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CPJ: In Somaliland,
Crackdown On The Press Continues |
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New York, January 21, 2012-The Committee to Protect
Journalists is alarmed by the deteriorating press
conditions in the semi-autonomous republic of
Somaliland after this weekend's detention of 21
journalists protesting a police raid on a private
broadcaster.
On Saturday, armed police raided Horn Cable
TV headquarters after President Ahmed Mahmoud
Sillanyo accused the broadcaster of spreading
propaganda against his administration, according to
news reports. Officers told the entire staff to
leave and sealed the premises without a warrant,
local journalists said. Horn Cable had recently
reported on a meeting in the disputed Sool region in
which the Dhulbante clan announced its intention to
form an autonomous state under Somalia-and not
Somaliland-according to local journalists.
Read full text.
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Britain's
growing foreign aid budget can do as much for
national security as the Army, Navy and RAF, says
Andrew Mitchell, the International Development
Secretary.
By
James Kirkup
Kathmandu, January 21, 2012 – Spending on projects
such as getting more girls into school in Somalia
“contributes directly to our security” and should be
a source of national pride like the Olympics and the
Diamond Jubilee, he said
in an interview while on a visit to Nepal.
Read full text.
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Nairobi, Kenya, January 21, 2012 – Two international
aid agencies say tens of thousands of lives could
have been saved if the international community had
responded earlier to the 2011 drought in the Horn of
Africa.
A report on the investigation by charities Oxfam and
Save the Children says there were clear warning
signs of an impending crisis, but claims many donors
wanted proof of a humanitarian catastrophe before
acting to prevent one. And the charities are now
issuing early warnings of a food crisis in parts of
West Africa.
It's estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000
people died in the drought and food crisis that hit
the Horn of Africa last year - more than half of
them children under five.
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A high-profile panel assembled by the SA government to
discuss the Sudans painted a bleak picture of that
country’s present and future. The specter of
Somalia was raised, as was the imminent threat of
widespread famine. It seems that South Sudan’s
independence has been no panacea to the problems in
the region, and there aren’t any leaders with the
strength or vision to solve the remaining threats.
By SIMON ALLISON.
Sudanese ambassador Ali Yousif Alsharif was
mid-sentence when he was interrupted by a loud,
insistent beeping. Staff from the department of
international relations and cooperation (Dirco), who
had organized the briefing on recent developments in
Sudan, looked nervously among themselves, unsure of
how to handle the unscheduled alarm. An automated
voice increased the awkwardness: “Attention please,
attention please,” it said. “We are investigating an
emergency. Please stand by for further information.”
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Nairobi, Kenya, January 21, 2012 – A delegation of
Somalia MPs is in Kenya to discuss with the
international community the ongoing war against Al-Shabaab.
Led by former Somalia Prime Minister Mohamed
Abdiyusuf the delegation arrived in Nairobi on
Sunday.
Somalia MP Awad Ahmed Ashareh said the delegation
had already met UN representatives and officials
from various embassies.
“The delegation brought a message from the new
Speaker of Somalia Transitional Federal Parliament
explaining to the international community the change
of leadership and ongoing war among other things,”
Mr Ashareh said in Nairobi.
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London, UK, January 21, 2012 – Amnesty International
is calling on the Ukrainian authorities to release
Somali nationals who are currently on hunger strike
in protest at being detained for up to a year “for
the purposes of deportation” following court orders
issued in December last year.
Approximately 60 Somali nationals – including
possibly as many as 20 children – have joined the
hunger strike in Zhuravichi Migrant Accommodation
Centre in Western Ukraine, where they are currently
being detained.
Read full text...
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London, UK, January 21, 2012 – International piracy
monitors say the number of overall attacks dropped
slightly last year, and that Somali pirates remain
the greatest threat.
The International Maritime Bureau said Thursday it
recorded 439 pirate attacks in 2011, down from 445 a
year before, breaking a four-year trend of
increasing attacks worldwide.
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Minneapolis, MN, January 21, 2012 – A growing number
of reopened Somali-owned money-transfer shops are
allowing a trickle of money to resume flowing to the
embattled African nation, but members of the local
Somali community want a permanent solution to ensure
they can send desperately needed money home to their
families.
On Wednesday, community members met with officials
of Wells Fargo Bank, which cut ties with the
money-service businesses in 2008 to avoid running
afoul of federal rules intended to prohibit the flow
of funds to terrorist groups.
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Jim Cornelius's agency helps people in close
to 20 African countries get enough food
to survive. |
Raise the topic of global warming and Winnipeggers
are apt to think about melting polar ice caps or
this year's mild winter.
But in several African countries, climate change is
already being cited as a contributor to hunger, and
the fear is its effects will grow more dire.
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UK Deputy Ambassador
To Ethiopia Arrives Somaliland To Explain The
Objectives Of The London Conference On Somalia
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Hargeysa,
Somaliland,
January 21,
2012 (SL
Times) – The
United
Kingdom’s
deputy
ambassador,
Chris Allan,
visited
Somaliland
earlier this
week. The
main purpose
of the visit
was to
deliver a
personal
invitation
to
Somaliland’s
president
Ahmed
Sillanyo to
attend the
upcoming
London
conference
which is
ostensibly
on Somalia
but whose
agenda
includes
anti-terrorism,
piracy, and
the economic
development
of
Somaliland
and Somalia.
