Mintid Farayar;781532 wrote: As for my own personal opinion regarding the Conference, I’m split. There’s a danger in stooping to the level of sitting with the pseudo-administrations of the South (further confusing an ill-informed international community that equates all things Somali with terrorism and piracy) but on the other hand, the British envoy in Hargeisa had a few, very encouraging comments during his press conference in Somaliland. But like they say, the proof is in the pudding. And if Somaliland does go, it has to make sure it has its diplomatic cards in top form. So with the limited information I currently have about the Conference, it’s difficult to choose between the options. Here are some excerpts from the British envoy's visit to Hargeisa: UK envoy briefs Somaliland on objectives of London conference 1035 words 27 January 2012 11:09 AM BBC Monitoring Africa BBCAP BBC Monitoring - All English © 2012 The British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No material may be reproduced except with the express permission of The British Broadcasting Corporation. [Excerpts of press conference by Chris Allen, Deputy Head of Mission, UK Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; date not given: UK Deputy Ambassador To Ethiopia Arrives Somaliland To Explain the Objectives of the London Conference on Somalia] The United Kingdom's deputy ambassador, Chris Allan, visited Somaliland earlier this week. The main purpose of the visit was to deliver a personal invitation to Somaliland's president Ahmed Sillanyo to attend the upcoming London conference which is ostensibly on Somalia but whose agenda includes anti-terrorism, piracy, and the economic development of Somaliland and Somalia. The invitation puts Somaliland in a sort of quandary, for on the one hand, Somaliland's government does not want to rebuff the United Kingdom which is a historic friend of Somaliland, but on the other hand, Somaliland's government does not want to be seen as having compromised Somaliland's quest for independence which is an existential issue in Somaliland. Excerpts from the Press Conference Given in Hargeysa by Chris Allen Deputy Head Of Mission, UK Embassy In Addis Ababa, on Wednesday: "It is quite a pleasure to speak today to a number of Somalilanders about the London conference on Somalia. I thought it might be useful to set out the main agenda for that conference because I fear there is some misconceptions about its objectives. The conference is addressing a wide range of issues and its agenda includes first and foremost security issues affecting the whole of this region, issue like terrorism, piracy and regional security. It also addresses the issue of development and economic opportunities for the region including donors discussing aid and development budgets for Somalia and for Somaliland. The conference will address the political situation in Somalia and the issue of international coordination on Somalia as well. It is not as some might have feared in anyway addressing the unification of Somalia. The United Kingdom is extremely keen to see a strong presence by Somaliland at this event. It will be very odd I think if, given our close friendship with Somaliland and our shared history, the UK was to host an event on this region and for Somaliland not to be there and presenting its views. So my Prime Minister and my Foreign Secretary were very keen that I explain this to President Sillanyo this morning and to the wider Somaliland community and they are personally keen that President Sillanyo heads the Somaliland delegation to this event in London. My Prime Minister will be inviting president Sillanyo directly by writing to him shortly and my Foreign Secretary is likely to pick up the telephone directly to president Sillanyo to explain a little bit more about what we hope to achieve through this event. And because of the depth of the agenda, we feel that Somaliland has a great deal to gain by being there as the issues of development, anti-piracy and counter-terrorism deem important for Somaliland's future. Not only that. We in the international community have long said that the best way for Somaliland to achieve its ambitions is through engagement with the international community and there will no be better opportunity perhaps in our generation for Somaliland's president to present his case and ambitions for the future of Somaliland to a very very senior meeting. This conference will see attendance by some 40 heads of state, or in a few cases their foreign ministers representing them. People like Ethiopia's prime minister Meles Zinawi, president Sarkozi of France are likely to attend and many many more. Not to mention UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the heads of other influential international organizations. It is necessary to underline again 2 points. This is not a meeting of the normal sort of or rather parochial debates about the future of some institutions in southern Somalia. This is a much bigger event which will attract a very high profile attendance. It will address issues of significance to Somaliland's future. And finally it's worth admitting that we in the international community will appreciate Somaliland's attendance of this event because after all Somaliland has a great deal to demonstrate to the region in terms of its own achievements; building up from the bottom up of peace, democracy, stability and development by Somalis. And that is an example that we hope can be learned from by your neighbours and the rest of the region. That is what I have to say by words of introduction. Q: Somalilanders are worried that participation in the London conference might hurt their long-held self-respect, integrity, stability and aspirations as a country. How you would allay such fears? A: What I can say is that we understand very well sensitivities surrounding Somaliland's attendance and indeed the nature of presentation of Somaliland's attendance in an event like this. We will not put the delegation of Somaliland's president in a position which will compromise those sensitivities. We have already discussed in some detail with the Somaliland government quite how we would arrange the format of the conference to ensure a neutrality on these sensitivities as we are as I said pretty conscious of the sensitivity of this issue within Somaliland politically. I very much hope that there will be a consensus politically in favour of attendance because I genuinely believe that it's in Somaliland's own interest to take this opportunity to express its views to the international community including those issues on the agenda and a its own aspiration. Q: Has President Sillanyo agreed to Somaliland's participation or is he still weighing his options depending on the protocol and status that Somaliland will be accorded for attending? A: I think his foreign minister made it clear that president Sillanyo has yet to take a decision on attendance. I discussed the subject with him this morning and I'm sure he will be taking forward the discussions of his attendance with other key stakeholders within Somaliland. The British Broadcasting Corporation

