Palestinian flag to fly at UNESCO headquarters Palestinians wave their national flag in front of the headquarters of UNESCO in November 2011. The Palestinian flag will be hoisted Tuesday at UNESCO headquarters, over a month after its admission to the UN cultural agency sparked anger and reprisals from the United States and Israel. AFP - The Palestinian flag will be hoisted Tuesday at UNESCO headquarters, over a month after its admission to the UN cultural agency sparked anger and reprisals from the United States and Israel. President Mahmud Abbas will travel to Paris to attend the event, which led Washington to pull funding to the UN organisation, and which is seen by many as a step on the Palestinians' road to eventual UN membership. "President Abbas wants to show the importance he attaches to UNESCO," said a Palestinian diplomat. "And this is the first time that the flag will be flown at the headquarters of a UN institution." The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation says the flag-hoisting is a symbolic ceremony "to mark Palestine's admission to the organisation" that takes place each time a new member joins. The Palestinians were admitted to the body in late October, when the UNESCO general assembly voted 107-14 to make Palestine its 195th member. The result angered the United States, Israel's staunch ally, which says the Palestinians must first reach a peace agreement with Israel before they can become full members of an international organization. Washington immediately suspended its funding to the UN body, which selects and oversees World Heritage sites and also works in areas from literacy and media freedom to science and environmental issues. US President Barack Obama said he had frank and firm words with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, voicing US disappointment because Paris had supported the Palestinian UNESCO bid. The US cash freeze deprived UNESCO of 22 percent of its budget, leaving a hole of $65 million this year and a $143 million shortfall for 2012-2013. This forced its director general, Irina Bokova, to announce drastic savings, even though some countries pledged exceptional contributions, among them Indonesia with $10 million and Gabon with $2 million. Israel, for its part, took its own retaliatory measures, by deciding to accelerate settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and freezing the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority. Every month, Israel transfers tens of millions of dollars in customs duties on Palestinian-bound goods that transit through Israeli ports, but it often freezes them as a punitive measure during disagreements. Faced with international criticism, Israel later lifted its freeze on the funds which represent a large chunk of the Palestinian Authority's budget. UNESCO membership has had no impact on the Palestinians' bid for full UN membership. They would need nine votes out of 15 in the Security Council, but the United States has made clear that it would veto the bid. Abbas, who reiterated on December 5 that he would push on with his campaign for UN membership, will meet Sarkozy after the UNESCO ceremony, then go on a tour that takes him to the capitals of Britain and Turkey.

I am a Somali and I'm proud My longing for her will continue And my country will flourish I am a Somali and proud Mogadishu is the moon Hargeisa is the great I love Kismayo I am a Somali and proud We will not stoop despite the sorrow, we will not complain, we will continue Our disputes will end I am a Somali and proud Our enemies will not succeed, our country will win, Our children are the protectors I am a Somali, and proud And we love our land and our love will continue For our land is the hope

^^^war anigu nin nabada ka shaqeyaan ahay markay nabadu dhalato.

