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

President Dahir Riyaale’s South African Connection Democracy Action Group (DAW) Somaliland: President Dahir Riyaale’s South African Connection The South African media, not known for giving adequate coverage to both Somalia and Somaliland in the past, began reporting about developments in Somaliland by 2000. In addition to the media coverage, the South African politicians, through the well connected Mvelaphanda founder, Tokyo Saxwell, availed the necessary political platforms for Somaliland politicians and citizens to promote their cause. The South African government also supported and financed South African election monitors to oversee both the Council elections and the presidential elections held in Somaliland in 2002 and 2003 respectively. South African delegations also delivered limited aid to Somaliland. Apart from this new relationship spurred by business interests, Somaliland had a past with South Africa. Somaliland played a big role in the struggle against apartheid in the seventies and eighties. The honorable Abby Farah, originally from Somaliland, led a UN fact-finding team to South Africa in 1989, which met with leaders such as the late ANC stalwart Walter Sisulu. South Africa also provided medical assistance for the late President Mohamad Ibrahim Egal (Rahmatullah Alayh) who died on May 3, 2002. South Africa’s recent announcement in November 2004 recognizing the right for self determination for the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic gave additional hope to Somaliland which already enjoyed a favorable stand with the South African government. President Dahir Riyaale, emboldened by this favorable environment, declared his visit to South Africa to promote the country’s cause. In a pub;ic just before his departure, President Dahir Riyaale announced that his the purpose of his visit to South Africa was primarily to get acquainted with South Africa’s democratization process. But reliable sources inside Somaliland claim that his visit was intended to further his business investments and gain political kudos that could give his party the upper hand in the upcoming parliamentary elections. These sources claim that the composition of the presidential delegation reflects the president’s real agenda. Excluding the Foreign Minister, who had a previously scheduled speech at a South African university, the Information Minister and the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Development were the only senior members in the presidential delegation. Many political observers are of the opinion that the president’s visit was motivated by a business agenda rather than a political one, considering the suddenness of the trip and its 11 day span, an uncommon diplomatic privilege for the head of an unrecognized state. These views were further strengthened by the president’s only speech after his return. President Riyaale, in a short speech to the nation upon his return to the country on February 12th, 2005 summarized his trip to South Africa in a single statement: “ Three South African companies will soon invest in Somaliland and create more jobsâ€. In his speech the president promised that the Minister of Information will issue a detailed statement, but Somalilanders are still waiting to be briefed. In an exclusive interview with Benedicta Dube on 28 February 2005 and posted on Business in Africa Online on March 5th, 2005, President Dahir seemed to be emphasizing the business aspects of his trip. President Dahir Riyaale dandled the carrot of potential oil, gas, coal, gypsum and marine resources to interest Malaveland; a strategy which could adversely affect Somaliland due to the lack of governmental transparency policies, a non-inclusive approach towards national issues the lack of an effective and independent auditing. Though President Riyaale met with local South African politicians and religious and civil society leaders, he spent most of his visit in meetings with the business elite of Mvelphanda and other subsidiaries. He met with Tokyo Saxwell, the controversial founder of Mvelphanda, Jonathan Oppenheimer of the Ppenheimer family who owns the giant De Beers diamond company, Mr. Vusi Mavimbela, Director of Business Strategy in charge of driving the continental expansion strategy of the company and other business executives. Mavelphanda, one of South Africa’s investment powerhouses and a leader in and mineral exploration in