Dr Saad Ali Shire interview; ENGLAND: London: Carlton Gardens:
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Dr Saad Ali Shire (Foreign Minister of Somaliland) interview SOT
- re drought in Somaliland
Following a recent meeting of the Minister of Finance Dr. Saad Ali Shire with National Assets Monitoring Committee of Somaliland Parliament, The Committee chairman Mr. Ibraahim Mahdi Buubaa stated that Somaliland government owes an 80 Million Dollar debt left by the previous administration of former President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Siilaanyo.
There has been unconfirmed reports of massive debt left behind by the previous administration ranging from 80 to as high as 160 millions but there has been no official acknowledgement from Somaliland government and previous Finance Minister Ms Samsam Abdi has vehemently denied the existence of the debt all together.
Somaliland Chronicle has asked the Minister of Finance Dr Saad Ali Shire the following the gain a better of understanding of Mr. Buubaa’s comments regarding the alleged debt.
Somaliland Chronicle: We are seeking clarification about MP Buubaa revelation of the $80 Million Dollar Debt as you did not actually mention it during the press briefing following your meeting with the Parliamentary committee. Can you confirm the former administration has actually left an $80 Million dollar debt and if so, has any of it been repaid?
Minister Shire: In short, the answer is ‘NO’.
Minister Shire meeting the Parliamentary Committee
But just to give you the context of the press conference. Each year, the law requires the auditor general to audit the national accounts and submit his report to parliament for scrutiny. In that context, the parliamentary committee responsible for overseeing and safeguarding national assets invited me to a meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to share with us the report of the parliamentary committee based on the auditor’s report and their recommendations on 2017 budget. The meeting went very well. We discussed several issues including asset registration, debt management, and fiscal discipline. The amount of debt owed by the government was not discussed; that was not in the auditor’s report and that was not in the parliamentary committee’s report either. Like all governments on earth, our government owes outstanding bills to contractors and suppliers at any time, but it NOT does owe $80 million. That is sheer fabrication.
Mr. Buubaa is a member of the Wadani opposition party and until today has served as the official Spokesman of the party. He has been replaced with Mr. Barkhad Jama Batun.
Chances are you may not have heard of Transparency Solutions, but it is one of the largest Non-Governmental Organizations in Somaliland, and has a staff of over a dozen in Hargeisa and across Somaliland.
Transparency Solutions Staff in Hargeisa.
According to their website, they are a strategic partner of the world renowned University of Bristol in England. Many of the organization’s current and former staffers – including its founder, Mr. Latif Ismail – have worked as Research Associates in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies (SPAIS) of Bristol University.
Transparency Solutions’ work is focused on both Somaliland and Somalia, and is a specialist firm in research and sociology studies, but the bulk of their work is on the other side of the border, where many of their staff have gone on to work for the Somali Federal Government. An example is its prominent former alumni Abdi Barud, who currently serves as an Adviser to Somalia’s PM.
Mr. Barud is not the only high ranking official in the Somali Federal Government to have worked for Transparancy Solutions, there is also Mr. Liban Obsiye, another unionist originally from Somaliland who has worked with Transparency Solutions. In fact, Mr. Obsiye’s Linkedin profile still lists him as actively working for Transparency Solutions.
Mr. Liban Obsiye claims to be actively employed by Transparency Solutions.
Mr. Obsiye with Somalia’s Minister of Finance
Mr. Obsiye with Farmaajo and other Government Officials from Somalia.
Mr. Latif Ismail with Telesom CEO Abdikarim Mohamed Eid
For an NGO, Transparency Solutions behaves in a peculiar manner that makes it look a lot more like a shell company than your average run of the mill NGO. It has gone through numerous permutations over the years, and has shut down various entities only to reopen them a short while later with a different name altogether; interestingly with the same two founders Mr. Latif Ismail and Alex Hall (more on Mr. Hall later).
Before Transparency Solutions, there was Transparency Development, which was dissolved on September 15, 2015.
If we begin with Transparency Solutions Limited and its current status in the British companies register (otherwise known as Companies House), it’s easy to access and confirm the openly available information that it has actually been dissolved as of the 15th of January, 2019 via a voluntary strike off.
