Road to Muqdishu is paved with many Mishaps: It is not too late to fix them. March 30,2005 Since the establishment of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in October 2004, headed by president Cabdullahi Yuusuf Ahmed (who was elected by a stunning75% of the parliament) and Prime Minister Geedi, the road to Muqdishu has been pretty tough, if not impossible. Moreover, the hope of sustaining the TFG for the coming five years is seriously in jeopardy. A series of mounting pressures and missteps have contributed to the deterioration of the situation. First and foremost, the United States' position on the question of foreign troops as peackeepers in Somalia has totally undermined the TFG position. The Nairobi based U.S Ambassador's position that the fledgling TFG does not need any foreign troops, hence opposing any deployment of such troops by the African Union (AU) indeed had bolstered the confidence of Muqdishu based warlords. It was after this premature speculation on the part of the United States, which is secretly negotiating with the authorities in Hargeysa for the use of Berbera port, that Yalaxow and Caato, two unreconstructed warlords in collaboration with the so called Islamic courts militia, began a campaign of overt sabotage of the TFG. The second factor that undermined the efforts of the TFG was the position that Matt Bryden of the International Crisis Group (ICG) took, which also painted an apocalyptic picture in the event that foreign troops enter Somalia. This too did not help Somalia's fragile conditions to the advantage of the TFG. By misusing the clout of a well funded western Non Governmental Organization (NGO), a non-elected western individual once again caused a serious tremor to a peace process that hundreds, if not thousands, of Somali elders, intellectuals and peace groups labored so hard for several years. The ostensible lack of knowledge in parliamentary processes on the part of the speaker of the house of the transitional legislators, Shariif Hassan, obviously inflamed what could have otherwise been resolved in a civil manner. Irrespective of the shortcomings of the government's insistence on bringing foreign troops to pacify Muqdishu, the nation and the world at large should never have heard the speaker of a parliament encouraging one combatant side against another in an open brawl as has the case been with this speaker. It is was the ultimate picture, as in a picture is worth of one thousand words, of a country so helplessly divided! All these events have contributed to Muqdishu warlords to openly and violently challenge the TFG in its efforts to move not only to Muqdishu , but other neighboring cities. A case in point is the ongoing war in Baydhabo that is a proxy war between forces that would have accommodated the TFG or parts of it in that city and Muqdishu warlords as represented by their boldest client, warlord Indhacade and his bandits The TFG must own some of the blame concerning the deterioration of the situation. First of all, the government has completely lost the propaganda war on the issue of the nature of the deployment of foreign troops. The leadership in the president's cabinet did not respond early on either to the Nairobi based US Ambassador's premature comment on what was the unified [official] position of the African Union (AU) or the self-promoting head of the Horn of Africa desk of the ICG. It in fact did not respond to either comment, up to the present day. To undermine the US comment, the government must have put out to the public that this very same Ambassador is spearheading the US effort to secretly negotiate with Hargaysa authorities for the right to use Barbera base. This would have created a credible doubt in minds of all as to the real intent of the US Ambassador's comment on the fragile peace in the rest of the country. Prime Minster Geedi did not take timely, decisive and effective actions against those cabinet members who openly crossed him and his president. How else does he (or the president) expect to keep the flock in line when each and every one lashes against the administration without impunity? This represents a serious lack of leadership at the top, for a government that does not win the hearts and minds of its own cabinet is a far cry from wining those of the broad masses of the society that is often divided. Furthermore, the TFG should have early on modified its initial commitment to the deployment of Ethiopian troops once it saw that the reality on the ground had changed. The Ethiopian factor has become a pretext for any group or warlord that wants to derail the TFG move back to Muqdishu. Knowing how Ethiopian troops deployment could be sensitive and the fact that the Somali National State under Ethiopian rule is currently subject to an unprecedented land grabbing policy (where Somalis are poised to loose one third of their land to the Oromos in a well orchestrated, yet sham plebiscite), the president and his prime Minister must have modified their position on the issue of frontline [Ethiopian] troops right away. To arrest further deterioration of the situation and keep hope alive, Wardheernews recommends the following: • Protest and forward a stern warning to the US Ambassador in Nairobi and advise him to refrain in the future from dipping his mouth in to the fragile affairs of their country without early consultation with the leaders of the TFG. • Fire all those cabinet members who are not in line with the TFG policy, starting with the most notorious warlords. • Modify the TFG position visa-vi frontline states troops deployment, particularly those from Ethiopia. It is time the leadership of the TFG appreciates the gravity of the Ethiopian factor and how it is used as a pretext for recalcitrant warlord's propaganda. • The TFG must make its viewpoint on important issues known to the public at large and seek that very same coalition that gave the president the unprecedented wining votes of 75% of the parliament. This wining was tantamount to a total mandate given to the president by the parliament and the citizens inside the country at large and must not be wasted. • The president and the prime Minister must surround themselves not with their kinsmen, as it appears now, but with professional advisors who can turn the current tide around. The editorial board of Wardheernews takes the above position on the current affairs of the country with the full recognition that the peace process that has been hatched up in Kenya is more important than individual clan leaders and politicians. This process must therefore be fixed and rescued by any means necessary. Wardheernews Editorial

why are you telling us some people charged with theft.

Wiil-duco, Respond not sarcastically.

Actually, the population of Gedo is sparse while the mortality rate is high. The United nations' last report says on Gedo region, people of riverine areas and Baydhabo predominate in number. But the topic is not selective on one group. Do not miscomprehend the inherent point.

