Ethiopia, Nigeria and Somalia are likely to break apart in the next few years" - US investor

Medeshi Jan 12, 2009

Ethiopia, Nigeria and Somalia are likely to break apart in the next few years" - US investor

US investor believes Ethiopia likely to break apart
A US businessman backed by former CIA and state department officials says, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Somalia are likely to break apart in the next few years. Philippe Heilberg, a former Wall Street banker and chairman of New York-based Jarch Capital told Financial Times that he is in contact with rebels in Sudan’s western region of Darfur and dissidents in Ethiopia and the government of the breakaway state of Somaliland. According to FT, the investor just bought 400,000 hectares of land – an area the size of Dubai in South Sudan from a war lord.
He was quoted as saying, "“If you bet right on the shifting of sovereignty then you are on the ground floor. I am constantly looking at the map and looking if there is any value,".
He told the Financial Times, “You have to go to the guns, this is Africa,” Read the entire article from Financial Times and have your say.
Here is more from the Financial Times.
“I am sure Paulino [Sudanese War Lord] has killed many, but I am sure he did it in protection of his people,” Mr Heilberg told the Financial Times.

(Photo: Philippe Heilberg , Jarch Capital)

Somali pirate's body washes ashore with $153,000

Medeshi Jan 11, 2009

Somali pirate's body washes ashore with $153,000
MOGADISHU, Somalia – The body of a Somali pirate who drowned just after receiving a huge ransom washed onshore with $153,000 in cash, a resident said Sunday, as the spokesman for another group of pirates promised to soon free a Ukrainian arms ship.
Five pirates drowned Friday when their small boat capsized after they received a reported $3 million ransom for releasing a Saudi oil tanker. Local resident Omar Abdi Hassan said one of the bodies had been found on a beach near the coastal town of Haradhere and relatives were searching for the other four.
"One of them was discovered and they are still looking for the other ones. He had $153,000 in a plastic bag in his pocket," he said Sunday.
The U.S. navy released photos of a parachute dropping a package onto the deck of the Sirius Star, and said the package was likely to be the ransom delivery.
But five of the dozens of pirates who had hijacked the tanker drowned when their small boat capsized as they returned to shore in rough weather. Three other pirates survived but also lost their share of the ransom.
Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of the British company Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd, said the incident was unlikely to deter attacks.
"The loss or potential loss of the ransom means the pirates will be all the more keen to get the next ransom in," he said. "There are people lining up to be pirates."
The Sirius Star had been held near the Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was loaded with 33 Soviet-designed battle tanks and crates of small arms. The same day the Sirius Star was released, the family members of the Faina crew appealed for help, saying they were not being kept informed about the negotiations or the state of their loved ones' health.
But a pirate spokesman assured The Associated Press on Sunday that the 20 crew members on the MV Faina were doing well.
"The cargo is still there unharmed and the crew is healthy," Sugule Ali said. "Once the negotiations end in mutual understanding, the ship, its crew and the cargo as well will be released."
There have been several false alarms about the release of the MV Faina since it was seized last September. Ali said the pirates were still negotiating with the ship's owners.
"Nothing has changed from our previous demand of $20 million ransom for the release of the ship, but as negotiations continue we are likely to reduce the amount," he said. He declined to give further details.
American warships have been closely monitoring the Faina amid fears that some of the weapons onboard could be taken onshore and fall into the hands of Islamic insurgents.
The shaky Somali government is battling insurgents the U.S. State Department says are linked to al-Qaida. But the situation is complicated by clan militias and rivalries within the Islamist movement.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and its lawless coastline is a perfect haven for pirates, who attacked 111 ships in the Gulf of Aden and kidnapped 42 of them last year alone. The multimillion dollar ransoms are one of the only ways to make money in the impoverished Horn of Africa nation.
An international flotilla including U.S. warships has been patrolling the area. The flotilla has stopped many attacks, but the area is too vast to keep all ships safe.

All routes to D.C. guarded for Obama inauguration

Medeshi

All routes to D.C. guarded for Obama inauguration
Security tightens ahead of ceremonies
BY TODD SPANGLER • FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF • January 11, 2009
WASHINGTON -- As the U.S. Secret Service, Washington Metropolitan Police, U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies prepare for an unprecedented level of security around Barack Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration, they may be leaving out one piece of advice for the public:

(Photographers check out photo angles Saturday at the site of President-elect Barack Obama's upcoming inauguration on the west side of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
INAUGURAL SECURITY MEASURES
Believe us, there's going to be more security in Washington at the presidential inauguration than you can squeeze into this spot, but here are some highlights and some Web sites where you can check it all out:
• LAW ENFORCEMENT: Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of personnel will be on site from the U.S. Secret Service, Washington police, U.S. Coast Guard, etc.
• AIR, WATER RESTRICTIONS: Other than regularly scheduled commercial flights, a 30-mile restricted-airspace zone is being drawn around Washington. And there are closures on the Potomac River for boats.
• STREET CLOSURES: A 3 1/2 -square-mile section of downtown Washington is being closed to traffic and the bridges from Virginia are being closed to private vehicles, too. (Though there are some pedestrian and mass transit/bus crossings.)
• ACCESS POINTS: To get to the inaugural parade, attendees will have to funnel through 13 security points. No coolers, backpacks, pets or bicycles -- plus much, much more.
• DIVE IN: There's a plethora of information on security restrictions, with maps, transportation tips, advice (like keeping small children at home) and much more at the following Web sites:
U.S. Secret Service: www.secretservice.gov/presidential_inaugural.shtml
Washington, D.C., inaugural page: www.inauguration.dc.gov
Presidential Inaugural Committee: www.pic2009.org
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies: www.inaugural.senate.gov
Mass Transit: www.wmata.com/getting_around/metro_events/inauguration.cfm
Federal Aviation
Administration: www.faa.gov/news/media/public_advisory_inauguration_2009.pdf
U.S. Coast Guard: www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/246060/cq-svann )

