July 30, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Somali president calls on Somali journalists to support new press law

30 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/al Shahid/SNTV/Raxanreeb – 139 words

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud has called on journalists to support the new press law, in a meeting with journalists at the presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu.

He said that the Somali government has always sought to defend the rights of journalists and protect their security, stressing the need to activate the press law, and pointed out that without the law, the government cannot correct errors and irregularities in the field of media.

He stressed that the government is working to make adjustments in the controversial items in the Press Law, referring to the commission of a joint committee comprising government officials and experts in the media for that matter. He urged the Ministry of Information to show flexibility in the matter, also called on journalists to support the press law.

Key Headlines

Somali president calls on Somali journalists to support new press law (Radio Mogadishu/al Shahid/SNTV/Raxanreeb)
Somali legislators will debate motion on Political parties (Radio Mustaqbal)
Somali Minister: Government will form new administration for Lower Shabelle (Somalia Today)
Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed assures Somali asylum-seekers repatriation ‘will be safe (Standard Media)
Ankara had security concerns before al Shabaab attack (Hurriyet Daily News)
Al Shabaab fighters kill pastoralist in Hiiraan region (Bar-kulan)
Somalia: Deportees from Sweden and Holland Turned Back (Somaliland Sun/SNTV)
Kenya court annuls govt order to move urban refugees (Business Daily Africa)
Memorial held for Turkish officer killed in Somalia mission bombing (Hurriyet Daily News)
Eritrea ‘continues support’ to Somalia’s al Shabaab says Ethiopia (Sudan Tribune)
France condemns suicide attack on Turkish embassy in Somalia (Antolia News Agency)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali president calls on Somali journalists to support new press law

30 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/al Shahid/SNTV/Raxanreeb – 139 words

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud has called on journalists to support the new press law, in a meeting with journalists at the presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu.

Somali legislators will debate motion on Political parties

30 Jul – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 128 words

The legislators of Somalia’s Federal Parliament are supposed in the coming hours to debate the rules of Political parties in House of Parliament.

The agenda of the meeting of the members of the parliament will be ” Debating on rules and principles of political parties of the State”.

The Speaker of Somali parliament Prof. Mohamed Osman Jawari chairing on Monday’s parliament meeting told that it is very important to be fully debated the rules of political parties of the country since the political parties will be relm of power in the country. The members of the parliament have already approved different rules which the cabinet submitted.

Somali Minister: Government will form new administration for Lower Shabelle

30 Jul – Source: Somalia Today – 133 words

The Minister of Interior and National Security Abdikarim Hussein Guled said that the current administration of Lower Shabelle province will be changed, the province has recently experienced armed tribal clashes.

Guled answered on Sunday several questions related to the conflict of Lower Shabelle when he appeared before Parliament, pointing out that they managed to broker truce between the different parties in the region.

Guled denied government forces participation in the battles between the two clans in the province, explaining that the battles took place between clan militias in the region, adding that the battle began from illegal checkpoints placed between the cities of Marka and Afgoye. According to the minister, the government is planning to hold a conciliatory conference in Mogadishu which aim to form a new administration for the province.

Al Shabaab fighters kill pastoralist in Hiiraan region

30 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan – 156 words

Reports from central Somalia indicates that al Shabaab militant group gunned down a civilian pastoralist in Moqokori areas of Mahas district in Hiiraan region late on Monday evening.

Confirming the incident, Hiiraan police boss Col Isaq Ali Abdulla said that Ahmed Makaran Abdi (better known as Jocar) was shot dead by the rebel fighters after looting his livestock on Monday; the rebel group is also reported to have wounded his young daughter.

Col Isaq added that the move by the militants is intended to damage civilians. The motive behind the killing of Late Ahmed Makaran remain unknown but residents told Bar-kulan that he attended a battle that had previously flared between locals and fighters loyal to al Shabaab insurgents in Moqokori areas.

Illegal buildings demolished in Kaaraan district

30 Jul – Source: Radio Dalsan/Risaala/Mustaqbal – 140 words

Police forces and local government officials started campaign to demolish the illegal structures and roadblocks made by the residents in Kaaraan district. The campaign which entered its second leg in the eastern parts of Mogadishu came amid large operation to restore security and the view of the city officially announced by the mayor.

