Originally posted by Mad Mullah: hehehe I know people who know people who are in this business. Some Puntland businessmen are getting rich of the smuggling of non-puntland Somalis and foreigners. And what about puntland Somalis do the 'businessmen' let the go for free or are they DIY experts?

^^^Looks who's talking? Human Smugglers and Traffickers Inc or was it Toxic Waste Management? Naa.. you are from Smith-n-Rantisi Money Forgers. Sooyaal Mujaahid's Xashi's comments is another black spot on this administration and all Somalilanders should be very concerned. Here's the ex-ministers report on his short term in office; Wasiirkii Xilka Laga Qaaday ee Ganacsiga iyo Wershadaha Somaliland oo gole dadweyne ku soo bandhigay waxqabadkii 11 bilood oo uu Wasiir ahaa Hargeysa (Jam)- Wasiirkii Wasaaradda Ganacsiga iyo Wershadaynta Eng. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi oo uu xilka ka qaaday Madaxweyne Rayaale Isniintii toddobaadkan, ayaa shalay si rasmi ah xilkii Wasaaradda ugu Wasiir ku-xigeenkii sii Cabdiraxmaan Yuusuf Ismaaciil, oo uu Mudane Rayaale u igmaday in uu xilka la wareego inta uu u wasiir cusub u soo magacaabayo Xilka wasiirnimo. Eng. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi waxa uu xil-wareejintiisa oo munaasibaddii xil-wareejintiisa ugu talogalay Huteelka Xaraf ayaa taasi u suurtogeliwayday kadib markii Madaxweyne Rayaale ku amray Wasiir ku-xigeenka in aanu xilka kula wareegin meel ka baxsan Xarunta Wasaaradda Ganacsiga iyo Wershadaha, wasiir ku-xigeenka Cabdiraxmaan Yuusuf Ismaaciil oo raacaya amarka ka yimid dhinaca Madaxtooyadda uu diiday in uu ka qayb-galo Xafladda Huteelka Xaraf ayaa Inj. Maxamed Xaashi waxa uu xil-wareejintii ku sameeyay xarunta Wasaaradda Dhexdeeda. Haseyeeshee, markii uu Maxamed Xaashi wareejiyay xilkii wasaaradda ayaa waxa uu ka qayb galay xafladdii uu hore ugu qorsheeyay xil-wareejintiisa oo uu ku marti-qaaday dad kor u dhaafay 100 qof oo ka kala socday labada Gole ee Baarlamaanka, Xisbiyadda Siyaasadda, Siyaasiyiin Madax bannaan, Aqoonyahano iyo dad kale oo ka socda Qaybaha Ururada Bulshadda. Xafladaas ayaa waxa uu Md. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi waxa uu ku soo bandhigay waxqabadkii wasaaraddiisa muddadii 11 bilood ahayd ee uu wasiirka ka ahaa Wasaaradda Ganacsiga iyo Wershadaha ee Somaliland. Waxqabadkaas oo u badnaa barnaamij siyaasadeed oo uu u dejiyay qorshe-hawleedka wasaaradiisa ee Mustaqbalka dhow uu ugu talogalay hirgelintiisa, waxa ay taabanaysay dhinacyadda Ganacsiga, Wershadaynta, Xoolaha, Hargaha, Kalluumaysiga, Beeraha iyo Macdanta. Barnaamijkaas waxqabad oo uu warbixintiisa si dulmar ah uu ugaga waramay Inj. Maxamed Xaashi, waxa uu ugu ugu horreyn kaga hadlay dhinaca Ganacsiga. Isaga oo yidhi: “Ganacsiga: Wasaaradda Ganacsiga iyo wershadayntu labada qaybood ee ay kala tahay Ganacsigu waa baayacmushtariga inoo socday kolka horeba oo dadku ganacsiga gaarka ah ee Madaxa bannaan (Private sector) si wanaagsan bay u wateen, waxoogaa dhibaatooyin ah oo haystayna in kollay imika laga khafiifiyaana way ku jirtaa. Shiidaalkaa ka mid ah oo qaali ku ahaa dadai oo ay tahay in laga khafiifiyo oo sicirka saaran ay TOTAL ka baxdo oo shidaalkeenu la qiimo ahaado ka dekeddaha dalalka aynu jaarka nahay. Diyaaradaheenu shidaalka waxa ay ka qaataan meel la yidhaahdo Riyaan oo dalka Yemen ku taala, way ka jaban tahay, dadku muddo ayay diyaaradda ku dhex jiraan oo ku gubtaan oo dhibaataa ka haysata runtii, waa dhibaato aan loo baahnayn oo laga fiirsan karo. Wax waliba gaadiidka ayuu ku xidhan yahay, gaadiidkeena dhibaatada inaga haysataa waxa aweeyaan marka shidaalku kordho qiimayaashii kalena waa kordhayaan, Ganacsiga arrintaasi dhibaato weyn bay ku haysaa. Arrinta kale ee Ganacsiga dhibaatadda ku haysaa waxa weeye kharashka dekedda Berbera oo dadka laga qaado oo kalifa Ganacsatadu in ay u wareegto Boosaaso, dabadeedna Badeecaduhu xaggaa ay Tog-wajaale ka soo galaan tii oo kootorobaan ahaan u socota, taa qudheedu in laga khafiifyo oo ganacsigu noqdo mid aynu ugu talogalno 70ka Malyuun ee qof ee Itoobiya ku dhaqan, Ganacsigeenuna sida runta ah sidaas ayuu ku hano qaadi karaa. Muddadii aan Wasaaradda Ganacsiga joogay oo noqonaysa kow iyo toban bilood, waxyaalaha aanu qabanay waxa ka mid ah waxa aanu samaynay xisaab cel-celin aanu qaadanay oo ku dedaalnay in aanu aburno oo wax walba muftaax u ah, wax allaal wixii soo degayay oo badeecad ahaana xisaab cel-celis (Statitics) baanu u marinay, bil malal, Gaadiidka oo kale ilaa 1991kii wixii Gaadhi soo degay ee ina soo galay ayaanu diwaangelinay waxay soo baxday 98% in ay jabaan inooma oga in aynu baayacmushtari leenahay sidaas ah, kolka waliba laga tago, Electronics-ka oo aanu hadda diwaangelintooda ku jirnay waxa aynu ka soo iibsanaa carabta, iyaga ay ugu qoran tahayin ay Erebiya baayac-mushtari la leeyihiin laakiin inaga (Somaliland) inoogama qorna, xidhiidhka lala sameeyo ee ay wefti u soo dirtaan waxa uu toosi karaa waxa aynu ka iibsano. Xidhiidhka abuurmi kara, Workshops ayey keeni karaan lagaga shaqeeyo, Spareparts-ka dhib yaraan kara. Xoolaha: Yemen oo xoolaha cidhiidhi inaga galisa oo tidhaahda Jabuuti ha sii maraan waxa aanu sameynay wixii Yemen aynu la lahayn baayac-mushtari baanu iyana bilownay ururtooda ama ha ahaado kalluun, buskut, baco, biyo, in aynu iyagana (Yemen) tusno in aanay inaga uun wax inaga qaadana in aynu wax badan ka qaadano oo lagala xisaabtami karo inta wefti loo diro. Baayac-mushtarigeenu waxa kale oo uu u baahan yahay ee uu ku soconayaa in inaga (Somaliland) iyo Itoobiya xuduudkeeda inoo dhaxeeya in lagala hadlo cashuurta in la dhimo, si ay dadkeena ugu dhib yaraato oo aynu yeelano Itoobiya xidhiidh, kootarabaanka halka uu kaga geliyo in uu wixii saani u geli karo, fursad kale oo aynu leenahay waxa weeye xaga kale (killilka shanaad) inaga ayaa degan xaggana (Somaliland) inaga ayaa degan, kolkaa ninka xaggaa degeni uu liisan furto isagu meel wlaba wuu gaadhsiin karaa badeecadihii, kolka inaga (Somaliland) faa’iido weyn ayaa inoogu jirto la deriska Itoobiya , xaga ganacsiga in aynu had iyo jeer ku fikirno. Xidhiidhaanu Itoobiya la samayany laakiin ma aanu dhammaystirin weli, Wasaaradda Maaliyaddu wefti bay u dirtay wixii ka soo baxay ma hayo, laakiin wuu jiraa wada shaqayntaasi, waxa kale oo kolaba fiican in aynu Itoobiya la yeelano siyaasad aynu kaga wada shaqayno tacliinta, caafimaadka, biyaha iyo xannaanada Xoolaha, wax badan baa inaga dhaxayn kara, waxaasina waxa ay sahlayaan had iyo jeer isutaggii, ganacsigii iyo isu-socodkiiba. Dadkeenu waa dad ku fiican Ganacsiga, kolkaa in aynu Itoobiya dhaafnaaana way suuro geli kartaa, waxa aynu iibinaynaa in uu noqdo wax lagu dhiiran karo. Wershadaynta: Waxa jiri jirtay in kolba nin shandad sitaa yimaado, yidhaahdo wershad kalluun ah baan samaynayaa ama wershadda sibidhka ayaan kicinayaa, dabadeedna marka bil la joogo la waayo, dabadeedna mid kale yimaado, sidaas ayay ku socotay 12-kii sannadood ee la soo dhaafay. Taa waxa aanu isla garanay haddii aynu suuqii hayno aynuka iibin lahayn sibidhka iyo alaabtii laga samaynayey sibidhka su’aashu waxa ay noqotay lacagta lagu kicinayo wershadda miyaynaan inagu samayn karayn, kolkaa waxa aanu isla garanay in aynu samayn karno oo iibsan karno oo aynu ka bixi karno ajenabi wixii khayraadka dalkeena keliya inuu inaga qaato aynu taa iska ilaalino oo inagu samaysan karo, waxa aanu wadnay qiime raadistii wershad sibidhka oo samayn karta 800 (siddeed boqol oo ton) maalinti, iibkeeda rakibaadeeda iyo cid kasta oo shuruud lala galo muddada laba sano iyo saddex sano kolba intii la yidhaahdo dabadeedna aynu saamiyo yaryar oo $10 (Toban Doollar ah) iibino, kolkaa ninkii shan kunoo saami iibsanaya iyo ninkii laba iibsanaya, nin waliba wixii uu doono uu iibsado, kolkaa waxa aanu ku rajo weynahay in dadkeenu in ka badan inta wershadda qiimaheedu yahay soo saari karo. Dhinaca Sharciyaddana: Iyagana waanu samaynay, waxanu iska kaashaday shan wasaaradood oo kala ah, Kalluumaysiga, Macdanta iyo Biyaha, Xannaanada Xoolaha, Beeraha iyo Ganacsiga, waxana aanu ku talo jirnay bishan ilaa bisha dambe aakhirkeeda in aanu ascaarihii helno, dabadeedna aanu qaybintii saamiyadda lagu dhaqaaqo, sannadka aakhirkiisana ay bilaabmaan hawlahaasi. Hargaha: Waxa aynu dirnaa 3 Malyuun ilaa 4 Malyuun oo harag oo sidii awoowayaasha ku diri jireen ah, wershad baa jirta Burco ku shaqaysa wershadaasi xadkii bay gaadhay aanay dhaafi karayn iyadu kolkaa waxa aanu isla garanay qolada wershadda iyo wasaaradda in aanu saami iibino, dabadeedna saamiga la iibinayaa uu keeno in wixii loo baahan yahay iibsan karto wershaddu, waanu isla garanay, waxa aan ku idhi, soo qiimeeya wixii aad idinku samaysanaan ee ahaa dhisme, qalab, shaqaalaha idiin shaqeeya mushaharka aad siisaan iyo sharciyadda idiin yaala kolkaa aanu intaa helno ee annaguna (Waasaaradda Ganacsiga) aanu dib u qiimeyno hadday intaas noqoto dabadeed aan dadkii nidhaahno kolka aynu helno mashiinaddii wershadaha uu habkoodii dhamaystiri karo hargaha qiimahoodana helno, dabadeed aynu saamiyo iibino kolka hargaheenu ha noqdeen hargo dhammaystirna oo waxkasta oo loo baahdo laga samayn karo, wixii innaga baahideena ka helana aan dibadda u iibgeyn karno, markaa arrintaa xisaabteeda ayaanu ku jirnay oo aanu iyadana rajaynay in ay si dhakhso ah u dhamaato kadibna mashiinaddii (Machinary) aanu soo iibino, dabadeedna sheerarkii ama saamiyaddii la bixiyo. Kallluumaysiga: Markii aanu isu nimi shantayaddii wasaaradood waxa aanu nidhi kalluunkeenii maxaa xanibay waxa la yidhi qaboojiyayaal baan la haynin dabadeed niman injineero ah ayaanu u dirnay qaboojiyayaashii uu Danishku sameeyay in ay soo eegaan bal in ay inaga anfacayaan iyo in kale, kuwaas oo qaarkood uu muggoodu dhan yahay (400 ton), waxaanu dabadeed istusnay kuwaa malaha waxa ka fiican innaga oo mid cusub samaysana, kuwaas oo mug ahaan qaadi kara ilaa (600, oo ton), bilowga hore, kadibna aanu Magaalooyinka xarumo ka samayno, qaboojiyayaashiina la geeyo dabadeedna so iibino gaadiidkii qaadi jiray, kolkaa ascaartii baanu ku jirnay gawaadhidii waanu soo helnay, qaboojiyayaasha Magaalooyinka la dhigi lahaa waanu soo helany, kii weynaa ee 600 ton qaadayay baa noo hadhsanaa, kolka aanu intaa isla helno dabadeed iyadana sheerer iibino, dad kalluumaysato ahi markaa halkaa ka bilaabmo oo loo shaqo tago, badda oo aynu maanta ku nahay qariib. Macdanta: Dhagaxa aynu haysano ee qaaliga ah Mashiinadda yaryar ee lagu qoro ee Kuusha iyo Kaatumada laga sameeyo waynu diran karnaa, markaa iyagana in aanu raadino qalabkii lagaga shaqayn lahaa dabadeedna, shirkaddo yaryar iyo kuwo dhexeba samayno. Wershaddaha Roodhida: Laba iyo toban Wershadaha Moofooyinka oo roodhiida sameeya ayaa la soo qoray, waxa aan u malaynayaaa wakhtigan shan keli ah ayaa ka shaqeeya, waxa sababay waxa weeyaan xad baan loo kala samayn, kolkaa iyagana waxa aanu u wadnay si aan qiimaha roodhidu u kicin in cashuurta laga dhaafo daqiiqda ay soo iibsadaan oo magacadooda ku qoran yahay oo aanay iibin karin, si aanay u kicin ascaarta doollarkan sabaynaya iyo shidaalku aanay saameyn ugu yeelan roodhidda. Waxa kale oo aan wadnay wax la yidhaahdo Free Zone, injineero ayaanu u dirnay waxa lagu jiray qaybtii hore Nashqaddeeda laba meelood in loo qaybiyo oo ah wershaddaha iyo ganacsiga, dabadeedna loo sameeyo dariiqyaddii iyo guryihii meeshay noqonayaan, meelaha bannaanka alaabta la dhigi karo, dabadeedna uu halkaa Free Zonekii ka bilowno, oo badeecadda aynu Dubay u doonayno halkan ka helno. Beeraha: Cuntada aynu dibadda ka keenayno waxaynu kaga maarmi lahayn inteeda badan wax aynu beerano, tiina waxay u baahan tahay biyihi in la qtoo, qolada Beeraha iyo biyahana waanu weydiinay kharashka kubaxaya waxana uu noqday $11 Milayn oo Doollar, in lagu samayn karo shan sannadood qorhe ah kadib biyaheenan ina dhaafa ee badda ku dhaca aynu qabsan karno oo wax soo saarka beeruhu halkaa uu ku kobco, dad badan oo camal la’ina ay shaqooyin ka helaan.” Ugu dambeyn, Inj. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi waxa uu tilmaamay in uu rajo weyn ka qabo in barnaamijkaa hawl-qabad ee uu u dejiyay Wasaaradda Ganacsiga iyo Warshadaha in Masuuliyiinta Wasaaraddu ka sii amba-qaadi doonaan halka uu kaga tegay hawl-qabadkiisii. “Waxana aan ku rajo weynahay in wasaaraddu halkaa ka sii wadi doonto hawlahaas oo dhan,” ayuu yidhi Inj. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi.

