The above news came after this incident has happened in the Parliament. ______________________________________________ Somalia parliament brawls after peacekeeper vote 17 Mar 2005 16:58:16 GMT Source: Reuters (Updates with parliament vote, fighting) By C. Bryson Hull NAIROBI, March 17 (Reuters) - A brawl broke out in Somalia's parliament on Thursday shortly after legislators voted against the president's call to deploy peacekeepers from bordering countries to help restore order to the lawless state. Many Somalis, including warlords and militant Islamists, have promised to attack any troops from neighbouring states -- especially from traditional rival Ethiopia -- if they deploy as part of a planned African Union peacekeeping force. After a majority of Somalia's parliament voted in Nairobi against the presence of border states troops, members of parliament began fighting and throwing chairs at each other, witnesses said. Television footage showed several MPs in suits and ties throwing heavy chairs at each other, some beating others with long sticks and others drenched in blood after being struck on the head. "There was a big fight because the opposition was not happy with the vote," MP Abdalla Boss Ahmed told Reuters. He said some MPs damaged the ballot box when it became clear their side would lose, forcing the vote to be held by hand. The dispute is fast approaching a deciding moment on the international level, as regional leaders on Thursday began a two-day meeting in Nairobi to discuss the AU deployment. Diplomats at the meeting, held by ministers from the East African nations that make up the IGAD regional mediation body, said donors will oppose the use of any troops from Somalia's neighbours Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia. "It cannot happen. It can happen if they pay for it themselves," one Western diplomat told Reuters. Ethiopian-backed Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf wants 7,500 AU and Arab League troops to help his government return home from Kenya, and is adamant that border states be included. The AU last month backed a deployment of troops from IGAD members Uganda, Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia to tame rampant insecurity in lawless Somalia, but has no money to fund it. DONORS GROW COOL Donors have grown increasingly cool towards Yusuf's plan, and the United States last month said it would not support any peacekeeping force with border state soldiers. Other donors, who have thus far kept their reservations quiet because of IGAD's lead role in shepherding Somalia's peace process, echoed that position on Thursday. "We wish to express our concern regarding the question of neighbouring troops in Somalia," Enrico De Maio, Italy's ambassador to Kenya and co-chair of IGAD's donor partnership, told the meeting. The United Nations acting special representative to Somalia, Babafemi Badejo, told the meeting that the U.N. Security Council would have to grant an exemption to a 1992 arms embargo to any foreign force deployed in Somalia. Several diplomats said the United States has promised to use its Security Council veto to block any force involving neighbouring troops. "We have said ... we would not be supportive of such a force in the Security Council," a U.S. official told Reuters. The official cautioned it was too early to say a veto would happen, since it may not be necessary after the IGAD meeting and next week's Arab League summit in Algeria. About half of the 275 MPs have publicly supported an alternative plan that would permit foreign troops except those from border states. Most of those voted in the majority on Thursday. The plan offered last month by Mogadishu MPs from the commercially influential ****** clan - including several powerful warlords -- calls for voluntary militia disarmament and re-training by former Somali police. Donors are encouraged, but say the plan needs improvement. "It's a gesture and one that deserves careful study," the U.S. official said. Washington has said Somalia has the means to secure its country, through the warlords that are now part of the government.

walee iyo bille Africankii wuu bartey somalida bahaabahaadeeda. Any MP who attempt to derail the efforts of IGAD peaceforce will face and be brought against dire criminal charges. With or without the consent of warlords, the IGAD peacekeeping force shall deploy in Somalia. Our lives don't depend on these bloodsucking warlords.

