July 8, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Somali PM launches Media Law Consultation Conference

08 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu- 172 words

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed along with his Information Minister Mustafa Sheikh Ali Dhuhulow Monday launched a three-day consultation conference on Media Law organized by the Ministry of Information in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Hundreds of media professionals and representatives of civil society groups are participating in the conference.

Somali Prime Minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed called on media fraternity and Somali journalists to support the proposed media law in which he said will protect the rights of the journalists.

He said that Somali media professionals need to work with the government in its efforts to defeat those who attempt to undermine the work and the rights of the journalists.

Meanwhile, Somali Information Minister, Mustafa Sheikh Ali Dhuhulow said that several clauses deemed inappropriate by media fraternity have been rectified accordingly.

He also urged media practitioners who are participating in the conference to express their opinions in a bid to get all parties satisfied with the new media law.

Key Headlines

Somali PM launches Media Law Consultation Conference (Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV)
Somali military court sentences al Shabab bomber to death penalty (Radio Mogadishu/Al Shahid)
Armed men gun down former MP in Mogadishu (Radio Goobjoog/Radio Kulmiye)
Somali security forces carry out operations in Mogadishu (Radio Bar-kulan)
AMISOM government troops hunt gunmen who killed soldiers in Jowhar (Radio Dalsan)
Somali police force to attend three month training course in Djibouti (Radio Goobjoog)
First captain of Somali national soccer team dies in Mogadishu (Radio Dalsan/Radio Kulmiye)
Somaliland Foreign Minister receives Turkish Special envoy (Somaliland Informer)
Thousands flee Lamu and Tana River hotspots after fresh wave of killings (Standard Media)
Parliament for the Six Regions Sworn in in Baidoa (Radio Dalsan/Radio Risaala)
UN and NGOs focus more on securing funding than relief effort says MSF (The Guardian)
Kenya Muslims start online Iftar program for refugees in Kasarani camp (Somali Current)
Somali Ministry of Women launches training on gender-based violence (Sabahi Online)
One killed in grenade attack in northeastern Kenyan town (AFP/Times/News24)
UAE water projects worldwide surpass Dh1bn in 61 countries (Emirates247/WAM)
Police in Kilifi arrest seven MRC members (KBC)
East Africa Powerhouse Kenya Shaken as Attacks Politics Mix (Bloomberg)

PRESS STATEMENT

Minister of Information Praises Latest Consultation Conference on Media Law in Mogadishu

08 Jul – Source: Ministry of Information – 259 words

H.E. Mustafa Duhulow, the Minister of Information today spoke at the two day latest consultation conference on the Media Law, held in the City Plaza Hotel in Mogadishu and attended by over 100 media professionals and representatives of civil society groups. H.E. Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Somalia attended the conference and was keynote speaker.

The Minister of Information said: “The new Media Law is a modern, dynamic piece of legislation that will protect media practitioners and the people alike, one that will create a vibrant and free media environment in Somalia. Freedom of speech is a fundamental part of a free society and a free press and media is a key component of freedom of speech.”

The Minister continued: “This two day consultation completes the process of regional discussion of the Media Law, a process that has taken us INSERT TOWNS. Now, finally, the process returns to the seat of government, Mogadishu, for the Banadir region consultation. This ensures that representatives of the media, civil society, the government including the security apparatus and the people of Somalia have all had the opportunity to discuss the new Media Law and what it means for them.”

The Minister concluded: “It is now our intention to present the Media Law to the Cabinet in the next few days and subsequently to the Parliament for ratification. After that we will implement the law and give Somalia a media sector it can be truly proud of, one that protects both freedom of speech and the rights of the individual.”

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali PM launches Media Law Consultation Conference

08 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/Radio Daljar/Radio Simba- 172 words

Hundreds of media professionals and representatives of civil society groups are participating in the conference.

Somali Prime Minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed called on media fraternity and Somali journalists to support the proposed media law in which he said will protect the rights of the journalists.

He said that Somali media professionals need to work with the government in its efforts to defeat those who attempt to undermine the work and the rights of the journalists.

Meanwhile, Somali Information Minister, Mustafa Sheikh Ali Dhuhulow said that several clauses deemed inappropriate by media fraternity have been rectified accordingly.

He also urged media practitioners who are participating in the conference to express their opinions in a bid to get all parties satisfied with the new media law.

