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Somalia's Embattled Christians: Almost Expunged

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HARGEISA, 28 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – WHERE is the hardest place in the world to be a Christian citizen? North Korea, perhaps? Saudi Arabia? Try Somalia. There are thought to be no more than a thousand Christians in a resident population of 8m people, with perhaps a few thousand more in the diaspora. The Islamist Shabab militia, which controls most of southern Somalia, is dedicated to hunting them down.

Christian men attend mosques on Fridays, so as not to arouse suspicion. Bibles are kept hidden. There are no public meetings, let alone a church. Catholic churches and cemeteries have been destroyed. The last nuns in the smashed capital, Mogadishu, were chased out in 2007. The year before, an elderly nun working in a hospital there was murdered. The only Christian believers left are local Somalis.

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Catching and killing them is useful propaganda for the Shabab, not least for indoctrinating its young fighters and suicide-bombers in the belief that America, Britain, Italy, the Vatican, along with Ethiopia and Kenya, are all “crusaders” trying to convert Somalis to Christianity. The UN lurks nefariously behind. Israel, of course, is also doing its bit to undermine Islam.

The shaky transitional government led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, whose writ runs weakly across the territory the Shabab does not yet run, is unlikely to speak up for any of its citizens caught with a bible. Though professing moderation, he promotes a version of sharia law whereby every citizen of Somalia is born a Muslim and anyone who converts to another religion is guilty of apostasy, which is punishable by death.

Every month several Somalis are killed for being Christian. Sometimes that is just a label that the jihadists stick on people they suspect of working for Ethiopian intelligence. But many are simple believers. According to Somali sources and Christian groups monitoring Somalia from abroad, at least 13 members of underground churches have been killed in the past few months. Most were Mennonites, evangelised by missionaries on the Juba river in southern Somalia. They include a 46-year-old woman shot dead near the town of Jilib after a Swahili-language bible was found in her shack; a 69-year-old man killed near a port south of Mogadishu after Shabab fighters found 25 Somali bibles in a bag he was carrying; and two boys, aged 11 and 12, who were beheaded by the Shabab after their father refused to divulge information about an underground church. Hundreds of Somalis may have been killed for being Christian since the Shabab arose in 2005.

Such atrocities—and reports that the Koran has been read over the victims even at the point of their beheading—are upsetting evangelical Christians in America. Mr Ahmed’s government sorely needs money to shore itself up. But if he fails even to hint that Christians should be tolerated, he may find America’s Congress increasingly loth to help bail him out.

Source: The Economist

What Soap Opera or Musalsal Does to our Society!

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HARGEISA, 28 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – “A soap opera or Musalsal, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio”. (Wikipedia)

Soap operas or Musalsal’s origin dates back to Britain. “It began on radio and consequently was associated with the BBC. The BBC continues to broadcast the world’s longest-running radio soap, The Archers, on BBC Radio 4, which has been running nationally since 1951”. (Wikipedia)

Musalsal was introduced to Somaliland just only several years later when the Somaliland society slightly recovered from the 1994-5 civil war. Since there was no local TV stations, the haves turned to buy satellite dishes that provided more than 20 foreign Arab channels with the exception of few other English speaking TV channels.

Since its inception, Musalsal brought social and cultural implications. The reason is that the basis of most Musalsal’s storylines is romance, secret relationship, and extramarital affairs, kidnapping, rape, and committing adultery. All are against the religious, cultural, values and norms of this highly conservative society. Characters having affairs, sharing the same bed illegally, strangers meeting, couples falling in love are all the scenes that audiences are hooked to unfold the story’s twists. Crimes such as murder, rape and murderer may go unpunished if the villain is too kept in the ongoing story.

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In detail, if we read between the lines, let’s look at the cultural and religious implications that have arisen as a result of the Musalsal.

Musalsal changed the mindset of how society perceived their norms, religion, culture and ethics. For instance, it normalizes premarital and extramarital relationships. These series show a mother and her daughter trying to seduce the same man. You see a young couples dating and sleeping together and later making love.

What is far worse, some Amarican soap operas like Grey’s Anatomy, season 4, began to include some lesbian characters in their series. The son of one of the five female actresses in Desperate Housewives is gay. The question is: How will the brain map of a youth especially girl turn out when she watches such disgusting programs every single night. Her subconscious mind will probably consume tons of it later causing an adverse effect on her way of thinking and behavior. You hear stories about girls being knocked up by their so called boyfriends. Later going to Addis to undergo Vacuum aspiration, a process consists of removing the fetus or embryo, placenta and membranes by suction using a manual syringe. The outcome: Increasing pre-marital pregnancies and Abortion.

Musalsal also changed the dress code of our young girls. At certain wedding parties or ceremonies, you may see some girls wearing trousers or short skirts while at same time putting on a tight t-shirt loosing upto the cleavage.

Musalsal can also be a leading cause of the increasing trend of social and family problems in Somaliland. There are families who broke up due to the Musalsal. The wife may stay up to watch her daily series which may come to air at 12:00 midnight, making the husband to feel disrespected or useless and Giving Satan the chance to whisper into to the husband’s ears advising him to divorce the wife in the next morning.

A part from Musalsal’s adverse impact on the adults, the young generations are taking the same direction. Nowadays, you can see an immature child who wants to make relationship with another immature child who is writing a romantic message which he/she claims that he/she can’t live without the other. This shows how our country lacks the censorship law that rate movies and TV programs according to their respective age group. A social shift is occurring. Unless something is done as a society, as a government and as religious leaders, the situation will be worse!

