Analysis: death of a Syrian minister Nick Blanford, Lebanon Correspondent for The Times, explains why Syrians will doubt that their Interior Minister, Ghazi Kanaan really committed suicide today "In Syria the plot is king. Even if Ghazi Kanaan did commit suicide, most Lebanese are going to jump to the conclusion that he was murdered. "His death seems to kill two birds with one stone. The Syrian regime can now use Kanaan as a scapegoat over the UN investigation into the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. It also eliminates a potential challenge to the current regime and the presidency. "Kanaan was a very powerful figure from the Alawi sect which is at the core of the Syrian regime. After 21 years as the effective ruler of Lebanon he went back to Damascus and the following year was made Interior Minister. "He was one of the old guard from the time of former president Hafez Assad, whose son, Bashar, has slowly got rid of his father's generation. Now there are only a couple left. Kanaan was nonetheless a very powerful figure. "He was a strong-willed man, very sharp and intelligent, who had weathered many crises over the years from the mid-1970s throughout Lebanon's civil war. He dealt with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1980s, the chaos and disorder, and he was able to survive all this and come through unscathed. "He was a very capable figure and it doesn't make much sense that at this stage in his life he would kill himself just because he might be implicated in Hariri's assassination. That wasn't very likely anyway. He had a good relationship with Hariri, after working with him for a number of years. "Like Hariri, Kanaan opposed extending by three years the mandate of the pro-Syrian Lebanese President, Emile Lahoud. "He was one of the old regime figures who were more realistic and correctly foresaw that extending Mr Lahoud's presidency would cause problems. He warned that Syria was in enough trouble with the US as it was. "Kanaan was seen as a potential alternative to President Bashar al-Assad, which made him something of a threat. There have been rumours for some months that Kanaan was going to be kicked out of government. "I have just been talking to a very prominent Damascus analyst, who predicts that Kanaan will be blamed for the Hariri assassination. "This would lift the international pressure off the Syrian regime, and avoid the risk that Kanaan might launch a coup backed by the US and take over the presidency."

SYRIA: Interior minister commits suicide, official news agency says 12 Oct 2005 13:46:20 GMT Source: IRIN DUBAI, 12 October (IRIN) - Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan, an army general who ran formerly ran Syria's intelligence operation in Lebanon, committed suicide in his office on Wednesday, Syria's official news agency SANA reported. He died two weeks after being interviewed by UN officials investigating the death of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was blown up by a truck bomb in Beirut on 14 February. Many Lebanese accuse Syria of organizing Hariri's assassination. The Syrian government denied any involvement in his death, but it sparked off a wave of public protest at Syria's continued military presence in Lebanon and at alleged Syrian interference in Lebanese politics. This forced Damascus to withdraw 14,000 Syrian troops stationed in the country. It had maintained a military presence there for 29 years. The UN commission of inquiry investigating Hariri's killing is due to submit its report to the UN Security Council on 25 October. There has been much speculation in the international media that this report will implicate the Syrian government directly in his assassination. Kanaan, who was aged about 62, was Syria's chief of military intelligence in Lebanon from 1982 to 2002. He was recalled to Damascus to become the government's director of political security and was appointed Interior Minister in 2004. On 30 June, the US government accused Kanaan of supporting terrorism and ordered his assets to be frozen, along with those of Rustum Ghazali, the man who succeeded him as Syria's intelligence supremo in Lebanon. US Treasury Secretary John Snow said in a statement at the time that both men were "bad actors supporting Syria's efforts to destabilize its neighbours." SANA gave no details of how or why Kanaan killed himself. "The cabinet announces the death of Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan in his office at the beginning of the afternoon," it said in a statement. "The relevant authorities are investigating," it added. Shortly before he died, Kanaan gave a telephone interview to the Voice of Lebanon radio station in which he was questioned about the investigation into Hariri's death. Kanaan said at one point in the conversation; "I think this is the last statement I might give."

Originally posted by FyrKanten: please don’t say CAYN is a region when it is in fact a district. Please donot dream and say socalled Somaliland can be a state, when it is in fact a clan-faction - qabiil dowlad ma noqdo ( Dugsi male qabyaaladu waxay dumiso mooyee) Xaasidsanaa! asna waxuu ku riyoonayaa in dowlad loo aqoonsadu, ummada illaahay na lama jecla xitaa gobol.

Amazing journey Beautiful pictures Thank you Sky

Originally posted by haruun: Magaca Suxufi god haloo qodo oo hala duugo! Today anybody with a computer and little knowledge of Webdesigning can reach millions around the world. Thus anybody can claim to be sheikh, suxufi, and any other title. This sufuxi and others have now a good weapon to decieve the public. I'm not denying the fact that people in Waqooyi somalia have achieved peacefull societies. But i'm not also gonna deny the fact that many other parts of somalia accomplished the same, peacefull regions. For the recognition part, i can only support when all peoples including those in sool and sanaag fully support such quest and also the rest of somalia should have a say in this important issue. Well said !!! There are many regions in Somalia that achieved peace and some progress, Such as Hiiraan, Jowher, Somaliland, and Puntland. All of these regions deserve respect and admiration. In Somaliland’s Case, true Somaliland achieved peace and some progress like many other regions of Somalia, and thats good for Somaliland. However, in no matter what extent of peace or development that Somaliland achieved, Somaliland cannot hide or justify their aggression against Sool Sanaag and Cayn people. Hergeysa clan faction (exSNM) cannot advocate for self-determination for so-called Somaliland (Hergeysa-Barbara-Burco Triangle), while they don’t want to respect the will of Sool Sanaag and Cayn people What a Hypocrisy!!! If Somaliland doesn’t want to waste another 15 years, they need to end the hypocrisy and duplicity !

SOMALIA: Interview with Mark Bradbury, Somaliland poll observer 10 Oct 2005 13:46:14 GMT Source: IRIN MORE HARGEYSA, 10 October (IRIN) - Mark Bradbury, a social analyst whose speciality is the Horn of Africa, was one of the observers who monitored parliamentary elections in the self-declared republic of Somaliland on 29 September. Somaliland broke away from the rest of Somalia following the collapse of the administration headed by Muhammad Siyad Barre in 1991. The territory is, however, not recognised internationally as a separate state. Bradbury spoke to IRIN on 4 October about the elections. Below are excerpts from the interview: Question: What are your views on the legislative electoral process? Answer: In general I think the elections have been reasonably free, fair - there have not been major incidents that indicate the result will fall short of portraying the voters' will. Q: Due to the dispute between Puntland and Somaliland over the control of the border region of Sool and Sanaag and the volatile situation in some areas, some people failed to vote. To what extent will this affect the outcome? A: This was not the only election in which a large number of people in Sool and Sanaag did not vote. There was no great participation in the district (municipal) and the presidential election. There was a pragmatic decision taken by the electoral commission here not to hold elections in certain parts of those regions because of the threat of violence, which would have disrupted the polls generally. So I think one can say on the one hand both Somaliland and Puntland have been very disciplined in the way they dealt with the elections. There haven't been any provocative moves, so it is a credit to both sides that no violence happened during the election day. In terms of representation from those regions, there is a possibility that those regions will be less represented in the coming parliament than they were in the previous parliament. There is a possibility that people from these regions will feel more alienated as a consequence of lack of participation in the election. Q: The electoral commission announced that the overall election results would be announced after two weeks. Can that delay lead to suspicion among voters and candidate? A: Well I think [the commission] said it would take time for the overall results to come in. I think they anticipate having most of the results within four or five days and the final verdict, which would have to be announced by the Supreme Court, would take a couple of weeks. Q: Is [the commission] competent enough to address election complaints and carry out independent investigations? A: According to my experience in the previous two elections, they are competent and largely respected in the role. Although of course, they come under a lot of pressure from parties and their constituents. In the past they have proved that they are capable of negotiating their independence and of course the election monitoring board supports them in this role to some extent. Q: Women were the majority of the voters during the legislative polls, but there were only seven women candidates out of 246. What does that say about democracy in Somaliland? A: On the positive side it means that women are able to exercise their democratic rights. It is a step forward from the situation before, when men were nominated to the previous parliament on the basis of clan systems in which women virtually had no say at all. The fact now is that they are able to exercise their democratic right. However, it is a disappointment that most people would recognise that parties were unable to forward more female candidates. The likelihood of female candidates being elected in the next parliament will be very slim. If that is the case, the issues they wanted to address through an institution like parliament would become harder to tackle. Q: The shortcomings pinpointed by the observers during the election included attempts at double voting. Do you see registration of voters as a prerequisite for voting? A: There has been recognition in Somaliland among sections of society, political parties included, that at some point there has to be some kind of registration of voters. But having said that - it's not unheard of that countries have elections without that [voters' registers]. Clearly, I have noticed there is a desire to see that happen here; they haven't found a way to do that yet.

