| Hon.
John Bercow MP
The Speaker
U.K Parliament
Westminister
London.
Honourable Bercow MP,
How delighted I am to see a man I know personally to be elected to
the chair of the mother of all Parliaments. As a Somalilander, I
first met you participa ting a debate on Somaliland in
Westminster Hall sometimes on Feb. 2004. I w as heartened how
passionate you were of my country. A country that has all its
institutions and what ever needed for a statehood, and yet to get a
sing le country to recognise its sovereignty and independence for
the last two decades.
To remind you, but rather to
introduce you to Somalilanders here is your statement in that
debate:
" I join colleagues in congratulating the hon. Member for Clydebank
and Miln gavie (Tony Worthington) on securing the debate and
on his contribution to it. He has vast experience of the area and
spoke with knowledge, sincerity and passion. He was followed by the
distinguished Chairman of the Interna tional Development
Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry), who
spoke in a similar vein, and then by the hon. Member for Putney (Mr.
Colman), my hon. Friends the Members for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) and
for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies) and the hon. Member for
Edinburgh, West (John Barrett).
In opening the debate, the hon.
Member for Clydebank and Milngavie set out the historical
background, which is the cause of many of the problems that are
endemic in the area today and which the international community must
address. Specifically, he pithily characterised the unhappy merging
of Somal iland into the united republic of Somalia, and
Somaliland's subsequent, under standable wish to secede or—I
use my language carefully—withdraw from it. All sorts of problems
have been spawned by the historical background.
Mention has been made of the large and enduring refugee phenomenon,
wh ich was created by the civil war. As Somaliland became relatively
safe, there is no doubt that those refugees thought it reasonable
and timely to return to their homes. However, the emergency and
humanitarian aid that is trickli ng into Somaliland is meagre
compared with what the rest of Somalia and ot her countries in
the horn of Africa receive. With zero or negligible help from the
international community, Somaliland inevitably continues to absorb,
altho ugh with the greatest difficulty and strain, tens of thousands
of refugees from Ethiopia's refugee camps.
The country's social problems have been compounded by the return of
those hundreds of thousands of refugees through the UNHCR's
assisted."
I am sure you will accept my whole hearted congratulations and I
hope you will continue your interest in Somaliland. Building strong
democratic institutions, need empowerment of the masses. That can be
ascertained with free and fair timed elections. Your contribution to
these pillars of democracy which I am sure are your own core
principles, are essential to be planted and nurtured in my country.
You will get from me, Somaliland Focus and Somaliland All Party
Parliamentary Group any developments of concern.
We are proud to be associated with you as person and as the speaker
of the U.K Parliament.
Looking forward for your continuous help to my country, please do
accept my best regards.
Ahmed Arwo
President
Somaliland Democracy Shield
samotalis@gmail.com
http://samotalis.blogspot.com
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