Nairobi, 11 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Ahmed, a 35-year-old pastoralist, was watching over a herd of cows on the outskirts of Hagar town in Somalia’s southern Juba valley when militiamen from Al-Shabab, the Islamist insurgent group that controls the area, demanded a “zaka”, or tithe. His refusal led to a violent confrontation that left him crippled for life. Ahmed, now in a refugee camp in Kenya, recounted his ordeal by telephone, as his sister, who described him as depressed and traumatized, held the handset:
“It was in the morning and I was herding my cattle when a group of armed Al-Shabab men asked me to pay Zaka. I told them I only owned half the cattle and the rest belonged to orphans. What was mine [about 20] was not enough to pay Zaka. They did not listen and took 20 cows, leaving me with only 10.
“I went after them hoping to reason with whoever was their leader. When I caught up with them, we argued for a while before they got hold of me and beat me up. They then tied me to a tree by my hands and left me hanging. I was in so much pain, I started yelling and asking for help but no one came. I was there for more than a day. By the time they [the militiamen] cut me down I had no feeling in my hands.
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“My relatives took me to a hospital but there was no doctor there and not much medicine; they could not save my hands.
“One day I am a man taking care of my family and the next I am an invalid being helped to put on clothes. I will never forget that day and what they did to me.
“There is no religion that allows them to treat people like that. I honestly don’t believe they are Muslims. They are criminals hiding behind religion. Normal thieves and robbers are better. At least when they take your things they either leave you alone or may even kill you but they don’t mutilate you.
“I am used to people being killed but I have never seen or heard anything like what they did to me.
“I suffered a lot because of them; I will never forgive them.
“A couple of months later, my relatives heard that they were coming to kill me because they did not want anyone to know what they had done to me. So I was taken from Hagar and brought here [Dadaab refugee camp] at the end of 2009.
“I feel safe here but I worry about my two children. Their mother is dead and I can’t take care of them. They are with relatives in Somalia.”
ADDIS ABABA (Somalilandpress) — A British geologist working for an oil company who was shot dead in Ethiopia, has been named by the Foreign Office as Jason Read.
The 39-year-old, who was from the Portsmouth area, was killed during an ambush on Monday near Danot in the conflict-stricken Ogaden region.
He worked for IMC Geophysics International – which was subcontracted to Malaysian oil giant Petronas.
The company has said it was “shocked and saddened” by the killing.
Mr Read was accompanied by a driver and a military escort when they were ambushed.
The others were believed to be injured after returning fire.
‘Liked and respected’
In a statement, the company said the men had been victims of an “unprovoked attack”.
It said: “Jason was working on our crew 894 which was undertaking a seismic survey on behalf of Petronas Carigali when Jason, his driver and military escort came under unprovoked attack from armed persons unknown.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragedy and our sincere thoughts and sympathies are with Jason’s family.
“A full investigation is under way and all appropriate authorities have been informed.
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“He was liked and respected by all with whom he worked.”
Mr Read had worked for the company since 2004 and had also spent time in Uganda and Europe.
We understand that the act was not politically motivated
Bereket Simon
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We can confirm the death of a British national on 5 April near Danot town in the Warder zone of Ethiopia.
“Next of kin have been informed and we have offered the family full consular assistance.
“The Ethiopian authorities are carrying out a full inquiry and we are liaising closely with them.”
When news of the death first emerged, Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s communications minister had said Mr Read had not taken the appropriate “security measures” and was driving alone.
He said: “We have reports that the incident has occurred and is an act of banditry.
“Following the act the local militia had confronted the perpetrators and had taken measures on them.
“We understand that the act was not politically motivated.”
Barbaric attack
Although Ethiopia does not currently produce oil, Chinese companies and Petronas have signed deals to explore the area.
The area has seen a great deal of bloodshed as the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), formed in 1984, has fought for the independence of ethnic Somalis in the oil-rich region for some time.
It says the Somali-speaking population has been marginalised by the capital Addis Ababa.
The fighting has escalated over the past two years following an ONLF attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field.
More than 70 people died in the attack, including Ethiopian guards and Chinese workers.
Addis Ababa calls the rebels “terrorists” and has cut off all access to the region.
But Abdirahman Mahdi, spokesman for the Ogadeni rebels, told the Associated Press news agency that as far as they were aware, “our fighters are not involved in such barbaric attacks”.