Somali military court sentences al Shabab bomber to death penalty

08 Jul- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Al Shahid/Universaltv/SNTV- 180 words

Liban Ali Yarow, Somali military court chairman, sentenced on Monday Awiye Ahmed Jama’ to death penalty after he confirmed to the court he is member of al Shabaab and was behind bomb attack of popular hotel in Mogadishu last year.

“Awiye Ahmed Jama’ told the court he is member of al Shabaab. He also acknowledged that he was the bomber behind an explosion in hotel Maka Al-Mukarama. He is criminal so the court sentenced him to death penalty”, Somali military court chairman announced.

Awiye Ahmed Jama’ admitted that he was one who denoted an explosive laden laptop in the hotel on November 8, 2013.

On the same day, a car bomb attack outside Maka Almukarama hotel killed at least six people and left the area covered with blood and burning vehicles. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the blast.

Armed men gun down former MP in Mogadishu

08 Jul- Source: Radio Goobjoog/Radio Kulmiye/Radio Mustaqbal- 103 words

Gunmen have shot dead a former member of transitional federal parliament of Somalia in Dharkenley district of Benadir region on Tuesday. Witness told Radio Goobjoog that two young men armed with pistols shot dead the former lawmaker and immediately disappeared. The motive behind the murder of the MP is not clearly but it is part of the string of assassinations that has been going on in the capital, Mogadishu since the start of the holy month of Ramadan. No one has claimed the responsibility of the murder and the federal government of Somalia has declined to give comment about the murder.

Somali security forces carry out operations in Mogadishu

08 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 113 words

Somali security forces are carrying out security operations in the Somali capital, Mogadishu to beef up the security of the capital in the face of increased attacks and killings.

Bar-kulan correspondent in Mogadishu reported that parts of Maka Al-Mukarama road, one of the major roads in the capital have been cordoned off by security forces for security reasons.

Most operations are being conducted in Hamarweyne and Weberi districts where vehicles and people are stopped for searches, according to the correspondent.

These operations came at a time when Mogadishu witnesses increased attacks and organized killings. Al Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility of many of the attacks.

AMISOM, government troops hunt gunmen who killed soldiers in Jowhar

08 Jul- Source: Radio Dalsan- 102 words

AMISOM and government troops are doing investigations in west of Jowhar District following the killing of soldiers by unidentified gunmen in that town Monday night. However, so far they have not managed to catch any suspect for the crime. Those soldiers killed were three in number. This was the first time soldiers are killed by unknown people in the west of Jowhar. The administration of the Lower Shabelle Region are expected to talk about the incident in the next few hours. However, the killing has left the residents worried for safety in the month of Ramadhan

Somali police force to attend three month training course in Djibouti

08 Jul- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 89 words

A good number of Somali police forces departed from Adan Adde international airport for a three month training course in Djibouti. The training course was organized by the police component of African Union mission in Somalia in conjunction with the Italian Carabineri.

AMISOM troops have been working Somali police force and federal government of Somalia, Somali police force were trained in the fields of crime prevention strategies, criminal investigation techniques, human rights, traffic management and human rights.

First captain of Somali national soccer team dies in Mogadishu

08 Jul- Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Kulmiye- 104 words

The first captain of the Somali National Soccer Team Mr. Mohamed Khalaf Adan Shangole passed on Tuesday morning in Mogadishu. The former captain was ill and admitted at a hospital in Mogadishu where he died after a short illness. He was living in Jowhar town and was only a week ago when he was brought to Mogadishu for treatment. Mr. Shangole joined Somalia’s sports when it was difficult and that was even before the independence. Before his death, he was the representative for the Center for Community Awareness i.e. CCA in Middle Shabelle Region.

Somaliland Foreign Minister receives Turkish Special envoy

07 Jul – Source: Somaliland Informer – 139 words

Somaliland Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation Hon. Mohamed Bihi Yonis received at his office Turkish Special Envoy to Somaliland Mr. Muzaffer Yuksel who is on working visit to Hargeisa according to a press statement released from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Bihi held talks with Mr. Muzaffer Yuksel and the new envoy who met the foreign Minister meant to introduce him to Somaliland officials. The two held discussions focusing on the bilateral ties between Somaliland & Turkey.

They also spoke on the projects that Turkey is implementing in Somaliland and the first thing that they will do is to revamp the country’s major hospitals.

