Sulu Archipelago in Philippines

Sulu Archipelago tagged safe haven for terrorists

MANILA, Philippines — The United States has listed Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines as a “safe haven" for terrorists in East Asia and the Pacific.

In its Country Reports on Terrorism for 2008 dated April 30, the US State Department said the Philippines is included in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas Littoral that is hard to monitor.

The State Department's report is said be very crucial in the shaping of US foreign policy.

“Southeast Asia includes a safe haven area composed of the Sulawesi Sea and Sulu Archipelago, which sit astride the maritime boundary between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The geography of the thousands of islands in the region made the area difficult for authorities to monitor.

• Worker migration, tourism, trade, and other non-terrorist activities, both licit and illicit, that occur in this maritime region pose another challenge to identifying and countering the terrorist threat," the report said.Sulu Archipelago comprises the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, all part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Groups that “benefited" from such a safe haven include the

• Philippine Abu Sayyaf Group and the
• Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah, said the report.

While Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have improved their efforts to control their shared maritime boundaries, this area remains difficult to control, the State Department added.

• “Surveillance is partial at best, and traditional smuggling and piracy groups provided an effective cover for terrorist activities, such as movement of personnel, equipment, and funds.
• The Sulu/Sulawesi Seas Littoral represents a safe haven for the Jemaah Islamiya (JI) terrorist organization and the Philippine Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)," it said.‘

Weak gov’t control’

Another slap on the Philippine government was the State Department’s assessment that government control in southern Philippines, specifically Sulu and Mindanao, is “weak."

“The government’s control in this area is weak due to rugged terrain, weak rule of law, poverty, and local Muslim minority resentment of central governmental policies.

In addition to a few Jemaah Islamiya (JI) fugitives and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the area hosts several terrorist and insurgent groups including:

• the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army and the Rajah Solaiman Movement," it noted.

Also in 2008, the US Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program added six terrorists to its Most Wanted list, three of them from the Philippines.

• These included Radullan Sahiron, a senior leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group, with a reward offer of up to $1 million;
• Abdul Basit Usman, linked to bombings in Mindanao, with a reward offer of up to $1 million; and
• Khair Mundos, an ASG member known to have funneled money from al Qaeda to be used in bombings against Americans, with a reward offer of up to $500,000.

The State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Counter-terrorism (S/CT) has developed the Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI) in key terrorist theaters of operation to collectively assess the threat, pool resources, and devise collaborative strategies, action plans, and policy recommendations.

It promotes cooperation between the US’ counter-terrorism partners, such as between

• Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines as they confront terrorist transit across the Sulawesi Sea;
• or among Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco, Niger, Chad, and Mali, to counter al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

“Terrorists are highly adaptable," the US noted.

Terror transit triangle

On the other hand, a Coastwatch South program aims to dramatically improve oversight of the tri-border “Terrorist Transit Triangle" with the use of 12 to 17 coastal radar sites.

Connecting these sites are a string of air, ocean, and ground surveillance and interdiction assets, including Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) pods for Philippine Navy aircraft and 10 rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs).“

Defeating them requires both centralized coordination and field authority. Resources and responses must be applied in a rapid, flexible, and focused manner," the State Department said.The US State Department listed terrorist groups active in the Philippines as including the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Jemaah Islamiya (JI), the New People’s Army (NPA), and the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM).

It said Philippine security forces continued to make progress against terrorist groups, killing 35 terrorists and capturing another 16 during the first half of the year.

Those apprehended included an RSM cofounder and two bomb makers in Mindanao.

Also, the US counter-terrorism strategy of offering development opportunities in areas at risk for terrorist recruitment continued to marginalize the small remaining numbers of ASG and JI terrorists from Muslim insurgents in Southern Philippines.

Stubborn NPAs“While the 5,000-strong NPA continued to disrupt public security and business operations with intermittent attacks on communication and transportation infrastructure throughout the Philippines, it continued to decline in personnel and effectiveness.