South Africa, announced in January Oppenheimer of the De Beers Diamond Giant 2005 that it is planning to spearhead South Africa’s ambitious oil explorations into African countries including Mozambique, Angola and Somaliland “The South African Business DayJanuary24, 2005". Tokyo Saxwel, the founder of Maveland and a veteran ANC leader, is mired in controversies since the consolidation of the company in 1998. In January 2004 the US and the UN declared that his company had been among 270 individuals, organizations and companies that had received oil allocations and vouchers from Saddam Hussein, in violation of the UN imposed embargoon Iraq. Many South African businessmen also accuse him of benefitting from his close friendship with the South African Prime Minister, Thomas Mbeki. President Dahir Riyale had also a brief meeting with Mr. Vusi Mavimbela, the company’s Director of Business Strategy. Mr. Mavimbela was South Africa’s Director General of the National Intelligence Agency from 1999 till late 2004. He joined Mvelaphanda in January 2005 to spearhead the company’s expansion strategy into Africa. Mr. Mvimbela is one of the closest political, security and intelligence advisors to the South Africa’s president, Thabo Mbeki, since 1994. Immediatelt upon his appointment as the Director of the National Intelligence Agency, the South African government was accused of spying against the German Embassy and the opposition Democratic party. Many in South Africa saw this as the blueprint of operandi for the new intelligence director. During his directorship of the South African spy agency, NIA, Mr. Mavimbela did not hide his belief the any country’s intelligence resources must be used to promote its government policies and the objectives of the business corporations. This cozy relationship between the government, the corporations and the intelligence services worried democracy advocates in South Africa. Similarly, political observers and democracy activists inside Somaliland rightly worry about the close relationship between Mr. Vusi Mavimbela and President Dahir Riyaale; both career intelligence officers before becoming business and political leaders respectively. The first phase of the push into Somaliland by Mvelphanda is already underway with the blessing of President Dahir Riyaale. In his speech at a dinner hosted by the Muslim Judicial Council in Cape Town, President Dahir Riyaale said “ We appreciate how South African companies such as Mvelephanda Holdings have attained our oil concessions, how your well placed mineral companies such as Plat Min are beginning gem stone mining and how South Africa’s telecommunications sector have installed satellite technology, which gives us broadband, 24-hour internet access at times faster than some homes in Cape Town or Pretoriaâ€. “Somaliland Government Press Release, February 1st, 2005". What the president failed to mention is that he already owns considerable shares in Anglo Platinum of South Africa, the world’s leading Platinum producer. Anglo Platinum is closely connected to the De Beers diamond (owns 45% of De Beers shares) company run by Jonathan Oppenheimer who met President Dahir Riyaale while in South Africa. Business sources inside Somaliland also claim that president Dahir Riyaale secretly met with a business executive from Mvelaphanda to diversify his investment portfolio in South Africa. The president’s investments in South Africa were initiated by President Omar Gelle of Djibouti who convinced him to diversify into the lucrative South African business markets instead of concentrating on real estate in the Gulf, Europe and North America. Ismail Omar Guelleh initiated the first South African business investment on behalf of President Dahir Riyaale in the summer of 2002 in Durban, South Africa. This coincided with President Guelleh’s meeting with UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan during the later’s visit to South Africa on July 6th, 2002 to attend the OAU/AU general meeting. Throughout 2003 President Guelleh was the defacto business consultant of President Dahir Riyaale in all South African business transactions. This mutual partnership continued despite President Guelleh’s declared anti-Somaliland stand. In an interview with IRIN in Djibouti on 29th October 2003, when asked about his relations with Somaliland, he responded: “It is going the same way as the south – there are now fundamentalists who want to destabilize the situation. Unless the south is stable, Somaliland cannot be stable, contrary to what they think… And of course we support a united Somalia. We cannot allow ourselves to advocate secession.