Somaliland detains former minister

The authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have detained Gen Jama Muhammad Ghalib, a former interior minister and police chief of Somalia, according to his son Abdirahman Jama. Ghalib, who hails from Somaliland, is a delegate to the Somali peace talks currently under way in Kenya and a vocal supporter of Somali unity within a federal system of government. He opposes Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence from the rest of Somalia. He was detained on Saturday at Hargeysa airport, where the aircraft he was travelling in landed in transit to Mogadishu. "He was kept at the airport police cell for the night," Abdirahman told IRIN. On Sunday he was moved to a jail in town. Abdirahman said he was allowed to see his father on Sunday afternoon "after the intervention of elders". "He seemed to be in good condition," he added. He claimed the authorities arrested his father for supporting the concept of "a federal Somalia including Somaliland". "He was offered freedom if he would renounce his position, but he refused," Abdirahman said. Somaliland Information Minister Abdullahi Muhammad Du'ale told IRIN that Ghalib was detained on Saturday because he had broken Somaliland laws. "Anyone from Somaliland who advocates the reunification of Somaliland with Somalia calls into question the existence of the country and will therefore face the law," Du'ale said. He said Ghalib's case would go "through the proper legal channels". Ghalib is a member of the Gar-Hajis, numerically one of the largest subclans of the Isak, the dominant clan in northwestern Somalia. Meanwhile, Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) has called for the release of Ghalib. "We regret the detention of Gen Jama and call on the authorities there to release him immediately and unconditionally in the interest of peace and stability," Information Minister Abdirahman Ibbi told IRIN.