June 11, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report

Somalia Petitions To Join EAC

11 June – Source: RBC Radio – 140 Words

Somalia has petitioned to join East African Community, RBC Reports. The country has submitted an official petition to the East African Community, asking for permanent membership as the country moves towards peace and stability. Mohamed Osman Jawari, Somali Parliament Speaker who is on official visit to Kampala, the Ugandan capital has reportedly been meeting with his East African Community Parliament counterpart on the petition. Jawari has discussed with East African Parliament speaker Daniel F Kidega on the relation between the two parliaments. East African Community consists of African Countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. Somalia continues to gain support from the International community as the country slowly restores law and order, and fights terrorism.

Key Headlines

Somalia Petitions To Join EAC (RBC Radio)
Somalia’s Humanitarian Crisis Remains Fragile Says UN Humanitarian Coordination Office (Somali Update)
UAE Delivers Second Military Aid To Somalia (Goobjoog News)Win The Heart Of The Win Win The Heart Of The Citizens To Defeat Al-Shabaab Somalia Government Told (Somali Current)
Tribal Clashes Leave 10 Dead In War-sheikh Town (Shabelle News)
Somali Foreign Minister Says OIC Relevant Despite Numerous Challenges (Radio Dalsan)
UN Peacekeepers Regularly ‘Swap Jewellery And Dresses For Sex’ Finds Report (The Telegraph)
AU Summit Gives South Africa Chance to Calm Xenophobia Outrage (Bloomberg Business)
Kenya Shifts Anti-terror Focus Offers Amnesty To Militant Youth (World Magazine)
A Former Muslim’s Grave Warning To America (American Thinker)
Maine City Recruiting Somalis As Cops (wnd.com)
Kenya: Education Crisis Looms Near Border With Somalia As 2000 Teachers Flee Due To Al-Shabaab Attacks (International Business Times)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia’s Humanitarian Situation Remains Fragile, Says UN Humanitarian Coordination Office

11 June – Source: Somali Update – 133 Words

The United Nations Aid Coordination Office known as OCHA has warned that the Somalia’s humanitarian situation is still in fragile state while a total of 3 million people in Somalia are in need of humanitarian assistance including 731,000 in emergency situation. According to its June humanitarian snapshot, OCHA says this continuing crisis is compounded by floods, forced evictions of internally displaced people, and people fleeing conflict in Yemen. However, almost halfway through 2015, only 26 per cent of funding for Humanitarian Response Plan for 2015 has been covered. “This is affecting the capacity of humanitarian partners to respond to these increasing needs. Funding is urgently needed especially for health, WASH, shelter and protection clusters to sustain response.” OCHA said.

UAE Delivers Second Military Aid To Somalia

11 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 196 Words

For the second time in two weeks the government of United Arab Emirate has delivered a consignment of armored vehicles, 4WD’s, motor bikes and Truck-Tanks to Somalia, this time to federal Police. The aid was received by the Internal Security minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed and Police Chief General Mohamed Sheik Hassan Hamud, who both commended the generosity of UAE. General Hamud said that this kind of help would boost the capacity of the armed forces and push their reach beyond current limitations. In a brief handover ceremony at the UAE Mogadishu embassy, the ambassador cemented their resolve to help their Somali brothers and sisters in gaining lasting peace. This comes just over a week after UAE delivered same package to regional federal unit of Jubbaland to the astonishment of many, including federal officials. This week the UAE foreign Minister Sheik Abdullah Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan was in Mogadishu signing aviation deal with the Somali Federal government, and in just two days later Flydubai, state run airline launched its inaugural flight to Hargeysa, the semi-autonomous separatist region of Somaliland. Emirate seems to be upping their stake in Somalia and engaging deeply with the East African nation.

Win The Heart Of The Citizens To Defeat Al-Shabaab, Somalia Government Told

11 June – Source: Somali Current – 153 Words

Former Somali Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has faulted Hassan’s Sheikh administration of failing to invest in the security sector which he said was paramount for the country’s success. Speaking to BBC Somali service, the former premier urged the government to win the hearts and minds of the citizen to defeat Al-Shabaab. Mr. Farmajo commended the government for forming two key commissions such as the electoral and constitutional commissions which he said play a key role in achieving vision 2016. The former premier asked the government to establish a constitutional court to solve dispute between government institutions and federal states. Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has declared his intention to run for the presidency in 2016. During his time in office from November 2010 to June 2011 , he was credited with ensuring soldiers were paid on time and tackling rampant corruption that continues to impact the country.

