A diplomatic spat has erupted in Brussels between a high Somali official and the EU commissioner for development over the level of foreign aid given to the wartorn African country.
Fawzia Yusuf Adam, Somalia’s minister of foreign affairs and deputy PM, said that her country had received “nothing from the European Union – only promises”.
EU commissioner for development Andris Piebalgs reacted immediately and told IBTimes UK exclusively: “I’m very upset she said that – it’s absolutely false.
“The political process starting in Somalia is not only because of political abilities but investment in different parts of Somalia which brings people to support the federal government,” he said during a private meeting at the European Development Days in Brussels.
“We have a substantial development project in parts of Somalia. We disburse nearly €50m and the biggest parts goes to areas such as Somaliland, Puntland, in education, rural development, healthcare, access to water. Lots of money being invested.
“She’s right we don’t channel any money to federal government but that’s because in order to use that you need public finance management and an accountability system and today that’s not the case,” he went on.
“I pledged to work with the government as close as a I can and I will honour it. We bring very substantial support to Somalia, although we don’t channel any money through the government.”
The European Commission provides development aid in Somalia under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). The total allocation for Somalia for the 2008-13 period is €521m.
The EU support supports Amisom (the African Union Mission in Somalia), which aims to create the conditions for peace and stability, and has channelled €594m into it.
Adam said that Somalia had been pledged €1.8bn in a conference in September but claimed “so far, we have received nothing”.
“We ask European countries to honour their pledge,” she said. “We are looking forward to see that [for it to be] realised for development reconstruction and security.
“During the previous transitional government, €200m was pledged in 2010 but we never received it. We want friends to honour their pledge so that we can build our country.”
Curriculum is as all the organized or unorganized experiences in schools that create knowledge. Children learn through experiences, schools provide and manage experiences. Therefore a curriculum is the knowledge-management system at a school.
The hidden curriculum is the social rules, attitudes and values which children learn from school or at Home that are not planned (Not official curriculum). Children learn to be responsible, attentive, cooperative and considerate at school, but there they might also learn to be selfish, Tribalism, Chewing Kat, racist, or to be passive and destructive. All of this ties in very closely with the ethics of specific communities. A hidden curriculum can produce positive or negative results depending on the viewpoint of a child.
Naturally, young children learn social skills from social interaction with their friends and teachers. It is important that teachers, as the primary role-model in class, reinforce positive attitudes; such as being attentive, excited about learning, self-controlled, well-mannered, supportive, showing respect and having empathy. Positive behavioral reinforcement by teachers affects how a child interprets and forms a view of what good social behavior is. Principally, acceptable social behavior is the basic tool and skill that children need to develop positive techniques in solving their problems.
Unfortunately, the hidden curriculum may also negatively impact young children in our schools both private and public schools. Children imitate the unruly and disruptive behavior of their school friends and Teachers so if the teachers are taking parcel of Kat in their pockets while them are in the schools what do you think for students? Exactly studentsare copying that bad ethics and such unruly behavior spreads easily as already happens in our public secondary schools where most of the teachers chew kat and other included behavior like spit, verbally teasing others, Insulting with each other, fighting for their teachers where teachers themselves abusing the students, misbehaving during lessons and physically hurting others.
Even Too young Kindergarten children know how to value lessons. This is very apparent in observing how they follow a teacher’s attitude in class. If a teacher’s attitude is more relaxed during a particular lesson than for others (perhaps the least favorite lesson for the teacher), then the children’s attitude will likewise adjust and be more relaxed. This can also be a potential negative impact of the hidden curriculum, because children even in their early ages should learn how to value all lessons and approach all lessons as equally important for their development.
As educators, inside and outside the classroom and schools, for my experience ofteaching we don’t use our common sense to be good role models for children so Somaliland teacher let us change our attitude about role model because Our understanding of being good role models should of course show the positive ways of behaving in everyday situations. As long as we show positive manners, children will imitate and follow us and as long as we show negative manner children will imitate and follow us.
On other Hand, Generally, parents want the best for their children. Some parents are even willing to invest more by sending their children to after-school programs or by getting directly involved in their children’s learning at home. However, do those methods contain a hidden curriculum also?
At home, parents are the primary role-models for their children. Children adapt and interpret parents’ views to make sense of their world. This ability appears as early as infancy by imitating parents’ facial expressions to understand their emotions. Parents should use this opportunity to reinforce positive guidance through daily interaction with their children.
