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Seven Questions for the Kulmiye Party of Somaliland

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HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — Kulmiye party of Somaliland is positioning itself as a party of change but its policies are ambiguous.

The International Crisis Group cautioned against holding elections in Sool where the largest number of potential new ‘voters’ were registered last year although Sool’s turn-coat politician, Ahmed Abdi Habsade argued that no voter registration had taken place in Sool & Sanaag regions.

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The following list of questions for Kulmiye are intended to trigger a debate on, among other issues, the direction of the party, its relationship with UCID party, and how it has so far addressed the breach of Code of Conduct for Political Organizations by other parties.

1-How would KULMIYE party solve the fraud in voter registration that led to the postponement of elections in Somaliland?

2- Will KULMIYE consider the possibility of forming a coalition government with UCID led by Faysal Ali Warabe if the need arises?

3- In an interview posted on YouTube , KULMIYE leader has told Ahmed Hassan Awke, the Somali newscaster, that Somaliland Vice President, Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, had urged his sub-clan to vote for UDUB Party, Somaliland’s ruling party. Does KULMIYE leader consider the Vice President’s remarks a breach of the Code of Conduct for Political Organizations?

4- If KULMIYE were given a chance to introduce electoral reform, what would it do to reduce the possibility of electoral stalemate that has bedevilled Somaliland since 2007?

5- KULMIYE party leader, Ahmed M. Mahamoud Silanyo blamed President Dahir Riyale Kahin for the assassination of Osmaan Yusuf Nuur who was commander of the 12th division of Somaliland Military in Las-Anod last year. Does this mean KULMIYE leader has lost faith in Somaliland judiciary?

6- Why has KULMIYE fallen short of addressing the Somaliland government’s policy of ignoring and threatening traditional leaders of pro-union constituencies in Sool region?

7- Will a KULMIYE-led government hold talks with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia?

Written by: Liban Ahmad, 14 April 2010
Libahm@gmail.com
__________________________________________________________
Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

SOMALILAND: Landmine Incident Kills Two

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HARGEISA, 14 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – A vehicle owned by Halo Trust was hit by a landmine killing two people and wounding others. The incident took place on Monday in Dabagorayaale, Togdheer region.

Two of Halo Trust local staff were killed and other were wounded and taken to Hargeisa hospital.

Reports say the vehicle was carrying a team working on removing mines from the area. It is not clear the cause of the incident but witness told Somalilandpress that the vehicle was on its way back the camp when the mine exploded. “The road was cleared before and people normally use it, I don’t know what happened” said one of the residents.

Halo Trust did not officially talk about the incident and how this happened specially after the areas was marked as “save” from landmines.

“It could  sometimes happen that we do not know about  one or two of them specially when we are working in vast areas but this is really shocking” said one of the Halo Trust staff.

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Landmine incidents are a major problem in Somaliland. Due to long history of wars in the region, the country is still suffering the impact of thousands of landmines and other explosives.

Halo Trust is one of the International Organizations working on removing landmines in Somaliland. Their work covers all the regions and most of their operations were successful but such incident specially places where the organization said they cleared from the landmines can bring a question if the other places are save or not.

Somalilandpress

Abaarso Tech: Somalilandpress sits down with Jonathan Starr

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In an exclusive interview with Somalilandpress, Mohammed Ibrahim had the pleasure to ask questions Jonathan Starr, the co-founder and Managing Director of Abaarso Tech, a non-profit organization and boarding school in Somaliland.

Mr. Jonathan, an Economics graduate from Emory University, is also the founder of Flagg Street Capital, a private investment company that manages more than $170 million of investor assets. Before he found Flagg Street, Mr. Jonathan worked as an analyst at SAB Capital and Blavin & Company.

Jonathan says the aim of Abaarso Tech is to offer world class education to people of the Horn of Africa not only to those in Hargeisa.

The following is the full audio of the
interview: [audio: starr.mp3]

Photo: Daniel teaching physics (Abaarso Tech)


Somalilandpress, 13 April 2010

Dahabshiil Receives Mayor's Award

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LONDON (Somalilandpress) — Dahabshiil, the UK’s leading money transfer provider to the Horn of Africa, has received the Mayor of Tower Hamlets Award for excellence in the community.

