05 Jul 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- President Sharif calls on aid agencies to relocate to Mogadishu
- IGAD meeting ends with key outcome for Somalia
- Senior al Shabaab leader surrenders to TFG soldiers in Dhoobley
- Mogadishu mayor: “We did more in ensuring the security of the capital”
- Rwanda to host conference on peacekeeping in Somalia
- Diaspora can bring peace in Somalia says Ambassador
- IFJ condemns jailing of journalist in Somalia
- UN calls international community to assist drought affected people in East Africa
SOMALI MEDIA
President Sharif calls on aid agencies to relocate to Mogadishu
04 Jul- Source: Hiiraan Online- 157 words
The president of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has called on international humanitarian agencies to relocate to Mogadishu where he said they can deliver aid to the population safely. The president issued the statement while in Ethiopia for the IGAD meeting that ended yesterday. The president urged the aid agencies to give assistance and help to the worsening situation of the Internally Displaced Persons in the country, he said in a press statement released from the president’s office.
He said it is possible that aid can be taken to some regions and that it is inevitable for the aid to reach the people who are in dire humanitarian situation. He added that the aid agencies can now relocate to Mogadishu where they will be able to deliver the services to the drought-struck people.
Sharif appealed to the international community to send emergency aid to the Somali people who have been affected by the worst drought in 50 years.
NUSOJ praises Somali’s ministry of information, posts and telecommunication for its commitment to press freedom
04 Jul -Source: Raxanreeb- 457 words
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) applauded the Somalia’s ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunication for its commitment in developing the press freedom in the country.
In a meeting held last week at the office Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunication between the NUSOJ officials and the Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunication Dr. Abdulkareem Jama who promised that “his ministry will guarantee the press freedom, safety and the security of the journalists.”
The topics discussed include; building the capacity of the journalists in order to be a professional wise, the amendment of the press law, which media stakeholders will be able to have their inputs again and the launch of the independent Media Council that will serve for the independent media as self-regulatory body and at the same time the media council will thwart the direct arrests made by the government security forces.
“I will guarantee the press freedom, safety and the security of the journalists as they are our primary priorities.” Dr. Abdulkareem Jama, Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunication said, “I will also handover the press bill to you in order to have your input.” “I will also welcome the formation of the independent media council and we are ready to work with you in the development of the freedom of the press.” Dr. Jama added.
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) called the initiative a genuine start which the Somali journalists will be able to have a self regulatory body for their own. The union officials and Minister Abdulkareem agreed all the topics discussed during their meeting.
http://www.raxanreeb.com/?p=102376
Senior al Shabaab leader surrenders to TFG soldiers in Dhoobley
05 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 115 words
A senior al Shabaab leader is reported to have surrendered to government soldiers in Dhoobley, Lower Jubba region.
Sheikh Sandhere, a senior leader of al Shabaab who is in charge of the central police station in Dhoobley reportedly drove himself into Dhoobley where he surrendered to government soldiers. Sheikh Sandheere was reported to have escaped from the frontlines in Taabta. A telephone call with him from the government officers is said to have lead to his defection.
An officer of the government, Mohamed Hassan Bule told Bar-kulan that many young men have surrendered themselves to the government soldiers and that al Shabaab is weakening.
Mogadishu mayor: “We did more in ensuring the security of the capital”
05 Jul- Source: Shabelle- 117 words
The mayor of Mogadishu and governor of Banadir region, Mohamoud Ahmed Nur, on Tuesday stated that his administration has done a good job of ensuring security in Mogadishu. In an interview with BBC Somali Service, Mr. Nur spelled out that the administration has managed to partially restore the grace and the beautifulness of Mogadishu.
He noted that they have repaired and reconstructed key roads in Mogadishu and intelligence personnel from the administration have been helping security forces in restoring peace and tranquility in the capital.
http://shabelle.net/article.php?id=8335http://shabelle.net/article.php?id=8335
IGAD meeting ends with key outcome for Somalia
05 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Radio Mogadishu- 152 words
The meeting of IGAD member countries that was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ended with the resolution for the urgent need to address the abject humanitarian situation in Somalia. The member countries agreed to assist Somalis who have been mostly affected by drought and conflict. The aid will be channeled through the airport and the seaport in the areas, which the government controls.
