Hargeysa, 21 July, 2007 (SL Times) – A large delegation of Somaliland’s ministerial and regional heads travelled to the Ethiopian federal state city of Harar on Monday to officially take part in the one thousand year anniversary of the city’s construction.
The city of Harar was founded in the year 428 in the Hijra calendar (1007 AD), and is the present day capital city of the Ethiopian federal state of Hererge.
New York, July 18, 2007 - In the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland, authorities jailed without charge on Saturday a journalist at a private newspaper in connection with a story about the anointment of a clan leader, according to news reports and local journalists.
Djibouti President Omar Ismael Guelleh |
DJIBOUTI, July 15, 2007 – A former Djibouti minister Sunday denied ordering a French judge to investigate top politicians in the east African nation, which according to a French official led to his 1995 murder.
"A member of the French military intelligence... has said that as the justice minister I had ordered judge Bernard Borrel to investigate leading personalities in my country," Moumin Bahdon Farah said in a statement.
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Nairobi, July 20, 2007 – The United States Friday welcomed the resumption of the Somali National Reconciliation Conference and urged Somali parties to work towards a peace roadmap to move the Horn of African country away from anarchy.
In a statement issued here, the US hailed Somali Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf's commitment to implement the outcome of the talks and called for closer cooperation in the drawing of a national peace roadmap to take the country to elections in 2009.
NAIROBI, 18 July 2007--The Puntland Minister of Justice and Religious Affairs, Abdirizak Yasin Abdulle, led 40 religious leaders from North East Somalia in a joint declaration of support for polio prevention and immunization today.
"We have a big responsibility,” said Minister Abdulle. “It is now time for the Sheikhs to take in front of Allah their responsibilities for the eradication of polio. We must call for the vaccination of all children under five years of age and work for the benefit of the children."
PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL
80th MEETING 18 July 2007
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
I. Introduction
At its meeting held on 19 January 2007, Council, inter alia, decided to authorize the deployment of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for a period of 6 months, and requested me to follow up on the implementation of the decision and to report to it regularly.
The present report is submitted pursuant to this decision, and covers developments in Somalia since January 2007. More specifically, it focuses on the peacekeeping efforts in Somalia, the reconciliation process, the security and humanitarian situation, as well as the activities of the African Union to promote lasting peace and reconciliation in the country.
HARGEISA, Somaliland, 20 July 2007 - The Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Communication, Mr. Juneydi Sado and his fourteen- member delegation who represent different government institutions is paying a five- day working visit to the Republic of Somaliland. Upon their arrival the delegation at the Hargeysa Egal International Airport on Thursday, July 19.
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 14, 2007 – For the workmen racing to spruce up a bullet-studded police garage in time for a critical peace summit beginning Sunday in Somalia, the work got a little tougher this week when insurgents launched mortars at the site.
Editorial: Khaleej Times
22 July 2007
IF YOU thought that UN peacekeepers were the best hope for bringing security to troubled nations, think again. It is believed that there was not much of a sex trade in Cambodia till UN peace troops started pouring into the country.
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Mogadishu, 22 July 2007 - Witnesses in Somalia's capital say at least four people have been killed and seven others wounded in two separate attacks Sunday.
In one incident, government soldiers opened fire after their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in the Hodan neighborhood, south of Mogadishu. Witnesses say the gunfire killed at least three people and injured four others.
Nairobi, Kenya, July 22 - PIRATES have demanded a $US1.5 million ($1.71 million) ransom for the release of a Danish freighter and its crew held off the coast of Somalia, officials said today.
The Danica White, with five crew members, was hijacked on June 2, about 240 nautical miles off the Somali coast while heading to Kenya's Mombasa port.
Mogadishu, 21 July.20007 - The chairman of the defeated Union of Islamic Courts, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, who is Asmara, Eritrea, accused the Somali transitional government of being responsible for the daily bombings in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
Mogadishu, 22 July 2007 - Local administrators in Hiran province, central Somalia, and number of Ethiopian officers have had a meeting over the escalating insecurity in the region on Saturday.
Our reporter, Omar Kiyow, said the officials agreed that the Ethiopian troops In Balet Weyn, the main town of the province, to take over the security situation.
