The Voice Of Somaliland: Editorial: Somali Contact Group: Arabs and IGAD are not welcomed.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Editorial: Somali Contact Group: Arabs and IGAD are not welcomed.

-Waridaad-With the new developments taking place in “ Southern Somalia” and the lighting success of the Islamist Courts. America is taking a sobering stance on how to deal with the new reality on the ground.

Recently, the United States formed what it calls “ The Somali Contact Group” after acknowledging that its policy of backing the warlords empowered the Islamist.

In a statement by the State Department, Sean McCormack, the State Department’s spokesman said “We are calling for the convening of a Somalia contact group, the week of June 15th up in New York City,"

"The goal of this group is to promote concerted action and coordination to support the Somalia transitional federal institutions," he said…. Another hasty plan if I may add.

The group was established at the behest of the United States, which includes Britain, the European Union, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Tanzania. Excluding the Arabs and the member states of IGAD.

South Somalia descended into anarchy after toppling and ousting said’s regime from that part of the country. Since then, South Somalia begin by becoming the only nation that managed to exist without any rule of law. Warlords partition the country into fiefdoms, until the emergence of the Islamist who took advantage of the frustrations of the people and hence capitalized and siezed the moment with the intervention of United States. The creation of the “Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT)” which consists of Warlords and certain businessmen, associated with the group which was “believed” to be funded by the United States, “due to concerns that the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), its primary enemy, is alleged to have links to al-Qaeda”. Also propelled the Islamist to seized most of Southern Somalia.
Now that the Islamist took control of Mogadishu and most of the Southern part of Somalia, its incumbent on the international community in general and on the Untied States in particular to find a way of defusing the tension and reach a conciliatory agreement between all of the parties concerned.

For the last 16 years, it was IGAD and the ARAB LEAGUE who were entrusted to reconcile the warring parties and to find a permenant solution to the ongoing conflict. The assigned group, instead of finding a way to reconcile the warring group, added fuel to the problem, each of the group had their own agenda behind the scene. The Arab League for instances, wants to keep what is used to call the Somali Democratic Republic, a defunct nation as a proxy to sway Ethiopia to never meaningfully exploit the massive natural resource which passes largely untapped through its territory. While kenya was there purely for the money it received from the International donors to find a lasting peace for the mis-represented and drought laden people of South Somalia. The International Community at the behest of United States realized now that it was not the Somali’s who failed to agree, but indeed it was the Arab League and Igad who failed the people, not once but 16 times.

We commend and applaud the bold move the United States took, not to include the ARAB LEAGUE and the member nations of IGAD, who single-handedly failed the Somali People for the last 16 years.

Ahmed H. Ahmed Quick

Ottawa-Canada

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The New Somaliland Press & Publications Bill 2007

The Somaliland Government has recently sent to the House of Representatives a new Bill on press and publications. The provisions of this bill (based almost entirely on the Yemen Law No: 25 of 1990 on the Press & Publications) run contrary to international norms relating to freedom of expression and the independence of the press and are not in line with the Somaliland constitution.
The considerable powers given to the Minister of Information (and other ministers) include even deciding on appeals from anyone whose writings have been turned down for publication by a newspaper’s editor (Article 46). These ministerial powers over the press and publishers/printers/distributors etc, the compulsory registration of all press and publication activities, including the practice of the profession of journalism, and the extensive criminal sanctions which add to the existing array of criminal offences in the 1962 Somali Penal Code contrast sharply with the current Somaliland Press Law (2004), which contains no criminal sanctions and is based on codes of conduct. Unfortunately the Somaliland Government has repeatedly made clear its dissatisfaction with the current press Law and has used the Penal Code and extra-judicial powers to detain and imprison journalists. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Somaliland Government is not putting forward amendments of the current Press Law, but is now proposing its wholesale replacement by this new Bill which introduces considerable criminal sanctions, such as fines and imprisonment (Article 99) for the infringement of its numerous provisions, as well as prohibition of continued practice of journalism or publication or even circulation of printed materials; confiscation of property, including printing presses (Article 101) and seizure of printed materials (Article 102)..........Full Text

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The "Letter-of-Death" by General "Morgan" January 23, 1987

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The report is addressed to the President of the SDR, the Minister of Defence, and the Minister of Interior. The latter, Major-General Ahmed Suleiman Abdalla, is also a son-in-law of the President, and Third Deputy Prime Minister. Since President Barre is also the Minister of Defence -- the previous holder of that portfolio, General Mohamed Ali Samatar, having been promoted Prime Minister on January 30, 1987 -- the report is seemingly confined to family members. This would explain its extreme frankness in specifying certain clans as targets for implemented and recommended punitive action.
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Top Secret.......Read the rest