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Somaliland: Press Statement by UDAA

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HARGEISA, 4 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) — Like many other Somalilanders at home and abroad, we have watched with increasing dismay the long saga of the presidential election which has been postponed four times from its constitutionally ordained period[i] of April 2008.

We were heartened now and again to see problems solved painstakingly through the Somaliland way of consultation, co-operation and consensus.

The code of conduct was finally agreed on 11 July 2009 by the four sides (the three parties and the National Electoral Commission – NEC) and both Houses passed the amendments needed to align the old 2002 Electoral Law with the changes that have been made since in 2005 and in 2007[ii].

The next step, under the agreement between the NEC and the parties, was the production of the voters’ roll by 27 July 2009, which would mark the outcome of the $10m voter registration exercise and was to be followed by the start of the campaigning and the polling date of 27 September 2009.

The voters register (roll) was finally issued by the Interpeace[iii] on 27 July 2009. The two opposition parties accepted the announced roll outcome but the government party rejected it immediately. It is what happened at this stage that has plunged Somaliland, again, into both a constitutional/ legal and political crisis.

Instead of continuing to solve the disagreement about the declared outcome of the voter registration process that started in October 2008, the NEC decided that the release of the list to all the parties was a cardinal crime and having met on 27 July 2009:

Resolved, by a majority vote of 4 out of 7 to set aside the voter registration exercise and hold the presidential election without a voters’ register; ordered that legal expert, Mr Robin Zamora of Interpeace who has been helping this NEC (and its predecessor) be “declared persona non grata” and expelled immediately from the country; and threatened, in a publicly broadcasted interview, that any presidential candidate that does not comply with their edict will be disqualified.

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As the NEC immediately passed its resolutions to the President, the latter in turn implemented them and added that he no longer needs the donors’ promised funds (amounting to millions of dollars) for the election.

UDDA and the other Somaliland organisations signing this statement believe that these precipitate and joint actions taken by the NEC and the President, who is after all the Chairman of the third party and a prospective candidate, are not only contrary to the electoral and public laws of the country but are also extremely damaging to Somaliland’s interests and to the standing and reputation of the Somaliland NEC.

The rule of law

1. The rule of law is the cornerstone of the Somaliland Constitution and the President and the NEC must abide by the laws of the country. Simply put, neither the NEC nor the President can unilaterally or bilaterally announce that the election will be held without voter registration. Since the passage of the Voter Registration Act 2007 on 8 July 2007, no voting in Somaliland could take place without voter registration. Article 30 of the Law states unequivocally that for anyone to exercise his right to vote, he must do so, with his voting card, at the relevant polling station, and Article 41 made null and void any other previous laws or provisions which are in conflict with this Law.

2. The fact that the 2002 Presidential and Local Councils Election Law needed amendments to bring it in line with the changes made by both the 2007 Registration Law and also 2005 (House of Representatives) Election Law does not mean that, without repealing or amending the Registration Law itself, we can simply go back to the position of the 2002 Law at the behest of the President, let alone the NEC.

3. Although the amending bill to update the 2002 Law was passed by both Houses recently, no announcement has been made yet that it has been signed by the President and published in the official journal (as set out in Article 66(2) of the bill) to bring it into force. Some pro-government supporters stated that the bill contains an Article 67 which somehow allows election without voter registration, but the bill (as confirmed by the House of Representatives[iv]) consists of only 66 articles.

4. Article 66(1) of the new bill simply confirms that the amendments shall be used only in every election held in Somaliland under the voter registration system[v] and does not, in any way, amend or qualify the Voter Registration Law. This is understandable as the whole objective of the amending bill was to align the 2002 Law with the newer laws and not the other way round.

5. As neither the amending law nor the Voter Registration Law set out the procedures and circumstances when an election without voter registration can be held, then any decision about setting aside the 2007 Law, even for temporary period, is one that can only be made through a clear amending law passed by both Houses and the President. There is nothing in the recent amending bill which says that the decision about the validity or otherwise of the voter registration will be made by the NEC or the President.

6. In any case, it is a fundamental statutory duty of the NEC, especially under the Voter Registration Law, to register all potential voters and hold elections based on an electoral register/roll. No public body in any country that we are aware of has the power, on its own, to divest itself of a statutory duty that it was entrusted with and then insist also that its decision must be binding on all other affected organisations.

7. If the Commission was simply making a recommendation, why has it not discussed it fully with all the political parties and the donor bodies and seek a consensus? Why did it report to the President only and insisted that the opposition parties must fall in line? it has become custom and practice and an obligation under Article 9(1) of the Constitution (co-operation) that any such proposals affecting the parties or the elections should be discussed with the political parties and with others before any decision can be made even if the latter still required parliamentary and presidential approval.