July 21, 2007: The Transitional Government is still trying to hold a reconciliation conference in Mogadishu, but clans native to the city and their Islamic Courts allies refuse to talk until Ethiopian troops withdraw. If that were done, the Islamic Courts would use force to coerce other clans to accept an Islamic dictatorship, or at least leave the local clans in charge of Mogadishu. The greed, readiness to use violence and lack of civic spirit are a curse that has prevented Somalia from forming a government for over a decade.
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Somaliland vice-president Ahmed Yusuf Yasin with former Malaysian prime-minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad |
Hargeysa, 21 July, 2007 (SL Times) – Somaliland Vice-president Ahmed Yusuf Yasin flew out of Egal International Hargeysa airport on Monday for a 10 day trip to Malaysia. He was accompanied by the minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Abdillahi M Duale, the Minister of Livestock, Dr. Idriss I Abdi and the Deputy-Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr Abdi-Halim A Muse.
Speaking to the local media in the VIP lounge at Hargeysa airport, the vice president said that they received an official invitation from the Malaysian government and the Somaliland community in Malaysia.
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Hargeysa, 21 July, 2007 (SL Times) – The Ethiopian Minister of Transport & Communication, Mr Atto Junedi Saddo, arrived in Hargeisa on Wednesday for talks with the Somaliland government.
The Ethiopian delegation was comprised of 14 officials from various Ethiopian ministries and federal government departments.
The Ethiopian delegation was met at Hargeysa airport by the Somaliland Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mr Saeed Sulub and the Minister of Fisheries, Mr Ali Qoorshef.
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Somaliland Civil Aviation & Air Transportation Minister, Mr Ali Mohamed Waran Adde |
Hargeysa, 21 July, 2007 (SL Times) – Somaliland Civil Aviation & Air Transportation Minister, Mr Ali Mohamed Waran Adde, told the Hargeysa-based Somaliland Independent TV (SLTV) on Wednesday that his ministry is half way to completing the installation of night-time landing runway lights for Egal international Hargeysa airport.
The minister said, "from the 1st of August, I am hopeful that this new nighttime landing runway light system will be operational, and that the airport will be able to handle day-time and night-time flights, 24 hours, round the clock. It would be the first time in the history of the airport that airplanes will be able to land during the night in Hargeysa".
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Analysis
By Stephen Atkinson
Hargeysa, 21 July, 2007 (SL Times) – In a region of hate, instability and constant warfare, the self-proclaimed state of Somaliland stands as a beacon of hope. A functioning democracy, with an elected President, Lower House and appointed Upper House of clan elders, Somaliland has since its declaration of independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991 had one aim: recognition by the international community.
This recognition has now become vital to Somaliland’s future, as the likelihood of major oil reserves has given Somalilanders the prospect of a bright future. However, without international recognition the major oil companies will not invest, with the result that the oil will remain in the ground and Somaliland will be unable to invest in its future.
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Abdullahi Yusuf, (r), during opening of the peace conference in Mogadishu, 15 July 2007 |
Nairobi, July 18, 2007 – In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, insurgent violence is continuing to cause delays in the start of peace talks to end 16 years of factional strife. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the reconciliation process is also being severely tested by increasing criticisms about the performance of Somalia's top interim government leaders and allegations that they are pursuing their own agendas.
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Hargeysa, 19 July 2007 (SL Times) - Somaliland Minister of Communications & Postal Services, Mr Liban D Asayr, speaking to SL Times on 15/07/07 said that he is determined to see through the centralization and interlinking of all telephone networks operating in the country.
The minister said that, “it is compulsory for the telephone company operators to comply with my ministry’s plans to install a central gateway system for all telephone communications, in and out of the republic, and that all the operators’ networks will eventually be interlinked”.
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Hon. Abdillahi Duale, Foreign Minister for the Republic of Somaliland, reading a speech. On his right is Steve Mewuenyega |
Accra, Ghana, July 14, 2007 – ONE SIGNIFICANT diplomatic scheming that seemed to have gone unnoticed by many during the 9th Ordinary Session of African Heads of State in Accra was efforts made to get Somaliland ‘regain’ her rightful place among the sovereign comity of nations on the continent.
While the jaw-jaw was going on at the Accra International Conference Centre during the Grand Debate, serious board-room diplomacy and public education were taking place elsewhere to bring Somaliland back on the map.
Addis Ababa, July 20, 2007 – Ethiopia on Friday released 38 opposition figures, days after sparking an international outcry by slapping them with heavy jail terms over incidents that followed disputed 2005 polls.
