Opinion
Addis Ababa, January 29, 2012 (Addis Ababa) - Ethiopia and China here on Saturday signed seven economic and technical agreements to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Accordingly, the two governments signed two economic and technical cooperation agreements to provide grant and interest-free loan to Ethiopia.
Two framework agreements to further cooperate in railway, sugar production, telecommunication development and currency swaps as well as promoting small and medium enterprises was signed between Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and China Development Bank Corporation .
The Memorandum of Understandings for comprehensive cooperation and establishment of Hujian-Ethiopia light industrial manufacturing base project are among the agreements signed between the two parts.
The two countries have signed the agreements after the conferring of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Chinese delegation led by Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairperson, Jia Qinglin.
Source: ENA
Akhirtayaal waa markale iyo sheekadeenii 7 dabaadlaha ahayd iyo qaybteedii 4aad sheekadan qaybteedii 3 aad waxay inoo maraysay.
Kaltuumo way tiigsatay amiin waxayna tidhi wiilkii maxaa kudhacay waa uu dahaye waxayna usoo dhaqaaqday dhankii xamaamkii kadibna way soo dul istaagatay waxayna tidhi war amiin Amiin waxa uu oogu jawabay wooow.
Kaltuumo: maxaa kugu dhacay eeddo?
Amiin: amryihii ayaan jugaysan hayaa
Kaltuumo: waa maxay jugaysi eedo?
Amiin:dhaylaamihii ayaan xafuujisan hayaa
Kaltuumo:eedo maxaad kawdaa
Amiin: calalihii aan watay ayaan dhaqanhaya
Kaltumo: aad ayay oogu qoso shay amiin kadibna tidhi alla eedo anaa kuu dhaqiyo soo baxa meeshaas maryaha laguma dhaqdee kaltuumo maysan cidna usheegin amiin kudhar dhaqashadiisa uu dharak kudhaqday xamaamka wayo waxay kayabanayd in hadhow dhalinta lafaca aha ku kaftamiso dacayadan ay ooga dhigan.
Hadana aan ugudubno qaybta 4aad iyo sheekadii oo wali sii socota.
SHULEKHO: markii ay kawar heshay in uu amiin ka ambabaxay wadanka waxaa lasoo darsay dabaylo walbahaar duufaano fikkir aha waxayna gashay duni murugo jidhkeedii ayaa isbadalay dabeecadeediina way dhuntay muqaalkeediina way modw murogo walbahar waartay cawys iyo dad lakaftankii,fur furnaasho iyo cawysin way isdaayeen.
Waa xilli jiilaal aha qoraxduna way kulushahay waxay sulekho kafulisay lo, ceelka dambar wayne waxayan usii wada dhankaa iyo goro tooro waxay soo xasuusatay dhulkii ay amiin xoolaha ay islamarin jireen waxayna aragtay geedihii ay wada fadhisan jireen ee ay ku kaftami jireen iyada oo manta kaligeed lo,wada waxaana kasoo hoobatay ilmo ay iska xajin wayday,waxayna tidhi iyada oo ku beer laxow sanaysa suugaan BALI CADAYLE IYO BAY LAGAA SOO SAALAAN eraygan marak ay kuluuqaynaysay waxaa ku dul gowriiray jir muruga aha waxayna sii waday suugaantii ay kubeer laxowsanaysay waxayna sii lahayd.
Huuno amiinow xertaadaan laxidhanlahaa:
Waan arkeeynee xertaadaan laxidhan laha:
Walle murugo maaweelo kama bi iso.
Amiin iyo shullekho waxaa kadhaxeeyay jacayl anan laqiyasi Karin bug iyo qalinna anan lagu soo koobi Karin waxa uuna ahaa mid lagu qiyaasi karo in uu kaxoog badnaa jacaylkii laylo iyo qays waxa uuna mid walba kaga yaalay jacalykooda halbowlayasha iyo beerka midkastana waxa uu kaligii ufikiri jiray gees iyaga oonana is lajoogin.
Sulekho way lafa lafowday wayna taqwad guurtay waxana kowsaday bishii 6 aad ee aysan arag amiin indho urooone aysan urunina reexaantiisii udgoonayd indheeheedii way abaarsadeen afkeedee waa uu amakaag yaab aamusay way jcayl boholyowday waxayna kumay racaysa lo,mar dhikil miidhan aha dhirta iyo caleentuna ay is haysato xashaashuqa iyo cayaduna waa waacaraf oo udgaysa balan ballista iyo baaldhiiga,shimbiraha dheelmitaanka aha waa kuwa farax galin haya nafta aadamiga,sulkho waxay saarantahay geed bisiq aha cagaheeduna hoos ayay u soo raaricisay waxayna himmiga galisay amiin oo usoo noqday lana mayracahaya lo,da waxayna soo xasuusatay wajigiisii quruxda badnaa hadalkiisii dabacsanaa iyo kaftankiisii faraxada kureebi jiray markas ayay afka furatay sulekho iyada oo suugaan kucabiraysa dareenkeeda waxayna lahayd.
Haday bixii naftaan kuubali laha
Wayn baxeenee naftaan kuu badali lahaa
Huuna amiinow mar qudha ma illa mari malkada
Sulekho sidi ay iskugu maweelinay suuganta aya waxaa katagatay lo,dii oo iska dheelmatay lakiin sulekho ma,aysa daremin waxana latagtay amaantii amiin waxayna is aragtay iyada oo amin cawareer aha leh.
Kubka lagusocdiyo kalal quruxsanow allow aan ku kadbado
Sida kuushaan kal gacal kurka kugu sitaa
Codka lali cayuun lali kuma cuntee
Qosol huunoy qalbiyo quud mawada sinnee
Hirka doogay indhuhu how dhaheen ma adigaa
Sida dogay indhuhu meel foog kaadawadaan
Macagarkii gu,gooyn ciddu baar goy ninbaa
Alla dhawaaqayga dhiil uso cugoo alla dhaadhami sida dhayda xoolaha ee
Alla go,aaga iyo ga,ayga yaa isku guntoo alla go,ayga yaa isku keen kunanadee
Alla sidii miriri alla magaala kuyal alla midhihii janadow mar illahadaleey
Alla sida cambaluusha aya u cunoo alla cankuun kuhayoon oon calool galineey
Alla amiin yar yaa alla santuuq kuritoo alla salad walba dawada sida uu yahayeey
Sulekho waxay is aragatay iyada oo kujirta riyo waali aha kana xoogbadisay qandhada jacaylka ay amiin uqabto iyada oo dhiir dhiirinaysa ayay gashay gurigoodii walidkeed maysan waydiinin wax su,aal aha wayo way ogayeen in ay hawada kamaqantahay oo marka ladhaho lo,da soo lis waxay abari jirtay xerda dameeraha marka loo dira adhigana waxy u galijirtay lo,da iyad oona war iska haynin waxana marar badan dhacaday iydada oo shah karinsaysa inay kildhigii dabka saraa ay sonkorta kudartay isaga oo daboolan sasna ay sonkor badan kukhasarisay.
Amiin: waxa lageyaya sikuul waxbarsho madama uu uyimaaday in uu wax barto waxa uu noqday wiil aad ufahmo b adan dadaal iyo dabeecad wanagasan ay kudheehantahay hassa ahaate magnad ayaa meel kahaystay oo waxa uu ahaa wax hilmaan badan oo dadku waxay oogu yeedhi jireen waa lagu maqanyahay ama waa lagu shan laysanhayaa iyo errayo kale.
Amiin inta uu joogay xamara waligii hurdo sifiican oogama boganin cuntana kama uuusan dhargin waxa uuna ahaa rundud kufikir,socod ku hadal iyo riyo ku,ooy waxana kudaganaa hirar wal bahaar iyo jacayl hamuumyo qaadhay hilow iyo waxaa kudhacay juuc iyo qandho wayne qolkuu seexan laha waa,uu ku qalla laa qosal macaan ma,maqlo iyo hadaladii uu qajilku kujiraye,
wadanihiisiina qiiqbaa ka kaciyo qaylo dhaan wayne,
qossal afkiisa laga hayo iyo qowlal cadayne,
dadna lama quutoo wuu qanshaysanyahaye,
qarracaan buu kayabanaa in ay qudhu kaduushaye,
qabri kayaab ayu ahaa sidii laylo iyo qayse,
indhahana qumaati wax oogama arkoo way qallafeene
dhafoori hiisuna waxaad moodaa islaan ay iska raaceen curadkii iyo ninkeediiye bishimaha na waxaa kasaraa qolfo waa wayn indhihiisii oo qorraf kujirana waa kabbo dhiig aha waxaa kudhcay cudur magaciisa lagaran waayay waxaana iskugu daramaday 2bo biyood iyo jacaylkii hadhsan waa.
Waxaa kuhadh furtay basaastii kadhalatay aragti la,aantii sullekho waxaa dhaxsin udagtay raffanaan iyo taqwad guur waxana lageyay dhowr isbitaal oo kaladuwan dhamaantoodna waxba kam,aysan hellin xatta waxaa loogeeyay amiin haweenka boranaha iyo rooxaanta qiijiya balse wax quruuma aha way kawaayeen waxayna dadku lahayeen xagee laga asiibay wiilka alla ayaa usheega in ay kamaqantahay sulekho caday cudurka hayana uu yahay jacaylki hadhsan waa .
Waxay goor shegtadu si jahawreersan utilmaamaysay 3:00 pm ama 9 saac oo duhurnimo amiin waxa uu walbahaar duljiifay sariirtiisi oo uu karaahaystay kuseexadkeeda waxa dhanka midig kayaalay radio waxa uuna kadhagaysan hayay redio Ethiopia laantiisa afka somaliga waxa uuna kadhgaysan hayay barnaamijka 7 aadle aha ee hiddaha iyo dhaqanka waxa uuna maqlay ciyaar dhaqamedka loo yaqaano dhaantada taas oo uu aad ujeclaa amiin waxana lasoo dayay dhallin yaro kuluuqaynaysa GEELJIR GEEL KUMAQANAAYO GAABSANAYNIN GARAACYEEY.
Amiin marka uu maqlay erayga dhaantada aha ayaa oogu danbaysay miyyir oo wuuba suuxay waxana loo la cararay isbitaal waxana lagu xidhay dhowr faleembo oo kaladuwan amiin waxa uusaarna sariir kamid aha sariirihii isbitaalka gabdho maryo cad cad kulabisana way dul joogeen waxaa amiin usoo noqaday miyirkii waxa uuna go,aan ku gadhay in uu kulaabtay dhanaan iyo laydh daawo waxa uuna yidhi ALLA DHUURKII DHANAANOW MADHACE WAX KUDHAAMA LAWAAYEEY .
Waxaa soo kor istaagtay ee dadii kaltuumo amiin oo ilmaynhay oo ay afkiisana kaoso burqaranhaya sugaan xiiseed uu ku,amaanahayo danwaa waxayana tidhi kaltuumo danawaa la idinkuwada xabaal danwaa,danwaa,danwa,war danwaa maalagu falay kii kayimaadaba waxa uu dhahaa uun danwa war danwaa soo ma aha meeshii dabaysha badnayd ee dhaxanta miidhan ahayd walle waa yaab huunow ruuxii kayimada dhanaan maxuu udhahaa uun alla dhuurkii dhanaanow madhace wax kudhaama lawayey??.
Danwa waa geed dhuur aha oo aad uda,wayn danwaa waa geed hadhac aha oo hoos qaboow waxanayna dadka caatada aha ee rer dhanan kutaami jireen hadaan danwaa 2 maalmood hooskiisa hadhsado badhi caabadi aya iga soo bixi lahayd danwaa waa geed ay ku hal qabsadaan dadka deegaanku oo wayadii hore gabdhaha ayaaba lagu bixinjiray hoostiisa wana lagu shixi jiray hoostiisa ragga sahanka ahana waa lagu waraysan jiray geedku waxa uu kuyaala laagta qar qarkeed tamuuxadana waa labarkada oo malin kii oodhan waxa laweheshadaa (tixgooga)tixgoogu waa manuuko yar yar oo alla lagahelo meelaha lagaha galaheeda aha iyo gabyaha hoostooda .
Abdirashid abdulahi ahmed (dhanaane)
Email:dhanaane22@hotmail.
qaybta 5 aad jimcaha xigta insha allaah
Islaan baa gurigeedii kasoo baxday, waxayna aragtay sadex oday oo
guriga hortiisa fadhiya oo haraad kamuuqdo, weyna yaabtay waxayna
kutiri; waxaan dareemayaa inaad safar tihiin, baahina idin hayso ee soo
gala guriga siaad noola cuntaan waxa aan haysano.
Odayaashiina waxay weydiiyeen ninkaagii majoogaa? Waxayna ku
jawaabtay maya, banaankuu jiraa. Waxayna dheheen masoo gali karo
ninkaagii haduu maqan yahay!
Galabtii markuu yimidna way u sheegtay qisadii odayaasha, wuxuuna
kuyiri usheeg inaan imid, soonana gali guriga, iyagiina waxay
kujawaabeen, mawada gali karee, mid naga mid ah adiga iyo ninkaagu
doorta. Midkamid ah ayaana soo baxay oo yiri ani waxaa lay dhahaa
GUUL, saaxiibkayna waxaa layiraahdaa DHAQAALE/ Maal, kan sadexaadna
waxaa layiraahdaa JACAYl. Islaantiina waxay kulaabatay ninkeedii wayna u
sheegtay qisadii odayaasha, wuxuuna yiri haduu warkaasi run yahay,
uyeer Maal waxaan rabnaa inuu faqriga naga saaro, gurigeenana
hodanimo kabuuxiyo.
Iyadiina waxay tiri mawaxaad rabtaa INAAD DHIB LA´AAN DHAQAALE
HESHO, aan uyeerano Guusha, IYADAA HODANIMO NAGAARSII-NAYSEE.
Gabartoodii oo dooda dhgaysa-naysayna waxay tiri; SAW MAHABOONA
INAAD JACAYL UYEERTAAN?
Waxayna qaateen taladii gabarta, waxayna weceen/ kuna marti qaadeen
inuu soo galo guriga JACAYL!.
Waxaa soo tarjumay; Axmad Cabdulahi, Germany, axmad72@hotmail.com
Jacayl markuu soo istaagayna labadii kalaa (Guul iyo Dhaqaale) soo daba
galeen! Islaantiina waxay tiri, waxaad iga codsateen inaan mid kaliya
doorto, hadana waad soo wada kacdeen, ee maxaa jira?
Waxayna ku jawaabeen labadii kalana, hadaad dooran lahayd Guul ama
Hodannimo, kaligii baa ku raaci lahaa, lakiin meelkastoo jacayl aado waxaa
raaca Guul iyo Nolol wanaagsan.
Maxayeelay jacaylka ayaa dhaliya guusha, maalkana guushaa keenta, oo
qiima badan male Maal aan guuli ka horaynin. Sidoo kale wax qiima ah
maleh guul aad ka dhalisay shaqo aadan jeclaanin, kusee-xanin kusoo kicin
fikirkeeda.
Hadaba Guul iyo horumarkastaa waxay kabilowdaan Jacayl iyo hilow ku
dhaca qofka, kuna dhaliya fikir badan, dadaal xoog badan, karti dheeraad
ah, wax qabad habaysan, intaa kadib ayaana lagaraa Guul, Wanaag,
hodanimo, farxad iyo raaxo qiima gal ah. Qofkast oo sheegta inuu gaaray
guul uuna horay u caashiqin ugu fikirin, wuxuu kujiraa dhalanteed ama
riyo.
Hadaan nahay umad somaliyeedna waxaan wada ognahay inaan raadino
guul aan dusha kaga dhacno oon kuhelo qaraabanimo, qixitaan, shaxaad,
eexasho, xatooyo, qabiil iwm. Waana mida nadhigtay halka aan maanta
naalo, oo waxaa naga dhumay Mapkii aan kugaari lahayn guusha iyo
wanaaga aan wada raadinayno.
Waxaa tarjumay
Axmad Cabdulahi… Germany
Axmad72@hotmail.com
In the old day when a crime is committed, the law abiding citizens would have made every effort to bring those who were responsible for the commission of these crimes in front of the criminal justice system. They would have turned every stone in the corner to ensure that these crooks were subjected to the long arms of the law. This basic traditional social justice seems not to be a norm these days anymore. In the United Kingdom, for example, the News of the World, a newspaper owned by an international news mogul hacked innocent people’s mobile phones’ answering machine and made millions from the news made from phone hacking scam. Learning from his international counterpart, Abdi ilay has staged similar incidents in regional state to persuade those who have supported him in the last 10 years to unswervingly continue prop up his regime. As a result, this man has unleashed hell in the ordinary peace loving Somali people in the regional state.
He has staged a number of made-up events in the regional state to win the heart and mind of the Federal government officials. In this short article I would like to disclose some of the hidden agendas of our beloved regional president, Mr. Abdi Ilay, and share with the reader how this man is handling the state responsibility. The adage which says,’ with great power comes great responsibility’ has no place within the eyes of this man. Regardless of the recent good governance training he was forced to take part in Civil Service College, he gives the impression that he has changed a bit.
Prime facie, it looks alike that he has finally succeeded in convincing the federal government to allow him to govern the regional state and beyond as he desires. No matter if he has at least learned something from his recent trip to get some basic principle good governance from wiser men in Addis Ababa. From my point of view allowing this man to have access to a strong police with bad reputation would undermine the Federal government’s standing among the Horn of African states and wider international community. This regional police force was supposed to be inclusive of all Somali people in the regional government regardless of their nation, nationality, clan or tribes. However, in order to advance his hidden agenda of dramatization of incident in the regional state, he made the regional police force to be a single clan and sub clan’s elite force that exact revenge on anyone that is consider as an enemy. He recruited to the local police force a huge number of his sub clan and his in-laws. This made the regional police force unrepresentative of the Somali regional state ethnic composition. In particular, the highest positions are hold by his own clan and sub clans. Any new recruit would be sent to a far part of the region where he/she would be left with no fighting stamina for simple reason that they are considered as a fodder for the war machinery against the staged battle with ONLF. If any new recruit disobey as a result of operational difficulty, he/ she would be executed without any question. If you look at the composition of the Luyu police force, it does not require rocket science knowledge to discern how this man is using the state machinery to advance a personal policy that has never been sanctioned by the Ethiopian Federal Government.
It is not surprising to find that he is acting beyond his person ego and assuming most of times the national defence force’s responsibility. In accordance with the Federal constitution, the Federal Defence Force is responsible for anything concerning international issues, i.e. foreign enemy and invaders. However, we have recently seen and heard when his notorious police force were acting beyond their constitutional entrusted power and making incursion into other foreign countries, kidnapping citizens of other countries and spoiling the image of the Ethiopian people hospitality. The Ethiopia people in its long history clearly distinguish between enemies and friends. I do not think the people and its government will be fooled by some covert operation foreign ideology that has never been a culture of the people. The people of this great nation have always been living in peace with each other. I do not think the Federal Government is not aware of this transgression being committed by a man with a hidden policy of bring back a dead hegemony in the Horn of African. However, it is important to mention her that foolish people will take for granted silence as a signal for acceptance. They always forget to remember that silence is not acceptance and acknowledgement. There will be a time where your deed will haunt those who commit crime with impunity.
As it is known, two Swedish journalists were caught in middle of the Somali Regional State after they travelled through the self-proclaimed Somalia state of Puntland. Before they trekked to Somali Regional State, they had visited London and Nairobi, to meet the ONLF men and their agents. It is still unanswered question what lie behind these agents and ONLF officials. The million dollar question is whether or not the two Swedish journalists did fall for a Abdi Ilay and ONLF organised scam. It is not a coincidence that our beloved regional state president has made a trip to London and Sweden and Denmark just before the recruitment of these two Swedish journalists. Then Abdi Ilay desperately wanted to create a story in the Regional State that makes him a hero among the Ethiopian highest officials. As a result, he hatched a secrete plot to approach Western journalists and make them to travel to his prearranged place where his men were waiting for ambush and catch them. This would give him an immense power he required to govern the Regional State without any interference.
A year and half ago when he was contemplating the idea of recruiting foreign journalists to travel to Somali regional state, he made his contact in one of the Scandinavian countries to make his vicious move. It is not surprising that recently a local newspaper has announced a secrete millionaire showed out of the moon with intention of investing millions of dollar in hotel industry in Jijiga. The connection between this secrete millionaire and the plot to recruit foreign journalist to travel to this regional state on staged operation is another line of inquire to be further explored. As well know, this regional state is a no go area for foreign journalists and international media as a direct consequence of massacre of 9 Chinese and more than 100 Ethiopians in the Dhagah Bur area by the Ogaden National Liberation Front die hard supporters a few years ago. I do not know whether or not the Swedish government has followed this link and investigated those who are involved in this covert operation. With the publication of this information, it is hoped that the concerned authority in this country would bring to justice those who are responsible in leading this innocent journalists into a death trap in the regional state. The Ethiopian government would also revisit the case of these two innocent journalists in light of this new information and reconsidered them for leniency.
It is remembered that Abdi Ilay had travelled to Sweden a year ago. It is important to know that whom he had met there. This information could be collated through a simple contact with people he had made. I think these people have Swedish nationalities and they would give priority to the national interest of Sweden than the crook man in Jijiga and his accomplices. Some of the agent might have made some quick buck through this deal. The stooge’s main purpose was to make quick money through what they deemed a lucrative deal. The two Swedish journalists succumbed to the persuasion of this fixed trap and agreed to travel to Somali regional state. They had thought they would break into the prestigious stage of international news by attempting to bring to the world the hidden secrete of this Regional State. They, however, looked alike as amateurish by brandishing weapon in front of their camera taking this film into the regional state. I wonder how they had not conduct simple risk assessment before they embark in this expedition. The regional government and Abdi Ilay police were waiting for them. Even before they cross the international boundary between Somalia and Ethiopia.
To sum up, in light of this new revelation, the Swedish, Ethiopian governments have to pursue a new line of enquiry whether or not this operation was prearranged by the regional governments. Taking into account the past experience of this man, it would be without doubt a logical conclusion to state here that international investigation must be sought to uncover the link between the current president and the arrest of two innocent Swedish journalists in the middle of nowhere in the regional state. I hope the outcome of this enquire will establish the link that exist with this scam. This will also bring to closure the days this blood sucker regional president hold high office. There is no doubt that he will be seeing the back of the Federal Government sooner than later. This man should be stopped for the public protection purpose. Ethiopian is heading to a dangerous unknown destination with this man in reign in regional government. I am one of the regional state citizens; I have never seen a man with a total lack any sense of humanity. He staged up the arrest and kidnap of the two Swedish journalists to win the trust of the Federal Government. Just read and look at the video released. How they were contacted, escorted to Kenya, then Puntland and led into the net of his notorious Gestapo like police force, AKA Luyu Police. The risk this individual poses to the public security is immense. He is like a common criminal.
