July 4, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Turkey starts training Somali police force

04 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Somalilanpress/Radio Mogadishu- 187 words

Turkey has started training the first patch of Somali police officers in its country in order to help them stabilise their war-torn country. Over sixty officers were recently flown to Turkey where they will undergo police trainings. Out of the sixty officers, five are said to be women and will undergo special trainings in guarding government installations and detectives.

A colourful ceremony was yesterday held at Turkish Police Academy in Stanbul where high ranking Turkish officials and Somalia envoy to Turkey Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman were present.

Somali embassy officials in Turkey thanked the Turkish government for its continuous support to the Somali republic. Turkey pledged to train and equip Somalia’s security forces in 2010 during the first Istanbul conference. The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has promised to assist the African country with its security challenges along with education, infrastructure and development.

Turkish military police units will train the inadequately trained and ill-equipped Somali force teaching them basic skills such as arrest procedures, traffic control and field communications.

A number of African states including Nigeria and Uganda also pledged their support to train the Somali force.

Key Headlines

Somalia on track to end transition says PM (Daily Nation)
Somali president’s foreign trips part of his re-election campaign (Jowhar Online/Caasimada Online)
Rawlings condemns dumping of toxic material on Somali Coast (myjoyonline)
Turkey starts training Somali police force (Radio Bar-kulan/Somalilandpress)
Somali security forces arrest alleged al Shabaab associates in Afgoye (Shabelle)
Somali judges learn to prosecute pirates (National)
Somaliland president welcomes recent talks with Somalia in UAE (Radio Bar-kulan)
IDPs protest against widespread corruption (Radio Risaala)
Somaliland police arrest al Shabaab suspects including Portuguese man (Somalilandpress)
Al Shabaab desecrate graves in Mudug region (Radio Bar-kulan)
Galmudug issues warning to aid agencies (Somalia Report)

PRESS STATEMENT

International Contact Group on Somalia, 2-3 July 2012, Rome, Final Communiqué

03 Jul- Source: UNPOS- 1566 words

The 22 nd meeting of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia was held from 2-3 July 2012 in Rome under the chairmanship of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Dr Augustine Mahiga, together with the ICG Co-chairs (Norway and the USA).

The Italian Foreign Minister, Giulio Terzi, Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden of the Transitional Federal Parliament of the Republic of Somalia, Prime Minister Dr Abdiweli Mohamed Ali of the Transitional Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia and representatives of Puntland, Galmudug and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a addressed the meeting.

Political Process

The ICG reviewed progress on the political track, and reiterated its firm determination that the Transition ends on 20 August 2012 in accordance with the Transitional Federal Charter, Djibouti Agreement, Kampala Accord, Roadmap and subsequent consultative meetings. In particular, the ICG welcomed agreement among the Principals at their meeting in Nairobi on 22 June on a final draft Constitution. This will now go to the National Constituent Assembly for provisional adoption.

The ICG expressed concern over repeatedly missed deadlines and urged the Somali stakeholders to adhere to the latest timelines, including for the opening (12 July) and closing (20 July) of the National Constituent Assembly, selection (15 July) and induction (20 July) of the new Federal Parliament, and election of the Speaker/Deputies (4 August) and President (20 August). The ICG called for the immediate activation of the Elders’ Arbitration Committee, Roadmap Signatories Coordination Office, Technical Facilitation Committee and Technical Selection Committee and for the earliest possible conclusion of the selection process. With regard to the Federal Parliament, the Group welcomed the need for the new body to meet Somali people’s expectations, especially in terms of the quality and commitment of its Members, gender balance, more effective working practices and ability to hold the executive arm of government to account. A joint legislative workplan should be developed between the new Parliament and Government, including with a view to strengthening the legislative framework for the promotion and protection of human rights and transitional ustice.

The ICG noted the joint UN/AU/IGAD open letter of 1 May, warning all would-be spoilers that anyone obstructing the peace process would be referred to the IGAD Council of inisters and possibly also to the UN Monitoring Group with a view to the imposition of sanctions.

The ICG noted progress in many areas of the Roadmap, and called for the remaining tasks to be completed on time. For the time being, the focus is rightly on ending the Transition on schedule. But the Group invited the next Government of Somalia within sixty days of its formation to set out its priorities and associated resource requirements with a view to securing international support. As a first step, the Group agreed to hold a preliminary, high-level
discussion on emerging priorities in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The ICG condemned the recent violent attack against places of worship in Kenya and the idnapping of aid workers.