Here are some more pictures from TAWAKAL LIFELINE. A set of learning tablets for teaching the Koran(Islamic scripture) woman pouring camel milk from a jug made by herself tawakal lifeline

by Yvette Lopez This is Saleqa, I met her months ago during my visit at Mohamed Mogue village, a resettlement area for returnees. She is one of the leaders of UMMO, a small umbrella organization of women in that village. Women's groups in Somaliland usually produces Somali traditional products, camel wood carvings, camel bells of different sizes and woven straws originally used for Somali houses. The photo above was taken at Egal International Airport in Hargeisa, before I left a month ago. I was surprised to see her smiling face as I enter the airport. So I sat down with her for a little while and was told that Airport authorities allowed them to sell their products at the airport vicinity. I hope to see her again when I return a few days from now, inshaallah. Camels, camels and camels... Somali camel milk jars, drinking cups, spoons and combs. The containers at the back wrapped in white cloth are typical Somali wedding gifts. Inside are preserved sweet meat, these are carefully wrapped and tied by women. I was told that tradition dictates that men should struggle to untie these jars because it symbolizes the bride's virginity. The igloo-like structures at the back of the signboard are nomad's houses. Originally made of dried grass and hand made by Somali women, they weave and build the house, when it's time to move to another place, women also do the dismantling. Intifac, is a member organization of UMMO, in one of my visits, they allowed me to join them in weaving. Like stories and tales in this oral society, skills in weaving are passed from one generation to another. So if you happen to see these products somewhere, keep in mind that they were intricately made by women's hands. Posted by Yvette Lopez at 04:43 AM --------------------------------------

Maybe he didn't want to pack some of your shopping, do remember what you bought? Or maybe he didn't even want to know what you bought!

