ONLF Press Release: Response to A False Accusation
The claim by the website, Somalilandpress, which fabricated baseless allegation that ONLF fighters killed several civilian traders from Hargeisa, is not based on facts. The concocted story continues further to say that ONLF carried out this act because it was angry with people from Northern Somalia’s relationship with Ethiopia.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front regards all Somalis as brethren and does not hold any grudges against any groups from Somalia despite many transgressions by some Somali warlords against the Somali people from Ogaden and their legitimate struggle for total emancipation. The Somali people in the Ogaden and the Somalis in North Somalia share a common heritage, kinship and economic ties that benefit both peoples. It is our conviction that these mischievous acts will not affect the relationship between the two brotherly peoples as the agents of the TPLF regime from Ethiopia try to destroy their peaceful coexistence.
The raison d’être for ONLF’s struggle is to emancipate the Somalis in Ogaden regardless of clan, believe or affiliation and there is no reason why it should target parts of its own people. Any entity or group trying to sow conflict and division among the Somali sub-clans in the Ogaden will fail. People with this attitude should know that this outmoded logic will benefit no one and they will be held responsible for unnecessary consequences of their machinations.
It is not simple thing to forget that the practice of continuous rendition of people from Ogaden who seek safety and security in Hargeisa to please Meles and his henchmen. Hence it is no wander if such paid stooges and their sympathisers, such as, Somalilanderpress redouble their efforts to tarnish the name of ONLF and incite hatred among the people of both sides of the border.
Finally the Somali people of the Ogaden wish peace and stability for all Somalis in Somalia and hope this will be reciprocated.
Michael Jackson has died at age 50 after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told the L.A. Times that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home and CPR was performed.
TMZ.com reported that he may have suffered cardiac arrest.
Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.
The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.
His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
He lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation.
There were concerns about Jackson’s health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.
A life in music
Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael — first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.
Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released “Thriller” in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.
The next year, he unveiled his signature “moonwalk” dance move while performing “Billie Jean” during an NBC special.
In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley’s only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.
Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.
Check back with msnbc.com for updates on this breaking story.
Hargeisa (Somalilandcurrent)- Somaliland Government says they would not attend a conference about Somalia that will take place in USA, though Somaliland has been invited to attend the meeting.
Somaliland Foreign Affairs Ministers, Abdullahi Muhammad Duale, told the press in Hargeysa [the capital of Somaliland], that his government was not ready to attend the conference aimed at discussing Somalia affairs.
He said the conference had nothing to do with Somaliland, and that it was for Somalia and Puntland regional autonomous [in northeastern Somalia]. Somalilandpress reporter in Hargeysa, said that the minister, who returned from Kenyan capital, Nairobi, took the decision after meeting with US embassy officials in Nairobi.
The minister said that Somalia and Somaliland are two different countries, adding that Somaliland was ready to talk with US as an independent country.
Reports say that US congress has invited Somali government, Puntland and Somaliland to attend a meeting over Somalia crisis.
Mogadishu (Somalilandcurrent)- Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, has said his country is ready to once again deploy its troops in Somalia if Islamist groups manage to overthrow the Somali president. Mr. Zenawe said his government has strengthened security along the border with Somalia and has made a decision to send troops to the neighbouring country if at any point it feels threatened in order to ensure security in the country. “Our troops are ready to return to Somalia if we feel there is a potential for danger and if the Transitional Federal Government [TFG], which we have good relations with, is overthrown,” Zenawi said in a press conference in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. “So far, we do not have any set plans in which we intend to go into Somalia, however, we will closely monitor the situation in the Horn of African country and we will deploy our troops if the current legitimate government in the country is overthrown.” He added. The Ethiopian Government had deployed its forces in Somalia two years ago and ousted the Islamic Courts Administration which was in control of the country at the time. Ethiopian troops withdrew from the country early this year after an agreement in which the current TFG was formed in Djibouti was reached. The spokesman for the Al-Shabab group, Sheikh Ali Mahmud Rage held a news conference in Mogadishu in which he said they will fight any foreign troops deployed in the country in order to back the TFG which they are currently fighting. There are already many Ethiopian troops with battle wagons present in central Somalia regions, particularly in Hiran. Senior officials of these Ethiopian troops that are currently in Somalia have said they are in the country in order to look after the security of their own country.
Hargeisa, 25 June 2009 – About 5,000 new automatic weather stations are set to be deployed across Africa, under a climate change initiative announced today by the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Global Humanitarian Forum, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and mobile telecommunications companies Ericsson and Zain.
The innovative public-private partnership launched the “Weather Info for All” initiative to improve Africa’s weather monitoring network in the face of the growing impact of climate change.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region facing the most immediate risk of droughts and floods due to climate change, according to a recent Global Humanitarian Forum report. Agricultural yields in some areas are expected to fall by 50 per cent as early as 2020.
The 5,000 automatic weather stations will be installed at new and existing mobile network sites throughout Africa over the coming years, aiming to increase dissemination of weather information via mobile phones that can reach the continent’s most remote communities.
At the launch in Geneva, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, said “This is a great example for twenty-first century collaborative humanitarian and development work between public and private sectors.”
Through its Mobile Innovation Center in Africa, Ericsson will develop mobile applications to help communicate weather information developed by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) via mobile phones.