SOMALIA: AFRICA'S PROBLEM CHILD? By: Prof. Said S.Samatar March 29, 2005 Editors' note: Following is part 1 of a 4 parts article that Professor Said Samatar wrote on Somalia's problems some years ago. The editors of Wardheernews believe that his characterization of Somalia's problems is more relevant today than any other time. This article will be posted in four parts. Professor Samatar makes a strong argument that Somalia is a problem child of Africa. It may as well be the problem child of the world. Memory seduces the mind , naively believing as it does in the notion of the good old days, when in fact there never have been any such. Still, remembering Somalis (of whom there may not be many) surely must lament the loss of their nationhood along with their dignity and, consequently, their becoming the laughingstock of the world; for statelessness and anarchy have become the synonym of the word Somali. Although the modern outlook ranks statelessness the most primitive state of human existence, who, one could reasonably ask, says a human community must exist in a state in order to have happiness and dignity? Still, the urge to belong to a national community, to have a state, a flag, a passport and a corner of the earth remains a universal longing, and those who lack these are invariably the object of universal scorn. Thus it may be that the yearning for respect and for collective self-esteem must prompt members of the Somali elite to remember the past, the idyllic yesterday when theirs was counted a nation among the community of nations. To judge, though, by the mutually brutalizing behavior of this same elite in the preceding dozen years, run-away selfishness, blind, unthinking individualism and unbridled, galloping greed stand in the way of the dream for the restoration of the national state ever being realized. Practically each and everyone of the estimated five to seven million Somalis is, in his inflamed ambition, inflexibly bent on having the top job in the country, namely the presidency, and if he cannot have it, he will not hesitate to visit ruination on everyone, including immediate members of his own kin. Thus did Siad Barre used to boast: "When I am finally forced to relinquish power, there will be no nation left to govern." In other words, he had decided long beforehand that when the time of his final removal came, he would ensure the ruin of it all. How truly and perfectly he lived up to his word! Thus did General Mohammed F. Aydiid add a new proverb to Somali lore: "Cadyahow ama ku cunay ama ku ciideeyey," "O, thou beautiful cut of meat (meaning the national state), either I will eat you all by myself or I will ensure to soil you in the dirt so that no other can have you." He died in the attempt of eating it all alone. The winner, hands down, though, of the dubious distinction of unyielding greed must be the elder Ali Geedi Shadoor, a parliamentarian and a wily-deal-maker during the civilian administrations. (More of him shortly). On the eve of the 1969 election, General Abshir of the police force and General Barre of the military were called upon by the Abdirashiid-Igaal government to detail the police and military units that would oversee and enforce the rigging of the election. Rather than consent, Abshir felt decency-bound to refuse. He resigned honorably rather than soil his hands in the blood of fellow Somalis, since the stealing of the election must necessarily have involved the violent suppression of the cheated. Mr. Barre, on the other hand, went along with the shady scheme with alacrity and enthusiasm. (It may be pointed out in passing that the participation in this crime catapulted Siad Barre to the seizure and tenure of absolute power for twenty-two years, while Abshir's honest conscience and moral probity landed him in solitary confinement for ten solid years. Such are the baffling ways of the curmudgeon called Allah!) In this election Shadoor's seat was in jeopardy because his opponent, belonging to a rival faction of Shadoor’s clan, was out to garner more votes. Conveniently, Mr. Barre lent a helping hand by eagerly providing a military unit commanded by Lieutenant Mohammed Shadoor, the son of the elder Shadoor. The opponent was detained under trumped-up charges during the election, and so he lost; whereupon the opponent's close kin felt outraged by this bold-faced fraud and plunged a knife in the lieutenant's stomach, stabbing him to death. A messenger was sent post haste to Mogadishu to bring Mr. Shadoor the news of his son's demise. The messenger arrived with a heavy heart, terrified of the legendarily irascible old man's reaction upon receipt of the unwelcome news. "Mr. Shadoor," the bearer of bad tidings is alleged to have said, "I have good news and I have bad." "Before telling either news," Shadoor interrupted impatiently, "I want to know whether the seat is secured." "Yes," said the messenger, "The seat is secured. And that is the good news. "The bad news, though," he continued, "is that your son has been stabbed to death while protecting your seat." The old man jovially dismissed the trembling messenger with the rider: "As long as the seat is secure, no problem. I cannot afford to lose the seat, but I can afford to lose the son, because I can always make another son." Can anyone imagine what kind of society it is that a father would casually and gladly sacrifice his son for a seat in parliament! The insane greed of it all must indeed be sobering to any Somali, if he/she thinks at all. AN APOLOGY TO MESFIN WOLDE-MARIAM To return to the business of memory, some thirty years ago, shortly after the Ethio-Somali war over the Ogad1nya , an Ethiopian scholar, Mesfin Wolde-Mariam, put out a work entitled: Somalia: the Problem Child of Africa. The title serves to indicate the savagery and incivility of the attack: among other intemperate vituperative flings, Somalis are lambasted as latter-day Hitlerians. Moved equally by an urge to justly set the record straight and by a nationalistic itch for my then beloved Somalia, I attempted a counterattack, which was published in a book on African boundary problems. I chided Mesfin for lapsing into an unedifying name-calling, a deplorable yelp that was unworthy of his established reputation as a scholar of considerable erudition, integrity and intellectual reach. The chiding may be worth reproducing: That the Horn of Africa is in the grip of a deadly dilemma may be gauged from the fact that Ethiopia's latest official response to Somali grievance is... a shrill diatribe in which the Somali are berated, among other things, as "tough-minded criminals" and "obsess[ed] freaks." The alleged author of this sad tract is none other than Mesfin Wolde-Mariam, a man of considerable intelligence and erudition who had put out an earlier monograph on the Ethio-Somali conflict in 1964. Though written from the Ethiopian standpoint at a time when the two countries had fought a nasty little war and were consequently trading mutual abuse and insults through the radio and press, the earlier work nevertheless commends itself for its tone of restraint and even, on occasion, bold and constructive ideas. One therefore wonders what impelled the previously temperate and reasonable Mesfin to produce the the ranting hysteria of the later pamphlet's date and place of publication: 1997 (Addis Ababa). The Addis Ababa of that year was not a place for temperate or cool heads. It was then that a brutal military junta known as the Dergue, in a bid to foist its legitimacy on Ethiopia, unleashed the the notorious "Red Terror" in which, according to Amnesty International, Ethiopians perished by the thousands. Although no section of society was spared during these frenzied massacres, it was the Ethiopian intelligentsia who particularly suffered, subjected as they were to repeated Stalinist-type purges. It is the good fortune of the Horn that Mesfin survived, even if as a price for his survival he may have been forced to put his name to a compromising tract. More than thirty years later and the sinking of Somalia into the dunes of the Horn, I write this expressly to apologize to Professor Mesfin whose judgement of the Somalis as a nation turned out to be remarkably prescient and to the point. Somalia did indeed prove to be the problem child of Africa. Professor Mesfin can take little comfort from this, though, for Ethiopia itself today, riven by ethnic conflict and regional antagonism, seems to be lurching heedlessly towards Somalia's fate. Said Samatar New Jersey

