Third Edition Of the Independent Post weekly News-paper Published by Sister Publication of HUBAAL Somali Language Post
Sports Minister dissolves all Sporting Federations in the Country
The minister has no right to dissolve all sporting federations in the country
Hargeisa(HMN)- The Somaliland Football Federation, Basketball Federation and Athletics Federation have been dissolved by the country’s sports minster Mr. AliSaedRaygal. The move could have serious consequences for Somaliland if it’s internationally recognized and would throw sports in the country into chaos. A statement issued by the Minister in which The Independent Post obtained a copy said the sports minister took the decision due to many reasons including; lack of recognition and cooperation with international sports federations as well as issues pertaining to the inefficiency of Somaliland Football, Basketball and Athletics Federation’s administrations. The statement did not give specific examples of their inefficiency but it also provoked their legitimacy.
In recent months there has been a dispute between the sports minister and the sporting federations over the running of the country’s sports activities.
However, Somaliland Basketball Federation’s chairman Mohamoud Hassan Qodax has told The Independent Post that Basketball Federation will not abide by the minister’s decision.
“The minister has no right to dissolve all sporting federations in the country,” Qodax said. “The minister should backtrack on his decision to dissolve the country’s sporting associations.
If Somaliland had an international recognition the minister’s decision would incur the wrath of international sports governing bodies’ such as FIFA.
The dissolution of sporting federations in the country could be regarded as a violation of international sports governing bodies’ regulations forbidding political interference in sports association’s matters.
Under international sports governing bodies and the banned federation’s statutes, the sports minister is not permitted to interfere in the running of the sports associations.
N.E.C Releases Final List of Parties Expected to Contest Upcoming Elections
Hargeisa (HMN)-The National Electoral Commission has released the final list consisting of 7 political parties which have qualified to take part in the upcoming local elections after they meet the deadline set for candidates from the various political parties participating in the upcoming local council elections to submit their papers with the electoral commission.
N.E.C Spokesperson Mr.Mohamed Ahmed Hirsi Geelle speaking to reporters shortly after the 6:00pm deadline said out of the 9 political parties who had qualified for the second round ,only 7 parties had managed to submit their papers making the number of political parties expected to take part in the upcoming local election to 7.
Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Hirsi went on to say that out of the 9 parties which had qualified earlier only UDUB and NASIYE had failed to meet the conditions.
- 1. UCID
- 2. WADANI
- 3. KULMIYE
- 4. RAYS
- 5. XAQSOOR
- 6. DALSAN
- 7. UMADDA
CULTURE OF IMPUNITY ENCOURAGES MASS KILLINGS IN THE OGADEN
PRESS RELEASE
ETHIOPIA: CULTURE OF IMPUNITY ENCOURAGES MASS KILLINGS IN THE OGADEN
The Ogaden Human Rights Committee (OHRC) is shocked and distressed by the incessant acts of mass killings which are being carried out on a daily basis by the Ethiopian Government forces against defenceless civilians in the Ogaden, and calls for an independent, transparent and thorough investigation into the circumstances, which led to those mass killings in Qoriile, Gunagado, Gaashaamo and Xarshin.
Today, although there are peace talks between the warring parties namely; the Ethiopian Government and the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the human rights situation in the Ogaden is alarming and getting worse.
In the Ogaden, human rights violations such; as summary executions, torture of detainees to death, gang raping of women, child molestation, arbitrary detentions without charge or trial, looting and illegal confiscation of property are commonplace. And these violations are daily meted out by the Ethiopian armed forces and its allied militias known locally as Liyu Police with impunity. The Liyu police are rogue militias modelled on the Sudandese Janjaweed militias.
Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaims the right to life, liberty and security of person. Under Geneva Conventions of August 1949 and Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions, in case of armed conflict not of an international character, principles of humanity must be safeguarded in all situations. Acts prohibited in all circumstances include: murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation, outrages upon personal dignity, hostage-taking, collective punishment, executions without regular trial and cruel and degrading treatment. Furthermore, article 51 (1,2,6) of protocol 1, protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 states that “The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited. Attacks against the civilian population or civilians by way of reprisals are prohibited. ”
Nevertheless, contrary to the spirit and the letter of the International Human Rights Instruments ratified by Ethiopia, the Ethiopian armed and security forces have carried out systematically extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions throughout the Ogaden with impunity. The following cases are illustrative of the above assertions:
In Qoriile, on September 06th 2012, Ethiopian armed forces came with a list of names, and then arrested a number of civilians. They transferred them to their barracks, where they were subjected to extensive torture, and subsequently the Ethiopian armed forces carried out a cold-blood massacre killing more than 13 of the detainees in their custody. Most of the victims were hanged from acacia trees and then shot to ascertain their death. The names of the some of the dead are: FaaraxYuusufKhaliif, FaysalIrshaadAwlaad, MawliidXasanCabdi, CabdiraxmaanGuuleed Cali, FaadumoGuuleedCali,
The bodies of the victims were forbidden to be buried and were displayed in public to spread terror among the civilian population.
CaashoNaado who was left for dead but sustained serious wounds was collected by the locals to nurse her wounds. When the Liyu police knew her survival they conducted a house to house search to recover her. They took her from her refuge and since then her whereabouts are unknown to her family.
On March 16th and 17th 2012, the Ethiopian Liyu police militias razed to the ground the villages of Galkaboodolibaax, DhooboGuduud, Raqqda and Cadaada which are located in the Gaashaamo district, Dhagaxbuur region and killed more than ten defenceless civilians as an act of vengeance against locals who killed seven Lyu police members who maltreated them.
Gunagado massacre which took place in February 2012 claimed the lives of more than 19 people some of them bled to death when Liyu police fired upon rescuers who were trying to take them to safety in order to nurse their wounds. Their dead bodies were on display for three days and denied proper burial.
The latest massacre took place in CilmiXirsi, a hamlet south west of Harshin. Accoring to the reports members of the notorious Liyu police militias have killed 11 civilians and wounded 23 others .
Ogaden Human Rights Committee
www.ogadenrights.org
E-mail: ohrc@ogadenrights.org
President Silanyo Attends University of Hargeisa Graduation Ceremony
You’re the Future of the Nation, President tells Graduates
Hargeisa (HMN)-Somaliland presdient Ahmed Mohammed MohamudSilanyo has hailed the newly graduated Hargeisa University students as the “future of the country”.
The Head of State yesterday presided over the 9th batch of graduates numbering 637 who majored in various disciplines in 9 out of the 11 faculties of the campus.
“I today congratulate the graduates for their earnest efforts in going through their training”, said the President, and added, “I likewise hail their tutors and administration while praising the tremendous developments in the country that they have established”.
He said that since the country was a big one with a lot of hopes and expectations “the graduates are thus the seeds of the future of the nation”.
The President also saluted the parents whose efforts were the main catalysts behind the success of the graduands.
Education Minister ZamzamAbdiAdan said that she was overwhelmed by the large number of students who graduated at one go.
The University chancellor confirmed the number to be the highest ever in the campus’s history. Said Dr. Abdi Hussein, “They are graduating in commerce, Business Management and administration, Islamic Studies, Law, Medical Health, ICT etc” and added, “the graduating 21 doctors are the highest ever in the country” .
Amongst eminent personalities who graced the occasion were the Ministers of Presidency, Planning, Justice and Agriculture Hersi Hassan Ali, Dr. Sa’ad Ali Shire, Hussein Aideed and Mohammed F. Geedoleh respectively.
Also present were Kulmiye and Ucid chairmen, second Deputy Parliamentary Speaker and former Vice President Abdirahman Aw Ali Farah.
Farah and former cabinet member Ali Mohamed Waran’ade were amongst the graduating students.
President Silanyo Inducts an Ultra-Modern Child Orphanage
HARGEISA – An orphanage with a capacity to cater for 750 beneficiaries is under construction.
The new orphanage whose foundation stone was laid by the president H.E Ahmed Mahmoud Silanyo and jointly funded by African relief Community and Kuwaiti government to the tune of $3 million, which is inclusive of physical structures and related materials.