“The massive growth of mobile subscribers in Africa is the perfect opportunity for the telecoms community to collaborate with national partners to strengthen weather networks and systems across the continent,” said Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.
The initial deployment, already begun in Zain networks, focuses on the area around Lake Victoria in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The first 19 automatic weather stations installed will double the weather monitoring capacity of the Lake region.
“Once the switch is turned on, a flow of extensive weather data will become available throughout Africa, with benefits extending from the national policy makers to the smallholder farmers,” said Jeffrey Sachs, head of Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
Approximately 70 per cent of Africans rely on farming for their livelihood. Meteorological information will become increasingly critical as changing weather patterns render obsolete traditional knowledge relating to agriculture that African farmers have relied on for centuries.
“For food production, almost every decision is linked to weather, climate and water parameters,” said Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the WMO. “Working through NMHSs, WMO will identify weather information needs, advise on technical requirements and help disseminate the information. This initiative may prove to be one of the most important for African meteorology in decades.”
Hargeisa, 25 June 2009 – The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will launch a radio station aimed at promoting peace in the conflict-torn Horn of Africa nation, a spokesman told AFP Wednesday.
“The planning for this project began last year. AMISOM, the United Nations and the Somali government are all be involved,” Ugandan army spokesman Major Felix Kulayigye.
Uganda is the largest troop contributor to the 4,300-strong AMISOM force, which also includes a large Burundian contingent.
Kulayigye, who did not provide an exact date for the launch, said that while all decisions on programming had not yet been finalised, all broadcasts will be “educational, and will be catered to enhancing peace.”
He said the station would in broadcast English, Somali and Kiswahili.
AMISOM was deployed in early 2007 but has managed little more than keeping a weak transitional federal government on life support.
It is currently protecting internationally-backed President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in his Mogadishu palace as an alliance of insurgent groups presses on with a six-week-old military offensive to topple him.
Somalia has had no effective central authority since the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre touched off a bloody power struggle that has defied around a dozen different peace initiatives.
Al-Shabab still controls parts of Somalia's south and central regions after being chased out of Mogadishu [File: AP]
Hargeisa, 24 June 2009 – A court under the control of a Somali Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab has ordered four young men suspected of stealing guns and mobile phones to have a hand and a leg amputated, but the punishment was postphoned. An al-Shabab spokesman told the Associated Press the sentence would be carried out but was delayed because of fears the men could bleed to death in the hot weather. The human rights organization Amnesty International has condemned the amputation sentences as a violation of international law.
The court in Somalia’s war-torn capital Mogadishu, was set up by the hardline Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab, which the U.S. government has labeled a terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaida. The court delivered its verdict Monday morning in front of a crowd of hundreds.
An al-Shabab leader in Mogadishu, Sheikh Hussein Ali Fidow, said by implementing Islamic law, the group would restore peace and stability to the country.
Once we eradicate the big enemy from an area, smaller enemies appear, he said. We arrested them for robbing people, and they have been sentenced to have their hands and legs amputated. We will not use such sentences to target any particular tribe or group, but we are implementing sharia law.
The group has imposed strict versions of Islamic sharia law in areas it controls, which include much of southern Somalia, as well as parts of Mogadishu. In particular there have been reports of amputations, stoning, and flogging in the southern port city of Kismayo, a Shabab stronghold. There have been fewer reports of such punishments in Mogadishu.
“Cruel, inhumane, degrading”
The human rights group Amnesty International called the punishment described in the most recent ruling as “cruel, inhuman, and degrading.” A researcher with the organization’s Africa program, Benedicte Goderiaux, says amputations are a violation of international law. She also rejects al-Shabab’s claim that such actions are necessary to restore law and order in the notoriously lawless country.
“If they are really concerned about the security of the residents of Mogadishu, there are many other steps that they could take such as stopping indiscriminate attacks which disproportionately affect civilians, such as taking measures to spare the civilian population unnecessary suffering as a result of the armed conflict and instructing its fighters not to target civilians and not to target journalists,” said Goderiaux.
Goderiaux said it can be difficult to ascertain the views of residents of areas under Shabab control towards the militia.
“People who live in areas under al-Shabab control are obviously very scared in the same way as journalists and activists are generally very scared,” she said. “The al-Shabab faction in control of Kismayo for example has already carried out two amputations since the beginning of the year and one of them was done in public. By doing them publicly, al-Shabab wants to send a message of fear to the population.”
She notes however, that when the Islamic Courts Union briefly controlled Mogadishu in 2006, the population there, while welcoming the return to relative order, pressed the authorities to curb the more severe rules.
After being ousted from Mogadishu by Ethiopian troops in late 2006, the Islamist insurgency splintered. The more moderate faction now controls the internationally-backed transitional government, while the hard-liners are trying to topple the government.
Since early May, al-Shabab and the allied Hizbul Islam militia have been pursuing a renewed offensive against the government. The U.N. estimates that 159,000 people have been displaced from their homes. Over the weekend, the government declared a state of emergency and requested intervention by neighboring countries, including Kenya and Ethiopia. Those countries, however, have so far resisted the appeal.
On Monday, President Ahmed said the government was implementing martial law, though considering the limited control exercised by the government on the ground, it is not clear what impact the move will have.