Get used to it
Obama's election has law enforcement in overdrive leading up to the events nine days from today in the nation's capital, with Potomac River restrictions on boats; street and bridge closings that effectively treat Virginia as if the Civil War were still being fought, and a restricted airspace zone reaching as far as Baltimore and halfway out into the Chesapeake Bay.
A 3 1/2 -square-mile chunk of downtown Washington will be closed to traffic, and Obama is getting a brand, spanking new (and heavily armored) Cadillac limo to tool around in.
"It's an unprecedented level of security," said David Heyman, director and senior fellow of the Homeland Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Now, no one expects inaugural-type levels of security to attend Obama's every move for the next four (or eight) years. But his popularity -- a recent Gallup poll showed 65% of Americans believe he will make a good president -- plus his historic standing as the nation's first African-American president, mean big crowds are expected to follow him everywhere.
And big crowds need big security.
The inauguration is a case in point: Officials expect as many as 2 million people to attend his swearing in and the inaugural parade up Pennsylvania Avenue -- far more than the 1.2 million who lined up to see Lyndon B. Johnson get sworn in by Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1965.
Add to it the heightened security in place around presidents, cabinet members and other top officials since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and it explains why so much protection is in place. At this month's inauguration, there will be thousands of law enforcement officials at the ready (the Secret Service won't talk about how many) and 13 tightly controlled access points to even get to the Mall or to see the parade.
The Department of Homeland Security's color-coded advisory system is at yellow, indicative of an elevated risk. But they say there is no "credible, specific intelligence suggesting an imminent threat" involving the inauguration.
Meaning that for any event with this many people, where the president -- and many other luminaries -- is involved, in this wide-open of a venue, this is the new normal.
Standard operating procedure.
Skilled countersnipers
The Secret Service protects the president, and it does so in relative silence. It doesn't talk about the threats it's investigating, generally, and it avoids any discussion of personnel numbers on any given detail, how many cameras might be watching an event, or even what its agents can do.
Asked to verify a news media report that its sharpshooters could hit a teacup from 1,000 feet, spokesman Edwin Donovan would go no further than, "Our countersnipers are very skilled and highly trained."
He made one thing perfectly clear, however: The public -- and the news media -- may worry that Obama faces greater threats because of his historic standing, but it doesn't change how the protection is provided. Threats are investigated, regardless of who the president is. Credible ones bring more security.
Venues are secured. Crowds are dealt with.
"In terms of preparation, it's the same methods. It's no different than any other inauguration," said Reginald Ball, president of iSekurity -- an identity theft protection service based in Washington and Auburn Hills -- who retired from the Secret Service after 30 years and was part of security for George H.W. Bush's inauguration.
A former agent in the Detroit Field Office, Ball said for Secret Service personnel, every day of protecting the president is like the Super Bowl, a game they can't lose. That said, the blueprint for security is already known -- and is just improved upon.
That blueprint has been built through many successes and a few failures. A president hasn't been injured in an assassination attempt since John Hinckley Jr. tried unsuccessfully to kill Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton in 1981. (Reagan was shot and recovered.) But there have been threats, including against Obama. For instance, before this year's election, a couple of men in Tennessee were accused of planning widespread violence against blacks to be capped with an attempt on Obama's life.
The Service is always monitoring such threats, investigating each.
"The assets that are at the disposal of the Secret Service are unbelievable," said Ball, declining to say what they are capable of in terms of security.
Still, there is reason to believe that Obama could present more of a security task than, say, George W. Bush. Obama's events on the campaign trail attracted huge crowds, for instance. His populist politics could keep big numbers of people coming, too. His children now go to school in Washington, requiring protection.
A Secret Service detail was attached to Obama on the campaign trail earlier than usual.
Meanwhile, some news media reports immediately after Obama's election in November suggested an increase in the threats against him -- though there has been no recent indication of credible threats.
In fact, if anything, the last few weeks have shown Obama trying to escape the news media spotlight -- such as when he ducked the journalists covering him during his holiday vacation in Hawaii -- an early indication perhaps that he could be having a hard time living inside the bubble that now contains him.
There are times, says Ball, when the protective unit may urge a president to cancel an event, feeling it can't be secured. But they can't tell him what to do -- like getting out of his car during the inaugural parade, for instance.
So the Secret Service designs what security it can provide and makes situations as safe as possible -- like getting the president to walk on a particular block of the parade route that it can secure.
"You talk about being hyped up and your adrenaline pumping? You're ready," said Ball.

Can Puntland´s Farole Put an End to the Somali Piracy Phenomenon Now?

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.

American Chronicle

5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share

Medeshi Jan 10, 2009

5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share
MOGADISHU, Somalia – Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said Saturday.
Pirate Daud Nure says the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday.

(Photo :AP – A parachute dropped by a small aircraft drops over the MV Sirius Star at anchor, in this U.S. Navy photo, … )
He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure was not part of the pirate operation but knew those involved.
Jamal Abdulle, a resident of the Somali coastal town of Haradhere, close to where the ship was anchored also confirmed that the boat sank and that the eight's portion of the ransom money that had been shared between dozens of pirates was lost.
U.S. Navy photos showed a parachute, carrying what they described as "an apparent payment," floating toward the tanker. The Sirius Star and its 25-member crew had been held since Nov. 15. Its cargo of crude oil was valued at US$100 million at the time.
The capture was seen as a dramatic demonstration of the pirates' ability to strike high value targets hundreds of miles offshore.
On the same day the Saudi ship was freed, pirates released a captured Iranian-chartered cargo ship, Iran's state television reported Saturday. It said the ship Daylight was carrying 36 tons of wheat when it was attacked in the Gulf of Aden Nov. 18 and seized by pirates. All 25 crew are in good health and the vessel is sailing toward Iran, the TV report said.
The U.S. Navy announced this week it will head a new anti-piracy taskforce after more than 100 ships were attacked last year. NATO and the European Union already have warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and have intervened to prevent several ships from being captured.
More than a dozen ships with about 300 crew members are still being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia, including the weapons-laden Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was seized in September.
The multimillion dollar ransoms are one of the few ways to earn a living in the impoverished, war-ravaged country. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and nearly half of its population depends on aid.

