February 16, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Somalia Suspends Flights To Mogadishu On Inauguration Day
15 February – Source : Garowe Online – 180 Words
Somali Federal government has suspended all flights from Mogadishu’s Airport on next week during the inauguration ceremony of the new President, Mohamed Abdulahi Farmajo. According to a statement by Somalia’s Civil Aviation Ministry obtained by Garowe Online, local and International flights from Aden Adde Airport will be suspended on February 22 for security reasons.
The government said that only the planes that are carrying high-level delegates invited to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Farmajo will be allowed to land at the Airport. It said the Airport’s normal operations and the flights will resume in the following day, according to the statement. The security measure is set to enforce security during the President’s inauguration.
Somalia also suspended flights to Mogadishu on February 8, during the election of Farmajo as the 9th President of the Horn of Africa nation by the Federal Parliament in a secret ballot. Since the presidential vote, security has been beefed up in an attempt to deter possible terrorist attacks in the inauguration day by Al Shabaab group that is fighting Somali Federal government
Key Headlines
- Somalia Suspends Flights To Mogadishu On Inauguration Day (Garowe Online)
- Social Activist Abdimalik Coldon Arrested In Somaliland Over President Farmaajo’s Support (Goobjoog News)
- Second Elder In Two days Shot Dead In Mogadishu (Hiiran Online)
- Progress Expected In Somalia After Election: AU Mission (Xinhua)
- Ethiopian President Lauds Defense Forces For Fight Against Al-Shabaab (Africa News)
- Somalia Presidential Elections: Is Democracy Emerging? (Prospect Magazine)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Social Activist Abdimalik Coldon Arrested In Somaliland Over President Farmaajo’s Support
16 February – Source : Goobjoog News – Words
Social activist and vocal supporter of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo Abdimalik Muuse Coldon has been arrested in Hargeisa over claims he campaigned for President Farmaajo in the just concluded presidential elections. Coldon who is popularly known for his support for social causes through media was arrested and detained by police in the capital of Somaliland, Hargeisa upon return from Mogadishu.
Goobjoog News spoke with his mother Fadumo Roble Hussein in Burco and she confirmed her son’s arrest and noted the police have asked her to travel to Hargeisa for interrogation over her son’s involvement in President Farmaajo’s campaigns. “I do not exactly know why they arrested him but I have been told they are asking why my son is supporting president Farmaajo. I am myself a strong supporter of President Farmaajo,” said Fadumo. She said the Criminal Investigations Department in Hargeisa have asked her to travel there but she does not have the means and that the place is far from her home.
The arrest of Coldon for association with Mogadishu is not a new incident in Somaliland. Members of Xidigaha Geska music band were arrested in Hargeisa last year after a performance in Mogadishu. Authorities accused them of waving the national flag during their performance in Mogadishu. Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 but is yet to gain international recognition. Members of parliament (both senate and lower house) from Somaliland participated last week in the election of President Farmaajo.
Second Elder In Two days Shot Dead In Mogadishu
15 February – Source: Hiiraan Online- 135 Words
A traditional elder was killed in Wadajir area of Mogadishu on Wednesday evening, according to local reports.Musa Mohamed Roble also known as”Ilka-weyne” was shot dead in a busy marketplace as he was leaving a nearby mosque after evening prayers.Witnesses to the attack said that he was accosted by two attackers who drew their pistols, shot him at point blank range and fled the crime scene.
Security officials arrived at the scene shortly after the murder and could not apprehend the killers. Police said that they are investigating the murder and talking to witnesses.There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.On Monday evening , Bashir Mohamed Ali (Hagaley) was shot dead in Hodon district of Mogadishu. Police say he was shot as he made his way through the vegetable market of Bakaro.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Progress Expected In Somalia After Election: AU Mission
15 February -Source: Xinhua- 391 Words
The African Union envoy in Somalia said Wednesday that Somalia would make tremendous progress under the new leadership formed following the drawn-out electoral process that ended last week.The Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia Francisco Madeira said President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo) has already spelt out issues his government would prioritize including security, tackling corruption and promoting peace and stability.”He has made it his priority the need to ensure Somalia has functioning national security service, that is, the army, police and the intelligence,” Madeira said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.”He has made it his priority the need to ensure soldiers are paid timely, receive uniforms and equipment needed to do their work properly,” he said, noting that Somalia is destined for brighter future following the successful electoral process.
