01 Mar 2013 – Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali president hold meeting with members of judiciary
01 Mar – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 173 words
Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held meeting with judges of the court and the committees of the judiciary. The president has said that there will be no peace if there is no justice or the judiciary is administering justice.
The president has admitted that the agencies of the judiciary are operating in a difficulty circumstances especially that of the facilities and even the economies and security. The president advised the judges to work for the betterment of the society and avoid making hasty decisions.
President Hassan said the case that concerned journalist Abdiasis Koronto and the girl who claimed she was rape brought a disgrace to the government of Somalia.
Key Headlines
• Somali president hold meeting with members of judiciary ( Radio Kulmiye)
• Cabinet submits Human Rights Law and embarks on judicial reform (Raxanreeb)
• Humanitarian aid must not be co-opted into stabilisation campaign (MSF)
• Bar-kulan marks its third Anniversary (Radio Bar-kulan)
• UK launches Somali Language website in anticipation of upcoming Somalia conference (Somaliland Press)
• Jubaland state conference convenes, Mogadishu officials absent ( Garowe Online)
• 13 die of diarrhoea in Mudug region (Radio Bar-kulan)
• American al Shabaab fighter urges Muslims to join the ‘fronts’ of jihad (Al Shahid)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali president hold meeting with members of judiciary
01 Mar – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 173 words
Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held meeting with judges of the court and the committees of the judiciary. The president has said that there will be no peace if there is no justice or the judiciary is administering justice.
The president has admitted that the agencies of the judiciary are operating in a difficulty circumstances especially that of the facilities and even the economies and security. The president advised the judges to work for the betterment of the society and avoid making hasty decisions.
President Hassan said the case that concerned journalist Abdiasis Koronto and the girl who claimed she was rape brought a disgrace to the government of Somalia.
Cabinet submits Human Rights Law and embarks on judicial reform
01 Mar – Source: Raxanreeb – 150 words
Human rights and judicial reform are at the centre of the government’s legislative agenda, His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said as his Cabinet submitted a package of critical legislation to the Parliament. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet approved four draft laws covering human rights reform, judicial reform, and district and regional authorities reform.
“This government is working overtime to draft new legislation that will be essential to the rebuilding of a new Somalia,” the Prime Minister said. “We are demonstrating our commitment to radical human rights reform, a complete overhaul of our judicial system and redefining the balance of power between the centre and the regions.”
The latest batch of legislation drawn up by the government now goes to the Parliament for debate. The Prime Minister will address the legislature on 3 March, when he will also highlight the achievements of his first 100 days in office.
Bar-kulan marks its third Anniversary
01 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 107 words
Radio Bar-kulan last night celebrated its third anniversary in colourful ceremony held in Nairobi, Kenya.
The management and the staff of the station congratulated the Somali community for participating in its activities for the last three years.
As a media outlet with online publication and 24 hour broadcast, Bar-kulan has been at the forefront in educating, sensitizing and uniting the Somali community both in and outside the country through its different radio programs including health and youth programs.
Radio Bar-kulan is a public Service radio station broadcasting non-partisan news, information, culture, entertainment and development programmes to Somalia and the Somali Diaspora.
Jubaland state conference convenes, Mogadishu officials absent
28 Feb – Source; Garowe Online – 161 words
The Jubaland state conference officially convened in the port city of Kismayo on Thursday, and interim Kismayo administration leader, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islaan (Madobe) spoke to Somali media about the much anticipated conference, Garowe Online reports.
More than 500 delegates attended the opening of the Jubaland state formation conference in Kismayo on Thursday, where they discussed the schedule of the conference and issues that will be discussed over the coming days. Sheikh Ahmed Madobe – a frontrunner for leader of Jubaland state – spoke to Somali media after the opening of the conference about different issues regarding the absence of some delegates from Gedo region – one of the three regions that make up Jubaland state.
“Around 700 people were present at the conference when you include staff and others. However some delegates still haven’t arrived and are expected to arrive in the coming days,” said Madobe, adding, “all regions and clans were represented however some district leaders missed the opening.”
Somali militants behead two men in Lower Jubba Region
28 Feb – Source: Dhacdo.com website, Hargeysa – 142 words
Al Shabaab fighters have decapitated two men in Lower Jubba Region, accusing them of working with what they called the enemy. Al Shabaab fighters dragged the two men, khat traders, out of a vehicle travelling from Bardhere to Kulbiyow village.
Kulbiyow, which al Shabaab lost last year, is controlled by government forces with the help of Ras Kamboni militia and Kenyan troops. Al Shabaab fighters dragged the two men out of the vehicle after flagging it down as it neared the village. Farah Haybe Hashi, Somali government’s chairman of Bardhere District condemned the killing of the two men.
Kulbiyow administrator Abdullahi Dahir Khalif said the killing illustrated al Shabaab’s disregard for the sanctity of life. Al Shabaab has lately stepped up beheadings in parts of southern and central regions.
20 Somalis freed from Libyan cell in Sabratah
28 Feb – Source: Bar-kulan – 13 words
Libyan authorities have released 20 Somali nationals who were earlier detained for flouting immigration rules, reports say. Mohammed Abdi Nahar, a freelance journalist in Tripoli told Bar-kulan that after series of talks between Libyan officials and Somali embassy, the twenty were set freed from a cell in western Libyan town of Sabratah.
