Sunday, November 14, 2010

The long road to the Chandlers' release: Freed Yacht Couple At British High Commission

Chandlers With new Somali-American prime minister   

Freed Yacht Couple At British High Commission

Many people worked towards securing the eventual release of Rachel and Paul Chandler 
Rachel and Paul Chandler In the story of the scourge of Somali piracy, Sunday's news brings to a close one of the longest-running hostage crises in the region.
A retired English couple, held at gunpoint with no big, multinational shipping company behind them to bail them out, were freed at last after 13 months of stop-start negotiations.
Two factors contributed to their release: the payment of ransoms and the benevolent intervention of the Somali community, both in the UK and in Somalia.
When Somali pirates seized Rachel and Paul Chandler off the Seychelles, hundreds of nautical miles from Somali shores, they took them first to the Somali port of Haradheera and then inland.
A pirates spokesman gave a radio interview demanding a ransom of US $7,000,000 (£4.6m) and those holding them refused to believe they were anything other than millionaires.
First payment The pirates also appeared to believe that the British government would, if necessary, pay the ransom, despite the fact that Britain has a longstanding policy of "not making substantive concessions to hostage-takers" on the grounds that this encourages more kidnappings of British citizens.
But negotiations continued behind the scenes involving Somali intermediaries and a firm of consultants hired by the Chandlers' relatives in Britain.
In June a deal was reached and an airdrop of close to US$430,000 (£267,000) was made to the pirates in Somalia.
Opinions differ on whether the pirates then reneged on the deal, deciding to hold onto both the money and the Chandlers, or whether there was a misunderstanding and that the pirates believed all along this would only be the first tranche of a larger sum. Either way, the Chandlers remained in captivity.
This was a terrible and unexpected blow for both the Chandlers themselves and their relatives back home. Those advising the family concluded that the sudden flurry of media interest on the possible imminent release of the couple had, inadvertently, contributed to their extended detention.
Pirate's payout So, during the summer, a law firm representing the Chandlers acquired a legal super-injunction, preventing the media from reporting anything about the couple's condition or negotiations for their release.
That ban remained in force until Sunday, when the Chandlers were released following what is believed to be the payment of a second ransom and the tireless work of Somali clan elders, political leaders, negotiators and expatriates.
While the ultimate outcome is of course a happy one for the Chandlers, who can now start to live their own lives again, there are of course, implications for the future of Somali piracy.
The bottom line for the gang who have been holding the couple for the past 13 months is that their crime has been rewarded with the best part of a million dollars, a huge sum in an impoverished country, even when it will be divided up amongst many claimants.
It is thought unlikely that all or perhaps any of those responsible will be brought to justice in a country without an effective government since 1991.bbc

Somali Pirates Free British Couple for Ransom After More Than a Year in Captivity

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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