Hargeysa (Jam)- Wasiirkii Ganacsiga iyo Wershadaha Xukuumadda Somaliland, Eng. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi, ayaa shalay laga qaaday xilkii Wasiirnimo ee uu ka hayay Xukuumadda Madaxweyne Rayaale. War-saxaafadeed Afhayeenka Madaxtooyada Somaliland, Mr. Cabdi Idiris Ducaale uu soo saaray shalay ayaa waxa lagu sheegay in Eng. Maxamed Xaashi uu Madaxweyne Rayaale xilka kaga xayuubiyay Xeer Madaxweyne NO 019/2004 oo uu shalay soo saaray. War-saxaafadeedku waxa uu xusay sababta Xilka qaadista wasiirku in ay sababtay isaga oo kala afkaar iyo aragti noqon wayaay Golaha Wasiirada intooda kale. “Markii in badan ay kaa muuqatay in aad ka talo duwan tahay Golaha intiisa kale waxa aan gartay in aan kaala noqdo xilkii aad Qaranka u haysay laga bilaabo maanta (shalay)” sidaa waxa yidhi Madaxweyne Rayaale, oo qoraalka xil ka qaadista wasiirka ganacsiga ugu faah-faahiyay sababta uu xilka kaga qaaday. Madaxweynuhu uma magacaabin wasiir cusub jagada uu baneeyay wasiirka uu xilka ka qaaday ee Eng. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi. Waxes uu amray in uu xilka ku wareejiyo Wasiir ku-xigeenka Wasaaradda. “Waxaana xilka wasiirnio intaan cid hanan karta u soo magacaabayo ku wareejin doontaa Wasiir ku-xigeenka Wasaaradda Ganacsiga, Md. Cabdiraxmaan Yuusuf Ismaaciil” ayuu qoraalkiisa ku yidhi Madaxweyne Rayaale. Faah-faahin dheeraad ah Xukuumaddu kamay bixin sababta xil ka qaadista Wasiirka Ganacsiga iyo Wershadaha oo ka mid ahaa Wasiiradda ugu miisaanka culus Xukuumadda Madaxweyne Rayaale. Eng. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi, ayaa isaguna dhiniica ka gaabsaday in uu wax tafaasiil ah ka bixiyo sababaha xil ka qaadista, “Arrintaa ma doonayo in aan ka hadlo inta ka horraysa maalinta aan xilka wareejinayo, markaas ayaan ka hadli doonaa inta ka horraysa ma jecli in aan ka hadlo” ayuu yidhi, Eng. Maxamuud Xaashi oo isaga oo jooga gurigiisa Jamhuuriya xalay telefoon ugu sheegay, in aanu tibaax ka bixinayn xilka qaadistiisa haseyeeshee sida ay xaqiijiyeen xogo ka soo baxay Ilo ku dhow-dhow golaha wasiiradda ayaa tibaaxay in khilaaf iyo ismaan-dhaaf muddo soo jiitamayay oo la xidhiidha Siyaasadda qorshe-hawleedka Xukuumadda uu u dhaxeeyay Madaxweyne Rayaale iyo Eng. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi, waxase ay xoguhu xaqiijiyeen in xilka Qaadistan Eng. Maxamed Xaashi ay soo dedejisay Is-maan-dhaaf markii Wasiirka iyo Madaxweynuhu isku aragti ka noqon waayeen Miisaaniyad sannadeedka cusub ee dawladda ee 2004 oo shalay lagu ansixiyay shirkii Golaha Wasiiradda, taas oo la hordhigay khamiistii toddobaadkii hore. Eng. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi ayaa la sheegay in uu ka horyimid meelmarinta Miisaaniyadda cusub isaga oo tilmaamay in aanay ahayn Miisaaniyad ka tarjumaysa xaqiiqda dhaqaale ee dalka, iyada oo la sheegay in uu Miisaaniyadan ku tilmaamay mid laga soo min guuriyay Miisaaniaydd sannadeedkii kal hore ee 2003, si xad dhaaf ahna loo kordhiyay. Sida la sheegay Eng. Maxamed Xaashi Cilmi, waxa uu Golaha u soo jeediyay in Miisaaniyadan aan la ansixin ee ay u baahan tahay ka baaraan deg, isaga oo isla markaana sheegay in xisaab-xidhkii 2002/2003 aan la horkeenin Golaha, balse golaha la horkeenay oo keliya Qorshaha Miisaaniyadda ku tallogalka ah. Arrimaha kale ee Eng. Xaashi iyo Golaha Xukuumaddu ay isku maandhaafeen waxa la sheegay in ay ka mid ahaayeen dakhliga Kastamka iyo Cashuuraha Barriga, ee ku jira Miisaaniaydda ku tallogalka ah ee Cusub. Waxa kale oo la sheegay in isfaham la’aanta Madaxweynaha iyo Wasiirka sii kordhiyay arrinta shirkadda TOTAL oo qandaraas ku haysata Maamulka Haamaha Kaydka Dhexe ee Shidaalka dalka ee Berbera, oo uu Eng. Maxamed Xaashi uu diidanaa qaabka ay ku shaqayso TOTAL iyo weliba qaabkii heshiiskii Qandaraaska lagu siiyay, arrimahaas oo sababay shidaal yaridii bishii hore dalka ka dhacday, ayaa Eng. Maxamed Xaashi waxa uu Madaxweyne Rayaale u gudbiyay tallooyin uu ka soo jeediyey Xaalka Shidaalka iyo Shirkadda TOTAL. Inkasta oo badheedhaha Maxamed Xaashi ka dhiibtay arrinta TOTAL aanu Madaxweyne Rayaale ku qancin haddana Madaxweynuhu dhaliilo kulul ayuu u jeediyay TOTAL, markii shidaal yaraantu ku habsatay Somaliland bishii la soo dhaafay. -------------------------------- He was one of the few who impressed me. Can't wait to hear his side of the story.

Garowe based reporters try to paint a very different picture.

Haddaad dhimato geeridu marbay nolosha dhaantaaye-Salaan Maxamed Xirsi "Carrabey"

Any samples availabe? Free trial period? Buy now pay later?

oops double post. deleted.

Originally posted by Mobb_Deep: Most of the generals who were ordering the killing of innocent people, the destruction of wells, the systematic rape in Puntland were originally from the north. Mobb Deep could you please tell me the names of Northern Generals you are talking about? As far as I know most of Siyaad's Generals were from your necks of woods. Originally posted by Liqaye: My faith is that the SNM as an organisation and rebel group was head and shoulders of ALL other rebel groups both in their conduct of the guerilla campaign and in their post war administration and in the guurti system they pioneered which to my mind shows alot of political acumen.. You spoke for both of us. Interesting how Mobb leaves out the SSDF history which is about switching sides and fighting for Siyaad against SNM. Its sometimes nice to hear what others are lead to believe, don't you think?

Originally posted by Khayr: quote: Is there such thing as an IDEAL STATE? I don't think so but Somaliland needs lots of work many sectors to even start comparing itself with other countries. According to your response then, if there is no IDEAL MODEL STATE then why do the Muslims hold on to the SHARIAH?? No according to my response there is no IDEAL STATE in Africa. What you have quoted is part of answer to your question: does this make SOMALILAND the IDEAL STATE then in Africa? Nowhere in your first post does the word MODEL appear and I was only comparing or telling its too soon to start comparing Somaliland to the rest of Africa. If you read my answers in context then you could have understood my position on democracy and Sharia. I'm all for Sharia but my knowledge on the subject is very limited and if you think democracy is Xaram then you are most welcome to give me your opinions. Originally posted by Khayr: Why are SOMALILANDERS so BLINDED by their NATIONALISTIC PRIDE b/c their country-SOMALILAND is a DEMOCRACY??????? Where you are getting that sort of vibe and 'all this talk' from. Even Lander understood the doubts I was expressing about democracy but you still went on to make that sort of comment. We all know how poor Somaliland is but there is a sense of achievement in those of us who compare the current situation to the days when people used to say no one will be able to come to back to Hargeisa, Burco and many other places. What you are seeing is an optimism rather than pride in the progress made from the days when the questions were very different from the ones you are asking. Originally posted by Khayr: (I don't know of too many countries that go back to calling themselves what their BRITISH COLONLIALISTS/CONQUERERS use to call them-SOMALILAND and all in the English men's lettering and language!!!!) INFERIORITY COMPLEX-maybe! Here we go again. I had high hopes but that typical line of attack on Somaliland is disappointing. There many countries with colonial names and most African countries use the names given to them by Europeans. In fact the name Africa was given by Europeans and names like Ethiopia and Somalia were given by them. Punt(land) is another example I can use but for a reason only known to you Somaliland is a complex. Next time you chose to make comment it like "all in the English men's lettering and language", it would be wiser not to do it in english.

Fisk: A warning to those who dare to criticise Israel in the land of free speech By Robert Fisk Apr 24, 2004, 11:30 Mary Robinson suggested - horror of horrors - that the 'root cause of Arab-Israeli conflict is the occupation' 24 April 2004 - Behold Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, would-be graduation commencement speaker at Emory University in the United States. She has made a big mistake. She dared to criticise Israel. She suggested - horror of horrors - that "the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the occupation". Now whoah there a moment, Mary! "Occupation"? Isn't that a little bit anti-Israeli? Are you really suggesting that the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Israel, its use of extrajudicial executions against Palestinian gunmen, the Israeli gunning down of schoolboy stone-throwers, the wholesale theft of Arab land to build homes for Jews, is in some way wrong? Maybe I misheard you. Sure I did. Because your response to these scurrilous libels, to these slurs upon your right to free speech, to these slanderous attacks on your integrity, was a *****-cat's whimper. You were "very hurt and dismayed". It is, you told The Irish Times, "distressing that allegations are being made that are completely unfounded". You should have threatened your accusers with legal action. When I warn those who claim in their vicious postcards that my mother was Eichmann's daughter that they will receive a solicitor's letter - Peggy Fisk was in the RAF in the Second World War, but no matter - they fall silent at once. But no, you are "hurt". You are "dismayed". And you allow Professor Kenneth Stein of Emory University to announce that he is "troubled by the apparent absence of due diligence on the part of decision makers who invited her [Mary Robinson] to speak". I love the "due diligence" bit. But seriously, how can you allow this twisted version of your integrity to go unpunished? Dismayed. Ah, Mary, you poor diddums. I tried to check the spelling of "diddums" in Webster's, America's inspiring, foremost dictionary. No luck. But then, what's the point when Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines "anti-Semitism" as "opposition to Zionism: sympathy with opponents of the state of Israel". Come again? If you or I suggest - or, indeed, if poor wee Mary suggests - that the Palestinians are getting a raw deal under Israeli occupation, then we are "anti-Semitic". It is only fair, of course, to quote the pitiful response of the Webster's official publicist, Mr Arthur Bicknell, who was asked to account for this grotesque definition. "Our job," he responded, "is to accurately reflect English as it is actually being used. We don't make judgement calls; we're not political." Even more hysterically funny and revolting, he says that the dictionary's editors tabulate "citational evidence" about anti-Semitism published in "carefully written prose-like books and magazines". Preposterous as it is, this Janus-like remark is worthy of the hollowest of laughs. Even the Malaprops of American English are now on their knees to those who will censor critics of Israel's Middle East policy off the air. And I mean "off the air". I've just received a justifiably outraged note from Bathsheba Ratskoff, a producer and editor at the American Media Education Foundation (MEF), who says that their new documentary on "the shutting-down of debate around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" - in reality a film about Israel's public relations outfits in America - has been targeted by the "Jewish Action (sic) Task Force". The movie Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land was to be shown at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. So what happened? The "JAT" demanded an apology to the Jewish community and a "pledge (for) greater sensitivity (sic) when tackling Israel and the Middle East conflict in the future". JAT members "may want to consider threatening to cancel their memberships and to withhold contributions". In due course, a certain Susan Longhenry of the Museum of Fine Arts wrote a creepy letter to Sut Jhally of the MEF, referring to the concerns of "many members of the Boston community" - otherwise, of course, unidentified - suggesting a rescheduled screening (because the original screening would have fallen on the Jewish Sabbath) and a discussion that would have allowed critics to condemn the film. The letter ended - and here I urge you to learn the weasel words of power - that "we have gone to great lengths to avoid cancelling altogether screenings of this film; however, if you are not able to support the revised approach, then I'm afraid we'll have no choice but to do just that". Does Ms Longhenry want to be a mouse? Or does she want to have the verb "to longhenry" appear in Webster's? Or at least in the Oxford? Fear not, Ms Longhenry's boss overrode her pusillanimous letter. For the moment, at least. But where does this end? Last Sunday, I was invited to talk on Irish television's TV3 lunchtime programme on Iraq and President Bush's support for Sharon's new wall on the West Bank. Towards the end of the programme, Tom Cooney, a law lecturer at University College, Dublin, suddenly claimed that I had called an Israeli army unit a "rabble" (absolutely correct - they are) and that I reported they had committed a massacre in Jenin in 2002. I did not say they committed a massacre. But I should have. A subsequent investigation showed that Israeli troops had knowingly shot down innocent civilians, killed a female nurse and driven a vehicle over a paraplegic in a wheelchair. "Blood libel!" Cooney screamed. TV3 immediately - and correctly - dissociated themselves from this libel. Again, I noted the involvement of an eminent university - UCD is one of the finest academic institutions in Ireland and I can only hope that Cooney exercises a greater academic discipline with his young students than he did on TV3 - in this slander. And of course, I got the message. Shut up. Don't criticise Israel. So let me end on a positive note. Just as Bathsheba is a Jewish American, British Jews are also prominent in an organisation called Deir Yassin Remembered, which commemorates the massacre of Arab Palestinians by Jewish militiamen outside Jerusalem in 1948. This year, they remembered the Arab victims of that massacre - 9 April - on the same day that Christians commemorated Good Friday. The day also marked the fourth day of the eight-day Jewish Passover. It also fell on the anniversary of the 1945 execution by the Nazis of Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer at Flossenburg concentration camp. Jewish liberation 3,000 years ago, the death of a Palestinian Jew 2,000 years ago, the death of a German Christian 59 years ago and the massacre of more than 100 Palestinian men, women and children 56 years ago. Alas, Deir Yassin Remembered does not receive the publicity it merits. Webster's dictionary would meretriciously brand its supporters "anti-Semitic", and "many members of the Boston community" would no doubt object. "Blood libel," UCD's eminent law lecturer would scream. We must wait to hear what UCD thinks. But let us not be "hurt" or "dismayed". Let's just keep on telling it how it is. Isn't that what American journalism school was meant to teach us?

