June 7, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali President Says Somalia And Kenya Never Agreed On Quick And Forceful Repatriation
07 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 270 Words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Who visited Dadaab, World’s Largest Refugee Camp on Monday reiterated that there will be no forceful repatriation accordance with the tripartite agreement between Somalia, Kenya and UNHCR. “Let me assure you (Somali refugees) that we (Kenya, Somalia, and the UNHCR) have never discussed and agreed on your quick return to an uncertain future,” he told an audience that included camp leaders. “We do not want you (Somali refugees) to go back forcibly without services such as shelters, education, health services in place. We want you to get at least services similar to what you get here,” Mohamud said.
Mohamud said his government wants plans in place to accommodate Somalis expected to come home if Kenya closes the Dadaab refugee camp. President Mohamud said he was grateful for Kenya’s support in accommodating the refugees over such a long period, but that one day, the Somalis in the camp will all return home to help rebuild their country. “We thank Kenya for hosting a large number of our people and we will never forget it, but keep in mind that your return to your country is a sign for a revival of Somalia’s peace. You can make a difference in your country when you get back,” the president told an audience of refugees.
Kenya earlier this year said that it plans to close Dadaab, citing security concerns that the camp became a breeding ground for Somalia’s Al-Shabaab. In the early 1990s the Dadaab Refugee Camp became a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the civil war in Somalia. At its peak, Dabaab grew to almost 600,000 people.
Key Headlines
- Somali President Says Somalia And Kenya Never Agreed On Quick And Forceful Repatriation (Goobjoog News)
- President Siilaanyo: We Are Not Party To The Current Political Process In Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
- Jubaland President To Pardon Dozens of Prisoners From Jail In Kismayo (Goobjoog News)
- Five AU Soldiers Arrested Over Military Equipment Sale (Daily Monitor)
- AMISOM To Help Somali Police Force Secure Mogadishu During Ramadan (AMISOM)
- Activist Implores Sky News To Drop Footage Of FGM (Sky News)
- The ‘Turkish Model’ In Somalia: Humanitarian Diplomacy Or Power Play? (Independant Turkey)
NATIONAL MEDIA
President Siilaanyo: We Are Not Party To The Current Political Process In Somalia
06 June – Source: Hiiraan Online – 107 Words
The leader of the breakaway Somaliland region has once again distanced his administration away from the ongoing political transition in Somalia, stating that they will remain as separate political entities. Speaking during the Somaliland aid coordination event in Hargeisa, President Siilaanyo stressed that Somaliland is not among the Somali regional states participating in the upcoming electoral process in the country, vowing that Somaliland will hold its own elections in March 2017. Hargeisa has maintained political seclusion from the rest of the country over the last two decades, and had already warned citizens hailing from the region, including Somaliland politicians, musicians and other high profile figures against going to Mogadishu.
Jubaland President To Pardon Dozens of Prisoners From Jail In Kismayo
07 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 142 Words
The President of Jubaland said that his administration will pardon dozens of inmates while marking the beginning of Ramadan. The inmates who are to be pardoned are currently serving jail terms in the central prison in Kismayo ranging from three months to five years for various offences including civil misconduct. The prisoners’ release comes as part of president’s keenness to give inmates an opportunity to start a new life and bring about stability to their families.
President said the inmates should make use of this opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and avoid engaging in anything which would amount to violation of the law. The rationale of pardon is to provide strong motive to other prisoners to rehabilitate and reform so as to be pardoned in the future. Kismayo has highly overcrowded prisons with poor facilities that has caught the attention of human rights activists.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Five AU Soldiers Arrested Over Military Equipment Sale
07 June – Source: Daily Monitor – 276 Words
Five African Union peacekeepers in Somalia have been arrested over alleged illegal sales of military supplies, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said Monday. AMISOM said the soldiers were found in possession of fuel and sand bags and were detained Sunday in a joint operation with Somali police that followed an investigation and a period of surveillance. “AMISOM exercises zero tolerance to unprofessional conduct among its personnel and the culprits will be prosecuted in accordance with the law,” read a statement from AMISOM, which has over 22,000 peacekeepers in Somalia.
“All personnel serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia are bound by the AMISOM Code of Conduct and any deviation from the standards set therein will be met with the full might of the law.” AMISOM, which did not reveal the nationality of the arrested soldiers, promised “requisite steps to ensure that this practice is uprooted from within its ranks” to ensure such “selfish acts” did not derail its mission.
AMISOM’s task is to shore up Somalia’s internationally-backed but fragile government in the face of threats from Al Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab extremists. Deployed in 2007, AMISOM drove the group from Mogadishu in 2011 but the extremists have continued their bid to overthrow the government, launching regular attacks on military, government and civilian targets in Mogadishu and elsewhere.
AMISOM To Help Somali Police Force Secure Mogadishu During Ramadan
07 June – Source: AMISOM – 222 Words
AMISOM police yesterday deployed officers in Mogadishu city to reinforce security during the holy month of Ramadan. The officers will work hand in hand with the Somali Police Force officers to ensure members of the public go about their normal activities without disruptions. The officers, comprising personnel from the Formed Police Units (FPUs) of Uganda and Nigeria, and Individual Police Officers (IPOs) were dispatched after a briefing by the Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, Francis Ayitey Aryee, and AMISOM Police Acting Operations Coordinator, Emmanuel Mukama.
