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Transnational Communities Programme |
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Somalia’s
transnational assembly meets in Djibouti
Delegates
selected from Somalia’s main clans met in Djibouti from May to August to elect a new
President for the divided country. But the
break-away republic of Somaliland called on the UN to grant it special status. A
Somali ‘transnational assembly’ met in Arta, Djibouiti, the first such gathering
since 1991 when President Siad Barre was overthrown. It was the twelfth attempt to
initiate such an assembly, the others having failed.
It was convened after intense diplomatic efforts by Djibouti’s
President Ismael Omar Guelleh. In his opening
remarks to the delegates he called for national unity and an end to the civil war. There were 245 delegates, and the proceedings were
witnessed by members of the Somali diaspora and international observers. The assembly met in Djibouti because Somalia
itself was regarded as too unsafe. The
delegates were nominated or picked by Somalia’s four main clan leaders – who
were allocated 44 seats each - or appointed by President Guelleh. Twenty-five seats were specifically reserved for
women. The first delegates assembled in Arta
in May, while the procedure for selecting the others was debated. There was much disagreement and controversy over
the methods. In Mogadishu there were protests
that the allocation process was unfair. The
assembly has a three-year mandate. Its first
act was to elect a President, who will form a government in the Somali city of Baidoa
while waiting for Mogadishu to become safer. Abdulkassim Salat Hassan, once a minister in
Barre’s government, won the presidential contest ahead of nine other candidates. Hassan spent several years after 1991 in exile in
Cairo before returning to Somalia. Hassan
hopes to count on the support of the Islamic courts and Mogadishu’s business elite in
his campaign to win over the country’s warlords.
Speaking from the United Nations after his election, Hassan declared himself
willing to meet with Mogadishu’s rival faction leaders. But there was an outbreak of
heavy fighting in Mogadishu in late September between two factions, placing the peace
process into doubt. Although
the assembly included representatives from Somaliland, the republic’s President,
Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, did not recognise the new President.
Instead he called on the United Nations to give the nascent republic special
status, though short of independence. He
compared the situation to Kosovo or East Timor, both of which possess an interim status
sufficient to apply for financial assistance from the international community. Recognition would also facilitate credit and money
transfers. Somali clans settle seat quotas in first
Parliament for a decade, Agence France Presse Internationale 8.8.00; Somalia’s first
Parliament in a decade inaugurated in Djibouti, Khaled Haidar Agence France Presse
13.8.00; Divisions threaten Somali parliament, BBC 13.8.00; Convention held to usher in
new Somali national assembly, BBC Monitoring service 14.8.00; Somaliland calls for
'special status', BBC 15.8.00; Somali assembly chooses Speaker, BBC 21.8.00; Somalia's new
civilian leader, BBC 29.8.00; Somali women find a voice, BBC 6.9.00; Somalia's president
ready to meet warlords, 15.9.00; Clashes in Mogadishu, BBC 22.9.00. Sri Lanka steps up campaign against Tamils
abroad
In
the face of renewed fighting in the north of the island, the Sri Lankan government moved
to shut down support for separatists from the Tamil diaspora. This might pose a test for the UK’s proposed
new anti-terrorist laws. In
July the Sri Lankan government formally requested the UK to ban the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE), whose international headquarters are in London. There are thought to
be around 80,000 Tamils in Britain, of whom 24,000 are seeking asylum. The LTTE was banned in the USA as a terrorist
organization in 1997, and in India after an attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi in 1991. The request from Sri Lanka
takes advantage of the UK’s new bill on terrorism, which provides for the banning of
organizations engaged in armed conflict overseas. The
case of two Sikhs highlighted the inconsistencies in the UK’s asylum and
anti-terrorism laws. An immigration appeals
commission ordered the release of Mukhtiat Singh and Paramjit Singh on the grounds that
they could face torture if returned to India. But
at the same time their request for asylum was rejected because the commission judged that
they were international terrorists and constituted a threat to national security. The commission used a new definition of terrorism,
first laid down in an appeal court decision in May, that any individual considered a
threat to Britain or its allies could be seized and deported. The two men were alleged to have entered the
country illegally between 1994 and 1996 and thereafter engaged in arms deals in support of
the movement for Khalistan. Greater
support for the Sri Lankan government has come from the US administration, which passed
new laws allowing for extradition between the two countries. Collecting money or lobbying for the LTTE is
banned in the USA. But at Tamil cultural
events to raise awareness of the conflict, money is gathered for needy families either in
