HARGEISA, 18 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Kayd Somali Arts and Culture Presents:
Somali Week Festival 2009
Friday 23 October to 31 October 2009Oxford House
Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG
Kayd Somali Arts and culture in partnership with REDSEA-ONLINE.COM, and a range of national, international and local community organisations is pleased to present the Somali Week Festival as part of Black History Month. Somali Week offers the best of Somali culture both old and new, through an eclectic mix of events including, poetry, literature and music. This year’s Somali Week Festivalwill focus on Censorship.
The SWF is an established festival within the Somali communities in London, nationally and internationally. It celebrates and explores the uniqueness of Somali art and culture. The festival will showcase this year mix of poetry, prose literature, Plays and music.
The festival will be launched by the Deputy Mayor of London, Richard Barnes and Ahmed Saleebaan Bidde
We are proudly expecting a range of guests including renowned Somali and non-Somali artists, academics and commentators: Amina Abdilahi, Boon hirsi, Ali Banfaz, Mahamed Jama Kayd, Ahmed Saleebaan Bidde. Said Salah Ahmed, Rashid Sheekh Abdullahi, Sheikh Mahamoud Sheikh Dalmar, Maxamed Hasan “Alto”, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Cllr Ahmed A. Omer, Hudaydi, Dararamle, Abdirahman Yusuf Arten, Warsan Cismaan Saalax, Sa’id Jamac, Suad Armiye, Shukri Sha’ni, Jaango, Ali Seenyo, Beeldaaje, Suldaan, Keyse Mohamed Yusuf, Maryan Mursal, Nimo Degan, Gaadaco, Farhaan Xidig, Abdifitaah yare, Prince Abdi, Ismail Aw-adan Ahmed Abdillahi , Abdalah Shafey, Aisha Lul , Warsan Shire., Abdi Bahdoon, Michael Newman, Global Citizenship Schools Project Worker from Tower Hamlets council, Lynn Fredriksson from Amnesty International, Abdiraxman Abees, Mustafe TIT, Beeldaaje, Aar Band, Kaltun Bacado, Yusuf Dheere Jookhle, Abdi-aziiz Ali Ibrahim Xildhibaan, Abdurrahman “Abees” Durta, Faysal Aw Abdi Anbalash, Abdilahi Awed Igeh, Ahmed Abdilahi , Awale, Abdalle Ismaan Shafey, Abdirahmaan Mahamed Abtidoon, Umar haaji-Bile Aadan, Jama Musse Jama, Mahamed Baashe H Hassan, Martin Orwin, Said Ali Shire,
The international aspect of the festival is an important continued development and partnership work with artists and organisations in Somali speaking territories.
For more information about the festival programme visit www.kayd.org or call 07903 712 949, please email ; ayan_mahamoud@kayd.org
HARGEISA, 17 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Ridiculous! You would think. Welcome to Alshabaab’s world. Imagine strolling along the road with your mother, sisters, and wife. And as if you have violated some kind of a pedestrian rule (not a traffic law) Alshabaab zealots pull you to the side. And then just as police officers inspect vehicles, the Alshabaab zealots scrutinize your beloved family female members. Worse yet, just as the law enforcement officers focus on the licenses plates, Alshabaab inspects your mother, sisters, and wife’s breasts. To add insult to injury, the ignorant Western Media not only reports the barbaric events but also states that Alshabaab is enforcing Islamic Sharia Law. What an insult! What a disinformation!
Somali women have been suffering in the hands of rapists, gangs, and warlords for two decades. Today, many of the criminals who have in the past brutally raped Somali girls as young as seven-years old have miraculously found a “religion” that exonerates them from their crimes and permits them to humiliate Somali women. No! No! This religion is not Islam. It is a new cult introduced by Alshabaab.
Just like David Koresh’s cult of Waco, Texas, U.S.A have commanded diehard zealots in the name of upholding “Christian” values and managed to massacre innocent people, similarly Alshabaab in the name of protecting “Islam” has its zealots and continues to slaughter the Somali people and humiliate Somali women.