The officers will be stationed in key and strategic locations as part of new measures to help curb insecurity and maintain peace during Ramadan. “Experience has shown that in the month of Ramadan, whereas our brothers and sisters engage in communing with Allah through fasting and prayers, threats against them are heightened. We have done a threat assessment and analysis and have put in place strategies captured in an operational plan to enable us provide protection and security to the communities and residents of Somalia during the month of Ramadhan,” Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, Francis Ayitey Aryee said.
Apart from routine patrols, the officers will also set up snap check points and, depending on intelligence, take part in cordon and search operations. The measures are aimed at boosting security in Mogadishu and preventing terrorist activities by Al Shabaab militants. Mr Mukama, the Acting AMISOM Police Operations Coordinator, reiterated that the team was being deployed in a support role.
Activist Implores Sky News To Drop Footage Of FGM
07 June – Source: Sky News – 202 Words
Sky News has come under pressure from activists to scrap the planned broadcast of a controversial film from Somalia later this week, which depicts a young girl being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). The clip is said to show a young girl being held down and cut whilst curious bystanders look on, prompting critics to complain that it is tantamount to filming child abuse.
Leading the charge against the film is Daughters of Eve co-founder Leyla Hussein who first learned of the broadcaster’s intent to screen the clip when being asked to appear on the channel for a filmed interview. Hussein said: “You can see her face. People are watching. The film crew are filming. No one intervenes … when I was cut I remember that most of all, no one intervened.”
A Sky News spokesman stood by the decision to air the footage, insisting that steps would be taken to protect the girls identity and that the difficult subject matter would be handled with ‘sensitivity’ in order to ‘…capture the stark reality of this widespread practice … [and] will help our viewers to understand the issues surrounding FGM and its social and cultural acceptability in some parts of the world.’
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The main difference between Turkish aid in Somalia and the rest of the world’s is that tangible results have been felt in the handful of years of Turkish involvement, while over two decades and billions of dollars of Western aid yielded limited results at best and exacerbated the conflict at worst.”
The ‘Turkish Model’ In Somalia: Humanitarian Diplomacy Or Power Play?
07 June – Source: Independant Turkey – 1,550 Words
Al Qaeda-linked extremist group Al-Shabaab attacked a hotel in Somalia’s capital on Wednesday, leaving 16 dead and around 55 injured in the fight that followed. Wednesday’s attack occurred just days before Turkish President Erdoğan was set to visit Mogadishu, his third visit to the country since 2011: the first non-African leader to visit Somalia in almost twenty years. Erdoğan’s visit on Friday saw the inauguration of Turkey’s largest-ever embassy in the conflict-stricken city of Mogadishu, a looming symbolic testament to Turkish interest in the country.
Somalia has long been subject to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. As well as suffering drought and famine, the country continues to be plagued by endemic instability and violent extremism. Although there has been no international presence since 1993, Turkey has been involved in development work in Somalia since 2011 as part of its foreign policy focus on humanitarian diplomacy, aid and development.
However, read in tandem with its regional policies in the Middle East, the AKP’s approach to Somalia can also be seen as a strategic move, part of broader efforts to extend Turkey’s global
influence throughout the region, naturally targeting some of its old Ottoman stomping grounds.
Erdoğan’s visit was in part to honour Turkey’s recent pledge of $24 million to Somalia as part of ongoing aid and development work since the 2011 famine. Humanitarian work became a central element of foreign policy under the AKP as it sought to establish its presence in global politics. As of 2012, a year after it began its humanitarian activities in Somalia, Turkey ranked as the world’s fourth largest humanitarian donor. In May this year it hosted the first World Humanitarian Summit.
Using the tactics of the now out-of-favour Gülenist movement, Ahmet Davutoğlu – foreign policy advisor turned Foreign Minister, and then soon-to-be-ex Prime Minister – developed a foreign policy that sought to extend Turkey’s ‘soft power’ in Africa and elsewhere through economic, cultural and humanitarian efforts. These ranged from developing infrastructure to extensive scholarship and aid programs.
TOP TWEETS
@itayron5: Uncontrolled repartition to #Somalia from #Kenyaentails several security , humanitarian risks. Plan must be made.
@hwalton892: Turkey in Somalia: Humanitarian diplomacy or power play? http://independentturkey.org/
@baydan_mohamed: One of my biggest goal is to travel back to#Somalia and help re build my country! Insha’Allah
@magafrikdelest : #Somalia “I’am already dead, I have to keep on going” Hotel Ambassador attack by Abdiwahabhttp://bit.ly/28g1MQF
@omabha : Somalia: Turkey Pledges to Refurbish Somali Parliamentary Building – http://AllAfrica.com http://dlvr.it/LVTkWT #Somalia
@Network2020: #Kenya plans to close #Dadaab refugee camp and help #Somalia and the #UN repatriate nearly half a million refugees
@Eye_on_Somalia: #allAfrica AMISOM Confirms Arrest of Five of Its Troops for Allegedly Selling Military Equipment: [D…http://bit.ly/1ZtTCy0 #somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Ramadan Mubarak from AMISOM.
Photo: AMISOM