Voluntary strike off in this case means the company directors Mr. Latif Ismail and Alexander Hall requested the company to be dissolved.
While the voluntary dissolution of an active company is in itself odd, what remains unclear is why it is still operational in Somaliland.
Transparency Solutions founder Mr. Latif Ismail is rather prolific for his relatively short experience in the security sector, and seems to have a lot of connections in the private security industry. Recently, he has been involved with another entity – Horn Risk Management – that at one point managed the security of Hargeisa Airport and has been accused of improperly collecting a $20 “security fee” from all passengers using equipment donated by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and installed by Adam Smith International.
Though we are unable to substantiate detailed information received from our sources, Horn Risk Management has also been accused of sending passenger information (PAX details and itineraries) to overseas servers by the former Ministry of Aviation’s executive, prompting concerns of improper dissemination of critical and personally identifiable information to unauthorized and unkown third parties, causing their prompt removal from access to sensitive traveller data along with the subsequent loss of their lucrative contract.
While we were unable to locate the registration of Horn Risk Management, the entity seems to have ceased operations, and their website is down (but archived) as of the writing of this article. We were only able to explore their existence further through their once-active LinkedIn profile. Additionally, Mr. Ismail has worked with yet another dubious private security firm known as Praetorian Connection.
Mr. Hall, Latif Ismail’s cofounder at Transparency Solutions is a virtual ghost with almost no digital footprint despite the fact that he co-authored every paper that Mr. Ismail listed on his University of Bristol’s SPAIS profile.
Mr. Hall’s lack of a digital footprint online, appears more of an intelligence handler’s attribute, than that of a prolific academic’s. Mr. Latif on the other hand, has enjoyed a relatively quick rise to prominence in his field on the back of Mr. Hall’s extensive academic writing catalog.
Even more peculiar are the other companies registered to Mr. Hall. Aside from Transparency Solutions, he operates multiple gambling interests by way of Betting Gateway Limited (07355733) as well as Elitebet Limited (10159311). According to many published autobiographies of prominent intelligence operatives, it is common knowledge that they have historically used either NGOs, charities or gambling operations to launder and move money in less sophisticated nations to finance their operational objectives.
We have called Transparency Solutions’ office in Hargeisa Somaliland to get more information on Mr. Hall, to understand how they are registered in Somaliland, and various basic details a normal entity would readily provide. The unusually combative and defensive secretary questioned why we needed to know such information, and would not provide anything more than their website address as a referral.
We have also reached out to former employees of Transparency Solutions such as Khadar Abdi, a prominent member of the UK Somali community, the Interim Secretary General of Somaliland’s strongest opposition party, who has worked with both Transparency Solutions and Horn Risk Management, and was a researcher with the University of Bristol’s SPAIS program; but he declined to make any comment and promptly disconnected our call.
We have asked a number of high-ranking officials in Somaliland’s Government about Transparency Solutions including their operations in the country, and they were unanimous in their suspicion but declined to comment any further.
Furthermore, we were unable to find any indication that any reports on the sensitive research Transparency Solutions conducts, is shared with the Government of Somaliland according to various officials we interviewed.
Another alarming anomaly that stands out about Transparency Solutions, is the number of University of Bristol graduates (and former researchers) associated with it; many of which are also associated with both its various initiatives and activities, and employment pertaining to Somalia and its government.
This raises serious concerns and red flags, as the University of Bristol has been accused of links to British Intelligence in the past – specifically the GHCQ, where they were singled out in an explosive scandal in recent years.
According to security experts familiar with the Horn of Africa region we consulted with prior to publishing this article (who declined to be on record), there is a low probability of this being a British Government intelligence operation, but “it is more likely that former intelligence assets are working directly for the Government of Somalia to not only conduct research, but mine data that serves Somalia’s interests from telecom companies in Somaliland.”
In fact, according to Mr. Latif Ismail himself, the stated goal of their various efforts is for the reconstruction of Somalia.
“What grew from a research collaboration in 2012, has transformed into a dynamic, productive relationship, based on shared visionary aims for the reconstruction of Somalia which is ethical, sustainable and crucially, is Somali-led.”