The foreign minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Omar who gave an interview to Radio Mogadishu said the government was asked to complete pending tasks among which is the draft constitution, the reshuffling of the parliament and the operations of the soldiers in a bid to maintain security.
The IGAD member countries called upon the African Union and the United Nations to strengthen the political and the security support for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.
Al Shabaab abduct WHO worker in Baidoa
05 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 86 words
Al Shabaab has abducted Farah Ahmed, an aid worker with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Bay and Bakool region. A colleague working with WHO in Baidoa confirmed to Barkulan that al Shabaab abducted Farah Ahmed from his home.
UN calls international community to assist drought affected people in East Africa
04 Jul- Source: Radio BBC Somali Service- 91 words
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNOCHA, has said the international community is required to immediately tackle the worst ever drought in east Africa over 60 years. Humanitarian organizations said the drought has affected 10 million people living in Uganda, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
The Dadaab Refugee Camp, Northeastern, Kenya is home to more than 380,000 Somalis who fled from their homes mainly in Somalia due to the protracted civil war and severe drought. Humanitarian organizations seem to be unable to offer assistance to overcrowded refugee camps.
Somali lawmaker resigns
05 Jul- Source: Shabelle, Mareeg – 137 words
A Somali parliamentarian on Tuesday announced he had resigned from his post as a lawmaker. Speaking to BBC Somali Service, Ali Mohamed Ali said he stepped down because the government of Somalia had failed to live up what it was mandated.
Ali noted that he worked as a member of Somali transitional federal parliament (TFP) for about two years.
He said the government didn’t make any improvement during the past the two years, except during the term of former Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo who he said had done a good job.
He accused the leaders of Somalia of being not sincere in bringing peace, law and order to the country.
http://shabelle.net/article.php?id=8333
REGIONAL MEDIA
Rwanda to host conference on peacekeeping in Somalia
05 Jul- Source: the Times (Rwanda) – 315 words
Rwanda will, this week, host an African Union conference on peace keeping in Somalia. The three-day conference (July 6 – 8), aims at examining the implementation of International Humanitarian Law by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
AMISOM is an active regional peacekeeping mission to the war torn Somalia operated by the African Union with the approval of the UN. It was created by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council on 19th January 2007 with an initial six month mandate. It replaced and subsumed the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Peace Support Mission to Somalia (IGASOM).
Speaking to the New Times yesterday the Director for Europe, Americas and international organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ben Rutsinga, said that Rwanda was chosen to host the conference because of the successful peace keeping operations in various countries. “Rwanda will have an opportunity to share its own experiences,” said Rutsinga.
Rwanda is lately involved in various peace keeping missions in countries like Sudan, Haiti, Liberia and others. According to a press release from the ministry, the conference will seek to enhance the understanding of AMISOM mandate and tasks by the participating actors and stakeholders.
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14677&article=42855
Diaspora can bring peace in Somalia, says Ambassador
05 Jul – Source: Qatar Tribute- 340 Words
Ambassador Omar Ali Idris has said that if Somalis in the Diaspora could unite, they could bring back peace in their homeland which has been disturbed for the last 20 years. The envoy was speaking at a function to commemorate Somalia’s 51st independence anniversary on Sunday. (…)
He added that Somalis are successful in the Diaspora and should therefore unite to restore peace in Somalia. “Although we have gone through a difficult time in the past 20 years, there are many signs indicating that we are coming back as a nation”, he said.
All over the world, the Somali community marked the Independence Day with zeal. “Some of these people have never even been to Somalia. We have a feeling that these people can help in uniting the county,” the ambassador said.
http://www.qatar-tribune.com/data/20110705/content.asp?section=Nation2_1
President Kibaki backs action on Eritrea terror link
04 Jul- Source: Daily Nation – 463 words
President Kibaki has asked the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development to act on the security threat posed by Eritrea in the region.
