By Somalilandtimes network
NAIROBI, Apr 3, 2006 – Members of Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament, who are currently meeting in the town of Baidoa, have expressed concern over insecurity after armed militia blocked access to a parliamentary session on Saturday.
The parliamentarians were also apprehensive due to increased theft in Baidoa, 240 km south of the capital, Mogadishu. "There has been a spate of petty crimes, with MPs being robbed of their mobile phones and other valuables," said one parliamentarian, who requested anonymity. "We don't know what has caused this rise [in insecurity], but it is worrying."
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By Somalilandtimes network
Contrary to the commonly quoted figure of 40 countries, almost 50 States are now known to be upgrading their passports to include contactless chips and biometric information over the next two years.
By Somalilandtimes network
Nairobi, Kenya, April 3, 2006 – Recently IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) had its 11th annual summit in Nairobi Kenya. This group which is comprised of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda met to discuss several crucial issues to the development of the region.
The main problems in the region are chronic instability and poverty. These are two factors in the development of terrorists and causing wars. As we know Uganda has had a brutal insurgency for almost 20 years going on now and the situation along the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains in flux as both the UN and the United States try to negotiate a settlement.
USS Oak Hill Helps Distressed Vessel Off Somali Coast
Nairobi, April 4, 2006 – U.S. sailors from the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill helped mariners stranded on a distressed vessel about 70 miles off Somalia on Thursday, according to a U.S. Navy 5th Fleet statement released Sunday.
The 15-man crew aboard the Indian-flagged Bhakti Sagar radioed the Oak Hill for help, saying they needed food, water and fuel, the release read.
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By Somalilandtimes network
Manila, Philippines, April 4, 2006 – THE United Nations yesterday denied reports that pirates have hijacked an oil tanker with 19 Filipinos off the coast of Somalia.
“They have no reports of this hijacking incident,” Joe Gordon, chief security adviser of the UN Field Security Coordination Office in war-torn Somalia, told chargÈ d’affaires Bernadette Muller of the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, which has jurisdiction over Somalia.
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By Somalilandtimes network
Johannesburg, April 4, 2006 – The move into the east Africa region by Dimension Data (Didata) could be a bumpy journey for the global information technology giant as it was a difficult market, analysts have said.
Didata said yesterday it had acquired a 51 percent stake in ICL East Africa (ICLEA) for an undisclosed amount as part of its Africa expansion. The acquisition includes ICL operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and marks Didata's entry into the east Africa region. It would offer services such as converged communications, security and data centers.
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Djibouti, April 3, 2006 – DP World will build a new container terminal in Doraleh in Djibouti at a cost of Dh1.1 billion ($300 million).
Work will start on the container port, located 11 kilometers from the present one, in June, DP World officials told Gulf News.
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By Somalilandtimes network
SANA'A, April 5, 2006 — Somali refugees in Yemen urged the National Authority for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) to intervene in the issue between them and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Somali refugees requested HOOD settle negotiations between them and the UNHCR, which forced them to conduct a sit-in in front of UNHCR premises in Sana'a last November and December.
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'Kayamandi Thugs Are Targeting Somali Shopowners'
By Somalilandtimes network
Stellenbosch, South Africa, April 4, 2006 – A Somali has been shot dead and robbed of his cash, bringing to at least five the number of Somalis robbed this year in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch.
Police have noted a trend in robberies targeting Somalis in the informal settlement since September, according to Ruben Klassen, spokesman for the Stellenbosch police station.
UNIFEM Urges Serious International Attention to Drought in Horn of Africa
By Somalilandtimes network
PRESS RELEASE
Nairobi and New York, April 7, 2006 – The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is calling on members of the international community to take serious action to address the urgent needs of more than eight million people severely affected by drought in the Horn of Africa. The call follows today’s launch of a $426 million appeal by Jan Egeland, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator.
The Rubble Of Somalia, A New Government Struggles To Be Born
By Somalilandtimes network
Warring factions try to sort out their differences amid an air of optimism
BAIDOA, SOMALIA, April 3, 2006 – In a sweltering, bombed-out grain silo here, a group of leaders is plotting the birth of a nation. Or, more accurately, the rebirth of one.
After 15 years of anarchy, a fledgling Somalian parliament formed outside the country is meeting for the first time on Somalian soil in this crumbling southern city.
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The TFG Collapses: A Yusuf To Move To Galkayo, Gedi To Jowhar And The Sharif Opts For Baidoa By Somalilandtimes network
Baidoa, Somalia, April 8, 2006 – The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia has collapsed following renewed rifts between its warlord president Abdillahi Yusuf and his premier Ali Mohamed Geedi.