“Our troops do not have permission to target foreign civilians. But we will investigate the circumstances that led to the man’s death.”
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government has announced that a separate Ogadeni rebel group, United Western Somali Liberation Front, had agreed to surrender.
The group had tried to warn off companies from exploring the area for oil.
Never before have I felt disgusted with a Somali singer’s behavior—a singer whom I once admired so much that I rushed to stage to get her autograph and to inform her that I have always been a big fan of her songs. But as I have listened to the lyrics of her new song entitled, “Libdhimaysid Las Annod…or Las Annod won’t vanish”, the singer that I was once infatuated with her songs, sounded more like a North-American Somali thug teenager—a hip hop artist wannabe—or worse yet: a savage warmonger in Somalia. What devil has got into her, lately? Wasn’t her recent efforts to exonerate Somalia’s notorious war criminal bad enough, but now this: inciting violence and war in Somaliland, instead of raising funds for hospitals and schools? Kneading my temples with my knuckles and shaking my head in disbelief, shock, and dismay, I whispered to myself, “It is mad, mad…mad granny’s world”.
Her name is Saado Ali, a famous Somali singer who hails from Sool region, in Somaliland. Although Saado is probably in her late fifties if not in her early sixties—possibly a grandmother—she still performs spectacular concerts for the Diaspora communities. Currently, she lives in the United States. Also, in the past she composed songs lamenting the destruction of Somalia. And in the final days of the former Somali dictator, Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre’s regime she opposed his atrocities against civilians and so did many of his former henchmen.
After she fled Somalia, however, for the longest time she remained a nationalist, or she claimed to be a genuine Somali, until very recently when she defended one of Somalia’s infamous war criminals—General Mohammed Ali Samatar. He was the Defense Minister during the junta regime of Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre. Undoubtedly, Gen. Samatar ordered the obliteration of former North Somalia: currently known as Somaliland—where over 60, 000 slaughtered civilians dumped in mass graves, major cities pulverized to dust, and survivors fled in droves. Just read the book entitled, “A Government At War With Its Own People” published by Human rights Watch in 1988. This book details the horrendous atrocities committed by Gen. Samatar and his henchmen against Somaliland people.
Back then, Saado performed spectacular, exotic Southern Somali dance: booty shaking (Niiko), as if her lower body was detachable from the upper part, for Gen. Samatar and his elite in Mogadishu’s theaters, far from the torture chambers and killing fields of Somaliland. She was well received by the government officials and invited to their glamorous cocktail parties and lavish events as an entertainer. Little did she know or cared, the elite that she entertained with her ever flexible, beautiful twisting body—like an Indian cobra slithering through a field-grass—were warmongers that will face justice one day. She was like their favorite belly dancer of Egypt.
Few months ago, audaciously enough, Saado vigorously defended Gen. Samatar when some of his victims filed a lawsuit against him in the United Sates where he resides. She stood by him. Worse yet, she accused the victims of launching a witch hunt against Gen. Samatar because of his tribe. (In North America and Europe, if you slightly criticize a Jewish person or Israel, you will be labeled as anti-Semitic; in Somalia, if you ask a perpetrator why have you savagely brutalized me, you obliviously have something against his/her tribe—the same nonsense but in a different pile!). She openly stated: “The plaintiffs’ lawsuit was motivated by their tribal hatred towards Gen. Samatar.” Her behavior didn’t only add insult to injuries but she also undertook another mission: inciting violence and unrest against Somaliland security forces in Las Annod, the provincial capital of Sool region.
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Working closely with some bellicose pro-unity Somali Diaspora groups, she is now an important member of the council of war. In her recent song: “Libdhimaysid Las Annod”, under the guise of advocating for Somali nationalism, she incites violence against Somaliland security forces in the city. She sings about the “liberation” of Las Annod just as Dervish forces waged wars against the British colonizers in 1900’s. Was it Gen. Samatar’s idea to instigate violence in Somaliland?
You would expect somebody like Saado to compose songs as to raise desperately needed funds for schools, hospitals, and water purification systems in Las Annod, instead of promoting how to engulf the city with an inferno. You would also expect from somebody at her age to preach about peace and development in Sool region, not sing an emotional war song which provokes some misguided people.