Being consistent in giving meaningful praise is one of the best methods to strengthen positive guidance. Meaningful praise given as feedback for good conduct should specify the conduct (e.g. instead of just saying “thank you”, it may be specified as “thank you for helping me bringing the Cup”). Positive guidance can also be used to correct the unacceptable behavior that sometimes occurs at home (e.g. instead of saying “don’t fight!” it may be specified as “we should play nicely with our brother and sisters”).When parents specify conduct; children can easily identify what kind of acceptable behavior corresponds to a specific event. Children are a reflection of their parents or any adults around whom they grow up. Their brains record whatever adults do and say in front of them. These images will be stored until one specific event reminds them; the two images will automatically form a connection.
In most of the world’s parliamentary democracies, it’s rare to see presidents and prime ministers bickering, since their roles and responsibilities are more or less distinct and rarely overlap. However, in many African governments, power struggles between presidents and prime ministers are quite common, even when the offices have clearly defined constitutional roles.
In Somalia, the president is the head of state. His powers include appointing a prime minister and serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, which includes the power to declare of a state of emergency or war. The prime minister is the chief of the cabinet, guiding and overseeing the work of the other ministers. However, despite these neatly separated roles and responsibilities, Somalia is once again having great difficulty in governing itself under a power sharing system.
Although it’s designed to encourage collaboration between clans, the arrangement has yet to produce sustainable political stability, with a rift widening between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon. The real issue between them is unclear, but according to media reports, the president recently asked the prime minister to resign due to incompetence, while the prime minister claims that the president has no constitutional power to request his resignation. The prime minister has complained that the government cannot achieve its goals because of the slim cabinet that the president had imposed on him, which has resulted in each minister being in charge of three to four ministries.
After its independence, Somalia had a parliamentary system based on political parties. But a coup d’état in 1969 installed the Siad Barre military regime, disrupting the democratic process and eventually plunging the country into civil war. Since then, a number of power-sharing agreements aimed at resolving the crisis have crumbled.
In 2000, a Transitional National Government was established in Djibouti that ended up disintegrating due to a power struggle that began with President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan and Prime Minister Ali Khalif Galaydh. Similarly, in 2002, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development organized a reconciliation conference in Kenya that gave birth to a Transitional Federal Government and a parliamentary system without any political party presence. The party system was replaced with a clan-based power-sharing formula called the 4.5 system, which awarded an equal share of parliamentary seats to Somalia’s four major clans, with a fifth retaining a half-share.
But something’s not working. Somalia’s three most recent presidents have each appointed three prime ministers, a rapid turnover rate indicating ongoing infighting between representatives ofcompetingclans who are loathe to cede power to each other. As a result, Somalia has been plagued by a political process that is based on competition rather than cooperation and compromise. The current fallout between the president and the prime minister is a continuation of the political stalemate that has hampered Somalia’s progress for decades.
Meanwhile, precious time is being wasted on political brinkmanship rather than dealing with the innumerable challenges facing the country. Security, reconciliation, the economy, education, infrastructure, and healthcare are a few of the many issues that do not get addressed so long as the president and prime minister are locked in a power struggle. Consequently, many Somalis have lost faith in their leaders’ ability to unite the nation, which may lead the country towards another civil war and away from economic prosperity.
Therefore, the time has come for Somalia to try a different system of governance. Somali constitutional experts should review and amend the constitution from a power sharing system back to political party system in which a president and vice president from the same party are elected on the same platform.
The clan-based system has had its chance. Only through a party system, overseen by an electoral commission, can Somalia put together a government with the capacity to solve the country’s unique challenges—and bring about the political stability that has eluded it for the last two decades.
Nafisa G. Santur is a political researcher and conflict analyst based in Nairobi.
It was always my belief that if Africa were to change its bad reputation as the citadel of corrupt politicians and a haven for mismanaged foreign aid; it would have to be the continent’s women that lead the way.
And this is exactly what happened over the last month when two women of character, Yussur Abrar of Somalia and Thuli Madonsela of South Africa, have stunned the male-dominated corruption infested political systems of the two countries with their fearless actions.
Yusur Adan Abrar, an international banker with three decades of experience in banking, insurance, telecommunications and finance consultancy, was appointed as Somalia’s first female governor of the Central Bank in September 2013, a time when the international community pledged $2.4 billion to fund Somali’s infrastructural and fiscal reconstruction.
As a professional banker, Abrar knew very well the task ahead of her. To put simply it was the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory framework for the country’s financial system and to make the Somali Central Bank accountable for every dollar that reaches its coffers.
