The Speaker of the national Assembly and the chairman of Waddani Hon Abdurrahman Mohamed Abdillahi Cirro has urged the current government to hold a free and fair elections in the country when the time comes.

The Speaker also urged the media and members of the public to shun talk of the possibilities of an extension of the current government tenure at the same time strongly warning the KULMIYE government not to extend by even one day and that elections should be held in time.

The chairman of WADDANI and party’s Presidential favorite said the remarks while speaking at a recent event organized by party supporters held in the UAE where he was visiting. Hon Abdurrahman Cirro said, “We in Somaliland are lucky to have the Guurti who we always turn too when complex political problems arise unlike our fellow Somali neighbors. The speaker went on to applaud the maturity of the house of elders (Guurti) and for their intervention which was crucial in solving the recent parliamentary deadlock.

Hon Abdurrahman Cirro went on to say, “The current government of KULMIYE and President Silanyo came to power through our votes and we would like to see this government term in office to end in peace and they should on their part make sure that a free and fair election take place as promised by President Silanyo who has pledged that his administration will hold election in due time and without delay , therefore we once again urge from now on the media and public should refrain from spreading such rumors.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FceFZr6I9Fc

By Goth Mohamed Goth

The Minister of Civil Aviation and Air Transport Hon Mahmoud Hashi Abdi flanked by bthe director general in the ministry Mr. Omer Abdullah Aden today embarked on an inspection tour of the ongoing work of the second phase of construction a 1.2 km of runway extension being added to recently renovated 2,466M runaway, installation of lighting system for night landings as well a 70 KM security perimeter fence and aircraft hangars at the Egal international airport.

In Press Statement issued by the official spokesperson in Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air Transport Mr. Saddam Mohamed Ahmed read as follows:

The purpose of the inspection tour by high level ministerial team led by the Minister of Civil Aviation was to inspect the progress made on the ongoing construction work of the second phase expansion project and to get firsthand information from representatives of the Kuwaiti fund who are overseeing the construction work and engineers from the CHINO HUNO GROUP who are tasked with implementing the expansion of the runaway work and the building of new aircraft hangars.

The existing length of the apron at the Egal international airport which is 1410M will be extended 100 x 50 meters in order to accommodate several aircrafts. For the safety and security of the passengers the Airport terminals and the Airport property the apron area will be  expanded so the aircrafts can park away from the terminal and maneuver easily around the apron without damage to terminal property or the aircraft itself.

Hon Mahmoud Hashi Abdi speaking during the inspect ion tour said , “When the current government came to power the Egal airport was classed as class2 runaway by ICAO  but now its class 7 runaway and when its finally completed it will be Class 10 runaway.

By Goth Mohamed Goth

The First Lady Amina Sheik Mahmoud Jirde was among dignitaries marking the commemoration of 8^th March 2014, an international woman Day 2014 held at Mansoor Hotel last night.

Somaliland First lady Amina weris speaking during the event said, “I am glad to take this opportunity to salute women around the world, I would also like to use this opportunity to salute my fellow women in Somaliland who have sacrificed so much and who are today the backbone of this nation.

“I am happy see this year International Women’s day theme “Equality for women is progress for all” which that reminds us to review and remind ourselves how women aren’t treated equally and don’t have the same chances as their men partners have”, the First Lady said.

Amina weris addressing participants at last night event said, “Women in Somaliland have also assumed a critical role in the progress of the national democratization and peace building process and as this year’s theme translates new equality branding campaign, in which men in this country should play a leading role in speaking out against the inequalities faced by women and girls.

“If I may take this opportunity to address the issue of quote women in this country are significantly underrepresented in terms of political participation. I also point the reason of the under representation out that because women were not included in the drafting of the constitution, no special protections for them exist within the current legislative framework

The first ladyadded,” Our President of Somaliland has on several occasions refer the matter and we do request him to follow up on the draft quota for women and the Minority groups, which was sent to the House of Representatives in order to identify the impediments facing it and ensure its passage.

“We (women) urgently call on the national law making institutions to review the national laws and support the women and Minority group agenda and cause. We expect at the minimum the law making institutions of this country, to open a legal debate on the issue and explore possible solutions instead of rejecting it categorically. There are many legal pathways that can be deployed to support the legitimate rights of the women, if the meaning, intentions and the spirit of the national laws are genuinely and justly interpreted. But the debate should be opened first”, the First lady said.

“Lastly I would like to appeal to my fellow women to assume their role in the development nation building process and us you’re aware we need to build roads in this country in order to initiate much needed development in the vast region of Sanaag which is the largest region in Somaliland”, she ended.