Mr. Muzaffer Yuksel told that he came to Somaliland to learn a lot which he did not know prior to his visit to Hargeisa. He stated that he is happy to pay visit to Somaliland.

Parliament for the Six Regions Sworn in in Baidoa

08 Jul- Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Risaala- 114 words

A parliament for the controversial six regions state was sworn in in Baidoa town. This comes at a time when there is dispute between that administration and the recently recognized administration of the three regions.

The members of the new parliament for the six regions aka the South-west State of Somalia are needed to work for their territory by their administration. Hundreds of Baidoa residents attended the swearing in ceremony. So far 120 MPs were sworn in out of 155. According to members in that administration, the rest will be sworn in at a later date.

Despite all this swearing in, the government already said it doesn’t recognize the six regions’ state.

Kenya Muslims start online Iftar program for refugees in Kasarani camp

07 Jul – Source: Somali Current – 206 words

Passionate young Kenyan Muslims have embarked on online campaign to provide iftar to Muslims refugees still detained at Kasarani concentration camp in the outskirts of the capital Nairobi.
Speaking to Somali Current Najda Khan a human rights activist who’s online campaign to highlight the plight of the prisoners at the centre and provide Iftar during the entire holy month of Ramadan has called upon muslims in the country to take part in the noble campaign during the holy month of Ramadan.

“We have been able to supply food for approximately 50 people everyday, this includes suhur for the fasting Muslims and will continue through the holy month Inshallah,” she said “We have furnished women with a clean set of clothes, sanitary towels. Many require basic medication e.g. pain killers, theres an asthmatic detainee requires a pump, the children require cough syrup etc,” she added.

She also requested Muslim leaders in the country to boycott President Uhuru Kenyatta’s planned invitation of iftar to Muslims in the state house in the coming days to highlight the grievances of those still detained in the camp. according to Somali ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Noor has said there only four Somalis still in the camp for investigation related case.

REGIONAL MEDIA

UAE water projects worldwide surpass Dh1bn in 61 countries

08 Jul- Source: Emirates247/WAM- 350 words

Despite the notable progress in achieving the seventh goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): Ensure Environmental Sustainability, which aims to reduce the loss of the environmental resources and biodiversity, improving access to water supplies and sanitation services, and improve the livelihoods of the slum dwellers; there are, still, 748 million people around the world don’t have access to safe and clean drinking water, according to a report issued today by Ministry of International Cooperation and Development (MICAD).

1,400 children are dying, every day, because of the water-borne diseases due to the contaminated water or insufficient sanitation facilities.

Top recipient countries of water projects includes: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Somalia and Sudan. In addition to water projects in West Africa countries, such as Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Burundi, who have received assessed support for water projects.

Police in Kilifi arrest seven MRC members

08 Jul – Source: KBC – 171 words

Police in Kilifi County over the weekend arrested seven Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) members as the crackdown against members of the group intensifies. The seven who were in possession of crude weapons and witchcraft paraphernalia were arrested by a combined force of Administration and Regular police.

Kilifi County Commissioner Albert Kobia Mwangi told journalists that they had intelligence reports that members of the group are planning to cause chaos. Speaking at Kaya Chonyi forest Commissioner Mwangi said locals are decrying the fact that the activities of MRC are hampering development in the area.

Kobia cautioned the group and its sympathizers that the government will not relent in its quest to ensure peace prevails in Coast region.

On Sunday Deputy Inspector General of Police Grace Kaindi said MRC was behind Saturday night killings in Gamba and Hindi villages in Lamu County where 21 people including 5 inmates were killed.
This is despite the claim by Somalia’s al Shabaab militants and confirmations by survivors that the attackers were speaking in Somali and broken Swahili.

Thousands flee Lamu and Tana River hotspots after fresh wave of killings

07 Jul – Source: Standard Media – 102 words

Thousands of residents have fled their homes in violence-scarred Hindi in Lamu County and Gamba in Tana River County following the killing of 21 people on Saturday night.

And a multi-agency security operation has been launched in the affected areas. Besides regular police forces, The Standard has established that special paramilitary and military forces were dropped by two helicopters around Hindi and Boni forest where militants behind recent killings are believed to be hiding.

According to the Kenya Red Cross and Government officials, the victims were fleeing to the local prison compound in Hindi, Mpeketoni, and other towns outside the two counties.

