Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 15, 2007 (SL Times) - In a press statement issued Thursday, Kulmiye party declared that it would no longer hold consultation meetings with President Rayale while the president, according to the statement, "pursues, policies akin to authoritarian dictatorship and continues to violate the constitution and holds the political leaders of Qaran in prison."

The statement said, "we, as one of the official and biggest opposition parties in the country, have come to the unfortunate conclusion to stop all work and collaboration with president Rayale. We have conducted countless meetings with the president in order to solve the current political and economic crisis rampant in the country. All our efforts have been falling on deaf ears and have been futile. We have constantly urged the president that his government must adhere to the constitution and laws of the country, to stop the constant violations of human rights committed by his administration, to safeguard the freedom of the press, to release the political prisoners of Qaran, to work and cooperate with the lower house of parliament, to produce an effective economic policy which will put end to the sky rocketing inflation which has crippled the nation.

Sadly, President Rayale does not agree with us, the country and international community who all believe that the hard earned road to Somaliland's democracy is about to do a U-turn, unless the president addresses these issues which have done much damage and tarnished the good name of country.

Many have been those inside and outside of the country requesting the president to release the imprisoned political leaders of Qaran. Kulmiye, having seen that the president is not willing to listen to the calls of the opposition, civil society, traditional leaders and general public at large has decided to stop all collaboration with the president and calls for an emergency Kulmiye party meeting to decide the next appropriate action which the party will take".

The press statement was issued by the central Kulmiye headquarters in Hargeysa and signed by the party spokesman, Muhamad Kahin Ahmed.

Source: Somaliland Times