Somali PM injects new life in peace efforts Hopes for peace return to Somalia as PM moves to include Islamic Courts Union in dialogue. Middle East Online 10 April 2008 NAIROBI - The new Somali prime minister's moves to include the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) opposition in peace efforts has begun to pay off, observers say, raising hopes for progress in a country in chaos for nearly two decades. Since taking office in November, Nur Hassan Hussein has engaged Somalia's ICU opposition -- unlike his predecessor Ali Mohamed Gedi. "The international community is very pleased by the approach of Prime Minister Hussein, which consists in talking to rival politicians," said Mario Raffaelli, Italy's special envoy for Somalia. "European Union states have insisted on dialogue as military solutions can't overcome the current chaos in Somalia and the premier came with a clear roadmap to peace," said Raffaelli, a seasoned Somalia observer. "You make peace with enemies not with friends." The signs of hope for Somalia, where civil chaos has defied more than a dozen peace initiatives since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre, come even as violence continues to rage across the country. The ICU, a movement which ousted US-backed warlords from Mogadishu in 2006, briefly ruled most parts of the country before being defeated by Ethiopian forces last year. Somalia enjoyed relative peace and prosperity during the short-lived rule of the ICU before the Ethiopian invasion. But the Ethiopian-backed Somali government troops are still battling the movement's military wing and allied clans in a guerrilla war which has left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands. The prime minister, President Abdullahi Yusuf and ICU leaders were expected to gather in neighbouring Djibouti this week for ice-breaking contacts. The first step in the roadmap for peace drafted by the new prime minister provides for local initiatives. The most ambitious project is a scheme whereby traders can organise their own security and policing in Mogadishu's main mercantile area, the large Bakara market. Ethiopian and Somali government troops no longer carry out patrols in the area, but in exchange, Bakara vigilantes also have to keep ICU insurgents at bay. The initiative is seen as key to restoring stability in the capital, where insurgents have concentrated their attacks over the past year. But hawks within the government have been reluctant to let Ethiopian troops pull back and the Bakara project has struggled to get off the drawing board. And members from Somalia's dominant ****** clan and the ICU opposition had refused to take part in previous reconciliation attempts, arguing that talks should be held outside of Somalia and only after an Ethiopian withdrawal. The prime minister's roadmap states that the transitional federal government "is prepared to accept as a venue for the discussions anywhere the government and opposition both agree." The government's proposals were met by a markedly more conciliatory tone in the opposition camp. "The call for dialogue by the PM is encouraging. The ****** Traditional Council will support all measures that would help Somalis overcome their differences," ****** spokesman Ahmed Derive Ali said. The leader of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia -- an opposition umbrella group based in Asmara and dominated by the ICU -- said his movement was willing to give Hussein a chance. "Members of the international community are trying to help Somalis overcome their differences and we will do all we can to be flexible and achieve a lasting peace," Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said last week. The cleric nevertheless made it clear that the continued presence of Somali soil of Ethiopian troops he perceives as Christian crusaders would be an obstacle to any agreement. Government officials have warned the ICU not to set pre-conditions to dialogue and stressed that bringing all main protagonists to the same table was paramount. During recent talks with international brokers in Nairobi, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden -- a former Somali parliament speaker considered a moderate within the opposition -- was quick to reassure his partners. "We accept nothing less than a genuine peace deal with no ulterior motives, we are ready for peace," he said. The United Nations special envoy for Somalia, Ahmed Ould Abdallah, also took heart from the recent progress made in paving the way for a viable peace process in the devastated Horn of Africa country. "These are very encouraging new developments," he said in a statement earlier this month. --- Story from the Middle East Online

What is that you don't understand in this topic? I don't get where you are coming from or what purpose you stand for.

Though this approach of seeking recognition is flawed, is it not outright immoral to kill and displace people for this unworkable PR strategy? Does Somaliland have anything to offer to the West? There is no proven reserves of oil? America would probably accept this proposal for the simple reason that if you don't do it someone else will, but to implement it is to undermine her security interest in the overall Somalia. Will majority of Somalis in general who are pro-union vote for a new referendum that asks for the partition of their country. How in the world would the U.S government maintain a foothold in one country divided into two or three states by its own people? The best solution is to fix the center, Mogadisho and pursue a national reconciliation. If this doesn't work in the future, there will still a little chance to partition our country into two or three states.