Somalis Federalism and Peace-making

Somaliland says infiltrator exposed terrorists 03 Oct 2005 13:55:17 GMT Source: Reuters MORE By Guled Mohamed HARGEISA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - An undercover agent helped expose eight al Qaeda suspects who were then arrested before they could disrupt Somaliland's elections last week, the chief of police in the breakaway region of Somalia said. In an interview in which he gave the first detailed account of last month's operation, Somaliland Police Commissioner Mohamed Ige Elmi said a secret agent joined the group long ago for training and planning in the Somali capital Mogadishu. When the suspects travelled to Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, to target elections there with bombs, the agent informed security services. "We had to attack them first before they could mount their operation," Elmi, 79, told Reuters of the detention of eight suspects in the days leading up to the Sept. 29 poll. "We had our man who trained with them in Mogadishu and helped them come to Somaliland, he told us by phone what the terrorists were planning to do here," he added in the weekend interview. "They arrived on the 22nd of September and wanted to create chaos on the 23rd of September." Four of the detainees were taken in a lengthy and bloody shootout in a house in Hargeisa. The others were followed and arrested in separate operations in the Somaliland capital. Elmi said police infiltration work continued after the successful operation. "You have to learn and know your enemies." Somaliland, which is not recognised internationally, broke away from Somalia in 1991 after former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted by clan militia. Despite its relative stability compared to the rest of Somalia, the killings of four foreign aid workers -- two Britons, an Italian and a Kenyan -- in Somaliland in recent years raised fears it was becoming a base for terrorists. U.S and other Western security services have long seen Somalia, on the Horn of Africa across the sea from Yemen, as a potential safe haven for terrorists. Some attacks, including the 1998 and 2002 al Qaeda bombs in Kenya, are believed by security services to have been planned from there. CHAOTIC SHOOTOUT Elmi, who has served in the police for 59 years, said the authorities were still hunting accomplices of the terrorist suspects in Somaliland. The detainees had planned to set off bombs and target senior Somaliland officials, he said, adding that five officers were injured during the Sept. 22 shootout with heavy weapons. Three injured officers are still in hospital. Among them, Omar Mohamed Ismail, 33, sustained back injuries after a bullet ripped open his hip bone. "They opened fire when we broke into the house, they were definitely well trained with sophisticated weapons," he told Reuters from his hospital bed, writhing in pain. Abdikarim Awale, 20, another wounded policeman who lost two fingers, said he fought for an hour before a bullet ruptured his hand. "I saw the terrorist who shot me since we exchanged fire for almost an hour before he hit me. I continued fighting after I was shot because he was still shooting at me, I had to save my life," he said. Eyewitnesses in Hargeisa, including a newly-wed couple honeymooning in a house next door, told of their shock at the shootout. "It was a nightmare," said the bridegroom.

Ofcourse we will use the borders of British Somaliland to achieve international recognition that is all. This invites more voilence between people of Hergeysa-barbara- burco triangle and SSC soldeirs in sool should be withdrawn as they serve no securiety purpose and unduly antagonize the population. good idea, dulmiga waa inay joojiyaan The local millitias belonging to loyal somalilanders in sool and sanaag are more than capable of defending them selves . myth Most of todays developing countries do not have full control over thier territories, Pakistan a nuclear power does not control a large part of it border with Afghanistan and IRan, India does not control some of its tribal areas, Same with Indonesia, Saudi arabia has some areas close to the border with yemen. This can explian in the situation in Somalia, Presently, Somalia does not control some areas in north somalia

Shabakada waagacusub oo noqotay Qashin qub

Hadaad Been Sheegaysid, Been Run U Eg Sheeg, Waagacusub iyo wararka Laascaanood

I don’t understand the reasons behind the admin tolerating personal attacks, and offensive language There should be something wrong with our phoney elder

Thats hilarious lool !!! Ofcourse you must know that what you suggested and called complete sense will lead to the deaths of tens of thousend of people, as you impose your will on them by force. We are all somalis and are allergic to tyrrany. Besides the whole thing is unachieveable and too costly in many ways. That you would fully agree with the above statement shows the gulf between us, and exposes your hidden predatory nature. I believe Somaliweyn will lead the unity and brotherhood of all Somali people I don’t know why you are so pessimistic and wishing the death of thousands of people We are all Somalis and are allergic to tyranny. True, then why you are advocating for tyranny I am big supporter of unity of Somali people, but only if people are willing, and there is no compulsion on unity Personally and for the huge majority of the people of my regoin ssc are supporters of united Somalia, If there is region of Somalia that wants to leave unity can do so legitimately, there is something called self-determination I don’t why unnecessarily you accusing, it’s not good to commit character assassination, it only will make your arguments weaker. Because its Ramadan, I will not respond to your insults.

Following is the text of the State Department statement: (begin text) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman October 3, 2005 STATEMENT BY SEAN McCORMACK, SPOKESMAN Regional Parliamentary Elections in Somalia The United States welcomes the September 29 parliamentary elections in Somaliland, which represent a step towards democracy in Somalia. We congratulate the people of Somaliland on holding peaceful elections with significant voter turnout. The United States calls on all political parties to work together peacefully during the post-election period to strengthen the democratic transition in Somaliland and serve as an example for greater Somalia. (end text)

that is the best score you can get for the secessionists. i told you long time ago that we must march to mogadisho and bring the whole capital to the beerta xoriyadda...still that opportunity is existing and the donor communities will give us those billion dollars you were talking the other to restore the dignity of the somalis and bring the Somali Republic to the international scene again as a full participant in the world affairs.... Makes a complete sense if secessionists had enough I.Q., wadananimo, and walaaltinimo BUT its too late

that is the best score you can get for the secessionists. i told you long time ago that we must march to mogadisho and bring the whole capital to the beerta xoriyadda...still that opportunity is existing and the donor communities will give us those billion dollars you were talking the other to restore the dignity of the somalis and bring the Somali Republic to the international scene again as a full participant in the world affairs.... Makes a complete sense if secessionists had enough I.Q., wadananimo, and walaaltinimo BUT its too late

Wasalaamu Caliakum Ramadan Mubarak to brothers/sisters My Dear Brother Red Sea Although, your earlier post reflected a hard line views and were unfair to your fellow Somali brothers/sisters who are Pro-Somaliweyn, particularly those who are from Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn, that persuaded me to put an end to our discussions because it became unhealthy. However, from your last post you demonstrate to me, that you have as well bright side, that you are understandable and mature, and I am looking forward an interesting, intellectual and clean discussion with you. As somlis we are one people the most homogenous people in this world presently we share almost everything from language, religion, culture, history, etc True we Somali people should be united or at least get along well. Exactly it Ramadan, its time to return to Allaah (certainly he will succeed the earth and everything in it). Ramadan is a sacred month wherein Almighty Allah gives humanity the opportunity to achieve endless bliss through purification and striving. Brother good for you, that think about your country Somalia every night, Somalia going through harsh conditions, and there is “no time for partism at this pointâ€, it is time for unity. Although, The average Somali person is uneducated but innocent and peace-loving, but the real problem the Somali people in this era is leadership crisis. who are honest and willing to govern the country by the rule of Allah; the Quran and sunnah of our beloved prophet scw. Excellent Bro Islam is the solution, because Allaah the creator knows what is best for his creation If you think I am changing my mind about Somaliland, Brother, I believe the main purpose of this forum was to exchange different opinions, respect each person view, and not convince or perused any nomad to change his views. The problem we Somali people have is we don’t appreciate the difference in views, we are narrow minded people, as described it “extreme political views†The solution is pro-Somaliweyn needs to appreciate and respect the wishes of people of Somaliland. Equally Pro-Somaliland camp needs also to appreciate and respect the wishes of people of Sool Sanaag and Cayn to stay as an integral part of United Somalia. Walaahu a’lam, I have left the situation in somalia for Allah to decide what is good for our somali people everywhere whether they should stay seperate or together. And there is no better judge then Allah so please also leave your trust to Allah to decide for what is good for us. Of course Allaah is just, I will trust Allaah to decide the matter, and certainly he is the one who will succeed the whole universe and everything in it. At last, from my side as well I apologize to you, if there is anything I said offended, right we to end the cycle of accusations to accuse each other because it is really unhealthy. It is not necessarily that we agree on everything we are humans, we can have different views, but we need to respect each other. Brotherhood and understanding between us two and other nomads who are willing to take part, will be great starting point, and inshaa alaah there will be no problem Salaam and Ramadan Mubarak