Beelo dhowaan ku dagaalamay miyiga gobolka Karkaar oo heshiis wada gaarey Wadahadaladii lagu dhex dhexaadinayey Beelihii walaalaha ahaa ee dhowaan ku dagaalamay duleedka degmada Rako-Raaxo ee gobolka Karkaar ayaa gaba gabo ku dhow sida ay Horseed Media u xaqiijiyeen xubno ka tirsan Ergooyin Isimo, Waxgarad, Nabadoono iyo Culimaa’uddiin isugu jira oo dhex dhaaxaadinta labadaas beelood todobaadyadii u danbeeyey ku howlanaa. Gudoomiyaha Nabadoonada gobolka Bari Cabdiqaadir Axmed Ibraahim (Xarago) oo isagu qayb ka ah Waxgaradka heshiisiinta labadaas beelood ee walaalaha ah ku jira islamarkaana ah Gudoomiyaha guddiga fulinta ee xubnaha ay Ergada nabadeynta wadaa sida gaarka ah ugu doorteen dhexdhexaadinta labadaas beelood ayaa isaga oo deegaanka Kodmo ee ku yaala bariga degmada Rako ku sugan Horseed Media uga waramay halka ay wax marayaan. Wuxuuna sheegay in lagu guuleystey in is afgarad buuxa ay labada dhinac ka yeeshaan dhibaatooyinkii horay u dhacay isagoo dhinaca kale xusay in Waxgaradka labada beelood shirkaas uga qayb gelayaa ay sidoo kale isku raaceen fulinta heshiis qodobo badan ka kooban kaas oo maalmaha soo socda loo balansan yahay in si rasmi ah loo kala saxiixdo. Nabadoon Xarago ayaa mar Horseed Media ay weydiisey in uu wax ka taabto qodobada heshiiska ay labada dhinac wada gaareeni uu ka kooban yahay wuxuu tilmaamay inay ugu waaweyn yihiin: Kala magashada nafaha dadkii dagaaladaas labada qolo kaga baxay iyada oo lakala qaadanayo diyo aan (mag-dheer) ahayn. In la isu soo celiyo hantida ay labada dhinac intii colaaduhu jireen kala qabsadeen ee gaadiidka iyo agabka kale ka kooban. In deegaanka si nabad ah loo wada daaqo loona wada degenaado islamarkaana laga wada shaqeeyo sidii nabadda loo xoojin lahaa loogana hortegi lahaa in markale ay dhibaato dhacdo. Iyo in la simo nabarada dadkii dhaawacyadu soo gaareen lana siiyo waxa ay xuquu u leeyihiin. Gudoomiyaha Guddiga fulinta ee Ergada ku jirta dhex dhexaadinta beelihii dhowaaan deegaano ka tirsan gobolka Karkaar ku dagaalamay Nabadoon Cabdiqaadir Axmed Ibraahim (Xarago) ayaa ugu danbeyntii sheegay in gebi ahaanba lagu guuleystey in heshiis buuxa labadaas qolo lakala dhex dhigo haseyeeshee keliya ay dhimantahay in la is dhaarsado si rasmi ahna heshiiskaas loo kala saxiixdo arintaas oo lagu wado in ay labada beri ee soo socda gudahooda ku dhacdo. Heshiiksa ay gaareen beelaha Cali Saleebaan iyo Muuse Saleebaan ayaa yimid ka gadaal markii ay mudo dhowr todobaad ka badan soo socdeen dadaalo nabadeed oo ay labadaas qolo ku dhex dhexaadinayeen Ergooyin Isimo, Waxgarad, iyo Culimaa’uddiin isugu jira kuwaas oo intooda badani ay ka tageen gobolada Bari, Nugaal, iyo Karaar iyo deegaano kale oo ka tirsan Puntland. 25-tii bishii lasoo dhaafay ee Nov ayey ahayd markii ay halkaas Ergooyinka nabad raadiska ahi gaareen waxaana goobta ay gogoshu taalo oo ka tirsan deegaanka Miyiga ah ee (Kodmo) lagu magacaabaa (Lebi), 45-km ayeyna qiyaastii dhinaca bari kaga beegan tahay degmada Rako iyadoo sidoo kale 30-km u jirta degmada Xunbeys.

Listen to the Somaliland Minister of sports and youth Affairs who hails from Seylac.

Wa niman qabilki meel iska dhigay qaranimadi u soo gudbay wa arin wanaagsan wala so dhaweynaya Xiinfaniin this is not propaganda the rebel sites report the same news