Some of these people have been in detention for the last nine month after they were intercepted trying to illegally cross to Europe for better life, he added. Nahar said the acting Somali ambassador to Libya Aways Amin Sheikh secured the release of the detainees.
Libya is route for many African immigrants including Somalis fleeing poverty and conflict in their countries who seek better lives in European countries- but the route has been deadly for such immigrants since most of them fall victims to human-trafficking cartels.
UK launches Somali Language website in anticipation of upcoming Somalia conference
28 Feb – Source: Somaliland Press – 117 words
The government of United Kingdom has today announced the launching of a new Somali Language website ahead of the upcoming Somalia conference which is expected to begin on the 7th of May 2013 in London, UK.
The aim of launching the a Somali Language website is to inform and educate citizens of both Somalia and Somaliland including important issues such as setting out the priorities and aims of the Somalia Conference on 7 May 2013.
The Governments of the UK and Somalia will co-host an international conference on Somalia on 7 May in the UK. The conference aims to provide international support for the Government of Somalia as they rebuild their country after two decades of conflict.
13 die of diarrhoea in Mudug region
2 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 91 words
At least 13 people have died of diarrhoea related complications in parts of Mudug region for the last two days, reports say. The death occurred at Ba’adweyn village, some 220 KM south of central Somali town of Galkayo, according to local official.
Confirming the incident, area village chief Mohamed Said Ahmed said the victims includes children and elderly people in the village.
Ahmed urged the government and aid agencies to immediately respond to this looming crisis in the region by providing the necessary drugs required by health facilities tackling the outbreak
REGIONAL MEDIA
One man’s story about being an al Shabaab terrorist
28 Feb – Source: Daily Monitor – 188 words
Isa Ali Senkumbi is only 20 years old but what he has seen and done can easily pass off as sheer exaggeration drawn from horror movies.Throughout a three-hour interview, he skips some episodes insisting that his story is too long to be exhausted.
When I meet him at Rubaga Cathedral in Kampala, the first impression I get of him, is of a polished altar boy or seminarian. With medium height, haggard steps, an innocent looking face and a contagious warmness that his baby white eyes exude, there is no trace of a man trained as a suicide bomber by one of the most notorious terrorist networks.
Yet this is only the shadow of a man who has been to al Shabaab twice. Behind the soft voice is an accomplished prisoner of war jailed and tortured in over 15 detention centres across the continent. With his humility and almost strained soprano, it is hard to come to terms with the reality of a man who has been to safe houses in Kampala, manipulated his way out of jail, returned to family life and sneaked back to the criminal underworld.
American al Shabaab fighter urges Muslims to join the ‘fronts’ of jihad
28 Feb – Source: Al Shahid – 228 words
previously unidentified American who fights in the ranks of al Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia, appeared on a videotape and urged Muslims to join one of the numerous fronts of the global jihad. The American, who is identified as Abu Ahmed al Amriki, is seen on a videotape that was produced by al Shabaab’s media arm and posted on jihadist Internet forums on Feb. 25. The video was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
Abu Ahmed speaks in both English and Arabic, and appears with two Kenyan jihadists, who are identified as Abu Seyf al Kenyi and Abu Khaled al Kenyi. Abu Ahmed’s face is digitally blurred in the video. He is seen seated with a group of armed fighters; he is also holding a rifle as he speaks. In his speech, Abu Ahmed implores Muslims to leave their lives of comfort and wage jihad in Somalia, Mali, Afghanistan, Iraq, or the “Islamic Maghreb” — North Africa.
“Brothers and sisters, I won’t take much of your time, but it’s obligatory upon you to leave the lands of [disbelief] and [emigrate]. The fronts, they are all open, whether it’s here in Somalia, whether it’s in Mali, whether it’s in Afghanistan, whether it’s in Iraq, or whether it’s in the Islamic Maghreb – it’s all open,” Abu Ahmed says, according to the transcript provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali president grants amnesty to pirates, but not kingpins
28 Feb – Source: Reuters World Service/CNN – 528 words
Mogadishu, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has granted an amnesty to hundreds of young Somali pirates to reduce the threat to shipping in the seas off the Horn of Africa state, a senior regional official said.
The amnesty will not apply to bosses running the gangs responsible for hijackings that have ramped up shipping costs while earning criminal syndicates tens of millions of dollars in ransoms, a second official close to Mohamud said.
“The president gave amnesty to 959 pirates from my region today,” said Mohamed Aden Tiicey, president of Somalia’s Adado region where large numbers of unemployed youth have been recruited as pirates. Civil war after the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 left Somalia without effective central government and awash with weapons. The turmoil opened the doors for piracy to flourish in the Gulf of Aden and deeper into the Indian Ocean.
In 2011, Somali pirates preying on the waterways linking Europe with Africa and Asia netted $160 million and cost the world economy some $7 billion, according to the American One Earth Future foundation.
