04 Jul 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- President Sharif calls for immediate ceasefire in central Somalia
- President Sharif attends regional summit in Ethiopia
- PM names national committee for drought
- We will liberate entire Somalia says President Sharif Sheikh
- Somali govt urges IDPs to return their homes in parts of Mogadishu
- AU honours peacekeepers in Somalia
- Al Shabaab charged with stoking clan fighting in central Somalia
- Britain pledges to help drought victims in East Africa
SOMALI MEDIA
President Sharif calls for immediate ceasefire in central Somalia
04 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Shabelle, Bar-Kulan and Kulmiye – 92 words
The President has called for an immediate cease fire between fighting fraternal clans in central Somalia. Speaking at a news conference in Mogadishu, President Sharif said brothers should not be fighting against each other at this time. He reiterated his call for an immediate stop to the bloodshed in Dhegtur village as fighting is intensifying between the tribes from the regions of Mudug and Galgudud in central Somalia.
President Sharif attends regional summit in Ethiopia
04 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Bar-kulan and Shabelle – 112 words
President Sheikh Sharif arrived in Ethiopia to attend an extraordinary summit of the Inter- Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which will be held in Addis Ababa today. The defense ministers of IGAD member states will discuss the current situation in Somalia and other regional issues.
PM names national committee for drought
04 Jul – Source: Radio Shabelle – 192 words
As drought affected people continue pouring into Mogadishu, Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the prime minister has appointed a National Committee for drought to tackle drought related issues.
The ministers who will make up the committee are: the Minister of Defense; the Minister of Health and Social Welfare; the Minister of Women & Family Affairs; the Minister of Interior; the Minister of Finance; the Minister of General Affairs and Reconstruction and the Minister of Information, Posts & Telecommunication.
After the nomination, Mr. Ali ordered the ministers to act quickly and assess the drought and its effects. He also urged the committee to start helping the needy drought-displaced people. He called for all humanitarian agencies to work and cooperate with the committee. He urged the international community to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to the Somali people who are struggling with severe drought.
Tense calm reported in Mudug, as death toll rises to 30
04 Jul – Source: Mareeg Online – 166 words
Tense calm has been reported in Dhagtur village, where heavy fighting between two clan militias has been ongoing for the past 24 hours, witnesses said on Monday.
Locals in Mudug region say that at least 30 people were killed and 70 others wounded during the bitter fighting between the two sides in Mudug region. According to health officials, many of the wounded were rushed to hospitals in Galka’o, the centre of Mudug region.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=20260&tirsan=3
Somali govt urges IDPs to return their homes in parts of Mogadishu
04 Jul- Source: Shabelle- 136 words
The ministry of interior and home security on Sunday called on Internally Displaced People (IDPs) to return their homes in parts of Mogadishu.
Speaking at a press conference, the deputy minister of interior of home security, Ibrahim Isaq Yarow said that IDPs in the districts of Howlwadag and Hodan in Banadir region that are now in the control of the TFG are able to go back to their homes. The minister reiterated that government forces will guarantee security in the districts.
http://shabelle.net/article.php?id=8298
Al Shabaab charged with stoking clan fighting in central Somalia
03 Jul – Source: Shabelle – 185 words
The administration of Ahlu Sunna Waljama (ASWJ) on Sunday accused al Shabaab of fueling clan related hostilities in Dhegtur village, central Somalia.
As heavy clashes between the two clans continues in parts of Mudug region, Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Abdurrahman, the spokesman of ASWJ said that al Shabaab is playing a leading role in the continuing clannish battles in central Somalia, but declined to specify al Shabaab’s role.
http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=8274
Somaliland President accepts invitation to attend South Sudan’s declaration of independence
03 Jul – Source: Somaliland Press – 263 words
President Ahmed Siilanyo received an official invitation from the president of South Sudan Salva Kiir to attend the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of South Sudan on the 9th of July, 2011. South Sudan is set to become the 54th nation in the African continent after long fought civil against Northern Sudan’s rule that saw thousands of lives lost and millions displaced.
The invitation of Somaliland’s president Ahmed Siilanyo to South Sudan’s historic day has been welcomed with delight in Somaliland by both the government of Somaliland and its citizens.
Somaliland believes it could use the south’s independence as a precedent as it seeks more support for its case for international recognition and become the 55th nation in the continent after South Sudan.
Puntland legislators approve cabinet ministers
04 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 135 words
The parliament of Puntland administration has endorsed the cabinet appointed by president of the self declared state.
The 46 legislators who attended the 26th session of the Puntland parliament in Garowe approved the cabinet by a show of hands. The speaker of the parliament of Puntland, Abdirashid Mohamed Hirsi said the approval of the cabinet ministers was the main agenda of the parliamentary session.
