ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, September 7, 2007 – Of the four agendas Ethiopia is perusing for the millennium, national consensus among political parties has not been reached, said two opposition party leaders to SSI and expressed their disappointment for their exclusion in the organization of the celebration.
However the two parties, Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and Ethiopian United Democratic Party (EUDP-Medhin) appreciated the effort of the millennium council towards protecting the environment through mobilization of people to plant trees.
Hargeysa, September 3, 2007 – At least 3,000 Ethiopians, and an unknown number of Somalis fleeing ongoing fighting in and around Mogadishu, the Somali capital, have gathered in the northern port town of Bossaso to attempt a perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, according to a report by the UN Refugee Agency.
"The bad weather that kept smugglers' boats ashore in July and August is coming to an end and the people traffic is expected to begin in earnest in the next few days," the UNHCR report noted.
New York, September 07, 2007 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon intended to name Ahmedou Ould Abdallah as his Special Representative for Somalia, UN spokesperson Michele Montas said Thursday.
Abukar Omar Adan being released, soon after his capture in Nairobi by Kenyan security forces early in the year |
MOGADISHU, September 07, 2007 - Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi will meet Abukar Omar Adan, a top financial backer of the ousted Islamic Courts movement, on Friday in Djibouti to encourage its fighters to accept a government amnesty.
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Meru, Kenya, 7 Sept. 2007 - "Vision 2030 is coming to you," a Ministry of Planning advert reads.
Recently, leaders from Meru North, Central, South and Tharaka districts, met in Meru Town to hear what the vision entails.
Addis Ababa, Sept 6 - U.N. aid officials and human rights investigators ended a week-long mission to Ethiopia's troubled Ogaden region on Thursday and said they would present their findings to the government next week.
The mission primarily assessed the food, water and health needs in the remote area, said Paul Hebert, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ethiopia.
A villager wading through flood waters that destroyed his home along the Juba river in southern Somalia, in 2006. At least four people were killed and around 1,500 families displaced after floods inundated dozens of villages in southern Somalia, a local administrator and an elder said Wednesday. |
Mogadishu, 5 September, 2007 - At least four people were killed and around 1,500 families displaced after floods inundated dozens of villages in southern Somalia, a local administrator and an elder said Wednesday.
Mogadishu, 5 Sept. 2007 - The wave of terror meted out to journalists in the Somali capital Mogadishu has forced 30 of them to flee into the neighbouring countries. Before fleeing the country some days back, the journalists have reportedly received death threats.
Over the years, journalists have come under serious attacks in the form of killings, harassments or intimidations. Media watchdogs have chronicled the assassination of seven Somali journalists in 2007.
Bosaso, Somalia, September 07, 2007 - Tales of rape and murder from Ogaden refugees fleeing across Somalia offer a glimpse of the violence wracking the hermetic rebel Ethiopian region.
Fardosa’s eyes seem to have frozen wide open since her ordeal.
Mogadishu, September 07, 2007 – Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi said the conference being in Asmara, Eritrea, by opportunists has no popular support as the Somali people are happy with the outcome of the recent National Reconciliation Conference.
Prime Minister Ghedi told WIC yesterday that ''opportunists exist everywhere, but the people of Somalia, the Transitional Government, regional countries and the international community are happy with the outcome of the National Reconciliation Conference held in Mogadishu.''
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Garowe, Somalia, September 5 - Senior police commanders in the semiautonomous region of Puntland, northern Somalia, resigned Tuesday citing unspecified job-related grievances.
In a letter dated September 2, three senior commanders based in the Puntland capital Garowe said they had officially resigned and asked the government to appoint replacements as soon as possible.
Mogadishu, 6 September 2007 - The African Union and United Nations said they would send teams to Somalia to assess the possibility of deploying a peacekeeping force in the country, where Islamic militia have imposed Sharia law and warned of bloodshed if Ethiopian troops move in.
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HARGEISA, Somaliland, September 7, 2007 – A delegation from the British parliament came to Somaliland together with Bob Dewar, the British Ambassador to Ethiopia and spent two days of evaluations in Somaliland.