The new rift was caused by Abdillahi Yusuf’s refusal to move back to the small town of Jowhar which served as the official seat for his government since the TFG’s relocation to Somalia in mid 2005.
Jowhar is also Ali Geedi’s home town. It is 90km to the north of Mogadishu and ruled by a warlord called Mohamed Dheere.
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Visiting UK Teachers To Establish Links With A Somaliland School
By Somalilandtimes network 
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A group of British Teachers from London visiting Somaliland, from right Ahmed Adare, Ms Lucy Braggins, Abdul-hakim Sulub, Mr Sandy Young and Ahmed Muhumed Madar
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, April 8, 2006 – Mr. Sandy Young a principal of a technology college in northwest London, and Ms Lucy Braggins, a refugee coordinator for a high school at the King-Cross area of London, arrived in Hargeysa last Thursday on a visit to familiarize themselves with life in Somaliland in general and the schooling school education system in particular.
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By Somalilandtimes network Baidoa, Somalia, April 8, 2006 – The simmering conflict between the various warlords and factions in Somalia’s nominal government has picked up steam. Things have gotten so rough between the head honchos (the warlord “president” Abdillahi Yusuf, “prime minister” Ali Geedi and the “speaker of parliament” Sharif Hassan) that they had to seek foreign intervention. This came first in the form of Ethiopian mediation between the man who controls Jawhar, Mohammed Omar Habeeb (Mohammad Dheere) and Ali Geedi.
As a result of the Ethiopian efforts, Mohammed Dheere announced that he would allow “Somalia’s government” to be based in his fiefdom. The second step was to try and convince Abdillahi Yusuf and Sharif Hassan to agree to this arrangement, which required that the three parties of the Addis Ababa understanding (Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Siyum Mesfin, Ali Geedi and Muhammad Dheere) fly to Nairobi in order to meet with Abdillahi Yusuf and Sharif Hassan. The outcome of this last meeting has not been announced yet, but it is clear that Sharif Hassan is not too keen about re-locating to Jawhar.
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By Somalilandtimes network
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Rescue boats and people search for survivors after a Djibouti-flagged vessel sank off the coast of Djibouti April 6, 2006. TREUTERS/Abou
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Djibouti, April 8, 2006 – The death toll from a boat capsize off the coast of the Red Sea state of Djibouti rose to at least 73 as authorities reported the recovery of four more bodies, officials said.
The toll climbed as the search went on for some 20 people still believed to be missing as Djiboutian sailors righted the stricken vessel and pumped water from its holds for an investigation ordered by President Ismail Omar Guelleh.
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By Somalilandtimes network
The US is accused of transporting suspects to secret jails abroad
Washington, April 5, 2006 – Amnesty International has suggested that Djibouti was one of the countries where prisoners allegedly abducted and mistreated by the US were held.
The report, based on interviews with former detainees, also links the US practice of "rendition" to the torture or ill-treatment of terror suspects.
Washington has insisted it would never send detainees to places where they would be at risk of torture.
Supplement To The Votes And Proceedings
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Petition From British Somalilanders And Friends Of Somaliland
15th March 2006
To the House of Commons.
The Petition of British Somalilanders and friends of Somaliland,
Declares that Somaliland's continued ability to be a force for peace and stability in the Horn of Africa, to develop its democracy, economy and public services, to access foreign assistance, to represent its interests internationally, and to combat terrorism and piracy is gravely hindered by its non-recognition as a state; and that the United Kingdom, as the former colonial power, has a particular responsibility to assist in the resolution of Somaliland’s damaging lack of status, particularly through the UK's approach in discussions at the EU, UN and international financial institutions, and bilaterally with other African states.
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April 5, 2006: The mini-war between local warlords and supporters of the Islamic Courts movement in and around Mogadishu is typical of the tribal politics that characterize Somali society. The courts are being supported by some clans and sub-clans, while the warlords belong to other clans and sub-clans. Two weeks of fighting has left nearly 400 killed or wounded.
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By Somalilandtimes network
Washington, April 4, 2006 - Dr. Saad Noor, the Representative of the Republic of Somaliland to the United States, was honored as an “Ambassador for Peace” by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), North America Chapter. Dr. Noor was recognized for his efforts on behalf of the people of Somaliland and the Horn of Africa in promoting peaceful dialogue, human development and good governance. This special recognition was presented at a UPF forum in Washington DC by Mr. James P. Flynn, Secretary General for UPF North America.