But the indignation caused by Alshabaab respects no bounds. Alshabaab now stops Somali women and girls on the streets and forces them to shake their boobs. And if the breasts don’t bounce, these women receive public whipping. How dare their breasts defy gravity? Worse yet, Alshabaab forces them to remove their bras because according to the Alshabaab cult bras are against the Islamic dress code.
That is, any woman whose breasts look firm or defy the laws gravity must be stopped and forced to shake her boobs just like a Western stripper does. Ooh lord have mercy on the Somali people!
Alshabaab’s war against not Ethiopia but Somali women’s breasts reminds me a humours story about bras in Mogadishu. A nomadic man once visited his older brother in Mogadishu. The older brother then took his nomadic brother to the busiest shopping center in Mogadishu. As they were strolling along, the newcomer spotted a pair of bras. He was intrigued by their shape. After inspecting them, the nomadic man asked his brother: “Areey waxaan maxaa waaye…what are these, pointing his finger at the bras?” The brother, the city resident: “Areey rujubeeto waaye…they are bras”. The bewildered nomadic man asks: “Areey rujubeeto xay tartaa…what is the purpose of bras?” The city resident: “Areey walax raaracay roojisaa…they hold in place something that hangs.”
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Now, the story of the brothers and the bras may be funny and innocent, but Alshabaab’s conduct is offensive and un-Islamic. The two brothers because of their enormous respect towards women, they could not even say the word: breast. Yet today, Alshabaab removes bras from women and forces them to shake their breasts in the middle of the road. Baffling!
Also, through the eyes of Alshabaab, the Somali women’s traditional headdress that they have been wearing for hundreds of years all of a sudden is perceived as un-Islamic dress. Again, women as old as 65 years have been flogged in public and humiliated by Alshabaab. Some of them have been hospitalised. What is their crime? These women refused to replace their Somali and African traditional headdress with an imported dress code. http://tinyurl.com/yzhh6a3Truly, Alshabaab remains offensive and destructive.
Equally offensive and ignorant, the Western Media reinforces Alshabaab cult’s evil ideologies by stating, “Alshabaab seeks to impose a strict form of Sharia Islamic law throughout Somalia.” That is, some Western captive audiences, as gullible as ever, are convinced Alshabaab is just practising Islam, nothing more, nothing less. It is just Sharia!
These Media reports are pure lies, the most shameful disinformation—a condoned Islamophobia and racism. What Alshabaab does is not according to Sharia and has nothing to do with Islam. As I have stated in on of my articles, despite the obnoxious shrills from the Western nations that Alshabaab is a threat to them, in fact Alshabaab is a blessing in disguise for the West but a curse upon the Somali people.
For one thing, to continue the Western imperial expansion in East Africa, an enemy is needed—Alshabaab. For another, to continue the relentless insults and racists attitudes towards Islam and Muslims a barbaric group that claims to be Muslim yet undertakes the most un-Islamic acts would be a double bones; Alshabaab—the latest toy for the Western Intelligence agencies—fits the description perfectly. See some of my articles: Is Irish Independent News Outlets Spreading IslamPhobia and Racism?
Just as the Nazis relentlessly spread disinformation about Judaism and Jews in the 30s and 40s, today the Western Media tireless insults Islam and Muslims—“the enemy within”. The Nazis too labelled the Jews as terrorists and as the enemy within. History repeats itself with odd twists, doesn’t it?
To sum up, Alshabaab’s latest un-Islamic and barbaric acts towards Somali women have proved one thing: the Somali people must form a united front against this new enemy bent to destroy Islam and Somali culture.
Alshabaab is like a pest and we must eradicate it by any means necessary.
The brave and hardworking Somali women—the breadwinners of our society—should not be imposed on foreign ideologies disguised as Islam.
As for the ignorant Western Media, don’t reinvent the wheel. That is, the Media should refrain from repeating the same regurgitated racist Nazi propaganda and hurling it at Islam and Muslims. Before spitting out nonsensical reports about Islam—the Media should speak to Muslim scholars and get the facts.
