February 20, 2015 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali Remittance Services Set To Stop On Thursday

19 Feb – Source: Hiiraan Online – 160 Words

The deadline for the US-based Somali remittance companies to end their services expires on Thursday, February 19, 2015. Companies involved convened an assembly to discuss the US bank’s decision to terminate the service. California Merchant Bank which handles majority of the money sent from the US to Somalia announced it stopped working with the Somali companies on January 6. The troubled companies formed an alliance aiming to address the issue with the US government. Saeed Maalin, the coordinator for the new umbrella told Hiiraan Online that they cannot send money without the cooperation of the banks. Amidst a crackdown targeting companies suspected of financing terrorism and money laundering, the US government has shut down several hawala companies worldwide. The remittances’ closure may have a devastating humanitarian impact on Somalia as large parts of the country’s population in the horn of African nation are dependent on money from relatives and families living abroad.

Key Headlines

Somali Remittance Services Set To Stop On Thursday (Hiiraan Online)
Mogadishu Residents Welcome Ongoing Security Scoop (Radio Bar-Kulan)
Chief Of The Djibouti Defence Forces Major General Zakaria Sheikh Arrives Beledweyn Hiran (Radio Goobjoog)
Puntland Military Tribunal In Garowe Withdraws Verdict On Al-Shabaab Members (RBC Radio)
Scrap Terrorism Charges Against Journalists EAJA Tells Governments (Somali Current)
East African Community Initiates Process To Establish Political Federation (Standard Media)
Minister Of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Somali Ambassador Sign MoU (Emirates News Agency)
Somalis Panic As Cash Flow Dries Up After U.S. Remittance Lifeline Cut (Reuters)
Somali Lawmakers Position Themselves For 2016 Election (Voice of America)
Can The Feds Stop Islamic State Recruiters From Preying On Somali Americans? (Vice)

SOMALI MEDIA

Mogadishu Residents Welcome Ongoing Security Sweep

19 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 110 Words

Mogadishu residents have welcomed the ongoing security sweep in the city, saying it will boost the security situation in the capital. Haikal Mohamed Mo’allim, an intellectual, told Bar-Kulan that most of the residents support any operation aimed at bolstering the security situation of the city and netting individuals and groups involved in criminal activities. He called on the government to maintain such operations until the city is safe and secure. Ismail Mohamed, one of the business-people said he supports the crackdown, and urged locals to collaborate with the security forces and remain patient during the operations. A number of people have been arrested in the operation which was launched on Wednesday.

Chief of the Djibouti Defence Forces Major General Zakaria Sheikh Arrives In Beledweyn, Hiran

19 Feb – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 174 Words

Chief of the Djibouti Defense Forces Major General Zakaria Sheikh visited Beledweyne earlier today, a Goobjoog News correspondent in the region confirmed. General Zakaria was welcomed at the Beledweyn airport by the governments’ regional administration, AMISOM and Somali military officials. Immediately after his arrival, Gen. Zakaria proceeded to the African Union mission military base in Eljalle on the outskirts of Hiran’s provincial capital, Beledweyne. Reports added that Djiboutian Armed Forces Major General Zakaria Cheikh Ibrahim will stay there to witness day-to-days serves by the Djibouti Defense Forces in Hiran. The work of the Djiboutian troops has been varied; they have improved security in Beletweyne city and acted as mediators between warring clans. The troops have also conducted training for the Somali National Forces and brought members of militias together for training and integration into the Somali National Army. They are also responsible for the reconstruction of the airstrip and other local infrastructure and have provided support to the establishment of local government administrations.

Puntland Military Tribunal In Garowe Withdraws Verdict On Al-Shabab Members

19 Feb – Source: RBC Radio – 178 Words

The Puntland martial court branch in Garowe has withdrawn its earlier verdict on Al-shabab members found guilty of assassinations in Puntland. The military tribunal found three men, namely Awil Ali Farah, Abdirahman Osman Yusuf and Abdifitah Abdullahi Yusuf, guilty of plotting and executing innocent citizens including traditional leaders, government officials and journalists. The court sentenced Abdirahman Osman Yusuf to a life sentence after finding him guilty of taking part in killings in the region. Awil Ali Farah and Abdifatah Abdullahi Yusuf were sentenced to capital punishment after being found guilty of murder. Puntland, a region that has been relatively stable despite the civil war, is stiffly fighting Al-shabab militants who are trying to penetrate Puntland in a quest for a ‘safe haven’ after African Union troops and Somali Federal government forces pushed them out of a key towns and ports in Southern and Central Somalia.

Scrap Terrorism Charges Against Journalists, EAJA Tells Governments

19 Feb – Source: Somali Current – 481 Words

The Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA) called on governments to follow international standards in the application of anti-terror laws, invoking Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to seek, receive, and impart information, and the African Charter on Human & People’s Rights. Speaking at International Conference on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16-17 February 2015, EAJA Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman hailed the conference’s aim of developing an international convention on protection & respect for human rights and counter-terrorism. “Journalists in Eastern Africa are frequently endangered by terrorist groups. But also some governments have exploited anti-terror laws to silence critical journalists covering sensitive issues such as insurgencies, political opposition parties, and ethnic minorities. Overly broad definition of terrorism is used to restrict free expression in my own region,” said Osman in a panel on media, human rights and counter-terrorism.

