From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Oct 31 2009 - 17:03:40 EST
Terrorizing Aid to Somalia
The United States is willfully letting millions of Somalis go hungry in its
drive to hunt down terrorists.
BY NATALIE PARKE | OCTOBER 31, 2009
There is a new humanitarian crisis unfolding in Somalia, and the United
States is partly to blame. Despite sending
<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/09/10/arming_somalia> $2 million
and 40 tons of arms and ammunition to the country's Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) earlier this year, now, the United States is withholding
humanitarian aid until relief agencies agree to comply with strict,
game-stopping conditions.
The decision to abruptly halt assistance came following suspicions that U.S.
aid might be ending up with Somali "terrorists." The main worry is an al
Qaeda-linked group called al-Shabab, the leading Islamic militant group
fighting against the feeble but internationally backed government. Al-Shabab
controls most of south-central Somalia, while the TFG controls only a few
areas of the capital, Mogadishu. The south-central region is home to 2.7
million of the 3.63 million Somalis in need of emergency assistance. So,
reaching many of Somalia's people with aid would likely entail operating on
al-Shabab's turf and interacting with elements of the group to facilitate
logistics.
U.S. Treasury Department sanctions strictly prohibit any financial
transactions or dealings with al-Shabab and other Somali groups labeled as
"terrorists." Yet clearly the concern is not absolute; the U.S. government
seems less concerned that the guns and ammo sent as military assistance,
intended to prop up the fragile government and keep control of a country
brimming with violence, are allegedly being resold on the streets of
Mogadishu.
The halt in humanitarian assistance will cripple the work of relief
organizations and, as a consequence, hurt their Somali beneficiaries. U.S.
officials justifiably fear that they and their partners could be held
responsible, even prosecuted, for supporting terrorists if relief funds
ended up in the hands of al-Shabab. At first, the U.S. government reviewed
the situation and "delayed" funding. Subsequently, Washington issued
conditions with which aid agencies must comply to legally operate in
Somalia. But the conditions are so restrictive that it would be virtually
impossible for operating agencies to meet them. (To preserve the security of
those groups on the ground, specific conditions cannot be stated here.)
The damage is not just temporary. The new, politically charged rules would
destroy relief organizations' neutrality in Somalia. Humanitarian aid
derives its legitimacy from impartiality -- the notion that aid is
provisioned on need alone, rather than politics. In Somalia, where the U.S.
government is often viewed unfavorably, political impartiality is a
practical consideration as well; it is central to the ability of relief
agencies to function safely and effectively. The new U.S. conditions would
undermine this core principle by making it nearly impossible for relief
agencies to legally operate in al-Shabab-run territory, including many of
the most desperate regions of Somalia. The country is already one of the
most dangerous for humanitarian workers, so the United States' attempt to
bring relief workers under its purview will only increase Somali suspicion
toward them and make the environment more precarious.
On top of this policy disaster, money for relief in Somalia is running out.
The U.N. World Food Program estimates that its coffers will be empty within
the next few weeks. Even if more funds were pledged today, it could require
as many as four months for the money to reach beneficiaries on the ground.
There will be an inevitable gap in assistance to Somalis.
The timing could not be worse. The country's already catastrophic
humanitarian crisis is being compounded by a drought that has struck much of
the Horn of Africa. Nearly half the population is estimated to urgently need
aid -- some 3.63 million people.
The U.S. government is holding the Somalia relief enterprise and its
beneficiaries hostage to its counterterrorism policy. Agencies have
resolutely upheld their commitment to humanitarian impartiality and refused
to be shut down by unreasonable conditions. Unfortunately, that precludes
them from accepting U.S. funds -- normally half of all aid to Somalia. Until
Washington lets agencies fulfill their mission unhindered, the U.S. mission
to win "hearts and minds" in Somalia, a feared up-and-coming stronghold of
terrorism, will be completely undermined. Knowingly allowing millions of
people to suffer is no way to win friends.
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