By Somalilandtimes network
HELSINKI, 16 March 2006--Two prominent Somaliland politicians, a Finnish MP and several Somaliland activists highlighted the progress of democratization process in Somaliland and urged the need to strengthen cooperation between Finland and Somaliland NGOs.
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By Somalilandtimes network
Honorable Ikran H. Daud Warsame
PRESS RELEASE MARCH 10, 2006
Honorable Ikran H. Daud Warsame met with the Somaliland Community in Washington DC on Saturday, March 11, 2006 at 4:30 PM. The meeting was well attended by the community; which was excited to meet with Hon. Ikran H. Daud and made her feel welcome. Hon. Ikran is the first elected member of the Somaliland Parliament to visit the United States.
By Somalilandtimes network
Brussels – Geneva – Paris, March 14, 2006 (ICFTU Online): The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders – a joint programme of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) - have expressed deep concern over the continuous deterioration in the situation of trade union rights defenders in Djibouti: repression of collective action, unfair dismissals, legal prosecution, arrests and arbitrary detentions of independent trade unionists have been multiplying since September 2005.
Horizon Djibouti Terminal Expands Capacity
Signs US $ 21.3 million agreement with Emirates Bank International =
Horizon Djibouti Terminals Ltd (HDTLS), an ENOC affiliate, has signed a US $ 21.3 million term facility with Emirates Bank International (EBI) to expand its Djibouti Terminal.
The second-phase expansion of the Djibouti terminal will see HDTLS’s capacity expanded by 131,500 cubic meters (cbm) to 371,150 cbm.
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By Somalilandtimes network
Abu Dhabi, 13 March 2006--The UAE Red Crescent Society (RCS) recently sent three 20ft containers of foodstuff to the drought affected people of Somaliland, according to the Somaliland Red Crescent Representative in the UAE.
Ms. Safia Yousef Al Hashimi told Awdalnews Network she would like to convey the gratitude of the Somaliland government and people to the UAE for the assistance.
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By Somalilandtimes network
Somali Financial Services Association (Europe) Limited -SFSA Europe – is an association committed to the advancement and protection of the Somali Remittance Industry. The following SFSA Europe members:
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NEW YORK, March 16, 2006-- The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday condemned the increased influx of weapons into Somalia in violation of the 1992 UN embargo and voiced concern over the humanitarian situation in the drought-hit horn of Africa country.
The 15-member council unanimously adopted a statement drafted by China that slammed the arms inflow and "the continuous violations of the United Nations arms embargo" and urged all states "to take steps to hold violators accountable".
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By Somalilandtimes network
Arrests, closings, censorship found by CPJ delegation
Nairobi, Kenya, March 14, 2006—Deep political divisions in Ethiopia have fueled the massive, months-long crackdown on the private press in that country, gutting the print media, promoting rampant self-censorship, and resulting in the imprisonment of more than a dozen journalists on charges that could bring the death penalty, the Committee to Protect Journalists found during a one-week visit to the country that ended on Monday.
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IGAD Regrets Failure To Deploy Peacekeeping Force In Somalia
By Somalilandtimes network
Nairobi, March 15, 2006 – Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a peace brokering regional grouping of East African governments, on Monday regretted over failure by regional governments to deploy peacekeepers to Somalia a year after it was mandated to do so.
Ethiopia Does Not Benefit From Camels: Official
By Somalilandtimes network
Addis Ababa, March 13, 2006 – Though Ethiopia has a high population of camels, it has not benefited from it as desired due to the low attention given to it, according to an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Mulualem Tarekegn, team leader of epidemiology and diseases control with the ministry, told journalists on Sunday that though Ethiopia has over 1.3 million camels, much has not been done to exploit the resources.
A UN Food Aid Ship Comes Under Attack
By Somalilandtimes network
Somali Pirates
Mogadishu, March 17, 06 – About five pirates armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades tried to hijack the UN-chartered ship," Noel Choong, head of the Piracy Reporting Centre of the London-based International Maritime Bureau, told AFP. He said the attack took place off the Somalian coast on Monday after the ship had discharged its cargo.
Seabees 'Waging Peace' In Djibouti
By Somalilandtimes network
Djibouti, Mar. 13, 2006 – They take off their construction gear and lay down the rifles to mingle with the village schoolteachers who mostly speak English, and they play basketball with teenagers who speak Afar and French - all part of what Seabees call "waging peace."
