July 3, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali Government calls for calm after Mogadishu protests over al Shabaab leader arrest
03 Jul- Source: Radio Garowe/Radio Mogadishu/Radio Mustaqbal/Risaala/Hiiraan Online- 239 words
Somalia’s federal government has called for calm on Mogadishu streets after protesters took to the streets demanding the release of terrorist chief Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys.
“Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is in good health and is currently in the custody of the Somali Federal Government,” Somali Interior and National Security Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled told a Tuesday press conference in Mogadishu, adding: “Sheikh Aweys will not be transferred over to any foreign government and we call upon the Mogadishu public to calm down”.
Minister Guled warned against “some groups who are inciting the public with false information, and public incitement is a threat to peace, stability and governance”.
On Monday, hundreds of people protested in Mogadishu between Banadir and Tarabunka junctions, with protesters shutting down local businesses, chanting anti-government slogans and demanding the release of Sheikh Aweys from prison.
Interior Minister Guled apologized for the violent incident on June 29, when Sheikh Aweys was transported by plane from Adado town in Galgadud region of central Somalia to Mogadishu by a group of parliamentarians, elders and warlords.
Somali security forces at the Mogadishu airport reportedly “used force” to arrest Aweys upon landing at the airport, while the group of parliamentarians, elders and warlords who accompanied Aweys to Mogadishu were “beaten up and arrested” by the security forces, but everyone was released except Aweys.
“This was an unfortunate and unplanned incident, and we apologize to the affected individuals,” said Minister Guled.
Key Headlines
- Government forces clash with al Shabaab in Bakool region (Radio Shabelle/Radio Mustaqbal)
- Central Bank Governor responds to leaked UN Monitoring Group Report (OPM)
- Somali Government calls for calm after Mogadishu protests over al Shabaab leader arrest (Radio Garowe/Radio Mogadishu)
- Somali government ready to welcome al Shabaab defectors (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Ahlu Sunna threatens to fight Kenyan troops in Kismayo (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Somali central bank governor denies U.N. charges over funds (Globalpost /Reuters)
- Puntland VP receives delegation from Somali region of Ethiopia (Garowe Online)
- Garissa: Security chiefs hail improvement in security (Daily Nation/KNA)
- Somali envoy in SA to discuss xenophobia (News24/AFP/Independent Online)
- Pirate trial reveals brutality on high seas (BBC0
- AFP reporter to tell UN Council about covering war (AFP/Yahoo News)
PRESS STATEMENT
”AU Special Representative calls on President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud and PM Farah Shirdoon”
03 Jul- Source: AMISOM- 211 words
The African Union Special Representative for Somalia (SRCC) Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif today paid courtesy calls on the President and Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
During the meetings with H.E Hassan Sheikh Mahamud and the Prime Minister, H.E Abdi Farah Shirdoon, they discussed issues of mutual concern and in particular the recent spate of violence in the port city of Kismayo.
The Special Representative and the President discussed ways of jointly alleviating the humanitarian suffering of the local population in Kismayo, alongside efforts by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
Recalling his statement of 29th June 13’ Ambassador Annadif reiterated AMISOM’s commitment to the welfare of the Somali people and said that the endeavor to ensure all Somalis can live a life devoid of insecurity and indignity remained at the core of AMISOM’s initiatives in line with the mandate.
“AMISOM continues to treat casualties from all sides injured during the recent fighting witnessed in parts of the port city.”
He stressed that AMISOM takes its mandate very seriously and will continue working with the Federal Government of Somalia and its Security Forces in securing and stabilizing Somalia in all four sectors of operation.
Central Bank Governor responds to leaked UN Monitoring Group Report
03 Jul- Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 860 words
Allegations made in a Reuters article dated 02/07/2013 against the Central Bank of Somalia as being a ‘’slush fund’’ for private payments, citing a leaked UN Monitoring Group report.
The Central Bank of Somalia refutes in the strongest terms the allegations made in a Reuters article dated 2nd July 2013 citing a UN Monitoring Groups report with the headline ‘’ Somalia Central Bank a slush fund for private payments – U.N.” These baseless allegations leveled against Governor Abdusalam Omer and the Bank is tarnishing the view of the Central Bank as a professional and transparent institution.
Let’s address one allegation at a time firstly:
1) Alleged ‘’ Khaki envelope’’ practice of managing Somali public funds:
The Central Bank of Somalia has a deposit, transfer and withdrawal management services with full documentation in regards to the running of the governments Single Treasury Account.
2) ‘’$12 million USD could not be traced out of the $16.9 million USD that was transferred from PwC to the Central Bank of Somalia’’.
