June 15, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Interior Minister Heads To Dhuusamareeb As Federal Government Seeks To Resolve Ahlusuna Stand-off
15 June – Source: Wacaal Media – 132 Words
The federal Minister of Interior and Federal Affairs Abdirahman Odowa headed to Dhuusamareeb today following Ahlusuna fighters seizing control of the town from government forces. The minister and his delegation left Adaado today for Dhuusamareeb where they are expected to hold talks with the paramilitary group in order to convince them to surrender the town back to the federal government and rejoin the Adaado Conference. The visit comes after Ahlusuna signaled willingness to negotiate with the federal government. Dhuusamareeb has been earmarked as the capital of the state for Galgaduud and Mudug regions whose formation is underway in Adaado. The takeover was huge blow to efforts by the Federal government to have the new state in place.
Key Headlines
- Interior Minister Heads To Dhuusamareeb As Federal Government Seeks To Resolve Ahlusuna Stand-off(Wacaal Media)
- Gedo Elders Oppose IJA Regional Charter (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland President To Open The 35th Session Of The Puntland Parliament (Radio RBC)
- GarissaWajir And Mandera Residents Begin 30 Day Peace Walk (Radio Bar-Kulan)
- Somali Government Set To Print More Money (Somali Current)
- Sustainable Charcoal Reduction Summit Held in Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
- From Dadaab Refugee Camp To Harvard University (Sahan Journal)
- British Terrorist Thomas Evans Among 11 Al-Shabaab Militia Killed In Lamu (The Star Kenya)
- Amanda Lindhout speaks out on arrest of Somali man accused in kidnapping (The Toronto Star)
- Al-Shabab Garissa Raid: Militants Storm Kenya Border Village Target Military Vehicle With IED(International Business Times)
- Dadaab Refugees Live In Fear Of Camp Closure (Standard Digital)
- A President In Search Of Foreign Trips (Hiiraan Online)
- Global Somali Women Launch Movement To Play An Important Role In Politics (Sahan Journal)
- Somali Female MPs Complete Capacity Building Training On The Law And Media (AMISOM)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Gedo Elders Oppose IJA Regional Charter
15 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 200 Words
Some of Gedo traditional elders have strongly opposed the draft of the regional charter of Interim Jubba Administration. Reports coming to Goobjoog News state that intellectuals and traditional elders in Bulla-Hawa and Dolow towns have discarded some articles of the regional charter as draconian law. This comes after the administration of IJA sent delegates to these towns to hold discussions with the elders over the draft regional charter. There has been disputes between IJA administration and federal government of Somalia for the past weeks after Jubbaland cut ties with Somali government.
The move comes after Somali Federal parliament voted out Jubbaland regional assembly which they term as illegal and unconstitutional. General Abdullahi Sheik Ismael Aka Fartag said “From now on … we have stopped all collaborations with the Federal Government and severed all ties. We would not accept any delegation from Federal governments”. This led administration of Semi-autonomous regional state of Puntland to back the decision of Interim Jubba Administration to cut off all relations with the Somali Federal Government over the passing of controversial no-confidence motion in Newly formed IJA regional Assembly. Puntalnd State itself had made similar threats to pressure the Federal Government on political matters.
Puntland President To Open The 35th Session Of The Puntland Parliament
15 June – Source: Radio RBC – 96 Words
The President of the Somali North Eastern Autonomous Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas is set to open the 35th session of Puntland Parliament after the annual break, RBC Reports. President Abdiweli is expected to address speech in the session on his government’s achievements towards developing the country. Passing endorsed laws and reviewing the bilateral relations with the Federal Parliament among the key agenda on the table in this Parliament session. The session approaches amid major cabinet reshuffle has being anticipated to be announced by President Abdiliweli Mohamed Ali Gaas.
Garissa,Wajir And Mandera Residents Begin 30 Day Peace Walk
15 June – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 302 Words
Garissa,Wajir and some Mandera residents have begun a 30 day peace walk. Garissa County Executive members Muktar Bulale (Water) and Sophia Sheikh Omar (Agriculture and Fisheries) who represented the county government and walked for 11 kilometres from Tana Bridge to Modika, praised the event organisers saying it was a noble initiative. Activist Salah Abdi Sheikh who is one of the organisers of the march said the walk is aimed at raising global attention on the impact of terrorism that has led to near alienation of an entire region from the rest of the country. He said they want to use the walk to create awareness among communities in the northern region faced with immense challenges ranging from terrorism, clan skirmishes to other natural calamities, to unite and face those challenges head on.