Latif Ismail, Founder of Transparency Solutions
This leaves us with the obvious question: how transparent is Transparency Solutions and why are they still operating in Somaliland?
The United Kingdom Defence Secretary
Gavin Williamson MP paid a visit to Somaliland to discuss areas of mutual
interest between the two parties.
Mr. Williamson was met with the usual protocol and paid a courtesy call to Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi. The meeting which took place at the presidency lasted for several hours and was by all accounts mutually beneficial to both the United Kingdom and Somaliland.
As we are all aware, Somaliland and
the United Kingdom share historic ties dating back at least two centuries. When
Somaliland gained independence on the 26th of June 1960, it was against the
advice of the then protectorate power to form a non-negotiated union with
Italian Somaliland.
The desire for a “Greater
Somalia” consisting of Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, the Northern
Frontier district of Kenya and the Hawd and Ogaden region of Ethiopia was the
driving force behind the hasty decision to form the union. The newly created
entity, the Somali Republic, is now defunct and Somaliland restored its
independence on the 18th of May, 1991.
The fall out from the union is well
documented, but it is a reminder of the past. Suffice to say, Somaliland and
its people paid a heavy price during the thirty year union and even a, if it is
at all possible, bigger price to withdraw. The destruction of Hargeisa and
Burao, the use of mercenaries to bomb the cities and its population, the
land mines buried everywhere, and the exodus to the Hawd region are all
undisputed facts.
In fact, the whole of Somalia paid a
heavy price during the union, and especially, during the late death throes of
the Barre regime. So, it comes as no surprise, that the recent events in
Baidoa, Somalia, the arrest and slaughter of protesting civilians, which has
led to the expulsion of the UN Representative for Somalia and Somaliland, Mr.
Nicholas Haysom, for having the “temerity” to offer constructive
criticism and demand an explanation for these deplorable actions, were
committed under the “leadership” of Siyad Barre’s distant
nephew, Mr. Farmajo, the head of the federal entity in Mogadishu.
I suppose it is true, the apple does
not fall too far from the tree.
After billions of dollars spent,
thousands of staff, countless hours of toil and all the support imaginable to
help the people of Somalia, the United Nations finally received it’s reward,
their eminent representative was banished unceremoniously, and their compound was
mortared!.
We have often said, Somaliland is
Africa’s best kept secret. We have different way of doing things. We use
dialogue, discussion and consensus to reach our goals. We welcome constructive
criticism from both at home and abroad.
Defense Secretary Williamson’s visit
to Somaliland could be seen by some as a pointed reminder to the weak federal
entity in Mogadishu, that the world is more than happy to do business with
Somaliland on a de-jure basis. Somaliland is already engaged by the international
community on a de-facto status, but, if the need be, all options are available.
As the UK prepares to exit the
European Union, it is beginning to broaden its horizons, vis-a-vis future
military relations with other nations. Secretary Williamson, who even had time
to have lunch at the Officer’s Mess at Army Headquarters in Hargeisa, is more
than welcome to see Somaliland as a future partner.
Allaa Mahad Leh
About the Author Ahmed Kheyre is based in London, UK and can be reached @ ruraledcomm[at]yahoo.co.uk
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of Somaliland Chronicle and it’s staff.
My wise grandmother had used to say to mock someone, “I bet
you pay attention to this person and not laugh.’ Similarly, I bet you pay
attention to Somaliland’s foreign policy and not be angry if you are its friend
and laugh if you are its foe.
Since Somaliland declared its independence, the foreign
office has been crippled by the lack of enough funding, a guiding foreign policy,
and qualified staff. For a long time, Somaliland
lovers like me have been screaming at the top of their lungs to change the
course and even asked the termination of Dr. Saad Ali Shire and his replacement
with someone who has excellent salesman’s characteristics or at least has the courage
to knock doors that we have never tried to reach.
Strangely enough, Dr. Saad has been replaced with a man who is
less qualified for the position. Dr.
Shire’s was very honest and well-educated man but unaggressive and lacked the
maneuvering qualities to try to pull the simplest strings at his possession.
