June 14, 2017 | Morning Headlines.
A Forum On National Reconciliation Kicks Off In Mogadishu
13 June – Source : Garowe Online – 171 Words
A consultative forum to discuss on formulas for national reconciliation has kicked off in the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, organized by the country’s Interior ministry. The four-day conference is participated by top government officials, including deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohamed Guled, interior ministers of the Federal member states, Benadir Governor, prominent elders, politicians and members of the civil society. According to the Ministry of Interior, Federal affairs and reconciliation, the forum is aimed to focus on the best ways to solve the clan enmity and find a way out for the long-running internal conflict in the horn of Africa country.
In his opening speech, Abdi Farah Saed “Juha” the Minister of Interior has announced that his Ministry will launch the reconciliation process in the whole country, to bring people together and end their differences. Since his appointment in early this year, the Minister played a key role in the peace talks between Galmudug and Ahlu Suna wa Jama and also with Puntland administrations, over the conflict and division in Galkayo town.
Key Headlines
- A Forum On National Reconciliation Kicks Off In Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Somalis In UAE Live In Fear Of Expulsion Over The Qatar Crisis (Radio Dalsan)
- Recently Appointed Villa Somalia Chief Of Staff Assumes Office Today (Jowhar.com)
- NISA Chief Issues Tough Warning To Armed Mogadishu Politicians Over Disarmament Exercise (Radio Dalsan)
- China Promises 22000 USD To Orphanage School In Somalia (New China)
- Turkey In Africa: New Comers Old Challenges (Anadolu Agency)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalis In UAE Live In Fear Of Expulsion Over The Qatar Crisis
13 June – Source : Radio Dalsan – 199 Words
Thousands of Somalis running businesses in United Arab Emirates are living in a diplomatic limbo as they face possible expulsion from the Gulf state following Somalia’s decision to seek a neutral stance in the Qatar crisis. “I feel unsafe in Dubai. I have a feeling that we may be deported anytime” Ahmed Jama a trader in Dubai told Radio Dalsan in a phone interview.
Dubai has in the past attracted one of the highest number of Somalis living in the diaspora mostly traders. Millions of dollars which are usually sent back to Somalia may be lost if UAE takes the decision to expel Somalia nationals. UAE is in an alliance with Saudi Arabia that recently blockaded Qatar over alleged funding of terror activities in the region.
Somalia has chosen to be neutral on the issue neither siding with Riyadh or Doha. ” I plead with my government to reverse its decision to be neutral and instead side with UAE and Saudi Arabia on this matter for the sake of Somalia” Jama said. On Sunday a Somali participant in the Dubai International Holy Quran Award Competition was allegedly expelled. The incident he claims was linked to Somalia’s decision to play neutral.
Recently Appointed Villa Somalia Chief Of Staff Assumes Office Today
13 June – Source: Jowhar.com – 147 Words
New Villa Somalia Chief of Staff Fahad Yasin Dahir will assume office today after taking over office from his deputy, Abdirizak Shoolle. Outgoing chief of staff Abukar Baalle is out of the country. Fahad has arrived in Mogadishu on Monday after a trip to Doha, Qatar to resign from his position at Al Jazeera TV. Apart from him being a journalist at Al Jazeera Arabic, Fahad, though reticent, has been influential in the Somali politics since 2012, when he played a visible role in the election victory of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. He has also been the chief election campaigner of current President Farmaajo.
Since President Farmaajo assumed office, the presidency had had three chiefs of staff including an interim one. Political commentators say that Fahad’s influence in the Farmaajo led administration is stronger than that of his clansman Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir in the Hassan Sheikh-led administration.
NISA Chief Issues Tough Warning To Armed Mogadishu Politicians Over Disarmament Exercise
13 June – Source : Radio Dalsan – 132 Words
Nisa Chief Abdullahi Mohamed Sanbaloolshe has warned Mogadishu politicians from interfering with the ongoing disarmament Programme to stabilize Mogadishu. “Our target is not only Alshabaab but also armed politicians who are part of the insecurity in Mogadishu” Sanbaloolshe said at a Press Conference on Tuesday. “We as security agency guarantees the security of all politicians, businessmen and ordinary citizen. They have to hand over their heavy guns” he said.