Written by Adnan A. Hassan
Hargeisa, Somaliland

Does Your Behavior Makes You In Or Fail In Social Prespectives?

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HARGEISA, 27 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – As every body aware of, human being are different from in-terms of behaviors, norms, believing and acceptance, it suits our purpose that every one of us likes to clearly stimulate all kind of crucial features that the previously successful people are suited which corresponding to your perspectives on your past, present and future, despite complexity of social related factors which providing an integrated framework that brings use closer to achieving true predictive power for good social behavior system.

Understanding our basic personality profile also helps us to understand clearly defined what sorts of people we are likely to be compatible with. If you are highly extraverted and desire a lot of social stimulation, you may have a hard time living with someone who is highly introverted, finds it difficult to socialize, and prefers solitary activities, because people who are more easily anxious and depressed have to take extra good care of themselves, particularly with regard to making sure their basic needs are met if they are to maintain a good mood and positive outlook during stressful times.

The disagreeable people run the risk if not fully respecting the needs of the other people around them. Easygoing, generous people may find themselves becoming resentful of others, while more self-centered people may find that people are resentful of them. Relationship with someone who is close to you but after a few times you cannot able to meet with that person who is close to you. This is a big issue that how to maintain long term relation ship with your old friends because relationship can play an important role in any filed such as business relation, family relationship, old friends are those who are always with you after the marriage or before the marriage or any other social related activities that you personality need a integrated support which is inevitable to obtain before and aftermath.

We all have a mental picture to periodically evaluate were we are, how we look, what we’re good at, and what our weaknesses might be. We develop this picture over time, starting when we are making privately discussing to your self what you already accomplished and what you are not, to know the term of self-image is very crucial because is used to refer to a person’s mental picture of himself. A lot of our self-image is based on interactions we have with other people and our life experiences. Thus, mental picture which means our self-image contributes to our self-esteem.

Self-esteem is all about how much we feel valued, loved, accepted, and thought well of by others and people with healthy self-esteem are able to feel good about them, appreciate their own worth, and take pride in their abilities, skills, and accomplishments by ignoring other meaningless evaluation which is not suited to clearly define publicly according Somaliland evaluation basic terms. People with low self-esteem may feel as if no one will like them or accept them or that they can’t do well in anything.

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We all experience problems with self-esteem at certain times in our lives especially during our teens when we’re figuring out who we are and where we fit in the social picture images. The good news is that, because everyone’s self-image changes over time, self-esteem is not fixed for life. So if you feel that your self-esteem isn’t functioning well, you can improve it by absorbing all required terms which apparently improves our self esteem standings accordingly.

No one would argue that being in relationships has the potential to cause enormous mental pain and agony. What’s worse is that when we continue to live in such relationships, we rob our lives of the energy and enthusiasm that could have shaped our lives so much differently than what it ultimately becomes because such relationships are in need of serious repair.


Social relationships without human being perspective boundary can be magnificent

Love, trust, and respect uplift our souls, make our lives more fulfilling and meaningful, and make us thankful for our relationships that encompass our credibility which is the over all conscious purposes because we manage the pain and pleasure associated with such relationship and it’s actually quite simple in theory at least. You manage a relationship by actively working on it and by constantly renewing it. If you are even moderately practicing social distinguished criteria, you know how that works and remember; this makes you to nickname a controversial person.

You see, most of us manage relationships in a default mode. That’s the mode that we learn and develop subconsciously while growing up; mostly this scary fact applies to only a small fraction of people because the result of bad relationships can lead to devastating consequences that finally separates the union of a young nation who are generously going to demonstrate further historic or tangible progress in all social human needs aspects.

Eventually, this will intensifies an enormous pressure to stop the most devastating behavior for social impacts because having good communication based on healthy relationship is driven from the Islamic regulation principles that will enables us to solve all undisclosed social relations which confronted us through consultation and mutual understanding against social ethics such as poor communication, misperception, miscalculation as well as anxiety in order to heal completely and it no longer constitutes a sufficiently differentiating factor to clearly instructing what is good and what is bad and the advantage of common senses for our communities and youth. But my major propose behind to write this article is to share my youth collogues to jointly strength adequately the human relationships which is the prime factor that allows every nation to succeed their goals and achievement.

I wish you the strength of all elements

Written by:
Ahmed Duale Warsame
Hargeisa Somaliland

Democracy and African Prospective

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HARGEISA, 27 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) -The concept of democracy has evolved a lot throughout history. One period when there were many new ideas about a democracy is the Enlightenment period. Some important people who expressed these ideas are expressed that, good constitution is called a democracy because the power is in the hands not of a minority (those who govern) but of the whole people.” It means that instead of having one absolute ruler, the government system is run by the people, having everyone equal before the law. It also describes, that it is no of someone’s family status or class that they are put in a position.

We hear a lot about democracy today. Most politicians and their statist sycophants pontificate about the benefits of democracy. On the other end of the spectrum, many free market anarchists’ rail against the evils of democracy. What is the truth about democracy, which some love and claim to be the salvation of civilization, and others love to hate, and claim to be a curse of mankind? Has the institution of democracy been fairly represented, or has it been politicized and subverted to represent something opposite of its actual intent? More importantly, does democracy and anarchy have any common ground?

