By Somalilandtimes network
Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 19, 2006 – For the 15 years Somaliland has been ‘independent’, the international community has given her a wide berth.
Read full text...
By Somalilandtimes network
Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 19, 2006 – Over the years, changes have been made to the map of the world. For instance after WWII, Russia swallowed several eastern European states and formed the Soviet Union.
By Somalilandtimes network
Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 19, 2006 – The Berbera PSC was awarded to Rova Energy Corporation Limited (Rova) by the Government of Somaliland in May 2003. Ophir has recently acquired 75% of the issued share capital of Rova, which is a special purpose company established to develop the Somaliland interests.
‘Federalism Working In Nigeria’
Lagos, Nigeria, February 21, 2006 – A four-day pan-African conference on federalism and ethnicity in Africa began on Monday in Lagos, where delegates from across the 19 sub-Saharan African states are gathered to discuss issues of federalism and its suitability for multi-ethnic Africa.
Read full text...
By Somalilandtimes network
LUCRATIVE TURF: A Somali gunman stands guard at a roadside checkpoint in 2003. Hundreds of such roadblocks, manned by heavily armed fighters extorting money from passing drivers, provide a major source of income for warlords. Now the warlords are joining forces to stop Al Qaeda from muscling in.
WASHINGTON, February 24, 2006 – Dismissed by the international community as a failed state prone to Islamist extremism, Somalia's warlords have joined forces to stamp out Al Qaeda-linked groups trying to gain a foothold in the lawless East African nation.
Read full text...
By Somalilandtimes network
South Africa has thrown its weight behind efforts to preserve the priceless Timbuktu Manuscripts, ancient documents that hold the key to some of the secrets of the continent's history and cultural heritage - and shatter the conventional historical view of Africa as a purely "oral continent".
ead full text...
Sudanese girls from the south celebrate the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the SPLA and the Sudan Government at Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi, January 9, 2005. (Sudan Tribune).
By Somalilandtimes network
Khartoum, Sudan, Feb 23, 2006 — Muslim and Christian women in Juba resolved to unite, identifying that differences between the two religious communities were often caused by foreigners who have come to Sudan for their own personal benefit.
Read full text...
By Somalilandtimes network
NEW YORK, USA- Much maligned by the U.S. media, Sudan’s top selling literary novelist, Kola Boof, proves that she was Osama Bin Laden’s mistress in startling detail as her autobiography Diary of a Lost Girl (ISBN: 0-9712019-8-6) finally hits America today in hardcover.
Read full text...
KENYA: Police Raid Privately-Owned Weekly Newspaper
By Somalilandtimes network
Reporters Without Borders Press release
21 February 2006
Reporters Without Borders sent a strong protest to the Kenyan authorities after police raided the premises of the privately-owned The Weekly Citizen on 20 February after it carried an article about power struggles within the presidency.
Somali Warlords Start Peace Talks
By Somalilandtimes network
Mogadishu, Somalia, Feb. 22, 2006 – The Somali capital, Mogadishu, is calm following four days of fighting between rival militias.
|
|
| Headlines |
Speakers Of Both Chambers Of Parliament Leave For Wales
They will attend the inauguration of the Welsh National Assembly (Senedd)
|
The speaker of the lower house of Parliament, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi “Erro” (left) and the first deputy speaker of the Somaliland Guurti (upper house), Sheikh Ahmed Nuh (right)
|
By Somalilandtimes network
Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 25, 2006 – The speaker of the lower house of Parliament, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi “Erro” and the first deputy speaker of the Somaliland Guurti (upper house), Sheikh Ahmed Nuh will leave tomorrow for Cardiff, Wales, with a night stopover in Addis Ababa, to take part in the official opening of the new Welsh National Assembly – the Senedd – on March 1, 2006.
|
Somaliland Times Interview With Speaker Of Somaliland House Of Representatives
|
Speaker of Somaliland parliament House of Representatives Mr Abdirahman Erro
|
By Somalilandtimes network
Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 25, 2006 – Mr. Abdirahman Erro, speaker of Somaliland parliament House of Representatives was interviewed by Somaliland Times last Tuesday. Excerpt of this interview follows:
SL Times: Do you have any information on the president’s plans to travel abroad soon?’
