March 19, 2015 | Morning Headlines.
Qatar Airways To Resume Flights To Somalia
18 March – Source: Radio Dalsan – 94 Words
Qatar Airways is set to start direct flights from Doha to Mogadishu in coming weeks to rejuvenate already growing international carrier market in Somalia. Somali PM Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke who has reached Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday will attend the ceremony to welcome Arab world airline giant to Somalia. International airlines have resumed their flights to Somalia in recent years since armed group Al-Shabaab was pushed out of the capital Mogadishu. Turkish Airline is the only international airline for now with daily direct flights from Mogadishu to Istanbul.
Key Headlines
- Qatar Airways To Resume Flights To Somalia (Radio Dalsan)
- New Norway Ambassador Appointed (Garowe Online)
- Al-Shabaab Claims Responsibility For The Latest Wajir Attack (Somali Current)
- Somaliland Decides Not To Hold Talks With Somalia Anymore Without International Community’s Mediation (RBC Radio)
- Puntland Fines Illegal Foreign Fishing Vessel (Horseed Media)
- Five Terror Suspects Charged Over Mandera Quarry Attacks (Standard Digital)
- Deploy The Army In Mandera (The Star)
- SRSG Kay Encouraged By Firm Commitment To Somalia’s Vision 2016 Timetable (Bloomberg Business)
- Somalia’s President Hints At New Capital City To Emulate Egypt (Afkinsider)
- Somalia: Reject ‘Indirect Elections’ Somalis Should Settle Only For The Real Thing (African Arguments)
SOMALIA MEDIA
New Norway Ambassador Appointed
18 March – Source: Garowe Online – 153 Words
Amidst improving diplomatic presence in still volatile Mogadishu, Norway has appointed a new ambassador to Somalia for the first time in 25 years, Garowe Online reports. Ambassador Victor Conrad Ronneberg who is now based in neighboring Kenya as Norwegian envoy presented his accreditation letters to Somalia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Khalid Omar Ali on Wednesday. The new ambassador passed on a greeting from Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Borge Brende to Ali during a meeting at international affairs and Investment Promotion ministry headquarters in Mogadishu. Norway is a part of European donor-nations backing Somalia’s timetable towards election by 2016. The announcement follows appointments made by UK and the US which assigned female ambassadors to their embassies in Mogadishu. Obama administration officially recognized Somalia’s UN-backed weak central government in January 2013.
Al-Shabaab Claims Responsibility For The Latest Wajir Attack
18 March – Source: Somali Current – 180 Words
The Somali islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 4 people and injured 3 others in Wajir County on Tuesday night, police said. A group of gunmen attacked a shop in Bulla Barwaqo , Wajir town, about 100 km from Somalia border spraying gun fire and hurling grenades. The group set fire to shops before escaping the scene. Mohamed Sigat, a goverment officials said “yhey locked people inside the shop, set it on fire and left and in the process three people died while the fourth one died while being ferried to hospital “Somalia based militia claimed the responsibilities. The attack comes less than 10 hours after Al-Shabaab militants had set off three IEDs (Improvised Explosives Devices) at border checkpoint in Mandera. Though there was no casualties reported. North Eastern Kenya has borne the brunt of attacks in the last three years since Kenyan troops crossed the border to fight Al-Shabaab. Many residents and politicians from the region have criticized the government for failing to improve security in the crime-ridden region.
Somaliland Decides Not To Hold Talks With Somalia Anymore Without International Community’s Mediation
18 March – Source: RBC Radio – 211 Words
The breakaway Somaliland has announced that they will not hold talks with Somali Federal Government anymore, RBC reports. Somaliland foreign minister Mohamed Bihi Yonis speaking to the reporters in Hargaisa unveiled his administration’s decision not hold talks with Somali Federal Government anymore without International Community’s mediation. “I’m telling you that Somaliland is determined not to hold talks with Somalia any more without [International] mediation,” Said Yonis. He has also stated that the responsibility of the failure of the Somalia-Somaliland talks in Turkey should be taken by Somali Federal government.
The minister has urged International community to intervene in the worsening relation between the two sides since his government is not willing to talk with Somalia unless International partners getting involved. “We are urgently calling on the International community to intervene [between] Somalia and Somaliland,” he added. The seventh round of talks between Somali Federal government and Somaliland administration has collapsed in Turkey after Somaliland accused the Federal Government of including it’s delegation a members who originally hails from Somaliland regions. Somaliland administration is seeking outright independence from the rest of Somalia while the Somali Federal Government is committed to restoring Somali region under a functioning Federal government.
Puntland Fines Illegal Foreign Fishing Vessel
18 March – Source: Horseed Media – 171 Words
Authorities in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland have fined a foreign vessel for its illegal fishing acts in the regional waters, an official has said. The Vessel which is yet to be identified was intercepted few months ago by the Puntland coast guard without license and authorization while fishing. Carrying 18-crew members with Iranian nationality, the boat was transferred to Haafun district where a court sentenced them to pay $18,000 USD as a fine. “The vessel was carrying 9-tonnes of fish which they caught from our seas, the crew members are all Iranians,’’ Mohamud Musse, a senior official from the Ministry of Interior said. Puntland is battling to curb illegal fishing which it says is threatening fishing stocks and lives of hundreds of local fishermen. Since the central government was overthrown in 1991, foreign fishing trawlers began illegal fishing and ships from big companies started dumping waste off the coast of the lawless country.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Five Terror Suspects Charged Over Mandera Quarry Attacks
18 March – Source: Standard Digital – 288 Words
Five Mandera quarry terror suspects were Wednesday charged at a Nairobi court with committing a terrorism act in December last year. Abubakar Salim Kitonga, Maslah Daud Hassan, Musa Daud Hassan, Shukri Abdi Salat and Philip Ochieng Omondi appeared before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Enock Cherono and denied the charges. They allegedly committed the act on December 2, 2014 at Koromy Quarry in Mandera County. The court heard that the accused jointly with others, who were not before the court, carried out a terrorism act, which resulted into death of 36 people.
Kitonga was again charged with being in possession of a terrorism article contrary to the law. He was accused that on January 28, 2015 at Mandera County, he was found in possession of a Nokia Mobile phone, a sim card and a micro SD memory card, which had an article for use in terrorism acts. Three of the accused, who are Somali nationals, faced a separate charge of being in Kenya illegally. Two of them were also charged with being in possession of materials, including a mobile phone, which they used in instigating the commission of the terrorism act. Prosecutor Daniel Karuri made an application that the accused be denied bail on grounds that the offense committed is of serious in nature.
Deploy The Army In Mandera
17 March – Source: The Star – 258 Words
MANDERA Governor Ali Roba was attacked over the weekend by heavily armed militia, the sixth such attack. The Governor has lamented on several occasions that the national government is not taking seriously his pleas for an armoured car and increased security. The national government is in charge of deployment of security personnel and has said Roba’s security detail will be beefed up. Although it is commendable that the governor will now be better looked after, this does not address the root problem of insecurity in Northeastern.
Mandera is infested with al Shabaab militia, who mingle with the local communities to plan attacks against Kenyans. Why is the government fighting al Shabaab in Somalia and not in Mandera? The upcountry teachers who have refused to return to Mandera over insecurity have a point, although it is to the detriment of thousands of schoolchildren. The government cannot give every teacher an armoured car. And if it gave such a car to Governor Roba, other governors from areas with insecurity will also demand similar treatment.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
SRSG Kay Encouraged By Firm Commitment To Somalia’s Vision 2016 Timetable
18 March – Source: Bloomberg Business – 671 Words
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia (SRSG) Nicholas Kay, welcomed firm commitments made by Somalia’s Federal and regional leaders to meet key Vision 2016 deadlines to complete Somalia’s federal state formation process, and review the provisional constitution without any extension of the terms of the Federal President and Parliament in September 2016, as set out in the provisional federal Constitution. During the last ten days SRSG Kay has met with Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke and the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari, to discuss peace and state-building progress across the country. He also travelled to Garowe, Kismayo and Baidoa and met with the leaders of Puntland, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas, the Interim Juba Administration (IJA), Sheikh Ahmad Islam ‘Madobe’, and the Interim South-West Administration (ISWA) Sheikh Sharif Hassan Adan.
