September 20, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia Prime Minister Meets With Russian Foreign Minister In New York
19 September – Source: Horn Observer – 109 Words
Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheyre met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York, according to officials. According to statement released on Tuesday by the Office of the Somali Prime Minister, the Somalia delegation led by the Prime Minister Kheyre, met with Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Both Somalia and Russia discussed strengthening the long term bilateral relationship between the two countries” the statement read. Somalia delegation led by Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheyre travelled to New York to attend the 72nd meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, where Prime Minister Kheyre is expected to deliver speech about his government’s latest developments.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Prime Minister Meets With Russian Foreign Minister In New York (Horn Observer)
- Hirshabelle Electoral Commission Accused Of Mismanaging Money Collected From Presidential Candidates (Jowhar.com)
- Somalis In Indian Jails Can Now Apply To Complete Terms At Home (Goobjoog News)
- Four African Nations Suffer U.N. Voting Ban Over Non-payment Of Dues (African News)
- Terror Groups Pose Biggest Threat To Kenya’s Security – NIS (Daily Nation)
- Somali Government Shot Itself In The Foot (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Hirshabelle Electoral Commission Accused Of Mismanaging Money Collected From Presidential Candidates
20 September – Source: Jowhar.com – 109 Words
Hirshabelle’s electoral commission has been accused of mismanaging financial payments made by presidential candidates vying for the recently concluded elections in Jowhar. A total amount of 80,000 USD collected from eight presidential candidates cannot be accounted for, says one of the regional state assembly members who requested not to be named.
Upon the conclusion of the regional presidential election, most of the electoral commissioner members left for Mogadishu. The MP accused the commission members of being the masterminds of the motion of no-confidence that deposed the former regional president Ali Abdullahi Osoble. “They enjoy big support in the regional assembly and no-one dared to ask them about the money collected from the presidential aspirants,” he stated.
Somalis In Indian Jails Can Now Apply To Complete Terms At Home
20 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 309 Words
Persons serving jail terms in Somalia and India can now apply to complete their sentences in their respective countries following a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries.Parliament will today debate the agreement presented by the Federal Government which sets the framework under which prisoners in both countries can be transferred to their home countries upon which they will finish the remainder of their terms. The agreement stipulates sentenced persons who are nationals of either Somalia or India can request by making an application to be transferred but only if they are have not been imposed a death sentence, not have been convicted for an offence under military law and that such a person should not be subject to pending criminal proceedings in the transferring state. “At the time of receipt of the request for transfer, the agreement reads, the sentenced person still has at least six months of the sentence to serve or is undergoing a sentence of life imprisonment.” An exception is however provided for such a transfer to occur if the remaining jail term is less than six months upon agreement by both countries.
Several Somalis charged with piracy in the Indian Ocean waters in 2011 are serving various jail terms in Indian jails. The last batch of 60 Somali pirates were handed seven year sentence on September 9, 2017 for piracy attack on a merchant vessel in 2011. The convicts had however been in jail for six years and the court directed they be deported upon completion of terms. Somalia and Indian had earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India for Somali convicts in India to finish their terms back home. The agreement subject to debate by the Lower House today notes the receiving state shall be bound by the legal nature and duration of the sentence as determined by the transferring state.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Four African Nations Suffer U.N. Voting Ban Over Non-payment Of Dues
20 September – Source: African News – 168 Words
Four African countries have lost their voting rights at the the United Nations General Assembly. The vote ban is over their lack of payment of membership dues. A Voice of America journalist, Harun Maruf, disclosed the information which affects his native Somalia and Guinea Bissau in West Africa. The other two affected countries are island nations of Sao Tome and Principe and the Comoros.
In the specific case of Somalia, the amount in question is said to be in the region of $2 million. Somalia and Guinea-Bissau are represented at the ongoing UNGA by their respective Prime Ministers – Hassan Ali Khaire and Umaro Sissoco Embalo. The General Assembly voted last fall to give exceptions to the four countries affected by the ban. At the time it had voted to suspend Libya and Venezuela from voting for the 2016 – 2017 session due to non-payment of dues. U.N. dues reports indicate are binding on all 193 member states and is calculated according to factors including national income.
Terror Groups Pose Biggest Threat To Kenya’s Security – NIS
20 September – Source: Daily Nation – 380 Words
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has singled out terrorism as the biggest threat to Kenya’s national security and development. In a report presented during the induction of MPs Wednesday, NIS Deputy Assistant Director Alexander Muteshi said that the threat remains high in border counties of Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Lamu. Mr Muteshi told the MPs that the threats are propagated by terrorist organisations like the Al-Shabaab that has its cells in neighbouring Somalia and the Islamic State (IS) group that operates in Puntland, Libya, Syria and Iraq. “What makes the threats dangerous is that they are targeting churches, malls, schools and other public places. But the success against this is the multi-agency approach we have adopted to deal with them,” Mr Muteshi said.
He pointed out that the threats have been pushed away from the cities to the border areas. He also noted that the National Counter Terrorism Centre has helped in building resilience through educating the youth, the masses and religious groups. According to Mr Muteshi, the country is already dealing with over 200 returnees from Somalia in South Coast, who are targeting Nyumba Kumi elders, locals and the police. Some of these gangs are said to operate in groups. He also said that online radicalisation, which is a global problem, is another threat. It is propagated by IS and targets the youth tertiary learning institutions like universities and colleges “We are facing an enemy [who] is highly radicalised, [who] has no value for human life, highly idealised and highly trained both militarily and intelligence-wise. They have logisticians who are responsible for transporting weapons and their other logistical requirements,” he said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The government also argued that the order of banishment applies to noncitizens and the aggrieved is not a Somali citizen. Somalis by and large scolded the government on this point. Certainly this explanation has no merit or leg to stand. Nothing limits the government from treasuring ALL Somali born individuals as fully established citizens.”
Somali Government Shot Itself In The Foot
18 September – Source: Hiiraan Online – 596 Words
Somali Media is reporting that Somali government, in a recent unwarranted move and wobbly decision captured, jailed and parceled a Somali citizen to Ethiopian authorities seeking vengeance against him. The captive is Abdulkarim Sheikh Musa, AKA “Qalbi Dhgax”. Military record shows that he is a veteran officer of the Somali Army. He is no stranger to many Somalis who laud him for his spirit of endurance against the odds and the enormous impact of his victory. The report stirred up some turmoil in the Somali landscape. The report has, however, also stirred up some political passions. It exhausted the government of president Farmajo and Prime Minister Kheyre, and stirred up discord within the parliament. Perhaps most telling was the reaction from a substantial lot of the public; the mood was different, angrier and more suspicious. A number of factors may have contributed the public uproar. 1) A quasi resurgent Somali nationalism 2) Public image of the president as a reliable nationalist opposed to foreign meddling-especially Ethiopia and Kenya. 3) Ethiopia discerning its interest and influence weakening under this government, flexing muscle and turning over a new leaf.
In essence, ‘Qalbi Dhgax” finds himself marooned at the feet of his tormentors,conveniently delivered by none else than a government sworn for his protection- say a government apparently insensitive to the concerns of its people! Remarkably the first and only object of good government is the care of human life and happiness and not their destruction. On the other hand, it is hard to overstate what a sweeping defeat and humiliation this was for the Somali government or for Somali people at large. Once again, Ethiopian authorities managed toshowcase their unbridled grip on weak Somali governments. This time, however, Ethiopia’s onslaughtbecomes a cause celebre for the Somali people. The fallout from this incident persists and shows no sign of abating. Farmajo ignited the most serious controversy over Ethiopian Interest since his election, with some parliamentarians, civic leaders, media and the public all denouncing him after his government initially kept moot and said little or equivocated when spoke. As the public discourse is heated, the government employed what can only be described as ridiculous defense. The government claimed that the order was lawful, given an extradition agreement, in situ, between the two countries. However, this assertion turned out ringing hollow. Former government officialsattributed to initiating a draftingof a sort say otherwise. And; no parliamentary ratification took effect.
The government also argued that the order of banishment applies to noncitizens and the aggrieved is not a Somali citizen. Somalis by and large scolded the government on this point. Certainly this explanation has no merit or leg to stand. Nothing limits the government from treasuring ALL Somali born individuals as fully established citizens. Let alone someone professed as a hero. It is franklybizarre that the government’s other lame defense was enigmatically labeling ‘ONLF’ a terrorist organization. How come? Even the United States and the United Nations defy doing so. This was a humiliating loss for the administration, and principally the president, by virtue of the merit Somali people bequeathed on him establish a safety net against foreign meddling in its internal affairs. No amount of frothing at the mouth from the administration will lessen the blow from its ill-advised feat-reductio ad absurdum. It can try to charm a priori or an ad hoc security arrangement between regional parties; it would rather do well to rethink ways and means reversing the entire undertaking. Moreover, on account of what happened, one is tempted to ask what’s wrong with the President or Prime Minister.
TOP TWEETS
.@SomaliPM: Arrived in NY for 72nd Session of #UNGA to my first meeting with RussianFM #Lavrov on enhanced cooperation between #Somalia & @mfa_russia
.@HarunMaruf: JUST IN: Reports of possible #IED explosion in a car in Manapolio area, Shibis district, at least one person seriously hurt. #Mogadishu
.@M_H_Ingiriis: This afternoon, USAID hosted a closing ceremony for this year’s Mogadishu Book Fair. We’re sitting at the USAID centre in Halane compound.
.@engyarisow: Thanks to @FKusow 4 the wonderful gift of Tale of A Boon’s Wife Book during the reception of #MBF2017 in#Mogadishu
.@MoPIED_Somalia: Somalia launches Post Disaster Needs Assessment and Recovery and Resilience Framework and as first step towards long term resilience and …
.@HarunMaruf: Hearing that Kenya’s AMISOM troops in Bardhere are packing up tonight and could leave the town as early as tomorrow. #Somalia
.@mpfsomalia:The @WorldBank, @MoPIED_Somalia and other partners launch the Post Disaster Needs Assessment this week in #Mogadishu
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Russian Foreign Minister Mr. Sergey Lavrov with Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheyre at sideline meetings in the United Nations.
Photo: @RussianUN