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June 21, 2005 -- So long as the Republic of Somaliland withdrew from the rest of Somalia and remained a peaceful and stable democratic State, it is shameful and regretful for the International Community to neglect the wishes of the people of Somaliland for self-determination and also expect to join willingly with their brothers in the south to reform a "Greater Somalia".

Definitely, political analyst can't over look that the Union can be only endorsed by the will of the two populations as in the case of former two Yemenis and Germanys.

It is clear that Somali Landers were the founders of the Union into which they had voluntarily entered as an independent and sovereign State on July 1, 1960, with the former Italian Somaliland.

To day it is vise-verse, they are willingly neither for federalism nor re-Union. They also like to see a peaceful, stable, Somalia in order to act as a two brotherly States living side by side in a peaceful way.

Then why the International Community neglects the people of Somaliland for Self-determination? Is it fair to do that? Does it deserve the International Bill of Rights? I don't think so. Article one of the International Bill of Rights refers to the right to Self-determination, as does the UN Charter in Article 1and 55.

Interestingly enough, Somaliland's Self-determination is more conductive to regional peace and stability as Somaliland has strong capability of solving longstanding regional disputes with Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti due to its acceptance of the colonial boundaries.

Somaliland has achieved what none in similar circumstance in Africa or probably the whole world had achieved before. They planted the seeds of better democracy in a war-town country and maintained peace and stability within its territory of the former British Protectorate.

On May 31, 2001, Somali Landers were called to vote in order to endorse or reject a new constitution that was badly proclaimed the case for independence.

The constitution defined a new political system for Somaliland, a democratic, multi-party system. The referendum, which was " fairly openly, honestly, as well as largely in accordance with internationally recognized election standard, resulted in the approval of the new constitution by 97% of the votes.

The Brussels- based International Crisis Group ICG) indicated the voting as transparent. Similarly, on 15 December 2002, Somali Lander voted on their local elections, and on 14 April 2003, they elected their first democratic president since independence in 1960.

In fact if the west considering the out breaks of lasting democracy in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland is a society found of rule of law, Justice, Free and Fair elections and actively is ready to co-operate with the International Community the peace initiatives in the Horn of Africa.

Despite the un-rewarded democratic achievements, Somaliland has remained victim of different kinds of violence including the Challenge in the red sea in the last decade. Ethiopia had similar experience.

This challenge is running between the Israel and its Arab State neighbors and deepened its root when, in 1967, the Suez Canal was closed during the Six-Day War. Equally significant is that when, in1984, Libya's Muammer Al-Gadhafi ordered the laying of floating ocean mines in the Red Sea.

It could be argued that the Global Trading System damaged these two events significantly and measurably for that period.

Since Somaliland declared as a viable, sovereign entity, intense diplomacy from the Arab -League particularly Egypt, Libya, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and probably Djibouti have prevented recognition of the resumption of sovereignty of Somaliland, fearing that the Arab -Muslim -State (Somaliland) which occupies a strategic position in the Gulf of Aden especially the Mouth of the red sea at the straits of Bab-elmandab could enter into deals with Israel so that Israel could base Military units and warships there to dominate the Mouth of the Red Sea with the support of the close ties they have to day with their Neighbor of Ethiopia.

In the case of Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya and their alliance attempts to deny Ethiopia access to the red sea fuelling of Ethio-Eritrean hostility at a time when Ethiopia has begun constructing a new infrastructure to move Ethiopian exports out of the Country via a road link to the Red See port of Berbera of Somaliland.

The Arab countries, particularly Egypt, Saudi Arabia and probably Libya will not hesitate to capitalize the evil forces in the region to encourage hostilities against the Ethiopian people with whom we Somali Landers consider our savors. A clear picture of their misguided and illogical thinking can be seeing from their diplomatic measures when it comes to the Ethio-Eritrean relations.

Eritrea it self, the challenge in the red see damaged measurably and significantly it's economic. Eritrean ports used by the Ethiopian trade goods are now virtually deserted and the Eritrean economy is in ruins.

Even though Muslims are the leading population in the Horn of Africa (125Million) however those Arab countries have no slightest sympathy and humanitarian feeling for the suffering people in the region. They are not respecting the development and stability in the region.

To be sure Egypt's occupation over the follow of the Nile waters, which Egypt regards as its own. It is an historic fact that Egypt was the mastermind of the 1977 disastrous war between the former regime of Somalia and Ethiopia, which caused huge, loses of human and material resources.

I think it is time to discover for the International Community the potentially dangerous condition which Egyptian diplomatic adventures are creating in the Horn of Africa.

Generally, Somaliland is by no means to ally itself with Israel. Just this depends on if Israel expressed us their sympathy of Somaliland's Statehood. Surprisingly, Somaliland is not the first Arab State that has established relation with Israel. Egypt has already done around 26- years ago, in Camp David Treaty and recently on 14/12/2004 singed a Trade Protocol with Israeli in Cairo.

And now, Egypt is considering reopening its diplomatic office back again in Tel-Aviv which was closed after the beginning of the Palestinian intifada in 2002. Also it is important to know that Morocco, Mauritania, Jordan, Qatar are members of the Arab-League and in fact have some kind of relations with Israel to day.

So why in Somaliland? It is our memory that at the independence year in 1960 thirty-five countries recognized Somaliland diplomatically and one of those countries was State of Israel. Why not now? What is the difference between now and then? The message is clear; we warmly urge Israelis diplomatic support same as Lord Balfour's declaration support

To my view, I support if a good relation and Co-operation which Would benefit both sides in their sphere of Co-operation starts. At same time, promote development and sharing technological expertise of both States. In spite of its strategic position, Somaliland sitting on abundant natural resources decorated by a very amenable climate is at the bottom of every ranking.

Alarmed by this situation, does Somaliland is ready to seize the opportune moment to make the 21st century the century of Somaliland by inviting the State of Israel to process its natural resources?

* ALI MOHAMED NOUR, is from HARGIES/SOMALILAND . Email: toosane@lycos.com

There are many ways to take hostages. Individual or group hostage taking is probably the most commonly known aspect where victims are (individuals or groups) held against their wills and threatened with injuries or death, or prevented to do what they want to do unless certain demands from the hostage takers are met. There is another kind of a hostage taking that might be new to the most people: Country Hostage Taking. Country hostage taking is rare in the modern world. Bust it exists. Unlike individual or group hostage taking, country hostage taking is not organised by a single person or a group of persons, but a collection of cooperating countries. It is created when a country is held politically isolated and internationally abandoned by the rest of the world. In today's world, no country can manage to survive and develop without the interconnections and relations with the outside world at all levels.

A typical example of country hostage taking is manifested in the case of Somaliland. Somaliland has been held hostage by the international community. For over a period of more than 14 years, Somaliland has been showing the world (albeit many shortcomings) that its people possess unique and outstanding minds in establishing peace and security, fostering a system of rule based on democracy and pluralism with vibrant free press and civil society. This is a unique case in Africa. Instead of rewarding Somaliland for this noble work by extending diplomatic and economic assistance, the international community held it hostage. The help the international community could have given to Somaliland has been made conditional upon and linked to the stability of Somalia. The international community has been saying to Somaliland: "Unless Somalia first establishes peace and security through an elected legitimate central government, you are not going to be eligible for economic help and diplomatic relations". The crime for which Somaliland is being punished is the simple fact that it is has skilfully succeeded in bring itself back to its feet.

Since the collapse of the state functioning of Somalia, the international community has been trying to help the Somali people rebuild their country and repair their damaged reputation as a functional state capable of solving its own problems. A dozen of reconciliations and peace conferences have been arranged with the aim of bring an end to the culture of warlordism and at the same time establishing a functional state government. The last effort from the part of the international community is the formation of a transitional government last year in Nairobi, consisting of former warlords who had carved the country into own fiefdoms. However, it is increasingly being known that the chance of survival of this last surgically formed government is becoming smaller as days go by (in line with its predecessors) as it has already started to split into warring different factions. Its own president cannot dare to legally establish himself in the country preferring, instead, to wander in foreign countries.

Parallel with these political efforts, the humanitarian aid from the international community has been pouring to Somalia from Nairobi in billions of USA dollars. Somaliland is being kept aside and has been deprived of its rightful share because of unknown reasons. By denying Somaliland the right to be accepted as a fully functioning state, or at least not giving it de facto diplomatic status, the international community has subjected the already feeble economy of the country to severely crippling constraints. Foreign investment capital cannot come to the country without first solving Somalilands diplomatic status. Likewise, Somaliland companies can neither establish international contacts nor enter partnership or joint-venture agreements with foreign companies because of Somalilands diplomatic isolation, rendering it a place unsafe for international business investments, contacts and transactions. International financial links that are crucial for the growth and establishment of businesses and development projects are not available in the country. If the entrepreneurship of the people of a certain country is accepted to be one of the major key factors of its economic growth and poverty reduction, Somaliland has been denied to foster the needs of its strikingly business-oriented inhabitants.

Intellectual hostage taking

Somaliland is not only kept as a hostage politically and economically. It is equally being held hostage in the intellectual front. The case of Somaliland being held hostage intellectually is manifested by what SODA (Somaliland Development Association) has experienced in its work in Sweden. As a chairman of SODA, I can only speak about our feeling and experience regarding the (unwritten) Swedish policy with respect to intellectually holding Somaliland hostage. Similar cases to our experience in Sweden as mentioned below might be true in other donor countries.

Since organising conferences and seminars on the pertaining development issues of Somaliland is one of its main objectives, SODA applied last year for funds from different Swedish state agencies that are involved in helping developing countries, with the aim of organising a conference on developmental problems of Somaliland. Our application for funds for this end went even to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the conference was to bring together internationally renowned scholars on development issues in the Sub-Saharan Africa in order to discuss a variety of topics relevant to the developmental problems of Somaliland so that viable solutions could become exposed and disseminated. To our disappointment, we came to know that the Swedish developmental policy towards Somaliland was politically motivated. Instead of considering Somaliland as a reality and a physically free entity, separate from Somalia (without necessarily touching Somalilands controversial political status) and looking at the conference as a pure intellectual, non-political and development-oriented endeavour, the Swedish authorities politicized the issue and rejected our applications for funds on the basis of their strange judgement, i.e. that Somaliland is part and parcel of Somalia and such types of conferences cannot enjoy the support of the Swedish government. One wonders if Sweden was (and is still) afraid of future retaliations and diplomatic punishment from Somalia in case it helps Somaliland build up its economic base. In my pursuit of getting clarifications of the reasons behind the rejections of our applications, several officials at these agencies told me clearly (through phone) that our aim of the conference was politically motivated and that Sweden had a clear line in dealing with Somaliland and Somalia as a single nation. SODA thinks that this is an unjust treatment of a donor country towards one of the poorest countries in the world and a clear violent intervention in the freedom of the intellectual debates as well as in the integrity of the research society. It is another form of mechanism of keeping Somaliland as a hostage. After all, intellectual hostage taking is much worse than any other kinds of hostage taking in the sense that it affects the lives of many people. It also hinders the intermingling of the pioneering minds of experts on different issues as is clear in the case of SODA:s activity in Sweden at this juncture of the history of Somaliland.

Somaliland cannot make the impossible become possible and do the magic in making Somalia come to its sense and change its culture of war and chaos so that the international help for Somaliland gets secured. In waiting for the magic to start working in Somalia so that it can be stable enough for the betterment of all Somalis and consequently for Somaliland, the international community has two alternatives with respect of dealing with the developmental problems of Somaliland; namely either keeping hanging Somaliland on the Somali ordeal as it has been doing over the last 14 years and making its development conditional upon the stability of Somalia and hence exacerbating the developmental problems of Somaliland, or facing the reality and dealing Somaliland separately when it comes to contributing to its development.