However, the NPA remained steadfast in its refusal to accept President Arroyo’s broad amnesty overtures, turning down offers to negotiate unless its US and international designations as a terrorist organization were rescinded," it noted.

On the other hand, RSM maintained close links to ASG and JI, and was alleged to have been responsible for multiple attacks in the Philippines.

The State Department lauded the 2007 passage of the Human Security Act (HSA) as an important step in the modernization of tools against terrorists.

But it admitted a key difficulty in implementing the law is that stiff fines will be imposed on the law enforcement agency for violating a suspect’s rights if the accused is later acquitted or the case is dismissed, with fines of P500,000 a day during the wronged suspect’s detention.

Still, the US said it has had “excellent cooperation" from Philippine law enforcement officials in obtaining access to terrorist detainees and witnesses for FBI interviews, and access to criminal, immigration, financial, and biographic records via the mechanisms established in the US-Philippine Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).

Also, it noted the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued digitized, machine-readable passports at all its locations.In the meantime, the State Department said the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is using public-private partnerships through its Global Development Alliances (GDAs) for education.

In Western and Central Mindanao, and the ARMM, there are six GDA partnerships to increase educational opportunities for children by ensuring access to quality education; to improve the capacity of teachers, and raise math, science and English skills among elementary school beneficiaries; to increase employment opportunities and engage young leaders; and, to provide business and skills training for out-of-school youth; and, to provide opportunity for school drop-outs and out-of-school youths to rejoin formal schooling through an accreditation and equivalency mechanism. - GMANews.TV

The Rest @ GMA News TV

MOGADISHU, May 3 (Reuters) -

Somalia's security minister on Sunday accused Eritrea of supplying arms to insurgents to fight the government.

"Eritrea is actively meddling in Somalia by importing weapons," Omar Hashi Aden told reporters.Eritrea has denied sending arms or material support to Somalia in the past.

"We ask the world community to do something about Eritrea's direct interference," he said.

• He said two flights from Eritrea had landed at a former military airport 110km (68.3 miles) southwest of the capital now under the control of the al Shabaab insurgents, who are on Washington list of terrorism groups.

(Reporting by Ibrahim Mohamed, Abdi Sheikh and Abdi Guled, Writing by Wangui Kanina)

The Rest @ Reuters Africa

Fowler, Guay Release in AQIM Prisoner Swap

-Canada.com

Four imprisoned Islamist fighters were released in exchange for two Canadian diplomats and two European women, the al-Qaeda-linked terror group that held the hostages said in a statement Sunday.

The Algerian-based group also threatened to kill a British tourist it continues to hold if Britain does not release an Islamic extremist who western authorities have long suspected was Osama bin Laden's top European envoy.

It did not specify a demand for the Swiss man held with the Briton.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada had not been a party to any deal with the terror group, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), as he announced Wednesday that Robert Fowler and Louis Guay had been released.

But he left open the possibility that other governments involved in the region-wide efforts to free the hostages had made concessions.

• A prisoner exchange had been the terrorist group's primary demand for the release of the Canadians, Canwest News Service revealed several weeks after the pair's kidnapping on Dec. 14 in Niger, citing sources that could not be named.
  

The AQIM statement, translated by Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group, does not identify the four militants it says were released, or who had been holding them.

• But the terror group says it wants Abu Qatada, who is listed by the United Nations al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctions committee as a terrorism suspect, subject to a worldwide travel ban and assets freeze, released from jail in the British Midlands, in exchange for the life of the Briton.
  

"With this statement, we declare to the public opinion that with praise to Allah alone, four prisoners among our mujahedeen were released in exchange for the release of the hostages of the organization, namely:

• the Canadians (Robert Fowler and Louis Guay),
• the German (Marianne Petzold),
• and the Swiss (Gabriella Burco Greiner),"

said AQIM, which has become increasingly active in North Africa after evolving recently from Algerian militants of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat.