Regional ministers warn Somali warlords against sabotaging peace force NAIROBI, March 17 (AFP) - East African ministers on Thursday warned Somali warlords and clerics against sabotaging a regional peace force in the lawless country, saying such a move would invite isolation and possible charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC). "We shall take action against any Somali who will attempt to go against IGAD peace initiative, including measures to isolate any one who undermines the initiative," Kenya's Regional Cooperation Minister John Koech said at the opening of a two-day Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) ministerial conference here. Koech said saboteurs face possible charges of crimes against humanity at the ICC in The Hague, which is the world's only permanent tribunal covering war crimes and other such serious violations of international law. The African Union (AU) last month authorized IGAD to deploy an initial peacekeeping force to Somalia to help the country's transitional government relocate from exile in Kenya, before a proper AU peacekeeping contingent gets on the ground. The notoriously hardline Islamic clerics have vowed to resist the whole deployment while some of the warlords who have carved up Somalia have objected to the presence in the force of soldiers from neighbouring Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, claiming theyhave ulterior motives in participating. "We will no longer tolerate adverse activities when the TFG (Transition Federal Government) relocates in Somalia," an Arab league official told ministers and representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia. "Such activities will not help the new government to establish itself and to help the (Somalis) to rebuild their country," the official added. Amid mounting pressure from Kenyan hosts, Somali leaders have several times since December announced the imminent relocation of the transitional government, but each time the target date has passed without action. Previous unmet timetables have set January, mid-February and early March as dates for the move, but many Somali analysts believe the relocation cannot realistically begin until July or August. "It is about time they relocated to Somalia ... the international community will not be able to help the Somali government if they are still in Kenya," Arab League official pointed out. Somalia has been in chaos without any functioning central authority since the ouster of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 turned the nation into a patchwork of fiefdoms ruled by warlords. Peacekeeping and humanitarian forays in Somalia by United Nations and United States, which started in 1993, disastrously ended two years later with the death of 140 UN Blue Helmets, several US special forces and unknown number of Somalis. oto-str/bkb/nb

My optimistic for peacefull Somalia is high. In shallah our family-owned big farms in Janaale and Qoryooley will be reorientated to family-owned resources. I can't wait to visit back home. Peace and Prosperityt to Somalia.

Duke, thanks for posting the interview.

Nuune, Punt-land and Somali-land haven't been excluded yet, particularly Puntland. "The force will deploy throughout Somalia, from Puntland all the way to the south, but not in Somaliland," the officer said after meetings of east African military experts at which the eight-battalion deployment was worked out. Independent Online

^ There is no camel herder running for president. The president has already been elected and he is serving his five year term. You are bit two years behind.

PRESS RELEASE Mr. Annan should establish the Monitoring Group within 30 days and for six months so that it can continue to examine transfers of ammunition, single-use weapons and small arms, the Council said in a resolution that it approved unanimously. The Group would assess actions taken by Somali authorities and Member States, particularly those in the region, to implement the embargo, using field-based investigations where possible, the Council, presided over by Brazil, said. ------------------ Peace and prosperity to Somalia.

IGAD States to Deploy in Somalia Kampala) March 16, 2005 Posted to the web March 16, 2005 Alfred Wasike Kampala THE Inter-Governmental Authority on development (IGAD) states are to deploy a joint force in strife-torn Somalia by April 30. The IGAD chairperson, President Yoweri Museveni, lashed out at the war-lords in Somalia, saying, "It is a grave mistake for anyone to say the war-lords represent the aspirations of Somalians." He said the war-loads were hostage-takers who should not hold Somalia to ransom. Museveni said the UN was not helping Africa to liberate itself from bad governance and other woes. He was addressing defence ministers from Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and representatives of defence ministers from Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan at Entebbe on Monday. The six countries and Eritrea make up IGAD. IGAD and the African Union are are organising the deployment of eight battalions in a force code-named IGASOM (IGAD Peace Support Mission to Somalia). The UPDF army commander, Lt. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, said IGASOM would last nine months to help the new Somali government relocate from Nairobi after which the Africa Union would take over. Somalia has been stateless and embroiled in anarchy for about 15 years since President Siad Barre was toppled.