The Group offered to assist in building support inside Somalia for respect for all human rights and the rule of law.

Security

The ICG commended recent further military advances by the African Union Mission in Somalia, TFG forces and their allies including Ethiopia in response to continuing aggression by Al Shabaab, and paid tribute to AMISOM troop contributing countries and Somali security forces. The Group reiterated its condolences and support to the families of all those who have lost their lives in the fighting. While acknowledging the improvement by AMISOM in the protection of civilians, the Group called upon all actors to ensure protection of civilians with particular attention to women and children.

The Group also called for unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance by all persons in need.

During the course of the meeting, the ICG witnessed the signature by Hussein Arab Isse (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the TFG) and Dr Augustine Mahiga (Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia) of a Plan of Action on Children Associated with Armed Forces.

The ICG welcomed the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2036, which expanded the operations and support package for AMISOM and raised its troop ceiling. The Group welcomed the new uniformed personnel from Djibouti, Kenya, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The Group also welcomed TFG efforts to unify Somali forces under national command and control. The Group acknowledged the pressing need for more and better coordinated international assistance for both AMISOM and Somali security forces, especially from new donors. The Group also urged the TFG with support from the United Nations and AMISOM to put in place quickly arrangements for reintegrating former combatants and supporting their dependants as a prelude to full-scale demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration. At the same time, the Group called upon Al Shabaab and all other armed opposition groups constituting terrorist threats to renounce violence and to embrace the peace process.

Over the next few years, Somalia will need to take increased responsibility for its own security including through budgeting and paying for salaries. The ICG called on the Somali authorities to expedite the development of Somali security forces.

The President of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia reported on recent developments. The ICG recalled the Final Statement of the Dubai Second High Level Public-Private Counter Piracy Conference held on 28 June, which inter alia called for the development of regional and national maritime capacity and for participants to respect relevant international law related to fighting piracy in international waters.

Stabilisation

As large parts of south and central Somalia come under the control of the Government, there is a need to provide urgent and substantive support for stabilisation and the development of effective regional, district and local administrations through democratic and popular participation to prevent a power vacuum. This support must continue beyond the Transition. The ICG welcomed the ongoing development by the TFG of a strategy for Reconciliation and Stabilisation, and agreed that it should form the basis of the framework for international coordination. It agreed that partners should better coordinate with the Government their activities in the newly-recovered areas as well as in Mogadishu. The ICG recognised that both national and international partners needed to increase and align their efforts to strengthen credible and legitimate local administrations. The Group also discussed an Italian document on District-Based Peace-Building, which could provide a source of inspiration for future programmes. It noted the importance of restoring dispute resolution mechanisms and promoting local and national reconciliation, including through dialogue, within the framework of stabilisation.

The Group acknowledged the progress made by the regional administrations especially in security and governance, including in Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug and territories under the administration of Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a. These efforts should continue to be encouraged and supported.

Justice

The ICG also agreed on the need to support the comprehensive development of the independent justice sector in Somalia, in particular by increasing support for access to justice for women and vulnerable groups in addition to gender responsive policing, justice and corrections throughout the country based on both formal and informal systems of justice, adherence to international standards for justice and human rights (including in the fight
against terrorism) and dialogue throughout the process with Somali civil society. It also agreed to support the re-establishment of justice and rule of law services in the newly-recovered areas.

International Coordination

The ICG welcomed the outcome of three major conferences which have taken place since its last meeting in February. The first, in London, gave fresh impetus to the political process, increased support for AMISOM and Somali security forces, and reinvigorated efforts to tackle piracy and terrorism.

A Mutual Accountability Board, which should help to improve mutual financial transparency and mutual accountability and to combat corruption, now needs to be discussed among all relevant Somali and international stakeholders.

The second, in Istanbul, usefully underscored the importance of reconciliation, institution-building and reconstruction. In particular, the conference highlighted the need for large-scale multi-year funding for infrastructure projects, state-building and uninterrupted delivery of basic services and welcomed the establishment of a multi-donor trust fund for post-Transition financing. The third, in Dubai, will help to improve the coordination of our
collective efforts to eradicate piracy by means of a comprehensive approach on land as well as at sea, including capacity-building.