Somalia's soldiers patrol in Afgooye, some 30 kilometres south of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on October 19, 2016. - At least four police officers were killed on October 18 when a suicide bomb attacker rammed an explosives-packed car into a police station before fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab group subsequently stormed the area killing at least 10 people, including soldiers and civilians. (Photo by MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB / AFP)
Hargeisa, 24 June 2009 – Recently, Media and Outreach Coordinator for the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs Greg Garland held online question and answer discussion entitled ‘Is there hope for Somalia?’. The discussion was very much civilized and transparent. The heat and pressure mounted as minute passed, but Garland remained very transparent and clear in answering the questions as per his administration’s policy towards the region.
However, the manner in which US Administration is approaching to the two decades old Somali unrest is wrong, because it believes in a unified Somalia. The administration failed to recognize the democratic, independent and free Somaliland that created complete structure of democratic and modern government without outside help.
State Department praised democracy progress in Somaliland and asked US Aid to double its operations in Somaliland. However, Washington administration botched to utilize Somaliland experience and Forces to ease the violence in Mogadishu.
Somaliland Forces have advantages over African Peace Keeping Forces, Ethiopian Forces and any other outsiders because Somaliland Forces are Somali, Muslim and know the culture of people and government in Mogadishu including the Islamists – Al-Shabaab. Based on these facts, USA shall recognize Somaliland and its forces will roll into brutal streets of Mogadishu. Knowingly, neither Al-Shabaab nor the government will have excuse to fight Somaliland Forces.
After British Somaliland (Today’s Somaliland) and Italian Somalia (today’s Southern regions of Somalia) united, the unrest and violence erupted in Mogadishu streets and Late & First President of Somalia Adan Adde used Somaliland Scouts to normalize the situation in Mogadishu. Britain established Somaliland Scouts and trained them at the beginning of last century. This gives Somaliland experience to stabilize Mogadishu streets, as it did in 1960’s.
Garland said that Washington administration supports the shaky transitional government of Somalia led by Sheikh\ Sharif Ahmed, who is facing growing militancy inside the capital – Mogadishu. The Islamist militant are receiving military, financial and logistics support from Al-Qaeda terror organization and others like Eretria. Recently US based New York Times published report that Al-Qaeda leaders are making shift to Somalia/Yemen from Afghan-Pakistan border. These are signs of growing influence of the militant in Somalia, and ineffectiveness of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed government.
Garland said “The U.S. believes that the Transitional federal Government provides the best solution for a unified Somalia. Inasmuch as Somaliland provides a degree of good governance, it offers an example to what is possible to all Somalis.” Here, unfortunately, Washington looks helpless and stuck with 40 years old failed policy of establishing “Unified Somalia” and overlooks the growing democracies in the region like Somaliland.
US shall realize that unity comes with acceptance from all uniting parties but compulsory union will end up with failure like that of Somalia during 1960’s. The uniting parties shall all agree upon constitution that protects their rights and ensures equality and freedom to all citizens. This cannot happen in Somalia because of tribalism and very complicated population structure.
Garland admitted the international community failed to establish effective and working central government for Somalia in last 20 years, and even US led forces to restore order and hope operation during 1993 failed. He knows international community organized more than 14 peace conferences for Somalis to settle their differences but all failed. Mr. Garland understands that terrorist organizations linked to Al-Qaeda (Al-Shabaab), control 90% of southern parts of former Somalia and thousands of foreign fighters are entering in Somalia from Afghan-Pakistan Border. He sees that Somaliland is the only democratic and active part of former Somalia, but unfortunately his administration in Washington overlooks Somaliland’s competence to win international recognition.
US Forces entered Somalia with same wrong policy, in which Washington administration is approaching to Somaliland and Somalia until today. Former UN General Secretary Boutros-Ghali was part of decision-making in the operation and started the initiative to use force in Somalia. The operation cost the lives of 18 US soldier and more than 30 UN soldiers of different nationalities including Pakistanis.
Mr. Boutros-Ghali had secret agenda to support Ali Mehdi (Transitional President of Somalia during the operation), but US Administration failed to unveil such undercover agenda between Mr. Boutros-Ghali and Ali Mehdi. The secret agenda was to eliminate General Mohamed Farah Aydeed (the rival of Ali Mehdi in Mogadishu) using UN Forces.
The solution of Somali chaos was simple during the operation, but the wrong recommendations of Boutros-Ghali and his secret agenda led the failure of the operation.
Somalia remained under harsh instability and violence for last 20 years, which weakened the country and led terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda to establish bases. Al-Qaeda planned the suicide bombing of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; there are many Al-Qaeda fugitives hiding inside lawless Somalia. These can be minimized if Somaliland is recognized, because the US Forces can establish based inside Somaliland and use its experience to crack down the terror.
Today, Transitional President of Somalia Sheikh Sharif Ahmed lost control of the southern parts to Al-Shabaab, and only controls his residence in Mogadishu (Villa Somalia). Please refer the articles at the bottom for the story.
The USA is watching the growing terror inside Somalia and innocent civilians dying under harsh conditions of strict and wrong Islamic Sharia practices by Al-Shabaab. The group blocked the entire basic social services: No education, electricity, water…etc.