†To contain President Guelleh stand against Somaliland, President Dahir Riyaale paid him a visit on November 14th 2003 but to no avail. The anti-Somaliland stand of President Guelleh did not affect his business partnership with Somalilan’s president. On the contrary, it flourished and extended into the South African markets. President Guelleh’s investments and business dealings in South Africa increased significantly by 2003. In mid 2005 he became infuriated over being implicitly tied to enquiries in France in the mysterious death of the French magistrate Bernard Borrel in October 1995. As a result of the Frenchs stand on the case, President Guelleh further increased his business involvement and indirectly mounted an assault on French interests ib Djibouti and South Africa. He started his assault with the French company; TotalFinaElf by buying into a rival South African company who competed for mineral prospecting in South Africa. The French company lost the bid as a result of President Guelleh’s aggressive investment in the competing South African mineral resource company with aid of additional funds from President Dahir Riyaale’s allocated investment funds. With President Dahir Riyaale’ recent visit to South Africa, his meeting with Mavelaphanda and Dee Beers tycoons, many observers expect that both Ismail Omar Guelleh and Dahir Riyaale will expand their investment portfolio beyond the South African resource company to include other investments in France and Abu Dhabi. Many Somaliland observers and concerned citizens also worry about the implications of this Mavelphanda-Riyaale connection. In his speech to the Muslim Judicial Council in Cape Town, President Riyaale mentioned that South African oil companies including Mvelphanda, already have oil exploration concessions. The president also mentioned that other South African companies are already into the satellite telecommunication sector in Somalilnd, while other South African companies are already investing in mineral exploration including platinum, gem stones and other rare metals in Somaliland “Somaliland Government Press Release, February 1st, 2005". Neither the details of these investments and oil and mineral resource explorations, nor the involvement of Mvelphanda with the blessing of the president, were ever mentioned, discused or debated inside Somaliland’s House of Representatives or the Senate. Therefore, many Somalilanders believe that President Dahir Riyaale MUST clarify the scope of his involvement with Mvelaphanda, the details of the oil and mineral resource exploration agreements and the whether he have investments or vested interests in South African companies who were granted concession rights in Somaliland? Why Jonathan Oppenheimer, considered to be the richest man in Africa “ The Economist July 15th, 2004" and the scion of the De Beers diamond dynasty that controls 60% of the world’s $US8.3 billion market share in rough diamonds, would easily entertain an audience with President Riyaale of Somaliland? Many in the trade and several countries including the US consider De Beers's system of doing business highly secretive “The Cartel isn’t Forever, The Economist July 15th, 2004". Would President Riyaale succumb to this conditional secrecy of doing business with De Beers and leave Somaliland’s democratic institutions and the public in the dark? And at what cost to his political future? Regarding the oil exploration concessions, oil industry investors are aware of the exploration licenses granted to Conoco, along with Amoco, Chevron, Phillips and Shell in 1986. All sought and obtained exploration licenses for northern Somalia from Siad Barre's government. Somalia was soon carved up into concession blocs, with Conoco, Amoco and Chevron winning the right to explore and exploit the most promising ones. What are the implications of granting the same rights to Mvelaphanda of South Africa? What are the details of these new concessions and what adverse implications they might have on Somaliland’s integrity in the international markets in future oil explorations negotiations? The public and the country’s institutions deserve to have answers for these questions from President Dahir Riyaale. Source: Mohamad Doaleh mdoaleh@yahoo.com Democracy Action Watch/ Somaliland

