Nairobi, Kneya, Jan 9, 2008 - Escalating tribal rivalry arising from Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's controversial election win on December 27th has resulted in a cycle of violence leaving hundreds dead, an estimated 250,000 internally displaced and thousands seeking refuge in Uganda and Tanzania.
Despite the reduction in violence in recent days, a political deadlock between opposition leader Raila Odinga and President Kibaki is ensuring that tensions remain high, with further bloodshed inevitable.
Djibouti may be one of the world's smallest states but it is located at one of the most strategically-important places on earth – no wonder therefore the United Sates has a major military presence in the country. Surrounded by nations at war, The Media Line's Daniel Ooko discovers why Djibouti is rapidly becoming the success story of the Horn of Africa.
Djibouti ’s shuttle diplomacy over the last decade has begun to pay dividends. From playing the mediator in Somalia’s political turmoil, to courting full economic integration with Ethiopia, Djibouti’s relations with its Horn of Africa neighbors has been on the thaw.
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Reporters Without Borders
8 January 2008
Reporters Without Borders wrote to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi yesterday asking him to reconsider the information ministry’s refusal to approve applications made by three journalists to register two new weekly newspapers, Lualawi and Habesha.
The requests for licences were submitted in September by Serkalem Fasil, the former editor of three weeklies that are now closed (Menelik, Asqual and Satenaw), her husband Eskinder Nega, the former owner of the now dissolved Serkalem Publishing Enterprise, and Sisay Agena, the former publisher of Ethiop, another weekly that was forced to close.
To Develop Basic Packages of Health Services for the Different Zones of Somalia
1. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
The Somali people face some of the worst health conditions in the world with high maternal and child mortality rates resulting f rom easily preventable/curable diseases. Public health services are insufficient, inadequately staffed, fragmented, dependant on vertical aid support programmes and lack capacity at every level.
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GAROWE, Somalia Jan 11 2008 - The leader of Somalia's northern sub-state of Puntland, Gen. Mohamud "Adde" Muse, is under fire for rising insecurity in a region renowned for its relative stability, with some politicians calling for his resignation.
A political debate, facilitated by Yusuf Garad, editor of the BBC's Somali Service, went on the air Friday between Puntland government officials, opposition leaders and the public-at-large.
NAIROBI, Kenya, 11 January 2008 - International press watchdogs on Friday condemned an attempt to murder a Somali radio journalist in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
Four gunmen opened fire at Abdikheyr Mohammed Jama, a presenter and technician with community Radio Galkayo and shot him in the mouth late Thursday in the region's Galkayo township.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed |
ASMARA, Eritrea Jan 11 2008 - The former executive head of Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, has declared that a group of militants associated with the al-Shabaab guerrillas have withdrawn from his organization.
Sheikh Sharif, who now lives in Eritrea, told the Voice of America’s Somali-language service during a Thursday that “part of al-Shabaab” withdrew from the Islamic Courts.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 11 January 2008 - According to the IMF Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for 2007, Ethiopia had the fastest growing economy in Africa among countries whose economy is not driven by Oil revenue. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) data indicated that Ethiopia had a 10.5% GDP growth in 2007, well above the 6.1% average for Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA).
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Asmara, Eritrea January 11, 2008 - The leader of the Asmara based opposition groups, Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed said on Friday that they received information telling that the two detained elders who were members of the Hawiye Traditional Council were killed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Speaking to the Somali section of Voice of America based in Washington, USA, Sheik Ahmed said according to the information, the spokesman for the Council of Hawiye clan elders Ahmed Dirie Ali and Sheikh Ahmed Geesey who was also member of the Council were executed by the Ethiopian government.
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January 10, 2008
MANAMA, Bahrain - Canadian multi-patrol frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) provided assistance to five mariners adrift on a stranded vessel in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.
Upon approaching the vessel as part of routine Maritime Security Operations (MSO), the crew of Charlottetown noticed the vessel had been stranded without food, water or fuel.
