Nairobi, Kenya, June 13, 2006 – Somaliland President Dahir Rayale Kahin arrived in the country on Monday for an official visit at the invitation of the Kenya government.
Addressing a press conference at the Wilson Airport on arrival, he said Somaliland was making significant progress towards international recognition as a sovereign state.
Mr. Kahin who said he was in the country to discuss issues pertaining to his country and the region with Kenyan leaders, observed that Somaliland was a peaceful, democratic country with functioning government unlike Somalia which he said was chaotic.
A fighter tests his rifle before guarding protesters opposed to the deployment of foreign peacekeepers to Somalia, which was recently approved by the parliament, during a rally at Tribunka square in the south of Mogadishu June 16, 2006. REUTERS/Shebelle Media
MOGADISHU, Jun 16, 2006 – Thousands of Somalis chanting anti-Western slogans protested in Mogadishu on Friday against parliament voting to allow foreign peacekeepers in the country, a move opposed by the newly powerful Islamist militias.
PRESS RELEASE
JUNE 12, 2006
The Somaliland Policy and Reconstruction Institute (SOPRI) announce the location of the 2006 Somaliland Convention: SOPRI selected the Doubletree Hotel (300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, Virginia, 22202 - Phone: 703-416-4100) to be the venue for the 2006 Conference.
Report On Somaliland By International Magazine Jeune Afrique
Francois Sudan, Special Correspondent
Hargeysa, June 9, 2006 – Fifteen years ago, the independence of the northern part of Somalia has been proclaimed but yet recognized by nobody. And whereas the remainder of the country is in prey with chaos, this British ex-colony lives in peace. This 18 May 2006, with the extreme point of the Horn of Africa, a country celebrated the fifteenth birthday of its independence.
Amira Usman, left , holds her baby Dita Adem along with another malnourished baby at a clinic, in the town of Harar near the Somaliland border. (AP/Les Neuhaus)
HARAR, Ethiopia, June 11, 2006 – Buzzed by flies, Amira Usman cradled her listless, two-year-old son in her arms, talking about her relief at getting him to a clinic set up to deal with severe malnutrition in this desolate stretch of eastern Ethiopia's highlands. Usman has lost two children to malnutrition - and if it weren't for the clinic, chances are Dita would be dead as well.
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Ali Mazrui
Nairobi, June 12, 2006 – The 20th century opened with the Maji Maji war in Tanganyika against the Germans. The overwhelming majority of the casualties were, of course, Africans. What is more, African blood was spilled on the African soil.
In those early years of the 20th century, the Boers fought the British. This was white-on-white violence but strictly on the African soil.
Several decades later there was a struggle against Apartheid. The economic and diplomatic war against Apartheid was global. But the spilling of blood was overwhelmingly on African soil.
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Somalia's New China Envoy Sweeps Away The Cobwebs
BEIJING, June 13, 2006 – Old typewriters, dusty passports, faded diplomatic pouches, invitations to embassy parties from 1991 and pictures of a man deposed as president 15 years ago -- Mohamed Awil has a lot of stuff to clear out.
Not the normal duties of a senior diplomat in the world's most populous nation.
But as Somalia's new ambassador to China, Awil also has a tougher job ahead of him -- convincing people his country now has a viable central government, is back on track and will soon be open for business again.
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 13, 2006 – Diplomats stepped up efforts Tuesday to support Somalia's transitional government after the capital of Mogadishu was taken over by an Islamic militia, with a top European official suggesting easing an arms embargo and regional governments considering sanctions against warlords.
Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed transitional government could only watch from the sidelines last week as a militia of the Islamic Courts Union, which the U.S. accuses of harboring al-Qaida terrorists, battled the warlords and seized Mogadishu.
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Leadership Profile: Somalia's Islamic Courts Union
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
06/13/2006 - By Fredrick Nzwili (from Terrorism Focus, June 13) - The crisis in Somalia may be entering a new phase. A union of Islamic courts has taken control of the lawless capital, Mogadishu. On June 4, after months of intense fighting, militiamen loyal to the Supreme Council of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), headed by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, expelled the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) from Mogadishu.
