I feel The Pain and Share the Shame

I feel the pain and share the shame. The Minister of Interior, Mr. Ismail Adan Osman has shamed Somaliland (SL). A nation that doesn’t observe due process is a nation that deserves the label of a rogue nation. Rogue State is what Awdalnews, one of the staunch supporters of this administration, not Ali Gulaid, a critic, has labeled a country supposedly aspiring to become a politically recognized Nation.

The unwarranted, ill-advised deportation and the manhandling of an esteemed, internationally recognized scholar, academician and an editor of a respected journal would negatively resonate with the international circles that form the opinions that make or break the political status SL is supposedly working towards. Indeed it is incidents such as this that erase whatever goodwill accrued to Somaliland but the blame lies not with the Minister but the head of the State, the President, who time and again absolved him of any wrong doing, no matter how egregious the Minister’s actions are.

The urge to condemn the deportation of Mr. Marchal is as strong as the one I felt when the beloved Dr. Tonelli and the couple, Mr. & Mrs. Eyeington were murdered. Both, incidents stained SL, but while the latter were carried out by alleged terrorists, the former was carried out by unscrupulous immigration officers while the Minister of Interior gazed like a sadist - twenty feet away- the incident of roughening up of an honorable law-abiding guest, who I might add was in SL legally and for a good reason.

I wish I could say to Mr. Marchal this type of treatment and lack of due process is an exception but as documented by Africa Right, Amnesty International and other local human rights organizations, it is the rule. As a matter of fact, Mr. Marchal is lucky; many Somalilanders perish behind bars without due process. The lack of due process prevalent in SL amounts to State sponsored terrorism and it is my hope Mr. Marchal’s case would disclose the plight the people of SL have endured. I assure you, Mr. Marchal, you were not singled out.

Speaking of asylum seekers, the Minister should have known better, but again the Minister is an outlaw. Since the Somali Republic collapsed, millions of Somalis were welcomed throughout the world, places as far away as Australia with open hands: they were fed, sheltered and schooled at the generosity of countries like France, United Kingdom, and many more. And it is the remittance the refugees earn from countries like France, which fuel the economy of Somaliland, which without it, SL couldn’t have survived.

Ironically, Mr. Ismail Adan has different and quite contrasting identities: In Somaliland he is the Minister of Interior, one of the most powerful ministries in the country; in the United Kingdom, he is card carrying asylee who receives the dole as of today; in Sweden, he is a fugitive, wanted for drug trafficking. A powerful minister, a narcotic dealer and a fugitive, Mr. Ismail Adan is all at the same time, so take your pick. Welcome to Somaliland, where the Minister of interior is not the only with shady and undesirable background. The moral of bringing this story is that the Minister should have treated the foreigner with due process if not with dignity. But again, the Minister have abused the generosity extended to him by the British by collecting the dole while selling at same time narcotic, known as “Qat” which he trafficked across Europe which is illegal.

It was due to this alleged narcotic trafficking, the Interpol has issued a warrant to arrest Mr. Ismail Adan, the current Minister of Somaliland, warrant that is still outstanding and makes him a fugitive. The Minister and the President have shamed Somaliland more than one way but this strike might be fatal.

This incident shouldn’t surprise anyone. This administration has build, over the years, a profile and a reputation of associating themselves with mafia-like individuals peddling bogus companies such as Meier of Norway, who is behind bars now while shunning and alienating groups such as the National Center for Scientific Research, Paris. It is organizations like the National Center for Research which SL should have targeted to influence and to lobby but who could blame the Minister; ignorance is sinister by nature.

Mr. Marchal, as you have correctly pointed out the freedom of expression is enshrined on the Somaliland constitution but in SL, as you found out, it is the word of the Minister and other leaders not the constitution that takes supremacy over the law of the land.
Mr. Marchal, I am glad that the Minister isn’the only Somalilander that have crossed your path and that this incident, as unfortunate as it is, would only motivate you to work harder and advocate democracy and due process in Somaliland.

To Awdalnews, I say thanks for apologizing to Mr. Marchal but sacking the Minister who shamed the country in so many ways at so many times and an apology from the President is the more responsible way to control the damage. Truly, I feel the pain and share the shame.