'What I said was racist - but I'm not a racist. I am an ***** ' Last week Ron Atkinson caused a furore with his remarks about a Chelsea footballer. Now, in his only newspaper interview, he talks emotionally, and with remarkable honesty, to Michael Eboda, editor of New Nation, the leading newspaper for the black community Sunday April 25, 2004 The Observer 'Big Ron' Atkinson has made a name for himself with his clever catchphrases and colourful cliches. In one moment of madness last week, though, he showed a side of his personality that was neither big nor clever when, speaking into a microphone he did not think was on, he referred to Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly as 'what is known in some schools as a ******* lazy, thick nigger'. The next day Atkinson's world collapsed around him. He resigned from his job at ITV. He had to give up his column in the Guardian. And he lost a fortune - as much as £1 million - when other commercial projects were ditched by the companies he was associated with. To be fair, a phrase he often uses himself, Atkinson has been big enough to face what he did head-on. Instead of hiding, he held up his hands. During the week he gave a television interview to explain what had happened and apologised. Yesterday, Atkinson opened the doors of his home in Worcestershire to sit down and talk about the worst week of his footballing life. He agreed to an interview with me because I edit the New Nation, the biggest-selling newspaper in Britain's black community, and asked for forgiveness from those whom he most offended. He wanted to 'put it all into perspective'. I arrived at Atkinson's mock Tudor house at 9am. The gates opened on to a drive where a Mercedes saloon and a Jeep were parked. Atkinson greeted me with a grin and a firm handshake. 'Hello Mike, you'll get in trouble coming round here, ya know.' After being ushered into his living room, we spent the next two hours talking frankly about what he said, why he said it, whether or not he can be classified as a racist, and football in general. In reply to my opening line - 'It's been a tough week' - Atkinson said: 'I think I'd have been better off shooting somebody. 'I tell you what's been great, though. I've had tremendous support. Late last night, and I don't know the guy, Gérard Houllier [the Liverpool manager] rang me up. So has Sir Alex [Ferguson], Bobby [Robson], Terry Venables, Pleaty [David Pleat of Tottenham]. Loads of 'em.' When one of the boys is in trouble, the football community certainly rallies round and Atkinson singles out a call from former Liverpool player John Barnes as a particular favourite. 'Barnsey said, "Ron, you're not a racist, coz if I wanted a job and you were in a position to give it to me you'd give it me. People who are racists are the ones who look at you and go [because you're black] you're not getting the job". He said: "You've always proved who you are with your actions".' I ask Atkinson to take me back to last Tuesday when, after commentating on Chelsea's 3-1 Champions League defeat against Monaco, he was heard to utter those fateful words. 'I've got to the end of the game and I am so angry. There's a commercial break from what I can remember and I'm just talking to myself. And to be fair I've been critical of several of the players. 'And then your man comes up [big Ron can't bring himself to say Desailly's name]. My job is to analyse and I've criticised him in the match. Then I've come out with this infamous line, which to this day I don't remember saying. And it must have gone into the lip mike which has gone down to Dubai [the offending words were broadcast in the Gulf, but not in Britain]. I didn't know anything about it till the next day.' He goes on to say that Andy Townsend, a fellow match summariser, was first to tell him that 'something's gone out on air and it's come out in the Middle East'. Then he rang a friend in Dubai who told him exactly what he'd said. As Atkinson is talking, the doorbell rings. Maggie, his wife, comes in to let her husband know that someone called of Paul has dropped by. Paul is black. Embarrassed, Atkinson insists this is not stage-managed, saying 'he's never been to my house before'. Paul is a local businessman and friend who pops in just long enough to say: 'Speak to you later, keep your chin up.' After a while his mobile phone rings. 'Whereabouts?' says Big Ron. 'Gleneagles, Loch Lomond?' It's Jim Smith, the Portsmouth director of football, on the line, trying to organise a golfing escape in Scotland for the coming week. Eventually Atkinson tells his old friend: 'I don't think I'm going to be able to make it, after all that's gone on.' Has there been a difference in the reaction from people who have nothing to do with football? He pauses before saying: 'I dunno. But there was a poll on the telly last night, and 82 per cent were in favour, not of what I've said, but of giving me a second chance. 'I've offended nobody more than me at the moment. Christ almighty it's cost me roughly a million quid. I've done my penance.' An expensive mistake, to be sure, but what about the cost to his reputation - and why on earth was he so wound up about Chelsea losing? 'If it had been Man U, I would have been worse.' Pause for thought. 'Well, I wouldn't ... It's just that you want English teams in the final. We all do.' So why hadn't he just shut up? Where had the racist language come from? Surely he realises only a racist would have such a word in their vocabulary? He concedes: 'What I said is racist, I understand that, but I'm not a racist. Don't forget, I was brought up ... look I've had pairs of shoes that have been nigger brown, that's what they used to say. Does that mean anything to you? 'Now I realise more than ever the implications of it but it never meant...' He trails off, but my impression is that he was about to add the words 'anything serious'. The reason so many people were shocked is partly because of his track record as a manager. In the late Seventies, as manager of West Bromwich Albion, he brought through three black players, Cyrille Regis, Brendan Batson and Laurie Cunningham, who are now regarded as pioneers. For that reason alone in Britain's African Caribbean communities, Atkinson has had more respect than many other managers. What does he have to say to people who were, until last week, big admirers of Big Ron? At this point he seems close to tears. 'Look, all I can say is sorry, I genuinely did not mean to offend anybody. What else can I say? I'm an ***** , but I'm not a racist. A racist is someone who won't give a black man a chance. My actions over the years prove that I have no problem with that. Not to my knowledge. I'm hoping that people look at the broader picture and see all the good I've done. I've never used that word before.' 'You know what, if somebody had said what I said about Desailly to one of my players, I would have got 'em by the throat and chinned 'em.' Then Atkinson asks me: 'Look, I've seen a black guy with the word nigga, or something like that, on his number plate? What's that?' I explain that some young black people have, in an attempt to lessen the effectiveness of the word, used the term nigger, or nigga, as they spell it, as a term of endearment. I also tell him that most African Caribbeans see such people as misguided imbeciles. Some gay people call themselves queer, I say, it's the same principle. Atkinson looks confused. 'But we always used to call gays queer, didn't we, you mean you can't...' Once again he trails of, this time with incredulity. Then he offers an anecdote. 'I remember Brendan Batson, back in the Seventies after Arsenal got rid of him coz that wasn't their policy, had a chip on his shoulder, maybe rightly. But anyway, we were doing something in training and I dropped him and he said to me: "Boss, you don't know my problems." He was talking about racism. I said if that's your problem you've got it for the rest of your life. Two months later he was club captain.' Of similar problems at West Bromwich, his advice to black players was: 'The way to overcome it [racism] is in the way you conduct yourself plus the way you play.' He tells me another tale about a black footballer. This time it's former West Bromwich, Sheffield Wednesday and England midfielder Carlton Palmer. 'CP rings me, he says, "Gaffer, I've cracked it. I've played for England. I'm sitting here in my garden with a couple of cans of lager. And I've got a white gardener doing my lawn." Is that offensive? It isn't to me.' We go go outside in the sunshine to take some photographs in his huge and impressive garden. The lawns are as big as Wembley. Atkinson emphasises again how he feels and says: 'Listen, when all this happened it was the worst day of my life in football. I really want to make it clear to the black community that I'm genuinely very sorry. I've apologised - I don't know what else I can do.' Turning the tables, he decides to put me on the spot: 'So, tell me, do you think I'm a racist?' He listens intently to my reply: 'I don't think you are a racist, but I do think you have a racist element in you and I don't think you are aware of what racism is. 'No, you don't see colour when you are giving a person a job, and that's how it's meant to be, but you come from an era when certain things were acceptable and I think you are not quite aware of what those things are. That's when you can become racist. I think that in the instant that you used the term nigger you were a racist. 'I don't think that had Desailly been white you would have mentioned his colour. You might have called him a lazy ******* , but you certainly wouldn't have called him a lazy, white nigger.' He doesn't contradict me. I expect we'll see him back in the TV studios before long.

