Sunday, March 29, 2009

Somaliland:Scandalous Euro-bribery in Favor of Riyaale

Corrupt Somaliland, Somalia´s Most Chaotic Spot. Part II Scandalous Euro-bribery in Favor of Riyaale

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
In a previous article "Corrupt Somaliland, Somalia´s Most Chaotic Spot – Part I. Bribed Elders Bought Up for US$16 Million" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/96302), I reported on the shameful European contribution to the prolongation of the lawless tenure of Somalia´s most loathed and most inhuman Mafia lord, the Hargeisa dictator Riyaale.

Many have been surprised by the calamitous development that occurred when last Wednesday, the upper house of parliament in Somalia's breakaway republic of Somaliland has opened up debate on President Dahir Riyale's request for a two-month term extension to rule the region until the May 31 presidential election.

US$16 million for bribery

There is no reason to be taken by surprise; this development merely reflects the colonial involvement in the lawless pseudo-state Somaliland. The most recent form of involvement took the tragic-comical appearance of a donation of some US$16 million supposed to help the voter-registration process, which was never completed, nor will it be.

Due to colonial Anglo-French pressure and because of the paranoid atmosphere that prevails in Europe, this amount of money, which belongs to European taxpayers, was finally given to an illegal and unrecognized government without any EU control and without any guarantee that it will reach its correct recipients and fulfill its announced purpose.

The murderous gangster Riyaale simply withheld the money, threatened the Elders for a while, and then bribed ca. 30 members of the upper parliament of So-mafi-land. Finally, each of the bribed "elders" (Mafia lords is their correct appellation) got ca. US$ 500000; like this, they – having no authority – "authorize" Riyaale to prolong his tyranny. Their benefit is that they will be able to pay their staffers and militias to further protect them over the next few months.

Who knows? Perhaps now the Guurti chairman will have some money to pay his webmaster to update their absolutely irrelevant and virtually ridiculous website whereby the …… latest piece of news dates back to 30 November 2008 (http://www.guurti.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=1&id=1&Itemid=2).

With this scandalous Euro-bribery of 30 selected "elders", the secessionist tyrant will get further extension of his already illegal tenure, and the people of Somaliland will have no chance to demonstrate their total rejection of the Hargeisa gang. The crisis will certainly escalate to a nightmarish level unknown even in Mogadishu.

I republish herewith several reports that bear witness to the shameful developments in Northern Somalia whereby 42 MPs voted to extend the term for the President and the Vice President, 35 MPs rejected the vote, 1 MP abstained and the Guurti Chairman did not vote. In addition, I republish a story about the arrest of 4 reporters by the tyrannical regime of Hargeisa – in a way to express deep thanks to the European Union for their majestic hypocrisy that supports Democracy in Europe and Tyranny in Africa.

In several forthcoming articles, I will expand on the subject.

Somaliland Lawmakers Exchange Blows In Vicious Fistfight

http://samotalis.blogspot.com/2009/03/somaliland-lawmakers-exchange-blows-in.html

London, 27 March 2009 (Somaliland Today)- A vicious fistfight erupted in the upper chamber of Somaliland´s parliament on Wednesday, as Abdirahman Qawdhan who is opposed to an extension of president Rayale´s term of office landed a series of punches on Mr. Dheg who is an avid backer of the president.

The scuffles broke out when the chairman of the upper chamber of the parliament, Suleiman Mohamoud Aden, began to read out a letter submitted by president Rayale to the parliament in which he requested for an extension of his term of office, which expires on 6th April, as well as the approval of the date set by the National Electoral Commission for presidential election- 31st May 2009.

While Mr. Qawdhan was embroiled in a vicious brawl with Mr. Dheg, another lawmaker, Mr. Said Yasir, who is also believed to be an ardent supporter of Rayale, jumped on Mr.Qawdhan and involved himself in nasty punch-ups and pushing.

Yasir later said, according to HAATUF, that he was ´only trying to intervene and prevent from further fighting´- an explanation rejected by Mr. Qawdhan as misleading.

President Rayale was elected on 14 April 2003 for five years, which ended on 14 April 2008. However, he failed to hold the presidential election at the scheduled date because the European Union insisted on voter registration in Somaliland before conducting any election. As a result, Rayale was granted a one-year extension of term of office ending 6 April 2009. However, he is still unable to hold the presidential election because of ´bureaucratic and logistical´ reasons cited by the National Electoral Commission- an agency described by many as a pliant body that takes its orders from the president.

There is serious disagreement in the upper chamber of the parliament between those who want to have the president´s term of office extended and those who adamantly oppose it like Mr. Qawdhan.

In another development, Ibrahim Jama Ali (Rayte), a lawmaker from the lower chamber of the parliament was involved in punch- up with Mohamed Muse Diriye, head of the Somaliland government´s TV.

Meanwhile, the nation holds its breath to wait and see what resolution members of the upper chamber of the parliament reaches in the days to come.

Somaliland President receives another term extension

http://gargaar.blogspot.com/2009/03/somaliland-president-receives-another.html

Hargeisa, Somalia Mar 28 (Garowe Online) - The leader of Somalia's breakaway state of Somaliland received a term extension Saturday, in a vote that is likely to deepen the region's ongoing election crisis, Radio Garowe reports.

Somaliland's upper house of parliament, the House of Guurti, held an extraordinary session in the regional capital Hargeisa, with 79 MPs present including Guurti Chairman Saleban "Gal" Mohamud.

Some 20 Guurti MPs offered heated speeches, introducing two opposite motions.

The first motion indicated that the administration of President Dahir Riyale's term in office expires on April 6, arguing that there is "no emergency" such as war, drought or other natural disaster to warrant another delay of the much-expected presidential election.



This motion's supporters accused President Riyale of failing to hold elections on time, while calling for the establishment of a caretaker government to rule Somaliland until the election.

The second motion stated that the Somaliland election commission could not organize the election on time, citing the Oct. 2008 suicide bombings in Hargeisa that targeted the office of President Riyale among others.

Further, the pro-Riyale lawmakers in the House of Guurti argued that there is an ongoing drought in some regions of Somaliland, saying that the current government should receive a term extension to overcome such challenges.

Mr. Saleban Gal, the Guurti Chairman, then said the lawmakers would vote on the political future of Riyale's government.

"Of the present lawmakers, 42 MPs voted to extend the term for the President and the Vice President, 35 MPs rejected the vote, 1 MP abstained and I did not vote," the Guurti Chairman announced.

As the chairman declared the vote results, his two deputies – Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Nur and Said Abdullahi – sat next to him.

Somaliland opposition parties Kulmiye and UCID have not formally responded to President Riyale's term extension.

But Mr. Ahmed Silanyo, the Kulmiye party's presidential candidate and the opposition leader, has vowed not to recognize Riyale's government after April 6.