Dalmar Kaahin
dalmar_k@yahoo.com
______________________________________________________________________________________________ Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial
MOGADISHU, 17 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Somalia’s hardline Islamist group al Shabaab has publicly whipped women for wearing bras they say violate Islam by constituting a deception, north Mogadishu residents said Friday.
The insurgent group, which seeks to impose a strict form of sharia Islamic law throughout Somalia, amputated a foot and a hand each from two young men accused of robbery earlier this month. They have also banned movies, musical ringtones, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer.
Residents said gunmen had been rounding up any woman seen with a firm bust and then had them publicly whipped by masked men. The women were then told to remove their bras and shake their breasts.
“Al shabaab forced us to wear their type of veil and now they order us to shake our breasts,” a resident, Halima, told Reuters, adding that her daughters had been whipped Thursday.
“They first banned the former veil and introduced a hard fabric which stands stiffly on women’s chests. They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat.”
Officials of Al Shabaab, which Washington says is al Qaeda’s proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, declined to comment.
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The group’s hardline interpretation of Islamic law has shocked many Somalis, who are traditionally moderate Muslims. Some residents, however, give the insurgents credit for restoring order to the regions under their control.
Al Shabaab, which means “youth” in Arabic, control large swathes of south and central Somalia.
Abdullahi Hussein, a student in north Mogadishu, said his elder brother was thrown behind bars when he fought back a man who humiliated their sister by asking her to remove her bra.
“My brother was jailed after he wrestled with a man that had beaten my sister and forced her to remove her bra. He could not stand it,” Hussein said.
Men were not spared the’ moral cleansing’. Any man caught without a beard was been publicly whipped.
“I was beaten and my hair was cut off with a pair of scissors in the street,” Hussein said.
“My trouser was also cut up to the knee. They accused me of shaving my beard but I am only 18. They have arrested dozens of men and women. You just find yourself being whipped by a masked man as soon as leave your house.”
HARGEISA (SomalilandPress) – Officials are warning renewed fighting is likely between two rival clans in breakaway Somaliland, where they are reported to have amassed a large number of weapons and positioned hundreds of militiamen near disputed farmland in Gabiley region.
“We are afraid new conflict could break out any time,” a police officer, who requested anonymity, told IRIN, adding that the clans had at least 1,000 militiamen, armed with automatic rifles such as AK47 rifles and BKM handguns, in or near the Elberdale farmland area.
The dispute over the farmland dates back to the 1950s with the two clans – the Reer Nour and Reer Hared – each claiming ownership.
Since the beginning of 2009, they have fought at least four times: in April, May, July and September, resulting in 19 deaths and several hundred families displaced.
Dahir Muhumed Eggeh, one of the Reer Hared militiamen, said a farming project, established in the late 1950s, was at the centre of the conflict, which came to a head in 1988. The clans fought on opposite sides of the 1981-1991 war between the Somali National Movement (Somaliland’s liberation organization) and the army, which was loyal to then Somali president, the late Mohamed Siad Barre. The Reer Nour supported Barre while Reer Hared supported the SNM.
Aw Hassan Diiriye Elmi, a former chairman of Gabiley District, said: “This conflict is linked to the repercussions of [actions by] Siad Barre, who tried to remove one of the clans from their land… we came back to the country from refugee camps to find new signs put up by our neighbours, who have since tried to take away our lands.”
With the two clans arming militiamen, the price of handguns and other light weapons has gone up.
“Before [in 2008], light weapons, such as a Kalashnikov, cost US$370-400, but now it goes for between $650 and $700,” one of the militia leaders in Elberdale said.
Weapons smuggling
The militia leader, who requested anonymity, said: “There are two routes for weapons to enter Somaliland – crossing from Bosasso [in Puntland] to the eastern regions of Somaliland, and from the west, especially the area between Zaila and Lughaya at a place called Sanka Doonyaha, where fast boats load weapons at night.”