Madaxweyne Geelle oo la Kulmay Panetta VOA Somali | Washington, DC Lahaanshaha: ASSOCIATED PRESS Kulanka Leon Panetta,iyo Madaxweyne Ismaacil Cumar Geelle, Dec., 13, 2011 AP Photo Xoghayaha Difaaca Maraykanka Leon Panetta ayaa sheegay in dalalka ay Djibouti ka mid tahay ay muhiim u yihiin dadaalka ka dhanka ah argagixisada. Maraykanka ayaa haatan diiradiisa u wareejinaya kooxaha Al-Qaacida ku xiran ee ku sugan Soomaaliya iyo Yemen. Xoghaye Panetta ayaa booqasho gaaban maanta oo Salaasa ah ku tagay Djibouti halkaasoo uu kula kulmay madaxweynaha Djibouti Ismaaciil Cumar Geelle isagoo ugana mahadceliyay taageerrada Djibouti. Xoghayaha Difaacu wuxuu sheegay in Maraykanku uu sii wadi doono dabagalka kooxaha Al-Qaacida ku xidhan oo ay ku jirto kooxda Al-Shabaab ee fadhigeedu Soomaaliya iyo garabka al-Qaacidada ee ku sugan Jaziiradda Carabta. Mr Panetta wuxuu sidoo booqday ciidamada Maraykanka ee ku sugan Djibouti kuwaasoo gaaraya 3 kun kuwaasoo saldhig ku leh Djibouti

Secondly, I want to make sure that we don't hollow out the force. We've made some cuts in the past - generally those cuts have been made across the board. What happened in the past is we weakened areas of defense across the board and it hollowed out the force. Every area was cut back a certain percentage and, frankly, it was the wrong way to do it. I'm not going to repeat those mistakes. We are not going to hollow out the force. That means that we're going to do it in a balanced way, look at all areas - look at all areas in order to try to achieve the savings necessary to get this done. But as we do, I'm going to make sure that we are dedicating ourselves to what will be an agile, effective and deployable force that can deal with the threats in the world. And lastly, I try to maintain faith for all of you. We are not going to break faith with the men and women who've served this country. You've been promised - (inaudible) - you deployed time and time again and I'm going to make sure that we stand by the promises that have been made to all of you. So for those of you that are worried about retirement benefits, let me make clear to you: Anything done in that area - what we'll probably do is establish a commission to look at retirement, but we have made clear that we will grandfather all of those who are in the service now, that you receive the benefits that have been promised to you. Understand that that's what we're going to do. In addition to that, we'll protect, obviously, all of your - the basic benefits for your families and for you and there will be areas we'll try to achieve some savings, but I've got to tell you, we will maintain faith with those of you that serve in our service. So this is a challenging time. It's a challenging time for America. It's a challenging time for the world. It's a challenging time for all of you. You know, this is a time when it's so important that you remember - you remember the dream that my parents were all about and what we're all about. This is to try to make sure that our country is safe and to make sure that our kids have that better life. I often tell the story of the rabbi and the priest who decided to get to know each other a little better so one evening they went to a boxing match. And just before the bell rang, one of the boxers made the sign of the cross. And the rabbi looks at the priest and says, what does that mean? The priest says, it doesn't mean a damn thing if he can't fight. (Laughter.) (Inaudible) – we bless ourselves with the hope that everything is going to be fine in America. It doesn't mean a damn thing if we're not willing to fight for it. By virtue of your presence, by virtue of your dedication, by virtue of your commitment, by virtue of what you do every day, you've made sure that you're willing to fight - fight to keep our country safe, fight for a better America, fight for that American dream and fight to make sure that ultimately you achieve the peace that all of us hope for. God bless you. God bless America. And happy holidays to all of you. Thank you very much. (Applause.) I want to give each of you this coin and wish you the best of holidays and - (inaudible) - up here, so if you'll come through. These coins aren't worth a hell of a lot of money. (Laughter.) But, you know, maybe you can pass them off to the - (inaudible). (Laughter.) http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4942