The ground colourful ground breaking ceremony for the orphanage was witnessed by a large number of citizens and dignitaries who included the 1st lady M/s Amina H Mohamed ‘AminaWeris’, Ministers Hon ZamzamAbdi Aden-Education, Duur-interior, Samale-Finance and Hirsi-Presidency, Service commanders, Hargeisa mayor as well as a delegation from the Kuwaiti funding agency.
Upon laying the foundation stone, President Silanyo thanked the Kuwaitis for their generosity that will see 750 destitute children access basic wants of life like Shelter, Clothing, Education and three daily meals.
“On my own behalf and that of the people of Somaliland, I hereby extend thanks to the people of Kuwait for their support geared towards the improvement of local livelihoods.”
The head of state also revealed his pleasure with the new orphanage that will not only provide for destitute children but also create numerous employment opportunities that are much needed in the country.
The education minister Hon ZamzamAbdi Aden who also the people of Kuwait for continued support urged Somalilanders to emulate them thus internal self-help projects whose benefits would be enjoyable to many generations to come.
According to Dr Khalid Al Mashaa who led the donor delegation, the government and people of Kuwait are committed to the support of local development projects of which the orphanage joins many that have already been accomplished or ongoing.
The new orphanage comes at the opportune moment, as the one in Hargeisa is very rundown due to age not to mention that it caters for needy children from all parts of the country as well as from neighbouring countries
Somaliland Meets all requirements set for recognizing any stable state
By: Shafiq Ahmed Qureshi
Somaliland is a state that merely lacks recognition. Recognition, however, is a political act and its validity turns on whether the creation of the state to be recognized satisfied norms of international law. Somaliland’s creation conforms to those norms: it satisfies the four Montevideo Convention criteria\ of statehood; it gained its independence through dissolution, a species of secession; and its secession conforms to the limiting principle of utipossidetis, requiring territorial adherence to colonial boundaries.
Recognizing Somaliland would not violate any imagined African norm that precludes secession. Africa has already witnessed a handful of secessions and dissolutions in the post-colonial era. Moreover, because Somaliland regained its independence in the context of dissolution and in adherence to utipossidetis, its recognition would neither set a new precedent nor justify tribal fragmentation of African states. The only groups that could possibly point to Somaliland as precedent or justification would be those that seek independence for former colonies currently amalgamated in larger states. Such groups, if they exist at all, would hardly open the feared African Pandora’s box. Rather, the impact they could have is to return Africa to its status at the very instant of decolonization.
Another rejoinder may be that recognition for Somaliland will legitimize an entity like al-Shabaab or another radical al-Qaeda affiliate that exercises de facto control over rump Somalia. Yet, there is little reason to worry over this outcome. The only indigenous Somali entities that have exercised anything approximating de facto control over rump Somalia in the last decade have been these sorts of al-Qaeda affiliates, but they have not gained legitimacy. Instead, the international community has sanctioned the Transitional National Government and Transitional Federal Government with legitimacy irrespective of their abilities to exercise de facto control over Somalia. It is likely that after recognizing Somaliland—and thereby acknowledging that rump Somalia is a separate state—the international community will continue to spurn radical indigenous groups operating in rump Somalia, granting legitimacy to its moderate groups that work with the international community.
On balance, then, recognizing Somaliland is likely to contribute to international security and stability by preserving the Republic of Somaliland’s bulwark against piracy and terrorism without encouraging either ethnic separatism or legitimization of al-Qaeda affiliates. On the other hand, non-recognition threatens the modicum of international security that Somaliland provides in the Horn of Africa. It does the international community no good to allow rump Somalia’s lawlessness to spread. Doing so would only exacerbate piracy that already harries international commerce and afford al-Qaeda affiliates yet more freedom of action.
These, though, are the likeliest fruits of non-recognition for Somaliland. I request the United Nations, African Council and other international organizations to recognize the peaceful country (which meets all the requirements set for recognizing any stable state) and apply the Good laws on the Muslim countries also and not only the Christian and other newly recognized countries, i.e. South Sudan .
It is also challenge for America and the United Nations who acts leaders of Justice and fairplay to recognize the Republic of Somaliland without any further delay.
