July 3, 2015 | Morning Headlines
A Somali Soldier Shot Dead In Mogadishu, His Gun Seized By Unknown Assassins
02 July – Source: Wacaal Media – 130 Words
Suspected Al-Shabaab Gunmen killed a Somali Soldier in Mogadishu’s Bakaro market, the latest in a string of targeted assassinations of government troops and its allied African Union peacekeepers. A witness said the soldier was waylaid by two middle-aged men armed with pistols who shot him several times on the head, while he was collecting tax revenue from local traders at Abu Hureyrah mosque in Bakaro market. The assassins escaped from the crime scene after murdering the soldier whose AK-47 rifle assault was seized by the Gunmen. Government troops reached the site shortly and failed to take the killers into custody, reports said. Since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, Al-Shabaab militants have increased dramatically their hit-and-run attacks, including explosions against Somali soldiers and AMISOM troops in the country.
Key Headlines
- A Somali Soldier Shot Dead In Mogadishu His Gun Seized By Unknown Assassins (Wacaal Media)
- Lack Of Somali Public Service Salaries Makes Life Difficult For All (Hiiraan Online)
- Somaliland Detains Federal Government MP (Dalsan Radio)
- Galmudug State Presidential Candidates Make Campaign Speeches (Goobjoog News)
- Allied Forces Pull Out Despite Lingering Fears (Garowe Online)
- Somalia Reached ‘Tipping Point’ Can Secure Peace U.N. Officials Says (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
- Eden Prairie Residents Represent Somalia At Model UN Conference (Sun Current)
- Remaking Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Lack Of Somali Public Service Salaries Makes Life Difficult For All
02 July – Source: Hiiraan Online – 873 Words
The Finance Minister of the Government of Somalia, Mr. Mohamed Adan Ibarhim (Farkeeti) stated before parliament last week that all public servants have been without salary for four months. This extraordinary confession was public knowledge for months and public servants in all sectors including the civil service, security forces and the police had been complaining loudly to get the issue dealt with urgently. In a Mogadishu restaurant six police officers told Hiiraan Online that many of them are facing homelessness and the prospect of not been able to provide food for their families. “We have not had salaries since January and yesterday the shop I borrowed food from for my family stopped lending to me,” said one of the policemen who did not want to be named. Another Policeman had already been evicted from his home and his family had moved back in with his mother. “It is very sad that we are working so hard to help our people and we are becoming homeless,” said the policeman who again did not want to be named. “The fact is that my mother and five brothers depend on me too.” All the Policemen understood that no public servant had not been paid since January and all blamed the government and the donors who promised to contribute to rebuilding Somalia when the current government was formed in 2012. “I am sure both the Government of Somalia and the international community are equally to blame but since we don’t work for the international community we can only hold our government responsible,” said another policeman. Employees working in government ministries have not had better luck and most have not been paid since January too. “Life is hard definitely and I am struggling everyday but I still go to work because all of the public servants are suffering like me,” said Ahmed Mohamed who is employed as a secretary in one of Somalia’s many ministries. “I used to live in a room with colleagues from my Ministry and we are now all facing eviction if we don’t pay our rent this month,” said another public servant who did not want to be named. “If it happens, we have to return to live with family and my problem is that I am the only one living in Mogadishu from mine.” While public servants had been assured by the Ministry of Finance that some salaries will be paid within the month of Ramadan most are not expecting much. “Even if we are paid it will be for just one month and not the full period,” said Ahmed Omar, an adviser to the government. “What will this do for me? Which debt should I pay first?”
“There is no point in just getting one month pay because all your debtors crowd around and you don’t know who to pay and if you don’t pay one but you pay the other you lose an essential service and friends,” added Ahmed’s colleague in frustration. “If we don’t get all the salary we are owed it will not be a good Ramadan or Eid for us and our families who depend on us.” The Minister for Finance stated before parliament that, while the revenue collection was going well, the country was not making enough to service its needs quickly enough. He also blamed the international community which pledged to pay 51% of the running cost. Most public servants interviewed by Hiiraan Online felt that the minister of finance has not been totally honest and that much had left the system through corruption. “When the Minister was asked how much money the President and the Prime Minister took on their travels abroad he refused to say,” stated a policeman who did not want to be named. “That is why I think the international community is making things hard: there is little honesty from our government.” The late and drip-drip process of salary payments to public servants in Somalia has had a large effect on the local economy. “Many of my customers work for the government and all of them have no salary so I give them credit, however I have stopped since last month because I am frightened they cannot pay the debts back,” said Munira who owns a food store in the Hodan district of Mogadishu. Other traders felt trapped too and while most did not want to refuse public servant customers credit, all worried about their ability to pay back. “We have to respect people working for our government because it is a risky job but we also need to pay for the goods we are selling to those we bought it from,” said an employee of the electricity company. “The government must be more responsible and organised to pay for its staff like any other business.” Many public servants told Hiiraan Online that they are experiencing enormous pressures and as a result their morale is at rock bottom. They also all admitted that this is affecting their ability to carry out their duties effectively. Many went further and said that had they had other opportunities available to them and that they would leave public service altogether because they were not valued.