In anticipation of the end of the Transition and in order to make our collective efforts in support of Somalia even more effective, the ICG agreed further to explore a number of improvements to its working methods, including the possible establishment of an inter-sessional working group covering the Political Process and strengthened links with existing bodies dealing with Development, Justice and Security.

The International Contact Group thanked the Government of the Republic of Italy for hosting this meeting, and welcomed an offer from South Africa to host the next meeting in early 2013.

Participants/observers

African Union, Belgium, Burundi, Canada, China, Denmark, Djibouti, East African Community, Egypt, Ethiopia, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, International Development Law Organisation, Islamic Development Bank, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea (Republic), League of Arab States, Netherlands, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Norway, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia (TFG, TFP, Puntland, Galmudug, Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a), South Arica, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Nations, United States of America and the World Bank.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali president’s foreign trips part of his re-election campaign

04 Jul – Source: Jowhar Online/Caasimada Online/RBC/Shabelle- 305 words

The president of Somalia’s transitional government, Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad, has started making trips to neighbouring countries. The trips are seemingly aimed at strengthening the president’s re-election campaign. The president arrived in Sudan following a trip to Burundi, where he met the country’s leader.

Seemingly, he is putting more efforts in strengthening his relations with African leaders. It is not clear yet when the president will officially kick-start his internal campaign. Next month’s election is likely to be similar to the previous ones held in neighbouring states.

The number of presidential candidates continues to increase by the day. This is likely to be the highest number of aspirants for the post of Somalia’s presidency.

President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who is on an official trip to Sudan Tuesday night met his host president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir in Khartoum.
During their meeting, the two leaders discussed range of issues including strengthening of the bilateral relationship between their two countries, co-operations in terms of political, social and economical aspects, according to Abdikadir Mohamoud Ali, Somali embassy staff in Khartoum.

President Sharif arrived at Khartoum on Tuesday and was warmly received by several high-ranking Sudanese officials including President Omar Al-Bashir.

President Sharif briefed his host on the progress made in stabilizing the country and the political changes happening including winding up of the current transitional period.

Al-Bashir on his part promised that his government will double its support to Somalia and further promised to welcome Somali students seeking education in his country.

Turkey starts training Somali police force

04 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Somalilanpress- 187 words

A colourful ceremony was yesterday held at Turkish Police Academy in Stanbul where high ranking Turkish officials and Somalia envoy to Turkey Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman were present. Somali embassy officials in Turkey thanked the Turkish government for its continuous support to the Somali republic.

Turkey pledged to train and equip Somalia’s security forces in 2010 during the first Istanbul conference. The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has promised to assist the African country with its security challenges along with education, infrastructure and development.

Turkish military police units will train the inadequately trained and ill-equipped Somali force teaching them basic skills such as arrest procedures, traffic control and field communications.

A number of African states including Nigeria and Uganda also pledged their support to train the Somali force.

Galmudug issues warning to aid agencies

04 Jul- Source: Somalia Report- 185 words

The Galmudug administration in central Somalia has issued a warning to aid agencies operating in the region, particularly those working in Galkayo, the capital of Galmudug. The chairman of the Galmudug administration Mr. Max’ud Nuur Gulled, along with other officials, warned aid agencies against holding unauthorized meetings with locals, and indicated that they have gone beyond their mandate. The officials further added that such actions would not be accepted or tolerated.

“We strongly condemn the activities of the aid agencies in our territory. We cannot accept these groups interfering with our internal affairs,” the chairman said in a press conference in Galkayo.

The chairman said that any agency that does not meet the required condition of registration, which will authorize and legalize their activities, will be banned and suspended.

The agencies that were were warned include two United Nations agencies, the World Food Programme (UNWFP)and UNICEF,, as well as two other nongovernmental aid agencies, namely SOFPA and Relief International.

Abdullahi Mohamed Hassan, the assistant health minister of Galmudug, accused the agencies of corruption and said the humanitarian aid did not reach those most in need.

Somaliland president welcomes recent talks with Somalia in UAE

03 Jul – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 149 words

A delegation led by the president of the breakaway republic of Somaliland, Ahmad Muhammad Mahmud, alias Silanyo, has returned home from Dubai after holding talks with the leader of the Somali transitional government Sharif Shaykh Ahmad.