“We want communities to think much about many things that unites them so that we can promote peace in a region that has seen many clan related violence that left many people dead and scores injured,” he added. He said the team will be stopping in the villages along the way in a bid to sensitise them on the negative effects of the perennial clan conflicts, while at the same time promoting the benefits of peaceful co-existence among various clans. He said rescue vehicles to assist those who will be overwhelmed by the harsh terrain – scorching sun, wild animals and snake bites- will be available during the walk and will be manned by a team of medical personnel who will be among the team of the participants. The walk of hope comes at a time when all essential sectors including education and health in the region have collapsed in the face of terror that has scared away from the region non local professionals after they became a target of the terrorists.
Somali Government Set To Print More Money
14 June – Source: Somali Current – 198 Words
Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has hinted that he would order the central bank to print more money in an attempt to salvage the weakening shilling against the US dollars. Speaking to reporters late Fridayin Mogadishu, the president said the move would cushion the poor Somalis against inflation. “We must print more shillings so that the poor Somalis can feel that he is protected from inflation,” he said in an assuring tone. The president blamed the international community for the situation, saying they have reneged on their pledge to contribute aid to the country. “The aid we receive from donors is not sufficient, we therefore have decided to print our own money to keep the Somali shilling afloat,” he said. If the president’s plan to print money becomes successful, then the shilling would recover from two-decades of depreciation. Somalia currently has the 1000 shilling note left as most other notes have disappeared due to lack of central bank since 1991 when the civil strife started. Economists believe that the Somali shilling will be able to withstand the technology-driven mobile banking if it had endured without a central bank for two decades.
Sustainable Charcoal Reduction Summit Held in Mogadishu
15 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 194 Words
A summit titled Sustainable Charcoal Reduction and Alternative Livelihood has been held in Mogadishu on Sunday and was attended by federal ministers, regional states representatives and UN Agencies including UNEP and FOA. Minister of Livestock, Forestry, and Ranges Saed Hussein Eid has told the summit that eradication of trees has had a tremendously negative effects to environment and livestock “If the trees are cut the animals won’t get enough pastures, and if that happens you know we export livestock to overseas and our animals would not meet the required weight.
At the end of the summit a few important principles were agreed upon such as establishing a national policy to prevent environmental degradation. Also agreed to were the following principles: to abide and implement the UN Security Council Resolution No: 2036 prohibiting charcoal trade in Somalia; to educate government departments and civil societies about the environment; to establish good working relationship between the federal government and regional states; and to plant more trees in the affected regions.
From Dadaab Refugee Camp To Harvard University
14 June – Source: Sahan Journal – 245 Words
An 18-year-old Somali student who came from a refugee camp in Kenya has been accepted to Harvard University, one of the world’s most prestigious schools. Fatah Adan’s parents fled the civil war in Somalia in 1992. They were then resettled in Boston after living in the camp for six years, The Boston Globe reports. Fatah credits his parents for striving to nurture his success. “They did everything they could to come to America,” Fatah told the Globe. “I have that want to give back to them. That’s what’s driven me all throughout middle school, high school. That’s what’s going to continue to drive me.”
Farah told the Boston Globe he saw his parents go through a lot of struggle, which inspired him to work hard in his education. “I saw my mom with post-traumatic stress disorder, I saw her sick, and I saw my parents trying to get adjusted to a new country,” Fatah said. He graduated at the top of his class, became this year’s valedictorian and won a lot of debate competitions in high school. “There’s a kind of reverence that he has toward his mother and his father that I think is unique among teenagers in America of any generation,” said Ravi Singh, Fatah’s debate coach at New Mission High School in Boston. “They’re people who have endured quite a bit, and they have managed to do so with a great degree of grace,” Singh said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
British Terrorist Thomas Evans Among 11 Al-Shabaab Militia Killed In Lamu
15 June – Source: The Star, Kenya – 202 Words
A British citizen was among 11 al Shabaab militants killed by Kenya Defence Forces in Lamu county on Sunday. The man identified as Thomas Evans is believed to have converted to Islam when he was 19 years old. British newspapers say Evans, aka Abdul Hamid, joined al Shabaab in 2012 and hails from High Wycombe in the United Kingdom. On Sunday, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett said two white terrorists were among the 11 militants. Boinett said a cache of weapons was recovered following the incident at a militant camp in Baure area in Baragoni.
The weapons include 12 AK 47 rifles, 49 AK 47 magazines, one PMK assault rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade and three hand grenades. A video camera and two motorola radios were also recovered in the attack in which two KDF soldiers were killed. Boinett said some of the militants went to Bulla Gollol near Hulugho and harassed locals but fled as security officers closed in on them. He said ten non-local residents, suspected to have been the militants’ targets, have been accounted for. The police are expected to release an official statement at 10 amtoday.
