January 26, 2012 | Morning Headlines.
Letter from the UN Special Representative for Somalia to the Somali People
26 Jan – Source: UNPOS – 821 words
As-Salaamu Alaikum,
Dear friends,
I am thrilled to be writing to you all from my new office here in Mogadishu. As you may have heard, on Tuesday I moved to Somalia from Nairobi along with a number of my core staff from the UN Political Office for Somalia. In fact I now believe we should be called the UN Political Office in Somalia. It is only one and a half months since the Secretary-General announced that UNPOS would move and it is largely thanks to the hard work of our colleagues from the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA) that we made it here in record time. We thank them for their unflagging support.
Key Headlines
- Letter from the UN Special Representative for Somalia to the Somali People (Source: UNPOS)
- Only Turkey is showing solidarity with Somalia’s people (Source: The Guardian)
- Somali PM visits the scene of last night fire in Mogadishu ( Source: Radio Bar-kulan)
- Heavy fighting breaks out Buhodle town (Source: Hadhwanaag Press)
- UN: Somalia will remain largest humanitarian crisis (Source: VOA)
PRESS STATEMENT
Letter from the UN Special Representative for Somalia to the Somali People
26 Jan – Source: UNPOS – 821 words
As-Salaamu Alaikum,
Dear friends,
I am thrilled to be writing to you all from my new office here in Mogadishu. As you may have heard, on Tuesday I moved to Somalia from Nairobi along with a number of my core staff from the UN Political Office for Somalia. In fact I now believe we should be called the UN Political Office in Somalia. It is only one and a half months since the Secretary-General announced that UNPOS would move and it is largely thanks to the hard work of our colleagues from the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA) that we made it here in record time. We thank them for their unflagging support.
This is a historic step. The last UN Special Representative for Somalia, James Victor Gbeho left Mogadishu in 1995 at the conclusion of the second UN Mission in Somalia (UNOSOM II). While some of the UN agencies have kept staff in Somalia throughout, I regret that it has taken so long for UNPOS to come back here permanently. It is now up to us to make up for lost time. I am most grateful for the warm welcome I was accorded by the Government and people of Mogadishu. I was most touched.
Being on the ground will allow us to be closer to all the stakeholders – the Transitional Federal Institutions and other administrations, civil society, NGOs, business people, journalists and ordinary Somalis. Daily interaction will help us understand each other and to work together in a more imaginative and constructive manner at this crucial period in the peace process.
UNPOS’ deployment to Mogadishu comes in addition to our existing presence in other parts of Somalia. We already have staff based in Hargeisa and in Garowe. As the security situation improves and once additional facilities become available we shall expand our presence. I wish to pay tribute to those already based in Mogadishu. There are six UN agencies with a permanent presence here already along with NGOs, the African Union has a large presence and IGAD, the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Libya, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda and Yemen are all represented.
I hope our presence will pave the way for other members of the international community to relocate to Somalia.
Ultimately our move forward would have been impossible without the heroic actions of the peacekeepers of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) who, working alongside the Somali Armed Forces, have succeeded in pushing Al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu. I wish to pay tribute to these brave young Africans, in particular those who have paid the ultimate price in the cause of peace in Somalia.
Today the UN flag is again flying in Mogadishu. And we have a lot of work to do. We are in the middle of implementing the priority tasks in the Roadmap and working towards the key political goal of ending the transition in August this year. We also are faced with a parliamentary crisis and a continuing terrorist threat from insurgents. There is a lot of ground to be covered in the next seven months.
As I have mentioned before, finalizing the draft Constitution before the May deadline must be a top priority now. The outreach and consultations are continuing. There was widespread support for the Garowe I meeting last month which produced some concrete proposals in the “Garowe Principles”. These now need to be implemented and we are planning a Garowe II meeting to take this process forward. We are endeavouring to bring the “Garowe Principles” and the Garowe process to the “market place” to promote more public interests and to generate public debate on them.
One of the key problems remains the ongoing impasse within the Parliament. I have impressed upon the leaders that the region and the international community demands that it is resolved quickly. As I have constantly reminded all parties, spoilers of the peace process will not be tolerated and non-compliance will result in decisive action. At the same time we must not forget the humanitarian situation even if it has fallen out of the headlines. There are still thousands of people at risk who require urgent, sustained help. The generosity of many has helped to improve the situation but many are still suffering and we must continue to answer the call to help our neighbours. Access and security is still a challenge in areas still occupied and vacated by Al-Shabaab.
The international community is fully engaged on Somalia and united behind the Roadmap. Earlier this month I convened a meeting of the International Coordination and Monitoring Group which looked favourably at the progress made so far on the Roadmap and made some useful suggestions. I am heading to the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa where Somalia will be a key issue and we will consolidate the ideas and support at the upcoming International Contact Group meeting in Djibouti and the London Conference in February. The eyes of the world are watching.
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali PM visits the scene of last night fire in Mogadishu
26 Jan – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Shabelle – 104 words
Somalia’s PM Abdiweli Mohamed Ali on Thursday visited Mogadishu’s Hamar-weyne market where properties worth thousands of dollars were last destroyed after fire erupted in the market.
The PM was briefed on the incident by Benadir’s regional governor and Hamar-weyne district commissioner.