However, what she did not anticipate was that the government had appointed her as a ploy to use her stellar record to hoodwink the donor community by using her signature to legitimize shady financial dealings.
Abrar’s goal of cleaning the system had become an affront to the Somali politicians’ old norm of stealing and enriching themselves on foreign aid and the country’s tax revenues.
Soon after she stepped into the building of the bank she was given orders and threats to sanction dubious deals. She was not given enough time to even review the demands and explore if she could find any legal loopholes that could allow her to find a legitimate compromise. All her attempts to win the President’s support and to enlighten him about the irreparable damage that sanctioning such deals could cause to the government’s credibility fell on deaf ears.
But instead of being enlightened by Abrar’s relentless efforts to highlight the need to follow sound financial regulations, the acolytes at the government’s corruption alter tried to convert her to the Somali way of doing business and to wean her from what they saw as her unflinching adherence to ‘western values’. As she bluntly put it in her letter of resignation to the President, she said: “The message that I have received from multiple parties is that I have to be flexible, that I don’t understand the Somali way that I cannot go against your wishes, and that my own personal security would be at risk as a result.”
According to the information I received, even President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud himself had at one point accused Abrar of acting like an American: “Ma Maraykan baad iskaga kaaya dhigaysaa.. Are you trying to act like an American to us?” As the Somali proverb says: Madax meel meel la taabto oo sarreeyaa ma jiro… There is no place higher than the head to reach…” Instead of showing leadership and supporting Abrar in her honest efforts to restore badly needed accountability to the country’s financial system and safeguarding the resources of the Somali people, the President was in a crusade to re-educate her to the African culture of corruption, the Somali way of Qaataye –Qaado ( I rob and you have your share)
NGO CULTURE VS CORPORATE CULTURE
Ironically, there is an element of truth in the President’s unbecoming expression. Yes, there was a clash of culture and goals between Abrar and President Mahmoud’s administration. Abrar, with her extensive experience in western corporations, her goal was to apply these standards to make the country’s banking system acceptable to donor nations and to enable the country achieve economic recovery.
“When I accepted this role, I did so with the interests of the Somali people in mind. Having worked at senior levels at some of the largest financial institutions in the world, I was looking forward to the opportunity to lend my skill sets to rebuild the Central Bank and improve the lives of our people, as the Central Bank is key to the development of the economy. Undoubtedly, economic recovery is critical to this recovery from both a fiscal and security perspective,” She wrote in her letter of resignation.
However, Abrar’s corporate culture, professional perspective and patriotic goals seemed so alien to President Mahmoud and his underlings who were trained in the NGOs culture of trickle-down economy, albeit in African context, to which the late eminent American economist John Kenneth Galbraith had explained as an approach that emerged during the depression and was also called “the horse- and-sparrow theory” whichmeant: “If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows.” And this is exactly the culture and mentality of the African politicians and particularly the Somali political elite who practice the principle of “me first,crumbs for the rest.”
Strangely enough, even those western educated Diaspora returnees who serve for the President as ministers and advisors fall into this category. Writing to me from New York, a friend of mine Dr. Nimo Bokore, had correctly put this in perspective: “Lately,” she said, “I began to worry about the current scramble for Somali blood money. Will the elite, the well educated Diaspora men and their counterparts going back to politics to pay off their mortgages lead us to nationhood? Or they are just engaged in their own temporary gain ‘Geel Dhac’?”
It is indeed this Geel Dhac “looting camels” culture of the Somali political elite that clashed with Abrar’s financial ethics that she learned in the upper echelons of grand institutions.
This was not lost on Abrar as she so clearly expressed in her carefully written letter that she was not worried about the threats she received more than she was worried and frustrated by the President’s lack of support: “I am the least concerned about the security threat, but I am truly disappointed that I have not received your support and leadership on this matter so that I could objectively perform my duties.”
EXPOSING BUSINESS OF POVERTY
Since Abrar’s resignation, the Somali people and indeed the international community have yet to hear a plausible explanation from President Mahmoud’s government on the damaging information that came in Abrar’s resignation letter other than pitiful denials that carry no facts to clear their position.