Kaaraan district commissioner Abdullahi Ali said that the police demolished more than two hundreds illegal structures at the district. He said the commissioner’s office already gave warnings to those who made the illegal structures and that some of them followed the orders but the police demolished those who remained defiant.

Somali capital city, Mogadishu is getting its good view as the local government and sanitation unit continue to remove the garbage from the public places and as well as the demolition of illegal buildings continue.

Somalia: Deportees from Sweden and Holland Turned Back

30 Jul – Source: Somaliland Sun/SNTV – 115 words

An airplane carrying Somalis deported from Holland and Sweden has recently been turned back from Mogadishu airport The Somali nationality and Immigration directorate have recently returned back an airplane carrying Somali youth deportees from Holland and Sweden , according to local Somali websites.

General Abdillahi Gaafo who is the director of Immigration said that ” it is illegal to send youth back to the country without any notification to the Somali government and without indicating the reasons behind their deportation” .

Any forced return of Somalis by these countries should be prior to talks between these countries and Somalia and with prior agreement by the Somali government on the return of deportees to the country, the general concluded .

Two children dead in Balanbale areas after gunpowder consumption

29 Jul – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 105 words

Two children reportedly killed in an area near Balanbale district of Galgadud region in central Somalia after they had swallowed gunpowder. Speaking to Bar-kulan, deputy commissioner of Balanbale district Mohamud Mohamed Abdi Isturaye confirmed the death of the two children after swallowed gunpowder.

Another child who has also consumed gunpowder has been hospitalized in Balanbale hospital. The areas commissioner stated that the three children hail from the same family.

Thousands of landmines and other unexploded ordnance or gun powder scattered in parts of Somalia over past decades of conflict are emerging as a threat to the civilians in many parts of Galgadud.

Farole appoints Abdishakur Mire as state minister for ports and anti-piracy

30 Jul – Source: Radio Dalsan/Wehel media – 169 words

The president of Puntland Abdurrahman Mohamed Farole has on Monday appointed Abdishakur Mire Adam as the State Minister for Ports and anti-piracy in the region. In a decree dated 28th July 2013 from his office, the regional president said that Abdishakur Mire has the experience to serve as the state minister for the ministry of ports and anti-piracy.

“After having seen his experience and the need for establishing such position, the president of Puntland state of Somalia has announced to name Mr Abdishakur Mire Adam as the state minister for ports, transportation, fishery and anti-piracy of Puntland.” the decree said.

Mr Mire has been serving as deputy minister and once as a minister as he has got involved in the regional administration for the past ten years. The renowned and veteran journalist is seen as close ally to president Farole and his family and has never been fired from his cabinet position since 2009 when president took office.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed assures Somali asylum-seekers repatriation ‘will be safe

30 Jul – Source: The Standard Media – 373 Words

Kenya has assured Somali refugees of an orderly repatriation that would guarantee their security as it resettles them in their homeland. The assurance comes amid growing resistance for the asylum-seekers to freely move back home — which has been ravaged by civil wars but is now enjoying relative calm — even as the State finds it impossible to use force in pushing them back home.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said a conference on the repatriation of the refugees would be held next month to plan how the emigrants would be resettled back in Somalia. “ Kenya is working closely with the Government of Somalia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to develop modalities for safe, orderly, sustainable repatriation and resettlement of Somali refugees,” she said while addressing an inter-ministerial committee yesterday.

She sought allays fears Kenya was keen on pushing out the refugees without a clear execution plan. Even with the planned conference on repatriation, the refugees living in Nairobi won a rare respite last week when the High Court blocked the State from forcefully edging them out, arguing that it would amount to violation of their dignity.

Eritrea ‘continues support’ to Somalia’s al Shabaab, says Ethiopia

30 Jul – Source: Sudan Tribune – 427 words

In fresh allegations made by Ethiopia on Monday, the East African nation said that efforts to maintain peace and stability in Somalia is taking longer due to Eritrea’s continued support of the Islamist militia group, al Shabaab. The Ethiopian government said despite ongoing efforts by regional governments and the African Union peacekeeping force (AMISOM), Eritrea continues to undermine peace efforts in war-ravaged Somalia.