The award, presented by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Councilor Ahmed Adam Omer, recognises Dahabshiil’s dedication and outstanding contribution to the local, national and international Somali community over the last 40 years.

Councillor Ahmed Adam Omer said: “I’m delighted to present Dahabshiil with the Mayor of Tower Hamlets Award for excellence in the community.

“Dahabshiil is a fantastic example of how businesses can integrate responsible business practices into mainstream operations, while benefiting its customers, the environment and its employees.

“Dahabshiil has been a pillar of our community for more than two decades and it’s great to see an African business thriving and having such a huge impact throughout the UK and internationally.”
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Dahabshiil, which has 200 locations in the UK and an expanding network of more than 24,000 agents and branches in 144 countries worldwide, is committed to supporting the Somali community around the world and invests more than 5% of its annual profits into community regeneration projects involving the development of schools, hospitals, agriculture and sanitation.

In the UK, Dahabshiil sponsors a range of events, including the Somali Week Festival, where it helps to promote understanding and integration through Somali art and culture, and the Somali Youth Sports Association, which promotes sportsmanship and competition among players within the UK and in Europe.

Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil, said: “We are honoured to receive the Mayor of Tower Hamlets Award for excellence and it underlines our commitment to trust and community responsibility.

“We are extremely proud of our corporate citizenship philosophy and will continue to work on improving our initatives and develop new ones.”

The award ceremony, held on Monday 12 April at Dahabshiil’s UK headquarters in Tower Hamlets, was attended by Mayor Ahmed Adam Omer, Dahabshiil CEO Abdirashid Duale and members of Dahabshiil’s staff.

Dahabshiil employs more than 2,000 people across 144 countries and has provided money transfer and cash facilitation for international aid agencies.

Over 95% of the International Organisations in Somalia, including the United Nations, World Health Organisation, World Bank, Oxfam and Save the Children, rely on Dahabshiil to provide payment services for their staff, contractors, government institutions and partner NGOs.

Abdirashid Duale added: “Transferring remittances is a lifeline for many people in the developing world whose friends or family live abroad and regularly send money home.”

Source: Dahabshiil, 13 April 2010

Somaliland Flag On The Highest Mountain In South East Asia

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Malaysia, 13 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – The Educational Trip to Sabah (ETS) which was scheduled from 13 – 20 March 2010 successfully concluded its mission. It was organised by the Student Support Services Department (SSSD), Student Representative Council (SRC) and International Student Council (ISC) with the support from PETRONAS Group Corporate Affairs (GCA), PETRONAS Education Sponsorship Unit (ESU) and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP).

The objectives of the programme are to familiarize students with the incredible diversity of the eco system, understand its importance and enhance the love for it; and encourage a caring society by reminding students of their responsibility towards the surrounding community through community service activities.

ETS was participated by 36 students comprising 26 international students from 26 different countries including Cambodia, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Somaliland, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Timor Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen; and 10 local students. The only Somali in the group was Ahmed Mahdi of the Towers university, a Somalilander (see pictures).

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The programme started on 14 March 2010 when all participants visited Sunday Market at Gaya Street (also known as Pasar Tamu) and Sabah Museum. In the evening, the ETS group went to Kudat Traditional Rungus Longhouse and visited the “Tip of Borneo” where the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea meet.

On the second day, the ETS group went to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Matunggong in Kudat. The ETS group was warmly welcomed by the teachers, staff and students of the school. The activities organised were sharing sessions and various educational games with the school students. In the evening, the ETS group departed to Aristo Kinabalu Resort in Kundasang.

On the third day, the ETS group departed to Kinabalu National Park. Before they started climbing at 10.30 a.m., a few participants were interviewed by the print media and television stations such as the Daily Express, the Borneo Post, Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) and Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad (TV3) about the programme. Later, a cameraman from TV3 followed the group to climb Mount Kinabalu. At about 3.30 p.m., the group reached Laban Rata and spent a night there.

