Bradley Manning: A Window into the American Soul

by Paul Craig Roberts

December 8, 2012

Liberty consists of government being ruled by law and citizens having control over law. This was the way our founding fathers set up the US Constitution. It is the Constitution that defines the United States.  Every member of the government and the armed forces swears allegiance to the Constitution—not to the government or to the president or to a political party or to an ideology—to defend the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic.

Today the emphasis needs to be on the Constitution’s domestic enemies in “our own” government. America’s foreign enemies are miniscule.  But the domestic enemies are legion. America’s enemies consist, with whistleblower exceptions, of the entire US government, both executive branch, legislative branch (with possibly a dozen exceptions), and judicial branch (with few exceptions).

The three branches of our government have united to destroy US civil liberties in the name of a hoax, “the war on terror.”  Even if the US were overrun with terrorists, how could they harm us more than our government has harmed us by destroying the US Constitution?

If you don’t believe that the US Constitution has been destroyed by Republicans and Democrats alike, read my book coauthored with Lawrence M. Stratton, The Tyranny Of Good Intentions, and the five articles whose URLs are provided below.

Bradley Manning, a member of the US military, complied with his oath of office, with the US Military Code, with the Nuremberg standards set by the US government, with the strictures expressed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the George W, Bush administration, and with his own conscience. Manning, allegedly (we will never know), released to Wikileaks the video of the US military murdering two journalists and a dozen innocent people walking down a street.

After the murder of these people by the US military playing video games with live people, a father with two young children stopped his van to help the survivors crawling in the street. The US military, due to either blood-lust, incompetence, or total evil, killed the father and sent high caliber bullets into the bodies of the two small children.

The murderers then blame the father for bringing children into the combat zone created by the incompetence or evil of the US troops, who obviously get their jollies from murdering people. TV cameras are claimed to be weapons and justifications for murdering 15 people.

Subsequently, a few people, whom the video shows to be unarmed, walk into a building.

The US troops claim the unarmed people have weapons and RPGs and send three hellfire missiles into the building.  The US troops then report that all the “targets” are dead.

Any real patriotic American who saw this video would be compelled to release it.  If Manning released it to Wikileaks, then Manning is the most morally responsible American alive. What has Manning’s moral conscience cost him?

It has cost Manning 900 days held incommunicado illegally by the US government. President John F. Kennedy’s presidency lasted 1,000 days. Manning was held and tortured for almost the entire length of Camelot.

And the US government has got away with it.

Americans don’t care. It is not them. They are too stupid to understand that once law is gone, they can be next.

In their desire to punish Manning, US military and civilian authorities failed to realize that the lesson for soldiers is that crimes against humanity will not be punished, but those who reveal the crimes will be punished.

On November 29 Bradley Manning testified in federal court about his illegal confinement and torture by the US government. Manning’s testimony was not covered by the US media. The New York Times, in Chris Floyd’s words, “contented itself with a brief bit of wire copy from AP, tucked away on page 3.”

In contrast, the British Guardian covered Manning’s testimony in detail in two stories 68 paragraphs long. The British people are informed of the US government’s crimes against humanity in violation of international law and US law, but not the American people.

A formal United Nations investigation into the illegal, brutal and inhuman treatment of Bradley Manning denounced his treatment as “cruel and inhuman.” The US State Department spokesman, Col. P.J. Crowley, resigned after publicly protesting Manning’s illegal and inhuman treatment by the US government.

The presstitute media was silent.

Glenn Greenwald, the constitutional attorney, concludes that “the US establishment journalists have enabled the government every step of the way.” The presstitutes hold “themselves out as adversarial watchdogs, but nothing provokes their animosity more than someone who effectively challenges government actions.”

Greenwald praises Bradley Manning who “has bestowed the world with multiple vital benefits. But as his court martial finally reaches its conclusion, one likely to result in the imposition of a long prison term, it appears his greatest gift is this window into America’s political soul.”

The window into America’s political soul reveals total evil. The US government constitutes Satan’s Chosen People.  Nothing else can be said for those who rule and oppress us.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33193.htm

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33192.htm

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33200.htm

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33203.htm

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/11/29/exclusive_julian_assange_on_wikileaks_bradley

This article was originally published at PaulCraigRoberts.org and has been used here with permission.

