August 19, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali government and AMISOM to address human rights issues
19 Aug- Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/Radio Bar-kulan- 168 words
Somalia’s Women and Human Rights Minister, Khadija Mohamed Dirie on Monday met with officers from AMISOM Human Rights, Women and Child Unit in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
The main focus of the meeting was to discuss plans to address human rights issues in the country, strengthening the role of women in politics and building the capacity of the staff at the Ministry of Women and Human Rights.
Haji Sebya Robi, an official from AMISOM said that AMISOM Human Rights, Women and Child Unit will closely work with the Ministry of Women and Human Rights.
He commended the Ministry of Women and Human Rights for its efforts to develop plans to address human rights issues in the country.
Somalia’s Minister for Women and Human Rights, Khadija Mohamed Dirie who spoke to the press after meeting AMISOM officers said the focus of the meeting was to develop plans for AMISOM and her ministry to jointly address human rights issues in Somalia.
Key Headlines
- Somali government and AMISOM tackle human rights issues (AMISOM)
- Federal government prepares to open up Mogadishu-Beledweyne road (Mogadishu)
- Prime Minister meets with independent media calls to help stabilize the country (Radio RBC/Radio Dalsan)
- UK ban means Somalia flooded with low price khat (BBC)
- Security agencies urge civilians in Mogadishu to surrender weapons (Radio Goobjoog)
- “Puntland ready to open talks with Federal government” says President Gaas (Radio RBC/Tayonews)
- Somaliland national assembly approves three ministers (Somaliland Informer)
- 20 arrested for cutting trees in Galgadud region (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Armed gang raid police station in Garissa burns vehicle (Standard Media)
- U.S. Promoting Criminal Justice in Somalia (VOA)
- Somali Parliament Speaker: Do not confiscate arms from MPs (Radio Dalsan/Kismaayo News)
- Mogadishu residents urge government to tackle counterfeit drugs (Radio Goobjoog)
- IGAD envoys call for standby mediation team (New Vision)
- UN ambassador to Somalia meets with traditional leaders Puntland parliament (Garowe Online)
- Suspected Somali militia free 20 kidnapped Kenyans in Mandera (Coastweek/Xinhua)
- AU-backed Somali forces gaining victory over militants (eNCA)’
- Grassroots series: Somalis returning home to lead in reviving economy (CCTV)
- Somali pirate leader arrested in Mogadishu (AP)
- IFJ demands immediate release of Somali journalists (NUJ)
PRESS STATEMENT
Somali government and AMISOM tackle human rights issues
19 Aug – Source: AMISOM – 236 words
The Federal Government of Somalia is working with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to shore up its human rights record tainted by many years of internal conflict.
Somalia’s Women and Human Rights Minister, Ms Khadija Mohamed Dirie, said her ministry had developed a national action plan to address human rights issues in the country and efforts were underway to align regional and international human rights conventions and instruments with the country’s laws.
Plans were underway to ratify the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children, she said, adding that her ministry would soon launch a National Child Protection Policy, which will be developed with the help of AMISOM.
The minister was speaking after AMISOM’s recently appointed Human Rights and Women and Child Officers paid a courtesy call on her. “We applaud the support that we received from AMISOM in developing draft National Gender Policy and we are currently finalising our Child Protection Policy, also with the support of AMISOM,” she said.
AMISOM’s Women and Child Officer, Ms Kaddouri said the Child Protection Policy would serve as an “institutional framework to assist the government of Somalia in monitoring, reporting and taking necessary measures to improve the rights of children in the country”.
AMISOM’s Senior Political Officer, Ssebirumbi Kisinziggo, said the mission was committed to working with the Somali government in addressing all issues of human rights, especially the protection of children and women.
SOMALI MEDIA
Federal government prepares to open up Mogadishu-Beledweyne road
19 Aug – Radio Mogadishu/Goobjoog – 153 words
The Ministry of Interior and Federalism of federal government of Somalia is preparing to open up the road liking Mogadishu to Beledweyne district after al Shabaab denied commercial commodities and humanitarian agencies access to the cities in Hiran region.
Interior Minister Abdullahi Godah Bare told the media that government forces and African Union troops are ready to carry out intensive operations to re-open the important roads linking the capital city to other regions in the country particularly Mogadishu-Beledweyne road.
The Minister stated that this operation will give chance the humanitarian agencies to reach all the areas and deliver emergency to the affected people by road blockade and the conflicts.
After federal government forces and AMISOM troops seized many cities in South and Central Somalia in an offensive military, al Shabaab blocked many roads and Somali civilians in most of the regions where the operations affected especially Hiran and Bakol faced severe food shortages and inflations.