In other hand, the US administration is pressuring and forcing the free people of Somaliland to remain within the human rights violations and killing. Mr. Garland’s administration is holding Somaliland hostage for failed theory of “unified Somalia”. Somaliland government and people cannot do business with outside world due to the diplomatic embargo imposed by USA. They cannot sign trade and partnership agreements with other international business partners. The Somaliland students cannot attend international universities because their certificates are from unrecognized Somaliland. No passports to use and even no embassies for Somaliland across the world. All these are happing to Somaliland, due to lack of diplomatic recognition.
Mr. Garland added. “…The U.S. believes that the Transitional federal Government of Somalia provides the best solution for a unified Somalia. Inasmuch as Somaliland provides a degree of good governance, it offers an example to what is possible to all Somalis…”
Garland braces democratic process in Somaliland, at the same time doesn’t accept it, and he is holding Somaliland until southern Somalia comes out of the current chaos and violence. The question is, If Southern Somalia fails to recover from the violence and chaos that killed hundreds of thousands in last 20 years then will US administration continue overlooking development, democracy progress and good governance in Somaliland?!
There is most devastating humanitarian crisis in southern Somalia including ethic killing, hunger and killer epidemic diseases that take the lives of thousands of civilians. Human rights abuses are daily event. Illegal piracy is common in many parts of former Somalia that disturbs the international sea water, under sponsorship of Puntland. My question is why the world shall punish Somaliland for crimes it did not commit?!
Al-Qaeda’s makeshift & Talibanization of Somalia
Recently Pakistani High Commissioner to London during a debate at Press TV underlined that Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders are working on plans to relocate from Afghan-Pakistan Border into Somalia and Yemen. He added that fighting in Pakistan will end if these leaders leave their country, because the Pashtu tribes are protecting them as guests.
There are feasible Al-Qaeda activities of relocating from Afghan-Pakistan Border to Somalia and Yemen, after Pakistani Forces crashed the Taliban inside Pakistan. This forced Al-Qaeda leaders to look for alternatives like violent and lawless Somalia, which has 100% Muslim population.
Somali eyewitness from Mogadishu told Somali news website that foreigners including Arabs are fighting alongside Al-Shabaab terror organization – Al-Qaeda’s African Wing. These foreigners train the local Somali youth as suicide bombers and on roadside bombs.
NATO Forces operated last four to five years in Afghanistan to defeat Taliban but until now, there are no fruitful results, because Taliban is active and strong. Taliban carry out daily attacks on NATO forces and Afghanistan forces that kill many soldier. It will not be easy for the international community to fight terrorists like Al-Qaeda inside Somalia because Al-Qaeda will get plenty new recruits due to the poverty and lack of education in the country. NATO Forces will not use magic wind to eliminate Al-Qaeda inside Somalia except using Somaliland against the Al-Qaeda. This method succeeded in Iraq, after US forces formed Sunni militia to fight Al-Qaeda and this disabled Al-Qaeda’s operations and death rate of US forces dropped very sharply in very short period.
Comparisons are already being made between the Islamists in Mogadishu and the Taliban in Afghanistan. At some point, the United States government will have to make an unsavoury decision about how to handle the jihadists in Mogadishu. It will almost certainly be necessary to have allies on the ground willing to offer the United States assistance, local information, access to territory, and so on.
AFP new agency published on 12th June 2009 report about Al-Qaeda’s plans to shift to Somalia entitled “Some Qaeda fighters head to Somalia, Yemen”. Dozens of Al-Qaeda fighters and some of the extremist group’s leaders are shifting from their haven in Pakistan’s tribal areas to Somalia and Yemen, The New York Times reported on Friday.
Violent militant groups in all three countries are now communicating more frequently in a apparent effort to coordinate their actions, US administration, military and counterterrorism officials told the Times.
A senior administration official attributed the shift to “the enormous heat we’ve been putting on the leadership and the mid-ranks” with Predator drone strikes launched from Pakistan and Afghanistan that President Barrack Obama has intensified since taking office in January.
“Al-Qaeda has been hit by drones and it has generated a lot of insecurity among them,” said retired Pakistani general Talat Masood, a military analyst in Islamabad. “Many among them are uneasy and it is possible that they are leaving for Somali and other Jihadi battle fronts…The hard core, however, will like to stay on.”
Another explanation, the newspaper said, may owe to expanded violent extremist campaigns in Somalia and Yemen, with US officials pointing to Somalia as a failed state and to a weak central government in Yemen.
CIA Director Leon Panetta said Thursday that the intelligence agency is focusing on countries like Somalia and Yemen as possible safe havens for Al-Qaeda. The group’s leader, Osama bin Laden, is still hiding in Pakistan, Panetta told reporters… End of Report.
The Ideal Solution for Somalia
The solution for Somali unrest is to go back to old codes of 1960 union, and cure disagreements and uncertainties between the Somali communities. We understand that fact don’t satisfy all people, because there is always winner. However, in Somalia all shall be winners, even if it takes giving the leadership of the country to all tribes per term.
The unity of 1st July 1960 that created Somali Republic was not fundamentally agreed, because the Somalis were uneducated and did not understand the meaning of unity; there was no constitution and agreements. It was enthusiastic union that ended on 18th May 1991, after Somaliland was retained its sovereignty afterfive decades within Somalia.
