Al-Arabiya TV views link between Alshabaab, Al-Qa'idah in Yemen

MOGADISHU (Waagacusub)-Dubai based Al-Arabiya Television in Arabic at
1907 gmt on 22 January carries a new 50-minute episode of its weekly
programme "Death Industry." Programme presenter Rima Salihah begins by
saying: "In spite of Al-Qa'idah leaders' interest in Somali
developments and in spite of the repeated statements by Usamah
Bin-Ladin, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Abu-Talhah al-Libi early in 2009
about jihad in Somalia, the intensive media discourse of Al-Qa'idah
has suddenly abated as of the end of last year. What is the reason for
this and does it have anything to do with the Alshabaab and talk about
this movement's relations with Al-Qa'idah organization in Yemen? In
this episode, we will try to answer questions about what is taking
place in this region, which experts expect to be the hottest this
year."

(English) (Music) (Chief editors) (Diinta) (Sports ) (Radio) (TV) (Sheeko)

To discuss this issue, Salihah hosts Atiyah Isawi, an Egyptian press
writer specialized in African affairs, via satellite from Cairo, and
Muhammad al-Amin Muhammad al-Hadi, member of the Somali parliament and
director of the Al-Shahid Centre for Research and Media Studies, via
satellite from London.

Asked about Al-Qa'idah's "calm" speech in Somalia "in spite of the
successes the Alshabaab has achieved by assassinating four ministers
and Al-Arabiya cameraman" and by "controlling several villages and
towns," Al-Hadi says: "Al-Qa'idah is present in the Horn of Africa,
but the Mujahidin Youth Movement militants do not represent
Al-Qa'idah. They belong to Al-Qa'idah ideologically, but not
organically or organizationally. They are trying to woo Al-Qa'idah in
order to be recognized by it as its representatives in the Horn of
Africa. Therefore, the militants group has a leader different from the
leader of Al-Qa'idah there."

Responding to another question about Al-Qa'idah, he says "Al-Qa'idah
does not have a clear vision of the situation in Somalia and,
therefore, it moves from one discourse to another without studying the
true situation." He then says: "After reviewing the situation in
Somalia and what the Alshabaab committed in its name, Al-Qa'idah
wanted to take its time. It heard the extremists say they were close
to topple the government and close to the palace, but nothing
important happened in Somalia after a year and no change occurred in
the strategic situation there. The government is in place and is
getting stronger and the Mujahidin Youth Movement has shrunk outside
Mogadishu."

Atiyah Isawi next responds to a question on whether Somalia will be a
new stronghold for Al-Qa'idah like Yemen. He says he believes so. He
adds: "More than one bombing operation was carried out in Somalia
against the government forces and officials and against the AU forces.
All operations carried the fingerprints of Al-Qa'idah. Also in Yemen,
Al-Qa'idah militants began to appear again in the Yemeni and Saudi war
on the Huthists. Therefore, attention was focused on what is happening
in Yemen. This might be one of the reasons for the disappearance of
Al-Qa'idah organization from Somalia in recent times."

When told that Al-Qa'idah appeared in East Africa at an early stage
and asked if this is a reason for Al-Qa'idah's interest in Somalia, he
says: "What happened in Dar el Salaam in Tanzania and Nairobi in Kenya
in 1998 alerted the US and western governments to the presence of a
real threat by Al-Qa'idah in East Africa. Hence, the United States
began to support the armed and security forces in Ethiopia, Kenya,
Tanzania, Djibouti, and other countries. It provided training,
hardware, and funds. It established a military base in Djibouti to
combat Al-Qa'idah because it posed a threat not only to the countries
where it carried out operations, but also western interests,
especially US interests. Therefore, Yemen to the east of the Red Sea
and Somalia and other countries to the west became a sanctuary for
Al-Qa'idah organization."

Asked why Al-Qa'idah chose Somalia as a sanctuary, he says: "There is
chaos in Somalia and the central government has failed to control the
situation even in the capital Mogadishu. This encouraged Al-Qa'idah to
go to Somalia or to concentrate on it. This also encouraged a movement
like the Alshabaab to seek the help of Al-Qa'idah militants and
benefit from their fighting experience, especially since their
ideological trends are almost similar. The Mujahidin Youth Movement
announced its allegiance to Usamah Bin-Ladin and was helped by about
300 Al-Qa'idah operatives in the fight against the government and
against the African forces. This has become a reality in Somalia."

Al-Hadi then responds to a question on whether Al-Qa'idah has
benefited from the Somali Government's weakness or from the Somali
people's sympathy with it. He says: "Al-Qa'idah was present in East
Africa before the formation of this government and before the
emergence of the millitants. You may recall the bombing of the US
Embassy in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. This proves the presence of
Al-Qa'idah and its authorized representatives there. Al-Qa'idah
benefited from the chaotic situation or civil war in Somalia to
mobilize some hard-line Islamists to support it and to carry out some
of its plans in Somalia and the region."

After a brief commercial break, the programme airs a 10-minute report
over video by Al-Arabiya correspondent in Yemen Humud Munassar, who
reports from a Somali refugee camp in Al-Basatin in Aden. He says
20,000 Somali refugees live in the camp. Interviewed Somalis denounce
a statement by the Alshabaab’s spokesman, who said "the Alshabaab is
ready to send fighters to support Al-Qa'idah organization in Yemen."
They condemn the Alshabaab and praise Yemen for hosting them.