Although Al-Shabab terrorists banned music in Somalia, rest assured they will rejoice Saado’s song because they too have been waging a bloody war: assassinating officials with remote controlled bombs and detonating explosives against Somaliland security forces in Las Annod. Read more: http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/4458
So any song, poem, or speech that goads Al-Shabab’s dormant supporters in Las Annod to attack the security forces will be used as an indispensible propaganda tool. Has she been used and deceived by violent Diaspora groups and Al-Shabab? Maybe!
Yet another question lingers: if her nationalism shrills are genuine, where was she when she was need the most—when Ethiopia was barbarically rapping Somalia from 2006 to 2008 with the help of Col. Abdullahi Yussuf—the butcher of Mogadishu? How come she didn’t invoke nationalism and liberating Somalia’s fallen capital, Mogadishu—the city that nourished Saado so much and transformed her from a goat-herding little girl in the plains of Sool region into a famous singer in Mogadishu? Or was her nationalism in a temporary coma back then? Surely, Somalis are sickened by the pro-unity cliques suffering from selective amnesia, their hollow mantra of Somali nationalism, as well as their lip service to unity.
The song itself lacks the true meaning of a Somali song. It is poorly composed and mixed with a Somali version of hip hop. Sadly, instead of enhancing her song with Geeraar or Buraanbur (the female’s version of Somali poems), she acts like a teenage girl trapped in granny’s body—Saado mixes the song with meaningless hip hop lyrics.
Ironically, while some young Somali rappers are openly discouraging violence and resolutely opposing siding with Al-Shabab, Saado’s rap song spurs violence. It is mad, mad…mad granny’s world, isn’t it?
See the young rappers’ song entitled, “No to Al-shabab”.
But this clip is indeed a blessing in disguise for the security forces; you could see Las Annod is so peaceful that no one carries any weapons in the streets. Thanks to Somaliland law officers and the city’s peace-loving residents. Yet the same security forces that pacified the city are the ones that Saado advocates for attacking and evicting them from the city. (Yaab! Meesha dadka caqligu kaga yaalo, Saado ma finbaa kagayaala? Or where people have brains does Saado have a pimple?)
Lashing out Saado Ali’s character, or denouncing her conviction to Somali unity is far from my objective. Of course, she has her God-given rights to support Somali unity. Even the famous Somaliland poet Mr. Hardraawi supports Somali unity and lives freely in Somaliland. But Saado’s attempt to incite violence in Somaliland is what the fuss is all about—Somaliland, a country that she probably has not seen for the past decades.
Amazingly, other pro-unity Somalis singers such as, Maryam Mursal, Ahmed Naji Sa’ad, and many more have visited Somaliland where they felt proud of Somaliland people’s determinations to rebuild their country and succeed despite the enormous challenges they face. Maryam Mursal is in fact in the process of building schools in Somaliland. Saado Ali, on the other hand, is busy with igniting an inferno in her region of Sool province, never mind building schools.
Meanwhile, why should we ever attend her concerts again? Since Saado chose to act like a warlord in exile, then she doesn’t deserve our hard-earned money, does she? Of course, it would bee foolish for peace-loving Somaliland/Somali Diaspora communities to go to her concerts; after all, Saado shamelessly spurs violence in a city that she may have never seen before or spent more than few nights in it. That is: Las Annod.
In all fairness to Saado, other singers also took the wrong path: some singers from Southern Somalia sided with their tribal warlords, however; other singers namely, Hibo Nuura from Somaliland instilled pride in many Somalis, especially the young generation who have never seen home. What is better than reading a book at Chapters book store and sipping Starbuck’s coffee while enjoying Hibo’s mind-soothing songs played by the store? Bravo Hibo.
To sum up, Saado’s efforts to defend the notorious war criminal Gen. Mohammed Ali Samatar and her warmongering attitude towards Somaliland—the very same country that Gen. Samatar brought to its knees in the late 80s truly shocked the Somaliland/Somali Diaspora communities.
But she is making a big mistake: what she doesn’t realize is—apart from boycotting her concerts—the Somaliland/Somali communities in the United States could file a complaint against her warmongering’s, beating war drums. Since she is spreading violence, she will be held accountable for her villain actions. That is: the war will come to you Saado.
The Somaliland community must, at least, file a formal complaint against Saado with U.S. security agencies. If she is not stopped now, soon she will mobilize fund raising concerts for waging a violent war in Somaliland. Sool region needs schools, hospitals and other developments, not wars or suicide bombers.