The NEC

Above all the NEC, by law, must not only be impartial (Article 11(6) of the 2002 Law), but must also seen to be impartial. The NEC members were clearly aware that the three parties held different views about the likely outcome of the voter registration exercise and would have known that the best way to proceed in these circumstances was to engage, as usual, in detailed consultations and discussions before a consensus can be reached. This was the approach the NEC has followed before and was “codified” in the various four way agreements with the three parties. The NEC members could not therefore have been unaware that a decision on such an important issue made with the agreement of Chairman of one of one the parties could be seen as anything but partial. In these circumstances, one can only conclude that the NEC was:

a) neither contrite about its failure (no doubt shared by others) to oversee a fully successful voter registration exercise;

b) nor interested in leaving room for all the possible options to be examined with the continued advice and help from Interpeace and from the donor countries; and

c) totally indifferent to how the opposition parties and the public view its impartiality.

Conclusion and recommendations

We are seriously concerned that yet again we are facing another crisis based on precipitate actions taken by a public body (the NEC) and the government. At a time of financial difficulties worldwide and in the light of the long delays in the payment government’s contribution to the electoral expenses so far, we cannot understand how Somaliland government could so easily reject offers of millions of dollars from the donors.

Yet again we also hear that anyone who objects to these latest edicts is working against the interests of Somaliland. The fact that we have been the subject of no less two international reports[vi] about the government’s human rights record this year is also linked to this malaise and we have witnessed only recently the imprisonment of radio journalists and the closure of a television station at an election time when the media ought to be allowed to play its important role.

We make the following recommendations so that free and fair elections can be held soon:


The President

We earnestly urge the President to rescind the expulsion order of Interpeace and arrange a meeting of Interpeace, representatives of the donors and the parties to mend fences.

We ask that the President and Chairman of UDUB initiates immediately a genuine discussion on how an election based on the declared registration can be held with the added safeguards of the use of ink marking, UV rays, tighter control of travelling, more polling staff/temporary booths in each polling station etc. In Malawi, which was mentioned by the President, similar difficulties were faced in 2008/9 in the new registration procedure, but the unverified outcome of the registration was still used for the elections.

We urge the President to issue a decree ending the extra judicial activities of the security committees and declaring that any one accused of a crime be brought to a court of law in line with the constitution and laws of the land.

A free and vibrant press and media are essential for democracy and we urge that we urge that, in these election months, the Press Law should be followed.

The NEC

We believe that the NEC (or some of its members) acted unlawfully and have jeopardised the conduct of the election to the extent that one party is already threatening not to work with them. We think that their your actions, especially those of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman meet the test of impeachable offences under Article 63 of the 2005 Law. The NEC has lost the confidence of two of the three parties. It has been proposed before, not least by the donor bodies, that some of the NEC members were not up to the job. We did not support these proposals out of concern for any likely delays in the election. We are sad to admit that we were wrong. We appeal to the current Chairman and Deputy Chairman to act responsibly and re-consider their position as commissioners now.

We urge the rest of the NEC to re-establish quickly working relationships with all the parties and with Interpeace.

Parliament

We support fully the joint statement issued by Chairmen of both Houses of Parliament.

We ask that both Houses pass resolutions about the actions of the NEC and the President. Whatever the final wording of these resolutions may be, it is important that both Houses debate such resolutions. Parliament has a voice and must be heard.

We believe that holding an election without voter registration requires the endorsement of both Houses through a change in the law. Parliament must insist that it should be consulted and convinced of the advantages, if any, for such a change at this juncture.

We believe that the shortcomings of the declared voter register/roll can be ameliorated by measures to stop multiple or under age voting. We are not the first country that faced difficulties with voter registration, and the answer is to build on what has been done so far.

(Medium term) We urge both Houses to set up a joint committee to study what has gone wrong over the last few weeks and also with the whole voter registration process. We suggest that you seek the full co-operation of the donors in your investigation and ask them to provide finance for an independent audit on the conduct of the registration procedure and to ensure that Interpeace officials provide evidence and testimony on their dealings with the NEC with a view to learning from the experience.

Civil Society

We urge all civil society groups to monitor the progress and conduct of the elections. The public has every right to see that their government, NEC and political parties act in accordance with the law and constitution. Above all whilst acting peacefully and in accordance with the laws and instructions of public officials, civil society groups should record and report any infringements of their rights to the proper authorities/ parties.

13. We are all proud of maintaining our peace and should continue to do so. We must also safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in our Constitution.

Diaspora groups

14. We urge all Diaspora groups to contribute more in the monitoring the conduct of the elections and in human rights and democracy issues. The support for a specific party should not stop us from protecting the wider public interest.

Accountability

15. We remind all government and public officials that they are accountable to the public – impunity is no longer acceptable.

Somaliland organisations making this statement:

1. UDDA – Promotion of the Constitution Group
2. SIRAG
3. Somalilandlaw. com
4. Somaliland American Council
5. East Africa Policy Institute

URURKA DARYEELKA DISTOORKA (UDDAA) – Promotion of the Constitution Group – is an independent non-party political voluntary pressure group consisting of Somalilanders living in the Diaspora who believe that there is a need to promote and advance the Somaliland Constitution. Democracy, the rule of law, separation of powers and fundamental rights and freedoms are the pillars of the Constitution. UDDAA’s objective is to help articulate the growing need to challenge the misinterpretation as well as the blatant infringements of the provisions of the Constitution and to campaign for an independent judiciary that can assume confidently its proper constitutional role.

