From: People For Peace
Voices of Justice for Peace
Regional News
BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
NAIROBI-KENYA
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI ended his three days peace mission in Lebanon with a call for an end to the supply of arms to Syria. The Pope was speaking at the time Police in Nairobi were recovering a cache of weapons suspected to have been amassed for a terrorist act. Twelve grenades, six bombs, four AK-47 rifles and several bullets were recovered during the dawn raid in Eastleigh’s 2nd Avenue.
[image] guns, granades, bladed weapons;
[image]Inset: Jamila is a survivor of a machete attack on the village of Kilelengwani in Tana Delta/ File
As the Pope called for an end to arms supply, arms were being used to kill innocent people in Tana Delta. More than 100 people, including children have been killed there in the past month in clashes between Pokomo and Orma communities. Jamila (inset) was too traumatized to speak to journalists at Malindi Hospital where she had been admitted.
But even as Pope spoke of an end to arms supplies to Syria, protesters were setting fire to an American fast food outlet just 40 miles away in the northern city of Tripoli. The protest was part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
[image]The protest was part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad/ File
In Afghanistan demonstrations turned violent outside a U.S. military base in Kabul, where about 800 protesters burned cars and threw rocks at Camp Phoenix. Many in the crowd shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to those people who have made a film and insulted our Prophet.”
And in Lebanon where the pope was visiting, the leader of the powerful militant group Hezbollah called for sustained protests in a rare appearance at a rally in Beirut. In Egypt an al-Qaida-linked Egyptian jihadist, Ahmed Ashoush, issued a religious edict, or fatwa, saying it is justified to kill anyone who took part in the making of the prophet film.
While the growing availability of small arms has been a major factor in the increase in the number of conflicts, and in hindering smoother rebuilding and development, one factor is true-that eradication of the arms trade I a major global problem.
The problem is not only in Syria, the world today is awash with weapons, especially in conflict-ridden regions in Africa, Asia, and portions of Latin America which have been inundated with small arms since the end of World War II. Current estimates put the number of small arms available worldwide at around 550 million, or approximately one gun for every 12 people.
The fact that the vast majority of these weapons were not produced by the countries they currently reside in but have been trafficked by second and third parties over a period that spans almost six decades, to eradicate their flow in wrong hand is almost impossible.
Yet Illicit arms trafficking continues to fuel civil wars, contributes to sky-rocketing crime rates and feeds the arsenals of the world’s worst terrorists. It explains further why stemming the flow of these weapons remain incredibly difficult, even by enacting strong export and border controls, safegaurding (or destroying) stockpiles, dismantling trafficking networks.
Even though addressing the root causes of the civil conflicts and soaring urban crime rates, governments can reduce the supply of, and demand for, these weapons, with globalization this is still impossible.
It is impossible because the ideation of globalisation advocates free market forces with minimised economic barriers and open trade for world development. This forms the basis of expansion of arms black market.
Against the background that in 2002, traffickers were able to acquire 5,000 AK-47s from Yugoslavian army stocks and moved them from Serbia to Liberia under the guise of a legal transaction with Nigeria. One of the planes used in this shipment came from Ukraine and made a refuelling stop in Libya while en route.
Unlike previous days, today arms dealers are able to use ‘cloned’ cellular phones and unsecured broadband networks to surpass any chances of getting traced. Satellite phones are an option in remote areas where other means cannot be operated, providing an uninterrupted channel of contact and reach. Sometimes, arms deals are conducted through wires, where the privilege of anonymity prevails.
[image]One of the gadgets tied to cell phone found in Nairobi, File
It explains why even after numerous efforts to do away with the illicit arms trade, there has not been any international treaty that binds countries into a common cause, despite the fact that presently, the treaty has the support of almost 153 countries and more that 800 NGO’s.
It is also why despite the efforts of Interpol aggressively involvement in the illicit arms trade and tracing and tracking arms trafficking activities world over, with cooperation from its members the mission is still impossible.
Interpol is an organisation that facilitates cooperation of international police. It was established in 1923 and today enjoys a membership of 186 member states. It focuses on transnational crimes like terrorism, money laundering, drug, human and illicit arms trafficking etc.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
People for Peace in Africa
Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Peaceful world is the greatest heritage
That this generation can give to the generations
To come- All of us have a role.