Security was extra tight in and around the parliament building in Hargeisa, as police and military units kept close watch as the House of Guurti held its most important vote to date.

In 2008, Guurti MPs voted in favor of extending Riyale's constitutional five-year term in office by one additional year, with opposition parties accepting the term extension on grounds that the presidential election be held on March 29, 2009.

Somaliland: Guurti Vote Extends President´s Term

http://www.somalilandglobe.com/365/somaliland-guurti-vote-extends-presidents-term/

The Upper House of Parliament, Guurti, has voted to pass a controversial bill that will allow Riyale to stay in office unelected for six more months.

Some Guurti members briefly debated the bill prior to voting, giving the impression that most members already made a decision on how they were going to vote.Those who were against bill, urged members to turn down the bill on the grounds that the country is not in an emergency that can justify an extension.

Under the constitution, the president´s term can only be extended if the country is in a state of war, or if there is one of many catastrophic disasters that prevents elections such as a serious and widespread famine or a disastrous earthquake.

The bill passed by 42 to 35 margin with one abstention. By law the House leader who chaired the extra-ordinary session does not vote.

This extension brings the total term extension for the president since his elected term in office ended last year, to 18 months.

It is not known what effect this bill may have on the current scheduled date for the presidential election. The National Election Commission promised to hold the election on May 31 after postponing it for the fourth time since April 2008.

A large number of people who gathered around were unable to get close to the building that houses the Guurti due to police reinforcements who closed access to the area for traffic and pedestrian.

Some of the people who gathered in the area and who were not yet aware of the outcome of the vote, expressed their dismay at the possibility of extension of the president´s term. Mr Luul Mohamed Abdillahi who spoke to a reporter from Horyaal Radio said "I see this debate as an affront to our future. [An extension] can destabilize the country. I am totally against this bill, Guurti is debating the future of all these people you see around you".

Omar Daud Ibrahim and Hassan Mohamed Muse who were among the crowd expressed similar views opposing the bill. Mr Ibrahim said "This bill is unconstitutional. Riyale says only an elected president can replace him, but he is no longer an elected president because his term ended in April 2008″.

Meanwhile a pro-UDUB demonstration was held in another part of the city in which senior members of the party participated with a group of women and young people who were brought to the location by buses. The demonstrators who waved UDUB flag included some high profile members of the party such as the Hargeisa city Mayor, Hussein Mohamoud Jiciir.

The Interior Minister, Abdillahi Ismail (Cirro), last night warned what he called people planning to hold "illegal" demonstrations from going ahead with their plans. His warning was directed at a rumored anti-extension demonstration supposed to be held today. However, no action was taken to prevent the pro-UDUB demonstration that was apparently held in support of the extension.

Somaliland Government Arrests 4 Reporters

http://www.somalilandglobe.com/380/somaliland-horyaal-reporter-remains-in-custody/

The police in Somaliland detained and released four reporters from the independent Horyaal Radio. The reporters, who were all released tonight, were detained between late Friday and early hours Saturday morning.

The reporters, Mr. Abdi Abokor, Mr. Duale Mohamed, Mr. Liban Mawell Shirreh and Ahmed Suleiman Doholl were either involved in their routine daily reporting work or where at home when they were arrested separately in Hargeisa.

The police did not give a reason for the arrests but some of the detained reporters said they were investigating reports of government using money to buy votes of members of the Guurti.

Mr Doholl and Mr Shirreh were also arrested in the past by the authorities accusing them of running a clandestine radio.

The vote on Saturday by the Upper House of Parliament to controversially extend president Riyale´s term of office, has created a tense political atmosphere in Somaliland.

Note

Picture: Chaotic scenes outside the Guurti premises at Hargeisa.

Somaliland Opposition should BOYCOTT the elections

 Rayale and his gang think they own everything in the country. Mr. Ahmed Siilayo talked to the BBC Somali service on 28 of March 29 about how Riyaale uses illegal means and tools to extend his dictator rule. Mr.Siilanyo did not elaborate much about these tools, but mainly (Opinion) - Somaliland Opposition should BOYCOTT the elections thumbnailRiyale uses two bodies: One is the national election committee which all it previous heads were the three members picked by Riyale directly. The other illegal body is the Guurti who are representing and protecting Riyale and not the people.

I think now it is time to show this gang that the opposition represents the hope for this country. It is time to show the kind of future Somaliland would hold without Kulmiye & UCID. It is the best time to prove for those who love peace that these two opposition parties act as a firewall that protects Somaliland from violence and other forms of opposition which are harmful to our existence. Today, it is the time to show the world the truth about Riyale who did not listen to his people but rather to his dictator friends: Meles Zinawi and Omer Geele

Therefore, I call for opposition parties to quit this show and boycott the elections. Otherwise they will be the third body working for Riyale and his gang to cover up more extensions and illegal secular rule under the cover of a lie called in Somaliland democracy.

Abdirahman Mohamed
Haadka@gmail.com


Saturday, March 28, 2009

Unrecognized Lawless State Somaliland

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 25, 2009
In five previous articles entitled "Somaliland´s Definite Rejection from the World Community Underscored by Amnesty Int´l Report–Part I" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95769), "Devastating Amnesty Int´l Report Heralds the End of Somaliland´s Secessionism – Part II" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95778), "Somaliland - The Drama of the Displaced Persons Revealed in Amnesty Int´l Report – Part III" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95844), "Somalia: Horrendous Human Rights Violations in Eastern Somaliland – Amnesty Int´l Report.
Corrupt Somaliland, Somalia´s Most Chaotic Spot – Part I. Bribed Elders Bought Up for US$16 Million
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
In this new series of articles, I intend to highlight the scope of the nefarious foreign involvement in Somalia.
The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part XII - United Greater Somalia: Inevitable
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
In eleven earlier articles (The End of Secessionism in Somalia.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Muxuu Amiin Camir ka yidhi ururka cusub ee lagaga dhawaaqay Hargeysa

Muxuu Amiin Camir ka yidhi ururka cusub ee lagaga dhawaaqay Hargeysa



Wiil uu dhalay wasiirka xidhiidhka golayaasha Somaliland ayaa lagu xidhay magaalada Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa (saraarnews)- Wiil uu dhalay wasiirka xidhiidhka golayaasha Somaliland Md. Cabdi Xasan Buuni oo muddo dheer ka tirsanaa shaqaalaha

safaaradda Somaliland ku leedahay dalka Ethiopia oo lagu magacaabo Maxamuud Cabdi Xasan, ayaa lagu xidhay magaalada Addis Ababa, kadib markii lagu warhelay inuu dad badan sifo sharci-darro ah ugu tahriibiyey waddamada Yurub.

