March 5, 2015 | Morning Headlines.

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Army Rescues Food Supplies For Besieged Town from Al Shabab

04 March – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 163 Words

The Somali National Army Command in Bulo Burde town says they rescued food supplies for the residents of the besieged town from Al Shabab fighters who were trying to starve the public. They also seized weapons and captured members belonging to the group. Abdullahi Barre Elmi, the Commander of SNA in Bulo Burde, told Goobjoog that the army conducted an operation towards the northern areas of Bulo Burde and the operation was successful in capturing Al Shabab members and seizing some weapons. He said the consignment of food was loaded on some 40 donkey carts destined for the residents and this is big achievement in averting a disaster. Al Shabab had previously laid a 10 month siege on the town. “We captured three anti-peace culprits , together with their guns. This was done by the Somali National Army and AMISOM peacekeepers, and we managed to deliver the food to their rightful owners in the town,” Elmi said.

Key Headlines

Army Rescues Food Supplies For Besieged Town From Al Shabab (Radio Goobjoog)
Puntland Court Acquits Politicians Of Charges Of ‘Treason’ (Garowe Online)
Somali Town Launches Solar Energy Project (Hiiraan Online)
Somalia ‘Determined’ To Improve Human Rights Situation (Horseed Media)
Talks Between Puntland And Interim Juba Administration Open In Kismayu (Radio Bar-kula)
EU Boosts The Somali Energy Sector (Mareeg Media)
Three Arrested Over Canada Mall Threat (Daily Nation/AFP)
First Somali-American On Metropolitan Airports Commission Honored In Minneapolis (My Fox – Twin Cities)
Former Foreign Minister And Somali First Lady Shares Inspiring Story Of Social Change With Walden University Graduates (PR Newswire)
Post-Independence And Discourse Of Perplexed Leadership (Horseed Media)

SOMALI MEDIA

Puntland Court Acquits Politicians Of Charges Of ‘Treason’

04 March – Source: Garowe Online – 177 Words

A court in Somalia’s north eastern state of Puntland dropped treason charges against politicians and traditional leaders on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports. The Chairman of the First Degree Court of Nugal Mohamed Hared Farah told reports in Garowe that following an appeal against a verdict being dealt to 14 people on January 13, 2015, the judges found the defendants of innocent of treason charges. He added that the court did not receive sufficient evidence and ordered that the 14 people be compensated with $8,000 collectively. Amongst the defendants acquitted of treason is former Puntland MP Abdiweli Musse Shire who was sentenced to life in prison for attending a state formation conference held in the central Somali town of Adado. Shire has reportedly returned to Galkayo. Three of the fourteen were initially handed down life imprisonment while 11 were expected to serve 10-year jail terms. On July 31, 2014 Puntland protested the inclusion of Mudug in central state map, withdrawing confidence in the relatively weak UN-backed central government in Mogadishu.

Somali Town Launches Solar Energy Project

04 March – Source: Hiiraan Online – 211 Words

In an attempt to reduce the skyrocketing electricity costs, Beledweyne, a town in central Somalia, launched a solar-power system on Wednesday, deploying solar panels across the city in the hopes of seeing progress through the new initiative. Funded by the Norwegian government, the town’s administration inaugurated the program which aims covering the town’s electricity needs, a move that can contain the high electrical energy prices. The first solar panel was set up at the town’s main hospital to help the health facility to have unlimited power access, unlike the subscription electricity that often results in numerous blackouts.

“It’s going to be a good progress ending those terrible energy challenges we have experienced,” said Ahmed Mohamed Khalif, the director of the town’s hospital. “Sometimes there would be a power failure in the middle of a critical surgery–it was dangerous.” The project, which aims to create a better energy alternative for the town, plans to install solar-powered posts across the town giving residents easy access to electricity. Residents celebrated the new investment which will help poor families in the town to get an unlimited solar access, and will likely chip away at the expensive electricity companies.