Olad Guled
oladg888@gmail.com
The Opinion presented here is that of the author and doesn't represent the view and opinion of kilil5.com.
Dr. Abdurahman A. Baadiyow
Dardaaranka Dhalinyarada
1. Nin dadalla baan ahay
2 . Danyartana udoodoo
3 . Dalkiisana udoor bida
4 . Da’da sookoreysana
5 . Udardaarma kheyrkiyo
6 . Iyo iney door ka qaatan
7 . Dalkood iyo dadkooda iyo
8 . Iney dawlad dhaliyaan
9 . Lagu diirsan doonoo
1 0 . Danta guud daweysoo
1 1 . Dar xumada daryeeshoo
1 2 . Lagu wada dawooboo
1 3 . Karaamada dadkeynnana
1 4 . Kor uqaadda daaiman
……………………………………. .
1 5 . Waxaantaas kusii daray
1 6 . Da’da soo koreysana
1 7 . Aan kula dardaarmaa
1 8 . Udulqaata diifada
1 9 . Digdigleynta joojiya
2 0 . Dibad jooga joojiya
2 1 . Dan la’aanta joojiya
2 2 . Door la’aanta joojiya
2 3 . Dawlad duminta joojiya
2 4 . Duugsiyada udareeroo
2 5 . Darajooyin sare hela
2 6 . Daraasada ha joojina
2 7 . Ilaa aad doktoornimo
2 8 . Darajada ka gaartaan
…………………………………………….
2 9 . Intaas waxaan kusii daray
3 0 . Da’da soo koreysana
3 1 . Aan kula dardaarmaa
3 2 . Kala daadsanaan iyo
3 3 . Kala dididda joojiya
3 4 . Isku duubanaantiyo
3 5 . Waalnimada door bida
3 6 . Dimoqradiyaadkiyo
3 7 . Dood wadaaga doortoo
3 8 . Dambiyada yareeyoo
3 9 . Kali taliska diidoo
4 0 . Weligiin ha daalinna
Dr. Abdurahman A. Baadiyow
Saddex wiil ayaa usafray wadan aad ufog, waxayna dageen guri aad udheer oo kakooban 75dabaq, waxayna dageen dabaqa usareeya ee 75naad. Waardiyihii Daarta ayaa usharxay nidaamka dagenaanta guriga, wuxuuna kuyiri; halkan waxaa kajira nidaam kaduwan, kan kajira wadamadiina.
Wiishka Daarta lagu fuulo 10.00 habeenimo ayuu otomatik isuxiraa, waxaana laga xukumaa meel fog oo haduu mar isxiro cid furi kartaa majirto!. Marka waa inaad soo dheel-mataan kahor 10.00 habeen-nimo, wuxuuna kacodsaday inay warkaas si fiican ufahmaan, waxayna u-adkeeyeen inay fahmeen.
Habeenkii 1aad way soo dheelmadeen 10. kahor, laakiin habeenkii 2aad bay tamashlayntii la dheeraatay, waxayna yimideen iyagoo aad u ordaya 10. iyo 5daqiiqo, albaabkiina jaa waa xirmay. Halkii bayna oohin iyo qaylo ka dhaqaaqeen, waxayna weceen qofkasta oo ay umaleeyeen inuu Daarta ufuri karo, laakiin faaiido la´aan.
Markay quusteena waxay ku heshiiyeen inay Daarta kafuullaan jaranjarta ilaa iyo dabaqa 75aad, waxayna ku heshiiyeen inuu mid waliba uga sheekeeyo Qiso dheer oo xiisa badan oo soconaysa inta ay fuulayaan 25 dabaq, siay isu hilmaan-siiyaan Daalka iyo jilba xanuunka.
1. Kii 1aad wuxuu yiri anu waxaan idiin hayaa qisooyin marqaan badan, oo qosol idinku dilaya ilaa aad is illowdaan, oydaan Daalba xasuusanin!. Wuuna u sheekeeyay ilaa ay Qossol kudhiman gaareen, waalina ku dhawaadeen, Daarta oo dhana laga maqlay qossolkooda iyo qayladooda ilaa ay ka-gaareen dabaqaii 25aad.
2. Kii 2aad wuxuu yiri anu mahayo sheekooyin lagu waasho, balse waxaan idiin hayaa dhacdooyin run iyo xaqiiqo ubadan, oo taa-banaya nolosha dhabta ah iyo dhacdooyinka waayaha. Maxaa lagud-boon qofka raba inuu Guul iyo horumara gaaro, ama wax fiican samaysto iwm. Wuuna u sheekeeyay isagoo siiyay tusaalooyin, waanooyin iyo dhacdooyin fara-badan, ilaa ay kasoo gaareen dabaqii 50aad.
3. Kii 3aad wuxuu yiri anu waxaan idiin hayaa qisooyin ka samaysan dhib xanuun iyo wareer, maxaayeelay waad soo maqasheen sheekoo-yinkii qosolka iyo madadaalada, kuwii dhabta iyo xaqiiqada intaba. Marka ani waxaad iga sugtaanba waa sheekooyinkii xanuunka iyo dhibka. Labadii kalana waxay dheheen; Soodaa maxaayeelay waxaaban rabnaa inaan gaarro Gurigeenii inagoo naga-batay Daalka iyo fikirku, kadibna aan dhakhso seexano! Wuuna uga sheekeeyay ilaa ay kasoo gaareen dabaqii 75aad, iyagoo Daal la dhiman raba. Wuxuuna kusoo dhameeyay; qisadan aadka unaxdinta badan ee ah: INAAN FURIHII GURIGA KUSOO ILOWNAY WAARDIYIHII DABAQA 1AAD JOOGAY, EE AAN FURAHA WIISHKA KA RABNAY! SADDEXDIINA WAA LA MIYIR DABOOLAY, WAXAYNA KU SIGTEEN INAY NAXDIN LA DHINTAAN!
Qisadu waa mid xanuun badan, oo laga naxo balse waxay kusaabsan-tahay xaqiiqada nolosha Bani aadamka ee caadiga ah. Oo hadaan uqaybino nolosha qofka 3qaybood waxay noqonaysaa 25+25+25=75, intaasina waa cumriga sare ee qofka caadiga ahi uu gaari karo. Oo Rasuulkeenii (scw) wuxuu inoo sheegay umadiisa cumri dhexaad-keedu inuu yahay inta udhaxaysa 60 iyo 70, in yarina ay halkaa dhafi karto.
Hadaba maxay kala-yihiin sadexda qaybood? Waxaa badan in dadku ay; 25sano ee dhalin yaranimada ku nool yihiin; nolol ubadan ciyaar, qosol, fikir la´aan, madadaalo iwm. Waana wakhtiga uu qofku ugu xoog bad-yahay, ugu firifircoon yahay, haduu dhinaca khayrka ujeedsadana uu wax badan qabsan karo. 25sano ee xigta inta badan waxaa lagu mashquulaa noloshii dhabta ahayd; Shaqo raadin, Guur raadin, reer samayn, ilmo dhalid iyo korin, waa wakhtiga tabcashada iyo dhibka nolosha lagu mashquulo.
25sano ee xigtana waxaa bilaabata dhibaatada caafimaadka; xanuun badan, tabar darro badan, daawo qaadasho farabadan iyo in da´da laysku noco oo shaqada loo-diido qofka ay Da´diisu 50sano kor udhaaftay. Dhinaca kalana Ilmihii dhibkooda ayaa sii bata, mid shaqo la´aan ah, oo Biil u bahan, mid guur ubaahan, mid lasoo furay, mid wax haleeyay oo ubaahan in dhib laga-badbaadiyo iwm. Waxaana bilaabata inuu qofku ukala wareego Isbitaalada isagoo ladagaa-lamaya xanuuno badan oo soo weeraraya.
Waana waqtiga uu qofka Caqligiisu dhamays-tirmo, xaqiiqada noloshana sixeel dheer udareemo, aadna uu ubadiyo shalaytada iyo maxaan waxaa uqabsan waayay, maxaan sidaa usamayn waayay, maxaan waxaa uqalday iwm? Qisada waxaa udanbaysay uguna xanuun badnayd inuu dhalinta kii udanbeeyay yiri waxaan hoos kusoo ilownay furihii Guriga! Taasi maxay kadhigan-tahay? Jawaabtu way sahlan-tahay, oo dadka badan-koodu markay da´yarta yihiin waxay iloobaan ama dhinac maraan Diinta Rabbi (swt) qaada-shadeeda, ku dhaqankeeda, wax u qabadkeeda, u Jihaadkeeda. Taasina waxay lamid tahay qof kasoo tagay Furihii uu Gurigiisa/ Qabrigiisa ku gali lahaa, raalli ahaan-shaha Rabbina (swt) ku mudan lahaa uu kasoo dhumay, goobtiina yimid isagoo fara maran oo aan fure haysanin. Waxaana dhab ah qofkaasi inuu lakul-mayo xanuun, dhib, ceeb iyo naxdin iyo shlayto fara-badan.
Taasina waxay naxasuusin kartaa; Xadiiskii uu Nabigu (scw) inoo sheegay in maalinta Qiyaamada ay jiraan 7tilmaamood oo dadka wataa ay harsan doonaan hooska Rabbi (swt) waxaana kamid ah, qof dhalin yar oo kusoo barbaaray Alle (swt) kacabsi, Iimaan iyo khayr, oo aan soo marin waqtigii waalida, madadaala, haw-raaca, Diin ka-fogaanta iyo qiimaha arintaasi leedahay.
Axmad Cabdulahi
axmad72@hotmail.com
Duniay maxamed jamac( kabatoli) waxay ahayd gabadh da,yar aha muqaal ahaan majir gabadh laqiimo iy laqurux aha magalada dhanaan waxayna lahayd qurux uu ilaahay kumanaystay itaal dheer, ilka siman, afmadow, Kubab waa wayn, xubno jalaqsan, garbahana lama rogaaline way shubnaayeen, waji dhalan oo ay kudheehantahay labeen casaan xigeen aha, ilka heedu waa cadiin marka ay qosa shana waxaad dhihi yaa afkeeda caano ku gadhoodhsada, marka ay talabada qaadi waxaad moodaa in loo tababaray habdhaqankii wanagsanaa ee ay lahayeen hablihii somaliyeed mar hadaad aragtid adiga oo shugansi gaad gaad aha wa lahubaa in ay hanjaleelo kaa soo dadan labiskaad qabtaana dhinacyada ayaad ka eegi lahayd garbahaaguna midba gees ayuu ugundhismilahaa.
Waxa uu alle kumanaytay duniyo xishood afgaabnaan fur furnaan iyo waliba dabeecad aad uwanaagsan oo aadan marna kadaalaynin la hasowgeeda waxanaa looga yaqanay magalada dhanaan magaca ay ubixiyeen raga kudhaqan magaladaas oo aha caddow lagumacuno oo ay oo la jeedaan qurux khasaartay oo uuna nina hawo kaqabin laakiinse ninkii arkaa ay ku kacayso qaman dhacoyo bilaa qardoofa aha.
Maxamed jaamca kabatoli waxa uu caan kayahay magalada dhanaan iyo aageeda waxa uuna caan kuyahayay ugaadhisiga iyo waliba gabatolida ama tumaalinimada magaladaasi maalin maal maha kamid aha waxa uu ugaadhsi tagay duledka magalada dhanaan waxa uuna halooday goodir xoogoon oo daaqahaya galaha laagta gilla meesha lagu magacaabo adhi xumays isaga oo la lagdamahaya goodirkii ayaa waxa kusoo baxay labo nin oo kamid aha dadka daganaa magalada dhanaan wayna isbariidiyeen waxa uuna kusoo dhaweeyay hilib solan oo uu sifiican oogu dubay dhuxul golool hasa yeeshee 2dii nin waxay oo gu jawaabeen anagu macuno cuntada midgaha ee ninyaho iska qoosh qoosho bakhdigaaga wayana katageen ayaga oo isleeh wadhi anaga ayuuba midgaan nasoo dhawayn iyo hadalo kale oo kajan iyo yasid aha .
Maxamed jamac waxa uu layaabay abaal kuu laha aad ugashid nimanka ay iskudagmada yihiin iyo waxa ay oogu danbariyeen isaga oo tacajubsan ayuu kusoo laabtay magaladii waxa uuna galay fakir aha sababta ay 2dii nin saas oogu galeen hasayeeshee waxa uu dhafin wayay hadaladii ay dashadeen dhagihiisu ee aha midgaan bakhticune aha waxa uuna iswaydiiyay sababta loogu yeedho midgaan nasab dhiman aha madaama uu yahay nin soomaliyeed walibana maala muriqiisa xalasha aha kamana foolxumi,kamana tabar yari ee maxay tahay aafadan lamaanaha laaiga dhigay ayuu isku maaweelinhayay maxamed.
Waa amin casar aha oo ay qoraxdo baalka dhigtay ayna dhulka ku gantay falaadhaha cas cas duniyo maxamed jamac kabatoli waxay soo aaday magalada si ay oo ga soo iibsato cashadii ay habeenkaas Karin lahayd waxay soo agmartay koox rag aha oo meel gidaar aha ku ciyaarahaya shax ama jaro waxaana dhamaantood sameeyay quruxdii iyo muqaalkii ay lahayd maalin taas duniyo mid walibana waaxa uu kujwaabay balo kugu dhacaday waa qurux khasartay hasa ahaatee waxaa shaki la,aan ahayd in dhamaan raga magalada ay wada doonahayeen sidii ay kuheli lahaayeen gabadhasi hasa ahaatee mid waliba waxaa dabrahaya dhaqanka xaaraanta aha eenan lahayn taarikh iyo raad toona ee aha in aysan isu dhalin ama aysan shahwaba isu qabanin wiil ajji aha iyo gabadh gabooya aha .
Bishaar ugas farax waa wiil dhalin yara aha waxa uuna kamid yahay dhaliyarada magalada ee guurdoonka aha waxayna daris yihiin duniyo oo waxay wada daganaayeen xafada reer masajid aqoon dheerna way isuleeyihiin waxayna yaraantoodii isla raaci jireen xoolaha bishaar qudhiisu muqaal ahaan kama liito duniyo lakiin waa nin xidh xidhan maalinkastana way is arkaan duniyo hasayeeshee lama hadli karo oo wax shukaansi aha kuma soo hadalqaadi karo maadama uu yahay wiil uu dhalay nin ugaas aha.
Waa Galab casar aha bishaar waxa uu fadhiyay hoos qoodaalka gurigooda waxanaa bowda soo istagtay duniyo ood moodi reer yurb dhalalka wajigeeda kabixina adan malaynkarin bishaar waxaa niyadiisa dhufatay dhalaka iyo wanaaga kasoo baxahaya duniyo waxaana isla markiiba maskaxdiisa kashidmay filim khiyaali aha oo uu kudoonahayo in uu guri lagalo duniyo isaga oo isleh sanadan waxa iisoo go,day masago aad ubadan oo beeraydu waxay dagaysay 5jeer lo,dii iyo geeliina mid waliba waxaa laga qaataa xidhaale ee sanadkan waa in aad labaxdaa gabdhan duniya aha waxii dhiciba hadhacee filimkaas waxa uu ushidnaa wakhti dheer ilaa habeenkii oo dhan waxa uu kumashquulsanaa duniyo laakiin mar allaale marka uu soo gaba gabeeyo filimka waxa soo hor istaagaysay su,aal aha seed kuguursan gabadh gabooyaha aha ado uu aabahaa uu yahay ugaaska magalada markaas ayuuna dib oo bilaabahay walbahaar murugaysan.
Run ahaantii bishaar aad ayuu ooga jeclaa duniyo niyada laakiin waligii oo masheegin lagamana maqlin hadalqaadka duniyo marka lagareebo habeenkii oo uu ku qarwijiray magaceeda iyowaliba marka uu arko duniyo oo uu wax iskabadali jiray dareenkiisa shakhsi ahaaneed.
Duniyo iyada qudheeda waa lagu jiray oo waxa ay usoo istaagaysa bowdka ama sarsarka waxa uu ahaa in ay mar uun aragto bishaar duniyo jacaylkay ay uqabto bishaar cid og malaha oo hadii lamaqlo waxaa rajmin gabdhaha kale ee kunool magalada kuwaas oo badankoodu uwada hanqanltaga hayaan helista bishaar sidaas awgeed ma aysan lahayn awood ay kusoo bandhigato jacaylkeeda iskabadaye waxay kabaqi haday kudhahdo bishaar waan kujeclahay in uu kow gaga siiyo ama ay kala kulanto waxyaabo kadarna.
Bishaar waxaa kudhacay cudurkii ladhihi jiray jacayl oo waxa uu la ilxunyahay jacaylkii duniyo oo iskadaa in uu ushegee waxa uu leeyahay hadii lagaa maqlo magaceeda hadhcad ayaa lagu xabaal olalin oo uurtiisa waxaa kajira walaac aad ubadan kuwas oo kala aha hadaad soo bandhigto jacaylka duniyo waxay kugu keenaysaa cawaaqinxumo anan kasoo waaqsilahayn habeenkiina wuu ilmeeyaa maalintiina dhulka ayuu jeexaa bishaar ugas waxa isbadalay dhamaan dabeeca dihiisii muqaalkiisii iyo hanaan usocodkiisii waxaana dareemay aabihii ugaas faarax oo aad ujeclaa wiilkiisa uu kucurtay waxa uuna maqlay isaga oo galab ku geeraara haya GOOBTAAN ISTAAGABA ILMAAN GOBO KUSIIYAAYE,
GEED KAAN FADHIISTANA DHULKAAN GUDUB UJEEXAAYE MAXAA JACAYL GABOOYE IBADAY IN AD GOD MADOW GALO.
Ugaas farax waxa kusoo fakatay talo aduun isaguna waxa uu bilaabay in uu gees ufikiro isaga oo leh seed ooga bad baadisaa wiilkaaga inantan midgaanta aha alla anaa ceeb ugurigalay mahada ayuuba himigiisii galiyay inan gabooya aha alla magacay bbe war nin aduun kunoolow maxa aragti kuu laaban ma ninkaan kuwadan in aan uguuriyo gabadha oogu qurxda badan gobalka ay soomalidu dagto ayaa hada inan gabooya aha jacayl uqaday iyo mayee wiilkayga waa lasixray kolla sidan kumaqumano iyo waliba erayo kalr oo qurafaad aha.
Duniya waxay la ilxuntahay jacaylkii ay uhaysay bishaar waxayna adhi tira aha kumayracaysaa marta bali sonkor oo aha duleedka magalada dhanan waxaa garabka oogu duuban xadhig dhagati aha oo ay kasamaysay qarari dhaxdana waxa oogu duuban maydhax farabadan daankana waxay kuhaysaa labo liilan oo maydhax aha oo ay calalinayso si ay usoohdo waxana adhiga oogu geeraraysaa
ANIGAA NAFTAYDII HALIGAY OO HALEEYAYE
ANIGAA HANKAALA GOOSTAYO HAYB XUMADAYE
HABEEN IYO DHARAAR WAKAA WAAN HINRAGAYAAYE
MAXAAN HALEEYAY OOY DADKU IGU HAYB XOORI!!!!!!!!!!!!
Duniyo waxay tixdaas tirinaysay iyada oo ay ilmado kaqubanayso wallaac iyo walbaharana ay oogu soo hooreen sidii miilaale roob iyo mayay subaxeed waxayna go,aansatay in ay usheegto jacaylkeeda biishaar waxay dooniba haku qadatee iyada oo leeh seed oogu sheegtaa iyo halkeed oogu sheegta ayaa waxay soo xasuusatay in ay caawo jirto ciyaar dhaqameed laga ciyaaro magaladha dhanaan wakhtiga ay beeruhu baxaan iyo bari samaga taas oo looyaqaano dhaanto waxayna tidhi cawa ayaan oogu sheegahayaa golaha ciyaarta fiidkii waxaa yaraha dibdhacay xiligii ciyaarta ayada oo walbahaar beer ber oogu jiifta isna leh caawa ciyartii way baaqatay ayaa waxay maqashay eray bixintii oogu horaysay ee lagu bilaabijiray dhaantada oo ahayd IYADA BADAN DOONTEE MARKA HOREE BOODH HADUULOY.
Duniyo waxay soo laad laadisay gabaheedii qaraafiicda aha waxayna soogadhay goobtii ciyaarta oo raga iyo dumarku ay jabinhayaan guuxa iyo riigada kabixina ay tahay mid aan cadi ahayn duniyo ciyarta way taqanay waliba waxay kamid ahayd gabdhaha hal abuurka leh reen iyo guux kadib waxay dhamaatay ciyaartii waxayna dhalinyaradii midwalba baacsaday gabadh hasa ahaatee waligeed duniyo lama baasan oo waa laga faani jiray racideeda habeenkaas duniyo waccad ayaa uyaalay in ay usheegato bishaar jacaylkeeda waxay u suul dhabalaysay bishaar oo darafta ahysta gabdhkale bishaar laftiisa habeenkaas waa lahayay oo adad ayuu ula ildaraa jacaylka duniyo wuuna kusoo dhaqaay
** waxa uuna kuyidhi duniyo seedtahay walaal?
**waxyna oogu jawaabtay waan ladanahay laakiin caawa dan ayaan kaaleeyahay ee ina keen aan martaas gallee.!!
Bishaar oo neeftuurahaya ayay martii wada galeen duniyo waxay ay sheekadii kaga bilowday walaal bishaar waan lasocdaa xaldda iyo heerka uu marahayo yasitaanka ay iguhayaan reer dhanaan hasa ahaatee wax walba illahay ayay dhankiisa ka ahadaan aniguna waxan ahay gabadh soomaliyeed aniga oo is og waxaan ahay ayaan hadan adig kucalmaday ee wallaaw waan kuu dhibanahay ee wax igala qabo jacaylka intii ay jilbaha kufadhiistay ayay ilmo kasoo hoobatay iyada oo guraa baasysa ayaya hadal oohin kujirto kutiri bishaar aniga waxan ahay gabadh muslim aha waliba soomli aha darisna ad tihiin gabadh iga qurxbadan majoogta magalada dhanan managarahayo godobta aan galabsaday ee la iifaquuqahayo iyo waliba ciil kaambi aad ulaxow badan!!!!!!