In a country where its withdrawal from the union with Somalia is based on the atrocities committed against its people, intimidating journalists, civil societies and human rights organizations might not seem the most sensible policy – yet that's exactly the tack taken by the current administration of Somaliland in its agressive campaign against the free press, the opposition groups, the civic organizations, individual citizens. hmm, I haven't been following the politics of North Western Somalia , these developments raise your eyebrows, however.

Originally posted by OG_Girl: Just tell me what is so important about Mogadishu to me if Ethiopian got there or not when Ethioian are in our streets in ever corner of our region?..I sound Evil but atleast I have to explain my point.What you expect from me when you all dancing for Ethiopians , some of you call they are your elder brothers or worse some call they are your blood . Ethiopian are my Enemy period and wont be my friend even in million years from now!!! We got our share of fighting since Ahmed Gurey to Abdallah Hassan Salam OG, Mogadisho has always been our central city. To tell you the truth, The struggle of Zone five was spearheaded by group of nationalist Somalis including Mohammed Abdulle Hassan and Ahmed Guran. Though their resistance to colonials wasn't objectively to acheive the independency of Zone five, they fought for all of Somalis and partially, they have attained that goal. Our flag has a star, as you know, the star has five zigzag-like sections. They reflect our regions sis, the ones illegally occupied and the ones free. Zone five is part of our flag and we will , no matter which time, regain the control of both zone five and NFD. Remember, the prolific author, Nuruddin Farah, though his books are rarely of politics, he nevertheless writes not because of the secession of Zone five from Somalia, but the independency of it that would later make it join Somalia. His trilogy, "Varitions of the theme of political dictatorship in Africa" stand as a buttress of his nationalistic views and how much he struggles to rid of our people of the tyrannical rule that corrupted their mentality. Hence, We are one sis and we share the grievance with our brothers in zone five. To dismember our society and make them appear like two seperate unequal societies is retrogressive.