No single dollar has been diverted from the Central Bank of Somalia. The total sum of 16.9 million dollars was received at the Central Bank of Somalia with four representatives, including the Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, Representative from PwC and the transfer agent, present as well as signing a declaration of proof of receipt. Included in this response will be the various documentations proving otherwise including spreadsheets detailing the fund transfers.
3) “On average, some 80 percent of withdrawals from the Central Bank are made for private purposes and not for the running of government, representing a patronage system and a set of social relations that defy institutionalization of the state,”
The Central Bank of Somalia does not execute transactions nor approve withdrawals on behalf of the Government from the Single Government Account (Treasury Account) by private individuals. Every withdrawal from the account is made by a designated Government employee with a Ministry of Finance voucher which is duly signed by that Ministry of Finance and the Accounting General of the Federal Republic of Somalia. It is not in the mandate of the Bank nor any of its statutory obligations to determine where expenditure is directed to or which Ministry or public office should receive money from the Government funds. This is a budgetary issue of which the prerogative lays with the Ministry of Finance. The Central Bank will execute withdrawals based on authorization from the Ministry of Finance in a lawful manner and according to the Ministry’s budget directive.
Documentation of expenditures from these funds is available at CBS and all records will be included in a more detailed report to be published by the Bank in the following days. The Central Bank will also provide and furnish any relevant information requested or deemed necessary by any other independent auditors or authorities.
4) ‘’The U.N. report said all bank decisions were made by Omer because there were no board members in place and the bank does not operate as a government body subject to policy decisions or oversight from integrity institutions and parliament’’.
This is yet another indication of the lack of vetting performed by the UN Monitoring Group, producing a report that is littered with misinformation. Governor Abdusalam was appointed on the 13th January 2013 and started his role at the Bank on the 13th February 2013. The last disbursement and transfer from the PwC account to the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia was on 26th March 2012. As such Dr. Omer could not have made any decisions on behalf of the Central Bank of Somalia.
On the note of public oversight of the Central Bank of Somalia, the Governor of the bank has had a very close working relationship with the Federal Parliament and specifically with the Parliamentary Sub-Committee for Financial Affairs and has appeared on the committee to answer questions directly from the honorable Members of Parliament in an open and transparent manner. The Central Bank of Somalia is resolute in continuing to working closely with the Parliament.
On the note of the Board of Directors to the Bank, there was no functioning board for CBS at the time of Dr. Omer’s appointment. This is a political decision of which the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia has to appoint the individuals who will serve on the Board. A list of highly qualified candidates has been prepared and sent by the Central Bank of Somalia and discussions are underway to complete the appointments.
4) ‘’The report noted that Mohamud’s government “cannot necessarily be faulted for the continuing patterns of corruption per se, but it can be held responsible for the appointment of individuals involved in past or present corruption.”
The Central Bank of Somalia cannot determine who these individuals may be, but if the report is referring to its Governor Dr. Abdusalam Omer, then we would like to condemn in the strongest terms any insinuation of its Governor of being corrupt. These are serious and malign allegations and slandering of this nature is unacceptable to the Central Bank, The Somali Federal Government and the Somali people.
SOMALI MEDIA
Government forces clash with al Shabaab in Bakool region
03 Jul- Source: Radio Shabelle/ Radio Mustaqbal- 146 words
A heavy fighting occurred Tuesday night in El Barde town in Bakol region, pitting Somali government forces against al Shabaab militants. Almost 10 fighters have been confirmed dead between the fighting sides.
A government official who is based in Bakol region told Shabelle radio station that al Shabaab troops attacked a government base 5 km away from El Barde town and they retaliated back fiercely forcing the militant fighters to withdraw back.
He added that the government forces are in control of the town and will extend their control to more towns in the region. On the other side, al Shabaab have not released any statement about the fighting in Bakol region.
Large parts of Bakol region are still in the hands of al Shabaab but government forces have been gaining control of towns with the aid of AMISOM troops.
Somali Government calls for calm after Mogadishu protests over al Shabaab leader arrest
03 Jul- Source: Radio Garowe/Radio Mogadishu/Radio Mustaqbal/Risaala/Hiiraan Online- 239 words
Somalia’s federal government has called for calm on Mogadishu streets after protesters took to the streets demanding the release of terrorist chief Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys.
“Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is in good health and is currently in the custody of the Somali Federal Government,” Somali Interior and National Security Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled told a Tuesday press conference in Mogadishu, adding: “Sheikh Aweys will not be transferred over to any foreign government and we call upon the Mogadishu public to calm down”.
Minister Guled warned against “some groups who are inciting the public with false information, and public incitement is a threat to peace, stability and governance”.