This delegation led by Mr. Allan Michael who is member of the British parliament and also the chairperson of Special Interest Group (SIG) of the parliament who campaigns a for Somaliland’s international recognition in exclusive interview with SSI said he and his team were expecting such a trip to evaluate ongoing activities in their Somaliland in regards to its governmental and NGos.
DJIBOUTI, Aug 27, 2007 - In a dusty room filled with pillows, eight men sit beside small piles of plant stems and cigarette packets, munching mouthfuls of green narcotic leaves. Pinching off more emerald foliage and stuffing it into his mouth, Isaac Abdel says khat is a way of life in east Africa.
"This khat has become the petrol of east Africa," the jobless 42-year-old says, showing his green teeth and holding up the plant he chews every day. Illegal in many Western nations, the leaf gives the chewer a mild amphetamine-like high.
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Mogadishu : Ethiopian and Ugandan troops overwhelmed by insurgency activities |
Nairobi, September 06, 2007 - Kenya is lobbying the United Nations (U.N) Security Council, ahead of its annual summit at the end of this month to take the current Somalia crisis as part of its agenda, Foreign Affairs assistant minister, Kembi Gitura has said.
Mr. Gitura said the gains made during the recently concluded Somali national reconciliation conference, should not be left to fade, but should be strengthened by the U.N member countries, by taking the Somalia security matters seriously.
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Headlines |
UK parlaiment delegation and British ambassador, Bob Dewar (3rd from right) shortly before leaving Egal international airport in Hargeysa on Thursday. (Photo: Jamhuuriya newspaper.)
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Hargeysa, 8 September, 2007 (SL Times) – An all-party group of British parliamentarians arrived in Hargeysa on Wednesday for a two day fact-finding mission.
The group which was led by Alun Michael included Kerry McCarthy MP who is secretary of the group, Clive Peth and Mark Hendrik.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Somaliland was set up by the Rt Hon Alun Michael MP and Kerry McCarthy MP last year and has over 30 UK MP’s listed as members of the UK House of Commons 'Special Interest Group', who are a cross section of UK political parties (parliamentarians), which according to the group’s charter is to “promote development assistance and recognition for Somaliland”.
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Rice being loaded onto a truck in Waaheen market in Hargeysa |
Hargeysa, 8 September, 2007 (SL Times) – The Somaliland Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) held a meeting with major importers of foodstuffs on Monday when the prices of basic commodities doubled this week in major towns and cities in Somaliland.
Items like rice, flour and cooking oil were worst hit by unexplained ‘hyper-inflated’ prices. This week’s sudden price hikes saw the price of a sack of rice (50kg) jump from $18 to an all-high record price of $30-$32.
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Erigavo, 8 September, 2007 - We are getting reports from Sanag region in Badhan district that the S/land armed forces have during the week repositioned themselves in Shimbirale, a small settlement 10-15km east of Badhan town.
S/land armed forces have entered the district of Badhan in Sanag region and may well head towards the districts capitol, Badhan town, 106km east of Erigavo.
Hargeisa, 7 September, 2007 - Somaliland Foreign Minister Abdillahi Duale today 7 September 2007 extended, on behalf of the Somaliland government and people, its appreciation to ENEX Somaliland Inc, an African and International business investment consortium.
In a message of appreciation to ENEX, Foreign Minister Duale said, "I avail myself of the opportunity to convey to our friends and investors, our warmest greetings and appreciation, on your project to donate medical equipment and supplies to Somaliland's hospitals."
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TIME: Many people outside Africa know Ethiopia primarily from television reports of the famine in 1984 and 1985.
Meles: That was clearly part of our reality. We cannot run away from it. Ethiopia is in the midst of a profound transformation. Most analysts agree that our growth has been exceptionally pro-poor. The political transformation is still a work in progress. There have been quite a few bumps on the road. But in the end, the movement has been inexorably in the right direction towards permanently establishing democratic institutions, towards further consolidation of a democratic culture and towards further stabilization. On the eve of the millennium, we are beginning to see the impact of the start of the transformation of the country.