Addressing the media, Silanyo said the talks with the president of Somalia’s transitional government t “ended in good atmosphere as they agreed on significant issues”.

During the London conference on Somalia, the transitional government and Somaliland authorities were “pressured by the international community” to start talks aimed deliberating on the breakaway republic’s future.

Somaliland has not gained international recognition since it declared its independence from the rest of the country at the start of the civil in the Horn of Africa nation more than two decades ago.

Somaliland police arrest al Shabaab suspects including Portuguese man

03 Jul- Source: Somalilandpress- 311 words

Somaliland Security forces detained a number of suspected al Qaeda militants in a series of night raids across the capital of Somaliland’s southern state of Sool this week, official said. Governor Mohamed M. Ali of Sool said they have arrested several men in operations which begun after the assassination of the regional deputy attorney general last week in Las Anod.

The judge was killed early last week by unknown gunmen armed with pistols and he was the second judge assassinated in the town in less than a month. The spate of killings prompted the regional leadership to order a security clampdown.

Al Shabaab desecrate graves in Mudug region

04 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 102 words

Al-Shabaab militants on Tuesday evening started the desecration of graves in Dabagalo area of Harardere district, Mudug region.Heavily armed militants descended on the graves of renowned Somali clerics including that of Sheikh Hussein Dhere, according to locals in the area.Al-Shabaab says the tombs contravene Islamic teaching. The move prompted differences between local residents and the militant group.A section of local elders appealed to the militant group to stop demolishing these graves.

Meanwhile the militant group banned selling and consumption of Khat in the area and further ordered women to put on specific type of clothes that they said observes Islamic teachings.

IDPs protest against widespread corruption

03 Jul- Source: Radio Risaala- 130 words

Hundreds of internally displaced Somalis living now in Hodan district of Banadir province took to the streets to protest against corruption in the leadership of the humanitarian organizations in the area.

The demonstrators claimed that the leaders of the NGOs are misusing the funds meant for the displaced persons hence making them suffer.
Dahir Siyaad Warsame who is one of the protesters requested from the aid workers to give the aid to the displaced persons in person and to publicize the time the aid is distributed so that people can get the aid they need.

Demonstration to protests against corruption is not new to the displaced people. In the past there have been many similar cases of misappropriation of funds meant for the displaced persons by the officials of the NGOs.

Somali security forces arrest alleged al Shabaab associates in Afgoye

03 Jul- Source: Shabelle- 205 words

At least seven al Shabaab suspects were detained in an operation carried out by Somali Special Security Forces in the town of Afgoye, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest Mogadishu, Officials said.

According to military source, who spoke with Shabelle Media via phone from Afgoye on condition of anonymity, the forces launched on Tuesday house-to-house searches in the town and nabbed seven youths alleged to have close links or are members of al Shabaab militants.

Somali minister jubilant at local football progress

04 Jul- Source: Somaliweyn/RBC- 400 words

After watching the whole 90 minutes of a hotly-contested match of Somalia’s 2012 soccer championship, the country’s State minister for youth, sport labor and social affairs Abdullahi Sheikh Ali told the media that he was fully satisfied with the tangible football development despite years of conflicts and lawlessness in Somalia.

“Today I am feeling great happiness because of the local football progress in Somalia—I know our soccer has suffered from the big setbacks caused by the long-running civil wars, but despite all those difficulties football in country is on the way to a greater development and I am happy with what I have seen since I was appointed as state minister for sport several months ago” the State minister Abdullahi Sheik Ali told the media at the Somali university soccer stadium on Tuesday.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali judges learn to prosecute pirates

04 Jul- Source: National- 577 words

A group of 31 Somali judges and prosecutors will travel to the UAE in October for training in holding piracy trials. The workshops are part of a UAE-French initiative to equip the Somali judicial system to try its own piracy cases, rather than relying on other nations to prosecute them.

“We are working with the UAE to train judges, prosecutors and clerks to set up a strong framework for trying cases related to pirates,” said Jocelyne Caballero, special anti-piracy representative from the French ministry of foreign and European affairs.

“We want to support Somalia to prosecute pirates on their own. Being judged by their own authority will have much more effect than prosecutions abroad.”
The first group to undergo two judicial training sessions will be chosen from Somalia and the semiautonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland.

