04/06/2007 BBC MONITORING INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Text of report by Somaliland independent daily newspaper Haatuf on 6 April
A large explosion took place at around 9.00 p.m. last evening in Sha'abka neighborhood in Hargeysa [the capital of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland]. The explosion occurred near the headquarters of Criminal Investigations Department in Hargeysa.
Armed Groups Should Protect Civilians, Ensure Access to Aid
Human Rights Watch
New York, April 06, 2007 (HRW) – The Ethiopian military, Somali government, and insurgent groups operating in Mogadishu must cease all indiscriminate attacks, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the parties to the conflict to take all necessary steps to protect the civilian population from further fighting, including ensuring access to humanitarian assistance.
ASMARA, April 5, 2007 - Eritrea said on Thursday that Somalia's former parliament speaker and a deputy prime minister were in the Horn of Africa country to discuss ways to help Somalia out of its problems.
Eritrea 's Information Minister Ali Abdu said Sheikh Sharif Adan Mohamed Nuur -- voted out as speaker in January for reaching out to the government's Islamist rivals -- and Hussein Aideed, had been in the country for about three days.
CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, April 04, 2007 — The United States is using surrogate nations and financial aid in an effort to prevent Somalia from slipping further into chaos as militias battle in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
The United States has vowed to support an African Union peacekeeping force arriving in Somalia and has trained elements of the Ethiopian army, which toppled Somalia's anti-American Islamic government.
On 29 March the President of Somaliland issued a decree pardoning Haatuf journalists Yusuf Abdi Gabobe, Ali Abdi Dini and Mohamed Omar Sheikh Ibrahim. The three men were released from Mandera prison, where they had been serving sentences ranging from 24 to 29 months after they were found guilty on 4 March of "reporting false information about the government, discrediting the president and his family and creating inter-communal tension." A fourth Haatuf journalist who was convicted in his absence of the same offences has also been pardoned.
HARGEISA, April 2, 2007 – Two blasts rocked the capital of Somaliland over the weekend, causing no damage or injuries but shattering the relative stability of the republic of Somaliland.
"There were two explosions on two consecutive nights in Hargeisa. No one was harmed and there was no property damage at all," Somaliland Interior Minister Abdillahi Ismail Ali told reporters on Monday.
Abuja, April 06, 2007 – The retreat of Islamic Courts' fighters from Mogadishu late last year in the face of an Ethiopian and Somali government offensive was a "tactical" move, a former Islamic Courts' leader said in remarks aired on Wednesday.
"We cannot say that there was a defeat. It was a tactical withdrawal," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Al Jazeera television. When asked if the Somalia Islamic Courts Council was involved in the recent fighting in Mogadishu, which aid agencies have called the worst in 15 years, Ahmed indicated it was.
LONDON, April 4, 2007 – Pirates have hijacked an Indian-flagged merchant ship in Somali waters, the second ship to be seized in the region in five weeks.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Tuesday pirates seized the ship and its crew close to Mogadishu late on Monday.
"We are seeking confirmation of the name of the ship and details of the crew from its owners," IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said.
CAIRO April 4, 2007 – Diplomats from the United States, Europe and Africa called for immediate action to restore security and stability in Somalia, at a meeting in Cairo on Tuesday.
“This is not the time for the typical international response to crises in Africa, which has mainly featured fact finding missions,” said Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju, representing the inter-African IGAD group.
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MOGADISHU, April 03, 2007 – Thousands of Somalis were fleeing violence on foot or by donkey, car or truck yesterday in an exodus that was massive even by the standards of a city that has become a byword for war.
But once away from the bullets and missiles, the Somalis have to contend with thieves, hunger, thirst and lack of shelter, aid agencies said.
"I saw a young man taken out of a truck and killed in front of the passengers," said Imam Abukar Abdi Ibrahim, a clan elder from Mogadishu, after reaching the relative safety of Somaliland, a self-declared independent region.
Museveni and Afeworki in Massawa Port where they met on Monday to try to hammer out a deal on Somalia
Asmara, April 3, 2007 – Eritrea yesterday said it had urged Uganda to pull out of Somalia after taking the “hasty step” of sending peace-keepers to the anarchic nation where the situation was deteriorating.