Bishaar wax uu ahaa nin aad u beernugul isaga ooy uwehilisay jacaylkii uu uqabay duniyo iyo waliba qaadan waaga hasyta waxaa labadiisa idhood kasoo hoobtay ilmo ay rajaala,aani kudheehantahay waxa uuna kor usoo qabtay madixii duniyo oo hoos dangiigay waxa uuna kuyidhi walaal duniyo wad ogtahay in uu idhalay nin ugaas aha hasa ahaatee anig waxaan samaynlahaaba aabahay waxa uu kaxigaa geeri in aan adiga kul aqalgalo ama aan kulasheekaysto iyo wax uu isku daray oohin cabaar ayay labadoodiiba ciil ooyahayeen kadibna waxay isdhaafin waayeen meesha ay kamrahayaan dhaqanka xaraanta aha ee dadka sharaftaleh ee soo maliyeed lagu faquuqo mid waliba waxa uu udhqaay dhankii gurigoodu ku haboona isga oo ay ilmo walbahaarsani ka qul qulayso dhabanadiisa.
Duniyo iyo bishaar habeenkasi waxa ay u ahayd habeen baas midwalibana wax uu goconhayay uurkutalo iyo naxdin aad uxanuun badan labadoodiiba waxa ubaryay waa aanan waligood ubaryin mid walibana waxa uu habeenkii oodhan kudul ooyahaya barkintii ay kujifeen duniyo barkintay kujiiftay waxaa qooysay ilmadii halka uu bisharna sidaa si lamid ahaa labadoodii indhood wayd wada guduuteen mid walibana afkiisii wuu qalalay dhafooradoodiiba waxaa kaqotamay xidido dheer dheer ood moodo in ay kuyaalaan nin dhiig islaan qaba aha “ar dhaqanka soomaliyeed aa yaa meelaha qaarkood kii soo saaray aduunka kucadaaba”.!!!!
Ugaas fax waxa uu kawarhelay in ay habeen wada kulmeen bishaar iyo duniyo waxa uuna uyeedhay bishaar isaga oo mayti naarahaya oo kuleh duliyaho kaalay meel uun iidhaaf oo iga qari arragaaga aad ogutagtay inanta midgaanta aha waryaa mawxaad doonaysaa in la idhaho inikii ugaaska ayaa gabadh midgaaan aha lasheekaysto oo mawaxaad doonaysaa in aan awoow unoqdo caruur ay hoyadood mid gaantahay soo bax waan kumatatarin hayaaye duliyaho aan dulikale jirin bishaar waxa uu ahaa nin waalidkii tixgaliya diintana wax kayaqaana waxa uuna kuyidhi aabihii”aabe diinta islaamka meela kagamajirto wax ladhaho midgaan lamana ogalo in dadka muslimiinta aha la quudhsado ee illahay unoqo aabee”
Ugaas farax talo ayaa kucadatay oo waxa uu lahaa wiilkaga waxa lagu sheegi waa been oo wuu inkiri doonaa hasa ahatee waa uu kudhirayday waxa uuna soqatay hankoolkiisi laqotomay khayrdarida markaas ayuu dhowr jeer feedhaha kaga gujiyay wiilkiisi sharaftalaa issaga ooleh wallee aniga ima ceebaysid waad geeriyoon moyeene.
duniyo way maqashaa waxa kaladhaxmarahaya bishaar iyo aabihii madadam ay ahaayeen daris. Tallo way cakirantahay magaladii buun dacayada aha ayaa laga afuufay duniyo iyo bishaarna jacaylkoodii kor ayuu uqaadmay waxayna kuwada tashadeen in islabaxaan ooy isla adaan meelkale onan laga aqoonin waxayna sameeyeeen sidii oo way isla carareen waxayna tageen magalada garbo oo magalada dhanan ujirta 100km waxayna kuhagageen oday qaadiga ka ahaa magalada waxayna usheegeen in ay islasoo carareen waloow aysan usheegin siyaabaha dhabta aha ee uu wax ujiro iyaga oo kabaqahayay haday usheegaan in ay gabadhu gabooye tahay in uusan meheriyeen odayga qadiga ka aha mgalada garbo madama laga citiqaadsanyahay in aysan wiil ajji aha iyo gabadh gabooya ahi isgayin.
Bishaar waxa uu ahaa nin aqonleh islamrkiiba waxa uu macalin kanoqday dugsiga dhexe ee garbo waxa uuna tabcaday xoolo maalin mal maha akamid aha wxaa soomaray magaladii aydganayeen aabihii iyo adeerkii oo ay abaari samaysay oo watta adhi wada hadhahaya oo aysan jirin cid gadan oo wax kufali isaga oo horfadhiyo hotel gaashaamo oo aha meesha ay martidu kusoo dagto ayaa waxa kusoo baxay 2 oday oo ay dhibaato kamuuqato wuuna ugacan hadiyay madama uu aha nin ad unaxariisbadan waxauuna garatay in ay yihiin aabihii iyo adeerkii kadinna geeyaya gurigii waxa uu arkay aabihii 6 caruur aha oo aad wada moodo carab iyo hoyadood duniyo oo balbaladii fadhiya markas ayuu ugaas farax iskuduubay wiilkiisii iyo gabdhii uu sodoga u aha wuuna kudul oyaya waxa uuna kadalbaday in ay iskacafiyaan madamada uu khalad kagalay waxa uuna dhahay walle dhaqanka soomaliyeed waxaa kujira qaar ay haboontahay in laga tiro diwaanada iyo buugaagta ay kuqoranyihiin kumaba qornee waxa uuna yaqniisaday in aysan jir in been abuurka soomaliyeed ee u shaydaanku kujaxasadeeyay beenta in aysan isudhalin wiil ajji aha iyo gabadh midgaan aha.
w/q
abdirashiid abullaahi ahmed(dhanaane)
email dhanaane22@hotamil.com
CLARIFICATION BULLETIN
Minneapolis, MN. January, 12, 2012
Having received concerns from various sources, both in and outside the Gadabursi TOL, the Tol Leadership Council (TLC) is issuing this clarification bulletin.
Over the past few months, members of the general TOL and others have expressed confusion about the distinction between the TLC as an organization and other entities such as Hiilqaran political party or any declarations for an Awdal State.
The TLC has NO affiliation whatsoever with either Hiilqaran or claims for an Awdal State.
The TLC is strictly a civic organization; it is not a political party or an opposition group. It draws voluntary membership from the Tol Diaspora community around the world; it applies no litmus test to its members other than to share in its vision and mission, and as such, respects the individual opinions and political affiliations of its members outside of the organization. As such, TLC members could be constituent elements of other organizations, political or civic, through the exercise of their rightful individual choices and decisions outside of the TLC.
We feel it is important to dispel any doubts or misinformation about the TLC and its objectives. The TLC does not aim to work against any community or government; it recognizes and respects the authority and prerogatives of the current traditional and political leadership of the Gadabursi TOL; it acknowledges and respects the authority and prerogatives of the governments of the region, namely Somaliland, Djibouti and Ethiopia, of which the TOL is a major part and parcel; it aims to work collaboratively with current traditional and political leadership of the TOL without regard to party or any other affiliation.
One of our primary goals is to build on the strengths of existing traditional leadership; to build on achievements already made; to enhance, not undermine, the need for close cooperation, peaceful coexistence, and collective safeguarding of communal rights and responsibilities with intimate and neighboring communities and the authorities of Somaliland, Ethiopia, and the Republic of Djibouti of which the TOL is an integral part.
More than anything, the TLC fully supports the precious peace, stability, and measurable progress the Somaliland communities have collectively established and nurtured over the past two decades. It is that enabling concord, democratic and constitutional order that have allowed its citizens to rebuild communal institutions and sustainable livelihoods in their various locales.
For more information about the TLC mission, vision, and values, please visit this link at our official website: http://tolleadershipcouncil.org/?page_id=329
Islaan baa gurigeedii kasoo baxday, waxayna aragtay sadex oday oo guriga hortiisa fadhiya oo haraad kamuuqdo, weyna yaabtay waxayna kutiri; waxaan dareemayaa inaad safar tihiin, baahina idin hayso ee soo gala guriga siaad noola cuntaan waxa aan haysano. Odayaashiina waxay weydiiyeen ninkaagii majoogaa? Waxayna ku jawaabtay maya, banaankuu jiraa. Waxayna dheheen masoo gali karo ninkaagii haduu maqan yahay!
Galabtii markuu yimidna way u sheegtay qisadii odayaasha, wuxuuna kuyiri usheeg inaan imid, soonana gali guriga, iyagiina waxay kujawaabeen, mawada gali karee, mid naga mid ah adiga iyo ninkaagu doorta. Midkamid ah ayaana soo baxay oo yiri ani waxaa lay dhahaa GUUL, saaxiibkayna waxaa layiraahdaa DHAQAALE/ Maal, kan sadexaadna waxaa layiraahdaa JACAYl.
Islaantiina waxay kulaabatay ninkeedii wayna u sheegtay qisadii odayaasha, wuxuuna yiri haduu warkaasi run yahay, uyeer Maal waxaan rabnaa inuu faqriga naga saaro, gurigeenana hodanimo kabuuxiyo. Iyadiina waxay tiri mawaxaad rabtaa INAAD DHIB LA´AAN DHAQAALE HESHO, aan uyeerano Guusha, IYADAA HODANIMO NAGAARSII-NAYSEE.
Gabartoodii oo dooda dhgaysa-naysayna waxay tiri; SAW MAHABOONA INAAD JACAYL UYEERTAAN? Waxayna qaateen taladii gabarta, waxayna weceen/kuna marti qaadeen inuu soo galo guriga JACAYL!. Jacayl markuu soo istaagayna labadii kalaa (Guul iyo Dhaqaale) soo daba galeen! Islaantiina waxay tiri, waxaad iga codsateen inaan mid kaliya doorto, hadana waad soo wada kacdeen, ee maxaa jira? Waxayna ku jawaabeen labadii kalana, hadaad dooran lahayd Guul ama Hodannimo, kaligii baa ku raaci lahaa, lakiin meelkastoo jacayl aado waxaa raaca Guul iyo Nolol wanaagsan. Maxayeelay jacaylka ayaa dhaliya guusha, maalkana guushaa keenta, oo qiima badan male Maal aan guuli ka horaynin. Sidoo kale wax qiima ah maleh guul aad ka dhalisay shaqo aadan jeclaanin, kusee-xanin kusoo kicin fikirkeeda.
Hadaba Guul iyo horumarkastaa waxay kabilowdaan Jacayl iyo hilow ku dhaca qofka, kuna dhaliya fikir badan, dadaal xoog badan, karti dheeraad ah, wax qabad habaysan, intaa kadib ayaana lagaraa Guul, Wanaag, hodanimo, farxad iyo raaxo qiima gal ah. Qofkast oo sheegta inuu gaaray guul uuna horay u caashiqin ugu fikirin, wuxuu kujiraa dhalanteed ama riyo. Hadaan nahay umad somaliyeedna waxaan wada ognahay inaan raadino guul aan dusha kaga dhacno oon kuhelo qaraabanimo, qixitaan, shaxaad, eexasho, xatooyo, qabiil iwm. Waana mida nadhigtay halka aan maanta naalo, oo waxaa naga dhumay Mapkii aan kugaari lahayn guusha iyo wanaaga aan wada raadinayno.
Waxaa tarjumay
Axmad Cabdulahi....
Germany
Axmad72@hotmail.com
By Ahmed Hussen, Edmonton Journal
The winter of 2008 was a sad time for the Canadian Somali community in Edmonton. Its members were reeling from the loss of so many young men to gun violence and they needed to articulate the pain associated with this sad development.
I was invited to a community event held during this time that featured the Edmonton Police Service, government officials and members of the community. Little did I know that this meeting would mark the moment and venue when Edmonton Somalis decided to fully co-operate with the Edmonton Police Service and take ownership of the efforts to stem the deaths of young men in our community.
Upon my return to Alberta in the winter of 2009, the Edmonton Po-lice Service officially confirmed at a press conference that the record of co-operation between the Edmonton Somali community and the police had not only improved, but had actually surpassed that of other communities. Despite this positive development, the shooting deaths continued unabated in 2009, culminating in the midday murder of 23-year-old Robleh Ali Mohamed in front of a restaurant.
The community looked to Mayor Stephen Mandel for support and expected him to come to the aid of a community that was doing its best to deal with this matter. The young men dying in Alberta were either born in Canada or came to this country at a very young age. They were mainly from Ontario and were adversely affected by the massive cuts to education and social programs carried out by the government of Conservative Premier Mike Harris in the 1990s.
What has caused the City of Edmonton and mainstream agencies serving our community to misread the Edmonton Somali community is the myth that it is a refugee community that is new to Canada. This has meant that we keep getting directed to immigrant settlement programs, when the actual need is for integration programs such as access to jobs and professions. We are not refugees who need to settle, but Canadians who want to integrate into the main-stream.
Now, we find ourselves looking back at 2011, a year that was grim for our community as well as Edmonton as a whole. Close to 10 per cent of the homicides in 2011 occurred in the Edmonton Somali community. A recent lo-cal news report indicated that the average rate in our community - one homicide for every 3,000 people - is seventeen times higher than the Alberta average of one in 50,000. This puts the homicide rate in the Edmonton Somali community higher than the national homicide rates in high-risk countries like Panama, Brazil and the Dominican Republic.
In 2011, the Edmonton Somali community did not sit around and complain about its situation. On the contrary, we formulated innovative and courageous anti-crime programs that were funded by the community. These included an anti-crime poster campaign, a youth-at-risk hotline, work on a proposed youth drop-in centre, workshops on the use of Crime Stoppers and submissions made to the provincial government on criminal justice matters.
In addition, the government of Alberta is currently working with the community to support an intervention program that assists us to sharply reduce the school dropout rate of young members of our com-munity in a number of junior high schools in Edmonton and Calgary. Despite this stellar effort at self-help, we are still not seen by the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Po-lice Service as real stakeholders in the effort to stem the killings in our community and solve the outstanding homicide cases.
This can be seen by the fact that the Edmonton Somali community was not consulted on the violence-reduction strategy launched by the Edmonton Police Service in conjunction with the City of Edmonton last August.
The strategy contained a commitment by the City of Edmonton to adjust its programs in order to better serve its so-called "multicultural communities." Five months later, we have yet to see a serious articulation of how this is to be done. We fail to understand why the city cannot exercise leadership and simply implement the recommendation made in 2009 by former police chief Mike Boyd.
Boyd had publicly called for more dedicated resources to be spent on the hiring of homicide detectives in order to solve the outstanding homicide cases. Without this leadership and co-operation from the city, it is difficult for Edmonton Somalis - a mainly working-class community - to come up with the resources necessary to make a sustained turnaround in its fortunes when it comes to the continued loss of its young men to gun violence.
Some have said that, as with the Vietnamese community before it, the problem of gun murders among young Somalis will fade over time. This is a lazy and irresponsible attitude that undermines our collective will and interest in the creation of a strong and prosperous Edmonton.
The new year can be a much safer one for all of us if Edmonton Somalis are viewed as Canadians who are integral to the future safety, security and prosperity of Edmonton.
Ahmed Hussen is the national president of the Canadian Somali Congress and has worked in Alberta on criminal justice issues since 2008.
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
In Ethiopia, access to financial services is not yet something that is fully guaranteed. It’s something that is out of reach to most ordinary citizens, especially the poor and the rural dwellers. The financially-excluded class comprises a large segment of the society such as small-scale farmers, laborers, self-employed entrepreneurs, and women. If finance was easily available to these sections of the society according to their need (including non-interest bearing banking), it has a far-reaching implication in uplifting the greater mass of the people from the socio-economic problems.
Ethiopian Muslims are not an exception to this. In each corner of this country, they do not have access to formal banking. They find it difficult to use conventional banking services, if/when available, due to their religious conviction.
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has permitted Shariah-compliant or interest-free financial products to be provided by conventional banks through ‘special windows’, but still shies away from giving the green light to full-fledged Islamic banking in the country.
Global trend
Islamic banking industry, which has been in business for the past 30 years in the Middle East, has gained popularity and, to some extent won the curiosity of other parts of the world during the financial crisis of 2008. Despite the financial turmoil that crippled so many large Western financial institutions at the time, Islamic banks persisted to grow in prominence and size.
Research shows that the combined asset of Islamic banks in 2008 have grown by an extra-ordinary 66 percent bucking the trend of slow growth in other markets, mainly the crisis-ridden western financial markets.
Now, many financial experts see Islamic banking, which is based on stronger regulatory regimes and a better understanding of its dynamics, as an alternative to the conventional banking system.
An alternative to Ethiopia
It is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth that the current banking system, which is based on charging interest, is not adequate to fight the vicious cycle of poverty and backwardness that characterized not only the Muslim community, but also other communities and regions at large.
Islamic banking, which propagates zero-interest lending, can solve not the only Muslim community’s problems with the current banking system but it will also fill the gap between financially-excluded and financially-included classes of our nation.
In this regard, many studies have been done both locally and internationally and they equivocally recommend interest-free banking to be established and be encouraged in Ethiopia to ensure comprehensive and broad-based financial deepening. But, unfortunately, thus far nothing much has been done in this direction.
More interestingly, Islamic banking in Ethiopia will not only be beneficial for the marginalized and the disadvantaged but can also attract investment.
Misconceptions about Islamic banking!
The most negative misconception of all regarding Islamic financing is the impression that it is just a Muslim-only affair. For example, for all the Shariah-compliant products sold in countries such as Malaysia around 40% of clients are non-Muslims, while 20% of the customers for Islamic banks in U.K are non-Muslims.
One top executive of a German financial services company once remarked that ‘‘for all the Shariah-compliant products’’ they sell ‘‘in countries such as Malaysia, some 70%’’ of their clients ‘‘are non-Muslim.”
The other important point here is the misunderstanding of the objectives of Islamic finance. The basic objective of Islamic finance is to create a society of investors, unlike the conventional banking system, which has made and created the society of borrowers and lenders for the past 800 years.
Islamic banking regards the public interest above all other motives. According to the Islamic banking concept, banks involve themselves in real time trading or investment activities with their customers. These arrangements will give a tremendous boost to the economy as it relates directly to the real sector.
Towards this end, Islamic banks engage in various and unique contracts like Mudarabah (partnership), Musharaka (joint venture), Murabaha (cost-plus), Ijara (leasing) and Musharaka Mutanaqisa (some hybrids that combine two contracts), and therefore earn profit rather than exploiting borrowers.
The current situation
The recent directive issued by NBE, which allows that Islamic banking can be offered by the existing conventional banks was a positive and important move but could not be regarded as an end by itself. In fact, it amounts to the lifting of one road-block down the long path to realize fully-fledged, vibrant, competitive, development-oriented, ethical and efficient Islamic Banking Institutions.
It is simply the beginning, not the end, of a long road to streamline the process of establishing Interest-free banking.
On the other hand, for policymakers, there is nothing to celebrate as a job well-done since what needs to be done to realize well regulated, efficient and effective Islamic Financial Institutions is practically untouched.
This long and hard road right in front of us requires strong, visionary and pragmatic leadership that has genuine love and concern for the country with a deep compatriot feeling in their hearts and is clear in their actions and deliberations.
The government should encourage, not dismay, those working untiringly tooth and nail to have this banking system as an alternative banking system that is a pioneer of social and economic justice, by creating favourable legal, political and leadership environment.
However, the delay, it seems, is a bit longer. When London, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong could become the hub and house of Islamic finance, then why not Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Jimma and Jig-Jiga?
Ed;s Note: The author is a lecturer at Jig-Jiga University’s Faculty of Business and Economics. He is currently following his post-graduate studies in MBA-Finance at Addis Ababa University’s School of Business and Public Administration.He can be reached at ibnuolad@hotmail.co.
Somalia's militant al-Shabab insurgent group stares a possible military collapse in the face as a coalition of African forces, fighting on multiple fronts, steadily advances on its southern heartland and the United States steps up drone and naval attacks.
Its military fortunes have dramatically worsened in the last year.
It began when an alliance of clans supported by Ethiopia pushed it out of most of the central regions of Hiran and Galgudud.
This was followed by the loss of the capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011 - no doubt a big psychological and political blow.
Outgunned by the African Union force (Amisom), its ability to wage a conventional war seriously diminished and having suffered huge losses, al-Shabab's badly mauled combat units pulled out of the battered capital they have struggled to control since early 2007.
In the southern regions of Gedo and Juba, Kenyan combat troops and allied local militias, backed by heavy armour and fighter jets, have been putting pressure on al-Shabab in the last three months, making significant territorial gains.
Ethiopian troops made an incursion into Somalia in the New Year, the biggest since the December 2006 invasion.
They quickly overran the strategic south-central town of Beledweyen and rapidly advanced southwards towards the valley of the River Shabelle.
That an ambitious and increasingly concerted military campaign is now under way in southern Somalia seems obvious.
A formidable array of forces has been mobilised, though it is not yet clear the extent to which the war is being co-ordinated and who, if anyone, is taking the lead.
Even if al-Shabab is not decisively defeated, the group is unlikely to withstand the combined firepower of these armies.
Of course, many things could go wrong on the military and political front.
Foreign military intervention is deeply unpopular in Somalia and hugely counter-intuitive, at least from a historical perspective.
It inflames public passions, radicalises society and exacerbates political polarisation.
So far, Somali opposition to the Kenyan and Ethiopian interventions has largely been muted. We have not seen the huge visceral blowback predicted by some critics.
'Gratuitous, indiscriminate violence'
More interestingly, the extremists appear to have failed to rally Somalis or to effectively play the nationalist card as they did in 2006.
All this does not however mean Somalis are now more accepting of foreign military involvement.
The more plausible explanation is that the insurgent groups are deeply unpopular.
Al-Shabab's use of gratuitous and indiscriminate violence; the callous decision to block aid from reaching millions of starving Somalis; its unrelenting belligerence and rejection of a peaceful political settlement and the brutal Sharia regime it has imposed in the south have all combined to create a profound sense of alienation.
The overwhelming majority of Somalis, desperate to see peace restored to their homeland, want to see the back of al-Shabab.