Somali MPs in peacekeeper brawl "Bleeding wounds According to the BBC's Caroline Karobia in Nairobi the scuffles began after the parliament speaker asked MPs to raise their hands in the vote. More than half of them were against sending regional troops to Somalia". "Meanwhile, the regional body Igad, has warned the new Somalia transitional government that time is running out for it to re-locate from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi back to Mogadishu."

BBC Video Of The Brawl

By RODRIQUE NGOWI, Associated Press Writer Saturday March 12th, 2005 14:15. NAIROBI, Kenya, 12 March 2005 (AP) -- Warlords and lawmakers from a clan that controls the Somali capital offered to withdraw 15,000 militia fighters from Mogadishu to guarantee the security of the country's transitional government as it returns from exile in Kenya. Militiamen walk through Mogadishu. Some 61 lawmakers, including warlords-turned-Cabinet ministers, also pledged Saturday to disarm the fighters, demobilize others and surrender weapons and ammunition to an interim force planned to stabilize the anarchic nation ahead of a larger peacekeeping force. The militia will be quartered in six camps 30-50 kilometers (19-31 miles) outside Mogadishu some three months after lawmakers return to the city, Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Mohamed Aidid said. The government is based in Kenya because the Somali capital is considered unsafe. "But there is a condition that troops from neighboring countries (Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya) should not take part in the relocation plan of the government," said Aidid, a former U.S. Marine. Ethiopia actively supported Somali factions with money and weapons in the civil war that started in 1991, and its troops could seek to advance Ethiopian interests if deployed in the Horn of Africa nation, Aidid said. Somalis also remember the war they lost in 1977 over control of Ethiopia's southeastern ****** region, largely inhabited by ethnic Somalis. The Somali army never recovered from the defeat, a fact that eventually helped warlords to overthrow dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The U.S. State Department supported the stance of Somali lawmakers early this month. Somalia's transitional parliament is expected to consider two competing motions next week on a multinational force intended to help restore order in the country, Deputy Speaker Dalha Omar said. He said at least 75 lawmakers filed a motion backing the force -- minus troops from the neighboring countries. The government, however, has tabled a plan that will not bar neighbors, Omar said. The differences are delaying the return of the government to Somalia, Aidid said. The warlords who rejected troops from neighboring countries include Minster for National Security Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, Minister for Trade Musa Sudi Yalahow, Minister for Demobilization Botan Isse and Minister for Religious Affairs Omar Mohamud -- all members of the ****** clan, Aidid said. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's Cabinet asked the African Union and Arab League earlier this month to send between 5,000 and 7,500 troops with a one-year mandate to protect the government as it organizes a police force and army. The AU Peace and Security Council authorized deployment of an interim force ahead of a fuller AU mission. Residents of Mogadishu and other southern towns, however, have held several demonstrations against having troops from Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya included in a force. Some protesters rejected troops from any foreign country. Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti later said they would send troops only if Somalia requests them. Somalia has been without an effective central government since clan-based warlords ousted Barre. They then turned on each other, sinking the Horn of Africa nation of 7 million into anarchy.

GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 100 Somali and Ethiopian people are feared to have drowned at sea in the past week while trying to reach Yemen aboard smugglers' boats, the United Nations said on Thursday. Most perished when a vessel carrying 93 passengers sank on March 3 in the Gulf of Aden after developing a technical problem, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement. Only the four crew survived, after being picked up by other smugglers' boats who had also set sail the same day from northeastern Somalia, it said. "They rescued the crew but left all the passengers to drown," UNHCR spokeswoman Marie-Helene Verney told Reuters. A further 18 Africans are believed to have drowned on March 7 after the crew of another boat ordered its 85 passengers to jump into the sea while some distance from the coast. "This tragedy is the latest in a series of similar accidents that have caused an untold number of deaths in the past few years," UNHCR said. A year ago, 100 people are believed to have drowned when a smugglers' boat sank in the same waters, it added. Thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians each year "fall prey to unscrupulous traffickers" in the hope of being smuggled into Yemen, from where many seek to make their way to Europe, according to the UNHCR. It said this "growing disaster" had its roots in poverty coupled with insecurity in the case of Somalia, which drives desperate people into smugglers' hands. "Most of these people are economic migrants but a certain number are refugees," Verney said. Survivors from the latest incidents, as well as some 450 passengers from other smugglers' boats who also sailed from Somalia at the same time, were intercepted by Yemeni authorities. They are receiving care at Mayfa'a reception center near the coastal village of Bir Ali in southern Yemen. They told UNHCR staff that some 1,500 people are waiting to be smuggled into Yemen from Bossasso, in northeastern Somalia, in coming days. © Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

your welcome

Hamas? Do you mean Hizbollah?