But the number of successful pirate attacks has since fallen dramatically as – prompted by soaring shipping costs, including insurance – international navies stepped up patrols to protect marine traffic and struck at pirate bases on the Somali coast. Shipping firms also increasingly deploy armed guards and have laid out razor wire on their vessels to deter attacks. In 2012, Somali pirates seized 14 vessels, down about 50 percent on the previous year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Somali pirates still hold four large commercial vessels, a number of fishing dhows from countries such as Yemen and Iran, and about 130 hostages. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the Somali government should instead of an amnesty focus on freeing hostages and bringing to justice those responsible for the hijacking of ships, torture of crew and money-laundering.
Donors step up ties with Somalia; praise rebuilding efforts
28 Feb – Source: Reuters World Service – 756 words
Washington, Major Western donors have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to re engage with Somalia, opening the way for increased development assistance to a country trying to shake off years of conflict.
A senior British official said in Washington that London will host a conference with the new Somali government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on May 7.
The meeting will focus on rebuilding the security forces, police, and justice system and discuss how to re engage with agencies like the World Bank. Somalia has been mired in civil strife for more than two decades, leaving the African nation in grinding poverty, militancy and maritime piracy, without a functioning central government.
“Part of the challenge of mine is to communicate really the degree of opportunity and success that has happened so far in Somalia – mixed with a fairly hard-nosed realism about some of the old challenges that still exist there,” said Nick Kay, Africa Director at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Kay said Somalia was the top priority in Africa for Britain, which planned to reopen its embassy in Mogadishu in coming months.
Rajiv Shah, the head of USAID, visited the capital Mogadishu for talks with the government last week, the first visit by a senior U.S. official in more than two decades and first since the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” incident which saw militia fighters shoot down two U.S. military helicopters over the capital. Shah told reporters on a conference call his talks with senior Somali officials focused on more transparency of government finances, corruption and restoring basic services.
Humanitarian aid must not be co-opted into stabilisation campaign
28 Feb – Source: MSF – 168 words
Efforts underway at the United Nations to integrate humanitarian assistance into the international military campaign against opponents of Somalia’s government will further threaten the safe delivery of independent and impartial aid to Somalia struggling to survive ongoing war, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned today.
The United Nations Security Council is currently deliberating the future structure of the UN’s mission in Somalia. Under discussion is the possible inclusion of humanitarian assistance within the broader political and military agenda for Somalia. Such an approach, in a country where the ability to provide relief is already severely compromised, could generate distrust of aid groups.
“As many Somalis continue to struggle to obtain the basic necessities for survival, such as food, healthcare, and protection from violence, humanitarian assistance must remain a priority and it must remain completely independent of any political agenda,” said Jerome Oberreit, MSF Secretary General. “The humanitarian aid system must not be co-opted as an implementing partner of counter-insurgency or stabilisation efforts in Somalia.”
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“According to the UK government’s justification f Conference on Somalia or resumed talks with Somaliland? Conference on Somalia or resumed talks with Somaliland? or proposed Somalia talks it plans to host in June “now is the best time in a generation for Somalia to get back onto the road to recovery”. though Somaliland is expected to partake in the talks the official statement by the FCO released on 1 February 2013, has no mention of Somaliland at all.”
Somalia Conference – Why now?
01 Mar – Source: Somaliland Sun – 301 Words
Now is the best time in a generation for Somalia to get back onto the road to recovery with the support of its international friends and neighbours.
The changes in Somalia over the last year, including the withdrawal of Al Shabaab from major towns and cities, the peaceful transition of power to a new government, and renewed international support, offer a unique platform on which to build stability and security in the country.
Following the end of the Transitional Federal Government in August last year, Somalia has a more legitimate government than it has seen in many decades.
On Turkey
28 Feb – Source: SomaliaOnline Forum – 55 Words
This people are clearly attempting to culturally dominate the hapless Somalis. The picture below clearly represents their insidious intention, why does the school have an inscription in Turkey? And why does it take precedence over the language of the locals?. Remember, beggars can be choosers. It’s time to rethink this Turkish affair.
TWEETS
@UNHCRSom Need to know more on the displacement situation in #Somalia ? Here you go! http://bit.ly/rbJrUh.
@SaraMuzzammil Tortuga? MT @Baahirezaman: There’s a pirate #StockExchange in #Somalia where locals invest in pirate gangs planning highjacking missions!
@MSFAustralia Médecins Sans Frontières’ humanitarian work in #Somalia is independent & impartial – no government funding accepted http://bit.ly/YHqu90.
@AbukarArman Mog #Somalia Est youth unemployment is 70%. Since “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop”Any good ideas 4 ConstructiveEngagement? @SDY2009.
@Abdi_AlSheikh Somalia: Cabinet submits Human Rights Law and embarks on judicial reform – Raxanreeb Online http://dlvr.it/31Tzq8 #Somalia.
@engyarisow #Somalia’s #Radio Bar-Kulan’s 3rd Year Anniversary event in #Nairobi – Some Photos of the event https://www.facebook.com/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Brigadier General Michael Ondoga, Contingent Commander for Ugandan troops serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia , speaks with elders during a meeting in the central Somali town of Buur-Hakba. Photo: NBC News.