I see the Awesomeness.
Wait wait wait. There's a country called Puntland?
Sounds like Puntland is going to simply ignore Magadishu now, not that I blame them.
Fight smart, not fair.
scratching at .8, just hopin'
Sounds like the political status quo in the region...
...just got punted.
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
KVLFON
Puntland's the part with pirates?
Well, I guess that's not a bad thing. Don't think anyone will bother, though. It's not like the great powers have a plenty of interests there.
"Atheism is the religion whose followers are easiest to troll"
DUMB
EDIT: Whoops, I'm behind the times. But are they going to go for the courts-ruled thing?
edited 18th Jan '11 8:23:38 AM by Tzetze
[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.
Well the UN-backed government doesn't look very pretty. Their major alternative is the al-Shebab which at one point controlled most of the country until the Christian forces of Ethiopia smashed them and took the capital. Ever since it's been total chaos and violence in the streets for the UN-controlled areas, while it's relatively stable in al-Shebab areas. Then I guess Puntland is stable but I wasn't aware of that.
I just don't think the UN should have let Ethiopia invade Somalia like that. It was silly and just caused so much violence. Al-Shebab might be an oppressive government, with a horrid interpretation of Sharia law but the point is that they had a functioning government. Now we're deploying dozens of warships from thirty countries off their shore to stop pirates because we refuse to create some kind of coalition government. The UN government should just include everyone and then get peace and stability, then we work on democratising the country over decades, not months.
If the nations of the world dealt with al-Shebab, they'd naturally turn softer. It's what happened with hardline countries like Israel and China, it is what I would expect out of al-Shebab. The casual threat of losing trade links with big economic powers is what gets people to change, not hard imposition of sanctions and angry pointless stares from countries that don't give a shit about you.
edited 18th Jan '11 8:34:22 AM by breadloaf
You act like people listen to the UN.
Beware the Crazy Man.
There shall now be four Somalias: Somaliland, Puntland, and whatever makes up everything else of what one can safely say is "former Somalia". The fourth being Djbouti.
What a mess.
Final Fantasy, Foreign Policy, and Bollywood. Helluva combo, that...
Blast. I meant Somalian. The title is wrong. Would someone please fix it?
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011118612134110.html
After a special meeting of Abdirahman Mohammed Farole's presidential cabinet on Sunday, the government issued a statement saying that the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) "does not represent Puntland in international forums" and that the United Nations Political Office for Somalia should "reconsider its position and support for the TFG at the expense of other Somali stakeholders."
Puntland, unlike the breakaway region of Somaliland to the west, does not consider itself an independent country. Until now, it had supported the federal government, which is backed by the international community but has been greatly weakened by an ongoing war against rebels who are seeking its overthrow.
The statement, read by Daud Mohamed Omar, the planning and international cooperation minister, criticised the Mogadishu government for its "unwillingness to actively support federalism for Somalia in violation of the TFG charter," according to a report by Radio Garowe, a community radio station based in Garowe, the Puntland capital.
Losing Puntland is a blow to the government in Mogadishu, which is led by 45-year-old president Sharif Ahmed and exerts very little control over Somalia, relying on military support from Western governments, such as the United States, to keep rebels from the Al-Shebab movement from overrunning the capital.
Al-Shebab has declared that it is fighting to overthrow the federal government and institute sharia, Islamic law.
Miffed
In its statement on Sunday, the Puntland government complained that Ahmed had left it out of the recent UN-led Djibouti Peace Process, which laid out the terms of cooperation between the federal government and other groups within Somalia.
"Puntland shall not cooperate with the TFG until a legitimate and representative federal government is established and agreed upon by the legitimate stakeholders in Somalia," the statement said, adding that Puntland also opposed any extension in the TFG's authority, which is set to expire this year.
Puntland is regarded as one of the most stable areas inside Somalia. Many people displaced from the southern parts of the country have moved to Boosaaso, a major port on its north coast. Puntland also recently organised and hosted a national football tournament, the first of its kind in Somalia in 23 years.
edited 18th Jan '11 2:57:53 AM by Pentadragon