The group was pardoned by President Girma Woldegiorgis on Thursday and witnesses and relatives told AFP that they were released from their prison in Kaliti, 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the capital.
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Somaliland, a breakaway republic of Somalia, considers itself a model for the region
Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 19, 2007 – Under the Bush administration's theory of creating regional stability by supporting islands of democracy, leaders in Somaliland say it should be a shoo-in for official recognition as Africa's newest nation state.
Instead, this breakaway republic, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, is marooned in diplomatic limbo. Having not yet achieved statehood, it is without access to formal trade agreements or international financial institutions such as the World Bank.
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Addis Ababa, July 20, 2007 – The African Union (AU) Commission on Wednesday extended the mandate of about 1,600 Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia for a further six months on Wednesday hoping to quell the bloodshed.
The decision was made at the 80th AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting held at the AU Head Quarters in the presence of PSC member states and invited countries.
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Somalia’s interim prime minister Ali Mohamed Gedi |
Nairobi , Kenya, July 17 2007 – Somalia’s interim prime minister has sought to distance himself from a decision to grant oil exploration rights to CNOOC, indicating that the Chinese state oil giant may have become entangled in an internal power struggle within the interim government. CNOOC and a smaller group, China International Oil and Gas, are planning to begin survey work in the Puntland province later this year - the latest example of China's willingness to brave Africa's most volatile regions in search of natural resources.
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RSF/IFEX, 20 July 2007 - Reporters Without Borders has hailed the 19 July 2007 release of Abdirahman Mohammed Habane of "Jamhuuriya", a daily based in Hargeysa, the capital of the breakaway state of Somaliland. He had been held since 12 July because of a controversial article about the swearing-in of a traditional leader.
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Efforts to bring reconciliation to Somalia are continuing to be blunted by the ongoing Islamist insurgency in the country
The US has kept its involvement in the Somalian conflict to a minimum in recent years |
Nairobi, July 18, 2007 – InTheNews.co.uk's Alex Stevenson summarizes the divisive power struggles which have contributed to the present conflict.
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London, July 20, 2007 – A Somali man has been arrested under UK anti-terrorism laws after police found containers of a chemical used in the 2005 London bombings, police said on Friday.
Police found two 25 litre vessels of hydrogen peroxide in a flat they were searching as part of a drugs inquiry in the southwestern city of Bristol.
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Two men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act 2006 in Bristol.
Britol, UK - At 10pm on Wednesday July 18 a man was arrested in the Castle Park area of Bristol on suspicion of drugs-related offences.
Following that arrest, police conducted a search of an address in Stapleton Road.
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NEW YORK, U.N. HEADQUARTERS, 17 July 2007 - Asked whether the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, had been discouraging European and other officials from attending Somalia’s National Reconciliation Congress, the Spokeswoman said that it was unimaginable that he would do so, given the Secretary-General’s stated encouragement for that Congress.
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"We received the invitation ... We will be back on Sunday." That was what Italy's Special Envoy to Somalia Mario Raffaelli said on Wednesday regarding the reconciliation conference that was supposed to open in Mogadishu on Sunday. Well, Sunday came and neither Rafaelli nor EU Special Envoy to Somalia Georges-Marc Andre were to be seen anywhere in Mogadishu. The reason for their absence is not a mystery either: fear for their lives. Mogadishu is a dangerous place and a conference organized by the hated and despised Transitional Federal Government (TFG) would only make it more dangerous. The Europeans knew this, but they said the opposite. It is all part of the wicked game that is going on in Somalia, a game of deceit, lying and murder. The international community is a big part of this dirty game. Saying they will be back when they knew very well that they won’t be back is part of the game. Painting a positive picture of the grim situation in Mogadishu is part of this game.
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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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By Kassim Wais
Even though I was born and raised in Canada, I speak fluent Somali and frequently browse websites of the Somali speaking people and in particular those of Somaliland news and articles which I have a great interest. I have come to know that we as a Somalis have different views on certain issues which are acceptable, but some articles are out of line where a number of people present their analysis for the sake of hatred towards Somaliland as a country without any logic to debate.
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What Demon Chases The US With Such Perseverance And Such Passion?
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
War against Terror - Afghanistan
With incommensurable self-confidence, America thought possible to dethrone the inhuman Taliban with just a few thousands of NATO soldiers, and without a plan. America failed to perceive the War against the Islamic Terror as primarily a Cultural – Behavioral Confrontation. Consequently, the US failed to properly study the case and ultimately identify the origins of the Islamic Terrorism, and its possible allies.
