April 22, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somali President: Hard Times Driving Youth To Migrate
21 April – Source: Voice of America – 302 Words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said lack of opportunity is to blame for the number of young Somalis boarding rickety boats in hopes of reaching Europe. The United Nations refugee agency said Wednesday that up to 500 migrants may have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea when their overcrowded boat capsized and sank earlier this month.
Survivors told VOA’s Somali service that more than 200 Somalis were among those killed. In an exclusive interview with VOA Somali in Washington, Mohamud said, “We bear some of the responsibility for the influx of refugees [to Europe], as we are the leaders of Somalia. These youths don’t hate their country; the parents are not [selling] their assets to send their kids to die in the sea, but the economic hardship is driving them to take the risky journey,” Mohamud said.
Asked why his government is not able to create jobs for the youth to stay home, Mohamud said, “Over 70 percent of Somalia’s population are youth under the age of 30, so the government can’t employ all of them, but we are busy to restore peace that will enable the youth to work in [the country].” Regarding Al-Shabaab, Mohamud said the war against the militants is a “succeeding model” and pro-government African Union forces are winning.
The Somali government and the AU force known as AMISOM have been fighting Al-Shabaab for nearly a decade, and the group continues to launch deadly attacks in the capital and on AU bases in the countryside. Mohamud, 60, also said he will run for a second term when Somalia holds new elections later this year. He was first elected in 2012.
Key Headlines
- Somali President: Hard Times Driving Youth To Migrate (Voice of America)
- Tax Collectors Gunned Down At Bakara Market (Goobjoog News)
- Somali President Announces His Candidacy For 2016 Elections (Shabelle News)
- EU Consolidates Its Support To Livestock Trade And Marketing In Somalia (Horseed Media)
- Somali Refugee : ‘All My Friends Have Died’ (BBC)
- Egypt And Somalia Seek Bilateral Economic Cooperation (Egypt Today)
- No Bail For Somali Charged With Floriana Health Centre Fracas (Malta Today)
- When ‘Journalists’ Kill Journalists (The Washington Times)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Tax Collectors Gunned Down At Bakara Market
21 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 75 Words
At least two federal government tax collectors were gunned down at Bakara’s main commercial market in the capital city of Mogadishu. Armed men with handguns shot dead the two men on Thursday evening and managed to escape. By the time of going to the press no group had claimed responsibility for the attack. The Al-Shabaab terror gang has previously claimed responsibility for similar killings against government tax collectors inside Bakara Market. Many government tax collectors have reportedly been gunned down at Bakara Market since 2011.
Somali President Announces His Candidacy For 2016 Elections
21 April – Source: Shabelle News – 137 Words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is now in the final year in his four years term in office has officially announced that he will seek re-election in this year’s presidential elections. President Mohamud made this announcement on Wednesday night during an interview with Washington-based Voice of America’s Somali service.
The forthcoming Somali elections, which will be based on the clan-power sharing formula, will take place in six different towns – capitals of the federal states in Somalia: “I will be a candidate for the upcoming elections in 2016 and will come up with new agenda and strategy to lead the nation if I get re-elected, “ the President added. Mohamud was elected in September, 2012 in Mogadishu becoming leader of the first permanent Federal Government of Somalia in more than more than 40 years.
EU Consolidates Its Support To Livestock Trade And Marketing In Somalia
21 April – Source: Horseed Media – 324 Words
The European Union jointly with the Ministry of Livestock, Forestry and Range of the Federal Government of Somalia, the Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources of the African Union and the Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) launched today a new project supporting the Livestock sector in Somalia. The 3 mln. Euro initiative, “Enhancing Somali Livestock Trade (ESOLT)” is aimed at improving competitiveness of Somali livestock in regional and international markets through better quality products and market diversification.
“ESOLT” is a National Project which consolidates the achievements and impacts of previous EU funded support to livestock trade and marketing in Somalia and has been put in place to enhance also the capacity of the Ministries of Livestock at regional and national level in promoting and regulating the livestock production and trade and enhance the collaboration with private sector along the livestock value chain, from the small pastoralist production areas to the export market through the main ports of transit.
The growth of livestock trade is finally expected to contribute to the resilience of livestock dependent households across all Somalia increasing their income and reducing their vulnerability to natural disaster and market instability.
The project will improve and spread the use of existing livestock marketing information systems (LMIS), create awareness and develop capacity on Somali livestock value chain actors on trade negotiations and market quality requirements and will also develop pilot activities to promote standardised grades and branding of Somali livestock commodities and will improve and build infrastructure facilities for livestock marketing and handling. To enhance compliance with animal health market requirements, the action will provide training and financial support to the Veterinary authorities to strengthen their capacity to regulate and supervise animal health certification and quarantine operations,
The project has a duration of three years and will be jointly implemented by AU IBAR and FAO in strict collaboration with the Ministry of Livestock, Forestry and Range ensuring the proper participation of private sector and Somali beneficiaries.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Refugee : ‘All My Friends Have Died’
22 April – Source: BBC – Video: 2:24 Mins
The few survivors of a boat carrying hundreds of migrants and refugees that capsized in the Mediterranean, have been speaking of their ordeal. It is feared as many as 500 people may have died, when their vessel sank on its way from Libya to Europe earlier this week. Just 41 people were rescued and taken to Greece. The migrants and refugees had come from several countries in Africa, and had set off from Tobruk in Libya. Will Ross reports.
Egypt And Somalia Seek Bilateral Economic Cooperation
21 April – Source: Egypt Today – 177 Words
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail met Somali Minister of Trade and Industry Abdul Rashid Mohamed Ahmed on Thursday. Ismail confirmed the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Somalia in various fields to contribute to achieve common interests between the two countries, according to a statement issued by Egypt’s cabinet on Thursday.
Cabinet spokesperson Hossam Qawesh stated the two countries intend to cooperate in industrial production and livestock, while also taking advantage of Somalia’s marine resources to promote trade in the fishery sector. Egypt will found a trade center for goods in Somalia: “The prime minister instructed the cabinet to send a government trade delegation in partnership with the private sector to visit Somalia to study the implementation of the proposed cooperation initiatives and work to meet Somali’s commodity needs, particularly in relation to medicine supplies,” Qawesh said.
For his part, Somali Minister of Trade and Industry noted that a MoU was signed to cooperate between the two countries to promote trade exchange. The minister highlighted fisheries, arable lands and livestock as sectors prime for Egyptian investment.
No Bail For Somali Charged With Floriana Health Centre Fracas
21 April – Source: Malta Today – 360 Words
A homeless Somali man who wrought havoc at the Floriana Health Centre earlier this month has been remanded in custody this afternoon after being charged in connection with the incident. 20-year-old Abdimalik Ahmed Mohamed caused damage to computers and parts of the Health Centre’s reception area when he went on the rampage at 7.20pm on the 8th of April. The cause of the Somali man’s destructive behaviour, which caused the Health Centre to be closed for a number of days, is not known.
The accused injured himself in the fracas and required hospital treatment, as did a security guard, who suffered cuts caused by broken glass. Prosecuting Inspector Jeffrey Scicluna informed the magistrate that the accused had to be taken to Mt Carmel Hospital due to his behaviour at the police station. A repentant-looking Mohamed asked for the court’s forgiveness from the moment he was led into Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera’s courtroom this afternoon.
Mohamed, who is homeless and indigent, refused the court’s offer to appoint a legal aid lawyer. He is accued of wilful damage to the health centre, causing bodily harm to the security guard, breaching the peace and relapsing: “Everything you say is true, but in my mind it is not real,” the accused replied, when asked whether he was pleading guilty or not guilty.
The magistrate took note of the accused’s claim that he was not in his right mind at the time of the commission of the offence. A medical certificate was presented by the prosecution, confirming that the accused was fit for the purpose of standing trial.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“When terrorists’ goal is to urge “journalists to report according to their media rules” and to “practice self-censorship” — thereby assisting propaganda efforts — this attempted or achieved distortion often goes unmentioned. For that reason alone, the death of a journalist-turned-persecutor of the press ought to receive more attention”.
When ‘Journalists’ Kill Journalists
22 April – Source: The Washington Times – 804 Words
On April 11, 2016, Hassan Hanafi, a member of al-Shabab (“The Youth”), a U.S.-designated terror group that operates in Somalia and surrounding areas, was executed by Somali authorities. U.S. news outlets, such as CNN, noted that Hanafi was a former journalist who later helped kill members of the press as an Al-Shabaab operative.
However, the media missed a chance to tell a larger story: That of press intimidation by terrorist organizations attempting to extend the reach of Islamic supremacism in Africa. Prior to joining al-Shabab, Hanafi worked for Holy Quran Radio in Mogadishu, Somalia from 2003 to 2005. Al-Shabaab took over Holy Quran Radio in 2010, using it to broadcast the group’s propaganda.
Hanafi served as both a battlefield leader for the movement and as its propaganda chief — the latter post described oddly by Associated Press as head of Al-Shabaab’s “media unit” (“Al-Shabab Media Officer Executed for Killings of Five Somali Journalists,” April 11, 2016). Hanafi went from being an ostensible member of the press to someone who sought to silence news coverage via threats or murder if he could not distort reporting to favor Al-Shabaab. He helped the terror group identify at least five journalists who were later murdered and, according to his own testimony, killed a journalist himself.
In its coverage of Hanafi’s execution, AP briefly mentioned that he “often urged journalists to report according to al-Shabab’s media rules, which included avoiding stories related to the group’s military setbacks.”Hanafi’s actions, the news service acknowledged, forced “many media outlets to practice self-censorship for security reasons.” While some news outlets reported Hanafi’s crimes and his death, few chose to dig deeper into the potential chilling effects Al-Shabaab’s media enforcer may have had.
Somalia and neighboring countries including Kenya have been subject to attacks by the group and its predecessor, the Islamic Courts Union, for more than a decade. Al-Shabab, which has been linked to other U.S.-designated terrorist groups such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram, has targeted reporters frequently and often successfully.
More than 25 journalists have been murdered in Somalia since 2007, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonprofit organization that “promotes press freedom worldwide.” While this number is not as high as those killed in Iraq and Syria and not all of the 25 can be attributed to al-Shabab, many can. In December 2015, journalist Hindia Haji Mohamed, herself the widow of a murdered journalist, died when Al-Shabaab blew up her car.