Eng. Adam Sheikh Ibrahim Suldan, Chairman SODA (Somaliland Development Association) Lund SWEDEN, Email: sult2a@yahoo.com

To get a sense of the parlous situation Col. Abdillahi Yusuf is in, one has to just take a glimpse of the headlines. The British Times wrote: "President is told to pack bags after outstaying his welcome." After his much awaited re-location to Somalia turned out to be a hoax, Reuters wrote: "President fails to arrive in Somalia, plane diverted." These headlines only confirm what many Somalis already knew, that Abdillahi Yusuf's presidency, like those of Ali Mahdi, Aidid Sr, Aidid Jr, and Abdiqasim Salad Hasan , was in name only, and that the facts on the ground tell another story. Abdillahi Yusuf repeatedly announced that he was going to change those facts on the ground by conquering the south, especially Banadir region, with foreign troops. Instead of showing him the folly of his plan, his supporters saw it as their long overdue chance to conquer Mogadishu and to exact revenge on its people for past crimes. Finally, they had a man with a plan, and they egged him to march on to Mogadishu. They began writing about how Somalia needs a strong leader, and how the colonel was exactly such a man. The clock kept ticking, and they kept writing about how decisive, how strong-willed he is. Days, months went by, and they kept writing about how determined he is, how he has a plan. Then came the hour of decision, and it turned out to be not his decision but a Kenyan decision. The Kenyans were tired of him and the rest of the Somalis, so they kicked them all out. As if that were not bad enough, instead of going to Somalia as he had said he would do, Abdillahi Yusuf landed in Djibouti. The hero in shining armor whose supporters expected him to conquer Mogadishu for them, turned out to be a tired old warlord with no political skills who would rather be a guest, even an un-wanted guest, in one foreign country or another than deal with the problems of a broken country.

This bleak picture has led to big disappointment among his supporters. Whereas they used to write some pretentious and long-winded letters paving the way for the iron-fisted rule that Colonel Abdillahi Yusuf was going to impose on Somalia, they now write rambling notes about how Somalis don't want a government, about the death of Somali nationalism and how Kipling may have been right about Africans. The fact is, when they thought they could pull it off, they had shown no qualms about using foreign troops to spill Somali blood. Now that their designs have fallen apart, and their hero is homeless, they are playing a different tune to cover up what they stood for earlier, but it won't work because today's maudlin musings are being drowned by yesterday's war cries.

As if smoked out of their holes, the apologists, sycophants and ardent supporters of UDUB are coming in thick and fast in an endeavour to shore up the desperate administration of Rayale since a staggering number of nearly 50 formerly pliant MPs tabled a motion calling for his impeachment.

Much to the amazement of Somaliland's political observers, Ahmed Haji Ali Addami, the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) who was recently touring Burao, joined the fray by drawing himself into the murky waters of party politics.

First, according to Hadhwanaagnews, Adami was quoted as saying, "the people who were against the parliamentary elections were defeated". Adami did not specify what he meant by `those who are against the elections' nor did he say who defeated them or how and where they were defeated although it is known with absolute certainty that his own folks in eastern Sanaag are second to none in the list of those who are opposed to participating in the so-called democratic process in which he is the vanguard.

The people that Adami said were defeated are not aliens that descended from Mars but sections of the Somaliland communities who pointed out the inherent flaws of the electoral system to be employed, its apparent lack of equilibrium, and how unjustly it was designed. If Adami calls this a `defeat', then I am afraid the chairman does not understand what the democracy he is trying to advance stands for.

The first step in a democracy is to establish the rules of the game. In a situation such as ours where the very rules of political competition fail to recognise diversity, or seek to muzzle the voices of heterogeneous interests, then a democratic culture has been jeopardised from the start.

The upcoming parliamentary election is based on a revamped 1960 electoral formula- a formula that deceitfully tips the scales in favour of certain sections of Somaliland communities and stealthily deprives others of their rights.

According to this formula, the allocation of parliamentary seats is based on regions, another euphemistic term for clans, and the seats for each region are pre-determined. The formula was designed in such a way that it would result in UDUB's desired conclusion. Even before the parties began to gear up for the elections, there are already winners and losers at the outset. For instance, all seats up for grabs in Odweine and Borama will almost certainly go to UDUB. In a similar fashion, nearly all the seats to be contested in Berbera will unquestionably go to UDUB too. This is based on a secret pact struck by Rayale long ago with Awil and the vice-president, Ahmed Yusuf Yassin. It is therefore a foregone conclusion that the people from these districts, wherever they happen to be in the country, will be voting to UDUB. These are exclusive UDUB territories and will remain off-limits to KULMIYE.

With Sool and eastern Sanaag out of the picture, the battlegrounds will be Balligubadleh, Gabiley and El-Afweyn.

In a letter to the chairman of KULMIYE, according to Somaliland Future, the Mayor of Berbera, who was acting on the express orders of the central government, informed Ahmed Mohamoud Silanyo, in no uncertain terms, that he would not be allowed to make speeches or campaign in central Berbera. UCID leader was equally refused permission to make speeches in Berbera by the government although its leader, more often than not, allies himself with UDUB.

An example of how the electoral formula is so grossly unfair is, for instance, a prospective candidate from Hargeisa will have to garner over 10,000 votes (based on the results of last presidential elections) in order to secure a single seat in the parliament whereas the same number of votes would enable the people of Berbera to have three and half MPs.

Such electoral system is not only an epitome of injustice but also a recipe for disaster, taking into account of the deep-rooted discontent and tensions that simmer beneath the surface.

The government is fully aware that several communities have already expressed dissatisfaction with the unfair electoral system to be employed but, as usual, this president refused to lend an ear to these people. It was grievances of a similar nature, a simple contest of clan interests, which led to the intra-Issaq civil strife in 1994. Now the same spectre seems to have raised its ugly head yet again in Somaliland. But why Rayale would care so long as this infamous formula gives him the upper hand?

Such an unjust system based upon opportunistic juggling of clan interests probably poses a potent menace to Somaliland's survival than anything else.

KULMIYE may have thrown down the gauntlet to UDUB by demanding an election for election's sake, without giving a serious thought as to how the formula was designed in the first place but soon they will be crying their eyes out for having made a terrible mistake by taking a leap into the unknown.

KULMIYE's willingness to get aboard the fashionable bandwagon of elections will only legitimise the diktats of Rayale for another three years unless the impeachment does not seal his fate at the end of the parliament's recess although rumours abound that Rayale would destroy Somaliland if he were impeached.

KULMIYE is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea: if they do partake in the elections, they are bound to lose. If they don't, the better, it will take two to tango. UCID, the party that stands for justice, will play the game with UDUB no matter how unjust the electoral system is. It may be a bitter pill to swallow, but the truth of the matter is that UDUB will win hands down. It is hard to see how otherwise an UDUB administration can survive even for a few months without securing a comfortable majority in the House of Representative.

KULMIYE's woes are further compounded by UDUB's readiness to make use of all the available state resources at its disposal such as transport, media etc; In addition to that, petrol prices have already been doubled ahead of the parliamentary elections and salaries of government employees were put on hold in order to save sufficient slush fund to buy swing votes.

No matter how deep the opposition reach into their pockets, they are unlikely to match an irresponsible government, which, if need be, could dump billions of Somaliland notes into the market on or before the Election Day.

Surely, the people did not die in droves to overthrow an oppressive regime only to replace it with another of its kind run by people afflicted with tribal leprosy. It is imperative for people to realise that this is not going to be a genuine, fair and free election but a pseudo-election designed to hoodwink the international community and satisfy the whims and prerogatives of the few who are loyal to the government.

Second, while speaking on behalf of the NEC, Adami was also acting as a mouthpiece for Rayale, when he said that `the National Electoral Commission has ample evidence that Somaliland would be recognised if the parliamentary election was held in the country and concluded without any disturbances or violence'. The people were not expecting Adami to talk about contentious party politics. They were expecting him to talk about how a fair and free election would be conducted, how a level playing field (though out of question) would be created for all parties, how on this occasion the NEC would ensure the lorries carrying the ballot boxes would not get bogged down in a muddy track somewhere in the country, how they would take a great deal of care that this time round their numbers would add up and what methods they would use to avoid a repeat of the last presidential election, how the ballot boxes would be evenly distributed according to the demographic breakdown of each village, district and settlement and so on. Instead, the chairman ventured into the politics of diplomatic recognition and played right into the hands of Rayale.

Adami dwelt on the much-circulated issue of recognition of Somaliland by mollifying the people of Burao with lies about a bogus recognition, which was out of Somaliland's reach since 1991. He pointed out that recognition of Somaliland is round the corner and that the people of Burao should not spoil the fruits of their hard work and the bitter liberation struggles waged. In a similar manner, the Minister of Education, Hassan Haji Mohamoud Warsame (Gadweine), said, according to Qarannews, that the country would be recognised after the national assembly elections. This is the election message that the government has lately been trying to hammer home. Just like Adami, Gadweine cautioned the people of Sheikh to be wary of the `enemies of Somaliland, within and abroad, who are out to destabilise Somaliland's nationhood'.

As we know, a country can only be afforded with a diplomatic recognition when it has a population of its own, when there is legitimate authority given to it by the people, and when that authority exerts full control over its whole territory. So far, the latter (the entire region of Sool and eastern part of Sanaag) remain outside the authority of Somaliland.

How can a government, which has no control over a large junk (not less than one-third) of its territory, be recognised by the international community? For a long time, the Sool people had been the unenthusiastic passengers of the Somaliland ship of state, largely through no fault of their own, although there are hardcore tribal fundamentalists who had always wanted to merge with their Majeerteen brethren in Puntland.

Sool was an issue that vexed successive Somaliland administrations and it will continue to haunt future administrations so long as Rayale wants to keep the Sool people out of the picture of Somaliland.

Only fools and the ignorant will believe that recognition of Somaliland is close at hand and will be delivered on a silver platter once the election is over. The majority of European countries invested time, energy and money on Somalia's government-in-exile headed by the strongman of Majeertiniya, Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf. Until this mobile government collapses somewhere in the world and there is no foreseeable ray of hope on the horizon that it will ever stand on its feet again, the issue of Somaliland's recognition will continue to be as illusive as ever. We know that Abdullahi Yusuf was impressed upon by many countries including Britain that he and his government should not meddle in the internal affairs of Somaliland.

It remains inexplicable how ample evidence stating that Somaliland would be recognised came into the possession of the National Electoral Commission. One would have thought that such evidence would rest in the hands of president Rayale or the Foreign Minister, Edna Adan Ismail. How these evidences came into the possession of the NEC is as baffling as the chairman's bizarre statement. At any rate, this is a clear testimony that the NEC is nothing more than an offshoot of UDUB.

No wonder why Rayale was fighting tooth and nail not to let Mohammed Hashi to become a member of this Udub-ised commission. No wonder why he would not even let KULMIYE to nominate anyone to the commission?

If Somaliland were recognised after the parliamentary elections, although the entire subject of this self-determination has been studiously avoided in the international fora, it would be entirely due to other factors but not as a result of holding elections. There is no single country in the world from Slovenia to Macedonia where the condition of diplomatic recognition was dependent upon holding democratic elections. It's a cheap propaganda and nonsensical to say that Somaliland's recognition is dependent upon the holding of parliamentary elections.