Truly, we are in a warlord where young Somali rappers’ are denouncing violence and terrorism while some senior citizens like Saado Ali are promoting war and destruction. It is mad, mad…mad granny’s world—but we must boycott her concerts.
DUBAI, 10 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – A U.S. warship captured six suspected pirates Saturday after a battle off the Horn of Africa — the Navy’s third direct encounter with seafaring bandits in less than two weeks.
The Navy has taken at least 21 suspected pirates since March 31 in the violence-plagued waters off Somalia and nearby regions, where U.S. warships are part of an international anti-piracy flotilla.
A statement by the U.S. Navy said the suspected pirates began shooting at the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland just before dawn about 380 miles (610 kilometers) off Djibouti, a small nation facing Yemen across the mouth of the Red Sea.
The Navy said the Ashland returned fire and the suspected pirate skiff was destroyed. All six people on board were rescued and taken aboard the Ashland.
The Ashland suffered no injuries or damage in the second recent attack on a U.S. warship by suspected pirates.
On March 31, the frigate USS Nicholas exchanged fire with a suspected pirate vessel west of the Seychelles, sinking their skiff and confiscating a mother ship. Five suspected pirates were captured.
On Monday, the destroyer USS McFaul responded to the distress call from a merchant vessel and captured 10 other suspected pirates.
The Navy said it was reviewing “multiple options” on the suspects’ fates.
Some suspected pirates have been turned over to Kenya for trial, but there has been some reluctance by African nations to become a center for prosecutions. In December, the Dutch government released 13 suspected Somali pirates after the European Union failed to find a country willing to prosecute them.
One of the suspected pirates accused of attacking the U.S.-flagged merchant ship Maersk Alabama last year is facing trial in the United States.
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At the United Nations, Russia has introduced a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council that calls for strengthening the international legal system to ensure captured Somali pirates do not escape punishment.
In Turkey, a news agency reported Saturday that Somali pirates have abandoned a commandeered Turkish ship.
The Dogan agency quoted Fatih Kabal, an official of Bergen Shipping based in Istanbul, as saying the pirates left the MV Yasin C, which was seized Wednesday 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the Kenyan coast.
Kabal said the crew had locked themselves in the engine room and realized that the pirates had left the ship on Friday. He said crew members, who were unharmed, took the damaged ship to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
Somali pirates have been known to give up on ships they believe have no ransom value, such as vessels owned or hired by Somali traders.
Meanwhile, the owner of a hijacked supertanker has begun negotiations for the ship’s release, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the talks. Repeated calls to the South Korean shipping company seeking comment went unanswered on Saturday night.
A South Korean naval destroyer that had been monitoring the ship began sailing away from the pirates Saturday and heading back toward the Gulf of Aden after the pirates warned the sailors not to come any closer.
Authorities say Somali pirates hijacked the 300,000-ton Samho Dream in the Indian Ocean on April 4. The ship was transporting crude oil worth about $160 million from Iraq to the U.S. with a crew of 24 South Koreans and Filipinos.
More than a dozen ships and their crew are believed to be currently held by pirates off the lawless coast of Somalia.
Every nation there is certain institutions social forces or individuals with the strong level of Patriotic convictions, which act as the final safeguarding and grantor for this nation. In Britain, for instance they have trained civil servants, reputable people from the law, media and House of Lords who are the grantor of British State. In Pakistan, the military establishment is the final custodian of the Pakistani State. In Iran, the religious scholars in the system of Ayatollahs are the guardians of the Iranian State.
In Somaliland the Gurti were designed to be the guardian of Somaliland State, unfortunately the current Gurti in the opinion of many Somalilanders lost all its credibility with the exception of the Chairman and few others. This mainly happened during the dispute between the Opposition and the Government regarding the Presidential Election in November 2009 when the Gurti supported the government which was the on the wrong side on this dispute.
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The overriding Political thinking of Somaliland politicians and political activists is in terms of clanism, and this creates a huge problem for the Somaliland State as well. Political Ideas that emerge from clanism often creates conflicts but does not enhance the institutions, ethics and values of the state.
Clan consciousness in most of the cases is a false consciousness, those whose ideology is embedded in the clan context, often exaggerate the size, history and the ability of their clans visa-avis other clans. Another way of looking this phenomenon is that clanism; in any form you put it undermines the state ethos and state functions. Those who believe clanism instead of a state cannot be grantor for a Modern State. The state requires people who understand its functions, committed to its philosophy and above all sincerely working to the citizens of the nation in equal basis.