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/12/08/bradley-manning-a-window-into-the-american-soul/

Rabshadihii Ugu Xumaa Taariikhda Dimuqraadiyadda Oo Istaagay Iyo Booliska Oo Ka Hadlay Khasaarihii Ka Dhashay

“Mar Walba ciidanka waanu kala hadalnaa oo waxaanu nidhaahnaa ilaaliya rasaasta, laakiin waa Qadar Alle” Cabdilaahi Fadal Iimaan.
 

Taliyaha Ciidanka Booliska Somaliland General Fadal

Hargeysa (Waaheen) – Rabshado habeen hore fiidkii ka bilaabmay degmadda Axmed Dhagax ee Magaaladda Hargeysa isla-markaana ku xidhiidhsanaa natiijadda ka soo baxday codadkii laga dhiibtay doorashaddii degmooyinka Caasimadda oo sii socday ilaa galinkii hore ee shalay ayaa is-taagay ka dib markii ciidamadda booliska ee rabashadahaasi ka hortagayey ay toogasho ku dileen hal qof isla-markaana ay laba kale dhaawaceen.

Rabashadahan oo ay samaynayeen dhalinyaro taageersan urur siyaasadeedka Xaqsoor oo aan ku qancin natiijadda codadkii ay ka heleen Hargeysa oo ay sheegeen in la musuqmaasuqay, ayaa waxa inta la ogyahay ku geeriyooday laba qof oo dhalinyaro ah, waxaana  dhaawacyo ka soo gaadheen ilaa 7 ruux.

Hogaanka urur siyaasadeedka Xaqsoor oo kaashanaya Madax-dhaqameedka gobolka Hawd iyo culimadda dalka, ayaa si weyn uga hawl-galay sidii dhalinyaraddu u joojin lahaayeen rabashaddaha oo ahaa kuwo dhibaaato amaan daro u horseedi gaadhay Magaaladda Hargeysa, waxayna subaxdii shalay dhalinyarada

Mudaharaadka dhigayey isugu yeedhen garoonka kubadda Cagta ee Hargeysa Istaadiyam, halkaasi oo ay kala hadleen isla-markaana u soo jeediyeen inay joojiyaan rabshadaha si xaqdarada ay tirsanayaan xalkeeda loo doono, inkasta oo markii kulankaasi waanada ahaa markii u dhamaaday ay dib u bilaabeen rabashadihii, taasi oo keentay in boolisku toogto saddex qof oo mid ka mid ahi geeriyoodo.

Rabashadahan oo noqonaya kuwii ugu xumaa ee ka dhaca dalka, intii Somaliland ku dhaqmaysay nidaamka dimuqraadiga ah, ayaa duhurkii istaagay, iyadda oo ilaa hadda cisbitaaladda Magaaladda Hargeysa lagu daweynayo dadkii dhaawacyadu ka soo gaadheen rasaasta booliska.

Taliyaha booliska Somaliland Cabdilaahi Fadal Iimaan oo shalay ka hadlay rabashadahan, ayaa sheegay inuu ka xun yahay dhibaatadda dhacday iyo dadka ku waxyeeloobay.

Taliye Fadal, waxa uu Tacsi u diray dadka dhintay, isagoo sidoo kalena caafimaad u rajeeyay kuwo dhaawacmay “Shalay (doraad) waxa lagu dhawaaqay natiijaddii doorashadda ee Hargeysa, taas oo aan qancin ururka Xaqsoor, markaa dad dhalinyaro ah oo arintaasi ka gadoodsan ayaa sameeyay rabash waxayna iska hor yimaadeen ciidamadda booliska, waxaana ku dhaawacmay lix qof, waxaana ku dhintay hal qof”

