Chief, You sound ever more desperate. I remember similar accusations being made against HadhwanaagNews' editors just because they were supportive of Mr. Silanyo's candidacy and critical to Mr. Riyale's policies, or the GaroweOnline's barrage of criticism during Ade Muse's tenure. The clan factor is a reality in post-anarchic Somalia but the acquisition of certain posts comes at an unexpected time and opportunity for individuals who might be both influential and born of the major clan-families. (A temporary solution) So in this case Mr. Farjac has every right to be critical of his state though he went overboard with some of his remarks in this article. It doesn't mean that he belongs to a minority class. It seems the challenge for all Somali clans is how to secure the highest post in any government and use that as a leverage to a better social and political status. Next thing we would probably hear is dispute over the chain of command for ONLF or the power distribution of Galmudug establishment or Benadir city government and how certain clans are denied of their Maandeeq.

Originally posted by Allamagan: quote:Ciidamada Milatariga iyo kuwa Booliiska ah ayaa la dhigay jidadka Hargeysa iyo goobaha muhiimka ah si ay u sugaan amaanka Waftigan, Niman sirdoona oo dannahooda gaarka ah u socda ayaa waxaa loo soo dhawenayaa siddan dhulka cagaha looga qaadayaa. aduun!! Waa yaab! It is stark contrast of how Richard Burton, the British Spy who paved Somalia's colonialization, was attacked and injured in Berbera, and now his grand sons with similar posts are having royal reception in the streets of Hargeisa. Somali way u dhamaadey as our cultural pride and dignity has gone rock bottom.

Ilka Jiir oo Ethiopia ku sii Jeeda Warar hoose oo aanu hada ka helay Garoowe ayaa sheegaya inuu Gen Ilka Jiir Wasiirka Arimaha Gudaha PL uu dhawaan Safar deg deg ah ugu duulayo Adis-Ababa Xarunta Ethiopia, warka ayaa sheegaya in shirkii albaabadu u xidhnaayeen ee Wasiirada Maamulkaasi Yeesheen laysku Af Gartay in la Weeraro Galgala isla markaana waxa weerarkaasi u olalaynaya Wasiirka Arimaha Gudaha oo Noqday Nin Gurigiisii Weeraray. Qof qariyay Magaciisa oo Garoowe ku sugan ayaa noo sheegay inuu Ilka Jiir Adis-Ababa ku soo Saxeexayo in Weerar Xoogan lagu qaado Galgala iyo Maatada degan si dhulka Loola simo,waxana Taakulanaya Sirdoonka Ethiopia oo qalabka Isgaarsiineed iyo Cudud ciidan ka Taakulayndoona. Warar kale ayaa sheegaya in Faroole Aad uga soo Horjeedo in la weeraro Galgala isaga oo doonaya in Wada hadal wax lagu dhameeyo, Halka Gen-ka Looga Taag La’yahay Galgala oo uu Afka ku hayo in la Garaaco. Sidoo kale Maanta ayaa la Meel mariyay SHarciga Dhigaya Maxkamada Xukunta Argagixisda dadka lagu eedayo, walow aan wali Baarlamaanka la Horgayn sidii ay u Ansixin lahaayeen. Dadka Siyaasada Falan qeeya ayaa Masiirxun u Arka hadii Galgala weerar lagu qaado taasi oo Keeni Karta Dagaal Ahli ah hadii Deegaanka reer kale lagu duulo iyada oo SHaati Maamul la xidhanyahay. Galgalanews@yahoo.com