“Although relative peace and security is gained in Somalia, Eritrea didn’t reduce its support to al Shabaab and remains to be a destabilising influence”, Ethiopia’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Dina Mufti, told Sudan Tribune.

“Eritrea continues to violate UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the country absolutely remains to be a regional security threat”, he added. The Ethiopian government said it has its own, as well as international evidence to support its latest allegations against the secretive Red Sea nation.

Kenya court annuls govt order to move urban refugees

30 Jul – Source: Business Daily Africa – 435 words

The High Court has nullified a government directive that ordered refugees living in urban areas to return to camps. Justice David Majanja ruled that the directive, issued on 18th December 2012 and 16th January 2013, threatens the rights and fundamental freedoms of the refugees as vulnerable group of the society.

The government issued the orders following a spate of attacks in Kenya’s northeastern Somali regions as well as in the capital Nairobi, with several blasts in the largely ethnic Somali district of Eastleigh.

Somalia: Turkey to stay put despite deadly attack

29 Jul – Source: Africa Review – 512 words

Turkey remains keen on working in recovering Somalia despite becoming a target of Islamic militant group al Shabaab. The country Sunday flagged off a flagship road project that would see it rebuild the 23-kilometre long road from Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport to Km Zero, a landmark position in the capital’s north.

Spearheaded by the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA), the road passes through the strategic Km 4 roundabout and Villa Somalia, the state house in Mogadishu. The project took off just hours after a major compound used by Turkish workers and diplomats was attacked by a suicide mission claimed by al Shabaab Saturday. Al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Raghe alis Ali Dhere claimed a tally of six Turkish officials and 15 wounded.

However the Turkish embassy said that it had lost one guard while those wounded were airlifted for treatment in Turkey. A university student passing by a two Somali sentries were also killed, according to government sources.

Somalis shocked by al Shabaab attack on Turkish ‘Muslim brothers’

29 Jul – Source: Sabahi Online – 1301 words

Al Shabaab is keeping to its promise to inflict violence during Ramadan with its latest attack against the Turkish Embassy complex in Mogadishu at the weekend. Somali and Turkish leaders immediately condemned the July 27th attack, and vowed that it would not shake their resolve to fight terrorism and build on the partnership the two countries have forged over the past few years.

At least six people were killed in the attack, including a Turkish security guard, two Somali civilians and three al Shabaab militants, local embassy staffer Abdi Mohamed told Sabahi. Nine people were injured, including four members of the Turkish security force that was charged with protecting the complex.

The attack started when an al Shabaab suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at the entrance of the complex. Two armed al Shabaab fighters then tried to enter the complex but were intercepted by Turkish security forces and killed before they gained access to the building, according to local employees working with the Turkish mission who spoke with Sabahi.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Ankara had security concerns before al Shabaab attack

30 Jul – Source: Hürriyet Daily News – 525 Words

Ankara had been anxious for some time with the worry that Turkish officials could be targeted by al Shabaab in Somalia due to Turkey’s engagement in efforts for the political restructuring of the country and to provide humanitarian aid to the Somali people.

Previous attacks against the Turkish Red Crescent (KÄ±zÄ±lay) and Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) officials in Somalia were indications of such a threat, a Turkish official told the Hürriyet Daily News. An officer from the TIKA was injured on October 2012 in clashes between two groups in Galkayo city in Somalia.

In April, several Somalis were killed and three Turkish officers injured when a humanitarian convoy of KÄ±zÄ±lay was hit in a bomb attack by al Shabaab in Mogadishu. The attack came at a time when Somali President Sheikh Hassan Mohamud was in Ankara for a summit with the president of the autonomous region of Somaliland Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo, led under the Turkish mediation, to bring together the two states.

Kenyan Security Unit to Guard Vanoil, Afren Assets in North (1)

30 Jul – Source: Business Week – 453 words

Kenya has created a security unit to protect oil exploration sites in its strife-prone north where companies including Vanoil Energy Ltd. (VEL) are searching for petroleum, a senior government official said.