Taliye Fadal waxa uu sheegay inay aad uga xun yihiin dhibaatadda ku dhacday dadka rabashadaha khasaaruhu ka soo gaadhay “Aad iyo aad uga xunahay, kuwa dhintayna waanu tacsiyadeynaynaa, kuwa dhaawacnmayna waxaanu ILAAHAY uga baryeynaa caafimaad”ayuu yidh waxaanu intaa ku daray isaga oo ka jawaabaya waxa mar walba ciidamadda boolisku dadka rasaasta nool ugu isticmaalaan “Mar Walba ciidanka waanu kala hadalnaa oo waxaanu nidhaahnaa ilaaliya rasaasta, laakiin waa Qadar Alle”

Hogaanka urur siyaasadeedka Xaqsoor, Salaadiinta, culimadda iyo waxgaradka gobolka Hawd ayaa ku mashquulsan sidii aanay rabshadahaasi aanay mar labaad u dhaceen si looga badbaado khasaare kale oo yimaada, inkasta oo aan la ogeyn in Masuuliyiinta Xaqsoor laga qanciyey tabashada ay qabbaan ee dhibaatadani ka dhacday, inkasta oo xukuumaddu sheegtay inay arinkan ku dhamanaynayaan si nabadgalyo ah.

Dhanka kale, xukuumadda ayaa shalay galinkii dambe ciidamo faro badan oo Milatari u badan dhigtay inta badan jidadka xaafadaha degmadda Axmed Dhagax ka kooban tahay, iyadda oo gaadiidka galaya ama ka soo baxaya xaafadahaasi ay ciidamaddu aad u baadhayeen si ay u hubiyaan in dadku mar kale rabashadu isku diyaarinayaan rabashado kale oo dheeraad ah.

Short URL: http://waaheen.com/?p=55025

IMPORTANT NOTICE: HORN WATCH needs Volunteer for Somali/English Proffesional Interpretors.

Increase your human rights work skills with HORN WATCH:

Do you want to translate sensitive and confidential human rights materiel? HORN WATCH, nonprofit local human rights organization based in Hargeisa, needs interpretors’ volunteers who can assist us huge translation work who can easily translate Somali into English in a professional way. Therefore anyone who are interesting this work can contact us through our contacts: 

 

 

email: hornwatch@hotmail.com or hornwatch@yahoo.com 

Mobile Cell Phone # 00252 24429552. 

 

Our translation material are very sensitive because we are human rights NGO who document human rights violations in Somaliland as well as in the horn of African region therefore anyone who fulfill the Horn Watch's interpretors criteria would sing an interpreter volunteer agreement.

Allithwaite man's help in Somaliland democracy

Written by By Hannah Upton

11:09am Thursday 6th December 2012 in News

A FURNITURE maker from Allithwaite had a unique hand in democracy when he volunteered to help oversee an election in the Horn of Africa.

Robin Le Mare of The Square spent two weeks in Somaliland as an international observer, incorporating his experience from 20 years of working for the charity Action Aid.

With the voting system in the country only in its infancy, and with just a handful of presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections under their belt, the electorate are still finding their feet when it comes to polling day.

“It was very different from what you would see here, mostly because it is something we do so regularly, and something we have been brought up with,” Mr Le Mare said.

“But it is quite a new way of doing things there.

“Traditionally in their clans they would not use a balloting system as we know it to elect someone; it would be done through debate.”

In his former career as a desk officer for Action Aid, his speciality was Somaliland and Ethiopia.

He visited Somaliland several times between 1994 and 2006 and said it was a great experience to return to a land and people he knows well.

“I have never done any election observation before but when I heard they were looking for volunteers I jumped at the chance.

“There were 55 volunteers from 15 different countries, including native Somalis who have left the county, so it really was an international operation in that sense.”

After flying out to Somaliland a week prior to voting, Mr Le Mare and the other volunteers spent a week in briefings on the history of the country and its elections.

Somaliland declared its independence 20 years ago but is not recognised internationally.

In the municipal elections, 2,368 candidates contested 379 positions across the country’s six regions.

For his part, Mr Le Mare travelled to the town of Boroma where his team would observe voting at four polling stations.

“At the end of the day we oversaw the sealing of boxes and the vote count,” he said.

“It all went very well; I was impressed with the skill and professionalism of the leader of the particular polling station we were at for the count, a young man who was a student at a nearby university.