MAXKAMADA CUSUB EE DANBIYADA ARGA-GIXISADA OO MAANTA LA HORGEEYEY MUDANAYAASHA BAARLAMAANKA PUNTLAND.? Xukuumadda Puntland ayaa maanta mudanayaasha Baarlamaanka Dawladda Puntland waxay horgaysay heer loogu talagalay arga-gixisada iyo ansixinta maxkamadda u gaar ah dadka gala danbiyada arga-gixisonimo ee ka dhaca Deegaanada Puntland. Xeerka ku aadan samaynta maxkamad u gaar ah danbiyada arga-gixisonimo ayaa waxaa maalintii shalay qalinka ku duugay Golaha Xukumadda Puntland iyadoo maantana la horgeeyey Baanlamaanka Puntland si ay ansixiyaan, xeerkan oo ah mid kasoo baxay fadhi ay yeesheen Golaha xukuumaddu muddo gaaraysa 32 saac oo xiriir ah. Xeerkan oo qoraalk ah ayaa waxaa mid mid loogu qaybiyey xildhibaanada waxaana lagu wadaa in ay madanayaashu ka doodaan maalinimada berri ah sidoo kale waxaa la shaaciyey in ay maalinta berri baalamaanka hor imaan doonaan qaar katirsan Golaha Wasiiadda kuwaasi oo sharraxaad dheeraad ah ka bixin doona hab dhanqanka xeerkan cusub oo ahaa mid ku yimi si deg deg ah. Inta badan mudanayaasha Baarlamaanka Puntlamnd ayaa waxa ay wararku sheegaayaan in ay ku qanacsan yihiin xeerkan oo ah mid la sheegay in uu wax ka bedeli karo meesha ay hadda marayso xaaladda ammaan xumo ee Puntland gaar ahaana xarunta ganaciga Puntland ee Bossaso. Maalintii shalay ayey markii ay Golaha Wasiiraddu iyo Madaxweynahu si wada jir ah ugu dhawaaqeen in la samayn doono maxkamad u gaar ah dadka gala falalka arga-gixisonimo waxaana xusid mudan in inta badan falalka ammaan darro ee ka dhaca Deegaanada Puntland ay Golaha Xukuumaddu ku tilmaameen kuwo arga-gixiso sidaasi darteedna ay ku dhawaaqeen samaynta maxkamaddan iyo xeer kale oo lagu wada sheegay kuwa arga-gixisada. Jaamac Joofane Joofane11@hotmail.com Bossaso Puntland Somalia Laasqoray.net

^I remember one of my professors used to cite and admire his works. I also read a couple of his books.

Well said Oodweyne.

Waxan la yaabaa Somalida qaarkood. Wax walboo baaba'a ma Somaali baa leh. They don't even look Somali.

The same tactics used by the British Empire against Sayid, the local Somaliland Corps, will be employed in Afghanistan.

The African bin Laden?? Where do you get from this racist phrase? I remember reading a report by the Times which concluded that the Somali 'mad mullah' pre-figured in many ways the so called Osama and his followers hiding in caves and jungles. Liibaan, Afrikaankan sanka waaweyn hanagu tilmaamin.

The more PL officials use the terror card the more it leads to political and social isolation of its neighbors. Let's learn from what is happening in the south, Iraq or Afghanistan. Our noble ideal to securing Peace in Somalia is our biggest dividend, something we have been denied for more than two decades.

LINK

Very interesting piece. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/veiled-threats/

Shabab is a lunatic outfit in service of a foreign agenda, but the Obama's rhetoic reminds me of the Janjaweed's argument in Darfur, Sudan. Lol As often been said, traditional method or the use of force won't work. Even possible backlashes of the recent twin blasts in Uganda against Somalis in East Africa will work in favor of the Shabaab leaders who will be able to get their message across, a message that taps the sentiments of our people with a sense of grievance and social isolation. I think the Ugandan government should keep encouraging Somalis to come and do business in Uganda, and protect them from misplaced aggresions and discrimination.

^I'll take that into consideration. But remember Chief Caaqilow that our history did not start with colonialism as you seem to suggest always. Take a look at Crutten's memoir in 1843 on the inhabitants of the Somali coast and their then political way of life. We were prosperous, peaceful and orderly as we maintained our own institutions and traded with the rest of the world.

I believe Omaar's report is fair and objective--one that truly attends to the underlying social problems of the Somali community in general as they are split by the demands of two sources of identity that conflict, at times, with their core belief system. But the most important thing to remember is that Mr. Rageh Omaar (though true to his journalistic ethics) has given us a voice and articulated well the genesis of the issues we daily encounter such as the gap that comes with maintaining a reasonable balance btw our ties to a home riddled with seemingly never-ending conflicts and our new home where we are at liberty to create a potentially successful goal-structured life, where we seek a non-discriminatory access to education, housing, employment, public services and opportunity, and where we have the right to build and maintain institutions of our inherited culture and religion. However, he can not paint a good picture of the minor success stories of Somali individuals in Minneapolis, for that would not accomplish any meaningful solution to our societal problems. In fact, it might derail what we seek from the host country as a small but highly influential community in need of help for both the issues we face in our adopted country and the country of our origin.

If you are interested some background of this shaddow group, read Duale Siiarag's article, a comprehensive analysis of the genesis and rise of this group. The Somali clerics are doing great job. Let's save our country, our people, and beautiful culture.

C&H, indeed it was great holiday. NN, it was our 4th of July. Have u read the new book, "The Founding Brothers". It documents the worries and struggles of some of the founding fathers we are familiar with like John Adams, George Washignton and how they feared that they would be caught and hanged to death, prior to their draft of the declaration of independence. Nina, come to the west coast for the next one.

