Hargeysa, August 3, 2007 (SL Times) - Somaliland’s Envoy For Recognition, Mr Omar Elmi Dihod , held a press conference last Tuesday in which he condemned the arrest of Qaran party leaders (Chairman Mohamed Abdi Gabose, Frist Deputy Mohamed Hashi Elmi, and Second Deputy Jamal Aidid).
Describing the arrest, Mr Dihod said, "It seems like the dictatorial days of Siyad Barre."
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SOMALILAND FORUM PRESS RELEASE
London, July 28, 2007 – Building a democracy in an unrecognised country with very limited resources is not easy, but Somaliland has already done what many thought was imposible. Three popular successful elections have been held and we are just approcahing the next round of elections. This remarkable achievement in a region where democracy is not flourishing must not be be undermined by preiciptous actions on the part of the Somaliland Government.
Somaliland President Dahir Rayale Kahin |
HARGIESA, Somaliland, July 27, 2007 - Somaliland diaspora visiting Somaliland for summer vacation were invited to a dinner ceremony by the president of Somaliland Dahir Rayale Kahin at the Mansoor hotel to discuss issues relating to the contributions made by the Diaspora financially as well as the campaign led by them to achieve the Horn of African country’s recognition cause.
Press Release
London, UK, August 3, 2007 – SIRAG demands from the government of the Republic of Somaliland for the immediate release of Dr. Mohamed Abdi Gaboose, Eng. Mohamed Hashi Elmi and Mr. Jamal Aideed Ibrahim the Executive Leaders of Qaran Political Association. The government of Somaliland has acted illegally by depriving and denying these citizens of their constitutional rights to appoint a Political Association that will represent their democratic rights as laid down in the constitution of Somaliland.
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Las Anod, Somaliland, August 4, 2007 – A delegation of Somaliland officials have been welcomed on an official visit to the eastern town of Las Anod, announcing intentions to assist with development projects.
A delegation from Somaliland arrived in the provincial town of Las Anod last Saturday [28 July 2007], the first such visit to the region since 2003.
Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 2, 2007 – Twenty five Somali journalists from various news media organizations and freelancers took part in two-day workshop held between 31 July and 1 August 2007 at Maan-Soor Hotel. They included journalists from Mogadishu, Kismayu, Beledweyn, Jowhar, Baidoa, Bossasso and Galkayo.
Somali Prime Minister Ali Gedi |
BAIDOA, Somalia Aug 4 - After weeks of wrangling amongst lawmakers in Somalia, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi addressed the interim federal parliament Saturday and defended his administration from accusations.
4 Aug, 2007
Main Developments
A UN interagency mission led by the Humanitarian Coordinator visited Internally Displaced People in the outskirts of Mogadishu on 1 August. In total, three out of the 22 IDP settlements along the road from Mogadishu to Afgoye were visited with the 22 camps housing about 38,000 people. A majority of the people arrived in March/April 2007; however, many more people are arriving daily from Mogadishu and many more are expected due to continuing tensions.
Dubai, August 05, 2007 - The shipping agency operating the lost cargo vessel Reef Azania rejected suggestions that the ship was unsafe to sail, saying its delay in sailing from Dubai was due to "general maintenance" and late arrival of cargo.
The Zambezi Shipping Agency said in a statement that freighter Reef Azania was a seaworthy ship that had "all the required international shipping and maintenance certificates", adding that if the ship is confirmed to have sunk, dependants of crew members will be compensated "in accordance with the applicable legislation"
Nairobi, 5 August 2007 - A new report makes startling disclosures about the hitherto unknown operations by the Kenyan and foreign security forces in the ongoing crackdown on terror in the country.
The Muslim Human Rights Forum’s report accuses the Government of allowing the US, Israeli and UK soldiers to interrogate and deport terror suspects, although some have proven Kenyan citizenship and ancestry.
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Mogadishu, 5 August 2007 - A government soldier was wounded in a grenade explosion in Suuq Baad, north of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, on Sunday. Witnesses said unknown gunmen hurled a grenade at government troops moving inside the market.
