. This is my reaction to this topic being revived 15 years later. Also, after all these years I have to say it is very amusing to see the same characters on here still not accepting the reality on the ground that is Somaliland. Since 2007 Somaliland has been doing nothing but WINNING against those who seem to want her downfall. Yet the naysayers are still as delusional as ever. Carry on....

Dhagax tur is on the money about the south just being more complicated and likely Somaliland having an easier time because we are more homogeneous (not necessearilly in terms of tribe but also culture and ethnicity). At the same time it doesn't completely negate the point Xaaji made about the USC leadership having a window of opportunity when power was centralized. If the USC managed to make an agreement between themselves and in those days, there is no reason to believe there wouldn't be a more lasting peace today. Post Siad Barre government, power was very much centralized in the hands of the USC. Even if the former regime threw a wrench in those plans with Pawns like Ali Mahdi, the fact remains they still failed miserably and that group of people had a common tribe and culture etc.. in other words the diversity of the south had no bearing on their self-implosion. The second point of difference between north-south that I think people appreciate a little less in a historical context, is the differing war experiences. The worst days for the Northern people was the fighting that occured in the late 80's early 90's against the former government and not the mid-90's short lived inter-tribal battles that took place after the collapse of the Barre dictatorship. That's why it was easier to make peace amongst the various peoples of Somaliland and call for comprehensive peace agreements. On the flip side in the south, what happened after the fall of the regime of Siad Barre was far worse than the fighthing and bloodshed that took him out of power. I think the collapse of the regime in the south came too swiftly for southerners and when inter-tribal fighthing started, there was no common past struggle, suffering and solidarity to really look back on in order to really appreciate the cost of peace (unlike in Somaliland). As for the REAL subject at hand I didn't know an old man swimming in the sea was worthy of papparazi style news coverage on SOL If a push-up contest broke out between Siilanyo and Alpha blondy, my money is on Siilanyo all day.

Kaluun;989325 wrote: We made Silanyo. Think about it. If we didn't give him shelter the day he deserted Barre, the Kacaan would have went after him in London. Plus the mission of SNM would not have been achieved if you lot were still in Saudia and London. The Arabs would have flashed you out from Jeddah and the British would do little for the few men in Cardiff. Silanyo and SNM all made the gains because of Ethiopia and SL remains Ethiopian creation. We can flip the page today and replace Silanyo if we want. All we need to do is close Wajale road, suspend Ethiopian, recall the one man-office from Hargeisa and the locals will upraise against Silanyo due to economic depression; no port, no khat, no travelling, nothing, no passports, no meeting foreign diplomats in Addis...UN. Whats plan b? Meanwhile Ato Silanyo greeting the people we fight for not radical salafists who hate Ethiopia. Your posts make no sense. Yesterday you were talking like a Somalilander, today your talking like an Ethio citizen. You can't decide if your coming or going. If you really are an Ethiopian like your latest post would suggest, than you need not worry yourself too much with Somaliland's presidency or its flag or its renegade movements. I know sun strokes from the hawd desert are known to cause confusion at times, but this is becoming a theatre of the absurd. Tomorrow when the Liyu police smacks your family around you will come beg Siilanyo to intervene with the Ethiopian government seing as how you folks wield no influence with your own government. So my suggestion is to speak like a dignified somali man when you talk about your elders especially mujahiids that you claim to hold in high esteem like president Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud. Do not trouble yourself too much with the make up of our flag, be content with the Ethiopian colors and most importantly please make some sense when you write.

In 2006 and 2007 in the face of an ethiopian invasion and the loss of thousands of somali lives, the so-called 'peace caravan' was in full swing according to the starter of this thread and others in this forum. In Somalia's darkest hour (No Ethiopian army had ever in history invaded a somali capital) these same folks would have us believe that the only way forward for somali 'unity' was for all somalis to 'join' the best hope for a settled peace agreement which according to them was represented by that 'dove' and great uniter of people named Abdulahi Yusuf. A rational human being would ask if these people are insane, but hey that's all in the past. Fast forward a few years and the biggest threat to peace is no longer an ethiopian invasion but a terrorist group. That group is on the run and almost completely whipped out, the capital has returned to some form of peace for the first time since the short lived period of the ICU and unparalleled growth in local business and real estate development has begun. Logically speaking, this might actually present a great opportunity for uniting people and spreading peace and some form of central governance. But, the 'peace-caravaners' no better so hold that thought, you see they don't like the man in charge at the moment and no matter what the situation on the ground, only 'peace-caravaners' decide when and where the country should unite. You should all hide your faces in shame and despair for Somalia, the 'peace-caravan' has been destroyed, all is lost.

