BBC Monitoring International Reports, August 29, 2003
SOMALILAND DELEGATION "EXPECTED TO JOIN" SOMALI PEACE TALKS IN KENYA
A delegation that comprise politicians, businessmen and traditional elders, is expected to join the Somali reconciliation conference (in Kenya) after IGAD (Inter-governmental Authority on Development) technical committee prepared their invitation papers. The members who are of Somaliland descent, are expected to take part in the last rounds of the conference. A high-ranking official at the Mbagathi conference, who works with the secretariat, who asked to remain anonymous, told HornAfrik the delegation would comprise politicians, traditional elders and well-known businessmen of Somaliland descent from Hargeysa, Mogadishu, Dubai and other places in the world.
Apart from the Somaliland delegation that is about to join the conference, members from civil society groups and the Transitional National Government are also attending the conference.
When the delegates who are expected to join the conference, arrive they would hold meetings with the other Somaliland members currently attending the conference and discuss how to share parliamentary seats.
No delegation from the Somaliland administration has attended the Somali reconciliation conference that has been going on for 11 months. The administration has repeatedly refused to attend the conference and to hold talks in Hargeysa with a delegation from the (Mbagathi) conference.
A delegation led by a (former) Kenyan assistant minister was the last to cancel its visit to Hargeysa after they did not get an invitation from the (Somaliland) administration.
Source: HornAfrik Online text web site, Mogadishu, in Somali 29 Aug 03 ) BBC Monitoring
Source: UN OCHA Integrated Regional Information Network, Date: 12 Sept 2003
Somalia: Concern over food insecurity in the Sool Plateau
NAIROBI, 12 September (IRIN) - The drought-hit Sool Plateau faces increasing food insecurity, having been bypassed by rains that fell in August in other parts of northern Somalia, a food security watchdog says in its latest report.
In its September report, the Food Security Assessment Unit (FSAU) - a joint project of the EC and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation - called for "appropriate responses" from the humanitarian community.
The UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator, Max Gaylard, and acting head of the FSAU, Nick Haan, visited the Sool Plateau, located in Sanaag region, this week to investigate reports of a looming food crisis among pastoralist communities living in the drought-prone area.
"The reports suggests that a humanitarian crisis could be unfolding in the area: the visit of Mr Gaylard and Mr Haan was made to confirm that the issue is serious, and initial discussions suggest that it is" Calum McLean, head of UNOCHA-Somalia, told IRIN.
McLean went on to say that, "it is important that the humanitarian community, local authorities and communities work together to address the causes in order to prevent this crisis occurring in the future, as well as to alleviate the current problem."
A Somali agronomist told IRIN that the problems in the Sool Plateau were complicated by the fact that the area is claimed by both the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland. The two regions fall geographically within Somaliland, but most of the clans who live there are associated with neighbouring Puntland.
The FSAU report recommends an inter-agency emergency needs assessment to design appropriate responses to the crisis.
Source URL:
http://www.irinnews.org/
Source: UNICEF, Date: 31 Aug 2003
UNICEF Somalia Review Aug 2003
Grassroots march for peace reaches Galkayo
A peace march led by renowned Somali poet Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame, alias 'Hadrawi', reached Galkayo on 3 August. The March, which began in Mogadishu, is an initiative by Somali artists in support of peace and is organized by Somali civil society under the aegis of the Mogadishu-based Peace and Human Rights Network (PHRN) with support from Oxfam (Novib) Netherlands. The March has passed through a number of key towns, including Kismayo, has been warmly received by residents.
Health programme highlights
The Somaliland local administration and UNICEF held five refreshertraining workshops for 45 Community Health Workers (CHWs) from 45 health posts in Togdheer Sanaag regions. The training focussed on improving case management, recording-keeping reporting. It followed the release joint report from UNICEF and local heath authorities that indicated that the performance of the CHWs was below the required standards.
In the Awdal region, the local administration and UNICEF conducted training for the leaders of 30 village health committees running health posts in the area. The training sought to prepare the participants to spearhead the revitalization of village health committees by providing them with basic management skills. In Northeast (also known as 'Puntland'), UNICEF in collaboration with the administration and other partners the health sector organized a six- refresher training on Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) in Garowe near the end of July.
The training was attended by 33 health staff from facilities around Puntland.
In Southern Somalia, UNICEF conducted refresher training in immunization skills in Afmadow for staff involved in vaccination campaigns.
In the Northwest (also known as 'Somaliland'), UNICEF and local administration health staff from Togdheer, Sanaag and Sool organized social mobilization workshops in Burao, Erigavo and Las Anod between 8-20th of the month. The aim was to dispel misconceptions about vaccines and the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). The participants consisted of religious leaders, elders, health workers and representatives of youth groups and women's organizations.
UNICEF provided partners in Puntland with drugs and immunization supplies including iron-cum-folic acid supplementation for the prevention and treatment of anaemia in pregnant women. The supplies were distributed to 17 Maternal and Child Health Centres/Outpatient Dispensaries and 15 health posts through the local administration and the Somali Red Cross Society (SRCS). In Central and Southern Somalia, UNICEF distributed immunization supplies and carried out campaigns in Belet Weyne, Tieglow and Afmadow districts.
