"The agenda and issues deliberated must be determined by the Somalis and reflect their genuine concerns and aspirations. In short, Somalis must be in charge of their destiny and in the process restore their trust in each other and regain their pride and dignity." "A realistic work plan, with clear benchmarks and specific outcomes should be developed for MPs to accomplish in their constituents. These activities could include, local level reconciliation, forming caucuses to advocate for regional interests, or specific issues and interest groups such as minority rights, facilitating discussions on the constitutional making process, etc. MPs support package can be directly linked to their constituency involvement." Totally agree! Thanks Somalina for sharing it with us.

Ngonge, What could Farmajo have done better that he didn't? Indeed it's easy to field questions but hard to forward complete and honest answers.

I think Prof. Abdiwali (wasn't he a former member of Puntland Diaspora Group? That's how I came to familiarize with his views on federalism ) will even have much less power than his predecessor since the new Political Bureau and the authority extended to it in the Kampala agreement will sure restrict him from pursuing independent policies as expected of him by the public unless that accord is modified through a parliamentary vote. Mr. Abdiwali can however build on the good image and technocrats created by his predecessor.

Good thread.

Ngonge, I think the revolution of rising expectations theory best captures the former premier and his achievement. Btw, why do we keen on showing the proclivity to write off "Somalilanders" out of the discussion of our national issues yet insist on how critical Somali unity is at this juncture of our history as one nation . Does it matter which region of Somalia one hails from as long as he or she has legit questions on the leadership qualities and performance of TFG's top leaders. The way some of us react to our brothers' inquiry of the TFG is unhealthy and we are unknowingly giving "Somaliland" the recognition it so fights to secure.

"Despite the repeated reaffirmation of the UN Security Council of Somalia’s sovereignty, political unity and territorial integrity we are confronted today with the stark, ugly and shocking reality that the country’s sovereignty is only nominal and the old gunboat diplomacy is alive and well.* That kind of diplomacy was the modus operandi of imperialist powers in ages past.* But, since the rise of a liberal world order following the Atlantic Charter, the formation of the United Nations Organization, and improvements in transport and communication between different parts of the world, the demise of imperialism was hastened and gunboat diplomacy has been condemned, discarded and relegated to that dark age in which nations were bullying one another.* Nevertheless, there are instances such as the one we witnessed in Mogadishu today where it evinces some signs of life."Article

Another coalition with narrow political agenda. Don't fall for this group .

Well said Aaliyah. We shall overcome the difficulties ahead in one umbrella.

Thanks Taleexi. It's time we bury our zero-sum game differences and begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

