Lord Avebury strong letter of support to Qaran's case.

(qaransomaliland.com) London---January 7, 2007

Dear Lord Malloch-Brown,

I gather you’re seeing President Riyaale tomorrow, and I hope you will raise with him the matters covered in my letters of November 2 and December 26, copies attached for ease of reference. There has been no sign of change in the situation of the Qaran leaders, and there ought to be no EU election funding unless they ate able to participate in the elections.

There is news of a Press Law which has been submitted to Parliament, and you will no doubt ask for details. In December, Somaliland expelled 24 journalists living in Hargeisa having fled from Mogadishu, apparently for writing critically about the Ethiopian occupation forces. From what I hear, the Press Law may contain further restrictions on the right of freedom of expression, which are not compatible with the ICCPR.

The government are also proposing a Human Rights Commission Law, which doesn’t guarantee the independence and impartiality of the Commission. The coup d’état at Shuro-Net by the existing Commission, which I drew to your attention previously, doesn’t inspire confidence in the government’s intentions.

Finally, will you please raise the principle of the separation of the judiciary from the executive. Under the existing constitution the President appoints the Chief Justice, and I think Riyaale has been through 3 so far.

I’m copying this to Baroness Vadeera, who I gather is also seeing President Riyaale.




The Rt Hon the Lord Malloch-Brown,
Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
London SW1A 2AH
MSU.correspondence@fco.gov.uk