April 4, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
SRSG Michael Keating Visits Hargeisa
04 April – Source: Jowhar.com – 165 Words
A delegation led by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) on Monday visited Hargeisa, Somaliland and held talks with Somaliland President, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Silanyo and members of his Cabinet. It was the envoy’s second visit to Somaliland since he was appointed to lead the UN office in Somalia on November 2015. The two sides discussed a range of issues including the drought situation in Somaliland, elections and development in the breakaway republic. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Keating said the purpose of their visit was to expand UN’s role in helping the drought-affected people of Somaliland. He appreciated the warm reception he received from the Somaliland authorities.Somaliland foreign minister Dr Sa’ad Ali Shire said the UN Envoy and President Silanyo also talked about bolstering of relations and cooperation between Somaliland and the UN.
Key Headlines
- SRSG Michael Keating Visits Hargeisa (Jowhar.com)
- Gunmen Kill Trader In Wardhiigley District (Goobjoog News)
- Journalist In Somaliland Set To Appear In Court For Supporting Somali President (Goobjoog News)
- Speaker Jawari Cautions MPs Against Absenteeism (Hiiraan Online)
- AMISOM And Federal Government Of Somalia To Open Main Supply Routes To Ease Access To Humanitarian Aid (AMISOM)
- Refugees From Somalia Lose Refugee Status (Norway Today)
- Testing The Waters: Somaliland Dives Into The International Arena (The Messenger)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Gunmen Kill Trader In Wardhiigley District
04 April – Source : Goobjoog News – 108 Words
Unidentified gunmen have shot and killed a woman in Wardhiigley district, Mogadishu on Monday night. Halima Abdi Hayle, was murdered at Siinay market in Wardhiigley district in the latest in a series of targeted assassinations in Mogadishu.Hayle was a well known trader who has been living in Wardhiigley district for decades. According to witnesses, the attackers immediately escaped the scene after the attack.Security officials in the district said that security forces were pursuing the attackers.Despite a relative stability in the Somali capital since the ouster of Al-Shabaab fighters, civilians remain a common target for unknown gunmen, government soldiers and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Journalist In Somaliland Set To Appear In Court For Supporting Somali President
04 April -Source: Goobjoog News – 149 Words
Abdimalik Mouse Oldoon, a freelance journalist, who was arrested on 15th February in Hargeisa is set to appear before court on Tuesday.Somaliland administration has accused Oldon of being supporter of Somali president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.He will face trial on three different charges including deliberate incitement and provocation, according to Somaliland prosecutor. Oldon, an online freelance journalist and blogger was arrested following his visit to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu during the presidential elections in February.
Despite having no personal security concerns unlike their colleagues in southern and central Somalia, journalists in Somaliland and its neighbouring Puntland have in recent times been subjected to intimidation, censorship and harassment, a scenario journalists’ rights groups criticized as ‘draconian’. Security agencies have earlier arrested journalists and closed down media station, drawing criticism by media watchdogs and rights groups.Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 but is yet to gain international recognition.
Speaker Jawari Cautions MPs Against Absenteeism
04 April – Source: Hiiraan Online – 89 Words
Parliament Speaker Mohamed Osmar Jawari said MPs are wanted to be present at all parliamentary sittings, reminding them that attending Parliament is part of their basic responsibility. He said it is unacceptable for MPs to be absent from parliamentary sessions without any justifiable reasons, saying that unnecessary absenteeism in the house was undermining the parliamentary business. He also sent a similar warning to MPs who come to register and don’t attend sessions. It’s not the first time Parliament Speaker issued such warnings to MPs who don’t attend parliamentary sittings.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM And Federal Government Of Somalia To Open Main Supply Routes To Ease Access To Humanitarian Aid
04 April – Source : AMISOM – 596 Words
Senior AMISOM officials yesterday held a meeting with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) representatives and senior commanders of the Somali National Army (SNA) to discuss modalities of opening and securing main supply routes to help facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid to drought stricken communities in the country. The closed-door meeting, held Monday, in the Somali Capital, Mogadishu, was attended by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira; the FGS Minister of Defence, Rashid Abdullahi Mohamed; African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Osman Noor Soubagleh and the SNA Deputy Chief of Defence Forces (DCDF), Maj. Gen. Ali Bashi Mohamed. Also in attendance were AMISOM Sector Commanders and senior SNA commanders.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Mohammed said SNA will play its role to ensure humanitarian relief reaches residents affected by the drought, and hailed the plan on opening and securing the main supply routes, presented at the meeting, adding that the FGS and its security agencies will play a leading role in its implementation. “I think that the plan presented was very amazing and we do really appreciate, if it is implemented,” FGS Defense Minister said.
The Minister expressed optimism about the initiative, saying it will help alleviate the humanitarian crisis and save thousands of lives. “I believe we will have a realistic outcome to support and mobilize the country and allow free movement, better protection and better access for both economic improvement and protection of the community that has been affected by the drought,” Minister Rashid stated. Ambassador Madeira echoed the Minister’s sentiments, adding that the opening and securing of main supply routes is crucial for channeling humanitarian assistance needed by thousands of residents affected by the severe drought. The SRCC lauded the move, noting that AMISOM will support the FGS secure the main roads.