There is no doubt that, at some point, Somaliland will get a diplomatic recognition but when it will come is beyond anyone's guess. It is just another UDUB gimmickry to say that recognition is round the corner.

It is said that a lie travels half way around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. People are sick and tired of having damn lies rammed down their throat all the times by Rayale and his unscrupulous clique.

With polio emerging in two countries near to Somalia and Somaliland, the UN's public health agency is now launching nationwide anti-polio drives in the two countries to protect millions of children from the paralysing virus, the UN reports.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva is leading the large "emergency immunisation" campaigns in Somaliland and Puntland, which later will head on to southern Somalia. "The outbreaks of polio in Ethiopia and Yemen, coupled with large population movements between Somalia and its neighbours, have put Somali children at risk of polio," said David Heymann, Polio Eradication Representative at WHO.

The polio virus now at Somaliland's and Somalia's doorsteps has its origin in Northern Nigeria, where religious authorities stopped the worldwide immunisation campaign for one year, based on conspiracy theories. Polio, which was on its way to become globally eradicated, thus was able to start spreading from Nigeria again, and the virus has moved into countries that had eliminated the disease years ago.

From Northern Nigeria and Niger, the virus rapidly spread to most West African countries. Lately, polio has also spread eastwards through Chad. Over the past 12 months the disease had also broken out in Sudan, infecting 152 children there. From Sudan, the virus has entered Ethiopia and the Arabian Peninsula.

WHO now fears a further spread on the Horn and towards East Africa if the virus is not stopped by emergency immunisation, such as the ones planned for Somalia and Somaliland. "It is crucial that all efforts are made to ensure that the polio virus is not allowed to reverse the gains made so far in Somalia," the WHO representative for Somalia, Ibrahim Betelmal, said.

WHO said that, together with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), it has organised tens of thousands of volunteers, health workers and parents, as well as community, religious and traditional leaders, to move from house-to-house and village-to-village across the two countries to hand-deliver the polio vaccine to every child under age 5.

Immunisation would be carried out this weekend in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, on 18 to 20 June in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, and from 24 to 26 June in the south and central areas of the Somalia.

According to WHO, vaccinators would initially use a recently developed oral polio vaccine, which has been known to boost children's immunity more rapidly than the commonly used vaccine. Further campaigns would take place in July, August and September, WHO said in a statement.

By staff writer. c afrol News

A deal, which goes into effect on July 1, closed out a four-day trade mission led by Ethiopian Revenue Minister Getachew Belay at the end of May.

The delegation assessed the port, on the Gulf of Aden in northwestern Somalia, its oil terminal and the roads to Ethiopia's remote eastern regions along the Somali border.

Somaliland, a former British protectorate, broke away from Somalia in 1991 and has been a relatively stable enclave ever since, which held its first multiparty election in 2003. It is not recognised internationally.

The rest of Somalia has had no central authority since the ousting of former President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and has been devastated by warlords and their militias.

"Somaliland is at peace with itself. That means it also has peace with its neighbours," a state of affairs conducive to trade, Mr Getachew said after the deal was signed on May 28.

Somaliland Foreign Affairs Minister Edna Aden Ismail told reporters the port and roads will need upgrading to accommodate the increased trade.

Somaliland and Ethiopia will jointly approach donors for financial aid, Mr Ismail said.

The two legalised bilateral trade in August 2003, established customs posts and agreed to improve road links.

Trade between the two countries is mostly limited to the stimulant leaf qat, fruit and vegetables exported by Ethiopia and food and other commodities exported by Somaliland.

[Rambo] Buses commuting across the city which transport residents in Hargeysa today went on strike following increase in fuel price, which hiked in the recent past. There were no activities going on at the popular bus stops. Few buses which attempted to transport passengers were pelted with stones.

Police force in Hargeysa were found deployed at bus-stops in a bid to protect the few buses operating in the city. The bus operators threatened to increase fares to [Somaliland currrency] 2,000 shillings, from the current rate of 1000, otherwise they vowed to continue with the strike. [Passage omitted]

Hargeysa residents are now forced to hire taxis which charge expensively.

Certain NGOs remain reluctant to use the SPU service, comprising 78 policemen to be deployed throughout Somaliland. For the NGOs, the rate for paying the policemen is as follows: $20 per month par person. For SPU services outside Hargeisa, the tariff is $4 per person per day and $7 for night time protection. Since 1 June, the members of the SPU have been providing the service on a rotating basis and their payment must be made directly to the ministry of Home Affairs in Hargeisa.

In addition to the deaths, more than 2,000 families in parts of central and southern Somalia and another 270 families in the northwestern breakaway republic of Somaliland were displaced, it said.

The raging flood waters caused extensive damage, including to bridges, as they swept through villages, uprooting large trees and burying property under mud, UNICEF said in its monthly review of the situation in Somalia.

One resident of the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa, where the offices of Handicap International and a French charity had to be evacuated, said it was the worst flood in the area since 1953, UNICEF said.

The flooding began in late April in both Somalia and neighboring Ethiopia after torrential rains hit the region. At least 170 people in Ethiopia's southern Somali state were killed by flash floods or eaten by crocodiles.

First, there is nothing positive in Somaliland about the legacy of the controversial English global trotter, who didn't even appreciated the generous hospitality of the Somali race during his infamous trips through our land. Afterward, he oxymoronically despised and ridiculed everything about the Somalis or black race ad nausea . Second, it could be argued that his only known legacy in S/land is more than 80 years of outright colonialism and another 45 years of socio-political upheavals and identity crises. Lastly, it seems that current situation is comparatively and radically different from that of captain Burton trips' era for a number criteria as the today's engagement consists :

Consensual agreements between a two brotherly neighbouring African black nations.

Implemented as an equal and reciprocal terms rather colonial and servant relationship.

The area's history trade partnership, though varied in scale, is century years old and existed long before the arrival of imperial R. F. Burton.

The present accord is taking place at the dawn of 21st technological and communication innovations, instead of 18th century.

Political borders weren't existed between Harar and Berbera back then in 1855, and the whole region was under the same geo-political sphere of influence-Islam.

Today's officials conduct themselves not under any colonial disguise, but rather under a modern diplomatic atmosphere.

The above mentioned project's name specifically honours the S/land city of Bebera, because of its unique and modern geo-commerce strategic position.

Clearly, today's situation has little in common with the past.

Another suggested short-list name by the author was " An Old Islamic City Gets Access". Well, nothing is religious about the contemporary Harar anymore. After the bloody, brutal conquest of Atse Menelik II in 1887 and its long, subsequent reign of terror and social engineering, which were carried out by emperor H. Sillasse and Col.Mengistu that span for another seventy years, the city and its Islamic heritage are never be same. It completely transformed to the better or worse, depending whom you ask and how you see it.

Albeit UNESCO is recognized the city as being among the world's top heritage sites, an state-of-art of post-secondary institutions and a modern hospital facilities and beer brewery factories are all its today's major flagship. Nearly 87 mosques, some of them empty, including a thousand years old of Abu beker mosque are all left behind from the once thriving, legendary horn African Islamic civilization centre.Who is then interested to visit it for a religious symbols this day and age, let alone pilgrimage? Today, the Aderi natives and their cohabitants are more in tune with the other Christian orthodox than their neighbouring Muslim Oromos or Somalis.

In another line, the author states as " Britain would find some interest in extolling the name of their fellow explorer..." Again, I'm in the view of that Britain owns Somaliland more, much more, than that. On one hand, Somaliland deserves nothing less than a heartfelt sympathy, if not sincere apology, from Great Britain for her 80 years of colonial negligence, under-development and Cinderella empire status.On the other hand, Somaliland now expect from Britain of not praising enthusiastically in the name of their fellow explorer, but rather to unambiguously spearhead and mitigate along the diplomatic fronts of Somaliland recognition. Anything less would be pure tokenism and empty rhetoric.

Finally, appealing to the sensationalist and publicity inclined media outlets is one thing, while the seriousness and practicality of the project's proper nomenclature compels something else. Definitely Technocratic and project planners have much expertise and insightful in dealing with or inventing of such magical names, and I'm afraid they already have coined a better one for us " The Berbera Corridor". Let stick with it , please! It couldn't be better.

Mohamed A. Awale, Ottawa, Canada. Abdull@ncf.ca

The main question here is that dont this kind of Somali people have a sense of Responsibilty,Dignity and repect towards their fellow Somali & African citizens?

One of journalism Principals is based upon Being Objective & Righteous towards one and all, and at the same time operate as the tools of education to our people.

We realy wonder Why you dont write the truth about the genocide that was conducted in the name of Somalis to citizens of Somaliland.

We have been Victims My Little Freind and we therefore do not support or encourage evilness of any kind at any place.

Mind you that many Citizens of Somaliland were systematicaly assasinated between the beggining of the 80S to the end of the 80s .

Somaliland Believes in Global Peace.

Why not Seek & Write the truth Somaaljecel.

We think its a shame to all those that fabricate news and mislead our African Neighbours and the whole world.

Somaliland will prevail.

Please Read the So Called "Secret" report below.

Somalia web site says Ethiopia planning to import nerve gas via Somaliland May 31, 2005/ Asia Intelligence Wire

Text of report by Somali website Somaaljecel on 30 May

Secret reports we have obtained say that the Ethiopian ministers who recently visited Hargeysa, the capital of Somaliland administration, have signed an agreement with the Somaliland authorities allowing the Ethiopian Government to use Berbera Port to ship in nerve gas for use against Eritrea.

The reports said that the Ethiopian ministers presented the Riyale administration with two proposals, one of which it accepted.

One proposal sought the use of Berbera Port to import the dangerous chemical; the other sought permission for Ethiopia to develop a new natural harbour near Berbera Port, which would allow the neighbouring country to import anything it wants - arms or chemicals.

The Riyale administration is said undecided about the latter proposal.

Somaliland ministers have left for Ethiopia, accompanying the visiting Ethiopian ministers. There were no details about their trip to Ethiopia.

The Somaliland ministers will deliver a message from President Dahir Riyale Kahin to Ethiopian Prime Minister Zenawi, as well as hold talks with senior Ethiopian Government officials on the [port development] issue.

Nerve gas is extremely toxic. If a tiny hole is punctured in a barrel containing the gas, the chemical can escape putting people in the area at risk. Saddam Husayn was reported to have used the chemical against Kurds.

The Ethiopian government is said to have bought the chemical from mercenaries. If Ethiopia, a long-time enemy of Somalia, lays its hands on nerve gas, it may use against the Somali people.

Source: Somaaljecel website in Somali 30 May 05

N/B. Final Conclusion:

Somaliland has The Right to conduct trade with all its neighbours and every other Nation in the world.

Somaliland Wishes Peace , Democracy, & economical Stability to the poor African Nations & the whole world.

We wish Peace to all the citizens of the world Wherever they are.

Producer Ali Mohamed, TVsleurope

When Mr Yusuf eventually resolves the more pressing issues for his administration--the location of his interim government and the presence of foreign peacekeepers--the obvious broker in his relations with Mr Kahin is Ethiopia, the country with which both leaders have strong ties.

The postponement of Somaliland's parliamentary elections, which had been due to occur in March, is probably the most serious political crisis of Mr Kahin's presidency so far, given that the elections are widely viewed as the final phase of the self- declared republic's democratisation process.

Faced with two houses of parliament seemingly determined to postpone elections indefinitely, Mr Kahin has handled the situation with skill, deciding not to dissolve parliament, which he had the power to do, but succeeding in pressing through a bill that allows a new date for elections to be set without a national census--the previous election law required a national census to be completed for voting purposes before any new elections could be held.