Remarks by Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta in Djibouti MR. : Sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines, I just wanted you to have the privilege of having a true leader amongst us visiting us here at Camp Lemonier - a leader who has dedicated his life to the service of our country and throughout his entire life as an Army intelligence officer, as a congressman of the great state of California, as the chief of staff of the White House, and most recently as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. So please join me this morning in welcoming the secretary of defense, the 23rd, the Honorable Leon Panetta. (Cheers, applause.) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LEON PANETTA: Thank you very much. Djibouti. Djibouti. We wanted to take time to come out and have a chance to visit with troops. This is the holiday season. And I wanted to obviously say to all of you the best of the holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. I understand really how difficult it is. These are difficult times when you're away from your family, away from your loved ones, and away from just all of the trimmings that makes this the holiday season. And yet I want you to know how thankful we are for your service and for your sacrifice and for what you do for our country. I can't tell you how proud I am as secretary of defense to be able to visit with you, to see the sacrifices that are made, the dedication that is involved and the service and, again, just to thank you on behalf of a grateful nation. Service to our country is something that I deeply believe in. Throughout the time that I served in government, I really believe that it's important to give back to the country. I'm, as you know, the son of Italian immigrants. And my parents came to America, like millions of other immigrants, with no money in their pockets, no skills, no language ability, but just a great deal of hope in the dream that was America. I used to ask my father, why did you travel all of that distance to come to a strange country? My father said the reason he did it is because your mother and I believed we could give our children a better life. I think that's the American dream and that's what all of us want. And that's why it's important to give back to the country in order to make sure that our children have a better life, and that's what you're doing. You've done everything that your nation has asked you to do. And the result is that in making this trip it really is a time when I can see, after 10 years of war, that progress is being made, that we're beginning to move in the right direction. Obviously, there are challenges there and there's more to be done. The fact is we're making some progresses after 10 years of war, after 10 years of losing a lot of lives and spilling a lot of blood. Just looking at terrorism - Djibouti is the central location for continuing the effort against terrorism, but we have made a hell of a lot of progress - (inaudible) - terrorism. We've taken down bin Laden. We've taken down Awlaki. We have helped make this region safer, but more importantly we have made the world safer by virtue of our efforts to decimate al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is what started this war and we have made a commitment that we are going to track these guys wherever they go and make sure they have no place to hide, and that's what the effort here is all about - to make sure that they have no place to hide, whether it's Yemen or it's Somalia or anyplace else. And for that reason, I'm very grateful for this little operation out here. This is very important to that effort and we are making tremendous progress in the effort to make sure that al Qaeda never again has the opportunity or the capacity to be able to attack our country. From there I'm going to go to Iraq, and there we are bringing that mission to an end after a tremendous amount of sacrifice, a lot of lives lost, but the mission there was to establish an Iraq that could govern and secure itself. And we've been able to do that. Reality is that Iraq has developed better security, has an army that can respond to threats. It doesn't mean that it's going to be easy. It doesn't mean that it isn't going to be challenging. They're going to face challenges in terrorism and face challenges from economic and social divisions. They're going to face challenges just in democracy itself and trying to make it work. But what we have done is given them the opportunity to be able to succeed and that's what it's been all about. And so we won't - we will when I go to Iraq and we encase the colors there, it will be an indication of a new chapter that we're establishing there, a new chapter for them to be able to move forward, to govern themselves, and we will have a long-term relationship with them. We'll be there. We'll be providing assistance. We'll be providing help into the future. But now Iraq has the opportunity and it's in their hands hopefully to succeed. We've done everything we can to try to try to push this - (inaudible) - in the right direction and, again, all of us need to be proud of the sacrifices that were made. Those sacrifices - 4,500 lives that were lost, 35,000 who were wounded - those were not in vain. We have in fact achieved the mission that we were after in Iraq. And now the hope is that they can move in the right direction. In Afghanistan, things are moving in the right direction there as well. Thanks to General Allen, thanks to Ambassador Crocker that established great relationships there, our troops are moving ahead. They've weakened the Taliban. We've created better security. The Afghan army is out there now involved in operations. We've now basically transitioned areas in Afghanistan, over 50 percent of the population in Afghanistan has now transitioned to Afghan government and Afghan security. More needs to be done. It's going to be challenging over these next few years as we try to arrive at a point at the end of 2014 where we can begin to transition that effort to the Afghans. But we can do that thanks to their leadership and thanks to the sacrifice of our troops, of men and women like you that have dedicated their lives to doing this right. And, lastly, I'll have a chance to go to Libya. And in Libya, you know, it's a reflection of the changes - dramatic changes that are taking place in this part of the world, a combination of the will of the Libyan people plus the work of NATO. Working together with our NATO allies, we were able to give the Libyan people their country back, get rid of Gadhafi, and give them a chance mostly to establish again the institutions of democracy in the future. So, as you look to the world and this part of the world, because of sacrifices and service of our men and women in uniform, the reality is we've been able to move in the right direction after 10 years of war because of you. And for that reason I thank you. We thank you for your service, for your dedication, for being willing to be out here in the middle of nowhere, to be able to serve the United States of America and be able to give our kids that better life that I talked about. This is a challenging time. As all of you know, I'm facing the challenge of having to reduce the defense budget by $450 billion. That's the number that Congress has. And it's going to be a challenge, but at the same time I'm working with the service chiefs and I'm working with the under secretary and working with some of the top people at the Pentagon to make sure that we do this in a way that gives us the opportunity to establish a strong defense for the future. I'm guided by four guidelines. Number one, we are going to maintain the best defense in the world. You are part of the strongest military force in the history of the world. And I'm going to make damn sure that we protect the best military, that America has the best military for the future.