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Asmara, September 07, 2007 - Somali rebel leaders gathered in Asmara for an opposition congress where they will discuss a military strategy to adopt against Ethiopian troops in Somalia, a conference spokesman said Friday.
Some 350 delegates, including senior Islamist leaders, exiled lawmakers, and diaspora representatives have gathered in the Eritrean capital for the meeting, aimed at unifying opposition to "liberate Somalia from Ethiopia.
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Addis Ababa, September 7, 2007 - Jendayi E. Frazer, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, heading the Bureau of African Affairs is expected to arrive today Friday September 7th, 2007.
The last time Frazer was in Addis Ababa was to attend the AU summit in February highlighting cooperative efforts on issues regarding conflicts in Sudan and Somalia.
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
7 September 2007 Journalists in Mogadishu and other parts of Southern Somalia are at higher risk of violence this year on account of their reporting than ever before. So far, seven media workers have been killed with impunity; four have been shot and wounded; several have been detained for short periods; and over 30 have tried to flee the country to seek refuge in Kenya.
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Somali opposition figures, including top Islamist leaders, opened a 10-day congress in Eritrea on Thursday with a call for a swift withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from their war-torn country. Sheikh Hassan Aweys, the overall leader of the Islamic Courts Union, seen here in December 2006, was present.
ASMARA, 6 September 2007 - Somali opposition figures, including top Islamist leaders, opened a 10-day congress in Eritrea on Thursday with a call for a swift withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from their war-torn country.
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September 06, 2007 – It sounds like just another week in Baghdad. Two journalists are killed, a local peacemaker is assassinated in cold blood, a dignitary escapes a roadside attack by land mine, mortars hit a hospital as leaders discuss the advantages of establishing a Green Zone in the capital. Armed groups attack each other as well as foreign troops who entered the country to eliminate the Islamists accused of harboring Al Qaeda. But this isn’t Baghdad—it’s Mogadishu.
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Djibouti, August 31, 2007 - Stuart Symington, a longtime diplomatic official who was recently involved in overseeing Iraq’s January 2005 elections, was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Djibouti on August 18, 2006.
Question: How does the United States affect the economy of Djibouti? How does the U.S. promote growth and development?
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Analysis
Protecting long term national interest: Ethiopian Premier Menes Zenawi |
By Eliezer Wangulu
Nairobi, Sep 07, 2007 - The crisis in Somalia has sucked Horn of Africa nations and the U.S. into a vortex of violence that will not end until Somalia evolves and manages its own peace process, writes ELIEZER WANGULU
Towards the end of nineteenth century, Somalia was partitioned between European colonial powers and Ethiopia. The Somali Peninsula, one of the most culturally homogeneous regions of Africa, was divided into British Somaliland, French Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, Ethiopian Somaliland (the Ogaden region), and what is now Kenya's North-Eastern Province.
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Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed "Dheere" Omar |
Mogadishu, Somalia, Sep 5 2007 - A Somali government delegation led by Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed "Dheere" Omar Habeb departed from Adan Adde International Airport in the capital Wednesday as government troops combated insurgent fighters inside the country's largest market.
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Hong Kong, September 5, 2007 - On the way to the annual summit meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in Australia, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has scheduled a brief stop-off in Jakarta on Thursday. High on Putin's agenda: the signing of a $1 billion arms deal that includes supplying Indonesia with two Kilo-class submarines, the first of a small fleet of the vessels.
It comes on the heels of other deals to sell advanced Su-27 and Su-30 combat fighters to Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries in the region, helping to entrench Russia's place as the leading arms supplier to Asia.
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United Nations, September 5, 2007 - France said Wednesday it would host a high-level summit in New York later this month to discuss peace and security issues in Africa.
The meeting, to be held Sept. 25 as the annual U.N. General Assembly session opens, will examine how the U.N. could improve its response to the continent's various political and humanitarian crises, from the Darfur conflict in Sudan to the violence in Somalia, said France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert.