Amanda Lindhout Speaks Out On Arrest Of Somali Man Accused In Kidnapping
14 June – Source: The Toronto Star – 1, 148 Words
During 460 harrowing days in captivity in Somalia, Amanda Lindhout says one of the kidnappers whom she knew only as “Adam” directed much of the torture she endured, watching impassively as a serrated knife was held to her throat, and terrorizing her mother with ransom demands. When she was released in 2009, she thought she would never see his face again. But on Friday — her 34th birthday — the RCMP announced an Ottawa arrest in her kidnapping case and released the photo of suspect Ali Omar Ader. Lindhout said seeing Ader’s image online “literally took my breath away.” She alleges he is the man who introduced himself as “the commander” of the group that kidnapped her and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan near Mogadishu and whom she knew only as “Adam.”
“Just seeing his face again for me brings back real, true, hard memories of that time in my life,” Lindhout told the Star on Sunday. “Seeing his image has just been haunting me…I’ve spent a lot of time with my mom over the last couple of days and this has been very emotional for her too. She has shed a lot of tears.” Lindhout says she welcomes her day in court, where she says she will try to make the accused understand “the specific ways in which his decisions really hurt me.” While she is thankful that one of her alleged kidnappers may be brought to justice, the prospect of a trial leaves her anxious, fearful about what will be revealed. Lindhout, with New York Times Magazine contributor Sara Corbett, wrote a bestselling and heart-wrenching account of her captivity, describing how she was raped, beaten, starved and tortured.
Al-Shabaab Garissa Raid: Militants Storm Kenya Border Village, Target Military Vehicle With IED
14 June – Source: International Business Times – 367 Words
Suspected al-Shabab militants stormed a village in Kenya’s Garissa County, the same county where the al Qaeda-affiliated group killed nearly 150 people in April. The raid came just a few hours after members of the group targeted a military vehicle with an improvised explosive device, Kenya’s Standard Digital reported Sunday. Officials confirmed 10 militants were involved in the Saturday night incident and revealed the attackers were likely looking to target “nonlocal” masons currently doing construction work on a mosque in the village of Bulla-Golol.
“Luckily, the masons fled from the site after the attackers started shooting indiscriminately from a distance as they headed toward the construction site,” Amb Mohamud Swaleh, Kenya’s northeastern regional commissioner, told Standard Digital. “The workers managed to escape and disappear in nearby bushes unscathed.” Swaleh said the same militants were also believed to be behind a road side bomb attack on a Kenyan army vehicle that was heading to Garissa from a border base. “One of the vehicles hit the explosive, but fortunately it was too weak to cause any impact to any of our officers or the vehicle,” he said, adding security personnel were now deployed in the village tracing the footsteps of the assailants who are now believed to be fleeing back across the border to Somalia.
Dadaab Refugees Live In Fear Of Camp Closure
14 June – Source: Standard Digital – 1, 318 Words
After more than two decades of playing host to the world’s largest refugee camp, a once accommodating government has had enough. In April, Deputy President William Ruto said the camp should be shut down and its more than 350,000 inhabitants repatriated to Somalia. Peace still seems elusive in Somalia, and its absence has over the years been reason enough to allow for the different facets of Dadaab refugee camp to thrive. The Dadaab refugee complex in northern Kenya is a cramped affair smack in the middle of a dust bowl that, in the blink of an eye, can turn into a flood plain. Originally designed to accommodate 90,000 refugees, the camps now hold four times that number. This makes Dadaab the third-largest population centre in Kenya after Nairobi and Mombasa. From an outsider’s perspective, Dadaab’s remoteness and harshness have conspired to make it, like the rest of the former North Eastern Province, almost uninhabitable.
Areas around the refugee camps are often run by groups of armed, merciless bandits who have preyed on the desperation of the refugees, the goodwill of the locals and the absence of a functional government. But for the insiders, Dadaab is home, with challenges like any other ‘town’. “The Government should ask itself why it is not hard for a young man to say ‘no’ to Al Shabaab advances,” Mohamed Abdi, the youth chairman at Dagahaley Camp, says. “Look at it this way, I was born at the camp. I went to school here and completed my secondary school education. Then my world came to an abrupt end. Even with my high school qualification, I cannot get out of Dagahaley in pursuit of a better life.
Effectively, I am retired at 20, without ever having worked.” He and many of his age mates know no other country but Kenya, “But we are treated like second class human beings. I cannot even go to the nearest town without special permission from the Department of Refugee Affairs. Tell me how we will convince our friends that Al Shabaab is the enemy yet they are offering free movement and want to utilise what we learnt in school.” Official data from the Department of Refugee Affairs shows there are more than 6,000 grandchildren of the original 1991 refugees born in Dadaab. Like many of their parents, these children have never seen Somalia and are practically aid dependent guests in overcrowded shelters. It is almost impossible to think that things could get worse for this group.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The purpose of these trips are mostly courtesy calls or to attend international conferences without specific definitive importance for Somalia. There are a few exceptions, including the high profile New Deal conference of September 2013, which lasted for two days. The President’s other trips have not resulted in any policy or political goals; or agreements that improved the condition of Somalis.”