Despite an instinctive opposition to the presence of foreign armies, many are beginning to accept - grudgingly, no doubt - this can only happen through a concerted regional and international military response.
This new attitude of realism and cautious endorsement on the Somali street is fragile.
It could quickly turn into hostility if the war turns messy and protracted and the political dividends fail to materialise or meet expectations.
The onus must be on Amisom, the lead agency on the ground, to prevent this from happening.
It needs to move with speed to craft an overarching military and political strategy and build cohesion and unity of purpose, aware the alliance could become unwieldy and potentially fractious as more countries join the mission.
In particular, there is need to prevent regional rivalries, narrowly perceived national interests and competing agendas from derailing the whole campaign.
Two countries whose renewed involvement in Somali has fed such fears are Kenya and Ethiopia.
Kenya's decision to join Amisom is partly designed to fend off such suspicions.
Nairobi has been stung by the intense speculation its aim is to create a buffer region in the Juba Valley.
It is far from clear to what extent, if at all, its new membership in Amisom may have modified the original plan to create Jubaland.
If the cynics are to be believed, Kenya has - by joining Amisom - simply obtained a convenient regional diplomatic and political cover to lend legitimacy to its Jubaland project.
Counter-productive?
Ethiopia's renewed military foray into the central regions of Hiran and Galgudud and further south into the Shabelle Valley may be part of the concerted multi-pronged offensive to cripple al-Shabab, as suggested.
If true, it is perhaps a signal Addis Ababa intends to stay in the game and ensure it does not lose out on the political spoils of a victory over al-Shabab.
It is equally plausible the operation is limited in nature and nothing more than a routine military "housekeeping" designed to shore up allied factions battling rivals for control of key towns like Beledweyn.
This Ethiopia has done in the past without much success.
The move into the Shabelle and the fact that the Ethiopians are backing a new clan grouping called the Shabelle Valley Alliance has raised speculation the motive may be more ambitious and part of an elaborate strategy to preempt the emergence of Jubaland.
The dilemma for the coalition is that Ethiopia's military help is critical and, perhaps, indispensable, notwithstanding that it could complicate matters for the anti-Shabab alliance politically.
The quest for a quick and decisive military victory over al-Shabab seems to be encouraging the use of massive lethal firepower.
This is heightening Somali fears and may complicate matters and prove costly and counter-productive, not least, because the militant group is now faceless in some parts of the vast war theatre in the south, having successfully blended in with the civilian population.
A cautious, well-paced counter-insurgency campaign must be the preferred option.
Victory will not be achievable within the short time-scale envisioned by regional military planners.
But this is a less costly strategy that will hopefully allow the attrition of fighting on multiple fronts to degrade the group's conventional capabilities systematically.
Political deals
A degraded al-Shabab is unlikely to be amenable to peace or dialogue, though many Somalis would prefer to see that happen.
The more fanatical elements wedded to al-Qaeda's global jihad agenda will seek to regroup and resume the armed insurrection and step up the terror campaign across the region and beyond.
It is possible some of its less hardline leaders may seek some form of accommodation with their clans or cut political deals with the transitional federal government and other political formations.
The glue that holds the new anti-Shabab military alliance together appears to be the common desire to once and for all cripple the extremist Somali movement and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure and support networks.
The determination to act decisively and prevail is, certainly, laudable, but not enough to resolve the Somalia crisis.
Without a clear and coherent long-term political strategy, any military victory over al-Shabab will be short-lived.
Many of the so-called "liberated areas" - whether in Mogadishu, Hiran, Galgudud or Mudug - remain unstable ill-governed pockets, a depressing patchwork of clan fiefdoms filled with belligerent and heavily-armed clan militias.
For all its flaws and excesses, al-Shabab did, at least manage to exercise full administrative and functional control over most areas under its control.
Could its defeat and the glaring failure to create a credible and cohesive political dispensation to fill the vacuum inaugurate a new era of anarchy?
AS Egyptians and Tunisians vote to replace ousted despots and the Syrian government teeters on the brink, two old imperial powers are competing to exert their political influence over Arab countries in upheaval. And they are not America and Russia. After years of cold-war competition over the Middle East and North Africa, it is now France and Turkey that are vying for lucrative business ties and the chance to mold a new generation of leaders in lands that they once controlled.
This rivalry is nothing new. Since Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, France and Turkey have competed for dominance in the Middle East. France’s rise as a Mediterranean power has been an inverse function of Turkish decline around the same sea. As the Ottoman Empire gradually collapsed, France acquired Algeria, Tunisia and, temporarily, Egypt. The French took one final bite from the dying empire by securing control over Syria and Lebanon after World War I.
This rivalry subsided in the 20th century, when Turkey became an inward-looking nation state. During the era of decolonization, France lost political control of lands extending from Morocco in the west to Syria in the east. Paris, however, maintained economic and political clout in the region by supporting large French businesses, which established lucrative ties with the region’s rulers. Even Turkey once looked to France as a model: when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded modern Turkey in 1923, he championed the French model of hard secularism, which stipulates freedom from religion in government, politics and education.
While France has dominated much of the region over the past two centuries, that is now changing. And if Turkey plays its cards right, it could match France’s influence or even become the dominant power in the region.
In the last decade, Turkey has witnessed record-breaking economic growth. It is no longer a poor country desperately seeking accession to the European Union. It has a $1.1 trillion economy, a powerful army and aspirations to shape the region in its image. As political turmoil paralyzes North Africa, Syria and Iraq, and economic meltdown devastates much of Mediterranean Europe, Turkey and France have largely been spared. And their growing rivalry is one reason France has objected to Turkey’s bid for European Union membership.
Taken together with France’s efforts to create a European-Mediterranean Union, which Nicolas Sarkozy conceived in 2008 as a way to place France at the helm of the Mediterranean world, one thing has become obvious to the Turks: Paris won’t allow Turkey into the European Union or let it become a powerful player in a French-led Mediterranean region.
Turkey’s newly activist foreign policy has therefore shifted away from Europe. The ruling Justice and Development Party, known as the A.K.P., is now cultivating ties with former Ottoman lands that were ignored for much of the 20th century. Of the 33 new Turkish diplomatic missions opened in the past decade, 18 are in Muslim and African countries.
This has resulted in new commercial and political ties, often at the expense of Turkey’s ties with Europe. In 1999, the European Union accounted for over 56 percent of Turkish trade; in 2011, it was just 41 percent. Over the same period, Islamic countries’ share of Turkish trade climbed to 20 percent from 12 percent.
New trade patterns have led to the emergence of a more socially conservative business elite based in central Turkey, which derives strength from trading beyond Europe and is using its new wealth to push for a redefinition of Turkey’s traditional approach to secularism. Since 2002, Ataturk’s French-inspired model has collapsed; the A.K.P. and its allies have instead promoted a softer form of secularism that allows for more religious expression in government, politics and education. This has made the Turkish model appealing to Arab countries, which for the most part regard French-style secularism as anathema.
Although both countries once coddled dictators — Mr. Sarkozy allowed Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to occupy central Paris and pitch a tent near the Élysée Palace in 2007, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted the Qaddafi international prize in 2010 — Turkey threw its support behind the Arab revolts early on, winning fans across the region.
Until it backed Libya’s rebels last year, France had bet on the enduring nature of dictatorships and never forged ties with the democratic forces opposing them; Turkey did so, perhaps unwittingly, by expanding its soft power into Arab countries, building business networks and founding state-of-the-art high schools, run by the Sufi Islam-inspired Gulen movement, to educate the future Arab elite. Now, the Arab Spring is providing Turkey with an unprecedented opportunity to spread its influence further in newly free Arab societies.
As France’s business ties with the old secular elite fray, its influence is waning. It remains a military and cultural power, and will continue to attract Arab elites, even Islamist ones, seeking weapons and luxury goods. However, France will find it hard to market its brand of secularism across the region or match Turkey’s grass-roots business networks, especially in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, where Turkey already has significant clout.
EVEN so, the road ahead will be rocky. Turkey ruled the Arab Middle East until World War I, and it must now be careful about how its messages are perceived there. Arabs might be drawn to fellow Muslims, but like the French, the Turks are former imperial masters. Arabs are pressing for democracy, and if Turkey behaves like a new imperial power, this approach will backfire. At a recent conference at Zirve University, a gleaming private school in Gaziantep financed by the local businesses that have made Turkey a regional economic powerhouse, Arab liberals and Islamists from various countries disagreed on most matters but agreed on one thing: that Turkey is welcome in the Middle East but should not dominate it.
In September, when Mr. Erdogan landed at Cairo’s new airport terminal (built by Turkish companies), he was warmly met by joyous millions, mobilized by the Muslim Brotherhood. However, he soon upset his pious hosts by preaching about the importance of a secular government that provides freedom of religion, using the Turkish word “laiklik” — derived from the French word for secularism. In Arabic, this term loosely translates as “irreligious.” Mr. Erdogan’s message may have been partly lost in translation, yet the incident illustrates the limits of Turkey’s influence in countries that are far more socially conservative than it is.
Turkey may have the upper hand in soft power, but France has more hard power, as the recent war in Libya and its veto power at the United Nations make clear. And despite Turkey’s phenomenal growth since 2002, the French economy is over twice the size of Turkey’s, and France is still dominant in North Africa.
Turkey’s relative stability at a time when the region is in upheaval is attracting investment from less-stable neighbors like Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Ultimately, political stability and regional clout are Turkey’s hard cash, and its economic growth will depend on both.
If Turkey wants to become a true beacon of democracy in the Middle East, its new constitution must provide broader individual rights for the country’s citizens, including the Kurds. It will also need to fulfill Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s vision of a “no problems” foreign policy. This means moving past the 2010 flotilla episode to rebuild strong ties with Israel and getting along with the Greek Cypriots who live on the southern part of the divided island of Cyprus (Turkish Cypriots control the north). The conflict there has lasted for decades; poorer Turkish Cypriots want a loose federation and the Greek Cypriot majority wants a strong central government.
The recent discovery of natural gas off the south coast of Cyprus is a major opportunity. Turkey could rise above the fray by proposing unification of the island in exchange for an agreement to share gas revenues. Such a deal, coupled with improved Turkish-Israeli ties, could facilitate cooperation in extracting even larger gas deposits off Israel’s coast; Turkey is the most logical destination for a pipeline from there to foreign markets.
Turkey will rise as a regional power only if it sets a genuine example as a liberal democracy and builds strong ties with all its neighbors. This is Mr. Erdogan’s challenge as he tries to undo Napoleon’s legacy.
Soner Cagaptay is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Source:New York Times
Humanitarian agencies are preparing for an influx of refugees into Ethiopia from both Sudan and South Sudan. Civilians, mostly women and children, are fleeing fighting and violence in border areas.
Fighting continues in Sudan’s Blue Nile State between government forces and the rebel SPLA North Sector. While in South Sudan’s Jonglei State, ethnic violence stemming from cattle raids has left hundreds dead.
The U.N. refugee agency or UNHCR is coordinating relief efforts with the International Organization for Migration and the Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission.
“There are expectations that a number of people fleeing the fighting will likely arrive in Ethiopia just as we have had cases, particularly between August and September last year when we had quite a number of people coming from Blue Nile State,” said Josiah Oginah, IOM’s chief of mission in Ethiopia.
Getting ready
It is unclear how many refugees will actually arrive in Ethiopia, but humanitarian agencies are planning for as many as 50,000.
“The number cannot be determined. It depends on who actually crosses the border. Sometimes those who cross the border may not necessarily be wanting to come into the refugee camps because some of them are people who also have some relations within the border area. So they may identify some relations that they would like to stay with host communities. So, determining the number is not easy,” he said.
The International Organization for Migration currently has an office in Assosa, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. It handled many of the refugees who arrived late last year. However, the new influx is expected further south in the Gambela region.
Local groups have been contracted to shuttle the refugees to three camps: Tongo, Sherkole and Adamazine. All are located far from the border. It’s estimated there are 35,000 refugees from Blue Nile State currently in Ethiopia, most of them in the camps.
The IOM’s Oginah said the new arrivals appear to be fairly healthy overall.
“(The) majority of the people who arrive (a) significant number are women and children. I would say that some of them look tired because of the distances they have covered, but they’re not in any bad health, nutrition conditions at all. They are just basically people who have been semi traumatized by having run away from hostilities. But health wise I think the majority of them are in reasonable shape,” he said.
The IOM saids more funding is needed to help the refugees. It’s appealed for one million dollars. It’s received $300,000 from the UNHCR in response to that appeal.
Meanwhile, in South Sudan’s Jonglei State, a four truck IOM convoy is carrying emergency non-food items to the town of Pibor. The aid includes plastic sheeting, jerry cans, kitchen utensils, blankets and soap. It’s being delivered to about 7,500 people displaced by recent ethnic fighting between the Lou Nuer (LO NUR) and the Murle.
Source: VOA News
Jigjiga (Kilil5)--Madaxwaynaha dawlad deegaanka somalida mudane Cabdi Maxamuud Cumar ayaa markale isku shaandhayn kusameeyay qaarkamida golihiisa wasiirada magacaabayna xubin cusub. Madaxwaynaha ayaa kadib markii uu kasoolaabtay socdaalkiisii uu kusoomaray gobolada Dhagaxbuur, Qoraxay iyo Wardheer ayaa islamarkiiba iskushaandhayn kusameeyay madaxda dhawr xafiis kuwaas oo kala ah:
1. Wasiirkii Xafiiska Dakhliga Mudane Xabiib Yuusuf Muxumed waxuu noqday Wasiirka Xafiiska Caafimaadka
2. Dr.Rashiid oo ahaa Wasiirkii Caafimaadka waxaa loomagacaabay Wasiirka Waxbarashada
3. Dr. Cabdi Qaadir Iimaan oo ahaa Wasiirkii Waxbarashada waxaa lagu celiyay xafiiskiisii hore ee Beeraha.
4. Cabdiraxaam Sh. Maxamed (Guray) oo ahaa Wasiirkii Ganacsiga ee heer faderaal oo dhawaan lagaqaaday xilkaas ayaa isna noqday Wasiirka Xafiiska Dakhliga.
Madaxwaynaha ayaa isku shaandhayntan sameeyay kahor intii uusan u ambabixin xagaa iyo magaalada Addis Ababa shalay galinkii hore, waxaana maanta si sharci ah u shaaciyay, una qaybiyay waraaqihii magacaabista Madaxwayne kuxigeenka ahna Wasiirka Xafiiska Maamulka DDS Mudane Cabdi Fataax Maxamuud Xasan.
Sidii aad faalooyinkayagii hore kalasocoteen intiinii akhrisatay; waxaa had iyo jeer Madaxwayne Cabdi Maxamuud Cumar lagu dhaliilaa inuusan iswaafajin aqoonta masuuliyiinta uu magacaabaayo iyo xafiisyada uu udhiibaayo. Waxaa durba muuqata in xafiisyada qaar uusan u dhiibin masuuliyiin uqalanta ama munaasab ku ah. Tusaale ahaan, wuxuu Xafiiska Waxbarashada u magacaabay Dr. Rashiid Axmed oo takhasuskiisu uu yahay Caafimaad, halka hore uu Dr. Cabdiqaadir Iimaan oo lahaa takhasus beeraha uu udhiibay Xafiiska Waxbarashada, inkastoo hada uu dib ugu celiyay xafiiskiisii. Sidookale Xafiiska Dakhliga oo uu hore madax uga ahaa Mudane Xabiib Yuusuf Muxumed oo lahaa aqoon laxidhiidha caafimaad, loogana baahnaa inuu masuulkaasi leeyahay aqoon laxidhiidha xisaabaad ayaa hadana markale uu madaxwaynhu umagacaabay Mudane Cabdiraxmaan Sh. Maxamed Guray oo ay aqoontiisu tahay waxbarasho kaas oo hore usoowaayay xilkiisii iyo jagadii uu deegaanku qaybta ulahaa ee uu dawlada faderaalka uga matalaayay. Guray ayaa baryahanba lasii hadal hayay in loodhiibi doono mid kamida xafiisyada waawayn ee heer deegaan.
Wasiirkii hore ee dakhliga Mudane Xabiib, hadana noqday Wasiirka Caafimaadka ayaa kamid ahaa xubnihii uu madaxwaynaha deegaanku uxulay inay noqdaan qusulo, kaas oo isaga lagu waday inuu tagi doono wadanka Maraykanka, gaar ahaan magaalada Minnesota, balse waxaa soobaxaya warar sheegaya inuu diiday inuu noqdo qusul, taas oo dad badani ay kusababaynayaa inuusan jagadaas kahelaynin dhacdhaca iyo lacagaha fawdada ah ee deegaanka laga boobo. Sidookale waxaa lasheegayaa in Mudane Khaddar Cabdi Ismaaciil oo isna u umadaxwaynhu uxulay inuu noqdo qusul fadhigiisu noqonlahaa wadanka Maraykanka ayaa isagana ay kugacansaydhay dawlada faderaalku, isagoo sida lasheegay buuxin waayay shuruudihii loobaahnaa ee dhanka aqoonta, isago shahaadadiisii ay noqotay mid aan saxsanayn.
Cabdishukri (Xarago)
Jigjiga, Kilil5 Online
Waxaan la soconaa in maalmaha uu ka socdo magaala madaxda DDS shir diimeed loogu magacdaray wada noolaanshaha diimaha, kaasoo sidaan warkiisa ku hayno lagaga shaqaynayo kala fugaansha iyo isku dilida dadka muslimiinta ah ee walaalaha ah.
Shirkan ayaa waxaa soo qabanqaabiyay golaha arimana islaamka ee faderaalka itoobiya kuwaasoo keenay koox lubnaaniyiin ah oo shiica ah kana shaqaynaya sidii ay dadka umarin habaabin lahaayeen iyo inay ku been abuurtaa diinta islaamka, caayaana asxaabtii sharafta badnayd ee nabigeena(sallallaahu calayhi wasalam) iyo sidoo kale culimada islaamka kuwo hore iyo kuwa hada joogaba iyaga oo sheegay in quraanku uuna hadalkii ilaahay ahayn oo uu yahay wax la abuuray.
Waxa la yaabka leh ayaa waxay tahay, inagu hadaa nahay shacabka soomaalida itoobiya waxaa nahay dad muslimiin ah, sunna ah, taariikhna ku leh dacwada islaamka ee geeska Africa, isla markaana leh culimo waawayn oo layaqaano, sidoo kalena waxaynu qayb kanahay dawlad dimuqraadi ah oo aan dadka lagu qasbi Karin idolojiyad ayna rumaysnayn, hadaba maxaa keenay in idolojiyada kooxdan shiicada ah ee axbaashta lamagac baxday oo ah koox fitan iyo xumo ujeed ah fikirkooda lagu qasbo culimada wadankeena?
Shirka diin cayga iyo aflalaacida asxaabta sharafta badan iyo xumaan kasheegida culimada islaamka, waxyaabaha foosha xun ee kadhacaya ayaa waxaa kamid ah:
1. In lacaayo asxaabta nabiga (salalaahu calayhi wasalam)
2. Inay yidhaahdeen quraan hadalkii alle maaha ee waa shay la abuuray.
3. Inay caayayaan culimada islaamka ee khayrka badan faafisay, qaar dhintay iyo kuwa noolba.
4. Inay xayaysiinayaan fafinayaana caqiidada shiicada ee faasidka ah.
5. Inay isku dirayaan kalana dilayaan dadka muslimiinta ah ee walaalnimada kuwada nool.
Hadaba iyada oo arimahani ay yihiin kuwa kasoo hor jeeda diinteena iyo dhaqankeena suubanba, isla markaana khalkhal galin kara nabad galiyada iyo wada noolaanshaha wanaagsan, inaguna ah danbi in diinteenii iyo asxaabtii sharafta badnayd, lacaayo inta la inoosoo huwado shaadh been ah, ayaa waxaan soo jeedinaynaa arimahan soo socda:
A: madaxwaynaha DDS mudane cabdi maxamuud cumar.
Madax wayne waxaan kaaga barangay go,aamo geesinimo iyo raganimo leh oo lagu diirsado in badan, midanina waa mid ubaahan go,aan kuwaas lamid ah, hadaba waxaan kaa codsanaynaa in la joojiyo shirkan xuma ujeedka ah, ee asxaabta lagu caayayo lagagana been abuuranayo quraanka, iyada oo ay midaasi tahay madaxwayne waajibaadka kaasaaran diintaada iyo ilaalinta shacabkaagaba.
B: Golaha arimaha islaamka ee DDS.
Walaalayaal idinka oo ah culimadii shacabka masuulka uga ahayd arimaha islaamka, waxaa uu waajib idinka saaranyahay inaad cadaysaan kanasoohorjeedsataan wixii kuxadgudbaya arimaha diinta eed masuulka katihiin, isla markaana uusan qalaanqal nabadgalida kaga imaanin arimo diinta iyo caqiidada la xidhiidha. Hadaba inkasta oo arintani katimid golaha sare ee arimaha islaamka ee itoobiya hadana , itoobiya way balaadhatahay, haddii ay in kamid ahi shiicada kuqanacday, inagu waxaan nahay dad saan udhanahay Ahlusuna waljamaaca ah, shiicana nagu jirto hadaan nahay shacabka DDS, hadaba maxaa dhib kujira hadii golaha arimaha islaamka ee fadaraalka loo sheego inaanaan course shiica ah u baahnayn.
Iskusoo duuduuboo masuuliyiinta golaha arimaha islaamka ee DDS, masuuliyad balaadhan ayaa idinka saran ilaalinta arimaha diineed ee shacabka, sidoo kalena inaad diidaan xumaanta iyo aflagaadada lagu shubayo asxaabta sharafta leh iyoculimada islaamka ee goobtaad joogtaan aad matashaan, waana ceeb adduun iyo aakhiro in aad dhagaha siidaysataan kana aamustaan waxyaabaha noocan oo kale ah.
C: Shacabka DDS.
Waxaan leenahay shacabkanaga sharafta badan inayna saamaynin kuna kadsoomin been abuurka kooxda shiicada ah , iyada oo shiicadu ay yihiin firqo layaqaano oo caqiidadoodu ay tahay mid kaleexsan dariiqii nabigeena suuba(sallallaahu calayhi wasalam).