The cabinet ministers were appointed by the president six months ago following a cabinet reshuffle.
Clerics, traditional elders and young men arrested in Somaliland
04 Jul- Source: Mareeg- 152 words
At least 10 people including clerics, religious men and young teenagers have been arrested in Las Anod town of Sool region, a disputed region in the north Somalia after Somaliland troops conducted operations there, witnesses said on Sunday.
There is no comment over the operations from the officials of the town as the operations still continue in different neighborhoods of the town.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=20253&tirsan=3
REGIONAL MEDIA
We will liberate entire Somalia, says President Sharif Sheikh
03 Jul- Source: Daily Monitor – 1005 words
Somalia has been rocked by civil wars for more than 20 years. But following the deployment of African Union peacekeepers consisting of troops from Uganda and Burundi, peace is slowly but surely returning in the country. Risdel Kasasira recently attended a press conference addressed by Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in a local language at his Palace in Mogadishu.
Below is the translated version.
What can you list as your achievement ever since you came to office?
I cannot summarise within this short time what I have done since I became president. But I have tried to build a police force and an army that will defend the interests of Somalia. We have spent a lot of time trying to improve the security situation in Mogadishu. We are also are building institutions, justice. We have done a great job.
Somalia has been rated among the most corrupt countries. What are you doing to fight the vice?
It is unfortunate that Somalia has been listed among the most corrupt countries. But this is because we do not have a strong government that can defend our country against these false accusations. We have built a strong Finance Ministry which is supervised by professional people. Right from the minister, his deputy and other technical people, they are all competent people. We have reformed the Central Bank. We really do not have lots of problems like many people have portrayed. Secondly, we do not have resources to steal. We do not have a lot of revenue for people to steal. Somalia is still a poor country. It is unfortunate that Somalia has been bundled with other countries that have been rated as the most corrupt.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/-/689844/1193034/-/phqn68/-/index.html
AU honours peacekeepers in Somalia
03 Jul- Source: African Press Agency APA, Afrique Avenir – 376 words
The Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia, Hon. Wafula Wamunyinyi, presided over a medal parade on Friday to honour officers and men of the Ugandan contingent of AMISOM being rotated.
According to a press briefing from the AU mission in Somalia sent to APA Sunday, the ceremony which was also attended by the outgoing Force Commander, the incoming Force Commander, AMISOM Chief of staff, and AMISOM Chief Administrative Officer, brought together in the same gathering soldiers and their senior officers, AMISOM senior staff and other members of the African Union mission in Somalia.
“The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) organized this farewell ceremony in honor of outgoing officers who have been serving in Mogadishu more than a year. The ceremony took place in the compound of the headquarters of the Ugandan contingent. In front of colourful flags of the AU, Uganda and Burundi, the officers stood at attention in a single row as they were called one by one to receive their respective medal and certificate. This was meant to acknowledge their dedication, courage, and skills which has kept most parts of Mogadishu relatively safe” according to the statement.
http://www.afriqueavenir.org/en/2011/07/03/au-honours-peacekeepers-in-somalia/
Pirates, a threat to the global supply chain
03 Jul- Source: the East Africa- 348 words
International shipping companies have warned of the threat to the global supply chain from piracy off the coast of Somalia. The latest figures show the economic cost of the attacks at around $12 billion a year.
Michael Parkerat, president International Chamber of Shipping warned governments to do more to tackle the threat to merchant vessels if they are serious about maintaining the efficiency and security of global trade.
The escalating pirate attacks threatened the stability and security of energy supplies which would affect both developing and industrialised countries.
“Governments need to take the situation far more seriously,” he said. “The immediate need is to tackle the pirates with increased military resources before our seafarers decide that they are simply unwilling to continue risking their lives.”
Mr Parkerat’s comments followed concerns by the International Transport Workers Federation that many international seafarers were reaching the point at which they will refuse to sail to the ports of East Africa or up through the Gulf of Aden and into the Red Sea.
Address root causes of piracy in Somalia
02 Jul- Source: the Standard – 624 words
There is spotlight on Somalia as many countries continue sending navy ships to the Indian Ocean to combat piracy that has burgeoned into an international crisis.
Within the United Nations, debate on how to deal with the Somali “problem” and the interest of the international community to confront the menace is also being voiced with realisation that to truly address this vice, the complexity and roots of the issue must be acknowledged.
The UN countries are realising that a purely naval response, one mainly meant to reduce pirate attacks, though succeeding in the short term, may not eradicate piracy.