Xariir Maxamuud Axmed is the mayor of Buhoodle its a well known Fact

,

They will join Keyse Abdi Yusufs Party ssc Somaliland sinaan iyo cadalaad.

R Hadhwanaag: Wefti Ballaadhan oo uu hogaamiyihi buuhoodle, Taliyihi Jabhada ssc eeh buhooodle iyo saraakiil kale oo ka socday deegaankaas oo si heer sare ah loogu so dhoweyey magaalada burco iyo Khudbadihi ay jeediyeen. Weftigan oo lagaga hortegey Meel ka shishaysa deegaanka Beer ayaa loo soo gelbiyey dhinaca hotel palaza oo loogu sameeyey qado sharaf, Waxaana qado sharafta kadib halkaas laga jeediey hadalo isugu jiray kaftan iyo dardaaran iyo duurxulba isgu jirey dhegeyso. R- Hadhwanaagn: wefti Balaaadha oo uu hogaaminayo iyo gudoomiyihi Buhoodle taliyihi jabhadda ssc eeh buuhoodle iyo saraaiil kale oo ka socday deegaankaas oo si heer sare ah loogu so dhoweyey magaalada burco iyo khudbadihi ay jeediyeen. Weftigan oo lagaga hortegey meel ka shishaysa degeenak beer ayaa lo so gelbiyey dhinaca hotel palaza oo loogu sameeyey qado sharaf waxaana qado sharafta kadib halkaas laga jeediyey hadalo isagu jirey kaftan iyo dardaraan iyo duurxulba isugu jirey dhegeyso.

Nice pics Mashallah thanks for sharing Caano geel hargeysa has grown real fast the past few years

Liibaan how come the garowe Clan enclave Vp accuses Somaliland it is the business of Somalilanders if one accuses them of Something.

Sharif hassan is never out he might just come back as a Minister he always has a plan B