"On the other hand, we declare that the organization still holds the British tourist (Edwen Dyer) and the Swiss tourist (Werner Greiner) until the achievement of our legitimate demands."

• The group gave Britain 20 days to announce it will release the "oppressed" Qatada, who is fighting a British government deportation order, but was sentenced in Jordan to life imprisonment in absentia in 2000 for his alleged involvement in a plot to bomb tourists attending millennium celebrations there.
  

"At the end of the period, the mujahedeen will execute the British hostage if they do not find a response to that demand after giving notice," the statement said.

The kidnappers of BBC journalist Alan Johnston in Gaza in 2007 had also demanded Qatada's release, among dozens of other captives.

The statement respectfully referred to him as "Sheik," which security experts said denoted leadership status.

He entered Britain allegedly under a false United Arab Emirates passport in 1993, but holds Jordanian citizenship because he was born in Bethlehem in 1960, when Jordan ran the West Bank.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who named Fowler as his special envoy to Niger last July, gave special thanks to Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso for their unspecified help in ensuring the release of the Canadians and European women.

But insiders say any release of AQIM operatives would also have involved talks with Algeria, which is a prime target of AQIM violence.

"They would (normally) want them turned over to Algeria," a former U.S. ambassador to the region told Canwest News Service, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the deal making.

Prominent Arabic-language newspapers cite Algerian security sources as having knowledge of what it took to win freedom for the four, with one saying an unnamed European country paid five million euros -- or about $8 million -- in ransom.

By Steven Edwards, Canwest News ServiceApril 27, 2009

The Rest @ Canada.com

Hawala Remittances Growing Despite Recession

Despite the global recession, the remittances from the developing countries and the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will continue to grow, even if moderately in 2010-2011.

According to a World Bank Migration and Development Brief titled "Revised Outlook for Remittance Flows 2009-2011", the remittances from the developing countries are projected to

• Grow to 2.9 per cent in 2010 and 6.3 per cent in 2011.
• In the same way, the Mena region is projected to see a growth of 2.9 per cent in 2010 and 5.6 per cent in 2011.
• However, this is a far cry from the 13 per cent year-on-year growth the global remittance market has seen in the last decade.

But the economic crisis has brought many new challenges for this sector, like it has for the rest of the world.Emirates Business spoke to major players in the market to find out more about the business of remittances and what is in store for this sector during these tough times. Talking about the international remittance market YS Shetty, COO, Global Operations, UAE Exchange, said:

• "The global remittance market is estimated at approximately $317.7 billion (Dh1.16 trillion), according to the World Bank 2008 Migration and Remittance Yearbook.
• This market is driven by 125 million people living abroad, who remit money to their home countries. The market has grown consistently over the past 15 years, sustained by significant movements of people across borders.Dubai, Riyadh, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Miami, Moscow and London are regions that have attracted large number of migrant workers and professionals from countries such as India, Philippines, Indonesia and Mexico.
• On an analysis of the remittance flows, it is seen that the remittances are growing at an average rate of 13 per cent since 2000.

The major recipient country in terms of inward remittance is India, which received $27 billion in 2007.

According to Shetty, with an expatriate population of 80 per cent, the UAE is a huge remittance market.

Being a major oil-producing nation, the size of the economy attracts a large number of foreign workers especially to the financial hub of the region – Dubai.

• Even though there are no accurate numbers available for the size, according to certain reports in the regional media the market size is estimated at $6.5 Billion .

According to Jean Claude Farah, Senior Vice-President, Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan for Western Union Financial Services:

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE remain the top sending markets and the top receive markets are India and Pakistan."

Going into the factors that influence remittances Farah told Emirates Business:

"There are a number of factors that influence the frequency and amount sent – including need, employment, and currency movements in the global market. "For example, when the currency in which money is earned strengthens against the currency to which it is sent, there has been continued growth," said Farah. Shetty added:

"The profitability of the market varies from region to region.