“He was assisted by an older man who was a teacher in a local school. It was conducted very, very well.”
After voting, each man and woman dipped a finger in indelible ink to prevent them returning to vote again.

“The electorate there are hugely engaged in the political process, which is great,” he said, “But it is almost to the point of spoiling the process.”

Progressio, a charity which helped assemble the observer mission, also reported great advances in the participation of women in the election.

While in 2002 only five women contested the local elections, but approximately 140 did so this time round.

Mr Le Mare said: “In some ways it is opening up for females, though society is still very much dominated by men and the clan system.

“For the election the men and women lined up in separate queues, and there were roughly equal numbers in each.

“But there is more of a problem with low representation at the higher political level, like in the House of Representatives.”

A spokesman from Progressio paid tribute to the team of international volunteers who gave up their time for the election.

“Because they have got these international observers, in a young democracy like this they have got some external verification about how free and fair their process is.

“This helps in a very difficult part of the world to make the country more stable. The observers really do make a difference to people’s lives.”

Illegal migration on the rise in Somaliland

HARGEISA, 3 December 2012 

Ethiopian immigrants in Somaliland (file photo): Somaliland youths are increasingly illegally migrating to Europe

(IRIN) - More youths from the self-declared republic of Somaliland are illegally migrating from the region, mainly due to a lack of jobs, traveling through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya on their way to Europe, say officials.

“There is no exact data, but we estimate that in the last three months of 2011, only 150 youth [illegally migrated], compared to this year's last three months, [in which the number was] 300 to 350 persons," Sa'id Omar, youth department director at Somaliland's Ministry of Youth and Sports, told IRIN.

About 150 Somaliland youths were repatriated back  between January and November 2011, after Ethiopian authorities captured them along the Ethiopian-Sudan border; by comparison, 200 youths were repatriated in the first 11 months of 2012, according to Somaliland immigration officials in the border town of Tog-Wajale, along the Ethiopia-Somaliland border.

“We don't [encourage] any illegal migrants to cross the border, but sometimes they cross the open border between Somaliland and Ethiopia and continue on their way to the Sahara Desert to cross the Mediterranean [Sea]," said an immigration official in Tog-Wajale.

Mohamed*, now in Norway, illegally migrated there in early 2012. “I started my journey on 13 March, [travelling] through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya at a cost of US$5000 for the whole journey. We were connected to brokers in Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya,” he said.

“As soon as we reached the Libyan border town of Sabha we were handed over like animals to a Libyan man who earns $800 per individual, but he beat us and tortured us using electric wires. Later, we were taken by a Land Cruiser pick-up to Tripoli, where we found some Somali-Arab brokers who rented for us the boat [to Europe].”

Few opportunities

Joblessness is fuelling the illegal migration, even though the journey carried inherent risks such as abuse, debt, deportation and imprisonment.

“The high rate of unemployment is Somaliland is considered the main factor that encourages youths to [undertake] illegal migration," said Mohamed-Rashid Muhumed Farah, the secretary general of the Somaliland Journalists Association. "For example, I was in Addis Ababa [Ethiopia's capital] in 2011 when we met about 30 Somaliland youths who wanted to go to Europe, and they told us that the main reason they were going was lack of employment in the country.”

According to Ali Osman Abdi-Liba, a political scientist, youths with higher educations are also more likely to leave Somaliland.

“University students feel proud, and they have high hopes. In the first two years, [they are] interested in studying, but in the last two years of university [their] hopes decrease because [they] know former university students [who] are in the town without jobs. For this reason, as soon as they finish university, if they don't get jobs, they will [be] frustrated and [undertake] illegal migration,” he said.

Abdi-Liba called for the creation of technical schools, as these skills are needed in the market.

The Somaliland government is set to establish a youth employment fund, to be funded at about US$130 million initially, which will be raised from the privatization of former government buildings, according to Bashe Yusuf Ahmed, the director general in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

“We hope that international donors will also contribute, and about 50,000 jobs will be created in the coming years to decrease the unemployment rate from 80 percent to 20 percent,” said Ahmed.