The forthcoming presidential election in Somaliland is expected to bring about the following:
1. Not only change of government but radical and fundamental change of the entire institutions upon which the current state is built on.
2. A government that provides the Somaliland people confidence in their future.
3. A government that establishes state functionaries and practitioners not tribal functionaries and practitioners as the case is now and who act in future as true custodians and grantor of the Somaliland modern State.
4. A government that is free from corruption, transparent and has a national vision and hence has the respect and support of its citizens.
Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial
(SomalilandPress)-Never have I felt so much hope and gloom at the same time for Somali music; that wonderful aesthetic product by default of the otherwise harsh Somali pastoral life. Onboard a plane from Minneapolis to Washington DC, I read an interview that Professor Ahmed I. Samater conducted with Maryam Omar Ali, commonly known as Aryette, a woman with a passion for Somali music and literature.
The lengthy interview which ran over 20 pages was published in Bildhaan, an International Journal of Somali Studies, which I picked up while attending a Tol Convention in Minneapolis in early April.
With an ear for music since childhood, Maryan explained how she managed to possess a collection of about songs of solos music and from Somali plays. Among her collection are the original and finest songs of the celebrated singers such as Magool, Mohamed Suleiman, Omar Dhuule, Zahra Ahmed, Maandeeq, Baxsan, Fadumo Qasim and others as well as some of the memorable plays of the sixties and seventies. They include Shabeel Nagood and Gaarabildhaan, the two great works of the legendary Hassan Sheikh Muumin. She has also in her possession Galbeed waa la xoreeyey by Hassan Abdillaahi Ganay, Kariye’s Jacaylkii Waalaye Aynu Weeraka aadno and Osman Adan Askari’s Wadhafkiyo Shimbirihii War Iskuma Hayaan of which Maryan herself has authored the script and some of the songs.
Mentioning her leaning towards the patriotic songs of the early sixties which Professor Samatar calls the “honeymoon years of the 1960s”, Maryan’s talked about the memorable lyrics of the time such as Mohamed Suleiman’s “Dharaartaan Waxyeeladii dhaqdhaqay” and Osman Mohamed and Nooleya’s “Naa Kaalayo bal kaalay aan gelin soconee”.
Citing Magool as Somali singer par excellence, Maryan describes the singer’s rendition of “Kii Dhaba Jayaclkuna” as occupying a special place in her “aesthetic taste.”
At one point, Maryan has even raised Professor Samatar’s interest by emphatically insisting on the artists being better observers of the society’s ills and foreseeing the future than the scholars.
“Somali scholars often think of themselves, perhaps pretentiously, as the brains, eyes, and ears of the nation. Are you saying that the artists are equal to them?” asked Dr. Samatar.
“Yes, and, I believe, they are even better than you scholars!,” Maryan said,” Fannaanin live closer to durable myths, yet they are unafraid to peek into the future.”
Still amused by the idea, Dr. Samatar asked Maryan to elaborate more, to which she responded: “First, at the general level, I believe that a Fannaanin and Abwaan usually demonstrate a courageous allegiance to a vision of truth and delicate sensibilities that, together, define their sense of being in the world.” She also cited that the Abwaans and Fannaanin as “creators and keepers of the best of the Somali tradition. They were a major element in the rise of collective consciousness and the efforts towards decolonization. With the dawn of independence, they kept a flickering vision of national unity and purpose among the people and warned of the gravity of the gathering menace that was to envelop them.”
She however got my unequivocal admiration with her concluding testimony about what arts (fann) mean for her.
“There are, in my opinion, two perspectives of this topic,” she said in the interview. “One sees Fann as a source of passing time or fleeting entertainment (madadaalo). Thus, there is neither such attention paid to nor appreciation of the hard creative labor that lies behind the composition and the event. The second understands Fann as a precious marrow in the making of strong bones of a culture and national identity. Among the lasting indicators of the dignity of a society is the degree of excellence of its Fann production.”
With these powerful words lingering in mind I couldn’t help comparing Maryan’s admirable 35 year long passion, as she explained to me in a telephone conversation later, in preserving the Somali musical heritage to that of Rose Valland who saved the French art treasure from being stolen and looted during the Nazi occupation of Paris. What makes Maryan’s collection unique, however, is that she does not only collect songs as anyone of us would, but she indexes them, classifies and categorizes them according to their themes and genres, digitalizes them, labels them with the names of singers , lyric writers and music composers and eventually archives them. She undertakes this tremendous work which consumes both her energy and resources while fighting off a breast cancer that may have weakened her body but never her zeal and devotion for saving Somali music for posterity.