Originally posted by Seekknowledge: Brainless suicide bombers are more dangerous like the looser who leaves an old watch for charity on his way to blow up innocent somalis like that little boy. He even smiles at the camera wonder if he is smiling right now dancing in the flames of hell. May Allah increase his punishments for ever. :mad: What about those who justify such brainless actions. It is something we had never used to condone until recently. It is true that our society is being greatly influenced by outside cult that believes in this satanical form of killings and destruction. The world bears as well the responsiblity for leaving Somalia too long in anarchy and for these practices of depravity to fester in and plague our society.

Kid, What does that abbreviation stands for? WTF. MMA, read the report. It is fairly balanced on both fronts' human rights abuses, but the Islamists' actions have a magnitude that is beyond barbarity.

Fahmo Aden: "I would do anything to see my boy normal again" April 09, 2008 MOGADISHU (IRIN) - June 18 2007 was like any other day in the life of Fahmo Aden, a 34-year-old mother and small trader, until she was told her oldest son had been killed in an explosion. "I was in the market when a friend called me to tell me she had heard that Abdiaziz [her 13-year-old son] was caught up in an explosion. I had sent him to school earlier before I left for the market." Abdiaziz Abdulle was seriously injured when a remote-controlled bomb that killed some security guards of former Prime Minister Ali Gedi exploded. "The first information I got was that he was killed in the explosion. I almost fainted but I ran to the area, not far from the market. When I got there I found him alive and was so happy. "My happiness turned into sadness when the doctors told me he was severely injured, with so many pieces of shrapnel in his body. The worst was the one lodged in his spine, which is making it impossible for him to walk. "I no longer work. I have to take care of him day and night. He cannot go to the bathroom. He cannot control his bowel movements. It is heartbreaking to see him like this. He was full of life. He wanted to be a doctor but now I don’t know what will become of him. “Every time his school-friends come to visit him I can see the longing in his eyes to be able to go with them. It breaks my heart. “He has begun to destroy any pictures of himself before he was injured. He says he does not want to see them. “Doctors have told us there is nothing they can do for him in this country. They said he needs specialised treatment that is not available here. “We cannot afford to take him to a doctor here, much less outside. We are a poor family that depended on what I could earn from the market and now even that is no longer there. We depend on the generosity of friends and relatives to survive. “I would do anything and give anything, including my life, to see my boy normal again. Every day I pray for a miracle.” ah/mw Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Health & Nutrition, (IRIN) Human Rights [ENDS] Source: IRIN

We shall see it. But How will his travel to Djibouti influence the need for this whole process of reconciliation?

Oodweyne is a very cynical and conceited individual who sees things through one side of the coin. Consider this, the whole TFG is run and supported by one sub-clan. Consider this whole collection of families were outgunned and forced to live in an abject misery in the Diaspora so large in number that they won't be able to stand themselves against the formidable foes of the self-made Huns had Ethiopia been out of equation or withdraws. Consider again this subclan is responsible for all the current mayhems, killings, and the accumulation of a long-term social and political injustices committed by this family alone that they were so deserving of angry and violent backlashes that uprooted them of their homes. To him, Somaliland, his beloved illusive state, is absolved of its invasion of Las Anod and her dubious agreement with Ethiopia, an agreement that kidnapps and hands over innocent Somali civilians. To him, SNMs' heineous actions and crimes against humanity are justified or SNM's secret contract with the Communist Ethiopia to march its troops to Hargeisa against the Somali government is the Star Spangled Banner of his clan's victory over a historical enemy. To him, Somalia is fictitious and the anthem of its flag rings nazi culture. Very twisted and warped mindset!!!!!!!!!11