Speaking at an IGAD meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday, the President said the group’s Executive Council had drawn attention to the growing destabilisation activities in the region associated with Eritrea.
The Executive Council has censured Eritrea for engaging in subversive activities against its neighbours.
“This is a matter of serious concern and it is my hope that this Summit will focus some attention on it in view of the need for collective security and sustainable peace,” President Kibaki said. He added: “It is in the interest of all our countries that these issues are adequately dealt with at this summit.”
Eritrea has been accused of sponsoring Al Shabaab, a Somali militant group associated with the al Qaeda terror network. Mr Kibaki’s sentiments underline concern about the threat posed to Kenya’s security by al Shabaab.
Twenty-four suspected pirates charged in Kenyan court
05 Jul- Source: Nairobi Star- 268 words
The 24 suspected pirates arrested by the Dutch Navy have finally pleaded to piracy charges. The suspects, who were represented by lawyer Jared Magolo, denied attacking a ship, FV Ariya on 12 May while armed with guns and grenades.
They complained that despite the court directing that they be treated for the injuries they sustained during their ordeal with the navy at sea, nothing has been done.
The suspects also complained before Chief Magistrate Rosemelle Mutoka that the food provided in remand was too little. “The court had directed that they be treated at the Coast General Provincial Hospital over the injuries they sustained at sea, some of which were caused by the navy, but that is yet to happen,” Magolo said.
Last week, the Kenyan attorney-general denied claims that the Dutch Navy tortured and killed several suspected pirates before handing them over to Kenya for prosecution. The office also objected to pleas by the suspects to have them tried in Somalia, saying Kenya also has a right, just like any nation, to try piracy suspects.
The suspects claimed their rights were violated by the navy during the arrest but the prosecutor Alexander Muteti claimed four of the suspects were shot and killed after they engaged in a fire exchange with them (navy). “It is true that four suspects were killed and buried at sea under the Islamic laws, others who were shot at had engaged the navy in shootings, that is why they were seriously injured,” he said. Magolo had claimed that the suspects were mere fishermen and were arrested very few miles from the Somali coastline.
Wages of war – my experience in the Mogadishu frontline
04 Jul- Source: Nairobi Star, allAfrica – 1487 words
Star reporter Francis Mureithi is just back from Mogadishu, Somalia, and narrates about his experience in this ghost town where gunshots are the norm It is by all means and descriptions a ghost town, perhaps displaying magnificently the wages of war. The once beautiful capital city at the coast of the Indian Ocean near the Equator, Mogadishu, the capital of troubled Somalia, is phantom of what it was 21 years ago.
I depart for Mogadishu at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at exactly 7.45am via African Express Airways, a commercial airline, with my return ticket costing US$420 (Sh37,800). Inside the plane, I notice a sizeable number of well-dressed Somali men and women, some with their children aged between one and 10 years. They are chatting in Somali language, which I can hardly comprehend. But their laughter and facial expression tells me that they are a happy lot. I assume they are Somali citizens, or were once Somali citizens who ran away from their country as a result of the armed conflict which begun in 1991 after the ouster of then President Siad Barre.
It is still not yet clear to me why anyone would want to return to a war-torn country, and making it worse with little children. I pose the question to three other Kenyan journalists whom I am traveling with, but no one has a tangible explanation.
At exactly 9am, we land at the Aden-Adde International Airport in Mogadishu. Constructed in the 1940s by the Italians, this facility was originally known as the Mogadishu International Airport.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201107050155.html
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
IFJ condemns jailing of journalist in Somalia
04 Jul- Source: IFJ- 321 words
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the ruling of a court in the town of Bossaso, northern Somalia, sentencing Faysal Mohamed Hassan, a reporter of a leading Somali news website, Hiraan Online (HOL), to one year jail term for allegedly “jeopardising security of Puntland and publishing false news”.
