March 15, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

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Somali Foreign Minister meets diplomats in Mogadishu

15 Mar- Source: Radio Risaaala/Radio Kulmiye/Al Shahid/Somali Channel TV/Dhacdo Online- 126 words

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adam on Thursday met a delegation from the international community in the Somali capital Mogadishu. The delegation includes diplomats from interested parties in Somali affairs, including Britain.

Minister said in an interview with reporters after the meeting, she discussed with diplomats from the international community in the political and security developments experienced by Somalia.

Ms Adan, who held a closed-door meeting with the envoys, said their visit augments ties between Somalia and other states.She added that the international community congratulated the Somali government’s achievements in the fields of politics and security during the past few months.

The Somali deputy prime minister, who is also the country’s foreign affairs minister, Fowsiyo Yusuf Haji Adan, welcomed the envoys to the capital. Ms Adan, who held a closed-door meeting with the envoys, said their visit augments ties between Somalia and other states.

The diplomats expressed during a meeting with Somali Foreign Minister Willingness of the international community to support the Somali government. A British who spoke alongside Ms Adan said the visits paves way for the London conference [on Somalia] in May.

The meeting comes at a time Somali Foreign seeks to revive relations with the countries of the world.

Key Headlines

Somali Foreign Minister meets diplomats in Mogadishu (Radio Risaaala/Radio Kulmiye/Al Shahid)
Ahlu Sunna leader in Nairobi for talks with Somalis in Kenya (Radio Bar-kulan)
International community urged to back Somali government (Allsbc)
A Peaceful Mogadishu As Peace Returns To Somalia (K24TV)
Somali PM Shirdon appoints committee to investigate bodies in Mogadishu (Garowe Online/Somali Channel)
Kismayo convention organizers call for gov’t participation (Radio Bar-kulan)
Being black is no joy for Somalis and Ethiopians in Yemen (Radio Netherlands)
Uganda peacekeepers attribute success to Somali public’s support (Midnimo Online)
Somaliland university puts textbooks within reach (Sabahi Online)
13th and 14th Chinese naval escort taskforce conduct mission-handover (peopledaily/ China Military Online)
Tony Hawyard’s Genel May Find Oil in Somaliland Minister Says ( bloomberg)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali Foreign Minister meets diplomats in Mogadishu

15 Mar- Source: Radio Risaaala/Radio Kulmiye/Al Shahid/Somali Channel TV/Dhacdo Online- 126 words

Minister said in an interview with reporters after the meeting, she discussed with diplomats from the international community in the political and security developments experienced by Somalia. Ms Adan, who held a closed-door meeting with the envoys, said their visit augments ties between Somalia and other states.

She added that the international community congratulated the Somali government’s achievements in the fields of politics and security during the past few months. The Somali deputy prime minister, who is also the country’s foreign affairs minister, Fowsiyo Yusuf Haji Adan, welcomed the envoys to the capital.

Ms Adan, who held a closed-door meeting with the envoys, said their visit augments ties between Somalia and other states.

The meeting comes at a time Somali Foreign seeks to revive relations with the countries of the world.

Ahlu Sunna leader in Nairobi for talks with Somalis in Kenya

15 Mar- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 112 words

Ahlu Sunna’s executive committee chairman Abdi Ali Fidow is in neighbouring Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he is expected to hold talks Somali communities living there on issues regarding implementation of the recent agreement between his group and the central government in Mogadishu.

Speaking to reporters in Nairobi, Fidow said the aim of his trip is to consult Somali communities in Kenya on how to materialize the recent agreement between his group and the federal government.

He said he has also paid visits to Mogadishu and several other regions in Somali for consultations. Fidow was recently appointed by Alhu Sunna officials in central Somalia following the death of his predecessor Mohamed Yussuf Hefow.

International community urged to back Somali government

14 Mar – Source: Allsbc.com – 1052 words

Somali government is confident that the world will respond positively to the changing situation in Somalia because there are already signs to that effect.