 SomalilandPress.com

Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Hon Shukri Hariir Ismael

By Goth Mohamed Goth

In well attended commemorating the 8^th of March, an international woman Day 2014 in Somaliland was held today the civil service hall in Hargeisa in an event organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs, NAGAAD and NOW.

The Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Hon Shukri Hariir Ismael said, “Women in Somaliland have also assumed a critical role in the progress of the national democratization process. They constitute the majority of the voters, as well as, supporters of the political parties and associations, which has been critical in the establishment of the multi-party democratization programme in the last ten years.

Hon Shukri Hariir Ismael.added, “As Somaliland continues to build upon its democratic ambitions, there is much more that needs to be done to ensure that every member of society has equal opportunity and the capacity to reach their potential and understanding the social, political, cultural and economic contexts within which women’s rights work.

Also notable personalities present at today’s event were the state Minister in the Presidency Hon Mohamed Muse Abess, State Minister of Education and higher learning Hon head of NOW, NAGAAD and other stakeholders.

Mrs. Ayan Muse Nuur, NAGAD’s representative in Togdheer region

In a similar event held Burao, Somaliland second capital marking the event which was organized and funded by the NAGAD, umbrella representing the various women organizations in Somaliland and CARITAS.

Mrs. Ayan Muse Nuur, NAGAD’s representative in Togdheer region speaking at the event said, “Today Women around the world today gather in solidarity to commemorate 8^th of March International Women’s Day 2014 and to mark their struggle for fundamental freedoms and rights. 

NAGAAD’s Togdheer representative went on to say, “Women in this country are significantly underrepresented in terms of political participation. She also points out that because women were not included in the drafting of the constitution, no special protections for them exist within the current legislative framework.

The Governor of Togdheer region Mr. Mohamed Muse Diriye speaking at the event said, “As we all know women took a significant and positive role in the different stages of the national reconstruction process, including the initial reconciliation and peace-building, rehabilitation and the most current democratization stage.

NAGAAD and other civil society organizations have continued to lobby for a bill in parliament that introduced the idea of reserved quotas for women and minorities for elected positions.

Also among the speakers at the event was Prof. Saleban Diri of Buroa University, Ms. Asha Hassan of NAGAD, CARITAS Ms. Faysa  Jama, Mr Ismael Ahmed from the Ministry of Social Affairs ,Ms. Asha Ali Qabile the director general in the Ministry of Social Affairs.

By Goth Mohamed Goth

The Ministry of Finance has in the strongest terms refuted reports carried by local media alleging that the Ministry of Finance has launched corruption investigation against the Minister of Civil Aviation and Air Transport Hon Mahmoud Abdi Hashi in a Press Statement released today.

The press statement issued and signed by the director general in the ministry of Finance Mr. Suleiman Jama Diriye said that the Ministry of finance had received all the monies from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in form of Taxes generated from airlines licenses and has submitted the monies to the central coffers.

The Ministry of Finance Press Statement read as follows:-

The Ministry of Finance do hereby in the strongest terms refute allegations carried by HAATUF a local Somali language daily edition # 3543 which was published on the 6/ March/2014, which read as follows, “The Minister of Aviation has unlawfully pocketed monies amounting to hundreds of thousands of Dollars belonging to the Ministry of Finance” as baseless and lacks any merit whatsoever.

The Somali language daily had in its edition # 3543 which was published on the 6/ March/2014 had carried reports alleging that the Ministry of Civil Aviation had misappropriated more than $60, 000 dollars, monies which were generated from taxes collected from licenses awarded to airlines operating in the country in 2014.

Therefore the Ministry of finance do hereby assures members of the media and public that the monies were submitted to the treasury and would once again like to reiterate responsibility of the collection of monies generated as taxes lies solely with the Ministry of Finance

Press Release    8/3/2014

Women around the world today commemorate 8^th March to mark their struggle for fundamental freedoms and rights.  On the celebration of the International Women’s Day 2014, Human Rights Center requests the government and the people of Somaliland to strengthen their commitment against gender based violence and gender inequality. Let us take this opportunity to feel the agony and misery of many girls and women around the county who live on daily basis with female gentile mutilation (FGM), rape, domestic violence and other forms of gender based violence. 

Clan leaders’ interference in the criminal prosecution of rape cases remains to be obstacle in attainment of justice for the victims of gender based violence in general and rape in particular.