Originally posted by Khayr: Salaamz, Just wanted to ask this question inshallah for the SOL nomads in here. I'm hearing alot of talk about how 'SOMALILAND' is the ONLY DEMOCRATIC state in AFRICA? So my question?...] Wa Salaam Khayr First of all I don't think Somaliland is the only democracy in Africa because even some the neighbouring States like Kenya have some form of elections. I don't know where you heard this 'a lot of talk' the last time this democracy topic came up in here brother Lander view was: “In a continent with few democracies I think South Africa is quite an exemplary model despite their own small problems. Maybe this will allow the next Somaliland general election to be better organized and counted”. Originally posted by Khayr: ..does this make SOMALILAND the IDEAL STATE then in Africa?... Is there such thing as an IDEAL STATE? I don't think so but Somaliland needs lots of work many sectors to even start comparing itself with other countries. The short answer is to your question is NO but there is a lot of energy being put to improve things whereas there are many African countries which are on reverse gear. There is buzz and discussions among Somalilanders abroad on many topics from what to invest in to how to end corruption. It depends from which angle you view things and I always judge Somaliland from its starting point in 1991 and the progress made without recognition and involvement of IMF or the World Bank. To hear visitors paying compliments about how safer they felt in some parts compared in their own countries is heart-warming but I would still hold back from calling it IDEAL, at least not just yet. Originally posted by Khayr: Is the IDEAL STATE a DEMOCRACTICE STATE??... What a question! I have been asking myself this question for a long time it deserves a topic of its own. We all know leaders are supposed to rule the way Allah commanded but is this it or how do we get there? I prefer democracy to a kingdom but whether it’s acceptable as in Islam I have my doubts. Maybe those with knowledge on these matters should clear this one for us but I don't think this DEMOCRACTIC STATE is IDEAL STATE. Originally posted by Khayr: Is the Ideal country for Somalis a DEMOCRATIC Somliland??? We all know how power-hungry some Somalis can be and it seems DEMOCRATIC Somliland has curbed some of it. It’s humbling to see some of our 'political leaders' making promises in a London makhaayad to get votes. People who don't like Riyaale anymore can't wait for the next elections maybe it’s has made us a bit patient too. I'm sure there some disadvantages but it has brought some stability in Somaliland. That’s my take.

^^ I hope I get some of this: " my friends went to Iraq to look for WMD and all they found was this lousy T-shirt" wmds

Well it’s my turn to say thanks and I’ll do it in alphabetical order so if your name comes last please understand. ADMIN2 Thank you for restoring law and order in here because this place might like Somalia if we didn't have a strong 'man' like you. I've nothing against a strong 'man', some of my friends are dictators . I'm not calling your style dictatorial but more people would take your warning seriously if your avatar was this one: Ameenah Thank you for for calming things down just by your 'presence'. You are the best transistor one can have Barwaaqo If any MODERATOR is going to punish me let it be you ! I have nothing to thank you for but there is plenty of time JamaaL-11 Thanks for the poetry but your type of artistry had me laughing for days. .D Libaax-Sankataabte Your avatar leaves little to imagination facial looks wise, but this is how i picture you: Thanks for saying lot of without revealing much. .D Mursal If the old saying Af daboolan waa dahab is true then thanks for bringing the gold price down Shaqsii Thanks for trying to introduce serious subjects but we just don't get it, do we? . I'm sure you'll keep trying just like the Wenger boys. Shujui-1 Thanks for moving out the gheto the minute you became a 'moderator' although it would be nice to see you there now and again. : Like Tony you became an Italian the minute you took office but im happy for you maaan Thank you all if it was not for the SOL i might be in the streets, jail or even marfish na'mean? .D

Good observation Nur but on the positive side there verses of Qur'an in most sections which is just another proof ISLAM is way of life. Maybe the thats the way to go - Islam in all sections of SOL not just one.

^^^Mobb no hard feelings I hope and apologies to all for some of the language I used. Back to the topic Originally posted by *Pessimistic-Sue*: I admit I have been a little hasty to believe articles solely on face value but I still think that Riyaale was undoubtedly apart of this regime we separated ourselves from, whether it was a huge role or a tiny role! And for us to have him as our leader is pure hypocrisy. I agree with Ameenah on this one if he was good enough to be Vice-President then I think its a bit strange for the opposition parties to be making all fuss now because he was in the same government when Silanyo was Finance Minister and at the elections I think the people’s decision was not based on Riyaale’s past. Maybe if Silanyo took this moral stance earlier more people would have done the same at the elections. Originally posted by Ameenah I'm not a great fan of the UDUB administration, not because of whom it’s run by … but because of the sheer idiocy of their policies I second that. Although some members of this administration have done a lot with the little available to them, others have done more damage to the point I started questioning their aims. Let judge all members of this admin by what they are doing now not by suspicions we have about their past. Having said that there are a few characters in this administration that might - as the boys in blue might put it - 'help us with our enquiries'.

Originally posted by LANDER: Even the orgasming sheep in Hargeisa could teach ya a thing or two my newlywed friend Thanks for that article. love, peace and nafaqo

Originally posted by Mobb_Deep: I believe Morgan is a criminal who massacred innocent people while he was the head of the military in the north. He did whatever he could to win the war and his killings were done indiscriminately. Mobb his killings were not indiscriminate but were especially targeted at some SOMALILANDERS but we are making progress. Most of us are just thankful for the ones that survived his cruelty and there are documents available that show what his plans were and the way his house was left untouched shows the destruction was not indiscriminate as it might appear. Originally posted by Mobb_Deep: This is the crucial moment I and many nomads on this site have been waiting for na'mean. We all wait for your clear answers calmly ... Mobb you have answered one of my questions but you still have not touched the second. I'll put it to you for the third time and as many times as I can till you cant duck no more: Can you explain once and for all what you meant by "this bull about genocide and mass graves" In the mean time, I TAKE BACK the claim that you believe Morgan is "innocent" and wait for answer to the question above. Originally posted by Mobb_Deep: I am gonna send a complaint to the admins. this is getting nastier than I thought. While you are at it, please remember to to tell the ADMIN that someone called Konweyn a suspected murderer and accused me of being at a marfish. :cool: Hornafrque Apologies mate that was not call for. Next time correct my SP before you misquote me, will ya?. :cool: Originally posted by Sophist: Morgan is as criminal as Ina Mire, Ina Kaahin Habane and Dhagaweyne. Let us not be blind guys. If you think these men are not criminals then don't be astonished when people ACTUALLY say Morgan isn't a murderer but indeed a hero for the Somalis--just like these men are heroes for their kinsmen. Sophist the SNM was much more than those individuals and included teachers, doctors,poets, musicians, journalists etc who had the courage to fight Siad's regime. All of those men risked lives and limbs for nothing other than to end the brutal Siyaad regime and they all have my gratitude. The likes of Fuad Aadan who we know lost at least a brother against SNM don't make the outrageous claims being made by Mobb Deep. If the SNM was only about qabiil war why did they stop when Siyaad's regime fell and why did they not do what the USC did when captured towns? Why would the SNM spare the likes of Riyaale when they caught him if they were killing everyone who was not their clan? Sophist if check 'pictures from Puntland' thread there is more than one picture of Morgan in there and its time for Morgan's PR men to come out of the woodwork and defend their actions. I don't no, one can compare the SNM to any anti-Siad movement and let alone MORGAN. Sophist how many times have said Maxamed Cabdallah Xassan was your hero? Was it because he killed thousands of innocent Somalis belonging to other sub/clans than yours?. He is your hero in spite of his brutal history against other innocent people I think because he fought against the colonist , and I call all those SNM fighters who fought the just war my HEROES. love , peace and nafaqo.