Nina, Cawke does need ur help. He is ur distant cousin, isn't he?

Waxaa laga yaabaa inuu blamiyey, kadibna hurdo la tagtey, isagoo aan is diyaarin. Dadkan cadcad, waad taqaan qaa'inimada iyo sida u dhaqmaan. Sawirka ugu foosha xun oo sheekada ay rabaan iney qoraan si fiican u sharaxaya baa laga qaadayaa odayga. Nin reer caruur badan leh (in western values, bad image), oo qaxooti oo lazy ah oo ku nool maal xaaraan ah uusan u shaqeysan ama xaq u leheen. Dadkeena waxay u baahan yahiin in runtii ay is caawiyaan. Hadii ay xataa doorbideen in wax is daba mariyaan, ineysan shabaqa loo dhigaaya ineysan ku dhicin. Kee aqoon leh iyo qibrad u leh in commmunitigiisa ku caawiyo. Jacphar, u don't like macawuus?

Gabbal, It's no longer a secret that Ethiopia (the implementing agency of the western policy of containment in the HA) has maintained tentative, default alliance of convenience with PL, SL, TFG, and Ahlu Sunnah; it is not in her long best strategy to merge them all as one strong coalition or make one group emerge as the winner and later the restorer of the former Democratic Republic of Somalia. Instead, it wants to exhaust, fracture and keep them fragile and easily manageable. But we don't have to blame Ethiopia for what we have already done to our people and state. It's we who seek its advisory role to outmanouver one another, not to mention military assistance, training, and approval to violate our border and commit all types of international crime. And to consider the position of Zenawi's regime, does it justify its actions that Somalia is no longer a state that can protect its borders from all kinds of meddlesome third party intervention having already failed to be a responsible and reliable partner of International security? That Zenawi's regime won't stand aside and watch ungoverned Somalia become a haven of groups with global agenda?

As for Oodweyne, it's late for me and I am now tired. I'll see to your objections some time tomorrow. Goodnight!

Che, let me raise these important questions. When you said a bunch of empty villages and towns, aren't you aware that Erigavo has been one of the biggest urban towns of Somalia for decades. LaasQoray as well once dominated the region despite its recent decline. It still has a number of mini industries, one of which employs over 1500 people and has a sales revenue of roughly $3M a year. Badhan is an urban city that has grown very fast. It has four High Schools, three technical colleges, the biggest boarding school for the orphans, and 3 primary schools and a University project that is almost finished. How can this city that houses all of these public facilities be an empty "frontier" town? Third, Bosaaso, as you my well know, is part of where the Makhiris call home. They form nearly 1/3 of the business population. As you can see, the people of Puntland are one sub-clan family unlike the people of Hargeisa and Borame. And they are interconnected in many aspects of their life. Therefore, we won't allow a scenerio whereby one clan relatively weaker than the clans of Puntland get an unfair press coverage and free access to our own land. You should have known better and understand the foreign enemies of Somalia are active and lobby for the dismemberment of Somalia.

Any such opposition's message must echo that of the larger Somali population so that this is not just one reer Hebel against the other. Well Somalis in general are opposed to secessionism and they will never endorse such unilateral move by one clan. But we must persistently counter (as we have done it for the last 18 years) the bogus claims of "Somaliland" on the regions of Sool and Sanaag. I remember telling you before how the UNISOM mission for Somalia had once recognized the USP political party headed by Awad Ahmed Asharo as the legitimate representative of the people of Sool and Sanaag. And Puntland actually went through several peaceful transfer of power, so its shortcomings are well noted as its new leaders such as Ilka-jir and Farole promised to reform and implement changes. The al-shabaab's phenomena basically has had a negative impact on the geopolitics and the thinking of important players.