Sida ay xalay Jamhuuriya u xaqiijiyeen ilo xogogaal ah oo u dhuun daloola fadeexaddan waxa wiilka wasiirka la xidhay 7 March 2009, iyadoo xadhiggiisa lala xidhiidhinayo xoghaynta wasiirka xidhiidhka golayaasha oo uu 5 March 2009 u tahriibiyey dalka Ingiriiska, gabadhaas oo lagu qabtay magaalada London kadib markii ay ka duushay Addis Ababa, waxana Maxamuud Cabdi Xasan Buuni dhalay lagu eedeeyey inuu si sharci-darro ah dad badan ka tahriibiyey gudaha Ethiopia, isla markaana tahriibayaasha ka qaadan jiray lacago aad u badan.

Arrintan ayaa la sheegay in xiisad ka dhex abuurtay safaaradda Somaliland ee Addis Ababa iyo dawladda Ethiopia, iyada oo dalka Ingiriiskuna ganaax culus saaray shirkadda diyaaradaha ee Ethiopian Airlines oo lagu eedeeyey in dad tahriibayaal ah oo baasaaboorro khaldan wata ay keentay waddankooda.

Baadhitaan Itoobiyaanku dhacdadaas ka sameeyeen waxa ay ku ogaadeen in safaaradda Somaliland gacanta ugula jirto fadeexadaha la xidhiidha dadka sida qarsoodiga ah looga tahriibiyo gudaha Ethiopia, kuwaasoo la saaro diyaaradaheeda u kala goosha dunida, waxana baadhistan lagu ogaaday in Maxamuud Cabdi Xasan Buuni uu si toos ah ugu lug leeyahay falalka la xidhiidha tahriibinta dadka.

Maxamuud Cabdi Xasan oo tan iyo dawladdii marxuum Maxamed Xaaji Ibraahim Cigaal ka shaqaynayey safaaradda Somaliland ku leedahay Ethiopia, ayaa ilahaasi xuseen inuu yahay nin khabiir ku ah qaabka tahriibinta qarsoodiga ee dadka, isaga oo ilaa wakhtigaas tahriibiyey ugu yaraan toddoba qof oo ay ku jiraan xubno qaraabadiisa iyo ehelkiis ah.

Waxa kale oo ilahaas xogogaalka ah xaqiijiyeen in madaxweyne Rayaale uu arrintan shalay kala hadlay wasiirkiisa xidhiidhka golayaasha Md. Cabdi Xasan Buuni, iyada oo arrintani xiisad ka dhex abuurtay xidhiidhka wada-shaqayneed ee Safaaradda Somaliland iyo dawladda Ethiopia, waxana la filayaa in wasiirku maalmaha soo socda u kicitimo dhinaca Ethiopia si uu arrimahan wadahadal ugala soo yeesho masuuliyiinta dalkaas.

Waxa isna jiray masuul safaaradda Somaliland ee Ethiopia  ka tirsan oo madaarka Addis Ababa nin ku dhaafiyey inuu yahay wasiirka ciyaaraha Somaliland, balse markii dambe laga caydhiyey Ethiopia, kadib markii la ogaaday in ninkaasi si been-abuur ah loo tahriibiyey oo aannu ahayn Wasiirka Ciyaaraha Somaliland.

Tallaabooyinka noocan ah ayaa u muuqda qaar dhaawacaya sumcadda iyo kalsoonida beesha caalamku ku qabto Somaliland, gaar ahaan dawladda Ethiopia oo uu ka dhexeeyo xidhiidh saaxiibtinimo oo qoto dheer.

Wasiirka xidhiidhka Golayaasha Qaranka Md. Cabdi Xasan Buuni oo aanu xalay isku daynay in aanu arrintan wax ka weydiino ayaanay noo suurtogalin, kadib markii uu telefoonkiisa gacanta qabtay nin qaraabadiisa ah, kaasoo Jamhuuriya u sheegay in wasiirku ku maqan yahay suuqa oo uu ka tegay telefoonkiisa.

source: Jamhuuriya

Amnesty International Report Imposes Somaliland´s Dissolution

Amnesty International Report Imposes Somaliland´s Dissolution and Merge with Somalia - Part V
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
In four previous articles entitled "Somaliland´s Definite Rejection from the World Community Underscored by Amnesty Int´l Report–Part I" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95769), "Devastating Amnesty Int´l Report Heralds the End of Somaliland´s Secessionism – Part II" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95778), Somaliland - The Drama of the Displaced Persons Revealed in Amnesty Int´l Report – Part III (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95844) "Somalia: Horrendous Human Rights Violations in Eastern Somaliland – Amnesty Int´l Report.

Somalia: Horrendous Human Rights Violations in Eastern Somaliland

Somalia: Horrendous Human Rights Violations in Eastern Somaliland – Amnesty Int´l Report. Part IV
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
In three previous articles entitled "Somaliland´s Definite Rejection from the World Community Underscored by Amnesty Int´l Report–Part I" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95769), "Devastating Amnesty Int´l Report Heralds the End of Somaliland´s Secessionism – Part II" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95778) and Somaliland - The Drama of the Displaced Persons Revealed in Amnesty Int´l Report – Part III (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95844), I republished the new Amnesty International Report on Somalia that focuses on Human Rights´ violations in Somalia´s northern provinces that were forced to separate and form – due to malignant involvement of the racist Abyssinian tyranny – a secessionist, anti-Somali pseudo-state that nobody recognizes, "Somaliland".

Devastating Amnesty Int´l Report Heralds the End of Somaliland´s Secessionism

Somaliland - The Drama of the Displaced Persons Revealed in Amnesty Int´l Report – Part III
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
In two previous articles entitled "Somaliland´s Definite Rejection from the World Community Underscored by Amnesty Int´l Report–Part I" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95769) and "Devastating Amnesty Int´l Report Heralds the End of Somaliland´s Secessionism – Part II" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95778), I republished the new Amnesty International Report on Somalia that focuses on Human Rights´ violations in Somalia´s northern provinces that were forced to separate and form – due to malignant involvement of the racist Abyssinian tyranny – a secessionist, anti-Somali pseudo-state that nobody recognizes, "Somaliland".
Devastating Amnesty Int´l Report Heralds the End of Somaliland´s Secessionism – Part II
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
In a previous article entitled "Somaliland´s Definite Rejection from the World Community Underscored by Amnesty Int´l Report–Part I" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95769), I republished the new Amnesty International Report on Somalia that focuses on Human Rights´ violations in Somalia´s northern provinces that were forced to separate and form – due to malignant involvement of the racist Abyssinian tyranny – a secessionist, anti-Somali pseudo-state that nobody recognizes, "Somaliland".
Somaliland´s Definite Rejection from the World Community Underscored by Amnesty Int´l Report–Part I
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Somaliland will never become formally accepted as an independent state.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Blast injures Somali minister

Blast injures Somali minister
Rival armed groups are fighting each other, as well as the government, for control of Somalia [AFP]

Somalia's interior minister has been wounded after a roadside bomb exploded next to his car in the capital Mogadishu, officials and witnesses say.