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Minister Of Minerals And Water Mysteriously Disappears
By Somalilandtimes network
Hargeysa, Somaliland , March 18, 2006 – The Somaliland minister of Minerals and Water, Qassim Sheikh Yusuf has mysteriously disappeared.
He was not to be seen in the last two days. The minister didn’t report to his office on Thursday and was not at his home on Thursday and Friday.
Mr. Qassim Sheikh Yusuf was supposed to appear before the Foreign Relations select-committee of the Somaliland lower house of parliament by Thursday.
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Rayale Snubbed The Newly Appointed UNDP Representative During Meeting
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Enric Laroche (left) after he emerged from a stormy meeting with president Rayale last Tuesday
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By Somalilandtimes network
Hargeysa, Somaliland, March 18, 2006– Somaliland president Dahir Rayale snubbed the newly appointed UNDP resident representative, Mr. Enric Laroche, when the two met on Tuesday.
Mr. Laroche arrived in Hargeysa at around 6pm on Monday, only few hours after he had presented his credentials to the TFG’s president Abdillahi Yusuf in Baidowa.
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By Somalilandtimes network
WASHINGTON, D.C, March 18, 2006 – THERE IS GROWING EVIDENCE that the European Union (EU) and the US Government are preparing to sidestep the Egyptian Government and work directly with the African Union (AU) in bringing about the recognition of the Republic of Somaliland, possibly within 2006.
Egypt had used its strong position within the AU and the Arab League to block international recognition of Somaliland because of fears that a sovereign, recognized Somaliland would have greater freedom to act as a transit port for Ethiopia and could possibly provide strategic basing support to Israel and the United States at the mouth of the Red Sea.
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By Somalilandtimes network
Baidoa, March 18, 2006 – The Baidoa show continues teetering between the hilarious and the bloody. The high point this week was Mohammad Omar Habeeb’s (a.k.a Mohammad Dheere) banning of members of the so-called government of Somalia from setting foot in Jawhar and the Middle Shabelle Region. Mohammed Dheere said he no longer recognizes the “government” of Somalia, and described its head, Abdillahi Yusuf, as a tribally-minded low-life. Mohammad Dheere explained that, the militia from Majertenya that were until recently based in Jawhar, were not part of any army, but were thugs and bandits and he was happy they left without doing more damage.
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By Somalilandtimes network
Professor Ali Mazrui
On Tuesday 21 st March, Professor Ali Mazrui, the distinguished, historian, political thinker, Islamic scholar, and philosopher will arrive in Somaliland for an official visit. Prof. Ali Mazuri has written many books and articles on world history, Culture, Islam and Politics, Sociology literature etc. His books and articles have been translated into many languages. He is at moment Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies, based in the United States which he played a big role in its foundation and establishment. His contributions to the African cultural history through UNESCO project of re-writing the African cultural history has been regarded as a unique.
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By Somalilandtimes network
By Elie Smith
What may come up in the minds of the majority could easily be the sad situation still going on in Western Sudan , however, that is not the worse case, even though it has just come to show what those who cared had always known (1). But the disgrace of African diplomacies and also that of the International community headed by the UN are manifest in the unsolved crisis in Somalia , Western Sahara , and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Somalia is or was a country located on a section of East Africa known as horn of Africa . It was a former Anglo-Italian protectorate which got its independence in 1960. Like most African newly created states, it got involved in the cold war rivalry
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Last week, I was asked by a friend to accompany him to Koodbuur police station to file a complaint against a man who had threatened him with a gun. The man was with 3 other men and a woman. My friend was approached by these people one night around 10pm while he was with 2 of his associates. The woman could be heard saying ‘That’s him, that’s the guy‘, then one of the men approached my friend, wearing a large Kashmiri shale
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International News
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No End In Sight To Hunger And Pain
The Greater Horn of Africa, including Kenya, is not out of the woods yet as weather experts warn of poor rainfall for the second consecutive year
Cattle that are too weak to stand up due to hunger and thirst as a result of drought are loaded onto a truck for transportation to a slaughter house in Wajir recently.
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Muslim Wins Discrimination Case Against Western Union
By Somalilandtimes network
March 16, 2006 – AN Irish Muslim was refused just over € 70 in cash by an international money transfer company because his name was similar to one on a terrorist list compiled by the United States Treasury Department.