Yoshia Morishita : News articles about Somalia in relation to Japan

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009
SDF weapons rules may be eased to fight piracy
Kyodo News
A bill is being drafted to make it easier for the Self-Defense Forces to use their weapons if they engage in antipiracy missions off Somalia, government sources said Friday.
The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc kicked off debate Friday, and the government hopes to submit the bill to the Diet to deploy Maritime Self-Defense Force ships off Somalia, where piracy has been rampant. Any government bill must be endorsed by the ruling bloc before going to the Diet.
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The relaxed rules may allow the MSDF to fire on armed ships to prevent piracy even when not under attack, stirring concern of violating the war-renouncing Constitution.
A coalition panel held its first meeting on the issue Friday, but the discussion did not specifically mention easing the rules on arms use — apparently out of consideration for Buddhist-backed New Komeito, which is traditionally dovish.
Nevertheless, Gen Nakatani, a former Defense Agency chief and LDP member who cochairs the project team with New Komeito's Shigeki Sato, told other panel members at the outset of the meeting to act "so we can take steps swiftly."
According to the government sources, the bill states the need to protect non-Japanese ships and crew from pirates under Japanese law, arguing that antipiracy operations are "an important and urgent issue that the international community should tackle (together)."
The government is also mulling over the various situations in which the SDF should be allowed to use arms.
Currently, SDF personnel are allowed to use weapons only to protect themselves, foreign troops and civilians under their care, and in emergency evacuations.
Another issue the government is looking at is whether Japanese criminal law can be applied to piracy "no matter what the criminals' nationalities are or where the crimes are perpetrated," the bill said.
The use of a Penal Code provision that criminalizes interference with government officials in the execution of their duties is also being considered.
Given that other countries patrolling off Somalia often hand captured pirates to Somali authorities, Japan will still need to clarify how much it could touch upon antipiracy activities, the sources said.
Warships from the United States, the European Union and elsewhere have been patrolling off the Horn of Africa nation to crack down on piracy, which has expanded substantially in recent years.
Japanese officials and lawmakers have been talking about sending the MSDF to join the international effort, but no established legal framework exists for such duty.
The government also is considering applying a maritime police-action provision

Doc abducted in Ethiopia freed safely
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A Japanese woman kidnapped by an armed group in Ethiopia in September has been freed, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday morning.
The ministry said it confirmed Keiko Akahane, a 32-year-old doctor, had no major injuries and was in good condition. Wilhem Sools, a Dutch male nurse who was abducted with Akahane, also was released safely, the ministry said.
Akahane and the nurse work for the French medical aid group Medicins du Monde (MDM).
Akahane was released Wednesday afternoon, and was handed over to MDM. MDM then reported her release to the Japanese Embassy in Kenya. Akahane was transferred to an airport in Nairobi, and Ambassador Shigeo Iwatani met her there.
Akahane was still in Nairobi as of Thursday morning and was to undergo a medical examination, the Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry refused to answer whether a ransom was paid to the armed group for Akahane's release.
Negotiations with the armed group for the release of Akahane and the nurse were conducted mainly by MDM, the Foreign Ministry said. The ministry said it would not announce the details of Akahane's release or any statement from her because MDM was expected to do so soon.
Akahane was engaged in medical activities in the Ogaden region in eastern Ethiopia on behalf of MDM. She was abducted in the region, which is close to the border of Somalia, on Sept. 22 with the Dutch nurse by the armed group. The two were then taken to Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
Many Somalis live in the Ogaden region, and armed Somali groups go in and out the region. Antigovernment forces seeking independence from Ethiopia also are active in the region, creating political uncertainty.
A string of abductions targeting foreigners took place last year in Somalia and neighboring regions. Six to eight foreigners including members of another French humanitarian support group are still being held in Mogadishu.
At a press conference held Thursday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said, "We condemn this despicable criminal act of abduction."
Kawamura said the government will ask Japanese citizens to stay away from foreign danger zones. He also said the government would urge nongovernmental organizations to be more safety conscious. "When the groups go to dangerous areas to help people in need, it is important for those groups to do the best they can to inform their people of the dangers present in such areas," Kawamura said.
===
Abductors say ransom paid
By Shiomi Kadoya
Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
JOHANNESBURG--An armed group that freed Japanese doctor Keiko Akahane and a Dutch nurse Wednesday has claimed it received a ransom in exchange for releasing them, it was learned Thursday.
According to a source in Nairobi who phoned the armed group on Wednesday night, a man who claimed to be a spokesman for the armed group told the source that the group freed Akahane and the nurse Wednesday afternoon after confirming the ransom had been paid.
The man reportedly said the armed group had received the money and reportedly transferred the two to Nairobi from an airport in Mogadishu.
The transfer was kept secret to avoid the attention of the local media, the man told the source.
The armed group first demanded the release of group members imprisoned in Ethiopia in exchange for freeing the two. The group then demanded that MDM pay 3 million dollars (279 million yen) as ransom, but MDM refused the demand. Finally, the group demanded the Japanese government pay 1 million dollars as ransom for the release of Akahane by a deadline of Dec. 10.
(Jan. 9, 2009)

Court revives lawsuit against former Somali PM (M. Ali Samatar)

