April 4, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Puntland refuses to ‘accept’ Somalis deported from Norway

04 Apr – Source: Horseed Media – 123 words

Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland has refused to receive Somali nationals from the Norwegian government, who have been denied permission to remain in Norway.

According to reliable sources, the Norwegian government requested Puntland to receive a number of failed asylum seekers it planned to repatriate to the stable region.

However, Puntland Council of ministers on Thursday debated on the request from the Norwegian government during their weekly meeting in the Presidential Palace and agreed not to facilitate the return of the Somali nationals, who went to seek for asylum in the Scandinavian nation.

‘’ Puntland Council of Ministers have strongly agreed to refuse Somali nationals deported from Norway to be brought back to Puntland,’’ read a statement from the Puntland Presidential Office.

Key Headlines

Puntland refuses to ‘accept’ Somalis deported from Norway (Horseed Media)
Al Shabaab kills two near Bula-Burte (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somali journalist tortured in Baidao Bay region (Somalicurrent)
Tension high as two successive blasts rock Dadaab (Radio Dalsan/Radio Shabelle)
Somalia turning guns into ploughshares (The East African)
EU says it’s winning battle against piracy off Somalia (BBC)
Kenyan police accused of extortion and abuse (Al Jazeera)
Kenya Seen Facing Escalated Threat of Attacks by Islamists (Bloomberg)
Tourism can drive sustainable economic growth in Somaliland (eturbonews)

SOMALI MEDIA

Puntland refuses to ‘accept’ Somalis deported from Norway

04 Apr – Source: Horseed Media – 123 words

Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland has refused to receive Somali nationals from the Norwegian government, who have been denied permission to remain in Norway.

According to reliable sources, the Norwegian government requested Puntland to receive a number of failed asylum seekers it planned to repatriate to the stable region.

‘’ Puntland Council of Ministers have strongly agreed to refuse Somali nationals deported from Norway to be brought back to Puntland,’’ read a statement from the Puntland Presidential Office.

Al Shabaab kills two near Bula-Burte

04 Apr- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 114 words

Armed men suspected to be members of al Shabaab militant group have killed two people in Gel-Murado which is 50 kilometer North East Bula-Burte town. The two men who were killed were travelling in a Toyota Suzuki car which was transporting Khat. According to the locals the men were involved in Miraa transporting business.

The militants have taken the driver with the vehicle and drove towards Yobsan 35 kilometre outskirts of Bula-Burte.

Al Shabaab militant group have been driven out of the Bula-Burte by the Somali National Army and AMISOM forces mid last month. The group have lost key strategic areas since the a major offensive was launched against the group.

Somali journalist tortured in Baidoa, Bay region

04 Apr- Source: Somalicurrent- 191 words

Violation of press rights has been reportedly increasing in Baidoa, Bay Region since two announced administrations began struggling for the power of the region.

Horn Cable TV regional correspondent Ali Ilyas Abdullahi on 31 March, 2014 was beaten up at public place in Baidao by annoyed supporters of the six region administration announced in Bay’s centre of Baidoa after he left his office.

According to Ali Ilyas, the correspondent was severely threatened on phone by different forces prior to the incident following a film he produced from the three region state that was announced in Baidoa.

“We are alarmed by the level of the risk our colleagues reporting from Baidoa are facing which completely undermines the freedom of the press.”Said Abduulahi.

National Union of Somali journalists had deplored the brutal torture of the Ali Ilyas and urged the federal government of Somalia to provide secure environment for the press.

“We call upon the regional administration of Bay region under the Federal government of Somalia to provide journalists full protection and create an environment where they can exercise freely.” Mohamed Ibrahim, Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists said.

Tension high as two successive blasts rock Dadaab

04 Apr- Source: Radio Dalsan/Daily Nation/Radio Shabelle- 92 words

Two loud successive blasts were heard near Dadaab refugee camp airstrip Thursday night around 8pmcausing tension among residents. Area police boss confirmed the two blasts but said further details will be given Friday after thorough investigations.

Residents who spoke to nation.co.ke said they heard two huge blasts with the second being more heavy and louder. “We heard the blasts but everyone is indoors. The explosion came from the airstrip side,” Ibrahim Mohamed, a resident said.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somalia turning guns into ploughshares

04 Apr- Source: The East African-1046 Words

On a hot morning in early March, a dozen or so Somali farmers crowd into a small shelter at the UN base next to Mogadishu Airport. Flanked by officials from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), they listen quietly through the speeches and the translator, as the sweltering sun battles through the awning above.

