August 30, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
African Journalists Discuss Role in Peace Operations
30 Aug – Source: New Times (Rwanda) – 630 Words
African journalists are meeting in Kigali to share ideas on the future of a common strategy towards improving communications and the media’s role in supporting the operations of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The two-day conference which started Wednesday also attracted civil society groups, AMISOM officials and journalists from countries, including Somalia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Burundi, Kenya and others.
Apart from how best to tell the African story, journalists are contributing ideas: to streamline communications within the broader scope of AMISOM’s activities as well as support to the TFG; to seek the cooperation and support of the global mass media for AMISOM’s drive to win the hearts and minds of Somalis by highlighting the positive news and developments taking place in Somalia. Ahmednor Farah, a journalist of Radio Bar-Kulan, a public service radio station in Somalia told The New Times that the media has played a great role in popularizing AMISOM among the masses.
Farah said: “As a Somali journalist based in Somalia, although it is difficult for us to practice our impartiality because of al Shabaab terrorists targeting and killing Somali journalists, we are trying to tell the truth is, and the role of the media is very important because without the media, you cannot know what is going on.” “Reporting the operations and what causalities are there is very important. Journalists from outside Somalia can play a role also by getting involved and knowing Somalia better.”
Key Headlines
- Prof. Jawari meets delegates in Mogadishu (Bar-kulan)
- Security Council Press Statement on Somalia (UNPOS)
- African Journalists Discuss Role in Peace Operations (New Times/Rwanda)
- Presidential election set to be held on September 5th sources (Raxanreeb)
- Four hurt as grenade hurled at police truck (Daily Nation)
- Somali Kenyan forces battle al Shabaab (Garowe Online/Radio Kulmiye)
- UN calls for swift end to transition in Somalia (China Daily/Xinhua/Global Times)
- Kenya gets a naval warship to boost fight against piracy (Shanghai Daily/ Xinhua)
PRESS STATEMENT
Security Council Press Statement on Somalia
29 Aug – Source: UNPOS – 360 words
The Security Council was briefed on 28 August by Dr. Augustine Mahiga, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Somalia. The members of the Security Council paid tribute to the work of Dr. Mahiga and the staff of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) for their efforts to bring peace and stability to Somalia.
The members of the Security Council welcomed recent landmark events in Somalia, including the National Constituent Assembly’s adoption of the Provisional Constitution and the inaugural meeting of the new Federal Parliament. The members further welcomed that a new Speaker, Professor Mohamed Osman Jawari, had been appointed by Parliament. The members of the Council called on the new Federal Parliament to discharge its responsibilities with independence, transparently and free from undue influence or coercion.
The members of the Security Council commended the work of the Technical Selection Committee and the elders for their important efforts in overcoming numerous challenges and overseeing the appointment of members of the new Parliament. The members of the Security Council noted that this was despite reported instances of intimidation and corruption.
They condemned any such acts and reiterated their willingness to take action against individuals whose acts threaten the peace, stability or security of Somalia. The members underlined the importance of a fully functioning Parliament, and that the remaining parliamentary seats should be agreed and filled as quickly as possible.
The members of the Council commended the African Union Mission in Somalia and the Somali National Forces for their bravery and for their vital role in providing a more secure environment for the Somalia Road Map signatories to deliver an end to the transition.
The members of the Security Council urged all the Road Map signatories to continue to work together on the basis of mutual goodwill and transparency, and bring a swift end to the transition. They called on the signatories to refrain from unilateral action and to continue the process of dialogue and compromise. They underlined that Parliament should now elect a President without further delay. The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their continued support for the political process and for peace and stability in Somalia.
SOMALI MEDIA
Prof. Jawari meets delegates in Mogadishu
30 Aug – Source: Bar-kulan – 117 words
An international delegation landed in Mogadishu on Wednesday to meet newly elected Somali parliament speaker, Prof. Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari. The European Union chief for Horn of Africa, Alexander Rondos headed the delegation which was composed of dignitaries from America, Britain, Italy, Kenya, Ethiopia and senior official from IGAD.
In a press conference Prof. Jawari appreciated and expressed his concern for the visit of the delegation in a bid to promote working relationships between Somalia and its partners.
Meanwhile, the European Union chief for Horn of Africa, Alexander Rondos congratulated the newly elected speaker where he promised to strengthen their support for Somalia. EU is the largest donor for providing support to the two-decade old suffering Somali-nation.