The new date for parliamentary elections, which will be determined by the national electoral commission, will be in 2005 and should be soon enough to restore international confidence in Somaliland as a viable nation state worthy of recognition.

Large tracts of farmland were also inundated following torrential rains on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Hectares of farmland that had already been planted with crops were devastated, and food stocks stored underground was also washed away.

According to elders in the affected areas, the Juba River burst its banks, flooding more than 30 villages in the district. More than 500 huts were swept away and at least 120 animals killed.

An elder from one of the hardest hit areas, Farah Mohamud, told IRIN that an elderly woman and two children were among the seven people who had been confirmed dead.

The floodwater submerged some villages and destroyed roads linking Bu'ale to the towns of Jilib and Afmadau. Local officials said most of the affected areas were still inaccessible, raising fears that the number of casualties could be higher.

Many displaced families moved to higher ground, and some sought refuge at a nearby school in a hilly area.

Most Bu'ale district residents are farmers and irrigate their crops with water from the Juba River. They grow sorghum, maize, beans, fruits and vegetables, which they sell to local traders and businessmen from other regions.

Those affected also included hundreds of pastoralists who had migrated from drought-stricken areas in search of pasture and water.

Flooding was also reported in Qardo town in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, following heavy rains. At least one person was killed, hundreds of huts were damaged and crops and livestock were swept away.

Last month, flooding in the Hiiran region of south-central Somalia displaced thousands of families and inundated many hectares of farmland in and around Beletweyne, the regional capital.

A source close to the oil company, who wanted to be anonymous explained, how the company was busy lately to root out any competition from other companies. For instance, he mentioned how TOTAL demanded from RED SEA Company; a small privately owned oil company will be allowed to use the fuel tanks only, if they paid $500,000 or deposited oil of equal amount in the fuel tanks.

At the beginning of March this year, RED SEA Company decided to bring a tanker to the Port, in order to use the fuel tanks, following TOTAL's initial demands. TOTAL refused to allow the tanker to use the fuel tanks. According to our source, the Port Manager, Mr. Ali Xoor-xoor intervened and gave permission to the tanker, after two days.

Another bizarre act by TOTAL was to dismantle five sophisticated, state-of-the-art oil pipes, built by the Soviet Union during the late seventies in Berbera for refueling purposes and later rebuilt by the United States military to refuel, during the 1980s, when they used Berbera as a military base. The pipes were built to provide quick supply of fuel to tankers, vehicles and aircraft all at the same time.

According to some political analysts, the EU advised TOTAL and its government sponsors about the high cost of repair and maintenance of oil pipes. In addition the EU estimated that Somaliland uses only 2000 tons of oil each month and that small amount of oil can be used by only one pipe, they argued.

TOTAL decided to dismantle the sophisticated system, in order to use an old system, built by the British Shell company in the 1950s.

Other analysts, call the dismantling of the 5 pipes high noon robbery. They accuse TOTAL of selling the five sophisticated oil pipes to the Arab Financiers of the Port in Djibouti for the amount of 90 million dollars. How else can you justify the elimination of such incredible oil pipes and replace it for an old pipe that has to be maintained once every five years, they say. Many intellectuals call TOTAL's action an economic war, geared towards hurting the Ethiopia - Somaliland agreement on May 28. According to these groups, TOTAL, which is based in Djibouti has an economic stake in the area. They argue that TOTAL was the only oil company serving Ethiopia's oil needs from Djibouti, during the past decade, and that Ethiopia will be free to deal with other oil companies, if it uses Berbera as her main port of entry. Therefore, when Ethiopia decided last week to use Berbera port, TOTAL began to sabotage the agreement between the two countries, by destroying the main oil pipes and, essentially forcing Somaliland's government to use its oil fuel tanks for local consumption purposes only. Furthermore, Somaliland's inability to handle Ethiopia's economic needs, will force her to use Djibouti facilities. This will in turn, force Ethiopia to use TOTAL as its main source of oil, they maintain. TOTAL will not only dominate Ethiopia's oil needs but the company's aim is to control Somaliland's economy by becoming the only company that owns both the wholesale and retail of the oil in the country, the intellectuals conclude.

According to reliable sources, TOTAL rented several gas stations around the country already. They are also in the process of eliminating the competition entirely through their refusal to use the fuel tanks. If they succeed in doing that, they will become the only source of oil, which makes them a monopoly. In a free market economy, monopoly is not allowed, because it cripples the economy which leads to stagnation and political instability. The economic ties between Ethiopia and Somaliland will come to a standstill, if TOTAL gets away with its sinister moves, many analysts argue. It also reminds many people of the economic and political hurdles that Somaliland went through during her recent past, including the international ban of Somaliland livestock, and the role EU played. It was the EU's research claims about Somaliland's livestock trade, which was published on March 1997 that led to the livestock ban on November 1997. Many people are wondering if TOTAL's war on our economy is a result of EU's advice to limit Berbera Port for local consumption only.

Wednesday at 10 a.m, members of the Somali government-in-exile were finally kicked out of the Nairobi hotels where they have been staying for the last three years. The Kenyan government's action may seem a bit harsh and humiliating but then again, it is highly unlikely that Somalis would have vacated the hotels on their own. Moreover, the Somali politicians in Kenya have shown again and again that they have no sense of shame. This is a crowd that is used to assassination attempts on their head honcho and bloody fights among its parliamentarians, so being forced out of a hotel should be a minor thing by their standards. Initial reports confirm that is exactly how a lot of them look at it, and that many of them have reacted by simply taking their luggage to the Isli slum to join the Somalis who live there. This is a fitting end for a reconciliation meeting that had lost its way long ago. Even those who don't like this miserable ending cannot honestly claim it came as a surprise, for the writing was on the wall for a long time.

Now that the party is over, we can safely say this about the conference:

1- It was a great waste of time, money and energy

2- The selection of Col. Abdillahi Yusuf as president contributed a lot to the failure of the outcome. Abdillahi Yusuf's strategy was to get foreign troops to conquer the south for him. Barring a last minute change of heart, that strategy looks like it has failed because he could not get any foreign troops to do the dirty work for him. The fact that his calculations about getting foreign troops turned out so wrong, is an indication of his shallowness as a strategist.

3- With the end of the Nairobi saga and future action shifting to Somalia, the politics of southern Somalia is going to be mostly focused on Mogadishu, where Abdillahi Yusuf has no base, which will result in even more marginalization for him and his supporting cast.

This time we were a group, people working with Somalis in Norway, from local authority refugee offices and different organizations. Apart from Hargeisa we visited Las Geel, Berbera, Sheikh and Burco. After the rains the countryside was beautiful and green, and for those who were first time visitors to Somaliland it was wonderful and surprising!

The purpose of the trip was to get an impression of the country, and to create a better understanding and knowledge of the background of the people who are now our fellow countrymen. We have 15 000 Somalis in Norway, a large proportion from Somaliland.

After spending some time in the country, and having been welcomed so generously everywhere, our group has already developed a keen interest in the people, the history and the developments here, an interest which will have an effect on further contact between our two nations.

There were plenty of warnings about security and so on, but we never felt uncomfortable or threatened in any way, on the contrary, we were met with kindness and hospitality wherever we went.

One evening I realized I had lost a wallet containing nearly $ 500 and my return ticket to Norway. I tried to think where I might have lost it, feeling quite sure it hadn't been stolen. If I had accidentally left or dropped it somewhere, I wouldn't have blamed a person in need if he or she had been tempted and kept the money. As the days went by, I was beginning to think that had happened. Then I got a message from Bile Restaurant that it had been found by an employee there, and that they had taken time finding me. I went to pick it up, and everything was there! Imagine my relief and gratitude! I doubt if the same would have happened in Oslo, where I have had my bag stolen on several occasions!

It was a pleasure to introduce my Norwegian group to this city and country, which I have grown so fond of during several visits in the last 14 years, and from my work and friendship with Somalis in Norway, and to see what a positive impression they got, thanks to the brave and hospitable people.

About a hundred people who are now Norwegian citizens, but have returned to their original homeland, celebrated the Norwegian national day, May 17. in the NRC compound, along with us. It was a wonderful, emotional occasion.

I hope the good relations between our two nations will continue and develop further, that we can support you in your struggle to rebuild your shattered country.

The word has already spread about our successful stay, and I hope to bring many more Norwegians to Somaliland in the future, the fan club is growing! Until next time, thank you!

Ingeborg Vard
- en, Oslo, Norway.

Three aims of this conference stand out:

1- To promote dialogue between Somalilanders

2- To discuss ways of improving Somaliland's education and economy

3- To contribute to the efforts toward Somaliland's recognition

The fact that this conference is taking place in the United States is of great significance, for although Somalilanders in the United States played a crucial part in the anti-Siyad Barre struggle, lately, they have not been as active as they used to be and are lagging behind Somalilander communities in Europe. We hope this conference is the beginning of the kind of involvement that Somalilanders in the United States had shown during the height of the anti-Siyad Barre struggle. If they were able to do it then, surely they can do it now.

If one looks at the latest parliamentary mess in isolation, one would be baffled by what is happening. But if one sees it in the context of what has been going on for the last few years, one will notice that it is part of a pattern of manufactured, unnecessary and avoidable crises which appear in Somaliland suddenly and out of nowhere every few months and inflict great damage on the young republic. First there was the dispute about the impact (or "saamaynta" to use a much abused Somali word) that the Embagathi conference was going to have on Somaliland. Then there was the maneuverings by some parliamentarians to sack the speaker simply because they were unhappy with him which precipitated his resignation. Now some members of parliament are at it again. This time they want to impeach the president for alleged corruption and losing control of Sool region.

On the face of it, these are serious charges. But they have several problems. The most obvious one is why they didn't present their case against the president all these years and waited until now? Secondly, the reasons they gave for their drive to impeach the president are not the real ones. The real reasons, which are widely known, have to do with the coming parliamentary elections. Some of them are angry with the president for insisting on elections because they see little chance of being elected. Some are upset with him because his party, UDUB, would not back their candidacy. While others have some other misgivings about the elections or the president.

One of the unfortunate consequences of the impeachment drive was the disagreement that surfaced between the honorable speaker of the Parliament and his first and second deputies. These three gentlemen are some of the pillars of the country and we trust what happened was just a passing a cloud. Mr Qaybe is one of the elder statesmen of Somaliland and should always be accorded the respect and honor he deserves. We condemn any signs of disrespect, threats or intimidation toward him or any Somaliland citizen.

To the parliamentarians involved in the latest crisis, we say: the elections are going to take place soon. No amount of diversion and stumbling blocks are going to stop it. They are going to take place not just because the president wants it but because the people want it, the international community wants it and Somaliland's democratic process requires it. So be good citizens and get ready for elections instead of doing further damage to your credibility.

There is an American saying: if it talks like a duck, walks like a duck, and feels like a duck, then it's a duck. Somaliland today talks, walks and feels like a sovereign state. The latest symbol of this was the spectacle of one of modern Africa's founding fathers, a former head of state, Dr Kenneth Kaunda disembarking from the Airlines of another sovereign state, Ethiopia, at Egal international airport.

Somaliland has come a long way, but it still has a long, hard road ahead of it. Somaliland's people expect their political elite to focus on consolidating what has been achieved, and to make plans for the tasks ahead. One way Somaliland's political elite can help the country is by breaking the habit of manufacturing one crisis after another.