Farmajo was declared the winner on Feb. 8 after two rounds of voting by the Somali Parliament in Mogadishu. The runner-up, incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, chose to withdraw from a third and final round.Farmajo has expressed commitment to bringing government closer to the people and also to working with development partners to provide essential services, among them, roads, schools, health centers, markets and jobs for the youths.The head of the mission described the electoral process as historic, adding that AMISOM was proud to be associated with the exercise.
Securing the electoral process was not without challenges, the main one being the threat posed by Al-Shabaab terrorists to disrupt the process and compromise its credibility, according to Madeira.”We had an enemy that was sneaky, invisible and opportunistic. We had to deal with such an enemy and at the same time observe the most strict humanitarian law, human rights principles and human rights due diligence policy,” he said.
Ethiopian President Lauds Defense Forces For Fight Against Al-Shabaab
5 February – Source : Africa News – 259 Words
President Mulatu Teshome of Ethiopia has lauded the country’s defense forces for their efforts aimed at maintaining peace and security at home and in the Horn of Africa region.The President was speaking to the forces at the celebration of the fifth Defense Force Day held in the Jigjiga town, capital of the Ethiopian Somali regional State on Tuesday February 14, 2017.“The day is unique as we are celebrating it with our heroes who managed to inflict heavy losses on the Islamist militant group al-Shabab,” Mulatu is quoted by the state-affiliated FBC to have said.
The President also awarded medals to the 13th Division 4th battalion for their strides in combating al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia.The head of the Defense forces on his part said they were only discharging the constitutional mandate to protect the country from internal and external aggression. General Samora Yenus added that Ethiopian troops were also actively engaged in peacekeeping operations in neighbouring countries as part of their regional security mandate. Ethiopia marks every February 14 as Defense Force Day.
OPINION, CULTURE & ANALYSIS
“Finally, it will be up to the incoming government to negotiate a more inclusive representational formula that will take the country a step further away from identity politics, in order to make good on the goal of preparing Somalia for universal elections in 2020,”
Somalia Presidential Elections: Is Democracy Emerging?
15 February – Source: Prospect Magazine – 1037 Words
On 8th February, widespread street celebrations took place in the embattled east African country of Somalia, following the election of its 9th president: Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, nicknamed “Farmajo.” A popular former prime minister and dual Somali-US national, his victory has raised hopes that the country remains on track in its gradual emergence from a 30-year civil war—and protracted fight against the insurgency of Islamist militants al-Shabaab. Though serious flaws with Somalia’s political system remain, the election was the most extensive effort at a democratic exercise in the country for many decades. Successive peaceful transfers of power hint at emerging layers of democracy not always visible elsewhere on the continent.
On the day, over 20 candidates were vying for the presidency, each needing two thirds of the vote in order to win outright. 329 members of the lower and upper houses of parliament voted in a secret ballot. A traffic ban was imposed in the capital Mogadishu, and the security forces were on full alert. The vote was held in the capital’s heavily guarded airport because of concerns about an attack by al-Shabaab, and in a measure designed to tackle corruption, MPs were banned from bringing mobile phones into the venue. Abdirahman Duale Beyle, the Election Commission Chairman, confirmed that this was to prevent politicians taking pictures of their ballot papers to prove to those who had given them money that they had voted as instructed.
After a close first round of voting, the four leading contenders left in the running had all previously served in government, including the incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, prime minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and Farmajo. Sharmarke’s decision to drop out of the race swung the second round in favour of Farmajo, who won by 184 votes to Mohamud’s 97. He benefitted from opposition candidates voting against Mohamud, support from those allied to Sharmarke (who is from the same clan), as well as MPs voting with their conscience, despite thousands of dollars purportedly on offer to vote for other candidates.