Read full text...
|
By Somalilandtimes network
Helsinki, Feb. 22, 2006 – Finland could soon begin repatriating Somali asylum seekers, as well as Somali residents who have committed crimes in Finland. According to the Helsinki Aliens' Police, the situation in Somalia has improved so much that it will be possible to send people to all parts of the country.
The information is contained in a statement sent to the Directorate of Immigration. Previously, the police would not send people to Southern and Central Somalia because of instability in the region.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
By Somalilandtimes network
KAMPALA, Uganda, February 25, 2006 – Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni took a commanding lead over his rival Kizza Besigye on Friday in early results from an election he hopes will extend his two-decade rule.
Results from nearly a third of the east African nation's polling stations gave Museveni 65.5 percent. Besigye, leader of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), was on less than half that at 31.9 percent, the Electoral Commission (EC) said.
Read full text...
|
By Somalilandtimes network
Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 20, 2006 - Somaliland arrested 84 fishermen from nearby Yemen it says were fishing illegally in its waters, authorities in the breakaway enclave said on Sunday.
The seizures of the fishermen and their nine boats early on Saturday were part of a drive to rid Somaliland 's waters off the Horn of Africa of illegal fishing, officials in the former British protectorate of 3.5 million people said.
|
By Somalilandtimes network
|
Somalia 's fractious leaders take an oath: They bear direct responsibility for their country's plight
|
The formation of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in October 2004 at Mbagathi, Kenya, was supposed to arrest Somalia 's vicious cycle of statelessness, insecurity and humanitarian crisis.
Instead, nearly one and a half years later, the country has rarely been in worse shape: the UN says some 1.4 million people are threatened by drought and hunger; a recent surge in maritime piracy has made Somali waters among the most dangerous in the world; and a new jihadi organization based in Mogadishu represents a growing terrorist threat to Somalia and the region. Meanwhile, the TFG has been limping along the path to collapse or - worse - to war with itself.
|
|
By Somalilandtimes network
Evanston, Illinois, February 18, 2006 – On Monday, Feb.13, 2006 a roundtable discussion entitled “The Politics of Somaliland’s Self-Determination” took place at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. The Somaliland Times is pleased to share with its readers some of the insights of the distinguished participants.
Read full text...
|
|
International News
|
Special Rapporteur On Right To Food Deeply Concerned About Risk Of Famine In The Horn Of Africa
By Somalilandtimes network
UNITED NATIONS Press Release
The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Mr. Jean Ziegler, is deeply concerned by the current situation in the Horn of Africa. According to information received in January 2006, approximately 11 million people are currently threatened by starvation in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania. Severe droughts coupled with the effects of past and ongoing conflicts have led to acute shortages of water and food, decimation of grazing lands and cereal production, and killing of large numbers of cattle affecting the pastoral and agro-pastoral sources of livelihood.
|
Read full text... |
By Somalilandtimes network
U.S. Marine CH53 helicopter lands in southern Afghanistan in this December 5, 2001 file photo. U.S. and allied forces searched on Saturday for 10 crew members still missing a day after two Marine Corps helicopters crashed off the coast of Djibouti, the hub of U.S. counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa. (REUTERS/Jim Hollander)
JACKSONVILLE, N.C, February 21, 2006- Ten U.S. service members died when a pair of Marine Corps helicopters from a unit based in North Carolina crashed off the coast of Africa, U.S. military officials confirmed Sunday.
|
|
|
UK Government: Sniffing Out Landmines In Africa
By Somalilandtimes network
Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 17, 2006 – A canine detection team has been drafted in to help sniff out landmines in parts of Africa.