The farmers are in Mogadishu to celebrate. After two decades of war, the attendant breakdown in law and order, and persistent drought, they have, for the first time ever, grown and sold maize to WFP.

“Farmers are now producing the food that the poor in Somalia are consuming,” says Luca Alinovi, the FAO officer in charge of the country. “It is a dream come true.”

Some of the maize is lined up in 50kg bags along a prefabricated building in the complex; after the speeches the farmers and the officials stand before the maize for the perfunctory photo-op. Food has always been political. Peaceful and democratic countries rarely suffer famine. In Somalia, however, food is one of the tools that have been used over more than two decades of instability.

Kenyan police accused of extortion and abuse

03 Apr- Source: Al Jazeera English-02:11mins

Members of Kenya’s Somali community are accusing police of extortion and abuse. More than 650 people have been arrested following a string of violent attacks that left at least half a dozen dead. Last month the Kenyan government ordered all refugees to leave urban centres and move to two designated refugees camps. Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa reports from Nairobi.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenya Seen Facing Escalated Threat of Attacks by Islamists

04 Apr- Source: Bloomberg-777 Words

Kenya may face intensified attacks by Islamist militants and protests from Muslim groups after the murder of a prominent Kenyan cleric, according to analysts including the security company, AKE Group.

Kenya has been hit by increasing bombings since sending its troops into neighboring Somalia in October 2011 to fight al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants, who are trying to overthrow the United Nations-backed government and impose Shariah, or Islamic law. The government has deployed more security forces in the port city of Mombasa after Sheikh Abubaker Shariff, an Islamist leader known as Makaburi who was accused by the UN of recruiting Somali militants, was shot dead on April 1.

“We are expecting further small-scale attacks and attempted bombings in Nairobi and Mombasa and in smaller towns closer to the Somali border, including Garissa, over the coming weeks,” Alasdair Reid, sub-Saharan Africa analyst with London-based AKE, said in an e-mailed note yesterday. “We could also see a more major terrorist attack.”

Tourism can drive sustainable economic growth in Somaliland

04 Apr- Source: eturbonews- 432 words

On Thursday, March 27, at the Somaliland Imperial Hotel in Hargeisa, Dunira Strategy and local partner Horn Heritage presented the findings and recommendations of their Comic Relief-funded feasibility study. This research sought to explore heritage tourism as a driver of sustainable economic growth in Somaliland. The findings were delivered to the Minister of Sports, Youth and Tourism and his officials, along with experts, technical advisors, national media, and key stakeholders from the tourism sector.

In his opening remarks His Excellency Ali Saeed Raygal said: “We are so happy with the work and collaboration of Dunira Strategy and Horn Heritage and are grateful for their findings and recommendations. I want the whole sector to consider the work and information provided so we can progress tourism in Somaliland.”

Long-time refugee camp resident Hawa Hassan, resettled in Australia, reaches out to recent arrivals

04 Apr- Source: ABC-1049 Words

As civil war gripped her home country of Somalia in 1990, she and her husband fled. “When I left, it was awful. I saw people being killed, I see people die, you know, I see women have baby and the baby die, I see a lot of men killed in front of us, but I’m glad I didn’t die,” Ms Hassan said.

“You fight for your life, you try whatever, no matter what happens. “We said, well, we just have to keep walking until we get somewhere that’s safe.” It took the couple three weeks on foot to reach safety at a refugee camp in bordering Kenya. Little did she know she would spend the next 14 years of her life living between such camps, raising her first three children in torrid conditions. The hardest task was making sure she had food for them.

“Having three children in a refugee camp was difficult, especially when it was distribution day,” Ms Hassan said. “It’s the hardest thing; you wake up about three o’clock in the morning to line up for the rations. “After being in the camp for one year, staff at the camp came to tell me I needed to … plant a tree. “I said, ‘Why do I need to plant a small tree now?’ I had no idea that one day I would be sitting under that tree for shade – 10 years later. I saw my children grow up in the camp.”