Somaliland Detains Federal Government Member of Parliament
02 July – Source: Dalsan Radio – 134 Words
The self-declared Somali regional state of Somaliland has detained Member of Parliament of the Federal Government in Mogadishu.The Governor of Awdal, Mohamed Ali Suleyman has confirmed that Ahmed Hussein is in their custody in Borama and will be arraigned in court soon.There is no information from the Federal Government in Mogadishu to clarify Somaliland’s claims of arresting its member of parliament. Since declaring self-independence from larger Somalia in 1992, Somaliland has strict measures to deal with its citizens that are pro union and against secession. Politicians from the Federal Government are not welcomed in Somaliland territory and are arrested and prosecuted once found inside Hargeisa borders. Somaliland which has just marked its 24th anniversary since it declared its secession from other part of Somalia is not recognized by the international community despite democratic and economic progress.
Galmudug State Presidential Candidates Make Campaign Speeches
02 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 140 Words
A total of 12 candidates , 6 of them bids for presidency made speeches in Adado city before the state parliament as final election day comes close. Each candidate was trying to attract as many members of parliament as possible as they lay out their policy and vision as the most comprehensive and inclusive for all the people in state, lest he could be voted on July 4th. All the three leading candidates Ahmad Abdisalam, Ahmad Ma’lin Fiqi and and Abdikarim Hussien Guled made their speeches today. The three main candidates have different primary supporters but one thing they share in common is clan independency. Before the election day all candidates are expected to continue their election campaigns in order to secure the support of state’s members of parliaments who hold the authority voting for the first president of Galmudug State.
Allied Forces Pull Out Despite Lingering Fears
02 July – Source: Garowe Online – 148 Words
Somali government forces alongside African Union peacekeepers have vacated new areas in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia despite threats of takeover by Al-Shabaab militants, Garowe Online reports. Security sources disclose that fears of imminent clashes gripped residents of Awdhegle and Qoryoley, with the latter’s residents fleeing homes. In Awdhegle where Al-Shabaab briefly were overran last month, allied forces began withdrawing late on Wednesday night. Also, Lower Shabelle region town of Qoryoley witnessed similar pullout. As of Thursday morning, people were fleeing homes over possible confrontations for the control of the strategic town. A week ago, militants killed over a dozen African Union peacekeepers in deadliest raid in Lego. Pro Al-Shabaab media reported that militants are heading towards the vacated areas. Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants honed rampages on the onset of the holy month of Ramadan, targeting key government installations and military bases.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Reached ‘Tipping Point,’ Can Secure Peace, U.N. Officials Says
02 July – Source : Thomson Reuters Foundation – 420 Words
Somalia has made “remarkable” progress in the last two years and has reached a “tipping point” where it can secure peace, the chief United Nations official in Somalia said on Thursday. Philippe Lazzarini spoke to reporters in Nairobi as he stepped down after 2-1/2 years as U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, which has been mired in conflict since 1991.”For the first time, a real peace and state-building agenda is on the table and the Somalis are committed, behind it,” he said. “I think a tipping point has been reached to make it happen.” Diplomats and experts note steady, if often slow, gains in rebuilding the state, but say the government still needs to tackle corruption and threats from an Islamist insurgency.Western governments have stepped up support for Somalia since its first elected president in 45 years took office in 2012.
Only parliamentarians were eligible to vote then, and were chosen by community elders. But there are plans to broaden the franchise in nationwide elections in 2016. The initial goal of a popular vote is unlikely to be achieved, but the government is committed to a more inclusive way of picking members of parliament, diplomats say. “Somalia is a positive narrative in the making,” said Lazzarini. “It is one of the optimistic stories in a world falling apart with crisis and conflict.”
Mogadishu has changed dramatically in the last few years, partly as a result of investment by Somalis who have returned home from abroad. “The progress is quite remarkable,” Lazzarini said, pointing to its new airport and hospital.The Somali army and African Union peacekeepers have driven the al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab, which once ruled much of Somalia, out of major strongholds over the last year.