Waxyaabaha ay shiicadu aaminsanyihiin oo aadka ufoosha xun hadii aan qodobo kooban ka sheegno waxaa kamid ah:
1. In sayid cali uu lahaa nabinimada oo malagii loosoo dhiibay uu nabi muxamed ku leexiyay.(subxaanallaah)
2. In nabigu (salallahu calayhi wasalam) uu quraanka qayb qariyay oo uuna sheegin.
3. Waxay caayaan kuna been abuurtaan in badan oo ka mid ah asxaabtii nabiga, gaar ahaana kuwii uu nabigu ugu jeclaa asxaabtiisa uguna bishaareeyay jannada, sida:
-Abubakar assidiiq oo ahaa ninkii uu nabigu ugu jeclaa asxaabtiisa
-Sayid-cumar alfaaruuq, oo ahaa ninkii labaad ee nabigu ugu jeclaa asxaabtiisa
-Hooyadeen caaisha oo ahayd xaaskii nabiga ee uu ugu jeclaa dumarkiisa
Iyo in badan uu kale oo asxaabta sharafta badan ee ilaahay uu quraakiisa ku amaanay ka mid ah ayay shiicadu afkaxun lalaacaan.
Hadaba shiicada oo xumaantaas leh inaynu diin ka dhagaysano o ay koorasyo jigjiga kabixiyaan waa afkaarta noocaas ahna dhexdeena ku faafiyaan waa mid aan la aqbali Karin, inoona qanmin, sidaas darted waa inaynu dal iyo dibadba xumaanta kazoo horjeedsanaa ilaashanana diinteeda iyo dadnimadeenaba.
Jaaliyada soomaalida itoobiya ee sudan.
Gudoomiyaha jaaliyada
Cali sheikh
Alishek114@gmail.com
For Immediate Release
Kenya: Security Forces Abusing Civilians Near Somalia Border
‘There Are No Human Rights Here,’ Military Officer States
(Garissa, January 12, 2012) – The Kenyan security forces are beating and arbitrarily detaining citizens and Somali refugees in Kenya’s North Eastern province, which borders on Somalia, despite repeated pledges to stop such abuses, Human Rights Watch said today.
On January 11, 2012, in the latest of a series of incidents documented by Human Rights Watch since October 2011, security forces rounded up and beat residents of Garissa, the provincial capital, in an open field within the enclosure of the local military camp. A Human Rights Watch researcher witnessed the incident.
“When military officers can beat civilians in broad daylight without fearing repercussions, it’s clear that impunity has become the norm,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Repeated promises by both the police and the military to stop these abuses and investigate have amounted to nothing.”
The Kenyan police and military have been responsible for a growing number of serious abuses against civilians since the Kenya Defence Forces entered southern Somalia in October, with the stated aim of eliminating al-Shabaab, an Islamist militia. The same month, suspected al-Shabaab sympathizers initiated a series of attacks against police, military, and civilian targets in Kenya.
In response, members of the security forces have been responsible for rape, beatings, looting, and arbitrary arrests of civilians. The crackdown has largely targeted Somali refugees and Kenyan ethnic Somalis, but residents of other ethnic backgrounds in North Eastern province have also been victimized.
The incident in Garissa on January 11 involved Kenyan citizens who told Human Rights Watch that they had been arbitrarily detained by the military. One of them, Ali Ibrahim Hilole, was at a shop across from the military camp buying items for a hospitalized relative when a military officer said to him: “Why are you standing here? So you’re al-Shabaab.” Soldiers forced him to accompany them to the camp, where they kicked him and told him to roll around on the ground.
Yusuf Khalif Mohamed, a long distance truck driver, stopped in Garissa for a soft drink on his way from Mombasa to Dadaab, where he was to make a food delivery for UNICEF. He parked his truck near the military camp, not knowing that parking was prohibited there. A military officer forced him to come to the camp, where soldiers threw a 20-liter container of water on him, forced him to roll on the ground, kicked him on the side, and hit him on the head with the butt of a gun. Mohamed told Human Rights Watch that one of them said, “I think you are al-Shabaab. You are bothering us in Somalia, and now you’ve come to bother us here.”
Both men, along with at least five to seven others who were similarly detained and mistreated – most of them truck drivers, and all of them Kenyan citizens – were released after 30 minutes. They were not interrogated or charged with any crime.
A Human Rights Watch researcher who attempted to visit the military camp to speak to the officer in charge witnessed soldiers forcing several men to lie down in the dirt and forcing another man to frog-jump across the field and to assume various gymnastic positions. Military personnel refused entry to Human Rights Watch, one of them stating, “There are no human rights here.”
The military spokesperson, Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, said by phone from Nairobi that the people held at the military camp were being questioned because they had tried to build an illegal structure to sell things outside the camp. Chirchir said he did not have knowledge of any abuses, but assured Human Rights Watch that the military would investigate the allegations.
The events in Garissa follow a series of human rights violations by security forces against ethnic Somalis and others. On November 11, soldiers in Garissa rounded up ethnic Somalis arbitrarily on the basis of their appearance, beat them, and forced them to sit in dirty water while interrogating them.
On November 24, following two grenade attacks on civilian targets in Garissa and an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on a military convoy in Mandera, police and soldiers rounded up hundreds of suspects in both towns. Some were beaten so severely that they suffered broken limbs. In the days following the attacks, suspects were arrested at random. Human Rights Watch interviewed some who were taken to Garissa military camp and forced to do humiliating exercises, such as standing on their heads, and were beaten if they could not comply.
Explosions in the town of Wajir in early December were also followed by arbitrary arrests and beatings. A local activist in Wajir told Human Rights Watch that after an IED went off on December 12, injuring an intelligence officer and several others, police and soldiers rounded up and beat ethnic Somalis over the next three days.
“They criminalize all Somali people,” he said. “Whenever a crime is committed, detaining and torturing people doesn’t seem like a good security strategy. It is creating a barrier between the people and the security forces.”
The worst abuses took place at Dadaab, home to over 460,000 mostly Somali refugees. A police officer was killed by an IED at Dadaab on December 5, leading to arbitrary arrests of those in the vicinity. After further explosions targeting police vehicles on December 19 and 20, one of them killing a police officer, police reacted angrily, beating refugees, and, in several cases, raping women. The chair of the Supreme Council of Muslims of Kenya, which conducted investigations in the camps, said that Kenyan police raped at least seven women following the explosions. Other victims suffered broken limbs.
A Garissa-based organization, Citizen Rights Watch, found that on the same occasion police looted dozens of shops, stealing over 27 million Kenyan shillings (US$310,000) worth of property and money that refugee traders stored in their shops.
Garissa residents interviewed by Human Rights Watch complained that police have not conducted thorough investigations to identify the actual perpetrators of either the initial attacks or the subsequent abuses by the security forces.
“Kenya’s security forces are rightly concerned about attacks by suspected al-Shabaab members, and should be doing more, not less, to identify the attackers,” Bekele said. “But beating, raping, and humiliating innocent Kenyan citizens and Somali refugees accomplishes nothing. Those in the security forces who are responsible for these abuses should be investigated and prosecuted.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Kenya, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/en/africa/kenya
For more information, please contact:
In Garissa, Neela Ghoshal (English, French): +254-729-466-685 (mobile)
In London, Ben Rawlence (English, Kiswahili): +44-7-98-481-6013 (mobile)
In Washington DC, Leslie Lefkow (English): +1-202-612-4354
The last time Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz, the trade artery linking the oil-rich Gulf states to the outside world, the Revolutionary Guards had only a few rubber dinghies and primitive mines to achieve their goals. Next time, they will be far better prepared.
For the ayatollahs, the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and the tiny sheikdoms of the Gulf, has become a national obsession in their long-standing confrontation with the West. They know that, for all their long-held nuclear ambitions, they will never be able to match America’s military supremacy. Even if they were to develop the know-how to fit a nuclear warhead to a ballistic missile, the odds are that the weapon would be shot down the moment it left its launch pad by one of the hundreds of anti-missile batteries the US has deployed around the Gulf region in anticipation of just such an eventuality.
So far as the ayatollahs are concerned, a far more effective way of attacking the West would be to place a stranglehold on their economies. As General Sir David Richards, the head of Britain’s Armed Forces, commented at the end of last year, that the biggest threat facing Britain is the parlous state of its economy. And the economies of Britain and the other major developed powers would be thrown into chaos if the Iranians carried out their threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
The free and uninterrupted passage of trade through this narrow passage of water is comparable to the importance of the English Channel in sustaining the prosperity of Europe, a status that is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. On average, 14 crude oil tankers pass through the Strait each day carrying an estimated 17 million barrels, more than a third of the world’s seaborne oil shipments. In addition, it has become a vital conduit for tankers carrying liquefied natural gas from states such as Qatar, as the Western economies become ever more dependent on gas for their energy needs.
At a time when tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme are reaching crisis point, it was almost inevitable that Tehran should start making ominous noises about closing the Strait if the US and its European allies follow through on their threat to impose wide-ranging sanctions on Iran’s oil industry.
Oil revenues make up around 80 per cent of Iran’s foreign currency earnings. The rial, Iran’s currency, fell 12 per cent this week after it emerged that all 27 members of the European Union had agreed to implement a complete ban on oil shipments from Iran. Overall, the rial has fallen 40 per cent in value in the past month.
The prospect of increased sanctions has prompted senior Iranian political and military figures to warn that the strait could be closed in retaliation. This week, General Ataollah Salehi, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces, threatened to attack the US Navy if it attempted to move an aircraft carrier into the Gulf.
To many, this is nothing more than the Iranians indulging in yet another tiresome exercise in anti-Western sabre-rattling. With parliamentary elections due in March, the regime is keen to demonstrate its refusal to be intimidated over its nuclear programme. But in view of the Iranian government’s inherent instability, it would be prudent for the West to be on its guard against any attempt by Tehran to disrupt such a strategically important linchpin for global trade.
The Iranians’ military capabilities have come a long way since the mid-1980s, the last time they made any serious attempt to disrupt Gulf shipping. On that occasion, angered by America’s deepening support for Saddam Hussein during the long-running Iran-Iraq war, the Iranians launched random attacks against the shipping of pro-American Gulf states such as Kuwait, forcing the US Navy to intervene on their behalf.
Although the Iranians were no match for the US Fifth Fleet, which operates from Bahrain, they caused enormous disruption – and a sharp increase in international oil prices – by the simple expedient of dropping mines in the main shipping lanes, while the Revolutionary Guards attacked unprotected tankers from their rubber dinghies. Ultimately, the Iranian attempt to close the strait was foiled by Washington’s superior firepower.
But the ayatollahs vowed that, if ever the need rose again to blockade the Gulf, they would have the means to do so. Consequently the Iranian military has spent much of the past two decades overhauling its capabilities, to the extent that if the order were given to close the Strait of Hormuz it could actually carry out the threat – albeit for a few days.
Iran would be able to deploy anti-ship cruise missiles, submarines, mines and thousands of small watercraft that could be used in “swarm” attacks against shipping if the ayatollahs decided to impose a blockade.
Such is the confidence of senior Iranian commanders in their firepower that Admiral Habibollah Sayari, the head of Iran’s navy, recently boasted that closing the strait would be “as easy as drinking a glass of water”. And to prove the point, this week his forces completed 10 days of war games in which they successfully tested three anti-ship missiles.
But if the Iranian military threat is much more potent than it was in the 1980s, the Pentagon insists that it still would be no match for US firepower. One aircraft carrier is able to deploy more air power than the entire Iranian air force, and it is difficult to argue with the assessment of most military analysts that it would take just a few days to knock out the entire Iranian military effort.
Nor would the American response be confined to the Iranian navy, as any attempt by Iran to use military force to disrupt Gulf shipping would inevitably lead to America and its allies using it as an excuse to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, thereby resolving the nuclear crisis once and for all.
Iran would, therefore, be taking an enormous gamble if it attempted to close the Strait of Hormuz, which is why politicians on both sides of the Atlantic dismiss Tehran’s sabre-rattling as a futile gesture aimed at persuading the West not to impose further sanctions. Nevertheless, Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, made plain in Washington yesterday that any attempt to block the strait would be illegal and could be countered with military force. But in a country where normal rational assessments do not apply, there remains the distinct possibility that, having acquired the means to close the strait, the ayatollahs will go ahead with their threat.
Any hint of military confrontation could see oil prices soar by 50 per cent within the space of a few days, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the world’s leading developed economies. Iran, meanwhile, would react to any attack on its nuclear facilities by carrying out its long-standing promise to attack Israel, as well as mobilising the scores of sleeper terrorist cells it has stationed throughout the Arab world.
It would not be long before a confrontation that began as a dispute over access to shipping lanes escalated into a major regional conflict.
Vital statistics of oil
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
At its narrowest point, the strait is 21 miles wide, but the width of the shipping lane in either direction is only two miles, separated by a two-mile buffer zone.
14 crude oil tankers a day, carrying 17 million barrels, passed through the strait in 2011.
This was 35 per cent of the world’s seaborne oil shipments, and 20 per cent of oil traded in 2011.
More than 85 per cent of crude oil exports went to Asian markets.
Alternative routes include the east-west pipeline, across Saudi Arabia from Abqaiq to the Red Sea; its capacity is about 5 million barrels a day.
A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO THE ETHIOPIA SOMALI REGIONAL STATE’S NOTORIOUS SPECIAL POLICE, A.K.A., KNOWN AS LUYU POLICE HAS OPENED A GRENADE PROPELLED HANDHELD MISSILE ON A FULLY LOADED REGIONAL TRADER OWNED TRUCK. Five PEOPLE WERE INTANTLY KILLED WHILE MANY WERE INJURED. THIS DISTRICT WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST PEACEFUL REGION IN THE REGIONAL STATE HAS SEEN A HIKE OF HOSTILITY DRIVEN BY THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT'S WRONG POLICY TO WIPE OUT ISAQ CLAN FROM THE SOMALI REGIONAL STATE IN ETHIOPIA. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THE NOTORIOUS POLICE FORCES TARGETED ISAQ CLAN MEMBERS. HISTORY SHOWS US THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALWAYS GUIDED BY THE WRONG POLICY HAVE CONTINUOUSLY TARGETED MEMBERS OF THIS COMMUNITY. THE ETHIOPIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS REMAINED SILENT ON THIS MATTER DESPITE REPEATED APPEAL BY THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO RECTIFY THIS WRONG POLICY BEING PRACTICE IN THE SOMALI REGIONAL STATE.
IT IS ALSO SUPRISING THAT THE REGIONAL MEDIA, SUCH AS KILIL 5 HAS REMAINED SILENT TO WRITE ABOUT IT. A CRIMINAL WHO KILLS A MEMBER ETHIOPIAN SOMALI COMMUNITY WILL NOT HESITATE TO KILL YOUR OWN COMMUNTY TOMORROW. THIS MISGUIDED POLICY OF THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE GIVEN ATTENTION. I AM WRITING THIS LETTER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNEMENT TO STOP THIS MADNESS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE OR THE WHOLE REGIONAL STATE WILL TURN INTO FLAME. IN THE HORN OF AFRICA WHAT WE NEED IS A CESSATION OF HOSTILITY NOT AN OPENNING OF ANOTHER ONE. THIS IS NOT DIFFERENT FROM THE GENOCIDE COMMITTED IN SOMALILAND IN THE 80S, IN THE 90S IN RWANDA, IN THE 40S IN EUROPEA, 90S IN THE FORMER YOGLAVIA. IT IS ALSO SUPRISING THAT THE ETHIOPIAN FEDERAL GOVERNEMENT HAS FAILED TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST THIS MADNESS. WE KNOW THAT ONLF IS A REBEL THAT IS WAGING A WAR IN SOMALI REGIONAL STATE. THIS WAR USED TO BE LIMITED WITHIN THE OGADEN INHABITED PART OF THE REGIONAL STATE. THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT HAS SOWN THE WAR MENTALITY IN THE WHOLE REGIONAL STATE AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE REGIONAL STATE ARE ON HIGHEST ALERT TO STAND UP AGAINST THIS INJUSTICE. NO ONE WOULD TOLERATE WHILE THE FEDERAL GOVERNEMENT LICENSE THIS KILLING WITHOUT ANY ACTION FROM THEIR SIDE.
THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM WITH THE ISSAQ BUT ALSO ALL OTHER MAJOR PEOPLE IN THE REGIONAL STATE. THE CONSCIOUSNESS CURRENTLY BEING PROMOTED IN THE REGIONAL STATE IS IN FAVOUR OF ONE CLAN AGAINST OTHER PEOPLE'S CIVIC, HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL RIGHT. AT THE MOMENT THERE IS A SIMILAR ATMOSPHERE IN THE REGIONAL STATE AS IT WERE IN PRE-NAZI ERA WHERE HATRED AMONG PEOPLE WAS A STATE ADOPTED POLICY. THE SAME WAS DONE BY THE MOHAMED ZAIDE BARRE AND HE USED TO THE SAME PEOPLE TO DESTROY THE SOMALIA REPUBLIC. WE LOVE ETHIOPIAN AND WE DO NOT WANT THIS COUNTRY TO GO THE SAME ROUTE THE SOMALIA REPUBLIC HAS GONE THROUGH. IF INJUSTICE IS BEING LEFT TO CONTINUE, IT WOULD SOON REACH A POINT OF NO RETURN.
I URGE THE KILIL5 TO HIGHLIGHTS THIS KILLING SO THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE REGIONAL STATE UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING DONE IN THEIR BACKYARD. IF NOTHING IS BEING DONE, WE WOULD NOT HESITATE TO SPEAK OUT IN PUBLIC WITH THE PRESENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. FOR ONE AND LAST CHANCE WE ARE URGING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RESTRAIN THOSE WHO ARE BEHIND THE KILLING OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS. STOP KILLING STOP KILLING WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF LAW. THIS ACT IS NOT SHORT OF GENOCIDE. THE PEOPLE WHO WERE KILLED HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING WRONG EXCEPT THAT THEY BELONG TO THE ISAQ CLAN. THE TRIBAL AND CLAN HATRED BEING SOWN BY THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT IS BEYOND TOLERENCE OF ANY CIVILISED HUMAN BEING. THE COUNTRY WILL NOT PROSPER BY SINGLE HANDLY FAVOURING ONE CLAN TO KILL AND MAIM PEOPLE OF THE REGIONAL STATE WHO HAVE NEVER DONE ANY WRONG WITH IMPUNITY.
I AM URGING THE SOMALILAND GOVERNMENT TO SPEAK OUT AND LODGE AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT IN ADDIS ABABA. IT IS WELL KNOWN AND A DOCUMENT HISTORY THE BRITISH GOVERNEMENT HAS DONE SO THE SAME PROSTESTATION 50 YEARS AGO WHEN THE SAME MAD PEOPLE STARTED TO MASSACRE AND KILL THE PEOPLE HAUD AND RESERVED AREA. DOCUMENT COULD BE FOUND IN THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT AND THE AGREEMENT COINED BY THE TWO GOVENMENT IN THE 1890 AND 1950S IS STILL BINDING BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ETHIOPIAN AND SOMALILAND AS WELL AS BRITAIN.
THE SURPRISING THING IS THAT THE CURRENT HOSTILITY BEING WAGGED AGAINST THE ISAQ CLAN IS NOT ONLY LIMITED IN THE TERRITORIES INHABITED BY THE ETHIPIAN ISAQ CLAN. HOWEVER, THIS NOTORIOS, GESTAPO LIKE, FORMER POLICE OF NAZI REGIME, HAS WAGED INCUSSION INTO SOMALILAND'S BORDER TOWNS AND VILLAGE IN CLEAR VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND TREATIES. THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT CLAIMS THAT ISSUE IN THE BORDER REGION IS A MATTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL INCUSSION BY ARMED GROUP FROM THE SOMALILAND. ON THE CONTRARY THE SOMALILAND AND ETHIOPIAN FEDERAL GOVERNEMENT HAVE A CODIAL RELATIONSHIP. IF THERE IS ANY PROBLEM THEY COULD HAVE SETTLED IT DIPLOMATICALLY ETHIOPIA HAS A REPRESENTATIVE IN HARGEISSA AND SOMALILAND HAS ITS OWN IN ADDIS ABABA. ACCORDING TO THE ETHIOPIAN FEDERAL CONTITUTION'S FOREIGN AFFAIRE IS CLEARLY DESIGNATED FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THEN I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE REGIONAL GOVERMENT IS MEDLING WITH INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRE IN CLEAR CONTRADITION TO ITS STATED POWER. THE MISTAKE WAS COMMITTED WHEN THE SOMALILAND INTERIOR MINISTER VISITED JIJIGA AND MET WITH THE REGIONAL OFFICIALS WHO LIVES BEYOND THEIR EGO AND CLEARLY INTOXICATED WITH OUTDATED TRIBAL DOCTRINE.
IF THE STATUS QUO IS NOT CHANGING WITHIN THE COMING FEW WEEKS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTINUE TO IGNORE THE CALL OF ALL SOMALI PEOPLE IN THE REGIONAL STATE TO REIGN THIS MISGUIDED POLICY OF THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, I AM AFRAID THE PEOPLE OF THIS REGIONAL STATE WOULD NOT HESITATE TO SEEK REDRESS THROUGH PEACEFUL MEANS.
Olad Guled
OLADG888@gmail.com
Waxan doonayaa inaan faallo-daymood kuyara halacsado Qorshaha magaalaynta magaalada Awbarre & qaar ka mid ah magaalooyinka Degmada Awbarre .Sida lawada ogyahay waxa Master –plan-ka magaalada Awbarre uu ka mid ahaa magaalooyin dhawr ah oo sannadkii tagay la fuliyay qorshihii magaalayntooda .Arrinta layaabka lihi waxa weeyi in la yidhi Awbarre miisaaniyaddii Master-plan-ku way ka dhamaatay.Waxa is waydiin leh maxaa Awbarre uun miisaaniyadda ka dhameeyay? Halka magaalooyinka dhiggeeda ah sida: Fiiltu,Qabribayax,iwm laga hirgaliyay.Magaalada Awbarre ilaa hadda far lagama maydhin oo sidii kal hore ayuun bay u calaamadsantahay.Wax dhis ah oo laga dhisay magaalada idilkeed majiro Saddexdii sano ee u danbaysay marka laga reebo saddex guri oo kaliya oo Ijineerrada magaaladu xaqiijiyeen in rugaha guryahaa laga dhisay ayna waddadu maridoonin.Waxa arrintaa awgeed ku biil-seeggan raggii ahaa : For-man-ka,wastaadiinta & iyo kuuliga.
