what future for somalia, will farah addo be the new president?

[Liqaye]

What future awaits Somalia?

 

WILL FARAH ADDOW BE THE NEW PRESIDENT?

 

By Enrico Giustiniani

 

Abdullahi Farah Addow will be the first president of the new course in Somalia. After over

ten years of bloody and tormented conflicts Somalia is getting ready to return to international

legality. The long peace process, which had already led to the constitution of a first temporary

government in 2000, is drawing to an end in Nairobi, where for months the representatives of

all the Somali ethnic groups and the representatives of the neighbouring countries of the Horn

of Africa have been meeting in a permanent convention under the aegis of Igad and Italy.

In July the new constituent assembly will take over in Mogadiscio: after a difficult

compromise the constituent assembly will be made up of 450 members chosen from clan

leaders and intellectuals. Their main task will be that of drawing up the new constitution. In

August Addow’s presidency will be made official and he will then nominate the head of

government and prepare the country for new and democratic future elections.

Abdullahi Farah Addow is well-known for being anti-fundamentalist, moderate and pro-West

and he has been able to mediate between Arab and Western needs. He is the ideal president to

set Somalia off towards a democracy.

The future of this country depends first of all on the Somali people, but in order to do this

terrorists must be eliminated. It is almost certain that an international military force, made up

of various African nations, together with the logistic contribution of the US and the Arab

states, will be ready for action in July. It will act as international police with such duties as:

getting hold of the many firearms present in the country and guaranteeing the legality of the

new democratic institutions which in actual fact did not allow the existence of a constitutional

state in Somalia. A task which will last until the newly founded Somali institutions will be

able to guarantee their own security by themselves. The new executive alone will never be

able to eliminate the alleged Al Qaeda bases in the country nor crush the rebel clans with the

very meagre resources available. Aid will have to be for Somalia’s rebirth and reconstruction

and not for the elimination of terrorism.

A situation which has now become intolerable in the Horn of Africa and which has

repercussions mainly on its already badly-hit economy. Kenya most of all has suffered the

consequences, indeed it closed Somalia’s air space due to the danger coming from the terrorist

groups which until today have found easy shelter in the Somali “non-state”.

 

Abdullahi Addow is an ex general who was trained in the 60’s in the Italian Academy of the

Financial Police Force. He held several positions in the Government during the Siad Barre

presidency: Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia, Minister of Finance and the last Somali

ambassador in the USA. His election can but only strengthen the ties between USA, Italy and

Somalia and bring democracy into this tormented country.

Addow has thanked in particular Italy and few entrepreneurs and friends of our country who

have supported his delicate mission as mediator since 2001, when any sort of compromise

still seemed difficult, counting on him to relaunch Italian economic enterprise in the new

course for Somalia. A ‘thank you’ also for the work done by the Italian ONU inspectors

Massimo Pizza and Antonio D’Andrea who, with their monitoring and intelligence work,

have managed to keep a high level of international attention focused on Somalia.

Apart from re-establishing a Constitutional State and conducting reconstruction aid, Addow’s

objective is to overcome the misunderstandings and discords with the other neighbours of the

Horn of Africa, hoping to create one commercial space without barriers between Ethiopia,

Eritrea, Gibuti, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda.

Not only Mediterranean Africa but also The Horn of Africa represents, once it has been

pacified, a potential useful market also for Italy, the country that already represents the

European union for Somalia and which will be the next president for the European semester

and is becoming the “natural” international guarantor to protect the delicate democratic

course of the Somali people.

[Liqaye]

what the somaliland times has to say about farah addoFarah Addo’s Misrepresentation And Abuse Of Aid

 

 

 

During his reign of terror, Somalia’s late dictator, Mohamed Siyad Barre, had grown so fond of Farah Waheliye Addo that he picked him to become the chairman of the country’s National Olympic Committee and its ambassador-at-large for world sports. The Somali sports community was, of course, forced to rubber stamp both designations with their approval as any voice of objection would have, under those circumstances, incurred being arrested, tortured or even killed. But long after his former protector was disgracefully chased out of power and Somalia disintegrated into large battlegrounds for warring militia groups, Mr. Addo, believe it or not, has had no problem to convince world sports officials that he is still indispensable.

 

 

 

To cover his vulnerability resulting from the sudden departure of Barre in early 1991, Addo was quick enough to find a new godfather in the person of Essa Hayatou, President of the Confederation of African Football. The Cameroonian Hayatou not only turned a blind eye to the legally questionable status of Addo, but had reportedly used his influence as CAF’s boss that this issue is not pursued by sports authorities elsewhere. And it did seem that the two men needed each other’s skills so much that Hayatou had had to choose Addo as his vice in the CAF. This relationship has provided the right cover for Addo to go on a campaign for soliciting aid, both cash and in kind, from every possible donor that he could reach, ostensibly for the development of sports in a country where ordinary people felt insecure unless they were armed. As a result, millions of dollars in aid given for improving Somalia’s sports, allegedly ended up in Addo’s personal bank accounts.