Though patrols by naval forces have led to a situation where there has been no successful piracy event in the Gulf of Aden since last September, this does not mean the menace is sorted out. More than $110 million (Sh9.9b) was paid to these pirates in ransom last year alone and more than 1,000 seafarers are currently detained on ships hijacked by the brigands.
Recently six foreigners, including two Kenyans arrested for smuggling $3.6 million (Sh324m) into Somalia to pay ransom to pirates who had taken ships and people hostage, were freed.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Britain pledges to help drought victims in East Africa
03 Jul- Source: International Business Times – 447 words
Britain has pledged to offer £38-million ($61-million) to Ethiopia in order to feed more than one million people who have been devastated by a severe drought.
Andrew Mitchell, secretary of International Development. said the cash delivered to the World Food Program will also be made available to 329,000 malnourished children and mothers. Valerie Ann Amos (Baroness Amos), the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, has urged wealthy countries to help East Africa.
“In the drought-affected areas we now have 10 million people who are affected,” she told BBC.
“In Somalia the numbers have now gone up to 2.5 million people. So we are talking about an extremely serious situation. I think as a world community we have recognized that when people are in this kind of desperate emergency situation that you have to be neutral and you have to be impartial in the way that you help people.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/173681/20110703/uk-somalia-ethiopia-drought.htm
S. Korean Navy chases away suspected pirate ships
04 Jul- Source: Yonhap News Agency- 83 words
A South Korean naval helicopter chased away three suspected pirate ships attempting to approach a South Korean commercial vessel in Somali waters over the weekend, the military here said Monday.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Cheonghae Unit received a call from the 17,000- ton vessel Azalea around 1 a.m. Sunday, Korean time, that three ships were approaching. The naval unit dispatched a Lynx helicopter from its destroyer, Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin, and the chopper fired off three flares at 2:18 a.m.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/07/04/0200000000AEN20110704003600315.HTML
Chinese navy sends escort fleet to Gulf of Aden
02 Jul- Source: xinhua- 124 words
The ninth group of Chinese navy escort ships left the Zhanjiang Port in southern China’s Guangdong Province on Saturday for the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia on an escort mission, the Ministry of Transport said.
The new fleet, comprising the destroyer Wuhan, and the frigate Yulin, as well as the supply ship Qinghaihu, will replace a flotilla sent earlier to guard against pirates, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.
The fleet is armed with two helicopters and carries a total of 878 seamen and officers on board, including dozens of Marine Corps.
The destroyer Wuhan and the frigate Yulin will arrive in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somali after they participate in an international defense exhibition in Brunei, according to the statement.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-07/02/c_13962492.htm
Fake drugs adding to death toll in warring Somalia
02 Jul- Source: All Headline News – 551 words
Somalia is a country ravaged by long-standing conflict. Ongoing war for the last 20 years is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people, while thousands of others have fled the country. Add to those problems the widespread trade in counterfeit drugs that is considered responsible for the death and suffering of many people.
“We are living in a country where the easiest way to become a businessman is to install a pharmacy or a small kiosk selling medicine even if you have never been a nurse or never seen a doctor,” Abdirizak Elmi, a resident in Mogadishu, told Somalia Report, blaming what he called unscrupulous businessmen for killing people in cold-blooded murder.
In Mogadishu, it is very hard to distinguish authentic medicine from fake drugs and it is common to hear that different capsules contain chalk, flour or other powdery substances.
“That is why patients are always in queue, regularly visiting doctors as they were not recovered from illness as a result of counterfeit drugs,“ said Dr. Awil Ahmed. “People should be aware of the fake medicines that could even kill people rather than curing,” he added.
Counterfeit drugs are often imported from countries in Asia, Africa and Europe and sold openly in markets. Somalia has had no medical ethics enforcement agency for the last 20 years. “Even in Mogadishu you have access to buy drugs banned worldwide including Femidol, Novelgin and excessive drugs like diazepam without medical prescription,” Sahra Mohamed, a member of the medical staff at Banadir Maternity hospital in Mogadishu, told Somalia Report. “These kind of businessman is run by people who do not care about the health and wellbeing of their people and they are money oriented, “ she added.
It is also difficult to distinguish out-dated medicine because many of the people in this business use forged labels, changing the date of the expired medicine, and unaware civilians take it as genuine drug for treatment.
Since 1991, after the collapse of the military regime of Mohamed Siyad Barre, Somalia has had no quality control system or laboratories for analysis of medicines and imported food. This has resulted in the country becoming a booming market for counterfeits of different products including medicine.
World Health Organization officials, Somali health authorities and local NGOs have staged several campaigns to create awareness of the hazards of counterfeit drugs and their health risks, but the illegal trade continues, noted Dr. Mohamoud Fuje, head of the WHO country office in Mogadishu.
