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SOMALILAND: President Meets Yemeni Delegation

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HARGEISA, 20 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – President Dahir Rayale Kahin met a Yemeni delegation in his office today. According to a press release made my the government spokesman, Mr. Saeed Adani Moge, the meeting took place at the president’s office to discuss several issues concerning the two countries.

Mohamed Rawishani, the leader of the delegation said he is delighted to visit Somaliland and observe the stability in the country. They said they will open a trade office before the end of their visit which will start operating as soon as possible.

The President welcomed the delegation and said Somailland is ready to build a strong bilateral relationship with the Yemeni government. Mr. Kahin talked about the background of the relationship between Somaliland and Yemen which was mainly based on trade and business between the two countries. He mentioned the meeting he had with the Yemeni President, Ali Abdalla Salah in 2007 where the two agreed on resuming the trade relationship between Hargeisa and San’a.

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“There are Yemeni family who always lived in Somaliland and there are Somaillanders who lived in Yemen throughout the history” Said the President. “This is the proof that the two countries shared a long history of good relationship” he concluded.

The Yemeni delegation arrived Somaliland few days ago and during their stay they had meetings with a senior government officials including ministers, politicians and others.

Yemen’s intention to open a new office in Somaliland will strengthen the relationship between the two countries in terms of trade, politics and fight against terrorism.



Somalilandpress

When Is A Coup A Good Coup?

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Niger, 20 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Weeks after the African Union boldly announced the end of an era of coups on its continent, Niger’s military staged a spectacular overthrow.

Heavily armed in armoured vehicles soldiers blasted their way into the presidential palace, arrested the President Mamadou Tandja and dissolved every democratic institution in the uranium-exporting nation.

Niger’s new military rulers, the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (SCRD), faced the standard flurry of strongly-worded statements from Western nations and regional bodies that condemned people taking power through unconstitutional means.

But, more interestingly, there was no insistence on Tandja returning to his job. Instead, the focus appeared to be on looking towards elections and a new government. Tandja had drawn the ire of many Nigeriens and the international community over his successful campaign last year to change the constitution and extend his time in power by at least three years.

Spontaneous celebrations in Niamey after the military take-over were, therefore, not surprising. But, faced with the illegal ouster of a president many believed had become unconstitutional, the international community also seems to have been quick to recognize the opening the coup has offered.

Analysts cite members of the junta having been involved in a previous coup that swiftly led to elections as a reason for optimism. They also say Niger’s military is more professional than in place like Guinea, where soldiers have also grabbed power but failed to deliver elections despite over a year in power.

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An aggressive, bold military operation has delivered a new dynamic that months of diplomatic and political wrangling failed to achieve.

Has the international community been too quick to jump at this opportunity? Or, if the politicians appear to be failing, should the military be allowed to play the role of arbitrator in crises like Niger’s?

Coups, especially in West Africa, seem to be alive and well. Niger’s takeover follows similar ousters in Mauritania and Guinea in 2008, and another one in Madagascar last year.

What impact are these actions having on confidence in a continent that is attracting unprecedented investment and is keen to draw a line under a violent and chaotic past?

Does swiftly accepting Tandja’s ouster not set a dangerous precedent for crises elsewhere?

By David Lewis
Source: Africa News Blog

SOMALILAND: Senior delegation on their way to Washington

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ADDIS ABABA (Somalilandpress) — A high-ranking Somaliland delegation consisting of senior members of parliament and government ministers have departed the Ethiopian capital and are on their way to Washington on an official visit at the invitation of Obama administration.

The delegation is led by the Deputy Speaker of the Somaliland parliament, Mr. Bashe Mohamed Farah and the Deputy Chair of the Somaliland House of Elders, Mr. Saeed Jama Ali. The ministers are minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abdullahi Duale, Minister of Planning, Mr. Ali Ibrahim, Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Abdullahi Ismael and minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Osman Sheikh.
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The Somaliland delegation are expected to hold high-level talks with senior members of the Obama administration, members of Congress and other officials including USAID and democratic organisations, on issues regarding security, development and democratic process in Somaliland.

The delegation are also expected to meet with the Somaliland community in the United States.

It is the first time a delegation consisting of members of parliament and the Rayale administration have visited the United States.

Source: Qarannews, 19th March 2010

Nigeria recalls Libya ambassador in Gaddafi row.

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Nigeria has recalled its ambassador to Libya after leader Muammar Gaddafi suggested Nigeria be divided into two states – one Christian and one Muslim.

The foreign ministry said the Libyan leader’s statement was “irresponsible”. Earlier in the week a senator had called Col Gaddafi a “mad man”.