Che -Guevara;781740 wrote: Mintid...You put too much faith in the international community. Che, Either you're pretending not to see the point, or I don't know what else to call it (not seeking to offend you)... This editorial written in English is a subtle appeal to the international community. It starts with: "GAROWE ONLINE EDITORIAL | What is painfully clear to all Somalis is the international community’s deafening silence on Somaliland’s savage attacks against Buhodle." Hint, hint: International community if you're listening, we're extremely disappointed that you're not interceding! That's my point.

Regardless of where any of us stand on this issue, these 'Blame Somaliland' accusations are only coming from one particular corner of Somali society. Thus far, the international community has not made one statement accusing Somaliland of aggression. I've combed news portals for a single non-Somali news outlet (in particular Western and Arab) accusing Somaliland of aggression and have not found any. The international community has become sophisticated enough on Somali issues to understand the complexity of this situation and no amount of opinionated clan-call to arms will muddy the waters of international perception. Somaliland's image stands (for the key stakeholders) as the ideal blueprint for where the international community would like the rest of Somalis to reach. So carry on and tire yourself out....

What’s He Got to Hide? IN a filthy Ethiopian prison that is overridden with lice, fleas and huge rats, two Swedes are serving an 11-year prison sentence for committing journalism. Martin Schibbye, 31, and Johan Persson, 29, share a narrow bed, one man’s head beside the other’s feet. Schibbye once woke up to find a rat mussing his hair. The prison is a violent, disease-ridden place, with inmates fighting and coughing blood, according to Schibbye’s wife, Linnea Schibbye Steiner, who last met with her husband in December. It is hot in the daytime and freezing cold at night, and the two Swedes are allowed no mail or phone calls, she said. Fortunately, she added, the 250 or so Ethiopian prisoners jammed in the cell protect the two journalists, pray for them and jokingly call their bed “the Swedish embassy.” What was the two men’s crime? Their offense was courage.They sneaked into the O**** region to investigate reports of human rights abuses. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s increasingly tyrannical ruler, seemed to be sending a signal to the world’s journalists: Don’t you dare mess with me! So the only proper response is a careful look at Meles’s worsening repression. Sadly, this repression is abetted by acquiescence from Washington and by grants from aid organizations. Those Swedish journalists will probably be released early because of international pressure. But there will be no respite for the countless Ethiopians who face imprisonment, torture and rape. I’m in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, and so is Meles. I’ve been pursuing him for the last few days, trying to confront him and ask him about his worsening pattern of brutality. He has refused to see me, so I enlisted my Twitter followers to report Meles sightings. I want to ask him why he has driven more journalists into exile over the last decade than any other leader in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York City. Meles has done genuine good in fighting poverty. He has some excellent officials under him, including a superb health minister, and Ethiopia’s economy is making progress in health and agriculture. Ethiopia is full of aid organizations, and it has a close intelligence and military relationship with the United States government. Yet since 2005, when an initial crackdown left 200 protesters dead and 30,000 detained, Meles has steadily tightened his grip. A Human Rights Watch report this month noted that the government is forcibly removing tens of thousands of people from their rural homes to artificial villages where they risk starvation. Those who resist endure arrests, beatings or worse. “The repression is getting worse,” notes Tamerat Negera, who fled to the United States after the newspaper he edited was closed down in 2009. “His vision seems an attempt to root out any dissent.” Meles has criminalized dissent, with a blogger named Eskinder Nega now facing terrorism charges, which could mean a death sentence. His true crime was calling on the government to allow free speech and end torture. Appallingly, the Meles regime uses foreign food aid to punish his critics. Ethiopia is one of the world’s largest recipients of development aid, receiving about $3 billion annually, with the United States one of its largest donors. This money does save lives. But it also “underwrites repression in Ethiopia,” in the words of Human Rights Watch. Families and entire areas of the country are deliberately starved unless they back the government, human rights groups have shown. In Ethiopia, the verb “to starve” is transitive. Look, I’m a huge advocate of smart aid to fight global poverty. But donors and aid groups need to ensure that their aid doesn’t buttress repression. The Meles regime, run largely by a coterie from his own minority Tigrayan ethnicity, has been particularly savage in the O**** region, where it faces an armed uprising. When Jeffrey Gettleman, a colleague at The New York Times, went to the O**** in 2007, he found a pattern of torture and rape. The government then arrested Gettleman and two colleagues, detaining them for five days in harsh conditions. The two Swedish reporters illegally entered the O**** and met a rebel group to examine that human rights wasteland. In December, they were sentenced to 11-year terms. Steiner, Schibbye’s wife, said of the harsh conditions: “Eleven years in an Ethiopian prison is equal to life, because you do not survive that long.” Amnesty International says that in the last 11 months, the government has arrested at least 114 Ethiopian journalists and opposition politicians. It described this as “the most far-reaching crackdown on freedom of expression seen in many years in Ethiopia.” Prime Minister Meles, you may have dodged me in Davos, but your brutality toward Swedish, American and Ethiopian journalists will not silence the world’s media. You’re just inviting more scrutiny.