One of the problems with democracy as a term is that it has several varying “official” definitions, and many more unofficial definitions. The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary has many definitions for democracy, but the one I want to focus on is “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections” (emphasis mine). Also, contrast this to the definition of pure democracy: “democracy in which the power is exercised directly by the people rather than through representatives.” Given these definitions, even the staunchest anarchist might pause to reflect if the basic concept of democracy doesn’t deserve further inspection.

Probably the most commonly accepted unofficial definition of democracy is “one person, one vote.” One has to wonder where such a definition came from. In most definitions of democracy, voting is not mentioned. Where it is mentioned, like in the one I chose, it is not a requirement, only a usual occurrence. Only in the fevered imagination of statists can one find that democracy equates to voting and elections. In a truly Orwellian twist, people have confused the freedom to select tyrants and become absolute slaves to the will of the tyrants as a sign of freedom and democracy. In truth, the opposite happens with voting and elections – the supreme power is wrested from individuals, and invested in representatives. These representatives can then ignore the will of individuals and groups, both majority and minority, and cater to the special interest groups that they really represent. Voting and elections are a sham to steal power from the individual, to cloak the results in the empty skeleton of democracy, having the outward form, but lacking the inner essence. Sadly, most fully embrace this charade and gladly accept their own slavery.

In truth, democracy and anarchy should be complementary ideas. Only by having the supreme power vested in each individual and exercised by each person can democracy and anarchy be fully realized. Instead of the inane statist maxim of “one person, one vote,” it should be “one person, one government.” Individual sovereignty is the only true logical outcome for both democracy and anarchy, and the only path to liberty. But for this to work, people will need to grow up, accept responsibility for their own lives, quit meddling in other people’s affairs that are none of their business, and learn to live by voluntary association and trade. People need to reject the collectivist mindset of the state, disavow any right of the state to use force and coercion, and stop abdicating their sovereignty to the state.

All this shows how easily words and ideas are subverted by the state, and how the state portrays them in a manner that is contradictory to their original intent. When Bush and his criminal cronies expound on the benefits of democracy, freedom, liberty, the rule of law, fighting terrorism, and the free market, one sees that they are using these terms as superficial gloss to hide their criminal activities and mayhem – what they really mean is that they want to use force and coercion, the power of the state, to impose their will on anyone at any time they choose. And not only has the state subverted words and ideas, it has also subverted whole institutions, the mainstream media and public education, to indoctrinate people into accepting the lies and propaganda of the state. While Americans are not really stupid as many would have you believe, as a whole they are extremely gullible and ignorant, and this seems to be by the design of the state and its institutions. These are severe limitations to possess, and are inimical to the exercise of liberty.

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I want to refer one of my previous articles which considered as an important ideological weapon for the protection and good will of Africa. I.e. The Change That Africa Needs; democracy in Africa as some African authors believe in, it may be necessary to distinguish between ultimate goals and necessary instruments for achieving them. It would make sense for Africa to distinguish between fundamental rights and is an instrumental right designed to help us achieve the open society and freedom of information. By the same token we can distinguish between democracy as means and democracy as goals. The most fundamental of the goals of democracy are probably four in instrumental rights.

The right to vote, for example, is an instrumental right designed to help us achieve the fundamental right of government by consent. The right to a free press in analyzing the prospects number. Firstly, to make the rulers accountable and answerable for their actions and policies. Secondly to make the citizens effective participants in choosing those rulers and in regulating their actions. Thirdly, to make the society as open and the economy as transparent as possible; and fourthly to make the social order fundamentally just and equitable to the greatest number possible. Accountable rulers, actively participating citizens, open society and social justice – those are the four fundamental ends of democracy.

How to achieve these goals has elicited different means. In making the rulers more accountable some democracies (like the United States) have chosen separation of powers and checks and balances, while other democracies (like the United Kingdom) have chosen the more concentrated notion of sovereignty of parliament. These are different means towards making the executive branch more accountable and answerable in its use of power. On the open society, freedom of the press and speech, there is also a difference in how the United States and Great Britain regulate it. The United States has a highly permissive legal system on freedom of speech, but more restrictive public opinion.

The United Kingdom has a more restrictive legal system on freedom of the press, but a more tolerant public opinion. If the goals of democracy are the same while the means for achieving them differ, are there African means of achieving those same four goals of accountability of rulers, participation of the citizens, openness of the society and greater social justice? That is the challenge facing constitution makers in Africa – how to keep the democratic goals constant while looking for democratic means more appropriate to Africa. The second big issue about democracy in Africa concerns its relationship to development. On this relationship between democracy and development in Africa, one crucial question has persisted. Is Africa underdeveloped because it is primarily undemocratic? Or is Africa undemocratic because it is primarily underdeveloped? Which is cause and which is effect?

There is a third dimension which is often treated either as part of the package of development or as part of the package of democracy, when in fact it should be treated as a kind of independent variable. The third dimension is stability – a social-political precondition for both sustainable development and durable democracy. Africa’s three greatest needs are development, democracy and stability – but not necessarily in that order. Alleviation of poverty is one of the fruits of democratized development. Alleviation of poverty is one of the gains when democracy and development are jointly stabilized and truly humanized. How has Africa been faring in these areas of development, democratization, stabilization and the fruit of alleviation of poverty? First let us explore what these words mean.