Abdillahi Omar Qawdhan, a Somaliland coast guard consultant and marine expert, told IRIN: “We have information that illegal small arms are smuggled to parts of the Somaliland coast but what we know is that small-calibre ammunition is imported to the west coast in sacks by the Yemeni boats that import fuel and other items to the west coast ports such as Cel-Sheik, Bula-Har, Bulo-Addo and Zaila.
“We have information that even small arms such as the BKM and bullets are being imported by local businessmen. Weapons destined for Ethiopia as well as Somalia have been smuggled to these places.
“Since the beginning of 2009, we have recovered more than 300 pistols [smuggled in] from Yemen in the eastern Berbera [Sahil region],” he said.
However, Mohamed Osman Hudhun, Somaliland’s western coast army chief, disputed this, saying: “There are no weapons imported into the western coast because I am from this area and every single incident is reported to me.”
HARGEISA, 15 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – We are concerned about President Rayaale’s commitment to the implementation of the recent three-party agreement aimed at overhauling the delayed election. If the president continues to undermine the electoral process including the formation of a new National Electoral Commission (NEC), the agreement may unfortunately fall into pieces.
Although the recent internationally brokered agreement offers a workable framework for bringing the stakeholders together to achieve a fair and free election, the president’s consistent refusal to pass the NEC members nominated by the opposition and the Upper House on to the House of Representatives for approval casts doubts on his commitment to the agreement.
We believe the president’s reaction is unlawful and against the spirit of good cooperation and therefore we call on the president to reframe from undermining the election and to handle the process swiftly in accordance with the law.
The delay will only serve sliding the country into the political chaos it had been in recently and denying the nation the potential for staging a democratic election.
We hope the president will honour the memorandum of understanding aimed to achieve a way out of the political impasse and will stop politicising the process.
Kulmiye urges the president to undertake his duties responsibly and to work closely with the other main political stakeholders in establishing confidence among the citizens in the electoral process.
Dr. Mohamed A Omar, Foreign Affairs Secretary
Kulmiye Party
ADDIS ABABA, 15 Oct 2009 (Somalilandpress) – French company Bollore Africa Logistics is to invest €500-million in the Somali port of Berbera, a crucial lifeline for landlocked Ethiopia, a diplomat said Wednesday.
Berbera, less than 300 kilometres east of the former French colony of Djibouti, faces Yemen on the Gulf of Aden and is the economic capital of Somaliland, a breakaway state more stable than the rest of Somalia.
“Bollore is about to invest €500-million in Berbera port to improve the port and create a new corridor to the hinterland. Ethiopia is very excited about that,” a French diplomat based in Addis Ababa said.
“The project is not completely finalised, but Bollore has a huge presence in West Africa and is interested in East Africa,” the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
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The company is part of a group owned by Vincent Bollore, a leader in West Africa’s ports sector and close friend of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Somalia has the longest coastline on the continent and forms the “horn” of Africa, which juts out into the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden and commands access to some of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes.
Ethiopia has had good relations with the self-proclaimed government of Somaliland and is heavily reliant on the port of Berbera for supplies.
The Bollore group confirmed to AFP in Paris it was interested in the project but did not elaborate further.
“We have not made an offer yet and no amount has been agreed,” a spokesperson said.
HARGEISA, 15 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Washington anelists emphasized the role of free press in promoting democracy at a Town Hall in Hargeisa, Somaliland today as the Voice of America (VOA) launched a new radio station in the Somalia breakaway region.
“We expect this station to serve our people impartially and to inform us – not just with news – but with balanced reports and knowledge,” Somaliland President Dahir Rayale Kahin said as he welcomed VOA’s new broadcast.
The launch of 88.0 FM brought together journalists, government officials, opposition members and civil society activists who gathered afterwards for a discussion entitled, “A Free Press in a Democracy.”
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Panelists praised the gains in independent media, but said challenges remain. Faisal Ali Sheikh, chairman of Jamhuriya newspaper, opposed pending legislation that would require the Ministry of Information to review advertisements.