On Monday, hundreds of people protested in Mogadishu between Banadir and Tarabunka junctions, with protesters shutting down local businesses, chanting anti-government slogans and demanding the release of Sheikh Aweys from prison.
Interior Minister Guled apologized for the violent incident on June 29, when Sheikh Aweys was transported by plane from Adado town in Galgadud region of central Somalia to Mogadishu by a group of parliamentarians, elders and warlords.
Somali security forces at the Mogadishu airport reportedly “used force” to arrest Aweys upon landing at the airport, while the group of parliamentarians, elders and warlords who accompanied Aweys to Mogadishu were “beaten up and arrested” by the security forces, but everyone was released except Aweys.
“This was an unfortunate and unplanned incident, and we apologize to the affected individuals,” said Minister Guled.
Somali government ready to welcome al Shabaab defectors
03 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 151 words
Somali Federal government has once again reiterated that is ready to welcome members defecting from al Shabaab militant who have denounced the militant group.
In an interview with Bar-kulan, Somali Federal government’s head of rehabilitation centre for defectors Sheikh Mohamed Farah Ali Al Azhari has urged young men fighting alongside al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab to come and take advantage of the government’s amnesty offer to the defected members from the outlawed group.
Al Azhari stated that about 1,600 young men who previously defected from al Shabaab are now in various rehabilitations centers in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, enjoying a better life and a lot of opportunity.
Somali Federal government’s proposal for the youth fighting alongside al Shabaab militant comes at a time when the dispute between the top leadership of the rebel group begins to emerge. Two co-founders of al Qaeda-linked group reportedly killed by their own members, while a third commander captured in central Somalia.
Ahlu Sunna threatens to fight Kenyan troops in Kismayo
03 Jul- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 151 words
The moderate administration of Ahlu Sunna has threatened to fight against Kenyan troops in port city of Kismayo in the lower Juba region in Southern of Somalia.
The spokesman of Ahlu Sunna in Southern regions of Somalia Sheikh Mohamed Husein Ishak (Al Qadi) while speaking to Mustaqbal radio said that Ahlu Sunna warned Kenyan troops, which operate under African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) against harming civilians. Al Qadi added Ahlu Sunna will fight the AMISOM troops in Kismayo.
“We can’t endure what Kenyan (AMISOM) troops are doing to Somali people in Kismayo, we will fight them if they are still in Kismayo,” he said.
Puntland VP receives delegation from Somali region of Ethiopia
02 Jul- Source: Garowe Online- 294 words
The vice president of Somalia’s Puntland government received a delegation from the Somali region of Ethiopia at the Puntland State House in Garowe on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.
Puntland Vice President and Acting President Gen. Abdisamad Ali Shire and a number of ministers, including Justice Minister Abdikhalif Ajayo and Labor and Youth Minister Abdiweli Indhoguran, received the delegation from Somali Regional State of Ethiopia consisting of government ministers and traditional elders.
Minister for Training and Skills Development of Somali Regional State of Ethiopia Mohamed Fatih Mohamed led the delegation, and was accompanied by Deputy Labor Minister Qalbi Ahmed Jama, and traditional elders Ugas Khadar Ahmed, Suldan Abdirahman Bade, and Garaad Abdimalik Osman.
The delegation arrived in the Puntland capital of Garowe on Monday, traveling by road from Jigjiga, capital of Somali Regional State in eastern Ethiopia.
Somalia: Corruption allegations engulf the government
02 Jul- Source: Raxanreeb- 364 words
It has been a bad week for president Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia. First, he sent a clan delegation to Adado where Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, top al Shabaab member, was staying after he fled Barawe due to al Shabaab infighting. The clan delegation managed to persuade Sheikh Hassan to accompany them to Mogadishu. Upon arrival the Alpha Group special forces arrested Sheikh Hassan and violently dealt with some members of the clan delegation who tried to intervene when Alpha operatives were manhandling the Sheikh. Members of the clan delegation sustained injuries, and shared their ordeal with the media. Supporters of Sheikh Hassan turned out in large numbers in some areas of Mogadishu and demanded the immediate release of the Sheikh. The Sheikh’s clansmen believe the government has reneged on its word that the Sheikh would not be treated the way an arrested terrorist should be treated.
As if that was not enough, the Somali president woke up to Reuters report that alleges widespread misuse of public funds. Money at the Central Bank was withdrawn “in khaki envelopes”. The Finance Minister, Mohamud Hassan Suleiman “‘ had tried to reduce the scale of the patronage system, but “it is so pervasive as to be beyond his control without a fundamental restructuring of the system.”‘.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Garissa: Security chiefs hail improvement in security
03 Jul- Source: Daily Nation/KNA- 475 words
Security chiefs in Garissa County have hailed a big improvement in security over the last month and called for cooperation from residents to maintain the gains made.