Our country needs help. I understand your opposition to the neighboring countries and the president but to get out of this anarchic situation, we need to extend our collective support to the government just to bring out some solutions to our war-wrecked country instead of flaming the fire that has consumed the lives of millions of people . A/Y is an old man and he will not stay in power forever. If he makes peace progress, there is a high possibility that he will be reelected next term. Latest News: Kampala - A controversial 10 000-strong regional peacekeeping force planned for Somalia will deploy across the country except in the breakaway region of Somaliland, a senior Ugandan military officer has said. "The force will deploy throughout Somalia, from Puntland all the way to the south, but not in Somaliland," the officer said after meetings of east African military experts at which the eight-battalion deployment was worked out. Somalia has been without any functioning central authority for the past 14 years but the region of Somaliland has established its own governmental structures and claims independence from the rest of the war-shattered nation. Independent Online. Presidents Museveni and Bush

thanks Duke for the articles. In shallah we will see a peacefull Mogadisho.

Duke, The U.N has now reported violations of the embargo it imposed on Somalia. In a report to the Security Council, the four-member Group says it uncovered "34 individual arms shipments or violations of the arms embargo from February 2004 to the time of writing the present report," about a month ago, showing that violations had continued "at a brisk and alarming rate. "The shipments ranged in size from an individual weapon, such as a large and expensive anti-aircraft gun to ocean freight containers full of arms, ranging from explosives and ammunition to small arms, mine and anti-tank weapons," it says. The UN uncovered that warlords turned ministers now own almost 90% of that arms shipments. In a confidential report to the Council, the Group says, it has provided the names of people responsible for the illicit arms trade, but in the public document it identifies them only as "Businessman and minister in the Transitional Federal Government," "Principal al-Ittihad leader in overall charge of training camps," or "Businesswoman/warlord." UN News Center

This site is really bias. I don't understand why it propagates rumors about general discontent on Peace keepers' mission to Somalia?

Uganda is a nation that has made both technological and economic advancement since Museveni has become president. You shouldn't compare Somalia to Uganda or any functioning legitimate government. Somalia is in dire need of international help and Museveni is working to help your country and people. Logically, i can't understand what makes you troubled by the deployment of African troops to stabalize the feral security in Mogadisho. Museveni is definately right. These warlords have taken hostages of people. The people must be freed. "For the warlords to say that they are protecting the people and yet they have guns, they have taken these people hostage and we cannot accept this," he said, referring to recent comments by some warlords who have vowed to oppose participation in the force by troops from neighboring countries. "It is a shame for one of the ancient races in Africa to suffer for so long as we look on," Museveni said. "What are we waiting for?"