Car bomb targets peacekeepers in Somalia April 8, 2008 By SALAD DUHUL Associated Press Writer A suicide car bomb attack on a building housing Burundian peacekeepers wounded at least seven people in the Somali capital Tuesday, witnesses and an African Union official said. Officials said they did not know if a body at the scene was the bomber's or a victim's. The military wing of Somalia's main Islamic insurgent group claimed responsibility for the attack in a southern neighborhood of Mogadishu. "A car driving at breakneck speed passed us and within seconds turned around and rammed into a locked gate that is not normally used. Then we heard a huge explosion whose dust covered us," said Abdullahi Hussein Sabriye. He said he witnessed the attack from a tea shop. "A huge explosion occurred outside the building where Burundian peacekeepers are based," said Maj. Bahoku Barigye, the African Union force spokesman, adding two soldiers were wounded. "One man, believed to be a Somali, died on the spot. I'm not sure if he was the suicide bomber or not," Barigye said. The car exploded before it got inside the complex, said a Burundian soldier who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He said five Somali civilians also were wounded. Sheik Mukhtar Robow, a spokesman for al-Shabab told The Associated Press that his group was behind the attack. Al-Shabab, or "The Youth," is the military wing of the Council of Islamic Courts that Ethiopian troops backing Somali soldiers ousted from its southern Somalia strongholds and the capital in December 2006. "One of our fighters has targeted the African Union troops who are here to support the Ethiopian troops' massacre of our people," Robow said. He did not give any other details. The 2,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops in Mogadishu are part of a proposed 8,000-troop AU peacekeeping force that has not been fully deployed because African countries have failed to commit the required troops. The force is supposed to protect key government buildings, the port and airport as well as train a national army and police force for Somalia. The peacekeepers have generally been well received by Mogadishu residents because they are perceived to be neutral in the near daily violence that hits the capital. Somalia has a weak U.N.-backed government, but the country has experienced anarchy and chaos since warlords ousted longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Later the warlords turned on each other, plunging Somalia into a cycle of violence. Associated Press writer Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu contributed to this report.

I like this new political approach taken by India. India is also said to be trying to counter the influence of China, which is building ties with African countries that are traditionally close to India. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7335882.stm

