada Burcad badeeda . Ugu dambeyntii madaxweyne Faroole ayaa safaro kala duwan ku tagay qeybo badan oo ka tirsan dalal ka dariska isaga iyo wafdi uu hogaaminayo waxaana safarkiisaasi oo kulamo la isku soo afgartay uu kula soo yeeshay madax kala duwan sida madaxda hay’adaha samafalka madaxda dowladaha dalalka uu booqday sida uu uga warbiyay madaxweyne C/raxmaan faroole saxaafada .

Meiji did not read the post and the titel came from the Calanka page. The $60 million is for now and I think not even a pledge for security. Anyhow Mr Meiji it seems the "foreign" created government might be on a good course of the foreigners give the money.