Mohamed Haji Hassan, a Somali national and a naturalized Irish citizen, was told by Western Union that the money, sent to him by his sister in Britain in October 2002, would not be released until a copy of his passport was sent to the United States Treasury Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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By Somalilandtimes network
US forces serving in the joint task-force for counter-terrorist operations in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region will remain stationed in Djibouti throughout 2006-07. In the interests of preserving Djibouti's political stability, the US administration will continue to turn a blind eye to civil and human rights abuses by the regime, but will apply some behind-the-scenes pressure on the government to improve its record. In an effort to maintain good diplomatic relations with the host of its only permanent military base in Sub-Saharan Africa, the US will also support Djibouti's negotiations with international financial institutions.
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YEMEN: Government Concerned Over Maritime Piracy
By Somalilandtimes network
SANA, 12 Mar 2006 - Continued piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in the Arabian Sea is threatening Yemen’s fishing industry, said a high ranking official.
"Sea piracy is threatening the stability of the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea,” said Foreign and Migrants Affairs Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi. “Our coast guard and marine forces are on the alert to take necessary action against such piracy."
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Bush Names Veteran Envoy To Take Over Kenya Office
By Somalilandtimes network
A top Africa specialist in the State Department has been nominated by President George W Bush as the next US ambassador to Kenya.
Mr. Michael Ranneberger, currently the senior State Department representative for Sudan, would succeed Mr. William Bellamy, who has served as Washington’s envoy to Nairobi since July 2003. Mr. Ranneberger, 56, is expected to be confirmed by the US Senate within the next couple of months.
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IGAD Member States To Review Security Situation For Somalia
By Somalilandtimes network
Nairobi, March 17, 06 - African ministers are due to meet in Kenya from today to review security situation in Somalia and the progress of the Sudan peace process, officials said here on Thursday.
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ADB Grant To The Private Enterprise Partnership For Africa
By Somalilandtimes network
Tunis, March 16, 2006 – The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) on Wednesday approved a grant of 5 million Units of Account (US$ 7 million) to the Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa (PEP Africa).
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MASTER RAMS PIRATES
By Somalilandtimes network
THE master of a general cargo ship attacked by pirates off Marka, east coast of Somalia, yesterdays rammed the gang’s boat as it tried to come alongside..
According to the latest weekly report from the ICC International maritime bureau the armed raiders chased the cargo ship underway and fired at the vessel leaving bullet holes in the bridge, lifeboat and superstructure. There is no information on what happened to the pirates.
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Editorial
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The newly appointed UNDP resident representative for Somalia, Mr. Enric Laroche, might have been ill-advised to come to Somaliland only a few hours after he had presented his credentials to Abdillahi Yusuf in Baidowa. But the fact remains that Mr. Laroche was directed to take this unprecedented step of presenting his credentials to Abdillahi Yusuf by top UN officials including Kofi Annan. No other UN resident representative designated for Somalia has been required to do so since the fall of Siyad Barre in 1991 and Somaliland’s withdrawal from its 30-year long union with Somalia in that same year.
What happened in Baidowa on last Monday is a total departure from the previous UN policy of avoiding any unnecessary confrontation with Somaliland over its defacto sovereignty. But it is not only the UN system that seems to have changed the way it has dealt with Somaliland . The European Commission’s mission in Nairobi, following the formation of the so called Transitional Federal Government of Somalia in Kenya on October 2004, has been promoting the TFG at the expense of Somaliland regionally as well as internationally.
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Special Report
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REPORT ON FAMILIARISATION TOUR TO SOMALILAND
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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Opinions
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Forcing Unity Isn’t A Good Idea
Somaliland wants to live in peace … again
By Ibrahim Ishal,
Somaliland has been once a peaceful country before unity with the south, and has enjoyed a unique character as an individual state for centuries. It is rather important to mention that Somaliland people have their own characteristics and identity, and wish to maintain it peacefully.
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By Nasir Omar Hirsi
Ismael Hurre Bubbas interview publish in Haatuf newspaper lack substance and as a matter of fact is vile and out of taste. I will not comment on the entire interview but those parts of the interview that caught my attention, and I would like to draw to other reader’s attention the hidden message in Mr. Bubba’s interview.
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By Rhoda A. Rageh
This song illustrates the maxim ´behind every strong man there is a woman.´ Sung by an unknown artist, this dramatic monologue reminds me of Robert Browning’s ´My Last Duchess.´ Is this a retrospection and a sincere reflection of a husband to his wife or an argument refuting a judgment. What ever the case maybe, the song is not a cry for a detached lover.