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The next stage on my travels.. |
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Kerry speaking in Parliament |
05 September 2007
So, I left Uganda on Saturday and flew up to Addis Ababa. Ethiopia celebrates the Millennium on September 12th, so it's technically 1999 here and the celebrations are already starting. I was told that 30,000 Rastafarians from Jamaica have arrived in town to join the party. After a day spent holed up in my hotel - yes, it's the rainy season here and it rained and rained - I met up with 3 colleagues from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Somaliland at the British Embassy on Monday morning.
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EDMONTON, Canada, September 02, 2007 - Two young men originally from Somalia were killed in an early morning shooting outside the Fulton Place community hall.
Police were called to an "after-hours party" at the community hall just after 5 a.m. when several people phoned to report gunshots, said police spokesman Dean Parthenis.
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A popular theory in the Arab media that purportedly explains United States policy in the Middle East is called chaos theory. What is meant by this is that although the U.S often claims it wants democracy, peace and stability to prevail in the Middle East, its actual policy is to incite war and chaos, so that Middle Eastern countries would then have to depend on the U.S for arms and protection. One does not have to be an ardent believer in such theory to recognize that there is an element of truth in this theory, at least when it comes to U.S policy toward Somaliland. Granted that Somaliland does not have the financial means to buy arms from U.S manufacturers, nevertheless, U.S policy (or non-policy) toward Somaliland is a destabilizing factor. Why do we say this?
First, there are three major players in what used to be the Somali Republic: the warlords that banded together under the Transitional Federal Republic of Somalia (Puntland is part of this group), the Islamic Courts, and Somaliland. By throwing its weight behind the TFG without addressing Somaliland’s concerns about the security imbalance that would ensue, the U.S has created a perception among Somalilanders that it is not concerned about the security and stability of their country.
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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 Ahmed Kheyre, London, UK
As the ship of state that is Somaliland sails smoothly over turbulent waters, there are still several challenges ahead for our country.
Somalilanders must see to it that nothing hinders the upcoming local and presidential elections. The government of Somaliland must enable all of its citizens to express their elective preferences. It is also imperative the people of Somaliland use their votes in a mature and responsible manner.
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By Ali Geeleh
Abdillahi Yusuf might have been a dictator when he was president in Puntland. When he left some people might have said good riddance. But dictators can sometimes be missed when those who replace them bring nothing but misery to the people. That is the case in Somalia where there is growing nostalgia for the relatively good old days under the rule of Mohamed Siyad Barre. And that is also the current situation in Puntland under Cadde Muse, an ineffectual, dithering and lacklustre leader.
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By Fawzi Hussein Roble
In my thought Somaliland people like masses of people that stood for to tackle dictator of Siyad Barre, they did it, as long as they took for, so that is true, masses of people can make change not single leader who wants to have his interest far place and what we are called "AWR KAGA KU KACSO".
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UN vs. NGOs
By Ivan Simic
By some definition; the United Nations (UN) is an International Organization established in October 1945, by the five permanent members of the Security Council: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States and by a majority of the other 46 countries. The declared aims of the UN are to prevent war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, to provide an instrument for international law, to promote social and economic development, to improve living standards and fight diseases, and to offer freedom for all Nations.
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The Burao Conference: A closer look
By Ali H. Abdulla
The rebuttal of Haboon to my short article that was meant to correct certain inaccuracies in an article contributed to this forum by Sougal, does raise several important questions that many Somalis seek credible answers to.
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By Ahmed Kheyre
As the ship of state that is Somaliland sails smoothly over turbulent waters, there are still several challenges ahead for our country.
Somalilanders must see to it that nothing hinders the upcoming local and presidential elections. The government of Somaliland must enable all of its citizens to express their elective preferences. It is also imperative the people of Somaliland use their votes in a mature and responsible manner.
Read full text...