The Advancement of Peace in Somalia (map World Factbook) by Olusegun Obasanjo [1] Keynote Address At the Meeting on Somalia’s Finance and Economic Issues Introduction Let me start by thanking my brother Ahmedou Ould Abdalla and all who are assisting and have assisted in organizing this conference. While I must also thank him for asking me to give the keynote address at this conference, let me also add that it is a task that I accepted with mixed feelings. I am saddened by what I refer to as the Somalia debacle, while at the same time I am happy that this initiative is being undertaken. I am equally happy that maybe the international community will seize this opportunity to yet, correct a major failing on its part and for us Africans to for once accept that we have collectively failed the Somali child, the Somali woman and the Somali people. Indeed, as Africans, we have failed ourselves. Although this meeting is on Somalia’s Finance and Economic issues but since these issues can only be anchored on political stability, you will understand why my keynote address is heavily on conflict resolution, peace, ending violence and establishing new political order. You will then appreciate my confessed need for us to first accept our collective failures and then pray that we will have the courage and presence of mind to say all that needs to be said on and about the future of Somalia. I am also hopeful that our discussions here will be based on the bald truth and anchored on straight talk as Africans and as members of the human race. Let me also express at the onset my disgust and displeasure at the way a meaningless cliché and prejudicial labeling as it were to describe the tragedy in Somalia. I have often listened to some intellectuals describing the Somalia Somalia. I find that rather unconscionable. How can we talk of a failed state where human life and living are involved? In my mind as an analytical tool the concept of a failed state is at best obscurantist and in the worst of situations a gratuitous insult. situation as a failed state, with the implicit message that, there is not much, if at all anything, that could be done in There is really nothing academic about the concept. It is just another cliché which is often parroted and mouthed with uncritical acceptance. It is this uncritical acceptance and bandying of concepts that have led some of our people into dry as dust political theories and explanatory frameworks that cannot explain our realities. I have read and heard some of our academics describe some of our states in Africa variously as rogue states, the vampire state, and the garrison state and so on. Most times the sheer lack of originality and the eagerness to regurgitate plainly derogatory political concepts by intellectuals from other continents in labeling our lived reality is at once the bane of our development thinking. We recall with pain the foisting of a patently absurd economic framework called Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) on us and the effort it took on the part of some progressively inclined leaders to reject and repudiate this concept before the World Bank and IMF agreed it was a totally misleading and hastily conceived framework as unrealistic and certainly irrelevant to our situation doing more harm than good. It is the same regurgitative penchant that gave currency to the sophistry of the failed states concept. Indeed and in truth, what has failed in Somalia is a myriad of highly ineffective, largely selective and predetermined initiatives and efforts at conflict resolution at the local, regional and global level. What has actually failed is global governance, what has happened which is a failure on our part is our collective willingness to live with such a blight on our conscience and consciousness. A famous sociologist, Ralph Linton had observed as way back as 1924 that if all humanity had been left unaided by others, it is doubtful if any human society would have advanced beyond the level of the Stone Age. In 1987 while addressing the International Centre For Strategic Studies, in Washington, USA I had observed that …. In an inter-dependent world, we cannot develop in isolation, and throughout history, development has come to any region or any nation principally through their own sweat and with the collaborative efforts of others in form of labour, capital, technology or market [2]. It is this lack of demonstration of the principle of solidarity and collaborative effort that has failed in the Somali case, solidarity that we underline as the basis of our unity and development as a people, a principle that underscores our relationships as neighbors and as Africans. Solidarity that we underline and capitalize in our charters and constitutive acts will remain mere appellations until we are ready to use it again as guiding, goading and inspirational term. But it is not too late to correct the inadequate human collective efforts on Somalia. Out of the 48 years of post independence, seventeen years have been spent in Somalia in turbulent circumstance doing nothing other than the creation of great humanitarian disaster, monumental suffering, destruction of most means of livelihood, giving witness to countless number of women and children dying with no end in sight. To these must be added the threats to regional stability and global peace and security. Was Somalia given the same attention and resources as Afghanistan, Iraq and even Kosovo by the international community? Could it be that we have all concluded that Somalia is not of any strategic relevance to the international community and Africa? Could it be that lack of “strategic’ mineral resource(s) within the borders of Somalia has made its case somewhat unimportant and irrelevant? Or could it be that lack of a demonstrable high nuisance value is the Achilles’ heel of Somalia? How else can we explain that a world that could afford to expend well over US$5billion in 78 days in Kosovo and an additional US$55billion in reconstruction costs; and US$500 billion dollars, 168,000 American troops deployed with the death of almost 4,000 American soldiers in the quest for “peace’’ in Iraq could not afford to find the required resources for peace in Somalia [3]. These are some of the issues and considerations that should prick our conscience as leaders and stakeholders of our respective nations and organizations. The truth of the matter is that Africa needs Somalia as much as we need South Africa or Nigeria or Egypt. We cannot continue and we should stop the implicit and latent ranking of conflicts which has relegated the Somali issue to the background? Conflict and violence in any country in Africa is inimical to development, and progress and must be given due and proper attention. Somalia would not have descended to this level if the intellectuals, researchers, theorists and international conflict experts were to have properly nuanced their findings on and about the situation and if we were more accurate on the roots and systemic trends and the dynamics of violence in Somalia. Could it be that we are missing certain elements or mixing up our findings on conflict management mechanisms while claiming that Somalia has defied all conflict resolution theories? The peculiarity of conflicts as found in virtually all post-independent states