Somaliland, China, Oil, and Legitimacy: A Potential Minefield of IssuesPosted on December 21, 2010 by nathanalbright
In today’s news about Somaliland, here is an update about the coming official visit of Somaliland’s president to China and the reasons for China’s friendliness. Though I have already discussed the extreme friendliness of China towards Somaliland [1] and the importance of Somaliland’s oil in giving Somaliland some diplomatic leverage with other nations hungry for natural resources, which China certainly is [2], today I would like to talk about the problem of legitimacy in further detail to show the minefield of issues that weigh on the current situation.
2011-01-03
STRASBOURG – In the 1990’s, the world averted its eyes to genocide in Rwanda, and to the “Great Lakes War” in eastern Congo, which claimed upward of five million lives – the most in any war since World War II. Will such silence and neglect prevail again if civil war is renewed in Sudan?
Mohamed Yusef knows a good opportunity when he sees one. Recently the London businessman invested $5 million in Somaliland oil exploration.
But though Somaliland is thought to have large oil resources, Yusef remains one of very few investors. “Everybody I meet recognizes that Somaliland is a great investment opportunity,” he says. “It has lots of mineral resources and a strategic position. But other investors stay away because they worry that officials in Somalia, a failed state, will come and tell them that legaldocuments in Somaliland aren’t valid.”
THE MOTHER OF ALL HYPOCRISIES
Making speeches about morality, democracy and human rights here in the west is as easy as slicing a pie, but honoring what is preached is a whole different ball game. The leaders of the Western world claim to be the sole custodians of democracy and human rights. In spite of everything else, it was the reason they based their claim for the invasion of Iraq and the imposition of economic sanctions on many other countries in the developing world.
HARGEISA (Somalilandglobe.com) 
Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo is expected to pay an official visit to China early next year, at the invitation of Chinese Government.
On Friday, 26 November, in a meeting chaired by former British Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman, President Silanyo addressed a wide ranging audience of international government officials, academics, journalists and business leaders at Chatham House in London. In one of Chatham House’s most popular seminars in history, over 200 people attennded with scores of others turned away.
Somalilandglobe New 18 November 2010 - President Ahmed M Silanyo of republic Somaliland is expected to depart to a working visit to Ethiopia and UK today, according to informed sources. Somaliland President Ahmed M Silanyo, will be accompanied by a number of his cabinet Ministers, and is expected to meet Ethiopian Prime Meles Zenawi and other top business political leaders.
November 8th, 2010 ? Editorial ? Edit Comments Off
Somaliland Under New Management
In the interest of Somaliland’s public weal, the nascent administrations of Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo’s initial investment has been in the welfare and wellbeing of Somaliland’s public employees, an exigency to alleviate the 
worsening plight of an already impoverished public employees, who had not received their meager salaries for several months. There are wide array of revitalization plans being implemented by the president that include civil service reforms, introduction of meritocracy, and more crucially the compensation and rewarding of public employees accordingly. At the center of the president’s robust revitalization plans are concrete measures that go beyond the symptoms and seek to un-mantle the salient corruption that has preserved public workers in the austere condition left behind by the previous administration. Somaliland stands to benefit enormously from the president’s investment as employees with an elevated morale and improved quality of life will be more tentative to executing their government duties while also inadvertently helping to avert the pervasive corruption in the public sector. The president’s hands on approach of being visible and accessible will enable a more sufficient and efficient government which is paramount and bodes well to attracting investment while at the same time eradicating all the residual effects of a venal previous administration, an administration in which its public sector was fraught with corruption and had relinquished its responsibilities beyond maintaining the security of the country, ended up being nothing more than a proxy for bribe generating.
Most of the news from Somalia comes from the capital, Mogadishu, and it’s mostly bad. But there is a different part of Somalia where things are much better.
It’s called Somaliland, and in addition to holding successful democratic elections several months ago, it is trying to improve its economy and build relations with the outside world.
Frank Langfitt/NPRThe contrast between Mogadishu and the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa is striking. In Hargeisa, people wave at foreigners, but in Mogadishu, foreigners are more likely to be shot or kidnapped.
Somaliland’s diaspora: From manager to minister in a flash (Feature) 
By Michael Logan Oct 23, 2010, 3:06 GMT
Hargeisa, Somalia – Just four months ago, Hussein Abdi Dualeh was an engineer with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), managing maintenance contracts and living a comfortable life with his wife and three sons.
Today, he’s helping run a self-proclaimed – although internationally unrecognized – nation in the Horn of Africa.