By Kevin Kelley East African June 19, 2011 The Obama administration is being pressed to support Somali’s embattled Prime Minister in a political showdown that holds the key to ending the country’s two decades of war. Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has refused to resign, ignoring the terms of an agreement recently reached between Somalia’s President and Speaker of Parliament. Signed last week, the “Kampala Accord” brokered by President Yoweri Museveni resolved a showdown on how to manage elections slated for August by deferring them to next year. It also required Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to step down and a new premier to be appointed by mid-July. The Kampala Accord’s provision requiring the prime minister’s resignations was inserted, some analysts say, because the president and parliament speaker resent Mr Mohamed’s political popularity. On his part, Mr Mohamed, in power for seven months, says the Kampala Accord cannot be imposed by the president and must instead be ratified by parliament. “I will respect the wish of the Somali people who want me to stay in office, rather than implementation of the Kampala Accord,” Mr Mohamed told a press conference in Mogadishu last week. The Obama administration had earlier this year voiced frustration with the TFG’s seeming inability to capitalise politically on the military advances made by Amisom forces. US diplomats signalled that the White House and Congress were losing patience with a set of squabbling and corrupt politicians in Mogadishu who owe their power mainly to US underwriting of the TFG. Now Mr Obama is being urged by US lobbyists to support Mr Mohamed’s call for parliamentary review of the Kampala Accord. “We hope that the US government will come to the side of democracy and parliamentary inclusion... with respect to the future of the TFG,” says John Zagame, vice president of Park Strategies, the US lobbying firm that is being paid $20,000 a month to represent Somalia in Washington. “We know that President Obama supports the wave of democratic reform sweeping the Islamic world, and we trust that this support will extend to the Republic of Somalia,” Mr Zagame adds The Obama administration has not yet taken a public stand on the dispute between Somalia’s president and prime minister. The prime minister appears to be basing his claim on more than rhetoric, analysts said. Thousands of Somalis quickly took to the streets in support of his continued tenure. And some analysts suggest it is highly significant that the demonstrators in Mogadishu, mainly from the ****** clan, were rallying on behalf of a politician from the rival ***** clan. Somalia’s 20-year conflict has been driven in part by animosities among the country’s leading clans. Many members of parliament and Somalia’s army are also transcending their clan differences by speaking out in support of Mr Mohamed. He has won broad backing within Somalia and among international monitors for implementing promising reforms, including regularised payments of soldiers and government workers. The Somalia army’s recent killing of top Al Qaida operative Fazul Abdullah Mohammed has further encouraged the view that a turning point may be at hand in Somalia. Even prior to the death of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the African Union military mission in Somalia (Amisom) had made major gains against the Al Qa’ida-linked Shabaab insurgency that still controls much of Mogadishu and many other parts of the country. But in addition to the access afforded by Park Strategies, Mr Abdullahi Mohamed has ties of his own to US policymakers. He emigrated to the United States in 1990 and eventually became an official in the New York state government. Even if Mr Abdullahi Mohamed does prevail in the battle over the Kampala Accord and thereby greatly enhances his political authority, the TFG may still remain mired in corruption and incompetence, some independent analysts warn. “We’ve seen too many false dawns to be optimistic about what’s happening now,” says a US academic specialist on Somalia who declines to be named because of contractual obligations. “The prime minister does show promise, but one man isn’t going to be able to save Somalia from itself.”

He is popular among the masses, and that is what matters the most in democratic ideals. I think the emergence of leaders whose support from the public transcends along clan lines is something to be rejoiced by every Somali person. Such phenemenon enlivens our Somali nationalism; it also frustrates the designers of the disintegration of the Republic. The Islamic Courts, despite its foibles and blunders in strategic calculation, was a popular movement nipped in the bud. And now we are witnessing another good faith effort on the side of high performance technorats and political leaders derailed by the same two Shariifs and their backers.

Indeed Taleexi. I would say Mr. Indhabur asked the right questions if this was a House debate on current issues,

The mayor of LaasQoray discusses the road blockade, which has been in place for more than a week, in an interview with a local radio SPR

"What’s even more appalling about the Kampala Accord is that Somalia’s sovereignty is now transferred to IGAD’s head of states as validated by one of the clause in the agreement that “Both Government and Parliament shall work together with the international community to establish a roadmap with benchmarks, timelines and compliance mechanisms for the implementation of the priority task. Details of the mechanisms to be agreed by 20 August 2011” This is an infringement into the sovereignty of the nation by entrusting the TFI tasks to a foreign entities, countries that are members of IGAD with contrasting political interest on Somalia, this adds insult to an injury when the responsibility of establishing political roadmap for durable peace becomes the responsibility of the International Community, notwithstanding, the former Prime Minister and his cabinet have within sixty days developed a roadmap with unambiguous benchmarks and timelines for the country.** HOL Editorial

Who will be the next one?

You are merely rearranging your prejudices if you convinced yourself the reaction of Faroole to the questions posed by the MP amounts to total disrespect against a whole community and it sounds more like the reverse attitude of guilt by association. No doubt Mr. Faroole is an incompetent and divisive regional leader with known brash and irascible temperament, but I would disagree with your conclusion of this particular gaffe.

Indeed ya Suldaan but this is nothing new. JB, thanks for the NGONGE thread. I missed many interesting discussions.

This is a humiliating lesson to a would-be Somali national leader who dare puts people's interest above the interests of Ethiopia. UNPOS, AMISOM, and the Nairobi-based aid organizations won't want to deal either with a Somali government that creates administrative agencies with the legislative power to pursue independent policies (recall the commission report on corruption cases from the office of the Ministry of Finance )The Farmajo Government restored some valuable public services.

Taleexi, I was invited to an event covering human rights violations and political rights and to further discuss the crisis in this region at Holiday Inn, Off Aero Dr. If you able to show up as a guest, let me know.