The theory of “Greater Somalia” is based on unity between Somali dominated five regions in the Horn of Africa including Djibouti, Somaliland, Eastern Region of Ethiopia, North Frontier District of Kenya and Somalia (Former Italian Somalia). Somaliland and Italian Somalia united on 1st July 1960, but other three parts remained uninterested in the unity. The Somali dictator Mohamed Siyad Barre attacked Ethiopia to take the 5th Region of Ethiopia by force, as part of theory. Also, the diplomatic relation between Kenya and Somalia was very bad due to the theory, as Siyad Barre believed that Kenya occupies parts of “Greater Somalia”.
Recognizing Somaliland could be as good as the disintegration of USSR, because the people unite and disintegrate based on their own desire, and people of Somaliland voted for independence during 2001 Referendum with 97%. Yes to independence. Somaliland is 3.5 million with 168,000 miles square, and nobody in the world will be able to force them back into another marriage with failed state of Somalia. So, USA government shall recognize Somaliland and utilize its expertise in Somali conflict in the right path.
USA should change its policies in the horn of Africa, and support the growing democracies instead of dancing with dictators. The faith of Somalia will be similar to that of USSR, and dividing the country into Somaliland and Somalia will be an ultimate solution. USA shall not redo in Somalia its failed policy in Afghanistan that created terrorism after USSR lost the war. Dancing with dictators never pays off.
Frankly, the worst democracy is better than any dictatorship. Dictatorship leads to frustration, extremism and terrorism. Somaliland is unique form of democracy and it is growing without democracy mentors and Somaliland created peace without crisis management experts. Somaliland deserved appreciation from the outside world, as neighboring countries do every day.
Today, the landlocked Ethiopia uses Somaliland main port ‘Berbera’ for its imports and exports; Djibouti shares very peaceful border with Somaliland border securities of both countries cooperate on security. In other hand, millions of illegal and drug traffickers cross the border between Southern Somalia and Kenya; large quantities of weapons are smuggled daily into Kenya and Ethiopia. This is different between having Somaliland or Somalia on your border.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, in his recent article on Washington Post, said “once the Soviets were defeated, the Americans took the next bus out of Afghanistan, leaving behind a political vacuum that ultimately led to the Talibanisation and radicalisation of the country, the birth of Al Qaeda and the current jihadist insurrection in Pakistan.”
The world should put southern Somalia under UN Trusteeship for ten years in order to restore the basic social service and help the Somalis to establish their life again. The African Peace Keeping Forces should stay in Somalia during the trusteeship to protect the civilians from the terrorist organizations. Also, the world should recognize Somaliland as an independent state, which will reduce the magnitude of problem inside former Somalia.
Southern Somalia was under UN Trusteeship from 1950 to 1960, because the people in Southern Somalia failed to put effective administration in their part of the region. However, this shows that UN Trusteeship can be ideal solution to Southern Somalia, and recognition of Somaliland will support the growing democracy and good governance.
Members of US Congress believe that recognizing Somaliland will open Pandora Box in the region, and many other Somali regions will demand independence like Somaliland. However, the congressmen should understand that Somaliland was independent in more than two centuries before it united with Somalia on 1st July 1960.
Somalilanders joined Somalia to examine possibility of creating Greater Somalia, which includes Djibouti, 5th Region of Ethiopia and Northern Frontiers Province (NFD) of Kenya. However, this theory failed and created unrest in the region including war Somali-Ethiopian war in 1964 and 1977. Also, Djibouti, who was part of the Greater Somalia, turned down the theory and declared independent Republic of Djibouti. This was the end of Greater Somalia.
On the other hand, Somaliland could not retrieve its sovereignty from Southern Somalia because of dictator leaders, who bombed and killed thousands of civilians in Somaliland (former northern regions of Somalia) after the people of these regions called for independence until 1991. Somalilanders took up the arms against Somalia government and liberated their country on 1991, and suddenly announced the long waited independence. On 18th May 1991, it was rebirth of Somaliland. So my question is why US Congress holds back the independence of Somaliland from Somalia?!
US Government should encourage the democracy, good governance against the dictatorship and terrorism that dominated the Horn of African region. This can only happen if Washington administration recognizes Somaliland as strong, democratic and modern ally. Today, there are dictators everywhere in the Horn of Africa including Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Sudan and Kenya except Somaliland, which had three leaders from its rebirth on 18th May 1991 and fresh presidential election expected on Sep 2009.
The below articles are fact-finding by scholars, university professors, former US ambassador, and other intellectual and politicians about Somaliland and the region in general:
1. Somaliland: The Little Country that Could
Africa Program £ Center for Strategic and International Studies
1800 K Street, NW £ Washington, DC 20006 £ Tel: (202) 775-3135 £
Fax: (202) 775-3199 £ www.csis.org
AFRICA NOTES
Number 9 November 2002
David H. Shinn
http://www.mbali.info/doc45.htm
2. Why the United States Should Recognize Somaliland’s Independence
By Peter J. Schraeder
Peter J. Schraeder is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago. He writes on African politics and U.S. Africa policy.
http://forums.csis.org/africa/?p=19
3. The Ghost of Somalia: Somaliland Should be Allowed to Depart a Chaotic Country in Transition
Pittsburgh Post – Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Jul 12, 2006. pg. B.7
Dan Simpson, a retired U.S. ambassador, is a Post-Gazette associate editor (dsimpson@post-gazette.com).