Tribal Clashes Leave 10 Dead In War-sheikh Town

10 June – Source: Shabelle News – 170 Words

At least 10 people were killed and 10 more injured in deadly clan fighting that broke out in War-sheikh town in south of Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, Shabelle reports. The tribal battle between two co-living clans erupted in an urban areas under War-sheikh town lies 70 Km north of Mogadishu, killing at least 10 people including combatants from both warriors, residents told Shabelle Media. The clashes are said to have flared up after heavily armed militias launched an assault on bases manned by the other clan according to local residents. Meanwhile, Mohamed Ali, a traditional elder told Shabelle Media that local elders and War-sheikh authorities have been working to find a ceasefire but said it had failed to stop the tribal clashes. Tension between the two co-living clans have been high. Hundreds of residents are said to have started fleeing from their homes to other villages in a bid to save their lives and properties.

Somali Foreign Minister Says OIC Relevant Despite Numerous Challenges

10 June – Source: Radio Dalsan – 860 Words

“There is some level of crises in the Muslim world,” revealed H.E. Abdusalam H. Omer, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion of Somalia in an exclusive interview with Kuwait Times during his recent visit to Kuwait to attend the Organisation of Islamic Conference summit. Speaking candidly on the challenges the minister said “there is a crises in motion and we are losing our young children who have been radicalised and it is very damaging to Islam and to the people of the Muslim faith,” he pointed out. The minister noted that it was clear that this was no longer a local problem or a regional one but a global problem that had to be collectively addressed to be resolved. Minister Abdusalam Omer has had a distinguished career spanning over 30 years having worked in the World Bank, UNDP and Governor of Somalia Central Bank and Finance minister. He has a Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Tennessee. In his first visit to Kuwait, he appreciated the warm and friendly ties between the two nations and thanked the Kuwaiti government for their hospitality. Minister Abdusalam urged Muslim nations to learn from the Somali experience where they suffered for more than two decades as people watched the country disintegrate with radicals as they practiced a policy of containment.

Somalia fought this menace of terror for several years and is now turning the corner as they have managed to reverse the situation with their resilience, resources and support from their neighbours. “We are very grateful to our brothers in the Arab and Islamic world and East African neighbours without whose support we would not have been able to fight these terror organisations,” the minister revealed. Offering to share their experiences the minister said, “We call our fight against these organisations as a low cost, high impact one as there was no billions of dollars spent, no fighter jets or tens of thousands of troops in the battle. Even though we may have won the battle against these extremists.” He remarked that they need a collective effort to win the war. The minister questioned the extremism that is affecting the entire region by asking “how do you deal with young men and women who blow themselves up, they are also our children but they are misguided.” “The Muslim community is losing that war and we need to regain the confidence of our children, we need to give them a meaningful life and education and take care of them.” The minister pointed out that there was a big need to change the strategy which cannot be localised anymore and a major shift in the minds of the people was required. “The danger is around us, it is the enemy within and not outside,” he pointed out, “A common understanding of the problem is essential as the magnitude of the current conflict has made it imperative that everyone comes together for a common action.”

Regarding the solutions, the minister agreed that there were differences as it was not possible to deal with them in an isolated manner, rather to start thinking collectively on the solution was a good beginning as is now taking place. The minister was categorical in that military solution would never work, as this is a socio-economic and alienation issue. One of the most important steps to deal with these issues, the minister stated was to share intelligence so as to understand the problems better and be able to jointly act on solutions. Expressing his regret over the damage and harm being done to Islam, he said, “Most damaging other than human life and property loss was the damage to Islam in the eyes of others.”

Despite all the issues facing the Muslim world, the minister reiterated that the OIC had to be relevant, the organisation has the potential to do what needs to be done, but we have to be realistic in our expectations. “If one looks at the big picture of the Muslim world the problem is still manageable,” the minister argued and added that the OIC required a new strategy, new funding and economic strategy as they already shared a common bond of Islam that is very strong, a brotherly thing in the heart and mind. In the past many issues from poor governance to economic exclusion, social alienation allowed groups to take advantage and misguide the youth, these issues need to be addressed and dealt with to avoid future repercussions. On the situation in Somalia, the minister was upbeat that the recovery which has many elements was on course and there was a unity in purpose to ensure that it succeeds. “There have been no clan wars for the past 15 years and every one of the groups have come together to work for peace,” Though there are still many issues to be resolved the Somali people are now talking about governance and economic prosperity which is a positive sign. “Traditional aid may not help anymore,” he pointed out, adding that today the buzzword is investment and though it is not progressing as fast as they wish there is still considerable investments coming in.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