Abdel-Qader Ali Omar's bodyguard and two passers-by were killed in the blast in the Bakara neighbourhood on Thursday, witnesses said.

"He was targeted in a roadside bomb explosion. He sustained injuries but they are not too serious. One of his bodyguards died," a government official told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

"We heard a big explosion, which seemed to be a landmine targeting the car," Abdirahman Ali, a witness, said. "I was standing opposite. Bodyguards opened fire."

Omar spoke to the media shortly after being treated for shoulder injuries at a Mogadishu hospital.

"I have no problem and I escaped the attack," he said.
  
"I'm not going to say who is behind the attack just now but we all know each other in the capital Mogadishu and we will take steps to enforce peace."

Tentative hopes

Somalia's transitional government has little control in the war-torn country, which is dominated by rival armed Islamic groups and has been without an effective central government since 1991.

However, there are tentative hopes for some sort of stability under the new government under Sharif Ahmed, the president and a former leader of the Islamic courts union, which ruled much of the country in late 2006.

"Because the war has been fought for so long, the suffering is so long that people are crying for peace," Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, said.

"The government has to strengthen its base and simultaneously reach out to all Somalis."

Omar led a Somali group fighting Ethiopian troops, who helped push the Islamic courts out of Somalia in 2006, before was appointed to the interior ministry following a deal to bring the armed opposition into government.

Al-Shabaab, a hardline group which controls severals towns, including the government's former seat in Baidoa, launches frequent attacks on government targets and African Union peacekeepers.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Somaliland´s Definite Rejection from the World Community Underscored by Amnesty Int´l Report–Part I

 

Somaliland´s Definite Rejection from the World Community Underscored by Amnesty Int´l Report–Part I

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 24, 2009
Somaliland will never become formally accepted as an independent state. This is the only reality that characterizes on permanent basis the secessionist state which was created out of the rightful search of Northern Somalis for peace and progress at a moment the Somali South was plunged in chaos.

The aforementioned assessment does not imply that the past developments could not have possibly taken another direction; the course could certainly have been different, and the trajectory could have led Northern Somalis to a successful and positive outcome. Ghosts of the past and subversive rumors, erratic perceptions and undeserved oblivion of the Somali national identity brought about the calamitous situation in which the Northern Somalis find themselves today.

Whereas in forthcoming articles, I will analyze the mistakes made during the past 19 years, I want to focus here on the reasons for which Somaliland will never become formally accepted as an independent state.

These reasons originate from the same problem which is nothing else than the existence of the racist, colonial tyranny of Abyssinia (fallaciously re-baptized Ethiopia). If the inhumane state of the bestial and uncivilized Amhara and Tigray Monophysitic (Tewahedo) Abyssinian elites did not exist, certainly a small Somali state in Somalia´s North could be possibly recognized. In fact, if the monstrous colonial state was dissolved, the various national and democratic states formed, the Afar Republic, the Ogaden Republic, the Republic of Oromo Ethiopia, and the other states would easily recognize Somaliland, and through this development the international community would be convinced to follow.

The lawless and loathed existence of Abyssinia, and the evil survival techniques pursued by the cruel, mendacious and racist ´Ethiopianist´ elites consist in the basic reason for Abyssinian interference in Somaliland, exploitation of the problems existing between Somaliland and Ogaden, Somaliland and Puntland, Somaliland and the Somali Center and South. This interference triggers a situation in which progress is conceived as elimination of the neighbor and the opposition, which in turn leads all the players to dictatorial policies and practices that cannot possibly be accepted by the World Community.

This is precisely what the recent Amnesty International Report on Somalia reveals: the problematic situation of the Human Rights in Somaliland. Of course, the Report is named after Somalia; Somaliland does not exist.

In the forthcoming elections, it would therefore be recommendable to all the Northern Somalis to find their only path to formal recognition which hinges on a reunification process with the other parts of Somalia. I herewith republish a first part of the devastating report against Riyaale´s tyranny, and in forthcoming articles, I will complete the republication of the valuable document that should be taken into consideration by all Northern Somalis before casting their votes.

Somalia: Human Rights Challenges: Somaliland Facing Elections

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR52/001/2009

Index Number: AFR 52/001/2009

Date Published: 17 March 2009

In the lead up to, during and after the upcoming presidential and local elections, scheduled for 2009, both the Government of Somaliland and the international community should pay greater attention to the overall human rights situation in Somaliland and consider ways to protect human rights. Amnesty International has been monitoring, reporting on and promoting human rights in Somaliland since 1991. This report offers recommendations to improve the respect, protection and promotion of human rights in Somaliland.

Somalia: Human Rights Challenges: Somaliland Facing Elections

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR52/001/2009/en/ec9271de-98aa-4ec4-a85e-500f901375a6/afr520012009en.pdf

Contents

1. Introduction..........................................................................................................2

2. Background .........................................................................................................3

3. Security Committees, Forced Returns and Unlawful Detentions................5

a. Security Committees ..........................................................................................5

b. Forced Returns ....................................................................................................7

c. Prisoners of Conscience: Journalists and Freedom of Expression ...............8

d. Prisoners of Conscience: Political Opposition Figures...................................8

4. Displaced Persons in Somaliland ....................................................................10

5. Human Rights in eastern Somaliland..............................................................13

6. Somaliland under International Law ..............................................................15

7. Defending Human Rights in Somaliland .......................................................17

8. Conclusion: Not Yet Equal Justice under Law as Elections Approach …..20

9. Recommandations...............................................................................................22

Appendix I ...............................................................................................................25

Appendix II ..............................................................................................................26

1. Introduction

In the lead up to, during and after the upcoming presidential and local elections, scheduled for 2009, both the Government of Somaliland and the international community should pay greater attention to the overall human rights situation in Somaliland and consider ways to protect human rights.

Amnesty International delegates travelled to Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, in December 2007. They collected information on human rights violations in Somaliland, and interviewed displaced persons from southern and central Somalia. Amnesty International has continued to monitor and document the human rights situation. This report offers recommendations to improve the respect, protection and promotion of human rights in Somaliland.

For more than a decade the Government of Somaliland has maintained relative stability throughout the territory it controls. It has carried out local, parliamentary and presidential elections, while serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, lack of governance, ongoing armed conflict and recurrent humanitarian crises have characterized conditions for civilians throughout southern and central Somalia.

However, the Government of Somaliland has yet to firmly establish the respect, protection and promotion of specific human rights, such as those ensuring freedom of expression, including press freedom, and freedom of assembly and association. Some events taking place in 2007 and 2008 indicated a tendency to roll back respect for human rights on national security grounds.