After many missed opportunities which led Somalia to become a dangerous place for world trade and security, the international community decided to give President Mahmoud and his government a chance regardless of the corrupt and illegitimate way that he had come to power. With his baby face, ever-present smile, and soft-spoken style, President Mahmoud has won a certain degree of trust. And due to our strong longing for a functioning and recognized Somali government, we all ignored the early voices such as that of the satirical Somali poet and academician Mahmoud Togane, who warned us against the wolf hiding in Mahmoud’s sheep’s clothing in an interview he gave a short time after Mahmoud’s election. We also understandably dismissed the sharp criticisms that Professors, Samatar and Glaydh, leveled against Mahmoud, due to their known political inclinations.
But thankfully it took an honest woman like Abrar with no political ambitions of her own to expose that the president’s pose was not more than a façade aimed at buying trust.
Whether the international community heeds Abrar’s wakeup call is yet to be seen. But it is reassuring to know that Abrar’s resignation had already rattled the donors’ trust. Reuters quoted one senior European diplomat saying: “What [Abrar’s resignation] has done is woken up a lot of people,” said one senior European diplomat. “The notion that there is a blank check for Somalia, that’s over. There’s got to be results for money.”
Well said, but the Somali people need more than rhetoric and the best thing that could result from this fiasco is to deposit international aid to Somalia in an escrow account and to appoint Abrar or a person of her caliber as a financial czar to oversee the fair distribution of donor funds for the development of the Somali people.
However, if the track record of the relations between donor nations and corrupt African leaders could be taken as an indication, President Mahmoud’s administration would receive no more than a friendly censure for its behavior. And this explains why the government doesn’t look shaken by what would have been a damaging incident to any decent administration.
Nevertheless, Abrar should have no regrets even if donor nations decide to continue dealing with Mogadishu government. It will only show once more how much the international community works hand in glove with corrupt African leaders in entrenching “the horse- and-sparrow theory”. No wonder that it is often said poverty is big business.
MISS MANDOSELA: PRESIDENT ZUMA’S NEMESIS
Elsewhere, Thulisile Madonsela, a human rights lawyer, equality expert, and South Africa’s Public Protector, is facing stiff resistance from ministers close to President Jacob Zuma not to publish her findings in an investigation of renovating the president’s retirement home with $30 million.
Miss Madonsela who has in her record as one of 11 technical experts who participated in drafting of the final constitution of South Africa in 1994-5, insists that she would go ahead to make the report public regardless.
The multi-resident estate, known as Zumaville, which is reported to have underground rooms, medical facilities, football fields, a theatre, and a helipad, is located in an impoverished neighborhood. And President Zuma just like President Mahmoud had the audacity to speak: “passionately of his inability to sleep peacefully knowing that there are people still living in shacks in his wealthy nation.”
Now, we can understand when Abrar laments what she could have done if she was allowed to capitalize on the momentum she started in gaining the trust of international financial institutions by saying: “I can only imagine what could have been achieved provided I had your support to perform my duties objectively. Your excellency, while I am disappointed by this lack of support, I am more disappointed for the Somali people who would have benefited the most from these and future contributions.”
We can equally understand, if President Mahmoud curses Abrar for not allowing him to have his own Damujadidville; a clash of two irreconcilable cultures, indeed.
Being the people’s mules for so long who carried loads on their back and children in their bosom and belly, while at the same time tilling the land, African women have come of age and have another burden to carry today; to cleanse the continent of its corrupt male leaders.
It is reported that Dr. Kuwama Nakrumah, Ghanian Independence leader and an admired African hero, once said that the “black man is capable of managing his own affairs”? I beg to differ with him by saying: “Yes indeed, Mr Nakrumah, the blackman is capable of managing his own affairs; but his own personal affairs only in fattening himself, but it is the black woman who is capable of managing the affairs of the continent and rectifying the historical mistakes that men have committed against the poor people of Africa.” Viva Yussur, Viva Miss Madonsela, and viva all conscientious women of Africa.
Press Statement: Somali Security Arrest another Woman and Journalist for Speaking Out Against Rape
On the 21st November 2013, a 19 year old rape survivor and the journalist to whom she has spoken, have been arrested on the basis of fabricating false stories. The survivor has claimed that she was raped at gunpoint by two government affiliated journalists, working for Radio Mogadishu in August 2013, however following failed attempts to address the issue with the station manager at Radio Mogadishu, she spoke with Radio Shabelle in a bid to create public pressure for justice.
The incident took place in August 2013 where the victim was held at gun point and repeatedly raped during the night by the two journalists. Her interview with Radio Shabelle was aired on the 18th November and the victim, the Radio Shabelle journalist, Mohamed Bashir Hashi and the Radio Shabelle station manager Abdulmalik Yusuf were arrested on the 21st August. Abdimalik Yusuf has since been released on bail, however the victim and Hashi remain in custody.