Dhegihiinu iyo afkiinu isma maqlaan, miyaa? For 21 years, you've been predicting annually - "This is the year Somaliland will crumble". But every year it fails to occur. Instead, yearly, Somaliland continues to expand both in its capacity (administratively, financially, etc,) and the land mass it controls. You would think some would learn after a few times, but thinking with your emotions is a powerful ailment...

Carafaat, Well put, but highly unrealistic. You view my position as isolationist but you don’t grasp the end game. I’ll leave the end game aside for now. As for Somalia and Somaliland’s non-involvement – no one, let alone Somaliland can impose peace and governance on Somalia. Why not you might ask? Because the players within Somalia are not interested in peace. Each interest group is only interested in jockeying for a superior vantage point in order to eventually destroy the other groups – a zero sum mentality inherited from the former clan-based military dictatorship. That’s the ideological blueprint that exists in the minds of the elites of Somalia. You wax on about the effects that neighboring territories have on other neighboring territories – what’s so unique about that? If there’s instability in Uganda, it spills over to Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, and Congo. Likewise, everywhere else in the world. However, it doesn’t have to mean one has to share a political system with the neighboring territory, especially if the politics of the neighbor have a history of being toxic. The toxicity will corrupt you day by day from the inside. However, you can have engagement with the neighbor as is the case today – even with all the posturing, trade continues between Puntland and Somaliland. You mentioned the examples of Buubaa, Jama Yara, etc. What do they have to show for their troubles after 21 years? One by one, they come back to their homeland, limping, to retire their last years in their home city(Sifir, Jama Ghalib, etc.,). Ask them if the utopia they were seeking in a Greater Somalia ever got a step closer. I doubt it. I’ll set Buubaa aside and take Jama Yare as an example. Jama Ghalib has had a lifelong reputation for impeccable professionalism and probity. Yet at the end, he became a politician. And a politician, my friend, needs a people to lead in order to be a player/be effective in his goals. Well, his people didn’t wish to follow his path and the rest was history. Fifteen years wasted just like that in the wilderness. When Somaliland was declared, Jama Ghalib was one of the most influential MPs in the legislature of Somaliland. He had influence and great support. Then some internal issues arose(that’s for another day) and he left the playing field for Mogadishu. From that point on it was downhill. Have you heard of any of the leaders down South saying let’s consult with Jama Yare on this important issue? No, he was relegated to the backbench, writing critical articles about Somaliland from exile. Look at the wasted talent for 15 years. Carafaat, it’s not what you and I want that matters. Somaliland, unlike its neighbors, has an empowered populace that changes leadership as soon as the leadership reaches its expiration date. If they could do that to the powerful SNM in the early ‘90s (the men who liberated the country), they could do it to anybody who doesn’t tow the line. Hence, my point about Siilaanyo being a politician first and foremost. He will feel the temperature within Somaliland, compare the pros and cons of going to the Conference, and then make his decision. Lastly, your comments about the people are highly unfair. Somalilanders have been the only constant in the Somali peninsula for the last 21 years. They’ve believed, through thick and thin, in the independence and separation of Somaliland. The politicians could have sold them out a long time ago for the right price, but the population refused to budge. I, unlike you, put my trust in the average Jama/Xaliimo knowing what’s good for him/her. And they’ve been loud and clear on where they stand on that issue. As for my own personal opinion regarding the Conference, I’m split. There’s a danger in stooping to the level of sitting with the pseudo-administrations of the South (further confusing an ill-informed international community that equates all things Somali with terrorism and piracy) but on the other hand, the British envoy in Hargeisa had a few, very encouraging comments during his press conference in Somaliland. But like they say, the proof is in the pudding. And if Somaliland does go, it has to make sure it has its diplomatic cards in top form. So with the limited information I currently have about the Conference, it’s difficult to choose between the options.