Somali music and literary heritage in my view are the only monuments that Somali people truly share and commonly admire, and Maryan’s passion for collection has made them a paradise regained of what would otherwise have been lost forever. As Maryan’s words took me back to “the honeymoon years of the 1960s”, I spent the rest of the two-hour flight reminiscing about the glorious past, the great music and the iconic poetry of the Somali people. I even hoped that the day would come when Maryan and probably other anonymous curators of Somali music and Somali artifacts would be honored just like Valland for saving the nation’s cultural heritage during these trying years of the Somali history.
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But as soon as I landed at Dulles airport I woke up from my dream world to Washington’s warm spring weather and the gloomy news of Somali Al Shabab and Hizbul Islam extremists banning Somali radios and TV stations in the areas they control from playing Somali music. It is on reading about this barbaric drive of cultural genocide that I decided to give a call to Maryan and thank her for being a Godsend cultural custodian who would be getting the recognition she deserves for her priceless efforts from future generations and would be rewarded for her good deeds to humanity in the world hereafter. There is no doubt that once the terror reign of Al Shabab and Hizbul Islam with their philistine treatment of art and music and their hatred for cultural beauty are long forgotten in the dustbin of history, Maryan Ali’s name will resonate with generations of lovers and scholars of Somali music and literary treasures.
WHO CAN BRING THE CHANGE WE ARE LOOKING FOR?
Often i ask myself this question and never succeed answering it, for some people it might be so easy for them to answer this question because they already made up their mind about it, and whether that was for a personal interest or because they see in this or that party the change Somaliland needs, and let there be no doubt that no matter who wins in this election change is inevitable.
It’s true that we come from different parts of the country and represent different clans and that we support different presidential candidates. But we speak in one voice and say that the best way to make Somaliland stronger is to work together to address the urgent crisis facing our nation. This process requires honesty, give-and-take and genuine nationalism. Only In that spirit, we might address the common threats, and overcome them, and we must also be vigilant in upholding the beliefs and the values of our founders so it will live on in our time.
I must admit that it’s so easy to judge people when you are sitting on the other corner of the table, and also it’s so difficult to know the truthfulness and honesty of a politician, and maybe all politician shares that same element of being a deceivers. A wise politician once said, “in politics, everybody is a liar.’ And there is no doubt that the politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers.
I don’t like mocking or bickering, but we shouldn’t’t be shy to expose anyone and everything as long as we are not insulting the character or marking them as traitorous without having evidence and jurisdiction needed to pass such accusations, and as a democratic nation we should ask and request answers, and we do have the right to express and hear ideas about our candidates even if other people find those ideas to be outrageous.
Over the decades Somaliland People proved their tenacity, maturity, pragmatism, sensibility, wisdom, equality, freedom, civility and democratic and concessionary governance. These are the characteristics and attributes of Somaliland people, which are enshrined in their history. These are assets that the Almighty God gave it to them.
Somalia maltreated the Somalilanders from the beginning of the one-sided unification and treated them as second-class citizens in their own country. They were labeled as Somali ‘Qaldaan’, the wrong Somali. It was like the prison camp reminiscent of Apartheid South Africa, or the Belgian Congo at its most oppressive. It seemed inevitable that this level of cruelty could not but inflame a reactive liberation struggle.
The SNM personals, who establish the organization and fight the enemies of humanity, was true indisputable nationalist figures, who loved their country and people above any other thing, they sacrifice the most precious thing they have, and a lot of those heroes are dead today, but no one should take it for granted, Somaliland don’t owe anyone anything, those who struggle for it or die to liberate it, did their duty for their country, because they were a true citizens. It’s bad when someone comes, and asking for a payback for their loyalty it is a nasty and regretful thing to do. I know that we do a lot of embellishing so we don’t provoke this and that person, or that group or this tribe, and all of that not because we can’t, but because we don’t want problems for our country. but I believe that any fact that needs to be disclosed should be put out now or as quickly as possible.