I request all the Muslim world to be united and I clearly condemn the disgrace movie made by Foreigners.
I confirm and assure that nobody on Earth and heaven can disgrace anything about Muhammad.
But if any one try he/she will be completely destroyed and then put in the hell for ever in the life
hereafter.
So I request please read the following English translation of Surah Lahab revealed at Mecca. About AbLahab who once try to disgrace Muhammad (PBUH).
[Lahab 111:1] May both the hands of Abu Lahab be destroyed – and they are destroyed!
[Lahab 111:2] His wealth did not benefit him in the least, nor did whatever he earned.
[Lahab 111:3] He will soon enter the flaming fire.
[Lahab 111:4] And so will his wife; carrying a bundle of firewood on her head.
[Lahab 111:5] A rope made from palm fibre around her neck
I request the Americans and the European Government to advise their public Not to challange the God’s power by entering the sensitive area of Muhammad (PBUH)
“O Allah, let Your Blessings come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, you are Praiseworthy and Glorious. Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, you are Praiseworthy and Glorious
Long live Republic of Somaliland and Pakistan Friendship.
Sincerely yours,
Shafiq Ahmed Qureshi
Director
Diplomatic Affairs ,
BBC Record Daily
Islamabad Pakistan
Mobile. 0333-5114336
e-mail. consular.saq@gmail.com
Registered in London as BBC Record Daily
UDUB party Calls for Mass Protests
HARGEISA (HMN) – While other parties were presenting candidates list UDUB was busy on other issues.
Having withdrawn from contesting local council elections slated for 28 November, UDUB the main political opposition party has asked its supporters to hold nationwide protests against the decision by the Political Parties registration and Verification committee-PPR&VC that revoked the nomination of Ali Waran’ade and Ahmed Dahir as the party’s presidential and vice president respectively.
The PPR&VC decision announced on 4 September 2012, which informed about the redundant nomination of both Ali Mohamed Waran’ade and Ahmed Haji Dahir, and attributing the decision to UDUB having contravened Article 11 of its own constitution resulted in the party withdrawing from participation in the forthcoming local government elections.
The withdrawal of UDUB, which is not only the main opposition political party but also the oldest in the country, thought a jest until it failed to beat the 14 September deadline of submitting party lists of candidates to the national election commission-NEC.
While the seven parties of Kulmiye, UCID, Dalsan, UMADDA, Wadani, Rays and Haqsoor were presenting their lists, UDUB’s executive committee was in a meeting at its headquarters in Hargeisa thus the four point’s agreement.
The statement read:
1. UDUB shall not participate in the forthcoming local council elections slated for 28 November
2. Party supporters to hold nationwide protests against the decision the PPR&VC that has the backing of the government in order to negate the illegal decision
3. The party will appeal to the international community and other Somaliland security and democracy partners
4. The party shall cooperate to secure justice together with other political entities that have been illegally denied their rights.
The party that claims credit for successful democratization of the country having held four elections as well as having hand power peacefully after its defeat by Kulmiye during the 2010 presidential elections had accused the government of fronting the quest to deny the party participation in the elections.
On attributing its withdrawal due to inability to pursue election preparation activities due to the decision made PPR&VC which literally bred mistrust among supporters, party leader and former president DahirRayale submitted a letter to president Silanyo and NEC requesting two weeks extension to the 14 September deadline. NEC refused the request
Hargeisa Businesses Lacking of good Customer services.
By: Adam Deeq
I have been observing for quite a time Hargeisa businesses and the way they deal with their customers, the behavior approach towards their clients, if it is a smile at first preceded by” Welcome” with a very polite tone etc…
In Hargeisa you will be amazed by how most of the Businesses address their clientele with Indifference rudeness which will really chock you.
I went into a business place which gave me the aspiration to write about Hargeisa Customer Care after been victim of the worst way a so called “business man” has treated me, while I was the one who came up to his store with a wallet full of cash to make him a Dollar richer if he had all the decency and attitude which was the contrary.