http://www.mbali.info/doc151.htm
4. U.N.’s Boutros-Ghali Proposes Armed Intervention in Somalia
By John M. Goshko
The Washington Post
UNITED NATIONS
http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:JmLEligNtlMJ:tech.mit.edu/V112/N61/somalia.61w.html+Boutros+Boutros-Ghali+created+somali+problem&cd=2&hl=ar&ct=clnk&gl=kw
5. Somalia –Afghanistan of Africa, HASSAN DAHIR AWEYS the Trojan Horse of Issayas Afeworki
By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
The American Chronicle
Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi, MA in Journalism and Mass Communication, Columnist, Freelance Journalist and Weekly article writer about Middle East and African politics and human rights. He is member of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/102255
Somaliland enforced all possible procedures, codes and technologies to host free and fair elections. Somaliland Election Commission (SEC) installed biometric based system, where all fingerprints of the citizens are saves in centralized database. SEC conducts One-Man-One-Vote.
Hargeisa, 24 June 2009 – A couple of days ago I published a brief post from South Africa which reported that one in 4 males admitted to being rapists. But rape in the city is not just happening on a large scale in South Africa. Here in London a recent Channel 4 Dispatches documentary highlighted the prevalence of gang rape by young boys. Rape in the City was produced by award winning Sierra Leonean journalist., Sorious Samura who despite being “shot at, spat at and abused” in the making of past documentary’s was still shocked by what he found. During the war in Sierra Leone, Samura had witnessed a gang rape, something he associated with war and not what he expected to find on the streets of London.
I felt so angry and hurt watching these young boys casually denigrate girls with their attitude and words – I find it hard to express my own feelings. Listening to a group of young boys who spoke of a “line up” where a line of boys stand in wait whilst a girl performs oral sex, was appalling. The boys did not even think there was anything wrong in setting up and coercing girls to have sex with them. For them the girls were just trash to be abused. Girls spoke of the horrific experience of being gang raped, one as a punishment for her comments about a friends boyfriend who was a gang leader. She was repeatedly raped by 4 or 5 boys who later called more boys to join in. The attitude of the boys was that it was the girls fault and nothing to do with them and that if a girl was amongst them then she was asking for it. On being questioned about STD’s one boy said he would ‘batter’ any girl that passed on a STD.
In the course of my research I have been shocked to hear victims and witnesses to gang rape talk about the incidence of this crime as if it were just a fact of urban life. Girls are passed around groups of boys. Sometimes these girls initially consent because they want to be popular, but the incident then turns nasty. Sometimes a girl unwittingly walks into a trap, innocently visiting someone’s house to listen to music or watch a film and then discovering that a group of boys are laying in wait. Occasionally the gang rape is used to punish a girl for talking out of turn……….
And yet in the course of my Dispatches investigation I have discovered that gang rape is becoming part of the fabric of life for some young people living in our cities. But it’s not gang rape as you might imagine – it’s not, in most cases, the seizing of girls off the streets by total strangers. It’s happening in homes and at parties between young people who are known to each other, who run in the same crowds. And what’s most disturbing to me is that it’s often just the result of a group of boys deciding to force sex on an unwitting girl, who doesn’t realise that the invitation to someone’s house to watch DVDs or to hang out in the local park is a set up for gang rape. It can happen because a group of boys is attracted to a particular girl or just because she has annoyed one of them.
It is again shocking to learn that gang rape is not even recognised as a separate criminal offence and each rapist is tried as having committed an individual crime. It’s also clear from his report that the police are less than enthusiastic about dealing with rape particularly when it happens in the Black community. Only a few police forces even bothered to respond to his requests for statistics on rapes and rape convictions. The London Metropolitan Police did provide records that showed 108 gang rapes[3 or more rapists] were reported in London in 2008 – from that alone its not exaggerating to state that the actual gang rapes are probably at least double that. Three quarters of the convicted rapists were young black men…
On the face of it, these figures may appear small, but they are nevertheless statistically significant when you consider that nearly three quarters of those convicted were black. Why the incidence should be higher amongst young black men I do not know, but the stats speak for themselves, and on the ground youth workers and community leaders confirmed our conclusions. Sheldon Thomas, a Brixton youth worker, acknowledges that there are a disproportionate number of young black boys involved in gang rape, and it’s something that’s of real concern to him, ‘because we’ve got a situation in our community that needs to be addressed. And I don’t believe that we are addressing it’.
But whilst I would agree that we need to address the disproportionate incidence within the black community, I think it would be wrong to label this as a black issue. What we need is for people from across all communities and public sectors to engage with this issue, and colour must not get in the way of that.
The silence around these crimes allows them to continue with impunity. The silence of the police who do not offer protection to those few young girls and women who report rape. One young girl in the programme reported the rape but had to withdraw the charges after she was threatened, had bottles and objects thrown at her by the rapists. Why was she and her family not protected. How is she supposed to live in the same community where she has to pass these young men daily? Women have always been at the forefront in the movement against violence against women. Is it not about time for men to take a stand against rape? Not just Black men but all men. The responsibility to protect young girls and take an uncompromising stand against misogyny and rape on estates, the streets and in the playground has to come from the local authorities, the police, the schools and the community. .