During a face-to-face meeting at Massawa port, the Eritrean government said President Isaias Afeworki had told his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni he was making an error.
Mogadishu, April 4, 2007 – The traditional elders of the Hawiye tribe have for the first time spoken out the plane carrying the Saudi deported passengers that were rejected by the Puntland authorities to land at the airport of Galkaayo city, the provincial capital of Mudug region in central Somalia.
A meeting held in Mogadishu, the Hawiye clan leaders condemned how the Puntland officials dealt with the deportees who were initially from the southern regions of Somali.
NAIROBI, 5 Apr 2007 - Prospects for a national reconciliation conference planned for Somalia appeared increasingly dim this week, as the capital -- Mogadishu -- was left reeling after fighting said to be the fiercest in 15 years.
Hundreds are believed to have been killed and wounded in the clashes, which pitted forces of the interim government, backed by Ethiopian troops, against supporters of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and members of the Hawiye. The latter is the main clan in the capital.
The UIC controlled large parts of southern Somalia until December 2006, when it was ousted by the Ethiopian forces, reportedly with support from the United States -- which accuses the union of having links with al Qaeda. This came after months of tension between the Islamic grouping and the transitional federal government, which had been unable to extend its influence beyond the southern town of Baidoa.
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"the constitution gives every citizen the right to form a political party"
Dr. M A Gabose (right) and M H Elmi, during Thursday's press conference |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, April 7, 2007 (SL Times) – On Thursday, veteran politician Dr. Muhammad Abdi Gabose announced the formation of a new political party and said he had informed the ministry of internal affairs about the creation of his new political party. On Friday, the ministry of internal affairs issued a press statement in which it repudiated the claims of Dr Gabose and others who are involved with the new party, and said that the formation of a new party is a violation of the constitution of the country and there is no way it can allow it to happen.
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Abdirahman M. Abdillahi, Speaker of House of Representatives of Somaliland |
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 6, 2007 – “Considering the magnitude of the problem in Somalia neither the recently deployed Ugandan African Union peacekeeping forces nor the Ethiopian troops can solve the problem of Somalia”, Abdirahman M. Abdillahi, Speaker of House of Representatives of Somaliland told SSI. “Ceasefire and negotiations from the indigenous people of Mogadishu and entire Somalia and the government and the people of Somalia can only solve the problem,” the speaker said. He added that his administrations will not in any way abandon the idea of recognition and negotiate on the independence campaign, “No politician has the authority to give a decision on this point it is the right of the Somaliland people for self determination.”
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Analysis by the Somaliland Times
Despite the promising picture painted on an almost daily basis by various figures in the US administration about the prospects for Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government, the facts on the ground show quite the opposite. Instead of a real government in charge of a territory and providing services, what we see is a weak entity that was further de-legitimized by the Ethiopian invasion and that is getting weaker and weaker. Here are some of the TFG’s latest setbacks:
1. The bloody war in Mogadishu between Ethiopian troops and insurgents which exposed the deep unpopularity and the strong opposition to the TFG
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Hargeysa, April 4, 2007 – The authorities of the breakaway republic of Somaliland in northwest Somalia allowed Wednesday Juba Airways airplane carrying deportees to make landing at Hargeisa Airport.
Dozens of Somalis who were deported from Saudi Arabia were onboard the plane which was initially destined to Mogadishu. However, due to days of violence, it was rerouted to Galkio in central Somalia.
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Addis Ababa, April 5, 2007 - Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said Ethiopia is desirous to further enhance the relations between the peoples of Ethiopia and Somaliland for their mutual benefit.
While conferring with Somaliland Parliamentary Speaker Abdirahman Mohammed Abdillahi here on Thursday, Seyoum said the two sides need to work together in trade and joint security issues.
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Hargeysa, April 1, 2007 – A press statement issued by the spokesman of the president of Somaliland says there is no truth in reports published by independent newspapers and some websites to the effect that the EU delegation which paid a visit to the country last Thursday had put pressure on the president to release Haatuf journalists who were serving time in Mandheera prison.