Ali Gulaid, San Jose, CA

The Adventures Of Magne Andeas Meier Are Already Well-documented By Haatuf’s Somaliland Times. Here Is Some In-depth Info On Him.

Here Is Some In-depth Info On Him.Ahmed Haji Nur — Oslo,Norway — 11 September, 2005

The Oil Baron’s Wild Ride

The adventures of Magne Andeas Meier are already well-documented by Haatuf’s Somaliland Times. Here is some in-depth info on him.

According to the Norwegian business journal Dagens Naeringsliv, Mr. Meier is the Oil Industry’s version of the 17th. Century baron von Münchausen. Read about Münchausen here:

http://www.tradecards.com/articles/munchausen



Mr Meier, an ex-salesman in Finance Credit, was in recent years riding on a flying carpet of lies and deception. He is a conman par excellence, says a source in the Norwegian anti-White Collar Crime Police which chose not to be named.His long journey of fraudulence ended this month (August) in a jail house in Oslo.

Arrested on charges of financial fraud, including the creation of bogus business entities, Magne Andreas Meier is sitting in a cell in a maximum security prison in Oslo. He is writing letters to his friends and business partners around the world. “It is very important for us to stick together and succeed in all the important things we are going to undertake”, he writes. “As far as I know”, he continues “nothing so far got leaked to the Press, but you never know.

If the Press gets to know something we should remove my name from the House until I am acquitted”Despite serious charges of fraud hanging over him, Magne Meier is optimistic. From his solitary confinement, he does not yet realise that the game is over and that many of his partners in London, Oslo and elsewhere long ago saw through his fraudulent projects. He therefore continues to write to his partners and instructs them what to do while he sits in custody. “There are many projects out there which need my attention”, he continues: “Among others, the establishment African Oil Association, financing of an Islamic Bank in Norway, the financing of the Oil Tankers and Fishing fleets, arranging the opening party of the African House in Oslo, the establishment of Consulate for Somalia in Oslo, arrange a State visit for Somalia’s President and other important projects”, he writes.On paper, Magne Meier is a powerful man. His name spells power and importance in the African communities in Norway and in some African countries, including Somaliland where the President himself entertained and dined him on several occasions. Among the corrupt African leaders, Meier's standing is tall.

Contacts with Somaliland’s President were not limited to social cordialities, which were many. The agenda include business deals.Magne Meier the diplomat and businessman:Abdirahman Leeban is a young Somali man who lives in Oslo. For some time he has been trying to establish a Consulate for Somalia in Oslo. Given Somalia's situation this was not an easy task. He needed help. All the help he could get. By coincidence Leeban met a businessman, if name was Magne Meier, who tells him about his grandiose projects and noble merits. In a fling, Meier narrates for Leeban the substantial stakes he has in all Sudan’s known petroleum deposits. In his possession was also Petroleum Exploration Licenses which he obtained from Somaliland. That was not all.