Read full text...
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Split
In Taleeh Meeting |
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Taleeh, Somaliland, January 21, 2012 (SL Times) –
One of the factions that participated in the Taleeh
meeting, Mr Suleiman Ise Ahmed (Xaglatoosiye) has
condemned that meeting, especially the announcement
of the formation of a regional administration called
Khaatumo state.
Read full text...
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Somaliland Dislodges Opponents From Budhodle |
Buhodle, Somaliland, January 21, 2012 (SL Times) –
Somaliland forces took control of Budhodle earlier
this week after they overran the armed militias by
the name of SSC that were opposed to Somaliland.
Speaking to Somaliland National Television
while he was in Budhoodle, the Chief of Staff of
Somaliland military, Muhammad Hassan Abdillahi (Jidhif)
said, “we were attacked and moved in response, plus
we have been patient for a long time.”
Read full text...
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Central
Bank Touts Its Achievements |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, January 21, 2012 (SL Times) –
Somaliland Central Bank held an event to showcase
its achievements for last year and to share with the
public their plans for this year.
The event was attended by the Minister of Finance,
Muhammad Hashi Elmi, the President of Somaliland
Central Bank, Abdi Dirir Abdi, the Bank's vice
President Omar Yusuf, the Director General of the
Bank Abdillahi Hasan Adan, and other distinguished
guests.
Read full text...
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Presidential Advisor
For Minorities Defends Somaliland |
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, January 21, 2012 (SL Times) –
President Ahmed Silanyo's advisor for minority
affairs, Barkhad Jama Hirsi, spoke in defense of
Somaliland this week.
This came in reaction to an individual in the
Gabooye community who spoke at the Taleeh meeting
and who criticized Somaliland for its treatment of
minorities.
Here is a summary of what Barkhad Jama Hirsi said:
My purpose here is not to target anyone in
particular but to give the true picture of the
situation in Somaliland.
Somaliland has come a long way in its securing its
independence and building institutions. In the
previous government, the Gaboye community had vice
ministers.
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London, UK, January
21, 2012 – Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil,
addressed an audience at the London School of
Economics on the challenges and opportunities of
delivering financial services to developing
countries.
The event, 'Delivering Money in Difficult Places',
was organized by the Microfinance Club UK - an
independent organization that promotes best practice
in the delivery of microfinance to poor communities
around the world. It was held in collaboration with
the London School of Economics Development Studies
Institute (DESTIN), and chaired by Tom Sanderson,
CEO of Five Talents - a microfinance charity that
provides loans and training funds to groups of
entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia and South America.
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By Somaliland Societies in Europe
Dear Sir and or Madam,
Somaliland Society in Europe (SSE) is a network of
organizations representing about 45 Somaliland
Diaspora community organizations from 11 European
countries.
We are writing to you to share with you our position
on the upcoming London Conference.
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Mogadishu, Somalia, January 21, 2012 -- Heavy
fighting broke out in Somalia's capital on Friday
with African Union peacekeepers encountering
resistance as they pushed to Mogadishu's outskirts
for the first time, the latest move in an offensive
against Islamist insurgents.
Read full text....
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Copenhagen, Denmark, January 21, 2012 – Denmark has
said that the Seychelles has refused to take 25
suspected Somali pirates detained by one of its
warships earlier this month, highlighting the
difficulty of putting pirates on trial.
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Megaupload Shutdown:
Guns, Cars And Cash Seized In Police Swoop |
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MegaUpload.com founder Kim Dotcom said: 'We
have nothing to hide'. Photograph: Action
Press/Rex Features |
New
Zealand, January 21, 2012 – Megaupload founder
appears in New Zealand courtroom as US seeks
extradition on racketeering and money laundering
charges
Read full text...
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UN Reports Record
Number Of Horn Of Africa Refugees |
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Nairobi, Kenya, January 21, 2012 – The U.N. refugee
agency says a record number of people - 103,000 -
crossed from the Horn of Africa to Yemen last year,
fleeing violence, poverty, and the regional drought.
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Kano, Nigeria, January 21, 2012 – Kano, Nigeria’s
second-largest city, was rocked on Friday by
multiple bomb blasts that killed at least six,
raising fears that an Islamist insurrection
concentrated in remote north-eastern areas was
spreading across the predominately Muslim north.
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The Somaliland Independent Scholars Group (ISG)
January, 2012 Hargeysa, Somaliland
I. Introduction
On Sunday 15th January, the ISG members met at the
SORADI office to discuss the prevalent situation in
the country and debate the most significant issues.
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Photo: AP
The MV Pacific Express which was set on fire
by suspected Somali pirates on September 21,
2011 is towed along the Likoni channel by
Kenya Ports Authority tug boats to the port
of Mombasa, Kenya. (File Photo - September
30, 2011)
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Dominic Laurie
Piracy off the coast of Somalia has cost many lives
and billions of dollars lost through ransom demands
and stolen cargo. However, a report out Friday by
the London-based think tank Chatham House has
calculated that it has also brought widespread
economic development to the poor, war-torn country.