• The fewer the number of players in the market more is the profitability. Remittances have always been a live and growing market since the post WTO era and year-on-year growth on an average has been 13 per cent since 2000.
• "However, the global downturn has taken its toll on this vibrant sector as well and a few months ago the World Bank predicted that the remittance business globally would fall by about four per cent to eight per cent as the economic crisis has resulted in job cuts everywhere especially in the developed countries.
• Traditionally there has always been a major flow of transaction from the West ie United States and Europe to the other parts of the world, but due to the current recession, remittances from the West fell due to a slump in job markets. For instance, as per the statistics published by Mexican Central Bank, there has been a drop of nearly four per cent in remittances to Mexico.
• The US to Mexico remittance corridor is the largest in the world in terms of volume remitted.
• However, there is still hope for the sector as after the initial gloomy outlook the World Bank revised its findings in March and said that the remittances to developing nations would see a growth in 2010.

Farah said: "The revised World Bank report issued in March forecasts that remittances to developing countries will return to modest growth in 2010 as the mobile work force continues to seek employment throughout the globe.

And recently, the Philippines Central Bank reported that remittances from Filipinos working overseas are unlikely to decline this year.

"According to Shetty remittances to Asian countries, especially South Asia has been increasing over the past few years, though the rate of growth has come down now.

Talking about what the future looks like for the business, Farah said: "It is important to keep in mind that migrant workers, the majority of customers who use money transfer services, need to send money home to support families for basic services.

Remittances are not a discretionary spend. So despite the economic slowdown, remittances continue to be sent."

Talking about what the market is doing to boost business in the current scenario, Farah said:

"The industry comprises global money transfer providers like Western Union, small corridor specialists that serve limited countries and banks that offer their own money transfer products.

It is difficult to generalise in terms of strategy, however, signing up new agents and expanding the network continue to be priorities.

"We, for our part, are constantly getting feedback from our customers and co-operation partners, and proactively restructuring our services and rates to provide the customer a value-added experience through flexible solutions at competitive prices."

The experts also touched upon the challenges faced by the sector like the informal channel of remittance called Hawala that is practiced globally and the fact that banks have also entered the fray.

Farah said: "Hawala has always been a reality in the money transfer industry.

• Recently, we have seen many countries change rules in this area to formalise and regulate this system of money transfer.
• We welcome all initiatives by the local authorities in managing this.
• "The experts however seemed unfazed by the banks' fishing in the same waters as them.

Farah said: "It is estimated that the world remittances market is over $37 Billion.

• This is a huge market and as such there is room for many more players.
• We as Western Union have nearly 17 per cent of the market share and I am sure there is room for many. "
• Also, remittances is an added revenue stream for a bank and is not their core competency. We do not see them as competition and in-fact partner with banks to extend our services through their branch locations.

In the end its all about empowering the customer with a full bouquet of services and options, and with a proven product, reach and brand recognition as ours, we stand clear ahead of the competition," added Farah.

Shetty said: "All banking institutions have been hit by the economic downturn. Probably, they are looking into other avenues of business as additional sources of revenue, including money transfer.

These banks are further boosted by the launch of money transfer models by Visa and MasterCard, which enable card-to-card transfers.

"If we compare them with money transfer companies with respect to the transaction fees or charges, I don't think there is any particular value added for the customer. The nature of the service remains the same. However, in defence of money transfer firms, they have the added value of customised services for its customers."

"Regarding the question of the banks eating into our profits the definite answer is 'no'. This is because, most money transfer companies and particularly companies such as the UAE Exchange, who have been around for years and who have numerous very conveniently located outlets, have a committed customer base and will continue to provide the best services to them.

We are confident that our customers will continue to be loyal to us," said Shetty.