of Africa is that they all have ethnic or religious colorations and tinctures. The continent has been known for its vulnerability to conflict escalation and volatility particularly if inspired and manipulated by external forces. Against this backdrop, we need to refocus our African and global agenda on strategizing and evolving a sustainable peaceful co-existence, stability, integration, human development, political and socio-economic development of the entire continent within a collective and collaborative framework. The international community, Africa and the sub regional organizations must work commitedly and closely together and not give up until success is achieved. Restoration of Peace in Somalia: Effective resolution of any conflict must be based on some clearly definable and identifiable principles. As we seek to restore hope in Somalia it may be necessary to revisit some of these basic principles and sub principles. R. J. Rummel’s Conflict Helix provides in part some of these basic principles and sub principles. [4] To make peace, keep that peace and build on that peace require among other considerations the need to clarify the conflict situation. This will require a clear identification of the core issue(s), this must be accompanied by identification of issue(s) around which basic acceptance can be built. There is the need to then guard the balance of power, reduce the gap between expectations and power, and reduce the probability of successful violence. The peace maker must also be ready to invest time, energy and must have the patience of Job, the perseverance of Ruth and the Wisdom of Solomon. In essence, he or she must be unprovokable. The Yorubas of South Western Nigeria have a saying that the peace maker takes some of the punches that are often thrown by vexed combatants. More importantly the peace maker must also be and must be seen to be even handed and transparently objective and fair thereby inspiring reasonable confidence and trust from all concerned. To make peace is only the beginning of a long often time arduous journey. Keeping the peace made is even more challenging and tricky. Peace keeping is majorly a matter of relation and proportion. In essence, the organisations that can ensure the peace that has been achieved must ensure that required resources are mobilised and made available for post- conflict development, reconstruction and reintegration until the obvious wounds are reasonably healed and trust and confidence start to be rebuilt and with basic political structure in place. In post conflict situations economic activities and social order must take precedence over political activities once a foundation of law and order has been reasonably achieved. Failure in the area of economic and social order may provoke a relapse of violence and a degeration to chaos and conflict. In essence as Rummel advises, it is important to subject recurring issues to fair decision rules, institutionalize the adjustment process, as defined to include institutionalization of consensus building, confrontation of perceptions, expectations and interests. There are some basic confidence-building mechanisms that are home grown and represents best practices that should and could be applicable as we seek to build and maintain peace in Somalia. I refer in particular to what we call the federal character principle in Nigeria. In practice government positions must reflect the various ethnic groups within the country. It is a constitutional matter that should not be violated. This is also accompanied by a range of initiatives and policies that obligate central government presence nation-wide. These are practices that were induced by our lived experience after the Nigerian civil war. I believe these and other practices must be considered and if found applicable, adopted . The great question posed before us today is, ‘what makes the Somali conflict so unique, protracted and intractable?’ The answer to this question could be rooted in the relations between social identity groups. In this case, the Somali conflict is not basically ethnic, linguistic or religious, because virtually all Somalis are ethnically and linguistically homogeneous, and mostly Muslim. Indeed it is argued that the basis of the Somali society and the roots of the current conflict lie in the family, sub-clan and clan system and the power and perquisites of control of state apparatuses. Since the death of Siad Bare, the centre has not held. Some observers have pointed out that the formation of political parties and liberation movement(s) during the years 1991 and 1994 demonstrate a clear clan-party connection. Thus, to understand the conflict and how to advance peace, it is imperative to identify these social roots and the strength of family and clan loyalty. The source of Somali conflict is entrenched in the social foundation of inter-communal rivalry, and the all embracing power vested in modern states which drive these clans cum parties to struggle desperately for control of sovereignty for self, kith and kin. The not so easy question to resolve and answer based on the peace attempts in Somalia so far is therefore, why has the outcome of every peace effort degenerated into new and dynamic conflicts and what are the issues that were not being tackled? I believe that the Somali peace processes failed partly because many of the peace initiatives did not specifically address the root causes of the Somali conflict. The proliferation of clan and sub-clan conflicts, divisive smaller clan-militias, and their breaking down into complex units created a state of anarchy in the sense that a clannish political leader is unlikely to be endowed with a national loyalty above his group. The obvious challenge here therefore remains the way we address the issue of acquisition, appropriation and exercise of political power and authority in the Somalia of the future. What is obvious today is that all of the conflict in Somalia regardless of the clannish or religious or any other consideration or sophisticated explanation that we adduce and proffer has to do with the acquisition, control and exercise of political power and authority. This becomes more animated when we throw the deep seated mistrust and distrust that makes a resort to primordial ties attractive and safe. In essence as we tinker with possible solutions, we must begin to consider how the concerns of the different groups will be accommodated and responded to. Political power, limited autonomy and authority over local issues of basic education, basic health, agriculture and local trade, must of necessity be decentralized and devolved to the district levels. The districts must therefore be assured of control over these affairs, and other such issues that impinge directly on the daily existence, life and living of each family, clan and group. In addressing the complex clan conflict therefore, efforts must begin at the grassroots level of a defined geographical territory. Somali families, clans and lineage with common concerns and interests should be brought together repeatedly and over time to have meaningful deliberations and dialogues over what type of future they desire and how to approach it. The unification between the governments of Somalia and Somaliland will be greatly improved through speedy effort of the