He said the president of Somaliland, Dahir Rayaale Kahin, had pardoned the journalists before the arrival of the EU delegation. The spokesman added that the pardon came about as a result of the president's consideration of the several appeals he had received from the traditional elders, intellectuals and religious leaders of Somaliland.
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Somalia regional President of Puntland General Mohamoud Muse Hersi |
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 7, 2007 – General Mohamoud Muse Hersi last weekend paid a visit to Ethiopia where he met with Ethiopian officials from the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Transport and discussed on bilateral relations with the aim of strengthening ties between Puntland and Ethiopia.
Washington, April 05, 2007 – As the insurgency continues in Somalia against the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government, the TFG, an analyst says it would be a mistake not to include hardliners in reconciliation talks. VOA’s Joe De Capua reports.
Timothy Othiengo says even though the Ethiopian military toppled the Union of Islamic Courts in Somalia, they are still a major force to be reckoned with.
“The Islamic Courts and the TFG need to meet in sort of a dialogue reconciliation process that will put an end to the current fighting that is going on in Mogadishu, which will most likely spill over to other areas of Somalia,” he says.
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President Girma Wolde-Giorgis receiving Somaliland parliament delegation |
Addis Ababa, April 4, 2007 – President Girma Wolde-Giorgis said friendly relations between Ethiopia and Somaliland would further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.
Receiving a parliamentary delegation led by Somaliland Parliament, Speaker Abdurahiman Mohammed Abdillahi yesterday, President Girma said the smooth relations between the two countries plays considerable role in their joint anti-poverty struggle.
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Nairobi, Kenya, April 6, 2007– Ethiopia was under pressure Thursday to release details on detainees from 19 countries held at secret prisons in the country where U.S. agents have carried out interrogations in the hunt for al-Qaida in the Horn of Africa.
Canada , Eritrea and Sweden were lobbying for information about their citizens. Human rights groups say hundreds of prisoners, including women and children, have been transferred secretly and illegally to the prisons in Ethiopia. An investigation by The Associated Press found that CIA and FBI agents have been interrogating the detainees.
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Mogadishu, April 06, 2007 (AFP) - Dozens of Ethiopian troop reinforcements headed to the Somali capital after flying into a nearby town local residents told AFP on Friday, five days after a shaky ceasefire took hold in Mogadishu.
Residents of Baidoa, 250 kilometers north-west of Mogadishu, said two Ethiopian planes landed on Thursday carrying dozens of Ethiopian troops, who left for Mogadishu overnight.
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Journalists working for Haatuf Media Network, among them Mr. Muhamad Rashid Farha (2nd left upper row) with Mr. Hassan Shire Sheikh, head of the EHAHRD-Net delegation (3rd left, upper row) |
Objectives of the mission
It is the denial of a fair trial to Yusuf Gabobe and his fellow accused that has made this mission necessary. It was believed that a direct assessment of the situation on spot as well as proactive cooperation with the civil society in Somaliland was necessary to actively reinforce local and international efforts to lobby the authorities for affording a fair trial to the detained journalists. The objectives of the mission therefore were:
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International News
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US Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer |
Renewed international focus on Somalia and pervasive exhaustion with the incessant fighting in the war-torn country make for a rare opportunity for peace to succeed there, US Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, seen here 2006, has said.(AFP/File/Jacques Collet)
CAIRO , April 05, 2007 (AFP) - Renewed international focus on Somalia and pervasive exhaustion with the incessant fighting in the war-torn country make for a rare opportunity for peace to succeed there, a US official said Thursday.
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Relatives place the body of 32-year-old Omar Hassan, killed in Mogadishu, in a grave during his funeral on Thursday in Somalia.
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 6, 2007 – Ethiopian and Somali forces may have committed war crimes in battles against insurgents and European Union countries could be considered complicit if they do nothing to stop them, according to an EU e-mail obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.
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by Prof. James Petras
The structure of power of the world imperial system can best be understood through a classification of countries according to their political, economic, diplomatic and military organization.
Introduction:
The imperial system is much more complex than what is commonly referred to as the “US Empire”. The US Empire, with its vast network of financial investments, military bases, multi-national corporations and client states, is the single most important component of the global imperial system (1). Nevertheless, it is overly simplistic to overlook the complex hierarchies, networks, follower states and clients that define the contemporary imperial system (2). To understand empire and imperialism today requires us to look at the complex and changing system of imperial stratification.