Somalia ‘Determined’ To Improve On Human Rights Situation

04 March – Source: Horseed Media – 166 Words

Somalia’s Federal government has said that it will work to improve the human rights situation in the country, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders including international organizations and donors. For many years, Somalia has had a terrible human rights record, and has consistently been on the list of the world’s worst countries for human rights violations. The Minister of Women’s Affairs and Human Rights, Sahra Mohammed Ali, met with senior officials from the United Nations offices in Mogadishu to discuss ways to develop the human rights situation in a country recovering from two decades of civil war and lawlessness. She said that the government is determined to work on the elimination of human rights abuses and deal with those who violate the rights of others. The current government, which came in power in 2012, has failed to tackle rights violations despite making public pledges several times. Its human rights record has also been tainted by accusations of security forces committing acts of sexual violence against women.

Talks Between Puntland And Interim Juba Administration Open In Kismayu

04 March – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 87 Words

Leaders of Puntland and the Interim Juba Administration are currently meeting in Kismayu. A large delegation from Puntland, led by President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali (Gaas), arrived in Kismayu on Tuesday for a three day visit. According to a Radio Bar-Kulan reporter, the two sides will discuss a range of issues including strengthening ties between Puntland and the Interim Juba Administration, fighting terrorism and Vision 2016. The President of Puntland is expected to visit the Kismayu port which is the largest source of revenue for the Juba administration.

EU Boosts The Somali Energy Sector

04 March – Source:Mareeg Media – 327 Words

Today, the European Union (EU) and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) launched a new three year Somali program aimed at the use and dissemination of renewable energies. Through the “Somali Energy Transformation” (SET) project, more than 100.000 households will have access to sustainable and affordable energy services in Somaliland, Puntland and South Central Somalia.

Deployment of renewable energies will contribute to a cleaner energy sector. Achieving this goal will help the Somalis to move along a low carbon development pathway contributing to climate change objectives, increased energy security, more economic opportunities and better access to energy services. This goal will be achieved through the development of solar photovoltaic markets and solar powered systems for irrigation, health and educational facilities and community electrification schemes, but also through promotion of efficient cook stoves and support for youth led renewable energy enterprises.

“This is a very timely project that will immensely contribute to the development of the Somaliland energy sector, in addition to contributing significantly to the Government’s goal of lighting up rural and peri-urban areas of the country,” said Hussein Abdi Dualeh, the Somaliland Minister of Energy and Minerals. “We will work with the EU and ADRA to ensure efficacious implementation of this vital intervention.”

“The EU believes in this innovative project which will change the lives of many Somalis, said the EU Ambassador to Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso. “Expanded access to electricity will improve access to water, health and education services, and will boost job opportunities. We hope the project will bring a transformational change by spreading the use of renewable energies throughout Somalia.”

“This action will facilitate eradication of extreme poverty and hunger through provision of energy aimed at increasing production in the agriculture and livestock sectors making food more affordable and in the process generating jobs,” said Luiz Carmago, Country Director for ADRA Somalia. “The project will also deploy cleaner energy systems that are needed to ensure environmental sustainability and mitigate against climate change.”

REGIONAL MEDIA

Three Arrested Over Canada Mall Threat

04 March – Source: Daily Nation/AFP – 249 Words
Police arrested two men and a woman in a raid Tuesday over a “potential threat” to a mall near Canada’s port city of Halifax, home to the navy’s Atlantic fleet.
It comes after security officials last month warned shoppers in Canada, the United States and Britain to be on guard after an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group posted a video calling for attacks on Western malls.

Halifax Police Constable Pierre Bourdages said a “heavy police presence” was dispatched to the Mic Mac Mall in the Halifax suburb of Dartmouth and the mall was closed for the day, although investigators said the threat had not been confirmed.
Officers raided a small bungalow in connection with the threat, but a suspect was absent and “no dangerous substances” or firearms were found, Bourdages told AFP.

A short time later, an apartment in another part of Halifax was raided and three people — two men and a woman — were taken into custody. Police said they “have been actively investigating the matter to determine the validity of the threat and to this point no threat has been confirmed.” The Al-Shabaab militant group last month specifically threatened the Mall of America in the US state of Minnesota, Canada’s massive West Edmonton Mall, London’s famous Oxford Street and two malls in France.
Also last month, an American woman and a Canadian man were arrested and charged with plotting a Valentine’s Day massacre at another mall in Halifax.A third suspect was found dead at his parents’ home.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

First Somali-American On Metropolitan Airports Commission Honored In Minneapolis

04 March – Source: My Fox – Twin Cities – 113 Words

Ibrahim Mohamed was honored at an event Tuesday night at the Brian Coyle Center after he became the first Somali-American member of the Metropolitan Airports Commission this February. Appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton, Mohamed now has a seat among 14 commissioners that operate Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and six small airports in the metro area. For 11 years, Mohamed worked his way up at MSP from baggage runner to cabin cleaner, restroom attendant, ticket verifier, and most recently, for the last 6 years, a cart driver. Mohamed’s term will last until 2019. He first came to the United States from Somalia in 2004 and is married with five children and lives in Rosemount.

