Medeshi Jan 10, 2009
Can Puntland´s Farole Put an End to the Somali Piracy Phenomenon Now?
By M. S. Megalommatis
"I am one of the founding fathers [of Puntland] who helped enact the Provisional Constitution [of 1998]", Mr. Farole, the newly elected president of the semi-autonomous province of Puntland said. "It is a historic democratic election in Puntland, making me the region's fourth president since 1998. I hope I will bring some changes", Farole said after being elected. But first opposition responses in Puntland reacted angrily to the election of Abdirahman Mohamed (nicknamed Faroole) a former banker and Puntland finance Minister under Presidents Hashi and Yusuf as well as minister of Planning & International Cooperation under Mohamud Muse Hersi [nicknamed Muse Adde] and stated that he only won with the financial backing of a dubious exploitation company.
Farole was using his website, Garowe Online ´http://www.garoweonline.com´, created weeks after his departure from Puntland in 2006 and maintained by his son to expose mistakes of the former president. Farole's opponents also predict now serious clashes between resigned TFG President Abdullahi Yussuf's clan - the Omar Mahamoud - with Faroole's Isse Mahamud sub-clan, though both hail from the dominant Majeerteen clan. "If his legacy is to be taken at face value, then Farole is by far the single most corrupt government official Puntland has seen so far. As the finance minister, Farole bankrupted the State setting off its deep descendent into fiscal and economic crises - that was before the dim-witted Adde arrived at the scene to clear its coffers" stated Mohamed A. Ali. "The dispute with the President [of Puntland, Gen. Muse Adde] happened as we were in the process of finalizing the Five-Year Development Plan" which was authored by the Ministry of Planning, Farole countered. Farole and former Puntland president Muse Adde – who were allies during the 2005 election – disagreed strongly on an oil deal the then Puntland leader signed unilaterally with that small mining firm based in Australia, Range Resources.
When Muse engineered thereafter a parliament plot to sack him in February 2006, Farole supporters prohibited lawmakers from entering the parliament building in Garowe, the capital of Puntland. Three young men were gunned down in front of parliament hall in the government's crackdown, causing political uproar and a security nightmare for the government. When later questioned as to the rationale for such actions, he categorically denied of any involvement. Thanks to the late Islam Mohamed, further bloodshed was averted. Farole has lived in Melbourne / Australia since, where he is said to be a doctoral candidate in the history department at La Trobe University, and returned only two months ago to Puntland. "When I left, Puntland was well-established with security, law and order and on the correct path. There were no pirates, no [illegal militia] roadblocks", Farole stated and he has been an outspoken critic of Range's rights to Puntland's resources since the initial agreement was signed by Muse Adde, which gave the Australian company Range Resources as well as their Canadian joint venture partner, Africa Oil - co-sponsored by Sweden's Lundin family's wealth from Lundin Oil -, exclusive mineral and oil rights to Puntland in 2005. "We don't deal with any of the opposition leaders", said Range's executive director, Peter Landau recently, but insiders insist that the company had invested in both major candidates.
It remains to be seen if President Farole will maintain his former opposition to Range Resources' neo-colonial rights he criticized so vehemently in the past. And he also first has to declare how he will structure the future development in Puntland. Back in 2005 and as Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Mr. Farole said he supported efforts to ensure that aid agencies "operated in all parts of Puntland" at a time when the region was still reeling from the effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. President Farole's win will create another tsunami - that's for sure - question is only if this one will help and empower Puntlanders in general or if it just will be a turning tide for the benefit of himself and his sub-clan. Forle, however, has vowed to eradicate piracy and human trafficking originating from Puntland.
Farole was using his website, Garowe Online ´http://www.garoweonline.com´, created weeks after his departure from Puntland in 2006 and maintained by his son to expose mistakes of the former president. Farole's opponents also predict now serious clashes between resigned TFG President Abdullahi Yussuf's clan - the Omar Mahamoud - with Faroole's Isse Mahamud sub-clan, though both hail from the dominant Majeerteen clan. "If his legacy is to be taken at face value, then Farole is by far the single most corrupt government official Puntland has seen so far. As the finance minister, Farole bankrupted the State setting off its deep descendent into fiscal and economic crises - that was before the dim-witted Adde arrived at the scene to clear its coffers" stated Mohamed A. Ali. "The dispute with the President [of Puntland, Gen. Muse Adde] happened as we were in the process of finalizing the Five-Year Development Plan" which was authored by the Ministry of Planning, Farole countered. Farole and former Puntland president Muse Adde – who were allies during the 2005 election – disagreed strongly on an oil deal the then Puntland leader signed unilaterally with that small mining firm based in Australia, Range Resources.
When Muse engineered thereafter a parliament plot to sack him in February 2006, Farole supporters prohibited lawmakers from entering the parliament building in Garowe, the capital of Puntland. Three young men were gunned down in front of parliament hall in the government's crackdown, causing political uproar and a security nightmare for the government. When later questioned as to the rationale for such actions, he categorically denied of any involvement. Thanks to the late Islam Mohamed, further bloodshed was averted. Farole has lived in Melbourne / Australia since, where he is said to be a doctoral candidate in the history department at La Trobe University, and returned only two months ago to Puntland. "When I left, Puntland was well-established with security, law and order and on the correct path. There were no pirates, no [illegal militia] roadblocks", Farole stated and he has been an outspoken critic of Range's rights to Puntland's resources since the initial agreement was signed by Muse Adde, which gave the Australian company Range Resources as well as their Canadian joint venture partner, Africa Oil - co-sponsored by Sweden's Lundin family's wealth from Lundin Oil -, exclusive mineral and oil rights to Puntland in 2005. "We don't deal with any of the opposition leaders", said Range's executive director, Peter Landau recently, but insiders insist that the company had invested in both major candidates.
It remains to be seen if President Farole will maintain his former opposition to Range Resources' neo-colonial rights he criticized so vehemently in the past. And he also first has to declare how he will structure the future development in Puntland. Back in 2005 and as Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Mr. Farole said he supported efforts to ensure that aid agencies "operated in all parts of Puntland" at a time when the region was still reeling from the effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. President Farole's win will create another tsunami - that's for sure - question is only if this one will help and empower Puntlanders in general or if it just will be a turning tide for the benefit of himself and his sub-clan. Forle, however, has vowed to eradicate piracy and human trafficking originating from Puntland.
American Chronicle