In the video report, the victim explained, “One of the men threatened me with a pistol, and took me to the bedroom by force… both of them raped me several times, destroying my pride and dignity,” She went onto argue, “I am appealing to the government to take legal action against the rapists, they might have done the same to other poor girls,”
While both victim and journalist sit in jail, the two perpetrators remain free with still no investigation taking place to address the case, and as yet, none forthcoming.
This latest incident highlights the ongoing struggle and threats to the dignity and human rights that survivors of sexual violence face in obtaining justice for the crimes perpetrated against them. Not only have they experienced the extreme brutality of sexual violence, but have been doubly victimized through the application of the law to discredit and delegitimize her. The use of the law provides a veneer of legitimacy for practices which are contradictory to any and all recognised guidance in how to deal with survivors of sexual violence.
SIHA’s Regional Director, Hala Alkarib, stated: “This is a harsh remainder of the case took place in early 2013 where a rape survivor and the journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim suffered imprisonment at the hands of the Somali state for reporting sexual violence. It’s alarming that the Somali government persist on exercising impunity for perpetrators and assuming that suppressing reporting of rape whilst criminalising victims and human rights defenders will somehow end rape in Somalia and make the problem go away.”
The arrest of both victim and journalist is a crude attempt at silencing survivors who have the courage to challenge the impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence. Moreover, it attempts to place government institutions, such as Radio Mogadishu beyond criticism or accountability for sexual violence.
SIHA demands that:
· Both the female survivor and the journalist are released immediately and unconditionally and that the alleged rape is fully and independently investigated by the police.
· For the Somali government comply with the stipulations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and with the International Convention on Human Rights to which it is a signatory and thus allow both freedom of the press and protection and redress for victims of SGBV
· For the international community, and in particular, major financial donors to the Somali government to assert pressure onto the Somali government to release both victim and journalist, but also to demand greater measures to be applied to both protect and provide redress to survivors of SGBV.
Notes:
· This is far from the first instance of the Somali National Government deploying the law to silence survivors of sexual violence from speaking out. In a very public case early in 2013, a female rape survivor and journalist, Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, were arrested and charged with fabricating false stories and insulting a government institution, following the survivor’s claims that she had been raped by government forces. Following sustained and intense international outcry, both were eventually released and their convictions overturned. See here
· Sexual violence continues to blight Mogasighu and is perpetrated frequently by armed militias who have been identified by survivors as government or government affiliated as well as independent. In March 2013, SIHA and its affiliate partners in Mogadishu documented 21 cases during a 3 day period.
· Human Rights Defenders are frequently targeted for their work on sexual violence, with many being harassed in the course of their work and lawyers having been repeatedly threatened for their work in defending survivors and attempting to prosecute perpetrators.
· Despite numerous statements by the government stating that sexual violence is a serious issue that the government is doing all it can to tackle, impunity remains high with few perpetrators being held accountable or imprisoned.
· Victims and family members who seek to obtain justice frequently find themselves subject to interrogation and arrest by police who question the integrity of the victim as opposed to investigating the reported incident. In March 2013, SIHA documented the case of a man whose daughter had been raped yet when he went to report the case to the police, he himself was arrested.
· UN Human rights Council reports, inclusive of those submitted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Women, have widely acknowledged the breadth and scale of sexual violence taking place in Mogadishu, with one report stating that as many as 20 cases of sexual violence being reported per day. (A/HRC/21/36 United Nations support to end human rights abuses and combat impunity in Somalia. 21st September 2012 Human Rights Council twenty first session Annual Report of the HCRH p6 para 24)
Additional information on sexual violence in Somalia can be found at the following:
· A/HRC/20/16/Add.3 Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo
· A/HRC/21/36 United Nations support to end human rights abuses and combat impunity in Somalia. 21st September 2012 Human Rights Council twenty first session Annual Report of the HCRH
Under President Farole’s administration, the Puntland security, economy, and territorial integrity have all suffered. President Farole’s autocratic rule and abuse of power in public resources has hindered progress and prosperity of the people of Puntland, and the time has come for him to be replaced.