exile or trapped on the island and dependent on remittances. In
Canada, there are mounting concerns that the LTTE is involved in gang warfare, mixing
fund-raising with illegal activities. A
series of shootings in Toronto have been linked to the organization. One study suggested that Canadian Tamils raised
$22 million for relatives in Sri Lanka. Tamils
in Europe run three satellite radio networks providing news about the island in conflict
with the Sri Lankan government’s attempt to control the news. Information from rebel areas in the north of the
island, where there are no working telephone lines, comes out via word-of-mouth or ham
radio. There are large Tamil-speaking
communities in the USA, Europe, Mauritius, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore. In September Teleindia announced the creation of
an internet portal, or congregatal, aimed at the 80 million Tamil-speakers in the world. Tamil diaspora surfs for news, Sanjoy
Majumder BBC 25.5.00; US-Sri Lanka treaty awaits approval, Jeff Phillips BBC 4.7.00;
Switzerland asked to probe Tamil groups, Claire Doole BBC 14.7.00; Sri Lanka urges Tiger
ban, BBC 28.7.00; Risk of torture stops deportation of Sikh ‘terrorists’ freed
from jail, Richard Norton-Taylor The Guardian 1.8.00; There is another country…, The
Economist 19.8.00; Teleindia limited launches online congregatal at Tamil.com, PR Newswire
15.9.00 European police co-operate over
trafficking migrants
Western
Europe’s police forces are co-operating over the growing level of trafficking
migrants. Widely-publicized arrests were made
in the Netherlands and Italy, where the authorities claim to have broken up transnational
criminal networks. The
UK National Crime Squad (NCS) – which was formed in 1998 specifically to combat
transnational criminal activity by organised gangs - estimates that the trade involves
between half a million and a million a year throughout the world, with profits around $20
billion. In 1999 Britain caught 16,000 people
trying to enter the country illegally, compared with only 61 in 1991. The
director of the UK’s National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), John Abbott,
stated that gangs were switching from drugs to smuggling immigrants because of the lower
risks and greater profits. He said that
dozens of gangs were involved, many forging cross-border alliances. Abbott called for greater co-operation and
co-ordination between European police agencies to meet the challenge. A NCIS report on the
930 criminal families it has identified in Britain determined that 11 per cent of them
were involved in illegal immigration. Over
half (56%) were active in drugs, and 47% in money laundering. Most of the 930 gangs are British, but the report
also describes significant activity by criminal organizations from Albania, Colombia,
Turkey, Nigeria, China, the Caribbean and the former Soviet Union. In
July Dutch police made 60 arrests and claim to have broken up a human trafficking
‘ring’ smuggling Iranians into Britain. The
sixty included 54 Iranians, and others from Iraq, Algeria and Romania. The police suspect the same gang of using their
four main networks to move narcotics and forge passports.
A fortnight later, the Italian police made a similar announcement, stating
that they had uncovered a network of three gangs responsible for smuggling over 5,000
Chinese into the country within the past year. Among
those arrested on the Slovene border were Chinese, Croats, Slovenes and Italians. The migrants from China had travelled via Moscow,
Kiev and Budapest before arriving in Slovenia. The
Italian authorities have identified a Croat man living in Croatia as the key figure in the
network. After
the discovery that the 58 dead Chinese immigrants at Dover were smuggled into Europe
through the Czech Republic, the EU and UK put pressure on the Czechs to toughen up their
border security. The German authorities lent the Czechs high-tech detection equipment
including carbon dioxide detectors and thermal imagining cameras. The Republic, which has more borders with EU
states than any other Eastern European country, has emerged as a major transit route into
Western Europe. In the first five months of 2000 14,000 people were apprehended, although
the police reckon that five times as many entered undetected. The majority are thought to have paid couriers to
be smuggled in. The Czech border police are
poorly-equipped and low-paid. In the past
their job was to keep people in, but the challenge of patrolling heavily wooded borders to
keep people out is demanding. Police
authorities are also keen to co-operate over the growing level of women trafficked into
Europe and into the sex industry. The sex industry in Europe is said to be worth $9
billion a year. Estimates of the number of
women smuggled into Europe by gangs are around 300,000 a year, although not all end up in
the sex trade. Ukraine calculates that
400,000 Ukrainian women have left since independence; the Czech authorities estimate that
there are 20,000 women working in brothels in the country, most from abroad. The
pattern of trafficking involves women from the former Soviet Union countries moving first
to Central and Eastern Europe, perhaps on the offer of a job as a waitress or a maid. From there they are moved into Western Europe,
having had their passport or papers stolen by gang members.