“We are witnessing journalists, editors and media owners who are censoring themselves because any political news, if it’s not liked by the government of the day, can get a journalist charged under anti-terror or security law, which carries heavy punishment” he added. EAJA called on delegates attending the conference to rid off the broad, ambiguous language used to silence critical news and opinion, which are intended to intimidate and instill fear in the hearts of journalists. Some Security Authorities in Eastern Africa region have used sweeping terrorism and security laws to detain independent journalists in an attempt to wipe out the few critical voices left in their respective countries. Such anti-terror laws permit a clamp down on political dissent, including political demonstrations and public criticisms of a government policy that are deemed supportive of armed / political opposition activity, and deprives defendants of the right to be presumed innocent. EAJA urged governments, who were attending the international conference, to immediately scrap the “terrorism” charges against journalists. Increasing number of journalists are currently detained on “terror” charges including treason. “I’m sure we know each other, particularly the governments I am talking about, because we have been engaging since my arrival in Geneva.

Charging journalists with terrorism offenses is a big step in the wrong direction for any country that wants to promote democratic rule, peace and stability in their country,” said Osman. The conference, which adopted a draft text for a convention that will be presented to the United Nations, provided a multi-dimensional analysis of globally implemented counter-terrorism measures from human rights prospective, taking into account the latest security threats and challenges, such as radicalization, oppression of civil liberties and the phenomenon of foreign fighters. Diplomats, government officials and international organisations representatives, as well as experts, scholars and civil society representatives from around the world attended this international conference. EAJA provided inputs to ensure that journalists and other media practitioners are not incriminated in anti-terror laws, as already observed.

REGIONAL MEDIA

East African Community initiates process to establish political federation

19 Feb – Source: Standard Media – 338 Words

East Africa Heads of State will tomorrow appoint a committee of experts to draft a constitution to guide the establishment of a political federation in the region. The move to appoint the committee with members drawn from the five countries is part of the 30th extra-ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers report to be presented to the presidents for consideration and approval tomorrow. The meeting will be held at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). The Secretary General East African Community ( EAC) Secretary General Richard Sezibera said the Heads of State will approve the initiation of a constitution-making process and a road map for the regional bloc political federation. “Negotiations for the admission of the Republic of South Sudan into the EAC, verification of the application of the Federal Republic of Somalia, progress towards establishment of a one area network for East Africa and implementation of the directive of the summit on extension of jurisdiction of the East African court of justice are priority matters to be discussed,” he said.

President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of of Rwanda are expected to join President Uhuru Kenyatta at the 16th Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State. A senior official at the EAC secretariat, who did not want to be quoted as the matter is yet to be discussed by the Presidents, said the proposal to select a committee of experts was agreed during the Kampala meeting held last September. “During tomorrow’s meeting, heads of state will be briefed on the progress to establish a political federation. A key component of the issue is how to appoint experts to be involved in constitution making,” said the official. The names of the experts are supposed to be ready for presentation to the secretariat by April. A political federation is the fourth step into the implementation of the EAC regional integration. Others are Customs Union, Common Market and Monetary Union.

Minister Of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary, Somali Ambassador Sign MoU

18 Feb – Source: Emirates News Agency – 87 Words

Mohammed Mir Al Raisi, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), received Somali Ambassador to the UAE Abdulkadir Sheikhey Al Hatimi, at the Ministry on Wednesday. They discussed bilateral ties between the UAE and Federal Republic of Somalia. During the meeting, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Somalia as part of efforts to further strengthening existing bilateral cooperation.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalis Panic As Cash Flow Dries Up After U.S. Remittance Lifeline Cut

19 Feb – Source: Reuters – 625 Words

Somali families are panicking and businesses are running short of funds two weeks after the last major U.S. bank stopped transferring money to the fragile Horn of Africa country, development groups said. Somalia has no formal banking system due to decades of war, so Somalis living abroad use money transfer companies to send some $1.3 billion home each year – far more than the country receives in aid, Oxfam and Adeso said in a report on Thursday. Merchants Bank of California closed its accounts with Somali-American transfer companies on Feb. 6, cutting off a lifeline to millions in a country plagued by widespread hunger, recurrent drought and an Islamist insurgency. Virtually all major U.S. banks have ended remittance services to Somalia over the last few years because of regulations that hold banks responsible if they transfer funds to “terrorist” groups like Somalia’s al Shabaab.

Merchants Bank handled 60 to 80 percent of the money sent to Somalia from the United States, which is the country’s biggest source of remittances, Adeso and Oxfam said. “There has been quite a lot of panic from the diaspora with some (money transfer) branches actually being closed,” said Degan Ali, the Somali-American executive director of the charity Adeso. “There is a bit of scrambling trying to find alternative (money transfer operators) to work with.” The Somali community in the United States has started a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #IFundFoodNotTerror. “The money I send back to Somalia helps my siblings go to school,” tweeted Ifrah Ahmed. “They are not terrorists.” Some 40 percent of Somalis rely on remittances for daily needs, such as food, medicines and school fees, Adeso said. Blind and white-haired, Hassan Hussein Bulale’s only source of income is $50 a month from a relative in the United States. “If that money stops, it will be devastation,” the elderly man, who lives in the city of Hargeisa, told Oxfam.