What does development mean, for example? Economists naturally focus on issues like resource flows, levels of economic diversification, domestic mobilization of savings and investment, national productivity and per capita income. And yet high levels of performance in those areas are achieved only after other measurements of development have already taken place. The most crucial may be partly cultural rather than purely economic. Development in promoting performance and mobilization of domestic savings and investment capital may need to be preceded by development in the following areas:

I. Enhancement of managerial skills.

II. Transformation of Gender-Relations between men and women as producers.

III. A redefinition of the work-ethic as a discipline of the education system. Colonialism damaged the work ethic among African males much more than among African females.

IV. A redefinition of the laws and rules about corruption to make them more culturally viable. For example, certain forms of ethic nepotism should be treated with greater understanding than certain forms of bribery. Lighter penalties for nepotism and tougher penalties for bribery may be needed. Ethnic favoritism should be regulated rather than outlawed.

V. Reforms of Africa’s schools and universities to make them more skill-relevant and more culturally-relevant.

Mohamed Omar
Think-Tank and Political Analyst
Hargeisa, Somaliland

Somaliland: An Open letter to newly elected National Elections Commission!

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HARGEISA, 27 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – With the current thorny political situation in Somaliland including tainted NEC process, you are circumspectly elected to assume the incomplete NEC election process, reassurance of public trust and creation of healthy election atmosphere. And also your experience, wisdom, timely, intrepid public communication and ingenuousness approach to election process will return the tarnished image of Somaliland during cat-fight drama.

Despite political differences between political parties, troublesome issue is about how to manage collected data and its integrity constraints including elimination of existing duplicates and its logistic aspect. It is a crucial to work as a team with identical objectives to achieve, professionalism, commitment and reliability. And also to seek assistance from expertise on unfamiliar matters that may arise during your assignments, particularly information technology sector including blurred server issue.

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Our expectations include, highly computer skills, full commitment, determination, and being modest and not to act as arrogant as your predecessor did – (Mr. Jamac Sweden) or become a problematic commission like those who earlier blew up entire process in a matter of days. In addition, your humble collaborations with colleagues and external entities or stakeholders will considerably increment the chance of succeeding this daunting task. Further, you are devout Muslims, under oath and decided to accept this position. Thus, rules of laws ought to be complied with no nepotism, corruption and any interferences presented by political parties must be made in public.

In accordance with your current curriculum vitae presented in the media, your computer skills appear to be limited and not abreast of the latest technologies and your dependency upon outside expertise will once again compromise the providence of this task. As core issue is somehow related to computers and servers, information technology expertise from Somaliland should be onboard to simplify information and also act as go-between entity. Imported information technology experts must be placed under Somaliland experts supervisions.

Demystifying server term

Server issue dominates much of the talk in Somaliland and it seems server quandary continues. In computer term, server refers to an application that runs on a specified computer which delivers services, software that make communication and data transportation possible between the main or master computer and other computers (client). There are numerous server types and each one designed to employ for specific purpose.

For instance, web server runs and transports data between your browser and computer (server) which stores web pages, printer server provides printer service and file server which also provides file services. Apparently, Somaliland needs the following components for the election and creation a permanent national database.

The most important and fundamental component is creating a national database , responsible to store citizens personal information such as last name , date of birth , finger print and facial data. It should be housed in the specific computer (server), highly secured and cooling temperature environment. Possible databases include MS access, mysql, and sql server .

Other components or top layers are software, called GUI (graphic user interface) that enables us to read these RAW data from national database and perform comparisons such as facial recognition and fingerprint software.

Finally, all stipulated components must function as one component and should be meticulously verified their compatibilities.

Good luck.

——————————————————————————–
Yours truly,
Mohammed Abdi Awciise Bahdoon, Bsc.
IT consultant @IBM, Canada
Former UNDP consultant @Hargeisa
Email: m_bahdoon@yahoo.ca

The S.land Independent Scholars Group: Implementation of the Six-Point Agreement and Learning from Our Recent Experience

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HARGEISA, 25 October (Somalilandpress) – In their 24th October meeting the ISG members discuss the implementation of recent six-point Agreement and lessons of recent political conflict in Somaliland. The meeting was sponsored by the Social Research and Development Institute (SORADI). It was moderated by its Director, Dr. Mohamed Fadal. The Somaliland Independent Scholar’s Group (ISG) members are all long-term participants of Somaliland rebuilding and democratization process, who are considered to be highly competent to provide an objective analysis and strategy to address the issues at hand. The ISG members are: Abdi-shakur Sh Ali-Jowhar (Psychiatrist and political analyst: warkamaanta.com), Amina Mohamoud Warsame (Executive Director of NAGAAD); Abdilkadir H Ismail Jirde (Ex-Deputy Speaker and Member of Parliament- now travelling), Shukri H. Ismail (Former National Electoral Commissioner and Member of African Democracy Forum and Chair of Candle Light); Ibrahim Jama Ali –Raite (Member of Parliament and Lawyer), Fawsi Sh. Yonis (Somaliland Lawyer’s Association); Abdi Ahmed Nour (Forum for Peace and Governance-FOBAG), Bobe Y. Duale (Research Coordinator, APD), Haroon H Ahmed Qulumbe (ActionAid), Jafar Mohamed Gadaweyne (SONSAF); Mohamed Hassan Ibrahim (Researcher-APD), Suad Ibrahim Abdi (Researcher-APD); Wais Muse (Executive Director of  Samatalis Coalition of Human Rights)), Dr. Mohamed Fadal, Director of (SORADI);Muse Abdi Elmi (U. of Hargeisa; Dean Academic Affairs) Dr. Yusuf Kariye (Researcher in  Anthropology; Hinda Mohamed Jama (an Associate of Burao University); Dr. Aden Abokor(Progressio Country Rep.)..

