Finland Agrarian reform

During the interwar years Finland, to a much greater extent than the rest of the Nordic countries, was an agrarian country. In 1918, 70 percent of the population was employed in agriculture and forestry, and by 1940 the figure was still as high as 57 percent. Paper and wooden articles were Finland's most important export commodities. By the Smallholdings Law of 1918 and by land reform in 1922, which allowed the expropriation of estates of more than 495 acres (200 hectares), an attempt was made to give tenant farmers and landless labourers their own smallholdings. More than 90,000 smallholdings were created, and since then the independent smallholders, who form the majority of the Agrarian Party (now the Centre Party), have been a major factor in Finnish politics.
www.britannica.com/eb/article-26099/Finland

Somalia: News Collection

During this time of heightened debate and crisis over the war on terrorism all over the world, Somalia is one of the battlefields that involves both antagonists forces continously in motion. The new deadly attack in a failed assassination attempt on Somalia's transitional president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, left eleven people killed, with the president's brother and six of the attackers among the dead. This incident is just a small examples of a series of terrorist attacks in the country in the recent years including one of my previous post in this blog. The list of recent terrorist attacks in Somalia can be found at: via Guardian Unlimited.
With the backing of the US and a representative of Christianity, Ethiopia collides against Eritrea, a Muslim country which is trying to impose influence on Somalia and mobilize an uprising of Islam by supporting Islamic forces in nearby countries. These two countries are threatening to rift apart not only Somalia but the East African bloc as a whole. Links: Available on Topix from Reuters.
Nearly 400 people were killed in recent clashes because of the escalation of fighting in Mogadishu despite the presence of the African Union peacekeeping force. In response to this tragedy, some Civil society organisations in Somalia have launched a campaign to help thousands of desperate civilians displaced by the fighting. The volunteer groups, including many business organizations, are driving food, medicines and water to many refugee camps between Mogadishu and Afgoye, south of the capital. These groups believe they have to act quickly as they can not continue to passively wait for the international help from groups such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, Danish Refugee Council and Daryeel Bulsho Guud (a local NGO backed by German agencies). Links: via AllAfrica.com.
Some developments in the conflict include a new cease-fire in Mogadishu and many neutral contact groups on Somalia calling for reconciliation between the transitional government and the Muslim insurgency. Links can be found at: via Australian Broadcasting Corporation and via The Norway Post

SOMALIA Week 12 updated

The future of this country is very bleak now as fightings are still widespread around the country. The forces that drive the war are still very hostile towards each other and the conflicts are very hard to settle. Unless there is a significant change in the mindset of all participating sides: the extreme Islamic army and the Transitional Government-Ethiopia coalition, the war will last for a long time and will displace more and more people out of the country or into complete poverty. On the other hand, if the United Nation pays more attention to the country and its dilemma, there is a chance that the problem can be solved or a truce can be achieved. Under current circumstances, the prospect is minimal.

Mogadishu clashes 'killed 1,000'

More than 1,000 people have been killed in recent clashes in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, according to elders from the city's main clan.
Hawiye clan spokesman Hussein Aden Korgab also said more than 4,000 had been injured in some of the heaviest fighting in 15 years.
The clashes came as the government and Ethiopian soldiers battled insurgents - both Islamists and Hawiye fighters.
Meanwhile, Eritrea has confirmed that a Somali Islamist leader is there.
The Union of Islamic Courts was driven out of Mogadishu in December by an alliance of Somalia's transitional government and Ethiopia.
Eritrea, Ethiopia's regional rival, has always denied backing the Islamists but has now admitted that Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has held talks with President Isaias Afewerki in Asmara.
"We are not all prepared to allow invaders to trample upon our sacred rights and bring us under submission," he said, according to a statement on the website of Eritrea's information ministry.
Somalia has not had an effective national government for 16 years.
War crimes probe
BBC Somali service editor Yusuf Garaad says the figure of more than 1,000 dead does not come as a surprise as heavy artillery were used in residential areas during the fighting.
Most of the clashes took place near the main stadium in Mogadishu and al-Kamin neighbourhood in the south of the capital, according to human rights groups.

African Union troops are supposed to replace the Ethiopians"We assessed battle fields, spoke to civilians, visited hospital and areas that were affected by the clashes," Mr Korgab told the AFP news agency, explaining how the clan elders reached a figure for the number of casualties.
The United Nations refugee agency says some 124,000 people have fled the city.
Last week, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer while on a visit in Somalia accused Eritrea of destabilising Somalia, by backing the insurgents.
Ms Frazer who met the president and prime minister in Baidoa, called for a permanent ceasefire to be established through dialogue between the interim government and affected communities.
The European Union representative in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Eric van der Linden, has called for investigations to establish if the Ethiopian and Somali forces committed war crimes during the fighting.
Hawiye clan elders and commanders from Ethiopian forces are expected to hold further talks on Tuesday about their implementing the ceasefire they agreed last week.
But fears are high that fighting could be imminent following reports that both sides have been digging trenches in parts of the city they control.
African Union (AU) troops are supposed to be replacing the Ethiopian soldiers but so far only 1,200 Ugandans have arrived, of the planned 8,000-strong force.

SOMALIA Week 11 updated

Somalia is taking its part in a partnership for sustainable development with the African Union Initiative On Promotion and Development and the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles in the region. Also, the country is also a close member of the Food Administration Organization. Development priorities for the partnership between Somaliland and UNDP for 2007: democratic governance, rule of law and security and poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods; with HIV and AIDS, gender and human rights as cross-cutting themes are topics of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2007. The development bank also gives good credit to the nation:

In million UA
African Development Bank Group 2004
1967-2004
Loan and Grant Approvals -150.77
Loan and Grant Disbursements-83.78
African Development Bank
2004
1967-2004
Loan and Grant Approvals
-
7.87
Loan and Grant Disbursements
-
7.18



African Development Fund
2004
1974-2004
Loan and Grant Approvals
-
136.90
Loan and Grant Disbursements
-
75.69



Nigeria Trust Fund
2004
1976-2004
Loan Approvals
-
6.00
Loan Disbursements
-
0.90

SOMALIA Week 10 updated

Somalia has one of the lowest life expectancy rates in the region with an average on total population: 48.47 years; male: 46.71 years; female: 50.28 years (2006 est.). Somalia continues to have one of the highest child mortality rates in the world, with 10% of children dying at birth and 25% of those surviving birth dying before age five. The number is on total: 114.89 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 124.18 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 105.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.). But on the other hand Somalia also has one of the lowest HIV infection rates in Africa: 1% (2001 est.) or 43,000 (2001 est.) of people living with HIV. In education, with the collapse of the central government in 1991, the education system is now private. Quranic schools also known as duqsi's remain the basic system of instruction for religion in Somalia. They provide Islamic education for children, thereby filling a clear religious and social role in the country. The Qu'ranic system, which teaches the greatest number of students relative to the other education sub-sectors, is the only system accessible to nomadic Somalis compared to the urban Somalis who have easier access to education. In 1993, a survey by UNICEF was conducted in which it found, among other things, that about 40% of pupils in Qu'ranic schools were girls. The actual disparity against women in the Educational system in Somalia is even bigger in secular schools besides the problem of few higher-education schools. The country is also wrecked by many fatal diseases especially Malaria, killing 40% of all death.
GDP—per capita:
purchasing power parity - $550 (2001 est.)
Somalia’s estimated 6.8 million people live in extreme poverty and show some of the worst health indicators in the world. Somalis suffer from chronic food insecurity and severe droughts. More than 350,000 remain refugees, while 370,000 to 400,000 have been internally displaced often for years.