Ayan Hirsi Ali, The Stray Bullet! Yasmeen Maxamuud March 14, 2005 Many who watched the 60 Minutes story on Ayan Hirsi came away with the bewilderment and wonder as to the reason Ayan Hirsi has taken on the issue of Islam to defame and offend Muslim people around the globe. The film she has written and co-produced is provocative, distasteful, disrespectful and totally ignorant. Watching her interview, I came away with this, that this woman is calculated and manipulative with a personal agenda. We may not be privy to what looms in the mind of any human who holds such loathing and ill-bred views against any group, but one fact is clear, she is getting the encouragement, funding and support of anti Muslim propaganda machines who no doubt are celebrating to use a renegade Muslim to spread their anti Islamic rhetoric through lies and misinformation. She claims Muslim women in Rotterdam and Amsterdam suffer from violence abuses by their families. Are we to think in Holland , this is the only area where violence against women occurs? Does Ms. Hirsi know women around the globe are abused and suffer the wrath of society's social ills, but only Muslim women are accused of going thru such abuse with the blessing of their religion? Hirsi employs misinformation tactic where she reports unsubstantiated lies she claims exist in the Holy Quran. When non Muslim women around the world suffer abuse in their respective societies, that society is not accused of doing so in the name of their religion. In an environment that is ripe for oppressing Muslims and where the Muslim masses are suffering today solely for their religious affiliation, Hirsi is not helping but adding fuel to an already burning fire. As far as media outlets all over the western world is concerned, it is a free for all time for everyone to take limitless punches against Muslims, hence such a divisive ill-informed piece was totally publicized to further alienate Muslims in Holland as well as other countries. If a documentary film depicted images that were demeaning and disrespectful to other religions such as the Judeo-Christian religion, most media outlets would most likely not have given it space to air. It is a malevolent reality that issues confronting religion do not have an equal footing in the West and that the magnifying glass to scrutinize insult and degrade Islam is not used for other religions. Her agenda is clear, she after all got publicity she probably never dreamed of, but her fifteen minutes of fame will come to a halt, and the residual outcome will be that she contributed to the controversy and gross misinformation of Muslim women while most certainly not coming to the aid of any abused woman in her tenure. The biased Western media interpretations which Hirsi and her like subscribe to, stereotype Muslim women as one block homogenous group that suffer violence and human rights abuses. These media outlets fail to understand that variety exists through culture, custom and tradition, hence Muslim women around the globe are exposed to different life styles depending on their culture. These same media outlets would not lump up an American Roman catholic and French Roman Catholic women taking into consideration the difference in culture. The Sensational attention grapping Western media brand Islam as a backward “fundamentalist†religion taking few examples of unjust behavior by any Muslim government as a supreme example of all Muslim countries. Hirsi needs to educate herself before making such unproven, dangerous claims about the religion. Islam is the first religion that gave women equal rights through inheritance, marriage, law and equality to men in the eyes of God, while Jewish and Christian women were still considered inferior to men because they were considered the originators of sin and the property of their husbands. The bias media outlets also portray the Muslim Hijab as a suppressive force on Muslim women. Quite the contrary the Hijab is a freeing attire for the sole purpose of protecting women from violence. Islam is more concerned with the integrity of woman and the protection of her personality and dignity. Where morality is decreasing and crimes against women staggering, modesty in dressing such as Hijab would only contribute to the safeguard of women. Contrast this with western societies where women are subjected to stringent requirements to look and dress a certain way, but are not protected when violence occurs, always questioning the women's attire at the time of violence, with the insinuation that the woman must have invited the abuse because she dressed in a provocative and inappropriate manner. Hirsi is misinformed and purposfully seeks attention grapping sound bites that are logically, academically and intellectually flawed. Yasmeen Maxamuud E-mail: Yasmeen_maxmuud@yahoo.com Source: Wardheernews.com

I like Musaveni. He is Somali. No doubt.

Somali peacekeepers to deploy with or without warlords' support: Museveni ENTEBBE, Uganda, March 14 (AFP) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Monday that a proposed regional peace mission to Somalia will deploy with or without the consent of warlords who have expressed opposition to it. "We are going to deploy with or without the support of the warlords," Museveni told defense ministers from the seven-nation east African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) meeting here. "For the warlords to say that they are protecting the people and yet they have guns, they have taken these people hostage and we cannot accept this," he said, referring to recent comments by some warlords who have vowed to oppose participation in the force by troops from neighboring countries. "It is a shame for one of the ancient races in Africa to suffer for so long as we look on," Museveni said. "What are we waiting for?" Defense ministers and military officials from IGAD -- which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and nominally Somalia -- are meeting outside the Ugandan capital this week to work out a deployment plan for the mission that is to cost about 500 million dollars for eight months. Museveni asked the officials to work out a deployment program as soon as possible and that he, as the current chairman of IGAD, was waiting for it. The African Union (AU) last month authorized IGAD to deploy an initial peacekeeping force to Somalia to help the lawless country's transitional government relocate there from exile in Kenya. Despite the AU authorization, some warlords have objected to the presence in the force of soldiers from Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya which they say have ulterior motives in participating. Museveni said the warlords had no business imposing their will on which countries should participate or not. "Why should the warlords, for example reject Ethiopia and Kenya?" he asked rhetorically. "If the two countries go there what will happen?" Museveni also used the occasion to take some swipes at the United Nations and Europe, saying they have always failed to have solutions to problems in the world's poorest continent. "I do not remember any positive change in Africa brought about by the UN or Europe," he said. Somalia has been in chaos without any functioning central authority since the ouster of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 turned the nation into a patchwork of fiefdoms ruled by warlords

I have never read articles from that web.