Testimonies On The Human Rights Situation In Ethiopia
NAIROBI, June 14, 2006 — Mohamed, 27, former soldier, from Ethiopia
I joined the military when I was 20 and was immediately posted north, first to Humera on the Sudan border. I stayed in the military for seven years, and I was injured in the Ethiopia-Eritrea war, in Badme. A bomb blast injured my face. When the war finished, I wanted to see my family. I was posted to Region 1, Mekele [Tigray], but I pleaded to see my family. I got permission to go to Gode [the capital of Ethiopia’s Somali Region].
Gerald Hamilton founder of “Diamond in the Rough” program
The “Diamond in the Rough” program is designed to help children reach higher levels of achievement. The Non-profit Christian based program was founded by Gerald Hamilton, a US citizen and a native of Memphis, TN suburbs. Gerald has always had a passion for sports, children, and education. While surfing the internet one day, he stumbled upon an article of a young man living in a refugee camp. In this article it described how this young man helped other children reach safety in Kenya, while fleeing his country. The young man stated he not only left his country in search of peace, but to pursue his dream of getting an education and becoming an athlete. Initially after reading this article Gerald was touched, but like most people, he just went back to his daily routine
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Rayale To Leave Tanzania Today For Zambia
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President Rayale shortly after arriving Friday at Dar es Salam international airport on an official visit to Tanzania with the aim of gaining support for his country’s recognition, flanked by Tanzanian foreign ministry officials.
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Dar Salaam, Tanzania, June 17, 2006 Somaliland president Dahir Rayale Kahin is expected to leave the Tanzanian capital Dar Al Salaam today for Lusaka Zambia.
Rayale who arrived in Dar Al Salaam on Friday for a brief visit to Tanzania was scheduled to meet the country’s president Mr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete
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Kibaki Urges Rayale To Start Unity Talks
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 17, 2006 – Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has urged the breakaway republic of Somaliland to start dialogue with the Somali government in a bid to end more than a decade of stalemate on unity talks.
Ties between anarchic Somalia's largely powerless transitional government and Somaliland authorities have worsened in recent years, with the leader of the unrecognized republic, Dahir Rayale Kahin, refusing dialogue.
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U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer. (State Dept. photo - Janine Sides)
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Washington, June 17, 2006 – Citing a "very dynamic" situation in Somali, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer says there is a critically important need for dialogue and the international community has "been engaged" to address the issue.
Briefing reporters June 16 at the State Department, Frazer said, "We have to reserve judgment about … the ultimate intent of the Islamic Courts Union [ICU]," which recently claimed to have taken control of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, following weeks of fighting.
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Mogadishu: the scene of a US helicopter battle in 1993 (Photo: wikipedia)
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BRUSSELS, June 13, 2006 – The EU on Monday (12 June) called for fresh Somalia peace talks after Islamic fighters last week captured Mogadishu, but post-colonial political correctness is helping stop Europe from publicly backing the best regional model of stable democratic rule - the breakaway republic of Somaliland.
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The situation in Somalia represents a range of challenges related to the humanitarian and socio-economic conditions, governance, human rights, security and terrorism, as well as regional stability. We recognize that there are no easy answers and seek to ensure that our engagement can adapt to the constantly changing dynamics inside Somalia. To address the challenges, the international community must support the consolidation of representative and effective governance in Somalia, capable of addressing the needs of the Somali people as well as common international objectives. The Transitional Federal Charter and Institutions provide a legitimate and viable framework for the continued process of re-establishing governance in Somalia.
Nairobi, Kenya, June 14, 2006 – Kenya has protested to the US for not being invited to a New York meeting to discuss the fighting in Somalia.
Foreign Affairs minister Raphael Tuju said yesterday it was sad the US had not invited Kenya, Inter-Governmental Authority and Development (Igad), African Union (AU) or even the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia to today's meeting to discuss the worsening security situation in Somalia after the defeat of US-backed warlords by Islamist militia.
“Recognizing Somaliland Indicates Commitment To Democracy”
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The Somaliland Forum in letter to Jendayi Frazer
To: Dr. Jendayi E. Frazer
United States Assistant Secretary of State
African Affairs
Dear Madam Secretary,
Somaliland Forum endorses the urgent meeting the United States has called to discuss future strategy on Somalia shortly after the Islamist Courts Union seized the capital Mogadishu and ousted the feuding warlords. Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 and the many transitional governments put in place had never established their authority even though they received millions and many conferences.