Originally posted by Che -Guevara: Any counter message must be followed by tangible action. Maakhir to me and I say this with great degree respect to you is just bunch of frontier towns and villages that lack proper administration and security.It is vast and seemingly empty land (compared to urban centers of Hargeysa, Burca, and Boroma) with no real economic viability and security guarantee. A proper administration and uniformed regular security forces are needed to dispel this image. Democratization process however imperfect must be initiated in Puntland. This is palatable alternative and good counter bunch to the secessionist movement.All this must be complemented by move away from "SSC/Maakhir vs. Somaliland, Puntland vs. Somaliland or "Traingle" (read qabiil) vs. Cowke infamous Block to move towards to legitimate opposition to secessionists in Hargeysa within former British Protectorate (legally dead entity that can not be resuscitated) .Any such opposition's message must echo that of the larger Somali population so that this is not just one reer Hebel against the other. Unionists must also identify elements within Somaliland population that oppose secession but are simply afraid or outnumbered to express their views openly. Anyhow to sum it up,the secessionists are learning their BTJX but we are still swinging from tree branch to another. P.S. Rageh is reporter and is always looking for the next great story.Somaliland presents the next opportunity for great story, rather him than some Western report I say. And it should be noted he always present the fact Somaliland is secessionist enclave, that Somalia is his country, and that his family lives in self-declared state. I was in a rush the last time I was here. I didn't actually read this part of your response. I saw it this afternoon. Che, first no entity in Somalia has proper administration and well-established security organs, and I completely disagree with your comparative analysis of Maakhir Territory and "Somaliland" as regards to the economic viability and population make-up of both regions. Your reckless use of bunch of empty but vast "frontier towns and villages" is an outright insult to the spirit and aspirations of the people of Maakhir; it is also reflects your ignorance of the people, history, and their defined territory as well as its relative progress. Contrary to your assertion, the Maakhir Territory (Erigavo-Bosaso-Nogal area) is a highly densely populated area, according to UN agencies that conducted a number of surveys and preliminary studies in conjunction with the needs and development of the region. There are well-run district (counties) and municipal governments with their own budgets (nearly $12M) a year) and regional government Council. Poor road networks and other infrastructure are a general problem for Somalia (including SL) and no region is immune to the poverty and misery that had characterized Somalia for nearly two decades. And we all know the North (west and east) fare better in relative economic terms even though the news of human smuggling and forced migration induced by the poverty at home is with us every day. The people of Maakhir is one of the primary lineages of the six Somali clan families, and they are not geographically limited to the artificial frontier you alluded to here, which was a direct consequence of western conquest and colonization when the formation of artificial borders ignored the pre-existing base of legitimacy (land) and identity (nation), that is why a further division of Somalia will further cause or lead to a more and complex divisions. A forced top-down approach or political solution has created more problems than it solved for Somalia and it is an idea that “Somaliland" currently wishes to exploit to her own advantage under the false pretext of a western-styled democracy and a modicum of self-rule. But the truth is that Riyale belongs to a minority clan in the region and he was up against a formidable foe, the former leader of the SNM whose clan dominates the Triangle area. And because of Riyale's dismal records during his tenure and as a former chief of NSS, his opponents had never missed a chance to remind the masses that Mr. Riyale belonged to the said dreadful outfit that once rounded and killed innocent people in Berbera--a fact reported by the human rights activist Rakiya, the sister of Rageh Omar. The secessionist clan actually developed this unfair sentiment about Riyale based on his background, and it actually crystallized into a firm conviction that it was time to remove him by force. He was called “Faqassh” and other degrading terms and people took it to the streets, a peaceful protest that resulted in the death of dozens of civilians. Prior to that, innocent civilians from the former president’s clan were targeted and killed in a typical style of the Rwandan genocide. That case has yet to be solved and many Awdalites think that justice would never be served. A pro-separatist writer, Dalmar Kahin, clearly stated this incident and its dangerous implication in his article , Somaliland Election’s Formidable Challenges: Terrorism, Tribalism, “And if the election is not delayed, terrorists could exploit the tragedy, the tribal feuds—in Gebiley and send voters’ limbs flying over rooftops.” A mutually agreeable partition is the only acceptable path to acquiring separate statehood; it must be in the form of a plebiscite held in all over Somalia as sanctioned under the international law. That is one thing the secessionists see it as an obstacle to their forced seizure and demand for recognition.

I had a western journalist contact me by e-mail. Won't mention his name but he seems to be pretty much aware of the Somali politics. I do understand the clan politics from an overview. Also, I talked to Somaliland's Ministrer of Justice who is Dolbahante from Las Anod, about Sool. And like so many others he said the dispute was inflated by the foreign media. But at the same time, Somaliland took Las Anod by force those months, pointing out that they fear the border issue is the only reason Britain, and others, are afraid to recognize their independence. Like you I worry that any recognition of Somaliland will cause severe troubles for the Maakhir/Sanag and Sool regions. But at the same time, the Somaliland government has performed so much more responsibly to its people and to its development than the TFG, so they are adamant about forcing their independence. If you're busy, I understand. I mainly wanted another expert opinion on the subject to make sure that as a foreigner I'm understanding the Sanag/Maakhir situation correctly. Oodweyne and Che Guevara, I'll get back to u later.