Prime Minister meets with independent media calls to help stabilize the country
19 Aug- Source: Radio RBC/ Allpuntlands Online/Radio Dalsan/Radio Kulmiye- 294 words
Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed has met with the directors and journalists from the independent media houses in Mogadishu on Monday evening after inviting them to his office.
The evening meeting focused on the latest developments towards the country’s press freedom and the ongoing security operations in the capital which partially affected the work of the local media after at least two radio stations were shut down on Friday following government allegations on incitement motivated by the clan favoritism.
The media representatives including the National Union of Somali Journalists [NUSOJ] widely expressed their concerns towards the behavior of the government’s security officials who many of them do not understand the work of the independent media and the role it can play.
The journalists suggested the Prime Minister to make sure that Somalia will no longer need a dictator government which suppresses the media and that the country needs a full and strong security with a democratic rule which allows every Somali citizen to practice his/her rights completely in compliance with the country’s constitution.
Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed who wrapped up the nightly meeting underscored his government’s policy towards the media underlying that it undertakes a full democratic and free media and freedom of speech.
“We want the men and women working in the independent media to help secure and stabilize this nation. My government’s position is clear, we want stable, democratic and united Somalia.” Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed told the journalists.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister Ridwan Hersi Mohamed, Minister of Information Mustaf Dhuhulow, government spokesman Ridwan Haji Abdiweli and directors of more than 20 media houses in the country among them the international media.
Somali government and AMISOM to address human rights issues
19 Aug- Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/Radio Bar-kulan- 168 words
Somalia’s Women and Human Rights Minister, Khadija Mohamed Dirie on Monday met with officers from AMISOM Human Rights, Women and Child Unit in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
The main focus of the meeting was to discuss plans to address human rights issues in the country, strengthening the role of women in politics and building the capacity of the staff at the Ministry of Women and Human Rights.
Haji Sebya Robi, an official from AMISOM said that AMISOM Human Rights, Women and Child Unit will closely work with the Ministry of Women and Human Rights.
He commended the Ministry of Women and Human Rights for its efforts to develop plans to address human rights issues in the country.
Somalia’s Minister for Women and Human Rights, Khadija Mohamed Dirie who spoke to the press after meeting AMISOM officers said the focus of the meeting was to develop plans for AMISOM and her ministry to jointly address human rights issues in Somalia.
Security agencies urge civilians in Mogadishu to surrender weapons
19 Aug- Source: Radio Goobjoog/Radio Mogadishu- 160 words
The security agencies of Federal government of Somalia asked the civilians in the capital city, Mogadishu to surrender the weapons in their possession to the federal government.
The spokesman of the security agencies Kassim Ahmed Roble stated that the security forces are making efforts to restore and maintain the security situation of the country especially the capital city.
He encouraged the civilians to follow the orders and abide by the rules so as to seize all the illegal weapons and ammunition that threaten the security of the region.
Since the federal government of Somalia launched the disarmament operations in Mogadishu the houses of over four warlords and pirates were raided and weapons seized.
During the last raid the government forces raided the house of former Somali pirate Mohamed Osman Galol alias Garfanje in Laba Dagah village. The former pirate and a number of his guards were arrested and weapons captured.
“Puntland ready to open talks with Federal government” says President Gaas
19 Aug – Source: Radio RBC/Tayo News Online – 125 words
Puntland president Dr Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas has reiterated his government’s willingness to open talks with the federal government of the country.
The president has said that Puntland has been toiling and pleading for Somalia’s unity and is ready to invite the federal government on the dialogue table to instigate the cooperation between the two sides after the state cut its ties with the federal government.
President Gaas has on several occasions called on the federal government talks to reinstate the cooperation with Somalia’s government, since Puntland government has suspended their cooperation with the Federal government after learning the establishment of regional state for central regions including Puntland territories.
Somaliland national assembly approves three ministers
19 Aug- Source: Somaliland Informer- 175 words
Somaliland’s House of National Assembly on Monday approved three ministers in which incumbent President Ahmed Silanyo appointed them to Ministerial posts through a presidential decree.
The speaker of the house of national assembly Hon. Abdirahman Irro has chaired the session whereby 44 members of the parliament were in attendance.
Trade Minister Mr. Muse Kasim Omar, the Minister of Interior Mr. Ali Mohamed Waran Adde, the Assistant Minister on Fisheries Mr. Abdikarim Ahmed Moge were all approved by the MP’s in attendance and no abstentions were reported.
Secretary General of the house read the educational background of the three ministers before parliament commenced on the approval process.
The constitution of the country gives the parliament the right to vet all officials appointed by the president to serve in his leadership whether they are competently qualified and are committed to serve for the public diligently.