US Congressman, Donald Payne |
Addis Ababa, 11 January 2008 - Ethiopian government has openly slammed the recent visit of US Congressman, Donald Payne, chairman of the House Africa subcommittee to Eritrea saying it comfirms his anti-Ethiopia stance. Payne is the sponsor of the H.R. 2003 bill: Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 which will cut off technical assistance to Ethiopia unless it behaves in a more democratic manner.
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Baidoa, Somaia, 10 January 2008 - Legislators in Somalia's transitional federal parliament ratified the new cabinet of Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein during a Thursday vote, officials said.
Some 230 MPs were present at parliament hall in the southwestern trade town of Baidoa, 250km northwest of the capital Mogadishu.
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Puntland POW's inside Buroa prison grounds |
Buroa, Somaliland, 13 January 2008 (SL Times) - Fresh fighting broke out early Sunday morning in the disputed region of Sool between Somaliland and Puntland forces.
According to a press statement released by Somaliland’s Ministry of Defence “around 5:30 AM Sunday morning, Somaliland armed forces stationed at Dhabansar area (70km south of Las Anod) were attacked by Puntland forces and local clan militias supporting Puntland.
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President Rayale with Deputy Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Africa, Mr. James Sworn |
Washington DC, 13 January 2008 - The Somaliland delegation led by President Dahir Rayale Kahin visited yesterday all the United States monument and memorial in Washington DC and the surrounding areas.
The President's envoy and under close security detailed visited Mount Vernon, the home and farm of America's first President George Washington, the Lincoln memorial, the Vietnam War memorial and many other areas of historical interest.
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Somaliland Presidential delegation in London with MP Kerry Mcarthy and MP Alun Michael at Westminster Parliament |
Westminster, London, 12 January 2008 (SL Times) - During Prime minister question time at the UK parliament Wednesday, Labour Member of Parliament Alun Michael had put the following question to Gordon Brown in one of Westminster's famed democratic session debate rituals 'Prime Minister's Question Time' regarding Somaliland and Rayale’s visit to Britain and the house:
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Muhamad Yusuf Abdi (1940-2008) |
Hargeysa, January 12, 2008 (SL Times) – On Thursday, Somaliland state and government officials, traditional and religious leaders, prominent musicians, artists and a large number of people took part in the funeral of Muhamad Yusuf Abdi, the legendary singer and actor who died at his family home in Hargeysa, on Tuesday, from a short illness.
Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga hold his poster at a barricade in Kisumu, western Kenya, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008. |
NAIROBI, Kenya, January 12, 2008 - Kenya's main opposition party said Friday it plans three days of mass rallies next week to protest President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election, which has sparked waves of deadly violence across the East African nation. Police said they would not permit the protests.
Somalilandlaw.com EDITORIAL 7/01/2008
The Somaliland Government has recently sent to the House of Representatives a new Bill on press and publications. The provisions of this bill (based almost entirely on the Yemen Law No: 25 of 1990 on the Press & Publications) run contrary to international norms relating to freedom of expression and the independence of the press and are not in line with the Somaliland constitution.
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Prof. Ali Mohamed Gedi, former Prime Minister of Somalia |
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 6, 2008 - Somalia's former Prime Minister, Prof. Ali Mohamed Gedi, has formally announced his candidacy for presidential elections, which are scheduled to be held across the country in 2009.
Prof. Gedi, who resigned last October but retained his post as parliamentarian, said he is confident the Somali people will elect him to lead the country.
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Commentary
Prof: Ahmed Al-Azhari (Independent politician)
For the past 17 years the people of Somaliland have been involved in nation-building without external support. During long years of peace-building and democratization, our people passed through unexpected difficulties, disappointments, and even violent turmoils. But we easily resolved all these problems through peaceful resolution, consensus and compromise. The result is that Somaliland has created its own model for democracy and peace. But under president Rayale’s leadership Somaliland took a u-turn: in 2007:
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Nairobi, Kenya, 11 January 2008 - The son of Tseikuru plunged into the presidential race with what many people saw as a misplaced sense of optimism and self-importance.