A President In Search Of Foreign Trips
15 June – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1, 537 Words
A regular feature of criticism against the Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has been how often he goes on foreign trips. Amin Amir, the famous and sometimes infamous political satirist captured this debate in his most recent cartoon. The President is seen asking his advisors soon after returning from a foreign trip, if there are any other international conferences he could attend. One of his aides replies that there are none but they can attend the inauguration of Halima Maow, a name associated with a fictional, simple minded village character in Somalia, click here to view the cartoon. At the time of writing this article, the President was in South Africa.
Is this characterisation of the President fair? In this article we analyse the President’s travel patterns since 2013: where he has visited, for how long, purpose and most importantly the cost and returns on these trips; and whether the funds could have been better utilised elsewhere. I compiled this information by reviewing news publications from Somali websites, which have a chronological publication of events in Somalia, including the President’s foreign trips. I also looked at government budgets and conducted interviews with key contacts in government (past and present).
The frequent flier President Since 2013 President Hassan Sheikh has spent 198 days outside of Somalia in 61 foreign trips. The countries he visited are Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, S. Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, UK, US, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Japan . As shown in the chart, he has spent the most time in North America and Europe, where he stayed for 88 days, most notably spending 32 days in the United States. In 2013 he spent 92 days outside of the country, particularly in January and February where he spent a total of 25 days outside Somalia. He travelled less in 2014, spending a still high 79 days out of the country.
“Somali women have arrived, they are not waiting for permission…People back home are depending on us to do good so that they can benefit from our efforts.”
Global Somali Women Launch Movement To Play An Important Role In Politics
14 June – Source: Sahan Journal – 644 Words
Speaking thousands of miles away from their homeland, a group of Somali women from the diaspora Saturdaynight launched a movement in Minneapolis that would advocate for equal political representation for women in Somalia’s government. Fed up by the lack of enough women in the country’s decision making process, this women-led movement wants to be a reckoning force in the upcoming presidential election in 2016. The Somali Gender Equity Movement (Kacdoonka Sinnaanta Jinsiga Soomaaliyeed) aims to unite Somali women and provide them a platform that would help them participate in the country’s reconstruction and its nascent political process. Colorfully and sharply dressed, the event was a sight to behold.
Zainab M. Hassan, founder of the movement, said the group has members from all over the world and all across Somalia, including Benadir, Puntland and Somaliland regions. She created a Facebook page two months ago and invited a few of her friends to the page, and the friends in turn invited their friends. The page has more than 9,000 members and growing. Zeinab reiterated that this is the “beginning of a movement that will do great things for women.” “Women’s contribution is critical to the development of our society,” she said. The women speakers came from around the world. Muhubo Ahmed Said, popularly known as Muhubo Fabulous, one of the speakers who has established a powerful presence on social media, was very loud, assertive and passionate. She reminded her audience that their people back home depended on them to do good work that will help them; that the voices of Somali women matter.
“We learnt and benefitted on how to take part in the 2016 political elections and how we can fight for our rights.”
Somali Female MPs Complete Capacity Building Training On The Law And Media
13 June – Source: AMISOM – Video – 4:12 Minutes
Somalia female Members of Parliament have today completed a three-day training course on how to evaluate the country’s laws, examine the legal framework and advance the cause for observance of the rights of women.
TOP TWEETS
@OCHASom TODAY: Live twitter #chat with @UNLazzarini. Ask your questions on #Somalia. #AskLazzarini
@WFP #Fact: One in eight children under 5 in #Somalia is acutely malnourished http://www.wfp.org/stories/10-
@The_EastAfrican Refugee repatriation still ‘not going as planned’ http://bit.ly/1QxWpG0 #Kenya #Somalia
@Aynte Here’s another inspiring story of Somali kid who crossed from Dadaab refugee camp to Harvard Universityhttp://sahanjournal.com/
@HodanTV In 2014, dream was 2 create an English Somali TV show-Done! Now expansion 2 TV network…progress@IntegrationTV #Somalia #Entrepreneurship
@ActForSomalia Mogadishu Aden Added Airport started it’s night flights tonight.It means more flight options.#Somalia.
@ActForSomalia 4 the 1st time in 24yrs 1 National Exam 4 Secondary school leaving Students,compiled by the ministry of Edu.#Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali ‘Gaas’ and DSRSG Zenega brief media following their meeting in Garowe.
Photo: UNSOM