Liqaye: There is a very moving account of one of the survivors contained in the appendix of Jamac ghalibs book " the price of dictatorship", it is an account of life in the infamous Labataan jiirow maximum security prison, and of the whole sordid affair. Heres another account of former inmate of that infamous place: REMEMBERING THE UNSUNG AND FORGOTTEN HEROES OF LABAATAN JIRROW Excerpts, from Dr. Mohamed Baarod Ali’s Memoires There were heavy rains, and the track between Baidoa and Labaatan Jirow Maximum Security was all but impassable. We were blindfolded as we left Baidoa to prevent us from knowing where Labaatan Jirow was. Inside each one of us was taken to cell . The cell was completely empty, 7x7 feet with a hole in the right hand corner. This was toilet since no one would be allowed to go out at all. The walls were unplastered and made of reinforced concrete. There were two successive doors for each cell. The inner floor remained locked at all times and consisted of heavy steel bars. The outer door, which was opened from 7:00 A.M to 4:00 P.M. each day, was one heavy sheet of iron without even a small hole in it. This door was normally closed during punishment periods that were quite frequent because the slightest sound constituted ‘misbehaver’ in the eyes of the soldier. There were about 150 soldiers outside, equipped with heavy artillery and anti-aircraft guns. All the soldiers, both inside and outside the prison, were members of the military police. The soldiers outside were to protect the prison from attack. There was no custodial corps in Labaatan Jirow. Administratively, the special prison was run direct from the president’s office in Mogadishu. They had wide powers of search, arrest, and interrogation. They also manned all control posts throughout the country, using their powers to extort property from the population. The regime denied the very existence of a prison called Labaatan Jirow. In fact the only people, who have ever seen it apart from Siad Barre himself, were builders, prisoners or the prison administrators. Prisoner’s sketch from memory. We learnt of others who had been there at one time or another between 1981 and 1989. They included: Mohamed Yussuf Weyrah, ex-minister of finance Abdillahi Mohammed Nour, army major Warsama Ali Farah, ex-mayor of Modadishu who died in prison in 1983 Ali Easa Islam, police inspector Mohamed Ali Jama, army capt., released in 1984 Mohamoud Islam Abdille, army captains Ahmed Hashi, army captains Gaboobeh Abdi Samatar (Iridyambo), army captain Ahmed Dhore Farah, businessman, still in prison when we left in 1989 Mohamoud Malin, civil servant Sheikh Mukhtar, lawyer Yussuf Osman Samatar, in prison since 1968 Hussein Ahmed, an Ethiopian Air Force colonel 1976-still in prison when we left in 1989 On the second day after our arrival, I was given a blanket, an aluminum cup, a plastic plate and a small plastic bucket for water. Everyday each prisoner was given a bucket of water for all purposes such as drinking and ablution before prayers, washing up the utensils and cleaning the toilet. We were not provided with clothes, and ours were taken away. I was left with a T-shirt, a Ma-awis (the traditional Somali cloth wrapped round the lower body) a pair of sandals cut from an old tire, kabo shaag in Somali. We were given millet gruel for breakfast and boiled rice with a glass of powdered milk for lunch. This was the usual prison fare for the next six and a half years. Only occasionally, perhaps once every three to six months, a goat would be killed, boiled and each prisoner given a tiny piece with his rice. These were ‘feast’ days for us and they would be signaled the day before by the bleat of a goat. The ‘feast’ day’s unusual movement and numbers of crows in the prison compound would confirm itself. A bleat one-day and increased crow activity definitely indicated goat meat. A bleat therefore became a beautiful song to our ears. Every time one of us heard it, whether in the morning, afternoon or in the middle of the night we would immediately transmit the good news to neighbor the delicious part of the goat they would like to get and, in due course, the part actually received. One comic incident comes into mind. Dr. Osman dreamt one night during a particularly meatless period, that he heard the bleat of a goat. He woke up and transmitted the news to his neighbors. Everybody stayed up the rest of the night discussing the good omen. The next morning, a group of crows chased one of their numbers holding a piece of red meat in its beak. We all saw this. It was more than enough to lift our spirits. We watched the lucky crows with hungry eyes as they flew back and forth playfully. Suddenly the lucky crow released the meat. We all waited for it to fall to the ground. But lucky crow released the meat. We all waited for it to fall to the ground. But no; the ‘meat’ stayed up in the air, floating! The crows kept it playfully in the air; it was a piece of cellophane bag. Food in all such facilities is the main conversation topic. Even when alone, one daydreams about food. We made many a joke about our yearnings for food. Dr. Osman was asked once by his neighbor through the wall to name his best wish at that particular moment. Without hesitation he said ‘meat’. Only after we asked him about freedom did he laugh and said of course. One became obsessed with food, which was brought in a big barrel pushed on a wheelbarrow. As soon as we heard the noise of the wheelbarrow we literally started to salivate, like Pavlov’s dog, even for millet gruel. The greatest problem was during the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. We were given food only during the night, to break our fast at six in the evening and 3 o’clock the next morning. The early evening was no problem but at 3 in the morning the soldier violently opened the doors. If you were not ready at the door with your plate, they just locked up the door and that was that. Your next meal would then be fifteen hours later, at six in the evening. We usually solved this problem by assigning one person to stay awake each night. As soon as he heard the noise of the wheelbarrow he would wake up everybody. Even if we got the meal, darkness was a problem in the cell. The soldiers brought hurricane lamps with them, but as soon as they locked up, it was pitch black. With the smell of food came attacks from all quarters-cockroaches, mice and ants. We tried to cover the plate with one hand and eat with the other. The cockroaches were particularly vicious. They would fly from the walls above the toilet and land on your face and plate and refuse to take no for an answer. If you were squeamish you went hungry. Confronted with poor food, shortage of water, lack of sanitation facilities, immobility, lack of reading material and isolation not only from the rest of the world, but from any fellow prisoners, the first few days in Labaatan Jirow were the most difficult. All contributed to a sense of incomprehension and depression. I tried to get in touch with my friends on either side of me. But as soon as one uttered a word even sotto voce, soldier would be at the doorstep closing the main iron door. There were no warnings given in that prison. Very soon we learned that shouting to each other behind the doors would only bring more punishment. We had to content ourselves with knocking on the wall between the cells when the soldier were not looking even warned not to write anything on the walls. It is literally impossible to desist from scratching something on prison walls in solitary confinement because that is about the only way left to express oneself. But we had to be careful. Obviously my predecessors took their warnings seriously and did not dare to write on the walls. Only much later, while I was sitting on the floor and looking at the walls in front of me, I saw something on the wall. Where the soldiers could not possibly see was EGAL written in capital letters. This was the name of Somalia’s last civilian prime minister much later to be ‘president’ of the Somaliland Republic. He spent 7 years here. The most powerful man in the country had been reduced to writing his name on that corner of the cell to express his protest. I felt for him at that time. I did see one grim example of protest graffiti in the large cell I shared with 20 friends in Hargeisa’s main prison where we had stayed for 8 months before we were transferred to Labaatan Jirow. On a wall opposite where I slept, clearly written were the names of seven male prisoners, every name apparently written by a different person. Every one added a comment after his name. Most of them wrote the name of somebody they loved. One had poignantly written "SIYAD BARRE SAYS WE DIE TOMORROW ON THE 28 APRIL 1981 BY FIRING SQUAD-SIYAD BARRE SAYS BUT ALLAH DID NOT SAY.” But for those seven prisoners who signed their names on the wall of that grim prison, as for so many Somalis before and after them, there was no divine intervention. They were shot on the 28th. Now they rest in Allah’s peace. They were all civilians accused of belonging to the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), the first opposition movement to fight the Siad Barre regime. One of the cruelest things was the treatment during illness. Even if they believed you, seeing that you were really in pain, they gave you insufficient doses or the wrong drugs. There was only one old male nurse for health care in the prison. We called him “Doctor No” because his first response was always negative. Later on, when we learnt to communicate with each other through the walls between the cells, we were able to seek advice from the four real doctors amongst us. The doctors advised us to keep asking from the four real doctors amongst us. The doctor advised us to keep asking for drugs, particularly aspirins, sedatives, anti-pain drugs, antibiotics and chloroquinine against malaria and to hoard them even when we were well. This method helped us whenever one of us fell ill and Doctor No would not come to see him or refused to issue medicines. We were able to pass medicines to each other because we had one exercise period of 10 minutes every three days, excluding Thursdays and Fridays. Exercise periods were taken one person at a time, but if that person had drugs to pass on he would inform the person next to him through the walls who would pass on the information to his neighbor and so on until the person needing the drugs was reached. Medicines would be dropped at a prearranged place for the ill person to pick up during his turn of exercise. The walk took place between two doors 30 meters apart with one soldier at each end. We always dropped drugs near a small shrub halfway between the two doors. However, sometimes we were not given exercise periods for 3 or 4 consecutive months or even more. This usually coincided with periods of tension in the country as we found out later. For example we did not have exercise periods after May 1988 as a result of the war in the North. I have calculated that we came out of the cells during six and half years for only 72 hours. Major health problems were mainly connected with immobility, tension, anxiety, fear, depression, insomnia and poor diet. Most of us suffered psychosomatic ailments and doctor No always succeeded in aggravating these conditions. During our sojourn, two men died due to negligence. One of them, WARSAME ALI FARAH, who was in his seventies, was taken to Mogadishu but died there two days later. According to the official pathological report he died of kidney failure, but there is no doubt that he died of criminal negligence. He had been mayor of the capital city. One of the detainees who fell very ill had been held since the 1978 coup attempt. ABDILLAHI MOHAMED NOUR had been asking for drugs for six months. On 1 May 1986 he started shouting at the top of his voice. The place was normally dead quiet and we all put our ears against the doors to hear what was happening. He started reciting his autobiography. The authorities closed the outer iron door on him. They came in the night took him shouting Allah! Allah! This continued on and off for about two hours. He never stopped his sporadic shouting until he was released in February 1989. The soldiers never attempted to treat him for his disturbance, as far as we know. When we were released, we found out that he had been badly maimed that night. Sadly, Abdillahi is still mentally disturbed. Release, when, after many a long year, it eventually came, was as dramatic as the manner of our arrest. One morning in Mid-March, two soldiers followed by the male nurse stopped in front of my cell; and for the first time in six and a half years called me by name. They wanted to know whether I was called Mohamed Barood Ali. I took me a while to comprehend the meaning of the query, before I stammered yes. A cardboard box containing some few clothes was half pushed, half thrown through the bars of the inner door. They left me open-mouthed without saying another word. I could hear them stopping in front of my neighbor’s door and talking to him, although I could not hear what they were saying. Suddenly I was overwhelmed by a thousand thoughts all incoherent and fantastic. About 2 o'clock in the afternoon, soldiers all of them dressed for parade, stopped in front of my door and one of them told me to collect my things. There was nothing I wanted to take from that cell and I started towards the door almost running and breathless. They opened the door and told me to walk. He told me to sit down on a wooden form. I beheld coming through the door my friends, one by one. They all seemed strangers: I had not seen them for six and a half years. At first we said hello to each other as if we had only met a few hours ago. But then someone started laughing hysterically and we all started hugging each other and laughing. We were separated into three groups and put in the back of Land Rovers. We were never sure where we were going but reached Mogadishu after five hours drive. We were immediately taken to the Villa Somalia, Siad Barre's state palace on a hill in the center of Mogadishu. We saw the fabled cheetah royally kept and looked after by a platoon of guards. While waiting to be received at the court of the dictator, we had the first opportunity to speak to each other, because on the way we had been warned that if anyone uttered a word, he was to be shot. I was generally shocked by the sight of my emaciated friends who were comparable to survivors of a concentration camp. All had aged a lot. The effects of anxiety and solitary confinement were all too visible on all their faces. Some were unusually withdrawn; others laughed hysterically, and yet others exhibited signs of morbid fear and nervously watched the soldiers as if expecting to be attacked at any moment. General Siad, who usually worked at night, kept us waiting for a long time but we were never bored for a moment. We had so much to say to each other and a rising excitement replaced our usual mood of listlessness and apathy. Finally, when we were summoned into the presence of Siad Barre, we found him seated behind a huge mahogany desk. He was smoking, as always, with an attendant standing one step behind him, holding a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. He appeared much older than I expected, with vacant, tired-looking eyes. There were eight in our group, but Siad ordered Dr. Mohammoud Hassan Tani to remain outside because he was of a different clan than the rest of us. This was typical of the man, who was always exploiting the clan divisions in Somali society to remain in power. Siad inquired of each of us whether or not we had been guilty of the offenses for which we had been sentenced in 1982, more than seven years previously. But he did not listen or await any response. He started railing away at us, saying that we were traitors (Dr. Mohamoud Tani later revealed to us that Siad had predictably, asked him why he had involved himself with such a group of anti-government subversives as ourselves.) After delivering this monologue, Siad announced that we were pardoned but that we must refrain from getting involved in anti-government activities in the future. He dismissed us by standing up and we were ushered out of his quarters by a group of bodyguards who left us in the middle of the street. We had no money and we did not know where to go. It was about 3 o'clock in the morning. ------- Dr. Mohamed Baarod Ali, later became a Minister in the newly formed Somaliland government and was responsible for Rehabilitation. Now he is the Head of SORRA.