Convenors:
Lulu Farah luluforumuk@ yahoo.co. uk ;
Khadar Ali Gaas somalilander_ 1@yahoo.co. uk

Adviser: Ibrahim Hashi Jama Ibrahim@somalilandl aw.com

Interpeace Press Statement

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HARGEISA, 4 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) — Following a series of recent accusations reported in the Somaliland media, Interpeace is compelled to clarify a number of points.

On 23 July 2009, a newspaper reported comments by an official of the Ministry of Planning, accusing Interpeace of working illegally in Somaliland because it is not registered under the Ministry. Under Somaliland law, Interpeace is not required to register as it is present only as a PROJECT with contracted consultants and does not have or intend to have a permanent presence on the ground. Interpeace does not have its own premises and its consultancy work is carried out from the National Electoral Commission (NEC) offices; its status is that of a consultant (not of an international organization established in Somaliland). Furthermore, Interpeace is present at the invitation of the Somaliland National Electoral Commission (NEC) and supported the successful parliamentary elections in 2005 and the construction of the Parliamentary Building under similar terms. Interpeace has asked for an official citation from the Ministry of Planning to clarify these points.

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There have been other media reports (for example on 20 and 21 July 2009) of accusations against Interpeace with respect to the Voter Registration System and the Voter List. While every effort is being made to address the massive abuse of the system during the registration period – and to finalise the Voter List for 27 July 2009, Interpeace notes for the record that any delays in technical preparations for the presidential election on 27 September 2009 do NOT relate to the production of the Voter List.

Background on the voter registration system

1. The National Electoral Commission (NEC), President Riyale and the political parties insisted on a sophisticated biometric (fingerprint identification) system, against the explicit advice of Interpeace and the donors; both recommended using a simpler manual system in order to avoid potential delays from an electronic one that Somalilanders would not be familiar with and that would require recruiting extra personnel and obtaining materials from abroad.

2. Donors provided about $10 million for the development and implementation of this ambitious system, of which over $ 5 million was directly contracted to Somaliland vendors and the employment of thousands of Somalilanders to implement the programme.

3. The Voter Registration system was seriously abused during its implementation, with widespread corruption and systematic fraud, resulting in the failure to record the fingerprints of more than half of all registrants. In other cases, over 150 registrations were made with a single fingerprint at the same registration centre, or through photographs instead of in person.

4. NEC refused to accept additional oversight support in the field or to implement proposed measures to curtail abuse of the registration system. These abuses are illegal and those responsible should be held to account but not a single case has been brought to court despite ample evidence.

5. In order to rescue the voter registration exercise, a second back-up facial recognition system (FRS) was introduced for which the system was not originally designed. This is an unprecedented and technically complex exercise, which was undertaken in order to rescue this unique opportunity for Somalilanders for both voter registration and a national identity card – as well as to protect the huge investment and effort incurred. All political parties agreed that the system must be saved and the complex FRS system was developed to do that.

6. The technical challenges in addressing the abuse of the voter registration system were aggravated after the 29 October 2008 attack in Hargeisa, which led to the withdrawal of the Indian IT company that was developing and supporting the implementation of the system.

7. New technical experts took their place and enormous efforts have been made to identify and eliminate the most flagrant violations, and to produce a Final Voter List that is credible and technically sound.

8. There is no National Registrar in post because the NEC and the parties have failed to reach agreement on this for the past 16 months. The acting National Registrar has been fully trained by Interpeace and intimately involved in the development of the Final Voter List. But, as the acting official, he cannot build a team of qualified Somaliland technicians to run the Server and the Final Voter List process, which were the original intent and the commitment of NEC. Interpeace has serious concerns about management of the Server after the Voter List is produced in the absence of a National Registrar and trained staff to manage it.

Independent evaluation of the voter registration system and production of the Voter List

The independent experts who evaluated the voter registration system and production of the Voter List briefed the technical representatives of the political parties on Tuesday 22 July. Some key points as follows:

1. The voter registration system is transparent and the database is sound

2. There is almost no exclusion (disenfranchisement) of genuine registrants, which is impressive, significant and important.

3. The Automated Fingerprint Identification (AFIS) and Facial Recognition (FRS) systems are both sound but not operating together as well as expected.

4. This is because the introduction of the secondary system (Facial Recognition) introduces huge complications into the programming, which was done to rescue the voter registration after the abuse of the Fingerprint Identification System.

5. No system can catch all fraudulent registrations [just as no justice system can catch all criminals and perpetrators]; but the system is allowing through too many double/ multiple registrants, resulting in an unrealistic total of 1.2 million registrations.

6. This can be dealt with by adjusting one of the parameters. On 23 July, NEC approved the adjustment of the parameter to produce a more accurate and robust Voter List that eliminates more of the double/ multiple registrants. The Company that devises the program has already presented the corrections and the server is running the new program.

While the Somaliland media is commended for its intention to inform the public of current dynamics, it is unfortunate when Somaliland’s official business is addressed primarily through the newspapers rather than managed by the wisdom of its institutions and leaders, as entrusted to them by the law of the land and on behalf of the people.