If I were the top decision maker, I would have appointed a team of strikers and their staff, each one of whom assigned to a different task and report to me directly. My strikers will consist of Professor Ahmed Samatar, Abdilahi Mohamed Dualeh and the spiritual leader of Somaliland , F. A. Warabeh.
In reality, the foreign ministry has no strategy at all. It has failed to stand up to Ethiopia by using the trade deficit. It has never tried to take a different route such as reaching out to the interesting and courageous countries like Russia, Iran and Israel. UAE has easily scored a fine touch down to block Berbera base from US competitors like Russia and Iran. I suspect that USA has orchestrated the plan, behind the scene, and handed it over to Abu Dhabi that skillfully got the base and for free- except offering empty promises yet to be seen.
Going back to the point, the new foreign affairs minister has
been sent to the USA while the vice president and the Central Bank director
have been sent to UK to encourage Somaliland communities to reach out to their elected
politicians and use their democratic votes to easily snatch a recognition for Somaliland.
Instead of sending these officials to their own people and
wasting money and time, they could have used the money and energy to hire
lobbyists in few targeted countries.
Instead of going to Russia and asking for recognition and support in
exchange for a base on the Red Sea, president Bihi has sent Faratoon to
Minneaplis, Columbus and DC. Instead of sending a secret delegation to Israel,
he sent his vice president to UK.
The fact is Somaliland expatriates have lost faith in their slow-witted
politicians.
Watching the meetings that the new foreign minister held in the US, he does not seem any better than his predecessor, Saad. For sure, the man does not seems charismatic or eloquent even in his own language, let alone lecturing in another foreign language to sell this tough case.
It is obvious that president Bihi has a disastrous way of
choosing his team as his last three appointees unveiled. He had appointed a kindergarten teacher to
represent Somaliland in UAE in spite of the fact that our economic and
political hopes are dependent on this new relationship, at least for now. To
represent him in Washington DC, he hired from Mogadishu Bashir Goth who is a known
unionist Somali writer and finally Faratoon, as the foreign minister.
Lastly, If Mr. Bihi does not bring in the right people to come up with smart strategy, I am afraid that our hopes to see internationally recognized Somaliland will cease soon.
About the Author: Khadar CaloolGeele is a Somalilander based out of Austin TX and can be reached @ email: qadarosman[at]gmail.com
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of Somaliland Chronicle and it’s staff.
In a broadcast from United Nations Support Office in Somalia and particularly Mogadishu. According to travel advisory email that was sent to all the staff stationed or are soon headed to Somalia, the statement cites the recent mortar attack on the UN compound on January 1st 2019.
According to the travel advisory, all personnel headed to Mogadishu on official duty will have to remain in Nairobi and report to work there.
There is no official statement from the Somali government regarding the travel advisory.
Conditions in Somalia have been on a downward spiral since the unrest in Baidao that claimed more than a dozen lives following arrest of Mukhtaar Roobow and some 300 people.
On January 1st the United Nations compound in Mogadishu came under indirect mortar fire injuring three UN personnel.
Following condemnation from SSGR Nicholas Haysom who previuosly demanded answers to the Somalia’s Federal government actions in the South West State, the Somali Government assigned a persona non grata status to Mr. Haysom.
Secretary General António Guterres, while disagreeing with the legality of Mr. Haysom’s PNG status has agreed to name a new envoy to Somalia.
It is unknown how long the United Nations’ footprint reduction in Mogadishu will remain in effect.
Read the UNSOS travel advisory below
From: UNSOS-BROADCAST unsoabroadcast@un.org
Sent: Sunday, January 6, 2019 2:30 pm
Subject: Reduction of staffing footprint Somalia
Dear Colleagues,
Following the mortar attack on the UN compound in Mogadishu on 1 January 2019, the Designated Official for Somalia has decided, as a precautionary measure, to limit the staffing footprint in Mogadishu for the immediate future. Some personnel who were scheduled to travel to Somalia on Sunday 6 January have been directed to temporary remain in Nairobi. Some who are scheduled to travel on Monday 7 January will be individually contacted and directed to temporarily remain in Nairobi.
This measure applies only to personnel assigned to Mogadishu, and not to those in duty stations in the sectors and regions. MovCon colleagues will vet the manifest during check-in in Nairobi, and those who have been asked to remain will not be checked in. Those who do not receive any notification should proceed to Mogadishu as planned.