UN Peacekeepers Regularly ‘Swap Jewellery And Dresses For Sex’, Finds Report

11 June – Source: The Telegraph – 489 Words

Draft investigation, including surveys of women in Haiti and Liberia, concludes the practice is underreported – despite 51 allegations of abuse last year. United Nations peacekeepers commonly pay for sex with cash, dresses, jewellery, perfume, cell phones and other items, despite a ban on such relationships with people the world body is trying to help, a draft UN report concluded. The study by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), obtained by Reuters on Wednesday, said surveys of hundreds of women in Haiti and Liberia found their reasons for selling sex included hunger, poverty and lifestyle improvement. One third of the allegations involved children. “Evidence from two peacekeeping mission countries demonstrates that transactional sex is quite common but underreported in peacekeeping missions,” concluded the draft dated May 15. The United Nations currently has more than 125,000 troops, police and civilians deployed in 16 operations around the world. They are already under scrutiny after it emerged that Paris prosecutors were investigating allegations that French soldiers abused starving children in the Central African Republic.

The OIOS draft report also noted that “the number of condoms distributed, along with the number of personnel undergoing voluntary counseling and confidential testing for HIV … suggest that sexual relationships between peacekeeping personnel and the local population may be routine.” It said a UN bulletin issued in 2003 banned transactional sex by peacekeepers, in part because it undercuts the organization’s credibility in areas where it is serving. The OIOS draft said 480 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse had been made between 2008 and 2013, of which one third involved children. It said missions in Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Haiti and South Sudan accounted for the largest numbers of accusations. In 2014 it said 51 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse had been made against UN peacekeepers. States providing troops to UN missions have the primary responsibility to investigate allegations against their soldiers and police. “Despite continuing reductions in reported allegations, that are partly explained by underreporting, effectiveness of enforcement against sexual exploitation and abuse is hindered by a complex architecture, prolonged delays, unknown and varying outcomes, and severely deficient victim assistance,” OIOS said. UN chief orders review of handling of peacekeeper child abuse claims The draft included a response by the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support.

AU Summit Gives South Africa Chance to Calm Xenophobia Outrage

11 June – Source: Bloomberg Business – 507 Words

South Africa’s hosting of a summit of African leaders will give it the chance to repair relations with the rest of the continent after an outbreak of xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals that left seven people dead. While President Jacob Zuma deployed the army to halt attacks on African migrants by mobs wielding machetes and sticks around Johannesburg and Durban in March and April, South Africa faced criticism for not responding quickly enough. The African Union, Nigeria and Zimbabwe publicly condemned the violence. Even though the issue isn’t on the agenda of the African Union summit scheduled to take place in Johannesburg June 14-15, the government needs to show it isn’t brushing it aside, said Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered Plc. “There’s no denying the reality that South Africa’s reputation within the rest of the region would have been tarnished,” she said by phone from London on June 9. “This African Union summit is a good way for South Africa to reach out to the rest of Africa.”

The violence erupted as some poor South Africans see Somalis, Ethiopians, Malawians and Pakistanis as competitors for jobs and business opportunities in a country with 26 percent unemployment. One fifth of the population of 54 million survive on less than 335 rand ($28) a month. The 54-nation AU replaced the Organization of African Unity in 2002, and seeks to promote continental unity, integration and development. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe holds the group’s rotating chairmanship, while former South African foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma heads the AU commission, which runs its day-to-day affairs. ‘Inherently Linked’ “Our future is inherently linked to that of the rest of the African continent,” South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told reporters in Pretoria, the capital, on June 8. The summit will focus on ensuring that women play a bigger role in Africa’s economy and addressing the continent’s security challenges. Those include upheaval in Burundi, where President Pierre Nkurunziza is seeking a third term that his opponents say is unconstitutional, and insurrections being waged by Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabaab in Somalia and Kenya. The leaders will also discuss efforts to establish a free-trade zone on the continent, which would create a market with a combined gross domestic product of $2 trillion.