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Nairobi, April 02, 2007 – Ugandan authorities have put a woman who says she is the secret wife of Vice-President Gilbert Bukenya under house arrest, state media said on Sunday, adding fuel to a sex scandal that has engulfed the east African state.
A married former medical professor with three children, Bukenya is number two to President Yoweri Museveni and seen by supporters as a leading candidate to succeed the man who has ruled the country for more than 20 years.
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Editorial
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When the war between Ethiopia and Abdillahi Yusuf’s Embagathi faction (a.k.a TFG) on one side and the Islamic Courts on the other side, started, we warned Ethiopia about civilian massacres (see our Dec.30 th editorial “ Ethiopia’s Moral Responsibility”). Last week’s events in Mogadishu bore out our warning. But our prediction was only partially correct. For when we made those warnings, we thought that massacres would be committed by Abdillahi Yusuf’s militia. The reason we thought so was because we knew what most Somalis know: the vengeful tribal nature of Abdillahi Yusuf and the lack of discipline among his clan militia. It turns out that Abdillahi Yusuf did not have to commit the massacres with his own militia because Ethiopian troops relieved him of the burden and did it for him. So now Ethiopia carries the moral and legal burden of massacring Somali civilians.
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Special Report |
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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By Dr. Omar Ibrahim Hussein
The tug of war or call it the battle of nerves between the President and the Parliament could be a legitimate exercise of a teetering democracy or it could be a sign of impending constitutional crisis.
Although the democratization process has its pros and cons, the checks and balance is expected to deal with the potential abuse of power. The expectation was each Branch of government will defend itself by its own actions and deeds. The whole concept of checks and balances is based on the reality that no one Branch of government is going to have it all. Democracy needs this check and balance because legislators often face a conflict of interest wherever the interest of their constituents clashes with their personal ambitions.
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Patience: The Key To Somaliland Recognition
Liban A.D. Obsiye, London
I was deeply saddened and taken back to read the fantasist Yassin M. Ismail’s opinion titled, “Imagine Somaliland as an offshoot Republic of China in Africa,” in the Somaliland Times. Perhaps, I wondered the honorable gentlemen has little or no knowledge of international relations, political ideology and Chinese political-socio economic history, as had he been aware of any of these, he would have been extremely cautious to associate Somaliland with China in anyway, shape or form.
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Will Tony Blair Leave Office Without Fulfilling His Pledges To Somaliland?
By Abdirahman Ahmed Ali
After Prime Minister Tony Blair Government replied to e-petition submitted by Somalilanders asking Great Britain to diplomatically recognize Somaliland. Referring to earlier Prime Minister Tony Blair promises to Somaliland and its people, besides old historical relationship between Somaliland and Great Britain. We demand Mr. Prime Minister to fulfill vows before leaving office. Promises including:
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By M. Abokor
I am a Somaliland born in Tanzania and my late father was born in Hargeisa. I remember very well our people died in the war to remove the late dictator Mohamed Siyad Barre and his military from our soil. The main reason we fought was to restore our heritage and culture which embraces the fundamental rights of freedom of speech in our society. But I feel very sorry to see the same corrupted leaders who used to work for Siyad regime are mostly in the government of Somaliland. They are the ones who now virtually stole every shilling from the government coffer.
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By Ahmed Egal
To my surprise, I've just read on the internet that a New Political party has been launched in Somaliland! If that is true, I OPPOSE! We have witnessed the 89 political parties who went to polls in 1968, and the aftermath disaster. To open a new political party is to open a Pandora’s Box. It is a slow erosion of our infant political tradition. It is a shameful greed of power yearning of politicians. To call for a new political party in Somaliland is nothing less than a symptomatic failure of someone’s power lust.
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Earlier this month the Awdal Diaspora community in the UK signed a petition in support of Hibo Mohamed’s appeal to President Rayaale. Other Somaliland people in the Diaspora have done the same. The president responded to the appeal by freeing the Haatufnews journalists. Therefore, we, the undermentioned Awdal Diaspora community in the UK would like to express our appreciation to President Daahir Rayaale Kahin.
