TO:

. United Nations Political Office for Somalia
. International Contact Group on Somalia
. Office of the President-Somali Transitional Federal Government
. Office of Prime Minister-Somali Transitional Federal Government
. Somali Republic Supreme Court

CC:
. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
. World Trade Organization.
. World Bank Anti-Corruption Unit.
. Transparency International Institution.
. World Check Institution

Corruption in Somalia and, broadly speaking, in East Africa remains a serious structural problem that not only adversely affects the country’s peace and stability, but also places a direct burden on the population. Corruption has a very strong root in TFG of Somalia as a whole. It is very common that almost every government official profit from corruption activities.

Corruption has swept Somalia Political affairs like a tidal wave in twenty years of chaos. All government officials have become avenues for lining the pockets of the national resources. The corrupt practices of the TFG, and members of the parliament, have hit the country like a tetra-headed anaconda.

This Petition Is To Request A Special Investigation Of Allegedly Illegal Payments as Made To Bribe The Allegedly Corrupt Government Officials. Under provisions of International Anti-Corruption Treaties and conventions law enforcement agencies have authority to take action if there is a pattern or practice of illegal conduct.

We remain of abiding concern that all cases of bribery and other criminal aspects of corruption shall only be effectively fought against if prosecuted with an international dimension. Having this in mind we urge competent authorities to investigate into alleged anti-corruption legislation violation.

Whereas, on the ricklatona.com, published on August 2, 2010, an article interviewing a man named Hiro Tsukahara from GMO registry stating “first encounter with the gentlemen from Somalia was in Nairobi, right before the ICANN meeting earlier this year. We immediately sat down for discussions and met again at a later date in Tokyo to finalize the deal.” Rick Latona article reports an unconstitutional deal that was secretly signed by former Chief of Staff and presidential aide named Abdulkareem Jama that appoints GMO registry to market .so, the country code for Somalia (http://www.ricklatona.com/2010/08/02/so-is-coming-so-heres-an-interview-with-the-gentlemen-behind-the-new-so-registry/).

IANA guidelines on the Re-delegation of the .SO Top-Level Domain reads that the Somali government is not in place of running TLD registries with efficient management structures, policies, security and reliability mechanisms.

In addition, it was widely reported that Somalia’s unrestricted investor freedom to establish their businesses as the main force fueling the current ongoing instability. There are currently about 10 telecom companies competing in an unregulated environment governed only by a price war. They do not have to pay taxes or fees to obtain licenses, bribe ministry employees, etc.. It is worth mentioning that since the outbreak of civil war in 1991 there was no sustainable legislation or law on how Internet resources are managed.

In the process of requesting the re-delegation of the Somalia’s Top Level Domain (Somali-TLD), The TFG and Minister of Post and Telecommunications forged required documentations to misrepresent the current political condition in Somalia and the country’s investment in training and technical operations that are vital requirements for the country to manage its own Top Level Domain (.so).

As Somali intellectuals and communication experts as well as the international community at large are aware that Somali is torn apart by civil conflict and has a budget or revenue of less than $2 million, and the country has no working infrastructure especially the Minister of Post has no simple office supplies how they will be able to supervise and operate the domain name from within Somalia as the government controls less than a quarter of the capital.

Somali Minister of Post and Telecommunications and other unnamed government officials have secretly and illegally entered into partnership with GMO Registry to set a deal to contract out and publicly sell Somalia’s country domain code – a deal more than $20 million USD and secretly exchanged without the knowledge of the Somali public and elected parliamentarians in which Somalis dying innocents and internally displaced people saw no single penny at all. This is a grave concern to us.

We publicly criticize the Somali Prime Minister on appointing Mr. Jama as a Minister of Post and Telecommunications and for failing to respond for more than a month to a request to investigate accusations the contracts that has been offered well below market rates to politically connected companies, as well as the lack of transparencies to where the $20 million went or spent.

The petition allegation is based upon the fact that the alleged bribery have been made in the form of obtaining of an un-authorized sovereign country domain name. In this petition, we claim and request that a thorough investigation be made into suspicion that all the acts described might have constituted an illegal exchange of public property and that acts of bribery has occurred.

We, the undersigned, demand a full and transparent investigation of the TFG and Minister of Posts and Telecommunications’ corruption allegations in public view. We want to know what additional information on the involvement in corrupt activities of “other Somali governmental personalities involved” this allegation contains. And, what action does the UN and international donors intend to take to deal with this corruption? As Somali Diaspora, who have stake in Somalia’s stability and return to nationhood, we are entitled to no less than full disclosure of any potential corruption of the Somali government — especially when funds obtained under-bribery or corruption could circulate or end-up into the wrong hands.

Somali Information and Telecommunications Society (SITS)

Name Email
Ismail D. Osman. Sr. Telecom Engineer: osmando@gmail.com
Sheikhnor Qassim. MIB, Business Analyst: sheiknor @ hotmail.com
Sakawadin Mohamed, MS, MPA-can, Sr. Policy Analyst: moham284 @ gmail.com
Mahad Maalinguur: MBA, Director of Technology: mhaad @ yahoo.com

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION – http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/944/918/661/

THANK YOU