Somali Ministry of Women launches training on gender-based violence

07 Jul- Source: Sabahi Online- 214 words

Somali Ministry of Women and Human Rights in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and United Nations Children’s Fund opened a three-day training in Mogadishu Sunday (July 6th) on ways to combat gender-based violence (GBV), Somalia’s Goobjoog News reported.

More than 50 women will receive capacity building training in responding to GBV, including rape. The training opened after the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) formed a Female Peacekeepers’ Network charged with looking after issues related to women and children in Somalia, AMISOM said in a statement on Saturday.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

One killed in grenade attack in northeastern Kenyan town

08 Jul- Source: AFP/Times/News24-409 Words

At least one person was killed and several injured when gunmen hurled a grenade in a restaurant in Kenya’s restive northeastern town of Wajir, before spraying the building with bullets and escaping, police saidTuesday.

“The victims were rushed to Wajir district hospital… one of the injured people succumbed to his bullet wounds,” Wajir police chief David Kuria said.

No one claimed immediate responsibility for the killing late Monday, the latest in a string of attacks along Kenya’s border region with war-torn Somalia.

Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab have launched attacks in the area, but the region has also witnessed weeks of revenge attacks between rival Somali clans, with at least 80 killed since May in fighting over land and grazing for livestock.

The remote, rural region is one of Kenya’s most volatile areas, awash with guns and armed bandits. The Shebab have claimed responsibility for earlier attacks, saying they were in retaliation for Kenya’s military presence in Somalia as part of the African Union force supporting the country’s fragile and internationally-backed government.

East Africa Powerhouse Kenya Shaken as Attacks, Politics Mix

08 Jul- Source: Bloomberg-956 Words

Deadly attacks and deepening political unrest are threatening Kenya’s reputation as an island of stability in East Africa. Almost 250 people have died in attacks across the country since September, when al Qaeda-linked militants raided the Westgate Mall in the capital, Nairobi, and killed 67 people. Ethnic tensions are also stirring memories of violence that followed disputed elections almost seven years ago, with the opposition organizing a series of rallies over the past month.

The slaughter of at least 22 people at villages on Kenya’s coast last weekend highlighted the crisis. While the country serves as the East African hub of companies such as Google Inc. (GOOGLE) and sold its debut Eurobond last month, a further deterioration in Kenya’s security situation may undermine investor confidence.

“The security issues now from terrorism, to community clashes over resources, general crime in the country and political tension are unprecedented and government capacity to deal with it is stretched,” Robert Bunyi, managing director of Nairobi-based Mavuno Capital, said by phone yesterday.

UN and NGOs focus more on securing funding than relief effort, says MSF

07 Jul- Source: The Guardian-582 Words

The UN and international NGOs are failing to respond to humanitarian emergencies despite having more resources at their disposal than ever before, a medical charity has warned. In a damning report that criticises crisis management in urgent situations such as conflict and mass displacement, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says many organisations are more concerned with risk aversion and securing funding than providing a serious relief effort.

“While it is core business for the humanitarian system, emergency response capacity has been undervalued and under-prioritised,” the report says. A lack of technical capacity plagues current responses to humanitarian emergencies, it adds.

In recent years, many NGOs have rebranded as more generalist development agencies, and there are fewer focusing on specific aspects of emergency response. This has compounded the problem, the report adds. “In some cases, we found that technical capacities were not as they should be, for example, in health, water and sanitation, or assistance to victims of sexual violence,” MSF says.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“If Somalia experiences a drought , the ability to wire money will grow even more important to Somali-Americans and their families back home. And aid groups say if the money wiring problem is resolved, they’ll be able to spend less time lobbying — and more time trying to prevent another famine in Somalia.”

As Wire Transfer Options Dwindle, Somali-Americans Fear A Lost Lifeline

08 Jul- Source: NPR Blog-480 Words

Somali-Americans may soon find it harder to provide economic support to their homeland: One of the last banks to facilitate cash transfers to Somalia is getting out of the business. As the East African country faces a potential drought and famine this summer, those cash transfers might grow even more important. That’s why the Somali-American community in Minnesota — the largest in the U.S. — is lobbying Washington to find a way to keep the cash lifeline intact.

The cash transfers in question are used by Somali-Americans like 28-year-old Goth Ali, who supports family members back home. Ali works at a cell phone store in Minneapolis, in a Somali shopping mall where you can get everything from traditional clothing and rugs to lunch and a haircut.