Recalling his mandate from the Security Council to provide the good offices of the United Nations and strategic policy advice to assist Somalia’s peace-building and state-building efforts, SRSG Kay noted, “I am encouraged by the firm commitments I have heard from the President, Prime Minister, Speaker and the leaders of Puntland, the IJA and the ISWA to delivering Somalia’s Vision 2016 plan without any extension of the term of the Parliament or President in September 2016. Across the country there is a determination to respect this deadline, but also concern that time is now short. There is a strong consensus that in the period between now and the beginning of Ramadan several important milestones need to be achieved, for example, the appointment of the commissioners of the National Independent Electoral Commission and Boundaries and Federation Commission and the operationalisation of the Commissions; establishment of inclusive regional assemblies for the IJA and ISWA; formation of interim administrations in the Central Regions and in Middle Shabelle and Hiraan; agreement between the executive and parliament on a legislative timetable to include, as priorities, Bills on Political Parties, Citizenship, the Electoral Law and the Constitutional Court; as well as achieving significant progress in accordance with the recent Memorandum of Understanding on the constitutional review process.”
Somalia’s President Hints At New Capital City To Emulate Egypt
18 March – Source: Afkinsider – 316 Words
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh has said the war-torn horn of Africa country could build a new Capital City after two decades of fighting destroyed its current headquarter in Mogadishu. Sheikh said this at a meeting with Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of an investors conference taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. He did not however give any details regarding the location and cost of building the new city.
Egypt plans to raise up to $40 billion from investors at the conference to build a new capital city in the East to replace Cairo in the wake of the Arab sprig that brought its capital to a stand still for months. “The new Somali capital-Mogadishu is very exciting and it is a indeed great move to both private and public sectors in Somalia,” a World Bank official was quoted by Geeska Africa saying. A 24-year vicious war between government forces supported by African Union forces against Al Qaeda linked Al Shabab has brought Somalia’s economy to its death bed, destroying any form of civility both in its capital Mogadishu and other town around the country. The country has however seen some semblance of peace in the last few years, giving hope that its economy could be revived.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The Somali government is in control of all major population centres in Somalia; Mogadishu alone represents more than 30% of the Somali population (excluding Somaliland), and Puntland also has a population closer to Mogadishu’s and is safe to hold elections. Major cities such as Kismayo, Baidoa, Beled Weyne, and others, are also firmly in government control. The situation is nowhere near as dire as Afghanistan or Iraq – and they hold regular elections.”
Somalia: Reject ‘Indirect Elections’, Somalis Should Settle Only For The Real Thing
17 March – Source: African Arguments – 516 Words
About a month ago, an opinion piece advocating for “indirect elections” in Somalia in 2016 was posted on these boards. The argument is that the government is too incompetent and the security situation too flawed to entertain nationwide elections, and therefore the electorate should be drastically reduced to less than 1% of the Somali population. For quite a while I procrastinated writing a counter argument for one main reason: I have heard this argument many times before among defeatists and loyalists of the current regime in Mogadishu. Rather than think of lasting solutions to the challenges we face in 2016, they look for an easy way out: maintain the status quo of holding what amounts to a mockery of elections, with cosmetic changes.
The post-transitional government has been arguably more incompetent than the preceding transitional governments. It has failed to meet key constitutional requirements such as the creation of independent commissions for human rights, justice, and anti-corruption; it has failed to meet security expectations, and it has further entrenched corruption at all levels of government. Reducing the electorate is not only unconstitutional, but impractical and entrenches the culture of vote-buying: with fewer voters, it is easier to buy votes as we’ve seen in the past ‘elections’ where only 275 people could vote. It also raises a lot of questions rather than address the pressing issue of how to hold the elections in time. Who decides who gets to be in the 1% that will vote? Who decides who gets to be in the electorate-selecting entity? How will you convince 99% of the population that 1% have more rights to vote than they do?