international community and its external economic support, buttressed by political collaboration on both sides. Political flexibility rather than primordial approach to unity issues are important for various stakeholders to have long term commitment and for the international community to sustain their support for any effort at implementing reconciliation processes at the national level. The current AU/ UN Peacekeeping forces stationed in Somalia are outnumbered by the cases of skirmishes in different locations. The international agencies, particularly, the UN and African Union will do well to deploy peacekeepers to the country with a clear mandate to make peace. This approach will help the Somali Transitional Federal Government and the international partners to help create the enabling environment for local people to participate in the reconciliation process. The Peacekeepers will also serve as deterrent to militia and other non-conformists. Peace process and its advancement are incomplete without disarmament. While inter-communal conflict thrived, the country was awash with weapons. In the absence of any central authority, fighting prevailed in many areas, and localized war economy became endemic. More than 100,000 weapons, left-over from the Cold War, fell into the hands of Somali teenagers who formed factions and counter-factions killing, looting, slaughtering livestock, and plundering crops as fighting raged across the clans. Effective implementation mechanism for long-standing embargo on sale of arms to Somalia must be supported. Consistent and proactive initiatives are needed to disarm the Somali youth and initiate empowerment programs aimed at enlightenment and economic reliance. Massive youth employment programmes should be embraced, to reduce in a large scale youth participation in conflicts. This was achieved to a great extent in Sierra Leone. The International Development Community based in Kenya also needs to do more to cultivate a sense of confidence and security in Somalia and the international community. I endorse the belief that the efforts of the international community combined with other peace-building efforts within genuine framework of nation building, open and unbiased reconciliation processes, economic reconstruction and strengthening domestic market-place, political stability and inter-clan dialogue, a New Somalia will definitely emerge. This will not happen in a short-run but with a sense of commitment enduring perseverance and legitimate will-power a new Somalia will emerge and will be integrated fully into the community of nations. More importantly, there have been several intense conflicts that have been successfully resolved in Africa. They carry within them certain elements that could be instructive in our collective search for solutions. I refer in particular to the effective resolution of the Nigerian, Angolan and the Mozambique civil wars, the Rwanda and Burundi crises. At another level there are lessons to be learnt from the several initiatives and efforts that were deployed to ending the recent political crisis in Togo, the two Guineas and Kenya. There are aspects of the Sierra Leonean and Liberian crises that could provide a pointer. If these countries at the time of their crises have been labeled failed states and given no sufficient and consistent attention, they would have remained where they were then. As we seek to redouble our efforts at advancing the Somali peace process, as a prelude to economic and social programmes and progress, the international community should consider funding conferences on peace and reconciliation in Somalia bringing together Somali intellectuals, elders, women, professionals, youth and other bodies, with the aim to enable Somalis develop their own vision of a way forward in collaboration with genuine long staying international supporting efforts. Peace in the world must not be segregated, ranked nor based purely on consideration of affinity and contiguity. While speaking in Kingston Jamaica in 1991, I had reasons to point out that One of the best pictures of the planet Earth in all its beauty that has ever been produced was that taken from outer space. It shows earth as a tiny colourful ball surrounded by the darkness and emptiness of space. It is a beautiful picture, indivisible into racial segments. It is one world, our place of abode, from where we must remove the contradictions between love and hatred, poverty and plenty, war and peace, rich and poor, black and white, wasteful consumption and hunger. We have the means to form what that picture depicts into a beautiful, harmonious and near perfect world, we only need the will. [5] Liberia and Sierra Leonean conflicts may have had a different outcome if Nigeria did not commit itself in the way and manner it did. Peacekeeping forces may be an intervention force that must have the mandate to make peace which connotes intervening between combatants and warring armed forces, disarmament of militias and peace enforcement. If we are intervening and we are giving assurances and guarantees of safe conduct to combatants, we must be able to live up to our promises and guarantees. As we know nothing makes conduct of conflict resolution possible and enduring more than confidence in the agreements, assurances and guarantees given during the process particularly those given by the international community be it at the sub-regional continental or global level. My final point is that even if by whatever ill advised calculations we believe that Somalia does not add any significant resource to international trade, its strategic location to the world cannot by any mean be under rated.. Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, linking the world’s oil trade between the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Somalia serves as one of the strategic gateways to Africa. Hence, attention to the Somali resuscitation, reconstruction and development is paramount. Somalia in fact provides Africa a good example of how the power elites can forge a consensus on the remaking and reconstruction of a state. This is an opportunity we cannot and must not miss. Let me also add that one of the most easily accessible currencies at the height of any crisis or conflict is pessimism and loss of hope. If there is a gift I would like to leave the Somalis and the African people and share with the international community today as regards the Somali situation, it is the currency of hope and optimism. I take my inspiration from an old Somali proverb which goes thus: Rabbit, Rabbit where are you going? I am going to kill the elephant Rabbit, rabbit are you sure? I will try I will try I will try Ladies and gentlemen let us find the will and the way to try and make up for lost time. I thank you for your attention. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Immediate Past President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. [2] Obasanjo, Olusegun, Hope for Africa,(Ota:ALF Publ.:1994)p.30 [3] Current estimates according to Nobel Laurete economist, Joseph Glitz is put at about US$3trillion. [4] Rummel , R. J. , The Conflict Helix: Principles and Practices of Interpersonal, Social, and International Conflict and Cooperation ( New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1991 ) [5] Obasanjo (op.cit.)