The final step of climbing the mountain was on 17 March 2010 at about 2.00 a.m. when they started climbing the summit. The highlight of the programme was when all the ETS participants successfully conquered the peak of Mount Kinabalu at about 5.30 a.m.. History was made when one group consisting of 27 nations reached the peak of Mount Kinabalu at one time. All participants proved their determination and courage to conquer Mountain Kinabalu which stood at 4095 meters (13,435 ft) above sea level.

On the fifth day, the ETS group visited PETRONAS Sabah/Labuan Regional Office (KKRO). They were given a briefing on PETRONAS operations in Sabah. It was a very enlightening session. At 2.30 p.m., the ETS group was invited to meet Assistant Youth and Sports Minister of Sabah, Datuk Jahid Jahim at his office.

On the sixth day, the ETS group visited Universiti Malaysia Sabah and they were warmly welcomed by its Student Representative Council Exco members. In the evening, the ETS group went to an orphanage home known as “Darul Bakti” at Kota Belud. The group organised various activities including motivational sessions with the 50 orphans.

On the last day, they went for a tour of Tuanku Abdul Rahman Park and Sapi Island before returning to Kuala Lumpur with sweet memories and wonderful experience.




Why Drone Attacks in Somalia is ill-advised ?

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HARGEISA, 13 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – According to recent media reports, the US administration of President Barack Obama is considering to use drone attacks as the least option to help the Transitional Government in Somalia to defeat the insurgency. However, attacking few foreign Jihadists is one thing but targeting a factional leader such as Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys will not help bring peace but make matters worse.

There is no doubt if drones are used to attack the insurgency in Somalia many innocent lives could be lost. Unlike ground operations, drone attacks cannot be too careful to limit the death of civilians.

The conflict in Somalia is different from the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan where drones have been deployed to target the insurgency or its leaders. Unlike in Pakistan and Afghanistan where drones scour the terrain to target individuals who may hold key to ending the conflict, in Somalia, there is no one or two individuals whose killing will end the insurgency or the insecurity in the country.

Somalia has many crises including insecurity in the country to tackle. Nevertheless, if the Transitional Government was not busy with matters unrelated to nation-building, it would have needed neither drones nor forces from other nations to help establish peace and security.

The Transitional Government does not seem to want to establish peace and security using the resources at its disposal and the funds it had received from around the world. Since its arrival at a time when global disgust with senseless fanaticism has been at its peek, the TG had never been lacking international support or funding which has been squandered. There are always things other countries can help a nation which has to rebuild itself from the calamity of civil war, but no government should look to other nations for everything.

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Without doubt, a government’s affinity to its people is generated from its actions. Somalis everywhere are witnessing that the Transitional Government is adrift. It is manifesting greed, ineptness and increasingly inward looking. If the TG had sincerity or purposefulness it would have found the way out of its (the nation’s) crises. Other than its utter dependency on other nations, there were avenues open for the TG to pursue to establish peace and security.

The Somali people have ample reasons to be frustrated with the lack of progress and the ever deepening crises of our nation. Whatever transitional administration was the outcome of over a dozen peace meetings during the civil strife nothing is happening or improving for the nation and the politics had been same or similar.

Somalis are from an open society where everything can be known sooner or later. For instance, within the TG, everybody knows who is doing what and who is pulling the strings. In the beginning many Somalis had high hopes that the Government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed could be different. They could not be more wrong. One year on the support of the TG has never been lower.

If the Transitional Government had endeavoured to gain the support of its people it would have needed neither drones nor forces of other nations to make or keep the peace and the TG has no one other than itself to blame. Not to mention, the contemplated use of drones to attack the insurgency is ill-advised. It may not help but damage the TG itself. It might precipitate its collapse.

Written by:
Abdullahi Dool
Hornheritage@aol.com

____________________________________________________________________________________
Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

Somaliland: Time Of Trial

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The Horn of Africa’s unsought status as one of the most volatile regions in the world is underlined by the deep-rooted conflict in Somalia and the endemic tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea. This makes even more impressive and welcome the progress of the self-declared independent state of Somaliland in creating a stable, rules-based government. However, an electoral crisis now threatens to derail this achievement. Somaliland’s political leadership has the main responsibility in solving it, but constructive support by the international community will be vital in ensuring that the territory continues to defy the trend of conflict that has damaged its neighbours.