Medeshi Jan 9, 2009
Court revives lawsuit against former Somali PM
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has reinstated a human rights lawsuit against a former prime minister of Somalia who is accused of overseeing killings and other atrocities.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled Thursday that plaintiffs can sue Mohamed Ali Samantar of Fairfax, Va., who was defense minister and prime minister of Somalia in the 1980s and early 1990s under dictator Siad Barre.
The lawsuit alleges that Samantar was responsible for killings, rapes and torture, including waterboarding, of his own people while in power, particularly against disfavored clans.
The lawsuit was filed in 2004 at federal court in Alexandria under the Torture Victim Protection Act. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema tossed out the case in 2007, ruling that Samantar was entitled to immunity under a separate U.S. law, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
But the appellate court ruled that the law does not extend immunity to individuals, only to foreign states themselves and their agencies.
The ruling sets up a split among federal circuits. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California, for instance, has ruled that individuals are eligible for immunity under the law.
Samantar's lawyer, Fred B. Goldberg, said Friday that he intends to appeal — he can ask to 4th Circuit for a rehearing or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The fact that a circuit split exists makes it more likely that the Supreme Court would agree to hear an appeal, he said.
Samantar has declined numerous requests for an interview.
Pamela Merchant — executive director for the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability, which brought the suit on behalf of several Somali plaintiffs, said it only makes sense that Samantar, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years, should be subject to U.S. law.
"It is an important step in ensuring that human rights abusers who seek safe haven in the U.S. will be held accountable in our courts," she said in a statement.
The appeals court's ruling was unanimous, with Judge William B. Traxler, an appointee of Bill Clinton, writing the opinion, joined by Judge Robert B. King, also a Clinton appointee. Judge Allyson Kay Duncan, an appointee of George W. Bush, writing a concurring opinion that differed only on one small point.
Background : http://www.cja.org/cases/samantar.shtml

Ethiopia clamps down on khat dens

Medeshi Jan 9,2009

Ethiopia clamps down on khat dens

A crackdown has been launched in the Ethiopian capital on unlicensed parlours where boys and young men chew khat, a narcotic green leaf.
Addis Ababa city council has ordered raids on the backrooms where people also smoke shisha pipes and gamble.
Although khat is not banned, officials say boys skip school and steal to fund their pleasures in the parlours.
Other illegal activities such as trading stolen mobile phones are also reported to take place in khat dens.
The mild narcotic - which can cause users to experience excitement, euphoria and loss of appetite - is popular in parts of East Africa, especially Somalia, and Yemen.
During the clampdown in Addis Ababa, where the cheap narcotic has recently become popular with the young jobless, the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt saw shisha pipes being smashed, while playing cards and khat were burned.
Police have been slapping notices on the doors of unlicensed khat parlours, although the leaf is still openly sold on the streets.
Culture
The police have no way of stopping people sitting by the side of the road and chewing the drug.
Addis Ababa city council's head of justice and legal affairs Tsegaye HaileMariam made it fairly clear to our correspondent that he wished khat was a banned substance in Ethiopia.
However, exports of the drug bring in large amounts of foreign currency.
Muslims from the eastern Ethiopian city of Harar and the Somali region to the south-east chew the leaf as part of their culture.
In those areas, our correspondent says, the cream of society retires after lunch to rooms elegantly prepared with low couches and cushions to munch khat, drink sweet tea and smoke shisha pipes, while discussing the issues of the day.
She adds MPs, senior officials, security chiefs and university professors have invited her to join them in chewing khat.
But the use of the drug is now spreading to new areas of the country.

Israel and the Palestine conflict: Read the other side of the story

Medeshi Jan 9, 2009
The Israeli /Palestine conflict
My argument with a religious extremist that God has created mankind to live in peace , justice and equality to all and for all and to a certain time until He decides to revoke so has inspired me to write this simple artice . My argument with this certain person last night was confirmation of the ignorant religious extremists and close minded people who believe in death and destruction as a solution to any problem in all parts of the world. People come and go in a way or the other and in some way, the way they have left may be defined as suffering or glory (massacre or martyrdom).
My opponent in the argument was a person who enjoys all the privileges of a citizenship in the United kingdom better than me but , at the same time is not grateful for being given all the privileges of freedom.
I have offered this friend of mine, last night after he sent me a text message about the Gaza massacre, a platform for discussion about the cause of this war. I told him that I don’t support , as a Muslim, aggressors without a justifiable cause and that I am against any war and its support by the current powers of the world . I, also , offered this person to have a glimpse of the other side of the warring parties’ argument about the conflict(I:e Israel ) , but instead the person I was talking to got angry and called me un- Islamic and an infidel . As an elder and a person used to settling conflicts under a tree in accordance to the tradition of the country that I came from ( Somaliland ) I have come to the following conclusion about the current Gaza conflict:

Unless the Palestinian understand that Israel has been here and will go nowhere, then there will be no peace
Unless the Israelis stop using force to get what they want unjustifiably, then they will have no peace
All Muslims should encourage reconciliation between the Palestinians and the Jews as well as between the Muslims and the Christians; otherwise all of us including the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians will endup in a prolonged suffering and self destruction.
We, as Muslims have seen enough of the Israeli killing of the Palestinians , so let us give a chance to the other side of the story and why Israel is fighting the Arabs.
Click here to see and read:
To know more about the Palestine /Israeli conflict, please click on this link
http://fight-terror.tk/

Abdurahman Farole Elected New President Of Somalia's Puntland

Medeshi Jan 8, 2009
Abdurahman Farole Elected New President Of Somalia's Puntland
Somalia (AFP)--Puntland's parliament on Thursday elected Abdurahman Mohamed Farole as the new president of the semi-autonomous northern region of Somalia.
Farole, who received 49 votes in the 66-member house, replaces Adde Musa Hirsi, who was ousted in the first round of voting.
He becomes the third president of Puntland, a region which declared its autonomy in 1998. Puntland's first president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, resigned as Somali president late last month.
Farole held the finance portfolio under Yusuf and was one of the main opposition leaders during Adde Musa's tenure.
The coast of Puntland is a major hub for pirates who have turned the Gulf of Aden into the world's most dangerous waters, wreaking panic in the world's shipping industry.
Puntland's security apparatus was depleted by Yusuf's Ethiopia-backed war effort against the Islamists and has become largely lawless. Several foreign reporters and aid workers were kidnapped there in recent months. (END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-08-090517ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Obama : Show of togetherness in the Oval Office

Medeshi Jan 8, 2009

Show of togetherness in the Oval Office
By Leonard Doyle in Washington

Thursday, 8 January 2009

As reunions go, it was an exclusive one, a living tableau of US history for which every surviving president, and the incoming one, came to the White House for lunch.