At the mall’s three money service businesses, you can wire cash anywhere in the world, through the money transfer system called hawala. Ali says every month he sends $400 to $500 to his siblings, including an older brother in Somalia who, despite owning a small business there, struggles to make ends meet.

“Choice of a site close to the barracks for an attack has great publicity value. More attacks on barracks, churches, schools, markets, entertainment centres, have followed Mogadishu. Nigerians are worried about the regularity of the attacks and the flippant approaches of governments to the challenge.”

Remembering Mogadishu

08 Jul- Source: Vanguard (Nigeria)-448 Words

IT is ironical the cantonment in Abuja where a blast killed and injured people in a 2010 pre-New Year revel is named Mogadishu after the capital of Somalia, which has had no central government since General Mahammad Siad Barre was over thrown in 1991. Scores of secessions saw to disintegration of a territory Ethiopians, French, British, Italians and Russians fancied at several points in its history. Barre’s dictatorship lasted 22 years.

Mogadishu was theatre of a war in 1992 in which Nigerian soldiers played prominent roles in rescuing United States soldiers (part of a United Nations force) whom Somalis disgraced out of the city. Since then Mogadishu has become synonymous with lawlessness.

The cantonment in Abuja was initially Sani Abacha Barracks, its mammy market, by the cantonment gate, scene of the blasts, was a relaxation point for officers and civilians on their way from work.

“Fragile states require the support of the international community in providing the very services most citizens in the developed world take for granted. Determining what states need the most help is an important first step to providing that help.”

From Fragile to Failed: Troubled Countries Across Africa

08 Jul- Source: AFK Insider-943 Words

What makes a country? Is it merely the existence of a definite land mass with borders? Must the government be able to defend those borders? What of its population? Must it have a permanent citizenry and/or be able to provide them services? Infrastructure? Shelter? Water? Food? Economic opportunity?

In the eyes of international law this has always been a difficult test. In 1933 the international community drafted the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. Article one of this convention sets forth four pillars of statehood. According to the Convention, a state must have “a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c) government and d) capacity to enter into relations with other states.”

This is a very loose definition and, by the Convention, several non-country entities would qualify as states. Somaliland and the Western Sahara are two very prominent examples on the African continent that fulfill the four pillars but are not recognized as independent countries by the international community.

“Lindhout’s story of survival, detailed in a book last year, has now been picked up by a Hollywood studio for a movie starring Academy Award nominated actress Rooney Mara.”

Reporter’s harrowing ordeal as hostage set to become movie

07 Jul- Source: CNN-450 Words

For 460 days, they held her captive. They beat her, sexually assaulted her, kept her locked in a pitch-black room with chains around her ankles. And yet, Amanda Lindhout says she forgives her abductors.

“When one human can create suffering or another, it always comes from a place of their own suffering,” she says. And the men who took her hostage — some no more than 14 years old — had endured a “great deal of suffering” in their own lives, she says.

Lindhout, a Canadian freelance journalist, was 27 when she arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia, in August 2008. Three days in, she and her crew were ambushed in their car by young men brandishing AK-47s. They took Lindhout, her photographer Nigel Brennan, their drivers and fixer. The drivers and fixer that had accompanied Lindhout were released after a few months. She and her photojournalist Nigel Brennan were held for a total of 15.

Top tweets

@FAOnews Food Security worsens as drought looms in Somalia. Severe water shortages expected: http://ow.ly/yTx54 via @FAOsomalia

‏@WFPSomalia Early warning demands early action: Food security expected to deteriorate in #Somalia due to conflict & below average harvest.

@Oxfam Women in Somalia face the 2nd highest risk of maternal death in the world. @USTreasury can save the#SomaliLifeline! http://ow.ly/yTrBa

@E_Somalia Mashallah , our somali brothers were representing so many countries in the Dubai qur’an competitionpic.twitter.com/ZJXivxy6aa

@amisomsomalia 1/ Somali Police Force wave on-board an aircraft before their departure for a 3 month training course in Djibouti pic.twitter.com/RHMFd5lHMO

Follow the conversation →

Image of the day

Image of the day UNSOM’s Human Rights Section in Garowe, in collaboration with the Puntland Ministry of Justice, Religious Affairs and Rehabilitation commenced a four day human rights training for religious preachers on 06 July, 2014. Photo: UNSOM