Interpeace reiterates to the Somaliland people that any delay in holding the presidential election is not due to the production of the Voter List. The real problem is the fulfilment of the necessary preconditions to hold the election, summarised in the donors’ communication of 27 May 2009. If the Somalilanders are going to exercise their right to vote on September 27, it is essential to start the preparation NOW but this is not possible until the foundations for a credible election are put in place by the Somaliland stakeholders.

Source: EAPI

Interpeace & Somaliland’s Presidential Election

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Hargeisa, 4 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) – There has been a lot of statements, press releases, commentary by all and sundry on the repercussions of the expulsion of the Interpeace representative from Somaliland and the implications of this action on the Presidential elections scheduled for 27th September this year. Clearly this is watershed, or defining moment (to use President Obama’s favourite term) for Somaliland’s successful experiment in developing, establishing and maintaining an indigenous, representative democracy in Africa.

The consequences of the actions taken by all parties at this critical time, i.e. government, opposition parties, press and foreign donors, will determine the relative ease or difficulty of Somaliland’s path to political maturity and true multiparty democracy. Having said that, it is equally important for the political actors mentioned above to understand, and factor into their calculations, that the success of Somaliland’s experiment in representative government is not due to their perspicacity or their actions, but to the genuine wish of the people of Somaliland for peace, national reconciliation and self government. Indeed, to some extent the population of Somaliland have maintained the stability and reconciliation that underpins the peace of their country, in spite of the machinations of the political class.

Who is Interpeace & What is/was Their Mission?

Interpeace was established in 1994 under the name of War-torn Societies Project (WSP) by the United Nations “…to help divided and conflicted societies build sustainable peace.” In 2000, the WSP was re-formed as an independent NGO based in Switzerland under the name of Interpeace but with strong links to the UN, which continues to play a crucial role in the organisation’s activities (the UN has a Management Services Agreement with Interpeace and charges the organisation management fees [US$129,403 in FY2007]) and with which it maintains a partnership under the sobriquet the Joint Programme Unit (JPU).

Interpeace is headed by a Governing Council including some well known international diplomats, e.g. Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, Paddy Ashdown of the UK and Mohamed Sahnoun of Algeria, and populated by senior UN staffers/ex-staffers. The organisation is managed by a group of well qualified, development professionals from within and outside the UN, its related organisations and international NGOs.

On the face of it, Interpeace is like many other NGOs with laudable aims, notable and respected international figures on its Governing Council, and with a wide-ranging remit to conduct research and promote its lofty aims among the wretched of the earth. I am sure that the organisation does good work in many of the countries in which it operates, or has operated, e.g. Eritrea, Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi and Liberia to mention a few in Africa.

Cursory review of its financial statements also depict the usual picture of a certain type of international NGO, with some 94% of its revenues coming from governmental contributions and some 73% of its expenses attributable to staff expenses and their travel. Only 9%, or US$1.25 million, of total expenses is spent on workshops, professional services & reporting (which presumably include the cost of the external auditors [KPMG] who are not cheap). When one examines Interpeace’s activities, it is clear that their central mission is to conduct research on conflict resolution, peace and reconciliation and promote same in countries where there is, or has been, civil war or violent, internal conflict. In what Interpeace terms the “Somali Region” the organisation started operations in Puntland in 1996 where it established the Puntland Development Research Centre (PDRC). In 1999 it came to Somaliland and established the Academy for Peace & Development (APD), and in 2000 it went to Mogadishu to establish the Centre for research & Dialogue (CRD).

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The principal result of the organisation’s activities in the “Somali Region” to date has been a 111 page publication entitled “Peace in Somaliland: An Indigenous Approach to State-Building” which is billed as “…a chapter in a forthcoming publication representing the findings of the peace mapping study.” Whatever Interpeace’s own view of Somaliland’s independence may be (and it is perfectly understandable and non-controversial if it does not coincide with that of Somalilanders’), it is clear that the focus of its study is macro in nature, i.e. covering all of the “Somali Region” as they characterise it.

The local NGOs that it has established in each of Puntland, Somaliland and south-central Somalia undertake the basic research and documentation (written as well as audio-visual) underlying the peace mapping study, while the Interpeace cadres design the scope and methodology and write and edit the final publication. This reminds me of the arrangement whereby Somali postgraduate students used to (and maybe still do) undertake the research that underpinned the scholarly papers and books of their “regional expert” professors at European universties.

Be that as it may, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that, although some may prefer that Somaliland academics write the scholarly treatises which rest upon their research and knowledge. The question that needs to be asked is: given Interpeace’s area of expertise and engagement, i.e. conflict resolution studies & peace promotion, how did they get engaged as the consultant to oversee the development, preparation and implementation of the Voter Registration List for Somaliland’s upcoming Presidential elections? It is not clear at all, at least to me, that Interpeace had extensive experience in this particular activity, nor that it had the requisite skills and capability in the computer programming field necessary for the implementation of the project.