Salaam First, I mentioned the hadith "None of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself." (You care so much about Somaliland, and I care so much about Somalia, meaning we should respect each other opinion) Then you accused to a Muslim who only mentioned the words of prophet (pbuh) “And please stop acting like you actually believe and practice the hadith you mentioned, those holy words of the prophet will curse you if mentioned them without any enternal believe†I think you are mentally disable, because its you who brought the believe/faith question and then saying “Those kind of comments are dangerous and they are some thing you should never play around with. If you believe in our Prophet scw, then should follow and practice what he preached to you through his tradition or hadith. You should never and never say to someone who saying and reciting that there is no god worthy of Worship except Allah; a believer and a Muslim that he/she doesn't believe what the Prophet scw said… At same time praising Siyad Barre, so I want you to hear me loud and clear, Siyad Barrre was a kafir, because he said the Quran was wrong which equeals that Allah was wrong. Anyone who believes in Siyad Barre is also with him and is a Kafir too.’’ You see it is you who saying to a Muslim a kafir, and I don’t want to question anyone’s faith or accuse him kafir because that haraam. We will Allaah this matter because it’s between creator and his creation. While you wish that the people, the Somali people of Somaliland disappear off the phase of the earth Astaqfuru Allah, man you sick and need some psychological therapy where did I say that? Really, I wish all Somali people including the Somali people of Somaliland all khayr, because all Somali people are my people whether they are from Hergeysa, Bosaaaso or Mogadisho. Please stop these offensive accusations, it is very serious and insulting, I am not full of hate like you, your comments are reflecting only you, it is not anymore rational to discuss with you anything. Since when did I say that Somaliland wanted a bloodshed, I said it's indeed Puntland who is waging war and would bring destruction to the people of Eastern Somaliland. If Somaliland wanted a bloodshed then only Allah,the powerful one would have denied them that not two futureless teenagers that claim to be Dervishes. Listen, immature youngman Somaliland and puntland are both brotherly Somali Muslim people and stop inciting hate. Tribalism took very far, fear allaah. As Sool native, Puntland wishes peace and prosperity for sool sanaag and cayn(infact SSC is part of Puntland). Since all you talk is about bloodshed and destruction in SSC regoins, I believe it is you who want bloodshed and destruction in SSC. Moreover, where is this Somaliweyne you are boosting about, because I really don't like someone who makes false claims. Get up and go bring the Somali people together and then may be we can take you as an example and stop the utter nonsense that you are spiting from your living room. I did not know, you were in Hergaysa and volunteering in elections (that’s interesting) If you are rightous Muslim why don't you encourage someone who is enjoying peace and postperity. It doesn't matter how many separate countries somalia divides into, the important thing is that they are at peace. I am sorry if you can't see that. You seem to be having problems giving Somaliland any credit for what they have accomplished and rather know how to be negative. Anyone and everyone who brings a peace to Somali village should be respected and I am sorry if you can't see that,because only someone who believes and wants something good for somali people would have seen that. And I am tire of your endless accusations and please stop them, like I “having problems giving Somaliland any credit†these are baseless accusations. If you don’t know, I am very happy for Somaliland and Puntland all they accomplished; more significantly making peace was the most important achievement, waayo nabadu waa wax qaali ah. I happy for all Somaliland accomplished and above everything is Somaliland people are my people as other Somalis they are my brothers/sisters and neighbours , but the only problem I have with Somaliland is when Somaliland claims Sool Sanaag and Cayn and forcefully tries to occupy SSC regions as part of secessionist entity called Somaliland. Because the huge majority of people of Sool sanaag and cayn are for united Somalia At last, Red Sea, you are difficult person to have with a conversation, you offended so much, and I want to cut our conversations, because it’s getting very unhealthy. Good luck "Dugsi male qabyaaladu waxay dumiso mooyee" "Dugsi male maamul qabiil waxuu dumiyu mooyee" waa xikmad aad u qiima bandan,talow micnaheeda ma fahmay, ma uunan fahmin ee ma ka taqaanaa dameer malab sida,

Dear Brother Qumane I believe my name is an excellent reflection of my opinnions, Of course a sessionist will not see the merits of my views. what about other tribes who live now in Caynabo, Ceel Afwayn, Garadag, Ceerigaabo and othore distric which are in Sool and Sanaag reagon what about other tribes who live now in Buuhoodle and other districts which is in togdheer region If People of Hergeysa-Burco-Barbara donot share their political destiny and there is no need for wars and conflicts, I think both camps need to sit on negotiations table and solve matters peacefully, and that requires that both camps come with reasoning and understanding and ready for concessions. A new borderline that is fair to both sides should solve the problem Because Punta land Chose Tribal borders not international borders what about ***** people in Etophia. Brother honestly, we know Somaliland is only advocated by one clan and that’s true with puntland. The imaginery boreline between people of garowe and laascaanood is a history, not anymore an international border, and it was drawn by European colonialists in 1884 and ceased to exist in 1960, it was unjust bore line and there no need to revisit as people of both sides are against. The only thing I can say about the western somalia regoin that is occupiad by ethoipia is is aggression and unjust occupation of somali territory by african colonial

Red Sea I didn’t that you were the official spokes person of clan-state Somaliland Too late I discovered

Dear Red Sea You are suffering from a severe clan sickness, its you dear who believe a clan-state after 15 years, I am believer of United Somalia a country for all Somali people regardless of their clan affiliation unlike you, To make the actions of former president and victim ideology an excuse for Somaliland’s secession is not a sufficient argument. Oops I did said anything at all about somalia’s former president Siad Barre and did I refused any Somali brothers their right to share their country's responsiblilties. Man you must be crazy (Please I request you to not say something I haven't said, it is you see) Oh I didn’t know your were against mentioning the words of our beloved prophet (pbuh). icaannot help you. and I don't need your approval to see that Neither Do I need your approval to see free Sool Sanaag and Cayn of United Somalia In fact, Sool Sanaag and Cayn are part of Puntland, which is an integral part of Somalia. Stop inciting hate between brotherly Somali people in north, I love all Somali people finally, wouldn't you rather see ballot boxes rather than bloodshed?. You saying that if sool sanaag cayn reject your ballot boxes, it is bloodshed? Cajiib than you are nabadiid How about if we bring Puntland ballot boxes to hergeysa rather than bloodshed? I am sure that it is Somaliland that wants bloodshed, because of their evil intentions of land expansion, and lack of respecting the SSC people’s wish, so no one in SSC regions want Somaliland ballot boxes. Brother I am for United Somalia and don’t to take part of your clan state of Somaliland, but for it is your choice if you want to your Somali brothers or entertaining clan utopia.

Strange that most of unionist are not happy what happened yesterday in Somaliland. Every body who love his Somali people should be happy, how Somaliland develop from clan distracted part of Somalia to mature Democratic state. Every body who couldn't be happy is Selfish tribalism who loves more his tribal interest than to fine solution for Somali problems. Unless you are blind as result of your severe clannish state of mind, you would have comprehend my simple argument without problem, I support free Sool Sanaag and Cayn (As an integral part of Somalia), I am against so-called Somaliland’s expansionist and persistent aggression against people of Sool Sanaaag and Cayn. I am more than happy for my neighboring Somali region (Somaliland =Hergeysa Barbare and Burco Triangle) that elections took place in their region and good for them. On the other I presume my dear qumane that you will be happy if elections take place in Hiiraan (for example) at the same you will not be happy if the ballot boxes of hiiraan elections were brought to Hergeysa. For same reasons I happy that elections took place in Somaliland but I will be outraged if the ballot boxes of Somaliland are brought to Sool Sanaag and Cayn regions. I am sure this simple example will be sufficient for you to understand my position, unless you are hypocritical who thinks that Somaliland can bring its ballot boxes to Sool Sanaag and Cayn, on the other hand, Puntland and Hiiraanland cannot bring their ballot boxes to HERGEYSA Somaliland. Therefore I would suggest to you to not confuse people and commit character assassination against me, that behavior will make you look weaker. and reflect your lack of conversational skills. What could I say: many countries in Africa and other part of the world have dispute area. even Pakistani army with nuclear arm could not go many northern part of pakistan. Still those counters with difficult dangerous area are functioning, same as Somaliland. What a greedyman, There is no such thing of disputed area, this shows how you lacking of respect for the people of Sool Sanaag and Cayn. People of Sool Sanaag and Cayn have the right of self-determination. Somalilad knows that they can not solve problems in that are in short time without will of the population of that area, but if the government does good job in other 90% of Somaliland than the 10% of this area will accept the system in long run insh alla I hope IN SHAA'A ALLAAH Somaliland (which is only 8% of Somalia) accepts to reunite with their Somali brothers and embrace somalilnimada and qaranimada, and disregard Somaliland’ qabiil mentality which only divides Somali people.