Individuals who have been instructed to remain in Nairobi are required to report for duty, and to work from the UNSOM or UNSOS office in Nairobi. They will be considered as being on official business travel status, and entitled to daily subsistence allowance in Nairobi, on the condition that they report daily to the Nairobi Office. They should register with the colleagues in Human Resources Management Section below upon arrival at the office in Nairobi, so that work spaces can be identified for them:
Ms. Teresa Benedict on extension 6143, mobile +254 798 363 691.
Mr. John Wachira on extension 6128, mobile +254 720 713 475.
Those who have any difficulty in accessing the UNON compound should also contact the same HR colleagues.
Persons held back in Nairobi may choose to remain on leave, and not to report to work. In that case they will not be entitled to DSA.
All affected personnel will subsequently be informed when they should travel to Mogadishu.
We regret any inconvenience caused by the short notice given to affected personnel, and trust that all will understand that this temporary measure is being taken in the overall interest of the security and safety of all United Nations personnel.
The United Kingdom’s Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson visited Somaliland in unannounced visit today on January 6th 2019.
The defense secretary met with the President of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Yasin Hagi Mohamoud, his counterpart Somaliland’s Defense Minister Essa Ahmed and Somaliland top army General Nuh Ismail Tani.
The purpose of Mr. Williamson’s visit to Somaliland and what he discussed with the President are unclear. Sources tell Somaliland Chronicle that Mr. Williamson and President Bihi a one on one meeting that lasted several hours.
Political analysts and diplomatic sources are speculating that the United Kingdom is sending a clear message to Somalia with the Minister’s visit which is the culmination of high level rapprochement by the international community since the ouster of SSGR Nicholas Haysom by Somalia’s Federal Government.
This is a developing story and will update as we know more.
HARGEISA, SOMALIA: Somaliland "president" Mohamed Ibrahim Egal shakes hands with voters waiting to cast their ballot at a polling station in Hargeisa, Somalia, 31 May 2001 during the constitutional referendum . Ten years after Somaliland's leaders unilaterally seceded from Somalia, the population will decide on whether to endorse their 1997 constitution. Somaliland, a former English colony that became a northwestern province of Somalia in July 1960, has almost all the trappings of a sovereign state, including a relatively effective administration as well as its own flag, currency and legislature. AFP PHOTO/Pedro UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)
Nations can experience a dramatic change and substantial development
in several ways but changes driven by individual leaders are common and highly
praised in today’s world. Visionary and transformative leaders like Erdogan, Kagame,
Zenawi, Mahathir Mohamed, and Lee Yew, to mention a few, are often commended
for their role in the development and changes their countries underwent in
recent history. Apart from the normal leadership and personal traits, political
will is a vital force which enables the leaders to realize more goals in a
short period of time.
In its 27 years of existence, the Republic of Somaliland achieved relatively
more in the first 14 years; from peace-building and reconciliation to
state-building and democratization, Somaliland achievements in the first 12 to
14 years were remarkable not to mention that challenges were more harsh and
unrelenting. Not only there were armed clashes between clan militias, extreme
poverty, and countless refugees, but the major cities were in rubble and ruins.
President Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal, who came to power in 1993 when
the Somali National Movement (SNM) transferred the power to civilian leadership
peacefully in Borama, was the architect of these unprecedented changes. Given
the hostile situation and limited opportunities in place, Egal’s transformative
leadership permitted him to start the state-building efforts from almost
nothing. As many argue, what facilitated Egal and his administrations to
achieve more in a short period is his political will. Equally important are the
achievements of his successor, Dahir Rayale Kahin, in his first years. To
understand the power of political will, let us examine Egal’s achievements in
democratization, elections in particular, in a few years.
Democratization process of Somaliland begins with the
constitutional referendum of 31 May 2001. The constitution laid the foundation
for a multi-party system and competitive elections. President Egal founded the
first political party – UDUB – a few months later in August 2001, followed by
others. The first Electoral Law was passed by the parliament in November 2001
and then, Election Management Body, Somaliland National Electoral Commission,
was established in December 2001.