The region, which borders Somalia and Ethiopia, has been hit by frequent grenade and gun attacks since the country sent its army into southern Somalia in Oct. 2011 in pursuit of al Qaeda-linked rebels trying to impose Islamic law. Kenya has accused al Shabaab of carrying out attacks on foreigners in its north including the kidnapping of aid workers and tourists.

Memorial held for Turkish officer killed in Somalia mission bombing

30 Jul – Source: Hurriyet Daily News – 117 words

A memorial service was held today for a Turkish special forces agent killed in a car bombing attack at the Turkish mission in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Sinan YÄ±lmaz. The ceremony was held in Amasya, where he last served, and attended by his colleagues, his family and government officials.

After an autopsy conducted at the Forensic Institute in Ankara, his body was transferred via a helicopter to the Security Directorate in the Black Sea province of Amasya July 29, where the ceremony was held.

42-year-old YÄ±lmaz was killed as a car loaded with explosives rammed into the gates of an office housing Turkish embassy staff in the Somali capital July 27, also wounding three other officers.

France condemns suicide attack on Turkish embassy in Somalia

30 Jul – Source: Anatolia News Agency – 99 words

France has condemned Saturday’s attack on a Turkish Embassy annex in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. French Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted in a statement that they strongly condemned the suicide attack held on Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu.

It was underscored that France was being in solidarity with the families of the victims and the governments of Turkey and Somalia. It was added that France would continue supporting the efforts of Somali government in order to place peace and security.

Deputy PM Bozdag visits wounded Turkish guards

29 Jul – Source: World Bulletin News – 92 words

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Monday that Turkey would continue the humanitarian aid to Somali people in the future. Bozdag visited the Turkish guards wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a Turkish Embassy annex in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday.

“Turkey will continue the humanitarian aid to Somali people in the future. We will also continue to stand by Somali people, who are in dire straits,” said Bozdag. Bozdag conveyed the Turkish President Gul’s and PM Erdogan’s best wishes for speedy recovery to the wounded guards.

‘Somalia attack shows that Turkey stepped on someone’s foot’: Parliament Speaker

29 Jul – Source: Hürriyet Daily News/Anadolu Agency – 219 Words

Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek paid a visit to the wounded police officers at an Ankara hospital on July 30, condemning the attack on a Turkish Embassy annex in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Çiçek said the attack showed that Turkey’s humanitarian actions in the country “disturbed some circles.”

“We understand that we stepped on someone’s foot, because Turkey is becoming more and more effective in that region every other day. Turkey is trying to increase the living standards there through humanitarian projects and other ways and methods,” he told reporters.

“One of our security guards was martyred there [at the embassy]. Four others were brought to this hospital by our government for their further treatment. We came to say ‘get well soon,’” Cicek said, adding that the wounded were recovering.

The Parliament speaker stressed that Turkey was performing humanitarian duties in Somalia. “Turkey is doing what is necessary for a friendly country. We know that there are some powers that are uncomfortable with Turkey’s facilities and efforts in that region. Unfortunately, they used terrorist organizations once again to block Turkey’s African openings,” Çiçek said.

A New, Dangerous Job in Mogadishu: Tax Collector

29 Jul – Source: AP – 773 Words

The Somali traders in Mogadishu’s markets have long faced down Islamist rebels and warlords demanding money. Now they say there is a new predator: the government tax man.

Militias extorted cash from civilians during much of the last two decades of chaos. Now Mogadishu has a government in place, but shopkeepers view the taxman as the latest in a long line of troublemakers.

That makes tax collection one of the riskier jobs in Mogadishu: Five tax collectors have been killed so far this year, following the killings of 10 last year, according to the director of Mogadishu’s municipal council, Abdullahi Artan.

“In some places, if you go without security escorts you’re going to take risks,” said Ali Haji, a tax collector. “Some of my colleagues were killed because of their work. Very many people don’t like our work.”