All shops in the market were closed down following the blast which sparked mad rush among the traders. Government troops sealed off the whole area, opening fire, witnesses said.
MOGADISHU, 4 August 2007 - Somali transitional government officials are to hold direct talks with members of the opposition in Djibouti, officials said Saturday.
Ali Mahdi Mohamed, organizing committee chairman of the national reconciliation conference, told VOA Somali Service that the ongoing NRC will not be relocated to a neutral venue outside Somalia, but admitted that there are plans for government officials to meet with opposition figures in Djibouti.
Mogadishu, 4 August 2007 - The chairman of the routed Union of Islamic Courts, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, in Asmara, Eritrea, denied that there were ongoing negotiations between his Islamic group and the Ethiopian government.
2 Aug 2007 - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has pulled out from Ethiopia's restive Ogaden region following a government order, but still hopes to return, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Authorities in Ethiopia's Somali regional state last week gave the Swiss-based humanitarian agency seven days' notice to leave, accusing it of consorting with rebels, an accusation it has rejected.
UN: 27,000 Fled Mogadishu Since June
3 August 2007 - An estimated 27,000 people have fled Somalia’s violent capital since June, part of an exodus that has sent a fifth of Mogadishu’s 2 million residents fleeing for safety, the U.N. said Friday.
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Somaliland Interior minister, Mr Abdillahi Ismail (Eeyro) |
Hargeysa, 4 August 2007 (SL Times) - Somaliland Interior minister, Mr Abdillahi Ismail (Eeyro) speaking to the BBC world Somali section on Wednesday said, that “his ministry is determined to see an end to all Qaran party activities, even if this means making more arrests”.
The un-registered ‘Qaran party’ leaders, Dr Gabose, Mr Hashi and Mr Aidiid were arrested last Saturday by the government and were brought before Hargeysa Regional Court which issued a 7 day remand order for the leaders to be imprisoned in Mandera high security jail in Sahil region, while the government prosecutors prepare their case against the three Qaran leaders who are charged with various state and public order crimes.
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Hargeysa, 4 August 2007 (SL Times) - A massive fire blaze swept through ‘Al-Khayrat’ foam factory in Hargeysa district of Ahmed Gurey on Wednesday afternoon and completely destroyed the factory.
“Nobody was inside the foam factory when the fire started and no injuries reported,” said Abdillahi Jama, the managing director of Al-Khayrat foam factory.
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Hargeysa, 4 August 2007 (SL Times) - The Addis Ababa bound Ethiopian Airlines passenger `Fokker' airplane became the first ever passenger aircraft to use the newly installed runway lighting system at Hargeysa airport on Thursday night. The flight took off from the newly lit runway at 7pm local time.
A special reception was held at the airport for this epic first-time night flight. The reception was attended by the Minister of Aviation and Air Transport, Mr Ali Waranade and many other officials, prominent figures and dignitaries.
PINR Report
2 August 2007 - Puntland, which is self-described as the "Puntland State of Somalia," has been considered by analysts and observers to be one of the more politically stable regions in that fractured country. During the past two months, however, Puntland has experienced a bout of unaccustomed political instability that culminated on July 26 in a street demonstration in its capital Garowe that ended in protestors throwing stones at its president, Mohamud "Adde" Muse, who had attempted to mollify the crowd, which was demanding an end to hyper-inflation. Puntland has begun to come into play in Somalia's tortured web of conflicts.
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Somalia Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed arrives in Khartoum Sudan Wednesday, June 21, 2006. |
Bosaso, Somalia, August 1, 2007 — The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) and the autonomous state of Puntland have agreed to integrate Puntland forces in the Somali national army, a local radio reported.
The president of Somalia, Abdillahi Yusuf Ahmed, who is visiting areas controlled by Puntland regional administration, has reached agreements with Puntland to integrate the Daraawish forces with the government forces, Radio Shabeelle reported today.