(Photo: The first gathering of all living presidents at the White House since 1981 took place as George Bush Snr, President-elect Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter came together for lunch)
Barack Obama joined George Bush Jnr, Bill Clinton, George Bush Snr and Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office, all grinning for the cameras. The mood was light and collegial. "I love this rug," Mr Clinton whispered to Mr Bush, a variation on his "I love your tie", which he saves for people he does not care for. The event was Mr Obama's idea. Mr Bush jumped at it.
It was the first gathering of all living presidents at the White House since 1981, when Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, then president, came together before leaving for the funeral of Anwar Sadat, the Eygptian president and Nobel Peace Prize winner. On that day, they discussed the darkening situation in the Middle East, a subject surely raised at yesterday's lunch. All the former presidents have had experiences with Middle East wars and no doubt had advice for Mr Obama, who will soon be juggling the hot potato of Israel and Hamas

Why Eritrea Should Matter to the United States

Medeshi Jan 9, 2009
Why Eritrea Should Matter to the United States
By Scott A Morgan
In less than two weeks Barack Obama will assume the Presidency of the United States. This means that after eight years of the Bush Administration there stands an excellent chance of some wholesale changes in American Foreign Policy. We have heard of several potential challenges for the Incoming President but there is one which has not generated much Interest.

At this time there are stark differences between the United States and Eritrea. One of the Basic Concerns is in the Area of Human Rights. The First major area of concern is Freedom of Religion. At this time only 4 Faiths are allowed to practice in the Country. These four are: Orthodox, Lutheran, Catholic and Muslim. While the Current Government allows these Faiths to function there has been intervention over the last several years.
Another Concern has to be Freedom of the Press. Since a Crackdown on Dissent occurred in 2001 several Journalists have been detained without Charges in undisclosed locations throughout the Country. At least one reporter and several other Dissidents including a Vice-President of the Country have died in custody. Other concerns include Forced Conscription and the Repression of Civil Society.
But the factor that most strategists in the US will focus on is the role the Country is playing in regional tensions. Currently a long running Border Dispute with Ethiopia remains unresolved despite mediation by a third party. The countries whose leaders were ironically allies during the struggle against the Marxist Ethiopian Government fought a struggle that resulted in the Independence of Eritrea being seen.
Another dispute that is currently ongoing is with neighboring Djibouti. What makes this conflict an area of concern is the fact that the Headquarters for the US Military Horn of Africa Task Force is in this country. Although the Eritrean Government has seen fit only to seize a few square kilometers near the border the longer this conflict remains unresolved the greater the chance for another conflict to erupt.
Finally there is the fiasco known as Somalia. The Government in Asmara has been a vocal critic of the Ethiopian Intervention in the Country. For its part the State Department has accused the Eritrean Government of supporting the Islamist Insurgency in Somalia. In recent weeks the Country has stated that it has been the Policy of the Bush Administration that has been the root cause of spike in Piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
There is some hope that a change in Washington towards what many hope will be a more friendly Administration will be a benefit towards Africa. In some areas there may be a maintaining of current Policies in place. So this means that from a viewpoint looking at the US it may be more of the same.
In Eritrea itself there may be some Elements that may want to be an instrument of change themselves. A Group known as the RSADO (Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization) has launched a series of attacks against Military Targets. This effort known as Operation Ali Osman Mear can be seen as just the latest evidence of the frustration of the Political Opposition.
In General the United States has assisted any effort to promote Democratic Change. Whether its by having Embassy Officials attend court hearings of the Opposition to overt Military Assistance to those who have been struggling for their ideals there always has been a helping hand.
So with the current failure of the mission in Somalia will this mean that there will be an increase in scrutiny of Eritrea? We will find out soon enough.
The Author Publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet and Comments on US Policy towards Africa. Confused Eagle can be found at morganrights.tripod.com

Somalia: 'WORLD'S WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS'

Medeshi Jan 8, 2009
Somalia in turmoil
At a glance
In detail
Timeline
'WORLD'S WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS'
More than one in 10 Somalis have been forced out of their homes by conflict as Islamist insurgents who ruled the country briefly in 2006 battle against the Ethiopian-backed government. Years of anarchy since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, combined with frequent drought and rampant inflation, have turned Somalia into the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the U.N.
More than 3.2 million need humanitarian aid
More than 1.1 million displaced
Infrastructure in tatters and little law and order
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is unpopular and virtually powerless in a country where warlords, Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian-backed Somali government forces clash almost daily.
Aid workers say Somalia has more than 1.1 million internally displaced people and their numbers are swelled by an exodus of thousands of civilians each month from the capital, Mogadishu, under attack from Islamists fighting to take control of it.
Six months of strict rule by the Islamists in 2006 brought relative peace to Mogadishu. That rule ended when troops from Ethiopia, a key U.S. ally, helped restore the transitional government. Foreign involvement fuelled opposition locally and internationally and appeared to boost support for the Islamists, with some analysts saying U.S. accusations of al Qaeda involvement became a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Mogadishu since the end of 2006. Aid agencies say that the 15 km (10 mile) stretch of road between the capital and the town of Afgoye is probably the largest concentration of displaced people on the planet. In September 2008, an estimated 300,000 people were camped along the side of the road.
Somalia is the most pressing humanitarian emergency in the world - even worse than the crisis in Sudan's western Darfur region, the country representative for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said in 2008.
The U.N. Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in October 2008 that 3.2 million people need humanitarian aid. The shortages are caused by conflict, high inflation and frequent drought. But food distribution is hindered by pirate attacks on sea deliveries, roadblocks, and armed attacks on aid convoys.
Aid agencies rank Somalia one of the most dangerous places in the world to work, and few organisations base international staff there.
It is also the world's second deadliest country for journalists, after Iraq, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The self-declared state of Somaliland, in the north of the country, is relatively safe compared with the rest of Somalia, but another northern semi-autonomous region - Puntland - has become out-of-bounds for international aid workers since several kidnapping incidents.
Puntland wants to remain part of Somalia. Somaliland declared independence in 1991 and, although not recognised internationally, it has a functioning government, police force and currency.
The African Union has deployed troops to replace the Ethiopian troops whose presence has inflamed the conflict. Ethiopia began withdrawing its soldiers in January 2009 having failed to stem the Islamist insurgency. But AU troops complain they are under-funded and under-staffed.
KEY FACTS
Total population (2006) = 8.4 million (UNICEF 2008)
Life expectancy (2006) 47 =(UNICEF 2008)
Internally displaced people =1.1 million (OCHA, September 2008)
Refugees from Somalia (2007)=457,000 (UNHCR)
People in need of humanitarian aid =3.2 million (OCHA, Oct 2008)
Doctors per 100,000 people =4 (UNDP 2007)
Population with access to safe water (2004)=29 percent (UNICEF 2008)