Residents of Dhusamareb last week gathered to discuss the delivery of public services and in situation like these, one cannot help thinking how important it is for a Somali leader to get out of Mogadishu and listen to people in the regions. To be discussing policing, tax collection and judicial reform in Galguduud, a region that only recently was a no-go area ravaged by extremists, gives you an indication of how far we have come. Only recently Somali civilians could barely move safely inside our own capital.

Somalia’s story now is that of a fledgling democracy taking the first steps of reconstruction and development. Somalis are returning from the diaspora in growing numbers to set up new businesses such as airlines, telecoms companies, banks, hotels and restaurants. They are rebuilding their homes and lives after decades of dislocation. No longer are we referred to as the world’s worst failed state, dominated by terrorism, piracy and humanitarian crisis. The seeds of economic recovery have been planted and must now be watered.

All this has been engendered by a transformation in security. Our brave forces in partnership with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have driven al Shabaab out of Mogadishu and its foreign, al Qaeda inspired ideology has been comprehensively rejected by Somalis. We now control most of south central Somalia and are securing major roads between Mogadishu and important centres like Baidoa, Beledweyne and Kismayo. But although al Shabaab is on its knees, it still poses a threat and the fight is not over.

Somali PM Shirdon appoints committee to investigate bodies in Mogadishu

14 Mar- Source: Garowe Online/Somali Channel TV -312 words

Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon at a cabinet meeting said that he would setup a committee to investigate dead bodies found in the in the streets of Mogadishu this week, Garowe Online reports.

At a weekly cabinet meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Shirdon stated that he was really upset by the killings of the young men who were found in the streets of two different districts in Mogadishu this week.

He selected a committee consisting of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior and Security and the Ministry of Information to investigate the killings of 6 men whose bodies were found in Daynile and Yaqshid districts.

Kismayo convention organizers call for gov’t participation

14 Mar- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 313 words

Jubaland conference organizers have appealed to the federal government in Mogadishu to spearhead efforts to form the regional administration, almost two week the federal government declared the Kismayo convention unconstitutional.

Addressing a press conference in the port city of Kismayo, Ahmed Ali Igal who is a member of the Kismayo convention organizing committee urged the government to send its representatives to the conference.

His counterpart Mohamed Ugas Hussein said it was unfortunate for top government officials to visit other regions and not the two Juba.

On March 1, Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said Kismayo convention which kicked off February 27 violated the constitution and called it “an obstacle to peaceful political development.”

“This unilateral act, carried out without reference to the federal government, violates the constitution and is an obstacle to peaceful political development. It neither serves the best interest of the local communities in the area nor that of the new Somali state,” said the PM in statement.

He said government’s constitutional mandate is to establish a federal state as the end goal, such process was already underway.

“It’s important that what’s happening in Kismayo only takes place within – and not outside – the constitutional framework. According to our constitutional mandate, the government won’t accept anything less than correct procedure. We have been extremely inclusive throughout all consultative engagements and played a facilitative role in Baidoa and Beledweyne, and we expect to do the same in Kismayo as we move towards a federal state,” he added.

Uganda peacekeepers attribute success to Somali public’s support

14 Mar – Source: Midnimo Online- 348 words

The UPDF [Uganda People’s Defence Force] has succeeded in defeating al Shabaab terrorists in Somalia largely because of the ability of the Ugandan troops to win the hearts of the Somali civilian population, former UPDF contingent commander Brigadier Paul Lokech has said.

Brigaidier Lokech who is currently Uganda’s military attaché in Russia, was on Tuesday giving an insight during the marking of six years since the UPDF was deployed in Somalia in March 2007 under AMISOM.

The event which was organised by the AU/UN Information Support Team and the Centre for African Security, International and Strategic Studies (CASISS), was held at Serena Conference Centre. Uganda has over 6,000 troops serving under AMISOM alongside other troops and Police officers from Burundi, Kenya, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The event was meant to highlight the role played by AMISOM in supporting the people of Somalia to restore peace and stability in their country, focusing on the contribution of the UPDF.

“What helped us in Mogadishu was having Somalis on our side, with civil-military relations to win the hearts and minds of the Somali people,” Brigadier Lokech said.

The event also launched the Heroes in the Horn, a 40-minute documentary film that highlights UPDF’s contributions in Somalia. Present were American army officers from the Air War College in Alabama USA.

Major Gen. Nathan Mugisha, Uganda’s deputy ambassador of Somalia and former AMISOM force commander said, “We pay tribute to the Commander in chief President Museveni, for having taken a bold decision.”

Mugisha also paid tribute to the UPDF soldiers who were part of the initiative under AMISOM, but lost their lives during the liberation of Somalia from al Shabaab.

Uganda and Burundi have taken the bulk of casualties because they moved in when it was dangerous. But the leadership deserves to be recognised for taking the bold steps, Major General Mugisha said.

The First Secretary of the Somali Embassy in Uganda said hope is restored in Somalia because of the tireless contribution and efforts of Uganda.

REGIONAL MEDIA

A Peaceful Mogadishu, As Peace Returns To Somalia

14 Mar- Source: K24TV- 3:12 min

In the eyes of many Kenyans and the world at large, Somalia is a failed state, a country torn apart by a brutal civil war and whose economy is literally dead. But following a sustained period of peace brought about by the AMISOM forces including the Kenya Defence Forces, things are slowly returning back to normal.

Somaliland university puts textbooks within reach

14 Mar- Source: Sabahi Online- 439 words

Fatima Mohamed, a 24-year-old medical student at Gollis University in Hargeisa, no longer needs to worry about obtaining hard copies of textbooks in her field. College textbooks have been in short supply in Somalia since the civil war, but now Mohamed has a better chance of accessing the books though a new electronic library that opened last month at the privately-run campus.

“I am happy about this service because it will be help improve and strengthen students’ knowledge … it has made studying easier for me,” she told Sabahi.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

13th and 14th Chinese naval escort taskforce conduct mission-handover

15 Mar- Source: peopledaily/ China Military Online- 202 words

The 13th and 14th escort task forces under the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held an escort mission-handover ceremony in western waters of the Gulf of Aden on March 13, 2013, local time. Before the ceremony, the 14th Chinese naval escort taskforce had arrived at the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast.

At the ceremony, the command post of the 13th escort taskforce transferred documents, equipment and spares relating to escort mission to its counterpart of the14th escort taskforce and detailed to the successor the current situation of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast.

Mahdi Hashi: How easy is it to lose British citizenship?

14 Mar- Source: BBC- 305 words

British citizenship used to be for life – but a growing number of people are being stripped of their passports. BBC Radio 4’s Law in Action programme investigates. The father of a man facing terrorism charges in New York has accused the government of taking away his son’s British citizenship in order to avoid the need for extradition proceedings.

Mahdi Hashi, 23, was given a British passport after he was brought to Britain from Somalia with his family nearly 20 years ago. He was in Somalia last summer when the Home Office told his parents his citizenship had been taken away from him.

Just before Christmas, US prosecutors said Mahdi Hashi had been flown to New York by the FBI and charged with providing material support to al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab.

Being black is no joy for Somalis and Ethiopians in Yemen

15 Mar- Source: Radio Netherlands- 749 words

The black man on the bus, they pat him on the head and push him in the back. They make jokes about his pronunciation of the name of the market he is going to. He sits still, waiting for the humiliation to pass.
A Somali man gets beaten at the bus station because he allegedly stole something. He doesn’t fight back, but cries. Passersby look the other way.

Minutes later, a woman is ignored by the bus driver because he doesn’t want Africans on board. She patiently waits for the next bus.