Somaliland's patient and persistent diplomatic efforts seem to be finally paying off. One only has to look at the steady stream of high-level diplomats and statesmen that have been visiting Somaliland in the last few months. There was the vice-chairman of the African Union, the British delegation, and now one of the founding fathers of modern Africa, H.E Dr. Kenneth Kaunda is in Hargeisa. There was also President Dahir Rayale Kahin's superb interview in al-Jazira where millions of Arabic-speaking people watched him explain Somaliland's achievements. Right now while Somaliland is receiving statesmen, Somaliland's foreign minister is in the United States discussing bilateral issues with the US government. Somaliland is definitely a country on the move. Even the BBC Somali Service had to admit the momentum toward recognizing Somaliland that is building up in the African Union.

President Dahir Rayale Kahin came to the May 18th celebration knowing full well that the diplomatic winds are now in Somaliland's favor, which put him in a strong position from which to address a host of questions. His performance was robust and engaging. He worked his audience and they responded. The only sour note was some of the harsh language the President used against the opposition. As the President of Somaliland, he should have been more restrained. Parliament should also know that it's not just the president, but many Somalilanders are fed up with their antics. Members of parliament should be busy preparing for elections instead of trying to blackmail the president with the threat of impeachment.

Ali Samater was the former prime minister and secretary of defense during Siyad Barre's dictatorial regime. He is now facing charges in the US of having committed crimes against humanity during the brutal war against the civilian populations in what was then called North Somalia and now is the Somaliland Republic.

Africa Watch estimated that 50,000 people were killed during the bombardment of the civilian population, and 300,000 had fled across the border to Ethiopia.

As the pressure of impeachment mounts and the noose tightens around the neck of Rayale, the government's darlings are beginning to resort to dirty tactics and acts of extreme measures in their frantic attempts to prevent Ahmed Mohamoud Aden (Qaybe), the Chairman of the House of Representatives, from opening the parliament following its closure by Abdulqadir Jirde, the Deputy Chairman, against the will of the majority of MPs.

Out of the prying eyes of the public, a relentless and hair-raising clandestine war is being fought by the government's agents against Qaybe and other forty or so legislators who are vigorously trying to ram the impeachment motion through the parliament. The agents, mostly former experts in psychological torture during Barre's regime, are making every attempt to keep the rebellious MPs on lead, until they are made to toe in line with the government. Among other absurdities, the agents accuse the MPs, who initiated the motion, that they are unwittingly serving Somaliland's enemies, that the impeachment is a plot masterminded from outside the country by KULMIYE elements, which could be overcome only by a complete obedience to the authority.

The Internal Minister, Ismail Adan Faqash, is playing a hardball, too. He displays his macho image with bravado. He demonstrates to the public that he is unfeeling, rough, tough and dumb and, alas, there are incredulous young men, whom he transported from deep Haud who often copied his harmful image.

Mr. Ismail, the former small-time informer, who copied and excelled the mannerism of his former mentors, and who is known to take a perverse pleasure in putting his own folks through hell, began to use hirelings of his own kin and kith to threaten, intimidate and even punch MPs who put their signatures to the impeachment motion. By the same token, poor Qaybe was repeatedly harassed, intimidated and humiliated in public since the day he set foot on the Somaliland soil on his return from a short visit to Dubai. In one instance, he even had `a gun put to his head' according to a Somaliland Future report. Moreover, the government's spin-doctors are weaving a web of lies at an alarming rate and all the government's propaganda apparatus are functioning round-the-clock to ensure that Qaybe is utterly smeared and character assassinated completely.

Already accusations fly in Hargeisa that Qaybe belongs to a fifth column and the destiny of Somaliland could not be trusted in his hands, that he is a Somaliwayn supporter and a sworn enemy who has a hidden agenda to advance, that he is a fire-breathing demagogue conspiring the Issaq clan and would love to see them [Issaqs] feast on their own flesh, that he maintains a secret communication channel with Abdillahi Yusuf to keep Somaliland divided, that his recent sojourn and travel to Dubai was part of a wider conspiracy designed to forestall Somaliland's recognition. Such is the frighteningly desperate acts of propaganda being tossed around in Hargeisa by Rayale's spies and propagandists against the hapless Chairman. However, Rayale's henchmen seem to believe that the people do not have indeed the sophistication to see through any ruse or propaganda they put up.

The unprincipled Ismail Faqash who grovels at the feet of Rayale is ready to deliver a blow to anyone who stands in Rayale's way irrespective of whether that individual is right or wrong. He has the liberty to sentence anyone over the phone and the power to have them sent to Hargeisa Central Prison where inmates are wallowing in a mire of their own faeces and urine, where every 92 inmates are huddled together in a jam-packed room like animals that are about to be conveyed to the Abattoir.

We were led to believe at the inauguration of Rayale's presidency that Sultans and Aqils have no place in the so-called modern democratic state. However, somehow, Rayale found the need to appeal to the Sultans especially those who are inclined to UDUB to exert maximum pressure on Qaybe not to re-open the parliament, and, moreover, to impress upon him the grave consequences that such an act might lead to the country.

In BBC Somali interview, Qaybe said that he sent his car to collect his stepmother, who broke her leg, from Buhoodle. However, the police intercepted the car at Qorilugud and turned it back to Burao under the express orders of the Somaliland Police Commander, Mohamed Egeh. In a boldfaced lie, Egeh said that the car was crossing the border into Ethiopia. But Qaybe retorted, "Since when the border was relocated to Qorilugud".

While simmering in anger, Qaybe said in a diplomatic language that the turning back of his car to Burao was apparently as result of the impeachment issue he was handling although when he appealed to Rayale, the car was allowed to travel back to Buhodle.

The spies and informers are circling like vultures around the dwellings of each and every MP who support the impeachment motion. Their movements are constantly monitored in every step of the way and every word they utter is relayed to Rayale. The campaign to kill the motion before it is tabled is in full swing and the drama of the impeachment is still unfolding in Hargeisa.

It is an undisputable fact that former spies drawn from the defunct National Security Service (NSS) of the ousted military junta surround Rayale. These men were entrusted with various administrative posts in his government. According to ICG `He [Rayale] created his own Mukhabaaat, which is accountable only to him and is not governed by any legislation. Its purpose and powers remain unknown and it exercises its powers in the absence of public sight'. Millions of taxpayer's money is spent on who is taking qat with whom and a senseless propaganda war against KULMIYE.

A few weeks back on 17 May 2005, a strikingly similar, but less publicised, drama was unfolding in Hargeisa. President Rayale asked his close aide and confidante, Abdi Hassan Buuni, behind closed doors, to bring together and hold a clandestine meeting for members of the Somali Elders Council who are inclined or friendly to the government. Buuni, the Minister of the Bicameral Parliament (a euphemistic term meaning bribe distributor) often carries around between the two parliaments a brief case seemingly full of dollars to the brim.

He pops up only when serious disagreements erupt in the parliament between members who support the government and those who oppose it particularly over motions that are deemed to jeopardize the government. More often than not, Buuni skilfully deploys his sweeteners to lure those wobbly members who are often rumoured to be immoral, unthrifty, living-for-the-moment, and happy go lucky. The loyalty of those who are financially in dire straits is also bought.

Whatever method Buuni may have used on 17th May, he managed to bring together 42 members of the House of Elders to take a friendly Qat session with him at the former residence of president Rayale when he was a serving vice-president to late Egal. Although what exactly transpired between Buuni and members of the elders who attended that Qat session is not yet fully known, nonetheless, it was reported, according to some participants, that the purpose of the meeting was basically to contemplate ways and means to hatch a plot to unseat Saleban Mohamoud Aden, the Chairman of the House of Elders who is known to be implacably opposed to the wrongdoings and excesses of Rayale's government. Buuni's idea however was apparently to portray the Qat session as a friendly meeting between him and the elders but there was more sinister to it than the public was told.

When the House reconvened its usual scheduled session the next day, the Chairman, Saleban Mohamoud Aden (Gaal) was reported to have said to the members, "An unscheduled session [shir doceed ] was held yesterday outside this House". Immediately, finger pointing, recriminations and commotion erupted between those who attended Buuni's meeting and those who stayed away from it. Then, the Chairman abruptly ended the session.

The truth of the matter is it is the government and not KULMIYE that often masterminded conspiracies against the Chairmen of both Houses of the Parliament namely Qaybe and Saleban Gaal. And it is the government that continues to witch hunt these innocent men to this day. These men are being witch hunted and got into trouble none other than the favours they have done for the government in the past.

Rayale claims that he was elected democractically, and rightly so. He was quoted as saying, "I was elected by the people and only the people can remove me". Well if he is really honest about what he says, then he must submit himself to, and show confidence in, the system that propelled him into the highest post of the land. He must put his trust in the legislators who were at his beck and call yesterday. However, if Rayale continues to show an utter contempt for the law of the land and the constitution, then that will be a clear and an open invitation to anarchy.

It is time Rayale to show his masculinity, bite the bullet, and face the impeachment like his predecessor.

JAMAL MADAR LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

Rayaale's supporters can be divided into three groups: henchmen, apologists and bully boys. In this short article, I shall give examples and describe a representative sample of each of these types of individuals.

A good example of the henchmen is Abdulqadir Haji Ismail (Jirde), the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. His loyalty to Rayaale knows no bounds. He was instrumental in naming him interim President following Egal's death and now he is trying to keep in power despite the enormous disenchantment with his government, which some may describe as outright rebellion against it. When nearly 50 MPs signed a motion demanding Rayaale's impeachment, Jirde announced over Radio Hargeisa that the House will take a recess of 45 days - an act which contravened both the Internal Regulations of the House and the spirit of the Constitution. One may wonder as to the real reason behind such a cavalier attitude towards the laws of the land from a man who likes to portray himself as a moderate, rational politician. The answer is that he is a self-serving henchman, who does not care about anything else except keeping Rayaale in power and gaining some material benefits in return.

What is more astonishing is his assertion that the Speaker of the House had no right to reopen the parliament even after he had received a motion signed by 42 MPs demanding this very thing. He even threatened the Speaker by saying that he would be held responsible for the consequences if he went ahead and opened the parliament. His implied threat was that the country would be plunged into anarchy if Rayaale were impeached because Rayaale and his henchmen would fight back. They said the same thing in May 2003 when it became apparent to Rayaale that he had lost the presidential election and ordered his henchmen to bully the electoral commission to make him the winner. So their argument is: accept the presidency of Rayaale or else there will be no peace in the country. This argument is rubbish because if the impeachment motion goes through both houses, then Rayaale will have to go and if it does not, then there will be no problem. It is very clear who is going to destroy the peace if the impeachment motion goes through. It is Rayaale and his henchmen. In other words, we will all have to be slaves and sycophants in order to enjoy a measure of peace. God forbid! We did not fight against the dictatorship of Siad Barre in order to exchange it with that of Rayaale.

Let me now come to the bully boys. The chief bully boy in the Rayaale administration is Ismail Faqash, the Minister of Interior. During the parliamentary crisis discussed above he was always seen in the courtyard between the two houses of parliament where he was said to be cajoling, bribing or bullying one MP or another into withdrawing his name from the impeachment motion. Apparently the MPs from Sool and Eastern Sanaag were the most adamant. So he resorted to using some real bully boy tactics upon them by hiring one of his kinsmen to land a blow or two on the head of one such MP. Mr Adan (Qaybe), the House Speaker himself was reported to have been physically threatened by the same hired thug. This is very strange indeed in a country that claims to be a democracy and is seeking international recognition. Those of us who support freedom and open government are totally behind the MPs of Sool and Eastern Sanag and utterly condemn Ismail's bully boy tactics and his use of utterly irrelevant clan politics in Somaliland. We want to tell our fellow compatriots: we are with you and not with Ismail and his master, Rayaale. So keep up the good work!

