Somaliland

Will the UK help to develop a comprehensive media law in Somaliland? A 3-4 year project costing £700k has been put to the FCO and DfID, as Yusuf Gabobe told me this morning. I will see whether the Somaliland Parliamentary Group can do anything to help this valuable initiative. Somaliland is one of the most democratic countries in Africa, but it needs a lot of help with drafting laws, and freedom of expression needs to be underpinned. Gabobe himself, publisher of the independent Somali-language daily Haatuf, was released after nearly three months in prison on March 20 this year.