Economically, President Farole’s government lack of transparency and accountability has discouraged investors from investing in the development of the region. In fact, Puntland is worse off today than before, when Farole came to power. The hopes and trust of business community has deteriorated to a point where Puntland born investors are leaving the major commercial centers of Puntland such as Bosaso, Garowe, and Galcaio in droves for more business friendly cities like Mogadishu, Jig-jiga, Berbera, and Hargeisa. Many businesses have closed or are closing their operations here in Puntland because they no longer find attractive investment option. Thanks to President Farole’s lack of leadership Bosaso is not anymore the favored historic port for exporting livestock to the Middle East, and for importing goods into the North, North East and Central Somali. Given the importance and ideal location and close proximity to the Arabian Gulf States, one would have expected Bosaso port to be buzzing with activity but to the contrary the port is very much underutilized.
The Bosaso port is not competitive anymore because taxes and custom fees are much higher than competing ports such as Berbera and Mogadishu. These high taxes and port fees have discouraged investors, traders, and suppliers of goods and made them to switch to other business friendly ports like Mogadishu and Berbera. It is worth mentioning that products that come through Mogadishu and Berbera even when added to arduous transportation and journey are selling competitively here in Bosaso giving them cost advantage over goods imported thru Bosaso.
The port infrastructure and airports have deteriorated under President Farole. For example, the infrastructure in Bosaso, Garowe, and Galcaio airports are in dismal state and the landing strips are not suitable for larger aircrafts to land. This is the reason that even though Bosaso is two hours closer to Dubai than Mogadishu the fare is almost twice higher from Bosaso to Dubai. Much needed revenue could have been generated from the port and airports if they had been repaired or expanded.
The decades old road and the only one that links Bosaso, Garowe and Galcaio has deteriorated so badly with potholes that it is neither save nor efficient to travel on it. This adds to the cost of goods and the time it takes to deliver goods to customers, again making Puntland businesses unable to compete with goods from Mogadishu and Berbera.
The Puntland Security situation has been getting worse since Farole administration took power. On a daily basis innocent individuals are assassinated all over Puntland. The police are poorly paid, trained, and are under equipped. The law enforcement agencies lack the discipline, demeanor and skills required of professional law enforcement agency to keep law and order.
Additionally, Somalis from the South who fled violence there, are routinely stopped at checkpoints and whisked out of vehicles and subjected to harsh interrogation, humiliation and imprisonment. The only way to regain freedom is to pay bribe to corrupted prison/police/judicial officials.
On the real estate front, the Farole administration has lost big chunks of territory to Hargeisa because of his mistreatment to the people in Sool, Sanaag and Cayn.
Politically, the Father and his sons rule by intimidation and iron fist. His administration has created sharp divisions among different citizen-groups, and alienated some of the most ardent supporters of Puntland, leading to the creation of Khatumo administration or annexation by Somaliland administration against majority’s will.
In health and education, suffice it to say low and poor quality.
By judging him purely on performance, there is not one good reason – save tribal solidarity- to re-elect him again to office. The good news is that his intransigence has made the political tide turn against him. The bad news is that despite his poor performance he will not give up power easily and there is still a possibility that he might come out victorious come Election Day because he has at his disposal all of the State’s machinery to harass and intimidate both voters and candidates, and he has a lot of money to bribe members of parliament and buy their votes. That is why it is too early to count him out.
It is widely believed that if anyone other than him wins the election he is determined to fight it to the teeth unless of course the winner is someone who hails from the same tribe but a nudge nobler than him. Then he would not risk fighting within his own clan. If such candidate succeeds him, that, I think, would ultimately save the region from further disintegrating.
Furthermore, since he will not easily give up power, he must have prepared for a long worn-out fight. Rumors have it that he has put on stand-by a formidable force that is heavily armed and well-trained by Saracen International, a security firm in South Africa, to call them to duty if he loses the election and if fighting between different factions breaks out it will be the end of Puntland as we know it because things might go out control and push the region to further disintegration, in-fighting, and perhaps another civil war, may GOD forbid.
So in the upcoming Puntland election, MPs have a moral duty to vote their good conscience to avert bloodshed. They must realize that this administration’s political life has come to an end and the strongman must be voted out of office come hell or high water; and another leader who is up to the daunting task of reversing the dire situation around must be elected.
The question is who can successfully challenge the strongman? I think the only candidate who stands a chance to the Throne is someone who is not tainted by Somalia’s ugly politics and protracted civil war/blood libel, someone who will bring about change, development, growth, and brighter future for the young, someone who will not steal from the coffers of the state, someone who will attract investors, someone who is rational and pragmatic, someone who in the political arena can keep his cool while standing his ground, someone who understands the art of decency in public speaking, someone who will work with regional leaders towards peace and stability, someone who will not use religion to sow the seed of discord, someone who will build and repair the infrastructure, someone who is not only educated and intellectual, but is also one whom Farole dare not pick a fight with, someone from Farole’s same clan but is more noble than him, and above all someone who will abide by the constitution and uphold the rule of law even if he is the one to be defeated.