20 arrested for cutting trees in Galgadud region
19 Aug- Source: Radio Bar-kulan-135 words
At least 20 people have been arrested in Herale area of Galgadud region for illegally cutting down trees according to Mohamed Ali Mohamed, who is the Somali government security chief in the area. He said those who were arrested by the security forces are currently being held at a police station in Herale and will subsequently face justice for their crimes.
Mohamed added that the detainees were arrested in a security crackdown on illegal deforestation practices in Herale and its environs which is aimed at preventing the devastating consequences of illegal decimation of trees in the country.
He called on local communities in the region to work with the government administration in the area in its efforts to fight against illegal deforestation practices in the region.
Somali Parliament Speaker: Do not confiscate arms from MPs
19 Aug- Source: Radio Dalsan/Kismaayo News- 113 words
The speaker of the federal parliament, Prof. Mohamed Osman Jawari has for the first time spoken on the operations carried out by the security forces at the houses of MPs.
He requested from the government to order the security forces not to violate against the rights of the members of the parliament and not to confiscate the weapons of the parliamentarians. He added that any member of parliament cannot be frisked when at the parliament, in his house or in his car. This comes after security forces attacked the house of parliamentarian, Abdiwali M Qanyare Afrah.
Mogadishu residents urge government to tackle counterfeit drugs
19 Aug- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 146 words
The civilians in Mogadishu complain on increase of counterfeit drugs sold around the capital asking the federal government to take immediate action to stop the circulation.
Abdihakim Abdullah Diriye, a resident living in Yaqshid district told Radio Goobjoog that he met health workers giving expired medicines to patients in Mogadishu.
Diriye stated that business people import medicines without proper control from the federal government hence cause unnecessary deaths and damages to the patients.
According to Diriye, patients unknowingly take the expired drugs which has less medical value to cure them while incurring a lot of expenses to buy the drugs.
This comes a time the ministry of health recently announced that malaria outbreak in some regions of the country endangers the lives of many people after malaria parasite became resistant to the available drugs in the country.
UN ambassador to Somalia meets with traditional leaders, Puntland parliament
18 Aug – Source: Garowe Online – 124 words
United Nations envoy and the head of UN Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) Ambassador Nicholas Kay has held separate meetings with traditional leaders, Civil Society Organizations and state parliament in Puntland capital of Garowe during his two-day stay , Garowe Online reports.
On Sunday, Kay toured Puntland parliament building, discussing progress in political front, foreign aid, Mudug conundrum, Provisional Federal Constitution (PFC) and what Puntland called constant aggression being perpetrated against Puntland by Somaliland’s separatist administration with Parliament Speaker Saed Hassan Shire.
Speaker Shire handed out a letter proving Puntland’s position on prevailing matters to UN envoy in the course of bilateral talks. Speaking to the media MP Saed Abdi Samatar (Sur’ad) said the most important point centred around International aid to Somaliland.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Armed gang raid police station in Garissa, burns vehicle
19 Aug – Source: Standard Media/Daily Nation- 195 words
An armed gang raided Bodhai police station in Garissa County bordering Lamu County on Monday night and burnt down a police vehicle before escaping in a fresh attack in the area. Police officers who were on duty engaged the attackers briefly before they took cover.
The attackers are believed to be Somalia’s al Shabaab militia. The gang also attacked a dispensary in the area and deflated a water tank as they shot randomly. There are bloodstains in the police compound, which gave an indication of an injury in the shootout, police said. Police in the area say an assessment on the attack is ongoing and they are yet to make any arrest or establish more on the attack.
Garissa County Commissioner Harun Khator said he is yet to get more information on the attack and revealed he was on the way to the area. Bodhai is in Ijara district and borders Lamu County.
The motive of the attack is yet to be known but many officers say it could be part of the gang that was behind the attacks of the last three months that left more than 100 people dead, property destroyed and many displaced.
IGAD envoys call for standby mediation team
19 Aug- Source: New Vision- 215 words
Envoys from IGAD member states meeting at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort hotel in Uganda’s capital Kampala have called for a standby mediation team to boost early warning mechanisms and also diffuse conflicts within the member states.
IGAD’s executive secretary Ambassador Mahboub Maalim spoke at the opening of a five-day high-level mediation course.
He said the establishment of a roster of mediators will help the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to “build capacity on preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution” by utilizing home-grown solutions to home problems.
Twenty-one people were nominated by member states—Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda – to constitute the IGAD standby mediation team.
