January 14, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Over 100 Somali lawmakers plan to block cabinet approval
13 Jan – Source: Xinhua News/Global Post – 236 Words
More than 100 Somali lawmakers on Tuesday vowed to block the nomination of a new cabinet in Parliament. The members of parliament said in Mogadishu they will not pass a motion to approve the newly unveiled council of ministers, noting that the prime minister included ministers in the former cabinet is against their will. Abdi Ahmed Dhuhulow, one of the lawmakers, told Xinhua that his colleagues will reject any attempts to approve the new line-up of ministers and their assistants, terming the inclusion of the immediate former cabinet members a betrayal of the confidence and aspirations of the Somali people.
The lawmaker under the umbrella Somali Forum for Unity and Democracy said the ministers in the previous cabinet, who are key allies of the president, had failed the country, adding that it was not possible to achieve Vision 2016 with the proposed cabinet in charge of the country’s affairs. Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke on Mondayannounced a 60-member cabinet subject to parliamentary approval. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has welcomed the nomination of the new council of ministers and called on parliament to speed up the approval process so that the government can start functioning fully. The president said the new government has a long list of priorities ahead of it, priorities that will require robust decision-making and a commitment to making things happen quickly.
Key Headlines
- Puntland forces seize vehicle shipping illegal drugs in Garowe (Radio Goobjoog)
- Balambale administration vows to execute convicted murderers (Radio Danan)
- Somali parliament due to debate on general audit bill (Radio Goobjoog/Radio Muqdisho)
- Speaker of parliament announces new cabinet to face parliament on Saturday (Radio Jowhar/Somaliaupdate.com)
- Five killed in after heavy clashes between government forces and Al-Shabaab in Trako locality (Radio Goobjoog)
- Somalia fights government impersonators on social media (Sabahi Online)
- Over 100 Somali lawmakers plan to block cabinet approval (Xinhua News/Global Post)
- Rwanda’s Government pledges support for Somalia (CNBC)
- Somali and Libyan Fighters Killed in Sinjar (Bas News)
SOMALI MEDIA
Puntland forces seize vehicle shipping illegal drugs in Garowe
14 Jan – Source:Radio Goobjoog – 151 Words
Puntland security forces seized a vehicle transporting liters of liquor and other drugs smuggled from Galkayo that were to be sold illegally in Garowe and the other major cities, on Wednesday. The driver was arrested in connection with the incident. Sources confirm that during the arrest the vehicle was using smaller roads to avoid the checkpoints along the main road. Details about the contraband have not yet been specified, but security officials are expected to hold press conference detailing the seized drugs. Over the last few months, security forces have been conducting major operations targeting illegal liquor sellers and youngsters accused of selling drugs .Alcohol consumption is unlawful in Somalia, and there are strict measures against alcohol consumers and sellers. Most alcohol is sold on the black market, and is often smuggled into Puntland from different points along the Ethiopian border.
Balambale administration vows to execute convicted murderers
13 Jan – Source: Radio Danan – 96 Words
The Balambale administration has vowed that any person who kills someone in their district will be executed. Elites, elders, and local leaders met, and decided to execute anyone found guilty of murder, in order to set an example and frighten those who consider killing anyone. killer in that district so that they can be example to fear. “We came up with a measure to prevent the assassinations in the district. We have agreed upon this measure of eradicating the practice,” the Balambal District Commissioner said. Recently, elites in that district were assassinated.
Somali parliament due to debate on general audit bill
14 Jan – Source:Radio Goobjoog/Radio Muqdisho – 112 Words
The Federal Parliament of Somalia is expected to take normal meetings on Wednesday. Reliable reports confirm that the members will debate on rules of procedures earlier submitted to the house, including a general audit bill.The overall security of the area around the parliament building has been tightened by government forces, with most roads leading to the parliament blocked. Mohamed Omar, a member of parliament speaking to Goobjoog FM, said that the draft bill will pass its second reading. The parliament has a busy schedule to attend to; the house is also expected to cast a vote for the newly announced cabinet led by ambassador Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharma’arke on Saturday.
Speaker of parliament announces new cabinet to face parliament on Saturday
14 Jan – Source: Radio Jowhar/Somalia Update – 164 Words
The speaker of the Somali parliament has announced that newly nominated ministers will face the parliament for a vote of confidence in the coming week. The time frame, in which Prime Minister Sharmarke is set to table government policies and present his cabinet for a confidence vote, was agreed upon in a parliamentary service commission meeting in Mogadishu. Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mahat Abdala, said the commission decided on Saturday 17 January, 2015. The deputy speaker stated that the parliament is in the final stage of its 5th seating session, and he urged members of the parliament to attend the sessions, in order to vote on the new cabinet. There are opposing views within parliament following the prime minister’s announcement of his proposed cabinet; parliamentarians have been meeting around the city following the announcement with some supporting the proposed cabinet, and others vowing to vote against it.