Somaliland, a former British protectorate, declared its independence from the rest of the Republic of Somalia in May 1991, following the collapse of the military regime in Mogadishu. It remains unrecognised by any country in the world. Yet Somaliland has followed a very different trajectory from much of the rest of the “failed state” of Somalia.

A process of political, social and economic reconstruction has brought security and relative stability. Somaliland’s incipient democracy has drafted and approved a new permanent constitution; smoothly handed power from one president to another; and held three peaceful elections. Yet the democratic transformation is far from complete, and recent developments could see Somaliland slip back towards the kind of instability and lawlessness experienced in the rest of Somalia.

The immediate crisis stems from the failure to hold elections even with the expiry of President Dahir Rayale’s term in May 2008. The latest in a series of postponements came in September 2009, when the two opposition parties threatened a boycott over reported fraud that they charged made the official voter-registration list unusable. An escalation of the dispute was averted only by an agreement to delay the vote, revamp the discredited electoral commission and refine the list.

Behind these problems lies a persistent winner-takes-all political culture, in which wide-ranging attempts to manipulate the political process have corrupted governing institutions and undermined the rule of law. A failure to protect democratic institutions now could open the door to the remobilisation of militias and a violent conflict. This would be a tragedy for a polity that has done so much to avoid being drawn into the Horn of Africa’s maelstrom of war and destruction.

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There is a double challenge here for Somaliland’s political actors: in the short term to resolve the electoral crisis, and in the long term to improve the political culture. It will require Somaliland’s political parties to democratise, and open up political space for other organisations to contest local elections; and its electoral institutions to be professionalised and depoliticised.

A regional example

The international community should lend encouragement to the Somaliland government as these processes take place. The British government in particular should make close monitoring of Somaliland a regular part of its policy towards the Horn of Africa.

There are also three immediate steps that European Union member-states can take to support Somaliland’s democratic process and help it find a way out of its electoral crisis.

First, Somaliland’s international supporters should provide technical assistance, financial support and political cover to the new national electoral commission (NEC) – which, though crucial to the process, lacks experience. This would be invaluable in enabling the NEC to do its work effectively and resist political manipulation.

Second, the international community should dispatch international election monitors and help train additional local observers who can work in insecure rural areas, to ensure that the entire electoral process is free and fair.

Third, there is a profound lack of voter education and civic awareness, which highlights the importance of instilling democratic values in Somaliland’s younger generation. Here, international supporters can assist in the preparation of materials on democratic practices and election laws for schools and local communities.

In a violent region that has been the source of so much bad news Somaliland remains a place of exemplary if incomplete stability. It still has the potential to be a model for state reconstruction, and can play an important and progressive role in the fight against piracy and extremist Islamism. Somaliland must be given the help it needs to succeed.

Source: OpenDemocracy

SOMALILAND: Court Sentences Seven Yemenis For an Illegal Fishing

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Berbera (SomalilandPress) – The Sahil court in the port city of Berbera sentenced seven Yemeni fishermen each to four years prison for illegally fishing in the Somaliland waters.

The prosecutor brought evidences to the court proving that the fishermen had illegally and knowingly entered the Somaliland waters. He argued that these fishermen had no license to fish in the Somaliland waters. However the defendants said they have a license to fish but they did not show any papers to proof their allegation.

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The fishermen told the court that they received a fishing license from a man name Abdirisaaq Qayre who at that time was also present in the court. Mr. Qayre told the court that he has no relationship with these men and therefore did not sell them any license to fish in the Somaliland waters.

Somaliland and Somali coastal water is known to have huge numbers of commercial fish and specially the prized Yellowfin tuna which is one of the largest tuna species that can weight over 300 pounds (136kg).

The fact that there is no government in Somalia and the growing numbers of pirates in the Somali waters are luring more illegal fishers into Somaliland waters which so far survived the piracy activities.



