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African Affairs, published June 12, 2012 African Affairs, 00/00, 1–2 © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal African Society. All rights reserved BOOK REVIEW Getting Somalia Wrong? Faith, war and hope in a shattered state, by Mary Harper. London and New York, NY: Zed Books, 2012. 232 pp. £12.99 (paperback). ISBN 978 1 84277 933 0. Mary Harper’s book is a very timely account of the major aspects of the protracted Somali crisis. In six chapters plus Introduction and Conclusion, Harper puts across one main argument: Somalia is not entirely failed. There are many aspects of the Somali situation that merit our attention and can be described as hopeful, positive developments. A lot can be learned from ‘the Somali way of doing things’ (p. 2). This contrasts strongly with the negative perspectives on everything Somali that dominate current international politics and popular percep- tions. In fact, the word ‘Somalia’ has become a synonym for war, anarchy,...

  Here is the communique from the first formal direct talks between Somalia and Somaliland since Somaliland declared itself independent more than twenty years ago. The talks were facilitated by the UK, EU and Norway. They were held in a very posh place called Chevening House in the county of Kent in south-east England. It is the official residence of the deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and the foreign secretary William Hague.  Chevening House The two sides have called on their respective presidents to meet as soon as possible.  President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia President Ahmed Silanyo of Somaliland Chevening House Declaration following talks between Somali Transitional Federal Government and Somaliland 1. Following the commitments in the London and Istanbul communiqués that the international community would support dialogue between the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (or its replacement) and Somaliland to clarify their future relations, the two s...

Nobel Lecture by Aung San Suu Kyi, Oslo, 16 June, 2012 Your Majesties, Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, Distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Dear Friends, Long years ago, sometimes it seems many lives ago, I was at Oxford listening to the radio programme Desert Island Discs with my young son Alexander. It was a well-known programme (for all I know it still continues) on which famous people from all walks of life were invited to talk about the eight discs, the one book beside the bible and the complete works of Shakespeare, and the one luxury item they would wish to have with them were they to be marooned on a desert island. At the end of the programme, which we had both enjoyed, Alexander asked me if I thought I might ever be invited to speak on Desert Island Discs. “Why not?” I responded lightly. Since he knew that in general only celebrities took part in the programme he proceeded to ask, with genuine interest, for...

Friday 15 June 2012 was the last day Focus on Africa was broadcast from Bush House, home to the BBC World Service for many decades. From now on it will broadcast from a modern building in another part of London.  The building is known as 'W1' or 'New Broadcasting House'. Here's a video of the closing moments of the programme. Lots of people came to watch including some of the brave correspondents who have reported for Focus on war in Sierra Leone, chaos in Nigeria and Museveni in Uganda.  One of those who made Focus what it is, the former Deputy Editor of the programme, Elizabeth Ohene, broadcast a farewell to Bush House. I recorded it from the noisy part of the studio, so you can hear some chatter and the presenter, Bola Mosuro, asking the producer some questions.  You can hear it by clicking on this link:  Elizabeth Ohene says goodbye Studio manager gets Focus on air The red light means Focus is live  on air We used to edit tape with razor blades o...

As a journalist specialising in Africa, my job is to cover all fifty four countries on the continent. However, Somalia takes up a lot of my time.  There is plenty to report about Somalia; it has now entered its third decade with no effective central government, and has been in a state of conflict since the late 1980s.  Perhaps I could be excused for trying to get away from it for a few days, by booking myself into a luxury hotel in Ethiopia.  My hotel I had gone to Addis Ababa for a break. As usual, a lot had been happening in Somalia and, quite frankly, apart from being exhausted, I wanted to escape for a while from all things Somali. I was staying at a beautiful hotel. And I was looking forward to a bit of lounging by the pool, pampering in the spa, and catching up with old friends. I had been hoping to swim in the pool I arrived on a Monday morning, bleary eyed from an overnight flight. I checked in and went to my room for a wash and a nap. Later, I went downstairs, t...