Children under five under height for age (2000-2006)=38 percent (UNICEF 2008)

Children under five underweight (2000-2006)=36 percent (UNICEF 2008)

under-five mortality rate (2006) =145 per 1,000 live births (UNICEF 2008)

Children attending primary school (2000-2006) =Boys - 24 percent; Girls - 20 percent (UNICEF 2008)

Time Line

1960 - Independence sees unification of Somali peoples ruled since late 19th century by Britain and Italy
1969 - Army seizes power in bloodless coup. Major-General Mohamed Siad Barre takes control
1990 - Rebel Somali National Movement, United Somali Congress and Somali Patriotic Movement form alliance to topple Siad Barre
1991
Power struggle between rival clan warlords Mohamed Farah Aideed and Ali Mahdi Mohamed erupts into violence. Thousands of civilians are killed and wounded
Former British protectorate of Somaliland declares unilateral independence
1992
Rival warlords sign U.N.-sponsored ceasefire in early 1992 but fail to agree on monitoring provisions
April - U.N. Security Council approves deployment of ceasefire observers. Siad Barre flees into exile days later
Sept - Warlord Farah Aideed returns to Mogadishu and rules out deployment of U.N. troops
Dec - Security Council endorses full-scale military operation led by United States. U.S. Marines hit Mogadishu's beaches in "Operation Restore Hope"
1993
Jan - At U.N. talks in Addis Ababa, feuding clan militias sign first of many pacts to stop fighting
Oct - Eighteen U.S. Army Rangers and one Malaysian killed when Somali militias shoot down two U.S. helicopters in Mogadishu. Hundreds of Somalis die in ensuing fighting. U.S. mission formally ends in March 1994
1995 - U.N. peacekeepers withdraw
1998 - Puntland region in northern Somalia declares independence
2000
May - Somali National Peace Conference brings together more than 2,000 participants
Aug - Transitional National Government (TNG) is established to try to unite warring Somalis
2003
Sept - Factions agree to a transitional constitution and set five-year term for elections after TNG mandate expires in August
2004
Oct - Ethiopian-backed warlord Abdullahi Yusuf elected Somali president by lawmakers. In December, new Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi swears in 27 ministers in Kenya
2005
Feb - Somali president and prime minister arrive in central Somali town of Jowhar for first time since their government was formed in Kenya
2006
Jan - Somalia's president and parliamentary speaker reach deal to end government rift by holding parliamentary meeting inside Somalia within 30 days
Feb 26 - Parliament holds first meeting inside country since interim government was formed
March - U.N. warns famine could kill 10,000 people a month if rainy season fails
Fierce fighting breaks out in Mogadishu between warlords and Islamist militants. European Commission officially recognises Somalia's interim government, and signs pact with government making it easier for EC to channel aid to Somalia
May - Another bout of violence breaks out between Islamic militia and warlords, killing around 150 people
Jun - Islamist militia take control of Mogadishu
Arab League begins mediation between Islamists and government. Interim government and Islamic Courts movement recognise each other in their first direct high-level talks in Sudan
Jul - Ethiopian troops reported to have crossed into Somalia. Ethiopia denies. U.N. Security Council expresses willingness to consider long-delayed deployment of foreign peacekeepers. Interim government postpones peace talks, accusing Islamists of violating a ceasefire
Growing number of ministers quit interim government, after trying unsuccessfully to remove prime minister from power. Diplomats say move is in protest at Gedi's reluctance to engage with Islamists, and is aimed at facilitating peace talks. One minister is assassinated outside a mosque in Baidoa
A conventional passenger plane flies in and out of Mogadishu's re-opened international airport for first time in 11 years
Aug - Somalia's cabinet dissolved
Gedi swears in slimmed-down, 31-member cabinet but doesn't appoint any Islamists
Sep - Islamists and interim government meet at talks hosted by Arab League and agree to unified military front, but stall on political issues over Islamists' demand for Ethiopia to withdraw troops
East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) continues to push forward a plan to send peacekeepers to Somalia, despite opposition by both Islamists and interim government
Gunmen kill Italian nun working at a children's hospital in north Mogadishu
Somalia's first known suicide bombing targets president in Baidoa. Attack kills five people including Yusuf's brother. Administration blames al Qaeda
Islamists take control of port city of Kismayu, saying they're defending country from any invasion attempts by Ethiopia or Uganda