Presidential election set to be held on September 5th, sources
29 Aug – Source: Raxanreeb – 170 words
Somalia’s presidential election will be held on September 5, sources close to the parliament electoral commission told RBC. The sources also mentioned that before the election date is finalized, the remaining members of the new parliament will be sworn in to end the current disputes over the selection process of the new parliamentarians.
There are possibilities that the presidential election will be postponed because of lack of enough time to register all the candidates and that some of the most influential candidates running for the presidential post are willing to get chance to continue their lobbying in the newly elected parliament whom they expect they will vote for them. The candidates have also expressed their concern over the remaining members of the parliament.
On Tuesday members of the new Somali parliament have elected Prof. Mohamed Osman Jawari, former head of the independent federal constitution commission of Somalia. Mr. Jawari 67 has promised to build a strong parliament and will serve to restore the country’s missing law and order.
Somali, Kenyan forces battle al Shabaab
29 Aug – Source: Garowe Online/Radio Kulmiye – 139 words
Somali and African Union forces battled with Al Shabaab forces in the town of Birta Dheer 70 kms away from the al Shabaab controlled port city of Kismayo, Garowe Online reports. Somali government forces and Raskamboni militia alongside Kenyan forces battled al Shabaab furiously leading to over 16 deaths and more than 30 injuries Wednesday morning.
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces stated that the operation on an al Shabaab post in the district of Afmadow in the lower Jubba region was successful leading to the deaths of over 16 al Shabaab militants although he did not speak about government casualties.
Sources indicate that the Somali forces that were battling al Shabaab Wednesday morning were assisted by Kenyan planes. The al Shabaab had many defensive posts in the district Afmadow one being Birta Dheer which was reportedly captured on Wednesday.
Somaliland President Silanyo Sacks Information Minister
29 Aug – Source: Somaliland Press/Hadhwanaag Times/Mareeg Online/Bar-kulan/Hiiraan Online – 139 words
Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud (silanyo) issued a presidential decree NO JSL/M/XILQ/249/1-1280/082012 dismissing the Minister of information and National Guidance Hon Abdurrahman yusuf Du’ale(Boobe) with immediate effect. The Presidential Decree state as follows, the President of Somaliland on behalf of the People of Somaliland wishes to express gratitude’s to Hon Abdurrahman yusuf Du’ale(Boobe) for his services to the nation .
President Silanyo has appointed the current Minister of Defense Hon Ahmed Haji Ali Cadami to head and assume full responsibility of the Information Ministry as of 29th of August with immediate effect. The sacking of the Information Minister comes two days after he fired the Director of SLNTV Mr. Ahmed Saleban Dhuxul and the Director of Dawan Media Group Mr. Mohamed Osman Mire (Sayid) both staunch supporters of President Silanyo.
REGIONAL MEDIA
African Journalists Discuss Role in Peace Operations
30 Aug – Source: New Times (Rwanda) – 630 Words
African journalists are meeting in Kigali to share ideas on the future of a common strategy towards improving communications and the media’s role in supporting the operations of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The two-day conference which started Wednesday also attracted civil society groups, AMISOM officials and journalists from countries, including Somalia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Burundi, Kenya and others.
Apart from how best to tell the African story, journalists are contributing ideas: to streamline communications within the broader scope of AMISOM’s activities as well as support to the TFG; to seek the cooperation and support of the global mass media for AMISOM’s drive to win the hearts and minds of Somalis by highlighting the positive news and developments taking place in Somalia. Ahmednor Farah, a journalist of Radio Bar-Kulan, a public service radio station in Somalia told The New Times that the media has played a great role in popularizing AMISOM among the masses.
Farah said: “As a Somali journalist based in Somalia, although it is difficult for us to practice our impartiality because of al Shabaab terrorists targeting and killing Somali journalists, we are trying to tell the truth is, and the role of the media is very important because without the media, you cannot know what is going on.” “Reporting the operations and what causalities are there is very important. Journalists from outside Somalia can play a role also by getting involved and knowing Somalia better.”
Four hurt as grenade hurled at police truck
30 Aug – Source: Daily Nation – 249 words
Four police officers were on Wednesday night seriously injured in yet another grenade attack in Mombasa. The four were in a group of seven officers who were patrolling the town when they were attacked at Lebanon on Kenyatta Avenue. A young man suspected to have been in the group of protesters that threw the grenade was also injured and is in hospital. Three of the police officers were on Wednesday night scheduled for an operation at Pandya Memorial Hospital.
