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Somaliland elections: Who will decide, you or ISSA?

April 25, 2010   ·   1337829 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2Fsomaliland-elections-who-will-decide-you-or-issa-13378Somaliland+elections%3A+Who+will+decide%2C+you+or+ISSA%3F2010-04-25+13%3A59%3A56Qalinle+Husseinhttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2F%3Fp%3D13378

HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — As many of you already know, we’ve previously published the below report; however we decided to put it on hold as we gathered information.

Yes, a number of minor web sites looking for attention also accused us of writing it and that we were ‘pro-UDUB’. Let us make it clear, we are no pro-UDUB nor Kulmiye or UCID, we are the voice of Somaliland and we will always represent you regardless of your party.

How many web sites, do you know, in the short time we were around, that introduced as many stories about Somaliland, to the world audience? Not many, if any.

We will publish the article again so you know the truth, first of all we can confirm to you all that the report was indeed produced by Defense & Foreign Affairs, which is part of the International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), “for its government audience” according to the president of ISSA, Mr. Gregory R. Copley.

Mr. Copley admits that the report was leaked to the media. “That is, in fact, produced on a confidential basis for government members of ISSA, so I am unaware as to how it may have been leaked to the media,” Mr. Copley told Somalilandpress.

We asked him, who are these “government members” but so far he has not responded to us but we assume it’s United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and possibly few other Western nations.

Mr. Copley is the author of “The Art of Victory” and has been awarded with number of Orders including the Order of Australia in 2007 by the Australian Governor-General, Major-General Michael Jeffery –who is the Principal Companion and Chancellor of the Order on behave of the Queen. Mr. Copley, is perhaps the modern Cecil John Rhodes, maybe like Mr. Rhodes, he too has that ‘imperial factor’. The Queen, properly saw that in him too.

We believe, Mr. Copley is very powerful man and we feel, Somalilanders have the right to know about their plans for the region, whether you approve of their report or not.

The accusations against Kulmiye are very serious and we should do every thing to protect our stability and democracy regardless of what West says about our candidates, whether you support UDUD, UCID, or Kulmiye.

Indeed, all eyes are on Somaliland and this elections, it’s very possible, that Somaliland might get recognized as so many think-tanks, ambassadors and diplomats descend upon Addis Ababa and Nairobi to discuss Somaliland.

We urge everyone to put national interest before the party, tribe and their personal political gains. Remember, this man, claiming that honourable Silanyo and other Somalilanders, have links with terrorism, is like you and wants nothing for himself but placing his national interest before his personal gains. Just read more about his book: “The Art of Victory is based on the author’s four decades of work at the highest levels of governments around the world and was originally written as a guide to national leaders to shape long-term strategies for national success.” It is also the reason the Queen has honoured him, and so now, don’t let him turn you against each others, before Kulmiye, Udub and Ucid, we are Somalilanders. Wihout peace Udub, Kulmiye and Ucid are all nothing and Somaliland is no different to Somalia.

We published this article not for Udub, certainly we are not UDUDpress, nor any other party but you have right to know and decide your future for your nation. We also thank Mr. Copley for his information and we just wish to tell him that, we also have right to publish this under the Freedom of Information Act (and if you don’t respect that then give that Order of Australia back because in Australia, where I am, they do).

We also urge, the accused men, Mr. Abdul-Aziz Samaale, Dr Mohamed Abdi Gaboose, and Eng. Mohamed Hashi Elmi, not to point fingers at UDUD camp and attack them, because that’s what they want. Act civil and hold a press conference and address the people of Somaliland. We do not want to see or hear, exchange of verbal abuse, we have Paltalk for that, thank you.

Finally, we ask the leaders and their parties, what are your party policies? So far, we have heard nothing, absolutely ZERO, attacking each others and saying nasty things about the opposition are not policies.

Now read it for your self:

Who is Mr. Copley? Click here

Somaliland’s Presidential Election Assumes Growing Priority as Major Powers Sense Strategic Urgency of the Horn Situation

Somaliland’s delayed Presidential election is back on track after a period of active foreign interference to manipulate the electoral rolls, and is expected to take place before the end of 2010. The issue has assumed a significantly-increased profile within the US State Department and other foreign governments as security concerns mount in neighboring Somalia and, across the Bab el-Mandeb, in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula.

The US took the unprecedented step, in March 2010, of inviting a major delegation of Cabinet members and officials from the Republic of Somaliland to Washington for a series of talks on the country’s future. The move was tantamount to de facto recognition of Somaliland’s sovereign status, something which the Egyptian Government and the Arab League, under Secretary-General (and Egyptian Presidential hopeful) Amr Moussa have ensured had not happened through the African Union (AU).

The US step, and the fact that Yemen — which had earlier refused recognition to Somaliland — has now itself opened a discreet diplomatic mission in Hargeisa, are signs that the Egyptian position on Somaliland is beginning to crumble. Significantly, Iranian moves, supported by Egypt, to hint that Somaliland was about to receive diplomatic recognition from Israel have, despite significant publicity, been seen to have been canards to mobilize support for Somaliland’s continued isolation.

Ironically, Egypt’s desire to see all Red Sea access cut to Ethiopian traders — a move designed to somehow weaken Ethiopia and its potential to cut off the headwaters of the Blue Nile, Egypt’s lifeline — has backfired, placing Egypt on the side of Iranian expansion down through the Arabian Peninsula and into the Horn.