Regionalism, endless clannism and Segregation Just Led to A Dead End Sept,10,2005- Only One Man One Vote, Justice And Respect for Human Rights, May Work Introduction: The following events, trends and pathologies will generally put Africa's current terminal ailments into a historical context Educators, intellectuals, academics, traditional and religious leaders, international players such as NGOs, The AU, Arab League, the UN, the European Union and others were debating, discussing, diagnosing and exerting tremendous efforts to understand the Somali dilemma. So far those efforts are to no avail. Somalia as it is today is the first and the only state in this modern times, that lacks a central government for over a decade. There are countries around the world, that went through cataclysmic societal up upheavals and political meltdowns. Yet each and every one of them has at all times, even in their darkest hours have some semblance of central authority. A case in point Sierra Leone, Liberia, Lebanon, Cambodia, El Salvador, Columbia, Ethiopia and others. Historians and other Africa observers believe, the turmoil, political instability, economical stagnation, the multitude of armed rebellion against authorities are due to some or all of the following factors: Preview · social rivalries between the rich and the poor · clan versus the nation state · Growing population's pressure on dwindling resources · Unpreparedness for governance following the hasty exit of the colonial powers · regional and tribal rivalries · constitutions tailored to short-term ends · unprepared bad leaders · environment degradation and shrinking arable lands · Oppression, repression of certain groups and minorities · power concentration in the hands of few people · Absence of civil society institutions · tribal racism, segregation and bias · One or few groups graping all power Other than Eritrea's unique situation, Africa's chronic civil wars fell into 5 major categories: Details (I). I put the illegal ceding of Somali territories to Ethiopia into three phases: (a). Menelik's illegal conquest of Harrar and Diredawa with the help of the British and the French in "1887". (b). Illegal Ethiopian acquisition of Somali lands between Harrar and Jigjiga in "1948", in conjunction with a secret and and illegal treaty with the British and the French in 1896. ©. Illegal Ethiopian acquisition of the beautiful grasslands of Houd/reserved area and western Awdal in "1954". Somalia's problem is a little more complicated than it appears, due in part to the unique relationship between her and her neighbors. For instance the relationship with Ethiopia for the last thousand years was tenuous at best and hostile at worst. There was historical divide regarding land, religion, colonialism and ethnic divide between the Cushitic, Muslim Somalis and the Semitic, Greek Orthodox Abyssinians ( Tukrayans and Amharas). Beginning from 1997 for the first time in a thousand years struggle, the Abyssinians succeeded to encroach into Muslim/Somali heartland, when they conquered Harrar an ancient and diverse Muslim center, the conflict between Somalis and Abyssinians was increased and taken a new dimension. Many Somalis are attached to the ancient city of Harrar and see it as a holy city. During Menelik's reign Abyssinia waged a series of aggressions of conquest against its neighbors. It is this time large swaths of Oromo, Afar and Somali lands came under Abyssinian occupation. Following Menelik's death of 1913, a long power struggle ensued and finally Tafara Mukenon the son of Ras Mukenon the imperial ruler of Harrar succeeded to become emperor Haile Selassie 1 of Abyssinia. Haile Selassie also walked on Menelik's foot steps, he had the opportunity to reach out to those nations and communities illegally annexed by Menelik. But unfortunately he followed the same destructive policy of graping more foreign lands. He continued the age old Ethiopian policy of colonization, marginalization, oppression, segregation and mayhem. Most of the people living in those lands were treated as second class citizens and never incorporated into the Ethiopian empire. Not much significant development projects have been conducted in those lands. Most of those lands especially the Somali inhabited areas have no schools, roads, and very few public clinics and hospitals. Mengistu even started a more brutal way of dealing with colonized land. That touched off a rash of nationalist movement against him. One time Eritreans, Oromos, Somalis and Afars were all fighting against Ethiopia. What this man inflicted on Ethiopian colonized people in particular and Ethiopia in general is incalculable. The day this brutal, genocidal despot was forced on exile, Zinewi came to power. For the first few years, the government proposed some cosmetic changes,purportedly designed to give more autonomy to the colonized people. But as time wore on, it became clear, the new Ethiopian rulers are not that different than their predecessors. Eritrea became independent. The Oromo nationalist movements are slowly getting stronger everyday. The dissatisfaction of the Somalis is at all times high. Another big and catastrophic conflagration is inevitable down the road. Colonized ethnic groups especially Somalis will never accept Ethiopian colonization and domination. The relationship between Somalis and Kenya was marred by a land dispute between the two nations. In 1963 a separately British administered Somali inhabiting land called the Northern Frontier District by the British , that was part a parcel of the 5 Somali states of the vast Somaliland was illegally ceded to Kenya. In a UN administered plebiscite, 87% of the people residing in NFD (Northern Frontier District) chose to be reunited with Somalia. But again the British an arrogant colonial power ignored the international law and the will of the Somali people in NFD, and ceded it to Kenya. In both cases a UN administered plebiscite, 87% of the people residing in NFD chose to be reunited with Somalia. But again the British an arrogant colonial power ignored the international law and the will of the Somali people in NFD, and ceded it to Kenya. In both cases This evil and illegal enterprise have destroyed millions of people, underdeveloped them, robbed them from their lands and left them with a very painful legacy. In most cases, the colonial powers of the African continent were largely forced to leave the continent and in fact most of them never look back, let alone help their former victims. Most of them were unrepentant and were unaccountable of their heinous actions including the illegal blunder of the African resources, illegal and the arbitrary demarcation of borders. These days you hear the British and others talking about the rule of law, democracy and what have you. Apparently they use this happy talk and empty rhetoric when it serves their interest. This is a classic case of double standard of all times. Djibouti was also a part of the five Somali states. Following the collapse of the Somali state, the cumulative actions of Djibouti authorities and the actions of its security forces suggest, It also has a design on some parts of the now defunct Somali state. Since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, Djibouti forces have crossed the international border between her and Northern Somalia (Somaliland) dozens of times and each time repulsed by the inhabitants of that area. Many observers see Djibouti policy towards Somalia as condescending and expansionist. Djibouti's ruler for life is seen as a master manipulator meddling deep into the Somali affairs, and betting this Somali faction and clan against the other. He clearly took advantage of the precarious situation the Somali people are currently going through. When some Somali groups who were impressed with his 1999 United Nation's general assembly speech regarding Somalia, told me Mr. Geelle will host a Somali reconciliation conference in Djibouti. I thought that notion was too good to be true, wondering what this traditionally political opportunist is up to. My fear came to be true when the Arta Somali reconciliation ended at the end of the year 2000. Djibouti itself is also a failing state heavily embroiled with clan and sectarian policies. it is also well-placed to become embroiled in a new conflicts of her creation. The last so-called Djibouti presidential election was a sham, where Mr. Geelle was the only candidate. Apparently the long time survival and existence of Djibouti is in the balance. May be he thinks the French foreign legions permanently stationed in his state will protect him. But what had happened in France's big price Ivory Coast suggests otherwise. Of the 5 so-called front-line states, only Uganda and Sudan who apparently have no clear dispute with Somalia may be neutral parties. What are the problems ailing Somalia Calling Somalia's problems complicated is an under statement. The Somali question is on the one hand social, ethnic, disastrous clan politics, urge by some groups to annex land, unscrupulous leadership, under-education and very little understanding of the nation state, while on the other hand the on going endless brutal clan wars keep on polarizing clan and ethnic relationships. There is also another element in Somalia complex political and social problems. This is the problem of the illegal land grape and land claims. There are clans who already annexed and occupied territory way outside their traditional homeland. There are also others who are aspiring to grape other peoples' lands either through the pen or through the force of the gun. This new dimension in Somalia's eternal civil strife is a very dangerous escalation, which will further polarize an already polarized nation. This has already happened in the Juba valley. Also, we have been for sometime, hearing groups claiming "Awdalite" lands beyond their traditional homeland. We are getting some reports of land claims on Sool and Sanaag regions also. This was happening for the last 15Th years, but it became much more vocal and louder lately. This is completely a huge escalation of tension between communities, and Awdalites see this as a blatant, arrogant and irresponsible adventure which may lead into a very serious consequences. We don't know whether this is related to the recent decision to divide parliamentary slots on the 1960 unfair format or not. That proposal was passed despite the vehement objections from the Awdalites community and others. Now all of a sudden we are hearing claims on lands in the center of the state Awdal. They made it clear that they will not tolerate such cheap and baseless claim on their traditional lands. This was from the beginning a ploy to distract people from the creation of a region