Immunization campaigns against the six killer childhood diseases - measles, tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus - were carried out in the five regional capitals of Northwest zone from 17-21 August.
In Dongorayo, Northeast Zone, UNICEF undertook pre-immunization registration of children aged less than five years.
Nutrition programme update
UNICEF has completed the analysis and first draft of the nutrition survey conducted in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Bossaso.
World Breastfeeding week was celebrated from 1-7 August by UNICEF, local communities and local authorities with various activities conducted to raise public awareness about the importance of breastfeeding for child survival and development.
In the Northwest and Northeast, UNICEF and the local administrations and civil society groups held public gatherings and organized advocacy meetings to promote breastfeeding.
Finally, the International Code on Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and information on 10 steps of successful breastfeeding were distributed during the week and local radio, television and newspapers covered the Week with several radio and television spots aired daily.
Water and Environmental Sanitation update
A management company was formed to run the Boroma Water Supply System in Somaliland. UNICEF will hand over the project to the utility company in September. Construction and associated works for the Gebiley Water System and the Geed Ballaadh Water Project both in Somaliland continued during August.
Education highlights
UNICEF and local education authorities in the Northwest organized a Non Formal Education (NFE) workshop from 6-25 August at the Education Development Centre in Hargeisa for 138 NFE teachers from youth and other organizations.
Youth
A Leadership for Organizational Development (LOD) workshop for youth leaders was held from 9-18 August at the Family Life Education Centre in Hargeisa. Some 47 participants from 10 youth groups Bari and Nugal regions in the Northeast were also trained. UNICEF in collaboration with the local authorities in the Northeast developed a plan for the commemoration of World Peace Day on 21 September 2003 which will marked by activities including a football tournament and athletic competition.
HIV/AIDS prevention and control
UNICEF organized a one-day workshop in Hargeisa for 47 participants from Hargeisa, Borama, Berbera and Burao, in the Northwest, to develop a communication framework on prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections. The participants comprised religious leaders, representatives of women and youth groups, NGOs and the local administration. Among the issues discussed was the role of condoms in HIV/AIDS prevention.
In Boroma, UNICEF and Awdal Band, a local NGO, produced a drama for raising public awareness of HIV/AIDS, FGM and gender issues. The drama performance is available on video cassette.
As part of the strategy of integrating HIV/AIDS into other social programmes, a three-hour training session was conducted on basic facts about HIV/AIDS for youth representatives from Hargeisa, Burao and Gebiley attending the LOD workshop held in Hargeisa. A similar awareness-raising session was held for 124 participants at workshops organized by UNDP in Hargeisa and Burao for the heads of police stations in western and eastern parts of the Northwest.
In the Northeast, UNICEF organized a HIV/AIDS communication framework workshop for 30 participants in late July. UNICEF staff also met the head of the newly-established Bossaso Social Centre funded by the European Union, which serves vulnerable communities in Bossaso. The possibility of integrating HIV/AIDS awareness activities into its programmes as well as issues related to the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was discussed. UNICEF participated in discussions organized by the Bossaso Social Centre on gender and attended the launch of a daycare/ reproductive health project in Bossaso.
Child Protection
UNICEF, Save the Children-US, UNDP and the local authorities in the Northwest organized a three-day training workshop at the end of July in Hargeisa for members of the Judiciary from all the six regions. The trainees were sensitized on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and best practices for juvenile justice. Copies of the Convention of the Rights of the Child in Somali were distributed. A workshop on similar issues was organized for 70 police station commanders.
In the Northeast, UNICEF was represented at a training session on human rights and child protection organized by the Somali Women Reunification Union (SRWU) for 63 participants from four IDP camps in Bossaso. UNICEF staff also held discussions with representatives of various organizations on issues related to child protection and the Child Protection Study that was recently concluded. UNICEF extended invitations to representatives of these organizations to join a Child Protection Core Group. The representatives of organizations included those of the Puntland Students Association (PSA), and the Project Manager of the Africa-70-run Bossaso Social Centre.
If you have questions about the UNICEF Somalia Monthly Review please contact: Robert Kihara, Assistant Communication Officer e-mail: rkihara@unicef.org or
Julia Spry-Leverton, Communication Officer, Tel: 254-2-623958/ 623950/ 623862/ 623959/ 350410, Fax: 254-2-520640/ 623965
For further information on UNICEF, visit its website at
http://www.unicef.org/
The Toronto Star, August 24, 2003, SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. F03/BYLINE: Finbarr O'Reilly, SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Somalis' hearts call them home
HIGHLIGHT: Expats flocking back to rebuild northern centre Canadians among those bringing new hope for Hargeisa
Hargeisa, Northern Somalia During Somalia's vicious civil war, MiG jets took off from Hargeisa's local airport and bombed the city, flattening virtually every building and leaving the streets looking like row upon row of smashed teeth.
The windblown desert city, once the capital of British Somaliland, still doesn't look like much, with its parched river of sand flowing through the middle of town and millions of coloured plastic bags clinging to trees, fences and telephone poles like some artificial national flower.
But expatriates from around the globe are flocking back to Hargeisa to help rebuild the area they fled as refugees or emigrants when their homeland imploded.