From Hope to an Inferno: Riyaale Administration Crushes Press Freedom and Democracy Ahmed A. Hassan March 29, 2005 In a country where its withdrawal from the union with Somalia is based on the atrocities committed against its people, intimidating journalists, civil societies and human rights organizations might not seem the most sensible policy – yet that's exactly the tack taken by the current administration of Somaliland in its agressive campaign against the free press, the opposition groups, the civic organizations, individual citizens. The year 2004 will go down in history as a negative spot in the fragile democratic process of Somaliland and this year is not fairing any better so far. The level at which human rights abuses were orchestrated and meted out to civilians whether they were groups or individuals whose only activities were exercising their rights by the security forces through out the duration of the last two years is glaring. In 2004, the government arrested journalists, lawyers and withdrew the license of a legitimate NGO and threatened others. The administration also denied the appointment of Mr. Mohamed Hashi Elmi to the electoral commission simply because he was very vocal of the gross mismanagement and corruption of the state. In Riyaale's administration, impunity has also become the central problem in Somaliland where state actors and law enforcement agencies commit widespread human rights violations without being brought to justice. To date, police officers that were accused of serious crimes such as rape and torture are still doing police work without any investigation into the allegations leveled against them. And unless this cycle of impunity can be broken human rights abuses will continue unchecked and victims and their families will not see justice. However, the attitude of the administration, when questioned about mal administration, always resembles that of the bandits who tried to pass themselves off as lawmen in the Humphrey Bogart film “ the treasure of Siera Madre.†Asked to show their badges, they replied, badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges!†Similarly, the Riyaale administration's response always seems to be “abuse of power? We ain't got no abuse of power? We don't need to do no stinking thing about abuse of power! Despite the government's denial, the problems that the country is facing are formidable. To day, finding bad news about Somaliland is easy: the press brims with stories of its travails. Of all, institutionalized corruption and misadministration pose a major threat to the stability of Somaliland . And now the dismissal and the arrest of two journalists are once again in the headlines of the international news media. What is Wrong With The Riyaale Administration to Behave This Way? It seems the ruling party is extremely worried and insecure about whether it will hold on to power. The administration failed to organize the long awaited parliamentary elections and press freedom in Somaliland . As a result freedom of expression continues to suffer. Particularly the situation of press freedom in Somaliland remains alarming as the administration's control over the media, particularly broadcast media is rigid. Moreover, this administration, just like most unrepresentative democracies, feels that it has not earned all the legitimacy it needed to run the country efficiently with a degree of confidence. This feeling is rooted in the history of Somaliland where Riyaale as an individual fits that history. He was on the wrong side of that history and so are most of his loyalists in his administration. This history and Riyaale's place, therefore, generate two contending forces. One, for he does not see himself as legitimate as, say the late Egal, he often plays politics of confrontation. And it is this confrontation that leads him to take drastic measures against small acts performed within the limits of free press and the right to descent. But another problem is that a lot of the opposition groups and the elite in general do not respect him as a martyr and as a hero of what Somalilanders call â€the second liberation†from the Barre rule of Somalia. This bold opposition groups usually take actions that naturally belittle him and in return invokes his militarist and ugly side. The combination of these two hardened attitudes crash more and lead Riyaale to take extra-judicial measures that are outside the norm of democratic rule. Due to the conflict between opposition that does not respect Riyaale and a ruler that has a militaristic tendency, opposition in Somaliland is on the verge of going underground and to wage a war of insurgency. The recent emergence of what Riyaale administration considers a clandestine radio stations that is heard in Hargeysa and through out Somaliland , reminiscent of the SNM days, is a case in point. The BBC Somali program has run an excerpt of a poem of what sounded a typical insurgency Hadrawi poem and this is telling the distance between the opposition and the administration. Ultimately, Riyaale is reverting back to the only trade he has known, the military, ala the Barre way, to silence those whom he thinks disrespecting him. Monopoly of The Means of Communication And the Channels of Press The former secretary general of the U.N Boutros Boutros-Ghali said nearly a decade ago democratic processes “ channel competing interests into the arena's of discourse and provide means of compromise that can be respected by all people.†One of those of processes is free press. It is reported elsewhere that one of the cornerstones of democracy is a knowledgeable citizenry. Freedom of the press is therefore essential in a democracy. In fact, the media is the only means by which the governed can hold the administration accountable. In Somaliland , the administration does not allow ownership of any radio broadcast media. It has continued to insist for the past 10 years plus that the administration is in the process of drafting a press law and until then, ownership of private media is on hold. When is that going to be completed is any body's guess. However, what is clear is that the current government of Somaliland has no intention of opening broadcast media to private ownership. In the case of a pastoral society like citizens of Somaliland radio is the most important media that the people get their news from. De-monopolizing radio broadcast media is therefore a fundamental prerequisite for a functional democracy in Somaliland . The administration currently uses Radio Hargeysa and other state media to propagate propaganda and hate messages against the parliament, individuals and selected groups that the administration sees as a threat. This type of monopolizing the means of communication and the media by the government leads other groups to resort to other means of propagating their political viewpoints. And that is where the new grassroots, if you will, or the as the administration calls clandestine broadcasting of the opposition views, come in. On 22 nd of March 2005, on the orders of the infamous minister of interior Mr. Ismaaciil Aaden Cisman several police officers detained Mr. Ahmed Suleyman Dhuhul, a part time worker of Radio Hargeysa and took him to the headquarters of the CID. The Following day Hodo Ahmed Qarbooshe, another presenter and part-time employee of the same radio station was arrested. Both of them were fired from their job and were accused for working for Radio Horyaal, a new radio station based in London . They were both interrogated about their links with Radio Horyaal and were finally released when the president of the Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA) posted bail for them. The administration is abusing its authority as it has done in the past. The administration wants this action to have a chilling effect on independent reporting and free speech. In this case, as stated by Reporters Without Borders, the administration wanted to make “an example of the arrest of these two journalists and put Somaliland 's journalists on their guard, while trying to stifle a radio station they dislike by depriving it of local correspondents." Journalists should be able to report without fear or repercussions. Thomas Jefferson once said that he would rather have newspapers without government than governments without newspapers. A privately run radio station is essential for the free exchange of information and ideas in Somaliland . Press freedom is essential for democracy and multi-party system based governance. Ahmed A. Hassan Encinitas, California Source: Wardheernews

One of the shameful examples of this communications failure is the disastrous media strategy adapted by the Prime Ministers spokesman which was designed to bar the embryonic Somali media from the press releases he issued in the past. He foolishly thought that by punishing the Somali journalists collectively and rewarding foreign media handsomely he could silence the government’s critics. That strategy proved disastrous for the interim Somali government as Matt Bryden and his anti-Somali colleagues filled the role they vacated by feeding both the Somali and foreign media outlets with information hostile to the governments political and security agendas. Consequently, the “genie got out of the box†and the communications staff at the Prime Ministers office was incapacitated by their own mistakes and thus lost the control of the situation for weeks. This is one of the reasons why the destructive Mogadishu warlords ted the media in recent weeks. Excellent Point!!!

Here is the LINK, WARDHEERNEWS

Originally posted by OG_Girl: LoL,as we say this things for Somalis in Somalia .I have no business what so ever. My home is burning! My comment was about Somali women will sleep with these soldiers!But what ever foreign soldiers go to Somalia or not that is not my business and doesn't make any different for me!! Salam Og_Girl, you are indeed lost in the political game. It seems you are isolating yourself from Somalia> Whoever told you that your so called burning place is restricted to your name origin, they must be wrong . You need soul-searching of who you are.