Actions taken by government officials that have violated or threatened human rights in Somaliland have included: the arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists and opposition political leaders; unfair trials; non-transparent and unlawful conduct of National and Regional Security Committees; and unnecessary restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly with regard to the media. There have also been periodic reports of violations committed against civilians by Somaliland as well as Puntland forces in armed conflict against one another in and around Las Anod in Sool and Las Qorey in Sanaag, in eastern Somaliland.

Several of these concerns were at least partially resolved by January 2008, including the release of three opposition party leaders from prison; the non enforcement of an expulsion order against Somali journalists from Mogadishu; and a government commitment to provide emergency and development assistance in eastern Somaliland to address the economic disparity fueling human rights abuses in that area. Other violations, however, have continued.

Somaliland´s government diplomacy is aimed at securing international support for the recognition it has sought since unilaterally declaring independence from Somalia in 1991 after the fall of Somalia´s President, Major General Siad Barre.

Since the Government of Somaliland has demonstrated sensitivity to human rights concerns in the past, possibly based on its quest for recognition, governments engaged in the region and international organizations could help to ensure that human rights are respected and protected, and perpetrators of violations are brought to justice, including by exerting influence with the Government of Somaliland.

2. Background

Clan elders and leaders of the northern Somali National Movement (SNM) unilaterally declared Somaliland´s independence from Somalia on 18 May 1991, after the SNM and other armed groups toppled the government of then-President Siad Barre.

Somaliland (the former British Protectorate of Somaliland) had united with southern Somalia (former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic in 1960. After a military coup that overthrew the elected government in 1969, widespread human rights violations took place against the people of Somalia, carried out by Siad Barre´s Somali National Army (SNA) and other security forces, particularly in the northwest of the country. These violations laid the foundation for the re-separation of Somaliland along former colonial borders in May 1991, when local leaders declared Somaliland independent, claiming the people´s right to self-determination.1

While Somalia descended into nearly two decades of political and criminal violence, Somaliland established a new government in the north. The self declared independence of Somaliland has to date not been recognized by any government or international body.

The first administration of Somaliland, under its first President Abdurahman Ahmed Ali Tuur, ran from 1991-1993 and attempted to establish a power-sharing system among the northern clans. In 1992 and from 1994 to 1996 Somaliland endured its own internal armed conflicts, based on unresolved clan rivalries and problems with power-sharing. But beginning in 1993, under the administration of President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, a series of traditional gatherings were held to build reconciliation, security, state formation, and a constitution.

Somaliland has since established an executive and judiciary, and a bicameral parliament divided between a House of Elders, known as the Guurti, and an elected Lower House, combining democratic and traditional means of governance.

Increased stability has encouraged the gradual return to Somaliland of upwards of 100,000 refugees who fled during the Somali civil war (1988-91) and the two subsequent conflicts in Somaliland. However, on 29 October 2008 three suicide bomb attacks were carried out in Hargeisa, simultaneous with an attack in Bossaso in the Somali region of Puntland. 2 In Hargeisa more than 20 civilians were killed and more than 30 injured when three separate cars drove into compounds housing the president´s residence, UN Development Programme offices, and the Ethiopian trade mission, with the last location suffering the worst damage and the greatest number of casualties.3 The October attacks have been widely interpreted both as spill-over from armed attacks by extremist opposition groups that characterize conditions in Somalia, and reaction to Somaliland´s economic and diplomatic relationship with Ethiopia and western governments.

The current president, Dahir Riyale Kahin, assumed office when President Egal died suddenly in 2002. President Riyale was then elected in 2003 by a slim margin in an election regarded by international observers, including the European Union, as largely free and fair.

The next presidential elections are scheduled for late March 2009, with wide expectation that they could be further delayed in part due to delays in the voter registration process.

Local elections are currently slated to follow the presidential election in late 2009.

Amnesty International has been monitoring, reporting on and promoting human rights in Somaliland since 1991, with an emphasis on minority rights, prisoners of conscience, and capacity-building among emerging civil society organizations in the capital Hargeisa and other parts of Somaliland.

In mid 2007, Amnesty International began receiving reports that space for civil society activity in Somaliland was shrinking—due in part to inappropriate government involvement in a dispute between members of the formerly prominent Somaliland Human Rights Organization Network (SHURO-Net), and in part to government actions to curtail the activities of the political association known as Qaran ("the nation"), which at that time sought to become a fourth political party.

In the words of one human rights defender, "the government succeeded in its strategy of ´you are either with me or against me." This puts civil society organizations in an awkward position in which they fear that if they voice their concerns the government would close the organizations."

The ongoing use of the National Security Committee and Regional Security Committees, exercising extra-judicial powers, has diminished the rule of law as carried out by an already weak, under-resourced and multi-level judicial system.

It has been reported that these committees have authorized the unlawful arrest and detention of some individuals, including several journalists in 2007. They have also ordered the arrest of others held without trial in incommunicado detention on national security grounds.

Note

Picture: Camp for displaced persons in Somaliland – from the Amnesty International Report

 
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
 

 

Monday, March 23, 2009

Somaliland:ation condemns imprisonment of Somaliland journalist


Media federation condemns imprisonment of Somaliland journalist

 
Nairobi, Kenya - The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Monday condemned a five-month jail term slapped on Somali journalist Mohamed Abdi Guled, the editor of the private weekly magazine Yool, by a court in semi-autonomous Somaliland province sitting in the capital, Hargeisa.

In a statement signed by Gabriel Baglo, the director of IFJ Africa office, the media rights body said Mr. Guled was committed to prison last week for allegedly "spreading lies" and publishing a newspaper that is not "legally registered."

"Journalists in Somaliland continue to face intolerable intimidation such as arbitrary imprisonment, which undermines their ability to work freely. We condemn this practice of suppressing independent reporting and proper scrutiny of figures of authority," Mr Baglo was quoted as saying.

Mr Guled was arrested on 26 February, following publication two days earlier of an article about extrajudicial executions in Somaliland, blaming some government officials for their role in these killings.

The judge convicted Mr Guled on the basis of the testimony from an anonymous witness, who was not cross-examined by the defence as required by due process.

The Somali National Union of Journalists (NUSOJ), an IFJ affiliate, also strongly condemned the decision which it described as a gross miscarriage of justice.

''This decision is part of an unacceptable harassment campaign aimed at silencing journalists," the statement quoted Mr Omar Faruk Osman Nur, the NUSOJ General Secretary, as saying.

"It is a gross miscarriage of justice against our colleague, which should not stand," he said.

IFJ called upon the authorities of Somaliland to immediately release Mr. Guled and to ensure that the rights of journalists and press freedom are upheld in the country.
 