In brief I entered that business place with the intention to purchase several items, and as soon as I went to the counter to ask for the items I needed I just found the shop keeper on the phone! I waited for a second lifted my hand gesturing which was a sign to show that I was here to buy things and that he should hang up to serve me, but none of what I may have thought happened the guy didn’t even pay a slightly attention to me and was so amused and occupied to who ever was at the other hand of that line.
I stood over five minutes just by looking at the shopkeeper and I couldn’t hold my frustration and screamed ” hey am here to buy things will you hang up the phone and serve me please?”. With a frown face of anger he just said could you hold on a minute to who he was talking put the hand set of the phone aside came towards me and said ” don’t you see am on the phone let me finnish I’ll shortly be with you” rudely and with- out even waiting for my response he quickly turn back to his sit and lifted up the hand set of the phone to his ear. I was astonished by this ugly, rude manner I have been addressed to, went straight out carrying my anger and frustration with me started my car, drove to the nearest cafeteria, sat there ordered a strong black coffee with no sugar to hit my nerve with.
After quite a while I had a chat with my self-telling myself that Hargeisa is lacking of CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAININGS because this wasn’t the first incident and that even in Hotels, Restaurants, cafeterias of the capital all have poor Customer services.
Customer service, like any aspect of business, is a practiced art that takes time and effort to master.
It’s very important to be friendly, courteous and to make your clients feel like you’re their friend and you’re there to help them out. It’s vital that you keep a clear head, respond to your clients’ wishes as best you can, and at all times remain polite and courteous, but I have remarked that if the employer or the Boss treat employees well because I believe that Employees are. The internal customers and need a regular dose of appreciation like thanking them and finding ways to let them know how important they are, chances are they will have a higher regard for customers.
So here are some tips for Hargeisa businesses which I believe will enhance their knowledge and will be well appreciated by customers:
1. Be a good listener. Take the time to identify customer needs by asking questions and concentrating on what the customer is really saying. Listen to their words, tone of voice, body language, and most importantly, how they feel. Beware of making assumptions – thinking you intuitively know what the customer wants.
2. Customers are very sensitive and know whether or not you really care about them.
3. Know how to apologize. When something goes wrong, apologize. It’s easy and customers like it.
4. Two of the most important parts of positive body language are smiling and eye contact. Make sure to look your customers in the eye. It shows that we are listening to them, not at them. And then of course smiling is just more inviting than someone who has a blank look on their face.
Nothing surprises your customer more than an employee going the extra mile to help them like” KhadarSacaadadiin” who really I believe is the only person in Hargeisa that gives the best customer service and make his customers feel so special and a great role model.
Aden Deeq
USAID and Mercy Corps Build and Improve Schools in Somaliland
Press Release
Today, the Somali Youth Leaders Initiative (SYLI) with Somaliland Ministry of Education and Higher Studies launched a five-year program to build and rehabilitate secondary schools in Somaliland. The initiative is funded by USAID and implemented by a consortium led by Mercy Corps, Save the Children, SONYO and CARE International in partnership with Somaliland Ministry of Education and Higher Studies.
The SYLI education program works with 24 schools across all regions of Somaliland and is designed to decongest schools, add separate sanitation facilities for girls and boys, train more teachers, and improve enrollment, especially for girls. The project will assist 10 schools in the first six months. By the end of the program, over 10,000 new pupils are expected to be enrolled in these schools.
The schools and beneficiary communities were identified through participatory process under the leadership of the Somaliland Ministry of Education and Higher Studies. The Honorable Somaliland Ministry for Education and Higher Studies, Mrs. ZamzamAbdi Aden, presided over the ceremonies, laying the foundation for the Mahmoud Ahmed Ali Secondary School in Hargeisa.
The five-year program will also improve the quality and management of secondary education through the training of teachers, head teachers, and community education committees. It will provide teaching materials and technical assistance to the Somaliland Ministry of Education and Higher Studies at both regional and district levels. The SYLI program is also providing skills training for youth, business start-up grants, and opportunities for civic participation among youth.
Latest statistics show that there are only 63 public and 37 private secondary schools in Somaliland, with estimated enrollment of 36,000. There are 1,202 secondary school teachers, most of whom are not fully qualified. Most schools operate double shift because of a dearth of classrooms.