Former Foreign Minister And Somali First Lady Shares Inspiring Story Of Social Change With Walden University Graduates

04 March – Source: PR Newswire – 787 Words

Edna Adan, former foreign minister and Somali first lady, addressed more than 1,050 graduates and 4,600 guests, faculty, administration and staff attending Walden University’s 53rd Commencement Ceremony onSaturday, January 31, 2015, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center near Orlando. Adan shared her powerful personal story and experience of going against all odds to effect positive social change in her country and offered inspiring insight into the importance of education and the responsibility that comes with earning an advanced degree. “We were honored to have Edna Adan, a passionate advocate who gives a voice to the voiceless, share her inspiring story of social change with Walden graduates,” said Jonathan Kaplan, interim president of Walden University. “Her drive to pursue education as a basic human right and her continuous fight to challenge the status quo ring true for the Walden community, who undoubtedly went home feeling motivated to continue impacting their communities, now and in the future.”

Adan reflected on her journey as the first Somali girl awarded one of a few coveted scholarships to study in Britain, where she spent seven years studying nursing, midwifery and hospital management to become Somaliland’s first qualified nurse-midwife in the country. She then went on to open the Edna Adan University Hospital in 2002 and Edna Adan University in 2012, “the first university in Somaliland that is headed by a woman.” For Adan, her scholarly achievements made her accountable to the women and girls of Somaliland and gave her the ability to create educational opportunities that previously may not have been able to be realized. “Besides giving me a new purpose in life, the [Edna Adan University] Hospital has also become a platform from where I can influence education in my country, where I can encourage girls to go to school and often say to those who hesitate ‘Do you think that I could have built this hospital without education?'” continued Adan.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Somalia has a tragic history and was shaped by enigma of deep-seated and intertwined forces. The country wears the scars of colonial rule, the marks of the military regime’s authoritarian and brutal system, and the self-inflicted wounds of civil war. What becomes apparent; however, from all the trial-and-error style of governments thus far, is that the country is still finding its identity just as it was during the emancipation. The only difference today is that Somali leaders are actively participating in the country’s perpetuated tragedy.”

Post-Independence And Discourse Of Perplexed Leadership

04 March – Source: Horseed Media – 1,304 Words

Somalia with more than two decades of civil war carries an indelible scar from colonial and authoritarian powers, which have imposed cultural and psychological limits that have become the impervious fault lines of conflict. Colonialism has shaped the history of ancient cultures throughout Africa and instilled a perpetual exploitation of tribalism, or in the case of Somalia, clannism. Colonialism is defined as “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.” Post-colonialism; however, is defined by Ania Loomba in her book Colonialism and Post Colonialism “as a study of the legacy of an era of European and American’s direct global domination, and the residual political, socioeconomic, and psychological effects of that colonial history, which ended roughly in the mid- twentieth century (1998).” Other scholars such as Hamza Alavi, Ndirangu Mwaura and Edward Said share similar views, arguing that when colonial domination ends its machinery keeps running within the colonized societies, as it is embedded in its cultural structure.

More importantly their influence is also apparent, particularly in Africa, where colonial powers are still connected through economic and social development. Somalia was colonized by three opposing European colonizers in late 1800s: Britain, which administered over what was known as British Somaliland, Italy with Italian-Somaliland, and the French over the area now known as Djibouti. Somalia gained its independence in 1960, just as decolonization was unfolding in Africa in the late fifties and early sixties. The after-effects of Somalia’s political and economic dependence on former colonizers is self-evident, and not only in today’s political crisis, but throughout the country’s leadership history. As I was pondering the causes of the country’s current futile political system and perplexed leadership, I realized that the country has dealt with three different leadership scenarios in post-independent Somalia, with startling different generational representation and experience.