"The returning traffic is so huge now. They start by coming for holidays, but then they decide to come back for good and they bring experience, money and ideas," says Abdillahi Duale, information minister for the self-declared northern Republic of Somaliland.
Canadian returnees especially are infusing this remote place with a renewed sense of activity and hope.
With some 200,000 Somalis living in the Toronto area, Canada has the second-largest Somali population after Britain.
But due to the distances involved, Canadian expats have returned home less often than their European counterparts.
"We have been away longer, but now we are coming back and falling in love with the place," says Ibrahim Yusuf Jama, 32, who lived in Scarborough with his family for 13 years and now plans to open a photocopy shop here.
"Those who are coming back are very business-minded."
Among them is Abdi Karim Mohamed Eid, a Canadian and former Toronto resident whose father was killed in the war.
Abdi Karim, as he is known, is head of Telesom, one of the main telecommunications companies providing fixed-line and mobile phone services and satellite Internet connections in a country lacking basic infrastructure and a functioning central government.
Even Abdi Karim - a wealthy, respected member of the community - doesn't have regular running water or electricity at home.
"We went through a very difficult period," he says.
"A lot of Somalis went outside the country and never came back, but as a Somali, there is an urge in all of us to come home to do something for our society."
Mohamoud Hassan, 33, returned from Vancouver seven months ago to attend his father's funeral.
He decided to stay on to run the family farm, which has 720 orange trees producing fruit for the local market - and eventually, he hopes, for export.
"You can't expect everything you have at home in Canada - we don't have a fridge or microwave and we have to buy all our food fresh every day, but it's kind of nice that way," says Hassan, who also runs the Vancouver-based www.somalilandnet.com information Web site.
With Somalia's economy depending mostly on money sent from family members living abroad, as well as import-export businesses, telecommunications companies and Internet are key to the country's recovery and development.
The city is wreathed in coils of chaotic telephone cables snaking along roadsides and tangling overhead spaces.
For 24-year-old Abdul Aziz, who earned his degree in computer studies at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, returning to northern Somalia was hardly a matter of choice.
His 100-year-old grandfather is recognized as the oldest man in Somaliland and, as a senior member on the council of elders, was instrumental in bringing peace to the north by convincing various clans to lay down their guns.
"We grew up as a very close family and we have a big share in Telesom," says Aziz, who now works as a network administrator for the company.
"I wanted to be part of the business and working in my own country feels good."
Aziz says he knows of at least a dozen other Toronto Somalis who have returned to Hargeisa this year.
"It was never safe here until recently. Before, it was just too wild."
Somalia has been a dangerous, burned-out smoking hole of a country since it was plunged into anarchy and war in 1988.
The violent overthrow of former military ruler Siad Barre in 1991 split the nation into fiefdoms controlled by rival warlords.
The northern territories are only now beginning to benefit from several years of peace, though the south remains mired in clan warfare.
Hargeisa's returnees are arriving by the hundreds, not only to invest in local businesses and act as community leaders but also to help forge a nation.
Somaliland, a former British protectorate, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991.
Though yet to be recognized internationally, Somaliland's 4 million people elected a de facto government this year and the population is intent on creating the world's newest country.
They have a long way to go.
No official postal or banking services exist in Somaliland and Hargeisa's airport road is only now being resurfaced for the first time since being built by the British in 1958.
The old State House grounds were destroyed and are now home to displaced people living in traditional, igloo-shaped nomadic huts moulded from branches and random scraps of material.
At the settlement, which has housed more than 1,000 families for more than a decade, children make black ink from charcoal, which is used to scribble verses from the Qur'an onto pieces of bark.
On Hargeisa's unpaved streets, a steady desert wind forever tugs at the colourful, flowing robes of bejewelled women, most of them wearing headscarves or full veils.
Suspended somewhere between Africa and the Middle East, Somalia inhabits a unique cultural space, with traditions from the two worlds merging in a land that boasts more camels than anywhere else.
In fact, there are more camels than Somalis in Somalia.
The grandest act of faith yet made by a returning Somali is Hargeisa's $3.5-million Ambassador Hotel, which stands sentinel on the spiny, barren ridges overlooking a low-slung skyline that reflects a hard sun glinting off metal roofs.
The 48-room hotel, built by a returnee from Sheffield, England, opened a year ago.
General manager Mohamed Ahmed Warsame took extended leave from his job at the Toronto Sheraton when the SARS outbreak crippled business there.
"We needed a place like this here to attract businessmen and investors," says the 32-year-old Warsame, who has been training hotel staff and raising service standards.
Layan Egal, a third-year kinesiology student at York University, is staying at the hotel during a month-long visit with her father and three sisters - her first trip home since she left Hargeisa at age 6.
"It was time to come home. I've met so many family members for the first time here, most of them from the States," she says, wrapping a black shawl over her loose-fitting outfit.
"I never dress like this at home. When I get on that plane to Toronto, I'll throw back on my jeans and sneakers, which I wouldn't dare wear here."
Still, she concedes, "I could imagine myself living here."
Returning Somalis say they are willing to forgo Western comforts because they can enjoy a fuller life in their native land than they can in Canada or elsewhere.