The report says "most Somali refugees take Yemen as a temporary
station before infiltrating into Saudi Arabia" to look for work there.
A Somali tells the correspondent that the Mujahidin Youth Alshabaab
militants belong to Al-Qa'idah and adopt its ideology. Another Somali
refugee says: "I rejected the ideas of the Alshabaab and refused to
submit to their threats. They tried to take me by force. My family was
afraid that that might happen, so they sent me to Yemen." He then says
the Alshabaab recruits and trains boys 14 and 15 years old and
"tricks them into believing that by killing others they go to
paradise."

The reporter then says the Yemeni authorities have intensified their
security measures in and around the camp after the Alshabaab
threatened to send Somali fighters to Yemen. A Somali refugee says the
Alshabaab's threat led to stringent security measures restricting the
free movement of Somalis and limiting their work opportunities in
Yemen.

Asked why Al-Qa'idah in Yemen would need assistance from Al-Qa'idah in
Somalia if it has weapons and fighters, Isawi first says Al-Qa'idah in
Yemen is much stronger than Al-Qa'idah in Somalia. He then gives "two
main reasons" for this assistance. "The first is benefiting from them
in distracting attention from what is happening in Yemen in order to
ease the Yemeni and Saudi air and ground strikes against them -
strikes that are carried out in cooperation with US and other
intelligence services. The second goal is benefiting from the
Alshabaab in inciting some 150,000 Somali refugees in Yemen to carry
arms and carry out operations or the so-called martyrdom-seeking
operations."

Al-Hadi is then asked if the Alshabaab millitants can pressure the
young Somali refugees in Yemen into joining Al-Qa'idah. He says: "I
think there is a misconception that the Somalis sympathize with the
ideology of Al-Qa'idah or the Alshabaab. Actually, the Somalis do not
at all sympathize with these ideas except for a few individuals, who
want to recruit people by exploiting their miserable living
conditions. It is not easy, however, to depend on the people of camps
in Yemen although it is easy to send some Al-Qa'idah operatives to
Yemen by sea as refugees.

Atiyah Isawi said the Yemeni coasts are watched by the US, Saudi, and
Yemeni naval forces, but surveillance was there in the past and it
could not prevent the smuggling of weapons, pirates, and refugees."

Asked if Somalia will one day become a main centre for Al-Qa'idah, he
says: "Al-Qa'idah is trying to do this, but actually the nature of the
Islam that is present in Somalia cannot deal with Al-Qa'idah in this
manner. The Alshabaab fighters are now suffering from a crisis in the
areas under their control because they want to appoint persons
belonging to them in the administrations while the tribes of these
areas want to see men belonging to them in these administrations.

The Somali fabric cannot absorb Al-Qa'idah's ideology the way it was
absorbed in Afghanistan and Yemen." He then says the Millitants cannot
continue to control these areas by force without enjoying the people's
support.

Asked about the difference between the millitants and Ahl al-Sunna wa
al-Jama'ah, Al-Hadi says: "The two groups are different in ideology
and background. Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'ah has a Sufi background. It
came to defend its Sunni or Sufi centres. It does not implement tough
Islamic rules in the areas under its control. It does not practice
killing, whipping, or cutting off hands. In contrast, the Alshabaab
and the Islamic Party adopt a very strict understanding of the Islamic
law in the areas under their control. This is completely alien to the
Somali environment. Trials are held under trees by judges who know
nothing about justice. The defendants do not have any defence lawyers.
Therefore, people are sentenced to death for trivial reasons.
Sometimes, a raped girl would be whipped or stoned." In contrast, he
says, the Islamic legal punishments are not implemented in the areas
under the control of the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'ah.

Isawi then responds to a question on the Nigerian man who tried to
blow up a Detroit-bound passenger plane. He says: "The young Nigerian
man came from a place where the Sufi trend prevailed. This trend is as
widely spread in Nigeria as in Somalia. He was discontented with the
situation and it was easy to recruit him by Al-Qa'idah when he went to
Yemen. He was mentally prepared for that and he was recruited in
Yemen. What happened to him can happen to others in Nigeria, Mali,
Niger, and any other place where Al-Qa'idah organization is active.

This is possible unless the terror-combating countries, including the
African countries, tighten the noose around them and destroy their
lifelines in cooperation with western and eastern nations."

Asked if Somalia will turn into a centre for Al-Qa'idah, Al-Hadi says:
"The Somalis in general have large fears about the future of Somalia.
They are afraid it might fall in the hands of the extremists and other
similar hard-line movements. They are afraid that Al-Qa'idah might
take control of the region as predicted by researches.

There are several reasons for this. Most important among them is that
the ones who are fighting this movement or fighting Al-Qa'idah and its
ideology are not doing so on the basis of a good strategy, especially
in Somalia. Somalia now has a government that is headed by a moderate
Islamist. He can convince the Somali people of anything, but the
countries that claim to be supporting this government are not offering
it anything worthwhile.

They say Al-Qa'idah is in Somalia and they want to bring in western
and African forces, but these forces cannot do anything. They will
only aggravate the situation as the Ethiopian forces did. When the
Ethiopian forces entered, the Islamists became more fundamentalist and
many young men joined the Mujahidin Youth Movement."

Finally asked why the Somali Government does not seek assistance from
foreign governments to help the young people and prevent them from
joining extremist organizations, he says: "The government has been
making great efforts towards this end right from the beginning. As you
know, a big conference was held in Brussels in June. During that
conference, a big agenda was discussed and the participants said they
would extend $250 million in aid to the government. Most of this aid
was supposed to go to the African forces, but not a single cent was
sent.

The government also asked for assistance from the Arab League at the
Doha summit, but its request was unfortunately turned down. The
government continues to try, but the western governments themselves
want to be in charge of this aid and to distribute it in their own
way."

By: Abdinasir Mohamed
Email: abdinasir4@gmail.com
Mogadishu-Somalia

27 Janaury 2010 Waagacusub Media

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