NORADIIN School Holds the Opening Ceremony of 2012-2013 A academic Year.
Hargeisa(HMN)- There was pomp, color and a lot of joy during a well-organized ceremony held in Maansoor Hotel marking the opening of 2012-2012 academic year of NORADIIN Schools.
This time every year students across the country flock to schools to start the new academic year.
The opening ceremony accompanied by the distribution of awards to 374 students of intermediate, primary and levels was attended by NORADIIN Schools administration, teachers,students,parents as well as a lot of distigusehddignotories.
Addressing the ceremony, Haji Mahad Ibrahim Ahmed, founder and chairman of NORADIIN Schools narrated the different stages that NORADIIN Schools has gone through and the remarkable acheivements NORADIIN Schools had gained since their establishment.
“NORADIIN Schools had gone through different stages with every stage has it’s ups and downs, thank God today NORADIIN Schools became a beacon” Mr. Mahad said in his opening remarks.
Mr. Mahad also stated that NORADIIN Schools is progressing as an institution of learning that grants all levels of schooling. Similarly NORADIIN Schools chairman has deeply explained scholarships NORADIIN Schools students gained from different countries.
“I am very delighted to inform you that one of NORADIIN Schools students won a medical scholarship from a university in Jordan in which Islamic Development Bank (IDB) promised to pay $34000 as a tuition fee annually” he explained.
Director General of the ministry of education Mr. Mohamed Hassan Ibrahim who also spoke at the ceremony said “We welcome private schooling institutions since private schools took lion’s share to development of education in Somaliland”.
He also admitted that private schools have surpassed public schools.
Emphatically, NORADIIN schools has been booming and flourishing since their establishment.
Somalia inaugurates elected president after 20 years of strife
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia’s new president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office on Sunday, calling for an end to terrorism and piracy in a nation mired in conflict for more than two decades.
Mohamud’s inauguration, the first of its kind since the country slid into civil war after warlords toppled dictator Mohamed SiadBarre in 1991, follows a regionally-brokered, UN-backed effort to end fighting in which tens of thousands of people were killed and many more fled.
Mohamud is a relatively new face in Somali politics, but the one-time academic will have to encounter old problems: acrimonious clan politics, rampant corruption, maritime piracy and a stubborn insurgency by al Shabaab Islamist rebels.
“We want Somalia free from piracy, terrorism and asylum seekers abroad. We want to create a united community so that Somalis and the neighboring countries can live peacefully,” Mohamud said during his inauguration at a ceremony in a fortified hall in Mogadishu’s police training camp.
“Somalia has now turned a fresh page.”
Islamist suicide bombers attacked the hotel where Mohamud and the visiting Kenyan foreign minister were addressing a news conference on Wednesday. They were unhurt.
Mohamud’s inauguration ends a succession of United Nations-backed transitional governments since 2004.
He takes over from Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who took over as head of a transitional government in 2009 but was defeated in this week’s vote among members of parliament to appoint a new leader.
“I urge all Somalis to work cordially with the Somali president, his government and the parliament,” the outgoing president said during the ceremony.
An African Union (AU) force comprising Ugandan, Djiboutian, Kenyan and Burundian soldiers is fighting al Shabaab in various parts of the country and is planning an onslaught on Kismayu, Somalia’s second biggest city, which is a base for the group linked to al Qaeda.
Weakened by internal divisions and financial constraints, al Shabaab still control swathes of southern and central Somalia, while pirates, regional administrations and local militias also vie for control of parts of the Horn of Africa country.
During the inauguration, AU and government forces blocked key city roads and the only planes allowed to land or take off were those carrying dignitaries attending the ceremony.
Among those in attendance were Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh, Ethiopia’s incoming Prime Minister HailemariamDesalegn, AU Chairman Jean Ping, UN Special Envoy for Somalia Augustine Mahiga and other officials from the AU, UN and Arab League.
“MelesZenawi, our late great leader, always worked very hard to stabilise Somalia. I wish he were with us today to witness the fruits of his labour – stabilization and democracy,” Hailemariam said during the ceremony, his first international assignment after being approved to take up the post of prime minister on Saturday.
Source: Reauters