Heavy fighting breaks out in Buhodle town
26 Jan- Source: Hadhwanaag Press, Shabelle, Somaliweyn- 69 words
Fierce fighting between Somaliland forces and armed local militias on Thursday erupted on the outskirts of Buhodle town, reports said. The heavy fighting erupted in the village of Shangale outside of Buholde, local residents reported.
Ahlu Sunna arrest 10 al Shabaab suspects in Gedo region
26 Jan – Source: Shabelle – 107 words
Reports in Beled-Hawo town of Gedo region near the Kenyan order say, at least ten people were arrested Thursday over al Shabaab suspects by Ahlu Sunna fighters allied with the TFG.
Witnesses indicated that the suspects have been detained in an operation conducted in the early hours of Thursday by militia loyal to Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a’s administration of Gedo province in southwestern Somalia
Security assured for Somalis in South Africa as stakeholders meet in Cape Town
26 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 149 words
A forum aimed at discussing ways in which the security of Somali-owned shops in Western Cape Province of South Africa can be assured has been held in Cape Town on Wednesday. The forum brought together members of the Somali Community and the host South African officials.
Participants discussed ways in which attacks on Somali-owned shops by armed South African gangs can be averted in the near future. A committee of foreigners was set up to work with the police in preventing crimes against Somalis.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Inequality pushing youths to join al Shabaab: report
26 Jan- Source: Daily Nation- 370 words
An international lobby group wants the Kenyan government to find ways of distributing wealth equally as a solution to youths joining terrorist organisations. In a report released on Thursday, the International Crisis Group said the Somali militant group, al Shabaab, has been penetrating Kenya because some regions have “long standing grievances against the central state.”
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Denmark aware of U.S. plan to rescue hostages in Somalia: FM
26 Jan – Source: World Daily News – 282 words
The Danish government was aware U.S. special forces would attempt to free a Danish hostage and his American colleague in Somalia on Tuesday night, Danish Foreign Minister said here Wednesday.
Villy Soevndal confirmed Denmark was aware of the rescue operation, which Danish media says involved a U.S. Navy Seal team. But Soevndal would not say if Denmark gave a green light for the action to take place.
UN: Somalia will remain largest humanitarian crisis
26 Jan- Source: VOA- 399 words
The United Nations says the situation in Somalia is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, and will remain so this year. Particularly hard hit are the so-called IDPs, or “Internally-displaced persons” – thousands of Somalis who fled famine and brutal attacks by the feared al Shabaab militant group and languish in IDP camps throughout the capital.
Somalia aid worker in ‘Phase II’ of return from captivity
26 Jan – Source: CNN News – 258 words
The American humanitarian aid worker rescued by Navy SEALS Tuesday night is going through what the U.S. military calls “Phase II” reintegration of former hostages.
Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted, the Danish man who also was rescued from kidnappers in the raid on a compound in Somalia, are now in a military facility in Sigonella, on the Italian island of Sicily.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
Only Turkey is showing solidarity with Somalia’s people
26 Jan- Source: The Guardian- 734 Words
The British government is holding a conference on the future of Somalia next month. In the last 20 years the east African country has suffered enormously – in the collapse of law and order, natural and human-made calamities, the displacements of its citizens, the rise of piracy and the spread of insurgent movements and seditious militias. These have not only threatened the survival of the nation but also dampened the morale of the people and their sense of national pride.
Today, Somalia is enduring the region’s worst famine and drought for 60 years, threatening 750,000 lives. This human tragedy has spurred the conscience of the world and there has been an influx of international aid agencies, especially those of the United Nations, despite huge obstacles including harassment by the al-Shabab insurgent movement.
This intervention has saved many lives. But long-term, foreign-sponsored formulas for solving crises have ended in failure, largely because they deliberately ignore the main aspirations of the Somali people, for national sovereignty, territorial integrity and their right to self-determination.
Alongside this, one country, Turkey, has responded in a unique manner, demonstrating solidarity with the people of Somalia in their hour of distress. Last August, amid a tense security situation, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by his wife and children and a large delegation of ministers and civil servants, landed in the capital Mogadishu. He was the first foreign head of government to have visited the city in 20 years.
The Somali people wholeheartedly appreciate this act of bravery and nobility. This can be gauged from the hundreds of boys born after the visit who have been named “Erdogan”, and girls who have been named “Istanbul”. His example inspired so many across the region, and high-level delegations followed, such as the visit of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia and the foreign minister of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi.
Somalia’s stability, a milestone for NRM’s 26 years
26 Jan – Source: New Vision Opinion – 330 Words
Today, as we celebrate the 26th anniversary of NRM, it is no doubt the Government has scored highly in sectors such as democracy, good governance, education, security, pan-Africanism and regional integration and infrastructure. However, this year marks another milestone as we smell peace and stability in the long troubled Somalia.
In 2007, the UPDF/AMISOM was deployed in Somalia. In Uganda, the pessimist said the ‘mission would be dead on arrival.. Some said the Americans lied in 1993 and were totally defeated.
What magic is this UPDF? Today Somalia and friends of Somalia can bear witness that AMISOM has achieved a lot in dismantling the Al-Shabaab’s camps. Other African Union members have also expressed thei solidarity to join Uganda and Burundi in this African cause.While at Serena on January 11, a panel of military experts that included Maj. Gen Nathan Mugisha, Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala and a couple of civilians like Cecilia Ogwal, Sheikh Shirl shared their views on the plight of the people of Somalia.