Five killed after heavy clashes between government forces and Al-Shabaab in Trako locality
14 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 187 Words
At least five people from the warring sides died, and many others were wounded in heavy clashes between government forces, backed by AMISOM troops, and Al-Shabaab in Trako locality on Tuesday.The fighting started after federal government forces from Elwak district waged an attack on Al-Shabaab bases in Trako and surrounding areas in an effort to capture the areas under the control of the group.
Reports confirm that the fighting has stopped, and the area is now calm. Al-Shabaab are still in full control of Trako, and government forces are stationed outside the locality. Locals have expressed concern that fighting between the sides might start once more in the area. Neither government officials nor Al-shabab have released any comment about the clashes in Gedo region. Trako locality is 50km west of Bardhere district, an Al-Shabaab stronghold. Earlier last week Al-Shabaab blindfolded and executed four men in Bardhere after accusing them of spying for Somalia and foreign governments.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Somalia fights government impersonators on social media
13 Jan – Source: Sabahi Online – 731 Words
Somalia has blocked more than 20 fraudulent social media accounts impersonating government officials and ministries over the past year, Ministry of National Security spokesperson Mohamed Yusuf Osman told Sabahi.The move follows an increase in the number of counterfeit Facebook and Twitter accounts that purport to represent members of the Somali government, he said, adding that the ministry has since established that the blocked accounts were opened from outside the country.
“We have prevented many problems by the groups whose intention is to spread lies through social media using the names of government officials,” Osman said. “We have communicated with many allies who support Somalia in that area. We succeeded in tackling some and we are still working on others.” Somalia is not alone in tackling government impersonators on social media. Many foreign government officials also fall prey to impersonators and hackers, he said, but they have employees trained to address these issues.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Over 100 Somali lawmakers plan to block cabinet approval
13 Jan – Source: Xinhua News/Global Post – 236 Words
More than 100 Somali lawmakers on Tuesday vowed to block the nomination of a new cabinet in Parliament. The members of parliament said in Mogadishu they will not pass a motion to approve the newly unveiled council of ministers, noting that the prime minister included ministers in the former cabinet is against their will. Abdi Ahmed Dhuhulow, one of the lawmakers, told Xinhua that his colleagues will reject any attempts to approve the new line-up of ministers and their assistants, terming the inclusion of the immediate former cabinet members a betrayal of the confidence and aspirations of the Somali people.
The lawmaker under the umbrella Somali Forum for Unity and Democracy said the ministers in the previous cabinet, who are key allies of the president, had failed the country, adding that it was not possible to achieve Vision 2016 with the proposed cabinet in charge of the country’s affairs. Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke on Monday announced a 60-member cabinet subject to parliamentary approval. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has welcomed the nomination of the new council of ministers and called on parliament to speed up the approval process so that the government can start functioning fully. The president said the new government has a long list of priorities ahead of it, priorities that will require robust decision-making and a commitment to making things happen quickly.
Rwanda’s Government pledges support for Somalia
13 Jan – Source: CNBC – Video – 02:01 Minutes
The government of Rwanda has pledged continued support to Somalia peace building process by any means possible. Speaking at a conference in Kigali, noting the warm bilateral relations over the years, delegates and key players said that the two countries would further work together to enable Somalia recover both socially, and economically.
Somali and Libyan Fighters Killed in Sinjar
13 Jan – Source: Bas News – 149 Words
A Peshmerga commander says they have killed a number of militants of African origin in clashes around Sinjar, northern Iraq. Commander Bahram Doski told BasNews from the Sinjar frontlines that they have been involved in fierce fighting in recent days, and have killed scores of foreign Islamic State fighters in the area.
“In recent days we have killed a number of foreign fighters, one of which was the Libyan IS leader in Sinjar, Muhammad Musa al-Libi”, said Doski. He said that two Somali fighters were also killed in Sinjar, identified as Fabian Qadir and Farah Osman. A number of Iraqi IS militants were killed in the same clashes. However, Doski claims most of the IS militants fighting in Sinjar are foreigners. Beginning late last month, Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been attacking Islamic State militants inside Sinjar, which has been under the control of the Jihadi group since August 2014.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“In the case of Minnesota, those two Somali-American officers singlehandedly cut the murder rate in half, according to the CBC; there have been no homicides involving that city’s Somali community for over two years.”