Somalia on track to end transition, says PM

03 Jul- Source: Daily Nation- 265 words

Somali leaders have agreed on a roadmap to end the transitional period in the troubled country, the TFG premier told the International Contact Group on Somalia meeting in Rome Italy. Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali outlined the progress made in the implementation of the roadmap agreed by the political groupings in Somalia to end the transitional period.

“The traditional elders are ready to select members of a constituent assembly to approve the draft constitution (in accordance with the roadmap),” explained Dr Ali.

Italian Foreign Minister Guilio Terzi, who opened the conference on Monday, praised the efforts made by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government. Italy, which colonised Somalia, promised support for the Horn of Africa country.

Somali president arrives in Khartoum for talks with Sudanese counterpart

03 Jul- Source: Sudan News Agency SUNA- 103 words

The Somali President, Sheikh Sherief Sheikh Ahmed, arrived in Khartoum Tuesday in a two-day official visit to Sudan during which he will hold talks with the President of the Republic, Field Marshal Omer Al-Bashir, dealing with the Somali issue and regional issues of mutual concern.

The Somali President was received at the airport by President Al-Bashir and a number of senior government officials.

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Salah Wansi, said in a press statement that the visit of the Somali President came in the context of the continuous consultations between the leaderships in the two countries to consolidate the bilateral relations.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Rawlings condemns dumping of toxic material on Somali Coast

04 Jun- Source: myjoyonline- 540 words

Ghana’s former President and African Union High Representative for Somalia, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings has at a conference on combating maritime piracy condemned illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste on parts of the Somali coastline which has caused extensive damage including fish contamination and birth abnormalities to humans.

President Rawlings called on the international community to strive to trace, apprehend and prosecute those responsible for such despicable acts with the same urgency as the arrest and transfer of leading African citizens to the ICC in The Hague.

The former President said: “There is nothing more despicable than the dumping of toxic waste along the coastline of Somalia. Waging war and dealing with these pirates is completely justified but I believe we must seize the moral high ground and create goodwill amongst the people of Somalia by taking the appropriate measures to clean up their shores, tracing and arresting those responsible and prosecuting them.

Scores arrested after church attacks in Kenya

04 Jul- Source: CNN- 263 words

Kenyan police detained scores after gunmen masked in balaclavas hurled grenades at two churches this week, authorities said Wednesday, killing 17 people in the latest attacks in the nation.

Authorities held more than 30 people after the twin explosions in Garissa town Sunday, according to Philip Ndolo, the regional deputy police chief. Of those detained, at least 20 remain in custody after police released others because their interrogations yielded no results, he said. The arrests include Kenyans and foreigners of Somali origin, according to the police chief.

The explosions near the Somali border wounded at least 40 others when gunmen stormed the Catholic Church and African Inland Church when services were under way, prompting a stampede.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Sadly, most of us tend to think of “positional” power and individuals with a conferred “authority” when we think about leadership. Hence, we tend to look towards politicians and the occasional Waddaad when we are faced with a leadership crisis. Thus, we easily discount how much more each one of us can do without authority and without positional power.”

What Kind of Leadership Do We Need Now?

03 July-Source: Hiiraan Online-1120 Words

The question we really need to answer is this: What kind of leadership do we need now? Do we want a leader that can “solve” our problems? Someone we can look up to? Do we need someone with specific personal characteristics, skills and aptitude? A charismatic leader who can bring us altogether? If we answer yes to these questions, then we are looking for the wrong type of leadership – and neither President Sharif nor a new one will be fit for the job.

I suggest we should instead, pursue a different kind of leadership. Clearly, we will not hire a car mechanic when we are in need of a plumber, thus the answer to the kind of leadership we need and should support for the Presidency must reflect the kind of work we want such a leadership to undertake. Accordingly, we must first define our issues and then look for the “right” leadership, because we want to avoid getting the “right” leadership on the “wrong” role. Conversely, we must not place the “wrong” leadership at the “right” role. In either case, we are unlikely to succeed. In short, the leadership we pursue must be derived from the issues we want resolved.

“The peace and reconciliation process in Somalia has entered a critical juncture. A new constitution, drafted with the help of the United Nations Development Programme, is scheduled to be adopted in the next few weeks. It is hoped that the new constitution will help deliver peace to a country ravaged by more than two decades of civil war, but international optimism is not shared by many Somalis, who instead look with deep scepticism at a document that they perceive as externally-imposed, faulty and fundamentally undemocratic.”