In addition, when Interpeace came to Somaliland in 1999, the major internal conflicts in the country, i.e. the inter-clan wars, were over and the country was moving towards multi-party politics. Thus, was Interpeace primary concern to research and document Somaliland’s successful, indigenous conflict resolution methodology, or was it seeking to promote inter-Somali (i.e. Somaliland-Puntland-Somalia) reconciliation through its Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology that entailed “…building consensual approaches to address the social, economic and political issues necessary for a durable peace” among “…the three partners to engage with each other in collaborative studies and shared projects across their borders – such as this peace mapping study – while managing their respective components of the Dialogue independently” as stated in the preface to their above mentioned publication?

The Presidential Elections – The Way Forward

I don’t have the answers to these questions, but they must be asked and answered. What is clear is that the Voter Registration Project has failed in its primary task of providing a final, agreed and incontestable Voter List by the designated date. It is also clear that while Interpeace may not have been the right consultant to have entrusted with this project, the blame for this failure belongs to many in varying the degrees, i.e. the National Election Commission (NEC) which owned the project, the Government since the project was undertaken in the name of the people of Somaliland, the three political parties since all they contributed, as far as I and many others can tell, was childish squabbling and obfuscation in their varied attempts to secure electoral advantage.

The government and/or the two houses of the legislature must appoint an independent commission of inquiry to get to the bottom of this fiasco and ensure that the Voter Registration Project is completed properly, professionally and expeditiously after the Presidential election. Finally, it is clear that the election cannot proceed with a Voter List that is preliminary, contains thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of duplicate and erroneous registrations and that is subject to programming flaws in matching the biometric data to the individual voters. It was right and proper to remove Interpeace from this project.

We are thus faced with the question of what to do about the Presidential elections. In view of the fact that the election has already been delayed several times, the resultant public frustration with the said delays, and in order to maintain credibility in our democracy, the polls must proceed as scheduled. This should not pose any insurmountable problems, after all we have held three national elections (Presidential, Parliamentary and Municipal) that were judged by all observers as free and fair before we ever heard servers, biometric programming or delivered our democratic process into the sole hands of Interpeace.

The NEC, three political parties and the two houses of the legislature should get together and agree on the arrangements for holding the elections without a Voter List, as we have done in the past. The fact that voters have been issued with ID Cards pursuant to the registration exercise should facilitate matters. The government, for its part, must make available the funds and other resources (security personnel and other resources that are required) as per the arrangements agreed between the NEC, political parties and legislature.

Conclusion

As stated at the beginning, we are at a defining moment and all parties, government, political parties, politicians and the press, must get off their respective soap boxes and put the interests of the country before their personal ambitions and interests. While this is asking the seemingly impossible from politicians, they should be aware that the voters will sorely punish those that they perceive to be elevating their narrow and naked ambition over the interest of the nation at this critical juncture. Somaliland’s voters are not only well informed and sophisticated, they are also utterly and irrevocably committed to the existence, stability and independence of their country, and woe betide any self-serving politician who either ignores or discounts this fact.

In short, holding elections is neither rocket science, not is it new to us, so let’s get on with the job of governing ourselves and hold the election. Posturing that it is impossible to do so in the absence of magical presence of Interpeace, or an incomplete and fatally flawed Voter List (as confirmed by Interpeace itself) is untenable and will not be accepted by the vast majority of Somaliland citizens. Therefore, to those who say that we can’t hold the Presidential elections on 27th September as scheduled, we reply with Obama’s famous, triumphant riposte “YES WE CAN”.

Ahmed M.I. Egal
04 August 2009
egality@gmail.com

U.S. Dismayed with Somaliland Developments

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Monday, August 03, 2009 (SomalilandPress)-The United States government is profoundly dismayed with the recent developments in Somaliland, particularly the decision by President Riyale and the National Electoral Commission to discard the recently-completed voter registration list.

We believe the list forms a sound basis for use in the elections scheduled for September 27. We have directly urged President Riyale to reconsider his decision.

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Is Somaliland suddenly sliding into an abyss?

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Aug 03(Somalilandpress)- This young country has seen difficult times in the past but there is nothing like the arcane situation that it suddenly found itself in the weeks leading up to the elections. With the presidential elections already delayed twice and so much at stake with regards to the stability and the international stance of this country, we are suddenly sliding down to an abyss and the options are running out.

It was recently that a friend of mine had the privilege of taking part of a conference held in Cardiff  last week by the ethnic groups living in Wales (UK) and among the dignitaries was David Miliband, the UK Foreign Secretary who was asked a question about the UK aid to Somaliland. Intriguingly he did not give much detail other than the 40% & 50% ratio for Somaliland and Somalia respectively but he went straight to the current issue of upcoming elections. He said ‘the presidential elections have been delayed several times in the past two years and now it looks as though it is going to be delayed yet again by the mismanagement of the government’. This is just an indicative of how the international community is concerned about the direction that the country is heading to despite its historical successes in democracy and rule of law.
In its short history since reclaiming its independence Somaliland has prided itself of working democracy albeit in its infancy but in a troubled region. It has come from a long way of establishing of a ratified constitution, a rule of law and government institutions who are representative for its people. It is a model that impressed and won many friends in Africa and elsewhere.

Unfortunately this success story is now being put at risk by an incompetent president and his lousy government who is showing a complete disregard to the interest of this nation. The history will write about Riyale and his tenure but more importantly he has the choice today to either let things take its course without becoming a hindrance himself or bring about destruction to the things that has been built over the decades.