"Overseas, so many Somalis are on welfare, but here they are being industrious," says Fosia Ali, a London travel consultant making a six-week visit to Hargeisa after 16 years away.
"I thought I would be bored, but I feel like I'm in my own country."
For all its progress, Hargeisa is still a city slowed by the afternoon heat and the popular tradition of spending hours chewing mildly narcotic leaves of the khat plant.
And Somalia as a whole remains a failed state, scorned by the West and rivalled perhaps only by Afghanistan and Congo in terms of lawlessness.
The interminable inter-clan warfare presents such a hopeless problem that the world has turned its back and left the place to fester in the sand-blown heat.
But Telesom's Aziz is typical of those tying their futures to that of their homeland.
"I'll stay and others will keep coming to develop the place," he says. "We need them because this country has nobody else."
Finbarr O'Reilly is a Canadian journalist who writes extensively from Africa.
GRAPHIC: Finbarr O'reilly for the Toronto Star "I'll stay and others will keep coming to develop the place," says Abdul Aziz, 24, who earned his degree in computer studies at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute in Scarborough before returning to northern Somalia this year. "We need them because this country has nobody else."
BBC Worldwide Monitoring, August 19, 2003/SOURCE: The Somaliland Times web site, Hargeysa, in English 8 Aug 03
Somaliland paper urges president to go ahead with early parliamentary elections
The holding of consecutive local and presidential elections has shown the strong commitment of Somaliland's people to democracy. In fact it is this yearning for democracy that was the driving force for both the holding of these elections and their successful outcomes.
Following the closely contested 14 April presidential election, Somalilanders felt confident that the process of democratization would culminate with the holding of early parliamentary elections. However, the early holding of the parliamentary election is facing strong opposition from most members of the current clan-based parliament. Unfortunately, it seems that President Dahir Riyale, who only a few months ago won a presidential election through the ballot box, has now joined the parliamentarians who are trying to stop the democratic process lest they lose their seats.
President Riyale will be making a big mistake if he thinks that he and the renegades in the House of Representatives could block Somaliland's democratization process. Mr Riyale should understand that the legitimacy of his presidency rests on whether or not he conforms and complies with the democratic process that brought him to power. Pushing back parliamentary elections to 2005 and 2006 will have serious implications for the survival of democracy in this country. The two opposition parties will politically cease to exist, unless they are allowed to exercise their role in an elected parliament.
Certainly, there are a number of difficult electoral issues, such as the number of MPs to be elected from each district/region, and the question of demarcation of administrative boundaries that need to be resolved before any legislative elections. But these obstacles shouldn't become excuses for delaying the parliamentary elections until the extension that the legislators irresponsibly granted themselves earlier this year expires.
Somalilanders are capable of coming up with solutions for the so-called politically sensitive issues confronting legislative elections. Setting an early date for the elections would also attract donor assistance for technical training in logistical and financial aspects of the process. Going ahead with the legislative elections may also improve Somaliland's chances for gaining international recognition. To undermine these prospects will be unwise, and Somalilanders should let their voices be heard on this issue.
Agence France Press, August 17, 2003
EU to undertake study of Ethiopia-Somaliland road corridor: official
DATELINE: ADDIS ABABA -- The European Union (EU) is undertaking a feasibility study on its plan to rehabilitate a road linking the northwestern breakaway republic of Somaliland to Ethiopia, an EU official said on Sunday.
"The study covers 887 kilometres (550 miles) of road network from Somaliland's Berbera port to the Ethiopian border town of Togwechale," EU official Pascal Joanne told reporters.
He said French consultancy firm, Louis Berger, which started the study nine months ago, is to submit its findings to the European Union in two months and will form the basis for the EU's approval to release funds for the second phase, Joanne added.
"The commission will come up with a decision to advance the project into feasibility and designing stage, based on preliminary assessments made by Louis Berger," Joanne said.
Berger is already holding consultations with Ethiopian and Somaliland authorities to integrate their views on the actual situation of the corridor and its future prospects of being used to handle part of Ethiopia's import-export cargo.
Deputy EU delegation head in Ethiopia, Jean-Pierre Pierard, said the Berbera Corridor Infrastructure Programme was part of a strategy to relieve the congested port of Djibouti.
The EU last week shipped 15,000 tonnes of relief food supplies to Ethiopia's hungry through Berbera port in Somalia's northwest breakaway republic of Somaliland and more than 100,000 tonnes of food are expected to be shipped through the same route in the next weeks, relief and government officials said on Friday.
BBC Worldwide Monitoring, August 15, 2003/SOURCE: The Reporter web site, Addis Ababa, in English 13 Aug 03
Ethiopia: EU's relief food arrives via Somaliland's port
The first shipment of 15,000 metric tonnes of EU food aid destined for Ethiopia has arrived at the Berbera port of Somaliland and is already being transported to Ethiopia by road since Monday 11 August , the foreign minister of Somaliland told The Reporter Saturday.
In an exclusive interview she gave, Ms Dahir Kahin Rayale, the foreign minister name and post as published said, "There is a lot of food aid that is coming to Ethiopia from the port of Berbera and right now the first ship will finish discharging its cargo food aid on Monday."