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By Brian Stewart
At the very heart of Somalia's ongoing crisis
of famine and anarchy lies what I've come to think
of as the Deadly Dilemma, which few aid workers or
diplomats are willing to discuss openly.
The
dilemma is this: A war of intervention in Somalia,
to end the nation's chronic lawlessness will hamper
the existing humanitarian efforts to feed the
starving. But what if that is the only way to end
decades of human catastrophe there?
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Mogadishu, Somalia, January 21, 2012 – The mounds
that mark the roadside graves of Mogadishu's
children are so small, you'd miss them if they
weren't pointed out.
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By Dwight Garner
If
you were the Franklin Mint and wanted to issue a set
of four collectible dinner plates devoted to “The
Women of the War on Terror,” whose faces would
appear on them?
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One
More Time On The London Conference |
In a previous
editorial on the coming London conference on Somalia (Issue
515/ 10th - 16th Dec 2011), we suggested that the decision
of whether to attend the London conference or not, should
depend on whether attending it would serve Somaliland’s
interests or not. By now, we were hoping the picture would
be clearer and such a determination could be made. But the
picture is not clearer than when we wrote those lines.
Read full text....
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Somaliland: Clan
Conference In Taleh Violates 1991 Peace Accord—But
Somaliland Must Not Overreact |
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By Dalmar Kaahin
In 1991, in Buroa, Somalilandīs second largest city,
all Somaliland clans including the Dhulbahante clans
in Sool province committed themselves peaceful
co-existence. The agreement included that none of
the clans would create their militias and warlords
to prevent the spread of clan militants, warmongers,
and violence that crippled the region back then.
Power and resource sharing were also part of the
agreement. While most of the Dhulbahante clans not
only honored the Buroa peace accord but also
safeguarded it, in 2009 and 2012, some Sool clans
funded by the Diasporas (or the cyberspace warlords)
not only violated the decades-old peace agreement
but also openly rejected it, tirelessly spurring
mayhem in Somaliland to dismantle it. But the
Somaliland government cannot afford to overreact.
Read full text...
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Call For Somaliland
Diasporas |
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By Omer Hussein Dualeh
Good morning or good evening whichever time you have
my fellow citizens,
Our country is in danger, and needs your support. These days
our nation is facing a concerted crusade by the UN
with their front man Mr. Mehiga and the pathetic
Sharif government to destabilize Somaliland. They
have been plotting this scheme for quite some time
with some disgruntled SSE and Awdalite Diaspora to
proclaim Bantustan states inside Somaliland with the
intention of dismantling Somaliland from within. It
is appalling to see that the western countries
donation is being misused for such a wicked act.
Read full text....
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Skilled Somalilanders
Who Return Home Deserve Respect |
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By Adan H Iman
The Somaliland constitution confers on all Somalilanders,
whether in the Diaspora or living inside the
country, equal rights to hold elective and
appointive offices as well as to engage in private
business. This official welcome does encourage some
of the Diaspora people to end their long self-exiles
and return to their country of origin. But
unfortunately on some occasions, some prominent
members of the Diaspora are subjected to negative
rumors, innuendos and open criticisms in order to
smear their reputations
People who return home have different reasons for doing so.
There are those who are of old age and would like to
spend their last years at home. There are also those
who have accumulated wealth and would like to invest
their funds there; and there are those ambitious
individuals who after earning degrees and working as
professionals overseas decide to utilize their
knowledge and skills to make a difference for their
people.
Read full text......
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Hats Off To Mr. Jamal
Ali Hussein |
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Mukhtar Mohamed Abby
Of late, UDUB opposition political party have convened a
meeting in the Somaliland’s capital Hargeysa in
which a highly educated Harvard graduate young man,
who is currently the incumbent Chief Executive
Officer of the International Citibank in Tanzania by
the name of Jamal Ali Hussein – has been chosen
unanimously to be the party’s candidate in the
forthcoming elections slated to materialize in the
country in April 2012.
Read full text......
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Faking Documents: The
New Pastime Of ‘Northern Somali For Peace And Unity’ |
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Abdirahman Mohamed Haji
Recently, my attention was brought to a ‘legal
memorial’ published by wardheernews.com, which was
purportedly written by unnamed ‘expert’ representing
People’s Republic of China and submitted to the
International Court of Justice(ICJ), requesting/
demanding from the Court to declare Somaliland as
being an integral part of the Somali republic
(http://wardheernews.com/Organizations/NSPU/ICJ%201-01-12.pdf).
However, a cursory look at the ‘memorial’ by a
trained eye would reveal it as faked document by
NSPU.
Read full text......
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The Contemporary
Lifestyle Of Our People: A Critical Look
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By
Abdirahman Ali A. Jiciir
The
Somali lifestyle is dramatically changing! During
the last three decades and for the better, there has
been change of life in all aspects. But this change
is adversely affecting the wellbeing of the
community in health-wise.
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