SNM as any resistance party in the world had two functions first the political wing, and the other is the military wing. Now some of us might know a lot of things when it comes to the history of SNM, but when we talk about how heretic, and patriotic SNM was we are talking about those innocent civilians of Somaliland who were brutalized, and survived from the systematic barbarian holocaust war waged on them.
In 1980s, Somalia hired Rhodesian mercenaries to bombard Somaliland’s three major towns – Hargeisa, Burao and Berbera. Those who survived the bombings or the deliberate starvation were often rounded up, tied together using barbed wires and gunned down from a point-blank range. If that method was not cruel enough, they would often tie them together in barbed wires, bulldozed and were left to rot in the streets. Those who were lucky to survived and fled to neighboring Ethiopia was to experience starvation disease and the Ethiopian way of hospitality but nevertheless they were the lucky once. The pain is searing, everywhere you go there is a tragedy stores of people who lost their life’s, and you can still since the screaming voices of the innocent people when you visit the mass graves — the hurt, the humiliation, the degradation and the sheer brutality of the act of physically separating a mother from her children is a deep assault on our senses and on our most elemental sense of humanity. It is all bad and it is all pain and above all it is desperately sad when you feel great about what you have achieved to forget yesterday’s catastrophes and mass murders, and to accept the illusions that your struggle has ended.
In 1993 Borama Congress the Constitutional Committee recommended and was approved by the Congress that the key leadership positions in Somaliland would not be allocated on clan basis but would be contested by every Somalilander no matter the number of his/her clan.
The most important thing is to learn what one has to hold back when it comes to the issues of nation-building; what chuckhole were there; what mistakes one made; what more one needs to do in order to emulate the role of leadership. It’s by co-operation and engaging all parties that you can build a nation, and also through efficient administration that put the public interest above all, but not any leader is leader; the real leader is the one who gets his people from where they are to where they have not been.
Leaders must invoke vision and ideas that contribute to the unified sense of mission and thereby to the harmony of the whole. The art of creative leadership is the art of institution building, the reworking of human and technological materials to fashion an organism that embodies new and enduring values. Those leaders who do not are ultimately judged failures, even though they may be popular at the moment, therefore we can learn that nations are built by exploring new opportunities and elaborating ideas that will lead to prosperity, and that each exploration is only a means to the next.
Our politicians are product of a time and generation, it’s difficult for them to change their methods of practicing politics unless they find it not effective, and in order to make them realize that we should think wisely and have the adequate insight to decide intelligently who will meet our needs and represent us the best way to reach our goals for a better future, and we should make a reasonable effort to get the facts and reflect through it, few of us will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of those acts will be written the history of this generation. When we start electing our representatives on basis of what he could achieve for our country, and not by what tribe or benefit he represent for me, we can in our own ways, in our own lives, make a difference. let all of us co-operate and make change become possible, and reflect that in our way of dealing whit each other, and admit that there will be always a problem to confront and solve, otherwise there will be always this notion that we didn’t do enough for our homeland, and that we missed the opportunity to repair the roof when the sun was shining. It’s time to turn the page of these old policies of the past. ________________________ Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial
HARGEISA, 8 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have left Yemen for Somalia, according to Somali officials quoted by Reuters and Yemeni media reports. Somali officials said at least 12 AQAP leaders arrived in Somalia from Yemen in the last two weeks.
“We don’t have evidence that this is happening, but it’s not beyond the pale,” says Kamran Bokhari, regional director ME and South Asia for the global intelligence company STRATFOR. He notes that it’s in the interest of the Somali government to say that the AQAP leaders have come to Somalia, as it could translate into more help from the U.S. in the fight against militant groups in the country. It’s also in the interest of the Yemeni government, since it would mean its recent efforts against jihadist groups were successful.
But Bokhari believes the reports could be credible, especially given the nature of the group.
“AQAP is now behaving not like a regional jihadi force, but like an international jihadi force, like al Qaeda prime,” he says.
Bokhari points out that they are planning attacks beyond the region, including the training of the Umar al Faruq Abd al Mutalib, the Nigerian behind the failed suicide bombing of the Northwest Airways plane last December. Moving to Somalia would therefore not be solely for safety reasons but also to expand their operations.
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AQAP had relocated once before from Saudi Arabia to Yemen for strategic reasons. Yemen has stepped up its efforts against al Qaeda in the country after the December 25th failed attack in the U.S.
According to the recent reports, the AQAP members left through the port of Al Mukala and ordered their cells in Yemen to suspend all operations and communications between them until the end of June.