Commentators depicted Mr Kalonzo Musyoka as a man going against the grain, who would attract support from only his Ukambani base.
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Building nuclear power stations will have an impact that reaches far beyond our borders - to the places where the fuel for them is mined
11 January 2008
By David Thorpe
The politicians' eyes will not be on those who suffer - and the conflicts caused - by their decision to give the green light to new nuclear power stations.
Now the government has announced its decision on nuclear power, perhaps we can begin to get a more widespread discussion of the issues, some of which have been below the radar for most of the public in the last two decades.
UN New York, 11 Jan 2008 - Late on January 11, UNDP's Morrison provided an answer to Inner City Press' question about UNDP funding the police force of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, which has been accused of rights violations:
"The info on Somalia you had requested is below.
"UNDP Somalia's Law Enforcement project is part of UNDP Rule of Law and Security program and aims at re-establishing an efficient and adequately equipped and housed professional civilian police force that restores peace while gaining trust of the community.
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Analysis
9 Jan 2008
Events during the weeks following PINR's December 11 report on Somalia have confirmed its judgment that the country has settled into a chronic condition of statelessness characterized by devolution of the political community to clan-based solidarities, dispersion of power to local warlords and insurgent groups, and resultant multi-faceted conflicts. [See: "Somalia Completes its Devolutionary Cycle"]
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BRUSSELS, Belgium, 11 January 2008 - European Union officials said Friday they would continue to pursue aid-and-trade deals with Europe's former colonies in Africa and the Pacific despite criticism from aid group Oxfam that the pacts do little to fight poverty.
Only 35 of the 78 nations that make up the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific group, which include some of the poorest in the world, have signed or initialed so-called Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU, officials said.
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7 January 2008
It would come as no surprise, if an entire generation of Iraqi boys were born to bear the name of Caesar Saadi Al-Jibouri, the Iraqi soldier who recently killed three American soldiers after seeing them kicking down the door of a house in Mosul and assaulting a pregnant woman.
Angered by the actions, it has been reported that Caesar opened fire on the US troops and killed two soldiers and a captain but now, like many other Iraqi’s in the “democratic” country, Caesar is languishing in a Government prison, although his actions have not gone unnoticed.
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7 Jan 2008
The total number of asylum seekers to Sweden increased by 49 percent last year, with a dramatic surge in the numbers of Iraqis and Somalis applying, Swedish authorities said Sunday.
The Scandinavian country received 36,207 asylum applications last year, up from 24,300 in 2006, the Swedish Migration Board said in a statement.
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Early this week, a member of the British parliament, Alun Michael, asked Prime Minister Gordon Brown a question about Somaliland. The way the Prime Minister tackled the question indicated that the prime minister was well briefed and knowledgeable about Somaliland (for a transcript of the exchange between Alun Michael and the prime minister
If we break the prime minister’s reply into its components, the following points stand out:
- The prime minister referred to Somaliland as a country.
- The prime minister agreed with Alun Michael’s suggestion that Somaliland deserves respect from the international community.
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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 Adan Abdillahi Hanfi
Assuming that participatory democracy is the key to the future of any post conflict society and injustice being the root cause of societal fragmentation, Somaliland’s current administration turned our criminal justice system the laughing stock of the world community. The sorry state of our judiciary is a manifestation of the incompetence of the current government. Our government is entrusted to enact and maintain the laws of our country. The government is the custodian of our rights and freedoms and it shoulder its responsibilities.
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By Hassan A. Madar
We peace lovers around the globe, believing strongly in the notion of all humanity being one undivided and indivisible family, with each of us being responsible for the misdeeds of all the others;
Aware of the high tensions in the aftermath of post- election violence in Kenya;
Concerned with sympathy that the post election violence has claimed lives of more than 300 innocent people to this date.
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Thank You: Letter From The Leadership Of Qaran
Mohamed Hashi Elmi (L), Mohamed A. Gabose (C) and Jamal Aidid Ibrahim (R) |
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts in supporting the democratization process in Somaliland., we also wish to extend our gratitude for your relentless exertion and concern in securing our release during the last four months and twenty three days we have been unjustly imprisoned by the current Somaliland government.