Human Rights Center calls attention to women’s political rights. Human Rights Center reiterates the political parties, the parliament and the government to wholeheartedly support quota for women in the upcoming 2015 election. Quota will help women to increase their political participation.

The theme for the International Women’s Day 2014 is “Equality for Women is Progress for All”. Realizing this in Somaliland requires political willingness and commitment. Somaliland constitution guarantees equality for all citizens of Somaliland irrespective of colour, clan, birth, language, gender, property, status, opinion etc.

 Women shall have equal job opportunity in the private sector, and female domestic workers shall enjoy the employment rights stipulated in the Labour Law.

Mulaho Mohamed Ali

Spokesperson of Human Rights Center

Hargeisa Somaliland

Somali Women

 International Womens Day – Women from IPPF’s Somaliland association

By Matt Shine

The women who can’t give consent for their own c-sections

Amal Ahmed Mohamed, Director of Somaliland Family Health Association.

Volunteering at the hospital in Hargeisa changed my life. The Edna Adan University Hospital had a reputation for being the best maternity hospital in Somaliland because of the number of difficult cases referred there. The experiences I had there challenged everything I had taken for granted.

Women, who’d been in labour for days, were brought in on the backs of trucks after having travelled hundreds of kilometres on rough, rocky road. Some died on the way, some died shortly after they were brought in and a precious few were saved. The health system of Somaliland has so many problems, one doesn’t know where to begin: critical shortages of midwives, nurses, doctors and other health care workers, not enough facilities at community and regional levels, nomadic populations that makes it that more difficult to assist women; only a handful of major roads, high illiteracy rates, and high unemployment are only some of the issues that make it difficult to save the lives of mothers.

That is why I was dumbfounded when I came across cases where women who had endured all these difficulties and could still be saved by c-section, but could not give their own consent for the surgery and had to have the permission of their husband or their father.

In one incident a young woman of about 18, pregnant with her first baby, and had been in labour for two days. Although she was experiencing contractions her labour was not advancing and she was in great pain. At the end of the second day, the baby’s heart rate began to drop. Doctors advised a c-section. The young woman and her family were informed. Her father refused to give consent for the surgery. Her husband, although not keen on the idea was willing to listen to the doctors, but the father refused and threatened hospital staff if they proceeded with the surgery. A process of pleading began, meanwhile the health or the mother and baby’s situation was getting steadily worse. After several hours, other family members convinced the father and the surgery was done. The mother’s life was saved but the baby was lost.

In another hospital, a woman pregnant for the 12th time with eight living children had prolonged labour and needed surgery. Her husband refused to give consent and threatened the staff with his gun. The hospital released the sick woman to her husband. He came several hours later to the Edna hospital after trying to get a second opinion without success and now desperate for help. By this time the woman was in critical condition. Luckily she was saved. In yet another case, a woman’s husband and father both could not be found and an uncle had to be located to sign the consent form. The list goes on. These were the lucky ones. The reasons for men refusing consent? They think a woman will not be able to bear many children if she has a c-section or that the doctors just want more money – or that women have always given birth naturally and why can’t they just continue to do it that way?

In part it was issues like this that inspired the formation of SOFHA. So many health issues are not just health issues but are legal, financial, and social issues. The women who cannot give their own consent for c-section cannot decide to take birth control either. We immediately embarked upon winning more rights for women regarding their health. Giving their own consent for c-section was a great starting point.

We raised this issue at every meeting. We shared our concerns with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. We discussed it with women’s groups, international organizations and donors. After 2 years of this advocacy work the Ministry of Health created a provision that women could give their own consent regarding emergency c-section if the husband or father cannot be found, and it further gives doctors permission to perform surgery if the woman is unable to. This provision was drafted quickly, and without wide consultation.

This provision is not what we were working towards and it falls very short of what we were aiming for. Even this small concession is not widely known by the general public. Our next step is to advocate for full rights for women to give their own consent for c-section. It’s incredible that a basic right taken for granted in so many countries is not found here. I have personally committed myself to ensuring that Somaliland women know the rights enjoyed by their counterparts in other countries and have access to informed choice about issues regarding their own health, bodies and lives.

Amal Ahmed Mohamed left her country as a child during the civil war and returned home after being away for 20 years. “The plan was to live in Somaliland for a year and then go back to our ‘real life’,” she says. “6 years and 2 babies later, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

By Matt Shine

Source: femalefirst.co.uk

By Goth Mohamed Goth

The minister of aviation Hon Mahmoud Hashi Abdi inspected the ongoing construction work of the 9KM security fence and runway at Burao Airport  in a tour to the facility and at the same time initiating new plans of upgrade renovation work at the main airport in Togdheer region.