II. The Current Climate of Cooperation Among the Key Stakeholders

The Somaliland political temperature continues to be moderate, since the signing of the six-point Agreement (See www.soradi.org for the Agreement text). It is remarkable that the top leadership of the political parties, the President and Chairman of the House of Elders have so far refrained from attacking each other through the media, but instead have started the culture of discussing matters face to face. It is also remarkable that the President has initiated most of these meetings, something that the Somaliland people have expected from him all along.

Therefore, the process of constituting a new National electoral Commission (NEC) has been accomplished. The opposition parties and the two Houses of Parliament have also compromised on several outstanding issues including that they accepted to go along with the President’s uncompromising demand to change their first choice candidates for the NEC. The House of Elders, Kulmiye and UCID all changed their first choice candidates. On the contrary the President’s choices were not subject to such scrutiny from UCID, Kulmiye or even the Guurti.

The situation prevailing in Somaliland before the key stakeholders decided to go on the route of dialogue and compromise was quite explosive:

It was perceived that the President was seeking a one-year extension of his term from the House of Elders. Discussion of the issue in the House floor was concluded on a Thursday and the voting was set to take place on the next day Friday morning and could not even wait for the Saturday.

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In the House of Representatives an impeachment process against the President was tabled as an agenda for discussion. This agenda was being pushed by the opposition and it was believed to have a significant support in the House
From another front, it was alleged that UDUB members were pushing motions through both Houses of Parliament to unseat the two Speakers and replace them with their own supporters.

The two opposition parties discussed openly, with their Chairmen on the record, to form a joint parallel government, if the President succeeded to get an extension of one year from the House of Elders.

Public demonstrations, much more ferocious than before, were expected to follow the above moves.
 

Such an explosive situation has been diffused, people believe, by the President climbing down from the one-year extension demand and convincing his Guurti supporters to go along with the comprise route. The Guurti vote on the Friday morning was unanimous, to diffuse the crisis. What changed the President’s mind is beyond the scope of this paper and will be debated long after the event, but what matters is that with that decision sanity has been restored in the Somaliland politics. It also shows the power of the President’s actions whether he chooses to go along the dialogue and compromise route or otherwise. The hope now is that, the President and all other key stakeholders continue to cooperate to fulfil the responsibilities they have for the Somaliland people to lead them to free and fair elections.

III. On The New NEC

It took about tree weeks to constitute a new NEC and that is relatively fast in the Somaliland standards. However, in this regard one can cite few unfulfilled expectations: There is no female member again. Somaliland had only one female Commissioner and her performance, style of work and integrity has been exemplary. So many other sisters like her are aspiring to serve their nation as Commissioners. How long should we continue to deny them that right? Otherwise, the ISG considers this selection of the new Commissioner of a higher calibre than the lot they are replacing. The ISG welcomes the new NEC and commits itself to support it to face the challenge of leading this country to free, fair and peaceful elections.

The parliamentary approval process was expected to be rigorous. A House sub-committee was assigned to screen the individual members if they meet the criteria clearly outlined in the Electoral Law. However, the committee took five wasted days, because in the approval day, their efforts had no bearing on the House floor discussions and voting results and the process was anything but rigorous. The voting results were sixty-five votes for each of the seven members; there were no opposing votes or abstentions. Is that a normal thing? Certainly not, and the house members need to do a lot of soul searching on the matter; at end of the day, the vote is an individual matter and the MP is accountable for his or her decision. Finally it was not fair to the individual Commissioners, who came from different backgrounds and professions, to be dolled out with equal score marks from all 65 members of parliament voting.

The ISG wants to warn the new NEC not to be rushed into a hasty and ill-prepared hand-over ceremony. A proper audit of the institution has to be commissioned to avoid future complications of their work – The Financial matters, the institutional assets including equipment and transport and the Voter Registration equipment, materials and documents all need to be clearly accounted for.

Further more, all key stakeholders including the international partners have to be fully involved in the hand-over process. The new members will need to be trained to do their job properly. It is also important to build the structure of the organization. The Somaliland Government and the partner international community need to cooperate to build the institutional structure and capacity of NEC. On their part the new members need to take the responsibility to choose their international counterpart agency and with the proper contractual arrangements and MOUs and in a transparent and independent manner. In doing so, they will have to keep in mind that the Somaliland people are expecting them to organize the Presidential election in the fastest possible time. 
 
 

IV. Key Milestones in the Agreement

Milestones to cross include: New NEC is constituted; Expert assessment delivered; Final voter Registration List adopted; NEC sets the election date; and the Presidential term extended accordingly.

