Somali Region Defies Fed Gov't Over Saracen Deal

[D-Runner]

Somali Regional Gov't Defying Federal Leaders Over Contract Linked To Blackwater Founder

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - A semiautonomous regional government in Somalia on Friday defied the central government's decision to end relations with a private security company linked to the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, underscoring the weakness of the authorities in Mogadishu.

Somalia's Minister of Information Abdulkareem Jama insisted on Friday that the decision to end the relationship with Saracen International applies to regional governments.

"The decision is binding on all Somali territories. That will apply to all parts of Somalia," said Jama.

But Abdirizak Ahmed, the head of the counter-piracy program in the semiautonomous northern region of Puntland, said it does not necessarily recognize the authority of the federal government to make that decision. Saracen International has already begun training forces in Puntland, whose administration has been distancing itself from the Mogadishu-based government, saying it hasn't delivered security and services.

"I don't think the decision they have made will change anything in Puntland," Ahmed said. "I don't think it will have an impact on the relationship Puntland has with Saracen ... it's not a (national government) issue."

Other Puntland officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Last week The Associated Press reported on links between Saracen International and Erik Prince, who founded Blackwater Worldwide. Killings by Blackwater guards in Afghanistan and Iraq - including a 2007 incident in Baghdad in which 14 Iraqi civilians were shot dead - raised global concerns over the lack of accountability of private security contractors in war zones.

Lafras Luitingh, the chief operating officer of Saracen International, sent a statement which seemed to recognize that the Saracen deals, at least with Somalia's federal government, are over.

"We are proud of the work we performed for the Somali government who invited us to provide important counter-piracy and humanitarian assistance. We are ready to serve again if called upon to do so," it said. Luitingh did not return calls Friday seeking comment.

Saracen has already begun training a force of over 1,000 men in Puntland that is supposed to go after pirate gangs on land. It may also be deployed against Islamist insurgents in the region.

Saracen also signed a deal with a previous Somali government to train a presidential guard and possibly a second antipiracy force of over 1,000 men in the Somali capital, but the new administration voted on Thursday to abandon the deal.

The AP reported last week that several companies linked to Saracen International had given authorities false addresses or registration information. Saracen has declined to identify those funding their multimillion dollar project but Luitingh said last week that the donors are in the process of notifying the U.N. A person familiar with the project and an intelligence report said Prince was involved in the multimillion-dollar program financed by several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

Saracen has declined to elaborate on its relationship with Prince. A statement by Prince's spokesman said simply that he has provided advice to several antipiracy operations.

If the Puntland government defies the national government's decision to ax the Saracen deals, it could lead to a serious breach between the two regions. Puntland is generally considered more stable, and the U.S. has indicated it would be willing to funnel more aid to the region. But most international donors still focus heavily on the Mogadishu-based government, which controls only a few neighborhoods in the capital and is under assault by an Islamist militia linked to al-Qaida.

The U.S. had previously raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the Saracen deals, saying it was unclear who was funding them, who was responsible and what the new forces would be used for.

Jama said the Somali government does not even have a copy of a signed contract with Saracen. Luitingh has said the contract was signed on March 1 by the then-deputy prime minister and minister of finance and witnessed by the Somali ambassador to Kenya.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/ ... 0509.shtml

[D-Runner]

Somalia's Minister of Information Abdulkareem Jama insisted on Friday that the decision to end the relationship with Saracen International applies to regional governments.

Wrong! That decision only applies to the 2 kilometer the African Union troops are in control, so fukk you and your flip flop president!

[ibrahimcw]

TFG information minister Cabdikarim Jaamac

we wont allow trigger happy mercenaries who focked up iraq to operate anywhere in our country, PL is under the TFG dont you get that ?

[ToughGong]

TFG information minister Cabdikarim Jaamac

we wont allow trigger happy mercenaries who focked up iraq to operate anywhere in our country, PL is under the TFG dont you get that ?

