September 3,2001
THE SURVIVAL OF PUNTLAND STATE OF SOMALIAAbdi Farah Weheliye, Melbourne, Australia
E-mail: akaysi@yahoo.com
Key players in the current confrontation:
a) Puntland State Government trying to restore Law & Order in Bosaso and Garowe.
b) AL Itihad extremists set to topple the current administration of Puntland State.
c) The leadership of Arta Faction set to dismantle Puntland State of Somalia as an entity,
using corruption money to buy some prominent members of the traditional elders.
d) UN Political Office For Somalia under Mr. David Stephen working to undermine the
established Regional
Building-Blocks, thus propping up the Arta Faction.
AL- ITIHAD
Al Itihad movement suffered a serious defeat in their confrontation with SSDF forces in
1992 in the former
North-Eastern Somalia. Following this humiliating defeat, the leadership of the radical
group kept a low
profile campaign since then, concentrating on economic power, massive secret recruitment
of young people and tribal elders. Al Itihad came to the open following the Arta
Conference and forged alliance and cooperation with the leadership of the Arta Faction.
Having seized the economic sectors of the State,
corrupting the traditional tribal leadership and creating continuous sources of funds from
Arab countries, they are determined now to topple the State Government of Puntland, in the
short term and move to carry out a long-term strategy to destabilize the entire
sub-region.
Under the threat of military build-up and economic possibilities, Al Itihad is putting
pressure on the traditional elders to hold a congress of their own design in Garowe to
Seek legitimacy and establish Al Itihad Government in Puntland State first as one
of their three options.
Alternatively, they are set to destroy Puntland State and replace with Arta Faction. If
that does not work,
they are ready to carry out their plan by military means.
They are the most dangerous group and have to be stopped immediately. I am of the opinion
that that this confrontation cannot be resolved politically and peacefully.
A word about some names in this constitutional crisis.
Yusuf Haji Nur, the former Chief justice, an Egyptian educated arabist and
extremely weak personality, is easily being manipulated already by unscrupulous elements,
presiding a group of immoral politicians and
unheard of corruption, daylight looting and robbery of public funds during the very short
period he was
illegally nominated as Care Taker President by a just less than 1% of the Traditional
Elders, who themselves
were in the pay and influence of Arta Faction. Was appointed Deputy Chief of Justice by
Arta Faction
after the conclusion of the Arta Conference despite the fact that he was the Chief Justice
of Puntland State of Somalia. He has been working covertly with the leadership of the
so-called the TNG. He
reportedly took corruption money from Arta Group and used as a pawn to create
constitutional crisis, thus destabilizing Puntland State of Somalia. He is now a spent
force to give way to a leadership by Al Itihad and Arta Faction.
Jama Ali Jama, a former communist military officer and now turned Al
Itihad extremist. He
reportedly took corruption money from Arta Faction to help in the attempt to
overthrow the Government of Puntland. He is a front runner candidate under the ticket of
Al Itihad in the troubled Al Itihad dominated Garowe Congress. He had entered Garowe armed
with technicals provided by Al Itihad Group as he arrived Puntland from Britain where he
resides as a Somali refugee.
During the resistance against the Al Itihad coup d’etat, as a logistics officer in
Basaso, he was known to have sabotaged the SSDF forces’ capacity to fight the Al
Itihad by supplying bullets with power keg replaced with sand. He was also implicated in
the conspiracy of murdering a French aid worker ( a lady doctor) in the formerly
North-East Somalia, thus fleeing to Britain to claim refugee status. The Al Itihad
offensive in Puntland State of Somalia is a common security threat to the countries in the
sub-region and world at large. The international community has a vital role to play in
containing terrorist movements
In the meantime, my sincere hope is that the Government of Puntland will mobilise its
entire population to protect their state.
Abdi Farah Weheliye Melbourne, Australia
E-mail: akaysi@yahoo.com
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