Great News> thanks Duke Valentino

In two years, Abdiqasim had built multitude militia factions loyal to his cause and transitional government, who mostly identified with his clan. The creation of Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) and powerful Islamic organizations ensued as part of ongoing secret deals with different interests and faces. Like the “manifest destiny doctrine of 19th century,†He sought land expansion by aggressively investing in his tribesmen and allies with abundance of money that afforded them the purchase of modern munitions mounted on hundreds of pick-up trucks. They easily conquered the coastal and riverine localities south of Mogadishu. How much misery and horror his militias factions have inflicted on the local people of these areas stay limitless. True, What is now happening in Baidabo is a true example of these words. [ March 28, 2005, 04:45 PM: Message edited by: Admin ]

Latest news: the forces that shaked the serenity of Baiydhabo have been ousted while sustaining severe casualty according to reliable sources. Same as Las Anod. There is currently War raging in Hobyo between the two clans that inhabit that area and it hasn't yet stopped despite the continual peace making effort from the President.

Is The Government Loosing The Propaganda War? Bill Ainashe Friday, March 25 2005 Today the Kenyan Daily Nation newspaper reports: The Somali government is to move to Mogadishu in May, Cabinet minister John Koech said yesterday. The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU), in charge of the relocation, will have completed preparatory work for the government to go to Somalia. Next month, said Mr Koech, the Igad council of ministers will meet to “operationalise†the relocation. On its part, the transitional government, led by President Abdullahi Yusuf, would have completed its duty of “mechanisms of the physical†movement. Well, we have been here before haven’t we? And I must say that this is really getting very confusing for everyone. Why is everyone else talking about the Somali government’s relocation plans while the government itself is so silent about this issue? Who is in control here and who is setting the agenda of the Somali interim federal government? The Somali interim government seems, at least at the outset, that it is loosing the battle for the hearts and minds of the Somali people. Certainly, it is loosing the propaganda war at an alarming rate. The destructive tribal warlords are getting bolder by day with demands and political ultimatums. Indeed, they are now saying that their primary objective is to impeach Ali Gedi’s government and the president himself in an attempt to complete their illegal quest for total control of the interim Somali federal government. It important to remember, that only few days ago, President Museveni told us when the first batch of the African Union troops, primarily from Sudan and Uganda will be airlifted to Somalia. Soon after that IGAD Defense Ministers issued statement saying that no troops from the frontlines states will be dispatched to Somalia as peacekeepers thus securing a short lived propaganda “victory†for the destructive Mogadishu warlords and their accomplice, Matt Bryden who made a life long career on his pursuit of destroying the Somali Nation! Shortly, after that, and before that week even ended, we were told that Nigeria would be sending additional troops. It is worth noting that none of those fragmented critical pieces of information came from the Somali interim federal government directly. The question is then, why did the government go missing? I believe the reason for this confusion stems from the fact that the communication staff working both for the Prime Minister and President Abdullahi Yusuf have failed and failed miserably in the eyes of the Somali people and the world at large. Indeed, I was very relieved when Sifir; the communications director and presidential spokesman was fired few weeks ago. The Information Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mohamoud Abdullahi Sifir have never been loyal to President Abdullahi Yusuf and his government. He had his own political agenda and the President knew that he was not the best man for the job. However, I believe President Abdullahi Yusuf thought the perceived positive political impact of bringing someone from northern Somalia outweighed the potential damage Sifir could inflict upon the government. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the President was deceived by his political advisors. They ignorantly overlooked Sifir’s long record of disloyalty and political opportunism. It was not long time ago when Sifir was singing with the secessionist chorus in Hargaysa! Fortunately, in the end, the president realized that Sifir was not only unfit to be the presidential spokesman, but he was indeed undermining the president’s policy directives by colluding with the destructive Mogadishu warlords. Needless to say, everyone knows now exactly where Sifir’s political loyalty lays. Indeed, he is now one of the leading conspirers trying to destroy the Somali peace accord and thus plunge the country into further political instability and potentially a new bloody civil war. Obviously, Sifir and other warmongers have slim chance of succeeding with their misguided political objective, which is, to highjack the collective political will of the Somali people. However, he has undoubtedly inflicted serious damage upon the government’s image in recent months. The communications staff of the Prime Minister’s office is not doing any better either. Indeed, the people the Prime Minister surrounded himself as his communications staff are inexperienced political neophytes who know practically nothing about the intricacy of modern media spin. Instead of using the media as a tool to disseminate government’s policies, and as a means to reach out to the Somali people. They seem to be busy with damage control, which could have been avoided if they were smart enough in the first place. Unfortunately, these people seem to be in a goose-chase running after the media rather than leading the media and set the political agenda so that the collective interest of the Somali people takes precedence over Matt Bryden’s Bank accounts. It goes without saying that Matt Bryden achieved what he wanted; free publicity! Aden Nuux Dhuule of the BBC Somali service gave him the other day eight minutes free air time out of their usual thirty minute daily program! Indeed, Aden Nuux Dhuule read direct translation over the airwaves of what Mat Bryden’s International Crisis Manufacturing Group put out on their website without critically and objectively examining the arguments made! I could not help but kept asking “Ma’anaa waalan mise Cadan baa laga heesayaa?†How could this little and unelected man, accountable to nobody in Somalia exercise such enormous political power and incapacitate the entire Somali political establishment with his poisonous propaganda? One of the shameful examples of this communications failure is the disastrous media strategy adapted by the Prime Ministers spokesman which was designed to bar the embryonic Somali media from the press releases he issued in the past. He foolishly thought that by punishing the Somali journalists collectively and rewarding foreign media handsomely he could silence the government’s critics. That strategy proved disastrous for the interim Somali government as Matt Bryden and his anti-Somali colleagues filled the role they vacated by feeding both the Somali and foreign media outlets with information hostile to the governments political and security agendas. Consequently, the “genie got out of the box†and the communications staff at the Prime Ministers office was incapacitated by their own mistakes and thus lost the control of the situation for weeks. This is one of the reasons why the destructive Mogadishu warlords dominated the media in recent weeks. Matt Bryden, the Trojan horse of the International Crisis Manufacturing Group and Somalia’s self-appointed public enemy number one has succeeded single-handedly to turn the Somali interim government into political disarray thus creating serious security problems for the Somali people and as a result created political chaos that will take years to repair. Indeed, as the IGAD foreign ministers noted, the serious political damages caused by Matt Bryden and his organization is the biggest serious political and security issue that will continue to destabilize the entire Horn of Africa region for many more years to come. Needless to say, Matt Bryden kept acting as Somalia’s “official†spokesman by feeding the western media with loads of factually erroneous reports and press releases intended solely to destabilize the political cohesiveness of our people and thus endanger the security our country and our people. I must say that, I believe President Abdullahi Yusuf is doing the right thing by staying above the current tribalist political quagmire. He is also right to maintain his serious statesman’s image and work diligently for the collective interest of the Somali people without getting to the nitty-gritty daily squabbles with the warlords. Having said that, I believe both the President and the Prime Minister must reshuffle their communications staff by bringing media savvy professionals forward. More importantly, the government must adapt a new overall media strategy that will help the government to reach out to the Somali people with its message of hope and national reconciliation. That strategy must also facilitate the governments continues attempts to have fruitful dialogue with its critics; after all, the mission is to save Somalia and its people and restore the collapsed Somali state by any means necessary. Even, if those means include appeasing the destructive Mogadishu warlords by giving them disproportionate political powers over national matters. In short, the interim Somali federal government must be the one that sets the political agenda rather than band-wagon with hostile media driven by Somalia’s enemies and the destructive warlords with help of Matt Bryden and other enemies of the Somali Nation. I believe President Abdullahi Yusuf’s successful mission to the Arab Summit in Algiers, in which, the President managed to secure almost thirty million dollars of cash from the Arab countries as an aid to the Somali people must be highlighted and conveyed to our people. Unfortunately, the current communications staff said nothing about this thus far! I think it is just about time that the success of the interim government is conveyed in an honest manner rather than being too obsessive with the destructive warlords. Bill Ainashe Editor, www.ainashe.org