The disarmament exercise has faced several challenges. Some against the exercise have claimed that it is been conducted to target a specific clan. Majority of ordinary Mogadishu residents however welcomed the exercise which was seen as step forward to secure the city. Notably enhanced security plans during the month of Ramadan has seen lesser attacks from militant group Al-shabaab compared to previous years
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
China Promises 22,000 USD To Orphanage School In Somalia
14 June – Source : New China – 113 Words
Chinese Embassy in Somalia on Tuesday promised around 22,000 U.S. dollars to an orphanage school in the capital Mogadishu to buy food and education materials ahead of Eid festival of the holy month of Ramadan. Chinese Ambassador to Somalia, Qin Jian, told Xinhua that the assistance is aimed at helping orphans and children from poor families at Bondhere Orphanage which cares for more than 300 girls. Nurto Mohamed Addow, the orphanage manager thanked the Chinese embassy for providing the assistance. The pledged donation comes less than a month after Chinese government provided 10 million dollars to the UN World Food Program to support its humanitarian work in the drought stricken Somalia.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Indeed, since 2011 Turkey’s humanitarian diplomacy has grown, and its reputation as a humanitarian state rings louder across the Sub-Saharan region. On the contrary, with its active involvement in the Somali crisis, Turkey has also assumed political responsibilities in the Horn of Africa, rather than acting merely as an economic power or a donor country.”
Turkey In Africa: New Comers, Old Challenges
13 June – Source : Anadolu Agency – 946 Words
Turkey’s interest in Africa is driven by economic, geo-strategic as well as humanitarian factors “The global growth is creating an international system in which countries in all parts of the world are no longer objects or observers but players in their own right. It is the birth of a truly global order.” With these simple words Fareed Zakaria, in his famous work “The Post-American World,” succinctly summarized the process of shifting power, which has characterized the world order in the last two decades.
Among the results of this change are the nascent roles being played by middle and great emerging powers in international political economy. Politicians as well as media and public conventionally refer to them as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey). Regardless of the different features and performances of these major emerging national economies, almost all of them are looking for natural resources and new markets so as to sustain their economic growth.
Therefore, from this globalist perspective, it is more understandable why the transformation of the global economy has generated an unprecedented demand for mineral and energy resources, making Africa a geopolitically competitive arena. Among the newcomers or non-traditional extra-regional actors (there are also the traditional Western ones like the U.K., France, and the United States, which are historically partners of Africa), Turkey has earned a special place since 1998 with the launch of the Africa Action Plan. However, Turkey’s recent interest in Africa is not driven only by economic material gains; rather, behind Turkish rediscovery of Africa, there is a complex set of factors: economic, geostrategic as well as humanitarian.
Involvement in Somali crisis: The role assumed by Turkey in Somalia saw a shift of focus toward the political aspects of the problems plaguing the sub region, that is, the Horn of Africa. Indeed, since 2011 Turkey’s humanitarian diplomacy has grown, and its reputation as a humanitarian state rings louder across the Sub-Saharan region. On the contrary, with its active involvement in the Somali crisis, Turkey has also assumed political responsibilities in the Horn of Africa, rather than acting merely as an economic power or a donor country. Turkey has increased its efforts to promote a new regional scenario to guarantee peace and stability, considering these two to be the most essential prerequisites for any other development.
Ankara marks its soft-power-oriented approach with interagency coordination between state institutions and civil society organizations through the implementation of humanitarian initiatives, development assistance policies, and contributions to the peace negotiations in Somalia. If Turkey’s power and potential to improve normalization and the state-building process in Somalia were legitimized and welcomed by the international community, Turkey would likely gain the position of a strong and relevant actor in the region.
However, this role change has exposed Turkey to certain threats from non-state actors like Islamist militant group Al-Shabab and paved the way for new potential frictions with regional actors (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Egypt) and other extra-regional actors (Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates). That is not something entirely new. Indeed, during the Cold War, the Horn of Africa emerged as one of the most highly penetrated local subsystems in the world; not only the two superpowers but Middle Eastern regional powers intervened in interstate and intrastate conflicts there.