Col Gaddafi had suggested the split to prevent any more bloodshed between rival groups in central Nigeria.

Hundreds have died this year in ethnic and religious violence around Jos.

Although the violence in Nigeria generally takes place between Muslim and Christian communities, the underlying causes are a complex mix of political, social and economic grievances.

Nigeria is roughly split between its largely Muslim north, and a Christian-dominated south.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said it was recalling its Tripoli ambassador for “urgent negotiations” because of the “irresponsible utterances of Colonel Gaddafi”.

“His theatrics and grandstanding at every auspicious occasion have become too numerous to recount,” said the statement.

Col Gaddafi, until recently head of the African Union, praised the partition of India in 1947 as the kind of “historic, radical solution” that could benefit Nigeria.

Splitting India in 1947 caused a breakdown of law and order in which at least 200,000 people died. Some estimates say one million people were killed.

About 12 million people were left homeless and thousands were raped.

An attempt by the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria to secede in 1967 sparked a war which left more than one million people dead.

source:BBC

Eritrea On The Spot Again Over It’s Support Of Somali Militant Groups

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The government of Eritrea has quickly reacted to sharp criticism and aiding the from the United Nations that it is assisting the Somali militant group of Al-Shabbab and other insurgent groups that has been opposed to the transitional federal government allied to former UIC commander and current President of Somalia Sheikh sharif sheikh Ahmed.

Late last year the United Nations imposed an arms embargo and other sanctions to Isaiah’s Afewerki’s regime.

The resolution was backed by 13 votes to 15. China abstained while Libya, the only Arab council member, voted against.

The country suspended its membership of the African Union in protest at the call for sanctions in April.

In a report that is before the United Nations security general and is to be debated within this week added that Eritrea has deliberately continued in supporting the extremists in the horn of Africa nation mostly in 2009.

However in a counter attack on Monday, Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry described the allegation as “concocted, baseless and unfounded”, adding: “It is indisputable that Eritrea had not and would never extend any support to Somali armed groups.

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“The government of Eritrea challenges those quarters indulging in utterly baseless allegations through fabricating and disseminating naked lies in the name of the U.N.”

Eritrea repeated its call for hard evidence to be presented publicly and demanded an independent platform allowing it to respond.

The UN has frequently expressed concern about the flow of arms in to Somalia, where hardliners Islamists of Al-Shabbab and Hizbul-Islam are battling with government forces for control of the capital Mogadishu.

Somalia has been subject to a UN arms embargo for many years, but weapons are still freely available in the Mogadishu weapons market.

Somalia has been without a functional government since 1991 after Mogadishu warlords toppled Siad Bare’s regime that has left the country in catastrophe.

Abdulaziz Billow
abdulazizbillow@gmail.com

Family Grieves For Son Linked To Terror Group

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Toronto university student, who vanished last year, died in Somalia fighting for group tied to Al Qaeda.

The family of a Toronto student linked to an Al Qaeda group in Somalia is in mourning after learning online that their son had been killed.

A two-minute video of Mohammed Elmi Ibrahim, also known as Ahmed, was posted on YouTube late Tuesday night along with a terse message that he had been killed in “battle.”

“They (his parents) heard about it Tuesday night … that their son is dead,” said Omar Kireh, administrator at Abu Huraira Centre in North York, the mosque where Ibrahim worshipped.

“Of course, they are devastated. They never thought it would come to this.”

Born and raised in Toronto, Ibrahim was in his early 20s and a student at the University of Toronto.

He was the first of six Somali-Canadian men who disappeared from the Toronto area last year and were believed to have joined al Shabaab in Somalia, an Islamist youth militia aligned with Al Qaeda.

They all worshipped at the Abu Huraira Centre. Some have called their families and told them they are not returning to Canada.

“I don’t know if he (Ibrahim) had been calling his parents,” said Kireh, adding he had yet to talk to the young man’s parents. “It’s very sad … everyone had high expectations from him.”

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In the video, made in Saudi Arabia, Ibrahim speaks in English and discusses the historic significance of the location.

The video’s accompanying text, addressed to Canadian youth, says: “Dont be sadden (sic) but rather rejoice in the news of your dear brother and follow his footsteps and march forth in the ranks of the honest mujahideen, al Shabaab mujahideen. The brave brother achieved his goal while marching forth not wavering. … We ask Allah to accept him.”

It doesn’t say when or where Ibrahim was killed.

His death has not been officially confirmed and Foreign Affairs in Ottawa did not return calls Wednesday.

A Star reporter was turned away at Ibrahim’s parents’ Scarborough home Wednesday evening.

“We are in mourning,” a woman at the door said, asking the reporter to leave.

About 10 cars were parked outside the home and a constant stream of people entered.