 

 

 

Sadly enough, a significant portion of the aid money was reportedly even used for financing the war activities of Addo’s own tribal militiamen in Mogadishu. It is a pity that international sport bodies such as CAF and FIFA would have allowed this fraud to happen.

 

 

 

We however believe that this aid abuse operation merits to be fully and immediately investigated. The International Olympic Committee, CAF and FIFA, which are suspected of complicity with Addo in this affair, must take the lead in the initiation of a call for an independent investigation of this large-scale abuse of aid intended for Somalia’s sports. All donors who had contributed resources through Mr. Addo are also needed to come forward with an expressed call for an investigation.

 

 

 

Sportsmen and women in neighboring Somalia will have to decide for themselves as to whether to pursue this case or not. But since Addo has been claiming that he also represented the Republic of Somaliland, the sports authorities here must make sure that their grievances, complaints and demand for seeing this man held accountable for his alleged wrongdoings, must be conveyed to concerned regional and international confederations and committees. Addo must be stopped.

 

 

 

 

Farah Addo Finances A Mogadishu-Based Faction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mogadishu (SL Times): Mr. Farah Wehiliye Addo, the current Vice-President of the Confederation of African Football, is the main financial backer of the armed militia men led by Mr. Omer Finish in Mogadishu, Somalia, the Somaliland Times has learned. Mr. Addo is from the same sub-tribe of Omer Finish who has been logged for the last one year in a fierce fighting against another faction leader, Sudi Yalahow, for the control of the southwestern Madin section of Mogadishu. Omer Finish is the former chief of staff of Sudi Yalahow. Both men as well as Addo belong to the Abgal sub-clan of the ****** clan. Mr. Finish had, on the instigation of Mr. Addo, revolted against Yallahow early last year and instead allied himself with the so-called transitional national government of Somalia, better known as the Arta faction.

 

 

 

Sudi Yallahow and most of other faction leaders in Somalia are opposed to the Arta faction. Farah Addo supports this group on the understanding that it doesn’t interfere with his capacity to retain his controversial title as Chairman of the Somali National Olympic Committee.

 

 

 

The TNG had in fact accredited Addo’s re-election for this position in a bogus congress of the National Olympic Committee purportedly held in Mogadishu last year. Long before his fall in Jan 1991, Somalia’s former dictator Siyad Barre had given Addo the title of “Exemplary Sportsman of Scientific Socialism.”

 

 

 

From an ordinary football referee in the seventies, Addo or Sendiko, as he is widely known by Somalis, rose up swiftly through the sports hierarchy of his country to become Chairman of the Olympic Committee.

 

Because of Barre’s protection and support, Addo actually exercised complete control over all the country’s sports activities be it internally or externally.

 

 

 

After Siyad Barre’s fall in Jan. 1991, Somalia became a battleground for rival clan militia groups vying for power and the state that used to be called the Somali Democratic Republic disintegrated into oblivion. As a result, Somalia’s diplomatic missions abroad and its envoys to regional, continental and international bodies saw their representation credentials invalidated by host governments or organizations. In the arena of world sports however, Somali officials were somehow able to get a kind of a business-as-usual treatment from their former international counterparts.

 

 

 

During the last 10 years, Addo has reportedly embezzled millions of dollars in aid money that has been donated for the development of sports in a country where people found it unsafe to pray in Mosques let alone practice sports. Addo is known to have been claiming during his fund-raising campaigns abroad that he also represents Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in early 1991 after 10-year long war of independence against Barre’s regime. Despite being the only place where peace has been fully restored and people practice sports activities, Somaliland has however been denied to receive even a small portion of the one million US dollar granted by the FIFA in the year 2000 for improving sports infrastructures and coaching for the former Somalia.

[General Duke]

If Addo became President he wont be worse than what is in the country now, if he wins I beleive he would do a good job, however the success of any new leader depends on the support given to him by the international community and by his country men.

[Gabbal]

Sardaukar and Smith, If I'm not mistaken there is a misunderstanding going on.

 

The Farah the first article was about is this man

 

 

While the "Somaliland" Times one is about Farah Sandiko

 

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

So what happened to Calanside from the North. I thought there was some talk about him being elected? I guess it was an early hype.

[Saxardiid]

i think horn is right the two guys are different one was the man who challenged Abdiqasim in Arto election while the other one shown his interest in politics in last summer. so which one you refering?

[General Duke]

I was refering to Sindiko the football and not the one who came second in Arta Abdullahi Ahmed Adow.

 

Abdullahi Adow is a seasoned politician and some believe that he is a front runner for President in Kenya, however he has to beat Aydeed Jr to win their clans support.

 

Sindiko has support from his group and on paper has got a very good chance of winning.