VOA Coverage of the Blockade.... http://www.voanews.com/somali/news/Puntland-oo-Xirtay-Waddo-Muhiim-ah-124065644.html

June 17, 2011 Maamulka gobolka Sanaag ee dowladda Puntland ayaa ka hadlay wadooyinka isku xira magaalada Boosaaso iyo degmada Laasqoray oo mudooyinkii ugu dambeeyay xirnaa. Gudoomiyaha gobolka Sanaag ee dowladda Puntland Maxamuud Saciid Nuur Dabayl oo waraysi siinayay barnaamijka Xog Ogaal ee ka baxa Horseed Media ayaa sheegay in dhibaatooyin xoogan ay ku qabaan xirnaanshaha wadooyinka isku xira magaalada Boosaaso iyo degmada Laasqoray,kadib markii sida uu sheegay ay xireen gudiga nabadgalayada Puntland. Xirnaanshaha wadooyinka ayuu sheegay gudoomiyaha inay la xariirto dagaalka ay kula jirto dowladda Puntland kooxda Maxamed Saciid Attam oo weeraro rogaal celis ah dhowaan ku soo qaaday fariisimo ciidamada Puntland ku leeyihiin buuraha Galgala. Waxaa uu sheegay inay wadooyinkan ay ku suganyihiin ciidamada Puntland kuwaasi oo uu sheegay inay diideen in qaar ka mid ah gaadiidka isku safraan labada degmo ee Laasqoray iyo Boosaaso. Gudoomiyaha gobolka Sanaag Maxamuud Saciid Dabayl ayaa sheegay inay cabashooyin u soo gudbiyeen shacabka gobolka islamarkaana ay u sheegeen inaysan wax raashiin ah uga soo gudbi karin magaalaada Boosaaso. Ugu dambeyntii waxaa uu sheegay gudoomiyaha inuu ka codanayo gudiga nabadgalyada dowladda Puntland inay wax ka qabtaan arimahaan. Hadalka gudoomiyaha gobolka Sanaag ayaa imaanaya xilli maalmihii la soo dhaafay ay ciidamada Puntland dhaqdhaqaaqyo balaaran ay ka wadeen wadooyinka isku xira Boosaaso iyo Laasqoray,iyadoo aysan jirin wax war ah oo ka soo baxay laamaha amniga ee dowladda Puntland oo ku saabsan arimahan Hadaba waxa mudooyinkan soo badanaya cabudhiska ay wado Dowlada Faroole taasoo sabab karta inay dhaliso kala fogaanshiyo u dhaxaysa dadka deegaanka iyo Maamulka uu gadhwadeenka ka yahay Mr Faroole kaasoo caadaystay inuu ku mashquulo arimo aan khusayn P/land laakiin uu dhaqaale ku raadinayo sidii uu mar labaad ugu soo bixi doorashada soo socota. Waxaase loo sheegayaa Madaxweyne Faroole inaanay kusii jirayn Go,doominta aad ka wada Galbeedka Gobolka Bari oo mudo kuu dabranaa sidii aad xal ugu heli lahayd Waxaana hada la soo gaadhay xiligii dulqaadku sii dhamaan lahaa waana mid kugu keeni doonta cawaaqib xumo aan maaro hodhow loo helin halkan guji si aad u dhagaysato warka usiiyay Maayarka Laasqoray VOA Maakhir Media Xafiiska Ba

Try it again or search it under the title "–Isthe West funding genocide in the Ethiopian ******" The ****** region of Somalia has been a source of conflict since the area was seeded to Ethiopia by the British in 1954. Somalia has twice unsuccessfully fought wars with Ethiopia to get the area back. The Ethiopian government has banned aid agencies and journalists from accessing the region and there are reports of famine and genocide in the region. In this edition, Africa Today studies the issue.

London, Arabs are struggling with their own core issues of instability, lack of freedom and democracy. It's better that we learn from today's winners.

Jacaylbaro;729219 wrote: don't worry ,,, we all mean the same thing Of course, we all want the best for our homeland though we may vary on the path to reaching that goal.

Check Part I&II YouTube