Carafaat, Go back to the other thread and flesh out your thoughts on the London Conference - what the pros vs cons are for the actors involved. The exchanges between you and Oodweyne presented the beginnings of a reasoned debate.

Wakhtigii ciyaalku seexan jireen miyaan la gaadhin??

OK, I can read between the lines - This time, waan kaa qalaynayaa ya Xiinny, but behave and nurse those wounds...

When one's lies are uncloaked, one attempts to quickly change the topic - Old Xiin/Pirate tactic.... Good old Xiinny, you brought up the demise of Barre with inaccurate, revisionist history and you've been corrected. Bring all the rumors to the SOL boards that the old ladies in 'makhaayadaha tolka' read to you nightly and I will bring objective third party accounts with actual official links. Something tells me we'll be going through this exercise regarding the Buhodle incidents when the smoke clears. Poor Xiinny, never learns... The amusement that's Xiin - the gift that never stops giving...

The warfare in the northwest sped up the decay already evident elsewhere in the republic. Economic crisis, brought on by the cost of anti-insurgency activities, caused further hardship as Siad Barre and his cronies looted the national treasury. By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM forces advanced toward Mogadishu.In January 1991, armed opposition factions drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2863.htm ------------------------------------------------------- A short history lesson brought to you by the Unites States State Department (as opposed to the parallel universe a certain Mr.Xiin lives in).

Don't get upset, ya Xiinny. It's the gov't you pay taxes to stating that in their reports (if you pay taxes...).

xiinfaniin;780342 wrote: Oodweyne, anaa weydiiyey mid ka mid ah adeeraday oo wuxuu yiri, nimankaasi maatay ahaayeen oo aad baan ugu turi jirney, diyaaraday ay ridaan iska daaye, naf badanba may lahayn Markii Caydiid soo baxay, oo raggii rag ahaa Galgaduud kasoo duuleen, baa qoloda waqooyiga xiniinyo cusubi usoo baxeen You gotta love Xiin' revisionist history. No wonder Ngonge & others have stopped believing anything that comes out of Xiin's mouth ages ago. Well, my dear Xiin, here's the version of events coming to you straight from the Somalia Fact Page of the State Dept (the same superpower that was arming your Uncle, Afweyne and had most the most intelligence on the ground&sky at the time). When will you ever speak the truth? ----------------------------------------------------------------- By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM forces advanced toward Mogadishu. http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/somalia/182292.htm