Sahel created by Egal. There was no reason to create an artificial region made up of one town Berbera. Nobody understood why a region is created in an era of great mistrust, tension, chronic suspicion and fragile peace. The senseless clan wars and the sweeping inflammatory rhetoric continues, the whole sale big paint brush attacks against each other presses on unabated. All the aforementioned ailments and pathologies will certainly further complicate the prospects of reconciliation and the reconstitution of the Somali jigsaw puzzle. These wild land claims coupled with other factors suggest the regions with the fancy names were nothing but clan fantasies and wishful thinking of grandiosity and clan supremacy disguising as real deals. The autonomous regions as they seem are not based on common vision, shared goals and the big village mentality. They are also surely are in no way immune from the negative clan sentiments and difficulties that bedeviled the other regions of Somalia. A heavy dose of the afore-mentioned postulates are coming to the surface slowly but surely. Therefore, a just and comprehensive solution to Somalia' problems is remote as ever. The Southern part of the country is even worse and the 15th so-called reconciliation conferences ended by the formation of a hotchpotch of a government by the clan for the clan and to the clan. 15 expensive so-called conferences failed to address the real pathologies ailing the country. Nothing was done about the traditionally oppressed minorities and other non influential groups whose lands have been occupied. The same failed formula of power sharing, which in the first place was one of the factors that has given rise to Somalia's problems was used again. Currently the warlord infested government is bitterly divided into two feuding and non compromising camps. One faction is based in Mogadishu the former capital and the other faction is based in jowhar. The finger pointing between the two groups is going on unabated. The Embagatti made government is currently in a permanent state of gridlock. Congo These tensions fused in June 1960, on the very morning of independence, in the collapse of the new Republic of the Congo, which demonstrated the anarchy threatening any regime whose skill and power faltered. Politicians were divided between unitarists from small ethnic groups and federalists from the large Kongo and Lunda tribes. When central power collapsed, Lunda and allied leaders in Katanga (Shaba) declared independence, backed by Belgium mining interests. A United Nations force reintegrated Katanga in January 1963 but then withdrew, leaving endless regional rebellions, millenarian movements, and tribal wars. Mobutu's corrupt military dictatorship brutally restored central control from 1965-1997. But eventually the chaos that started 1960 Katanga secession , that was just lurking beyond the horizon engulfed Congo in 1997 with the violent ouster of Mobutu, led by a perennial revolutionary Lorene Kabella, a rem anent of the Patrice Lumumba era. Lorene a perennial revolutionary was a holdover the Che Guevarian revolutionary of the 60Th's, the socialist Dr. Salvador Allende's, the 50's and 60Th's resurgent non-aligned movement spearheaded by Jawaherlaal Nehru Ahmed Sukarno of Indonesia, Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia and Abdi Nasser of Egypt. The mysterious assassination of the preeminent rebel, Lorene Kabilla, the man who violently ousted the all time treacherous dictator, the age old chameleon and the foremost lackey of the neo-colonialists European powers, the former Josef Mobutu. He was attributed to the assassination of the pan-African nationalist, Patrice Lumumba. Congo today is a chaotic state whose rule is not beyond Kinshasa, the capital. the military of six neighboring countries and half a dozen rebel groups are directly or indirectly fighting each other until recently, when they were replaced by a small ineffective UN peace keeping force.Violence, misery and eternal instability is the faith of the Congolese people. Most of them live in abject poverty despite the huge riches of their vast country. (II). Sudan and Chad are located in the ancient boundaries between Muslim and African states. The southern Sudanese make up about 30% of the population. The southern struggle for equal rights started in 1955 with a mutiny and then faded. The struggle again started in early eightieths as a full fledged struggle led by Mr. John Grang who recently perished in a suspicious plane crash Last year the Sudanese peoples' liberation Front signed a peaceful treaty with the government. How that treaty is to be implemented has to be seen. But unfortunately the Sudanese government immediately started another dangerous civil strife in Darfur region of North Western Sudan. International groups have accused the government of genocide. In Chad, by contrast southerners are half of the population. They were traditionally backed by the French. The mistreatment of the Christan south against the Muslim north triggered a Muslim rebellion that started in 1965, and continued well into the 1990s. (111). Angola and Mozambique The defeat and the abrupt exit of the Portuguese left former guerrillas to squabble over power. In Angola the MPLA controlled only the capital, while UNITA headed by Jones Savimbi controlled the northern and south central provinces. The civil strife that caused huge suffering on the Angolan people continued into the turn of the century, and just came to an end with the killing of UNITA leader Jones Savimbi. by contrast, Frelimo which defeated the Portuguese has no rivals until its corruption and tribal segregation and nepotism moved peasants to support the Mozambique Resistance Movement (Renamo), a very destructive force created by the white minority regimes of southern Rhodesia and South Africa. Both sides of the conflict brutally preyed on the peasants. (1V). Liberia The Liberian conflict was mainly a conflict between the Afro-American political system and the Liberian natives. In 1980, native troops seize power but their ruthlessness and atrocities sparked an endless civil war, that raged well into 2003. In Somalia, the toppling of a ruthless dictatorial regime by undisciplined tribal-based armed groups triggered an endless civil war that some how is raging as I speak. I t also caused the secession of the former British Somaliland part of the collapsed state. Another part of the former southern Somaliland (Puntland) also became an autonomous region, further complicating an already complex situation. (V). Nigeria The fourth and the last category is Nigeria. According to some conditions for its independence in 1960, the Northern Nigerian region took control of the federal parliament. Three regions have to retain substantial degree of autonomy also. This encouraged the majority group in each region ( Hausa in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Ibo in the east) to dominate local minorities, who together formed one-third of the population. Combined with the localism of voters and the materialism of cultural traditions, this bred a blatantly ethnic, clientelist, and corrupt politics. When young Ibo officers overthrew the government in 1966, they called their state Baifara, and declared its secession from the union. The rest of the federation declared war on the Ibo's. The major reason for stopping the Ibo's from secession was the minority groups, in each region thought that they would be losing a lot if Nigeria disintegrated, provided most of the troops and the commanding general of the war effort, general Gowon. The re-division of Nigeria into twelve states on the eve of war met minority interests and became a condition of peace when Biafra surrendered in January1970 after 30 months of courageous resistance. Baifara mainly lost because they were outnumbered and outgunned by the total force of the rest of the country. Conclusion/Analysis: Somalia problems are much complex, multifaceted, multidimensional and deeper than prescribed before. You have here a nation comprising of numerous mumbo- jumbo tribes, clans , ethnic and racial groups. The amalgamation of the Somalis is much more complicated than described earlier. The permutations, combinations and the history of these clan families is replete with distortions, unexplained gaps and other lack of an accurate account of their origins and the like. The true nomenclature, calculus and the structural relationships between these clan families is a subject of tremendous misunderstanding, that often lacks depth, advanced scholarship and understanding, where these clan families came from and how they metamorphosed as what they are today. Therefore, a huge factor of the intractable entanglement and permanent gridlock consuming people residing in this neck of the woods, is in part due to the lack of true understanding of the nation state. Clan division, suspicion and rivalry also play a huge role. Bad, unscrupulous leaders who excessively use the clan, ethnic and tribal divide is another factor. The gap between the different perceived realities of these people is large. There is very little room of consensus between them. In 1960, there were some commonalities such as the unity against the colonial powers, and a near unanimous pro-independence sentiment, a quality in short supply at best and totally non existence at worst today. The recent persistent and baseless claims on big junks of the state of "Awdal", will shed some light on the complexity and the dilemma facing the former failed state of Somalia. This territorial claims on other clan lands is nothing new. The idea behind the creation of a new state comprising of the town of Berbera alone is part of a clan expansionist mentality, that filled and dominated the Ethiopian backed clan-based militias who fought against the former dictator and also against other tribes. Both the recent and past claims on lands outside their traditional clan territory, on the part of most of clan-based militias is an ominous prophesy of things to come. The clan occupied territories of most of the Juba valley by alien clans, who are not indigenous to those areas is a good example of a grand clan expansionist mentality. The latter will complicate all peaceful efforts destined to bring about a comprehensive peace to the former Somalia. The territorial clans on Awdal., Sanaag and Sool may be the beginning of new era of unprecedented conflict. I have used synopsis of the civil wars and the other problems that have transpired in other African countries as comparison chips. The purpose was to understand the factors fueling these civil wars also, so that we may get the opportunity to compare them with our situation. Reference: The Africans, Lewis Lanford