Coast Provincial Criminal Investigations boss Amborse Munyasia, while addressing journalists at the scene, denied that there were any deaths as earlier reported, but confirmed that four officers had been injured. The attack comes on a day when calm was beginning to return to the coastal town following two days of fierce riots by youths protesting against Monday’s killing of al Shabaab suspect Sheikh Aboud Rogo.
In court, 24 people were on Wednesday charged with causing the chaos. Acting Internal Security minister Yussuf Haji said they were among 32 arrested by police. The others are still being questioned. The government also named an 11-member team to investigate Sheikh Rogo’s killing and the subsequent riots in which four people, including three prison warders, have died.
Local leaders moved from house-to-house in the Kisauni urging people to avoid violence. Speaking at Mtongwe Jetty in Mombasa where he had joined the military brass to receive a new warship, Mr Haji condemned the burning of churches.
42 al Shabaab killed as AU seizes town
29 Aug – Source: Daily Nation/ Xinhua – 167 words
Troops of the African Union Misson in Somalia (AMISOM) who are battling in Somalia on Wednesday killed 42 al Shabaab militants while scores escaped with multiple injuries as military operation to flush out insurgents intensifies in the Horn of Africa nation.
Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir said the battle which took place in Aglibah area near Beles Qooqani in southern Somalia early on Wednesday saw AMISOM forces recover 23 AK 47 rifles, six rocket propelled grenades, 428 rounds of ammunition and other assorted weapons.
“AMISOM forces together with TFG soldiers in sector two conducted a raid at an al Shabaab stronghold base in Aag-libah area near Beles Qooqani on Aug. 29. The raid neutralized 42 al Shabaab militias with scores of others escaping with multiple injuries,” Chirchir said in a statement released in Nairobi.
Chirchir said four al Shabaab technical vehicles, one water bowser, one lorry and logistic supplies were destroyed as the war against al Qaida-allied terror group continues in the Horn of African nation.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UN calls for swift end to transition in Somalia
30 Aug – Source: China Daily/Xinhua/Global Times – 362 Words
The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged all parties in Somalia to work together for a swift end to transition in the Horn of Africa country. In a statement issued to the press here, the 15-nation Security Council also welcomed the recent adoption of Somalia’s provisional constitution, the inaugural meeting of its new parliament and the appointment of that body’s speaker.
“The members of the Security Council urged all the Roadmap Signatories to continue to work together on the basis of mutual goodwill and transparency and bring a swift end to the transition, ” the statement said.
Professor Mohammed Osman Jawari was selected on Tuesday as speaker of the New Federal Parliament that was inaugurated on Aug 20, in an election that laid the groundwork for an imminent round of voting to appoint the Parliament’s deputy speakers. This, in turn, would be followed by the election of the Somali president.
Some 260 Members of Parliament have now either been sworn in or are pending imminent ratification, with 15 names still remaining before the new Somali legislature reaches its total of 275 constituents. After decades of warfare, Somalia has been undergoing a peace and national reconciliation process, with the country’s transitional governing arrangements winding down with the implementation of the so-called Roadmap for the End of Transition.
“The members of the Council called on the new Federal Parliament to discharge its responsibilities with independence, transparently and free from undue influence or coercion,” said the statement.
Abandoned at sea – the forgotten hostages of the Somali pirates
29 Aug – Source: Telegraph – 244 words
SHE set sail from Aden in the spring of 2010, the start of a long journey that should have seen her deliver a cargo of electrical equipment to England. Then, barely ten miles out to sea, the Iceberg 1 suffered a fate all too predictable for a slow-going cargo craft in the Gulf of Aden: she was hijacked by Somali pirates.
Unlike the scores of other vessels snared there in recent years, though, no ransom has been forthcoming to free her crew of 24, nor has a foreign navy tried to rescue them. Instead, nearly two and a half years later, they are still in captivity on the high seas – seemingly abandoned by the ship’s owners, and with the dubious distinction of being the longest hijack case in modern maritime history.
Conditions on board are believed to be dire, with the crew kept huddled in a small room with only limited access to food and water. Many have complained that they are being driven mad by their ordeal, and for at least one, it already appears to have proved too much.
In October 2010 the ship’s Yemeni third officer, Wagdi Akram, committed suicide by jumping overboard, apparently unhinged from stress. At least one other sailor, a Ghanaian, is also believed to have died – whether by his own hand, or by that of his pirate captors remains unclear. It is understood that the ship’s freezer is now being used as a makeshift morgue.