As for the apologists, the foremost apologist, at least in the electronic press, is Mohamud Tani. I have seen him write a number of articles in which he was indirectly trying to defend Rayaale's record by criticising KULMIYE. However, this is an irrational way of going about it. If you want to defend a government in power, you should do that by citing its achievements during its term of office not by vilifying the opposition. You should tell us what Rayaale's government did during the three years it was in power. What has it done for the people of Somalilandwhich is worth mentioning? The answer is nothing. That is why you are vilifying KULMIYE and its supporters. Moreover, the things you mention there are so meaningless that they are unworthy of a reply.

Mr Tani was one of a group of people who put their lives on the line by working for the rights of the people of Somaliland in the 1980's. They were fighting for good governance and economic and social development. Can Tani now tell me the good governance that Rayaale has introduced in Somaliland when the system of justice has become the laughing stock of the international human rights organisations? When the prisoners wallow in their excrement? When the government itself ignores the Constitution on a daily basis? What economic and social development programmes has the Rayaale government carried out? Or are you supporting him because you belong to the same clan as the President?

First of all, let me on the outset make clear that this article does not demean in any manner or portray in bad faith the mainstream Gudabirsi ethnic group, who are mainly peaceful and loyal to the cause and existence of Somaliland. Second, this article solely concerns an account of the shadowy activities of disloyal and hateful people even though they are members of the Gudabirsi tribe. To proceed, the so called "Awdalians" or "Awdalites" whom I would refer to here as Pariah Awdalians are exclusively members of the Gudabirsi tribe, a minority ethnic group in Somaliland who are known to flirt and connive with the Darood Clan particularly the Majeerteen tribe of Somalia whom they seem to adore even though they do not share similar culture, traditions and customs, intermarriage coalition, and territorial proximity. Although the pariah Awdalians consider themselves as elites of their communities, they are actually a low class lot who mainly live in the diasporas particularly in North America and Europe and who from time and again have incited and misled their ethnic group to the extent of reducing them to a subservient status and faithful servant of their Darood masters at the expense of the Isaaq Clan, the majority ethnic group in Somaliland for no apparent reason other than for their unjustifiable hate, sheer envy, suffocating jealousy, and baseless tribal animosity. It is believed that the source of their animosity emanates from their utter failure to compete with the Isaaq or to emulate them or to match their gifted gallantry in battles, intellect, superior culture, customs and traditions; poetry, music, business prowess, superior way of life, and reputable standing in East Africa, Horn of Africa region, Arab World, and the Western World.

Regardless, the Darood who traditionally despises, shuns and avoids socializing with them in any manner other than to use them as their lackeys for their political ends and who skillfully exploits their meaningless tribal animosity and unjustified hate against the Isaaq whom they share blood relations, intermarriage coalitions and territorial proximity and whom the cunning Daroods dreams of vanquishing from time and immemorial since they consider them as the only stumbling block or the only ethnic group in all of the five Somali inhabited territories in East Africa and Horn of Africa regions that stands in the way of the success of their grand illusion of greatness and hallucination of false glory as inherent in their clandestine Daroodism ideology, a fascist state sanctioned clan supremacy doctrine that seeks to tribally control all state apparatus and function of governments in Somalia on the basis of raw tribalism, divide and conquer mechanism, iron fist rule, sheer oppression, systematic discrimination and gross injustices, endemic corruption, nepotism, embezzlement of national treasury, tribal/personal wealth accumulation, and land grabs dogma. In fact, it is the implementation of this evil doctrine that triggered the ill-advised and disastrous 1977-78 war between Somalia and Ethiopia, which paved the way for the resettling of the so called armed Ogaaden insurgents, a Darood tribe from Ethiopia, on Isaaq inhabited lands; and saw the beginning of outright inhumanity, barbarism and committing of horrendous atrocities against the innocent Isaaq citizens such as gross injustices, indiscriminate arrests, unlawful detentions and unlawful long-term imprisonments, torture, rapes, unexplained disappearances, cold blood murders by way of firing squads, broad daylight robberies and extensive lootings, land and property confiscations, and constant massacres, which in the end mushroomed into the documented full scale annihilation campaign and scorch earth policy to wipe out the entire Isaaq Clan from the phase of this planet. During the period 1980-1991, the innocent Isaaq citizens were inhumanly, barbarously and relentlessly bombarded from the ground with heavy artilleries such as surface to surface missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and tank fire and were also bombarded from the air by war planes such as the Soviet-made Mig 17, Mig 19, and Mig 21 jet fighters by the Somalia Air Force as well as by Hunter Jet fighters hired from the former Rhodesia and Apartheid South Africa, which were piloted by fascist Boer mercenaries. And the aftermath of this evil ethnic cleansing policy was that in Hargeisa city alone 50,000 innocent civilians were brutally killed on the spot, thousands of others were wounded and maimed, and millions of others were either forced over the border as refugees in Ethiopia or rendered as Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP). In addition, most wells and water catchments were either destroyed or poisoned, every private and public property in Hargeisa city, Burao city, and other major cities as well as the adjacent townships, villages, and nomadic settlements, which were inhabited by Isaaq people were mainly looted to the bare bones and then, destroyed and reduced to rubble. What a heinous crime against humanity?

In spite of all these, the beastly genocide and the horrendous crimes against humanity against the innocent Isaaq people only ended when the tyrannical and fascist military regime of Somalia led by the deposed Dictator Siad Barre was soundly defeated in Somaliland by the intrepid Mujahidin of the Somali National Movement (SNM), a mainly Isaaq freedom fighters' guerilla force. This poorly armed SNM Mujahidins displayed their mastery in battle, gallantry, heroism, and soundly defeated and routed the fascist military regime of Somalia, which was one of the most heavily armed and strongest military regimes south of the Sahara and liberated its people and country. Most importantly, this genocidal policy against the Isaaq people had a ripple effect as it undoubtedly led to the disintegration of the Somali Republic and dissolution of the unjust 30-year old union between Somaliland - Somalia states (1960-1991) thereby paving the way for the restoration of the lost independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Somaliland in May 18, 1991 -- the final nail in the coffin of the barbarous enemy of humanity, which brought about the ultimate state collapse, civil war and prevailing anarchy in Somalia.

Apparently, these irrational and back stabber Pariah Awdalians along with their misled communities who were at the period staunch supporters of Dictator Siad Barre and his fascist military regime who for all the wrong reasons were referred to as the "kin of the revolution" who fully participated in the genocide of their innocent Isaaq brethren who have committed horrible crimes against humanity, war crimes, gross violation of human rights, and extensive lootings of urban and rural areas particularly at Hargeisa, Gabiley, Arabsiyo cities, and the adjacent townships who were forgiven and extended unconditional blanket amnesty at the National Reconciliation Conference in Burao in 1991; have after lying low for a couple of years resumed where they temporarily left off their venomous tribalism, hate mongering, divisive policies, subversive activities, propaganda, misinformation, and working tirelessly day in day out to misinterpret, rewrite and discredit the history of the long and bitter struggle of the SNM and that of Somaliland in general and continue unabatedly to malign the entire Isaaq people for no apparent reason. These pariah Awdalians are indeed wolfs in sheep's clothing and are suspected of being one of the most active components of the enemy within, which had been ailing the people and the country since the era of the infamous USP, a Gudabirsi and Dhulbahante (Darood) tribal political party in the 1950's.

It is common knowledge that, on one hand, these pariah Awdalians are in different of the plight of the millions of the innocent Isaaq people during the liberation war. And it is no secret that, while the Isaaq immigrants in the Western capitals were demonstrating and condemning the actions and evils of the fascist military regime in order to bring it to the attention of the international community; the majority of the pariah Awdalians in the diasporas were, at the period, staging counter demonstrations in full support of the regime and its actions against those who were supporting the just cause to defeat the regime in order to save their innocent peoples from inhumanity, barbarity, and total annihilation. Even though this fascist regime was militarily and politically soundly defeated and the people and country was fully liberated at a high human and property cost, the pariah Awdalians are still at their hostile antiques since the era of USP. They continue to arrogantly cheapen the genocide against the Isaaq people in which they fully participated, continue to diminish our quest for freedom, democracy, good governance and rule of law, frustrate all developmental efforts, belittle the achievement and victory of the intrepid SNM freedom fighters/Mujahidin, cheapen the enormous sacrifices of our martyred and living Mujahidin, bad mouth our suffering orphans and widows, malign the entire Isaaq clan, and overtly and covertly works to undermine the cause and existence of the Somaliland, which they refer to in some of their writings as "Isaaqland" and try to justify these direct insults and traitorous activities under the pretext of being unionists or the saviours of the "sacred" unity of Somalia or "Greater Somalia. "!!

On the other hand, these pariah Awdalians who nothing, but freeloaders who desperately yearn for undeserved recognition as a learned people or as the cream of the Somali peoples/nation or as "intellectuals," continue to disseminate their tribalism, hatemongering, and falsehoods and from time to time dump on Somalilanders absurd claims of possessing historical greatness and being part of a non-existent ancient "Glorious Empire called Awdal or Adel in which they were the "Kings," which even the rulers of the Somali Republic starting from the Mohamud Saleeban controlled civilian governments of 1960 - 1969 to the military regime of Dictator Siad Barre of 1969 - 1991 most of whom were led by their Daroods masters whom they staunchly supported did not even include in the history of the country due to its fallacy. Likewise, the British Protectorate of Somaliland and modern independent Somaliland of 1960 as well as the modern Republic of Somaliland of 1991 - present, have not included in their history the existence of such an empire. Furthermore, the French Somaliland and the modern Republic of Djibouti as well as Ethiopia did not include in their history the existence of such an empire in the Horn of Africa region. Worse still, the proponents of these falsehoods argue as if Awdal province had always been or is now for the Gudabirsi tribe alone!! Why is this absurd claim being peddled by these pariah Awdalians who are exclusively from the Gudabirsi tribe and why not claimed by the other ethnic groups who inhabit the province such as the Issa, Isaaq, Gabooye, and others? It seems that these foolhardy tribal minded people think that they are smarter than others and that they can rewrite the history of the region without being detected or challenged. But the reality is that they are neither smart nor knowledgeable about the ethnic configuration, history, affairs, interests, and causes of the respective Somali clans in the region. In fact, it is this kind of illogic and false claims that sowed the seed of discord among the Gudabirsi of Djibouti and the Issa of Djibouti and Ethiopia, which in the end resulted to their political defeat and marginalization of their societies in these countries. And if this pariah Awdalians do not cease their unholy alliance with the enemies of this peaceful people and country or refrain from disturbing the existing peaceful coexistence of the society or desist from their covert claims of huge chunks of other peoples territories or end soon their tribal hostilities against the Isaaq and Issa of Somaliland, there is the likelihood that they may as well be marginalized in Somaliland.