One only has to use public transport in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital city, for a day or two to realize that being black here is no joy. There are no official numbers, but Yemen is home to hundreds of thousands of African immigrants. Most come from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea as refugees and non-refugees both.

Tony Hawyard’s Genel May Find Oil in Somaliland, Minister Says

14 Mar- Source: bloomberg-625 words

Somaliland is optimistic that a search for oil by Genel Energy Plc (GENL), run by former BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, will find commercial quantities of crude, Mines and Energy Minister Hussein Abdi Dualeh said.

The company has completed about 95 percent of an airborne geophysical study and plans to conduct a two-dimensional survey of a 4,000-kilometer (2,485-mile) area in the semi-autonomous northern Somali region, Dualeh said in an interview yesterday in Ankara, the Turkish capital. Patrick D’Ancona, a spokesman for London-based Genel, declined to comment beyond its annual results statement issued on Feb. 28.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“I hope Ali Ahmed will be remembered as the courageous and dedicated young man that he was. One thing’s for sure: It is through the sacrifice paid by young men and women like Ali that society will be transformed for the better. I hope other young journalists in Somalia will be inspired by his career, and will forge similarly bold paths.”

Remembering slain journalist Ali Ahmed, one year on

14 Mar- Source: The Bridge-865 Words

Journalism is an especially dangerous profession when it takes one into war and conflict zones, Somalia included. The Committee to Protect Journalists records that in Somalia 30 journalists were killed while carrying out their duties since 2008. Many of them are harassed and forced to flee the country.

Some of these troubled journalists were reporting conflict others were on assignments covering crime and corruption. In Somalia, telling the truth, especially in the face of the powers that be, can easily get you beaten or killed.

Journalists get criticised a lot by scholars, and often for good reason. They can be bad characters, for sure; but when they lay their lives on the line in the pursuit of the truth, they are heroes.

Ali Ahmed Abdi, 22-year-old programme director and presenter at Radio Galkayo, was assassinated on Sunday, March 4th, 2012. He had been working in Galkayo, his hometown and a part of the semi-autonomous Galmudug region, for five years.

“Zahra believes that it is only through unity that Somali women can fight for their rights and actively participate in future peace-building and reconciliation initiatives.”

The Word on Women – Zahra Ugaas Farah: Profile of a Somali Peacemaker

14 Mar- Source: TrustLaw blog-606 Words

Zahra Ugaas Farah says her mission in life is to champion women’s rights in Somalia to promote peace. When war broke out in the early 1990s, Zahra says she could not watch the unfolding chaos and bloodshed without taking action. In 1992, she established an NGO in Mogadishu called the Family Empowerment and Relief Organisation (FERO) to assist victims of the conflict and work towards sustainable peace.

“Women and children started paying the highest price in the senseless killings and there was a total breakdown of the rule of law. Having experienced this horrible situation, I decided to volunteer and lead by example with humanitarian work to help the most vulnerable people in society,” Zahra said.

“I am tirelessly searching for long lasting peace in Somalia,” she explained. “Peace is the mother of development and without peace we cannot progress as a nation,” she added. “We have a new government in place now and we should use this as an opportunity to bring everyone together to work on a long-term peace plan”.

Top tweets

@AC_Rader Today’s Zaman reports more Turkish aid for #Somaliland. Will likely be welcome as USAID $ now to reduce after diplomatic recog of Somalia.

‏@SomaliaEU #EU #Somalia #London conference: yesterday’s #Core Group meeting in #Mogadishu allowed useful discussion on Fed Gov plans and priorities.

@masaafur #Somalia must develop & communicate a vision that links good #governance, institutional capacity, & sustainable #agriculture

@AbdirachidATM She got a gun but she could have been a model or physician. #CivilWarProblems. #Somalia

‏@UNPOSomalia #Envoy Mahiga with #Somali Foreign Minister & Ambassadors preparing for conference on #Somalia in London @UN @UN_DPA pic.twitter.com/poCenpsJKe

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