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A 7 Day National Mourning And State Funeral Announced For The Leading Architect Of Somaliland’s Peace And Veteran Of The Resistance Against Dictatorship
London, July 24, 2004 (SL Times) – Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Yusuf Sheikh Madar, the Chairman of the Somaliland House of Elders died Thursday night around 11 o’clock Hargeisa time, in a London hospital.
Somaliland's President Dahir Rayale Kahin announced a 7 day national mourning period and a state funeral for the deceased. A committee headed by Vice-President Ahmed Yusuf Yassin has been formed to organize the mourning and funeral.
In tribute to the role played by Sheikh Ibrahim during the liberation era and in the post-independence period, President Rayale said, “he was at the forefront of the historic struggle for the reclamation of Somaliland’s independence and a leading architect of Somaliland’s peace in the post liberation era. He will go down in the history of this country as a gallant fighter for freedom and peace.”
Sheikh Ibrahim had accompanied President Rayale on his visit to London last March. He was however admitted to a hospital for ill-health. There were times in the last 2 months when he stayed alive through the assistance of a life-support machine.
In December 1988, elders of Isaak clans met at Adaroush in the SNM-Liberated Zone, south of Hargeisa, to discuss the role of traditional leaders in mobilizing resources in support of the resistance against Siyad Barre’s dictatorial regime, and at the same time in attending to the social problems arising from the uprooting of over 2 million people from their homes in urban and rural centers.
The Adaroush meeting culminated in the formation of the Council of Isaak Guurti and Sheikh Ibrahim was elected as its Chairman. The Guurti played an important role in resolving conflicts among communities in the liberated zone. The elders under the leadership of Sheikh Ibrahim also took care of the wounded and mobilized human and material resources in support of the war front.
In the post-liberation era, the Guurti was transformed into a Somaliland Council of Elders consisting of 82 members representing all clans in the country.
The Somaliland Guurti has been credited with resolving at least 2 main armed political conflicts that took place in the
country between 1992 and 1996.
Sheikh Ibrahim’s body is expected to be brought to Hargeisa on Monday. He will be buried at the private family cemetery at Sheikh Madar’s tomb in northeast Hargeisa. The late Sheikh Ibrahim will be given a state funeral.
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