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Somalia Presidential Guard Sells Technicals to Shabaab

MOGADISHU, Somalia May 2 (Garowe Online)

Somalia: Presidential security forces 'sell armed trucks' to Al Shabaab2 May 2, 2009 - 9:55:19 AM

Somali government security forces aboard four armed trucks escaped from the Villa Somalia presidential compound on Friday with the goal of selling their weaponry to Islamist hardliners, Radio Garowe reports.

A security official at Villa Somalia who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the report that the soldiers belonged to the Villa Somalia security force, guarding the palace where President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed calls home alongside African Union peacekeepers.

"The soldiers made a secret deal with Al Shabaab to sell four trucks and the big guns on top," said the security source.

A businessman at Mogadishu's Bakara Market said armed trucks with government insignia were seen around the market, which has been a stronghold of Islamist rebels since the Ethiopian intervention.

A government spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The Rest@ Garowe Online

Possible Hawala & Arms Money Runners detained in India

1 May 2009, 0601 hrs IST, TNN

BANGALORE: Two passengers on a Sharjah-bound flight were intercepted at the Bangalore International Airport in the early hours of Thursday by
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence sleuths who seized Rs 1.5 crore in cash from them.

Kaja Moinuddin and Mohammed Imbiyaz are being questioned by various state and central agencie.. According to DRI officials, they are from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district.

• The currency notes were concealed in the bottom of their trolley bags and wrapped in cloth.
• The notes were in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 and biscuits were placed over them.
• Since this is the first instance of Indian currency being smuggled at the BIA, DRI officials are keen on figuring out the motive but the two are very tight-lipped.
• They were caught following a tip-off by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and state intelligence.
• THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME Sources said the two had passports since 1981 and visited Sharjah several times as well as other countries.
• Investigating agencies suspect this is not the first time they were smuggling money to West Asian countries.
• They failed to give the exact nature of business they were running either in India or abroad.

The Uttara Kannada police have been alerted to check their credentials and verify their business. The initial suspicion is that it’s hawala money.

However, sleuths feel the final destination may not be Sharjah. Others sense they have links with international arms dealers.

“It’s too early to come to a conclusion and we need at least two days to establish the motive,’’ sources added.

The Rest : toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com

Mahdi's Sadr Show up in Turkey

-AFP1 May 2009

Iraq's Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr -- not seen in public for nearly two years -- held face-to-face talks Friday with Turkey's top two leaders, Anatolia news agency reported.The anti-US cleric met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan first for talks on "security in Iraq and the promotion of links between the parties," according to a Turkish diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.He was then entertained by President

Abdullah Gul at the president's residence, the agency added, with the Turkish foreign ministry's special Iraq envoy, Murat Ozcelik, also in attendance, but no statements were made.Turkey's leaders regularly host the leaders of diverse political groupings from its close neighbour state.

"He is going from Iran to Turkey to meet a delegation from (the Iraqi shrine city of) Najaf and to hold discussions with the Turkish side about the situation in Iraq and its future," senior Sadr aide Haidar al-Turfi earlier told AFP.Turfi is the first senior official from Sadr's movement to say directly that Sadr has been in Iran.

His followers have always said he was in hiding in Iraq, while the US military has long said he was living in Iran.Sadr was to travel with several senior figures from his movement, after an earlier delegation went to Ankara six months ago to lay the groundwork for the trip, Turfi added.

On Thursday, Anatolia cited unnamed diplomatic sources as saying that Sadr's visit was aimed at

• "holding consultations on the political process in Iraq."
• Sadr, said to be aged in his 30s, gained wide popularity among Shiites in Iraq in the months after the US-led invasion of 2003 and in 2004 his Mahdi Army militia battled US troops in two bloody revolts.
• But he disappeared after a public appearance at an Iraqi mosque in June 2007 and has since issued statements through senior aides and spokesmen.
• In August 2008, he suspended the activities of his Mahdi Army, which once numbered in the tens of thousands, following major US and Iraqi assaults on its strongholds in Baghdad and southern Iraq in the spring of that year.
  Posted by David Barouski

The Rest @ World News Journal