“The purpose of my tour is to inspect the ongoing work of the construction of a 9KM security fence installation which is composed of 4.5KM Concrete wall and 4.5KM barbered wire and which has been constructed to the standards set by ICAO, in fact some officials from ICAO who came to inspect the facility were satisfied with the work”, He said.

Hon Mahmoud unveiled new plans to upgrade the 3KM runaway at Burco airport the  aid that he and members of the Togdheer region development have agreed on how to proceed on the second phase which is due to the begin soon.

The Aviation minister said the upgrade also consist of the construction of several Hangars for storing and maintaining aircraft which includes fully enclosed units and which are situated in easily accessible areas throughout the Airport.

“The upgrade works includes a new runway, a police station, an office building and installing of a security fence around the airport”, stated the aviation minister.

The Minister of Aviation said that once the work of upgrading the runway is completed, Burao Airport will be handling almost all types of airplanes and will be equipped with a control tower and hangars as well as accommodations for passengers and cargo.

Hon Mahmoud Hashi said that he was encouraged by the ongoing work at the airport.

Somalilandpress.com

HARGEISA— An American volunteer gently brushes away dirt to reveal the bones of a Somali victim buried in a mass grave some 30 years ago. Tens of thousands of skeletons may lie in mass graves here, on the northern edge of Somalia, where many want to see justice prevail, even if delayed.

Last year 38 bodies were uncovered in two graves by the Somaliland War Crimes Investigation Commission, which is overseeing the work on a third site where another dozen bodies are buried.

More than 200 mass graves with the bodies of 50,000 to 60,000 people may be in the region, according to the commission.

Those killed were civilians and militia members from the Isaq clan who were hunted and slain in the late 1980s by the regime of Siad Barre, Ahmed said. Barre’s overthrow in 1991 unleashed 20 years of chaos, making Somalia a failed state.

The victims’ families “are all grieving and all sad because of non-recognition of the government. We can’t get any recognition from any court or any individual,” said said Kadar Ahmed, chairman of the commission.

The War Crimes Commission says that Cold War politics helped protect Barre’s regime from punishment from the U.S. and others despite the gross human rights violations. Most of those who carried out the killings now live outside Somalia, the commission says.

Why dig up the past now?

Many African countries try to forget about atrocities carried out in their recent pasts, said Kadar Ahmed, chairman of the commission, speaking at the gravesite. He wants this northern tip of Somalia — a self-governing region called Somaliland — to confront those ghosts head-on. He said he hopes an outside tribunal will take up the case of the unknown numbers of deaths.

The commission was created in 1997 with the dual aim of offering a proper burial to the victims and taking judicial action against those responsible for the killings. Ahmed, who was not in Somaliland during the 1980s violence, has headed the commission the last four years.

If government’s aren’t held responsible for mass killings, then killings will continue, said Ahmed. Another aim is to “find the individuals and take them to court,” he said. Ahmed believes that one general who gave the order to commence a slaughter is dead. The other, he says, is outside the country.

About a dozen people from the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team are helping Somaliland unbury the past, and also helping to train Ahmed’s staff so they can one day take over. Franco Mora leads the team and says the work is about helping friends and family close the mourning process.

“Families are waiting for answers,” said Mora, who has worked on similar projects in Congo, Guatemala and Mexico. But the Somali team needs more training: “We are explaining to them you can’t go into the field and use heavy machinery. We are teaching them to recover the remains in a way you can use them for prosecution.”

Mora noted that the skeletons being uncovered in the latest mass grave were all buried facing toward Mecca, a holy site for Muslims. He suspects that means the victims were buried with care by local residents.

“This country is a big mass grave. There are graves everywhere. People are living with death. It’s everywhere,” Mora said.

Amber Barton is a 26-year-old volunteer on Mora’s team from the San Francisco region in California. On a recent sunny morning she gently brushed dirt away from a skeleton lying in a row of several bodies. She hopes to apply the skills she has studied in archaeology to a forensics context. She says the Somalis here are interested in the group’s work.

“The locals are curious about what’s happened, with the individuals, how they died,” Barton said.

“They collected whoever they saw. Child, woman, man, taking them and killing them. They were executing them, sometimes torture, then shooting them,” said Ahmed, of the commission.

A great deal of work is needed and Ahmed appears determined. After speaking, the 63-year-old Ahmed walked down into the grave, picked up a bucket of dirt from beside a newly uncovered skeleton and carried it away.

Source:  Associated Press