OdaySomali;981482 wrote: I get his message and the points he is putting across (namely those listed below). But I do not think that the NYT is the best platform to reach the SFG (if he genuinly wants the issues he has raised to be resolved) nor can I see why he seeks to dismiss any positive [media] coverage credit that the government has received. His valid substantive points have been drowned out by the negativity, dismisiveness and the hearsay he has included in his article. ^That paragraph sums up what I saw in this article. Mr.Nurudin Farah being an 'intellectual' doesn't want to be seen as another petty tribal commentator the likes of which he described earlier in the article. Yet, you have to ask yourself why include hear say and unsubstantiated accusations? shouldn't someone of his caliber know better? Being the president of Somalia in my humble opinion is the most difficult job on the face of the planet. Yet, overall the situation in Somalia has steadly improved with the occasional set back. Coming in to office did anyone really expect anymore than what President Mohamud has done thus far? if you did, than I dare say you have little appreciation for the difficulty and unpredictable nature of the job this man was given. So what is the most substantial criticism Nuradiin Farah has been able to throw at a man who constantly faces death from a extremist group and who inherited the worlds only failed state plagued by war and famine? Well, that he didn't overturn the judiciaries decision in one particular murder case of 2 NGO workers by one particular individual. No offense to the victims of that crime or their families nor do I want to diminish these crimes, but is Nurudiin Farah serious? or does he have another agenda by going to a major western publishing like the NYT?

GAROODI;975658 wrote: They say judge a man by his character and not his appearance. If good looks won wars your people would still lose uchi and would still come last. That merciless scortching sun of Bari region no wonder your obsessed with Jubinka. lmao Af mishar waxiid

nuune;975195 wrote: Good points Lander , not just Saudis but Qataris as well, today the Arab League met in Cairo, and approved a military action, giving the West the go ahead, similar go ahead in Libya we have seen in the past, the West already arguing that the Arab nations justified military action and action will take place in the coming days, referring to today's Arab League, so any excuse is needed, even from the weak Arab League. Negotiations can't take place when the one's who want to sit down with the government are given millions of dollars not to do so. ^ Good Point on Qatar too. I wonder sometimes if they see this all as a competitive game (KSA and Qatar).

Saalax;975183 wrote: It is in Sool not Burco. ^ The mistake was likely deliberate. The thinking is Garowe Online can single handedly tarnish the image of Somaliland, they have a readership of 30 million Puntlanders world wide and 60 million twitter followers according to the Puntland Department of Statistics. Allah ha u naxaristo dadka dhiintay.

nuune;975166 wrote: ^ It is easy to end the conflict, and it is being agreed by both parties in the conflict to come together and end the civil war, but who is against this, the West is not allowing that to happen for Syrians to sit down and resolve their difference. How many times we have heard that the Rebels were ready to sit down with the government, even inside Damascus, even the Rebels are tired of this long conflict, they thought a similar Libya will happen, but it dragged, Libya did not have an army, while Syria does have armed forced. What happen to the groups of oppositions who were planning to come to Damascus for talks, the head of the rebels who was supposed to take part in the talks was killed while trying to cross into Syria from Turkey for accepting the talks, the government was ready to share and listen to the concerns of the rebels. It is not wise to compare nations to other nations, in this case, Kosovo to Syria, or Libya to Syria, this is not Kosovo, this is a dangerous territory, the talk of Kosovo has being used by the West as an example to attack Syria, and the West Media has indeed planted Kosovo in the minds of many! It is true that a negotiated peace is always preferable but I just don't think its so 'easy' to attain it. If that was the case it would have already taken place. It gets tiresome to hear people blame the west for everything. If you look at this conflict in Syria Saudi Arabia has played a huge role just like they have in the Egyptian military coup. These are arabs fanning the flames of war among other arabs. The worst part in all of this is the Saudi regime has no consistent values aside from 1) Assuring the survival of their regime and 2)Spreading their influence where ever possible. The evidence? In the case of Syria they heavily support Sunni religious factions against what they see as an Alawite regime that is too cozy with Iran and in the case of Egypt they support a military dictatorship to the tune of 12.5 Billion dollars they recently announced (more than 10 times the yearly US military aid 1.5 B) against the Islamic brotherhood that was democraticly elected. The US at least has some debate as to whom they should support, where, when, how and why. You've got republic politicians like John McCain proclaiming 'Our values are a our principles and our principles are our values' in response to the egyptian coup which he does not favor overthrowing a democratically elected government but favored cutting off military aid to the egyptian army. They've attempted to also mediate for peace between the egyptians, what exactly has Saudi Arabia done? aside from providing the Egyptian generals with a blank cheque. Nothing is so black and white anymore.