Getting Systems Right: Governance and Capacity-Building Africa’s history over the last fifty years has been blighted by two areas of weakness. These have been capacity – the ability to design and deliver policies; and accountability – how well a state answers to its people. Improvements in both are first and foremost the responsibility of African countries and people. But action by rich nations is essential too. Building capacity takes time and commitment. Weak capacity is a matter of poor systems and incentives, poor information, technical inability, untrained staff and lack of money. We recommend that donors make a major investment to improve Africa’s capacity, starting with its system of higher education, particularly in science and technology. They must help to build systems and staff in national and local governments, but also in pan-African and regional organisations, particularly the African Union and its NEPAD programme. Donors must change their behaviour and support the national priorities of African governments rather than allowing their own procedures and special enthusiasms to undermine the building of a country’s own capacity. Improving accountability is the job of African leaders. They can do that by broadening the participation of ordinary people in government processes, in part by strengthening institutions like parliaments, local authorities, trades unions, the justice system and the media. Donors can help with this. They can also help build accountable budgetary processes so that the people of Africa can see how money is raised and where it is going. That kind of transparency can help combat corruption, which African governments must root out. Developed nations can help in this too. Money and state assets stolen from the people of Africa by corrupt leaders must be repatriated. Foreign banks must be obliged by law to inform on suspicious accounts. Those who give bribes should be dealt with too; and foreign companies involved in oil, minerals and other extractive industries must make their payments much more open to public scrutiny. Firms who bribe should be refused export credits. Without progress in governance, all other reforms will have limited impact. The Need for Peace and Security The most extreme breakdown of governance is war. Africa has experienced more violent conflict than any other continent in the last four decades. In recent years things have improved in many countries, but in other places violent conflict is still the biggest single obstacle to development. Investing in development is investing in peace. The most effective way to tackle conflict – to save both lives and money – is to build the capacity of African states and societies to prevent and manage conflict. That means using aid better to tackle the causes of conflict. It means improving the management of government incomes from natural resources and international agreements on how to control the ‘conflict resources’ which fuel or fund hostilities. It means controlling the trade in small arms. African regional organisations and the UN can help prevent and resolve conflict when tensions cannot be managed at the national level, through, for example, effective early warning, mediation and peacekeeping. Donors can support this by providing flexible funding to the African Union and the continent’s regional organisations; and supporting the creation of a UN Peacebuilding Commission. The co-ordination and financing of postconflict peacebuilding and development must be improved to prevent states emerging from violent conflict from sliding back into it. Leaving No-One Out: Investing in People Poverty is more than just a lack of material things. Poor people are excluded from decision-making and from the basic services the state ought to provide. Schools and clinics must be available to the poorest people in Africa. This is an urgent matter of basic human rights and social justice. But it is also sound economics: a healthy and skilled workforce is a more productive one, fulfilling their potential with dignity. Investing for economic growth means rebuilding African health and education systems, many of which are now on the point of collapse. This requires major funding, but it is not only a question of resources. It is also about delivery and results. These are powerfully strengthened when local communities are involved in decisions that affect them. Properly funding the international community’s commitment to Education for All will provide all girls and boys in sub-Saharan Africa with access to basic education to equip them with skills for contemporary Africa. Secondary, higher and vocational education, adult learning, and teacher training should also be supported within a balanced overall education system. Donors need to pay what is needed to deliver their promises – including the cost of removing primary school fees. The elimination of preventable diseases in Africa depends above all on rebuilding systems to deliver public health services in order to tackle diseases such as TB and malaria effectively. This will involve major investment in staff, training, the development of new medicines, better sexual and reproductive health services and the removal of fees paid by patients, until countries can afford it. Funding for water supply and sanitation should be immediately increased, reversing years of decline. Top priority must be given to scaling up the services needed to deal with the catastrophe of HIV and AIDS which is killing more people in Africa than anywhere else in the world. But this must be done through existing systems, rather than parallel new ones. Governments should also be supported to protect orphans and vulnerable children and other groups who would otherwise be left out of the growth story. Almost half of the extra aid we are recommending should be spent on health, education and HIV and AIDS. Going for Growth and Poverty Reduction Africa is poor, ultimately, because its economy has not grown. The public and private sectors need to work together to create a climate