With all these requirements set, the first election, local council
elections, was contested by six political associations; three of them qualified
to political parties since the constitution permits only three national political
parties. The local council elections took place in December 2002 and only five
months later, a presidential election was held in April 2003. The plan was to
hold the presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time but several
challenges including the unexpected death of president Egal in May 2002 and the
absence of parliamentary seat allocation formula made that plan impossible. The
parliamentary elections were eventually held in September 2005 with an
improvised seat allocation formula.
Between 2001 and 2005, a constitutional referendum and three
elections took place in Somaliland. This was a historic achievement witnessed
by the people of Somaliland as well as the international community with
international observers present most of these events. At the time, there was no
democracy in the Horn of Africa. Hence, we can now agree on that, although
other factors contributed to this remarkable achievements, political will was
the main factor behind all this.
On the contrary, Somaliland managed to hold three elections, a presidential election in 2010, local council elections in 2012, and another presidential election in 2017, since 2005. That is only three elections in 13 years compared to a constitutional referendum and three elections in just five years – 2001-2005. Election delays, elected term extensions and failure to hold elections on schedule became a popular norm in Somaliland in this 13 years. Notwithstanding with other minor factors, the absence of political will from the top leadership is the principal cause of all these failures. Democracy and democratization process dwindled while clannism and clan politics is on the rise. To mention the latest example, parliamentary and local council elections scheduled to take place in March 2019 has been postponed to an unspecified time in later 2019. To even add insult to injury, the House of Elders (Guurti) has not been reelected/reselected since 1997 while the House of Representatives has not been reelected since 2005. Not only that but also the Guurti election/selection law and the parliamentary seat allocation formula are not yet in place. Moreover, other necessary reforms in electoral laws have not been carried out fully.
In a nutshell, political will is critical to nations’ developments
and positive changes. This experience from Somaliland in Egal’s time and the
early years of his successor (Rayale) is a perfect example. Apparently, what we
are missing today in Somaliland is a political will from the top leadership.
They seem careless and unconcerned; they are not taking advantage of the
unlimited opportunities they have. Without political will, certain sectors may
thrive but the whole nation cannot move forward at the same time.
About the Author Muhumed M. Muhumed (Khadar) is the author of Kala-Maan: Bilowgii iyo Burburkii Wadahadallada Soomaalilaand iyo Soomaaliya. He is a researcher based in Hargeisa, Somaliland. He can be reached at baadilmm@[at].com
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of Somaliland Chronicle and it’s staff.
Generally speaking, Somali women are nurturing and stand for nourishing humanities as they are the backbone of the Somali community. Somali women are the stars, which give us the single source of light when the dark gets darker and of course when the distance becomes distant. The roles of Somali women in socio-economic endeavors are miraculous and marvelous as they are the transformative agent in our life. Somali women are so unique, with unified cultural identity and they never ever give up under any circumstances; they are very resiliently and robust in nature. In the context of Somali culture, women are our heart, the spirit and spine that galvanize the society. That is why we have tremendous, amazing expressions to describe what Somali woman stands for. “Any successful man, a woman is behind” this is not necessarily meaning his wife but also includes mothers and sisters. “No Mother, No Home” is another expression that clearly presents the role of Somali women in the society. On top of that; Islam describes the woman as an important character in the society and granted full protection and perfect rights and role within the community are encouraged and recommended.
In Somali historical accounts, we had heroines, who always made
flash palm memories; Hawo- Tako was one of them and Ilhan Omar now is a global
superwoman as she became the first Somali-American Muslim woman in the
Congress. I am not herewith presenting Ilham’s autobiography, her journey to
America was said in many places, and her political endeavors have also been
described in elsewhere. This piece of writing is to respond to the Saudi owned
media, a talk show on Saudi-owned state MBC as well as some predominant
Monarchy leaders including the MBS and his blind followers.
The Middle Eastern media and commentators provoked a false accusation against Ilhan Omar. All these indictments are baseless, blind descriptions and palpable neither but sole defamation. Being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood is noble in the first place but her membership is untrue and unjustified. Describing Ilhan as a hostile to the Saudi Monarchy and its belly (UAE) is an inhumane and horrific statement. This is again fallacious; Ilhan Omar never ever attacked the Monarchy on the media or elsewhere. Ilhan is a person who minds and keeps her words and top of that, she knows what she is going to do within the legal framework, which made her be the first Muslim-Somali Congresswoman. Al Arabiya published that Ilhan is “anti-Trump politics” could be true since the nature of politics entails in both protagonist and antagonist with opposite ideology. It only shows that Al Arabia editorial team does not know but the kind of politics that they are living in; worshiping and glorifying the monarchy leadership.
The talk shows on Saudi-owned station MBC discussed the implication of the Muslim congresswoman on the US politics is again an implicit insult for all Muslims. As Islam being the religion for humanities and the Holy Quran stands for harmony, equality, and justice, yet it is paramount to demonstrate the true face of the Muslim society. Ilhan is a Muslim congresswoman, she is Somali–American, and she made her dreams true within the most challenging political climate in the US. The MBS and all other alphabets of the dogmatic monarchy of the Saudi-Arabia should do away such vicious attacks to our Ilhan, she represents the Muslim and particularly the Somalis. All kinds of attacks, insults and fake allegations against our Ilhan will be counted, responded to and we will stand with her forever. The Saudi-Monarchy is still practicing the abolished barbaric and inhumane customs against humanities. The dictators of the Middle East are not ready for democracy, government owned by the people is at distant and that is why blood thirty Monarchy Alphabets led by MBC viciously murdered Khashoggi, dozens are in exile and in-house arrest. The argument saying that the people in the Middle East do not have access to power and practice for the basic freedom of expression is very true and justifiable. In the context of Saudi Monarchy, there is no way to have an ambition of leadership or aspire to be in a leadership position. Unfortunately, people believe that they would access to power, practice basic principles of democracy and enjoy the freedom of expression only if they leave the country.
The evils and devils at anywhere do not welcome and accept all
good things for humanities as their nature is to mislead, attempt to inflict
pain with good people; the lobbying against Ilhan will remain ash of dust in a
dessert. A staffer at the Monarchy Embassy blurted out if Ilhan follows and
affiliated to Muslim Brotherhood ideology and will be hostile to the dictators
all over again is premature, primitive and cowardly allegations. Conversely,
what is known about that the monarchy is hostile to its people and lethal to
humanity as numerous pieces of evidence are on the record.
The fabricated statement tweeted by Faisal Al-Shamari, a
cultural advisor at the Embassy and the write for Al Arabia boasts back to the
monarchy itself. The ill statement that a heartless commentator put on his
twitter that has been retweeted by monarchy alphabets claims that our Ilhan is
Houthi Yemeni by origin again is the fictitious and silly charge. All these
false and denigrations against Ilhan are as cheap as dog barks and donkey
braying (hee-haw). Yes, to be honest, the catastrophic situation in Yemen calls
for humanitarian assistance and to respond to this crisis is a global
responsibility. The Monarchy should stop the crocodile tears!
The online attacks by Monarchy led bloc on Muslim-American
Democrats as an Ikhwanji and extremist are also too fabricated and horrific.
But what is known at present with all evidence is that the Monarchy and its
allies are huge but hidden factories that produce all types of insurgencies
that operate in many places. The envious critique made by Najat al-Saeed
against Arabic media for celebrating the two Muslim women’s victories as he
accuses of them their ties to the Brotherhood does not link to any evidence.
This victories made by the two Muslim women are historic and halt all
stereotypes against the Muslim community in the US and elsewhere. Ilhan is not
from Arab, not from the Houthi and African neither but a Somali faithful woman
and we are very proud of her being our kin.
The racism and radical statements that Saudi officials spread on
their twitter accounts indicate their lack of knowledge towards the practices
of slavery. In this regard, it is very important to recall that Somalis never
ever accepted colony let alone being slaved by the European powers. Genetically
and of course Somali choice is death to slave. And if they do not know about
this history let them go back to primary schools. On top of that, Islam
abolished slavery and literature about slavery context is available anywhere
and again if the Monarchy staff do not know about this again let them educate
with the basic Islamic teachings.