“Some people just want to became rich in one day, they do not care about the life of their fellow brothers,” he said. “What is needed in Somalia is drug and quality control agency responsible for compiling standards and formulating regulations.”
CULTURE/BLOGS/EDITORIAL
Kampala Accord infringes on Somalia’s sovereignty and healing prospect
03 Jul – Hiiraan Online (Mohamud M Uluso) – 1,100 words
The Kampala Accord (KA), drafted under the direction of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Dr. Augustine Mahiga, the Special Representative of Secretary General (SRSG) resembles the colonial treaties signed by Somali Traditional Leaders for personal gains or rivalry. President Sheikh Sharif and Speaker Sharif Hassan signed the KA on June 9, 2011 in Kampala, Uganda. Their political ambitions were addressed at the expense of Somalia’s sovereignty and interests. All conscientious people have concurred that KA infringes on Somalia’s sovereignty and internal healing prospect for peace and stability.
My view is that the President and the Speaker did not possess the authority, capacity and required preparations to enter into such an Accord that violates the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) and substantially alters the relationship between governed and governors of Somalia. The two leaders went to Kampala as two disputants over their legitimacy and not as two legitimate leaders promoting issues of national interests. They were remiss of their responsibility to defend national interests. Their actions were influenced by conflict of interests or quid pro quo, which makes the provisions of the KA void. Implementation of KA is a violation of Somalia’s independence and citizenship.
Therefore, in addition to bringing the KA to the Parliament for nullification, the conscientious citizens of Somalia and others have the solemn responsibility to subject KA to constitutional and political de-legitimization in every forum possible to prevent its deleterious consequences. President Sheikh Sharif and Speaker Hassan are associates of peace spoilers and national disgrace. In an article published in the New York Times of June 13, President Sharif has been described as “an ineffective leader,” while Speaker Sharif Hassan Sh Adan was portrayed as “an illiterate but wily livestock trader.”
As the end of the collective mandate of TFIs on August 20, 2011 was approaching, the Speaker of Parliament who became challenger to President Sheikh Sharif passed a resolution, which extended term of parliament for three more years and mandated the election of new President and Speaker. The President and the Prime Minister proposed alternatively one year extension for all Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) and postponement of leaders’ election. The Speaker ignored the alternative proposal.
The President and the PM criticized the Speaker’s excesses. Leaders of Regional States, politicians, intellectuals and members of civil society suggested parliament reform by reducing the number of MPs and improving the qualifications of Members of Parliament. But the Speaker argued that it is difficult to select new Members of Parliament. However, he and the President have selected in Djibouti 275 MPs in less than one week.
After months of irreconcilable confrontations between TFIs leaders mainly because of foreign influences, Presidents of Uganda and Burundi, whose forces control Mogadishu, proposed one year extension for all TFIs during the International Contact Group meeting in Kampala on June 2- 3. Thus, the Speaker shifted his goal and asked the dismissal of the Council of Ministers to replace with Council of Ministers under shared control of both President and Speaker as equals. The President whose single interest was to get Speaker’s consent for one year extension accepted readily Prime Minister’s dismissal. This kind of political arrangement is against the TFC provisions and government practices because Ministers are under the control of and accountability to the Prime Minister and not to the President and Speaker.
80% of the Somali people rejected the KA for five reasons. Before explaining the reasons, it is worth recognizing that Artist Amin Amir, the Voice of America (VOA) and to certain an extent the BBC deserve credit and appreciation for their responsible coverage of the public sentiment of spontaneous revolt and demonstrations against the KA. The rant of President Sheikh Sharif on the genuine popular repudiation of KA is an indication of poor judgment and leadership. His calculation is that foreign powers, committed to enforce the KA, will defend and protect all his abuses of power and will ignore the will of the people of Somalia.
The five reasons behind the popular rejection of KA are: (1) Reward of personal interests at the expense of national interests; (2) Unlawful abrogation of the Transitional Federal Charter, particularly elimination of checks and balances between national Institutions; (3) Practical abolition of the unity and scope of the Council of Ministers; Creation of two new political factions or camps led by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan; (4) Suspension of people’s right to exercise their political and civil rights without intimidation and fear; and (5) Institutionalization of foreign control, dependence, and imposition of transitional tasks, like a new ‘Federal Constitution’, which have been strongly opposed by the majority of the Somali people. The KA has downgraded the role, power and control of the Somali stakeholders over their national affairs.
http://www.hiiraan.com/op2/2011/july/kampala_accord_infringes_on_somalia_s_sovereignty_an d_healing_prospect.aspx