Dignity is in peace, not in cowardly murder by Bashir Goth December 10, 2011 By staff-reporter All Somaliland communities were shocked by the gruesome and cold-blooded murder of innocent people sleeping peacefully in their own homes in Seemaal area on December 5, 2011; a horrific reminder of the slaughter of innocent travelers on the highway near Kalabaydh area on July 11, 2009.As a relative of the victims, I can understand that the first thing that comes to the afflicted community’s mind is to take things into their own hand and revenge. In the absence of an effective government, revenge and retaliation were once the only nuclear deterrents that the Somalis knew. Not to retaliate for your dead ones was and can still be considered as a sign of weakness if not sheer cowardice in the Somali context. Men of peace, particularly at times of heightened tensions are looked down as wimps, while belligerent men who rally the clan behind the Tollaayeey and Aabbahay Goblan banners are seen as heroes.It is not easy to control one’s emotions in the face of such calamity, and the easiest, most emotionally immature choice is to take the gun and revenge; because anyone, even a child or *****, can grab a gun and kill people, but not everyone can take the most difficult route and snatch peace out of the jaws of death. The gun-toting war hero can win a battle at the cost of dozens even thousands of lives lost but the peace hero wins victory by sparing equally as many lives from imminent death. Aggressive violence and war come easy but at a high cost. One should look at what is at stake in a war; death and destruction.Yes, one might believe they are living in dignity and some can argue that death is sometimes better than living in indignity, but in cases like that of Kalabadydh and Seemal it is the murderer who lives with indignity and not the living relatives of the victims. Cowardly terrorists who sneak in under the cover of darkness and cold-bloodedly murder innocent sleeping people and travelers are devoid of all dignity. They are indeed a shame on the community they hail from and it’s the duty of their community and the families they came from to do what’s right, allow and support our police department to thoroughly investigate this act of violence and hand over any suspected parties for judicial judgment. But to answer their heinous act by killing other innocent people is equally abhorring no matter how honorable it might look in tribal traditions. My intention of writing this short piece is therefore to commend the Gadabursi Community for trading the empty pride one feels in taking revenge and killing to the real pride and dignity that comes with being peace heroes rather than war heroes in dealing with the Kalabadydh daylight murder. I would also like to call upon them again this time to resort to their renowned wisdom and tradition of taking the dignified but difficult route to peace in dealing with the Seemaal killings. It is quoted of Somaliland’s former President Rayaale to have said: “Dagaal Ducaan Ka Doortay…” ( I rather choose prayers over war…) As despicable and wimpy as that might look to the bellicose psyche of the Somalis, it indeed reflects a moral high ground and the epitome of wisdom and intellectual maturity. I say this while demanding justice for the victims slaughtered in Seemaal. We all demand justice for him and those before them. The Sultans of Awdal have unequivocally said this. The Sultans of Gabiley and Hargeisa have said it. The opposition and government political leaders have said it. The wise men and women of Somaliland have said it. Justice should be done and done quickly and the government should keep its promises to apprehend the murderers and bring them before a court of law. Safeguarding the security of its citizens is one of the fundamental and national responsibilities of the government. These recurring, cowardly and terrorist acts are a threat not only to the national security but will also destroy the bond and cohesion between the community and will in turn cause a great damage to the reputation and image that Somaliland has built over the years as a peaceful oasis. The steps the government has taken so far and the unanimous condemnation and shock expressed by the different quarters of the Somaliland community are all welcome and highly reassuring, but it is the sole responsibility of the government to turn its words into action and bring the criminals of the Kalabaydh and Seemaal to justice. This should be a matter of national priority for the government and it should devote all its resources to that cause instead of using live ammunition on peaceful demonstrators and arresting and imprisoning community leaders for exercising their right for free speech. bashir goth

^^Sorry i don't like Qabil or clan talk qof kale u doono sheekooyinkaas.

DJIBOUTI (SomalilandPress) – The President of the Republic, Mr. Ismail Omar Guelleh, officially opened the first branch of the Exim Bank of Tanzania in Djibouti. The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Ilyas Dawaleh Moussa, Minister for the Budget, Mr Ali Said Amareh, Governor of the Central Bank of Djibouti, Mr. Djama Mahamoud Haid, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Exim Bank from Tanzania, Mr Yogesh Manek. The inaugural ceremony was followed by a banquet hosted by the new bank, which was attended by the President of the Republic, Mr. Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti’s First Lady, Kadra Mahamoud, several members of government, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to Djibouti, officials from the ranks of the development partners and bankers at the Palace Kempinski. Exim Bank of Tanzania becomes the 11th bank to open a branch in the small East Africa Nation that has seen banking boom. President Guelleh as he toured the facility also decided to open an account with the bank which has hired ten local graduates from Djibouti. According to CEO of the Djibouti branch Mr. Patrick Dettefworth the bank has a capital of more than 300 million of our francs and over 250 customers according in Djibouti already. On the choice of moving to Djibouti Chairman of Board of Directors of the Exim Bank Mr. Yogesh Manek goes on to say “political stability and market growth were the factors that lead to their decision”