Among the above milestones only the first one is crossed so far – constituting the new NEC. That itself is a great success for Somaliland and the key stakeholders in this process need to be commended. However, the next most critical milestone is that the NEC sets the date for the Presidential election. To achieve that, NEC needs to facilitate the work of the Expert Assessment Team and also the production and adoption of the Final Voter Registration List. It is incumbent upon NEC in collaboration with its international partners to ensure this process does not complicate the steps that will follow, in terms of the time it takes and the quality of the results attained. Furthermore, NEC should use the prevailing climate of collaboration among key stakeholder to renew the commitment of the three political parties to accept whatever final list the neutral experts come up with. The goal is to fulfil people’s right to elect their President and not to fight over a list.

V. Recommendations for the Lessons not yet learnt

The two Houses of Parliament need urgently to revisit Electoral Law to enrich it with the lessons learnt from the recent experience.

To make the criteria for the selection of the Commissioners more defined and measurable

To remove what is not working in these criteria, such as the age limit of 60 years

To define clearly what should the approval procedure of the House of Representatives entail other than voting?

To define the legality of a pre-screening process before the list is submitted to the Parliament.

This refers to the controversy over the pre-screening conducted by the President on other member’s candidates.

The mandate of the National Electoral Commission need to be clarified more and on the basis of our recent experiences. This refers to the unilateral decision taken by NEC to suspend the Voter Registration results.

There should be sanctions defined in the Electoral Law for offences committed against it and against other agreements reached by stakeholders.

The Issue of Gender equity in the National Electoral Commission needs to be addressed by all the key stakeholders.

Somaliland, the Unrecognized State.

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Hargeisa Oct 24th, 2009 (SomalilandPress)-While violence in Somalia rages on, its less well known region of Somaliland is making tentative steps towards statehood

Hargeysa, Somaliland] With daily reports of chaos and violence wracking Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, the relative peace and tranquility of Somalia’s second largest city, Hargeysa, stands in stark contrast. The presence of foreigners freely walking and driving in the streets, and the absence of fear from kidnappings and killings in the capital of the Somaliland region, is something its larger sister city cannot boast.

Hargeysa, the city in the dust is Somaliland’s capital, a self proclaimed independent state having broken away from Somalia and declared its own administration in 1991, when Somalia was just beginning a civil war which has raged on ever since. While there are reports the self-directed authority runs its day-to-day tasks smoothly, the state remains unrecognized by any country or international organization.

For more than 18 years, Somaliland, situated in North West Somalia, has maintained some semblance of peace.

Somaliland’s formal borders were drawn in 1886, when the British established a protectorate over the northern regions of Somalia on the coast of the Gulf of Aden. It remained a British protectorate for nearly 80 years, until it gained its independence on June 26, 1960. Less than a week later it entered its ill-starred union with the former Italian Somalia in response to calls from Somali nationalists wishing to unite all the lands on which Somalis lived.

Bordered by Ethiopia in the south and west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and two other de facto independent Somali territories in the east, Maakhir and the Northland State, Somaliland occupies a crucial position.

“If the international community supported the independence of Namibia and Eritrea, then it should also be prepared to give the Republic of Somaliland a chance,” said Somaliland educator Mohamed Samatar Yusuf to The Media Line.

“Why should we force a relatively prosperous and peaceful nation to merge once more with the warring clans of South Somalia at the hands of which it suffered such oppression and hardship before and during the civil war?”

There are signs things are less than calm and peaceful beneath the surface.

In 2002, Dahir Riyale Kahin, a former colonel in the Somali army came to power and was later accused of taking part in what many Somalilanders have termed a genocide, but what others have termed ‘the irresponsible attack of tribal run government policies in its own territory’. He was sworn in as president shortly afterwards. Yet his re-election in 2003, the first public one-on-one election, was seen by some independent observers as a “free and fair election” and an example of Africa democracy.

However, his term in office has recently come under attack by the government’s main opposition party, Kulmiye.

Earlier this month the party condemned the incumbent president’s term extension which they described as “unconstitutional”, following the postponement of elections despite widespread public resistance. Riyale was elected for a five-year term which ended in April last year and in addition was given a one-year extension by the National Electoral Commission, which was due to end in April earlier this year.

Kulmiye, kept the government guessing about its plans to stage nationwide mass protests against the resolution passed by the House of Elders, which extended president Riyale’s term of office. The opposition party’s refusal to recognize the extension sparked violence and demonstrations in which six people were killed and clearly hit a nerve in government circles.

The government said that the recent mass protests against Congress’ resolution posed a direct threat to the country’s national security. The opposition claimed it was pursuing its constitutional right to stage peaceful mass protests against the illegal resolution, despite the fact that things spiraled out of control during the demonstration.

Analysts have compared the recent extensions of Riyale’s term without parliament’s approval to a form of dictatorship.

Nowadays, though the Somaliland government is reportedly making efforts to improve the public services, some people are questioning the government’s policy of using public funds and aid money.

Almost all Somalis describe the security as “clan oriented peace” in the region, despite the late Somaliland President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal having said that “Somaliland is no longer just a collection of clans but a nation in its own right.”

More than 73% of Somaliland’s population lives in poverty and 43% in extreme poverty. Unemployment is widespread, and according to Mohamed Abdinor, a Somaliland scholar, more than 78% of the population has no access to healthcare.

There are signs though of green shoots as streets are slowly being rebuilt and markets are springing up. Two universities and many colleges have been built recently without outside help.

Somaliland’s Finance Minister Awil Ali Du’ale said Somaliland is continuing to develop its local resources and variety of imported items.

“We’ve signed agreements with several international companies working on different resources,” he said.