Is there or is there not a democracy in Somaliland? Ismail Buba poses the question most Smalilanders hate to hear Ali Bahar September 18, 2005 Ismail Hurre Buubaa - Vice premier of The TFG Mr. Buba is someone who knows more about the history and the very fundamentals on which the creation of Somaliland is based on. Lets face it; he was there from the beginning and when dealing with the question of secession, he understands more than most of the uninformed and the emotion-driven, hypocritical Somailanders. Ismail Buba touches the heart of the fundamental question that many Somalilanders never wanted to hear. In his recent interview with Mr. Bashir Goth of AwdalNews, Buba raised a serious question that may be the beginning of some serious discussion in progress, and definitely a first step towards addressing the ambiguity surrounding the Somaliland issue. This raises the bar and challenges the Somalilanders to practice what they preach. Buba challenged the Somalilanders to accept and invite public discourse where everyone have the right to air out one's under belly grievances either in support of or in disagreement with the prevailing atmosphere regarding the often discussed secession of Hargeisa from the rest of the republic. One other disturbing development in the region is the new criminal activities and the blatant attacks that some SNM loyalists have been carrying out in the coastal Awdal region, especially in Lughaya District. It smells like another Darfur, Sudan, in progress. Historically, for these coastal communities, Zeila was the main center of trade before it was badly ravaged by the French colonization in some parts of Somalia and consequently the emergence of Djibouti as a vibrant business center. Other coastal towns included Lughaya and Bulaxar, where these communities used as trade or fishing centers, though Bulaxar was consequently impacted negatively by the emergence of City of Berbara, and became insignificant to be considered for trade purposes as most of its inhabitants migrated to either Berbara or Hargeisa, where they had close tribal ties with. However, Lughaya, due to the persistence of its communities, continued to prosper against all odds and eventually became one of the prominent cities of Awdal region, as its identity is inseparable from her sisters such as Zeila, Borama, Baki, Libaxlay or Garbo Dadar, to mention a few, with whom her inhabitants share tribal ties. For centuries, these communities in the Awdal coastal region were left on the cold, or in heat in this case, and were excluded from any form of government. All past governments never had compelling interest to spent money in building schools in order to educate the children of these communities, or treat the children from the grip of deadly diseases such as mosquitoes, TB, malnutrition and starvation or save them from diseases due to the lack of clean water and sanitation, let alone promoting the rich coastal area where these nomadic communities reside. As the result of this long existed neglect by rest of the Somali society, including all governments that ruled the nation in the past and present, these communities have always and are still underrepresented in all government and economic levels in the country. Because of their nomadic lifestyle and lack of education, these communities were never capable to prosper economically and were never able to create big cities and trade centers. All that they ever knew of government dealings was either someone asking them to vote for him in every few years, where truck loads of these nomadic communities would be taken to Borama, Hargeisa or Berbara, kept them in an open semi camps in the cold, around the town skirts of these cities, trained on how to punch a whole in a the picture of the would-be candidate that they would be able recognize on the voting day; since a great majority of these communities never learnt how to read or write. Nonetheless, at the end of the voting period, no one would be responsible to take them back to their nomadic area, let alone giving them compensation for the time they were away from their families and properties. They were used as properties and have always been taken advantage of. Nature had not been that friendly to these communities either as to late, and these communities are facing today extinction due to unfavorable life threatening conditions such as long dry seasons and rain shortage, hunger and diseases. However, one positive progress to report in the area today, thanks to an extraordinary effort by few visionaries in the area who created self-help organizations such as READ/ IQRA and by selfless young men and women residing both in Somaliland and in the Diaspora, is that we have been able to help these communities to focus on the hope of rebuilding their future without the support of any government. We were able to build schools and maintain them to some levels, where nomadic children have the chance of going to school without being removed too far from their environment and family. An idea based on the vision of creating a self-sustaining community, that could definitely lead to resettlement of the nomadic families on their lands; a mission to change the nomadic lifestyle and replacing it with farming and urbanization in the region. Unfortunately, however, this rekindled a new interests in the minds of SNM loyalist, who are engaging a systematic, well planed geopolitical movements where some powerful groups in Somaliland, specifically in Hargeisa and Berbera, are making relentless attempts to redraw boundaries and redistricting in order to increase their voting power in this coming election in Somaliland and thereafter. Many of Lughaya District communities are forcefully denied the right to vote as Awdalites on the false claim that they are under the jurisdiction or are annexation of Hargeisa or Berbara District. The SNM movements in Hargeisa and Berbara see these Awdalites as danger that will undermine the SNM “agendaâ€, the secessionist agenda that these Awdalites fiercely and heroically resisted in the 80s and 90s when the SNM made repeated attempts to conquer the region. Since the last failed attempts in the 90s, SNM has been building up its power to conquer these nomadic communities, who are forced to fight wars that they can't afford to lose, let alone winning. They are being attacked by expansionists supported by the Djibouti government on one front and by militia supported by the powerhouse of SNM from another front. Especially, after Sool and Sanag regions publicly announced that they wouldn't be part of this SNM agenda coined as Somaliland nation, today the SNM in Hargeisa felt that there is a lifetime opportune to renew their long dream of land confiscation and border redesigning. This includes building and designing pathways and create easier movements through which armed SNM army could move in and out in order to connect cities and villages, as a benevolent feature in pure wishful thinking on the part of the SNM, in order to encourage, repopulate and empower their supporters in a region that was never theirs. These criminal activities committed against these nomadic communities is intent to punish these nomadic society or eradicate them if possible for resisting the SNM agenda that these communities never accepted as a legitimate rule of the land. It is a clear intent on the part of the SNM to silence these helpless communities or to force them into submission to their illegal rule, especially as the talk of the possibility of oil exploration intensified lately. These separatists are fighting, with the support of SNM, as perpetrators of ethnic cleansing directed at the peace loving population living in Lughaya District and in other surrounding regions of Awdal Region known to have water and fertile land that is suitable for cultivation. The attack on these fragile and mostly impoverished community, who was always know and praised as a peace loving, multiethnic nomadic society is an explicit plan organized by SNM and their supporters. This is another Lower Shabelle in the making. Sadly, this well thought of “design out crime†of new urbanization is happening under the watchful eye of Rayale government. As a politician, Rayale is rather win the presidency seat instead, on the expenses of his fellow Somalis, who are helplessly under attack by armed aggression of SNM, as himself may have made some concessions to the same Hargeisa –Berbara-SNM loyalists in order for him to win again. We often hear the SNM making the assertion that the old illegal boundary lines drawn by the colonizers, such as the British, should be maintained, which, according to their claim, would give them the right to dislodge from the republic. However, this all out war and land expansion that became common practice in the region is a clear indication that this whole entertainment of the idea of secession, and the relentless efforts that followed in order to gain an international recognition, is nothing more than a known secret to empower one's own clan in order to rule the rest of the clans in the region. Thus these new current borders would be tomorrow's reality. What a contradiction! There is nothing new in this thought, however, and as a unionist, my number one reason for supporting the existence or the re-emergence of the Somali republic, has always been the thought that I would find myself suffocated by this continuously downsizing practice of clan oppression, the same way these nomadic society are resisting SNM domination, as apparent in today's Somaliland. My concern is that these reckless new activities in the coastal region may prolong strife and wars in the area or will at least undermine the seemingly peaceful coexistence in these communities. This may encourage the breakout of fresh wars along tribal lines. The question is, as posed by Ismail Buba, whether this is the democracy on the basis of which that the Somalilanders are asking the world to recognize them as a nation. Or whether this is another ploy and a new thought of opportunity to strengthen clan domination in the region and the subjugation of the innocent, weaker and the least educated sector of the society that has been neglected for decades. One would hope otherwise.