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Somali Federal Government soldiers patrol a street in Mogadishu, 14 July 2007 |
Mogadishu, 2 August 2007 - Witnesses in Somalia say mortar barrages, grenade attacks and gunfire have left at least 10 people dead in the capital, Mogadishu.
The witnesses say at least nine people were killed when government and Ethiopian troops exchanged mortars with insurgents shortly after midnight, local time Thursday. Reports from the scene say the insurgents initially fired on a police station, and that some of the shells hit private homes instead.
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Mogadishu, August 5, 2007 - The head of the immigration department of the Somalia’s transitional government Abdulahi Gafow Mohamud said on Saturday the newly opened office in Mogadishu have registered around 200 citizens who took the new controversial E-passports.
Speaking to the reporters in Mogadishu, Mr. Gafow said since yesterday the immigration office issued 200 passports.
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Reporters Without Borders today condemned the Ethiopian High Court for sentencing three newspaper journalists to between four and 10 years in prison and said it was disappointed the regime had resumed harsh punishment of media figures.
“The president’s earlier pardoning of four journalists (on 20 July) raised hopes that the disproportionate punishment of journalists was ending.
Ethiopia's questionable domestic policies continue despite growing international pressure. (AP Images/Boris Heger)
After Ethiopia’s December invasion of Somalia to vanquish Islamic militants, many observers labeled Addis Ababa a proxy of the United States, and a few even called it a “puppet” Both labels implied the United States was an unseemly ally. Now, after the Ethiopian government’s recent attempt to put dozens of opposition politicians to death and reports of military abuse of civilians (HRW), Washington may be starting to balk at its close relationship with Addis Ababa.
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Press Release
Federal Republic of Somalia
Transitional Federal Government
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister |
August 5, 2007
In regard to the recent press release of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) of Britain, where the support for the ongoing National Reconciliation Conference (NRC) in Mogadishu was posted, we would like to express our gratitude for the interest of such well reputed institute to current situation in Somalia and to its assistance in the complex course of Reconciliation and Peace building in our country, because the Genuine Peace and True Reconciliation are the necessary pre-conditions to all processes of further reconstruction of the Somali Republic,
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A Somali man lies on the cart to be taken to hospital, after he was wounded in an explosion in Mogadishu, 4 Aug 2007 |
Mogadishu, 4 August 2007 - Witnesses in Somalia say one person was killed and three others injured when Ethiopian and Somali troops were attacked during a funeral procession for a slain city official.
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Mogadishu, 5 August 2007 - Somali and Ethiopian troops have conducted massive house-to-house search operations in a large part of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, on Sunday. The troops halted all movements of passenger buses and ordinary people walking to Bakara market, the capital’s largest open-air market where 80% of the population goes for work.
The joint search operations have been carried out in at least 10 neighborhoods in the capital. “All roads to the neighborhoods where the troops are lingering have been blocked in early morning. I was going to Bakara this morning and I have returned after the troops refused anybody to enter Bakara,” said Ahmed Hashi, a resident of KPP neighborhood.
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Commentary
The international intervention in Sudan is the right move to avert more bloodshed. We should not be shy of taking action elsewhere
Mary Riddell
The sound that defines Darfur is not the cry of the dying: it is the rustle of paperwork. The barbarism outsourced to militias by Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, has claimed more than 200,000 lives over four years bookmarked with peace deals never honoured, resolutions never enforced and promises never kept.
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BAIDOA, Somalia July 31 2007 - Members of Somalia's interim federal parliament convened Tuesday in the southwestern town of Baidoa to debate over a motion calling for accountability with Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's government, sources said.
Some 165 MPs were present at Parliament Hall today, where speakers expressed their support or opposition to the accountability motion.
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Dakar, 4 August 2007 - Peacekeeping, political reconciliation and conflict prevention in Africa will be the key issues the UN Security Council will tackle, under the chairmanship of the Republic of Congo, for the whole month of August, Congolese Ambassador Pascal Gayama told a press conference at the UN headquarters.
The UN/AU-sponsored Arusha talks, which are being held in preparation for a peace agreement with the Sudanese government, are crucial following UN’s approval of the hybrid peacekeeping force deployment to the western Sudanese region of Darfur, the source said.