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

I like this one

“Why Don’t You Give Us [somaliland] Recognition?†Yusuf Gabobe Asks The British Prime Minister: “Why Don’t You Give Us [somaliland] Recognition?†London, UK, Feb 26, 2005 (SL Times) – British Prime Minister, Tony Blair held a press conference yesterday at Lancaster House to talk about the Commission for Africa project. Mr. Blair gave an exclusive meeting to a group of African journalists at four o'clock (UK time) in which he spoke about his envisaged aid project for Africa. Blair was flanked by the popular music star and founder of Live aid, Bob Geldof. Somaliland Times editor, Yusuf Gabobe, posed the following question to the British Prime Minister: Q: Mr. Prime Minister, one of the success stories in Africa is Somaliland, a country doing well without aid, although that doesn't mean they don't need aid. But the most important thing that they need is recognition. Your government has been reluctant to recognize Somaliland though at one time Somaliland was a British Protectorate and later an independent country. People there are building effectively a whole country from scratch. It’s a Muslim country practicing democracy, good governance, free press and free economy. What else could you possibly want from us? Why don't you give us recognition, that is the best way you could help (laughter from audience). We cannot travel and our private sector cannot do business with the rest of the world due to lack of recognition…. (Interruption by Geldof, saying… 'Because your country is not recognized clearly it doesn't exist, urban terrorists could possibly be there'). Mr Blair answered: "Well let me sense that… we want to help the people of your country. We have to be sure that these things you said are going to endure. But I can assure you…. it’s not really a prejudice that is holding us back. We have to just wait and see what the coming months bring. " Blair stressed that although there are people within Africa and out who are skeptical of the Commission, they should give it a chance and not condemn it before even it launches its report on March 11, 2005. "This is a once in a generation chance to make a difference. In the end you divide people into two groups; the cynical who think that nothing can be done and the optimistic. It isn’t true nothing ever changes. Those people, who never try, never find out the difference," added Mr Blair. Blair hopes to rally support for the Commission of Africa using the UK's chairmanship of the G-8 and the European Union. He said it would also be crucial to bring on board Japan and the US. After Tony Blair’s press conference, Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, participated in an international press conference. Yusuf A. Gabobe asked a last minute question: Q: Will your relations with the new government of Somalia has an effect on your relations with Somaliland? Meles Zenawi: No, never. It will not happen. 2005-02-27 Source: hatuf

Warlords reject foreign troops news24 27/02/2005 13:13 - (SA) Nairobi - Influential warlords in Somalia on Sunday rejected the possible deployment of troops from Ethiopia and Djibouti as part of a regional mission to help the country's transitional government set foothold after relocating from exile in Kenya. "We endorse the deployment of troops from the international community without the involvement of contingents from Somalia's immediate neighbours," Ethiopia and Djibouti, they said in a statement released in Nairobi after overnight talks. The stern statement was signed by warlords Hussein Mohamed Aidid, also deputy premier, Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, minister of national security, Musa Sudi Yalahow, minister of trade, Botan Isse, minister for demobilisation and Omar Mohamud "Finnish", minister for religious affairs. The warlords from the dominant ****** clan who control the capital Mogadishu, said they planned to visit the bullet-scarred city to flush out gunmen roaming there who have vowed to oppose the deployment of foreign troops. The warlords said they agreed to surrender parts they controlled in Mogadishu to the transitional government, which is still holed up in Kenya owing to insecurity in Somalia. Early this month, African Union authorised the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which groups Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, to deploy an interim peace mission in Somalia ahead of a proper AU force.