Mahatma Gandhi Once Wrote That There Were Seven Sins In The World Sept,26,2005 by Suleiman Egeh: Wealth without work; pleasure with conscience; knowledge without character; Commerce without morality; science without humanity; worship without sacrifice; politics without principle Are The walls Come Tumbling Down in "Somaliland" Yet ? Some Are Already Saying So, But others are Still Hopeful Just Underneath the Cosmetic Democratic Pronouncements Lurk an insidious Grand Design To Dominate Everything Introduction: Societies thrive, prosper, develop and reach their pinnacles when they let all their citizens to participate in all aspects of the nation's life. Successful societies are those who put their minds, ranks, efforts, knowledge, expertise and word together. They are those who watch the civil, human rights, political rights and the property rights of their people. Societies under the stewardship of good leaders with great management and leadership qualities with vision and mission. Nations are no different than huge corporations as Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, General Motors, Mercedes Benz and others. They are like University systems such as University of California ( UCLAA), University of North Carolina (UNC), Ohio State, Amoud University, Mogadishu University, Hargeisa University and others. The latter relatively well managed compared to their surroundings. Well run and well-managed multinational corporations and Universities systems succeed and thrive, while poorly run and poorly managed ones fail. Nation states are no different. No wonder why so many nations states fail in Africa. Among other things they disregarded the civil and human rights of their citizens. They used discrimination, segregation, clannism and every division in the books, to divide, incite, and polarize their people. They failed in the departments of vision, mission, leadership and management. The leaders in this poorly run countries have run out of issues to rally their powerless people. During the cold war in order to finance their illegal and criminal enterprises, they all jumped into the anti-communism bandwagon, uttering the word anti-communist alone would have been used to earn them a big blank check with no strings attached from one of the cold war rivals-the U.S. or the Soviet Union. Those big checks sustained terrible and incompetent dictators such as Mengistu, Siyad Barre, Mobotu, Hassan Guled, Bakassa and many other despots. Those enabled crooks and criminals disguising as heads of state to wage aggressive and genocidal wars against their people. Nowadays the only cash cow around is the war on terrorism. All diminishing despots are in the anti-terrorism bandwagon again. But this time around, despots are facing a totally different world and there are few blank checks to go around. meanwhile, their populace's political awareness is much better than than before. Therefore, dictators everywhere beware your life span is much shorter than before. The average reign of terror for the average despots was 20 years between 1960-1990. Today the life span for an average dictator's reign of terror is between 7-10 years. Usually when they are violently ousted from power, their days among the walking is very limited even If they survive their forced ejection from power. Somalia can not form a real government for about 15 years and for good reason. Until today many people of Somali decent seem to have a very little concept regarding the nation state. To Somalis and may be many other communities, the clan concept is much more deeper than both Islam and the nation. Somalia disintegrated into tribal homelands or Bantustans if you will. This process doesn't gradually come about, it was an abrupt process, everything came spontaneously. Everything was swift and happened in the speed of light.Though this cataclysmic Armageddon happened everywhere. it primarily happened in the former capital of Somalia and the former capital of the former British Somaliland. These were places places of higher concentration of humanity. These two places were the most diverse places in the country at the time. Today they may be one of the most segregated places on the planet. What had happened primarily in those two places amounts to astronomical plate tectonics activity, that unleashed a chain reaction of devastating earthquakes and volcanoes. The larva fall out from this cosmological upheavals spread out to the rest of the country like a brush fire, or like a metathesized cancer. The afore-mentioned cosmos forces irreversibly destroyed the fabric of once a proud society. The body of this nation sustained a huge structural damage which may never make any recovery an almost lost cause at best and almost an impossible proposition at worst.The severe injuries inflicted on this individually hospitable, gregarious and industrial societies may never fully heal. Unprecedented virulent clan racism and chauvinism superceded everything else. Everything is done through the periscope of clannism, regionalism, sectarianism and a run away hatred which refused to go away. In some areas like the North West (Somaliland), the aforementioned maladies have been somewhat neutralized or so you think, curbed, temporarily arrested or what have you. But It is getting clearer with each passing day that clannism and sectarian sentiment is well and alive. for the last year strong tribal sentiments have been rapidly surging in this region. Different groups started constantly talking about the not so good recent past which was replete with devastating tribal wars, indiscriminate killing of the unarmed innocent people and too much controversy. Groups claiming to be the remnants of the SNM, the clan based group that besides fighting with Siyad Barre's forces, that also attributed to the killings of many unarmed civilians during the eighties and the nineties are recently stirring up trouble in the north. The surviving remnants of this group keeps on invoking the clan card. They have also took a number of foreign trips and in each and every stop, they spewed hatred, incitement of tribal sentiments and a heavy dose about the recent messy past of the country. They were surely part and parcel of the political and tribal relations mess the area has witnessed in the just recent past. What these groups were up to, remains a riddle wrapped in an enigma. But I think they are very distraught, because they didn't realize most of their destructive clan agenda. These groups failed to understand that clannism can not build anything. They failed to understand that killing and revenge killings destroy the fabric of nations. By now, I thought they must have learned that inciting people through false and pointless crisis-es will not take them anywhere. I thought by now they have learned from their past mistakes and stop refraining from their attempts to cash in through incitement, and what divides people and not through what unifies them. This is a group which have a history of feasting on the weak, the down trodden and the dispossessed. Though at the present they are not more than featherless birds who are unable to fly, they can still polarize community relations by invoking controversial issues. The remnants of this aging merchants of hate resorted to the clan incitement rhetoric. At the end of the day, they will be held accountable of their actions. Now they are bent on starting crisis and eventually clan wars of attrition in these mountainous Awdal country, adjacent to the red sea. This is a strategic guerrilla warfare country, in which the indigenous people will be always favored to repel and win a renewed SNM aggression on their homeland. The SNM waged a war of aggression against the natives of these neglected coastal villages through out the eighties, and all their attacks have been thwarted. May be they are trying to make their last gasp attempt to annex this area. What they were doing lately through their rudimentary clan oriented media, and through some so-called parliamentary candidates is nothing but an all out rally the troops effort. All of a sudden they created a new crisis from the blue. They must know the people from this area are very closely watching their movement, and will vigorously defend their land If they are attacked by the radical SNM fringe. In southern Somalia nomadic groups from the arid middle part of the country annexed large swaths of land from Afgoi to Kismayo. These occupation gangs have brought a reign of terror to these areas, which are inhabited by the most productive and peaceful people of all Somalia. Lately local groups are organizing to dislodge this marauding primitive groups from the fertile Jubba valley. All of a sudden what was supposedly started as a rebellion against tyranny and dictatorship changed into a brutal war of occupation, mass murder and may be genocide of the unarmed and peaceful communities. What we are seeing is heavily armed violent nomadic groups who are feasting on mostly unarmed, peace-loving civilians. But that is changing now and the indigenous victims of these primitive alien occupiers are rapidly organizing and planning to finally eject these atrocious gangs from their lands. Therefore, If the resurgent SNM loyalists want to start a new land graping aggression against the state of Awdal, I would like to warn them, they will not be welcomed with flowers. My warning to them is, they must prepare for a very long nationalist war of liberation to repulse their aggression and these wars may not be limited to that area. But nobody wants war and violence. They know that, they didn't accomplish much at their pinnacle when Mengistu armed them to the teeth, except the sowing of the seeds of virulent hatred between neighbors, and between people related to each other in one way or the other. shallow clan sentiment, a mentality that seeks glory and grandiosity through falsehoods, sweeping generalizations, claiming other peoples' work, lands or history and virulent clan sentiments has led communities to oblivion, devastation, backwardness and a life-long regret. What you individually accomplish will make you proud, not empty clan myth of supremacy and majesty. Causing trouble between people and creating an atmosphere of intolerance and hate won't take you anywhere. The saying goes, " those who won't learn from their mistakes will be condemned to repeat them". The loose, chaotic Somali confederation of tribal affiliations is not bond by any laws, be it bylaws, a code of conduct, Islamic jurisprudence or secular law. it is a vehicle whereby no membership card is needed. It is the only system in the world where individuals are not accountable of their actions. That is why criminals, killers, mass murderers, fugitives from justice, shady figure, suspects accused of crimes against humanity and incompetent leaders are getting away with everything they perpetrated. This area is tired of unscrupulous pseudo-politicians who don't know the art of politics, bad politicians and impostors masquerading as the champions of the clan interest. I think it is about time to reassess the clan family system and the way it works. Apparently non of this people care about the clan interest. If you read their report cards-the recycled