A total of 100,000 metric tons of food will arrive in Ethiopia from the Berbera Port between now and November. Speaking of the non-existence of security problems at the border, she said, "The first 15,000 metric tonnes of food aid came from Berbera to Ethiopia and not a single truck or a single sack was lost," adding that this has created "credibility and confidence" for future cooperation between the two countries.
"We offer Ethiopia the port of Berbera for its exports. We offer the goodwill and friendship of the people and government of Somaliland and I think we have a very good chance of establishing very good economic cooperation," the foreign minister stated.
Ms Rayale was here the whole of last week as part of a high-level Somaliland delegation that included the country's president, Dahir Rayaleh Kahin. The president held talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on bilateral relations in general and on the use of the Berbera corridor for Ethiopia's imports and exports in particular.
The foreign minister said that the visit was made to "strengthen even more the good relations we have with Ethiopia," adding, "we discussed with Prime Minister Meles how we can launch the Berbera corridor project for trade between the two countries and how we can jointly go about convincing the European Union to finance and finalize the project" that connects the port of Berbera to the borders of Ethiopia.
The Berbera corridor project, estimated to cost little over 60m US dollars, is designed to bring the Somaliland airports of Berbera and Hargeysa and the roads linking it to Ethiopia up to internationally approved levels. The port of Berbera particularly has gained attention with some 40m US dollars earmarked for its expansion.
BBC Worldwide Monitoring, August 15, 2003/SOURCE: Seifenebelbal, Addis Ababa, in Amharic 15 Aug 03
Ethiopian paper foresees Djibouti anger over use of Somaliland port
Ethiopia, which is being accused by Somali factions of interfering in the internal affairs of the country with the intention to destabilize it, has started using the Somaliland port of Berbera, it has been learnt.
Ethiopia, which had been using the port of Djibouti, has turned its face towards Somaliland, and it is quite evident that Djibouti would not be happy with it. So far, some 15,000 metric tonnes of food has arrived in the country via Somaliland.
Although there was fear that the relief food might not reach the needy due to the current instability in the area, the Ethiopian foreign minister has said that the whole consignment has reached its destination safely.
Until next Hidar November some 100,000 metric tonnes of relief food secured from the EU will enter through the Somaliland port of Berbera, it has also been learnt that Ethiopia's imports will enter through the same port. Passage omitted .
BBC Monitoring International Reports, August 13, 2003
SOUTH AFRICAN PAPER SAYS FOREIGN MINISTRY IN FAVOUR OF SOMALILAND'S RECOGNITION
published by Somaliland Net web site on 12 August
Having vacated the chair of the African Union, South Africa is now freer to step out of line on controversial issues on the continent.
The case is growing for the country to do this on one of the prickliest matters: Somaliland. The former British colony is seeking recognition as an entity free from its paralysed southern neighbour, Somalia.
Law advisers from the South African Department of Foreign Affairs support Somaliland's argument for independence. "It is undeniable that Somaliland does indeed qualify for statehood, and it is incumbent upon the international community to recognize it," read the report that was recently commissioned by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma. The government's lawyers agree that "any efforts to deny or delay would not only put the international community at the risk of ignoring the most stable region in the Horn (of Africa), it would impose untold hardship upon the people of Somaliland due to the denial of foreign assistance that recognition entails."
Somaliland stands accused by the AU of the cardinal sin of secession. Absolute recognition of colonial boundaries, logical and historical reality notwithstanding, was a preoccupation of the AU's predecessor, the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
The OAU feared that if ever this can of worms were opened, it would lead to incessant border wars. This does not apply in the case of Somaliland, which broke an inequitable and eventually genocidal union with Somalia 12 years ago without claiming a centimetre more than the territory it had at independence in 1960.
The South African law advisers address this issue too.
"The interest of world peace and stability require that, where possible, the division or fragmentation of existing states should be managed peacefully and by negotiation. But where this is not possible, as is the case with Somalia, international law accepts that the interests of justice may prevail over the principle of territorial integrity," they say.
The document on Dlamini-Zuma's desk was supported this week by the assertion from the Brussels-based think tank, the International Crisis Group (ICG), that Somaliland's demand for recognition presents the international community with stark choices.
"The question confronting the international community is no longer whether Somaliland should be recognized as an independent state, but whether there remain any viable alternatives," the ICG report says.
It says that the international community could either "develop pragmatic responses to Somaliland's demand for self-determination or continue to insist upon the increasingly abstract notion of the unity and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic."
It warns that the latter course is likely to lead to a new round of civil war in Somalia.
The ICG says an international fact-finding mission should visit Somaliland to assess the situation and "recommend policy options." It also calls on the AU to grant Somaliland "observer status pending a final decision on its international status."
Dlamini-Zuma knows South Africa's decision will be key to the rest of the continent's action. Earlier this year she invited a Somaliland ministerial delegation to South Africa and she has sent senior officials there.
South African businessmen, including Mvelaphanda's Tokyo Sexwale, recently visited Somaliland, which offers interesting mineral resources and, more importantly, the political stability in which to exploit them.
The country's democratically elected President, Dahir Riyale Kahin, this week reiterated his refusal to join the stuttering peace process. His Information Minister, Abdullahi Muhammad Du'ale, said Somaliland would welcome any peace deal between the parties "in the former Italian Somalia", but noted that "this has nothing to do with Somaliland."