The similarity between Syria and Ethiopia is quite remarkable. Both countries are ruled by minorities, in the case of Syria “Alawite†which is some kind of Shi’a branch. And in Ethiopia we have the Amhara and Tigre coalition which is a minority obviously. Both Syria and Ethiopia have common interest in neighbouring country. Syria is anxious about leaving Lebanon, because if they leave the “Bekaa Vallyâ€â€ it would provide Israel the best route for an invasion on Damascus. And it has historical claims on some parts of Lebanon. Some might even say “Syria has economical interest in Lebanon†for what ever reasons Syria has it will not leave until an external force arrives. No one in Lebanon gets to be Prime Minister or President without Syria’s approval. They always reward the Christians with the Persistency and the Prime minister to the Sunnis and the speaker of the legislature to a Shi'a. One of Syria’s pretexts for staying is that it accuses the Lebanese government of not implementing all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. What ever interest Ethiopia has in Somalia it will continue to stay in Somalia for what every pretext it has. They will choose which leader to be elected just as they have done now, they will support different factions just like they are doing right now and just like Syria is supporting different fictions in Lebanon. And if the international community start asking why Ethiopia still there, they will throw the terror card, or who knows they might sign some kind of agreement with the current government on when they can leave and use that to stay further just like in Lebanon. Instead of the Somaliland Times wasting its time talking about Lebanon or Somalia, as far away lands (especially in the case of the latter), it really should have looked after its readership’s best interests and tried to analyse the situation from a Somaliland standpoint. After all, the Somalia of Cabdullahi Yusuf is not in the Middle East or Las Vegas, saaxib. It’s right inside your beloved Somaliland; it’s in Laas Caanod. The Somaliland Times doesn’t have to analysis the situations form a Somaliland point of view because it doen't concern us politically. The Somaliland Times in case of the editorial article, it has a Somali standpoint. We may not be in the same country, but we are still Somalis and for that the editorial has a Somali standpoint. The readers might be Somalilanders but they are still ethnic Somalis. The Somaliland Times doesn’t always have to have a Somaliland perspective it can have a Somali standpoint too. He is a Somali just like his readers.

Somaliland Times Editorial The Lebanonization of Somalia It is common these days to read in Western political discourse about the “Somali syndrome†or “Somalizationâ€, two expressions that denote political anarchy and lawlessness. The equivalent of these two expressions in the Arab press is al-Sawmalah. In addition to shedding light on analogous situations in other countries, “Somalization†and the “Somali syndrome†serve as simple and easy shorthand for political conditions in Somalia, up to now. However, with the specter of foreign troops coming to Somalia, these terms may no longer be adequate, and we may have to return the favor of our Arab brothers and borrow the term “Labnanah†or “Lebanonization†from them, which stands for civil war and subsequent foreign intervention by a country’s neighbors. Somalis are familiar with civil war. People in the south are also familiar with foreign intervention in the form of UN troops. Col. Abdillahi Yusuf , the head of the exiled Somali government, is lobbying hard to Lebanonize Somalia by introducing foreign troops from neighboring countries into Somalia. The colonel, his supporters, as well as all Somalis should ponder the following facts about foreign intervention in Lebanon: 1- When the Israelis entered Lebanon to crush the Palestinians, the Shias were so happy that the Palestinians were being kicked out of Lebanon, they met invading Israeli troops with flowers. Later, Shiites became the mortal enemies of Israel and they remain so until today. Similarly, Syrian troops first entered the Lebanese civil war on the side of the Christians, today most Christians view Syria as their enemy. 2- Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon turned out to be such a liability that it repeatedly offered to arrange its withdrawal with Hizbullah, and when the latter refused, Israel was reduced to withdrawing unilaterally. Israel’s evacuation gave Hizbullah’s reputation a significant boost. Hizbullah still touts this Israeli withdrawal as the only Arab victory against Israel. 3- Syria’s intervention was supposed to put an end to the civil war, instead Syria ended up staying until now under various pretexts, mainly that the Lebanese government wants it to stay. Diplomatic pressure from the United States and France, plus UN Security Council resolution 1559 have so far failed to evict Syria from Lebanon. 4- In theory, Syrian troops were supposed to be part of a larger peace keeping force from several Arab countries, but in reality, Syrian troops became the only Arab troops stationed in Lebanon and have been acting as if they were a permanent occupation force. The most relevant point of the Lebanese case for Somalia, is that if the United States and France are having such a hard time getting Syria out of Lebanon, what are the realistic chances for forcing Ethiopia or other neighboring countries out of Somalia, once they enter it and show no inclination of leaving on their own. Since such chances are practically nil, and since there are many other important reasons for not sending foreign troops into Somalia, the African Union should not dispatch foreign troops to that country. “Somalization†or the “Somali syndrome†is already bad enough for Somalia. It does not need Lebanonization on top of that.