What a fat Habash is that their president lol

Former Somaliland supreme general of the armed forces of the republic (Ciidanka Qaranka) Gen Nuux ismacil taani was instremental in the peaceful transfer of power from former president rayaale udub to President Siilaanyo Kulmiye's party. He played a crucial role in keeping the Somaliland Military as neatral as it can be during the Somaliland elections last year. Nerveless there were ups and downs which eventually led the president to sack him but he kept the Somaliland Military forces as effective as they can be.And helped it expand during his leadership as the Supreme general for that reason we salute you General Nuux ismacil taani.

Carafaat gabiley is out sanaag is out saaxil is out togdheer is out sool Maroodijeex Awdal Hawd are left

sool defeated saaxil 2- against 0

Excerpts from talk by SomaliNationalis.t l"bvementS.NMChairman Ahmedi1uharnmSila ad nyo - RadioHalgan in Somali17;00 grot 18 Feb. 87 Silanyo in voice ... In the nameof G::xl, the most merciful, the most beneficient. Speakingon behalf of the membersof SNMand on behalf of the struggling Somalipeople, I would like to greet Somalipeople wherever they maybe. I knowand I amconfident that Somalipeople oppose the sufferings they have endured for a long time. After these greetings, I wouldlike to deliver a short speech to the Somali people fromhere. Brothers, wewill not tell one another of the situation in our country. It is possible that somepeople are not aware of manythings, but generally people are not ignorant of the political, economicand security situation in our country today. I have spokenon this issue manytimes before. Manyother people and Radio Halganhave also cormnentedon it. TodayI would like to speak on a few factors in someof the issues. First, the political situation. Weknowthat the physical and mental condition of (president) Siyad is not normal after his serious car accident. Thosewhoworkwith him and others in the administration knowthis very well. This has brought about internal strife and ri vairy. Let us ask ourselves how, in the recent so-called elections, it becamepossible for Siyad to be elected as president for the next seven years. Howdid it comeabout? Is it acceptable? Does it makesense? As Somali people knowand the wholeworld knowsI Somalipeople are struggling against this regime and even those whoare not struggling do not like it. The rule to-day in Somaliais that of a personI a family and of. a minor clan. While the age and health. of Siyad are also known,he is nominated, or has nominatedhimself as president for the next seven years. It is said that he was.elected with a majority of morethan 99.9%. IDes this makesense? The answer is no. It also said that four to five million people voted. The Somali population is estimated to be five million. Even in places where proper elections take place f children, the elderly and those whoare not in the country do not vote. Half a million or more Somalis are out of the country. tJbst of them fled from the present system. There are children, the sick, the elderly and there are pastoralists. Therefore it meansthat all Somalipeople, including those born last night, old men, old women,pastoralists, those involved in celebration and those whowere sick voted. Suchthings are seen as jokes allover the world. It is a very suprising matter. Let it be. Theworld already knewabout this and was even expecting him to say that he was elected. -- --.- -- --_._- -2-NEWSAND VIEWS PART- I lIt is knownthat during the so-called- elections fightfug was going on ~in manyparts of the country. It is knownthat .rrost; of the people were engaged in the fight. For example,whenhe (Siyadl was claiming that he was elected by a 100%majority, there was fighting going on in +he north. During this time the links betweentownswere cut. Towns,even streets in the sametownwere closed off. At this time womenwere being stabbed. Hundredsw. .erebeing arrested. During tilis: drought period the transport that used to take water and food to tile countryside was stopped. The towns and the countryside need one another. Many people in Hargeisa used their doors and windowsas firewood. Young children were denied milk. ~~y livestock were impoundedfrom the people of the countryside as in Burao. Fortunately the people fought and recovered themby force from the armyof the government. Goddoes not oppress people but people oppress themselves. Youdo not have to accept