He has been Chief Advisor for the Pakistani Authorities and the Polish Embassy in Norway. I have friends and contacts in high places in most African countries. My involvement in Africa is not only business. My heart bleeds for Africa and I offer my services to help. In short”, continued Meier, “I am the man who can help you with the establishment of a Somalia Consulate in Oslo” In the same breath, he proposed the consulate to be housed in his office complex at Tollbugata 19 in Oslo. To boot, Meier promises to foot the bill of the office-rent. Well-meaning Leeban and the fox in the skin of Magne Meier shook hands and the deal was sealed.While Leeban is hard at work with his project of establishing a Consulate for Somalia, Magne Meier comes back calling with more support. He says that he can do even more for Somalia. He offers his services as Somalia’s Advisor in Norway. This was great. Leeban is elated and cannot thank enough his God sent angel. Leeban and Magne Meier travelled to Kenya last May to meet with Somalia’s Prime Minister, Mr Ali Mohamed Geedi who received the pair warmly. Geedi appointed Meier as his Advisor. When Meier came back to Oslo, he quickly prints some fancy Business cards which in bold colourful text proclaim Magne Meier as Somalia’s Consul General in Norway and the Royal Norwegian Foreign Office was informed and briefed on his diplomatic appointmentWhat neither the Prime Minister nor Leeban knew is the fact that Meier is a crook in an angel’s clothing. Magne Meier was kicked out from Vålerenga (a football Club in Oslo), where he was a director, in the late nineties. He was later hired as salesman in Finance Credit (A company which got busted last year after massive fraud is uncovered by the Authorities). Even before Finance Credit collapsed, Mr. Meier started fabricating bogus business projects around the globe. In February 2001, Dagens Næringsliv exposed him when he tried to sell shares in A Sudanese Oil Company – Sudaco, a company which did not exist, let alone possess exploration rights in the Sudan. But the embarrassing Media coverage did not cool Meier’s dishonest ambitions.The investorIn early December 2002, Magne Meier established Inverse International Ltd. in London. Co-owner of Inverse is Indian-born Rakesh Rajan. The company’s Start Capital (Asset) is £100 and is registered at Clarendons Gardens in London which is Rakesh Rajan’s private residence. The business concept of the Inverse International is simple but shrewd: obtain Petroleum Exploration Rights (licenses) in poor African countries and then sell them to the highest bidder.Inverse International quickly climbs the ladder of success. Only two weeks after its inception in London, Somaliland’s Minister of Water and Minerals M A Farah declared that his Government signed an Oil Exploration contract with Inverse International. The company’s director Magne Meier himself was in Hargeisa and negotiated the deal for Inverse.In the international press, M A Farah is described as naive and ignorant man who represents a desperate little African country which nobody recognises. He needs all the help he can get, it is said. He has not been lucky so far. All the Oil Companies which approached him were crooks which carried forged papers in their otherwise empty briefcases. In a number of occasions M A Farah was ridiculed in the local press. This time, M A Farah thought he scored big. Inverse International was the golden bird he was aiming at. The Minister met the press and described Inverse International in lavish terms. “This is a company which has both a financial muscle and the expertise in the Oil Exploration Industry”, he said. “The companies which used to come to Somaliland were all brokers and not real Oil Companies”, he continued. “This one is different. This is the real deal. This company has a long experience in oil explorations in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Europe”, the minister told the press.With the blessing of the President, Somaliland’s Minister of Petroleum signed a contract with Meier’s Inverse International; a contract which gave Inverse International exploration rights in a couple of huge blocks in Somaliland. The President and his lacklustre minister ignored warnings from Somaliland Times which already exposed Magne Meier and his Indian accomplice as crooks who owned not much more than the pair of shoes they were wearing.

An African House in Oslo.

Magne Meier’s obscure projects were many. One of them was an African House in Oslo. The House would gather and house all African Organisations and businesses in Oslo and Magne Meier would be its White Knight. To finance this grand project, he approached many Finance Institutions and private people in Oslo, which all turned him down.

One day in late spring this year, he showed up in the Head Office of Cultura Bank in Oslo. Cultura Bank is a Safe Environment and Human Rights minded bank which gives soft loans to projects which conform to the bank’s philosophy. Magne Meier asks the bank to support his African House project which he claims to be in line with the bank’s ideology. The Bank declines to lend support, but Meier has a plan B for the bank. He has a Cheque to the order of 381,750 Euro or roughly 3 Million Norwegian Kroner which he asks the bank to cash for him.

The Cheque has some comical history. The millions on the Cheque are supposedly paid by Societè d`Exploitation de La Tour Eiffel, a company which is said to manage the Commercial Activities around the Eiffel Tower in Paris. A cover letter which accompanied the Cheque states that the Owners of Eiffel Tower will pay 381, 758 Euro for 4 percent of Inverse International and its Oil concessions in Yemen, Mauritania and Somaliland. Recipient of the payment is Magne Meier’s British-registered TradeWinds Finance Ltd. The transaction is underwritten by a certain Deloitte/Touche of Paris. The letter of guarantee states the market value of Inverse International to be 100 million Norwegian kroner, of which 25% is owned by non other than Meier. The Cultura Bank swallows the bate and cashes the cheque.

A few weeks later, the French bank, Bred, which issued the cheque contacted Cultura Bank of Norway and told them that they do not know anything about this cheque which they said was a forgery. Cultura Bank contacted the Norwegian police which arrested Magne Meier. In their investigations so far, the police uncovered a web of bogus business entities and frauds which Magne conceived in a number of countries.

Ahmed Haji Nur — Oslo,Norway

Xigasho
www.Somaliland.org