[ibrahimcw]

^^Iiidoor i guess there will be no more boots and socks to steal after the end to PL's military expansion.

caku desperate iidoor, stealing boots and sucks

[ToughGong]

^
Ooh did I bust you 4km bubble

[ibrahimcw]

^
Ooh did I bust you 4km bubble

that 4km is more important than you, the triangle and your mother.

[D-Runner]

ibrahimcw,

I think it's about time you face the facts sxb, the flip flop president and his selected ministers can b!tch and moan all they like within the 2 kilometers that they seems to be in bed with the African Union troops but I'm afraid that's as far the African Union shaft goes.

[ToughGong]

^
Ooh did I bust you 4km bubble

that 4km is more important than you, the triangle and your mother.

Hooyadaa futada ka was,nacalaah adigiyo qudhunkad tahey ba ku yaalee.

[ibrahimcw]

ibrahimcw,

I think it's about time you face the facts sxb, the flip flop president and his selected ministers can b!tch and moan all they like within the 2 kilometers that they seems to be in bed with the African Union troops but I'm afraid that's as far the African Union shaft goes.

the man who appointed the ministers is PM Mohamed Cabdullahi Farmaajo, how is he a flip flop ? he is more profesional and consistent than anyone in Somali politics. Faroolaha on the other hand he is the man who hurls insults at the country's Prime minister and then runs to Shariif in DJ only to be sent back to Garowe within 24 hours to cry some more.

[ibrahimcw]

^
Ooh did I bust you 4km bubble

that 4km is more important than you, the triangle and your mother.

Hooyadaa futada ka was,nacalaah adigiyo qudhunkad tahey ba ku yaalee.

iirdoor in the morning, iidoor in the night
insignificant and boring, iidoor get out of my sight.

[ToughGong]

^
Waraa are you craving for some cows blood,why are you calaacaling constantly.go and get to the local butcher,they'll give you a pint of the finest cows blood absolutly free

The Mareehan and other somali clans in the Gedo region drunk the blood of their cattle from the jugaler vein as recent as 1920's

[D-Runner]

ibrahimcw,

I think it's about time you face the facts sxb, the flip flop president and his selected ministers can b!tch and moan all they like within the 2 kilometers that they seem to be in bed with the African Union troops but I'm afraid that's as far as the African Union shaft goes.

the man who appointed the ministers is PM Mohamed Cabdullahi Farmaajo, how is he a flip flop ? he is more profesional and consistent than anyone in Somali politics. Faroolaha on the other hand he is the man who hurls insults at the country's Prime minister and then runs to Shariif in DJ only to be sent back to Garowe within 24 hours to cry some more.

I was referring to Sh. Shariif but since you’ve manage to throw Farmaajo into the mix, let’s talk about his consistency. The man shot himself on the foot when he weighed in, on January 19, after Puntland decided to cut its ties with the TFG. How can anybody express confidence on anybody and then proceeded to attack them? On that day Farmaajo weighed in on behalf of his flip flop president... inaay yihin dameer iyo labadiisii dhagood cidu iswaydinmayso.

The only insults hurled on that day were coming from Farmaajo’s lips and he spat at Puntland while defending the flip flop he calls a president broken policies. And in response all Faroole did was advise Farmaajo to stay in his own “limited area.” And indeed he should learn to stay in his own limited area till the country finds an independent broker.

As for Faroole’s visit to Djibouti on January 20, he traveled there at the invitation of the U.N. Political Office for Somalia (U.N.P.O.S.) and met with the U.N.’s special representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga; and French diplomats and, most importantly, U.S. diplomats. There he cleared for them Puntland’s new position and it's neither a provocation nor a warning; it is a challenge. It poses the fundamental practical question: What political formula will the territories of “Somalia” have? Of course, the Islamists – al-Shabaab – have an answer. The donors/powers do not, especially when their political formula (the TFG) is led by a flip flop as its president.