According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), an IFJ affiliate, Hassan was arrested on Wednesday morning by Puntland police at HOL’s office in Bossasso. The police reportedly had come to arrest the journalist on Tuesday when they visited his office and waited for him at least three hours at his apartment.
“We are outraged by the court’s harsh ruling against the journalist and call for its reversal,” said Beth Costa, IFJ General Secretary. “The jailing order continues the escalation of a series of violations of media rights in Somalia which indicates a pattern of intimidation and harassment targeting journalists.”
NUSOJ also condemned the court case against Hassan, accusing the authorities of attempting to silence the media. The charges against the journalist are linked to the article he published on his website about the killing of two soldiers in the Bari region. The authorities in Puntland claim the report was false.
“We urge the Puntland authorities to change course and respect journalists’ rights and freedoms,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General. “The action taken against Hassan is a real threat to media freedom in Somalia.”
The IFJ has also expressed concerns over the reports that the authorities in Puntland are considering deporting Hassan to Ethiopia because of his alleged connections with clans in the Ogaden province, according to a statement published on NUSOJ website.
http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-condemns-jailing-of-journalist-in-somalia
Drought decimates livestock, hits income
04 Jul – Source: IRIN – 1126 words
A severe drought ravaging the arid and semi-arid parts of the Horn of Africa region is threatening the livelihoods of pastoral communities, with massive livestock deaths recorded amid an increase in deadly conflict over resources.
Pastoralists depend on livestock for all their basic needs and any losses undermine their economic and food security. Livestock sales are often used to buy grain and lack of milk and meat contribute to high malnutrition levels.
“The value of livestock – people’s main assets in many of the worst affected areas – has plummeted and livestock markets have collapsed, so people have much less purchasing power than before. People’s livelihoods have already been decimated, but there is now also a real risk of large-scale loss of life,” warns Oxfam in a 1 July statement, adding that in some parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, at least 60 percent of the herds have perished.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93142
Halima Omar, “I watched four of my children die of hunger
04 Jul – Source: IRIN – 426 words
With 100 heads of cattle, Halima Omar’s family were considered fairly well off in their community in Da’ara village in Somalia’s Lower Shebelle region. However, after three years of consecutive drought, the herd has been reduced to nothing and the family has been displaced.
Omar, 30, has buried four of her children, who died of hunger, and is now one of thousands of drought-displaced people migrating to urban centres in search of help in southern Somalia.
Omar’s home is a makeshift shelter in a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), with more than 3,000 families (18,000 people) near Kurtunwarey district, 140km south of the capital, Mogadishu. A community leader in the camp told IRIN that trucks were picking up emaciated families by the roadsides and dropping them off at the nearest urban centres.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93141
CULTURE/BLOGS/EDITORIAL
Somali gangs take piracy to industrial scales
04 Jul- Source: the Citizen- 781 words
Somali pirates are taking piracy to an industrial scales and the number of seafarers killed due to piracy has escalated in the past four years with 62 merchant sailors losing their lives through torture, execution, suicide and malnutrition, campaigners said.Somali gangs, who are making millions of dollars in ransoms, are becoming increasingly violent, and are able to stay out at sea for long periods and in all weather conditions using captured merchant vessels as mother ships. “Sixty two seafarers have died in the past four years as a direct result of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, through deliberate murder by pirates, suicide during the period of captivity, death from malnutrition and disease, death by drowning, or heart failure just after the hijacking,” said SOS SaveOurSeafarers.
SOS said two seamen were killed in 2007 as a result of pirate attacks, adding that piracy had worsened since then.
Overstretched international navies have proved unable to contain the raids in the Indian Ocean due to the vast distances involved in a crisis costing world trade billions of dollars a year.”It is government inaction that has allowed piracy to spiral out of control in this area,” said SOS, which is backed by the shipping and marine insurance organisations and a major workers’ union.
“It’s time to stop this outrage. It’s time for governments to take action.”SOS said during the four-year period, more than 3,500 seafarers had been kidnapped and held hostage by pirate gangs, who have used them as human shields and forced crew members to operate vessels as mother ships.