Nairobi - 23/03/2009

By Juma Kwayera, PANA Correspondent

HTTP://XAQSOOR.BLOGSPOT.COM/

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Fwd: 1111 Articles for Buzzle // http://www.buzzle.com/articles/1111-articles-for-buzzle.html

1111 Articles for Buzzle
1111 Articles for Buzzle
When one reaches a threshold, one is usually inclined to stand still for a while, and look backwards so that, in a retrograde manner, carry out an evaluation of achievements, gains and losses.

When I opened an account in Buzzle, deciding to publish some articles on Iraq and Sudan, I could never imagine that I would manage to publish 1111 articles!

The experience was however new. In the beginning, even the horizon of 100 articles looked faraway. Although I had published hundreds of articles in newspapers, reviews and magazines, hundreds of encyclopedia entries, dozens of academic articles, scholarly review articles, and more than 10 books in the 80s and the 90s, the online publication was a new experience for me.

I still remember finalizing the last paragraph of my first article "Open Letter to President al Bashir of Sudan - Out of the Arab League Now!" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-29-2004-58615.asp) in an Internet Café in Alexandria, Egypt. I was sure that the deterioration would be grave. As I read now my article's first lines "Open Letter - The Way out of Darfur is the Way out of the Arab League - An open letter to the President al Bashir aiming at stopping the final decomposition of Sudan. A dead end of the colonial ideology of Pan-Arabism is demanded for the survival of the multi-cultural Paradise Sudan that unfortunately turned out to be a cemetery of peoples", I find that I have nothing to change.

And I feel very sad for the great number of casualties that occurred ever since in those wonderful lands of Darfur and Kordofan where I spent several months in 1992 and 1993, discovering the immensity of Sahara, and assessing the invaluable worth of the Nile.

As I started writing more and more articles, enjoying the interaction with the readers, I realized the value of the portal, which became my primary source of news and a sort of online encyclopedia.

There was no plan for my articles, and to great extent I corresponded to the wishes of many readers who wrote to me extensively, bringing me closer to their interests, life experience, and concerns. At times, for months, I did not write a single text; and some days were entirely spent in writing and publishing online articles.

As there was no plan, I have been driven to an odd situation that only time can rectify; corresponding mainly to readers' calls, I did not write anything about many subjects and sectors that I know very well and like very much! Recently, I felt it was incredible that, despite the fact that I had already composed more than 1000 articles, I had never published anything online about South Azerbaijan, a vast country that I explored extensively, after I had studied its History and published many articles, entries and academic articles about it. The same I can say today about Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Uzbekistan, Libya and Algeria.

It is still incomprehensible to me how I did not write anything about various religions, myths, and historical events; but I guess this is the result of the gravity of the readership demand.

I could divide my Buzzle contributor's tenure in two parts; the first covers two years (August 2004 - September 2006); then, I published in total ca. 100 articles. Longer (September 2006 to present), the second period is characterized by my greater concern to respond to readers' call for more extensive and dense publications; during that period I wrote more than 1000 articles!

As the hundreds of articles were accumulated, I thought about writing a brief text as a reassessment and restart; it would help me share with readers my experience of Buzzle contributor for all these years.

I first thought to write a title "1000 Articles for Buzzle"; I then found the title too conventional. Then, came another idea; as my Buzzle contributor number is 973 (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=973), I thought it would be quite symbolic to compose an article under the title "973 Articles for Buzzle"; however, I found it too egocentric.

I concluded that the best would be to wait until four asses be completed. Finally, I noticed that it took me 1667 days to write 1111 articles. If the ratio is lower than 1 article per day, the reason is the low rhythm in the first period; for the second period, the ratio is ca. 1.25 articles per day.

It is time to share with you my Buzzle experience of 1667 days.

The time you spend as a portal contributor is like the Babylonian origin Roman God Janus: two-faced. It consists in the time you spend writing for the portal; and it is also the time you spend reading articles in the portal.

It would be impossible to enumerate for you now all the Buzzle articles that I read and found very interesting, and all the Buzzle contributors whom I have been glad to know either through their publications or personally. I will herewith mention those whose contributions attracted my interest most. I am convinced that you will take the maximum profit of your time in Buzzle, visiting their profiles, monitoring their publications, and enjoying the horizons that they open for you.

I will start with Irena Knehtl, who is our times' Queen of Sheba! Based in Sanaa, Yemen, Slovene of origin, and Muslim of faith, Irena (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=1154) offers authoritative and real, yet highly inspired, information about the riches of Yemen, and many other places of the world where she has already been either physically or spiritually. Her "Prayer Across the Indian Ocean" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/10-9-2005-78453.asp) and "Wadis of Hadhramaut" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-16-2006-102498.asp), have absorbed my imagination.

I will then shift the focus to a highly creative Luo who left Kenya (like President Obama's father) and settled in the States, James Opiko, who is the owner of the wonderful and immense portal www.afroarticles.com and the very informative and authoritative blog www.politicalarticles.net. With a strong background in the sphere of Networking, Information Technology, Internet, and Online Marketing, and with a deep understanding of the American society and politics, James (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=5894) published a superbly enlightening article on the Clintons' obstructive campaign against the then candidate Barack Obama, entitled "The Clinton Snakes Inc." that I highly recommend (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-clinton-snakes-inc.html) to anyone willing to understand US politics.

I believe that Buzzle found in the person of the Sidama national Wolassa Kumo (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=19569) an excellent economist with leading contributions that truly break ground. His "Demutualization of African Stock Exchanges" (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/should-african-stock-exchanges-demutualize.html) attracted all my attention.

I greatly enjoy Gaynor Borade's articles on the automobile sector that can be found here: http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=13444. The same contributor opened my horizons with an insightful into the Philippine literature )http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-philippine-literature.html).

Anish Chandy's articles in Buzzle were among my first readings in the portal; they are all here: http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=773. I truly enjoyed his articles on rock polishing, the Amazons (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/11-10-2004-61463.asp), and the Bigfoot (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/11-2-2004-61101.asp). His "Basics on Cryptography" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/11-3-2004-61154.asp) is a must read.

The same I would say for everything published by Dr. Vishwas Purohit (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=768); his "Cosmic Rays" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-11-2005-68369.asp) and "Applications of Nanotechnology" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-30-2006-103920.asp) were truly helpful. His "Aristotle" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-13-2005-68474.asp) is an excellent introduction.

I like reading all contributions by Alvin Starkman (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=5686) on Oaxaca, Mexico, like "Rainy season in Oaxaca" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-6-2006-104659.asp). To me – except I travel to visit pre-Columbia antiquities there – Oaxaca means Alvin Starkman, and Buzzle.

Yogesh Ambekar (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=957) impressed me with his "Monetary policy" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-15-2004-57858.asp) and his fantastic narrative about dolphins (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-25-2004-57066.asp).