Ibrahim disappeared with his passport about eight months ago, his friends told the Star. About a month later, they say, he called his parents and said he was in Kismayo, a port city in southern Somalia ruled by al Shabaab.

The sister of a Markham man, one of the other five Somali-Canadians who disappeared, would not say Wednesday whether she had heard about Ibrahim’s death.

RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers have been investigating the disappearances of the GTA men.

This month, al Shabaab was added to the Canadian government’s list of terrorist organizations.

The designation came soon after the Somali-Canadian community reported the group was trying to radicalize and recruit Canadians.

It was listed as a terrorist organization in the U.S. early last year. More than 20 young Somali-American men have disappeared in two years, and are believed to have joined al Shabaab.


Source: TheStar

Jordan's Abdullah: Israel trying to rid Jerusalem of Arabs

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JERUSALEM (Somalilandpress) — The international community should not stand by and watch as Israel attempts to rid Jerusalem of its Arab residents, Jordanian King Abdullah II said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Jerusalem is a red line and the world should not be silent about Israel’s attempts to get rid of Jerusalem’s Arabs residents, Muslims or Christians,” the Dubai daily Khaleej Times quoted the king as saying to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Amman.

Abdullah’s comments came a day after the heaviest clashes in months broke out across the city during the orchestrated “day of rage” announced by Hamas, as the militant organization urged Muslims to reach the Temple Mount compound in order to protect it from an Israeli attempt to take it over.
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On Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians in east Jerusalem set tires and garbage bins ablaze and hurled rocks at Israeli riot police, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.

The Jordanian monarch reportedly demanded the international community take a firm, swift, direct and effective action to “stop Israel’s provocative measures in Jerusalem, that seek to change its identity and threaten holy sites there,” he said.

Some 3,000 officers were put on high alert on Wednesday after Hamas called for anti-Israel protests. “We call on the Palestinian people to regard Tuesday as a day of rage against the occupation’s [Israel’s] procedures in Jerusalem against Al-Aqsa mosque,” Hamas said in a statement.

Earlier Wednesday, Israel lifted its closure on the West Bank and granted open access to the Al-Aqsa mosque, with police saying that thousands of troops will remain on high alert but reported no disturbances. Israel originally sealed off the territory last week.

Police had predicted that Palestinian rioters would continue to stage violent protests on Wednesday in East Jerusalem and elsewhere, but the area was quiet during the morning hours.

Unknown assailants on Tuesday opened fire on a police officer patrolling the Ras al-Amud neighborhood in the east of the capital, hitting him in the hand and inflicting a minor injury, as violence seemed to spread to other parts of the country. Assailants in Jaffa hurled rocks at two public buses, and a truck in the Negev was hit by stones.

Fourteen other police officers sustained minor injuries from stones hurled at them by protesters, of whom a few required medical treatment. Approximately 60 people were arrested on suspicion of hurling stones at security forces.

Police chief David Cohen toured Jerusalem’s Old City as clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces were ongoing, and said he did not believe the recent violence would spark a third intifada. “We are seeing signs of disorderly conduct,” said Cohen, “but that is only a headline. We must be careful about characterizations and remarks being made.”

The police chief also stressed that the city has a unique character that must be preserved, and that peace must be maintained in both the Arab and Jewish neighborhoods. Cohen added that the police will beef up its presence in the eastern part of the capital and surrounding villages until Friday and over the weekend, with the intention of returning to routine deployment by Sunday.

Police responded to Tuesday’s riots, stone-throwing and burning of tires on roads by firing tear gas and rubber bullets, witnesses said. Some 40 Palestinians were treated at East Jerusalem hospitals for minor injuries, medical officials said. Police also arrested an Israeli rightist who tried to enter the Temple Mount compound and was refused by security forces.

Thousands of Palestinians, meanwhile, staged a protest march in the Gaza Strip to protest Israeli measures in Jerusalem. Ahmed Bahar, a senior figure in Hamas, called for an escalation of armed attacks against Israel and urged Arab states “to shoulder their responsibilities and send their warplanes and armies to rescue the Al-Aqsa mosque and end the Jewish policy of Judaizing Jerusalem.”

The head of the police’s Jerusalem District, Aharon Franco, said that despite the clashes, police at present intend to stand by their decision to permit right-wing activists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Baruch Marzel to conduct a protest march under the banner “We Demand Equal Enforcement” in the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The maximum number of participants is 70, as per the police’s restrictions. Franco nonetheless said that the decision to allow the procession “is subject to change.”

Tuesday’s riots began with two fire bombs that unknown assailants hurled at a house occupied by Jews in Silwan. As riots and stone-throwing occurred elsewhere, police blocked traffic into Jerusalem of Muslim worshipers from other areas of Israel, including the Galilee.