The trade is mainly controlled by well-organised Russian gangs, although
Albanians also mix trafficking prostitutes and drugs.
Italy has emerged as a major destination for women smuggled into Europe by
Albanian gangs. The authorities calculate
that there could be more than 40,000 foreign prostitutes in the country. Most of the women
are from Albania or other former-Communist countries. Police to tackle human trafficking, BBC
27.6.00; Easy path through EU’s green frontier, Kate Connolly The Guardian 5.7.00;
Drug gangs turn to migrant trade, Nick Hopkins The Guardian 6.7.00; People-smuggling gang
held, Andrew Osborn The Guardian 7.7.00; Italy arrests Chinese traffickers, Rory Carroll
and Jon Henley The Guardian 21.7.00; Italy's sexual slave trade, BBC 2.8.00; Trafficking
women, The Economist 26.8.00; Making a killing, Nick Hopkins The Guardian 12.10.00 Anti-Capitalist protests move from
Melbourne to Prague
The
series of anti-capitalist protests moved on from Seattle in November 1999, to Washington
DC in April, Melbourne on September 11th and Prague on September 26th. National security forces attempted to match their
transnational organization. On
each occasion the loose coalition or protestors have organised a ‘convergence
centre’ beforehand to provide advice, medical assistance, food and training in
non-violent protest. Observers commented at
how well-organised the anti-hierarchical protestors are.
The
World Economic Forum’s Asia Pacific Economic Summit met in Melbourne in September,
starting three weeks protest leading up to the Sydney Olympics. The Forum met in the Crown Casino, owned by
Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer. It meets in Davos every year, and has begun to hold
regional conventions. Critics accuse it of
being a meeting ground for the new global elite, hatching policies but unaccountable. Between
10,000 and 20,000 protestors tried to shut down the summit, including representatives from
Britain, New Zealand and the USA. The coalition behind the protests includes church
groups, trades unions, and NGOs. Within the
Labour Party there is also a growing sentiment against free trade policies. The protest has also been backed by the
anti-immigrant One Nation party. The
Melbourne protests turned into violent clashes between demonstrators and police. Proceedings within the casino were disrupted and
held up. After
Melbourne the next venue for protest was Prague to confront a joint meeting of the World
Bank and the IMF. Unlike Seattle,
Prague’s protest consisted manly of European activists, although many were also
present at Seattle. Prague was the first
major European-wide anti-capitalist event. Activities were co-ordinated by a local
umbrella group, Inpeg, the Initiative Against Economic Globalisation (www.inpeg.org). The
mixed bag of protestors are united in their fervent opposition to the IMF, World Bank and
the WTO. But they also disagree on many
things, including tactics. A meeting
organized by Czech President Vaclav Havel to bring the protestors and the delegates
together before the summit failed when the former could not agree whether to attend or
not. Traditional marching was enhanced by
variuous forms of ‘tactical frivolity’ or carnival, dressing up, performing,
singing and dancing. The sources of
inspiration cited by those present ran from sub Comandante Marcos, ‘leader’ of
the Chiapas revolt, to Naomi Klein, author of ‘No Logo’. But there were rumours that Czech far right groups
would join the demonstrations. The
Czech authorities banned marches in the city during the summit but were unable to prevent
an estimated 20,000 protestors taking to the streets for three days. Protestors from abroad were turned away at the
border. The Czech police received information
from the FBI and Scotland Yard to assist them in identifying protestors. Anti-capitalist
groups claim a number of tangible successes, including persuading Starbucks to sell fair
trade coffee beans and extracting commitments from Gap and Nike to address sweatshop
conditions on the Pacific island of Saipan. The
World Bank has pulled out of a resettlement project in China as a result of protests by
Tibetan groups. Riots threaten Prague autumn, Nick Hopkins