Du'ale was reacting to media reports that a Kenyan government delegation was on its way to Somaliland to try to convince it to attend the talks in Nairobi. He said any Kenyan delegation to Somaliland was welcome "so long as they are coming to discuss bilateral issues and ways of developing bilateral relations."
He warned, however, that Somaliland "will not entertain any delegation whose objective is to bring us into these talks. Such a mission will not be welcome, and they should not waste their time."
BBC Monitoring International Reports, August 12, 2003/Source: Somaliland Net web site in English 12 Aug 03) BBC Monitoring
ISLAND OFF SOMALILAND COAST STRUCK BY WARPLANES ON 20 JULY - PAPER REPORTS
On 24 July, the web site of The Somaliland Times reported an attack on the island of Eibaat and posted a commentary on the incident, which has not been widely reported by other Somali media.
The report said: "Explosions were heard on Sunday (20 July) at Somaliland's island of Eibaat (northern Somalia), about 10 km northwest of Seylac. The explosions were caused by an air strike carried out by US warplanes, sources in Seylac said. However there was some confusion as to the real identity of the military aircraft that carried out the bombing. Military forces belonging to France and the US-led coalition against terrorism have troops stationed in nearby Djibouti. "Eibaat is located in an area declared s a marine protected zone. The area has a unique eco-system with a diversity of species and an outstandingly beautiful marine environment including one of the most admirable coral formations in the world." In its commentary, The Somaliland Times said: "Despite initial press reports that it was US warplanes that bombed Somaliland's Eibaat Island (about 10 km off the coast of Seylac town, northern Somalia) last Sunday (20 July), the Somaliland government apparently has not until now been able to confirm the identity of the aircraft that were involved in the attack. This is understandable since Somaliland does not have the capability to detect whether its airspace has been violated, let alone the ability to identify the aircraft flying over its territory. But since Eibaat is located within the proximity of an area heavily guarded by American military, there are good reasons to believe that the warplanes that carried out the bombing were US owned."
"It is of course true that the US is not the only power in the area that has the capability to make an air strike on Eibaat. The French also have such capabilities. But it was the US that has, for the last month, been engaged in intensive joint military exercises in the area, involving units from the three branches of their armed forces deployed in the wider region. Regardless of whoever was responsible for the attack on Eibaat, Somaliland's territorial integrity has been violated and its marine resources damaged by outside military forces. What is disturbing to many Somalilanders is that not only their territory has been violated, but they are unable to establish whom they should hold accountable?"
"The Somaliland public has also been dismayed with the government's slow and inadequate response to the incident. Nobody expected the government to take retaliatory measures, simply because Somaliland does not have the military ability to challenge the powerful western forces stationed at its northwestern borders. Nor would have it been wise for the government to issue a barrage of condemnations. Though the US and France have not yet recognized Somaliland, the American government does not oppose the right of Somalilanders to exercise their self-determination. What is needed now is for the Somaliland government to accelerate its investigation and diplomatic contacts in order to find out the truth about what happened at Eibaat. The people of Somaliland hope that American diplomats and military officials stationed in the region will cooperate with the Somaliland government in its endeavour to solve the mysterious attack on Eibaat Island."
Source: The Somaliland Times web site, Hargeysa, in English 24 Jul 03) BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring International Reports, August 8, 2003/Source: Jamhuuriya web site, Hargeysa, in Somali 8 Aug 03 ) BBC Monitoring
SOMALILAND GOVERNMENT ORDERS DUTCH NGO TO CEASE OPERATIONS
Somaliland's minister of national planning, Ahmad H Dahir Elmi, yesterday issued a statement banning an international aid agency NOVIB (Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation) to operate in Somaliland. The minister sent a copy of the letter to local agencies in Somaliland that are in partnership with NOVIB. These include Nagaad, HAYOVYOCO, Candlelight and COSONGO (expansions untraced). Mr Elmi detailed why NOVIB was banned, saying the agency was involved in acts which were against the sovereignty of Somaliland. He also mentioned in his letter that the Ministry of National Planning was responsible for programmes and development projects that were to be implemented in Somaliland. The minister ordered local agencies to stop all programmes sponsored by NOVIB in Mansoor Hotel as of 7 August 2003.
The minister specifically ordered Nagad and Candlelight local agencies to immediately expel NOVIB expatriate members whom they brought in the country.
NOVIB began in 2002 by doing research, collecting data as well as conducting awareness programme in the former Somali Republic by assigning some people opposed to the Republic of Somaliland. NOVIB called the project "Mapping Somali Civil Society." Secondly, experts 80 per cent of whom were from Southern Somalia were invited to Nairobi by NOVIB to make assessment on Somali Civil Society. The total number of organizations said to be able to do this work were up to 500 organizations. Unfortunately, Somaliland was allotted only 80 organizations, while Mogadishu was given twice that number.
The so-called research by NOVIB was, in fact, inimical to the sovereignty of Somaliland. Somaliland's civic society rejected to have cooperation with those in Somalia in a NOVIB-sponsored meeting held at Mansoor hotel. In that meeting, civil society groups in Somaliland said development funds intended for the former Somali Republic should be shared between civil society groups representing Somaliland and Somalia (Passage omitted).
Africa News, August 4, 2003/BYLINE: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
Somalia; Puntland Denies Interfering in Somaliland's Affairs
The authorities in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, have dismissed accusations by the neighbouring self-declared republic of Somaliland that they are interfering in Somaliland's internal affairs.
A statement issued by the Somaliland authorities on Monday warned Puntland's leader Col Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad to stay away from the disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag. "We will not tolerate his threats against parts of Sool and Sanaag regions," it said, adding that Abdullahi Yusuf "will bear full responsibility for the consequences" of his actions.
But Dahir Mire Jibril, a spokesman for Abdullahi Yusuf, told IRIN that Puntland "does not consider Sool and Sanaag as part of Somaliland".
"Sool and Sanaag are part and parcel of Puntland, and the people there do not consider themselves part of Somaliland," he stressed.
Dahir added that the recent elections in Somaliland "during which no voting took place in either region, are proof of that".
He warned the Somaliland authorities "not to foment instability in these stable regions".
Both Somaliland and Puntland claim the two regions, which geographically fall within the borders of the former British Somaliland, but where most of the resident clans are associated with Puntland.
Africa News, August 4, 2003/BYLINE: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
Somalia; Somaliland Rejects Attempts to Bring It Into Peace Talks
The authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland in northwestern Somalia have reiterated their rejection of attempts to bring them into the ongoing Somali reconciliation talks in Kenya.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the office of the region's president, Dahir Riyale Kahin, Somaliland is not a party to the Somali peace talks.
And the Somaliland information minister, Abdillahi Muhammad Du'ale, told IRIN on Monday that Somaliland would welcome any peace deal between the parties "in the former Italian Somalia", but noted that "this has nothing to do with Somaliland". The statement described as "a surprise" comments by Kenya's Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat, who is chairing the peace conference, that the talks concern the whole of Somalia. The draft charter includes Somaliland within the boundaries of Somalia.
However, the Somaliland regional government's statement said Somaliland's borders were those it inherited from the British, and "are recognised by the African Union and the UN".
The information minister, who was reacting to media reports that a Kenyan government delegation was on its way to Somaliland to try and convince it to attend the Nairobi talks, told IRIN that any Kenyan delegation to Somaliland was welcome "so long as they are coming to discuss bilateral issues and ways of developing bilateral relations".
He warned, however, that Somaliland "will not entertain any delegation whose objective is to bring us into these talks".
"Such a mission will not be welcome, and they should not waste their time," he stressed. "We have made our position very clear on numerous occasions and it is well known to IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] and the international community."
The Somaliland statement also warned Col Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, president of the neighbouring self-declared autonomous region of Puntland to stop interfering in Somaliland affairs.
"We will not tolerate his threats against parts of Sool and Sanaag regions," it said, adding that Abdullahi Yusuf "will bear full responsibility for the consequences" of his actions.
Both Somaliland and Puntland claim the two regions, which geographically fall within the borders of the former British Somaliland, but where most of the resident clans are associated with Puntland.
BBC Monitoring International Reports, August 4, 2003/Source: HornAfrik Online text web site, Mogadishu, in Somali 4 Aug 03) BBC Monitoring
KENYAN OFFICIAL SAID TO OFFER SOMALILAND "FINAL INVITATION" TO SOMALI PEACE TALKS
Kenya's assistance minister for foreign affairs (Joab Omino) is expected to leave for Somaliland soon in a bid to convince the authority there to attend the ongoing Somali peace talks in Kenya.(passage omitted)
Mr Omino attended the peace conference (in Nairobi's Mbagathi suburb) and expressed his optimism on the formation of a new (Somali) government following the peace and reconciliation conference.
The chairman of the peace talks, (Ambassador Bethwel) Kiplagat, said a delegation headed by Mr Omino, will visit Hargeysa (Somaliland's administrative HQ) as urgently as possible. The delegation will offer Somaliland a final invitation letter (after its rejection of the previously ones) to take part in the peace conference in Kenya.
BBC Monitoring International Reports, July 30, 2003/Source: Somaliland Net web site in English 29 Jul 03) BBC Monitoring
BRUSSELS-BASED THINK TANK SAYS RECOGNITION OF SOMALILAND ONLY VIABLE OPTION
The demand of the self-declared republic of Somaliland for recognition presents the international community with stark choices, says a report released this week by the Brussels-based think-tank, the International Crisis Group (ICG).
The question confronting the international community is no longer whether Somaliland should be recognized as an independent state, but whether there remain any viable alternatives," the report said. It added that the international community could either "develop pragmatic responses to Somaliland's demand for self-determination or continue to insist upon the increasingly abstract notion of the unity and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic. "It warned that the latter course was likely to lead to a new round of civil war in Somalia.
Somaliland, a former British protectorate, declared unilateral independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991, but has received no international recognition.
The ICG report made a number of recommendations, including the dispatch of an international fact-finding mission to assess the Somaliland issue and "to recommend policy options." It also called on the African Union to consider a legal review of the territory's case and grant it "observer status pending a final decision on its international status."
(Full report available at:-
http://www.crisisweb.org )
Source:
http://www.crisisweb.org//library/documents/report_archive/A401067_28072003.pdf
Somaliland: Democratisation and Its Discontents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Recent developments have made the choice faced by the international community considerably clearer: develop pragmatic responses to Somaliland’s demand for self-determination or continue to insist upon the increasingly abstract notion of the unity and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic – a course of action almost certain to open a new chapter in the Somali civil war.
Somaliland’s presidential election of 14 April 2003 was a milestone in the self-declared, unrecognised republic’s process of democratisation. Nearly half a million voters cast ballots in one of the closest polls ever conducted in the region: when the last votes had been counted and the results announced on 19 April, the incumbent president, Dahir Rayale Kahin, had won by only 80 votes.
A former British protectorate in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland declared its independence from the rest of the Somali Republic in May 1991, following the collapse of the military regime in Mogadishu. Although unrecognised by any country, Somaliland has followed a very different trajectory from the rest of the “failed state” of Somalia, embarking on a process of internally driven political, economic and social reconstruction. Somaliland’s democratic transition began in May 2001 with a plebiscite on a new constitution that introduced a multiparty electoral system, and continued in December 2002 with local elections that were widely described as open and transparent. The final stage of the process – legislative elections – is scheduled to take place by early 2005.
The electoral process has met with widespread approval from domestic and international observers alike, but has not been without problems. The enlistment of government resources and personnel in support of the ruling party’s campaign, the disqualification of numerous ballot boxes due to procedural errors, reports of government harassment and intimidation of opposition supporters in the aftermath of the election, and the opposition’s initial refusal to accept defeat all marred an otherwise promising democratic exercise.
The next phase of the democratic transition will be the most critical: until opposition parties are able to contest parliamentary seats, Somaliland will function as a de facto one party state. Somaliland’s international partners can play a key role in assisting the National Electoral Commission to convene legislative elections with the least possible delay, while ensuring a level playing field. Constitutional and judicial reforms may also be required to ensure the integrity of the democratic process over the long-term.
Somaliland’s increasingly credible claims to statehood present the international community with a thorny diplomatic dilemma at a time when southern Somali leaders are meeting under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) with the aim of establishing a new Somali government. Recognition of Somaliland, although under consideration by a growing number of African and Western governments, is still vigorously resisted by many members of both the African Union (AU) and the Arab League on the grounds that the unity and territorial integrity of member states is sacrosanct. Furthermore, the creation of a new Somali government emerging from the IGAD process that claims jurisdiction over Somaliland threatens to open a new phase in the Somali conflict.
Diplomatic hopes for a negotiated settlement between Somaliland and a future Somali government, however, are unlikely to bear fruit. A hypothetical dialogue on Somali unity would have to overcome mutually exclusive preconditions for talks, divergent visions of what a reunited Somali state might look like and incompatible institutional arrangements. Failing a negotiated settlement, any attempt to coerce Somaliland back to the Somali fold would entail a bitter and probably futile conflict. The question now confronting the international community is no longer whether Somaliland should be recognised as an independent state, but whether there remain any viable alternatives.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To the Somaliland Government:
- Demonstrate a genuine commitment to pluralism by releasing remaining political detainees and reinstating any government employees dismissed from their jobs for political reasons.
- Withdraw the proposed press law and invite the independent media to assist in drafting legislation more conducive to the development of independent yet responsible media.
- Conclude the formal transition to a multiparty political system with the least possible delay, by setting the date of parliamentary elections within less than twelve months.
- Introduce legislation providing for reasonable subsidies to all official political parties on an equitable basis.
- Demonstrate a commitment to human rights by investigating past abuses, taking corrective action against those responsible and introducing new measures to strengthen the protection of human rights.
- Initiate an independent review of the constitution, with particular attention to the three-party ceiling.
- Undertake a comprehensive review of the electoral law, based on lessons learned.
- Introduce legislation to strengthen the electoral process, including penalties for infractions of the electoral law.
- Commission an independent judicial review, with a view to introducing reforms strengthening both the capacity of the judiciary and its independence from political influence.
To Donor Governments:
- Provide party building training and financial assistance to all three official parties in order to prepare them for legislative elections.
- Offer technical and financial assistance to the National Electoral Commission in order to remedy problems encountered during local and presidential elections, and to assist in the design and implementation of an appropriate voter registration system.
- Assist the government with other reforms intended to advance the process of democratisation.
- Increase support for social and economic development in order to enhance the 'peace dividend' and preclude public disillusionment with the democratisation process.
- Explore options for providing Somaliland with access to direct bilateral and multilateral financial assistance pending a resolution of the territory's legal status.
To the United Nations, African Union and IGAD:
Adopt a more open-minded approach to the question of Somaliland's ultimate status, in particular by:
- dispatching fact-finding missions to assess the current situation and to recommend policy options, with leadership taken by either the AU's Peace and Security Council or the presidential troika (currently South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia) in view of the serious divisions within IGAD;
- taking Somaliland's demands under formal consideration, including a legal review of the territory's case vis-a-vis the current AU charter; and
- granting Somaliland observer status pending a final decision on its international status.
Nairobi/Brussels, 28 July 2003