Why not Jihad on the warlords who have taken hostage of the people?

good points OG-Girl and Windtalker

Letter to the Concerned Somali Citizens- not a press release, just a friendly note. By: Mohamed Ibrahim March 24, 2005 I, a Somali working and living in Merka (Somalia) read your recent albeit undated press release to the Honorable Somali leaders with interest and curiosity. I wonder how many of the addressed leaders want and/or can read a press release written in English. What is wrong with the Somali language? Arabic? Ksawahili? Amharic? Is it really impossible to translate your 1164 words (18 words per concerned citizen) into any language the Somali leaders can and want to understand. I think not. And I think, no I know for sure that Somalia is beyond the ‘Press Release' stage. Somalia needs action. I believe you could have done better by advising the Honorable leaders privately than preaching to them publicly. You and I know and must respect our culture, the traditions and the decorum required when Somali leaders want to discuss serious matters whether it is under a tree or in a parliament. You have ignored this process and this makes me sad and very suspicious of your intentions. I'm curious about your motive for issuing this press release. Let me give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that you care about Somalia . If this is the case, then please come home and help. Come and teach our children, help our business people, anything- but talk and press release! The tone of your press release is also very hostile. You sound arrogant, aggressive almost antagonistic for no apparent reason. You don't have the right to behave like this- Because you neither have the power to do anything about Somalia , nor are you providing any new positive, constructive ideas. I want to believe that your intention is honorable, but the delivery method used to discuss this urgent matter with the Honorable leaders is inappropriate and makes me doubt your recommendations' bona fide. I also read and I think I understood Richard Boucher, Spokesman for the White House's press release of March 3, 2005 ‘ Somalia : Restoration of Governance'. I could not help but notice some similarities between the two press releases, i.e. trying to manage and solve Somalia 's problems remotely. Unfortunately, that is where the similarities of the two press releases end. So where to from here? Let me add my 2 cents to the current discussion. Throughout the history of mankind, human beings have learned that to develop one must learn from mistakes and move forward. We Somalis, we seem to ignore this simple fact. We want to stop the Earth and get off- come to think of it, if to another planet, this might not be a bad idea. It takes courage and human decency to stand up and to say ‘I'm wrong', or ‘I made a mistake', we don't hear this from our leaders and our warlords or for that matter from the Concerned Somali Citizens cruising around the world. We are always pointing the finger at the other. Yesterday it was Colonial Europe , today it is Ethiopia , etc. etc. How about accepting our faults, and pointing to the enemy, the failures, the ungovernable, etc. us, you, I, we, the Somalis. My fellow Somalis, let us accept that Somalia is a failed state, whichever dictionary you want to use. And by extension we, Somalis wherever we are, as a community somehow we are linked to this failed State. Ok, as individuals we might be successful in business, etc. BUT not as a community, and this is what our learned concerned Somali Citizens should focus on. This is what needs to be researched and resolved. By whom? By you and I. How? Through action, through thinking-the hardest job! Lately, we are hearing a lot of noise from different groups in and outside Somalia about Ethiopia 's plans for Somalia . Again, the intention of this ‘noise' is good. Ethiopia might have a hidden agendum- to ultimate run and even take over Somalia . And we should not allow this to happen. There is a better option. See below. My fellow Somalis, we can stop this now because there are still a few of us around who are old enough to know or care about Somalia . Today Ethiopia has organized military power to threaten Somalia . But tomorrow, Ethiopia will not need military power to invade Somalia . But will do so through its educated people and experts. Looking not into the distance future, I believe there will be a new nation that will replace Somalia , Kenya and Ethiopia , let us call it something like Kensompia. The current leadership in Ethiopia , Kenya and Somalia(?) is not ready for this. Because they can't see beyond their nose. The good news for Somalis is that they will be the majority in such an entity and most likely will be in a position to te this future nation's political, business and civil institutions. Now that is something the next generation of Somalis (or maybe those who are not born yet) can look forward to. “I have done this†says my memory. “I could not have done this†says my pride – which stands firm, until, finally memory yields . Mohamed Ibrahim mi@ayuub.org March 10, 2005. Source:Wardheernews.com

Originally posted by raula: ^^^the Aqua waters of the port is pleasing sight for this weiry eyes . oo yeah, where i live now, I go to San Diego's regional Port and cruise ship terminals ocassionally. It reminds me back home.

