NAIROBI, 5 July (IRIN) - An editorial in Tuesday's edition of the Somaliland newspaper 'Jamhuuriya' - which reflects the views of the Somaliland administration - said the UN appeal for support of the Somali peace and reconciliation conference in Djibouti was part of a process of blindfolding the world community.

It said the real aim of Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh, who initiated the talks, was to destroy the Somaliland and Puntland administrations, which had achieved security in their regions. It said Guelleh was hosting military officers at Arta, location of the Somali talks, especially those who had helped destroy the Somali nation. "Therefore, no one was obliged to attend or not to attend and President Guelleh is responsible for that."

The editorial said "there are those regions, which, through their own efforts, have established their own administration structures in Somalia" and asked: "Are they not the right people to be consulted on the future of their people and country? Is it fair to destroy what they have achieved over this period in a matter of seconds?" The newspaper accused the UN of acting as a cover for US policy and criticised regional UN representatives attending the conference, claiming the intention was to undermine the peacefully established regions.

Puntland calls for rights mission

Meanwhile, a letter to the UN Security Council from the president of the self-administered region of Puntland, Abdullahi Yusuf, appealed for a fact-finding mission to be sent to Puntland to look into allegations of human rights abuses propagated by Djibouti in its "diplomatic campaign to malign and alienate Puntland."