^^^loool Every little helps, even tiny Honduras. US SCRAMBLES TO BOLSTER IRAQ COALITION

Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli whistleblower, walked free from jail today 18 years after leaking his country's nuclear secrets to The Sunday Times. Looking fit and sounding defiant, Vanunu said that he was subject to "cruel and barbaric" treatment during his time in Shikma Prison, in the coastal town of Ashkelon, because of his religion. "I am proud of what I did," Vanunu said, before flashing victory signs and waving to cheering supporters. "I suffered 18 years because I was a Christian. If I was Jewish, I would not have suffered." Raised as an Orthodox Jew he converted to Christianity in the mid-1980s. Flanked by two of his brothers as he held an impromptu news conference, he added that he had no new secrets to reveal. He also called for Israel to open up its Dimona nuclear plant to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and rid itself of nuclear weapons. International experts believe that Israel has produced around 200 nuclear warheads. Vanunu, who has become a hero for the anti-nuclear movement, said: "The whole Middle East is free of nuclear weapons. Israel does not need nuclear weapons," he said. "Open Dimona for inspection. Call Mohammed el-Baradei (the IAEA director general) to inspect it." He also said that there was no need for a Jewish state. Speaking mostly in English - he refused to answer questions in Hebrew because of his treatment by Israel - he said: "I am now ready to start my life." Vanunu said that he now wanted to study history and teach, but his immediate plan was to pray in a Jerusalem church. He said that the Mossad spy agency and the Shin Bet security services tried to rob him of his sanity by keeping him in solitary confinement for nearly 12 years. "I say to the Shabak (Shin Bet), the Mossad, you didn't succeed to break me, you didn't succeed to make me crazy." Asked if he was a hero, he said: "all those who are standing behind me, supporting me ... all are heroes. "I am a symbol of the will of freedom," he said. "You cannot break the human spirit." Supporters released doves into the air ahead of his release and then showered his car with petals as he was driven away from the prison gates. Anti-nuclear weapons activists, including Susannah York, the actress, and Mairead Corrigan Maguire, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, were among those gathered outside the prison. However opponents carried banners with slogans such as: "Death to the spy, Death to Vanunu" and booed as he emerged from the prison courtyard. He is still widely perceived as a traitor by the Israeli public. Richard Caseby, managing editor of The Sunday Times, said today that Vanunu is a "genuine whistleblower", not a traitor. Mr Caseby said: "He came to The Sunday Times to tell us about Israeli secret nuclear weapons programmes because he believed it was important for the Israeli people to know what was being done in their name. "He believed it was the proper function of a democracy to have a free and open debate about the state programme for building such weapons." Vanunu told reporters that he wanted to travel to both the United States and Britain, but Israel has imposed restrictions on him because of its concerns that he would reveal more classified information. He will not be allowed to travel abroad for at least a year, or speak with foreigners or approach Israeli ports or borders. There was a last-minute hiccup before his release over his refusal to provide an address to authorities. The Andromeda Hill luxury apartment block in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, has been widely circulated to the media as his new home, but Vanunu may not be heading there because of fears for his safety. Tommy Lapid, Israeli Justice Minister. claimed today that Vanunu was "hell-bent" on doing as much harm as he could. "We will keep an eye on him, we will watch him ... We want to know where he is and we want to know whom he may or may not divulge state secrets," he said. Vanunu leaked details and pictures of Israel's secret nuclear weapons programme to The Sunday Times in 1986. The revelations undercut Israel's long-standing policy of neither confirming nor denying its nuclear capability. The former technician at the Dimona nuclear plant in southern Israel was abducted by secret service agents in Italy, smuggled back to Israel and then jailed in 1986. Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said: "Mordechai Vanunu’s release is long overdue. "The Israeli authorities must allow him to exercise his full rights to freedom of movement, association and expression. "He should also be allowed to leave the country if he wishes." Vanunu won an award for defence of freedom of expression last month from Index on Censorship, an international magazine promoting freedom of expression. ------------------------------- Mordechai Vanunu: The Sunday Times articles The Sunday Times' Insight Team was the first to reveal Israel's nuclear secrets to the world after the paper published leaks from Morechai Vanunu. Here is how the newspaper chronicled the story, from Vanunu's original claims, to how he was captured. Sunday October 5, 1986: Headline: Revealed - the secrets of Israel's nuclear arsenal/ Atomic technician Mordechai Vanunu reveals secret weapons production THE SECRETS of a subterranean factory engaged in the manufacture of Israeli nuclear weapons have been uncovered by The Sunday Times Insight team. Hidden beneath the Negev desert, the factory has been producing atomic warheads for the last 20 years. Now it has almost certainly begun manufacturing thermo-nuclear weapons, with yields big enough to destroy entire cities. Information about Israel's capacity to manufacture the bomb come from the testimony of Mordechai Vanunu, a 31-year-old Israeli who worked as a nuclear technician for nearly 10 years in Machon 2 - a top secret, underground bunker built to provide the vital components necessary for weapons production at Dimona, the Israeli nuclear research establishment. Vanunu's evidence has surprised nuclear weapons experts who were approached by Insight to verify its accuracy because it shows that Israel does not just have the atom bomb - which has been long suspected - but that it has become a major nuclear power. Vanunu's testimony and pictures, which have been scrutinised by nuclear experts on both sides of the Atlantic, show that Israel has developed the sophisticated and highly classified techniques needed to build up a formidable nuclear arsenal. They confirm that: Israel now ranks as the world's sixth most powerful nuclear power, afterAmerica, the Soviet Union, Britain France and China - with an arsenal far greater than than those other countries, such as India, Pakistan and South Africa, which have also been suspected of developing nuclear weapons. It has possessed its secret weapons factory for more than two decades, hiding its plutonium extraction processes from spy satellites and independent inspections during the 1960s by burying it beneath an innocuous, little used building. The plant is equipped with French plutonium extracting technology, which transformed Dimona from a civilian research establishment to a bomb production facility. Plutonium production rates amount to 40 kilograms a year, enough to build 10 bombs. In the past six years Israel has added further equipment to make components for thermo-nuclear devices. The 26 megawatt reactor, also built by the French, has been expanded and is probably now operating at 150 megawatts to allow it to extract more plutonium. An ingenious cooling system disguises the output. The nuclear scientists consulted by The Sunday Times are convinced by Vanunu's evidence. They calculate that at least 100 and as many as 200 nuclear weapons of varying destructive power have been assembled - 10 times the previously estimated strength of Israel's nuclear arsenal. The scientists include Theodore Taylor, one of the world's most experienced nuclear weapons experts. He was taught by Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, and worked on America's first bomb designs. He later went on to head the Pentagon's atomic weapons test programme. Dr Taylor studied the photographs taken by Vanunu inside Dimona and a transcript of his evidence near Washington DC last week. He said: 'There should no longer be any doubt that Israel is, and for at least a decade has been, a fully-fledged nuclear weapons state. The Israeli nuclear weapons programme is considerably more advanced than indicated by any previous report or conjectures of which I am aware. ' He added that Vanunu's testimony was entirely consistent with an Israeli capacity to produce 10 nuclear weapons a year that are significantly smaller, lighter and more efficient than the first types of weapons developed by Russia, America, Britain, France or China. Another scientist who authenticated the evidence uncovered by Insight is Dr Frank Barnaby, a nuclear physicist who worked at Aldermaston, the British nuclear weapons research establishment in Berkshire and who recently retired as the director of the Swedish Institute for Peace Research, which monitors nuclear profileration. 'As a nuclear physicist,' says Barnaby 'it was clear to me that details he gave me were scientifically accurate and clearly showed that he had not only worked on these processes but knew the details of the techniques. Also the flow rates through the plant, which he quotes exactly confirm the quantities of plutonium that were being made. ' Vanunu says that, despite tight security, he was able to smuggle a camera into Machon 2 and take more than 60 photographs. Insight debriefed him for four weeks and invited Barnaby to interview Vanunu in an attempt to find scientific flaws in his story. 'His testimony is totally convincing,' concluded Barnaby. The assessments of Taylor and Barnaby have been confirmed by other top nuclear scientists who were shown the pictures and detailed evidence. Because they work in sensitive positions in Britain's atomic energy industry and nuclear weapons manufacturing they have asked to remain anonymous. Israel has refused to comment on the evidence. But it has confirmed that Vanunu did work for the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission in Dimona. He was made redundant last November with 180 other Dimona workers during a cost-cutting drive by the establishment. Security men had grown concerned about Vanunu's developing political contacts with West Bank Arab students during a part-time philosophy degree course he was taking at Beersheba University. Israel is a small nation surrouned by hostile Arab states, most of whom have sworn at various times to try to destroy Israel and sweep its people into the sea. Although Israeli conventional forces have been able to hold off Arab attacks, it has always been suspected that the Israelis would want weapons of last resort to protect themselves. Israel would have no difficulty in dropping its nuclear bombs on any of its Arab neighbours. It has been suggested, though never proved, that when Israel was in danger of losing the Yom Kippur War in 1973 after the initial Egyptian attack, the then prime minister, Golda Meir, ordered nuclear devices to be moved to airbases. Last Thursday, a senior US government source at the time, now retired, confirmed the incident to The Sunday Times. Sunday October 12, 1986: Headline: Insight: Disappeared - the man who revealed Israel nuclear-bomb secrets / Disappearance of former atomic technician Mordechai Vanunu CONCERN is growing for the safety of Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli who revealed the secrets of his country's nuclear arsenal to The Sunday Times and then disappeared. Vanunu, a 31-year-old technician who worked for 10 years at Israel's nuclear research establishment at Dimona in the Negev desert, has not been seen since he checked out of a London hotel on September 30, five days before his story was published. He had been staying there during the Insight investigation. Police, alerted to Vanunu's disappearance by The Sunday Times, say that they are concerned for his safety because of the political implications of his revelations. However, they stress that he is not wanted for questioning. 