The six shepherd dogs - called Atti, Aska, Bronco, Fly, Lucky and West - are being used by a British military training team in Kenya to train African forces in de-mining techniques.
|
|
|
UN Envoy Appeals To Warring Factions In Mogadishu To Spare Civilians
By Somalilandtimes network
Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 25, 2006 – As heavy fighting continued in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the senior United Nations envoy for the fractured Horn of Africa country appealed Wednesday to the leaders of the warring parties to end their hostilities and respect the security of civilian populations caught in their crossfire.
|
Read full text... |
|
Immigrants Ponder Future After Tyson Closure
By Somalilandtimes network
NORFOLK, Neb. February 20, 2006 -- Abdirahman Dirir says his future and those of other Somali immigrants are uncertain after the shutdown of the Tyson Fresh Meats processing plant.
Dirir opened his Duco Grocery on Feb. 1, less than three weeks before news of the closure came out.
|
Read full text... |
|
Men Sentenced In Robberies Directed By Elder
By Somalilandtimes network
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 19 2006-- An attorney for one of five Somali men who pleaded guilty in a string of robberies says the men were directed by an elder or group of elders from their immigrant community. Gary Dicker, attorney for Muhadin Munye, said there appears to be at least one other gang robbing for a man called "Fagan," after a character in Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" who taught orphans to steal.
|
Read full text... |
|
|
|
|
Editorial
|
|
The speaker of Somaliland lower house of parliament, Abdirahman Erro, and the first deputy of the chairman of the house of elders (Guurti), Ahmed Sheikh Nuh, will begin next week a visit to Britain at the invitation of the “Welsh National Assembly”.
It will be the first visit to the UK by Somaliland legislators ever since this country obtained independence from Britain some 45 years ago. What gives this tour a more symbolic significance is that it will begin in Cardiff , the capital of Wales , where the first Somalilanders landed over a century ago to work as seamen and at shipyards and mines.
|
Read full text...
|
|
Special Report
|
|
REPORT ON FAMILIARISATION TOUR TO SOMALILAND
In November 2005, the Centre for Human Rights began investigating the possibility of a third destination for the LLM field trip. The reasons for increasing the number of field trip destinations to include Somaliland include the following:
• Somaliland is a state in the making; it would be ideal for students on the programme to have a first hand experience of this.
Read full text.
|
|
Opinions
|
|
Berbera Feels The Heat Of Land Grabbing
By: Dr. Mohamed A Omar
As the country is coming to terms with the recent tragic events caused by land tenure arguments, Berbera is feeling the heat of a fresh land problem. Those who involved in previous land-grabbing were ordinary people such as small traders, displaced persons or unemployed former warriors. In Berbera, it is the government ministers, port bosses and rich merchants that are lined up for the grab. Is it an economic development or an economic exploitation? The stakes are higher, so are the consequences.
|
|
|
By Scott Morgan
It is now apparent that the State Department is very cautious in its dealings with the Ethiopian Government. Sadly it appears that being timid and cautious are more important than addressing abuses and maintaining peace.
After the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea the US Government found itself in the position of being the main arbiter. For several years both sides have fought a verbal battle over which enclaves will be turned over to whom. Now the enclave around Badme is the main sticking point right now.
|
Read full text... |
|
By Dahir Jama, London, England
Depending on whom you ask and how you ask it, the publication of Cartoons depicting Prophet Mohamed (SCW) in one of Denmark's biggest Newspapers meant different things to different people. For some, it shows the rampant and rising Islamaphopia in Europe and the western world, while for others, it demonstrates the inability of Muslims to accept and adapt to the modern world and basic democratic values. In my view, the issue of the Danish Cartoons and the following protests and demonstration in some Muslim countries and Communities has brought on a much-needed debate about freedom of speech and Islam/West relations.
|
|
|
Who Shelved The Role Of Attorney General’s Office In The Case Of Joint Needs Assessment Program?