As a nation we are always quick to condemn our leaders when we think they are in the wrong but we always fail to praise them when they do good deeds.
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By Aniis A Issa
The Somaliland people will never ever get the respect of the Rayale and his regime, until they first learn how to respect themselves. The Somaliland men need to stand up today and throw off the weaknesses imposed upon them by in slavery of the Rayale and his Regime. The Rayale and his Regime wants our people to stay immoral and ignorant. As long as we live under these conditions we will keep on begging them and they will control us. We will never win our freedom, justice and equality if we do or say anything against our beloved Mujaahidiin of SNM.
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| FEATURES & COMMENTARY |
K'Naan escaped the streets of war-torn Mogadishu
London, March 31, 2007 – The winners of the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music have been announced at a ceremony in London.
Malian singer and guitarist Ali Farka Toure took album of the year with Savane while Somali hip-hop artist K'naan won best newcomer.
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Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh tells Inas Mazhar about his country's achievements, and the challenges ahead
Ismail Omar Guelleh: 'On a path full of potential pitfalls, let us keep alive the legendary wisdom that characterizes Djiboutians more than any other people in the world, and which constitutes its prime national resource'. |
Djibouti, April 05, 2007 – The Republic of Djibouti is situated at the junction of the rifts of the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and East Africa. Most of the country is volcanic. Some sedimentary formations of the Mesozoic era -- Jurassic lime and chalky stones -- can be found in the southeast of the country, especially around the town of Al-Sabieh. Djibouti, comprising 710,000 inhabitants, holds huge mineral resources, most of which remain untapped.
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A woman who performs genital cutting passes by a poster supporting the abolition of female genital mutilation during a gathering in 2005. Eritrea has banned the painful and risky practice of female circumcision, widely carried out by women in their homes in both Muslim and Christian communities of the Horn of Africa nation.
Asmara, April 5, 2007 – Eritrea has banned the painful and risky practice of female circumcision, widely carried out by women in their homes in both Muslim and Christian communities of the Horn of Africa nation.
Anyone who requests, incites or promotes female genital mutilation (FGM) will be punished with a fine and imprisonment, said a government statement posted on the Internet late Wednesday.
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By Simon Tisdall
Nairobi, April 4, 2007 – Predictions that the US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia last Christmas would hasten rather than halt the country's political disintegration are proving grimly accurate. In the league of failed states, Somalia is runaway leader. With international attention focused on Zimbabwe and Darfur, it is the hidden shame of the world.
More than 1,000 civilians have been killed or wounded in fighting in recent days in the capital, Mogadishu, and tens of thousands have fled their homes.
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Esselen Park , Ekurhuleni , 29 March 2007 - 1st April 2007
We, the delegates of the ANC Women's League coming from all our nine provinces and branches throughout the country, representing young and old women, women from rural and urban areas, our struggle veterans, women activists, invited guests, representatives of the ANC lead Alliance and the mass democratic movement gathered in Kempton Park, in city of Ekurhuleni, from the 29th of March -1st of April 2007: once more take stock of the path that we have traversed in contributing to the reality of a better life for all our people since our National Conference in Nasrec, 2003 and as part of the run-up to the ANC Policy conference discussed the ANC draft policy documents in order to prepare our members for this conference.
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Nairobi, April 6, 2007 – There seems to be a general belief that all will be well if the international community funds the African Union peacekeeping operation Somalia. Nothing can be further from the truth. One has only to recall the US-led peacekeeping fiasco in 1993, which forced the US Marines to beat a hasty retreat.
That the government of President Abdillahi Yusuf is in trouble is not news. What is new is the revived interest by the international community (read America’s geopolitical interests) in the fortunes of the long suffering country.
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April 05, 2007
Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia on December 28 last year reopened a decade-and-a-half-long war for Somalia in the already volatile Horn of Africa. The result of the invasion has been medium-intensity warfare involving Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces on one side, and Islamist militant umbrella group the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and allied militias on the other. Ethiopia’s justification for the invasion was that the UIC posed a direct threat to its own borders; hence it had the right to protect its sovereignty and interests.
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