“The media should lobby against the amendment … which is aimed at restricting the freedom of the press,” Ali Sheikh said. Other panelists included Su’as Hussein Hagi Elmi, a female activist and Mohamoud Hussain Farah, dean of Hargeisa Univesity’s Department of Law.
During an interview with VOA’s Somali service, Somaliland’s main opposition leader, Ahmed Mohammed Silanyo, also expressed his appreciation for the new station. “We are happy to see the Voice of American launch this FM station which will help the people of Somaliland,” Silanyo said.
VOA Hargeisa 88.0 will air 24 hours of VOA programs daily. The broadcast stream includes three and half hours of news and features from VOA’s Somali service along with popular English news, discussion and music programs such as World News Now, Daybreak Africa, Hip Hop Connection and Music Mix. Besides Somali, VOA also broadcasts in English and 11 other languages throughout Africa.
HARGEISA, 14 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Somaliland Foreign Minister Abdillahi Duale today 14 October, thanked all Somaliland political parties, as well as the friends of Somaliland for their well spirited engagement and support.
“The Somaliland Government brings to the attention of the international community that it affirms that a free, fair and peaceful Somaliland elections are now possible. Clearly, this will be possible under the condition that the recently signed six-point agreement is faithfully implemented”, he said
“Currently, the restructuring of the Somaliland National Electoral Commission is presently underway under specific selection criteria”, he added.
In this context, Somaliland Foreign Minister Abdillahi Duale, “thanked all Somaliland political parties for encouraging a home-grown consensus agreement. Our friends, especially Minister Dr. Tekeda Alemu of Ethiopia for his lead mediating role and the supportive partnership of the United Kingdom. The African Union Special Envoy, Mr. Nicholas Bwakira and the UN Special Envoy, Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, for their visits to Hargeisa and timely advice.”
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We are particularly encouraged by the Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia’s statement of 28 August 2009, that “Somaliland’s success—no matter how impressive it may have been—should not be taken for granted,” and the African Union’s statement that “the African Union in consultation with the international community is available to assist all parties in Somaliland to reach an amicable solution or common understanding, as part of its overall efforts to promote peace, security and stability in Somalia”.
Somaliland Foreign Minister Abdillahi Duale concluded his statement:
“We call on friendly countries to energetically champion the case of Somaliland within IGAD and the African Union. Indeed, the unsettled international status of Somaliland severely restricts our people from effectively transacting with the world in order to advance our development and post-war reconstruction goals. Currently, the high-levels of unemployment lead to many of our youth to migrate to neighboring countries, as far as South Africa, the EU and USA, and sadly many end up joining groups with a terrorist agenda”
“We hope that this brisk sprit of engagement with Somaliland by the friends of Somaliland and multi-lateral institutions will continue with the same sense of urgency, to advance Somaliland’s stability and a better future for its children, in the inter-connected interests of regional and world peace and security ”.
Issued by
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hargeisa, Somaliland
14 October 2009
London,12 October 2009 (Somalilandpress)-Although I greatly enjoyed reading your article entitled, “Christianity must become more like Islam to prosper “published on Monday, October 12, 2009, I was equally saddened and offended that that article continued spreading deliberate disinformation about Islam. And the ironic thing is: it is this shameful and deliberate disinformation—a condoned racism—towards Islam and Muslims that in fact brought Islam to your door steps, in the first place. See the article:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/christianity-must-become-more-like-islam-to-prosper-1910720.html
A case in point: your article states, “We consider that the treatment of the Magdalenes — regarded as “fallen women” in Irish institutions — was horribly punitive: Islam can be a lot crueler to women who are deemed to “dishonor” their families or communities by behaving in any way improperly. “Honor killings”…”
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Ignorance is blissful, isn’t it? I double challenge you to show me a verse from the Quran—the Muslim holly book—or a statement form Hadith—Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) sayings or narrations—that states that the “honour killing” is based on Islam. Of course you won’t find them.