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Saidya Sahal and daughter Hana Mohamed were among the eight people missing after the bridge collapse. Courtesy of Somali Justice Advocacy Center
ST. PAUL , August 03, 2007 – A pregnant Somali woman and her daughter are those unaccounted for after the Mississippi River bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
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3 August 2007
Has Sen. Barack Obama had a bad few weeks on foreign policy? Or is his a new approach representing "change"?
His campaign is naturally arguing the latter. After causing an uproar by ruling out using nuclear weapons against terrorists in Pakistan or Afghanistan -- a view that other Democrats dismissed as a sign of inexperience and naivete -- his campaign issued the following memo.
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London, 4 August 2007 - A son of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was sentenced to a five-year jail term in Britain earlier this year for taking part in a violent attack in which a youth from Somalia died, the legal authorities revealed Friday. Faisal Wangita, 25, was part of a gang which attacked 18-year-old Mahir Osman, in Camden, north London, in January last year. During the horrifying attack, the victim was stabbed 20 times, struck with baseball bats, bottles and hammers, punched and kicked, and died instantly, it was revealed.
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In the raging debate among Somalilanders about President Rayale’s decision to arrest and imprison QARAN Party leaders, the most frequently cited reasons for the President’s action are:
- The president believed that he needed to act to maintain peace and order, and was certain that he was legally justified in doing so.
- The president got bad advice.
- The president was testing the waters and plans to take more drastic steps against his adversaries to improve his chances of holding on to power.
But regardless of the reason behind his decision, it’s a bad decision. It’s a bad decision because it has heightened the atmosphere of discord in the country (the very thing that he was ostensibly trying to prevent). On a symbolic or emotional level, the president’s action goes against the Somalilanders view of their homeland as a free and democratic country with no political prisoners and where political differences are resolved through negotiation and compromise.
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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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By Yassin M. Ismail, Kent. UK
As a Somaliland citizen in Diaspora, I and on behalf of my fellow Countrymen and women who care about Somaliland and hold precious to the virtues of democracy, justice, equality and the rule of Law, strongly condemn the recent arrests of 3 prominent members of the Qaran political party by the authorities in Hargeysa last week.
The three members, namely Dr. M. Gabose, Mr Mohamed Hashi and Mr. J Aideed were detained by the police in Mandhera prison without trial.
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Faisal Ali Waraabti & Bashir Goth Missed This Time
By Abdi Goud Musa, Connecticut, USA
Bashir Omar Goth is good friend of mine. He is one of the most intelligent Somalis I know off. He is great poet, writer, journalist, and decent human being. He is the son of Sheikh Omar Goth(A great Islamic scholar and Pioneer who is father of education of Dilla) as his family spells it. I spell my middle name Goud so I do not receive any roughing, stones thrown at ,some jabs or upper cut thrown by someone who is mad about something any member of that family wrote or said at anywhere.
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Somaliland and the latest political issues...
By Ahmed Kheyre, London, UK
Sir,
I have found it amusing that every time a political, economic or a social issue occurs in Somaliland, some 'unnamed" diplomat says, and I quote "This event could hinder Somaliland's efforts for international recognition". On the one hand, as a Somalilander, I am honoured that my country is held to a high level of accountability, but on the other hand, I am perturbed that all of Somaliland's efforts are to be judged one incident. Talk about a double standard.
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Forward: To The International Community
By Kassahun Addis
The “hypocrisy” and advertent reluctance of the international community, in general, and the African Union, in particular, is pushing Somalilanders in to the corners of desperation and extreme anxiety. My latest article entitled “New Strategy for Somaliland: Popular Diplomacy” apparently attracted a lot of attention from Somalilanders and I have received numerous emails from Somalilanders abroad and inside. One particular email from UK, however, caught my attention as it clearly articulates the sense of desperation of the ordinary people. Here is the unedited message in my mailbox:
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By Dr. Mohamed A Omar, London, UK
With a view to the upcoming presidential election, Somaliland’s contemporary political narrative points to a potential winner. If the current national context is anything to go by, Kulmiye should get ready for office, and Mr. Ahmed Sillanyo can start rewriting his long overdue inaugural speech.