Although the other candidates are all well qualified, none of them may be able to muster enough votes to win the election outright and none will be able to avert the bloodshed that would inevitably result in if Farole loses.
Now, having established the view that a nobler Farole cousin is the right candidate, then you may be in for a surprise because I have heard through the Fadhi-ku-dirir grapevines that there is one such candidate who goes by the name of Mohamed Abdi.
So a word of counsel to the wise MPs is that the entire burden of this election and the winner thereof is on your shoulders. You can choose to be on the good side of history and become a savior of your people or you can choose to succumb to intimidation, pressure and bribery and keep the status quo, thereby living with their resentment ever after.
In conclusion, let’s hope that common sense will prevail and the elections will be held in a fair and free atmosphere; let’s hope the region will once again become peaceful and prosperous.
Nairobi, November 21, 2013–Somali authorities arrested two journalists, one of them the victim of an alleged rape, on Wednesday in Mogadishu, the capital, and charged them with defamation in connection with a report on the alleged rape, according to news reports and local journalists.
In a video, which was posted online earlier this week, Radio Shabelle journalist Mohamed Bashir interviews a female reporter of Kasmo Voice Women Radio, who says that she was raped at gunpoint. The unnamed victim said she was assaulted by two journalists from the state-owned Radio Mogadishu, according to news reports.
The woman named her alleged attackers in the video. The accused denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit, according to news reports.
Mohamed and the victim of the alleged rape have been detained at the Central Investigations Department headquarters, local journalists said.
“This is not the first time in Somalia that the victim of an alleged rape and a messenger are harassed or imprisoned for reporting such allegations,” said CPJ East Africa Representative Tom Rhodes. “We call on authorities to release Mohamed Bashir and the victim of the alleged rape, and to ensure a transparent and efficient investigation into the allegations.”
The manager of the Shabelle Media Network, Abdimaalik Yusuf, was also detained for six hours in connection with the story, news reports said. He was questioned in custody about recording the interview, and then released, he told CPJ.
Government Spokesmen Abdirahman Omar Osman told CPJ that they were allowing the police and judiciary to carry out their investigations prior to any government involvement in the case.
In February, a Mogadishu court sentenced a victim of an alleged rape and freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinuur who interviewed her to one-year prison sentences, but released them on appeal two months later, according to CPJ research. Abdiaziz fled the country soon after release, fearing for his life, he told CPJ.
Authorities forced Radio Shabelle off the air on October 26 over a building ownership dispute and confiscated the media house’s equipment, local journalists told CPJ. The station is off the air, but still broadcasting online.The government recently returned the equipment to Shabelle Media Network but in a damaged state, Abdimaalik said.
The president’s director of communications, Malik Abdalla, denied that the equipment had been returned damaged and said the claim was “completely false,” he told CPJ.
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. Security Council has unanimously called on Somalia to pass laws banning piracy and urged the east African nation to more aggressively combat pirates at sea and the crime lords on land who finance and organize their raids.
The council welcomed the news that pirate attacks off Somalia have fallen to their lowest level since 2006. Many ships now carry armed guards.
The council passed a resolution 15-0 Monday also telling Somalia to step up its efforts to arrest pirates and bring them to trial. Somali piracy cases are currently tried in other countries that own ships and cargos and claim jurisdiction, including the United States.
Somalia’s fragile central government doesn’t control large sections of the country, much of which is ruled by al-Shabab militants allied with al-Qaida.
No one knew him! Nobody has ever heard of him! Neither was he an ordinary nor a religious warlord. A year and two months ago, by a mysterious and inexplicable way he came to power.Prior to his appointment, he was anonymous and unknown in the Somalia political battle ground and few people knew who he was. His vision, political opinion or train of thoughts as well as his leadership capacity were completely unknown.
Somalia is one of the world’s classic failed state. ‘The President’ of the failed State of Somalia is less than a year and half in poweryethe created more enemies than friends. He behaves as a real and legitimate president freely and fairly elected and trusted by his own people, simply because a double standard world community let him believe in this illusion. Behind his fake smile lurks a dangerous and toxic agenda. He is elected by no one; he is responsible for little; he is manipulated and threatened by many, both internally and externally. He is covertly detached from the sense of reality. He is not sensitive to his people’s suffering and a quarter of a century ongoing national misery with no end is in sight.