The elections are now only few weeks away but everyday comes with ever more depressing news and the new events that are unravelling. The late announcement by the NEC (National Electoral Commission) to go ahead with the elections without registered ballot system was the most disappointing of all. And to make matters worst the government decided to expel the representatives of Interpeace from the country, after all they were there since 2004.

As it became apparent there was no consultation with the other national parties such as Kulmiye and UCID whose members are in the NEC. This exposes the division among the NEC and how the government is playing with the very division among them.

Now both the Houses of Parliament and Ghuurti have expressed their joint concern over the decisions taken by the NEC and the government’s handing of expelling Interpeace. This is a commendable act from the two highest institutions in the country and despite the view of some handful members (Haji Abdi Waraabe etc) the great majority of the people are with the view taken by the Leaders of the two Houses.

There is no doubt that we are heading to an uncharted territory and to very troubling times of uncertainty and continuing disillusionment over the government’s mismanagement of the upcoming elections. Aside from the elections it is worth noting that the Ceelbardaale fiasco can transpire itself a challenge to our security and stability and in many ways we are where we are on this issue because of an incompetent president who does not want to resolve the issue. If he does as some people would say, there was a clear verdict reached by the Select Members from the Ghuurti House, which was endorsed by him at the first place.
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It is about time that the breadth and the depth of this nation’s leaders and intellectuals come together for one single joint purpose. That is safeguarding the national interest of this nation in terms of its security, stability and rule of law. The incumbent leader cares less about this and that is evident of his recent conduct in pre election decisions of the disqualification of the voter ballot registration system and the failures in the Ceelbardaale resolution. No wonder his family are now in Europe for possible political asylum after securing Djiboutian passport. But perhaps what he does not know is that the world has changed since Charles Taylor, Mabuto Sessiko et al.

It was Winston Churchill’s quote that ‘if we open a quarrel between the past and the present we shall find we have lost the future’. We are running of time and options so it is about time that the two Houses draw up a contingency plan for salvaging this nation.

1. The elections are looming and the president knows he has lost the trust of his people and he is ready to do his way at all costs. So for the sake of our national interest the two Houses need to develop a fallback strategy that they can nominate a caretaker president, after all the extended his tenure a couple of times before. Constitutionally this should not be a difficult task to convince the nation.

2. The disbandment of the current NEC members especially its leader who has also lost the trust of his people and national parties alike.
3. The appointment of new NEC members whose skills and experience are the basis of their selection.
4. Setting up a new timetable for a free and fair election through voter ballot registration method and inviting the European as well as the US to help the logistics and its prep work.

Unfortunately this is the only way we can move forward and turn the page of tit-for-tat politics between an increasingly authoritarian style of Riyaale government and the political parties who are being pushed to the limit. Please rise up to the challenge and think what you can do for your country, you know that your country needs you today.

Author: Ahmed Nur Amin
Senior Professional
Cardiff, Wales (UK)

A Peaceful Way Approach to Solve this Genuine Political Confutation is Absolutely Correct Strategy

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Hargeisa, 3 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) – The Somaliland situation was mixed nowadays. There were a rough words and sometimes followed actions which was based on emotion, sending through to the media and other communications. Some analysis indicted there could be a terrible condition ahead for Somaliland democratic process. Also, it was recently when the UCID chairman called locally and internationally to intervene and to slow down the frequency and unpleasant tones coming from government and political parts.

According to the events taking place in Somaliland, one may not deny the reality: there are worried circumstances which are surrounded a sacristy and anxiety. But, on the words of the political science it should be that way when there is a heated discussion between the political parts. In west and the developed world, which was recently included Somaliland when it comes the election and political disagreements, goes through this hot and sticky process.

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The Clinton administration, because of dispute between political institutions, was forced to close the government weeks. In fact, this method is not only unique to the government, but sometimes the political disagreement divides the rule makers such as senators and congresses. The rule and law works when political divergence becomes visible.

The political disagreement that has been started in Somaliland will be destructive because of luck of justice and judiciary system that acts as a go-between the political parts. Taking to the account the united state’s higher court judges, the president appoints them and this scenario doesn’t create a political confusion and military coupe. All political parts use their own political tricks to advance and pursuit the public support when there is a political difference. Off course, the press releases, political desire destructions, and hurting a wounded spots is normal for politics. Day and night there is a fighting going on behind the doors.

Therefore, all parts specially the oppositions the peaceful way approach to solve this genuine political confutation is absolutely correct strategy. A peaceful demonstration is the example of prolongation and continuation of a democratic system and on the other hand it will force the government to come to the negotiation table . Moreover, the way government will respond this peaceful demonstration if they happen, is also sending a signal to the peace lovers around the world.

As always both chairmen of opposition parts declares, Somaliland will not a face a hard time and there will be always negotiations in plan. The approaches will be change when involvement of international community steps up. The delegate from embassy of Britten is always seen in Hargiesa the capital of Somaliland when fever and political high temperature surround the environment. The Unite State of America announces that they will send a legal expert to Somaliland as it happened before. Therefore, there will be a hope in Somaliland all time. Don’t be Sad, Face the nation!