I highly appreciated the introduction to the "Ancient Chinese Culture" (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ancient-chinese-culture.html) by Ningthoujam Sandhyarani (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=21405).

Kashmira Lad (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=12032) offered a humane approach to History with her "Life in the Middle Ages" (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/life-in-the-middle-ages.html) that has nothing to envy from the rigid analysis of some constipate scholars who seem to write only to alienate their readership from their own topic.

As I said, it would be impossible to record all my favorite Buzzle contributors and the thousands of brilliant articles I read in the portal over the past 1667 days. I want only to mention two more names of Buzzle authors whose pages I constantly monitor, namely Pranay Rupani (http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=16691) and Andy Carloff
(http://www.buzzle.com/authors.asp?author=506).

Buzzle is the portal where you can read truly unexpected articles like "Hussain Bookstore in Hyderabad" (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/a-a-hussain-for-books-and-a-slice-of-history-hyderabad-book-store.html) and "Dialogue on Astrology" (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/12-20-2005-84516.asp).

I enjoy surfing through the following Buzzle sections: Arts and Literature (http://www.buzzle.com/chapters/arts-and-literature.asp), Poetry (http://www.buzzle.com/chapters/escape-hatch_Poetry-Bee.asp), Books and manuscripts (http://www.buzzle.com/chapters/arts-and-literature_books-and-manuscripts.asp), Myths and Legends (http://www.buzzle.com/chapters/arts-and-literature_myths-and-legends.asp), and Travel where I found wonderful articles on the Architecture of Taj Mahal (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/architecture-of-taj-mahal.html) and Mexico (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/immigration-from-mexico-the-challenges.html and http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bills-adventure-in-mexico-a-true-story.html).

With this, I think I completed my brief exposé on my experience in Buzzle. There is one point left, an explanation I owe to many readers, particularly those who happen to know me personally. Many among them asked me, in different moments in the past, why at times I republish, in their entirety, lengthy Reports published by various Human Rights organizations, instead of merely publishing a link to them.
 
Well, there is a certain number of reasons for this; the most important is the fact that many times my readers do not have the comfort of a laptop or a PC, placed a hassle free office or room and connected with the web. Some of my readers live in provincial towns whereby there is only one Internet Café to connect them with the rest of the world, and at times, electricity is available for only some hours. Many of them go to the Internet Cafés only to briefly pick up a copy of my articles in a diskette; the circumstances of life – let alone Internet connection – that they narrate to me let me understand that I have two obligations toward them, namely to facilitate everything for them, and second, to let them realize that there are many oppressed nations in other countries who also suffer, and that there are many organizations that can still help them. In addition, as I repeatedly said, interconnectedness among all the oppressed nations of the world is key to overall success.

With this, I completed this commemorative article for 1111 articles for Buzzle in 1667 days – in 1667 words.
   By Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Published: 3/22/2009
 
Use the feedback form below to submit your comments.
Your Comments:
Your Name:
Use the form below to email this article to your friends.
Recipient Email Address:
  Separate multiple email addresses by ;
Your Name:
Your Email Address:
Author 
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Somalia, U.N. appeal for peace process backing

* Foreign minister admits some groups still refuse peace

* Says country needs extra battalions of AU troops

* Wants end to 17-year-old U.N. arms embargo on Somalia

* Security Council cites progress, but concerns remain

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS, March 20 (Reuters) - Somalia's new government, backed by the United Nations, appealed for financial and political support from around the world on Friday to bolster the fragile peace process in the Horn of Africa country.

The Somali foreign minister and the U.N. envoy to Somalia called at a Security Council meeting for funding for African Union peacekeepers and fledgling domestic security forces in the violence-torn nation and cooperation with the new authorities.

U.N. envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould Abdallah said the country, a byword for anarchy for 18 years, had come "back from the brink" since Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was elected president in January under a U.N.-brokered reconciliation process.

Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar urged the council to forget stereotypes about his country. "Today in Somalia, there are no warlords. There are no clan wars. There are no political factions holding the country hostage," he said.

He admitted, however, that "some ... still refuse the offer of peace and dialogue."

The hardline Islamist group al Shabaab, together with allied militia, control large swathes of southern Somalia, including the strategic towns of Baidoa and Kismayu.

Al Shabaab, which fought pro-government Ethiopian troops until they left in January, has vowed to go on attacking the 3,500-strong AU peacekeeping force known as AMISOM. Eleven soldiers from Burundi died in an attack last month.

Omaar said it was urgent that extra battalions of AU troops be sent to bring the AMISOM peacekeepers closer to their target strength of 8,000, and that the domestic joint security force be funded and equipped. The force was created following accords late last year between the then government and Ahmed's moderate Islamist faction.

TRUST FUNDS

The United Nations has set up trust funds to finance AMISOM and the joint security force. Diplomats said a pledging conference for the funds would be held in Brussels on April 22. Britain and Turkey said they would make donations.

Omaar also called for an end to a 17-year-old U.N. arms embargo on Somalia.

Somalia and the AU have repeatedly called for the United Nations to send a full-fledged peacekeeping force to Somalia to take over from the AU force. The Security Council, which has so far delayed a decision, will discuss the matter again in June.

Omaar said Somalia's government, seen hitherto as weak and unrepresentative, could only succeed if it was accepted by the international community, which, he said, "must put the past and its disappointments behind us. We are at a landmark moment and we cannot afford to fail."

Ould Abdallah said the new government "has a convincing legitimacy. ... There is therefore an obligation to respect and cooperate with these new authorities and do no harm to their institutions and credibility."

In a statement, the Security Council welcomed "positive political developments" in Somalia but voiced "grave concern" at persistent insecurity, human rights violations, acts of piracy off the coast and a continued humanitarian crisis.

More than 3 million people need humanitarian aid in Somalia as a result of violence and food shortages, according to U.N. estimates. Somalia has been wracked by factional fighting since a dictatorship collapsed in 1991. (Editing by Xavier Briand)
 

The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part X–Anglo-French Colonialism

 

The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part X–Anglo-French Colonialism: the Main Enemy of All Somalis

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 21, 2009
In nine earlier articles (The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part I–Journalist Nur Ahmed Gagab Injured by Riyaale´s Guards - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94292; The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part II–Somalia´s Peace to Trigger the End of Evil "Ethiopia" - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94311; The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part III – Somaliland Elections Under Chaotic Circumstances - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94423; The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part IV–Denunciation of Misinformation Posted in Saylac Website - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94444; The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part V – North Somalis Appeal to the World Community Vs. Riyaale - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94722; The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part VI – North Somalis Disgrace Riyaale´s Gang, Family, Wife - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94740; The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part VII – North Somalis´ Massive Outcry Against Tyrant Riyaale – http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94985; The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part VIII - Somaliland's Claim to Sovereignty Denied - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94994; The End of Secessionism in Somalia. Part IX–Freedom of Press Inexistent in Pseudo-state Somaliland - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95119), I focused on developments that took place in, and issues pertaining to, Northern Somalia whereby a corrupt, tyrannical, and totalitarian regime of Quislings is about to collapse.

