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Africa: East
Land of Somalia refuses to join Mogadishu government
2003-08-08
The foreign minister of so-called "Land of Somalia republic" said that the split district will not think of joining once again to Somalia because of the conflict among the warlords, the plight of the country which is situated in the African horn. Idna Aden Ismael explained in Addis Ababa that any person "who is not insane will not accept to join a state divided by conflicts and extremism."
Y'know, she does have a point there...
She added that the warlords in southern Somalia "are concerned with protecting their own personal interests by supporting terrorism and do not care to serve the interests of the people of Somalia." Idna made these statements upon her visit to Ethiopia within a delegation led by the President of the "Land of Somalia" Zaher Reyali Kaheen in order to discuss bilateral relations with the Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi. Idna said that one of the most important topics to be discussed with the Ethiopian government in addition to establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries is "Barbara passage" which Ethiopia wants to use for imports and exports and the promotion of trade and economic relations and enhancing of security and customs on the border between the two countries. The so-called "Land of Somalia republic" got independent in 1991. It is not recognized by any country and a relatively stable area, where multilateral elections were held earlier this year, while other parts of Somalia were exposed to destruction at the hand of the warlords.
This might be referring to Puntland, which is de-facto independent, I think. Or it might be another little piece of Somalia that fell off.
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#9  I think the entire Somolia problem could be solved with one 2.5 Mton Nuke.

Just nuke the place, bulldoze it clear and start over again.
Posted by: SOG475   2003-8-8 3:24:03 PM  

#8  fullwood - great story! I used to use a sig that went: Life is the search for endorphins...

I guess some of us are just wired that way. I'm damned happy that I'm not one of them! To quote a comedian I watched on Politically Incorrect some 7 yrs or so ago, in a discussion about all sorts of drugs and such - "I'm just glad I've reached the age where I can get that same feeling just by standing up too quickly."
Posted by: ·com   2003-8-8 2:28:24 PM  

#7  Bloods and the Crips have the same issues

In the place of crack though, they have Khat, "a mild narcotic plant very popular among Somalis."

An eye-opening scene at the Khat drop-off point is described here: Flying in Mogadishu's daily fix,along with a narrative of a Khat flight: "I decided to go to the cabin and have a chat with the pilot.
To my bewilderment, he too was dozing off."
Posted by: fullwood   2003-8-8 2:06:37 PM  

#6  Ok, so Who's on first... I Don't Know is on second... PUNTLAND. (snicker) Oh man, ya gotta love it. Oh well, the Bloods and the Crips have the same issues. But there's peace and gentle breezes in my Isles of Langerhans.
Posted by: ·com   2003-8-8 1:34:40 PM  

#5  It's that bug... I just can't track it down.

And you don't have to put in the "A href" part of the link when you use the buttons.
Posted by: Fred   2003-8-8 12:34:39 PM  

#4  Jesus, I'm terrible at this posting tech. I'm out.
Posted by: fullwood   2003-8-8 12:21:53 PM  

#3  Puntland, in northeastern Somalia is dominated by the Darood clan who claim Somaliland as theirs because of the large Darood population there.

Puntland's leader, Col Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad has threatened the eastern Somaliland regions of Sool and Sanaag. The two regions fall geographically within the borders of pre-independence British Somaliland, but most of the main clans inhabiting them are associated with Puntland. These are the Warsangeli and the Dhulbahante, which, along with Majerteen - the main clan in Puntland - form the Harti clan of the Darood.

Abdullahi Yusuf has said that Puntland does not consider Sool and Sanaag as part of Somaliland.
He believes that Sool and Sanaag are part and parcel of Puntland, and the people there do not consider themselves part of Somaliland.

Ethiopia has rejected calls by the breakaway republic of Somaliland for international recognition by insisting that the region’s future lies within a united Somalia.(a fantasy)

The Ethiopians want to include Somaliland within the boundaries of Somalia.

However, the Somaliland regional government's statement said Somaliland's borders were those it inherited from the British, and "are recognised by the African Union and the UN".

In other words, we welcome any solution that will lessen the threat to Somaliland's independence. But hey, we're fine here. So, you guy's work it out. Okay?

Posted by: fullwood   2003-8-8 12:18:55 PM  

#2  I forgot about Somaliland -- damn the translation from Arabic!
Posted by: Fred   2003-8-8 10:53:17 AM  

#1  Fred, try this link to the official web site to the "Republic of Somaliland." Looks different than Puntland (I think). Looks like the "Barbara passage" is around Berbera (10.5N 45E) on the Gulf of Aden. Ethiopia is to the south and the rest of crazy killer land Somalia is to the southeast. Puntland apparently is the part to the east that follows the Gulf to the Indian Ocean, from what I can get out of the CIA World FactBook 2002.
Posted by: Steve White   2003-8-8 1:00:05 AM  

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