Refugees From Somalia Lose Refugee Status
04 April – Source : Norway Today – Words
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) has now issued decisions to individual refugees from Mogadishu in Somalia that they no longer have refugee status in Norway. Last year Immigration notified 120 refugees from Mogadishu that they are no longer considered as refugees. The UDI has now done so, and their assessment is that the security situation in Somalia’s capital is considered to be significantly improved and that this state of affairs has lasted over time. The prime reason being that al-Shabaab withdrew from the area in the autumn of 2012.
These are people who quite legitimately received asylum in Norway because the situation in Mogadishu at the time meant that they were entitled to protection. When after three years of stable conditions applications for permanent residence are reviewed, the Ministry of Justice required us to consider the foundation for their stay once more, says Divisional Head of Affairs in UDI, Hanne Jendal. The Ministry of Justice has given UDI instructions about the revocation of refugee status and residence permits when the need for protection is no longer valid.
The refugees from Somalia are covered by this instruction and apply to around 1,600 people who have received temporary residence and protection in Norway. In cases where we make the decision to rescind the permits to stay, we will however continue to consider whether the person should be granted a continued residence permit in Norway nonetheless because of strong humanitarian considerations or connection to Norway, what is in children’s best interest or due to health problems, Jendal states.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The alliance with UAE draws Somaliland into other regional rivalries as well. The Gulf states have their own competition, with UAE and Qatar vying for equal footing with Saudi Arabia, and for supremacy in the Horn. Internally, clan tensions, and a struggle between Sufism and Salafism stoked by Saudi influence in particular continue to fester. The UAE’s investments also up the stakes of Hargeisa’s secession standoff with Mogadishu.”
Testing The Waters: Somaliland Dives Into The International Arena
03 April – Source : The Messenger – 3899 Word
With a sea breeze to his back, Ali Farah Negeye greets the lunch crowd at the Al Xayat restaurant in the Somaliland port city of Berbera. For the last fifteen years, he’s served lemonade and fried barracuda to a steady stream of regulars, who debate the topics of the day while watching fishing skiffs motor past the half-sunken hulls of ruined cargo ships. In the last year or so, though, Negeye says he’s seen new arrivals at the restaurant, mostly from other parts of Somaliland or its diaspora, but also a trickle of investors and tourists from the United Arab Emirates. “I can feel more customers,” Negeye says, as he relaxes following the afternoon rush. “People are understanding day after day the importance of Berbera.”
This is a welcome change for Negeye. For the last quarter century, there’s been little interest in Berbera, despite being along one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. In 1991, Somaliland declared its independence from the rest of Somalia after a brutal civil war that killed tens of thousands of people. As Mogadishu fell into the anarchy from which it has yet to escape, Somaliland plodded along on its own, enjoying peace as it built a nascent democracy. While Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti are stuck in the tight grip of autocratic regimes, and Somalia and the Sudans suffer endless wars, Somaliland in its isolation has earned a reputation for relatively successful democracy and stability.
Negeye’s new customers signal that foreigners are taking a closer look at Somaliland again, and the government in the capital Hargeisa is responding. In the last six months, Somaliland’s authorities have entered into two long-term deals with the UAE to expand Berbera’s port and build a military base. The two projects, if completed, would bring nearly 700 million dollars in investment and might overhaul Somaliland’s economy.
But the deals bring considerable risks, too. Somaliland’s location along Red Sea shipping routes is also the crossroads of the Horn of Africa and the Middle East – the two most war-ridden regions on Earth. The two deals thrust Somaliland into a number of overlapping, high stakes political and economic rivalries involving the UAE, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other nations. Transforming Somaliland into a coveted piece of this regional chessboard thus threatens to undermine the unique progress the breakaway state has made over the last 26 years.
TOP TWEETS
@Hamdi_Ismael: @UNSomalia Situation in #Somalia is deteriorating and 6.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Help by sharing:
@Zoe_Flood: Lots of cases of cholera in #Somalia as drought worsens-18,000 since Jan, 5,000 in a normal year: http://af.reuters.com/article/
@MoPIED_Somalia: @MoPIED_Somalia is holding a NGO Policy workshop in Mogadishu together with Line Ministries, Federal Member State and #ACU #OPM @AmbGamal
@imukhtaar: #Somalia: @TurkishAirlines plane carrying 60 tons of humanitarian assistance landed at Aden Ade international airport #Mogadishu
@UNSomalia:Through education, training and clearance, @UNMAS works with its partners to mitigate explosive hazards. #MineAction2017
@Vatescorp:#Somalia: @JasonPatinkin on Somaliland’s opaque UAE port/ military base deal, risks, bedfellows & recognition hopes http://ow.ly/69Wf30axE1Z
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Senior AMISOM officials yesterday held a meeting with the FGS representatives and senior commanders of the Somali National Army to discuss modalities of securing supply routes to help facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid
Photo: AMISOM