There are presently four telecommunication companies operating in Somaliland and others are expected to become operational very soon.

But despite a growth in communication capabilities, media censorship remains strong.

“The media has a huge role in Somaliland but they are not really independent and cannot air the facts,” said a senior editor of a Somaliland newspaper who asked to remain unnamed.

He further added that Somaliland was reluctant to report its news as Somalia news, being as the nation was aiming to become an independent state.

“We have to be aware of what is happening around the world and in our country” said Mohamed Haji, a Hargeysa inhabitant.

Such sentiments are common, especially during the mornings in the city’s many cafes which are regularly crammed with people chatting about the latest news and politics.

Although there’s much optimism in Somaliland, the country’s progress is limited because aid donors and trade partners do not officially recognize its existence as an independent state. Its international trade relations are dependent on a handful of countries and private companies.

But with hopes running high for what looks to be a growing economy, its inhabitants are waiting for an independent and recognized government in the near future.

“We will not allow [for our country] to be united with Somalia” said 18 year old passionate high school student Mohamed Abdi, stating the main difference between the two nations was that Somaliland chose to take up peace rather than violence.

“We’ve no daily violence and killings; we would like to be an independent country soon. Hopefully it will happen,” smiling Abdi concluded.

Copyright © 2008 The Media Line. All Rights Reserved.

Rising numbers of illegal immigrants enter Somaliland

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HARGEISA, 23 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Immigration officials in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have expressed concern over the increase in the number of illegal Ethiopian migrants entering the region, with claims that up to 90 people are arriving daily, against 50 in 2008.

An immigration official, who requested anonymity, said most of those arriving in Somaliland were asylum-seekers from the Oromiya region of Ethiopia. Others transit through Somaliland en route to the Arabian Peninsula.

The exact number of Ethiopian refugees in Somaliland is unclear as the region’s authorities and the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, have different figures.

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Mohamed Ismail, the director of social affairs in the Ministry of Interior – charged with overseeing refugee affairs and asylum-seekers – said: “We consider 4,000 individuals as Ethiopian refugees but all the other people who live in Somaliland are not refugees; [they have] come to Somaliland for a better life.”

According to UNHCR Somalia, Somaliland has 1,600 Ethiopian refugees and more than 14,000 asylum-seekers.

“UNHCR has the responsibility of engaging in strong information campaigns targeting Ethiopians on their right to seek asylum if they are fleeing persecution in their country and of the rights they have as refugees,” Roberta Russo, a spokeswoman for the agency, told IRIN on 22 October.

However, a source in the Ministry of Interior said the last estimate by the ministry and UNHCR in 2006 was that at least 8,000 Ethiopian refugees were in Somaliland.

Saleban Ismail Bulale, chairman of the Horn of Africa Human Rights Organization, based in Hargeisa, said: “UNHCR has granted refugee status to only 1,500, but it is estimated that there are thousands of Ethiopians in Somaliland.”

Living on the streets

Asha Abdi, an Ethiopian mother of six living on the streets of Hargeisa, told IRIN: “My children and I left our home in Babuli town in Ethiopia’s Oromiya Region several months ago; we came because we had suffered lack of food for a long time.”

Hers is one of several Ethiopian families trying to survive on Hargeisa’s streets. “We live in the shade of local houses and beg for food to survive,” Asha said.

An Ethiopian official, who requested anonymity, told IRIN it seemed the UNHCR office in Hargeisa was encouraging asylum-seekers to enter Somaliland.

“Ethiopians emigrate to Somaliland in search of a better life; for example, they want to be relocated to a foreign country. You see them coming here and then going back to their homes after registering with the UNHCR office in Hargeisa as asylum-seekers,” the official said. “When their time comes for their relocation, they come back to Hargeisa.”

However, Russo said UNHCR did everything possible to inform the refugees of their rights and to ensure the protection mechanisms put in place were not abused.

In very few cases, she said, UNHCR offered the option of resettlement to a third country if the refugees faced insecurity in the country of asylum or if it was impossible for them to integrate. Russo added that this opportunity was offered to the most needy cases.

Source: IRIN

Downsize Cabinet: Suggestions to the TG in Somalia.

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Thursday,22 October 2009 (Somalilandpress)-As reported in the media the International Community is putting pressure on the Transitional Government in Somalia to downsize its cabinet. With 39 Ministers, by any standard, the TG has one of the largest cabinets. Somalia is grappling with all sorts of crises and one of them is bloated government. Because bloated government is a serious obstacle to nation building and governing. It makes sense for the TG to downsize its cabinet. It is an irony for a nation such as Somalia with a small population of 10 million to appoint 39 Ministers. It is worth mentioning that China which has the largest population of 1.5 billion has a mere 19 ministries. [1] For that reason, it is incumbent on us to suggest to the TG the following:

Revoke the 4.5 plan
The 4.5 plan was responsible for the creation of ineffective governance in Somalia. Since 2000, the 4.5 clan-based plan was used to form three transitional governments in Somalia. The main objective of the 4.5 scheme was to create inclusivity so that no community (clan) was left out. However, the 4.5 plan has been an impediment to effective governance in Somalia. It was also responsible for the creation of some of the largest and exotic cabinets in world.

Inclusivity is made by leadership not clans
The only way to form a durable government is by including everybody. Inclusivity is important to any government to acquire legitimacy and political capital. However, inclusivity is not acquired by clans splitting position. It is the task of a leadership which seeks mandate from a whole nation to include all so that everyone can feel the government is there to serve all. However, inclusivity without competence is futile.