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International News
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ST PAUL, Minn., April 6, 2006 -- The office of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center said today it has received reports from the Somali community inside Somalia confirming the disappearances of many Somali elders and clerics detained and interrogated by the Combined Joint Task Force in Djibouti. Fifty prominent Somali clerics are detained in Djibouti and many others are missing, according to the reports from Somalia.
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Launching The Somali Voice Website
By Somalilandtimes network
Dear Somali Voice Reader,
It gives me a great pleasure to announce that the Somali Voice newspaper is finally present on the Internet. The objective of this much-needed website (Somali Voice Newspaper) is to have a voice that represents Somali communities in the UK, and to serve as a bridge between governmental, non-governmental agencies and Somali communities across the country.
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By Somalilandtimes network
University professors denounced for anti-Americanism; schoolteachers suspended for their politics; students encouraged to report on their tutors. Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives, or is academic life just too liberal?
A student at Overland high school in Aurora, Colorado, protests at the suspension of a teacher, Jay Bennish, for not being "objective". Photograph: AP
After the screenwriter Walter Bernstein was placed on the blacklist during the McCarthyite era he said his life "seemed to move in ever-decreasing circles". "Few of my friends dropped away but the list of acquaintances diminished," he wrote in Inside Out, a memoir of the blacklist. "I appeared contaminated and they did not want to risk infection. They avoided me, not calling as they had in the past, not responding to my calls, being nervously distant if we met in public places."
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Somali Lawlessness, With Modern-Day Pirates, Spills Into Sea
By Somalilandtimes network
MOMBASA, Kenya, April 3, 2006-- Under cover of darkness off the coast of Somalia, a gang of pirates turned off the engines to their three small speedboats, linked a ladder to an Indian cargo ship and ordered the crew to surrender, according to victims of the attack.
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Haggle For A Missile: Somali Weapons Market Booms
By Somalilandtimes network
MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 7, 2006 -- Militiamen fire machine guns into the sky, while a few meters away, shoppers hardly bat an eyelid as young children jostle for the falling cartridges.
At Mogadishu's Cirtogte market, business goes on as usual -- customers rummage through , AK-47 rifles, pistols, ammunition, combat gear, rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles all on sale at a negotiable price.
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Editorial
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The current “Somali peace process” which was jointly initiated in October 2002 by IGAD and the EU, has proved to be a total failure not only in terms of installing an effective government for Somalia but also in terms of forestalling the conditions that serve as a breeding ground for terrorism.
Since its formation in Kenya in 2004, the “Transitional Federal Government” of Somalia has been paralyzed by factionalism and an internal power struggle. And the regional and international sponsors of the so-called Somali peace process have been doing nothing for over the last one year and a halve except trying to end the conflict within the TFG itself.
To bring the bickering to a stop, the EU, in collaboration with the UN, had orchestrated the convening of a meeting for Somalia’s parliament in Baidoa on last February. The event was hailed by both the EU and the UN as a milestone for Somalia’s reconciliation for no other reason except that the parliament was meeting on home soil for the first time since the TFG was crafted. But renewed optimism soon faded away as the Baidoa meeting, which is technically still in session, even failed to attempt resolving the chronic differences within the TFG’s own leadership let alone addressing the so many serious security issues faced by Somalia.
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Special Report
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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.
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Opinions
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The Annual Budget
By Ahmed Ali Ibrahim [Sabeyse],
The annual budget is a disclosure blue print of the nation’s finances. The consolidated balance sheet should indicate a breakdown of the tax revenues on a regional basis, the corresponding expenditure outlays, and the audited accounts of the preceding fiscal year. Failure to meet any of these minimum mandatory metrics is a legitimate cause to vote down the budget in accordance with the laws of the land. Due to the externally imposed economic blockade, our tax revenues are entirely dependent on customs duties and other levies. In this regard, our ministry of finance did a dismal job because the high tariff rates basically rendered the port of Berbera uncompetitive with other ports in the region and hence a substantial amount of revenue is lost. On top of that the investigation of the Finance Committee exposed very disturbing discrepancies and inaccuracies in the revenue collection side. All revenue diversion/siphoning loopholes or practices should be closed immediately. This nation simply cannot afford this epidemic practice any longer.
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By Ahmed Kheyre
Historians and anthropologists have always argued that Somalis form a rare ethnic group in Africa. They maintain that Somalis share the same indigenous language, albeit with various local dialects, have predominantly the same religious background; Sunni Muslims, and are generally from the same ancestral paternal lineage. However, noted historians and anthropologists have also mentioned another Somali pastime, politics.