*name changed

maj/aw/rz

UN voted overwhelmingly to recognise Palestine as the world's 194th state!!!

Madrid Action: Avaaz members want Spain PM Rajoy to say YES!

Avaazers, it's time to celebrate!

A few minutes ago, the UN voted overwhelmingly to recognise Palestine as the world's 194th state!!! It’s a huge victory for the Palestinian people, for peace, for our community, and people across the world are joining with massive crowds in Palestine to celebrate.

The Palestinian people's journey to freedom is far from over. But this is a powerful step, and our community played a key role in it. Palestine's Ambassador to Europe said today:

"Avaaz and its members across the world have played a crucial role in persuading governments to support the Palestinian people's bid for a state and for freedom and peace. They have stood with us throughout and their solidarity and support will be remembered and cherished across Palestine." - Leila Shahid, General Palestinian Delegate to Europe

Brussels Action: While EU leaders were met, THIS was happening right outside their windows

The US and Israeli governments, beholden to extreme lobby groups (yes, sadly even Obama has given in), threw everything they had at crushing this vote, using financial threats and even threatening to overthrow the Palestinian President if he went ahead. Europe was the key swing vote, and under intense US pressure, leaders were, just two weeks ago, leaning towards not supporting the Palestinian state. Knowing the stakes, our community responded with the speed and democratic force that we needed to win:

• Nearly 1.8 million of us signed the petition calling for statehood.


• Thousands of us donated to fund public opinion polls across Europe -- showing that a whopping 79% of Europeans supported a Palestinian state. Our polls were plastered all over the media, and repeatedly cited in Parliamentary debates in the UK, Spain and France!


• We sent tens of thousands of emails, Facebook messages and Tweets to leaders across Europe and made thousands of calls to foreign ministries and heads of state.


• We unfurled a giant 4-storey banner outside the EU Commission in Brussels (right) while leaders were meeting inside. Then, we staged another stunt in Madrid. Previously, we had sailed a flotilla of ships past the UN calling for a vote. Our actions made headlines all over Europe.


• Avaaz staff and members met with dozens and dozens of government ministers, top advisors, senior journalists, parliamentarians and thought leaders in each of the key countries, in many cases teaming up to win over leaders one by one through advocacy, pressure, parliamentary resolutions and public statements, always drawing on the surge in people power behind this cause.


• We reached out to key thought leaders like Stéphane Hessel, a 94-year old survivor of Nazi concentration camps, and Ron Pundak, an Israeli who played a key role in Oslo peace process, to speak out in favour of statehood.

One by one, key European states broke with the US to answer the call of justice and their peoples. In the final vote tally we got just now, only 9 countries out of 193 have voted against! France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and most of Europe has voted for Palestine.

The US and Israel argued first that statehood was dangerous for peace, and then, when they'd lost, that it didn't matter and the vote was just symbolic. But if it were just symbolic they wouldn't have done everything to try and stop it. And after years of bad-faith negotiations and Israeli comfort with the status quo as they steadily colonize more Palestinian land, this move shows the US and Israel that if they do not engage in good faith, the Palestinians and the world are prepared to move forward without them. It's a more balanced basis for real peace talks. And that's the best alternative to the kind of violence we saw Israel's government and Hamas offer in Gaza this month.

For decades the Palestinian people have suffered under a stifling Israeli military dictatorship, repressive controls on their travel and work, continual denial of their rights and the constant threat of insecurity and violence. 65 years ago today, the UN recognized the state of Israel, beginning a path to the establishment of a safe home for the Jewish people. Today the Palestinians take a step down the same path, and gain a dignity in the eyes of the international community that they have been denied for a generation. And from that dignity, we can build the foundations of peace.

With hope and joy,

Ricken, Alice, Ari, Wissam, Allison, Sam, Julien, Pascal, Wen, Pedro, Saravanan, Emma, Ben, Dalia, Alexey, Paul, Marie, Aldine, Luca, Jamie, Morgan and the whole Avaaz team.

PS Here are some sources - The Associated Press covers today's victory, the Guardian covers our polling two weeks ago, Avaaz's Daily Briefing provides a map of the vote result, and Haaretz describes Israel's response.