Somalia’s Draft Constitution – Too Undemocratic?

03 July- Source: Think Africa Press-832 Words

The new Somali constitution has been met with resistance by educated Somalis, religious figures, secularists, former Somali Prime Ministers, scholars and many Somali diaspora organisations for a number of reasons.

Firstly, there are issues concerning the content of the constitution and the substance of its provisions. Above all, the question of federalism remains deeply divisive. Views can be found both in support of and against Somalia adopting a federal structure. Those against the shift to a federal state appeal to: the homogeneity of Somalia’s population; the lack of resources (human and financial) which would be needed to run a federal state apparatus; the potential divisiveness of adding a territorial layer to an already complex situation. They question why the rocky road of federalism is necessary or advantageous for institution-building in Somalia.

“British security analysts fear that the militant Islamic Somali group al Shabaab, which has admitted to carrying out acts of terrorism, may attack the London Olympic Games. The military and its secret services count on the media to “set the agenda” (Chatham House)1 and to “shape perceptions” (Ministry of Defence).2 It is not surprising, then, that the government’s terrorism claims are repeated uncritically by the media, which specialise in “white propaganda” (an official term for establishment messages).”

The MI6-Al Shabaab Connection

04 July- Source: Axis of Logic (Critical Analyst)-1415 Words

In reality, al Shabaab was infiltrated by old MI6 assets long ago, and its foreign forces are recruited and trained by MI5 agents (see below). If there is an attack on the Olympic Games carried out by Al Shabaab, it will almost certainly be a false-flag designed to propel a war-weary public into supporting yet more bloodshed in the Pentagon’s quest for Full Spectrum Dominance. With one million Somalis dependent on Red Cross food aid (and not by accident), a British-led invasion could lead to mass starvation.

Shell and BP have long-standing oil contracts in Somalia, which the country’s socialist Islamic Courts Union jeopardised by permitting Chinese and Russian prospecting. A Chatham House study sponsored by BP recommended that because “Voters will not actively call for a more effective foreign policy,” the unelected Tory-Liberal government “should define its international mission as managing risks on behalf of British citizens.”

The review laid the basis for the national security and strategic defence reviews, which named Somalia and adjacent Yemen, as “threats” to Britain’s “security.” In reality, Britain has been a major threat to Somalia and Yemen since the days of Empire, killing 200,000 Yemenis in the 1962-1970 war. If you want to know the military-industrial-complex’s real interest in Somalia and Yemen, look at a map. No amount of propaganda (except perhaps major cartographical revisions) can disguise the fact that 16,000 trade ships a year pass through the Gulf of Aden on their way to Europe and the US. Counterterrorism is a necessary pretext for militarising the zone.

“Nearly 90 per cent of those surveyed by VoA said that Sharia should be applied as a civil and criminal code throughout the country. This state of affairs has led to a situation where there is “no organised secular discourse”, according to Qalinle. In light of this, the new constitution may not receive much support at the grassroots level.”

Drafters of Somalia’s constitution can’t ignore reality

03 July- Source: The Citizen (Tanzania)-668 Words

Should someone who holds the passport of another country be allowed to run for political office in Somalia? This is one of the contentious issues that the drafters of Somalia’s new constitution may have to grapple with as Somalia enters in a new phase of governance with the exit of the Transitional Federal Government in August.

The issue has arisen because many of the contenders for high public offices, including that of the President, hold American, Canadian, British or other passports.

Top tweets

@GreenClouds4 “Whoever wants sectarianism will fail” Awesome “@BBCAfrica: Kenyan Muslim groups ‘to protect churches’ http://ow.ly/c0ySa #Kenya #Somalia”

@RefugeesCE When Amina first saw the tent she realized that it might be her home for a long time http://bit.ly/LNGBwt #refugees #Somalia

@AllanDuncan101 Our paper on anti-piracy options for#Somalia get in touch is you want to discuss this morehttp://bit.ly/MTqk9k

@SophieGhaziri #somalia… No more child soldiers…. Lets see about that!!! http://bit.ly/O1lwLY

@Moadow Renowned Somali writer #Nuruddiin Farah tells the#BBC that it got #Somali piracy all wrong

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Image of the day

Image of the day Somali police trainees on parade in Istanbul. Turkey has officially began training the first 60 cadets. Photo: Radio Mogadishu