The Garissa county commissioner said progress had been made in curbing attacks by suspected al Shabaab assailants but warned that the gains made could be reversed.
“Success will emerge slowly and fitfully with reverses as well as advances. Inevitably there will be more tough days and more tough weeks, but God willing, fewer of them before we are able to completely root out these wanton persons from our town,” County Commissioner Rashid Khator told KNA.
He noted levels of violence and civilian and security personnel casualties were significantly reduced and hope has been rekindled within the Garissa community.
One resident, who spoke to KNA and requested anonymity for fear of being targeted, expressed relief in the break of attacks. “We understand the al Shabaab are currently engaged in some serious fighting amongst themselves in central Somalia and this seems to have taken their attention from us,” he said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali envoy in SA to discuss xenophobia
02 Jul- Source: News24/AFP/Independent Online-258 words
A Somali envoy on Tuesday met officials in Pretoria in a bid to ease tensions stirred by recurring attacks on Somali refugees in South Africa. Somalia’s deputy foreign minister, Jamal Barrow, said his visit was also a fact-finding trip following recent violence which has seen looting of foreign-owned shops and the death of a Somali shopkeeper.
He met Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor, Deputy Police Minister Makhotso Sotyu and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim. Barrow said after the rash of meetings: “I am convinced that a great deal has been done to address the problem”.
Pirate trial reveals brutality on high seas
03 Jul- Source: BBC- 504 words
Three Somalis are on trial for piracy in Norfolk, Virginia, the home of the US Navy’s Atlantic fleet. Abukar Osman Beyle sat in a federal courtroom in Norfolk on a recent summer morning. The place was quiet, except for a jingle of keys and jewellery as men and women, all potential jurors, filed through a doorway.
Beyle, 22, is on trial with two other men, Ahmed Muse Salad and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, for piracy and murder. At one point, Beyle looked back at the potential jurors in the room.
If found guilty of piracy, Beyle and the other Somalis could be sentenced to death, under piracy laws introduced in 1819. Murder is also a capital offence in Virginia. The trial is expected to last through the summer and is part of an international attempt to abolish crimes on the high seas.
Somali central bank governor denies U.N. charges over funds
02 Jul- Source: Globalpost /Reuters- 561 words
The governor of the Central Bank of Somalia denied on Tuesday allegations in a U.N. report linking him to irregularities regarding millions of dollars withdrawn from the bank, saying the charges were malicious and baseless.
Somalia, under a Western-backed government that took office last year, is trying to rebuild after 20 years of war in which the nation was carved up into fiefdoms by warlords and then ruled by Islamist militants. Its public institutions remain feeble.
The U.N. Group of Experts to the Security Council’s Somalia and Eritrea sanctions committee said that of $16.9 million of international aid transferred by fiduciary agent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to the central bank, about $12 million could not be traced.
The confidential report seen by Reuters said the current bank governor, Abdusalam Omer, was “key to these irregularities”. Omer was appointed to the post in January and the allegations include a period before that, when he acted as adviser to the Finance Ministry.
AFP reporter to tell UN Council about covering war
02 July- Source: AFP/Yahoo News-323 Words
Agence France-Presse’s award-winning correspondent in Somalia, Mustafa Haji Abdinur, is to give a keynote presentation to the UN Security Council this month on journalists in conflict. With attacks growing on journalists around the world, Abdinur will be one of four reporters to get a rare chance to appear in the Security Council chamber. The United States is organizing the July 17 meeting as president of the 15-nation council for the month.
“Since the council last considered the protection of journalists in 2006, worldwide violence against journalists has worsened and there has been a particular increase in murders and imprisonment arising from conflict situations,” said acting US ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo. DiCarlo said the meeting would be “an opportunity to hear directly from journalists about the acts of violence they face while operating in conflict areas.”
According to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), nearly 1,000 journalists have been murdered or killed either in conflict or while covering other dangerous assignments since 1992. Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a reporter, with 12 journalists killed there in 2012 and two already killed this year, according to CPJ figures. Abdinur is a correspondent for AFP and editor-in-chief of the independent Radio Simba. He won a CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2009.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“When the apprehended prisoner was reported, the Federal Somali Government should have immediately owned the situation and should have approached the matter as a national security and public safety issue. Instead, it sent clan leaders and former warlords at an exorbitant cost to serve as intermediary negotiators on the prisoner’s status. The government’s approach complicated what was a simple issue of a prisoner who was captured after fleeing his own terror group. The government should have apprehended with no conditions set for his surrender.”
A High-Valued Somali National Terrorist is apprehended
02 July- Source: Wardheernews-951 Words
The capture of Sheikh Hassan D. Aweys on June 26, 2013 in Central Somalia is both a blessing and a curse for the government of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. If President Hassan shows an undue leniency towards the apprehended terrorist whom both the West and the Somali populace consider a mother lode of spy information and a “notorious terrorist,” he would discredit his office.
If the Presidents bends backward to give into the US government’s pressure and extradites Sheikh Aweys to be tried as an international terrorist at US courts, he could risk an open conflict with his Hawiye allies. If on the other hand, he bows down to the pressures coming from some groups in Mogadishu and shows leniency to the terrorist, he could be looking at a souring relationship with Somalis and with the West. Unfortunately, the President is in a bind: Doomed if he does and doomed if he doesn’t.
To avoid such a suffocating trap, he should carefully walk on a tight rope and do what are right with the Somali people first, and then only satisfy the outside interests.
“The people’s struggle for the liberation of the country should have accomplished two objectives: end the colonial rule and transform the country’s political system. The latter objective has not been achieved and it is the key for ending the seemingly unending national crises. As a result of this partial liberation, July 1st, 2013, should be not only a day to celebrate end of colonization but also a day Somali people acknowledges the need to transform its political system.”
Independence Day and Political Transformation in Somalia
02 July- Source: Wadajir/Marka Cadey/Gaafo-953 Words
Ever since Somalia became free from colonial rule in 1960, the country celebrated each 1st July its independence from colonial rule. Unfortunately, Somalia not only needed independence from colonial rule but it also needed a thorough political transformation.
Great Britain, Italy and France divided and colonized Somali inhabited territory in Horn of Africa. They also invited the neighboring Abyssinia to partake the land grab. The Somali people rejected outright the invation and partitioning of their territory. From the French Somaliland to The Northern Frontier District (NFD), they began a long struggle to extirpate colonization from their territory.
On one hand, the colonizing countries betrayed the agreed upon treaties and rigged referendums. The British granted Haud, Somali territory protected by treaties the British signed with the Somali people, and Western Somalia to Ethiopia. Britain also granted administration of NFD to Kenya despite overwhelming desire of the people of the region to join Somali Republic. A referendum whether to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France was also held in French Somaliland in which the outcome was in favor of remaining with France.
“The New Deal’s principle with its emphasis on country-owned and country-led solutions is a progressive and promising agreement that needs support from all sides. This can only happen if it pursues its path of inclusivity and encourages a variety of actors to join.”
Somalia needs a New Deal for Peace
02 July- Source: Conflict and Security Blog-922 Words
Last year Somali Journalist Mohamud Uluso warned that “the future forebodes more pessimism and treachery than optimism and trustworthiness”. His pessimism seemed (almost) misplaced in the recent chorus excitement about Somalia’s progress towards stability. The country ended a twelve year transition period and established a new government.
In May fifty states supported a conference on Somalia in London and William Hague re-opened the British embassy. The U.S. newly pledged $40 million assistance. The deadly attack on the UNDP compound two weeks ago was thus a huge setback for the hopeful world community. However, the UN has re-enforced its commitments and ensured that everyone is here to stay.
What can be done to avoid such incidents in the future and help Somalia on its path to stability? A relatively new framework: “The New Deal for Engagement with Fragile States” (New Deal) might just do the trick. Last year UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon stated: “we committed to a new Somali-owned and led partnership, which will work towards a compact between the Somali authorities and the international community inspired by the principles outlined in the New Deal.”
Top tweets
@FranceinSomalia #UN envoy Nick Kay in Paris today for talks on #Somalia @UNSomalia @Somalia111
@CispSom More than 9,000 #children are enrolled in school in Galgaduud and South Mudug regions in #Somalia; 48% are girls. http://bit.ly/12ysva1
@marc_c0 Great quick read for those interested in #Somaliaand the #security/humanitarian situation: Somalia in turmoilhttp://buff.ly/12clmI2
@CSTNETorg Check out this story of a #Somali refugee who follows her dreams of getting an education & helping others do the same http://ow.ly/mAIbO
@africaarguments Given the level of interest (and submissions) I’m considering starting an individual #Somaliablog on AA – what do you think?
Image of the day
Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, centre, receives credentials from new British ambassador to Somalia, Neil Wigan as Somalia’s Foreign Minister Fowzia Yusuf Haji Adam looks on. Photo: Hiiraan Online