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Somaliland President Dahir Rayale Kahin addresses journalists at Wilson Airport on arrival in the country for a State visit. He is flanked by Special Programmes Minister John Munyes.
Nairobi, Kenya, June 13, 2006 – SOMALILAND President Dahir Rayale Kahin arrived in the country yesterday for an official visit at the invitation of the Kenya Government.
Addressing a press conference at the Wilson Airport on arrival, he said Somaliland was making significant progress towards international recognition as a sovereign state.
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Washington, June 15, 2006 – Somalia, with an estimated population of 8.8 million, was formed in 1960 from two European colonies, British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. Americans best remember it, however, for the Oct. 3, 1993, battle between American soldiers and Somali militias that ended with the deaths of 18 Americans. That fighting was depicted in the 2001 film "Black Hawk Down," which was based on a book by the same name.
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International News
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MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jun. 15, 2006 – Even in the violent, anarchic landscape of Mogadishu, Adan Hashi Ayro stands out.
Some describe him as a ruthless holy warrior, a student of the Taliban and a relentless fighter who can scale walls and jump from moving trucks without dropping his weapon. Others offer a more sympathetic portrait of a misguided young militant who is at odds with his own clan, bitter over foreign meddling in Somalia and the scapegoat of U.S. agents who needed to put a face on their enemy.
Somali community leaders agree, however, that the United States can't afford to ignore Ayro, who they say was crucial to the recent victory of the militant Islamic Courts Union over U.S.-backed warlords. If Ayro splits with the Islamic Courts' relatively moderate leadership, he could form an army of extremists prepared to attack American interests in the Horn of Africa, they fear.
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Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa
CAIRO, June 15, 2006 – The Arab League has called for an end of support to Somali warlords and urged all to back the transitional government, as Islamic militias tighten their grip in much of the lawless country.
"The situation in Somalia requires immediate end of support to the so-called warlords," Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa told reporters.
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Wednesday, 14 June 2006
Somalia
Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat)
Asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to participate in the meeting of the proposed Somali contact group in New York; and what strategy they consider should now be pursued to ensure that Somalia has a stable Government.
Lord Triesman (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Foreign & Commonwealth Office)
My Lords, we plan to participate in the contact group meeting at official level. Our strategy is to support the Somali transitional federal institutions and an inclusive approach to reconciliation and the restoration of effective governance in Somalia.
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UN chief says backing warlords to keep Islamists out caused misery
Steven Edwards, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, June 16, 2006
UNITED NATIONS - As Islamists expand their grip on Somalia, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday Washington's backing of Somali warlords has been the wrong way to keep the country from becoming a safe haven for terrorists.
The UN chief spoke as an Islamist militia captured the final strategic town held by its warlord adversaries, giving the fundamentalists control over southern Somalia.
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Migrants Will Get A Warm Welcome
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Photo: Kaysar Maxamed, Editor of the Somali Voice, Sergeant Mark Runacres, I.G. Peszynski, MBE Cons. of Republic of Poland in Bristol, Leader of Kurdish Community
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Booklet launch: by Julie Harding
Bristol, UK, June 15, 2006 – POLICE in Bristol are giving people who have moved to the city from abroad a helping hand to settle in.
Welcome to Britain is particularly aimed at asylum seekers or refugees who have recently arrived in Bristol.
It has been produced in five languages - English, Polish, Kurdish, Somali and Farsi - and will be distributed through local organizations such as Sari (Support Against Racist Incidents), the Polish church and the Kurdish Howkary Association.
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WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY 2006
Most countries fall short of ensuring a safe blood supply But some progress made
News Release WHO/33
12 June 2006 — The world is making slow progress towards the goal of 100% unpaid, voluntary blood donation, falling short of ensuring the safety and the sustainability of blood supplies. Most developing countries still depend on paid donors or family member donors. However, some countries such as China, Malaysia and India have shown progress in the last two years by applying stricter principles within their AIDS prevention programmes.