The boys who commit these crimes are known to the community and to schools and the unless the silence ends they will continue to carry out their despicable acts with impunity and young girls will continue to be forever traumatized and live in fear. We in the Black community need to forget this idea of not “snitching” and reporting to the police. Not only should we be reporting the crimes but insisting and monitoring what the police are doing and making sure they take each rape seriously. All these silences collude with the rapists and abusers and it has to stop. I feel I could say so much more but for the moment I will leave it as is!
A woman waves a flag as soldiers and other military personnel of Somaliland march past during a celebration parade in the capital, Hargeisa on May 18, 2016. PHOTO | AFP
Hargeisa, 23 June 2009 – ARR will be writing about his journey to Somaliland and will be offering advice to anyone who may want to travel to this Horn African nation. ARR was born abroad and this is his first trip to Somaliland.
The women of Somaliland are among the most beautiful of God’s creation. Apart from those that are destroying their skin and inviting skin cancer to their final years by insisting on altering their complexion, I have witnessed some of the prettiest faces I have ever seen. While I don’t think I would ever be able to reconcile how I was raised in my life abroad with how the local population was raised; something keeps telling me that the local women would make better wives and mothers. Writing that may get me in trouble with some friends from abroad but the truth is; I think I may have finally found home.
I was still wondering why our women insist on wearing every colour in the spectrum of light in two garments which is a question that has haunted me in my previous 26 years of observation. One day and totally out of the blue I finally found the answer. On one of the many walks I take with my mother she was asked if she was a widow due to the fact that her clothing was colour coordinated. Aha! The answer had finally revealed itself. In taking a trip to the top of one of the hills on northern Hargeisa to get some exercise I found the answer to one of the most pressing questions of our times (at least for those of us in the Diaspora).
This was one of the most fun hikes I took with my mother because this time she wanted to go as much as I did and didn’t complain as much about the rocky roads as she normally does. Most people spend their entire trip to Hargeisa inside of a car but for health reasons I have insisted on treating my mother like Hager and both ends of Hargeisa like Safa and Marwa. From this one particular hill located just north of Man Soor I was able to see Naaso Hablood as well as the very famous mountains with the same name.
From this vantage point you can see almost all of Hargeisa but what I had to admit is that the view to the other side was much more spectacular and inviting. Just north of Hargeisa lies a flat area of land that seems to never end with shrubs and greenery extending for as far as the eye can see only to be cut off by majestic mountain ranges that appear as a silhouette in what would make a very picturesque painting.
After a few of these nature hikes I’ve taken with my mother I am yearning and looking forward to my trips to Daallo and Sheikh Mountains. I also hope that this will provide an answer to those who jokingly accuse me catering to only one particular corner of Hargeisa. I am not one of those boring people who are the same tribe on both sides but have in my blood a nice variety that I love equally if not more than my father’s side.
As a youngster I used to love to go camping and one of the most fascinating things about a trip outside of the city limits is the cloud of stars that are clearly visible to the naked eye. While the Northern Lights are not visible in Hargeisa there are literally thousands of stars that light up the sky. So far I have only been able to locate the North Star, Venus and the Big and Small Dipper and would probably notice more celestial objects if I knew them.
While my nephews and nieces have been complaining with a passion similar to the Iranian protesters that there is nothing to do while our Satellite receiver is down I have had the pleasure of enjoying the cloud formations above during the day and the immaculate stars at night. This along with the Adhan that cuts into whatever activity you have at hand are some of the most enjoyable aspects of my trip to Hargeisa thus far.
The city is literally littered with Masjids and almost everywhere you go you can find a new Masjid being built. While this has sparked an inner feeling of joy in me as a Muslim I think that there is something else that should be considered. I recently visited a sick relative in Hargeisa hospital only to see how small it was and how inadequate the facilities were. A very nice lady who I spent time discussing the hospital with showed me the extension to the old hospital that her family had built as a donation and encouraged me to find more donors for the hospital (This is the public Hargeisa hospital and not the private for-profit hospital Edna Aden had built with charity she collected on a premise of free health care for all).
In the rush to build Masjids to try to help those who lived a life of sin there are literally hundreds of Masjids being built at the expense of other crucial facilities that should be helped with families’ charitable funds. I made a promise to myself that I would do what I can now and probably bequeath something to hospitals and schools in my will when the time came.
I had also continued to investigate why in The City of NGOs (twelve hundred of them as I had heard) there are still so many people living in poverty. While I accept poverty as an inevitable reality what I couldn’t accept is the rumour that nearly half of the funds allocated to Somaliland are embezzled in Kenya (Not cool! We have a restaurant named after one of your very famous children). While that is obviously an issue that needs to be tackled; it still doesn’t excuse the mismanagement that is taking place here in the sphere where we have control.
I have been to a few NGOs and from what I can see so far the people that work there get as much work done as a Gulf Cooperation Council employee. While there are no doubt those who work as hard as they can to make a difference I can’t help but feel that they could do more if they were focused on the objectives of their organisations rather than their salaries. As I had mentioned I have started to mobilise and get an NGO together and will be working on this as a long term and well thought out project during the free time that I have. I guess this is the best place to say thank you to my friend M. Al-Maktoum who has offered to support this charity from the very beginning.