Somalis should be indebted to these troops. They are helping us. They are helping the institutions of our fragile governmnet. They will not go to Somalia to disarm but to protect the institutions of the government. We have to disarm our militia. That is what most of us who are engaged in this discussion are missing and having difficult to sort out the misconceptions on the agenda of IGAD deployment.

SA, Nigerian troops to Somalia Nairobi,March 23, 2005- Nigeria and South Africa are willing to send troops to back a controversial deployment of regional peacekeepers to Somalia, a senior Kenyan official said on Wednesday. The two military giants responded favourably to a request from Kenya, the host of the Somali transitional government in exile, to assist the seven-nation east African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) in setting up the peacekeeping mission, the official said. "As our big brothers, we appealed to both Nigeria and South Africa to send troops ... and they are willing," Peter Ole Nkuraiya, the permanent secretary of Kenya's foreign ministry told AFP. It was not immediately clear when or even if forces from Nigeria and South Africa would join the Igad mission of up to 10 000 troops which is expected to be replaced eventually by a broader African Union (AU) operation. However, Nkuraiya said he believed Nigerian and South African troops would be on the ground to work with the first deployment of two battalions of Igad soldiers from Sudan and Uganda which could be deployed as early as next month. Warlords Meanwhile, Eritrea said it would not contribute troops to the Igad operation but may participate in the larger AU force. Precise details of the mission are still being worked out amid a bitter dispute over the composition of the force within the transitional Somali government, whose relocation from exile the mission is intended to help. Fierce opposition to the participation of neighbouring countries Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya in the force prompted a bloody brawl in the Somali parliament last week. Amid continuing disputes, several Mogadishu warlords in the Somalia cabinet said Wednesday they wanted President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed impeached for his insistence that the three countries be included, and his desire to set up the government outside the bullet-scarred capital. John Koech, Kenya's minister for regional co-operation, said Wednesday that despite the rancour, he believed the Somalis were serious about relocating to their homeland. "I am optimistic that the government will relocate," he told reporters. "Although they fought in parliament last week, it does not mean the Somali people are not willing to relocate. "Let's not be discouraged by a few problems like the fighting," Koech said. Nkuraiya said Igad - which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and nominally Somalia - had agreed not to let the Somali peace process collapse. "If all goes as planned, the first group of Somalis will relocate from Kenya on April 1, but if there is need to change the date we shall do that," Nkuraiya said. Source: News24.COM

A Commentary on Faisal Robleh's “ Warlords Don't Love Ethiopia Any Less But Hate Yusuf More†By :Ismail Ali Ismail March 22 ,2005 I hasten to support and send congratulations to Faisal Robleh for a splendid article on Ethiopia and the current cries of anti-Ethiopian ( not necessarily pro-Somali ) “nationalismâ€. Faisal is absolutely right that the Ethiopian factor has played in the past, as it does now, a major part in Somalia's clan politics – the clans being our real and indisputable political parties. There was an agreement between Mengistu on the one hand and a triumvirate of Somali war-lords ( Cydiid , Tuur , and Jees ) on how to divide Somalia after the overthrow of Siad Barre . As a matter of fact Mengistu is reported to have said just before his own debacle and after signing that agreement,“ We would have seen the end of Somalia were it not for the pressure of the Weyanes †or words to that effect. But, when we ourselves were united we also played a large part in destabilizing Ethiopia, and the current regime in Ethiopia owes its origin partly to Somali encouragement and support. Ethiopia, let us not forget, is now a divided country; for one thing, it has become two countries ( Eritrea and the residual Ethiopia ), for another, there are nationalisms still simmering in the present-day Ethiopia and we played a decisive role in all this. Somalia has been a source of trouble for Ethiopia, not only because of the territorial dispute but also because we have fostered different nationalisms within Ethiopia proper thereby endangering the very existence of Ethiopia. But two of the salient differences between Ethiopia and Somalia are: (a) Somalia is homogeneous and Ethiopia is very heterogeneous; (b) Somalis are attached more to their livestock and for them unrestricted grazing is most important, whilst Ethiopians are very much attached (almost to the point of worship ) to the land which they cultivate and live on. It was because of this latter observation that the British thought that the Somalis would not raise a voice if, upon the transfer of the Haud and Reserved Area – an area of 25,000 square miles – they would be guaranteed unrestricted transhumance. The British realized that they underestimated the reaction of the Somalis and tried unsuccessfully to rectify the situation. That, however, is a different story. We should understand and appreciate the fact that Ethiopia today is vastly different from the Imperial Ethiopia we knew; Ethiopian mentality has been perceptibly changing and their attitude towards Somalis has also been changing for the better since the overthrow of the Emperor. Even in the days of Mengistu it was clearly understood that the economies of Ethiopia and Somalia were so manifestly interdependent that the two countries shared a common survival which would be endangered if they did not work together towards its maximization. I saw these positive changes unfolding before my eyes in the course of the twenty-two years I lived in Addis Ababa, not as an Ethiopian national but as a Somali national working for the U.N. It is regrettable, however, that our own internal divisions did not allow us to engage our Ethiopian neighbors in any useful negotiation. On the contrary, we ourselves invited them to divide us from the moment the SSDF and SNM arrived and took up residence in Addis Ababa. When we ourselves seek different alliances with Ethiopia, the Yemen, Egypt, Libya – and God knows who else – against each other Somali nationalism can only be found in the gutter; our situation is such that even puny Djibouti made transparent attempts to play the role of a kingmaker in Somalia. I agree with the State Department that the Somalis themselves have the means to restore their moribund state. But the means are first and foremost in the hands of those who dragged our dignity to the gutter and who are crying today that the sovereignty of Somalia is being compromised by inviting in foreign troops. Our sovereignty has been non-existent in practical terms for the last fifteen years. How can we then raise our heads with pride and cry “sovereigntyâ€? I agree that there should be no need for foreign troops to make us behave ourselves, if we behave ourselves on our own. But then if we were willing to put our house in order we would not have troubled the neighbors – and the rest of the world for that matter - with desperate pleas for help. Our capital is unsafe, our people are displaced and dispossessed, our refugees are scattered in the four corners of the globe and the nation is held hostage to the whims of the riffraff ‘generals' of ragtag militia armies who are playing havoc in the capital. Yet, our government in exile cannot temporarily settle elsewhere in the country until we bring order and security to our national capital? A strange logic indeed! I wish to close which a quotation which might help us reflect on our situation as Somalis: Being ourselves the sowers and the seeds, The night that covers and the lights that fade, The spear that pierces and the side that bleeds, The lips betraying and the life betrayed. ( Oscar Wilde ) If so, why do we have to complain about others? wardheernews.com