Magaalada Awbarre waa magaalo weyn,waxayna ka koobantahay LIX Xaafadood.Marka aad dhinaca koonfureed ka joogto,waxa kaa qarsoon dhinaca waqooyi barri,waqooyi iyo galbeedka magaalada.Marka aad dhinaca bari ka joogto:waxa kaa dahsoon dhinaca waqooyi,dhinaca galbeeed & dhinaca koonfur galbeed.Marka aad dhinaca galbeed ka joogto:waxa aan kuu muuqan:dhinaca koonfureed,dhinaca bari & dhinaca waqooyi bari.Marka aad dhinaca waqooyi ka joogto:waxa kaa daahan:dhinaca koonfur galbeed,dhinaca koonfureed &dhinaca bari ee magaalada.Taasi waxay kuu tibaaxaysaa in haddii magaalada Awbarre ay ku oolli lahayd meel isku siman sida magaalooyinka Deegaanku ay u badan yihiin,in ay Awbarre u muuqan lahayd magaalo aad u weyn kana mid ah safka ugu horreeya ee magaalooyinka.
Magaalada Awbarre waa Xarunta Degmo-wenyta Awbarre.Waa rugta miisaaniyadda degmada lagu abla-ableeyo,lagu qayb-qabiyo looguna sii sarrifo 59-ka (Konton iyo Sagaalka Santar) ee ay Degmo-weyntu ka koobantahay.Waxa ku yaalla Hoolka weyn ee Shirarka ee Naftii-hure.Waxa ku yaalla Shan Xawaaladood oo kala ah:Amal Express,Tawakal,Dahabshiil,Qaran, & Kaah Express.Waxay magaalada Awbarre leedahay dhammaan adeegyada aasaasiga ah ee lagama maarmaanka u ah nolosha uummanaha.
Magaalada Sheed-dheer.Waa magaalo layaab leh oo xawli heer sare ah ku socota oo aan maalinna maalin ku darayn. Waa magaalo Caasimadda(Awbarre) aad ugu dhow baaxad ahaan ,bilic ahaanna aad mooddo in ay ka fiicantahay maaddaama ay isku simantahy.Waxa magaalada ku yaalla:Xawaaladaha ay ka mid ka yihiin:Amal.Dahabshiil,Tawakal & Qaran.
Magaalada Lafa-ciise:
Waa magaalo waafi ah.Waa magaalo iskeed unool.Waxay ka koobantahay SHAN Xaafadood.Waxa ku yaalla magaalada Lafa-ciise Warshadaha Daqiiqda iyo Furinka,Sayladda xoolaha. Waxa ku yaallla oo gabo-gabo maraya Hoolka Shirarka oo la mid ah Hoolka Shirarka ee Naftii-hure ee ku yaalla Caasimadda looguna magac dari doono sida ay ishaarayaan ilo-wareedyo lagu kalsoonyahay,halyaygii dagaal-yahanka ahaa ee Rooble af-deeb.Waa magaalo baaxaddeeda lagu qiyaaso in ay leegtahay magaalada Qabri-dahar ee Xarunta gobolka Qorraxay.Haddana magaalada intaa leegi malaha Master-plan,loomana hadal hayo.
Magaalada Tog-wajaale:
Waa magaalo-xuduudeed sinta ku haysa qaybta ganacsiga ee daanta Somaliland.Waxay ka koobantahay AFAR Xaafadood.Waa magaalo weyn marka lagu daro dhinaca Somaliland.Waxa ku yaalla Bangiyada ay ka mid yihiin:CBE,Awash Bank,Wegagen Bank, &Nib Bank.Waxa laga bilaabay Master plan. Waan soo dhawaynayaa Qorshaha magaalaynta ee laga hirgalinayo, waayo waa magaaladaydii.
Geesta kale,waxa jirta in Tuli–guuleed oo udhiganta ama la mid ah tuulada Goboblay ee udhaxaysa magaalooyinka Lafa-ciise iyo Sheed-dheer ahna tuulada ugu yar ee degmo-weynta Awbarre in laga hirgalinayo Master Plan-ka halka magaalooyinka waaweyn sida:Sheed-dheer &Lafa-ciise aanay haabkaba ugu jirin shaqsiyaadka waajibaadkaa isaga ah leh. Maxuma inTulli laga hirgaliyo Qorshaha magaalaynta, waayo waa tuulo Soomaaliyeed:haseyeeshee waa in marka hore meelaha ahmiyadda leh laga fuliyo.Haddaba.,waxa lagama maarmaan ah in Xafiiska Jidadka ee DDSI uu dhaqaajiyo arrinta taagan ee Master Plan-ka ee magaalada Awbarre ,Tog-wajaalena aanu odhan Lacagtii baa ka dhamaatay,islamarkaana Qorshaha Sannadka soo beegan uu ku darsado inuu Master Plan usameeyo magaalooyinka Sheed-dheer & Lafa-ciise.
Qalinkii: Farxaan Nuux Cali Subulaha
farhannooh@gmail.com
Radio Jigjiga (Faalada RJ) January-07-2012, Taniyo markaanu halkan ka bixiney, ama keenay magaca bah bililiqo, iyo bah wax walba boobe, waxaa dhacday in dad badani nasoo weydiiyeen, ma reer gooni ah baa magacyadan loola jeedaa, sidoo kale, waxaa jirta in dad fidno wadayaal ahi, ay siyaabo khaldan oo ay dano gaar ah ka leeyihiin u badaleen ujeedadii magaca.Sida nala soo wargaliyey, isla Cabdi Iley, qudhiisa, ayaa odayaal beesha Ogaadeen ka socday oo isaga la kulmay, ku yidhi "beelihii deegaanku weyn inagu kaceen, oo xataa kuwii dadka inoogu xigey waa kuwa bah bililiqo inoo bixiyey".
Markale fiiriya beenta intaas dhan, bah bililiqo beesha Jidwaaq ma aysan bixin, sida runta ahna loolama jeedo Ogaadeen, ama beel kale, ee sababta uu madaxweyne Cabdi Iley, sidaas u yidhi, waa taageero, iyo beer laxawsi uu ka doonayo beesha Ogaadeen, oo badankoodu aan isaga taageero badan u haynin, maadaama uusan horey wax wanaag ah, beeshan u samaynin, ee waxa kaliya ee lagu xasuusto ay tahay, inuu xidho, dilo, ama meel la mariyey, la garan waayey in badan oo ka tirsaneyd waxgaradkii, iyo aqoonyahanadii beesha Ogaadeen.
"Beeney waa run"
Waxaan isla aragnay in been abuurka, iyo in been laga sheego qoraalada lagu soo qoro, boggaga ineternet-ka sida boggan oo kale, ay koox uu hogaamiyo Cabdi Iley, si gooni ah ugu shaqeystaan, iyagoo dadka kale ee aan xaqiiqda la socon sidey tahay siiba beesha Ogaadeen, u sheegaan in magacyadaas beeshan loola jeedo, kooxda Cabdi Iley, waa kuwa wax walba xumeyeeyey, dib u dhac weyna u keenay deegaanka, isla markaana ku ciyaaray qaab dhismeedkii dawlada deegaanka, cadaalad darada deegaanka u horseeday, iyo iney beelaha qaar kuba tilmaamaan ineysan deegaanka Soomaalida u dhalan, si kastaba ha noqotee, waxaa haboon in laysla wada fahmo in danaystayaasha uu Kabtanku hogamiyo, ay iyagu yihiin kuwa bixiya magacyada foosha xun ee had, iyo jeer la soo galiyo bogga Cakaaranews, kuwaasoo aan loo kala aabo yeelin beel, iyo shaqsiba.
Bah bililiqo ayaa loola jeedaa?
Bah bililiqo waxaa la yidhaahdaa "qof alla qofkii, aan si sharciga waafaqsaneyn loo siiyo dhul, hanti, iyo guryo, isagoo ay wataan shaqsiyaad ka tirsan madaxda deegaanka, madaxweynuhuba ha ugu horeeyee, qofkan sida sharci la'aanta ah, ama boobka ah hantidaa, iyo dhulkaas lagu siiyey beel kasta uu noqdo", waa shaqsi ka tirsan bah bililiqo, lana socda haduu yahay; Jidwaaq, Sheekhaash, Ogaadeen, Dir, ama beelaha kale, wali waa bah walba boobe, ama bah bililiqo, waayo jidkii sharciga ma uusan soo marin.
Waxaa kaloo jira, qurba joog badan oo dalkii tagey, kadibna ay madaxdi deegaanka horey u joogtay ay lacago, iyo hanti badan ku qarsadeen, maadaama aysan si kale ugu suurta gasheen iney hantidaas dhacaan.
Hadaba arintani waa meesha sida runta ah magacani ku baxay, waayo waa heshiis ay madaxdii deegaanka, iyo tiro qurba joogta ka tirsani si mugdi ah ugu heshiiyeen iney wax wada dhacaan, markale, qurba joogtani reerka, ama beesha ay doonaan haka soo jeedaan, waxaa lagu sheegi karaa bah bililiqo, waxa bahda loo yidhina, waxay tahay, iney dhaca, iyo boobka hantida deegaanka ku bahoobeen.
Ugu dambeyn waa in si wada jir ah, aynu ula dagaalano dadka doonaya iney waxyeelo maal, ama naf ah u geystaan shacabkeena deegaanka, ama dano siyaasadeed oo ay iyagu wataan inagu kala qaybiyaan, si danahooda gaarka ah u gaadhaan, qabiileysigu waa cudur, waana wax jaahili ah oo laga tagey, ee miyeysan habooneyn ineynu isku qiimeyno nin walba waxqabadkiisa, iyo muxuu wanaag ah oo uu soo kordhiyey?, halkii aynu isku qiimeyn lahayn, ma ila beel baa, mise reer hebel ma yahay?, tuugse ma yahay sida bahalka wax u dhaca?.
Dhinaca kale, dadka sida khaldan loogu sheegey, in magaca bah bililiqo beel gooni ah loola jeedo, haka raali noqdaan, xaqiiqdiina hada idiin sheegney, ee sidaas ula socda, oo naga caawiya sidii aynu deegaankeena ugu heli lahayn, madax cadaalad, iyo daacad waxku xukunta, isla markaana inala tartansiiyaa deegaanada kale, ee dalweynaha Itoobiya ka kooban yahay.
Xigasho:Radiojigjiga.com
There is no harm in borrowing adages from other languages when and where they best capture the nub of the issues one wants to discuss. There is a fabulous Amharic adage that is very relevant to the issues I wish to discuss in this article: It goes “wadaqe sibaal tasabare” (To state something as broken, when it has merely dropped). We had interesting reports and analysis for three weeks now on an alleged secret peace talks between Ethiopia and ONLF.
Kilil5.com and some other Somali portals, which seem to have taken the preceding adage to heart, have even been chronicling details of the conditions and issues under discussion and ranks of the negotiating teams from both sides. But how much of what is being reported is true, and how much is a fabrication? What is the likelihood of a peace deal in 2012 between the Ethiopian government and the ONLF? I will provide some answers to these questions, based on reliable information I gathered from different sources.
First, there are no peace talks between Ethiopia and ONLF, nor is it guaranteed that there will be talks soon. There were/are indirect preparatory communications between Ethiopia and the ONLF. There is a big difference in meaning between peace-talks and preparatory talks; it is not a matter of semantics. One is about agreeing to talk; the other is about talking issues and conditions. There are no Ethiopia-ONLF teams talking at any stage (preparatory or not) today and any report of such talks is bogus. This is the fact, not what I like or dislike.
What happened is that the Ethiopian Government reportedly agreed to talk to the ONLF in the presence of a third party, seemingly paving the way for a face-to-face meeting with the rebel group. The ONLF agreed to the idea. Naturally, this lead to the expectation that the peace talks will start soon! But there are some key details that could yet impede the peace talks. For instance, who will be the third party that will mediate the two sides? Will the ONLF agree to a negotiation process that doesn’t involve any regional or international body such as the AU, or the UN? Is Kenya willing or able to become a guarantor of the peace process? Will Ethiopia agree to the presence of third-party mediators outside Kenya? These issues could pose the first hurdle.
Second, the assumptions the two sides make about the motives of each other determine the success or the failure of the preparatory talks and the ultimate peace deal. There are no shortages of assumptions in this regard. The ONLF may feel Meles is compelled to agree to talk to it, in the presence of a third-party, because he is weak and desperate. Meles may think the ONLF is in disarray and giving it an exit-door may make them sign peace deals in the mould of those the UWSLF and the Engineer Ma’ow faction signed; or at least that making overtures of peace will cause a fissure in ONLF’s current leaders and supporters.
Meles is not approaching this peace talk from the point of weakness or desperation. Granted, he will benefit massively in political, diplomatic and economic terms from a peace in the Somali Region. He will have ended the international outcry about violations of human rights in the region, would have scored a vital goal against Eritrea (who he sees as sponsors of the ONLF and various opposition groups), and Ethiopia’s economy would have gained from exploration of gas and other natural resources in the Somali region. But his political survival is not at stake due to the insurgency in Somali Region, and therefore, he will not feel pressured to agree to all of the conditions ONLF may table if any talks start. He certainly will not agree to a self-determination clause, but will instead insist that the Ethiopian Constitution already provides guarantees for this, as stipulated in Article 39.
The ONLF leadership is equally not in a desperate situation (from the information I have) nor is there any likelihood they will be divided on this matter. All the indications are that the ONLF will not agree to any deal that does not include a clause on a referendum with a timeframe for the people of the region. The ONLF may extend the timeframe for such a referendum to even 10 years, or may even agree to re-discuss the timeframe after its expiration, but they will not agree to anything that will not leave a historical alibi to the age-old claim that their struggle was against colonial conquest. Any other political concessions that the ONLF may have wanted from this talks will be up for discussion and compromise, but the issue of timeline for a referendum is the red-line none of the current leaders will cross.
Meles and the Ethiopian regime are not known for honouring agreements they sign. Following its border conflict with Eritrea, Ethiopia signed the Algeirs agreement and agreed to abide by the final verdict of an International border commission set up by the United Nations. When the final verdict arrived, Ethiopia shirked and to this date recites baffling implementation jargons to defy the judgment. Therefore, any peace deal with the current Ethiopian regime will require a strong guarantor, willing and capable of compelling the two sides to fulfill the terms they agreed to. Such a guarantor is not in sight, something the ONLF is expected to insist on too.
Looking at all these factors, it is unlikely there will be a peace deal between Ethiopia and the ONLF in 2012, unless Meles surprises us with some far-reaching political concessions to the ONLF, including on the vital issue of self-determination.
True, people are tired, the ONLF is not succeeding to broaden its support base (inexplicably clinging to a divisive name), but those who wish peace for the people in Somali Region must not be prepared to wear anything and everything that wears the garb of ‘peace’ as a peace deal. There is a need for compromise. But, any peace deal that is discussed under duress and with a defeatist mentality of taking Meles’s dictation as an offer will be regretted soon.
Predictably, it is those who deodorized failure and undignified submission yesterday, that is now nervously broadcasting the purported peace talks between Ethiopia and ONLF. They are not wishing for peace. They are looking for cleansing gossips.
I long for peace, but not for surrender that is perfumed as a peace deal. I believe it is far better to be defeated while fighting for the right cause than to capitulate to your enemy and surrender your ideals, simply because the going is going tough or may go tougher. After all, in defeat, you have lost your ideal temporarily; you have not slayed it altogether. By refusing to surrender your ideal, you make a resurrection possible for the future generations, whom may deliver what you failed to deliver.
Mahado Sheikh Dahir
Mahado1960@yahoo.com
“Anyone can give up; it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together
when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.“
By anonymous sage.
The students of Ethiopian politics perceive the forth coming peace talks between the ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front) and the Ethiopian Government as one of the toughest talks ever entertained by any Ethiopian government. Even though the peace talks weren’t officially proclaimed by the concerned parties, yet there is reliable information to that effect from trustworthy sources that the Ethiopian government informed formally the Kenyan government that it wants to talk to the ONLF in the presence of a third party. The ONLF all the way through its history was maintaining that they are willing to talk to the Ethiopian government, in a neutral country, provided Ethiopia accepts the presence of a third party to witness the progress of the talks.
The Kenyan government received the acceptance of the ONLF without a delay since it was the government of Ethiopia not the ONLF that was dragging its feet for so long from taking the offer of peace talks in the hope that it will wipe out the ONLF through brute military force. The Somali Region’s (Ogaden region) resistance to occupation stretches over a century and the region was and is a battle field between successive Ethiopian governments and national liberation forces. The region has been treated by the Ethiopian governments over the years as a buffer zone and its citizens as strangers that have no right in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia through its choice tool, military option, to address the genuine occupation question of the Somali region (Ogaden Region) made the region the least developed region in Ethiopia. Substantial number of its citizens grew up in refugee camps or in neighbouring countries for the third generation and whatever left behind either move from one IDP camp to the next at best or loiters in concentration camps called military prisons that are spread throughout the region at worst.
Human rights organisation’s yearly and daily reports consistently highlight the atrocities and human rights abuses meted against the region by the security forces of Ethiopia. The region is categorized and recognised as famine prone by the international development agencies and yet in pursuit of its military option the Ethiopian government sealed the boarders Ethiopia's starvation strategy of the region from all sides and pronounced it as no go area for international aid agencies, independent reporters and the likes. The Gaza- like status, open prison, is effective to this day and among the latest casualties of the notorious anti terrorist bill are the two Swedish journalists who ventured into the region on a fact finding mission - Ethiopia Jails Swedish Journalists
The people of the region have never been allowed to elect their representatives even at village level let alone at regional level. Since the region is garrison town under perpetual emergency rule, the army hand picks their young informers and crowns them to high offices. The educated and the elite of the region, who grow up in exile through fault of not theirs, were barred from running for public office and thus under - thirty year olds with no experience but loyalty to their appointed Tigrean masters are at the helm of the region.
The reigning Ethiopian government, under premier Zenawi, which the ONLF has to negotiate with, is an authoritarian state that has no tolerance for pluralistic views in any shape or form. The politics, military and the economy of Ethiopia is dominated by his TPLF/EPRDF party which claimed that it won 99.6% of the latest staged election when it is common knowledge that the reality is on the contrary - Total Domination of Ethiopia by Ethnic Tigrean . The most draconian anti – terrorist laws ever was introduced by his party to criminalise any form of decent, repressive press laws that saw the closure of all the independent media outlets is in place and rubber stamp judiciary that are tasked to dish out lengthy prison sentences that underwrites opposition party officials, journalists, human rights activists and the likes are kept behind bars; works round the clock.
Real peace talks, between Ethiopia and the ONLF, that are pencilled to start soon heralds a glimmer of hope for the Somali Region and the horn of African countries. If the Ethiopian government is sincere about the talks and prepared to negotiate within the framework of the Ethiopian constitution, all signs are that a successful deal is within reach. The core of the talks, from the Ethiopian government’s side, should be aimed at permanently wrapping up a century of warfare, sabotage, mistrust and mass upheaval that became the hallmark of Somali region’s relationship with Ethiopia and a gaping sore to the pride and the international image of Ethiopia.
A fool and water will go the way they are diverted but not a leader
The appalling but factual scenario in Ethiopia as mentioned above has the potential to categorically chase away weak leaders that are detached from their background in its entirety but on the contrary; robust pragmatic leaders will always find, in such thorny times, an opportunity to make a difference. UWSLF (small unknown Islamist front) and Eng. Maow’s (expelled from ONLF central committee in 2006) one man show, after protracted and gruesome media coverage finally concluded what the Ethiopian government christened as peace pact with the Ethiopian government – not a single one from the serving central committee members nor a commander was signatory to the so called peace agreement . The terms of the pact fell short of the expectations of many in the Diaspora and received muted reaction from the people of the region. The two purported leaders were offered no demonstrable concessions at all with the exception of the release of hundreds of wrongly incarcerated members of the thousands of the civilian inmates in the military prisons.
The ONLF swiftly condemned the leaders that opted out of the armed struggle for few pence as sell outs. Sizable numbers in the diaspora, who were initially sitting on the fence, after studying the empty pact, lent their support to the ONLF. The push factor that wooed the doubters from the fence to the ONLF camp can be credited to the lack of noticeable and structured fundamental changes as to how the regional government conducts its political businesses. The Ethiopian government, as a goodwill gesture temporarily tuned down its scorched earth campaign, to sell the empty peace agreement - hostilities and arbitrary arrest of the innocent civilians decreased significantly, hundreds of alleged ONLF supporters held in detention for so long were released, the feared and often unaccountable local police were reigned and waves of delegations from Somali regional state visited the diaspora lands to put across their argument which was in essence not more than the prolongation of the current statuesque .The officer’s talks were centred around petty things such as offering tribe X few more political posts but failed to address the fundamentals they were expected to attend to.
A little rain each day will fill the rivers to overflowing
The current peace talks are driven by a third party (Kenyan Politicians) who by all measures have an in-depth knowledge of the issue and have a genuine stake in the success of the talks. The Ethiopian government on its side understands the local and international political gains it could reap from the success of the talks and is in no mode to forgo the opportunity although it is not at any price. The ONLF on their part are eager to reach nothing short of durable and verifiable deal, with the Ethiopian government, that can offer the masses of the vast region their full constitutional rights initially with in Ethiopia. Full constitutional rights as understood by ONLF and the people of the region, is the exercise of their right to freely elect their own representatives without interference from the TPLF/EPRDF dominated federal government with the view of preparing the region for full referendum for independence within a decade along the lines of Eretria and southern Sudan if the need arises.
The 2012 peace talks calls for ONLF leaders to go to the talk’s venue with open minds and with determination to keep the negotiating going, no matter how many sittings, until a mutual compromise is hammered out. The negotiations won’t be easy as some ONLF members, although few in number, might be susceptible to fall for external interests and could create confusion and distractions as the highs of the talk is reached but the will and the steadfastness of the mainstream genuine nationalists will overcome the mice traps. The failure of the talks will have a lasting effect on the ONLF and the Ethiopian government as this puts their leadership’s diplomatic maturity under the spotlight for everyone to see.
The ONLF should understand that the goals and history of the opposition movements in the north and Oramio are largely far removed from to that of the Somali Regional State. The mantra sung in the corridors of western government’s power houses by the varied Ethiopian opposition groups can’t be taken at face value as most have ethnic based agendas concealed up their sleeves. No regional state in Ethiopia suffered as much as the Somali regional state so one size fits all paradigms floated by the Ethiopian opposition groups can’t address the grievances of the region but will rather further exasperate the situation. The region’s problems are unique and hence require tailor made solution that can redress in a significant way the long standing grievances at least partially at this instant.