Eng Cayanb
Washington DC

A Troubled Year for Somaliland’s Media

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Hargeisa, 3 August 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Every nation’s information flows through a variety of media system intended for progress and for its people’s guidance. Somaliland media has done a commendable job in the development and community awareness of their country. Radios, Televisions, Web-sites, Magazines and Journals transmit full sense of persuasions, suggestions, criticisms, warnings, advertisements, congratulations and vacancy announcements.

The wide benefits from media means it acts as a public good in development of a nation. The right to receive information and to the freedom of expression is set out in the African charter for Human and Peoples’ Rights and also Somaliland’s constitution. This must be respected by Somaliland government.

The media is an educator and key information source that can promote peace, stability and transparent governance. For example, Somaliland now has 8 private newspapers, two independent private television stations and one radio stations, for one state local radio stations and one television station. This rapid expansion has generated some problems, including inadequately trained journalist, poor provisional standards and week-self regulation. More over, Somaliland government much controlled the private media and remains government owned. The monopolization of media by the government undermines media freedom and popular trust, and creates space of distortion and rumor.

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The single greatest obstacle facing Somaliland media were the illegal arrests made by the government. 27th March 2009, four journalists were arrested by the government. Three of the journalists were released in 8 hours later while the other one was remained in prison, later on Ahmed Saleban Dhuxul was caught by the police at the parliament compound while the house of elders had a session to extend the president’s term in office in the morning 28th March 2009. The detained reporter, Ahmed Saleban Dhuxul was an independent correspondent of Somaliland Space Channel (SLSC) and radio Horyaal.

Mr. Dhuxul was denied access to enter the hall of the meeting while the other journalists were allowed to take part the assembly of the House of elders. He was released after government failed to confirm his guilty to the court.

Interviewed on the phone, one of the released reporters told us Jamahiriya news paper at that time, that his arrest happened at Jigjiga-yar road, where he was taken to the central police station. The reporter, Mr: Liibaan Maweel Shire spent the night at the police station and in the morning 28th March at 10:00 am the police caught Dhuxul and sent him at the police station. He also added that the government has recently increased a systematic campaign against the press. This arrest was condemned by Union Of Somaliland Journalists (USJ) and indicated that the government in recent months arrested a number of journalists like Curad the editor of Yool newspaper and tortured number of them, as the HCTV Camera man who was beaten in Dacar Budhuq district east of Hargeisa.

On 12 July 2009, Mr. Dhuxul and his colleague Sayid were arrested again. The government linked their arrest as they works for a private radio called Radio Horyaal which the government believes that it belongs to the main opposition party named Kulmiye.

On 29th July 2009, at 6:30pm Somaliland police closed down the Horn Cable TV office in Hargeisa. The police later on headed to the studio located east suburb of the city; how ever after a long tedious quarrel and brushes between the reporters and staffs at the studio, the police forcefully arrested the news head of HCTV, Mr. Mohamed Abdi (llig).

Finally, we are criticizing this systematic campaign against the private media. But the question is how can we save our local media?

Submitted by: Farhan Abdi Suleiman

Farhan Abdi Suleiman ( oday) is a student at University of Hargeisa.
Email: oday1999@yahoo.com
Phone: 4401132

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

Ethiopia Jails Canadian ONLF Rebel for Life

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Hargeisa, 3 August (somalilandpress) – An Ethiopian court jailed a Canadian for life on Monday after he was convicted of membership of a separatist rebel group fighting for independence for an ethnically Somali part of the country.

Bashir Ahmed Makhtal, who was born in Ethiopia but had travelled to Canada as a refugee and became a Canadian citizen in 1994, was found guilty last week on three charges related to membership of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

“The court has decided against the death penalty which is the maximum penalty for the charges,” Judge Adem Ibrahim said at the Federal High Court in capital Addis Ababa. “The court sentences the defendant to life in prison.”

Bashir, who left Ethiopia aged 11 and does not speak the local Amharic language, did not react as the sentence was read. His lawyer, Gebreamlak Gebregiorgis, told Reuters he would appeal against both the conviction and sentence next week.

Ethiopia denounces the ONLF — which wants independence for the remote eastern Ogaden region — as a terrorist group that it says is supported by long-time rival Eritrea.

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The ONLF accuses the Ethiopian military of routinely killing civilians and burning villages in Ogaden, which borders Somalia.

Ogaden is eyed by foreign oil and gas companies who think its huge deserts might be rich in mineral deposits.

Analysts say the region’s location between the border and Addis Ababa makes the Ethiopian government reluctant to give it up after a long history of hostilities with Somalia.

Bashir — whose grandfather was an ONLF founder — was arrested in 2006 crossing into Kenya from Somalia after Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia to oust an Islamist movement that had taken control of the capital Mogadishu.

The 40-year-old says he ran a second-hand clothing store in Kenya and often visited Mogadishu to buy clothes. He says he was fleeing the fighting after the invasion.

Bashir’s family says he was subsequently detained in secret in Ethiopia for more than two years and denied consular visits. Canadian officials have attended his trial hearings.