Farxan, you reminded me the doctrine of Colin Powell that "overwhelming force" is the solution to major problems and the substitute for huge collateral damage to very less casualty. Having said this, A.Y and his prime minister will avoid using force unless their government is attacked. You indeed raised good point that Arta's government is and will be entirely different than this TFG______________________ __________________________ SOMALIA: Interim government to relocate to Baidoa and Jowhar 22 Mar 2005 11:36:12 GMT Source: IRIN NAIROBI, 22 March (IRIN) - The interim Somali government, based in Nairobi, Kenya, is to relocate to the towns of Baidoa, 240-km southwest of the capital Mogadishu, and Jowhar, 90-km north of the capital, an official told IRIN on Tuesday. "The cabinet has decided that the government will temporarily relocate to Jowhar and Baidoa," Abdirahman Nur Dinari, a government spokesman, said. It would operate simultaneously from the two towns, he added. The move, he added, was backed by 64 of the 74 ministers present during a council of ministers meeting on Monday. However, other sources said 10 ministers, including key Mogadishu-based faction leaders, walked out of the meeting in protest. These included Usman Hassan Ali "Atto", Muse Sudi Yalahow, Umar Mahamud "Finish" and Muhammad Qanyare Afrah. The leaders who walked out, between them, control most of the capital city and wanted the government to move there directly. They had asked for three months "to prepare and secure the city" for the government, according to a Somali political source. Dinari said the faction leaders had failed to prepare the city and it had remained "insecure and extremely dangerous". "This is why the government found it necessary to relocate elsewhere," he told IRIN. "There is no split within the cabinet. A vote was taken and the majority view prevailed." The spokesman said the government would open an office in Mogadishu "to monitor the situation and once it is decided that the capital is ready, the government will move there". A member of parliament however criticised the decision to relocate to the two towns instead of Mogadishu, terming it unconstitutional. "The move to change the capital even temporarily is a constitutional matter and can only be decided by the full parliament," Ali Bashi Omar, told IRIN on Tuesday. "The cabinet on its own does not possess the constitutional power to change the capital." The new government, which includes several faction leaders, has so far failed to move to Mogadishu, citing security considerations. However, it has come under increasing pressure from the Kenyan government and western diplomats to relocate from Nairobi. Dinari told IRIN that now that a decision had been made to relocate to the two towns, the government would move very rapidly on it. "No specific time has been decided, but as soon as funding becomes available, we will be ready," he said. Somalia's transitional federal parliament elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as president on 10 October 2004, at the end of a two-year reconciliation conference sponsored by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. He later appointed a prime minister, Ali Mohammed Gedi, who in turn named the cabinet.

Originally posted by Rahima Religiously speaking there was a war declared by the religious community of Mogadishu on the illegal occupation of peoples lands and you will now see that either many ex-Mogadishuites have sold their land (like many SLs and PLs) or are having it looked after by family members or close friends. Once we have a functioning government all will get their lands back (those that are illegally occupied)- that I have faith in It’s mandatory to the facts that history must repeat itself. The Kor’anic verse stating that we were created from the earth, you will go back to earth , and thus, you should be raised from the earth. Why are we linking the Qur’anic verse and the history repeating itself? Of course history is something that we have been thought and learned, and thus, mankind has repeated it again and again. We mean to say those who flee Mogadisho must be redeemed and it shall come to pass the redemption of Mogadisho.

Originally posted by Rahima: (with reer mudug/galgadud). This is the honest truth. All of the major institutions be they schools, hospitals, universities or businesses are generally run and owned by reer/Mudug-galgadud (of course once again there are others, but I speak on general terms). rahima , how would you compensate the Mogadisho residents whose properties were inherited by Galgaduud people? This is a perplexing question that will forever resound in the minds of most Business owners in Mogadisho. It duly haunts them: People who fled Mogadisho will come back and reclaim their own assets if it is land, house, hotels, restaurants. And do you agree to the formation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Somalia?