You could have simply researched the truth by asking a local Muslim scholar whether honour killing is based on Islam. But you didn’t. And sadly, the truth is rarely the objective. In fact, any Muslim scholar would tell you that honour killing is based on some Middle Eastern culture and has NOTHING to do with Islam. Also, Islam resolutely opposes honour killing.
You owe an apology to the Muslim communities for deliberately dragging their faith through the mud.
What happened to the pillars of good journalism: thoroughness, accuracy, fairness and transparency?
HARGEISA, 12 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – For the last four weeks, Somaliland has witnessed one of its critical political situations in connection to the following reasons.
There was a general concensus among Somaliland people regardless of their various social groupings and regional divisions (wherever they live in the country and abroad) that Somaliland was on the verge of collapse.
This situation arose mainly from the ineptitude and ineffectiveness of Somaliland government to respect the different timetables for the long-awaited presidental election to take place. The presidential election of Somaliland has been extended previously for three times. It became apparent that the president and the vice president whose terms in office expires on the 29th of October, 2009, have not been willing to leave office according to the rules and regulations of the game. The implications of this was huge and it has affected all sections across the society and Somaliland institutions.
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The Parliament
The parliament passed a resolution asserting that the president’s refusal of the election to be based on the voter registration system was unconstitutional and demanded the president to retract from this decision.
The president did not listen to the parliament’s resolution and as a consequence of this, the parliament introduced a proposal for the impeachment of the president and the vice president. In response to this, the president and his government used all their power to discredit one of the cherished institutions of the state – the parliament, for example, by dividing the parliamentarians and bribing some of them in kind and in cash to stop the impeachment.
Those parliamentarians put a counter proposal to dethrone the speaker of the parliament and his two deputies. Later the confrontation reached unprecedented level including fighting in the parliament among the MPs and the arrival of police and security forces in the parliament premises. To the surprise of everyone, the police confiscated the keys of the premises of the parliament and ordered the speaker and the MPs to leave the parliament compound.
In addition to this, in the evening of the same day, they also confiscated the keys of the Chamber of the Elders (Guurti). This was one of the intensive political moments in the Somaliland political history.
Outside the parliament, huge crowds of people assembled to safeguard their parliament and when the speaker and his deputies came out, they were welcomed by cheerful greetings and with ruptured vioces and claps.
The closure of the parliament became a very worrying situation for the Somaliland people and their friends all over the world. People were nervous. Their country that has been praised for its stability and democratic culture has suddenly appeared to be falling into unpredictable political abyss.
Important people from the society including religious, traditional and business people intervened to mediate among the stakeholders and asked the president to return the keys of the parliament.
Also the chairman of the Guurti, Mr. Suleiman Mohamoud Adam, contacted the president and warned him of the grave situation of confiscating the keys of the parliament. As a result of these pressures, the government accepted to return the keys of the House of Elders, but still retained the keys of the House of Representatives.
After heated discussions between the chairman of the Guurti, Mr. Suleiman and the president, the president told Suleiman that he would also hand the keys of the House of Representatives to him. But instead, the president sent the keys to the head of the traditional leaders who, though important, operate outside the Somaliland institutional framework. This made the head of the Guurti, Mr. Suleiman further angry and bewildered and he accused the president of playing political games and not keeping his words, and not giving the due respect that the state institutions deserve.
The fact that the keys were not handed to Suleiman but instead to the head of the traditional leaders further complicated the situation. On the other hand, the speaker of the parliament and his deputies were determined to return to their offices whatever that costs them if the keys were not handed over soon.
Eventually, the mediators gave a promise to the speaker of the parliament that they would take the keys from the president and the parliament would be reopened soon. But that did not take place, either. The following day, the speaker and his deputies drove to the parliament premises and with the support of the crowd outside the parliament, they managed to enter the parliament compound.
The police around the parliament premises fired at the crowd. Two young people were shot dead and several others were wounded. Inside the parliament, the impeachment discussion restarted and those pro-government MPs continued to disrupt the proceedings of the parliament to stop the impeachment discussions.