The idea of paying taxes for social services seems outlandish in a nation where few have seen functioning hospitals or schools. But if the Somali government is ever to wean itself off foreign aid and provide social services to its people, the taxman will have to persuade business leaders to pay their part.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Patch went to Minneapolis’ Suuqa Karmel, a popular Somali shopping center, with Hopkins resident Fartun Weli to learn about the importance of Ramadan.”

‘A Time to Cleanse’: Somalis Share What Ramadan Means to Them

29 Jul – Source: Hopkins Patch – 508 Words

Each day from July 8 through Aug. 7, Mohamed Ismail stops eating before the sun rises. Like other Islamic believers during Ramadan, he endures the heat and everyday challenges without food.

It’s only when the sun sets that he can at last break his fast. He and his loved ones come together for an iftar meal where they enjoy Somali food, family and relief from the hunger they felt throughout the day. Yet that hunger isn’t unwanted.

“As a person, it makes me merciful. You get an easy feeling, comfortable,” Ismail said during a Thursdayinterview at Minneapolis’ Suuqa Karmel, a popular Somali shopping center. “If you fast, you will feel how the other people feel, the people who do not have anything to eat.”

To many outsiders, Ramadan is all about food—or the lack thereof. But to the devout, including west metro Somalis, the fasting and other rituals are a path to religious growth and holiness. “It’s a spiritual thing,” said Zahra Hassan. “A lot of people think it’s only about food. … It’s more about you getting closer to God.” Sawm—or fasting during Ramadan—is one of the five pillars of Islam.

“There is no shortage of learned Puntlanders. They are all over the world and inside Puntland. There is a total brain-freeze though among these talented intellectuals. Their challenge is : they only see the bigger picture of Somalia, ignoring Puntland altogether. By the way, this is the problem of successive Puntland leaders as well-never concentrating on Puntland development as the first historic and founding pillar of Federal Somalia, for someone’s perspective, one of the first Mandates of the creation of Puntland State.”

Puntland Chronic Political Paralysis Is a Result of Intellectual Bankruptcy

28 Jul – Source: Wardheer News – 1154 Words

Puntland State of Somalia suspends its planned and ill-prepared multi-party elections, following local political violence where scores of people lost their lives and many others were hurt. The ruling political elite, who initially half-heartedly embraced the idea of pluralism on “My way or the highway” approach by using the instruments of political coercion, intimidation of public servants and use of public resources in a desperate attempt to stay in power or extend their term in power, has to fall back on the State’s political founding formula of sub-clan power-sharing through traditional selection process of members of Parliament along sub-clan lines, a scenario appropriate then at height of the Somalia’s Civil War, but no longer valid after nearly two decades of local self-government, a political stagnation and paralysis of vicious circle that Puntland State is unable to grow out of it.

The multi-party experiment, or as they call it, Democratization Process, was meant to fail as it was hastily ill-prepared for an already pre-determined election outcome in favor of the ruling group, thus creating the seeds of political confrontations and violent reactions to the government political maneuvering. Fragile, poorly-prepared and ill-equipped new political parties and the masses rightly noticed that there could be no fair play in the process as they also saw and predicted the danger of destabilization and threats to peace in Puntland.

Top tweets

@MFATurkey #UN Secretary-General condemns the terrorist attack on #Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu #Somalia http://bit.ly/13sGvyg via @UN_Spokesperson.

@neptune_ms Spanish Navy’s First UAV to Spy on Somali Pirates http://bit.ly/13uEQIA #pirates #somalia via@OCEANUSLive.

@Ternafi UN report: Somali pirates are turning to a new business model: providing “security” for ships illegally plundering #Somalia‘s fish stocks.

@OCHASom Sister #Somalia co-founder Fartuun Adan talks to@CNN, helping victims of sexual assault http://bit.ly/1c94Fr6 @UNHCRSom @unicefsomalia.

@amisomsomalia QUOTE OF THE DAY: #Mogadishu is on the road to recovery; My trip to Mogadishu http://on.fb.me/QqTSeN ,http://bit.ly/1bEv0hj w

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Image of the day

Image of the day A memorial service held for Turkish officer Sinan YÄ±lmaz who was killed in a bombing attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Photo: Hurriyet Daily News.