Thu February 24, 2005 11:12 AM GMT+02:00 By C. Bryson Hull KAKUMA, Kenya (Reuters) - The new Somali government should use its own militias to bring stability at home, instead of relying on African Union troops whose presence could invite attacks, a U.S. ambassador said on Wednesday. William Bellamy, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya whose portfolio includes peace efforts in Somalia, said the Somali government should be able to secure its restive country with militias controlled by powerful former warlords in its ranks. "Our view is that the transitional government has, potentially, the means to secure its own country," Bellamy said in response to a reporter's question. Formed last year in the relative safety of Kenya, only some elements of the new Somali government have returned to their anarchic homeland. The cabinet's stated goal of returning home by February 21 passed with the fledgling administration still in Nairobi. The government, at the urging of President Abdullahi Yusuf, has asked for a combined force of 7,500 peacekeeping troops from AU and Arab League states. The AU has approved the deployment of troops from Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia, but there is no timetable and growing doubts that it will happen. Several members of government and, privately, a growing number of diplomats, have criticised the plan as a dangerous move, owing to Somalia's longtime rivalry with Ethiopia. Though careful to say the United States did not oppose the AU plan, Bellamy said Somalia must be reconsider whether AU troops are more of a liability than an asset. "There is a risk they could be a magnet for instability," Bellamy told reporters, while touring the Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya. "There are a number of pitfalls in that course of action." Ethiopia is the military power in the Horn of Africa, and its strong support of Yusuf has bred mistrust among traditionally nationalistic Somalis wary of Addis Ababa's influence. In interviews, former warlords in the government have urged Somalis to attack Ethiopian troops, and others have said the AU soldiers would bring diseases like HIV/AIDS with them. Bellamy said the foreign troops could play a role in training Somali security forces, but later in the rebuilding process.

ETHIOPIA INTEREST IN SOMALIA EXPOSED

Horn your hatred for EPRDF is clouding you from seeing the unjust that is accruing. Ethiopia is not our enemy Horn! EPRDF is the enemy. Those poor people in Lake Tana and the surrounding area aren’t our enemy, they ought to have as mush as those in Egypt. Horn you and I both now as long as the EPRDF exist we just have to play along, and not show hostility and hatred towards them. We aren’t in a passion to level them, that’s why all Somali leader cooperate nicely. At the end of the day we all now the true enemy of all Somalis is the EPRDF. Don’t worry Horn the EPRDF will be destroyed within and without the help of Egypt.

HORN the issue is not about the outcome of a conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia would have on various ethnic groups and the Somali Republic. It’s about Egypt’s unequal use of the Nile. Even if the EPRDF fall to pieces, Egypt won’t change its mind about the Nile. By the year 2030, Ethiopia's population will be 115 million. All of those poor people need to be fed. What Ethiopia needs to do is, it should remove itself from the state of begging for food and fight for what’s within their right. Just think about what it would mean for the region if Ethiopia produced enough hydro-power. That would mean a great deal for the regions industrial development.

Some Just Voted for Food

I wonder which president he gets drunk with.

Holidays in the Danger Zone Places That Don't Exist The award-winning series returns with Simon Reeve journeying around countries that the rest of the world refuses to recognise. Tonight's programme takes him to Somaliland, Transneistria and Taiwan. On his journey he gets drunk with the president :eek: , meets a nationalistic boy band, and buys himself a Somali diplomatic passport. He's shown mass graves and high tech weaponry, and is arrested trying to film a secret military base. Simon with some of his armed guards in Mogadishu, Somalia.

HOLIDAYS IN THE DANGER ZONE: PLACES THAT DON'T EXIST Part 1: Tuesday 1 February 2005 9pm-10.30pm; 12.30am-2am Part 2: Wednesday 2 February 2005 9pm-10pm; 12.45am-1.45am

Smith this is zilch compared to receiving welfare checks form the Danish government as the ex vice president of Puntland did, back in November 2004. LoL Smith, not every single refugee seeks asylum does this sound familiar Smith? Under international law, a refugee is a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution.

LoooooooooL

A bunch of white suburban kids make Somalia’s lawlessness situation a model for how a stateless society might work. Happy read -=Somalia's Blossoming Anarchy=-