EU says it’s winning battle against piracy off Somalia

02 Apr- Source: BBC-04:33mins

The EU mission to stop piracy off the coast of Somalia uses both military force but also civilian development programmes to help address some of the root causes. The BBC’s Matthew Price has been speaking to Baroness Catherine Ashton, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant, Operating commander of the European Union Naval force Somalia. First up, does Baroness Ashton think the mission has been a success so far?

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“While the British teacher made this great sacrifice to give life to a young girl, breaking all walls of division such as background, religion, and skin color, al Shabaab and other extremist groups in the Muslim world everyday slaughter their own country’s children, women and the elderly in schools, mosques, and restaurants. And while the smile of Alya brought tears to Mr Coe’s eyes, the grief of mothers and children who lost their loved ones in al Shabaab’s attacks does not bring tears to al Shabaab’s eyes but instead they shamelessly shout Allahu Akbar and invoke Quranic verses.”

Somalia: A British Teacher’s Heroism Versus al Shabaab’s Barbarism

04 Apr- Source: Somalilandpress-767 Words

Recently the British Dailymail carried the amazing story of a British teacher, Ray Coe, 53, who donated a kidney to his young student, a Muslim girl, Alya Ahmed Ali, 13. The story was emailed to me by a friend who also said in his email: “What would al Shabaab say about this act?” he added: “Before Allah, isn’t it better to save a life than kill one.” My reply to him after reading the story was: “Al Shabaab would probably demand the girl be killed as she now carries an infidel’s organ in her body.” This is not an exaggeration as one would not expect a better response from a group that makes it their duty to extinguish life and everything beautiful in it.

As heroic as it is, the noble action of the teacher to donate his organ to the girl is also what we should expect from every person with decent upbringing, who learned as a child what it meant to be good and kind to your fellow human beings. Mr Coe says while he was pondering the donation he remembered a verse from the Bible that says: “Maybe you were born for such a time as this”. And he said: “It clicked and I knew then that it was right.”

We know and every Muslim knows that the Quran is full of similar beautiful verses that command its adherents to be kind and charitable. One of these verses says: “Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul … it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one, it is as if he had saved mankind entirely,” Al Mai’da, 32.

“Regardless of the Istanbul Communiqué, the dissension between Somalia and Somaliland is gaining momentum. As the international community, including the African Union, advocates a one-or-the-other strategy, Somaliland is once again thrown back on itself – a position from which it has developed a remarkably inclusive system of governance which many parts of Somalia can only dream about. It deserves to be given a chance to prove its case. So if the question for Somalia is still ‘now or never’, the answer is a resounding never.”

Somalia And Somaliland: Now Or Never?

03 Apr- Source: International Political Forum-743 Words

In January this year, Somaliland and Somalia signed the Istanbul Communiqué committing themselves to mutual cooperation and peaceful resolution of their relationship, which has been on the rocks ever since Somaliland proclaimed independence more than 22 years ago. As much as the international community wants to be optimistic about the recent development in the horn of Africa, the complete opposite reaction of Somalia’s and Somaliland’s governments to the peace memorandum suggests the rift between the two has only got bigger during the last two decades. If Somalia wants Somaliland back, it is a now or never situation.

According to the Somalilanders, whose mass grave discoveries remind us of Siad Barre’s regime atrocities, the use of ‘Government of Somaliland’ in the memorandum marks its official recognition by Somalia. The Somalis, keen to extend their relatively stable federal arrangement, think it is high time their prodigal son returned – after all, Somaliland has in more than 20 years of intensive effort yet to achieve any international recognition. It is not all about recognition however.

Top tweets

@EUTMSomalia Chief Operations of German Armed Forces Gen. Fritz visited #Somalia yesterday, to prepare German participation at @EUTMSomalia

@SomaliPM Doctors, teachers, farmers etc. Are incredibly important for a more stable and successful Somalia. I honour their professions and intellect.

@tres_HOA With “Banadir state” Pres and VP declared,#Somalia now has 13 presidents that include overlapping administrative territory. #Federalism

@UNSomalia WATCH: Sisters of #Somalia, a message on the International Day for Mine Awareness: http://bit.ly/OgTqmw #NoMoreMines cc @UNMAS

@amisomsomalia VIDEO: Speaker Prof. Jawari, local administration officials & #AMISOM lead Baidoa’s residents in clean-up exercise http://bit.ly/1eegLwr

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Image of the day

Image of the day #Puntland’s new “supermax” prison is open for pirates only. #Somalia. Photo: @harunmaruf