We all know that the Office of the Attorney General has the overall responsibility of providing LEGAL ADVICE to the Government and its Agencies and is required to ascertains that Somaliland legal system operations both Private & Public Sector is carried out in accordance with approved laws. As PRINCIPAL ADVISOR to the government and its agencies on Commercial Contracts, Agreement, International Treaties and Conventions of all Government Bodies should include in their negotiations teams with a Legal Expert, who specialized on Corporate Law / Constitutional Law, when discussing conditionality of LOANS or GRANTS with 3 rd Parties (i.e. UNDP/W.BANK). GRANT conditionality of these organizations change from one Country to the other depending on the prevailing standard of GOVERANCE of the receiving Country.
|
|
|
Case Study Report
|
The Ticking Bomb: The Educational Underachievement of Somali Children in the British Schools
|
By Abdul Diriye
Despite constant attention from educational practitioners and policy makers, the underachievement of many ethnic minority pupils in British schools persists. There are countless studies relating to the academic achievement of ethnic minority students in general, however, it seems that the pupils of Somali origin have received less attention. This piece of writing examines the validity of the purported underachievement of Somali pupils in British schools. It also tries to explore the barriers facing the Somali pupils and the possible solutions.
|
|
| FEATURES & COMMENTARY |
Business & Economy: Somaliland's Promises To Ethiopian Businesses
By Somalilandtimes network
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 21, 2006 – Ethiopia has tightened its diplomatic and trade relations with its neighbor, Somaliland. The world does not yet accord recognition to Somaliland, which declared independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991. But the self-declared state is acting like a proper state.
|
|
|
Montenegro Plans Independence Bid
Montenegro's parliament is to hold a special session later this month to pave the way for a referendum that could bring independence.
The BBC's Matt Prodger examines the shaky union of Serbia and Montenegro and the gulf that has opened up between them.
There can be few places more beautiful than Lake Skadar on a sunny winter's day.
|
|
By Somalilandtimes network
Evanston, Illinois, USA, Feb. 25, 2006 (SL Times) – The note below was part of the round table discussion entitled “The Politics of Somaliland’s Self-Determination” that took place on Feb.18, 2006 at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. The Somaliland Times is pleased to share with its readers some of the insights of the participants. We are particularly pleased to know the role that professor Hunwick’s experiences in Somaliland had in stimulating his interest in Islamic and African studies. After all, despite his modesty, Dr Hunwick is the man who drew the attention of the world to the Timbuktu Manuscripts which laid to rest the notion that Africa had no written history.
|
|
THE PROUD KING’ From The Book Of Legends, By Horace E. Scudder
|
Introduction by Ahmed H Nur, Oslo, Norway
From the book of legends, by Horace E. Scudder
The following is an old moral tale, not so unlike our own traditional “Nabsi” stories. Change the names and the setting of the story; and there you will find similarities to something you might have heard from granny or mum when you were growing up. It is the kind of beside-stories we were told long time ago. Way back before the TV took over and destroyed them. In the old Somali society, “Nabsi” was all you needed to maintain law and order in the community.
|
|
Unrecognized Somaliland’s Long Quest For Elusive Independence
|
By Somalilandtimes network
Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 19, 2006 – Somaliland was a British protectorate during the colonial period. In 1960, it became independent for five days before joining with former Italian Somalia to create the now collapsed Somalia Republic.
Immediately the two entities merged, the southerners took up almost all top government positions ranging from the presidency, ministerial positions, army and police and the Somalilanders had to play second fiddle to their southern brothers.
|
|
|
Forbidden Love
|
Latest edition: 21 st February (BBC World Service)
Cilmi Bodheri isthe great modern popular Somali poet of love and a cultural phenomenon. Every Somali can quote some lines of Bodheri.
|
|
|
By Somalilandtimes network
BAIDOA, Somalia, Feb 24 - Nearly a year after they brawled, threw chairs and punches at each other in Kenya, Somalia's interim parliament is to meet inside the anarchic country for the first time.
|
|
|
By Somalilandtimes network
BRUSSELS, Feb.22 (UNHCR) -- In a speech to the European Parliament this week, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ant َ nio Guterres called for European Union leadership to ensure an effective transition from emergency humanitarian assistance to development aid.
|
|
|