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In The Wrong Hands
The love terrorists and bandits have for the Kalashnikov has irked its designer, writes Henry Meyer
Mikhail Kalashnikov
The love terrorists and bandits have for the Kalashnikov has irked its designer, writes Henry Meyer
Mikhail Kalashnikov says he designed the assault rifle that bears his name to fend off the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
But six decades later, he laments its transformation into the worldwide weapon of choice for terrorists and gangsters. "Whenever I look at TV and I see the weapon I invented to defend my motherland in the hands of these bin Ladens, I ask myself the same question: How did it get into their hands?" the 86-year-old Russian gunmaker said.
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Editorial
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In the last 15 years, regional as well as international powers have interchangeably sponsored a series of UN-assisted “peace and national reconciliation” conferences on Somalia. However, none of these attempts succeeded in restoring peace or an effective governance to the former Italian colony. One of the crucial reasons behind this failure has been the perception in the international community that the formation of a central government was the answer to Somalia’s problems. The other major reason has been the obsession of some members of the international community with the preservation of “Somali Unity”.
In the first instance, every time since 1991 that a government was forged for Somalia by foreign powers and their collaborators in the UN, that government only drew mistrust and rejection from the overwhelming majority of the country’s warring clans. Because they were usually misrepresented and not consulted, Somalia’s local communities generally viewed every “peace process” as an external attempt aimed at depriving them of their rights to select their own government leaders. And no sooner a warlord belonging to a particular clan had been proclaimed as Somalia’s latest president, than the country’s other clans declared that they owed no allegiance to the newly installed authority.
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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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It Is Time For Egypt To Stop Blocking The Recognition Of Somaliland
By Osman Jama
Your attitude towards the former Somalia is outdated, outmoded and unrealistic. Your persistent call for the maintenance of Somali unity is a discredited idea in the past. We understand you are still pursuing your age-old policy of keeping the flow of the Nile River by any means necessary, even at the expense of Ethiopia and other Nile countries. All you are after, by hook or by crook is that Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda should not conduct huge agricultural projects in their countries, in order to keep the Nile water level at all time high. You know that the 1925 treaty of the Nile basin countries was unfair. Some countries are not satisfied with that treaty, and they are demanding change in that agreement.
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By Abdalle Farah Sigad
I have never been fond of Somaliland times and its editorials. In fact the Times editor have even accused me of tribalism in the past, so I am not here to defend them or to validate their attack of the Samatar brothers, but I am here as a Somaliland citizen to respond to an article written by Ahmad Kayse Ali which the was published by the Awdalnews under the title of, (Somaliland times owes Samatar brothers an apology).
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By Ibrahim Adam Ghalib, Borama
My topic today looks funny but it is carrying attractive meaning to the readers. Jamal is an Arabic word and Camel is English. It is the state of Somaliland today. It is neither Arabic nor English and here are my excerpts. Somaliland was born out of the people’s desire when the central government of Somalia disintegrated. There was no strategic plan. Quick decisions and thinking were needed at that time before things get out of hand. When you do not know where to go any road will do. The civic societies of Somaliland convened in Burao and immediately late Abdurrahman Ahmed Ali was declared president. During his presidency there were ups and downs. This was hectic period and the president’s car was even seized once in the street by mobs. The trends and challenges during this difficult time were great. We have to appreciate that his good offices lead the country to assume the reconciliation process once again in Borama 1993.
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Rebuttal Of: An Appeal To The Secretary-General Of The African Union In Response To The ICG Report
By Farah Ali Jama, Ottawa, Canada.
You’re Excellency,
An old saying states that, “Evil Flourishes When Good Men Are Quiet.” Therefore, the meaningless and slanderous letter titled, “An Appeal to the Secretary- General of The African Union in Response to the ICG Report” by the unknown and so-called “The Unionists of Northern Somalia (UNS),” which is dated on June 3, 2006, and posted on some hostile and tribal Somalia websites that are suspected to be finance by the criminal “Beast-Man” Warlords of Somalia will not go unchallenged.
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Dr. Abdi Elmi Obseyeh
At least 7 weeks have passed unnoticed with a critical conversation about an issue which most of us have either been ignoring or have misunderstood. The issue is the “Yes” and “No” response of the high supreme court. Due to the House of Guurti’s extension.an issue
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By Abdifatah Ismail
The fall of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, to Islamists comes at a time when anti-terror surveillance on the Horn of Africa is at its height.