The Guurti
Inside the Guurti, there was another equally important discussion that was dealing with the extension of the period of the president and his vice president beyond the 29th of October, 2009. The Guurti was divided across the middle around this question. Some of them believed that enough was enough and no more extensions and wanted the president and his government to work with the political parties to accelerate the election processes and the date instead of requesting all the time for extensions.
On the Thursday night (24th of September, 2009), the chairman of the Guurti, Mr. Suleiman invited the three political parties to speak to the Guurti about their views and positions on the intriguing issues of the election. The two opposition political parties, UCID and Kulmiye came to the hall of the Guurti and spoke to the Guurti members to stop extending the period for the president and the vice president and to accept the six points worked by the international community. The fact that the Guurti wanted to extend the period of the president for another one year was unacceptable.
Chairman of the Guurti, Mr. Suleiman was strongly in favour that all stakeholders accepted the six points proposed by the international community. Although the president declared that he accepted the six points proposed, nevertheles, his party (UDUB) did not come to the important Guurti meeting on Thursday. This arose suspicion in the opposition political parties and immediately believed that the president is not sincere about his promise regarding the six-point proposal.
In the evening of Thursday, the two political parties, UCID and Kulmiye held a press conference at Imperial Hotel. Including in the press statements were, that they would form a government if the Guurti makes another extension for the president. They also said their supporters would come back to the streets and continue their peaceful demonstrations.
At 8:30 in the evening, the president sent three senior ministers to meet the chairman of UCID Party, Faisal Ali Warabe to persuade him to retreat what the two political parties said regarding the formation of a government and the re-starting of the demonstrations. Faisal refused and instead said if you continue the idea of extension, then we shall not afraid and refrain to form a government and to come back to the streets.
After the ministers took this message to the president, there were a hot debate among the key closest ministers of the president. Some of them including the Interior Minister raised the gravity of the situation while some of the more hawkish members suggested to use more power against the opposition including arresting their leaders.
International community
The international community which was worried about the worsening political developments in Somaliland intervened to help the situation. When they listened to all parties, they formulated a six points compromise on the 23rd of September, 2009. UCID Party immediately accepted all the six points. On the second day, this was followed by the acceptance of Kulmiye. On Friday night, around 3:30 in the morning, the president accepted the six-point proposal. He sent this message to the Guurti telling them that he abandoned his earlier stand and wholeheartedly now accepted the six points proposed by the international community, and accordingly the Guurti accepted his message.
This was a complete reversal of the president’s earlier statement. Consequently, on Friday morning the Guurti eventually passed unanimously a proposal accepting all the six points worked by the international community and put aside the extension.
The local arbitration committee
The local arbitration committee consisted mainly of four groups: (1) the leading business people, (2) the prominent religious scholars, (3) the traditional clan leaders and (4) non-state actors (civil society and intellectual). They all wanted to bring all the sides together but their agenda and their interests were definitely different. Some of them were putting more pressure on the opposition rather than to be fair and independent. But on the whole, they were all working hard that the country should not be plunged into crisis.
Here comes a question: Who is to congratulate for this breakthrough of the stalemate? Many people heaped a lot of compliments on the Guurti as a whole, but that is not the case.
The credit goes to the following:
Guurti: In the Guurti context, definitely there were a group led by the chairman of the Guurti, Mr. Suleiman who fought to the teeth to stop the extension.
Parliament: In the parliament, the impeachment issue worried the president’s camp a lot. Though the government wanted to stop the impeachment even by pro-government MPs to fight in the parliament, finally they realised they could not stop the impeachment because of mainly the remarkable insistance of the chair (shirgudoonka) who stick to the constitution of the country.
The opposition political parties: UCID and Kulmiye who organised their action intelligently and smartly in that critical period and moreover, the contributions primarily made by the chairman of the UCID, Engineer Faisal Ali Warabe, particularly his strong message to the president through the three key ministers mentioned above.
The people’ power: Somaliland people who, by their demostrations, expressed that no more extension period be allowed.
And finally, who were the winners? Peace and Security and the Continuation of the Democratic Process in Somaliland.