Suspected Somali militia free 20 kidnapped Kenyans in Mandera
19 Aug – Source: Coastweek/Xinhua – 121 words
More than 20 people were released hours after being taken hostage by suspected Somali militiamen in Mandera town, northern Kenyan border.
Local government officials said militiamen are believed to be from Somalia ambushed a vehicle ferrying quarry workers from Arabia to Mandera town at around midday, before driving them toward Somalia border and later released them unharmed.
Mandera County Commissioner Alex Ole Nkoyo said the militants later set free captives after robbing them of all their personal effects. The militia then drove the vehicle toward the adjacent Somali border town of Bulla-Xawa.
“About 25 suspected al Shabaab militia waylaid a vehicle which was carrying 22 quarry workers to Mandera town from Arabia at gunpoint and kidnapped all the passengers,” Nkoyo said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
IFJ demands immediate release of Somali journalists
19 Aug- Source: National Union for Journalists NUJ- 436 words
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the severe and unwarranted action of Somali security forces who last Friday raided and closed independent radio stations in Mogadishu and arrested 19 media workers.
Sixteen of the journalists were subsequently released, but three are still being held. The IFJ has demanded that the three remaining journalists are released immediately and expressed its concern for their safety and well-being amid reports they have been subjected to abuse and torture.
According to IFJ affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), at around 9:30am on Friday 15 August, heavily armed security forces raided and shut down both Radio Shabelle and SkyFM, which are owned by Shabelle Media Network and arrested media workers and journalists including Shabelle chairman Abdimalik Yusuf Mohamud.
AU-backed Somali forces gaining victory over militants
18 Aug- Source: eNCA-177 Words
Despite the skirmishes, officials say they’ve made real progress, improving the lives of people there. In a lightning offensive, AU-backed Somali forces chased al Shabaab out of a string of towns, and in the latest operation, these towns were declared free. Some had been controlled by the militants for five years.
But the assaults are just the first step in the long-running conflict. More needs to be done. Despite the towns enjoying relative peace, basics are in short supply. On Saturday, the country’s president, the AU and the UN gathered to map the way forward.
‘All we were talking on is the final and improvement of civilian lives — how can we build effective administrations in recovered areas, how can we provide policing and police officers in those areas, how can we provide immediate humanitarian support to those people,” said Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Grassroots series: Somalis returning home to lead in reviving economy
19 Aug- Source: CCTV- 02:40 min
Grassroots series: Somalis returning home to lead in reviving economy.
UK ban means Somalia flooded with low price khat
18 Aug- Source: BBC-02.04mins
Khat – a plant used as a stimulant – was banned as a class C drug in the UK earlier this year. This has meant that its mainly Kenyan producers and exporters have been forced to direct their supplies closer to home – Somalia – flooding the market and driving prices down. Hadya Al-alawi reports
Somali pirate leader arrested in Mogadishu
18 Aug – Source: AP – 130 words
A Somali police official says security forces arrested a senior pirate commander in Mogadishu. Capt. Mohamed Hussein said Monday that Mohamed Garfanji, considered to be the second-ranking leader of Somalia’s pirate industry, was arrested in Mogadishu Sunday for possessing illegal arms and other charges related to piracy.
Garfanji is the second top pirate leader arrested. Belgium arrested pirate kingpin Mohamed Abdi Hassan last year with a trick which lured him to Belgium to work on a documentary about piracy.
The arrest comes as the Somali government continues a disarmament campaign in Mogadishu that has seen hundreds of guns seized.
Piracy off the coast of Somalia once was a serious threat to the global shipping industry, but attacks have dropped dramatically the last several years after ships began carrying armed guards.
U.S. Promoting Criminal Justice in Somalia
18 Aug- Source: VOA- 248 words
In its continued effort to promote peace and stability in Somalia, the United States has agreed to provide more support for Somali government programs aimed at reforming and developing the country’s security sector.
Representatives of the two governments met in Washington August 5 and signed an agreement offering approximately $1.9 million for police development initiatives. Under the agreement, the United States and the Somali Federal Government will work together to increase the capacity of Somali officials to deter and effectively respond to crime. The agreement follows a previous Somali security sector initiative supported by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
The main focus of the agreement is to aid the Criminal Investigative Division of the Somali National Police Force to improve its ability to investigate complex crimes and prepare cases for prosecutions in court.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Knowing who killed her may never fill the void. However, given the number of local and regional powers that were threatened by her resolute decision to help bring back Somalia to life, we shall not rest until we know the identity of who were behind her murder. That resolution, plus the bold and correct measure recently taken by the Mogadishu government to disarm former warlords, organized gangs, and pricy leaders, is in a perverse way of paying a tribute to Saado Ali Warsame.”
