Issue 104 January 19-25, 2004
| Headlines |
Responding To
Abdillahi Yusuf’s Plea, ONLF Fighters Arrive In Majerteenia
Las-Anod (SL Times) – Hundreds of fighters belonging to the Ogaden
National Liberation Front secretly arrived last week at the western and
southern parts of Majerteenia (Puntland) following a recent plea by Col.
Abdillahi Yusuf for Darood clans living in Ethiopia to send him arms,
ammunition and combatants which, as he put it, were needed to bolster
Puntland’s capabilities in an imminent military confrontation with
Somaliland. The ONLF which for the last decade has been engaged in a hit
and run insurgency against Ethiopian government forces in some parts of
Ethiopia’s autonomous Somali regional state, draws its recruits
exclusively from the Ogaden/Darood clan.
King’s College
Hospital Team To Arrive Tomorrow
Hargeisa (SL Times) – A team of medical specialists from the London-based
King’s college Hospital will arrive in Hargeisa tomorrow.
During their stay in Somaliland, the team is expected to offer specialist
support to Hargeisa Group Hospital and a number of other health
institutions in the country.
The Tropical Health And Education Trust (THET), which provides training
for health workers in a number of poor African countries, arranged a
partnership linkage between Hargeisa Group Hospital and King’s College
Hospital.
Read full text...
Survey Reveals Wide
Income Gap between Somaliland and Somalia
By Dr Ismail I Ahmed
The average incomes in Somaliland have dramatically increased after the
war and are now significantly higher than those in the regions of Somalia,
according to a joint study by the World Bank and UNDP. The Socio-Economic
Survey which was published on 14 January 2004 compares the per capita
income of 18 Somali regions. The results show that the five regions of
Somaliland top the income league table.
The study says the regions around Mogadishu were richer before the war
because of heavy concentrations of commerce, industry and services. In the
last income and expenditure survey conducted some 20 years ago, Somaliland
regions came at the bottom of all the 18 regions. Now average household
incomes in Somaliland regions are 50% higher than those in Somalia.
Self-Determination As A Way For Solving Conflicts
Screamed one of them when I inquired why
unity had eluded them for so long: "We cannot participate in talks when
senior people who served in the Siad Barre government and were architects
of the maiming of our people and destruction of our land are now seen as
saints in the talks in Nairobi."
There are claims that around 1991 and 1992, Barre's army, which continued
fighting after his ouster in January 1991, bombarded Hargeisa, one of the
then flourishing towns with a strong political and economic base. The
raids are said to have left over 640,000 people dead and the entire town
reduced to rubble.
Many of the people in Somaliland have kept pictures and relics of the town
immediately after it was flattened as a reminder of the injustice meted
out to them.
Pointing at one of these pictures, Egal Mohammed says agonisingly: "We
speak the same language, worship the same religion, we are people of the
same race, and yet we were battered like this by our fellow brothers. It
is difficult to start talking of unity."
UN Releases First Socioeconomic Survey On Somaliland And Somalia
Somalia is considered one of the poorest
countries in the world, a situation aggravated by the civil war and the
absence of a functioning national government for over a decade. According
to the survey - also referred to as the "Somalia Watching Brief 2003" - 43
percent of Somalis live in extreme poverty with an income of $1 a day or
less.
The survey also suggests that regions in the north that enjoy relative
peace have better income levels compared to southern regions, which are
still conflict zones.
WEALTH BREAKDOWN
The current wealth breakdown for Hargeisa was obtained through interviews
with 40 groups of key informants throughout the city. The participants in
these interviews included `elders', section leaders and members of the
community (both men and women). Wealth breakdowns were also conducted in
some of the focus group interviews with particular wealth groups. Wealth
breakdowns were obtained for different parts of the city (`mixed' and
`poor') and then merged using a working population figure of 375,000 for
the town as a whole and, within this, 60,000 for the `poor' areas.8 The
first two graphics below illustrate the wealth breakdowns that were
obtained for the `mixed' and `poor' parts of the city. The third graphic
is a summary for the city as a whole. None of the percentage figures in
these graphics should be regarded as precise - each figure is within a
range - which varies from one part of the town to another.
Two Killed In North Somalia Fighting: Officials
Somaliland leaders are not involved in the
peace gathering, saying they have no intention of reuniting Somaliland
with the rest of Somalia. Abdullahi Mohamed Du'ale, the Somaliland
information minister, has urged the United Nations, African Union,
European Union and Arab League to use their influence to stabilise the
situation.
"Forces loyal to Abdullahi Yusuf have committed naked aggression.
Somaliland will be patient no longer," he said. – Reuters
Col. Abdillahi Yusuf
Shows His Terrorist Colors
Somalilanders will hardly be surprised by the news that Abdillahi Yusuf is
now soliciting the help of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, with the
purpose of bolstering his violent campaign of grabbing Somaliland
territory. After all, this is a warlord who in pursuit of power over the
last 3 decades has repeatedly shown that he wouldn’t hesitate to ally
himself with the devil, if that would serve his ultimate aim. Until quite
recently, Abdillahi Yusuf liked portraying himself as the only Somali
leader at the forefront of the fight against terrorism in the region. Now
he is not ashamed to speak proudly to his militiamen of his newly
established links with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) which,
despite its misleading name, is widely believed to be the organization
responsible for the facilitation and execution of terror activities, not
only in Ethiopia, but also across the Horn of Africa.
