Israeli Apartheid

* By Iqbal Jassat

Somalia’s instability as a result of the Ethiopian invasion has had a devastating effect on Somali refugees victimized by xenophobic violence in South Africa. Boxed in as they are within makeshift tents and other forms of temporary shelters, having been driven out of their war-torn country initially, these refugees have experienced a fresh blow to their meager struggle for survival.

While much is being made about the Somali refugee issue in South Africa alongside the unfortunate evictions suffered by many of the continents other asylum seekers, not enough is relayed through the media regarding the tragedy unfolding in their motherland, in the horn of Africa.

This disconnection adds to further xenophobic and criminal attacks, for Somalis are viewed as having voluntarily chosen to seek refuge away from home. Indeed, calls to have them repatriated are symptomatic of this form of ignorance.

Abdi Samatar, professor of Global Studies at the University of Minnesota summed up the situation in Somalia as follows in a recent interview with Democracy Now:

“The Ethiopian invasion, which was sanctioned by the US government, has destroyed virtually all the life-sustaining economic systems which the population have built without the government for the last fifteen years. And the militia that are supposed to protect the population have been looting shops. For instance, the Bakara market, which is the largest market in Mogadishu, has been looted repeatedly by the militias of the so-called Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, supported by Ethiopian troops. And the new prime minister of Somalia, Mr. Hassan Nur Hussein, has himself announced in the BBC that it was his militias that – who have looted this place. So what you have is a population that’s hit from both sides – on one side, by the militias of the so-called Transitional Federal Government, which is recognized by the United States, and on the other side, by the Ethiopian invaders who seem to be bent on ensuring that they break the will of the people to resist as free people in their own country……………………………..

Read More »Whither somalia and her refugees?

By Virginia Tilley

(source: Elecrtonic Intifada)

The PA leadership in Ramallah is leading the Palestinian movement of independence to a dead end with its proposed unilateral call for Palestinian statehood. (Thaer Ganaim/MaanImages)

From a rumor, to a rising murmur, the proposal floated by the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Ramallah leadership to declare Palestinian statehood unilaterally has suddenly hit center stage. The European Union, the United States and others have rejected it as "premature," but endorsements are coming from all directions: journalists, academics, nongovernmental organization activists, Israeli right-wing leaders (more on that later). The catalyst appears to be a final expression of disgust and simple exhaustion with the fraudulent "peace process" and the argument goes something like this: if we can’t get a state through negotiations, we will simply declare statehood and let Israel deal with the consequences.

Read More »Bantustans the unilateral declaration of statehood

By Zohra Mohammed Teke

(source: Daily News, 18 May 2010)

South African Muslims will not allow al-Qaeda or any other terrorist group to turn this country’s World Cup into their political battlefield, warns the country’s top Muslim representative body, the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC).

The warning from the body’s national president, Moulana Ighsan Hendricks, comes amid reports of the arrest of a 30-year-old Saudi army officer and al-Qaeda operative in Iraq, for allegedly planning attacks on South Africa’s World Cup next month. Welcoming the arrest, Hendricks has lashed out at the planned attacks, saying al-Qaeda was a terrorist organisation that did not have the support of the vast majority of Muslims in South Africa.

Read More »Stay away from sa al qaida warned