There is no doubt the President of Somalia and the government he leads are their own worst enemies. They are deaf and blind to the gathering storm that sooner or later will ultimately sweep them away. They master the art of making enemies and blunders, and turned millions of ordinary Somalis who have never voted for them into bitter enemies. Instead of respecting and acting in conformity with the national constitution and the directives of the legislature of his own country, the President of Somalia follows and implements the orders and instructions from other foreign powers who rules his country by default.
This man is unpredictable on all accounts! He cannot be trusted. He is more dangerous than any of his predecessors. He denies blindly the ethnic cleansing and immeasurable destruction campaign that was done to the civilian population of Somaliland, by no one else than the former brutal dictatorial regime of Somalia. Above all, ‘the President’ of Somalia does not have the wisdom, sensibility, vision or the political acumen to tackle the complex structural and existential challenges which Somalia is facing at the moment.
The president of Somalia had been given a full mandate and the legislative means to do things better. The fate and future of his people and country has been entrusted to him, however in vain. Strangely enough, he carries out the orders and instructions commissioned by invisible rulers who make every effort to ensure that this country will never be able to stand on its own feet. The lot in life and prospect of the country is decided and determined by others and this is what everyone is worrying about.
They are those who are supposed to run the country properly but President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and his government are neither players nor spectators of the political drama that is taking place right under their eyes. Whenever his government attempts to implement small-scale community projects, he is rebuffed and overruled, namely by his invisible bosses. Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud’s Somali government has no credibility content to save the country and people from a looming sovereignty-threatening situation. He is the wrong man to lead a nation in limbo like Somalia.
The President of Somalia should be very realistic and he must accept the inevitable and irreversible reality: Somaliland’s independence and sovereignty is a fact. The history shall not repeat itself; the fate of the union is sealed off for good and forever!Legally, historically and politically Somaliland has a unique case. The Republic of Somaliland was once an independent and sovereign country that voluntarily merged with Italian Somalia and the nuptials failed. Today, Somaliland could have enjoyed its independence and would have been a success story had they not voluntarily united with Somalia Italiano on 26th June 1960.
The voluntarily union with Somalia has caused nothing but destruction and lost opportunity for millions of Somalilanders. It was a missed opportunity prospect that obviously never turns back. However, the people of the Somaliland Republic will not, cannot and must not make another historic and costly mistake; they will never fall again into another trap of their own making by sacrificing the hard-won independence and sovereignty for the sake of an unfruitful and problematic concept of the Greater Somalia.
Long Live the Somaliland Republic and its Noble people
The United States joined partners from over 40 countries, international organizations, and the private sector in Djibouti, November 10–14, for the 15th Plenary of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
The plenary, chaired by the United States and hosted by the Government of Djibouti, continued efforts by this outstanding international partnership to safeguard commerce and humanitarian aid deliveries along one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors. The Plenary also marked the passing of the Contact Group chairmanship from the United States in 2013 to the European Union for 2014. Since its initial meeting in January 2009, the Contact Group has nearly tripled in size while successful pirate attacks have declined to zero so far this year. And thanks in part to the Contact Group’s concerted efforts, there has not been a successful pirate attack on a commercial vessel off the Horn of Africa in more than 18 months. This demonstrates the clear global consensus that has emerged against piracy, as well as the recognition that concerted coordinated international action was needed in response. Among its accomplishments to date, the Contact Group has:
• Facilitated operational coordination of an unprecedented international naval effort of more than 30 countries working together to protect transiting vessels. The United States coordinates in these efforts with other multilateral coalitions such as Combined Maritime Forces, NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield, the European Union’s Operation ATALANTA, and independent deployers such as China, India, Japan, and Russia.
• Partnered with the shipping industry to improve practical steps merchant ships and crews can take to avoid, deter, delay, and counter pirate attacks. The shipping industry’s use of Best Management Practices and the increasing use of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel are among these measures, which continue to be the most effective deterrents against pirate attacks.
• Strengthened the capacity of Somalia and other countries in the region to counter piracy, in particular by contributing to the UN Trust Fund Supporting Initiatives of States Countering Piracy off the Coast of Somalia; and
• Advanced new initiatives aimed at disrupting the pirates’ networks ashore through law enforcement approaches similar to those used to target other types of organized transnational criminal networks.