In Wadi Joz in East Jerusalem, a squad of undercover police officers dressed in civilian clothes and kaffiyes, arrested several protesters and dispersed the crowd that gathered there.

Source: Haaretz, 17 March 2010

Singer Safi Du’ale Ali dies in Hargeisa

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A Somali famous musician, Safi Du’ale Ali, has died in the capital of the Republic of Somaliland on Tuesday.

Abdikarin Farah Jiir, a prominent Somali composer and a member of the famous Waberi Band said, Safi was a good singer and had a beautiful voice.

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The composer added that Safi left behind four children and their father Abdulkadir Muse who was also a member one of Waberi Band.

Jiir said the deceased singer had a good manner and described her someone people liked to be with her.

Safi Du’ale Ali was born and grew up in Hargeisa, Somaliland. She was buried in the same town.

Most of the Somali musicians sent condolences to the family of the deceased singer.

Here is one of Safi’s famous songs:

Source: somaliland247 & Somalilandpress

SOMALILAND: Policeman Killed in Burao

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Burao, 16 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Local reports from Burao says unidentified men shot and killed a senior policeman in the town. The officer who was coming out of a teashop in the downtown around 8pm was shot several times by an armed man who then escaped with his car.

police spokesman said they are searching for the man but did not give any other details.

Rumors say the policeman’s murder has something to do with a clan revenge in other areas of the region.

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Some local news portals said the police raided one of the houses in a village near Burao but no further details of what happened there. It is not also known if suspects were arrested.

This is the first killing of its kind targeting policemen in Burao since years.

Clan revenge is one of the major problems in Somaliland where innocent people were killed because of some old killings that took place as far as few years ago. The police were always successful to bring the murderers to the justice where some were executed according to the court judgment.

Somalilandpress

Somaliland: Protecting Foreign Workers

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HARGEISA, 16 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – After reading a hastily written “article” entitled, “Somaliland: Dream job turns into a nightmare” published on the so-called The Star Online, few unanswered questions linger. If Somaliland is as lawless as the article portrayed it, why thousands of foreign workers are there? Did the author of the article in question fail to distinguish Somaliland from Somalia?

Yes indeed. The Star Online article states, “The lure of a high-paying job took telecommunications consultant Hor Chee Fei to Somalia, one of the world’s most dangerous places.” Is that so?

Perhaps, the telecom consultant encountered the same scams that people come across in China, U.S., Europe and elsewhere. And Somaliland is not immune to scams.

But few things don’t add up: why the telecom consultant failed to name the CEO or the telecom firm that allegedly chased the worker all the way to Hargeisa’s airport runway? Nor did he provide the contacts of the firm. Something smells rotten.

The worker not only failed to provide the names of the people who have turned his dream job into a nightmare, but he also failed to go to the nearest police station and report the alleged crime.

The Star Online article states, “Hor and five other Malaysians managed to avoid detection by blending in with a crowd of Chinese tourists.”

Well the question is: if there are foreign tourists in Somaliland, then it could not be a lawless country.

Also, what the worker perhaps is not telling you is: that his team members either disputed the contract or they could not deliver the services they promised. Now because things didn’t go as rosy as planned, labeling Somaliland as a lawless land is one way of avenging for their misfortune. Every story has two versions, doesn’t it?

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The least the telecom consultant could have done was contact the hundreds of other Malaysians workers in Hargiesa and seek help. In fact, other firms such as, Chinese construction companies have signed contracts with Somaliland government to rebuild Hargeisa’s airport and roads, and currently there hundreds of Chinese as well as Malaysians working in Somaliland. Some even have opened dentist clinics. Read more:
http://www.qarannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7527&Itemid=59

More important, why the airport security forces remained oblivious of the telecom worker chased around by the telecom firm’s owner inside the airport? Is this logical at all? Hargeisa’s airport has one of the most secured systems I have ever come across. The authority is so paranoid that nothing evades its eyes. Yet the telecom worker claims some gangs chased him inside the runway.

Unprofessional articles written by news outlets which break the ethics of good journalism are unfortunately what many people who seek jobs in Somaliland read. It is these articles that would reshape their perception towards Somaliland and influence their decisions to take their skills to there.

If there is no such system in place already, upon their arrivals all foreign nationals should receive the contacts of the security forces, immigration, human rights groups, and Foreign Minister of Somaliland, as well as U.N. agencies. Additionally, it is the government’s responsibility to monitor the well-being of International workers and take all the appropriate actions to protect them.

Dalmar Kaahin
dalmar_k@yahoo.com

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Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial