July 3, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

‘We are back,’ says rescued Canadian aid worker

02 Jul – Source: CTV News – 653 words

Four aid workers — including two Canadians – are back on Kenyan soil after being kidnapped from a refugee camp last week and rescued on Monday.
The workers from the Norwegian Refugee Council were rescued in Somalia Monday morning and arrived back in Nairobi in the afternoon.The four smiled and waved after stepping off a plane in Nairobi.
“We are happy. We are back. We are alive and we are happy this has ended,” Qurat-Ul-Ain Sadazai, one of the two kidnapped Canadians, told reporters.

Key Headlines

International Contact Group on Somalia2 – 3 July 2012 Rome Opening Statement by SRSG Mahiga(UNPOS)
Somali constitution must defend religious freedom: donors (AFP)
Acting Prime Minister of Somalia gives account of foreigners rescued by government forces (Radio Mogadishu)
ICG meeting to kick off in Rome (Radio Bar-Kulan)
Rescued aid workers arrive in Kenyan capital (Radio Star)
Al-Shabaab mocks Somalia’s national day (Somalia Report)
Kenya vows to continue al Shabaab offensive in Somalia (Source: Capital news)

PRESS STATEMENT

International Contact Group on Somalia,2 – 3 July 2012, Rome ,Opening Statement by SRSG Mahiga

02 Jun- Source: UNPOS- 949 words

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the 22nd meeting of the International Contact Group on Somalia. It is good to see so any familiar faces. Let me start by expressing our warm thanks to Foreign Minister Terzi, the Government of Italy and our colleagues from the Italian Foreign Ministry for kindly offering to host our discussions and for making such splendid arrangements in the vibrant and beautiful city of Rome.

Political Process

There is much to discuss over the next two days. Somalia stands at a crucial point in the peace process, and we have seen some remarkable recent developments. But, in seven weeks time, the Transition comes to an end – there should be no doubt about that. We must therefore begin to look to the next phase and ask ourselves some searching questions:

• Why has progress lagged behind in some areas in the four pillars of the Roadmap?
• Are the remaining steps leading to the end of the transitional period clear and how
should they be managed?
• What can we do now to ensure that the next performance and integrity of the
Parliament is better?
• How can we bring civil society firmly back into the process and ensure grass roots
community participation and support including from women?
• How can we ensure that the selection of candidates to the Constituent Assembly, the new Parliament, the Speakers and the President is fair, free and clean?
• What more should we do to deter spoilers?
These are important questions that we must consider together. But I do not want us to focus exclusively on the short-term. Now is the time to start thinking about what comes next. The end of the transitional period will mark a new beginning for Somalia, and there are vital considerations to be considered:
• While ending the transition we should seek to make the next dispensation have the following characteristics: 1. expanded political inclusivity, 2. more legitimacy, 3. popular participation, 4.increased accountability

In particular:

• What should the timing and preparation of future elections look like?
• How can we collectively handle the controversial issue of federalism as the debate on
the Constitution continues in the post August period?
• How can we help strengthen administrative institutions and promote better
governance both at the center and in the newly recovered areas?
• What should we do to put human rights at the heart of the peace process?
I trust that our deliberations this week will afford us an opportunity to begin a
discussion on these issues.

Security

On security, I must begin by paying tribute to the remarkable military successes of TFG forces, AMISOM and allied forces since our last meeting in February in recovering large areas of ground from Al Shabaab. This continues to come at a high price. But it gives us all the opportunity to bring peace, prosperity and stability to the hundreds of thousands of people who have suffered terribly over the years at the hands of the extremists.
We must make the most of this opportunity and address some of the key questions such as:
• What tangible assistance can we provide to TFG, AMISOM and allied forces to ensure
that progress continues and our gains are sustainable?
• How we can all support Somali Government efforts to stabilise the liberated/
recovered areas, especially in terms of providing governance and basic services,
establishing the rule of law and supporting reconciliation? and,
• How we can help unify, train and equip Somali forces to take responsibility for their
own security and enable AMISOM to withdraw over time?

Justice

I just mentioned the rule of law. But I want to dwell for a moment on the importance of developing the justice sector. As areas of south and central Somalia come increasingly under the control of the federal government, there is a need to provide accountable police services, increased access to justice and corrections systems which conform to international standards. Let me be frank. We have not focused sufficiently on this sector to date. And, even when we have focused on it, we have tended to concentrate on statutory systems of criminal justice at the expense of customary arrangements and other aspects such as land law, property rights, family law and restorative justice. We have an opportunity to think bigger, and I hope that this meeting will able to develop a consensus on two sets of issues:
• What principles should inform our approach to the justice sector? and,
• What should be our priorities?

Restructuring

Which brings me to my last point – the purpose of the ICG itself – how can we maximise effective cooperation and ensure strategic coherence? There are no easy answers.
But I am grateful to those of you who have already offered suggestions in the spirit of making our collective efforts even more productive.

At least, the following principles, I think, are clear. We should be looking to:

• Pursue incremental – rather than radical – reform;
• Keep things simple, and build wherever possible on existing structures; and,
• Be pragmatic, recognising that whatever we decide now can evolve over time.

Let us bear these principles in mind as we consider the substantive issues today and tomorrow morning. Then I hope that we can agree before the end of the meeting whether and, if so, how to reform our working methods.

Conclusion
So there is a great deal to discuss. I look forward to hearing your views, deciding what needs to be done and renewing our collective commitment to help Somalia as it enters its 53rd year of independence with increasing peace, stability and rapid recovery after twenty one years of a devastation.

Thank you

SOMALI MEDIA

Acting Prime Minister of Somalia gives account of foreigners rescued by government forces

02 Jun- Source: Radio Mogadishu/OPM- 191 words

The acting Prime Minister of Somalia Hussein Arab Isse yesterday held a press conference in his office in Mogadishu stating that the Somali forces rescued kidnapped foreigners and other staff members working for Norwegian Refugee Council in Dhadhaab camp in Kenya at around 7am yesterday morning.

ICG meeting to kick off in Rome

02 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 146 words

The International Contact Group (ICG) for Somalia is scheduled to meet in Rome to discuss the future of troubled Horn of Africa nation as it approaches towards ending the current transitional period.

During the meeting participants will discuss the current transitional period, how to wind up this period as well as reviewing the progress so far made as far as the roadmap.

Rescued aid workers arrive in Kenyan capital

02 Jul- Source: Radio Star- 54 words

Four foreign aid workers kidnapped at gunpoint in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp have arrived back in Kenya’s capital Nairobi aboard a military helicopter.

The workers — two men and two women from the Norwegian Refugee Council — were freed overnight after a short gunfight in southern Somalia where they were taken by their kidnappers.

Al-Shabaab mocks Somalia’s national day

02 Jul- Source: Somalia Report- 109 words

Just a day after marking the 52nd anniversary of Somalia’s independence from Italy and the subsequent union of the southern and northern regions of Somalia on July 1, 1960, al Shabaab, the hardline Islamic group battling for control of the country, mocked the day calling it a day of occupation referring to the multinational forces in the country.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenya vows to continue al Shabaab offensive in Somalia

02 Jul- Source: Capital news- 386 words
Prime Minister Raila Odinga has ruled out pulling Kenyan troops from Somalia, saying it will be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism.
He made it clear that Kenyan troops will not leave Somalia until the country is liberated and pacified, noting Kenya will not be at peace until Somalia which has not known peace for two decades realizes peace.

Somalia Puntland government condemn Kenya terror attacks

02 Jul- Source: Coastweek/ Xinhua- 313 words

Authorities in the semi- autonomous Somali state of Puntland on Monday condemned recent attacks against targets in Kenya as heinous and terrorist, a statement said.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali constitution must defend religious freedom: donors

02 Jul- Source: AFP- 366 words
International donors on Monday said Somalia’s new constitution must enshrine principles of religious freedom and stressed that the country’s political transition should be completed by August 20.
Somali leaders at the talks in Rome meanwhile emphasised the importance of bringing aid to areas of the country reconquered from Islamist rebels in recent weeks.They said a new constitutional assembly would be in place by July 12.

‘We are back,’ says rescued Canadian aid worker

02 Jul – Source: CTV News – 653 words

Somali refugee prepares for the long haul in Ethiopia

02 Jul- Source: Reuters AlertNet- 798 words

When Amina first saw the tent she and her young family had been allocated in the Bur Amino refugee camp in south-east Ethiopia, she realized that this might be her home for a long time.

“I have to adjust to the new environment and accept that this is my new life, the life of a refugee,” the 20-year-old Somali mother of two told UNHCR recently.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“It seems Bin Laden sent Godane Niqat al-Irtikaz to persuade him that he too could become an inspiration for jihadists worldwide if he put its ideas into practice in Somalia.”

Bin Laden advised Somali militants on ‘good governance’

02 July- Source: BBC- 655 Words

Documents found inside Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan following the US special forces raid that led to his death last year have revealed how the al-Qaeda leader sought to advise an affiliate group in Africa on “good governance”. One of the 17 documents recently posted online by the US military’s Combating Terrorism Centre (CTC) at West Point – out of a total cache of 6,000 – is a letter addressed to the leader of the Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamud Godane, also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubair.