The Raabi Prophesy. ..'By Dr Abdishakur Jowhar''

A reflective mood

Somalilanders are in a reflective mood as they prepare for the 20th Anniversary of the birth of their nation. These days there is a sense of contemplation, thoughtfulness and re-evaluation in Somaliland circles.

It is in this context that Somaliland’s premier publisher and intellectual powerhouse Dr. Jama Muse Jama has initiated a process that can translate this self reflection into solid form. He invited a group of Somalilanders to put down their thoughts in a book in a manner that Somalilanders and other Somalis could share. I have contributed a chapter to the second volume of that book. Its first volume will be published on May 18, 2011 to coincide with the celebration for Somaliland independence. And I bring to you some of the highlights of my thoughts in this matter

Kuwait Deputy PM and FM receives Somaliland delegation

KUWAIT-– The Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah received a visiting Somaliland delegation on Thursday led by the President for security and development talks. Both leaders emphasized the potential to expand ties between the two nations.

President Ahmed M. Silanyo expressed Somaliland’s appreciation of the Kuwaiti government’s continued support in a number of fields including hospitals and the ongoing airport projects. The President briefed his hosts about the ongoing situation in Somaliland. He discussed Somaliland’s commitment to stability, development and its role in the region.

Somaliland’s Silanyo touches down in Kuwait with red-carpet

KUWAIT — The Somaliland President arrived in the Gulf nation of Kuwait on Tuesday to meet with senior officials, aid agencies and investors in the region.

President Ahmed M. Silanyo and his five member delegation were received at Kuwait International Airport by Sheikh Hamad Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah with a red-carpet greeting. Sheikh Hamad, the son of the emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, formally welcomed the Somaliland officials on behave of his father, the government of Kuwait and its people. The Kuwaiti Prince, who is also the chairman of Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco), a firm with consolidated assets of US$20 billion, picked them up from Abu Dhabi with one of his private jets.

"Somalia´s" Crimes in Somaliland: Forgiven but unforgettable – Part I

''Somaliland Genocide Raids 1988 by Guardian;''

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, dispersed or bombed out of their homes in northern Somalia (parts of today´s Somaliland) after government military operations, which Western aid workers say, are little short of genocide.

The action has been concentrated on the major northern towns of Hargeisa, Berbera, Arigavo, Gabiley, and Burao where some 60,000 people are believed to have died in recent bombing raids by the government against the strongholds of the rebel Somali National Movement.

5 Myths About Islam.

I founded the multi-faith Cordoba Initiative to fight the misunderstandings that broaden the divide between Islam and the West — each perceived as harmful by the other. Millions of American Muslims, who see no contradiction between being American and being Muslim, are working hard to bridge this gap. It therefore is not surprising that they have become the target of attacks by those who would rather burn bridges than build them and the subject of recent congressional hearings exploring their “radicalization.”

What myths are behind the entrenched beliefs that Muslims simply do not belong in the United States and that they threaten its security?

New Bishop of Reading Andrew Proud reveals beliefs..''underground Christians in Somaliland. ''

''underground Christians in Somaliland. ''???

Reading's new Bishop, the Right Reverend Andrew Proud, describes himself as a "conservative" and "fairly traditional".

He believes the institution of marriage should be reserved for man and wife, and be for the purpose of procreation. However, he is also a long time supporter of the ordination of women bishops.

Bishop Proud returned to Britain this year, having served in the Anglican Church of Ethiopia for nine years.

Scent of success in Somaliland

Bent over small, sticky “pebbles” of frankincense in Burao, a livestock town in Somaliland, Saynab Jama has no idea that the pieces of resin she picks through on a dusty floor will end up as perfume in France.

The 34-year-old mother of five has done well to avoid being included in her homeland’s 50 per cent unemployment rate, in an east African region better known for piracy, terrorism and daily mortal combat than fragrance. “I like the work and I earn more than when I used to sell goats in the market,” she says, her fingers working swiftly, legs outstretched, in a room musty with the hint of incense. “I need to be here – my husband left me and I have not seen him in a long time.”

SOMALILAND & SOMALIA: THE 1960 ACT OF UNION – An early lesson for Somaliland

LAW OF UNION BETWEEN SOMALILAND AND SOMALIA: Law No: 1 of 1960 - 27 JUNE 1960

An early lesson for Somaliland

Commentary:

Prior to attaining independence on 26 June 1960, Somaliland was very much interested in pursuing the dream of a Greater Somali State encompassing all the territories inhabited by people of Somali ethnic origin. After discussions in 1960, Representatives of Somaliland and Somalia agreed that an Act of Union will be signed by both states on independence and that this document will be in the nature of an international agreement between the two states. The Legislative Assembly of the independent STATE OF SOMALILAND therefore signed the Union of Somaliland and Somalia Law (set out below) on 27 June 1960.

Somaliland: A Land In Limbo

Mahon traveled to Somaliland in 2008 and 2009 to document its political, cultural, and social landscape. His second trip was on a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and he teamed up with a writer and fixer to navigate the country. Ironically, Mahon says it was when he was traveling alone in 2008 that he was able to make the most meaningful images. He said he felt more free to move about the country, and had better intimate access into people's lives.

See below for more details:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2011/04/15/135419911/somaliland-a-land-in-limbo

REMEMBRERING SNM ON ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY

 30 years ago in English spring, SNM (Somali National Movement), a liberation front against dictatorial regime of Somalia, was officially launched in London, as there was no possibility to hold free assembly or conference neither in Somalia nor in the whole Middle East. Representatives were constituency based and not clan based as practiced latter on. They came from Somali communities abroad mostly from Europe and Middle East with representation and approval by grass-root and leadership units inside the country. Immediately SNM ignited the first spark of continuous armed struggle for a decade, during which the tyrant bombed civilians, shelled its cities and sent the entire residents of major towns of Somaliland like Hargeysa, Buroa, Berbera and Erigabo and many more to refugee camps in Ethiopia and in exile far away.

Anti-Somaliland Arab regimes Are Vanishing

Somaliland diplomacy suffered from the blockades by dictators in the Arab world. Egypt former leader Hosni Mubarak strongly opposed Somaliland cause of independence internationally, while the falling leader of Libya Moammar Al-Gadhafi supported Anti-Somaliland campaigners with money and weapon, disrespecting international weapons embargo on former Somalia. Today, world media describe him as delusional and disconnected from reality. Al-Gadhafi is killing his own people just like Somali Military leader Siyad Barre who bombed cities during end of last century.

RE:Somaliland Politicians: Lack of Sensitivity and Political Acumen

In the spirit of theological quotation allow me to say “the pen of an intellectual is mightier than the sword of a warrior” in your case my friend you are working with washable crayons based your article conveniently titled Somaliland Politicians: Lack of Sensitivity and Political Acumen. Having said that I would like to report a crime and not just any crime but egregious and heinous crime against F.A.C.T.S committed by Mohamed F Yabarag. You have robbed the letter F and turned it into fictitious lies .I do apologizes for the redundancy but I hope I made my point clear. Then you continued to commit adultery against the letter A with your inconsistent case against tribe.

Light At the End of the Tunnel......... By Prof, Ibrahim Maygaag Samatar

Some Reflections on the Struggle of the Somali National Movement 

   I. Prologue

What follows is not a narrative account of the activities of the Somali National Movement (SNM) since the start of its struggle against the military regime of Siyad Barre. Nor is it an impartial academic evaluation of its performance and impact on Somali politics. It is not an analysis of '''the Siyad Barre regime or an examination of the role of external players in the Somali debacle. It is none of these and yet it is all of them. It is none of the above because it does not deal with each aspect with the necessary and sufficient depth and extent required for full treatment. It is all of these because these aspects of the Somali tragedy are touched upon in one way or the other.

"Taariikhdii SNM oo kooban" : W/q, Professor Ibrahim Maygaag Samatar

By Prof, Ibrahim Maygaag Samatar.

Ummad waliba waxay leedahay taariikh soo jireen ah oo had iyo jeer haga mustaqbalka bulshada kana duwa gefaf badan oo dhici lahaa. Hadaba in loo hagar baxaa qorista iyo diiwaan gelinta hawshani waa xil qaran .Bahda mareegta farshaxan waxay si sharaf leh uga codsatey Gudoomiyihii hore ee baarlamaanka SNM, ahna aqoonyahan ku xeel dheer dhaqaalaha,siyaasada ,iwm , mudane Ibraahim Maygaag Samater inuu la wadaago soojireenkii halgankii dib ula soo noqoshada gobanimadii deeqda loo bixiyey ee wadanka Somaliland .Ka dib markii Bahda mareegta farshaxan la yeelatay xidhiidh telefoon ,wuxuu si hagar la’aaneed Mudane Ibraahim ugu soo diray qoraalkan taariikhgalka ah isagoo kaga waramaya halgankaa . Waxaanu mudane Ibraahin (Ilaahay ha ka abaal mariyee) ku bilaabay qoraalkiisa sidan:

Rebuilding Hargeisa Mental Health Care.....By Saeed Abdi Elmi

The collapse of the Somali government in 1991, the lack of central government capable of rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure complicates the matter and the anarchy followed after the collapse of the state left Somalia without any health care facilities. Although, the rest of the country is still in turmoil, the Northern Somalia known as Somaliland, in 1991 after the collapse of the Somali state succeeded from the rest of Somalia. Since then, Somaliland has enjoyed peace and prosperity even though no government in the world recognized Somaliland as a legitimate country.

THE HISTORY OF SOMALI NATIONAL MOVEMENT (SNM)..........*Repost*

In April 6, 1981 a group of ISAAQS emigrant living in London formed the Somali National Movement {SNM}, which subsequently become the strongest of Somalia's movement.    

The SNM wanted to overthrow Siad Barre's dictatorship. Additionally, the SNM advocated a mixed economy and a neutral foreign policy, rejecting alignment with the Soviet Union or the United States and calling for the dismantling of all foreign military bases in the region. In the late 1980's the SNM adopted a pro-western foreign policy and favored United States involvement in a post-Siad Barre in Somalia. Other SNM objectives included establishment of a representative democracy that would guarantee human rights and freedom of speech. Eventually, the SNM moved its headquarter from London to Addis-Ababa to obtain Ethiopian Military assistance with initially was limited to old soviet small arms.

Beyond The Failed State: Time To Recognise Somaliland

While the attention of the World continues to focus on North Africa and the Middle East, other conflict stricken countries fall ever further down the news agenda. In the case of Somalia – essentially a failed state – conflict and war has assailed people there since the early 1990s. Attempts to intervene by the United States famously failed, and a more recent intervention by Uganda has had limited success. Somalia is a breeding ground for terrorism and priracy – and yet…

The Northern part of Somaliland, encompassing the colonial boundaries of the former British Somaliland is a functioning, free and fair democracy. Bizarrely it remains unrecognised by any other country. Is that because it offends African Union opinion, in that effectively it is a breakaway state?