Somali Students Need More Supports, Says Liaison

19 Feb – Source: Edmonton Journal – 426 Words

Six years ago, when Edmonton’s Somali community was rocked by a string of murders, Abdalla Kulmiye decided to organize a high-school graduation ceremony for Somali families. He was determined to celebrate successes in the community. Just 15 high-school graduates signed up for the 2009 celebration. This year, however, Kulmiye expects about 100 students will attend the June event that grows every year. It’s an indication that the countless hours — mostly volunteer — that people like Kulmiye have invested are starting to pay off. “The community’s image was tarnished a while ago. Every news you read, every radio you listen, they’re talking about Somali kids killed related to drugs. And for me, that touched me a lot,” said Kulmiye, hired in January as an intercultural liaison by Edmonton Public Schools to work with immigrant and refugee students in two junior high schools.

“We need to show that we have potential students who can graduate from high school and advance to post-secondary education … We have something beautiful going on there.” Kulmiye is working at Rosslyn and Killarney junior high schools where he supports Somali and at-risk youth, helping prepare students for the transition to high school and ultimately post-secondary institutions. He also works with their families to teach them about Canada’s education system and get them involved in the schools. In 2009, Kulmiye worked in schools on a project funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada called Reducing Barriers. Then he did similar work with the Somali Canadian Cultural Society of Edmonton through a two-year program funded by Alberta Education that just ended Oct. 31.

Somali Lawmakers Position Themselves for 2016 Election

18 Feb – Source: Voice of America – 513 Words

Somalia’s new 66-member parliament is showing a new and increased willingness to challenge the president and prime minister. Lawmakers in the past often have rubber-stamped presidential initiatives, but the new parliament is exerting more independence. Some observers say this is a political ploy by the executives and parliament in an effort to remain in power beyond 2016. In an interview with VOA Somali service, Somalia Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake blamed differences between his predecessor, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for delaying the new administration. He said a new system of power-sharing is being created that is based on political alliances in parliament, as opposed to the usual clan-based politicking.

Appointed in December, Sharmake twice was forced to revise his list of cabinet nominees by lawmakers who argued it did not reflect clan dynamics and included people they blamed for political division. International Crisis Group Horn of Africa Project Director Cedric Barnes said with the cabinet now in place, he expects Somalia’s political leaders to sharply focus on the next elections. “What we have now is agreement between the executive, the president, and members of parliament in so much that they will work together to all come back in 2016 for another five years,” said Barnes. “So the election that will take place is probably going to be very top-down, very much about nomination, about clan power and about agreement between big political players to remain in the political game.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“”They see a young man who is quiet and angry,” Bihi explains. “They give him a name like ‘The Great Horseman.’ They recognize him and empower him psychologically, and that’s how it begins.” After becoming the “dad they never had,” as Bihi puts it, recruiters start painting infidels as the enemy. Eventually, after enough grooming, they introduce jihadi videos and Bollywood movies with beautiful women in them—meant to serve as examples of the rewards that will supposedly greet jihadis in the afterlife.”

Can the Feds Stop Islamic State Recruiters from Preying on Somali Americans?

19 Feb – Source: VICE – 993 Words

On Wednesday, President Obama is meeting with world leaders at the White House to discuss homegrown terrorists. The three-day summit, originally planned for last October, was revamped in the light of recent attacks in Europe carried out by radicalized Muslims. Among the topics will be how local communities can prevent disenfranchised youth from heading to Syria or committing violent acts closer to home in places like Los Angeles, Boston, or Minneapolis. Those three cities are the focus of a pilot program intended to secure mental health counseling and community support for kids who’ve been groomed by extremists. The federal experiment was launched in response an exodus of at least 20 Twin Cities kids since 2007 to join al Shabaab—a jihadist group in Somalia that’s affiliated with al Qaeda and probably best-known for its attack on a Kenyan mall in 2013. Since then, the Midwestern metropolis has been considered a hotbed of terror recruitment, and the Islamic State may have surpassed al Shabaab in local recruiting efforts.

People caught trying to join terror groups can face years in prison, so it makes sense that even though the family members of the al Shabaab recruits might have known something was up, they didn’t go to the cops with their concerns. That’s why they asked US Attorney Andrew Luger to give them the opportunity to deal with the problem themselves, without the risk of FBI involvement. Abdi Bihi, a Somali community leader in the Twin Cities, is grateful for the pilot program, but thinks it doesn’t address the systemic problems that allow for terror recruiters to do their dirty work in the first place. He says a lack of employment opportunities coupled with a paucity of after-school programs is to blame, and the government should work on correcting those inequities if they want to fix the problem. He might know better than most: Bihi’s nephew, Burhan Hassan, was one of the kids who shipped off to fight for al Shabaab back in 2008.