The past few weeks have been quite interesting in many other ways. I was forced to part ways with my long hair and beard after weeks of being taunted in the streets by almost everyone. Out of frustration I had been tempted on numerous occasions to speak with my hands (which are much better at speaking Somali then my mouth mind you) but eventually gave in to logic and decided to get a haircut instead.
I had uploaded pictures on my mobile of how I look with short hair as an example and have to admit that the barber pretty much got it right which was ‘cool’. I’m sure he would’ve noticed that he made both sides uneven if he wasn’t busy chewing away at Qat while cutting my hair. What wasn’t ‘cool’ is that he had initially tripled the price I paid for the haircut claiming that they charge by hair length. After much bargaining and agreeing to give him a tip we settled on a price that I knew was too much but didn’t mind parting with.
I also had the chance to go one night to Imperial Hotel for the launch of a children’s book called Riyaaq. I didn’t understand much of the clever wordplay and chanting contained in the book until I got a hold of the book myself and started reading along. It was amazing that such a beautiful book would be made available to our children teaching them morals and parables in the melodic tone one can hear being sung in many of the classrooms in the city. Since there are many children who don’t have access to an education and even more whose education has been left to schools operated by self interested and inexperienced profiteering businessmen I found this book to be something special and welcome to our youth.
I also had the pleasure of taking part in the funeral of one of Sheikh Madar’s offspring and have made it a new habit to go to as many funerals as I can which I started to do in England. I find it fascinating that there is not a single tear shed at funerals here and that the deceased children are the ones that go in the grave themselves and place the deceased person in their final resting position.
I have also had an experience with Hargeisa’s notorious traffic jams that are usually caused by nothing other than a simple and absolutely inconsiderate idiot (not by the traffic warden that disappear for half an hour at a time). It took us twenty minutes to cover twenty yards because one man and his will to have his car cleaned in the middle of the street was more important than the mass of cars that also needed to use the same street. We all yelled at the cleaner who said “I don’t care, I’m getting paid” and I will have to admit I was very tempted to pay him a hundred times as much to smash the windows and slash the tires. If there weren’t hundreds of witnesses I probably would’ve seriously considered doing this myself.
Apart from visiting the Somaliland Medical Association and then the wonderful Nurses Association (where they teasingly reminded me of my mother’s days as a nurse in a short skirt!), of all the things I had done I would have to say the most interesting thing was the near hour of uninterrupted chat I had alone with Rageah Omar at his family home which was only disturbed by a brief visit by Faisal Ali Warrabe (the leader of the Ucid party) to give condolences to Rageah.
Faisal seems like a nice man and asked me a couple of questions about his nephew from Toronto who is a good friend of mine that I couldn’t or wouldn’t answer. Although I and Rageah are both related and descendants of good friends I had never spent time getting to know this particular relative and have to admit he was a very interesting person regardless of his credentials. I think he deserves the success he has achieved because he is quite a brilliant man and a sincere and genuine individual.
I guess the next best experience I’ve had in the last few weeks was when I went to visit a few ministries yesterday and found that there were both utterly incompetent and very competent individuals working in our government. Some of the very old people I encountered were extremely difficult to converse with and narrow minded while there was a younger generation present who were looking forward to the advancement and progression of Somaliland. While it’s fun to criticise the current government I also have to give credit where it is rightfully due.
The thing that has annoyed me the most, even more than the corrupt NGOs so far is the Somaliland Suldaan system. I can openly tell you that whoever the Suldaan for my particular clan is does not represent me as I have neither voted for him and he just happens to be the child of a very smart man who I’m sure deserved the title. I surprisingly enough don’t personally think that reason and intellect are transferred genetically in totality to offspring therefore nullifying the entire inherited Suldaan concept.
I still can’t seem to come to terms with this inherited title and wanted to share my opinion with the world. Being supportive of my inherited Suldaan would make me feel as foolish as those who vote based on clan allegiances so they can brag about someone who doesn’t care the least about them holding such and such a position, or, as dim-witted as some of the so called Somalilanders I have encountered who still dream of a Somali Weyne.
While I have been critical in many ways during my trip to Somaliland so far I also see all the good that is here but haven’t found many who are brave enough to openly question the areas where we need change. I have always been the type of person to let someone know when there is a bugger in their nose or they have a hole in their shirt. I find this my way of showing people I care as it would be twice as easy to simply ignore. I look forward to adding much more insight from my personal experiences and giving a broader perspective when I have the opportunity to travel to more places in Somaliland.
I had originally intended to delay writing this third instalment until I had more experiences but was encouraged by the many wonderful emails and phone calls from all over the world I have received. I was quite shocked that this blog I am writing for SomalilandPress has been syndicated on various other Somaliland website and will try my best to fit all of the requests I have received into my increasingly busy schedule and will continue to share my inner most thoughts in the process.
![Al-Shabab still controls parts of Somalia's south and central regions after being chased out of Mogadishu [File: AP]](https://i0.wp.com/www.somalilandcurrent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/afb468d4a03548f1aeb222de6cd8a0c6_18.jpg?resize=696%2C392&ssl=1 "afb468d4a03548f1aeb222de6cd8a0c6_18")