transitional, situational or defacto leaders if you will, most of them will not walk away with anything better than a grade "D" minus or "F". Can people like that be trusted with the huge responsibility of managing the lives of people. Most of them can't manage their own-selves or their individual families let alone whole nations. Is the Tribal wars over Yet I don't think so, the self-declared region Northern Somalia (Somaliland) was not initially founded on ideology, political reality or ethnic identity. It was perhaps mostly based on clan affiliation, clan supremacist ideas or may be on a good intentions. Overall, some regions are faring better than others, but so far non of the relatively functioning regions such as Somaliland are Puntland were initially build on ideology, well thought of vision or mission. But they filled a huge vacuum whereby the country has no choice and can accept any kind of a government led by any kind of leadership. Thanks to community elders, intellectual, religious leaders, women's groups that so many good things happen in Somaliland and at least in one other region-Puntland. Had the SNM has not been marginalized, the North West(Somaliland) would have not been different than Mogadishu or Baidawa. I believe the tribal wars are not over yet and If people will not come together and peaceful resolve their conflicts, a new and more devastating wars will engulf the area again. In the afore-mentioned regions, there are some rudimentary institutions of justice, law enforcement, nominal parliament, some private human rights institutions, k-12 schools and some few number of Universities. So far one of the brilliant things they succeeded to do and other places failed to do is the creation of a peaceful environment, and the establishments of several institutions of higher learning. The Establishment of Amoud from scratch set an unprecedented example whereby others immediately followed. This is a positive immolation of some noble thing. All of a sudden Hargeisa University has been established and now followed by Burao University. The sustainability of peace and the establishment of community institutions of higher learning are the two things which are working well. My expectations regarding the rudimentary clan-oriented local media is not that great in the first place, and my suspicions have been exacerbated by the ongoing created, exaggerated and erroneously reported expansionist land grape, regarding towns and villages who were historically part of Awdal. The creation of non existing land disputes is the nexus of Rayaale hatred, tabloid media bound by no standards of journalistic ethics, unscrupulous leaders and the remnants of the fringe radical SNM . Rayaale regime also is part and parcel of the problem. Rayaale as a matter of fact have accepted their controversial and radical overtures such the allotments of parliamentary seat based on the 1960 format. By letting the failed ultra radical SNM fringe a free ride to dictate public policy is a disservice to all. Recently regarding the explosive controversy on how the parliamentary seats are allocated, the rejuvenated surviving SNM radical fringe got their way. Clearly both Rayaale and the election committee pondered to them and their proposal to apportion the parliamentary seats using the despised and unfair 1960 format succeeded. A decision that has triggered a sharp reaction anger in all Eastern/ western Awdal, north/western Gabiley, Djibouti and the diaspora. If you remember when an Awdal member of the election committee died, some groups especially the opposition parties vehemently opposed the replacement of the deceased Awdal commission member with another Awdalite. Without the replacement of the deceased Awdalite, the state of Awdal, north/western Gabiley will not have a voice in the election committee. The fringe SNM loyalists masquerading as opposition parties succeeded in both controversial proposals: (1). The election committee which has a token Awdal representation ruled the parliamentary seats allocation format should based on the 1960 format. (2). They decided the voter nullification, and the disenfranchisement of six Awdal towns and villages. In both the above-mentioned cases, the clearly biased election commission, with Rayaale's blessing, ruled in favor of the radical SNM loyalists and against the state of Awdal and north and western Gabiley district. I don't believe these decisions have been reached by accident. This has the smell of a hidden radical SNM loyalist group, who are bent on dominating everything in this region by any means necessary and at any cost. In both cases Rayaale dropped the ball and conceded to these groups. That represents a major set back and creates a point of huge contention, casting a serious doubt on the clannish under tones and the intentions of this unfair, unjust and dubious decisions. This successive utterly wrong, and unfair strategic mistakes propelled the insidiousness and the sinister intentions of the framers of the Somaliland project into the open. Chronology of the SNM loyalists activity As soon as they realized that, they went away with their first proposal regarding the allotments of the parliamentary seats, they started claiming land which was always part and parcel of Awdal. Now the one-sided and biased so-called election commission decided to disenfranchise about six villages and towns inhabited by people who have been neglected by every Somali government that ruled this land since 1960. Again these eternally marginalized Awdal coastal communities were denied to right to vote, If outsiders who don't know them and don't care about them are not getting their vote. This seems like these people are not in control of their individual votes. Isn't this the same as Siyad Barre's trade mark tactics. Isn't this "tyranny" pure and simple. I won't see where is the democracy many people in this neck of the woods talk about. That may have been the whole objective in the first place at least for the short time. These expired SNM radical fringe has no other good issue to run on, other than to constantly repackage their seriously blemished records. All they know best is their 19Th century stump speeches which is based on clan division, segregation, incitement and hatred. we have seen what people like that are capable of doing if they reach to the top echelons of power. There was more balance of power between the clans in the first few months of 1960. Of the 4 representatives from the North, two of them Mr.Mohamed H. Ibrahim Egal and Ahmed H. Dualeh (Kaise) were from the Isaak community, Ali Garad Jama was from the ***** community and H. Ibrahim Nuur from the ********** community. The short lived 1960 government has been more balanced than all the following Somali governments and Somaliland governments for that matter. Clearly coming into the open, is a very strong tendency to dominate everything from parliamentary seats, cabinet posts, directors of the cabinet agencies, seaports, trade and almost all the economical life lines of the country. The feeling behind dividing the parliamentary elections seems to be the corner stone of the tenants of the domination I have enumerated. Some samples of some of the failed ethnic/clan oriented movements of the past and the present The Khmeroug of Cambodia, the lord's Resistance in Northern Uganda, Charles Taylor clan militia, Moise Tchombe Belgium backed gangs, the Christain dominated crook leaders of Ivory Coast backed by the French and others, and many other armed groups, all led their countries to oblivion under the false guise of liberation and change for the better. Conclusion The people of Awdal/Gabiley, Sanaag and Sool won't be hoodwinked into believing that Somaliland is a genuine country, phenomena and a belief. Though many good things have already happened in the country, due to the good offices of the community elders, religious groups, intellectuals and other groups, the Somaliland project appears to smell like a grand clan project. Superficially everything looks like a well functioning country run by nationalistic leaders, who have the welfare of their people in their hearts. By far all the people in this region look nominally equal. But the reality on the ground sees otherwise. What has been happening recently made many people very vigilant and cautious about this complex country. Bad government decisions, the easy government approval of controversial proposals from radical fringe elements, that can easily jeopardize the fragile relative peace in the country. The easy winning of two extremely controversial proposals by radical groups, seem to suggest that, this Somaliland government is behind the scenes dominated by one ethnic group. The inference from all these government bad decisions is that, all kinds of controversial proposals including those that may cause an all out war between the different communities can easily pass, because, the government is dominated by one group. This will show the lack of check and balances. If the government decides to declare an unjust war against a certain ethnic group or clan, nobody has the ability to stop it. A government like this is very dangerous and there is no way to stop bad government decisions, without checks and balances in place. Had there are some checks and balances in place, the genocide against the Tutsi community perpetrated by the Rwandan government would have been averted. The decision for the final Tutsi solution has been decided years before the on set of the genocide. In the same token Siyad Barre would not have the ability to wage a war of attrition and genocide against his country men, If checks and balances have been in place. How come any government will be different from Siyad Barre's dictatorship, had there is no checks and balances in place. In Africa no government without a separate branches such as the executive, judiciary and the legislative branches, human rights organ and a clause in the constitution for the safeguarding of minority rights should be rejected by the people of those individual countries.. This is the only way to guarantee that, governments will not wage wars against certain groups of their citizenry in the future. At the end of the day justice for all, the rule of law, safeguarding human rights are the ultimate solution of the perpetual political morass and the eternal gridlock and stalemate. Impostors to the Saylac crown I would like to tell those who got used to the unfair notion of been unopposed in elections in Saylac. That time is gone, If you have people there, you need to bring them on and let them vote. The diminishing village dictator across the border should not lie to you. There is nothing he can do for you. He himself sitting is in an active volcano which may erupt at anytime. Opposition groups against his clannist and racist mini-state is forming everywhere. Get along with the other communities who were residing in the area for thousands of years. Empty claims without a concrete proof can not work for you. this time around. If it worked for you yesterday. It won't work today. Remember, everyday is not a holiday. Suleiman Egeh is a freelance writer and a senior science instructor. He is also a contributor to Saylacnews