Oct - Islamists declare holy war against Ethiopia, which they accuse of invading Somalia to help the interim government. Ethiopia still denies any incursion
Nov - Islamists capture town near semi-autonomous Puntland, which has strong ties with Ethiopia. Transitional government and Islamists fail to meet for scheduled peace talks
Report by U.N. Monitoring Group says 10 countries, including members of IGAD bloc of six eastern African countires, continue to violate U.N. arms embargo
Dec - Aid agencies say worst floods in years kill more than 100 people and affect at least 350,000
Security Council passes resolution endorsing African peacekeepers for Somalia
Islamists tell Ethiopia to leave Somalia within seven days or face war. Fighting starts on Dec 19 following end of deadline
Ethiopia publically admits military involvement in Somalia. Ethiopian jets strike Islamist-controlled airport of Baledogle, Somalia's biggest military airfield, and Mogadishu
Somali government forces and Ethiopian allies march into Mogadishu after Islamist rivals abandon the city
2007Jan - Somali government and Ethiopian troops seize Kismayu, the Islamists' last remaining stronghold. U.S. forces launch air strikes in south Somalia, targeting suspected al Qaeda cell. More U.S. strikes follow over coming months. Three-month state of emergency declared by interim government
Feb - Security Council authorises African Union peacekeeping mission
Mar - First Ugandan peacekeepers arrive. Insurgents drag soldiers' bodies through Mogadishu during heavy fighting with Ethiopian and government forces. Ethiopian helicopter gunships fire rockets on insurgents' strongholds in north Mogadishu in first use of aerial power in capital
May - U.N. aid chief John Holmes says aid workers are only reaching about a third of thousands who fled Mogadishu. He calls it world's worst displacement crisis in terms of numbers and access. World Food Programme says increasing piracy is threatening food supplies
Jun - Ethiopia says will withdraw troops once peace is established
Jul - National reconciliation conference opens in Mogadishu amid upsurge in violence. Islamist leaders refuse to attend
Sep - New opposition alliance meets in Asmara, Eritrea, and says it will campaign for military and diplomatic solution to conflict
Oct - Prime Minister Ghedi resigns
Nov - U.N. special envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah says humanitarian crisis is worst in Africa. Nur Hassan Hussein sworn in as new prime minister. U.N. says 1 million Somalis now displaced, and nearly 200,000 fled Mogadishu in previous fortnight
2008
Jan - Many aid agencies pull out international staff after series of kidnappings and killings, including incidents in Puntland, formerly regarded as relatively safe
May - Ethiopia says it will keep troops inside Somalia until Islamists are defeated
U.N. Security Council allows countries to send warships to tackle pirates in Somalia's waters
Jun - Government signs three-month ceasefire pact with opposition Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia, which says Ethiopian troops will leave Somalia within 120 days. Islamists reject deal, vowing to continue fighting until all foreign troops have left
Jul - Head of U.N. Development Programme in Somalia, Osman Ali Ahmed, killed by gunmen in Mogadishu. World Food Programme says surge in attacks on aid workers is threatening entire aid response, and warns resulting humanitarian disaster would rival that of 1992-3 famine
Oct - Coordinated suicide car bombings across relatively peaceful regions of Somaliland and Puntland kill at least 30 people
Somali government and faction of Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia sign ceasefire in Djibouti and agree to national unity govt, dependent on Ethiopian troop withdrawal by early 2009
Fighting reported between Islamic Courts and al Shabaab Islamist factions near Mogadishu
Nov - President Abdullahi Yusuf says Islamists control most of country and warns government could completely collapse
Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein fail to agree new cabinet or form new transitional government by Nov. 12 deadline set by Africa's Inter-Governmental Authority on Development. Hardline Islamists do not attend new round of peace talks in Djibouti. Ethiopia says will withdraw troops by end-2008
Dec - Yusuf sacks Hussein. Parliament votes to reinstate him, but Yusuf names former interior minister Mohamed Mohamud Guled as new prime minister, deepening rifts in fractured government. Guled resigns, saying he does not want to be stumbling block to peace process, and Hussein reinstated. Yusuf resigns and Parliament speaker Sheikh Aden Madobe becomes interim president in line with the constitution. Elections due to be held within 30 days
2009
Jan - Ethiopia begins withdrawing its troops