Che -Guevara;780998 wrote: Something else prompted Britain into this sudden interest in Somalia and honestly I don't know what prompted them. On that part, we agree, Che. Oodweyne hit the nail right on the head in his clarification of the British angle regarding the Somali issue. Read the leaked State Dept cables - there's a section on the British focus in Somali matters. It's based on alarm at the growing radicalization/terrorist sympathies within segments of the Somali community in the UK as well as the significant portion of the Somali refugee community that's still on government assistance(a burden on gov't resources at a time of increasing right-wing nationalism and economic austerity). So the interest on the British side is from a purely local perspective. In particular, the concern regarding Somali radicalization within the UK is extremely heightened within the British gov't according to the cables.

Che -Guevara;780975 wrote: I am glad you dropped your pretense of Somaliland being mature and democratic state. Che, saaxiib, Think with your brain not your emotions. It's not my pretense of Somaliland being mature and democratic state, it's what the wider international community believes. The British Gov't organizers of the London Conference, in their request for Somaliland to attend, appealed to Somaliland to share their 'methodology and experiences' in building this 'mature and democratic' system that's so severely lacking among the rest of the former Somalia. Do you need me to post that statement as well??

Che -Guevara;780967 wrote: ^I doubt the world cares about Somali tribes going at it. Attaboy, Che! Put a brave face on when the 'point' finally drops on you....

You missed the point, gentlemen. But emotions get the better of some individuals sometimes. Whether Somaliland is still seen as an autonomous part of the former non-functional Somali Republic(as the Iranian article states) or as an independent, sovereign state, the real danger is for Somaliland to be seen as attacking an outside region. That would be aggression in the eyes of the international community. However, if the situation is presented as a functional administration disciplining way-ward militias, then things are going in the right direction for Somaliland. Aahhh, must I write in caps to make you guys understand?

In this world, there's always clashing 'spin'. For example we have the spin right here in SOL and then, there's the spin in the wider world. Iran seems to be in synch with the West in demarcating Buhodle as a part of the Somaliland territory and administration (finally something the Iranians and the West can agree on) Read on... -------------------------------- Clashes leave eight dead in Somaliland Fri Jan 27, 2012 12:39PM At least eight people have been killed after troops from the self-declared republic of Somaliland launched an attack on local militiamen in the Buhodle district, Press TVreports. The conflict erupted on Thursday as Somaliland forces launched an attack against bases of militia fighters, who have recently formed the new regional state of Khatumo, on the outskirts of Fool-Joogto village in the Buhodle district. Fierce skirmishes broke out in the aftermath of the assault and heavy weapons -- including artillery and machine guns -- were used in the fighting. The gun battle forced local residents to flee their homes. A total of eight people were killed and several others wounded during the clashes. Somaliland, situated in northwestern Somalia, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Horn Africa country in 1991. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The Somali government has struggled for years to restore security but efforts have not yet yielded results in the African nation. MP/JR