nuune;975096 wrote: Lander , what makes you think a US action will not prolong the situation, in your own logic, you think a US action will reduce the suffering, Allow Amuuraha Sahal mar hadiiba xaalku noqdey in saas loo hadlo! Kosovo is one such example, where US(NATO) action was key to ending the conflict. How do you see this conflict though? what do you think is a good course of action?

nuune;975068 wrote: - Warplanes and military transporters have begun arriving at Britain's Akrotiri airbase on Cyprus, less than 100 miles from the Syrian coast, in a sign of increasing preparations for a military strike against the Assad regime in Syria. - Residents near the British airfield, a sovereign base since 1960, also say activity there has been much higher than normal over the past 48 hours. - The Syrian Air Force is strong, and missiles fired from the sea is likely to be intercepted by the Syrian Army, they have enough interceptors at their disposal. - The French warplanes arrived in Jordan. Nuune, I hope you don't really believe what you said about the Syrian government and its air defense. Yes they did receive a new system from the Russians but let's not kid ourselves the US will have an easy time establishing air supremacy. Whatever opinion you have of passed US actions the Syrian civil war needs to come to a decisive end. Any prolonging of this fight will continue to cost more lives and suffering. Now that chemical weapons are involved somebody has to do something. If that somebody is the US than so be it. P.S. The whole timing of chemical weapons use and the uncertainty about who actually deployed them is very strange nonetheless, it doesn't change the situation on the ground.

^If Dahir Riiyale oversaw your imprisonment from date X to Y and was responsible for tying your testicles up with metal objects and you can no longer father children today, than by all means bring a case forth against him I'm sure you will receive alot of support. But that is highly unlikely isn't? You have an issue with War criminals being brought to justice, this Magan character is likely your tribal 'uncle' and your objecting for that reason. That is more likely isn't?

Cambuulo iyo bun;974291 wrote: Lol@gabiley state are y'all crazy SM are hardcore landers iyagaba keeney fikradda goosashada ha la yaabin ciiyal xafada, they will say anything. They come from a enclave where telling foolish lies and taking fake accolades like 'Doctorhebel' and 'Engineer hebel' are national past times.

Dad iska hadal u yimii meesha aya forum kan ka buxa. Someone posted this in a juvenile attempt to stem discord among Somalilanders. Here are a couple of Facts you should consider before you start yapping about military presence, first the chief of staff of the Armed forces (i.e. the top general) is from this said clan and so were the two previous Chief of staffs before him as well as most of the generals in western Somaliland. So unless want to make some type of moronic argument about how the army chiefs are trying to harm their own kin, let's put that to rest. Second fact, Kulmiye party drew alot of support from these folks in the last elections and they have alot to do with Siilanyo being in power today. Back to the topic though, I've said this before and I'll say it again, I don't find these types of tribal meetings to be productive or useful but counter-productive, they go against the progress made towards a post-tribal society in Somaliland. Democracy in large part has enabled us and even forced us to cooperate amongst each other without over relying on kinship and tribal ties and I feel these are just reviving old traditions that maybe should be left in the past. A couple years ago when one of the tribes held such a meeting in Sanaag I was afraid it might motivate others to do the same and it looks like it has. I don't know what's with the media attention but I hope this meeting doesn't get too many high profile attendees from the SMs and this type of stuff doesn't continue to be replicated by others. Frankly speaking I'm embarassed this meeting is being held.

kickz;970220 wrote: There are 10 times more Pakistanis than there are Somalis. I think its a bit more than 10x but def in the ball park. Please don't start making too much sense though, somalis don't like that. It's all about hyping up and making pointless comparisons.