Eden Prairie Residents Represent Somalia At Model UN Conference
02 July – Source: Sun Current – 540 Words
Eden Prairie resident Abdeljabar Sharif was recognized at the Intermediate District 287 Board meeting June 25 in Plymouth. At only 17, Sharif, a junior at West Education Center Academy under the WALT program, is already a world leader. Last month he represented Somalia at the International Model United Nations Conference in New York where, for the first time in 45 years, Somalia was represented. The International Model U.N. Conference brings together students from more than 20 countries to discuss diverse and pressing international issues. According to the press release, Sharif was selected for the role after competing with six male and six female peers and practicing for more than six months in mock arguments. Upon arrival at the conference, he underwent two intense training days at the UN headquarters, reviewing rules and preparing for the general assembly debates.
David Vandenboom, assistant supervisor of the WALT program, said that Sharif’s trip to the U.N. was “an amazing accomplishment.”In his debate, Sharif argued various solutions to bring greater education and wealth to Somali people, namely the needs for an international loan collaborative to pay for building schools, which the nation would gradually pay back. He noted that the country has one of the highest poverty rates in the world and that 95 percent of schools were destroyed during war, resulting in poor living conditions and educational standards for many. According to Sharif, the debate resulted in a resolution between the mock nations of Uganda, Algeria, Kenya and Siberia to prevent poverty and increase educational opportunities in rural areas in Somalia. His team earned eighth place out of 193 countries.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The great struggle for women’s rights in Somalia will require not weapons or stones but vision and ideas. Ideas that might seem foreign, even antithetical to Somali culture but with time will hopefully become as Somali as hilib and caano.”
Remaking Somalia
02 July – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1,459 Words
“The fight starts at home,” Ifrah Ahmed tells me over a crackly cell phone reception. “And I felt that I can be the voice,” she continues with the conviction of a woman who has found her calling in life. An accidental calling, it turns out. In 2008 when Ifrah Ahmed applied for asylum in Ireland, she underwent a mandatory medical examination. She recalls the doctor asking her how she injured her “privates” as she puts it. Ifrah Ahmed says that was the first time she told a stranger about what was done to her as a little girl. “I am a survivor of female genital mutilation…When I went to the hospital I met other women seeking asylum. We were about 18 African girls from different countries. I asked the other girls if they had [the] same experience as me. And the answer was yes. I remember one of the girls who told me that she was circumcised with broken glass.” Ifrah Ahmed looks back at her experience with her fellow African asylum seekers as a turning point; the embryonic stage of her activism. “I say to them, do we have to suffer with silence. They say they did not want to talk about it…I felt that I can be the voice.I have to speak out against it.” And a voice she has become. Since she started speaking out against female genital mutilation, Ifrah Ahmed has traveled across Europe lobbying governments to do more to combat FGM. She has since worked with European Parliament, UNICEF and UNHCR. But she says she felt her voice was most needed in Somalia where she could do her small part to contribute to her fledgling country. In August 2014, Ifrah made the move back home.
Minnesota, Zainab had an epiphany; that whatever talents and skills she possessed were desperately needed in Somalia. “After participating in a National Dialogue on Justice and Rule of Law Conference that was held in Mogadishu in 2013, I was impressed with the development efforts and rebuilding of the country, especially Mogadishu that was taking place, and decided to make contributions toward rebuilding the shattered country and society…The Heritage Institute for Policy Studies contacted me and asked if I would be willing to lead the revival of The National Library initiative which I graciously accepted.” Writer, human rights and social justice activist, Zainab Hassan spent many years living in the United States where she was awarded a Masters of Public Affairs by the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Alongside her work at The National Library in Mogadishu, Zainab Hassan has become an outspoken advocate for a meaningful inclusion of Somali women in the country’s nascent democracy. She sees the lack of full inclusion of women in the country’s political process as a major obstacle to the building of a more equitable society. “Somali women’s quest for political participation has been a longstanding struggle,” Zainab says. Compared to neighbouring countries, Somali women’s involvement in national politics lags way behind. Zainab says this is a critical issue because having a seat at the national table where important decision are made, decisions that directly impact women’s lives, is not just about diversity or equal opportunity. It’s absolutely vital to the development of Somalia as it emerges out of two decades of armed conflict.
A growing body of research shows that when women are empowered as political leaders, a country’s standard of living goes up. Education, infrastructure and health also improve. Zainab Hassan says the time has come for Somali women’s voices to be heard. “Somali woman will not regain their rights unless a collective and concerted struggle and efforts based on shared consciousness of oppression is waged.” In early June 2015, at a glitzy event in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Zainab Hassan along with several other Somali women launched the Somali Gender Equity Movement (SGEM) which she describes as “a global movement of Somali women who have united to advocate for gender equity in Somalia.”