Somaliland gets high-speed fiber optic cable

Three companies have launched a project to provide Internet access to the African country, with expansion plans for other nations

By Rebecca Wanjiku | 29 November 12

Three international companies have launched an ambitious project aimed at connecting a million people in Somaliland with high-speed Internet access.

Somcable, Bluwan and Globecomm systems will connect businesses and homes in Somaliland with up to 8Gbps capacity through FTTA (fiber through the air) access. The project is set to start in the capital, Hargeisa, and will later be deployed to other towns such as Burco, Borama and Berbera. Somaliland broke away from Somalia and is considered fairly stable.

"We have set a target to provide 1 million subscribers with access to high-speed broadband by 2015, our target market is primarily focused on the cities of the horn of Africa; residentials (affluent or middle class), small-medium enterprises or corporate customers and we have several business models that are adapted to each segment of the market," said Somcable CEO Michael Cothill.

To deliver capacity to the mass market, kiosks will be fitted with an omnidirectional Wi-Fi antenna and strategically positioned within each city to deliver a replacement service for current under-performing Internet cafés. The kiosks enable customers to purchase prepaid vouchers with a wide range of different services to suit the various markets.

(The kiosks with act as bandwidth hubs with the ability to provide up to 8Gbps of capacity within a 5 kilometer radius, peaking to speeds of 100Mbps to thousands of customers at a time.

Somcable originates from the landing station in Djibouti and Somcable will subsequently extend this service to land-locked countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan.

The horn of Africa country has rocky terrain, no legacy infrastructure and most communities are nomadic, but Somcable and Bluwan said they have worked up a business model that will ensure return on investment.

"The combination of various business models, along with the technology deployed (FTTA, Long Term Evolution) allows us to get a sub $10 per subscriber connection fee and still be profitable with a good return on investment," said Cothill.

Somcable will become the latest fiber optic cable to join the African coastline. The combination of available fiber optic cables has increased the international Internet bandwidth serving African countries from 1.21Gbps in 2001 to 570.92Gbps in 2011, and 25Tbps of submarine capacity is expected to be in place by 2013, according to market researcher TeleGeography.

MUNAASIB AD SOO DHAWAYN IYO XOGWARANKA XUKUNKII KU DHACAY KALI TALIYE GENERAL CALI SAMANTAR OO LOO SAMEEYAY DHIBANE XADGUDUB XUQUUQ AADAMI MR. BAASHE ABDI YUUSUF

Munaasabad soo dhoweyn ah isla markaana ah xog waran ku saabsan Ali Samatar iyo xukunkiisii ayaa loo sameeyey Baashe Abdi Yusuf

Munaasabad ku saabsan soo dhoweyn farxaddi ku dheehan tahay isla markaana ah xog waran oo loo sameeyey Baashe Abdi Yusuf ayaa lagu qabtay xarunta West London Somaliland Community ee ku taal Hays, London oo uu soo qabanqaabiyey Masuulka West London Somaliland Community Eid Hassan muuse ayaa habeenimadii Khamiistii la qabtay 29/11/2012.waxa ka soo qayb galay dadweyne fara badan oo waliba halkaasi ku waydiiyey su’aalo Baashe oo isagu ah ninka wax walba u huray in Ali Samatar abaalkiisa la mariyo! waxaad maqli doontaan goordhowna,isla markaana aad daawan doontaan munaasabada oo dhan ee la soco.

Gabayganan hoos ku qoran oo munaasibadan laga akhriyay waxa loo tiriyey Baashe waxaana curiyey Mustafe Ismail oo ka mid ahaa ka soo qaybgalayaashii munaasibadan.

Baashow halyeeyow

Hubanti weeyaane

IJmadadii la hagradee,

Hortaaada lagu xasuuqay

Inaad maanta u hiilisaa

Waajib ku huran weeyi

Hurinttii faqashtee

U hub qaatay burburintee

Hargaisa iyo Burco

Ceerigaabo iyo Berbera

Gabilay hareereheeda

Oodwayne iyo Hawd

Ku hurgufay hubkee

Ulradkii halgadee

Huq iyo ciil

Ku-abuuIa hoo

Hurin hurin u safee

Hogaga ku guray

Hor ilaahhay

Inaad u hiilisaa

Hubanti weeyaan

Halyay Qaran inaad tahay

hohe waa 1a ogsoon yahay’

hadhow iyo faalona 

taariikhdaa hufi doonta

First Thoughts of International Election Observation Team

29 Nov. 2012

First thoughts of international election observation team assembled by Progressio,  DPU and Somaliland Focus (UK) for Somaliland’s local council elections on November 28^th. The team of 50 observers from 18 countries observed voting at 20% of the more than 1,700 polling stations, visiting 15 of the 21 districts across the country where the election took place, and followed up by witnessing station counts through the evening. Team members are continuing to observe counting and tabulation ahead of final results.

The mission follows previous observations of elections in Somaliland in 2002, 2005 and 2010, which observers were able to judge free and fair. The 2010 presidential poll was especially notable for the peaceful and smooth transfer of power on the defeat of an incumbent.

This poll is especially significant in that it will shape Somaliland’s political landscape by determining which three parties contest national elections for the next decade.

With a fuller team assessment to come in early December, preliminary indications suggest that, despite some reports of violence, and no voting taking place in some disputed districts in the country’s east, Somaliland’s electorate has, once again, turned out with enthusiasm and in large numbers.

Particularly heartening has been wide participation by female voters, a boost in numbers of female candidates and, thanks to the lowering of the qualifying age, youthful candidates standing in significant numbers. However, at this interim stage, a few concerns have emerged, including, once again, apparent attempts at underage and multiple voting.

Observers have also reported excessive use of force by security forces outside polling stations in some areas; some poor organisation surrounding the electoral process, including delayed opening of polling stations; insufficient electoral materials; and technical problems with voter safeguards, such as the ink designed to prevent multiple voting.

Fuller consideration of these matters awaits our interim report. In the meantime, the team encourages Somaliland’s National Electoral Commission to ensure a transparent and accurate tabulation process and declaration of final results. With the stakes so high, there is potential for post-poll disputes.

Steve Kibble, the mission’s joint co-ordinator, said: “We commend the National Electoral Commission for ensuring that voting has gone ahead on November 28th as scheduled. Now we look forward to a peaceful conclusion to the process.?

A press conference will be held at the Hotel Maan-Soor, Hargeisa on December 3rd at 9am

Notes to Editors

1. For further information or to arrange an interview with a member of the coordination team, please contact Conrad Heine in Somaliland on + 252 2 486 5255 / media@somalilandfocus.org.uk, or in London Lucy Jenkinson on 020 7326 2011 / lucyj@progressio.org.uk , or Tim Aldred on 020 7326 2003 /

tim@progressio.org.uk.

2. Somaliland declared unilateral independence from Somalia in 1991 following the collapse of Somalia?s government. It remains internationally  unrecognised.

3. The joint mission follows on from similar missions to observe Somaliland´s inaugural local elections in 2002, followed by the parliamentary elections in 2005, judged by observers as “basically free and fair”, and the presidential election in 2010 http://www.progressio.org.uk/sites/default/files/Somalilandelections-2010-report.pdf , which saw an orderly transfer of power and was judged ?a peaceful expression of popular will?.

4. The mission has been invited by Somaliland?s National Electoral Commission (NEC), and funded by Britain?s Department for International Development (DFID). It will follow up with a post-poll interim report to the NEC and donors, with the final report to follow in early 2013.

5. A pre-election assessment of the conditions for the local elections took place in 2012 and can be viewed here:http://www.progressio.org.uk/sites/progressio.org.uk/files/Preparing-for-localelections-

Sld-2012.pdf

6. For more information about Progressio, please seewww.progressio.org.uk and about Somaliland Focus, seewww.somalilandfocus.org.uk.

Musharaxa Cabdiraxman Cali Giire oo Taageerayaashiisu Ruxeen Suuqyadda Caasimada Iyo Qorshayaasha uu reer Hargeysa u Hayo

Lambarka Codaynta 307

Tirada taageerayaasha Musharax  Cabdiraxman Cali Giire ayaa ruxay dariiqyada waaweyn ee caasimada Hargeisa iyagoo ka qayb galaya maalintii ugu dambaysay ee xisbiga Kulimiye u lahaa ololaha doorashada musharaxa oo beerta xoriyada kula hadlayay taageerayaashiisa iyo kuwa musharaxiinta xisbiga Kulmiye waxa uu daboolka ka qaaday qorshayaasha uu hirgalindoono haddii ay isaga codkooda siiyaan qorshayaasha musharax Giira uu u soo bandhigay guud ahaan muwaadiniinta ku nool caasimada dalka ee Hargeysa waxay kala yihiin:

1.       Cashuurta D/Hoose waxa la galin doonaa habka casriga oo Computerized ah kaasi oo mehered kasta guri kasta cashuurtii ay bixiyeen cadadkeeda iyo magacoodaba ay ka akhrisan doonaan Website loo samayn doono D/Hoose gaar ahaan qaybtiisa Waaxda Dakhliga Cashuuraha. Sidoo kale cashuurta dadwaynaha laga ururiyo halka aya ku baxdo iyana Website-kaasi ayay kala socon doonaa!!!!!;

2.       Dhamaan Degmooyinka Caasimada waxa D/Hoose ee Hargeysi ka hirgalin doontaa Xarumo Caafimaad oo habeenkii heegan ah ayna ka hawlgalaan xirfadlayaal caafimaad oo aqoon la hubiyay lehi!!!!!;

3.       Taxi-yada Caasimada waxa lagu buufin doonaa midab gaar ah oo lagu aqoonsado sida caasimadaha dunida oo kale!!!!!;

4.       D/Hoose ee caasimada qaabdhismeedkeeda waxa lagu soo kordhin doonaa Waaxda Waxbarashada iyadoo la siin doono dhamaan dugsiyada Hoose, Dhexe iyo Sare ee xukuumada miisaaniyad kabniin ah oo Wasaarada Waxbarashadana lagala shaqayn doono si loo tayeeyo waxbarashada ubadkeena. Waaxdani waxay si joogto ah u kormeeri doonta dhamaan dugsiyada dawlada iyo kuwa gaarka loo leeyahay ee ku yaal Caasimada Hargeysa si loola socodo waxa la barayo ubadkeena!!!!!;

5.       Gudiyo Dadwayne ayaa laga samayn doonaa dhamaan degmooyinka iyo xaafadaha caasimada gudiyadaasi oo Golaha Deegaanka Hargeysa kala talin doona arimaha nabadgalyada iyo amaanka khuseeya iyo baahiyaha haysta dadwaynaha ku nool degmooyinka iyo xaafadaha caasimada!!!!!;

6.       D/Hoose ee Caasimadu waxay iyadoo kala shaqaynaysa Wasaarada Caafimaadka ee Xukuumada Somaliland daraasad ku samayn doontaa dhamaan xarumaha Cilaajyada loo yaqaano oo ay dadwaynuhu u doontaa caafimaad, daraasadan ayaa diirada saari doonta tayada adeegyada caafimaad ee ay bixiyaan xarumaha Cilaajyadu iyo hawlwadeenada ka hawl gala goobahaasi, gabogabada daraasadan waxa ka soo bixi doonta siyaasad iyo shuruuc lagu dhaqo xarumaha Cilaajyada iyo adeegyada ay bixiyaan taasi oo D/hoose ee Hargeysi ay hirgalin doonto!!!!!;

7.       Sanadka Koowaad waxa D/hoose oo kaashanaysa Haya’adaha Qaramada Midoobay kuwa Caalamiga ah iyo Xukuumada Somaliland la gaadhsiin doonaa dhamaan degmooyinka iyo xaafadaha Caasimadda Biyaha oo aasaasi u ah nolosha codbixiyayaasha muwaadiniinta ah.

Hadaba Muwaadin si qorshayaashaasi uu u hirgaliyo u hur oo u codee Musharax Cabdiraxmaan Cali Giire oo lambarkiisa codayntu yahay 307