It is open secret that on, one hand, they are flirting, conniving and indulging themselves in what I call political prostitution with the Darood and now with Hawiye Clans of Somalia with the pretext of being unionists at the expense of the Isaaq and cause and existence of Somaliland; while on the other hand, they are doing the same with the Oromo of Ethiopia and Anfar of Djibouti in their shadowy bid to gain undeserved special status in these countries at the expense of the Issa of Ethiopia and Djibouti. And some of their usual political prostitution, this time, includes fabrication of false blood relations with other ethnic groups in order to garner their support, for example, the shameless dubbing of the Oromo as being Oromo Ali and the dubbing of Anfar as being Anfar Ali. These are indeed a colossal falsehood and desperate attempts of trying to weave these ethnic groups into the fold of Samaroon Ali lineage in order to justify a fraudulent blood relation with them!! This is truly evidence of a people without a legitimate cause of their own who have always tampered with the causes, internal affairs, and interests of other ethnic groups in the region. Consequently, this kind of massive blunders or recklessness signifies a desperate people who lack political astuteness, knowledge of local politics, and power competition in the region. In other words, these are power and fame hungry people who lack the knowledge of domestic and foreign politics of Somaliland, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti as it is evident in their various illogic views and arguments contained in their many balderdash articles.

Remarkably, these pariah Awdalians mainly write their balderdash articles in English and rarely write in Somali, the preferred language of their largely Somali audience; for they think that the use of this foreign language would lead others into perceiving them as a learned people or "intellectuals," which they shamelessly refer themselves to from time and again. But what they do not realize is that the people of Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia know who they are, know their tribal position and capabilities in the region, know their reckless tribalism and hate mongering, know their cheap propaganda and misinformation, know their desperate attempts to rewrite history, know their balderdash views, arguments and unfounded allegations; know the extent of their ignorance in relation to the local and foreign politics of the region, and are fully aware of their usual concoction of witchery brew of some greatness and glory in their writings. In fact, the people consider the many balderdash articles they post on Awdalnews, Wardheernews, Hiiraan on line, Somalitalk and other hostile websites as the work of a hell-bent, envious, causeless, disgruntled, and hate filled tribal groups who are unwittingly sowing the seed of discord, disturbing the peaceful coexistence of the citizenry, and fomenting mischief in these peaceful lands. These pariah Awdalians who write some of the most odious and nonsensical articles includes the infamous Ahmed Ismail Samatar and Abdi Ismail Samatar (the mischievous Samatar brothers) and many others whom you are well acquainted with and whom I do not wish to rehash here their usual raw tribalism, hate mongering, misinformation, falsehoods, and demagoguery against the noble Isaaq people and the cause and existence of Somaliland.

Notwithstanding, the so called Awdalnews Network, which is a tribally owned and administered website whose major clientele or audience are these pariah Awdalians, is actually doing disservice to the people of this country particularly to the mainstream Gudabirsi ethnic group, which they have misled from time and again. This website is known to post balderdash articles that constantly insults and bashes the SNM and its Mujahidins to this day, the Isaaq people, and others, and is unwittingly inciting the society in general for no apparent reason, which will only lead to further hostilities in the country and endangerment of the position of their mainstream ethnic group in Somaliland. Therefore, it is up to the politicians, traditional Elders, Religious leaders, and Intellectuals of the mainstream Gudabirsi tribe as well as other Somalilanders to denounce the falsehoods, provocations, incitement, and fueling of tribal hostilities that this website is disseminating. Apparently, this is the only Somaliland website that has so far had the opportunity to interview the president of Somaliland, a pariah Awdalian himself with a dark past whose intention is to undermine the peaceful coexistence of the peaceful brotherly peoples of this country as well to undermine the cause and existence of Somaliland and who is suspected of illegally funding this tribal and disloyal website with tax payers money.

Whatever the case, what they don't understand is that they are unwittingly muddling the civilized political discourse, breaching the peace, tampering with stability of the country, and inciting the general public to their detriment. Given the divisive editorials and articles they post on their website, they seem to be playing with fire; one that will severely burn them and those who adamantly support them.

For the purposes of clarification, the following excerpts from the many balderdash articles posted on Awdalnews, clearly reinforces my initial argument and signifies the level of ignorance, absurdity, and illogic tribal views these disgruntled and causeless groups permeate on the internet and the kind of rubbish they constantly load on our peaceful people, country and the region in general:

Example 1:

ú "The SNM was not the only armed militia that waged an armed struggle against the regime of Siyad Barre..When it comes to the champion among the armed militias and their warlords, surely General Mohamed Farah Aideed and his USC are unchallengeable. No objective person will disagree that it was General Aideed who drove Mohamed Siyaad and his regime from Mogadishu and hence who brought about the end of that regime, the collapse of government institutions, the most important of which was the army. Once the army had disintegrated and vanished away from everywhere, the SNM had simply came out from its hiding places in the bush and mountains and took over Hargeisa and other principal towns in the Isaaq heartland without firing a single shot. That was the sweetest of victories."

ú "But it is almost close to 15years since the SNM accomplished its goal of "liberating" the Isaaq heartland. Given this long passage of time, why then does it continue to hold the unswerving loyalties among its Isaaq adherents? The answer is simple: There have been no other heroes and only villains in the person of the Somaliland government." Source: www.awdalnews.com/wmview.php?ArtID=5259

Example 2:

ú "It is time to admit that SNM had.its crimes and its share of responsibility for the plight of hundreds of thousands of Somalilanders, destructions and annihilation of whole towns and villages and killing of hundreds innocent farmers, businessmen, poets, intellectuals, elders, religious men, and women and children for the crime of belonging to anti-SNM clans."
ú "One wonders whether it ever occurred to the former SNM commanders and fighters that as much as its music for their ears to be called Mujahids, hearing such description may be loathsome to the victims of the SNM."
ú ".can anyone deny the fighters of other clans who fought against the SNM militias in defense of their honor, their property and their existence to be decorated heroes and Mujahids of their concerned clans."
ú "It is time that Somaliland establishes a Truth and Reconciliation Committee in the style of the famous South African one and brings those who committed crimes in the name of the SNM and those of other clans who committed crimes in the name of defending tribal pride to face rule of law. It is also high time to give the victims of both sides the chance to have their stories heard before a neutral court. Only in this way would all Somalilanders embrace the legacy of the SNM beyond its present tribal confines." Source: www.awdalnews.com/wmview.php?ArtID=5150

In addition, to learn more about the past writings of the poor soul responsible for the unfounded allegations as stated on example 2 who also believes that the sadist Mohamed Abdullah Hassan is a Somali hero and who shamelessly markets this odious war criminal `beast-man' Warlord as being equal to Omar al-Mukhtar of Libya and Abdul Qadir Jazairi of Algeria who directly insults and attacks the integrity of the Somali National Movement (SNM), its living and martyred Mujahidins, and their sacrifice in the liberation of our people and Somaliland and who in the past foolishly called the SNM as the "Sadistic Noisome Maniacs (SNM)" who contradicts himself as per the above stated alleged SNM atrocities compared to the allegation in his book that the ".SNM has targeted the Gudabirsi and Dhulbahante tribes" and that "they invaded villages, looted their properties, indiscriminately killed children, women and many innocent nomads" who in a reckless and insulting manner is disputing the ancestral origins and lineage of the noble Isaaq people who to this day continues to spit venomous tribalism, hate mongering, and falsehoods against the entire Isaaq people, the SNM and history of Somaliland in general whom I fear is slowly turning to become the Ayaan Hersi Ali (the Somalia girl who slandered Islam) of Somaliland, given his past slanderous and blasphemous writings about the Divine religion of Islam; read the article titled, "Who is Bashir Goth?" by Somalilandcenter, and click on the following link or type the address: www.somalilandcenter.com/who%20is%20Bashir%20Goth.htm .

Example 3:

ú "To my opinion only a loose confederation of autonomous states may work."
ú "Somaliland communities signed separate treaties with the British in 1884. The `Gadaboursi' signed a treaty with the British in `December 12, 1884 in Zayla,' and other Somaliland communities also signed separate treaties with the British. We now know for the last 40 years, some groups used that fictitious device as the stepping stone to the highest echelons of power, when they succeeded to sell their false numerical superiority over other Somali communities. That false mathematics was nothing but a ploy to [grab] power." Source: www.awdalnews.com/wmview.php?ArtID=5227
ú "Adel/Awdal' as recent as the `1850's' (when the legendary `Hajji Diide' told the French and the British colonialists quote `you need to wash your feet before you walk on the sacred land of the great `Awdal') `Awdal' borders were all the way to `Tajoorah in the west,' `Harar' in the south-west and `Bulahaar' in the east."
ú "They keep on confining the long rich history of this area of the world to the just recent `SNM' struggle..there are a number of other struggles that span more than `800' years which took place in this area. The struggle for freedom and independence of the great `Adel/Awdal Empire' has started in the 11th Century, and continued until the arrivals of the British navy spy `Richard Burton' at `Sayla' in `1854.'"
ú "As the saying goes, `one man's hero is another man's villain.' Therefore, if the `SNM' are martyrs and heroes to the Isaaq communities, `Horyal,' `SDA' and `the Red Sea militias' are also martyrs and heroes to the `Gadaboursi' community. I have no problem with that and it is just simple clan logic. Source: www.awdalnews.com/wmview.php?ArtID=5392

Example 4:

ú "One can remember, commemorate, decorate with medals, or shower with praise to who ever, as a hero to his standard, but reality is what counts. As was said, `One man's hero is another man's villain..' To me SNM forces are neither heroes nor saints. SNM forces killed my people. SNM forces orphaned my cousins. SNM forces killed my uncles, and grandfathers. SNM forces burned my people's farms and properties. SNM forces committed serious crimes against my people. Common sense tells me that heroes do not commit atrocities against innocent people and therefore SNM forces are far from being heroes. Source: www.awdalnews.com/wmview.php?ArtID=5237

Analysis:

The inhabitants of Awdal province comprise of the Gudabirsi, Issa, Isaaq, gabooye, and others ethnic groups. These ethnic groups, collectively identify themselves as "Reer Awdal" - meaning the residents of Awdal and not "Awdalians" or "Awdalites" just like "Reer Hargeysa," "Reer Saahil," "Reer Togdheer," "Reer Sanaag," and "Reer Sool" -- meaning the residents of Hargeisa and not "Hargeisans," residents of Saahil and not Saahilian," residents of Togdheer and not "Togdherian," residents of Sanaag and not "Sanaagian," and residents of Sool and not "Soolian" or "Soolites". Consequently, they also identify themselves individually by way of their respective ethnic groups as stated on the above. Who then, are the "Awdalians" or "Awdalites"?

The "Awdalians" or "Awdalites" are exclusively from the Gudabirsi tribe. They are the ones who coined these two westernized words, which they constantly use in their balderdash articles in a manner to publicize them for some ulterior motives and agenda. It is widely suspected that the intentions behind the peddling and publicizing of these new foreign emulated words is to mislead the Somali peoples and perhaps the international community into believing that the Gudabirsi tribe is a great ethnic group with a great history behind them and probably are a powerful and influential ethnic group in the Horn of Africa region as well as a distinct society in both Somaliland and Djibouti and that Awdal province, which they do not inhabit alone is an autonomous province within Somaliland.

As a result, the only conclusion one can draw from here, given the manner in which these suspicious words are being used and peddled day in day out is that, the pariah Awdalians, either aspire to some special status within Somaliland or are probably separatists in disguise or are most likely still unionists and supporters of Somalia and "Greater Somalia" or are seemingly coveting future union with Djibouti in the hope that Somaliland state may some day collapse and that anarchy will reign in the country like in Somalia, which is a far fetched absurd wishful thinking and a megalomaniac designs of a scenario that will never happen in Somaliland. And those behind these foolhardy ideas are basically tinkering with dangerous affairs that may unleash grave consequences for their small and fragile society.