Generally, Somalis are one of the most politicized ethnics you are likely to find anywhere in the world. From the denizens of the café culture in Hargeysa, Mogadishu and other centers to the local shepherd tended his flock in the countryside; they all enjoy a lengthy political discourse on Somaliland, Somalia and on Somalis as a whole.
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Ahmed Haji Nur, Oslo, Norway
In the world of performance art, like the theatre, puppetry is an old and cherished culture. It existed in various forms in most of the ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia in Iraq, Pharaonical Egypt, Minoa in Crete and the Indus Valley Civilization - now Pakistan. In India, sutradhar(a) is an old word which refers to the show-manager of theatrical performances (or a puppet-player), and also means literally "string-puller" or "string-holder". An equally ancient word in Greek, neurospasta, means exactly as the Indian word. The history of puppetry in culture is long and respectful. In the modern world, puppet shows are very popular and appeal to all ages.
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The Yemen Government Owes Compensation And Apology To Somaliland
By Omar Haji Mohamoud
"And do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities, nor use it as bait for the judges, with intent that ye may eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other) people’s property." (Quran, 1:188)=
."Think not that Allah doth not heed the deeds of those who do wrong. He but giveth them respite against a Day when the eyes will fixedly state in horror. "(Quran, 14:42)=
The prevalence of peace, stability, democracy, freedom of speech, free market economy and human rights values is renowned in the nascent Republic of Somaliland in the eyes of the international community although no country is yet to recognize for over a decade now.
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By Saad I. Samatar,
When the Constitution was completed on the Seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that "We, the people …." -- Barbara Jordan, in speech to the House Judiciary Committee Hearing (1974)
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| FEATURES & COMMENTARY |
African Union & Somaliland
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Time To Affirm ‘Africa’s Best-Kept Secret’?
By Iqbal Jhazbhay
If African countries are intent on hearing the guns in the Horn of Africa fall forever silent –it will require level-headedness coupled with clarity in dealing with the subtle challenges that come with peace.
Under focus is the reasonably peaceful, yet unrecognized country in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland: “Africa’s Best-Kept Secret.” Writes one of the Horn’s most famous sons, Nuruddin Farah, in ‘Secrets’: “no secret is forever a secret – it has to be known by someone who places a value on it…”
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VOID OF GOVERNANCE
MEASURING REGIONALISM
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The African Union Remains Slow To Act In Failed States
Were the foreign ministers and heads of state and government assembled at the January Summit of the African Union (AU) in Khartoum, Sudan distracted by events further up the Nile? Soccer's African Cup of Nations, hosted by Sudan's northern neighbor Egypt, has gripped the continent and was reportedly just as massively popular with the delegates inside Khartoum's newly renovated Friendship Hall conference centre.
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By Somalilandtimes network
After 15 years of anarchy, Somalia is a failed state with no government, no police, no safety for civilians and no aid groups to distribute food 
A mother holds her child at one of the makeshift refugee camps in Galkayo, Somalia. Unarmed civilians are easy targets for warlords' gangs. Chronicle photo by Michael Macor
Galkayo, Somalia, April 7, 2006 -- An invisible border splits this town in two. It runs east to west through a maze of narrow, rubble-strewn streets pockmarked with bullets and shrapnel.
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22nd MEU Marines Train With African Soldiers
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A Djiboutian soldier tosses his U.S. Marine martial arts instructor, Lance Cpl. Ricky Watson, during training as a part of Exercise Image Nautilus 06. The Marines participated in the bi-lateral training this past week in the east African country of Djibouti.
DJIBOUTI, Africa, April 7, 2006 -- Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team, 1st Bn., 2nd Marines, (BLT 1/2) the ground combat element for the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) conducted Exercise Image Nautilus in the African nation of Djibouti with members of the Djiboutian Army March 23-31, 2006.
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Ahmed Kheyre, London, UK
President Rayale’s sudden visit to Sana'a strikes me as prudent. I am glad to see that the Somaliland government, at its highest level, is trying to diffuse a very problematic situation.
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Can Ethiopia be saved?
By: A netter from Addis
Ethiopia has existed in its present form for about 120 years – a little less than 15 years to be more exact. For all practical purposes however, we can take the rise of Menelik II as the starting point the modern form of Ethiopia. A time of more than a century is not by any means small, especially in the African context, as today's African countries got their present form only after the colonial era.
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