14 March, 2009

Somaliland clan conference worries government

HARGEISA, Somalia Mar 14( Gargaar) The government of Somaliland is increasingly worried about a clan conference that opened Wednesday in the city of Burao.

The conference was attended by more than 200 delegates, including traditional elders, intellectuals, business leaders and lawmakers belonging to the Isaaq sub-clans of Habar Jeclo and Habar Yonis. The government tried with every possible means to stop this conference, icluding bribing tribal leaders, propoganda and threats. More than 6 Ministers that hail from the region spent sleepless nights in Buroa. One tactic that worked in Hargeysa failed to materialize. It was a threat of closure of any hotel that entertains this kind of conference. Amazingly it was held successfully in the greatest hotel in the city, Palazza Hotel.


On Friday, the Burao clan conference concluded successfully and the delegates issued a signed declaration, with a management team of 18 men ( NIne from each clan), to oversee the execution of the points agreed.A key clause in the signed declaration stated: "The presidential election must be held in the country [Somaliland] on time, which is March 29."

The following clause indicated that delaying the election is "intended to confuse the public," while another clause demanded that the "lawmaking bodies [parliament] must reach a decision about the leadership in the country" following the April 6 deadline, when incumbent President Dahir Riyale's extended term in office expires.


Mr. Awil Ali Du'ale, Somaliland's finance minister, told local media in the regional capital Hargeisa that the clan conference is Burao "will change nothing." That is a far cry from the huge efforts exercised by the government to ban it.

"It bothers me a lot when I hear that clans are meeting, especially when the election is so close, it is the nation backtracking. It is better that political parties meet [instead]," Finance Minister Awil said.

He called on the public to uphold the peace, while urging the opposition to declare that they will peacefully accept election results.


Somaliland's opposition parties Kulmiye and UCID vowed not to recognize Riyale's government after April 6, when his extended term in office expires.The same is expressed by the Chairman of the Powerful Gurti. The Somaliland election commission recently delayed the presidential election from March 29 to May 31, forcing opposition parties to demand the establishment of a caretaker government.

The political crisis in Somaliland continues to deepen, especially after both Kulmiye and UCID's demand that the two houses of parliament appoint a caretaker government gained supportfrom major clan-groups in the region. It is known that the most powerful members of both houses openly expressed their approval of this request.

A.Haragwaafi
Hargeysa

haragwaafi4@yahoo.co.uk

http://gargaar.blogspot.com/

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