In Remembrance of Saado Cali Warsame
19 Aug- Source: Wardheernews-1162 Words
Almost a month ago, on that painful day of July 23, 2014, the Somali nation lost one of its finest daughters. Our own princess, Saado Ali Warsame, became a victim to a heinous and senseless terror culture that had for some time engulfed Mogadishu. Her loss threw me off; like many Somalis, I felt void, and darkness eclipsed me with a sense of obliviousness, almost feeling like I was having a panic attack.
What is wrong with a society, or a city that kills its finest? Why would anybody want the late Saado Ali dead? Who killed her? The more I ask questions of this sort, the more I get upset and depressed. Was she killed because she was an ardent supporter of federalism? Was she killed to silence her opposition to the war in the Shabelle and Hiiraan regions? Was she the last refuge for the voiceless Somalis in the Horn of Africa region? In the end, none of these matters. What matters is the nation lost Saado and someone who is one of us cut her immense contribution to this nation short.
The holy month of Ramadan of 2014 came and passed with a lingering sadness and bewilderment. In our powerlessness, all we have to fall back on to is the Islamic words of prayers uttered in honor of the dead, “Inaalilaahi Wa’inaa Ilayhi Raajicuun.” That is all we can do for now.
“The fair showcased local writers – the country has a strong poetic tradition – and those from the diaspora, such as South Africa-based Nuruddin Farah, a regular nominee for the Nobel Prize for literature, and Londoner Nadifa Mohamed, 32, whose second novel, The Orchard of Lost Souls, came out last year.”
Postcard from… Hargeisa
18 Aug- Source: The Independent-197 Words
A week-long international book fair that attracted writers from Africa, Europe and North America has just wound up in Somaliland, an arid and sparsely populated statelet on the Horn of Africa that has struggled unsuccessfully to gain world recognition since declaring independence in 1991.
It was the seventh book fair to be held in the capital, Hargeisa, a bustling if tumbledown city where locals compete for space on dusty roads with armies of itinerant goats. Hay-on-Wye it isn’t. However, in a region better known for piracy and Islamist terrorism, the country has remained relatively stable since it broke away from its dysfunctional neighbour, Somalia, following a civil war. What the city lacks in book fair chic was more than made up for by the enthusiasm of the hundreds who crammed the venue for daily discussions and readings. The literacy rate has risen from one-in-five to one-in-two since independence.
“Canada isn’t alone. Police and security forces in Britain, France and other European countries are cracking down on recruiters and appeals have gone out to the families of these misguided young men to reach out to authorities to rescue their children from the influence of the jihadists.”
War with jihadists begins at home
18 Aug- Source: Toronto Sun-365 Words
It’s a growing and worrying scourge in the first world: Radicalized young Muslim men going abroad to wage Islamist jihad. On Friday, QMI Agency reported that Calgary man Farah Mohamed Shirdon was killed in Iraq fighting with the terrorist group ISIS, currently surging in Iraq and Syria.
On June 23 a Twitter account bearing his name proclaimed: “Martyrdom is what I seek.” Back in April a video surfaced showing Shirdon burning his Canadian passport. “We are coming and will destroy you … this is a message for Canada and for all America,” he said. “I left comfort for one reason alone, for Allah.”
What comfort are we talking about here? Shirdon was no victim. He came from a prominent family — his uncle was prime minister of Somalia — and was enrolled in post-secondary education. Calgary has sadly become a radicalization hotspot. Damian Clairmont and Salman Ashrafi are two other Calgarians who have recently died fighting Islamist jihad abroad.
Top tweets
@DalmarMillenium #Galgaduud #Somalia getting some much needed attention with the opening of the DC’s offices in Dhuusamareeb pic.twitter.com/vJCqyGLQPE
@OCHASom Resilience, strength, unity. Thats what we celebrated as runners set off for #Somalia‘s WorldHumanitarianDay #WHD2014 pic.twitter.com/qIJ9mo66u9
@amisomsomalia #AMISOM & One World Futbol join hands to promote peace in #Somalia through Footballpic.twitter.com/1YWqOhO8F1
@BeilehMofa Meeting with H.E. Ambassador to Somalia Mohamed Ahmed Osman of #UAE to discuss our Ministries rebuilding plans. pic.twitter.com/obIvKpmTyv
@UNSomalia #UN Envoy to #Somalia Nick Kay (@Somalia111) meets #Somaliland Foreign Minister Mohamed Bihi Yonis in Hargeisa today pic.twitter.com/FKgeLYLBNX
Image of the day
@childreninwar’s Leila Zerrougui & @SomaliPM support ending the use of #children in #conflict – #ChildrenNotSoldiers. Photo: @UNSomalia