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By Ibrahim Hashi
It all depends on the wording of the presidential “cafis ama saamaxaadd”, the two powers given exclusively to the President under Article 90(5) of the Somaliland Constitution. I have translated the two words as “pardon and amnesty”. (You can see my tafsiir in the updated 2005 annotations of the Constitution, and hopefully, also in the forthcoming more detailed tafsiir – Xayeysiis!!!!)
Under Article 144 of the Penal Code, an amnesty extinguishes the offence itself and where a sentence has been passed, shall stop its execution and any accessory penalties, such interdiction from public office.
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By Jamal Madar, London , UK
If the statement of Wubshet Demisse, the Ethiopian Ambassador to Somaliland, is to be believed, Rayale and his UDUB henchmen are really in dire straits. The propaganda that Ethiopian troops will be deployed in Hargeisa is beginning to backfire. It is now clear that there will be no cavalry coming over the horizon to rescue UDUB. This means UDUB will have to play hardball in the forthcoming local and presidential elections.
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By Ibrahim N. Abusharif
Each religion has a history. Among the aspects common to most of them is the fact that seasons of fast have long been part of their spiritual regimen. For millennia sages of diverse experiences have offered insights, esoteric and practical, on the benefits associated with voluntary deprivation for a specific time and for a transcending purpose. They have expanded on how the molecular realm of food and drink, for example, connects with the intangible realm of will and choice and of gratitude and conscience, and how certain sublime knowledge comes only to those who have mastered their desires.
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Extraordinary Abyssinian delegation in St. Petersburg. In the photograph: Prince Belyakio (right), Prince Damto (left), Ato-Iosiph, personal secretary to Menelik II (centre). 1895. |
By Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
September 3, 2007
The present article is dedicated to all the pleads’ authors and explicit supporters of my effort for more Light in the West about the East and for more Courage among the Oppressed and Tyrannized Nations of East; it is at the same time dedicated to the Management of the American Chronicle, who in a brave manner rejected an immoral demand and a dishonest blackmail, defending therefore the Principles of Freedom of Speech and Expression that have so brilliantly radiated from America over the past 230 years.
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Alek Wek shares her journey from impoverished roots to glamour and glitz
Aug. 28, 2007
Since the day she was scouted by a modeling agent while shopping in London, Alek Wek's life has been nothing short of a fantasy. When she's not the featured model in print campaigns for hip companies, she is working the runways of Paris, New York and Milan. But Wek's early days were not so glamorous. She writes about them in her new book. Here's an excerpt.
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By Capt. Paddy Ankunda
Mogadishu, September 03, 2007 – To many people, it may be incomprehensible that a country can exist without a government or at least a central authority. However, Somalia provides the latest example of this naive reality.
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Somali refugees lead donkeys carrying their belongings to higher ground at a refugee camp on the outskirts of Dadaab, northern Kenya, November 2006. REUTERS/Stephen Morrison/Pool |
Nairobi, 6 Sept, 2007 - Leon Musafiri speaks English, French, Swahili and at least six other African languages. He can tell from a person's accent if they're from Rwanda, Congo, Uganda or Burundi, and he'll even often narrow it down to region. He gauges accents, verifies stories, and knows his geography and history.
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By Paul Balles, redress.cc
6 September 2007
Coalition forces in Iraq kill 100 "insurgents". Families, friends and associates of the 100 dead insurgents become 200 new insurgents, fighting to avenge the first insurgents' deaths.
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Kenyan scientists said Wednesday they had rescued endangered Grevy's zebras from possible extinction after an outbreak of deadly anthrax last year and were working to increase their population. |
Nairobi, 5 sept, 2007 - Kenyan scientists said Wednesday they had rescued endangered Grevy's zebras from possible extinction after an outbreak of deadly anthrax last year and were working to increase their population.
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| Kampala, Uganda, 5 September, 2007 - THE US Government has said the only way out for the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is to sign the Juba peace agreement, reports Felix Osike.
Dr. Jendayi Fraser, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, told journalists in Kampala yesterday that the talks in the South Sudanese capital should have a deadline.
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