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By Hossain Ali Elmi Eryal
History is a mirror to show your past mistakes and to learn from it. However, it seems that the Somaliland people never learn from history. They seem to forget so quickly of what happened to them or how it comes about. They forget of what happened less than decade ago, let alone ages ago.
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By Mohamed F Yabarag, London, UK
Here we go again. Another illegal incarceration from Rayale’s desperate regime; this time the recipients are Qaran leaders, Somaliland’s new political party. The writing was on the wall for Dr Gaboose, the party’s founding chairman and his deputy, Engineer Mohamed Hashi Elmi, a man dubbed by many as the “Mr clean of Somaliland politics” ever since they declared their intention of forming a political organization in Somaliland with the aim of competing for the forthcoming local government elections.
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A new humanitarian crisis has developed in the Horn of Africa
By Tom Porteous
August 5, 2007 - While the west agonises over Darfur, another humanitarian and human rights disaster is brewing in the Horn of Africa.
In June, the Ethiopian government launched a major military campaign in the Ogaden, a sparsely populated and remote region on Ethiopia's border with Somalia. The counter insurgency operation was aimed at eliminating the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a rebel group which has been fighting for years for self-determination for the Ogaden's predominantly Somali population.
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“What on earth is this? Pridnestrovie claims it is a state. But opponents of independence say it isn't. We report, you decide”
To be or not to be: This "thing" says it is a state but its enemies question this claim. Under international law, who is right?
BRUSSELS, August 3, 2007 - The encyclopedia definition classifies a state as "a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area." It usually includes the set of institutions that claim the authority to make the rules that govern the people of the society in that territory.
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Camaguey, Aug 3.- Colonel Orlando Cardoso Villavicencio, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, is working on his sixth literary work, a book dealing with topics of Cuba’s contemporary society.
He has temporarily taken a break in the writing of this novel, now in its fifth chapter, because he is fully working on a sustainable agriculture project held in the municipality of Najasa, in the eastern province of Camagüey.
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July 30, 2007
Over the last two weeks the Bush administration has orchestrated yet another campaign to sow fear and anxiety among the American people with unsubstantiated claims that signs are mounting of a looming Al Qaeda terrorist attack.
Not a day goes by without suggestions by Bush or top Homeland Security officials that an attack perhaps on the scale of 9/11, or worse, is being prepared. As always, the mass media dutifully report such claims as authoritative, without questioning the lack of evidence beyond the bald assertions of intelligence and other government officials.
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Haile Gebrselassie, from Ethiopia, holds his country's flag after winning the 2nd annual New York City Half-Marathon with an official time of 59 minutes, 24 seconds, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson) |
NEW YORK - Haile Gebrselassie won the New York City Half Marathon in 59 minutes, 24 seconds Sunday, cruising away from elite competitors two-thirds of the way through the race to win his eighth half marathon in eight attempts.
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| In the US, there are 2,270 prisoners who were sentenced as children to life without parole. They will die behind bars. Ed Pilkington asks five of them - from a 21-year-old to a 70-year-old - how do they cope?
August 4, 2007 "Closing!" A woman prison officer bellows out the word, her arms stretched across the doorway. She presses a button and a grate of thick iron bars slides shut with a thud. I'm inside now. It's impossible not to be overcome by a sense of deja vu. You've been in this place a hundred times in a hundred movies, walked these colourless corridors, |
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By Dr. Ghirmai T Kefela, Ph.D. (Int. Business)
The primary school offer young children is a growing matter, which start bearing fruit and a strong pressure will be felt once they join the higher level of the education system. Obviously, in many developing countries secondary school participation rates is low and couldn’t grow as expected without changes in the structure and nature of their financing. Changing the role of secondary schools relates to curricula patterns, and these carry implications for the school organization and resources.
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