In the forthcoming presidential elections, the quasi-totality of the local Somalis are determined to put an end to the tyranny that survived due to Abyssinian support and Riyaale´s servility to the bestial Anti-Somali racist Abyssinian dictator Zenawi. It is therefore essential to correctly identify the main foe of all Somalis.

Many Northern Somalis have written to me in various moments in the past and more recently asking me why in many articles of mine I attacked the secessionist entity that momentarily seemed to ensure greater calm and longer peace than the tormented Somali South.

It is essential to go beyond the precarious and to see deep in the historical past; my attacks were never of personal character per se. And I never believed that possible problems that can arise among various tribes do not have effective solutions. My denunciation of the terminating Riyaale regime was due mainly to his betrayal of the Somali History: the subordination of part of Somalia to the historical enemy of the Somali Muslims, the evil, heretic and racist state of Abyssinia, was an inexcusable policy.

One has to see however beyond that level too; Abyssinia would have never achieved to expand at the prejudice of so many nations of Eastern Africa without the French and the British support. There – in the colonial policies of England and France – lies the basic reason of the adversities faced by all the Somalis.

This is corroborated by a new report that sheds light on how England and France, manipulating the entire European Union, feed the tyrannical secessionist regime, at the moment another report reveals that Somali teachers complain that in the Somali North they have been working without getting paid their meager salaries.

I therefore republish both reports that combined reveal that peace in Somalia, rehabilitation and progress in the Horn of Africa will only be achieved when all the Somalis unite and eliminate every Anglo-French colonial presence. Nothing good will come from the racist, Anti-Somali colonialists, even when it takes the apparently innocent form of an institute of foreign languages, such as the British Council and the Institut Francais.

The EU is part of the problem in Somaliland

by Jamal Madar

http://www.somalilandglobe.com/284/the-eu-is-part-of-the-problem-in-somaliland/

The European Union gave millions of Euros in aid to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in order to carry out voter registration campaign throughout Somaliland. However, the first cash installment of that aid did not only disappear into a bottomless black hole of incompetence and corruption but had led to the disastrous failure of the entire voter registration.

The voter registration started in October 2008 and was basically intended to ensure that everyone entitled to vote could do so, to prevent ineligible persons from voting, and to guard against multiple voting by the same individual. The accuracy of a voter register is therefore a key element in ensuring that all qualified constituents can enjoy the right to vote.

Sadly, the entire process has been a shambles from start to finish. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of people had been disadvantaged or disenfranchised simply because the whole process was not entirely properly thought out. It was therefore doomed from the start to fail. Procedures were not carefully planned and implemented and as a result the data of hundreds of thousands of people i.e. finger prints, photos and other personal details were either missing or accidentally or deliberately deleted; the server that was meant to process the images and fingerprints to detect double votes still lacks properly trained and knowledgeable people to operate it and the mysterious announcement by the Head of the Voter Registration Bureau that the Awdal region digital voter list jumped from the NEC´s original figure of 134,000 to 180,000 overnight further muddied the waters. This was the last nail in the coffin of the voter registration.



The government´s constant meddling in the internal affairs of the NEC is responsible for this utter mess.

Clearly, the voter registration process was used as a ploy by Rayale and his henchmen to create chaos and confusion in an apparent attempt to pave the ground for the postponement of the presidential election at a later date. Surely, Rayale and his unscrupulous gang have succeeded with flying colours to achieve their goals.

The intermediary agency, INTERPEACE, which the EU money was held in its bank account was consistently unable to account for hundreds of thousands of Euros spent by the NEC thus far. However, Interpeace was used and abused by the Rayale government to advance its political ends to postpone the presidential election. It involved itself deep into the rough and tumble of Somaliland politics.

In a nutshell, the EU funds have been siphoned off; there is no credible voters´ register, the so-called server is not functioning and the government willfully failed to fully pay its share of the voter registration expenses.

As a result of this failed EU-funded project, the presidential election that was scheduled to take place on 29 March 2009 is unlikely to happen for many months to come. The notion that somehow the election will occur on 31st May 2009, as the NEC officially announced recently is simply not credible.

It was ´the European Union who blindly insisted on Somaliland voter registration without understanding its traditions´. It is therefore fair to say the EU is part and parcel of the problem in Somaliland today.

Now the onus is on the EU officials to tell Rayale in no uncertain terms that he should resign from office by the end of his term on 6 April 2009 so that all leaders of the three major political parties can have a level-playing field in a fair and free presidential election.

Failure to do so may lead the country to serious civil disturbances that could destabilize it.

The people of Somaliland will not accept this time around for Rayale to attempt to enter into the office of the presidency through the window.

Jamal Madar can be reached here: adammadar@yahoo.com

Teachers In Somaliland Complain About Work Without Pay

http://www.somalilandglobe.com/276/teachers-in-somaliland-complain-about-work-without-pay/

Hargeisa (Somaliland Globe) — Dozens of Somaliland teachers demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Education in Hargeisa, complaining about the lack of payment.

The teachers say they had not been paid any salary for the last three months.

A spokesperson for the teachers said a small allowance raised from parents of the students is largely divided between the ministry and the head-teachers of the schools. He added that the teachers only receive a token amount of that money.

The teachers, who teach at schools in all levels up to the high school, say after several months of no payment they were left with no other options but to demonstrate in front of the ministry.

Today´s demonstration comes hot on the heels of reports of government receiving a new patch of printed money. Eye-witnesses say four containers containing the newly printed Somaliland shilling arrived at Berbera port this week and were swiftly hauled to Hargeisa.

Note

Picture: All the complex problems of Somalia have today one common denominator: Anglo-French colonialism.

These are the shameful colonialist souvenirs of the curse and barbaric English, who describe them in the following racist terms:

"A limited edition Askari depicting the Kings African Rifles Somaliland Camel Corp c.1912 at the time of the Mad Mullah Campaign in British East Africa.

The Somali people are natural camel riders, it is in their blood and the Somaliland Camel Corps has its origin in a Camel Constabulary which was raised by the British in 1912 to check inter-tribal fighting.

During the Mad Mullah campaign -a small colonial war waged against the religious fanatic Mohammed bin Abdullah Hassan - the camel corps grew to some 700 mounted riders serving gallantly they captured his Jidali hideout.

The Corps consisted of a camel company, pony company and a mechanised infantry company. The Corps was part of the Kings African Rifles which was maintained by the various territories in British East Africa".

From: http://www.colonialsoldier.com/history/somalicamelcorpswoodensoldier.php
 
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis