By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, August 7 -- The UN has congratulated itself for how it handles Somalia, at least of late. The most recent UN Security Council resolution ignored issues raised by Somaliland; its letter to the Council wasn't even distributed.
Now comes word to Inner City Press from Hargeisa that president Ahmed M. Silanyo has decided that Somaliland will NOT attend the European Union's "Somalia" conference in Brussels, per Free UN Coalition for Access member Mohamoud Walaaleye.
This comes after Puntland severed relations with Mogadishu -- Inner City Press asked for and got UN envoy the response of envoy Nicholas Kay, formerly the UK's ambassador to Sudan, here -- and then a critique by Jubaland, not yet responded to.
Mogadishu signed a deal with an oil firm called Soma Oil and Gas, led by UK former Conservative Party leader Baron [Michael] Howard of Lympne. (A report being inquired into by Inner City Press has it that Somali Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Idd Beddel Mohamad, a/k/a Mogadishu in Manhattan, claims he formed a similarly named company and so the contract is void.)
Somaliland went in another direction: Turkey-based Genel Energy. A proxy war for oil?
Before the attack on the Turkish compound on Mogadishu, in the attack on the UN compound it's reported that UN Mine Action Service boss David Bax was the hero. Maybe -- but he is accused of sexual harassment and of playing a role in the passing of genetic information to US intelligence. August 7 Q&A here.
The UN stonewalled Inner City Press after its exclusive report to this effect on June 22; reclusive UN official Herve Ladsous through his spokesperson Kieran Dwyer spoon-fed a pro-Bax and UNMAS spin to a friendly scribe. This dysfunctional approach is unacceptable; the UN's spin on Somalia and environs isn't working either. Watch this site.