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Popular Diplomacy: the new strategy for Somaliland
By Kassahun Addis
The latest summit of the African Union, time and again, has miserably failed Somalilanders thanks to the 'hypocrisy' of the Union and its member states. I wonder how long and to what extent the AU and its member states will subject the people of Somaliland to negative consequences of non-recognition and unrepresentation at the international field. Let alone without representation and de jure recognition, the world of globalization is increasingly becoming like the Hobbesian state of nature where by long established states are fighting on daily basis for survival and self preservation.
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Somaliland: Internal reality and external misconception
By Ahmed Kheyre,
London, UK
It is fascinating to contrast the political situation in Hargeysa, Somaliland, with the situation in Mogadishu, in the neighbouring country of Somalia.
In Hargeysa, the political discourses have been lately focused on how many members should constitute the electoral commission? What is defined as the code of ethics between free speech and libel? How many political parties does the Somaliland constitution permit? Land reform, state vs private ownership? etc,etc
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By Abukar Sanei
This piece is just a response to an article entitled "The Naked Hypocrisy of TFG Bashers," which was published in mid June this year. Of course, there are TFG bashers, and any Somali patriot has to countervail the TFG, but I am not sure if a patriot person is hypocrite for just his bash against the group of traitors called TFG. The question that we need to ask before we criticize the TFG bashers is, why do they bash the TFG?
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By Ayaanle Mohamed Omar
Kampala I. University,
Uganda
Although human being in this world has started with the same level of development or underdevelopment in terms of education, life expectancy, standard of living, poverty etc but today it seems that there is big difference among the people in this world.
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I am unaware of any occasion or record in which the Prophet or even the holy Quran sanctioned people to kill innocent children, women, elderly and non-combatant civilians
Hard as it may seem, I can understand people rejecting change and determined to continue to live as the Prophet lived in the 14th century. But what I cannot understand is how they are able to twist the words and actions of the Prophet, in whom they so vehemently believe, and commit such inhuman crimes in his name.
There are in fact a number of Prophet Mohammad’s sayings and Quranic verses that glorify martyrdom. But as the commander-in-chief of the Muslim army, the Prophet may have encouraged martyrdom in the battlefield to raise the morale of his soldiers.
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Supermodel Waris Dirie is a vigorous campaigner against FGM after suffering the procedure as a young girl in Somalia
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London, July 18, 2007 – THE issue of Female Genital Mutilation has been brought home to Haringey after it emerged that 27 women living in the borough have sought medical treatment for health problems caused by their wounds.
The figure has been revealed as the Metropolitan Police launch a clampdown on the practice, mainly endured by African women, which has been timed to coincide with the school summer holidays when it is thought that most procedures are carried out.
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Sheffield, July 14, 2007 – Mo Farah had a brawl on his first day at school and sleeps in a bedroom bedecked with Muhammad Ali posters, so it seems clear that he has the stomach for a fight. "This kid came over and whacked me," he recalled. "So I hit him back." He has been rolling with the punches ever since.
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Participants of Good Governance Seminar held in University of Pretoria 2-13 July 2007 |
“ Hargeisa University’s Faculty of Law and Legal Clinic is a Success Academic Development in the Horn of Africa. The Faculty Was Established in 2002 As There Was Great Need For Justice and Application of Law in Somaliland” Mr.Mahamoud Faarah, Dean of the Faculty.
Pretoria, The centre for human rights is an academic department in the faculty of law at the University of Pretoria, the master’s degree programme (LLM) in Human Right and democratization in Africa presented in partnership with other universities in Africa including university of Hargiesa. |
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PUTRAJAYA, July 18, 2007—Somaliland which is currently pushing for its independence to be recognized by the international community has voiced out its interest in seeking Malaysia’s assistance, particularly in attracting investments in the country’s development.
The former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said that the leaders of Somaliland have requested him to assist in developing the country.
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Editorial: The Wall Street Journal on July 18, 2007
Let’s play name-that-state. After the EU declared its 2005 elections flawed, this country’s troops killed 193 protestors and arrested 20,000 more. Last week, 42 of the accused were convicted of inciting violence to overthrow the state (down from an original charge of genocide and treason). Thirty-five were condemned to life in prison and forbidden to vote on Monday. Some of the accused were journalists, so their publishing houses were fined and closed.
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