As for the continued unholy alliance between the pariah Awdalians and the Darood particularly the Majeerteen tribe, it is a poor stratagem that has long been rendered worthless and irrelevant by the intrepid freedom fighters of Somaliland. Given the emergence of the independent Somaliland, the pariah Awdalians, have now been orphaned as their decades long unholy marriage, honeymoon, and political prostitution with their Darood masters has abruptly been ended by the victorious SNM in May 18, 1991. This is evidence that their continued tribal animosity and hatemongering is misplaced, unjustified, and unnecessary at this juncture of Somaliland's milestone, where it has recently celebrated the 14th anniversary of its hard worn and sweet independence and is inching closer by the day to achieving full international diplomatic recognition and preparing to join the family of nations. It is indeed too late in their evil game.

But the pariah Awdalians who are out of touch with reality are still at their antiques and consumed by their petty tribal politics and seem to be unable to swallow the bitter pill of reality or to come into terms with what is happening on the ground in Somaliland even though the era of USP and its hypocrisy, raw tribalism, divisive policies, and subversive activities is in the dustbin of history and long forgotten. In addition, it has not yet sunk into their twisted minds that the dark days of the so called "SDA" and "Red Sea Militias" who are responsible for committing horrendous crimes against humanity, war crimes, human rights violations, and extensive lootings against the Isaaq and Issa peoples has long been vanquished and awaiting to be brought to justice in the near future at either in Arusha or in Hague War Crimes Tribunals. Similarly, they seem not to believe that their previous special status as being the "Kin of the Revolution," which is a black spot in the history of their people have long been terminated by the all the peace loving and people of faith of the region. It is indisputable that the evil "revolution" and its raw tribalism, corruption, and barbarism, which they whole heartedly supported, have long been jointly vanquished by the SNM, USC, and SPM freedom fighters. Furthermore, the poisonous tribalism and the divide and conquer policies behind the initial creation of Awdal province and the heinous clout afforded to it by the fascist military regime of the deposed Dictator Siad Barre of Somalia is no more and long forgotten. And that Awdal province is now no different from the other five provinces of Somaliland. This is evidence that the pariah Awdalians are now a spent shell and are of no use to their previous Darood masters.

Nevertheless, their present courting and political prostitution with yet another ethnic group in the region, this time, with the mighty Hawiye Clan of Somalia at the expense of the noble Isaaq people is a waste of time, efforts as these will not yield them any fruit. Unlike the Darood, their newfound Hawiye master is not a traditional enemy of the Isaaq people. After all, the Hawiye are in a struggle of their own and have no use of them since they neither understand nor are interested with the meaningless tribal animosity, hate mongering, and petty issues of the pariah Awdalians against the noble Isaaq people. This denotes that the Pariah Awdalians are wallowing in a poisonous tribal mud of their own making, one that they have no knowledge and experience of and one that they will not emerge from unscathed as they have foolishly found themselves in the thick of the struggle, internal affairs, interests, and cause of the Hawiye people, which is quite different from the usual tribal interests and cause of their previous Darood masters. And if they are not careful, they will probably be nailed in the head one by one as happened to their heavy weight compatriot General Talan who was gunned down in a broad daylight in Mogadishu city, Somalia.

In regards to the pariah Awdalians claims of historical greatness and control of a glorious empire called Awdal/Adel that extended from Bulahaar to Harar to Tajoorah, is utterly false. Perhaps they are trying to claim as their own, Imam Ahmed Gurey, and the Islamic civilization that existed in Harar region and the adjacent territories in which the Isaaq, Issa, Gudabirsi, and others were all part of or may be they are confusing the issue with the existence of the ancient trading posts of Zeyla, Bulahar, and harar. Whatever the case, their claim is hollow as these could have long been written in the history of Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and former British Protectorate of Somaliland or in the history of independent Somaliland. After all, their falsehoods and covert claims of vast Somaliland, Djibouti, and Ethiopia territories is what has led to the deterioration of relations and existing friction between them and other ethnic groups in the region such as the Issa of Somaliland, Djibouti, and Ethiopia.

In accordance with their boastfulness as being the only highly learned people in both Somaliland and Djibouti and for shamelessly referring themselves from time and again as "intellectuals," is indeed a laughable wishful thinking and yearnings of undeserved recognition. The reality is that these are a desperate lot in search of recognition and fame in a deceitful manner. Despite their dissemination of falsehoods, the pariah Awdalian, have neither put an impression on any of the ethnic groups in the five Somali territories nor accomplished any tangible thing as it is evident in the existing underdevelopment and existing abject poverty in Awdal province compared to the other provinces such as in Hargeisa, Saahil, Togdheer, etc. In addition, despite their grandiose claims of greatness and glory, they can not stand on their own without the support and cooperation of their Isaaq and Issa brethrens. But rather than realizing these, they instead chose to subordinate themselves by way of political prostitution with others who are not known to have in their hearts the best interests for their communities. They seem to have indulged themselves in fake support and recognition from others for all the wrong reasons. This denotes that the pariah Awdalians are truly a confused, blind, deaf, and dump lot who are at a great loss of their own making. Don't these pariah Awdalians have brains to realize that by recklessly meddling in the causes, internal affairs, and interests of other ethnic groups in the region such as the Darood, Isaaq, Hawiye, Issa, Anfar, and Oromo may contribute to the souring of the fragile ethnic relations and that their shadowy activities may be conducive to the marginalization of their people in the long run?

Conclusion:

It is evident that the pariah Awdalian, are a confused, rudderless, and misguided people with inferiority complex who always complains of others such as the noble Isaaq for no apparent reasons other than for their failure to compete with them or to emulate them or to match their gifted gallantry in battles, intellect, poetry, rich music, superior culture, traditions and customs; business prowess, superior way of life, and reputable standing in East Africa, Horn of Africa region, Arab World, and the Western World. The pariah Awdalians are indeed a disgruntled people who seem to know best how to envy, subvert others, interfere with other peoples causes, disseminate falsehoods, hatemongering, malicious propaganda, and spitting of venomous tribalism against their Isaaq and Issa brethrens who do not harbour the same animosity for them and who had always wished to live with them in a harmonious and cooperative manner.

Nevertheless, the so called "Awdalians" or "Awdalites" are a threat to our peace and peaceful coexistence with the mainstream Gudabirsi ethnic group since they are responsible to mislead and incite them against their Isaaq and Issa brethrens of Somaliland, Djibouti, and Ethiopia for no apparent reason. They are doing disservice to their main ethnic group for creating unnecessary animosity and tensions in the region. These pariah Awdalians are indeed a people without legitimate cause of their own who continue to muddle the civilized political discourse in these countries. In addition, they are ungrateful people who have been forgiven for their outright opposition of the SNM during the liberation of Somaliland, for their staunch support of the fascist military regime of the deposed Dictator Siad Bare of Somalia, for their participation in the genocide of the Isaaq people, and for committing horrendous crimes against humanity, war crimes, gross violations of human rights, and lootings against the innocent Isaaq civilians. Despite the good will, forgiveness, generous and unconditional amnesty, cooperation, and even electing one of them as the president of Somaliland; their communities are still ungrateful and unsatisfied and continue to sow the seeds of discord, hate, divisiveness, and meaningless tribal animosity against their brethren Isaaq. They are blinded by their evil activities and seem not to have learned from the ancient and modern history of Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Although George Santayana once wrote, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." This is an old adage, which has a contemporary meaning for reckless members of one ethnic group that continues to overestimate their shadowy activities and underestimate the understanding and power of the other ethnic groups. There is no doubt that the pariah Awdalians have gone too far with their subversive activities and tribal animosity. So what is the solution?

Recommendation:

1.) Launch an official inquiry on the clandestine SDA and Red Sea militias in order to expose and bring to justice its past and present leaders for committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and violations of human rights, and for looting private, commercial and public properties in both Somaliland and Djibouti against the innocent Isaaq and Issa communities.
2.) Bar the disloyal members of the pariah Awdalians from holding future public office in Somaliland and Djibouti.
3.) Investigate the backgrounds, monitor the activities, and document their inciting publications and articles for future war crimes trials.
4.) Pressure the local politicians, Traditional Elders, Religious leaders, and Intellectuals of the mainstream Gudabirsi ethnic group to disassociate, denounce, condemn, and disown these pariah Awdalians in the interest of their peaceful communities and Somaliland.

5.) Consider Awdalnews as a hostile anti-SNM, anti-Isaaq, anti-Issa, anti-Somaliland, anti-Djibouti, anti-Ethiopia, and pro-Somalia, pro-Criminal Warlords, and pro-Faqash website that is bent on disseminating malicious propaganda, falsehoods, hate, and for inciting the peoples of the Horn of Africa region who trying to live in peace with themselves and with others.

Farah Ali Jama, Ottawa, Canada.

Political advisor to Nigerian, SAfrican presidents arrives in Somaliland

Imam Abbas, who is on a four-day visit to Somaliland in order to familiarize himself with the situation there, will be holding talks with the country's authorities. Imam Abbas is currently the advisor to the presidents of South Africa and Nigeria on issues of political settlement in Africa.

Somaliland's Vice-President Ahmad Yusuf Yasin, will tonight host dinner for the delegation at Hotel Mansur, Hargeysa. [Passage omitted]

Is KULMIYE A Threat To Our Democracy?

In our country, the people choose their president by the simple act of voting. It is through voting, not fighting, that power changes. But the constitution (article 96.1) also allows the impeachment of a president for committing 'high crimes' such as 'treason' or 'contravention of the Constitution.' Impeachment is used only to prevent grave danger to a nation. However, the Constitution also states that members of the House of Representatives who have the power to impeach the president are those who where ƒ?oelected by secret ballot in a free general election' (article 40). Even if they were elected, no one is accusing the President including those who want to impeach him that President Dahir Riyale has committed any such crimes that poses a danger to our nation. Then why the KULMIYE party is pursuing so much to throw the president out of office? There is no question that an enemy hand is behind the plot. Since the creation of the Republic of Somaliland, some of the old regime members from Somalia, especially, from the region known as Puntland, have made it known in their attempt to block Somaliland from their dream of democracy and freedom. They have collaborated with Somali fundamentalist groups to create instability in the country.

Together, they have succeeded to kill foreigners including the British couple who have committed to educate some of our poor youngsters in Somaliland. Instead of condemnation of this cruel act, KULMIYE leaders started blaming the government for not doing enough to secure the country. This shows that KULMIYE party has only one interest: to win, no matter what it takes.

Soon after KULMIYE party leadership has realized that they have no chance to win the next election, they have become more desperate by employing strong rhetoric and emotional appeals.

Instead of offering alternative policies, KULMIYE leaders have started to threat the government and to encourage defiance of the law and authority. No one is more vocal than they are concerning their scheme to overthrow the government.

Therefore, it is no surprise that KULMIYE leadership is in the forefront for the campaign to bring down Dahir Riyale's government. But the question is if the KULMIYE leadership is aware of the blot that outside groups are behind the overthrow in order to destabilize the country.

On the other hand, the government, to some extent, is as guilty as the KULMIYE party for the political chaos and the lack of leadership in the country. Though I am still optimistic that the President will form a good government before this coming parliament election, I am disappointed that the president and his government are not serving well for the people who put them in the leadership of this great land. Instead of bringing together government that is capable to lead this nation forward, they chose to build a government that many of its leaders are self serving and lack of managing.

This has given the enemies of Somaliland the opportunity to stage their attacks inside our parliament and use our own resources to create lack of stability to our democracy. They even went so far to using some of our government leaders and members of congress for thei