Conclusion and recommendations
The peace talk on the table is not a riddle but a simple dialogue that only a wise and committed leaders that can put the interest of their people before their ego can save the day. The old adage of the cow “cow gave birth to a fire: she wanted to lick it, but it burned; she wanted to leave it, but she could not because it was her own child.” Our forefathers passed to us clearly points that no problem is insurmountable. Courageous and honest leaders can successfully circumnavigate the hurdles on the road to peace. What the region is waiting is nothing short of able leaders of high calibre that can steer the country from its impending self implosion.
The ONLF leaders ought to understand that the Ethiopian government headed by premier Zenawi and the ONLF are conjoined twins that can’t be separated for the time being as they live in the same body called federal Ethiopia. In the short-term however unattractive Zenawi may appear to some members, the organization is obliged to do business with his government in the long-term therefore necessity dictates that he should appear, in the eyes of the ONLF leadership, more gorgeous than for instance president Isias Afewerki of Eritrea or for that matter any other head of state. Although I am not condoning oppression in any form or shape but at same time I fail to see the compulsion for endless armed struggle that most often than not only harms the same people both claims to striving to better their lives.
The Somali regional state is acknowledged as the key holder to the stability and developmental aspirations of both Ethiopia and Somalia. All the ills of Ethiopia historically stem from the Somali region and its fallouts spoils the political and economic health of the region albeit to different degrees. It is said “Compromise, if not the spice of life, is its solidity. It is what makes nations great and marriages happy.” ONLF at this historical juncture is expected to look at the big picture carefully and to sign the agreement if it confers the people of the region their full constitutional rights or else risk to end up in the museum where failed organisations are safely parked.
“It is said a proverb is the horse of conversation: when the conversation lags, a proverb revives it.” As a concluding remark I would like to emphasise that the Ethiopian government should understand that the ONLF stands for the aspirations, full constitution rights for all, of the Somali regional state citizens. The ONLF is the current bearer of the torch of struggle that resistance movements have been handing down for generations and should in any way confused with the packaging of the organisation. Those who aren’t members of the front share with it the strategic goal the front is fighting for but might have a little difference on the tactical side that is bound to be ironed in the near future.
Two decades of federal army’s mass killing at industrial scale coupled by five years of Liyu Police(local government armed marauding militia ) and the shadowy peace deals with individuals with no military or political influence didn’t divide the ONLF nor brought the region closer to peace. The Ethiopian regime should understand that century old conflict is a political one and can only be ended with robust political solutions.
Abdikarim H. Abdi Buh
Email: abdikarimbuh@yahoo.com
Sidaan soo sheegnay Nabadu waa qiimaha nolosha, waxayna kabilaabataa inuu qofku daneeyo/ jeclaado siduu naba ugu noolaan lahaa. Qofwalba iyo Bulsho walba waxay nabada ka heshaa intay iyadu geysato, oo nolshaadu inta badan waxay jawaab celin katahay waxaad adigu geysato ama hormarsato.
Hadaad xumaan iyo dhib geysatay abuuratay waxaad helaysaa iyadii oo kale, hadaad wanaag iyo khayr geysatayna waxaad goosanaysaa mid kasii wanaag badan aduun iyo Aakhiro labadaba. Taasina waa qaanuun uu Rabbi (swt) qoray inuu qof waliba helayo jawaabta camalkiisa oo sax ah, Ilaahayna qofna madulmiyo oo uma ciqaabo xumaan uuna isagu abuuranin.
Ilaahay wuxuu Qur´ankiisa inoogu sheegay qiso laba wiil oo abeheen Adam uu dhalay, oo sharad dhigtay oo mid Alle ka aqbalay midna aan laga aqbalin. Walaalkiina kuyiri waan kudili, kii kalana ugu jawaabay, maxaad ii dili Ilaahay wuxuu ka aqbalaa kuwa isaga kacabsada.
Hadaad Gacanta iisoo taagto adoo idili rabtid, anu gacmahayga waan ceshan, oo waxaan kacabsanayaa Alihii aduunyada abuuray. Waxaadna xanbaari doontaa danbigaygii iyo kaagii labadaba, waxaadna kamid noqon doontaa (hadaad idisho) kuwa naarta gala, taasina waa abaal gudka kuwa danbi iyo dulmi qaba yaasha ah.
Kadibna naftiisii waxay uqurxisay dilka walaalkii, wuuna dilay wuxuuna kamid noqday kuwa khasaaray/Halaag-samay. Kadibna waxaa ku adkaatay siduu walaalkii uduugi lahaa, u asturi lahaa Meydkiisa, Ilaahayna wuxuu usoo diray tuke bara siduu walaalkii uduugi lahaa, tukihii baana tusay siduu walaakii uduugi lahaa, aadbuuna uga qoomameeyay/Xumaaday dilka uu dilay walaalkii!!
Sidaa darteed buu Ilaahay qoray "Qofkii xaq darro kudila qofkale inuu lamid yahay qof laayay dadkii oo dhan, qofkii naf dhiman lahayd nooleeya/ badbaadiyana uu lamid yahay qof dadkii oo dhan nooleeyay/ badbaadiyay!" Taasina waxay noo cadaynasaa inta ay la egtahay xumaanta colaada, oo Qofku markuu ku dhiirado inuu Gooyo/Dilo Naf uu Ilaahay abuuray, wuxuu jabiyay/ kabooday xadkii Rabbi jeexay iyo sharaftii ama xishmadii ay lahayd nafta qofka bani aadamka ahi.
Rasuulkeenii suubanaa isagoo arintaana sii cadaynaya wuxuu yiri "Noqo Adoonka Ilaahay ee ladilay, marnana hanoqonin Adoonkii wax dilay". Maxayeelay haday gacan kaa xaqdarani kudisho, waxaad leedahay Janno, waxaadna hor tagaysaa Rabbi raali kaa ha, ilmahaagii iyo ehelkaagiina Rabbi, Malaa´igtiisa iyo muslimiinta suuban oo dhanbaa kuu ilaalinaya, unaxarii-sanaya.Markaad Qof dishana waxaad hortagaysaa Rabbi aad kuugu caraysan, ilmahaagii iyo ehelkaagiina waxaad uga tagaysaa dulmi, eed iyo magac xumo aad ufoolxun. Sidaa darteed waxaa haboon qofka muslimka ahi inuu ku ducaysto Rabiyaw gacantayda ii ilaali, dhiig muslim iga fogee.
Waa run Qofka Muslimka ah way u banaan tahay inuu isdifaaco hadii lasoo weeraro, lakiin waxaa kasii haboon kasii mudan inuu Ilaahay magan galo, dhibka ka cararo, nabadgalyo raadiyo.Waxaana wada ognahay umada somliyeed in sanadahan danbe lagu ibtileeyay colaad, dagaal, isnac iyo isdil, waana shar iyo cadaab aad ufool xun una dhib badan, oo dadkeenii, dalkeeniiba, jiritaankeenii iyo sumacadeeniiba meel aad uxun gaarsiiyay. Waana cudur aan iswada qaadsiinay, isku wada talaalay, kor iyo hoosna inaga buuxiyay, midig iyo bidixna inoogu faafay, Si'aan uga bogsano ama uga baxnana waxaan u baahanahay dhaqan celin aad ufara badan, kasmo aad uxeel dheer iyo duca Rabbi oo uxoog badan.
Waayadii hore colaadu waxay ahayd mid dhex marta Qabiilada, ama reeraha deriska ah oo isku qabta manaaficda sida ceelasha biyaha laga cabo iyo beeraha ama arimo bulsho oo laxariira isdhex-galka iyo wada dhaqanka dhalinta/ da´yarta, oo isku qaldama, ismaan dhaafa.
Intaana waxaa kadambaysay dagaaladii siyaasada ee huwanaa magaca qabiilka, ayna hogaaminayeen dad sheeganaya inay utaagan yihiin maslaxada beesha ama reerka, dhabtuna ay tahay inay wateen ama raadinayeen dantooda gaarka ah.
Waxaa kaloo soo baxay magacyo ama dad sheeganayay inay yihiin ururo, dagaalka iyo dilka kadhigtay meherad ama shaqo ayna dhaafi karin, bal jiritaan-koodu ku xiran yahay inay wax dilaan, dagaal sii shidaan, hadayna wax dilina magacooduba baaba´ayo, dhamaanayo.
Somaliduna mar horay ayee tiri "Waxaad barataa wadkaa buu noqdaa", maahmaah afqalaad kuqorana waxay oranaysaa (Qofkii dube gacanta kusitaa, waxkastoo kahor yimaada musmaar buu umaleeyaa, wuuna garaacaa).
Labo kamid ah ururadaas ayaan kaga hadli doonaa maqaalka 4aad ee soo socda haduu Rabbi idmo.
Radio Jigjiga has a bone with President Abdi Iley and their scuffle is escalating by the day. President Abdi Omar is the head of Somali region of Ethiopia, while Abdirahaman Sheikh Hassan owns and administers Radio Jigjiga, which has ferociously been fighting the president’s way of governance for a while now. And both individuals have fully equipped themselves with fuming websites, though Radio Jigjiga seems to have surpassed Cakaaranews, a website run by the president’s staff.
As much as one should hate obscene language and slanderous words, one should equally abhor unjust dealings and aggravated situations. Truly, human beings sustain injury and pain when they are slandered and obscene words are directed at them.
It was absolutely unbecoming of Cakaaranews to tempt and incentivize misguided elders at the expense of one’s dignity and integrity. People were shocked and taken aback when they watched and listened to a defamatory video posted on Cakaaranews aimed at Abdirahman. The incident took place some months ago, and some people argue that the video and its slanderous words were not just confined to him but transcended boundaries, and the whole slander was a prelude to other things.
The owner of Radio Jigjiga retaliated and caricatured the president in various shapes, some of which were not appropriate at all. In addition, the radio has exposed the president to the public and alleged him to have mismanaged the region and plundered its coffers. And this war of words began by Cakaaranews, as far as I know, is still continuing.
When will it end? Radio Jigjiga says it will only end when the president leaves office, but the president’s website writes that Radio Jigjiga will be banned from the region’s soil. However, the radio reports that it has multitude numbers of readers and contributors from the diaspora community and from within the region itself.
But to know what triggered the conflict between the two sides in the first place is worth investigating. And I am told that the two men became friends at one time, although I cannot verify the truth of this statement. But I know, for sure, that at one time, Radio Jigjiga merged with Cakaaranews. As a result, the radio ceased to exist because it became an integral part of Cakaaranews. For instance, if you typed the radio’s internet address to visit it, you would be instantly taken to Cakaaranews.com. Perhaps a conflict was created back then. Or whatever happened.
Personal attacks and slanderous manners must end. To criticize and shine a light on one’s dealings and governance is one thing, but to slander and use an absence language is quite another thing. Radio Jigjiga does have every right to advocate for the wellbeing of its people, but it ought to refrain from indecent language and obscene words.
Likewise, the president should accept every criticism aimed at the ways in which he administers the region and allocates things that are not his.
mohamedbakayr@hotmail.com
For Immediate Release
Somaliland: End Forced Return of Refugees.
Authorities Deport 15 Refugees, 5 Asylum Seekers to Ethiopia
(Nairobi, January 4, 2012) – The Somaliland authorities should cease forcibly returning refugees and asylum seekers to possible persecution in Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch said today. On December 28, authorities returned 20 Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers in violation of the fundamental international refugee law prohibition against “refoulement,” the forcible return of anyone to persecution or to a place where their life or freedom is threatened.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the deportations at a January 1 news conference. Shortly before they were deported, an international humanitarian worker met the group on December 28, at the immigration office in Wajale, on the border with Ethiopia.
“Somaliland should be protecting, not trampling on, the most basic rights of refugees,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should immediately account for this group’s forcible return and issue a public reassurance that refugees and asylum seekers won’t be deported in the future.”
Local sources told Human Rights Watch that police arrested the group on December 22, during a meeting between refugee leaders and Somaliland officials at the Interior Ministry in Hargeisa. They were discussing the situation of about 1,000 Ethiopians camped on premises known as the Social Welfare Centre, run by an international nongovernmental organization for refugees and migrants in Hargeisa.
The group was initially detained at Hargeisa’s central police station. Local lawyers working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) visited the group in detention. On December 28, police told the lawyers the group had been transferred to an undisclosed location, UNHCR said.
UNHCR said that fifteen members of the group were registered refugees and five were registered asylum seekers.
At the January 1 news conference, Somaliland authorities threatened further deportations, saying that refugees and others currently occupying the Social Welfare Centre would be deported if they did not vacate the premises. No date was given for future deportations.
Somaliland ended all registration of asylum seekers in 2008. UNHCR estimates that at least 20,000 undocumented foreigners are in Somaliland, including unknown numbers of Ethiopians and others who want to claim asylum. International law prohibits the deportation of anyone seeking asylum prior to a fair determination of their status.
Large numbers flee Ethiopia to escape persecution every year. Previously returned refugees have been detained by the authorities. Torture is common in Ethiopia's prisons. Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, after the demise of Somalia’s last functioning government. No country has recognized Somaliland’s claim of statehood. Human Rights Watch takes no position on whether Somaliland should be internationally recognized as an independent country.
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Somaliland, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/somalia
For more information, please contact:
In London, Ben Rawlence, (English, Swahili): +44-798-481-6013; or rawlenb@hrw.org
In Geneva, Gerry Simpson (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German): +41-79-219-95-68; or +33-6-83-74-56-07 (mobile); or gerry.simpson@hrw.org
Ethiopia is the world champion of “land grabbing” – the practice of renting out vast expanses of farmland to local and, in particular, foreign investors. In 2011, 3.5 million hectares were allocated, while the projected figure for 2015 is 7 million hectares, an area twice the size of Belgium.[i] By way of comparison, 12 million hectares are farmed by the same number of smallholders, who make up four-fifths of the Ethiopian workforce. It is not hard, then, to imagine the anticipated leap forward in agricultural output, especially given that the productivity of these new mechanised farms should be much greater than that of traditional peasant farmers. As a first approximation, medium sized yields and export of just half of their production should, in the medium term, bring in about US$ 10 billion in foreign currencies, at a time when the deficit in the balance of payments is the Achilles heel of the Ethiopian economy and its GDP currently stands at US$ 30 billion.
“They gave the land to us and we took it… This is green gold!” exclaimed one of the largest investors.[ii] The rents are “ridiculously low by any standard” (theoretically starting at US$ 8 dollars per hectare per year), the leases are for up to 99 years, finance facilities and tax breaks are increasingly generous as the share of exported produce goes up. Some are calling it “the deal of the century”.[iii] The authorities, who are solely responsible for this operation, because land is public property, [iv] challenge the term “land grabbing” and retort that these are “win win arrangements.” They say that only “abandoned” or “unutilized” land is open to the investors “on the basis of clearly set out lease arrangements… to make sure everybody will benefit from this exercise.”[v]
But the indictment of journalists and researchers, who have only recently been able to peek beneath the of this operation shrouded in secrecy, seems irrefutable.
“The government of one of the most vulnerable countries in the world is handing over vast land and water resources to foreign investors to help the food security efforts of their home countries, or to gain profits for their companies, without making adequate safeguards and without taking into account the food security needs of its own people.” The mechanism that they set up can be summarised as follows: Ethiopia rents out land to investors so that they can export their produce, and then import the same produce, grown somewhere else, to feed its own people. In the end, “the damage done… outweighs the benefits gained.”
The Ethiopian regime is anything but impulsive. It has obviously weighed up the pros and cons of land grabbing, especially since, for the large part, these were known in beforehand.[vi] So why did they throw themselves headlong into it?
The rush of investors for farmland is a global phenomenon, on a scale never seen before.[vii] But why has Ethiopia responded to this demand with such a staggering offer? There are two main factors – the influence of Ethiopia’s long heritage and the radical change of direction taken by the new “post revolutionary” ruling class over the past decade.[viii]
“Land was the sign, the source, the stake, the object of wealth and power; conversely, wealth and power gave access to the land.”[ix] Haile Selassie, officially the sole and unique landowner, gave land to those whose support he wanted or to reward services rendered. They derived most of their income from a “feudal” exploitation of this land, on condition that they also handed over a substantial portion to the Crown. The Kings of Kings used this deduction as his economic weapon to attain the supreme goal of centralising power, at the expense of local “feudal” lords.
This mode of feudal extrication was even more brutal in areas on the edge of the Abyssinian plateau that had been conquered and subjugated at the end of the 19th century. The State handed out two thirds of these lands to its supporters, with outrageous favouritism shown to the Amharas of Shoa, which was the epicentre of imperial power. This particular form of what researchers have dubbed “internal colonialism”, which included settlers from the plateau, was justified either on racial grounds – the light-skinned “Northerners” from the plateau, versus the “black” people, the chankilla (slaves) of the South –or on social grounds – the “Northern” farmers versus the agro-pastoralists or pastoralists of the South– and on the basis of a myth, whereby these vast lands were an almost deserted Eldorado, a natural outlet for the insatiable hunger for land arising from the extreme density of the Abyssinian plateau. All of this also fuelled a spontaneous emigration of “Northerners”.
For the imperial regime, agriculture was the engine for development. But as the regime came to an end, it oscillated between two strategies. For the first, which remained marginal, “small farmers are efficient and are capable of being the engine of growth and economic development” on condition that they receive help to increase their remarkably low productivity. Whence the timid appearance from the 1960s onwards of “package programmes.”[x] In the second strategy, which dominated and received the support of international organisations, these “subsistence farmers” are incapable of “productivity growth”. Salvation could only come from the development of “large and mechanized farm enterprises.” Hence the emergence of “agrarian capitalism” or “mechanised feudalism”[xi] through land concessions given to private Ethiopian, and sometimes foreign, investors. This was ultimately the case for about 2% of cultivated land.
When the Derg took power in 1974, with its Marxist-Leninist ideology backed by the student movement, its priorities was to eradicate this “feudal” class of “landlords” by one of the most radical agricultural reforms ever undertaken: “land to the tiller.”[xii] It became public property. But the State maintained a sort of crown right over its administration, beginning with granting use rights to peasants over a parcel of land roughly proportional to the size of their family.
In a break with the imperial regime, its economic strategy was aimed first at the mass of smallholders. It made widespread use of the ‘packages’. But it very quickly adopted the “socialist” dogma of agricultural development with the emphasis on large mechanised farms. Once nationalised, the large private farms became rather like sovkhozes, and failed in much the same way. Migration from the plateau to the lowlands increased dramatically through forced “resettlement” drives.
When the current regime came to power in 1991, it did not touch the 1974 agrarian reform. The thread running through history remained unbroken – land rights continued “to define relations of power between the state… and smallholders and their communities.”[xiii] But unlike its predecessors, the current regime put subsistence farmers at the centre not only of agricultural development but development in general, with a level of public support unequalled in Africa and probably in the world. The aim was to lift the peasant masses out of their abyssal poverty, to achieve nationwide food security, and to stimulate the foundations of an industry encouraged by the demand for basic commodities by the fringe of the newly “rich” peasants.
Ten years on, the failure of this strategy has become patent, not for want of public funding, but mainly because the authorities applied it using the same top-down approach as its predecessors. The authoritarian recruitment of small farmers deprived the strategy of a key element – their empowerment. In fact, the authorities refused to let this happen. As the evidently “enlightened” avant-garde, they alone could decide what the peasants had to do and to impose this on them. And this empowerment could above all have undermined their hegemony.
Agricultural productivity languished (and is still at a standstill). Food security stayed (and remains) a mirage. Emergency food aid and, since 2005, a vast programme of cash for work and food for work programmes (the Productive Safety Net Programme) continue to be needed for one out of six Ethiopians, on average. Industry stagnated too.
This economic failure was coupled with a major political setback. The regime was convinced that its efforts to help the peasant masses would guarantee their unswerving support. It was confident that there would be no risk in opening the political arena more than ever for the 2005 elections, in order to gain national and international legitimacy. But the rise of the opposition shook the regime. The millions of small farmers mostly followed the rural elite, spearhead of the opposition movement.[xiv]
In the early 2000s the convergence of these two factors and the elimination of the ruling party’s “left wing” after its worst internal crisis led to a Copernican revolution, dubbed “Renewal”. It had two inextricably intertwined strands. Since 1991, development had primarily been “indigenous” - or introverted. It needed to mobilise the relatively homogeneous mass of small farmers as a whole, with the aid of massive but undifferentiated state support. Development was to become primarily “exogenous” – or extravert. Following a “structural change”, Ethiopia now had to follow a new dogma – to become part of “the mainstream of the global market economy”. What is at stake? Nothing less than “to ensure national survival as a country.”[xv] But becoming part of this mainstream now requires expansion of the tiniest and most capitalist sectors, led by the “new entrepreneurs”. To this end they are being promised the (much-demanded) freedom to do business and an almost complete monopoly on public support – in other words, the fast track to becoming rich. In political terms the ruling power expects, in return, that they will guarantee their support, using their position as opinion leaders for the peasant masses and even the urban population – i.e. that these new entrepreneurs become the regime’s new constituency.
This explains the appearance of the “model farmers” within traditional agriculture. They are chosen on the basis of their ability to grow “marketable farm products”. They attract the bulk of State agricultural support and are automatically – and if necessary forcefully - enrolled as members of the ruling party. Rural society is becoming socially and economically polarised. At the top is the emergence of a slender class of “kulaks”, while the mass of small farmers is left to fend for itself. “Those who take advantage will prosper, and the rest will lose mercilessly”.[xvi]
But “the key actor in this agricultural development will be relatively large-scale private investors.” The regime is returning to the old philosophy, whereby “the growth of large and mechanized farm enterprises” is the engine for growth in the agricultural sector. Once again, the “tractor ideology”, with its endless fields, farmed by an armada of machines, is definitely the only prospect for the future.
Ethiopia was unable to reach its goal of rapidly increasing its share of global commerce by relying solely on its traditional exports (coffee, oil seeds, etc.) from small producers. It hopes to use its very low labour costs to become an exporter of basic manufactured goods, but this will take time and success is by no means certain. The ruling power had no choice but to seize the golden opportunity presented by this global “land rush”. A combination of factors – the dogma of Ethiopia entering “into the mainstream of the global market economy,” the decision that “the agriculture sector will continue to be the engine of growth” and that it could only be fuelled by “relatively large-scale private investors,” the observation that Ethiopia is unable to raise the investments needed on its own –led unavoidably to its only immediately available asset of any value, its land, being put on the market, and to offer it to the only economic forces able to exploit it quickly: foreign investors. From the Ethiopian government’s perspective on the economy, land grabbing is far from being a foolish whim or a bit-part player. It has the starring role.