The situation was not helped when the Government was forced to postpone the Presidential elections, in large part due to the corruption of voter registration records by an external group, run by international financier George Soros.

Getting the electoral rolls and the election process back on track, and ensuring transparency and credibility for the process, has, as a result, clearly been a priority for the Government, the opposition parties, and the international community spearheaded by the US, the UK, and some European Union (EU) countries.

The election was postponed more than once as a result of lack of preparation on the part of the three national political parties — the ruling party (Unity of Democratic Alliance: UDUB) and the two opposition parties, KULMIYE and UCID — and because of an internationally-financed Voter Registration List which was found to be seriously flawed and unusable.

The international community — mainly the EU, led by the UK — unwittingly initially gave credibility to the opposition because of the delays, blaming the Government, and exerting pressure on the UDUB Government. The US State Department’s Africa Bureau reversed this trend by firmly supporting a realistic locally-determined and reasonable intra-party compromise which postponed the election so that it could be held after a Voter Registration acceptable to the parties could be restored.

However, EU diplomats — and particularly some UK officials, applying discreet pressure while the UK Government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown is distracted by the forthcoming Parliamentary election in the UK — have continued putting pressure on Somaliland’s National Electoral Commission (NEC) to declare an election date while there has been no sign of the emergence of an agreed-on Voter Registration List.

A US observer noted: “It seems that the Europeans are oblivious to the dangers which surround this whole process. It seems that the Europeans have outdone the Americans in demanding ‘democracy’ without looking at the realities of whether democracy could be achieved absent sound voter lists, and without paying any regard for the consequences for stability in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea. This is too significant an area for world trade and security to allow Somaliland to be destabilized at this point; that would be profoundly damaging to regional and global security interests.”

The three parties competing for the presidency have dramatically-varied experience, which has also led to some caution by regional and US observers as to the wisdom of pushing for elections before the proper voter registration and voter education has been undertaken.

• The ruling party, UDUB, was established by the founding president the late Mohamed Ibrahim Egal and now led by his (then) vice-president Dahir Riyale Kahin, who was elected to the Presidency by a popular vote in 2003. The party, known for its liberal tradition and pro-Western posture, has been in power since its establishment and as such is the only political organization in Somaliland which has had practical experience in government.

• The main opposition party, Kulmiye, was created hastily after the death of Pres. Egal so that its leader, Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, could run for the presidency in 2003. He lost the election, which was deemed fair and free, to Pres. Kahin. The party’s membership is mainly drawn from one of the three major Isaac sub-clans which constitute the majority of the Somaliland population and as such is narrowly-based and lacks wide political support from the non-Isaac clans in the western and eastern regions of the country. Further, because of its relentless quest for popular support, at any price, the party has co-opted a group of known Islamists who came either from political organizations which failed to be recognized as political parties or splintered from other parties and organizations. Of recent however, the party became top heavy with known members of said group. They include:

1. Abdul-Aziz Samaale, the first deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.

2. Dr (of medicine) Mohamed Abdi Gaboose, major political advisor to Mr Silanyo.

3. Eng. Mohamed Hashi Elmi, political advisor.

These men in Kulmiye, and many others who are less visible but hold important policy positions in the party structure, believe that the Somaliland Constitution should be abandoned, and that the nation should be ruled by Qur’anic law. In this regard, Kulmiye is supportive of Islamic extremists such al-Shabaab in neighboring Somalia. Some Kulmiye officials have said that they believe that democracy was a Western conspiracy to destroy the Islamic world. As such they see the US and other Western democracies as the enemy.

One Kulmiye source in Hargeisa told GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs: “Many in the party are marking their time, hoping that Silanyo — who is ageing — will either die soon (preferably if he wins the Presidential election), or will retire after the election if he loses.” Fearing the advent of such a scenario, a seasoned Horn of Africa strategic analyst expressed concern about the possibility of Kilmiye taking power in Hargeisa, with its unpredictable ramifications for Somaliland’s quest for international recognition and for the stability of the region.

Mr Silanyo — who visited Washington, DC, in late 2009 — is known to be a pan-Somalist. In other words, he is known to be against the concept of a sovereign Republic of Somaliland, and in favor of returning Somaliland to the union with the former Italian Somaliland, including Puntland. There is widespread belief that if he was elected, and pushed for a return to the old union of Somalia, then Somaliland itself could break down into civil war, and, in that respect, make the now-stable Republic much like its neighbor, the presently lawless Somalia.

The other party, UCID, is considered to be more of a non-governmental organization (NGO) than a political party, and is solely run by its leader, Faysal Warabe, to collect contributions from the Somaliland diaspora. It has no noticeable political base and as such could only hope to be a tie-breaker in the forthcoming election, but that is not considered probable.

Analysis from GIS Station Hargeisa and other sources in the region.

Photo: Former US Secretary of State Gen. Alexander M. Haig, Jr. stops by to see The Art of Victory author Gregory Copley at the October 20, 2006, book signing at B. Dalton Booksellers, at Union Station, Washington, DC. (http://www.artofvictory.com/)

Somalilandpress, 25 April 2010

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By Qalinle Hussein

Tags: Defense & Foreign Affairs, Democracy, Issa, Kulmiye, Somaliland, UCID, UDUD