Massacre in Gaza

Medeshi Jan 7, 2009

Robert Fisk: Why do they hate the West so much, we will ask
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
A child injured in the Israeli bombardment of a UN school yesterday is taken to Shifa hospital in Gaza City
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Fares Akram: I heard the news... it's time to evacuate my pregnant wife

So once again, Israel has opened the gates of hell to the Palestinians. Forty civilian refugees dead in a United Nations school, three more in another. Not bad for a night's work in Gaza by the army that believes in "purity of arms". But why should we be surprised?
Have we forgotten the 17,500 dead – almost all civilians, most of them children and women – in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon; the 1,700 Palestinian civilian dead in the Sabra-Chatila massacre; the 1996 Qana massacre of 106 Lebanese civilian refugees, more than half of them children, at a UN base; the massacre of the Marwahin refugees who were ordered from their homes by the Israelis in 2006 then slaughtered by an Israeli helicopter crew; the 1,000 dead of that same 2006 bombardment and Lebanese invasion, almost all of them civilians?
What is amazing is that so many Western leaders, so many presidents and prime ministers and, I fear, so many editors and journalists, bought the old lie; that Israelis take such great care to avoid civilian casualties. "Israel makes every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties," yet another Israeli ambassador said only hours before the Gaza massacre. And every president and prime minister who repeated this mendacity as an excuse to avoid a ceasefire has the blood of last night's butchery on their hands. Had George Bush had the courage to demand an immediate ceasefire 48 hours earlier, those 40 civilians, the old and the women and children, would be alive.
What happened was not just shameful. It was a disgrace. Would war crime be too strong a description? For that is what we would call this atrocity if it had been committed by Hamas. So a war crime, I'm afraid, it was. After covering so many mass murders by the armies of the Middle East – by Syrian troops, by Iraqi troops, by Iranian troops, by Israeli troops – I suppose cynicism should be my reaction. But Israel claims it is fighting our war against "international terror". The Israelis claim they are fighting in Gaza for us, for our Western ideals, for our security, for our safety, by our standards. And so we are also complicit in the savagery now being visited upon Gaza.
I've reported the excuses the Israeli army has served up in the past for these outrages. Since they may well be reheated in the coming hours, here are some of them: that the Palestinians killed their own refugees, that the Palestinians dug up bodies from cemeteries and planted them in the ruins, that ultimately the Palestinians are to blame because they supported an armed faction, or because armed Palestinians deliberately used the innocent refugees as cover.
The Sabra and Chatila massacre was committed by Israel's right-wing Lebanese Phalangist allies while Israeli troops, as Israel's own commission of inquiry revealed, watched for 48 hours and did nothing. When Israel was blamed, Menachem Begin's government accused the world of a blood libel. After Israeli artillery had fired shells into the UN base at Qana in 1996, the Israelis claimed that Hizbollah gunmen were also sheltering in the base. It was a lie. The more than 1,000 dead of 2006 – a war started when Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on the border – were simply dismissed as the responsibility of the Hizbollah. Israel claimed the bodies of children killed in a second Qana massacre may have been taken from a graveyard. It was another lie. The Marwahin massacre was never excused. The people of the village were ordered to flee, obeyed Israeli orders and were then attacked by an Israeli gunship. The refugees took their children and stood them around the truck in which they were travelling so that Israeli pilots would see they were innocents. Then the Israeli helicopter mowed them down at close range. Only two survived, by playing dead. Israel didn't even apologise.
Twelve years earlier, another Israeli helicopter attacked an ambulance carrying civilians from a neighbouring village – again after they were ordered to leave by Israel – and killed three children and two women. The Israelis claimed that a Hizbollah fighter was in the ambulance. It was untrue. I covered all these atrocities, I investigated them all, talked to the survivors. So did a number of my colleagues. Our fate, of course, was that most slanderous of libels: we were accused of being anti-Semitic.
And I write the following without the slightest doubt: we'll hear all these scandalous fabrications again. We'll have the Hamas-to-blame lie – heaven knows, there is enough to blame them for without adding this crime – and we may well have the bodies-from-the-cemetery lie and we'll almost certainly have the Hamas-was-in-the-UN-school lie and we will very definitely have the anti-Semitism lie. And our leaders will huff and puff and remind the world that Hamas originally broke the ceasefire. It didn't. Israel broke it, first on 4 November when its bombardment killed six Palestinians in Gaza and again on 17 November when another bombardment killed four more Palestinians.
Yes, Israelis deserve security. Twenty Israelis dead in 10 years around Gaza is a grim figure indeed. But 600 Palestinians dead in just over a week, thousands over the years since 1948 – when the Israeli massacre at Deir Yassin helped to kick-start the flight of Palestinians from that part of Palestine that was to become Israel – is on a quite different scale. This recalls not a normal Middle East bloodletting but an atrocity on the level of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. And of course, when an Arab bestirs himself with unrestrained fury and takes out his incendiary, blind anger on the West, we will say it has nothing to do with us. Why do they hate us, we will ask? But let us not say we do not know the answer.

Indy

Somaliland and Djibouti

Medeshi Jan 6, 2009
Geographically, Djibouti is located at North-West of Somaliland. The famous city of Zayla at Sarar region of Somaliland serves as major trade link between the two countries; the countries exchange millions of dollars in trade every year. both Djibouti and Somaliland share common major businessmen.
The people of both the countries share language, religion, culture and are kinsmen in addition to history of living in peace and harmony. Both Somali tribes in Djibouti are also citizens of Somaliland and vice versa.
In 2003, Former Minister of Tourism in Somaliland was Nephew of Minister of Interior Affairs in Djibouti. This illustrates the deep-rooted traditional relation between Somaliland and Djibouti.
President of Djibouti Ismail Omer Gelle praised Somaliland democracy progress, peace and security development during Eid Prayer. The audience welcomed the president´s statements on Somaliland, which showed the wide and increasing support for Somaliland independence between Djibouti people. Also, Somaliland government supported Djibouti against Eritrean illegal intrusion in Djibouti territory, by sending thousands of livestock as support.
At each summer, you can see large number of Djibouti citizens moving around the major cities in Somaliland like Boorame, Gabiley and Hargiesa. The people of Djibouti come to Somaliland to escape from the blazing summer heat of Djibouti. In Somaliland, they feel like home, and even majority of them own houses and relatives in Somaliland. Somalilanders call Djibouti citizens ´Yaa Khii´ which identifies the person is from Djibouti. These are deeply-rooted connections between two countries.
Before the independence of Djibouti on 1977, the Somalilanders played vital role in the campaign of liberation Djibouti from France, and even French Forces deported large number of Djibouti citizens with Somaliland roots back to Republic of Somaliland. Majority of deportees were active in the struggle against the colonizer. The citizens of both Djibouti and Somaliland have very respected roles in the struggle against the colonizing forces in the region. Both people won their independence without bloodshed and signed agreements which led the colonizers to leave.
The First Lady of Djibouti is one of those citizens with Somaliland roots, in addition to other important cabinet members and MPs. The people of both sides, Djibouti and Somaliland, share common culture, language, tradition and religion.
However, in East Africa, where diplomatic connections and unwritten traditional codes are especially strong, Somaliland democracy is facing a significant obstacle from African Union. But the hardworking Somaliland diplomacy will soon overcome the obstacles, and lead the country towards independence.
The recent visit of Somaliland President Dahir Riyale Kahin to Djibouti strengthened the commercial and political ties between the two countries. The two Border Guard Forces of Somaliland and Djibouti coordinate on border security. Djibouti authority is very much satisfied the peaceful border with Somaliland.
No illegal smuggle, human trafficking and armed violence cross into Djibouti territory from Somaliland. This is very excellent point, in which the Djibouti authority appreciates always. Today, Ethiopia and Kenya are suffering of the illegal arms entering in their countries from lawless Somalia. So Djibouti should be lucky to have democratic and peaceful Somaliland.
By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi