April 12, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Stop speculations ahead of committee findings, Somali PM tells public
12 Apr – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 177 words
Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has called on the public to stop speculations ahead of the highly awaited findings of the investigation into the recent blast in Somalia’s national theatre in Mogadishu where six people were killed and dozen others injured. Ali dismissed rumours that individuals who are not members of the al Shabaab militant group were responsible of the attack, insisting that the militant group is to be blamed for the attack.
He noted that it was import for people to wait for the finding of the investigators who are expected to table their finding soon. Six people including two sports officials were killed when alleged female suicide bomber blew herself up in a packed newly reopened theatre where people gathered to mark the first anniversary of the launch of Somalia’s national television station.
The PM who escaped unhurt was among dignitaries attending the event. Several politicians and journalists were injured in the incident. The government immediately appointed a commission of inquiry to investigate the incident especially how the suicide bomber managed to sneak into the theatre.
Key Headlines
- Stop speculations ahead of committee findings Somali PM tells public (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Ex Defense Minister Urges Somali military to restore dignity ( Hiiraan Online)
- Somali PM talks about end of transtion period ( Radio Mogadishu OPM RBC)
- Baidoa bomb victims will be evacuated health ministry says (Kulmiye Jowhar Online)
- Zambian police nab 11 illegal immigrants (The Times of Zambia)
- Russian warship to join anti-piracy mission in may (Russian News)
SOMALI MEDIA
Stop speculations ahead of committee findings, Somali PM tells public
12 Apr – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 177 words
Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has called on the public to stop speculations ahead of the highly awaited findings of the investigation into the recent blast in Somalia’s national theatre in Mogadishu where six people were killed and dozen others injured. Ali dismissed rumours that individuals who are not members of the al Shabaab militant group were responsible of the attack, insisting that the militant group is to be blamed for the attack.
He noted that it was import for people to wait for the finding of the investigators who are expected to table their finding soon. Six people including two sports officials were killed when alleged female suicide bomber blew herself up in a packed newly reopened theatre where people gathered to mark the first anniversary of the launch of Somalia’s national television station.
The PM who escaped unhurt was among dignitaries attending the event. Several politicians and journalists were injured in the incident. The government immediately appointed a commission of inquiry to investigate the incident especially how the suicide bomber managed to sneak into the theatre.
Ex Defense Minister Urges Somali military to restore dignity
12 Apr – Source: Hiiraan Online – 207 words
Somalia’s former Defense Minsiter Gen. Mohamed Ali Samatar urged military personnel to restore the dignity of the country’s military. Mohamed Ali Samatar was one of the ruling Generals in the ousted military government of Mohamed Siad Barre before it was overthrown in 1991. “Somalia’s military forces were well disciplined and well trained than any other military in Africa” said Mohamed Ali Samatar calling the army to restore its dignity.
In an Interview he gave to radio Mogadishu for the commemoration of the national army day on 12 April, the former vice president said Somalia had one united national army that was recruited from different parts of Somalia. “The army was recruited from different areas in the country but they were trained in the country, yet they were well trained and we had a powerful army” he said.
The retired Military general was a key figure in Somali politics throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he now faces trial in the US for committing crimes against humanity in northern Somalia while he was an army general and Prime Minister in the military regime of Siad Barre.
Somali PM talks about end of transtion period
11 Apr – Source: Radio Mogadishu, OPM, RBC – 426 words
The Somali Prime Minister Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali who addressed some of the Somali media shade light on the ending of the transitional period of his government and the implemented plans in the roadmap.
The premier stated that the agreement which was signed by the Somalis on 6th September 2011 was a historic one that revived the honour and esteem of the people of Somalia as the agreement was holistic and inclusive of all parties. Major breakthroughs have been achieved in the last eight months regarding the implementation of the roadmap on security, reconciliation, and coordination with regional administrations, the constitution and good governance, said Prime Minister Abdiweli.
The premier further said that numerous agreements reached including the Garowe I and II and the Galka’yo agreement have restored the confidence of the international community and the Somali people. This, he said, has lead to the London meeting which was hosted by UK, where the international community decided to take a common approach on the Somali issue.
Ending the transitional period of the government is vital for the Somali people in order to usher in a legitimate and stable government which will hold high the public interest, said Abdiweli adding that there are countries like Somali but are not in transitional period. He reiterated his government’s dedication in ending the transitional period.
Baidoa bomb victims will be evacuated, health ministry says
12 Apr – Source: Kulmiye, Jowhar Online – 130 words
Somalis ministry of health says victims of the Baidoa bombing will be evacuated for treatments outside the country. Somali’s Ministry of Health says victims of the Baidoa bombing will be evacuated for treatments outside the country, some of the victims of the Baidoa bombing include those named by the ministry and will be evacuated to a outside of the country.
The minister says injured victims and those who were burnt by the recent bomb blasts in Baidoa and in Mogadishu will be included to the victims who will find the treatments evacuation outside of the country.
Number of blasts, suicide bombings have wounded and killed countless of civilians in Mogadishu and other areas of the country and some of them did not yet receive best specific treatment inside the country.
Somaliland’s National Planning Minister denies aid money embezzlement allegations
12 Apr – Source: Somaliland Press – 155 words
The Minister of National Planning Dr. Sa’ad Ali Shire has dismissed allegations of embezzlement of aid money by government officials. Dr Sa’ad said lately there have been a seemingly growing number of negative media stories highlighting the negative accusations of misappropriation of funds by certain individuals who work for the government.
The Minister went on to say the allegations are false and baseless. “Although we cherish the freedom of expression as part of democracy, it does not entitle one to behave in unethically manner,” he said.
Dr. Sa’ad added that the media should check for fact before embarking on tarnishing the reputation of the government, one needs to understand how aid money is channelled and through whom, because a tarnished reputation can result in an exodus of donors. The Minister acknowledged the recipients of international aid are mostly from developing countries, (bilateral aid) this form of aid or funds is given to one country from another or by international organizations.
Governor: Al Shabaab still harms civilians in Middle Shabelle region
11 Apr – Source: keyd Media -187 words
The Governor of Middle Shabelle region in southern Somalia has on Wednesday revealed that al Shabaab militants linked with al Qaeda still commit attrocities against the civilians living in their strongholds in the region.
Abdijinow Alasow told reporters in Mogadishu that the fighters arrest local residents and some times killed them over suspicion of supporting or spying for the Somali government forces in the region.
“Al Shabaab has begun harming residents and looting their possessions after they were defeated and pushed back from many of their strongholds by (pro-government) Ahlu Sunnah Waljama fighters (AWJA) and TFG soldiers,” said the governor.
Puntland to improve agricultural sector
11 Apr – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Universal TV – 184 words
Puntland is stepping up agricultural development programmes in parts of the region in order to boost agricultural output and encourage local farmers to double their efforts in the sector, officials say. Puntland’s Agriculture minister, Mohamud Hajji Salah told Bar-kulan that his ministry will drill boreholes and distribute pumping machines to farmers in the region for irrigations in order to improve the agricultural sector in Puntland especially areas suitable for farming. The minister made the remarks after touring several parts of the region.
Salah also said they are working on plans to train local farmers on seeds sowing, crop irrigation and other necessary skills, saying that lack of skills among local farmers is one of the factors adversely affecting agricultural output in Puntland.
The minister further said his ministry will embark on public awareness educating people on the importance of farming in effort to fight food insecurity and hunger in the region. Salah, however, announced that as from tomorrow, April 12 every year will be earmarked for Puntland’s farmers’ day as part of their strategy to improve the sector and create positive attitude towards farming.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Zambian police nab 11 illegal immigrants
11 Apr – Source: The Times of Zambia – 252 words
Zambian security officials in Muchinga Province have thwarted a human trafficking syndicate involving a Zambian and Zimbabwean who attempted to illegally transport 11 illegal immigrants to Lusaka, through Nakonde.
Of late, there have been rising cases of illegal immigrants, mainly Ethiopians and Somalis, being transported through Muchinga Province in sealed trucks and buses.
The 11 Somalis were intercepted at a security checkpoint in Chinsali where a bus they were travelling in was impounded. Muchinga Province Police Deputy Commissioner, Chilinje Nyirenda confirmed the arrest of the immigrants in Chinsali yesterday.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Russian warship to join anti-piracy mission in may
12 Apr – Source: Russia News – 341 words
A task force from Russia’s Northern Fleet, led by the Udaloy class destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov, will arrive in the Gulf of Aden in the beginning of May to join an anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast.
The destroyer has a military investigator on board to provide legal assistance for the Russian mission in case the task force encounters pirate vessels while escorting commercial ships.
“The investigator has been certified in the international maritime law and has all necessary forensic equipment to conduct investigations,” a spokesman for the Main Military Investigative Department told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
Range Resources: Puntland operator encouraged by drilling results
12 Apr – Source: Proactive Investors – 350 words
Range Resources (LON:RRL, ASX:RRS) said today its highly anticipated Shabeel well in Puntland, Somalia has indicated oil but more work is needed to test the results. The Shabeel well, which is being drilled by Horn Petroleum, is currently at a depth of 2703 metres and has just completed the setting of the 9 5/8″ casing, Range said.
At a depth of approximately 1660 metres, a 355 metre section of Upper Cretaceous sands and shales of the Tisje/Jesomma Formations exhibited both oil and gas shows and a potential pay zone of between 12 and 20 metres. “Attempts to sample formation fluids using a wireline formation tester were not successful and the zone will require cased hole testing to confirm whether they are oil bearing,” Range said.
At a depth of 2015 metres, a thick section of tight limestone and shales was encountered and extended to the present depth of 2703 meters, which is believed to correspond to the Upper Cretaceous Gumburo Formation, Range said.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
An Ode to Somali Poet Khalif Sheikh Mahamud Said
12 Apr – Source: Dissident Nation Blog – 325 Words
Somalia’s modern history is not known for its poetry the same way Somalia’s older generations are remembered, but poetry plays a central role in the structure of Somali culture and politics today the same way it did a hundred, or two hundred, or well over a thousand years ago, and one of its heroes the previous century was Khalif Sheikh Mahamud Said.
Khalif Sheikh Mahamud Said had a life like any other Somali during his era, and he lived in his native Dharoor Valley tending to sheep and other livestock for his family. In 1977, during his young adulthood, Somalia liberated the Somali-populated garrison towns of Haile Mariam Mengistu, the Ethiopian dictator occupying the ethnic Somali regions now part of eastern Ethiopia, and Khalif supported the righteous Somali efforts to reclaim those territories as part of a united Somali nation.
“In the politics and power struggle of armed groups within the country, and international politics, the real victims are the ordinary Somalis. Time is the biggest challenge right now as international aid starts to trickle in. Sadly, the ground realities indicate this catastrophe has a long way to go before it can be controlled. The biggest problem is access to people dying of starvation.”
Famine in Somalia
12 Apr – Source: Business Recorder – 442 Words
In a world of instant communication, technological progress and accessibility, incidents where people die from starvation should have been a thing of the last century. Yet Somalia’s complicated history, internal rife and international interference have given rise to a tragedy the magnitude of which the world is perhaps unable to gauge as yet. Drought is nothing new to the country.
“I have seen the danger of living in Mogadishu to train for the Olympics. Last year, I travelled to Mogadishu to film the athletes who run daily along the “road of death” through the city, aware that at any time they could be shot by rebel gunmen or nervous security forces.”
