Minister Denied
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Hargeisa, Feb 28, 2004 (SL Times) – Somaliland Minister of Interior,
Mr. Ismail Adan Osman, described as baseless and pure fabrication a
report published by Jamhuuriya (Feb 22) alleging that the Danish
government reacted angrily to a recent letter he wrote to the Danish
Refugee Council’s office in Hargeisa.
The letter written on Feb 4, 2004 informed the DRC and other
international agencies operating in Somaliland that only the minister
of interior is authorized to sign requests for assistance originating
from the ministry.
Although Jamhuuriya attributed the source of its report to its
correspondent in Copenhagen, the same report appeared on a number of
Somali websites days before its publication by the Hargeisa-based
newspaper.
The Program Manager of DRC Hargeisa Jan-Erik Wann in an immediate
response letter to Jamhuuriya on Feb 22, emphasized that DRC
Copenhagen has not in any way officially reacted to the Authorities in
Somaliland regarding the Advocacy program run by the DRC.
Mr. Wann also said, “DRC Hargeisa has not been asked or given any
comments on the matter to the newspaper [Jamhuuriya].”
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the minister of interior attacked
Jamhuuriya “for its systematic dissemination of baseless information
about the ministry of Interior.”
Despite the fact that Jamhuuriya’s Managing Editor, Mr. Faysal Ali
Sheikh, was present at the press conference, the newspaper didn’t
cover the event.
Jamhuuriya also refrained from publishing the letter it received from
the Hargeisa Danish Refugee Council office in response to the article
that the newspaper had published in its Feb 22 issue.
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