and Kate Connollly, The Guardian 24.8.00; Business protestors mobilise to disrupt
Melbourne summit, New Zealand Herald 2.9.00; Czech extreme right to demonstrate against
IMF, World Bank summit BBC Monitoring Service 7.9.00; Australia braced for protests, Shawn
Donnan and Stephen Wyatt Financial Times 11.9.00; This was supposed to be three days of
high-powered talks, Charlotte Denny and Patrick Barkham The Guardian 12.9.00; Gates rounds
on protests, Patrick Barkham The Guardian 13.9.00; Protest generation vows to grab reins
of power, The Independent 18.9.00; Carnivalistas slink in with a pink revolution, John
Vidal The Guardian 23.9.00; Anti-capitalist protest, Amelia Hill The Observer 24.9.00;
Anti-capitalist protests, The Economist 23.9.00; Among the protesters, Steve Schifferes
BBC 25.9.00; 'Widespread' discontent at IMF, Ray Furlong BBC 25.9.00; Tide turning against
the global order, George Dor Business Day 26.9.00; Prague summit, John Vidal and Kate
Connolly The Guardian 26.9.00; Outwitting the global protesters, Neil Huband and David
Little Financial Times 26.9.00; Farmers rally against GM crops, BBC 26.9.00; Lessons in
revolt, Kate Connolly The Guardian 27.9.00; Capitalism in hiding, Kate Connolly The
Guardian 28.9.00 Iranian exiles protest against Khatami in
Germany
Iranian
President Khatami toured Germany and met vehement protests from exile groups. At the
same time, the Iranian government renewed appeals for exiles to return. President
Mohammad Khatami paid a three-day visit to Germany marked by protests from Iranian exile
groups. The German authorities took a tough
stance on protestors, searching houses, making arrests and turning back Iranians at the
country’s borders. The provisions of the Schengen Treaty were suspended in order to
prevent free movement into Germany. About
7,000 protesters marched through Berlin, an event organised by the National Council of
Resistance. The NCR is the political wing of
the Mujahideen Khalq, based in Iraq and opposed to the Tehran government. It stands
accused of being responsible for a series of mortar attacks in Tehran. German police were informed of 17 separate
protests planned for the visit. There were
calls within parliament to cancel the tour supported by 175 deputies in support of the
NCR. There are estimated to be 116,000
Iranians in Germany. The
protests were criticized by reform parties both within Iran and in exile. Five Iranian parties held a joint news conference
in Berlin stressing the need to normalise relations with Tehran. But in Iran, conservative parties raised
objections to the visit. Khatami discussed
human rights and trade relations with the German government, as well as measures to fight
transnational crime. In 1978 he lived briefly
in Germany as imam of Hamburg. The
authorities in Iran are aware of the broadcasts but recognise the enormous practical
difficulties of hunting down every hidden satellite dish.
There have been calls within Parliament to legalise them, including
President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Exiled Iranians demonstrate against
President Khatami’s visit, BBC Monitoring Service 6.7.00; Human rights issues likely
to cloud Khatami visit to Berlin, Guy Dinmore and Haig Simonian Financial Times 6.7.00;
Iranian President’s visit to Germany still on despite the pressures, Michael Anders,
Agence France Presse International 7.7.00; Khatami visit puts Berlin on security alert,
Guy Dinmore and Haig Simonian Financial Times 10.7.00; 'New start' for Iran-German
relations, BBC 10.7.00; Iranian reform parties criticize protests against President’s
visit, BBC Monitoring Service 10.7.00; Germany raises Iran's export credits Haig Simonian
Financial Times 11.7.00; Khatami visit ends with protests, BBC 12.7.00; Iran wants return
of its diaspora, Agence France Presse International 15.7.00; Wistful Iranians feed on a
satellite beam of nostalgia, Geneive Abdo and Duncan Campbell The Guardian 16.8.00;
Iranian parliament to consider exile amnesty, BBC 3.9.00; Amnesty plan for Iran's
expatriates, Guy Dinmore Financial Times 5.9.00; Iranians make it in the US, Tom Carver
BBC 26.9.00 |
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