Kenya Shifts Anti-terror Focus, Offers Amnesty To Militant Youth

10 June – Source: World Magazine – 482 Words

Between late last year and now, more than 200 people died from terror attacks in northern Kenya, with the militant group al-Shabaab from Somalia claiming responsibility for the deaths. In response, the Kenyan government says it will include the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and religious leaders in the fight against terrorism. The change of strategy employs incentives more than use of force. The government also announced amnesty for youth who had gone to Somalia for military training and came back into the country. According to Principal Secretary of the Interior Monica Juma, the government wants to formulate an all-inclusive approach where “effective non-governmental organizations and the private sector shall be involved.” Already, Muslim and Christian leaders from the most affected areas have been working together to counter the radical narrative of the terrorists and to scuttle attempts to drive a wedge between Christians and Muslims. A regional conference on countering violent extremism is set to take place later this month in Nairobi.

Juma said the forum will focus on the role of media and internet in fighting terrorism. The four-day forum will bring together senior regional and global players in security matters. The government wants to establish where young people are being recruited and what motivates them to join terror groups. The Ministry of the Interior announced some youths who had been recruited into al-Shabaab responded to the amnesty call by the government, and they will be reintegrated back into society. But even as it made the announcement, there are those who still question the government’s commitment to work with civil society. Hussein Khalid, whose organization Haki Africa was recently banned by the government, accuses the government of human rights abuses and indiscriminate targeting of the country’s Muslim community. “The Kenyan government is cracking down on those who have sought to engage in counter-radicalization efforts simply because they have dared to question its tactics,”

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“For expressing the idea that Islamic violence is rooted not in social, economic, or political conditions – or even in theological error – but rather in the foundational texts of Islam itself, I have been denounced as a bigot and an ‘Islamophobe’.”

A Former Muslim’s Grave Warning To America

11 June – Source: American Thinker – 2, 018 Words

Islam “has begotten a bloodthirsty ideology that is determined to destroy the principles of liberty and humanity and basic decency,” ex-Muslim and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali said June 3 at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Hirsi Ali knows what she’s talking about. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, she was raised Muslim. She spent her childhood and young adulthood in Africa and Saudi Arabia. She fled as a refugee to the Netherlands in 1992, where she earned a political science degree and was elected to the Dutch House of Representatives. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Hirsi Ali renounced Islam. Last week she accepted an award from the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which prides itself on “strengthening American democratic capitalism and the institutions, principles and values that sustain and nurture it.” Some in the conservative movement refer to the annual Bradley Prizes event, which was emceed this year by commentator George Will, as the “conservative Oscars.” The other recipients this year were James W. Ceaser, a political science professor at the University of Virginia; Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College; and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, chairman of the Institute for the Study of War.

The late Christopher Hitchens called Hirsi Ali, whose former religion forced female circumcision on her, someone “of arresting and hypnotizing beauty,” and “a charismatic figure” who writes “with quite astonishing humor and restraint.” In 2005, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She famously said, “Islam is not a religion of peace. It’s a political theory of conquest that seeks domination by any means it can.” Her latest book, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now, was published in March by Harper. (It was reviewed by Katherine Ernst in City Journal.) “My argument is that it is foolish to insist, as our leaders habitually do, that the violent acts of radical Islamists can be divorced from the religious ideals that inspire them,” she writes in Heretic. She continues: Instead we must acknowledge that they are driven by a political ideology, an ideology embedded in Islam itself, in the holy book of the Qur’an as well as the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad contained in the hadith. Let me make my point in the simplest possible terms: Islam is not a religion of peace.

“We have to think about who is living here now and who’s going to live here 10 years from now,” he told Reuters reporter Scott Malone. “We need a department that is reflective of the demographics of the community it serves.”

Maine City Recruiting Somalis As Cops

11 June – Source: wnd.com – 1,412 Words

One of smallest cities that has received thousands of Somali refugees over the years is Lewiston, Maine. But, unlike the Minnesota Muslims from Somalia, this group appears to fly under the radar. Minnesota’s U.S. attorney, Andrew Luger, publicly declared in April that the state has a “terror recruitment problem,” as hundreds of young Somalis have been investigated for ties to terrorist organizations overseas. But in Lewiston, there is a recruitment of a different sort going on. Lewiston’s police chief, Michael Bussiere, made news this week when he told Reuters he was focused on recruiting Somalis to work as cops in his department. It’s part of his “diversity” program to make the local police force look more like the community it serves, he said. And, with the help of the U.S. State Department’s refugee resettlement program, Lewiston has gone from one of the whitest cities in America to an increasingly diverse one. “One place in Lewiston where that growing diversity is not evident is the city’s 82-member police force, but Chief Michael Bussiere aims to change that amid an intense national debate over race and policing,” Reuters reports.