At present, several western countries including the US, Germany and France have military bases in Djibouti, the northern neighbor of Somalia.
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Somalia’s New Islamic Leadership
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By Harun Hassan
A more nuanced United States response to the success of the Islamic courts militias in Somalia could help the country and save itself from another humiliation there, reports Harun Hassan.
The situation in Somalia has taken a further twist with the victory of the Union of Islamic Courts. After months of intermittent fighting with militias controlled by various warlords, the courts's own forces took control of most of the capital, Mogadishu, on 5 June 2006 and established the rudiments of a new government. But is this the endgame, or merely the latest phase, of the fifteen-year-old conflict?
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Fun Time Is Over In Mogadishu
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By Alykhan Velshi
After assuring the world that they had no intention of introducing Sharia law, the new Islamist junta in Mogadishu banned Somalis from watching the World Cup.
Comparisons are already being made between the Islamists in Mogadishu and the Taliban in Afghanistan. At some point, the United States government will have to make an unsavory decision about how to handle the jihadists in Mogadishu. It will almost certainly be necessary to have allies on the ground willing to offer the United States assistance, local information, access to territory, and so on.
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By: Said Mohamed Dahir (Dhawal)
States parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measure, to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child. Article 19 section 1 (Convention on the Rights of the Child)
The endorsement of this convention evidenced that world came together to engulf children with kindness and warm treatment because they all got from their minds the need for protecting children to the fullest way possible. Otherwise, children would receive the full brunt of human evils and adult’s trouble manifestation.
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| FEATURES & COMMENTARY |
Somalia, Warlords And Islamic Militants
By Charles Rault, ISRIA Director, International Security Consultant.
Breaking News: Lawmakers approved a peacekeeping mission for Somalia, the parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden said. Islamic Fighters oppose this transitional government's decision. The presence of foreign peacekeepers from Sudan and Uganda can lead to a major confrontation between islamic militants and warlords who fled Mogadishu and Jowhar. Officials told recent combats in the past few months have killed 400+ people. A figure that'd be underestimated. An islamic offensive could be launched against the transitional government in the western city of Baidoa. Neighboring countries want sanctions against warlords as Europeans call for an arms embargo.
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Mogadishu Mayor Tackles Task No. 1: Ending Cycles Of Killing And Anarchy
By MARC LACEY
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 11, 2006 — Mahamud Hassan Ali is like the proverbial air-conditioner salesman in the Arctic. His job, in fact, may be even harder: he is the mayor of Mogadishu. Imagine that.
Mr. Ali has no redevelopment plans or draft ordinances on his plate. All he really worries about is stopping the killing. That means he spends his days shuttling from one side of Mogadishu, the anarchic Somali capital, to the other, trying to get people to talk instead of shoot.
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WASHINGTON Jun 10, 2006 – The United States proposed setting up an international "contact group" on Somalia, implicitly acknowledging that its policy of backing warlords to rein in an Islamist militia had failed.
"We are calling for the convening of a Somalia contact group, the Somalia Contact Group, the week of June 12th -- next week -- up in New York City," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
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Phoenix, June 11, 2006 – Kauye Hassani can finally see America. Her mother’s colorful head scarves, her infant brother, the walls of her Phoenix apartment — even her toy wooden blocks — have slowly come into focus for the 3-year-old Somalian girl.
April surgeries by Scottsdale Dr. James Plotnik removed cataracts that had blinded her more than two years ago, while living in a dusty Kenyan refugee camp.
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US Ready To 'Work With All Parties' In Somalia
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Washington creates group to help Somalia alleviate humanitarian crisis, fight terrorism, regain stability.
Islamic militia vows to establish Sharia courts
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2006 – The United States said Wednesday it was prepared to work with "all parties" to establish peace in Somalia, on the eve of a first meeting of a group Washington created to support the lawless east African nation.
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Washington’s support for warlord alliance has ended up boosting support for Islamists in Somalia.
A strategic mistake
Paris, France, June 15, 2006 – Washington has been playing with fire in Somalia, where its support for a warlord alliance has ended up boosting Islamic militias which now hold the capital Mogadishu, analysts say.
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