Issue 55 February 8, 2003
| FEATURE |
Britain May Consider Sending Asylum Seekers From Somalia
to Somaliland
UK Home Office plan calls for establishment of UN "Protection Areas" in Somaliland for refugees from Southern Somalia; Turkey, Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan for Iraqi refugees; and Morocco for Algerians
London (The Guardian): A confidential government plan to slash the number of asylum seekers coming to Britain by deporting most of them to UN "protection areas" in their regions of origin has been drawn up by Whitehall and is to be presented to the prime minister this week.
Information Minister to Found Union for Journalists
Hargeisa (SL Times): A Conference organized by Somaliland's Minister of Information, Mr. Abdillahi A. Dualle, for the founding of a new Union for local journalists is going to be held this morning at Mansoor Hotel in Hargeisa, under the auspices of the Somaliland Presidency.
Interview With TNG Foreign Minister Yusuf Hassan Ibrahim
IRIN
Q: What do you see as the imperfections in the relationship between the TNG and the Ethiopians?
A: I think there has been for some time now, not since the beginning of the TNG time but sometime later, a misunderstanding between the TNG and the Ethiopian government, and that misunderstanding is based on the position of Ethiopia that they don't recognize the TNG.
Somali Zone: Improved Regional Development Record Tainted
by Tribal Conflict
Harar, Febuary 4, 2003 (JNA) - A report by the Somali Zone's rights group focuses says that the plight of the Somali zone's citizens of both in Somali state and Oromo Zone who were uprooted and deprived of their residence during the worst regional droughts and ethnic wars has yet to be resolved. "There is no justification for the horrendous treatment these people suffered," said Somali Zone rights group, spokesperson. "What is worse is that, despite all the federal assistance since the conflict end, they still have no resolution: property claims remain unresolved and many districts have no regional administration assistance and contacts," he added.
| EDITORIAL & OPINION |
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No to Censorship Most Somalilanders agree that one of the best things that happened in post-independence Somaliland has been the emergence of its vibrant free press. By keeping the public constantly informed about developments at the domestic front, in the region and the world at large, the independent press has been able to a significant extent, to fill the huge information gap that has until then existed in this country. |
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A Silent President, War Crimes and a Future In the Balance Hamza S. Yusuf A question of fundamental importance has been raised in the discussion of the criminal culpability of the incumbent President Mr. Rayale. It is an issue that cannot be submerged. Leaving aside considerations of his numerous deficiencies for the office of President, the man, the UDUB Chairman, the President must RESPOND to us, his people. |
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Where Is Somaliland? Somaliland Forum - Press Release SLF/MR-01-02/03 04.02.03 Cairo, Djibouti, Sodere, Nairobi, Arte and now Eldoret .. All these places and many others have three things in common. None of these places is in Somalia, but they have all hosted internationally sponsored peace conferences for Somalis (yes, Somalis). There have been at least 14 such conferences that preceded the latest, which is taking place at the hotels of Eldoret, Kenya. The third thing they have all in common is that none of them concerned the people and the Republic of Somaliland. |
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Somaliland Presidential Election Chronicles Dr. Abdishakur Sh. Ali Jowhar Part I: A Primer on an Embryonic Democracy Somaliland gained its independence from the British Empire in late June of 1960 and lost it 4 days later, in a fit of postcolonial delirium, by merging with its southern neighbor to form the Republic of Somalia in July 1st of the same year. The union was driven by a chauvinistic ideology of "Great Somalia", a scheme of "freeing and uniting" all Somali speaking people in the Horn of Africa. The Somali Republic formulated on this basis, disintegrated and failed - the first modern state to simply disappear and vanish. The Somali Republic no longer exists as a state. |
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Rayale Is a Material Witness Ali Gulaid, San Jose, California Dahir Rayaale Kahin witnessed en masse crimes being committed against humanity. That is according to Dr. Tani. In order to avoid the mishap of taking it out of context and the art of slanting, Dr. Tani's relevant words posted on various websites and in the print media regarding General Tallan and Rayale's tour of duty in Berbera is quoted below. |
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Open Letter to the President
of Somaliland Mr. Riyale Abdi Halim M. Musa, Hargeisa As a citizen of this country and a patriot I have decided to share my thoughts with you Sir, and the people of this country. |
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The Silent Majority! A. Mohamed Ali Hashi 'Dhimbiil' Ottawa, Canada Recently, a barrage of allegations and accusations against President Dahir Rayyale has surfaced accusing him of human rights violations. The accusers - defending a certain political line of course - have charged the President with one simple line: that he bears a heavy responsibility for heading a national security office at time of gross human rights violations. The defenders - defending a certain political line of course - have argued that a double standard has been used, effectively ruining the litmus test for a passing grade - objectivity. |
| CULTURE |
Faysal Omar Mushteeg - Somaliland's Indisputable Male Vocalist!
Abdirahman Ahmed Shunuuf, Mohamed Ahmed Shunuuf and Mohamoud Ahmed Shunuuf
Faisel Omer is surrounded by musicians and singers in a smoky house in Saudi Arabia. One of the rooms of the house is turned into a studio of sorts. It is 1984, less than four years before he leaves Saudi Arabia for good, and finds himself in the middle of the Civil war in Somalia, and the program is to record what many Somaliland music critics call the best Somaliland tape ever to be recorded.
| HEALTH |
Two Somaliland Doctors Lecture in Seattle
Jamal Gabobe
The second lecture of the Somaliland Society's lecture series took place at the headquarters of the society in Seattle, Washington on Jan 12, 2003. Two psychiatrists of Somaliland origin, Dr. Abdishakur Sheikh Ali Jowhar and Dr. Adan Ismail Beergeel, both of whom now practice medicine in British Columbia, Canada, lectured the audience on mental health.
FAO Denies Upsurge In Rinderpest Disease
Nairobi, February 5, 2003 (IRIN): The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has denied that there has been an upsurge in the cattle disease, rinderpest, in Somalia.
| INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
Somali Deportation Case Creates Legal Stir
Todd Nelson
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ST. PAUL, Minn. - KRT NEWSFEATURES
Feb. 06, 2003 (KRT) - Immigration law, normally dry and arcane, gave rise in recent weeks to a pulse-quickening behind-the-scenes drama worthy of Perry Mason.
When the federal government moved to deport dozens of Somalis, it triggered courtroom showdowns in the Twin Cities, Seattle and New Orleans.
The Independent: Have War and Terror Made the Planet Too Hot for Tourism?
Analysis: Travel Advice
Independent Newspapers (UK), February 5, 2003
Under no circumstances should British travellers visit Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Ivory Coast or Liberia. As for Yemen or Iraq, do not even think about it.
The same can be said for all areas of Afghanistan outside Kabul, the western area of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan; the Chechen Republic and north Caucasus of the Russian Federation; the Sool and Sanaag regions of Somaliland or Central Mindanao in the Philippines. The list goes on.
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