Somalia’s London 2012 hopefuls battle the odds
11 Apr – Source: Channel 4 Blog – 367 Words
For most of National Olympic committees around the world, selecting the sportsmen/women to represent their country is a straightforward decision: the best athletes are chosen, reports Somali journalist Jamal Osman. But Somali Olympic organisers are in a difficult situation. They fear that if they choose an athlete now, he/she may not survive to make it to the London Games.
“Unlike our counterparts in other parts of the world, we are facing a huge dilemma,” said Abdullahi Mohamed Saneey, one of the organisers. “We’ve put forward few names but cannot confirm yet because we are not sure who’s going to be alive by July.”
“Most Western nations have small merchant marine fleets operating under the national flag. It’s more common for shipping companies in the West to use “flags of convenience” (like Liberia and Panama) to evade laws mandating who can be hired for the crew and what they must be paid (in addition to other restrictions). Shipping companies using flags of convenience generally do not allow firearms on board, lest they be used by mutineers.”
Dirty little secrets: Civilian gun ships off Somalia
11 Apr – Source: Strategy Page – 930 Words
To get around laws in many ports that forbid weapons aboard merchant ships, security companies operating off the Somali coast have equipped small ships to serve as floating arsenals. The security guards board, in port, the merchant ships they are guarding, then meet up with the gun ship in international waters so the guards can get their weapons and ammo. The process is reversed when the merchant ships approach their destinations or leave pirate infested waters (and put the armed guards off onto the gun ship). Maritime lawyers fret that there are no proper laws to regulate these floating armories, or that if there are applicable laws everyone is not following them. It’s also feared that some enterprising lawyers will seek to represent the families of pirates shot by these armed guards. Off the Somali coast everyone is looking for a big payday.
“The field dispatch, “Somalia Famine Relief: A View from Mogadishu,” presents individual testimonies from displaced people, highlights some important details about the scope of the suffering in Mogadishu, and features the Somali prime minister’s startling denial of famine in the city, just a day before the U.N. announced a massive new appeal for funds.”
Somalia Dispatch: Famine relief – A view from Mogadishu
11 Apr – Source: Think Progress – 448 Words
The Famine Early Warning Network warned last week that the current rainy season in the eastern Horn of Africa will not be adequate to prevent food insecurity in the region still recovering for last year’s devastating famine. Learning lessons from what did and did not work in the 2011 famine relief efforts in Somalia is thus a matter of urgent and immediate concern. A new field dispatch by the Enough Project illustrates how, on the most local level, deficiencies of the relief effort played out, based on research conducted in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
Communities across Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya suffered severely from the 2011 drought and famine; tens of thousands of people died. Somalia was the epicenter of this human tragedy, largely because conflict and the severe policies of the militant group al-Shabaab undercut the traditional coping strategies Somalis use to deal with extreme weather and also cut off these vulnerable communities from humanitarian aid.
Top tweets
@buurukur Former Defense Minister General Mohamed Ali Samatar Urges #Somalia military to restore dignity of the armed forces http://bit.ly/IxftPT.
@Hamza_Africa “Every 2months Turkish deputy prime minister visits #Somalia“.
@Allakqa #Somalia, the New Barbary?: Somali piracy has been linked repeatedly to the spectre of Barbary. “Piracy off the Horn of Africa”…
@ferigom69 Al-Shabaab resorts to bombing markets after defeat on battlefield. Weak and desperate? http://goo.gl/WdCJl
@Pansomalism A piece you alwys find after reading articles about #Somalia “There hasn’t been a functioning central government in #Somalia since the 1990s”.
@Gesigii_Kismayo #Somalia
@yassinomar Perfection is our goal, excellence will be tolerated. The motto. Comeback nation. #Somalia.
Image of the day
Somali National Army celebrates the 52st anniversary of its founding. The SNA was established on April 12, 1960 under the command of the late General Daud Abdulle Hirsi, a famous Somali national hero. Photo: AMISOM