Human rights groups have criticised the trial and say the prosecution failed to produce any credible witnesses. Bashir’s supporters say he was arrested because of his family’s ONLF links. They say he was never a member of the guerrilla group.

The Ethiopian government denies his trial was unfair.


Reuters

Puntland president vows to recapture Sool, Sanaag and Cayn from Somaliland.

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Garowe (SomalilandPress)-Puntland president Abdirahman Farole spoke about recapture Sool, Sanaag and Cayn during his speech at the 11th anniversary of Puntland State of Somalia establishment in Garowe. President Farole told the audience at the anniversary ceremony that his government will not longer allow Somaliland to govern any land that belongs to the people of Puntland. Per Mr. Farole “I promise the citizen of Puntland that I will recapture our land from Somaliland at the earliest time possible”. The main subject during his speech at the anniversary ceremony was all about recapturing the disputed land from Somaliland.

This was the first time that the Puntland president has directly spoken about his government’s intention on recapturing Sool, Sanaag and Cayn. Somaliland troops took control of Las Anod the capital of Sool region two years ago and majority of these three states are now govern by Somaliland.

Somaliland is due to hold its presidential election in September 27 in which residents of these disputed states are registered to vote.

An Eye for an Eye a Tooth for a Tooth

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We live low and dishonest times, where false propaganda comes fast and furious, but anyone who try to normalize the position that Awdal is in today needs a reality check. Because people of Awdal are in a state of shock and it is shame to hear that some of us (Awdalistes) speaking on same intensity about peace and stability as to those other part of NORTH SOMALILA who their own people had committed such a crime but yet expecting the families of the victims to share a dream of a stable country that has never existed in the real world.

I have believed in Somaliland for a very long time and I honestly thought people in that area can find the middle ground for their differences without bloodshed but I have to admit with humility that I was completely wrong like many other Awdalistes.

And I am sorry to disappoint the dream lovers of all sides, but things had changed and nothing is going to be the same and it is time for the few Awdalites who trying to normalize the situation for the sake of their own interests, to realize that the grievances and concerns of Awdalites can not be ignored or concealed any longer.

No one in their right mind should ever contemplate to advocate the idea of Awdal being part of an independent country called Somaliland, because that dream seems to be died with the four innocent men who were being slaughtered by the Isak militia who now moving freely between towns .

And I would like to say to those who are acting like nothing had happened in Awdal. Yes, there is no war going on right now what we used to called Somaliland and yes there are no more victims being slaughter by the Isak dragons, but the absence of these aspects only exist because Awdalites failed to act so far.

The highest crime that humans can commit is to kill another human being and the most horrible inequality and injustice that state can implement is to ignore its citizen’s blood which has been shed unlawfully, so in all aspect the so call Somaliland failed to live up to its expectations and as far as the reality concerns the current status quo in the so call Somaliland territory is not viable for other clans except the Isaks who behaving like they own the country and everything in it.

No one in their right minds or anyone who has functioning heart can ever accept to be part of a group that think they have the fate and the destiny of others in their hands.

We all know that the current Awdal decision makers failed to create any political venues which Awdal could seek refuge if things won’t work out as we were hoping for. But the question is, aren’t there any other able people inside or outside the so called somaliland?

Farhan Adan Warsame a patriotic Awdalites wrote on Saylacnews and Saylacipress Baaruuda qiiqdiyo hadaan BM lagu raadin gobonimo banaan lamagama helo bar iska taal-taale . I believe these words are in every Awdalistes mind but there is something in our blood which is dragging us back. But let us remember that the people we asking to treat us as an equal partners believe that they owe nothing for anyone else in fact they believe they own us.

So as it seems we Awdalistes have only one choice and that choice is to struggle against injustice which has not been put upon us a powerful government but rather a clan administration which we could match its strength.

And I believe it is also worth to mention that how we are being divided by this giant killer call somaliland and the classic example of our divisions appear most Awdal websites that suppose to spread Awdalistes message who are sticking to what they know most which is deviding Awdalistes in to so call party political lines.

This sort of behavior will not serve justice for any Awdalistes and it is time to say NO to the very few people who are trying to manipulate us by speaking behind unknowin characters.

Let us remember no leader of political party or a president has so far condemned the slaughtering of our people, but still we see on Awdal websites delivering meaningless propaganda campaign which carry the messages of those political belly dancers from Hargeisa. And some of the websites are even seem to give more attention to the imprisment of two Camellboy journalists while the blood of their brothers still wet on where they had fallen
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On the other hand Awdal which is the victim of this cruel crime is being condemned through the Hargeisa and Buroa media, and its unfortunate the lack of respond and the impotence of all sectors in Awdal population.

We Awdalites seem to adopt a culture which is alien to our land and that culture which is narrow-mindedness should no longer be tolerated by health minded Awdalistes.

And finally I know many Awdal websites will not publish my opinion and that is because their arrogance and ignorance will lead them to believe that my opinion is no longer serves for what they believe, and it is up to them but we Awdalites should not shy Away by telling the truth. And we should seek justice for the sake of our own survival.

Cabdale Farah Sigad

sigad12345@yahoo.co.uk

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Views expressed in this opinion article is solely of the author and does not represent that of the editorial.

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