Inclusivity should go hand-in-hand with competence
Without competence there can be no government worthy of governing. Responsibilities (positions) should be merited not given out like presents. Those appointed to serve in the cabinet and in other parts of government should be merited individuals from across communities. For that reason, inclusivity should go hand-in-hand with competence.

We the people of Somalia add the call to the TG to downsize its cabinet. The TG should heed the call of the International Community to revoke the inept 4.5 plan and downsize its cabinet. Without doubt, the 4.5 plan was wrong for Somalia. It was an archaic way of forming a government fraught with serious lapses. It is the task of a leadership to create inclusivity and form a government which is and be seen to be fair and inclusive. The TG should see the obvious and look into the relevance of some of its ministries. There are ministries which overlap. There are also ministries which are no longer part of modern governance. It is not for us to point out here which ministries overlap one another and which are the obsolete ones. It is for the TG to see and address the problem.

Notes
1. Republic of China information

Abdullahi Dool
Hornheritage@aol.com

Somaliland readies for presidential election

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HARGEISA, 20 October 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Inside the compound of the presidential mansion here, there is a circle of blue and white tiles about a metre across lying on the ground over a dirt mound. The decorative hump amid a dusty car park seems out of place, until a guard explains that it is a memorial.

Almost a year ago, a suicide bomber drove a lorry through the front gate of the compound and blew himself up at this spot, just metres from the president’s lavish two-story house. Five people died in the blast including the president’s secretary. Another 25 died in two other simultaneous attacks in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland.

Dahir Riyale Kahin, the president of Somaliland, was upstairs in his house when the bomb went off and was uninjured. Local authorities blamed the attack on al Shabab, an Islamic militia with ties to al Qa’eda that has been waging war in southern Somalia for the past two years.

The October 2008 Hargeisa bombings, a rarity in the normally stable northern breakaway region of Somaliland, underscored the threats faced by the man living in the president’s mansion.

An upcoming presidential election could install a new man in the president’s house for the first time in seven years, or it could put Mr Riyale back in the hot seat. Security will be a major issue of the campaign, as will gaining international recognition for Somaliland’s independence.

Unlike southern Somalia, which has been at war for two decades, Somaliland has a functioning government and security forces. It declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but so far no other nation recognises this and Somaliland remains a country that does not exist.

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“Recognition will come sooner or later,” Mr Riyale said in an interview from his mansion. “The international community will come to the conclusion that we have a right to self determination. We are a functioning state. There is no state in southern Somalia. We have become a victim of a failed state.”

Critics say Mr Riyale, the former vice president, has not done enough to achieve recognition since he ascended to power following the death of the previous president in 2002. He has yet to articulate a concrete plan for gaining recognition for Somaliland.

The last time Somaliland held a presidential election, in 2003, Mr Riyale beat his nearest challenger, Ahmed Mahamoud Silaanyo, by a mere 80 votes out of almost 500,000 cast. Then, an amazing thing happened: Mr Silaanyo stepped down quietly. Unlike in other African countries where hotly contested elections often lead to bloody protests, Somalilanders accepted the results peacefully and went on with nation building.

This year, Mr Riyale is back seeking another five-year term. Mr Silaanyo, a 72-year-old former resistance fighter, and Faisal Ali Waraabe, a professor who spent many years in Finland, are again his main challengers.

The election, which was scheduled for April 2008, has been delayed several times, most recently on September 27, because of security and logistical constraints. Politicians say it will now take place in January at the earliest.

As president, Mr Silaanyo, an economist and former minister of commerce, said he would empower women and youth, develop the country’s natural resources including exploiting potential oil reserves and keep the nation safe from Islamic insurgents.

“The president has passed his mandate, and he doesn’t deserve to be there,” he said in an interview from his quiet residence in the former house of a British colonial official. “If we agree [with the ruling party] on one thing, that is the need to protect ourselves from al Shabab. We do recognise the threat that they represent. We are on our guard as much as we can.”

The most comprehensive plan to achieve international recognition for Somaliland is from Mr Waraabe, 58, a soft-spoken Finnish citizen who entered Somaliland politics in 2001. Mr Waraabe, the dark horse candidate in the election, said he can achieve recognition within one year if elected.

“First we need to make a viable state that respects human rights,” he said. “Then we will activate the more than 400,000 Somalilanders in the diaspora and use them to lobby to get recognition in their home countries.”

Mr Waraabe said a strong government would serve to counter violent extremism. “Terrorism is a result of anarchy. If we make a strong state, there won’t be groups like al Shabab.”

While he did not outline a specific plan to achieve recognition, Mr Silaanyo said self-determination would come once the international community realised Somaliland is the most stable region of Somalia.

“We pride ourselves in being an oasis of peace,” he said. “It is the only asset we have … Once we are more developed, we will be able to sell ourselves to the international community.”

Mr Riyale, for his part, is running on his record of creating security in Somaliland. Suicide bombers did manage to kill innocent Somalilanders last year, but that was an isolated incident, he said, and al Shabab and its sympathisers in Somaliland have been pushed underground.

“We are the only government in the Horn of Africa that is fighting terrorism,” he said. “I am doing a lot to bring stability to this country.”

Source: TheNational

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