'Vanunu has not committed any offence in this country. All we want to know is that he is all right,' said detective inspector David Wood. Vanunu's disappearance has also worried friends and relatives. Their greatest fear is that Vanunu has been kidnapped by Mossad, the Israeli secret service. When Vanunu disappeared he had little money. A contract for the book rights to his story had been agreed with The Sunday Times. But he never signed it. He has not been paid for his story. But he left behind his testimony and his photographs and negatives. Last week, two friends of Vanunu flew to London to search for him. The Rev John McKnight, vicar of the Anglican church Vanunu attended in Australia, arrived from Sydney on Thursday. He became a close friend of Vanunu when the Israeli converted from Judaism. McKnight and his congregation were so concerned by reports of Vanunu's disappearance that they raised the money for the vicar's flight. McKnight thinks that Vanunu is frightened. 'If he wants to contact me, I'm here,' he said. 'He can contact me by telephoning my parish in Australia and reversing the charges. ' The Sunday Times first heard of Vanunu through Oscar Guerrero, a Colombian journalist living in Australia. Guerrero turned out to be unreliable. He exaggerated Vanunu's story until it sounded barely credible. But when Insight met the Israeli technician, he corrected Guerrero's story and instead gave a detailed account of his work at Dimona which convinced scientists. Vanunu came to England on September 12. He had already talked to a Sunday Times reporter in Australia but was flown to London for further debriefing by nuclear experts. Vanunu was concerned for his security. He knew that if his story was published, Israel would brand him a traitor - and, if he returned, would face up to 15 years in prison. He stayed in a number of locations with members of the Insight team. The story required painstaking research and checks over a number of weeks and Vanunu grew tired of waiting. He decided he wanted to see more of London on his own. Then on September 28, a story appeared in the Sunday Mirror that worried Vanunu, Guerrero had come to London and went to the Sunday Mirror with copies of Vanunu's pictures and his own garbled version of Dimona's secrets. The Sunday Mirror disbelieved Guerrero's fragile tale and exposed him, but printed a picture of him with Vanunu. Vanunu, shocked, felt the article threatened his security and believed that The Sunday Times might not use his story because our checks were taking so long. He insisted that he wanted a two-day break alone. After checking out of his London hotel on September 30. Vanunu phoned Insight but would not reveal his location. He was informed that publication was now set for Sunday, October 5, and he agreed to return to London on Thursday, October 2. Nobody has heard from him since. Sunday November 16, 1986: Headline: Insight: Israel PM ordered hunt for Vanunu / Missing nuclear technician A FEMALE working for Israeli intelligence was used to trap Mordechai Vanunu, the man who leaked his country's nuclear weapons' secrets to The Sunday Times, according to highly-placed sources in Israel. The Sunday Times has also established from other senior sources in Israel that it was Shimon Peres, then Israel's prime minister and now its foreign secretary, who gave the order to the head of Mossad, the Israeli secret service, in September that Vanunu should be captured and returned to Israel. Our sources indicate that Peres did not detail the methods to be employed by Mossad, but he did make a key proviso: 'Don't do anything to embarrass Mrs Thatcher's government. ' Peres is known to value Mrs Thatcher's pro-Israeli stance. The Sunday Times Insight team has reconstructed Vanunu's last days of freedom in London. The full story appears on page 25. Insight has discovered evidence to suggest that the female agent used to lure Vanunu into a trap could have been a mysterious woman who used the name 'Cindy'. She was blonde, plump, heavily made-up, in her mid-20s and 5 foot 8 inches tall. Vanunu met her in London the day after The Sunday Times informed the Israeli embassy in London that it proposed to publish his revelations. Six days later, on September 30, Vanunu disappeared. Last Sunday the Israeli government admitted that he was in jail in Israel. Vanunu himself was convinced he had picked Cindy up, not the other way round. He ignored warnings that she might not be what she claimed, which was an American cosmetic trainee on a European tour. They dined out and visited art galleries and cinemas together, and they were due to meet again on the night before the nuclear technician vanished. Since then she has never been traced, despite police and Sunday Times enquiries. The assumption is that she lured Vanunu offshore, where he was seized by Mossad agents. Peres was prime minister until October 14, when he handed over the office to Yitzhak Shamir under the coalition government's 'rotation' agreement. Shamir finally admitted last week that Vanunu was in Israeli custody, but claimed that the nuclear technician left Britain 'of his own volition' and that his departure involved 'no violation of British laws'. Cindy's role could have been crucial in Mossad's efforts to lure Vanunu out of the country of his own volition. Tim Renton, a Foreign Office minister, told the Commons on Friday there was no evidence of Israeli misdeeds in the UK. But the Israeli government has yet to give a full account of exactly how Vanunu ended up in an Israeli jail. Yesterday Shamir told Israeli radio: 'I hope there won't be any more bother with this matter. ' Others in his cabinet, however, think that so much international pressure is building up that Israel will not be able to stay silent. Vanunu's prison is almost certainly the small, top-security jail at Ashkelon, south of Tel Aviv. Prisoners there wear no indentification numbers and are not supposed to be known by name, even to their warders. The Sunday Times has received a description of the cell in which he is being kept, although its exact location is still a state secret. He was, moved last Sunday to a cell, four metres long and 2 1/4 metres wide, with white plastered stone walls. The only light comes from a small, barred, but openable window in the steel door. The cell contains a bed, two tables, a chair, a cupboard with book shelves, eating utensils and a device for heating water. Behind a stone partition there is a shower and toilet. Outside exercise is allowed between 11am and 1pm. He has seen his lawyer, Amnon Zichroni, several times most recently last Tuesday. Zichroni has supplied him with books mainly on philosophy or literature in English. The lawyer said: 'He asked me to bring a New Testament; also a book about the Israeli Knesset. ' Since he was first allowed newspapers last Tuesday Vanunu has been disturbed by the intensity of the 'lynch campaign' conducted in parts of the Israeli press. Zichroni has now appealed to editors to stop. 'He has been examined by a doctor and is in good health and mentally stable. ' Sunday November 23, 1986: Headline: Vanunu faces treason charge for bomb leak MORDECHAI VANUNU, the man who helped The Sunday Times to reveal the secrets of Israel's nuclear armoury, is expected to face the most serious charges possible under Israeli law this week. According to Ministry of Justice sources, he will be accused of both aggravated espionage and treason. In principle, treason is punishable by death in Israel, though the sentence has rarely been imposed. The only case in which it was carried out was that of Adolph Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal. The normal alternative is life imprisonment, usually 20 years. Because of the sensitivity of the case, both the prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir, and the foreign minister, Shimon Peres, will be consulted before the charges are brought. But the unexpected hardening of the government line is a significant setback for Vanunu. As late as last week, justice officials were indicating that the indictment would probably be limited to aggravated espionage, carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years. Vanunu has been intensively questioned since his still-unexplained return from Britain to Israel last month. But his lawyer, Amnon Zichroni, says that there is no basis for reports that he has been tortured or ill-treated. At the request of the state prosecuting team, the interrogators have mainly focused on the technician's non-newspaper contacts. They want to know the names and background of anyone he spoke to about his work during the nine years he was employed at the top-secret Dimona nuclear research centre, also the identity of anyone to whom he might have passed information after he left the plant in October last year. The fear, according to security sources, is twofold: that he might have given compromising material to Arab or Palestinian sources, and that he might have been in touch with Soviet agents. It is known that Vanunu had strong Arab sympathies, took part in pro-Palestinian rallies, and was in contact with the Israeli Communist party. When questioned by The Sunday Times, Vanunu denied passing information to any foreign power. He described one occasion after he left Israel when he passed through Moscow airport en route for Thailand. In his baggage he had two rolls of film which showed some of the most secret areas of Dimona. But he was no more than a transit passenger in Moscow and his films were not developed until he reached Australia later. Sunday December 28, 1986: Headline: Vanunu left Heathrow under his own name MORDECHAI VANUNU, the Israeli technician who leaked his country's nuclear bomb secrets to The Sunday Times, bought a return ticket to Rome in his own name and boarded a British Airways flight at Heathrow five days before the Insight team revealed his story. Despite repeated warnings to stay in safe accommodation and to refrain from using documentation which could identify him, Vanunu insisted on 'disappearing for a few days' with a woman known only as Cindy who he had met in London. Insight has established from flight records that Vanunu booked the return ticket on BA flight 504 to Rome on Tuesday, September 30 although it is not yet known if he was travelling with anyone else. That morning he booked out of his hotel having collected a telephone message left at reception from the woman called Cindy. The message said: 'I am waiting where we arranged to meet. ' At 11am Vanunu telephoned the Insight team. He refused to give his location but promised he would make contact again the next day and return later in the week. His plane left Heathrow at 2.10pm and landed at Rome at 6.38pm. Within two hours of clearing customs there, Vanunu was picked up by Mossad, the Israeli secret service. The Italian government has ordered a full police inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Vanunu's kidnapping. The incident is politically embarrassing in Italy. Two parliamentary deputies have protested at 'the apparent impunities with which foreign intelligence forces act on Italian soil'. The seizing of Vanunu could also make nonsense of a joint anti-terrorist agreement on the exchange of intelligence information, signed by Italy and Israel in November. Vanunu's trial was scheduled to start in Jerusalem this morning but will propable be adjourned because the defence case is still incomplete. Vanunu was kidnapped on the orders of Shimon Peres, then the prime minister, and taken back to Israel. The trial is being held in camera, and the only other people present will be Vanunu's lawyer, the celebrated civil-rights defender Amnon Zichroni, and the state prosecutor Ouzi Hason. Tight security was planned for his journey to court from the civil prison at Ashkelon, 50 miles away. The military and civil police officers guarding him planned to handcuff Vanunu and tape his mouth to prevent him passing or shouting messages to journalists as he did last Sunday when he revealed he had been kidnapped in Rome. Although the trial is expected to last several weeks, both sides want more time to prepare their case. Vanunu is charged with two offences under Israeli law. The first, assisting the enemy in its war (against Israel), is regarded as treason against the state and is punishable by death or life imprisonment - 25 years. However, the death penalty has not been used since 1962 when Adolf Eichmann was tried and executed for his crimes against the Jewish race during the second world war. A second, lesser charge which also carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment is passing secrets to the enemy with the intention of harming the security of Israel. It is theoretically possible for the sentences to run consecutively, however Zichroni said last week that such a harsh sentence is unlikely.

^^^^Welcome to SOL With all due respect thats your second post in this subject and SOL as whole. Did anyone else who see the Colnel in London?