Kenya gets a naval warship to boost fight against piracy
29 Aug – Source: Shanghai Daily/ Xinhua – 435 Words
The naval warship docked at the Kenya’s port of Mombasa on Wednesday after more than 7 years of waiting after the Kenya Navy nation ordered it. Kenyan officials said they expect the 55-million-U.S.-dollar ship to play a crucial role in the fight against rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia and terrorism in the country. The Oceanographic vessel, christened MV Jasiri weighing 140 tons, 85 meters long and 13 meters wide from Spain was received by Kenya’s top military officials.
The naval vessel is fitted with long range cannons, missile launchers, machine guns and sophisticated radar and communications systems. The ship is said to be one of the best naval assets in the region. The Horn of Africa nation’s coastline is considered one of the world’s most dangerous stretches of water because of piracy.
Demanding millions of dollars in ransom for captured ships and their crews, Somali pirates are intensifying operations not just off their own coastline, but further afield in the Red Sea — particularly during the monsoon season in the wider Indian Ocean.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Those who killed Aboud Rogo have certainly turned him into a jihadi martyr and compounded extremism in a strategic and vital for the region. A marginal preacher, who used his fiery sermons at Masjid Musa to glorify violence and preach intolerance, and whose radical politics alienated many moderate Muslims, has suddenly been catapulted to national fame.”
The jihadi factor in Mombasa riots that should worry us all
29 Aug – Source: Daily Nation – 400 Words
The violence in Mombasa should serve as a tragic reminder of what truly ails this country — the inflamed and radicalised ethnic, regional and religious passions that risk tearing this nation apart.
If history is any guide, there will be no epiphany in its wake; no lessons learnt. We will just shrug it off as a fact of life — indeed, as the “new normal”. This cynicism partly stems from the fact that we have become de-sensitised and accustomed to large-scale violence.
“The international community should be considerate enough to let Somalia gradually emerge from the anarchy. Subjecting it to universal democratic principles regardless of its immediate history will not only be unfair to the nascent democracy, but will be also unrealistic. Attempting to fast track enforcement of the regional gender parity legislation in Somalia, when stable countries have since independence been grappling with it to no avail, is asking too much from the emerging nation.”
Regional blocs shouldn’t bully Somalis into democracy
29 Aug – Source: The Citizen Daily – 579 Words
Somalia wrote a new chapter in its history book early last week when the country elected Members of Parliament in a peaceful election.bThe civil strife ravaged country has never witnessed a democratic election in decades. Owing to incomplete preparations, the much-awaited presidential election slated for Monday could not be held.
It is high time the international community had its fingers crossed so that Somalis get the chance of electing their first Head of State in years upon completion of the groundwork. The Somalis were earlier worried of the parliamentary election being called off when female contenders could not meet the percentage required by regional blocs on the continent.
“Now that the list of qualified MPs is out, western powers and neighbouring countries should play a neutral role in the election of speaker and president”
Outsiders should play neutral role in Somalia
29 Aug – Source: Daily Nation – 102 Words
The politics of Somalia is defined by the state of civil war which, since 1991, has divided the country; now that the list of qualified MPs is out, western powers and neighbouring countries should play a neutral role in the election of speaker and president.
Although it is too early to make a comprehensive assessment of the election process I believe change will come with a new crop of leaders and departing completely from tribalism and corruption.
Somalis have a sense of hope in moving from transition to transformation. They recognise the effort of the international community in making the country stable.
Top tweets
@AbukarArman I yearn the day when #Somalia is recognized as a model of recovery & reinvention instead of a theater of fratricide & a haven of extremism!
@OCHASomalia @BBC Dr. Saleh, a surgeon working for @WHO in #Somalia, says many of his patients had never seen a doctor before http://bbc.in/QVS7Dn.
@Hamza_Africa Even the cats in #Somali households r watching the elections in #Somalia. cc @JamalMOsman @Aynte @farhanjimale @Moadow http://pic.twitter.com/
@LloydsListLaw #Somali #piracy is down but not out in today’s #LloydsList http://bit.ly/TxRJNM.
@UNPOSomalia #UNSC statement on #Somalia: “remaining #parliamentary seats should be agreed and filled as soon as possible.” http://bit.ly/NX9t8f.
Image of the day
Somalia’s incumbent president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed meets with newly-elected speaker of federal parliament, Prof. Mohammed Osman Jawari at his residence in Mogadishu, August 29, 2012. Photo: Somaliweyn.