A Letter Of Thanks
By Sanjab
My Dear Relatives, Friends And Colleagues,
I am very pleased to inform you that my health problems, which started in
may 2002, have been diagnosed in London, United Kingdom. It started early
morning 5th of May 2002 in Hargeisa, while driving my car in front of
Hargeisa Group Hospital. I became unconscious and found myself at the ward
6 days later. My family members evacuated me to Ethiopia, and later, to
the United Kingdom.
H.E Mr Mohamed Said Gees, who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Somaliland at that time, was responsible for facilitating my visa to U.K.
I am therefore obliged to extend my sincere appreciation to his efforts
and honest assistance.
Nationalism Versus
Tribalism In Somalia
By Saeed Farah Abdi
Let alone resolving their longstanding tribally-based political feuds,
Somali participants in the current peace-making gathering in Nairobi are
reported to have had, on December 17, another dog-fight among themselves.
In light of this latest episode there is a glaringly imminent failure out
of the IGAD sponsored 14-month old Nairobi gathering, named the
reconciliation conference, by the international Community.
Freedom Of The Press
By Mohamed Abdillahi Du’ale (Ilkacase)
The press is called the fourth estate of any democratic country, meaning
it is the fourth power after the executive, judiciary and legislative. In
a democracy, the press not only disseminates news and information but also
analyses them critically, hence giving a whole panorama of any problem and
its possible solutions.
The Press is not supposed to be a mouthpiece of the prevailing government
but a staunch supporter of people’s causes. The media keeps people
informed about the government policies and global issues.
It also informs the government about the problems of the society, their
desires, and grievances.
| PEOPLE |
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Soccer Leaders
Praise Omino Nairobi, January 14, 2004 (The East African Standard)
Joab Omino was due to defend his seat in
the Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive in Tunisia
next week.
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| Peace Talks |
International Criminal Tribunal For Somalia Warlords
Notorious Somali warlords, regional administration heads and former military government leaders have committed grave human rights atrocities against the Somali civilians including women and children.
| INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
MEDIA-AFRICA: A
Depressing Start To 2004 For African Journalists
Moyiga Nduru
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 14 (IPS) - The new year has started on a bad note for
the media in Africa, with journalists under siege in various parts of the
continent.
In Zambia, columnist Roy Clarke has gone into hiding. He faces deportation
for allegedly defaming Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa by referring to
him as a "lumbering, foolish elephant" who heads a "farm" of corrupt
officials.
Cameras On Somali
Island "To Monitor Terrorists"
By Ali Halni, IOL Correspondent
MOGADISHU, January 13 (IslamOnline.net) – Fishermen from the Somali
southern city of Raas Kambooni stumbled Monday, January 12, onto cameras
and other electronic devices installed in a remote island in the country's
territorial waters, with one official believing it is the work of U.S.
intelligence.
Four cameras linked to solar cells and state-of-the-art equipment had been
found on the depopulated rocky island of Burr Gaabo near the Kenyan
borders, Houg Ogal newspaper reported Tuesday, January 13.
Senegalese And
Djiboutian Officials Injured In Car Accident
Thies, Senegal, 16/01/2004 (News24) – Senegal's Minister of Housing and
Construction Salif Ba and his Djibouti counterpart Abdelali Abdallah were
injured in a road accident near Dakar on Thursday, Senegalese press
reports said on Thursday.
Ba survived with a swollen eye but Abdallah was evacuated by helicopter to
Dakar after medical treatment at a Thies hospital, the APS news agency
reported.
US Wants Normalized
Somalia
DIPLOMATIC PUSH: The US, concerned about terrorism in the lawless African
nation, is considering a diplomatic effort to restart stalled talks on
resolving strife
WASHINGTON, Sunday, Jan 11, 2004 (AFP) – The US is considering a major
diplomatic initiative to help create a functional government in lawless
Somalia, a senior US State Department official said Friday.
The aim would be to restore the war-ravaged country to some form of
normality for its impoverished people and rein in terrorist elements,
including some affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, the
official said.
| United In A Quest For Understanding |
United In A Quest For Understanding
By KELLEY BOUCHARD, Portland Press Herald
Writer
LEWISTON, Sunday, January 11, 2004 (Maine Newspapers) — A lot has changed
in Lewiston over the last year. Vital city documents are being translated
into three languages. Social service agencies are seeking better ways to
provide job training, transportation and child care for all of the city's
poorest residents.
A new mayor is promoting multicultural understanding along with economic
development. In general, more people are focusing on what unites them,
instead of what divides them. A 10-day festival started Saturday to
celebrate these accomplishments.
First Of 200
Refugees From Somalia To Begin Arriving In Roanoke Soon
As many as 140 of the refugees will be children, potentially creating a
unique challenge for local school systems.
By Lisa Applegate, Tuesday, January 13, 2004
A mother and her three children - the first of 200 Somali Bantu refugees
to resettle in Southwest Virginia this year - will arrive Jan. 21 at
Roanoke Regional Airport.
Two Wanted over Cafe
Shooting
By Jane Kirby, PA News, Mon 12 Jan 2004
Detectives investigating the murder of a student outside a cafe today
released descriptions of two men they want to question.
Nureni Mumin Sheikh, 19, from Manor Park in London, died after being shot
twice in Moss Side, Greater Manchester, at around 5.30pm on Saturday.
Officers responded to reports that a man had been shot outside the Zaku
cafe in Claremont Road.
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