March 12, 2013 | Morning Headlines.
Egypt re-establishes diplomatic ties with Somalia
11 Mar-Source: Africa Review- 263 words
Egypt has become the latest country to re-establish ties with Somalia as the world continues to support the Horn of Africa country’s recovery effort.
A delegation led by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr Sunday met top Somali leaders in Mogadishu where he reiterated that his country’s readiness to work with Somalia.
Mr Amr paid a courtesy visit to Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and Speaker of the Federal Parliament Mohamed Osman Jawari before holding a meeting with his Somali counterpart, Fawziya Yusuf Haji Aden.
Key Headlines
- Government to control its weapons (Bar-Kulan)
- PM Shirdon and President Farole sign ‘critical’ agreement (Garowe Online)
- Journalists abused detained in Mogadishu (Sabahi Online)
- Somali pirates free Greek oil tanker seized last year-shipowner (Reuters)
PRESS STATEMENT
Prime Minister calls on Puntland to be a role model for the new Somalia
11 Mar- Source: Horseed Media/ Shabelle/ Bar-kulan/- 326 words
His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon has called on the regional administration of Puntland to be a role model for good governance in the new Somalia.
On a three-day visit to Garowe, part of his Listening Tour to the regions of the country, the Prime Minister gave a long and wide-ranging speech to the Puntland parliament. In it he focused on the need for national unity within Somalia and discussed the constitutional role of the federal government in the regional administration of Puntland. The Prime Minister praised Puntland as a good example of how regions can manage their internal disagreements.
Puntland is a foundation for the federal arrangements in Somalia, he said, calling the multi-party arrangements a step forward and encouraging the region to adopt a one person one vote electoral system. The Prime Minister also praised Puntland’s role helping the nation emerge securely from the transitional process.
Discussing the security situation, the Prime Minister touched on the arms embargo and welcomed its partial lifting by the UN Security Council.
“It’s good for Somalia that the arms embargo has been lifted,” he said, “but if there are some people with anxieties about this, I tell them the arms will only be used for the defence of the sovereignty of Somalia and will only be used in a defensive way.”
The Prime Minister urged the people of Puntland to institutionalize good governance and democracy in the region. Patience was required to resolve minor differences between communities, particularly during democratic elections due to be held at the end of this government’s four-year term.
Travelling with his ministerial delegation, the Prime Minister, accompanied by regional President Abdirahman Sheikh Mohamed Faroole and Vice-President Abdi Zamad Ali Shire, visited the regional justice and health ministries, the central prison and the presidential palace.
Today the Prime Minister and regional President Faroole visited Camp 54, a key military base in Puntland, and took the salute from army of Puntland and custodial corps.
SOMALI MEDIA
Government to control its weapons
11 Mar- Source:Radio Mustaqbal/ Radio Bar-kulan- 118 words
Defence minister Abdikarim Hajji Mohamud Fiqi Monday said the government has formulated procedures to regulate and control weapons purchased for its armed forces.
Fiqi said the weapons will be used by government forces, with proper recordings, adding that soldiers will be held accountable for their firearms.
The minister stated that these weapons will be used to defend the country from the Al-Shabaab group, and rebuffed claims that such weapons may be used against certain people.
PM Shirdon and President Farole sign ‘critical’ agreement
11 Mar- Source: Garowe Online- 712 words
Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon and Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole signed a 7-point agreement in Garowe, which will build trust, cooperation and development between the two sides.
On Monday the two sides came to an agreement in Garowe to build confidence and coordination; to improve security coordination; to improve finance and development between the two sides; enable federalism; to support the democratization process in Puntland; the returning of lost property and establishing the upper house of parliament.
Journalists abused, detained in Mogadishu
11 Mar- SOurce: RBC Radio/NUSJOS/Sabahi Online/Dalsan Radio- 139 words
Somali police on Saturday (March 9th) assaulted and detained five journalists covering the regional court in Mogadishu, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ).
NUSOJ said Regional court Chairman Hashi Elmi Nor had invited the journalists to cover hearings at the court, but when they assembled outside, police officers began harassing them.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Egypt re-establishes diplomatic ties with Somalia
11 Mar-Source: Africa Review- 263 words
Egypt has become the latest country to re-establish ties with Somalia as the world continues to support the Horn of Africa country’s recovery effort.
A delegation led by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr Sunday met top Somali leaders in Mogadishu where he reiterated that his country’s readiness to work with Somalia.
Mr Amr paid a courtesy visit to Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and Speaker of the Federal Parliament Mohamed Osman Jawari before holding a meeting with his Somali counterpart, Fawziya Yusuf Haji Aden.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali pirates free Greek oil tanker seized last year-shipowner
11 Mar-Source: Reuters- 109 words
Somali pirates released a Greek-owned crude oil tanker and its 26 crew members who were seized 10 months ago in the Arabian Sea, the vessel’s owner Dynacom Tankers Management said on Monday.
The MT Smyrni, which was carrying one million barrels of oil, was hijacked in May last year off Oman.
MT Smyrni is the second tanker to be freed by Somali pirates within the last few days. A chemical tanker hijacked a year ago with more than 20 crew on board was also released last week.
EU turns to Facebook in fight against Somali pirates
11 Mar-Source:publicservice.co.
The European Union’s anti-piracy naval force EU NAVFOR has set up a Facebook page to provide updates on the piracy situation off the Horn of Africa.
Headed up by a British rear admiral, the naval force conducts anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and the Indian Ocean.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“There are certainly some benefits attached to lifting the embargo: it might make the government more capable of holding territory and fighting rival militants, and it removes a major point of contention between the Somali government and its international partners, including the United States. It’s just unclear if those benefits are actually worth it.”
It’s Still a Bad Idea to Sell Arms to Somalia
11 Mar- source: The Atlantic-1421 Words
For twenty years, and until the middle of last week, Somalia was subject to a stringent UN arms embargo. And with good reason: during that time, Somalia became a byword for state failure, subjected to practically every dysfunction and misfortune a country can experience. Multiple U.S.-backed foreign invasions and the deployment of an African Union counter-insurgency force seem to have broken the cycle of militancy and state collapse that kicked off with long-tenured military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre’s violent overthrow in 1991. For all their flaws, AMISOM, as well as the Ethiopian and Kenyan militaries, have at least bought a crucial window of stability for the country’s fledgling government, which didn’t even earn U.S. recognition until early last month. Somalia has supposedly turned into something of a success story: a place where intense international engagement, as well as the Somali people’s gradually-building resentment of the country’s once-powerful al Qaeda-affiliated insurgency, has brought a measure of normalcy to the world’s emblematic failed state.