The ´she´ is the wife of the speaker. Ruun can be anyone with these descriptions in which he reveals the quality of a wife he either loves or to whom he justifies a position. Or is she the wife of his dreams? Laden with metaphors, the lyrics first equal her to the backbone that keeps him steady. She is the rare love that lodges in the depth of his heart. She is the mentor who exercises patience and perseverance in times of difficulties.
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Letter To Editor
Dear Sir,
I have been reading your online edition and I am quite pleased with it. I am an English-speaking Cameroonian journalist and member of the Paris branch of the NUJ.
My reason of writing you is because, I have written an article published on my blog already about your country or in its defence for independence.
Besides writing about your country, I have mentioned other African countries under going similar neglects by the International community. I was wondering whether you could publish it also.
The link of my blog is www.eliesmith.blogspot.com
Meanwhile, thank you in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Elie Smith,
Bonneuil sur Marne.
France.
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Hon: Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi
House of Representatives, Hargeysa, Somaliland.
Mr. Speaker,
Let me congratulate you on your election as the leader of the House of Representatives. As you are well aware, the speaker of the House wields enormous influence/power and leads one of the institutions of government in our constitutional checks and balance system: the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the President of this Republic being the others.
Therefore, your responsibility includes not only issues of national importance; nor only of the loyal opposition; nor of those of your faction in Parliament; nor of those who lobbied for your victory and subsequent election to this important seat: once you are elected speaker of this august House Sir,
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Case Study Report
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The Ticking Bomb: The Educational Underachievement of Somali Children in the British Schools
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By Abdul Diriye
Despite constant attention from educational practitioners and policy makers, the underachievement of many ethnic minority pupils in British schools persists. There are countless studies relating to the academic achievement of ethnic minority students in general, however, it seems that the pupils of Somali origin have received less attention. This piece of writing examines the validity of the purported underachievement of Somali pupils in British schools. It also tries to explore the barriers facing the Somali pupils and the possible solutions.
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| FEATURES & COMMENTARY |
BLACK LIKE US
By Somalilandtimes network
| Naima Ahmad, 26, is dedicated to her Muslim faith, to her roots in Somalia and to the life she can build in Toronto. |
Toronto, Canada, Mar. 11, 2006 – At 10 years old, Naima Ahmad had already decided she wanted to be circumcised. A child of professional parents who lived in a an upper-middle-class neighborhood in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, she couldn't understand why her mother said no, when all her friends were getting ready to line up for the big day that would usher them into womanhood.
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SMUGGLERS' PREY
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Thousands of desperate Somalis and Ethiopians risk their lives to board unsafe smugglers' boats in hopes of finding a better life in the Middle East. Many die at sea, by accident or design, and others are robbed before they can even try to sail away
BY KITTY McKINSEY
Nairobi, Kenya, March 12, 2006 – After his wife was shot to death by robbers in Mogadishu at the end of last year, Abdullahi Ali Hashi figured he had nothing left to live for in the lawless capital of this Horn of Africa country.
The 20-year-old Somali man handed over his young son to his mother, scraped together all the money he had made running a small grocery store and entrusted his fate to a slick gang of people smugglers who promised to get him to the Middle East where he could earn a lot of money working illegally.
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By Somalilandtimes network
By Doug McGill
The McGill Report
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Here's something fun to do on a Saturday morning.
Go to the Starbucks at Riverside Avenue and Highway 94 in Minneapolis and pull up a chair at one of the coffee tables packed with Somali immigrants who are sharing the day's news, telling jokes, arguing politics, and comparing the merits of Somalia's various clan leaders and warlords.
When the hubbub settles, as it eventually will so that the group can take stock of the newcomer, pull out a small notebook and tell the group you want to know the meaning of a new Somali phrase you have learned.
Jot down these words on the paper: "fadhi ku dirir."
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NORDEM Report 03/2006
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By Somalilandtimes network
Somaliland: Elections For The Lower House Of Parliament September 2005
Report by Ragnhild Hollekim, Stig Jarle Hansen and Geir Moe Sørensen
NORDEM, the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights, is a program of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), and has as its main objective to actively promote international human rights. NORDEM is jointly administered by the NCHR and the Norwegian Refugee Council. NORDEM works mainly in relation to multilateral institutions. The operative mandate of the program is realized primarily through the recruitment and deployment of qualified Norwegian personnel to international assignments, which promote democratization and respect for human rights. The program is responsible for the training of personnel before deployment, reporting on completed assignments, and plays a role in research related to areas of active involvement. The vast majority of assignments are channeled through the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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