which unleashes the entrepreneurship of the peoples of Africa, generates employment and encourages individuals and firms, domestic and foreign, to invest. Changes in governance are needed to make the investment climate stronger. The developed world must support the African Union’s NEPAD programme to build public/private partnerships in order to create a stronger climate for growth, investment and jobs. Growth will also require a massive investment in infrastructure to break down the internal barriers that hold Africa back. Donors should fund a doubling of spending on infrastructure – from rural roads and small-scale irrigation to regional highways, railways, larger power projects and Information & Communications Technology (ICT). That investment must include both rural development and slum upgrading without which the poor people in Africa will not be able to participate in growth. And policies for growth must actively include – and take care not to exclude – the poorest groups. There should be particular emphasis on agriculture and on helping small enterprises, with a particular focus on women and young people. For growth to be sustainable, safeguarding the environment and addressing the risks of climate change should be integral to donor and government programmes. This programme for growth takes over a third of the total additional resources we propose. More Trade and Fairer Trade Africa faces two major constraints on trade. It does not produce enough goods, of the right quality or price, to enable it to break into world markets. And it faces indefensible trade barriers which, directly or indirectly, tax its goods as they enter the markets of developed countries. To improve its capacity to trade Africa needs to make changes internally. It must improve its transport infrastructure to make goods cheaper to move. It must reduce and simplify the tariff systems between one African country and another. It must reform excessive bureaucracy, cumbersome customs procedures, and corruption by public servants, wherever these exist. It must make it easier to set up businesses. It must improve economic integration within the continent’s regional economic communities. Donors can help fund these changes. But the rich nations must also dismantle the barriers they have erected against African goods, particularly in agriculture. These barriers hurt citizens in both rich and poor countries. They must abolish trade-distorting subsidies to their agriculture and agribusiness which give them an unfair advantage over poor African farmers. They must lower tariffs and other non-tariff barriers to African products, including stopping the bureaucratic application of rules of origin which excludes African goods from preferences to which they are entitled. And they must show this ambition by completing the current Doha Round of world trade talks in a way which does not demand reciprocal concessions from poor African nations. Careful attention must be given to ensure that the poorest people are helped to take advantage of the new opportunities and to cope with the impacts of a more open system of world trade. Africa must be provided with the funds that can help it adjust to the new opportunities of a changed world trading regime. Where Will the Money Come From: Resources o support the changes that have begun in Africa, we call for an additional US$25 billion per year in aid, to be implemented by 2010. Donor countries should commit immediately to provide their fair share of this. Subject to a review of progress then, there would be a second stage, with a further US$25 billion a year to be implemented by 2015. Ensuring the money is well-spent will depend on two factors. First, good governance in Africa must continue to advance. But, second, donors must significantly improve the quality of aid and how it is delivered: that means more grants, more predictable and untied aid, and donor processes that are less burdensome on the already stretched administrations of African countries. It must also be better harmonised with the aid of other donors and better in line with the priorities, procedures and systems of African governments. Above all, it must be given in ways that make governments answerable primarily to their own people. These changes are needed not just from individual donor nations but also from multilateral institutions – both African and global. The African Development Bank needs to be strengthened and the role of the Economic Commission for Africa enhanced. The IMF and World Bank need to give higher priority to Africa’s development. They also need to become more accountable both to their shareholders and to their clients, and to give Africa a stronger voice in their decision-making. Rich nations should commit to a timetable for giving 0.7 per cent of their annual income in aid. To provide the critical mass of aid which is needed now, the aid should be front-loaded through the immediate implementation of the International Finance Facility. Practical proposals should be developed for innovative financing methods such as international levies on aviation, which can help secure funding for the medium and longer term. For poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa which need it, the objective must be 100 per cent debt cancellation as soon as possible. This must be part of a financing package for these countries – including those excluded from current debt schemes – to achieve the MDGs, as promised in Monterrey and Kananaskis. Conclusion Bold comprehensive action on a scale needed to meet the challenges can only be done through a new kind of partnership. In the past contractual and conditional approaches were tried, and failed. What we are suggesting is a new kind of development, based on mutual respect and solidarity, and rooted in a sound analysis of what actually works. This can speed up progress, building on recent positive developments in Africa, towards a just world of which Africa is an integral part. _________________________________ READ MORE IN THE ABOVE-PROVIDED LINK.