The reports come a few days after the Somali Islamist group Hizbul Islam invited al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to Somalia.
They also come amid reports that the U.S. has approved putting the radical American Yemeni cleric Anwar al Awlaki on a hit list. Al Awlaki resides in Yemen. He is believed to have had ties with both Abdulmutallab, the failed Northwestern Airline suicide bomber, and Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who is accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood last November.
Bokhari says Yemen’s geographical position puts it at the crossroads of four jihadists camps, namely Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Afghanistan/Pakistan. “There’s a lot of traffic in this area which is a problem for the President (Ali Abdullah Saleh). His country is open to infiltration from all these four different camps.”
HARGEISA, 6 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Piracy off the coast of Somalia is getting worse, partly due to the legal limbo that has led some countries to release captured suspects, Russia’s UN envoy said.
Over the past year and a half, the UN Security Council has passed several resolutions on piracy in the Horn of Africa and has authorized countries to use military force to pursue pirates in cooperation with Somalia’s transitional government.
“So far the results have not been entirely satisfactory,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters after a closed-door council meeting on Somalia, Iraq and other issues.
“The problem continues to be there and, in some respects, is growing,” he said. “We feel that one of the weak links in the entire setup … is the legal process.”
He said a stable legal mechanism was needed “to be sure there is no impunity once pirates are caught off the coast of Somalia.”
Churkin said Russia had drafted a Security Council resolution that would call on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to outline options for ending the international legal ambiguities that have enabled pirates to escape prosecution.
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Council delegations would continue discussing the draft at the expert level before putting it to a vote, he said. It was not clear when the resolution would be ready to vote on.
The hijacking of ships near the coast of Somalia, where an Islamist insurgency and lawlessness has created a pirate safe haven, has cost the shipping industry millions of dollars but it is difficult to prosecute those planning an attack.
Earlier yesterday, a South Korean navy destroyer caught up with a super tanker hijacked by pirates that is cruising towards the Somali coast with a cargo of crude oil worth as much as $170 million, an official said yesterday.
Russia, Japan, the European Union and others have sent naval forces to the region to combat the scourge of piracy.
But the European Union Naval Force’s operation commander, Rear Admiral Peter Hudson, told Reuters recently that some suspected pirates detained by EU NAVFOR have had to be released due to questions about who could try them.
Churkin said Moscow was “concerned” about reports of European authorities releasing suspected pirates.
Kenya has been holding a number of suspected pirates. But Churkin said media reports that Kenya would put an end to trials for them were unsettling.
“This is one of the reasons we think this resolution would be timely and appropriate,” he said.
One option, he added, would be to establish a special tribunal to try suspected pirates captured off Somalia.
Other Security Council diplomats have said privately that such special tribunals are complicated, expensive and might not be worth the trouble. It would be better, they said, to work with countries like Kenya to help them continue to prosecute pirates in national courts.
City midfielder Abdisalam Ibrahim is re-writing the history books for East African footballers across the globe.
MANCHESTER (Somalilandpress) — The 18-year-old made his full debut at Scunthorpe in the FA Cup in January then came off the bench against Liverpool in February to become the first Somali-born footballer to play at the highest level in England.
Though he represents his adopted country Norway at international level, it is still a great source of pride for Ibrahim that he has put not only Somalia, but East Africa on the world football map.
“I’ve heard that I’m not only the first Somali-born footballer to play in the Premier League, but also the first East African, too,” said Abdi.
“I feel very proud to have achieved this at such a young age – it is the result of a lot of hard work and it just makes me want to do even better.
It’s the sort of thing I dreamed of as a kid, so for it to have become a reality is incredible
But Abdi accepts that representing his birth country is highly unlikely – he is already an established youth international for Norway, where he lived almost 10 years before joining City.
He added: “I’ve played at most levels for Norway from Under-15s up to the Under-19s, and if I am ever called up by the senior national side, I would be happy to take the opportunity.
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“I would love to give something back to a country that welcomed my family and gave us the chance to build a new life.”
Abdi is hoping for more chances to impress in the remainder of the season, but claims whatever happens in the closing weeks, it’s been an amazing first year with the senior squad.
He said: “I’ve had a terrific season – I only arrived six months ago and I’ve progressed to the first team. Everything has happened so quickly, but I’m loving every minute.”
We understand that the act was not politically motivated 