Toronto mayor John Tory needs to repair trust between police and community
13 Jan – Source: Somalia Online – 853 Words
Mayor John Tory said he wanted to improve the relationship between the Toronto Police Service (TPS) and the community, and signaled his intention to sit on the Toronto Police Services Board. As an active participant in discussions about this issue, I find Mr. Tory’s stated focus to be encouraging. But I believe we need a city-wide discussion on defining what we mean by “public safety,” in order to come up with a 21st century mandate for the TPS.
…
Since 2012, I’ve been working with Positive Change, an ad-hoc advocacy group fighting to end gun violence in Toronto. With 50 unsolved homicides in Ontario and Alberta since 2005, the Somali-Canadian community in particular has been disproportionately affected by this scourge. In 2012 alone, 18% of homicides in Toronto involved Somali-Canadian men – six were killed between June and October. That summer, I remember spending every other Friday at Khalid Bin Al-Walid mosque, in Etobicoke, praying for the dead and asking myself: What was going on? The only thing worse than the overrepresentation of young Somali-Canadian men in the homicide and incarceration statistics is the high level of distrust on both sides, police and community. The mutual suspicion has resulted in a lot of cold cases. Positive Change sought to change that dynamic so that residents would be comfortable collaborating with the police in North Etobicoke to improve community-police relations. It was a tough assignment. TPS 23 Division covered an area with a very large Somali-Canadian population, but it had no direct connections into that community. Given the level of gun violence in northwest Toronto, a police division that isn’t representative of the residents they served has resulted in communication gridlock.
In 2012, the TPS established the Somali Liaison Unit (SLU) after lobbying from the community. The project was modeled after the success of the Minnesota Police Department’s move to hire Somali-American officers to spearhead a neighbourhood policing program. The problem is, 23 Division’s SLU has no Somali-speaking personnel. Currently, there are three Somali-Canadian police officers serving in the TPS – they’re just not in Etobicoke North.
“The irony is that in Kenya, Somali language is considered a threat and a potential terror language in some areas.”
Unexpected language that will make you a terror suspect in Mogadishu
13 Jan – Source: Dalsan Radio – 383 Words
It is very difficult to come into terms that one of the East Africa’s main languages is associated with terror when you are in Somali capital, Mogadishu. Swahili is one of the East Africa’s most useful languages; it is the official language in Kenya, Tanzania, and widely used in Uganda, Congo and even Malawi. Kenyan Somalis who work in Somalia normally use Swahili for communication with fellow non-Somali Kenyans, while in some instances use it for phone conversations back home.On December 2014 my uncle from Kenya, but currently working in Mogadishu, made a big mistake when he answered a phone call with Swahili.
We were at a popular hotel in Mogadishu where senior Somali government officials were having a meeting. Plain clothes security personnel approached my uncle and requested for his identifications and when he showed his Kenyan ID, the case was serious.My intervention as Somali citizen did not bear any fruits, but he was later released after interrogations.
Top tweets
@BBCMonitoring #Somalia – one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, according to media watchdogshtt.bbc.co.uk/monitoring/timel
@BarudGSD Rwanda official :Every citizen in Rwanda has medical insurance- a staggering achievement. Somalia can achieve it too. #SomDiasporaConf2015
@BeilehMofa Looking forward to my first mission since my re-selection as FM to the Arab league today. @arableague_gs an important partner in Somalia.
@PhilipOgola: When Kenya escalated its presence in #SomaliaMilitary expenditure rose by around US$200Million in real terms#CostOfWar report .
@garsoornews: A child who was born when #Somalia civil war began is now 23 yrs-old, he/she never seen rule of law.They want peace. #SomaliaPeaceBuilding
@ACLEDINFO: #Somalia saw highest no. of conflict events in#Africa in ’14 (3rd in conflict-related deaths)http://www.acleddata.com/
@WehliyeMohamed #Tweet4Elephants Elephants are like humans.They migrate from conflict areas. We have a large refugee elephant population from Somalia in KE
@Hamza_Africa: JUST IN: Taxman killed in #Afgoye by unknown gunmen. 27 killed in #Somalia in the last 3 years. Piece I wrote in Oct. http://bit.ly/1HutUSH
Image of the day
Somali diaspora gather in Kigali to discuss policy development. Photo: AMISOM