But there also has to be a healthy supply of investors. Given the competition in Africa, the Ethiopian authorities need to align themselves with the prevailing conditions and accept that they cannot control the process, at least in the short term.[xvii] Nothing must get in the way of this unbridled “Go West” spirit.
This economic logic fits completely with the prevailing political logic. The radical Marxist “revolutionary elite” made a complete U-turn when it came to power in 1991, promising democratisation and a free market economy. In fact, using the same mechanisms of “communist engineering” based on “democratic centralism” that had been so useful for sizing power, this elite continued to consolidate their control to the point of achieving a monopoly. Today, due to ‘the effective “fusion” of party and state’,[xviii] Ethiopia is de facto ruled by a ‘monolithic party-state,’[xix] dominated by a handful of leaders where Tigreans – 6% of the population – are over-represented.
This achievement of political monopoly cannot be divorced from what the researcher Jean François Bayart calls a “Thermidorian situation”,[xx] characterised by the “revolution of interests”. The new “revolutionary elite… is turning into a dominant class via the primitive accumulation of capital that comes with holding power, according to the classical procedure of straddling institutional, family and business interests.” It uses this political hegemony “to accumulate wealth or the means of production under the cover of “free trade”” and “joining the global market.”[xxi]
The first phase of this metamorphosis started as soon as the new government took office. The promised liberalisation of the economy led to a wave of privatisation but it was modest in reality. It left out the main public asset, land, as well as the banks, insurance companies, telecommunications and electricity utilities. The rest was just an illusion. “Privatisation became monopolisation.”[xxii] Through endowments supposedly created to stimulate rehabilitation, mainly of the Tigray State, the leadership plundered the “privatised” enterprises. Operating with a total lack of transparency, and enjoying a great many privileges, “State-owned enterprises and ruling party-owned entities dominate the major sectors of the economy.”[xxiii] Their profits “are not being rolled over… but diverted elsewhere.”[xxiv] Most of what was left over has been pocketed by a few oligarchs under the protection of top leaders of the party State. Lower down the scale, it is essential for any private entrepreneur to be able to count on the support of a powerful official to run his business.
For a long time, the land – especially rural but also urban – and as a result agriculture, was left out of this grabbing process, remaining effectively public property. But an – unfortunately very poorly documented – process of “rampant privatisation” started at the end of the 1990s, mainly in urban areas. The first to benefit were senior officers during the war with Eritrea (1998-2000), who were rewarded with land that they then built on, mainly as a means of speculation. This privilege gradually extended to high-ups in the nomenklatura, then to those lower down. There is a return to a major feature of the pre-revolutionary period. Those in power started to reward their most devoted servants with land. And, inversely, owning land became the main gateway to wealth. For anyone visiting Addis Ababa, the construction boom will be the first thing that strikes them.
Mutatis mutandis, the same process has percolated into the rural areas. Its most glaring manifestation is the recent eruption of floriculture, mainly run by foreign companies. But the amount of land involved is still small, about 1 600 hectares. In contrast, land grabbing started as early as 1996 with a total lack of transparency, but almost exclusively for the benefit of Ethiopian nationals, at least up until the mid-2000s. The first regions to be targeted were the irrigated lands of the Awash, Afar, bordering the Tigray region, and Kaffa, the main coffee-producing region. Even today, 95% of the investors are Ethiopians. Their farms are generally much smaller, a few hundred hectares at most. For want of skills and resources, fewer than 20% of these farms would have started to be developed. Essentially, then, these Ethiopians have made an investment, with what they themselves called “easy” access to loans and facilities for acquiring the land, if they had not been given it “for free.” This “preferential treatment” applied especially to Tigreans.[xxv] Once again, the central authorities used the allocation, and even gifts, of rural land to reward or consolidate what they considered to be their most loyal supporters, again with an ethnic bias. Once again, the age-old push toward the lowlands resumed, still presented as a deserted Eldorado.
“Land leases are tantamount to near ownership”, declared one of the largest foreign investors.[xxvi] With land grabbing, this process of land privatisation took on a new dimension. “What is being grabbed or transferred are rights belonging to individuals and communities”. Who is doing the grabbing? “The dominant classes, especially landed groups, capitalists, corporate entities, state bureaucrats and village chiefs… at the expense of citizens and grassroots communities.”[xxvii] And at the top of the list, in Ethiopia, the nucleus of the party State. It seized the monopoly on land grabbing for any land over 5 000 hectares. Previously, any real estate transaction, no matter what the size of the land, was handled by each of the nine States in the federation. It is this nucleus that laid its hands on the land rights by disappropriating the local communities, and then according itself the right – and the power that goes with it – to reallocate them to investors, all at its total discretion. Moreover, so long as the land was farmed by locals, there was hardly any surplus and this tended to remain within small local commercial and financial circuits. With land grabbing, output worth billions of dollars entered commercial and above all financial circuits controlled by the central power.
So, after industry and services, a new wave of centralisation of economic resources has been added to the already extreme centralisation of political power. They offer each other mutual support. Once again, land is playing a major role in rejuvenating the superimposition of wealth and power, public and private elites. A “revolutionary” interlude is coming to an end. And this has at least two major consequences.
Land grabbing is leading to the ““South Africanisation (of the agricultural structures)… meaning structures dominated by large, settler-type estates existing side by side with a host of impoverished small farms struggling to survive in the shadow of these estates.”[xxviii] It “marginalises” the rural population. It reinforces the “disempowerment” of traditional peasants, when the opposite is needed for them to become an “active agent in all matters affecting their lives.” In this way it is shattering the relative egalitarianism of the rural world that has been in place since 1974, by polarising society, and nurturing class division, another aspect of which is the ongoing “kulakisation” of the small farmers.
The present regime has instituted a federal system. It considers that the hypercentralisation, even Jacobinism of its predecessors had exacerbated the centrifugal forces, mainly ethnically driven, to the point of threatening the unity of Ethiopia. The perpetuation of this unity requires a genuine balance of power between all of the “nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia”. But land grabbing is part of a process of re-concentration, which renders the federal system even more artificial.
The issues involved in land grabbing go beyond the economy. On top of the tensions born of the government’s rejection of all forms of democratisation, on top of the mounting ethnic tensions, it helps to sharpen the divide between the classes. It is going to turn the entire political landscape upside down, deepening the divisions within Ethiopian society.
René Lefort has been writing about sub-saharan Africa since the 1970s and has reported on the region for Le Monde, Le Monde diplomatique, Libération, Le Nouvel Observateur.
He is the author of "Ethiopia. An heretical revolution?" (1982, Zed books).
His email is renelefort@wanadoo.fr
Why the USD 1.5 billion next generation network could even be more costly
If not for that poor telecom service prevailing in the country, the government’s commitment to the information and communication technology (ICT) sector could have more easily been noticed.
Yet, although the telecom service in the country is weak, Ethiopia is one of the few developing countries investing highly in the ICT sector where the investment amounts to10 percent of the country’s GDP over the last several years. This is due to the unreserved commitment of the government to lead the otherwise least developed country through a short-cut path to growth. As such, investment in the ICT sector has long become one of the government’s priority areas where it has been looking forward to ensure a better ITC infrastructure in the country to maintain and speed up the economic growth of the country.
So going forward to achieve its objective in the telecom sector, the government had in 2006 given what some reports claim to be the biggest single investment in the telecom sector in Africa, the USD 1.5 billion next generation network project to the Chinese state-owned telecom ZTE. And in a bid to ensure that costly project for which the country had secured long-term loan from none other than the EXIM Bank of China (which it has started to pay back), the government has hired France Telecom to restructure and take over the management of the newly formed Ethio Teleocm to make sure the USD 1.5 billion investment is worth it.
Ethio Telecom was then born from this desire to provide the country with an internationally recognized company that will implement state-of-the-art processes and methods in order to offer the best network and the best quality of services to customers. Now an independent international company hired by Ethio Telecom is finalizing network auditing works on the next generation network involving the installation of fiber optics and mobile phone network expansion.
During the course of time it has been operational, Ethio Telecom has been introducing new services while the number of mobile phone subscribers has topped 10 million over the last five years. And very recently, the monopoly managed by France Telecom has enabled mobile phone subscribers with an area code of No.11to surf the internet, barely mentioning the quality of the service which has been to the dissatisfaction of customers which already has been using the service.
Yet while the services being rendered by Ethio Telecom look set to progress as the monopoly retorts, a big-time challenge is lurking in the dark.
While the USD 1.5 NGN is way expensive for the least developed country which has made sure to pay back the loan it received for the very project from its scares recourses, it could even become more costly as things stand now, according to telecom experts.
“By their very nature, telecom projects are expensive,” says a telecom expert anonymously. “As such, Ethio Telecom should make sure that the grand project will not entail another major cost. And this can be guaranteed by making sure that the project involves technology transfer where Ethio Telecom engineers and experts could take care of the later maintenance works after the USD 1.5 billion NGN project is completed.”
But that is being barely witnessed, according to industry observers.
“There are already some telecom projects which were completed some years ago by other telecom vendors than ZTE,” the expert says. “And Ethio Telecom is paying hundred of thousands and millions of dollars for foreigners who are maintaining these projects installed with some millions of dollars. One can only imagine how dearly the maintenance work of the USD 1.5 billion dollar may cost Ethio Telecom in addition to the staggering investment made to colossal telecom network project already.”
Experts say whether Ethiopians will fully take care of the maintenance work and the fact that there is a technology transfer element to the grand telecom project is barely witnessed now. This is a big-time challenge that Ethio telecom and the concerned government bodies need to consider before time runs out, they advice.
That would, in fact, turn out to be the inevitable thing to do for Ethio Telecom and the concerned government bodies, as Ethio Telecom is set to launch the expansion of the NGN project, which is another gigantic project by itself where world’s No. 2 telecom network provider Huawei, ZTE and an Israel telecom ECI are vying with each other to clinch.
It’s been argued that globalization per se does not produce poverty and inequality. The main obstacles that entwined with globalization are the rules and regulations that govern it. These rules are fundamentally unjust since the rich-states’ interests can not be reconciled with those of the poor and weaker developing countries. Hence, this is why many in Africa believe the current world order is nothing more than new form of colonization. As Africa is rising, particularly in the economic and technological sectors, its power and influence should increase alongside.
It is true that most of African nations are run by undemocratic, incompetent, and self-serving tyrants, which consequently resulted, in part, Africa’s exclusion from discussions of the key global issues. But, the West’s denial of Africa’s rightful democratic representation in the decision-making process within the international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO), all of which are the cornerstones of the current trend of the globalization, are seen more of a rejection of Africa then cooperation with the continent as some suggest.
This negative feelings among Africans is confirmed by a recent survey done by UNECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa) that shows majority of respondents (57%) believe the current economic governance structures as not fulfilling their effective participation in the global economy. According to the study, African Least Developed Countries are even more skeptical, with staggering two-third of respondents expressing the view of the current global governance does not allow for their effective participation in norm setting in the key financial, monetary and multilateral institutions.
For instance, almost a quarter of the IMF’s member states come from sub-Saharan Africa (45 countries), yet the total voting power of this bloc is estimated to only 4.4%. Even in the decisions that directly affect them, Africans lack the power to sway votes toward their direction; instead, they rely on other developing countries to help them secure sufficient support for their position. Such humiliating treatment of the African states is, in part, why Africans believe the developed world are keeping them to be reliant on them, rather than see a self-reliant Africa.
Considering Africa’s growth in economic and technological areas, the continent should be rewarded its rightful seat on the table—global leadership stage. The main reason that Africa should be an important stakeholder, not just important follower, of the world affairs is its impressive economic growth. This is evident in the finding of The Economist that over the ten years to 2010, the top six of the world’s ten fastest growing economies were in sub-Saharan Africa. The Western African nation of Angola, a country devastated by civil war and violence against women and children in the 1990s, now tops the list, while Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, was forth fastest growing economy. Even more impressive, during the same period, the African countries outpaced economically their Asian counterpart—a trend that will continue at least through 2015.
Moreover, Africa‘s economic outlook is even better than its current trend of economic growth. On IMF forecasts “Africa will grab seven of the top ten places over the next five years”. This phenomenon was taking hold in the continent while most of the global markets, particularly those in the developed world, were contracting below 4 to 8 percent in 2008 and 2009; Africa was enjoying a modest economic growth. According to the African Economic Outlook 2008, a collaborative project between the African Development Bank, the OECD Development Center and the UNECA, the continent continued economic growth with the rate of GDP growth averaging about 5.7 in 2007 and 5.9 in 2008 and 2009.
Therefore, the alienation of Africa – a continent with abundance of both natural and human resources – from discussions of key global issues is indicitive of how much the developed world would rather cling to their traditional leadership role than to embrace a new world order of which the decision-makers are diverse and representative of the twenty-first century’s world, not the Cold War’s “first, second and third worlds”.
Despite Africa’s exclusion from global institutions as a decision-making stakeholder, something wonderful is underway across the continent in the technological front. For instance, in Africa, the utilization of the modern technologies such as the mobile phones and the broadband internet is going at a speed faster than any other time in the history. According to recent report by GSM, Africa is the second largest user of mobile phones after Asia; Over 650, 000,000, or 50 percent of Africans, are subscribed to mobile phone services.
On the other hand, the growth in Africa’s internet and broadband sector has accelerated in recent years due to improved infrastructure coupled with the arrival of wireless access technologies and less regulations, which resulted lower tariffs. In an effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals in Africa, for example, broadband internet is rapidly replacing dial-up as preferred access method, according to a recent report by the Internet World Stats, an organization that tracks the usage of the internet globally. The reason of the growth of the internet usage that is taking place in Africa is because many Africans have gained access to international fibre bandwidth for the first time via submarine cable in 2009 and 2010. Though the growth in this sector is slow, almost 15% of Africans (118 million) do have internet access; 30 million of them are on facebook. Nigeria, with more than 40 million users, leads the way as can be seen below:
In conclusion, while Africa's shortcomings -- lack of good governance, corruption, incompetent head figures, etc -- can not be ignored, yet the continent's dynamic and fast paced economic growth must be taken into account as basis of elevating Africa’ world status from the current subservient role to an active participant of the debates regarding the international key issues: economic, technology, peace and security, poverty, climate change, and other important issues borne out of the current trend of globalization. Africa is not asking for a century of its own. But all Africans want is their fair share in the 21st century. Is that too much to ask?
Abdirahman Takhal
atakhal@aol.com
Bibliography:
International Monterey Fund Governing Document
“Can Globalization Work for Africa” by Carin Norberg, Director, and Fantu Cheru Ph.D. Research Driector, The Nordic Africa Institute, March 2011
“ Africa—Internet, Broadband and Digital Media Statistics” by Peter Lange, February 2011(9th edition)
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals Progress Report, March 2011
“Africa’s Impressive Growth” The Economist January 06, 2011(Online version)
Onthe new book “The Search for the Ugaas in the Xeer Tradition” byAli Moussa Iye.
Considerwhat common stereotypical knowledge about Somalis is today. Refugees from acountry torn apart in a twenty year old civil war? Pirates, possiblyterrorists? What then about the descriptions offered by previous writers?“A pastoral democracy” – see for example I.M. Lewis’book of that title, several editions. And before that, “a nation ofpoets, a fierce race of republicans” – does anyone still rememberthese once famous assessments made by Richard Burton in his book First Footsteps inAfrica? Are theyrelevant? Are they out of date, or only disguised behind the curtain of war?
Iwould say that it is the latter. The lingering war hides what else happens, inspite of it, and outside of it – not all Somalis in the Horn of Africalive within Somalia, and notall Somalis, inside Somaliaor not, are busy warring. Here now comes a new small book, entitled The Search for theUgaas in the Xeer Tradition by Ali Moussa Iye (Djibouti,DCOM , 2010) to offer a refreshingly different view on one branch of the Somalipeople, the Issa.
Iknow this book well for having translated it into English from the Frenchoriginal– thus I am not your regular neutral reviewer but rather aprivileged reader who has had some time to reflect on the text. The storyleading up to this book begins a long time ago and the book itself may be seenas a companion to a previous one by the author, complementing and at timescorrecting it. It’s based on research carried out by the authors over along period of time, and it is being published right now for a particular reason,namely to answer some particular questions and demands and to fulfil a need.
Inhis previous book, Le Verdict de l’arbre. Le Xeer Issa – Etuded’une “démocracie pastorale” (Djibouti,1990), Ali Moussa Iye showed that the Issa in all probability emerged as anindependent polity during the 16th century, in a form that is stillrecognizable today. The story of their founding retells how they liberatedthemselves from a foreign tyrant and went on to establish a polity based on astrict legal structure – a state based on the rule of law. They againbecame embroiled in issues of autonomy and outside rule only with the arrivalof the French, British, and Abyssinian colonizers at the end of the 19thcentury.
Inspite of these outside pressures, the Issa maintained most their formal statestructures well into the 20th century. Readingand thinking about the history of the Horn of Africa, it comes to my mind that,although new states were set up during the 19th and 20th centuries, no oneactually abolished the pre-existing ones. Some states were transformed, such asthe collection of Christian kingdoms of the Abyssinian highlands that weregradually brought together by several kings, and Kings of the Kings. Thesekings succeeded in forming an expanding power, occupying ever more lands andpeoples through a combination of armed force and aggressive diplomacy, in closecooperation as well as competition with the Europeans.
Onthe other hand, some new states were built up seemingly from scratch, such asthe Republic of Djibouti, on the basis of the Frenchcolony. And some simply went on existing - this is where we find the Issa. Allthese different states partially overlap, geographically and time wise, butalso intellectually.
TheIssa state is no longer intact, having been subjected to political and militarypressure for over a century. But more of it is in place than is at firstapparent to the casual outside observer. One way to define the Issa is to lookat what they say they own in common: the land, the law, and the king. The landis the territory they occupy, now crossed by international boundaries so thatformally it is divided between Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia; the law is theirtraditional law, the Xeer, unwritten but memorized, verydetailed, practiced by specialists in observance of sa trict procedure, andstill largely adhered to by the people; and the king – well, this is theUgaas with whom the present book deals The Issa call their supreme leader Ugaas.He is not a military leader, nor is he a political decision maker.
TheIssa polity is ruled by law, and the Ugaas is not above the law. He is notdivine, but he is sacred. Reading about the Ugaas, partly in the words of theprevious Ugaas himself, through excerpts of interviews included in the book,one is irresistibly drawn to make a comparison with the Dalai Lama, the supremespiritual and world leader of the Tibetans. Yet there are definite differences,too, for example the difference in religion which reflects, or affects, adifference in philosophical outlook.
TheTibetans, who are Buddhists, are quite well known in the world today, largelybecause of the exceptional character of their present leader, the 14th DalaiLama, and his moral stance regarding the extremely difficult situation of hishomeland, which has been under Chinese rule since 1950.
Havingfled Tibetin 1959, he must be one of the most famous refugees in the world today. Muchhas been written about him, but the most fascinating is reading his own words: Freedom in Exile.The autobiography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet (Hodderand Stoughton 1990). In fact, I felt a need to read this book in order to get abetter perspective on the story of the Ugaas of the Issa.
Afterthe death of a Dalai Lama, the new one, his reincarnation, is identified as asmall child. By contrast, the new Ugaas is chosen as an adolescent. He is notseen as a reincarnation of the previous one – we are here among Muslims.Upon the death – or the deposition! – Of the old Ugaas, the new oneis sought out among the male youth of a particular branch of an Issa subclan.He must possess a particular kind of character; be mature beyond his years, andbe patient, a good mediator, and in certain ways pure. Crucially, in apredominantly dry land, he must have a special affinity with rain. While theUgaas is not seen as a reincarnation of his predecessor, he is seen as theincarnation of the Issa people, who treat him as their father, whatever theirrespective ages.
AnUgaas has no direct power: no power to make final decisions, no power to giveorders, no power to use force. Instead he must influence the people around himby his moral stance and high ethics, by his wisdom and spirituality. He can, nohe must, guide and advice, he must be an example, he must live the ideal. Andif he doesn’t live up to it, if he isn’t beneficial to his people,he can be deposed. In a way, the Ugaas may be seen as a hostage, and this isimplicitly recognized in the ceremony of his capture. No one can presenthimself as the new Ugaas, nor is it a position to which one can be candidate.Once selected, any pretence of an independent life must be forgotten.
Thedemands are great, both practical and abstract, and they would be intolerableto almost anyone. In fact, anyone actually wanting the position would probablybe the wrong person for the position and likely to misuse it.
Onlysomeone uniquely suited to the position is likely to be able to live the lifethat goes with the office. How to find that person is at the centre of thisbook. The functioning of the Issa polity offers an interesting alternative toordinary modern day politics. Through its setup it challenges much of currentpolitical thinking. It offers a particular interpretation of the meaning ofleadership, of the rule of law, of supreme power and the state, of aself-governing people, and of a state run by pastoralists.
UgaasHassan Hersi of the Issa, 18th in the line, died in 1994, after 67 years asUgaas – an exceptionally long period as a leader by any standards. Duringthat time, the world around him changed almost beyond recognition. But by hisefforts, the Issa have survived and even thrived, and the Issa polity is stillrecognizable. Replacing him has not, however, been easy. Only last year, in2009, the procedure to identify a successor was initiated, and a new possibleUgaas was brought forth. The procedure is composed of several steps anddramatic stages, and has not yet, at the time
ofwriting, been completed. Because of the very long reign of Ugaas Hassan, someof the appropriate measures were nearly forgotten, and some of thepreconditions underpinning the whole intellectual setup have changed.
Theneed to inform people of the tradition, and the exact extent of itsflexibility, is the reason behind the present book. These are exceptional andexciting times to live. The Issa have largely managed to hold on to theirinstitutions, and thus their identity, until today. Whether they will go ondoing this depends on what they decide in their hearts and minds, how they managethe transition and continue to adhere to the Issa ideals and go on owning incommon their land, their law, and their Ugaas. If they do, they have more thanone lesson to teach the rest of the world.
Suzanne Lilius, Artist and researcher
VOA 13pm GMT
IslamOnline