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor ----

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor ---- This is something extra I found from the Report that I didn't know before. Criminal elements attacked and raped some IDPs fleeing from Mogadishu in March and April. In Somaliland there was an increase in gang rape in urban areas, primarily by youth gangs, members of police forces, and male students. Many of these cases occurred in poorer neighborhoods and among immigrants, refugee returnees, and rural displaced populations. Many cases were not reported.

^Read under the caption/subtitle of Human Rights reports. The report was released on March 2008 though it is based on the entire year of 2007. http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/doc.hm/200Somalia_2007_Country_Report_on_Human_Rights_Pr actices.shtml ---- This is something extra I found from the report that I didn't know before. Criminal elements attacked and raped some IDPs fleeing from Mogadishu in March and April. In Somaliland there was an increase in gang rape in urban areas, primarily by youth gangs, members of police forces, and male students. Many of these cases occurred in poorer neighborhoods and among immigrants, refugee returnees, and rural displaced populations. Many cases were not reported.

Secessionists called for the Banning of Ahmedou Abdallah from visiting Hargeisa. If every clan does the same thing, then where would the special envoy visit? Ban for Ahmedou

And Circular reasoning. lol

^As if people were blind of the use of religion as a political tool by the same drug-lord thugs and saint looters of the Deep South.

^You argument suffers from Illogical causality saxib.

^It is like Cade's soldiers killed. The Al-shayaadiin site considers Puntland as one of the fiefdoms in Somalia controlled by a hated warlord. Confusing article...

He was wrong, irrational and intrusive into other people's faith. If time was running out for him, all he could do was to pray in his seat and pray there without stopping the bus. It like praying while on a flight trip.