SomalilandPress, 13 April 2010

SOMALIA:Why drone attacks in Somalia is ill-advised

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According to recent media reports, the US administration of President Barack Obama is considering to use drone attacks as the least option to help the Transitional Government in Somalia to defeat the insurgency. However, attacking few foreign Jihadists is one thing but targeting a factional leader such as Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys will not help bring peace but make matters worse.

There is no doubt if drones are used to attack the insurgency in Somalia many innocent lives could be lost. Unlike ground operations, drone attacks cannot be too careful to limit the death of civilians.

The conflict in Somalia is different from the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan where drones have been deployed to target the insurgency or its leaders. Unlike in Pakistan and Afghanistan where drones scour the terrain to target individuals who may hold key to ending the conflict, in Somalia, there is no one or two individuals whose killing will end the insurgency or the insecurity in the country.

Somalia has many crises including insecurity in the country to tackle. Nevertheless, if the Transitional Government was not busy with matters unrelated to nation-building, it would have needed neither drones nor forces from other nations to help establish peace and security.

The Transitional Government does not seem to want to establish peace and security using the resources at its disposal and the funds it had received from around the world. Since its arrival at a time when global disgust with senseless fanaticism has been at its peek, the TG had never been lacking international support or funding which has been squandered. There are always things other countries can help a nation which has to rebuild itself from the calamity of civil war, but no government should look to other nations for everything.

Without doubt, a government’s affinity to its people is generated from its actions. Somalis everywhere are witnessing that the Transitional Government is adrift. It is manifesting greed, ineptness and increasingly inward looking. If the TG had sincerity or purposefulness it would have found the way out of its (the nation’s) crises. Other than its utter dependency on other nations, there were avenues open for the TG to pursue to establish peace and security.

The Somali people have ample reasons to be frustrated with the lack of progress and the ever deepening crises of our nation. Whatever transitional administration was the outcome of over a dozen peace meetings during the civil strife nothing is happening or improving for the nation and the politics had been same or similar.
[ad#Google Adsense (336×280)]
Somalis are from an open society where everything can be known sooner or later. For instance, within the TG, everybody knows who is doing what and who is pulling the strings. In the beginning many Somalis had high hopes that the Government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed could be different. They could not be more wrong. One year on the support of the TG has never been lower.

If the Transitional Government had endeavoured to gain the support of its people it would have needed neither drones nor forces of other nations to make or keep the peace and the TG has no one other than itself to blame. Not to mention, the contemplated use of drones to attack the insurgency is ill-advised. It may not help but damage the TG itself. It might precipitate its collapse.

Abdullahi Dool

Hornheritage@aol.com

Yoghurt war: Greek–Turkish relations retested

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HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — Imagine your surprise when you walk down the dairy products aisle, you want to reduce your blood pressure or become thinner or do whatever else; you decide to pick up yohgurt (ah the healthy food that’s been with us forever) and then you get the biggest shocker of your life: your face is on the yoghurt cups.

It’s what happened to a Greek man who, contrary to his face on the yoghurt must have had a very irritable expression instead of a smiling one, found out through his friend Anthanasios Varzanakos in Stockholm, Sweden who phoned him telling him about his surprise when he saw someone he knew on a foods product.

The yoghurt is made by Lindahls Dairy in Jonkoping, Sweden based on a Turkish recipe.

The Greek man featured on the yoghurt containers (his name was not given) immediately handed in a 40-page legal complaint that accused the dairy of falsely using his image in a Turkish context, specifically displayed as a traditional Turkish farmer…and we all know from the history books the Greeks don’t like being put together with their longtime rivals the Turks.
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Naturally, the dairy’s chief executive Anders Lindahl was baffled and stated in an AFP interview that the dairy had “bought it from a photo agency, so we assumed that everything was in order.”

Well apparently not, the Greek man has sued Lindahl for approximately 6.9 million U.S dollars, an equivalent to 50 million Swedish kronors. This is either a very late April Fools or it’s simply one of those bizzare events that worms into our lives once in a while… Ah, life.

Luckily, this could not have come at a better time for the mysterious yoghurt man when Greece is going through all those riots over austerity measures.

Source: inewp, 12 April 2010

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