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NOVIB Ordered Out Of Somaliland
Hargeisa (SL Times) – The well know Dutch INGO NOVIB has been ordered to leave Somaliland. The order was issued on Wednesday by Somaliland minister of Planning Mr. Ahmed Haji Dahir.
NOVIB has been working with four major partner NGOs in Somaliland, namely, Candlelight, HAVOYOCO, NAGAAD and Samo-Talis.
The minister of Planning has informed the 4 organizations of the government’s decision to expel 7 non-Somalilanders who recently arrived in Hargeisa to participate in a NOVIB sponsored meeting that was being held at Maansoor Hotel.
Mr. Ahmed Haji Dahir stated that the government also decided to ban NOVIB from working in Somaliland. He attributed the decision to what he called NOVIB’s involvement in politically motivated anti-Somaliland activities.
At least 5 of the deportees are from Somalia while the remaining two are a Kenyan (Murtaza Jaffer, NOVIB's project coordinator) and a Dutch national. The Somalis were put on a Mugadisho bound plane on Friday. The rest are expected to leave Hargeisa today.
A Somali Civil Society Symposium held in Hargeisa in Feb 2003 and sponsored by NOVIB had attracted the participation of around 300 delegates, said at the time to represent civil society activists in Somaliland and Somalia. Most of the participants however came from Somalia.
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