Carafaat;780775 wrote: Abti, if this or somethng looking like this beast of a deal wont come out of the meeting and Siilanto will never utter the words recongnition, I will silence on Confederation talk forever and Minti Farayare ayaan ku daba tukaniyaaa. Waryaahe Carafaat, Now that you’ve painted me into a corner as representing the hardline wing of Somaliland sentiment, let me first tell you that you’re a crafty proponent for the Somaliweyn concept/unification with Somalia. Your thoughts are idealistic but highly unrealistic given the current conditions of Somalia. What benefits has engagement with Somalia brought any actor in the region or the wider world in the last 20 years? The landscape is littered with failed projects from every corner for Somalia’s restitution (from the Americans, UN, Djiboutians, Ethiopians, Ugandans, Kenyans, etc.,). The local psychology of Somalia is still not ready for a normalized, governed society. So what could Somaliland (with even more limited resources than the previous actors) achieve/gain through engagement? The answer is clear to any objective mind that’s viewing things from the perspective of gains for Somaliland. What you fail to realize is that Somaliland, unlike the rest of the former Somalia, is governed by the local currents within the resident society, not by refugee elites calling the shots and parachuting in for international conferences. The Somaliland diaspora plays the critical role of investment capital but is largely kept as spectators in the management and daily running of the ship. Siilaanyo and all other Somaliland politicians on the ground have to deal daily with the local Somalilander and his/her wishes. That’s who they owe their power and prestige to. While in the rest of the former Somalia, leaders owe most of their power to either an empowered diaspora or a foreign state ‘godfather’. While those foreign powers do have a great deal of influence in Somaliland, when it comes to a clash between the outside interests and the local interests, the Somaliland politician has no choice but to choose the local wishes since his/her power is directly dependent on the local support(hence the refusal to attend the Congressional Hearing). Siilanyo as an opposition party saw an easy goal to burnish his international relations credentials by meeting with Congressman Payne (who was holding a Somalia conference) but now that he occupies the governing seat, the equation is drastically different. Within each nation, there’s a fundamental belief that all political actors must pay homage to in order to have a chance at power. In the U.S., for example, it’s the concept of ‘American exceptionalism’ which is taught to every secondary student within the American school system, in Saudi Arabia it’s the ‘indivisibility of Islam and the State’. In Somaliland’s case, it’s the independence of Somaliland vis-à-vis a united Somali Republic. You mentioned the mushrooming political parties-to-be currently jockeying for position within Somaliland for the upcoming parliamentary elections. Yet you fail to observe that each one tries to outdo the other in their Somaliland/gooni-isu-taag political platforms. Anything else would be political suicide. Your argument while idealistic, shows a lack of awareness of the situation on the ground within Somaliland. Rather it shows familiarity with the removed ‘makhaayad’ discussions that take place among the various diaspora Somali communities.

Carafaat, Here's an excerpt from that Congressional meeting (and no, you don't have to stay quite for the weekend, that was just a joke, saaxiib): As a scholar who closely tracks developments in the subregion, allow me to add a personal note of appreciation for your leadership in keeping attention focused on issues relating to the Horn of Africa in general, and in particular for bringing about this historic hearing, which brings together in the same forum high representatives of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, the Puntland State of Somalia, as well as some of Somalia’s international partners. I regret that the Foreign Minister of the Republican of Somaliland was unable to join us to share the experience of his people in avoiding the very scourges, including extremism, conflict and piracy, which this hearing endeavors to examine. While I understand the Somalilanders’ sensitivity about any appearance prejudicial to their 1991 declaration of renewed independence and the delicate nature of the internal politics there, as Somaliland, alone of all the territories which were once part of the Somali Democratic Republic before the collapse of the Mohammed Siyad Barre regime, moves to its second democratic Presidential and parliamentary elections in just 3 months, I nonetheless hope that the representatives of the Republic of Somaliland will provide the subcommittee with info This is a direct quote from one of the presenters at the Hearing. For your own reading at a time of your own choosing: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/111/50633.pdf

Carafaat;780730 wrote: Mintid, please do provide me with any confidential info and docu and I will promise silence for this weekend atleast. You mean Oodweyne's corroborating of the exact same events was not enough? I thought he was one of the ones who was supposed to vouch for you. Or do you still disbelieve?

Oodweyne, My dear friend, you have to cease giving these PhD dissertations on internal Maandeeq power plays. Too many pirate boys in the vicinity who are simply clueless as to how Somaliland internally works (always confusing Somaliland with their wild, Hobbessian jungle).

Careful, careful, Carafaat. Waar maad joogtid. I'm trying to finesse you out of embarrassment when it comes to your facts. Once again the meeting was attended only by Farole and the TFG on the Somali side. Siilaanyo and his shadow foreign minister (at the time) went to Washington some weeks later and had a private meeting with the congressman (Payne of NJ) at his office. I could provide you with all the relevant documentation but then you must promise never to speak until spoken to and always leave the room in the presence of those more informed, deal? Don't have a heart attack now. I'm only kidding about the last part....

Duke, We'll see about the Khaatumo situation (it's a bit dicey since they are our own people and one cannot go too far in bringing them to heel). However, one thing is clear to all Somalis, we're very efficient at dispatching 'pirates'. Just ask the gallery of your cousins (Abtigiis, AKhadar, Gabbal, etc.). BTW, which caravan will you be riding this time? I know you usually pick a separate one from Xiin, given his track record.

Also, to correct you, Siilaanyo did not go to the meeting. Only Faroole and a rep from the TFG.