Finally, we stand with Ilhan Omar not only because she is Somali
but being a Muslim woman in the Democratic Congress. As such, she does not only
represent the Muslim community and Somalis but also she is the hope for
humanity.
About the Author Mohamed Jama Madar (@MohamedMadar) holds a Ph.D. in Policy Studies for Sustainable Development who writes on STI policies, Education for Sustainable Development and S&T Policies.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of Somaliland Chronicle and it’s staff.
The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres in a statement released by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General that and attributed to him rebuked the assignment of Persona non Grata to Secretary-General’s Special Representative Mr. Nicholas Haysom by the Somali Federal Government on January 1st 2019.
Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General
The statement dismissed the PNG status of Mr Haysom as illegal and non-conforming to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in that it does not apply to the United Nations Personnel ” The doctrine of persona non grata does not apply to, or in respect of, United Nations personnel. As described in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the doctrine applies to diplomatic agents who are accredited by one State to another in the context of their bilateral relations. The United Nations is not a State and its personnel are not accredited to the States where they are deployed, but work under the sole responsibility of the Secretary-General. ”
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres
Despite disagreeing with Somalia’s assignment of PNG status to Mr. Haysom as illegal, the Secretary General stated that he will soon appoint a new envoy to Somalia ” Therefore, he intends to appoint in due course a new Special Representative for Somalia and Head of UNSOM.”
Mr. Haysom who gave a lengthy testimony to the United Nations Security Council did not speak about the PNG status.
According to diplomatic sources, there is a beehive of activity in Nairobi where the international community including UK, EU, Scandinavian countries as well as the United Nations are discussing the deteriorating security conditions in Somalia and the latest actions of Somalia’s Federal Government.
Nicholas Haysom, Former Special Representative to Somalia
Sources added that the United Nations and the international community are intent on carrying out Mr. Haysom’s line of inquiry that led to his dismissal from Somalia and will launch an investigation into the events that occurred in Baidao on December 13 that followed the arrest of Mukhtar Roobow, the death of more than a dozen people and arrest of 300 individuals as well as the indirect fire of the UN compound in Mogadishu on January 1st.
On early January 2nd on twitter, US Congressman Eliot Engel expressed concern over lack of progressing in combating terrorism and Alshabaab and deteriorating governance conditions in Somalia,
— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HFACDemocrats) January 2, 2019
President of Somaliland Mr. Muse Bihi Abdi
Though Somaliland government has been tight lipped about the issue except for the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, sources tell Somaliland Chronicle that there has been high level overtures from international community who are looking to distance themselves from an increasingly authoritarian Somalia.
In an unusually short statement by Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation stated that Mr. Nicholas Haysom has been informed that “he is no longer welcome nor can operate in Somalia”.
The hasty statement which some have interpreted as assigning Mr. Haysom a persona non grata status in Somalia was short on specifics but added that “He has broken the United Nations’ Operational protocol in Somalia and has deliberately interfered in the country’s independence.”
This follows a strongly worded letter from Mr. Haysom and other International donors to Somalia who demanded answers to the unrest in Baodao and the arrest of some 300 people including the Presidential candidate Mr. Mukhtaar Roobow.
Mr. Roobow is a former high ranking member of Al-shabaab terrorist group and since abandoning the group has re-branded himself a politician and was believed to be on his way to winning the Presidency of the South western region. His arrest has rocked the state and particularly its capital Baidao in recent days.
British Ambassador to Somalia David Concar with Mukhtaar Roobow
In addition to Mr. Haysom’s letter in which he demanded explanation for the arrest of Mr. Roobow, other donor countries including the UK have sent a similar letter to Somalia Minister of Interior Security.
It is unclear if Somalia’s government will also target others including the UK Ambassador to Somalia David Concar, EU Delegation to Somalia Fulgencio Garrido Ruiz and the German Ambassador to Somalia Anett Günther for expulsion from Somalia.
Mr. Haysom has not given Somalia the leeway it had with his predecessor Mr. Michael Keating who was seen as sympathetic to Somalia’s week federal government and has diligently towed its line. Even Mr. Keating last report before the United Nations Security Council painted a rosy picture of the situation in Somalia