UN Envoy clashes with the Somali Diaspora Network By AbdiRazak Hashi Nuure April 6. 2008 The UN Special Envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, argued repeatedly with some members of the Somali Diaspora Network in a discussion meeting on Somalia, arranged by the US Institute of Peace, in Washington, D.C. This wrangle, which none of the two sides approached its objectives, centered the reason behind the current Ethiopian occupation in Somalia and the best way to deal with it and to end its ongoing brutality. The UN envoy, who was alternately questioned about the Ethiopian presence in Somalia, insisted that “if the Somali people were united under one form of government, there wouldn’t be a room for the invader”, the Ethiopian regime. The members of the Somali Diaspora Network, who were aggressively discussing with this veteran diplomat on this very complicated issue, were then hobbled down the discussion hall by this legitimate point of view. There is no doubt that Ambassador Ould-Abdallah pinpointed vigorously one of the main causes of the Somali agonies—the everlasting division among the Somali people, here in the Diaspora and in Somalia, which undermined many efforts to stabilize the country. However, it is also undeniable that the long-standing Ethiopian interference in Somalia and the indifference of the Security Council about the gradually worsening situation over the past seventeen years had led Somalia to destruction, genocide, and the rule of the warlords. Somalia, which is a member of the United Nation body, was, in fact, disowned in a very miserable way and forgotten in an abyss of a dark well by both its people and the International Community. Somali people were punished collectively, perhaps, for an act which a handful of its citizens engaged in the early of 1990s; that was the killing and then humiliating the UN/US peace keeping forces in Mogadishu, and subsequently, the UN mission in Somalia vanished in to thin air. The Security Council’s continues obstinate refusal for sending peace keeping forces—again—to Somalia has itself fuelled resentment among the Somali people and prevented any successful resolution to the crisis. This negligence of the Security Council, I believe, is a pure guesswork based on the assumption that Somali peacemaking process should come from first the unwanted political reconciliation between the warring factions in the country. According to the Reuters, back in June, 2007, the British ambassador to the UN, Jones Pary, told the reporters that the International Community supports the Somali government, but expects political progress before considering sending troops to Somalia. Contrarily, the French foreign minister, Bernrd Kouchnes told the AFP, a month later, after having a meeting with Ali Ghedi, the ousted Somali prime minister, that the UN should urgently send a peace force to Somalia, where he suggested such a deployment would be even easier than Sudan’s Darfur region. As this contradictory gesture politics from two veteran permanent members of the United Nation Security Council was for show, the Human Right Watch group was calling on the council to protect Somali civilians from the indiscriminate shelling by the Ethiopian military machine in the heavily residential areas of Mogadishu. But, as usual, the Security Council adapted another resolution for Somalia in which the council, instead of addressing the real issue on the ground and the calls for the civilian protection, urged the TFG and other parties in Somalia “to respect the conclusion of the National Reconciliation Congress” in Mogadishu; a completely fabricated conference—intended for both political agenda and habituated panhandling—led by the most prominent Somali warlord and one of the founding individuals of the Somalia’s endless destruction, Ali Mahdi Mohamed. It has been a common policy, however, for some of the main permanent members of the UN Security Council to show favoritism towards the viewpoint of Addis regime. This regime confidentially labels Somalia as a real battle ground for terrorism. This kind of policy, unfortunately, enabled the Ethiopian regime to conduct human rights abuses in the region and to execute its hidden agenda against Somali people in ****** (Somali Region in Ethiopia) and in the Republic of Somalia. Finally, speaking with VOA in December last year, Tom Porteous of the Human Rights Watch, described the situation in Somalia and in the Somali region in Ethiopia in the following paragraph: “For one thing, the crisis has been taking place without anyone even sort of acknowledging the grave violations that are associated with the crisis. And I think that to start with the members of the Security Council should really take note and make it clear that they understand what’s going on and condemn all sides for the human rights abuses that are fueling the crisis in Somalia and in the ****** region,” he says. By AbdiRazak H. Nuure -------------------

Hadraawi is not a psycho poet but the Shakespeare of Somali literature. c'mon girl! He is poet, scholar, macalin, a pundit.

Jacaylbaro, there is a difference between news and opinion. These are official reports.

Ethiopia is a scapegoat for them. They believe that the south belongs to the saint looters and occupiers from Galgaduud.

Somalipride, stop being an exclusivist. The topic is open for any person willing to add his two cents. A change of leadership is what Puntland needs.