The Lewiston-Auburn area now has a Somali population of 7,000, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of its total population. They arrived in the U.S. either as refugees or were born in the U.S. as children of refugees. About a quarter of Bussiere’s officers will become eligible to retire in the next few years, so he figures to have quite a few openings. “We have to think about who is living here now and who’s going to live here 10 years from now,” he told Reuters reporter Scott Malone. “We need a department that is reflective of the demographics of the community it serves.” Lewiston, a city of 36,000 people that spent decades struggling through job losses from mill closings and a shrinking population, may seem an unlikely place for such a rebirth given that Maine is among the whitest U.S. states, Malone reports. But, according to U.S. Census data, 8.7 percent of Lewiston’s population identifies as black or African-American, a rate higher than any other city in the state and more than seven times the 1.2 percent state average. And the Somali population is exploding not just in Lewiston. It has spread to nearby Auburn and Portland.

“Nobody is talking about these problems, about lack of opportunities. There are schools with 1,500 students and no teachers. Anybody can take advantage at any time, these are young minds that can be easily changed. This is why the government has to show the right attention.”

Kenya: Education Crisis Looms Near Border With Somalia As 2,000 Teachers Flee Due To Al-Shabaab Attacks

10 June – Source: International Business Times – 843 Words

Dozens of people are expected to join a 1,000 km peace march in northern Kenya to highlight problems, such as terror attacks, which blight the area. According to activists, one of the most pressing issues is the impossibility of youths in the North Eastern Province (NEP), mainly inhabited by Kenyan-Somalis, being able to continue their studies after an estimated 2,000 teachers have fled the area fearing for their lives following deadly attacks by Somalia-based terror group Al-Shabaab. As a result, dozens of schools have closed down and only students from wealthy families are able to continue their education after moving to other areas. “There have been several terror attacks in northeastern Kenya near the border with Somalia,” Abdullahi M Abdi, chief executive of Womankind Kenya — a leading NGO aimed at solving problems affecting local communities in NEP — told IBTimes UK.”These attacks have created lots of fear among civil servants and teachers, many of whom come from other regions of Kenya.” Abdi explained that two major attacks in the past six months had a negative affect on teachers, who refused to go back to NEP.

The first occurred in November 2014 in Mandera, capital of Mandera County, where Shabaab terrorists hijacked a bus and killed 28 people, 17 of whom were teachers who were travelling home for Christmas. “There was a shutdown in the education system in Mandera and the same occurred in Garissa [capital of Garissa county], after the militants attacked a university college killing 148 people in April 2015,” Abdi said. “Teachers are not comfortable with what is happening in the region. Approximately up to 2,000 have left because of terror attacks fear. But we fear the figure is bigger.” Abdi added that the government is currently working to see how it can employ so-called “contract teachers”, former teachers now retired. “But this is taking too long. At a local level, the county governments of Wajir, Garissa and Mandera vowed to allocate a certain amount of money to resolve both short and long-term problems. But until today, these are just promises, not tangible solutions.” Noordin Badel, one of the organisers of the walk, told IBTimes UK: “The walk is about trying to highlight the problems in northern Kenya and allow people to speak for themselves.

TOP TWEETS

@Somalia111 @ipinst thanks for hosting @MamanSidikou1 & me. Always happy to talk on #Somalia success & challenges

@keithellison Great meeting with Prime Minister Sharmake of#Somalia to talk about progress in the country and ways forward.

@ActForSomalia In an effort to bring stability to #Somalia,#UAE has donated military equipment worth millions to Somali Gov

@UN_DPA In #Somalia, DPA supports political inclusion – participation of women, youth, minority clans & marginalized communities. #supportDPA15

@AmbAmerico Our future leaders, when I see them, I see hope in #Somalia. We must invest in them. @Zahraqoranne @iBelieveInSoma

@Payitforward87 Can the Somali president not celebrate the Queen of the UK’s birthday? Celebrate Hawo Tako’s birthday or something. TF. #Somalia

@UNDP “Why I didn’t become a pirate.” Mentoring & education transforms youths’ futures in #Somalia: http://on.undp.org/O5JlJ

Follow the conversation →

IMAGE OF THE DAY

UN Ambassador to Somalia Nicholas Kay, Director of IPI, Amb. John Hirsch and African Union Ambassador Maman Sidikou in discussion on Somalia’s ‘Road to 2016’ at the International Peace Institute.

Photo: AMISOM