UR COMMON INTEREST REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF AFRICA March 2005 Introduction About This Report This year is of great significance for Africa. In 2005 the world will review progress on a remarkable commitment it made in 2000. The Millennium Development Goals set out to halve world poverty by 2015. But we are now a third of the way to that date and the rich world is falling behind on its pledges to the poor. Nowhere is that more clear than in Africa, where the world is furthest behind in progress to fulfil those solemn promises. If that is to change we must act now. But all is not gloom. For 2005 is also the year in which it is becoming clear to the outside world that things are changing on the continent – with African governments showing a new vision, both individually and working together through the African Union and its New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) programme. Africa, at last, looks set to deliver. A year ago, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, brought together 17 people to form a Commission for Africa. We were invited in our individual and personal capacities rather than as representatives of governments or institutions. A majority of us come from Africa and we have varied experience as political leaders, public servants and in the private sector. The task we were set was this: to define the challenges facing Africa, and to provide clear recommendations on how to support the changes needed to reduce poverty. Our starting point was the recognition that Africa must drive its own development. Rich nations should support that, because it is in our common interest to make the world a more prosperous and secure place – though the international community will contribute to the achievement of these objectives in different ways. But what is clear is that if Africa does not create the right conditions for development, then any amount of outside support will fail. Our recommendations are based on two things. We carefully studied all the evidence available to find out what is working and what is not. And we consulted extensively, inside and outside Africa, with governments, civil society, the academic world and with those in the public and private sector. We have met individuals and groups from each region and 49 individual countries in Africa, and from every G8 country, China, India and across Europe. We have received nearly 500 formal submissions and have made a particular effort to engage with the African diaspora. We are enormously grateful to all these individuals and groups for their contributions. Our report is in two parts. The first, The Argument, addresses itself to that wider audience and succinctly sets out our call to action. The second part, The Analysis and Evidence, lays out the substance and basis of our recommendations so these can be held up to public scrutiny. Our Recommendations are set out between these two sections. Our report is written for many audiences. We address ourselves to decision-makers in Africa who must now drive forward the programme of change they have set out. We address ourselves to the rich and powerful nations of the world, whose leaders meet as the G8 in Gleneagles in Scotland in July 2005 where they must take a strong lead for action of a different order. We address ourselves to the international community, which must commit to greater and faster action on the Millennium Development Goals at the United Nations in September – and must also act boldly at the World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong in December. And we address ourselves to the people of Africa and the world as a whole. For it is they who must demand action. It is only their insistence which will determine whether their political leaders take strong and sustained action. The measures we propose constitute a coherent package for Africa. They must be delivered together. 2005 is the year to take the decisions that will show we are serious about turning the vision of a strong and prosperous Africa into a reality. Reliefweb Library

rudy, wassup little friend! Have you been to Sudan? I have been to Khartoum once

Thanks all. I retrieved it from a library database. It was surprise finding. So many families have been lost!

Double Post!

Seattle Times

Seychellois rekindle ties with Sultan of Somaliland Seychellois News and Headlines