oppression. Youknowwhat happenedin Sudan. You knowwhat happenedin Uganda. Youknowwhat happenedin Haiti. You knowwhat happenedin the Phillippines. -Everywherepeople overthrow dictators whoharass the people. People throw off the yoke of oppression. Onsuch occasions we say that whensomepeople rise up then the others should lend a hand, support and feel with.them because they share the sa:rrenameand honour. If whenthere is. a fight you say, let those people die, let that region be des.troyed and let those people destroyed, then you will also cometo be destruct§d in the end. Wheneveranyone is fighting against oppression, wrong, bad governmentand a bad system it is in the interest of the people. So we say that heavy fighting is taking place in manyparts of the countryI especially in the north. EvenShaykhs have been taken awayfrommosqueswhile conducting Friday prayers. Somewere arrested and others were killed. They were told that they cannot teach Islam without the permission of the the government. Their children were forbidden to be taught the Koran. Youknowthe powerstruggle going on in Mogadishutoday. We understand very well that there are different groups whoare not willing to listen to each other. Onone side are (first vicepresident) Samater and his group. Onanother side are (foreign minister) AbdulrahmanJaroaBarreh and his group. Onyet another side are (deputy defence Minister) Gani and his type. Youall knowthis. Thematter is one of succession and that is what we are fighting against. Whyaccept oppression whenyou are not used to it tradi tionall y... Theyouth should rise, the armyshould rise and reject this oppression, religious people should reject it and _business _ men should reject it. -3- --- - - -------NEWAND S VIEWSPART~I - Oncewe were told that whenthe party was formed, justice would prevail. After its format.ionnothing changed. Rather it got worse. Oncewe were told that whenpari lament was fonned, things would improve. Nothing improved. The sameclan, family and person continued and worsenedthe living oonditions of the people. For example, in lVbgadishutoday there is no light or water. The little food donated by foreign governmentsfor their ownintersts is not produced by the people. The debt incurred by the Somali people was invested in non-productive projects for suppressing the the Somali people to the tune of more than two billion Shillings. Fifty percent of governmentexpenditure oomesfrom external sources. Will it be given to the Somali people? It will be spent on arms and not on the Somali people. The budget even comeslOO% from external sources. Things cannot continue like this. Whereis that which was produced by the people? Wheredid it go? It is spent on the anny, the elite forces., the militia and their kind. It goes to the four whohave eaten awaythe country. It goes to protect the regime in power in suppressing the people. Recently, it was said that a newgovernmenthas been formedand that the system will be changed. MohammedAli Samaterwas made a prime minister, Kulmiyewas madea vice-premier, so and so was madea second vice-premier and every one of them is in the same position. Whatthen changed? Samaterwas removedfrom the Ministry of Defence and it is being prepared for the clan. It is being prepared for Siyad Barreh' 5 clan. can somalis have our word for this? It is knownthat the post of prime minister or vice-president is not important. Whatis important is the army. Let the clan have it. YouknowGani, whochased womenallover the world, was promotedto DeputyMinister of Defence, Whatdoes this. mean? Whatis he being prePared for? Whatabout the others? Are they for show? The trick is knownand it is clear. Not even children can be deceived. It is for you to react. In return to the struggling SNJ'on.1 whosebehalf, I am.speaking today and which has comeout to free the people from this system and oppression. Theyare struggling and fighting. The regime does not disclose its casualties. Every day hundredsandthousands die because of it. People are brought from Baydhaba,others from Kismayo,others from further places and others gathered from around. Theyare told that their children are fighting for the oountry. Theyare told that they are awayon duty. Knowthat they have died. ill not be cheated. Wetell you that wewill win. Wewill win. This did not comeabout easily. Men were martyred. May Godrest the soul of those matyred in peace. Condolencesto the bereaved. Continue with the struggle. Freedomand victory.