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Studying In Uganda: “Live To Learn, You Will Learn How To Live”
By Ayaanle Mohamed Omar
Introduction
My aim of writing this article is to encourage the students who are willing to study in Uganda, both either under graduate and postgraduate, and also to give a brief background on the Ugandan leading universities especially the historical background; admission requirements, major faculties, schools, and institutes; students and accommodation among others. I have also given contact address of each university so that you can easily contact any university that you wish either by phone or email.
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By Guled Ismail
I recently posted on two Somali websites a piece titled “Recognition of Somaliland is good for Somalia”. In it I argued that recognition of Somaliland will not harm Somalia at all and may indeed have a positive impact for all concerned.
I also mentioned that most Somalis are inexplicably hostile to Somaliland and its people. As if to prove me right, almost every reaction on every Somalia website ranged between the merely mocking of the childish variety “You will never be recognized naah nanah nah nah!” to the viciously hateful of the “Death to all Somalilanders” type.
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Press Release
7 Jan 2008
The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (EHAHRD-Net) is appalled by the continued killing of innocent civilians in Kenya, which has so far claimed over 300 lives, including HRDs.
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By Abdifatah Mohamed Ahmed
Citizen’s of any country in the world can be categorized into three division’s , the first part is the junior citizen’s ,the next part is the middle class citizen’s and the last part is the senior citizen’s which are the aged and senile people. On the other hand also we can discriminate the aboriginal people of any country into two segments. Generation X that comprises (youth + middle class citizens) and generation Y that consists of geriatric and senile citizen’s
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The West's patronising response to the recent events in Kenya betrays our lack of respect to a sophisticated continent
By Richard Dowden
January 6, 2008
Imagine: at the end of the Second World War, America and the Soviet Union decide they are tired of tribal warfare in Europe. The century is only halfway through and already some 90 million people have been slaughtered. The solution is a single European country imposed from above. So the Slovene President is trying to broker a provincial border dispute between France and Germany. Under France is a vast pool of oil but some of it is also under Germany - the Germans are all Muslim by the way.
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10 January 2008
Just before Christmas, within hours of Jacob Zuma being elected to lead the African National Congress, defeating his bitter rival Thabo Mbeki, I got a text message from a friend in South Africa. "Oh shit!" it read, "there goes Africa . . ." Only three weeks later, as violence swept Kenya after the disputed elections, most of the British press expressed the same thought: how could this happen in peaceful Kenya? And if such chaos could happen there, what did it say about the rest of the continent?
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11 January 2008
The Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapakse (finally) tore up the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the Liberation Tigers last week. Whilst the truce existed only on paper after almost two years of high-intensity war, the move was not without its consequences. The ejection of the Nordic ceasefire monitors, a key set of international eyes on the ground, was one. The smashing of the vestiges of Norway’s once much lauded peace process is another.
By Mohamed Farah.
Introduction
Somaliland declared itself as a separate independent country in 1991, but International recognition is yet elusive for Somaliland. It still is considered a region of Somalia, however Somalia continues to be plagued by conflicts amongst different clan and militia groups, and has not legitimate government. Somaliland has arduously formulated its independent constitution and Government and has moved ahead with peace and development initiatives.
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African Union Chairman John Kufuor |
By Alistair Thomson
Nairobi, Kenya, 11 January 2008 - The African Union's failure to broker a deal in Kenya's bloody political crisis has exposed a lack of muscle and dented its ambition to become a one-stop shop for the international community's dealings with the continent.
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By Dalmar Kaahin, Ottawa, Canada
For the citizens of Somaliland, the presidential election of 2003 was more an exercise of their democratic rights. It was the beginning of a new hope for a nation ravaged by a brutal war, a wave of terror carried out by Gen. Siyad Barre—the ruthless dictator who ruled former Somalia (Southern Somalia and Somaliland) with iron fist—from 1969 to 1990. But that hope almost turned to despair.
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