March 24, 2015 | Morning Headlines.
Heavy Downpour Kills 600 Goats In Bari Region
23 March – Source: Goobjoog News – 171 Words
At least 600 goats have been confirmed dead following a 48 hour downpour that hit mulitple districts in Bari region, according to some officials from that region. The heavy rains which pounded the region on Saturday and Sunday caused floods and damaged property. The incident occurred in Dharoor Valley of Dabar village under Isku-Shiban District. Isku-Shiban District commissioner, Abdirisak Musa Artan told the media that they are undertaking initiatives to help people affected by the disaster. “We shall dispatch officials to the areas to oversee the situation and we shall try to respond early enough,” Artan said. The DC stated that the damage caused by the heavy rains may increase as there is no proper Meteorology Agency in the region. “This rain may continue for a few days but will not last, so people have to [be] attentive as the season gets underway” he said. Rains of the spring season have started across Somalia with heavy downpours being reported from drought stricken regions.
Key Headlines
- Heavy Downpour Kills 600 Goats In Bari Region (Radio Goobjoog)
- Two Illegal Iran Fishing Vessels Seized In Mudug Region (Somali Current)
- Somaliland Detains Sports Officials Over Mogadishu Relocation Plans (Hiiraan Online)
- Dubai Meeting Reviews Garowe Airport’s Construction Award Tenders (Garowe Online)
- Shabelle Journalist To Be Arraigned In Mogadishu Court (Shabelle Media Network)
- Former Somalia Leader Liable In US For Human Rights Violations (The East African)
- Kenya Says To Beef Up Security On Somali Border To Block Militants (Reuters)
- Mo Farah’s Half-Marathon Record Is Not European Claims Former Athlete (The Guardian)
- Rasna Warah On War Crimes And Misdemeanors (Warscapes)
- Recruitment For The National Independent Electoral Commission & Boundaries & Federal Commission Kicks Off (AMISOM)
SOMALI MEDIA
Two Illegal Iran Fishing Vessels Seized In Mudug Region
23 March – Source: Somali Current – 135 Words
Himan and Heeb maritime police forces have seized two illegal Iran fishing vessels off the coast of Mudug region, the District Commissioner has confirmed. El Huur District Commissioner Mohamed Mohamud Ali has confirmed his soldiers seized two illegal Iran fishing vessels, adding that illegal foreign fishing has been increasing in the region. Local fishermen have continuously complained about foreign trawlers conducting illegal fishing expeditions, and dumping toxic waste. Several multinational companies have been accused of dumping toxic waste endangering aquatic species. In March 2014, Puntland seized illegal Yemeni fishing vessels, and arrested 62 Yemenis on board and 20 Somalis who were acting as their bodyguards. Since the collapse of the central government in 1991, foreign trawlers have made their way into Somali territorial waters to fish commercial quantities.
Somaliland Detains Sports Officials Over Mogadishu Relocation Plans
23 March – Source: Hiiraan Online – 324 Words
Somaliland has detained sports officials over Mogadishu relocation plans. Security forces in the Somaliland arrested two local players and an instructor from Somalia’s sports league, accusing them of planning to induce local players to move and join Mogadishu football clubs. Somaliland, which declared a unilateral independence from the rest of Somalia, maintains its status of being an independent state by employing its own government, army and separate financial system. Somaliland’s Sports and Youth Minister Ahmed Abdi Kahin announced the arrests of Mustafa Abdi Haddi, the Secretary general for Somaliland Olympics committee, Ahmed Kosar Hussein from Somaliland along with Mohamed Farah Ajab, an Olympics instructor from Somalia on Monday, accusing them of training local players, and planning to fly them to Mogadishu to take part regional football tournament set to take place in the federal capital without the ministry’s knowledge.
Initial reports say that the arrested officials were training five local stars. The officials were summoned by the Sports and Youth Ministry, and subsequently arrested after interrogations. Somalia’s sports authorities could not be reached for comment. The development comes as Somalia’s football and Olympics federations have swayed several players, including foreigners from Kenya and Nigeria to join local teams in an attempt to improve Somalia’s long muddled sports system. Somalia’s national players who attend international tournaments often return home with disappointing defeats as the result of poor trainings and skills. However, sports experts expect progress in the near future, as stadiums once used for warlords or militants trainings are being rebuilt after the ouster of Islamist insurgents from the capital and beyond. Despite the progress, Somalia, which can probably be forgiven for the malfunction resulting from decades of war that ruined the once prestigious football system, has a long way to go to match its neighboring countries with skilled players and a well-functioning sports system.
Dubai Meeting Reviews Garowe Airport’s Construction Award Tenders
23 March – Source: Garowe Online – 168 Words
A meeting aimed at reviewing tenders from firms vying for a contract to build a new airport for the Puntland capital entered its second day in Dubai, according to officials. Business executives, representatives from firms competing for the contract, and officials from Puntland are attending the business meeting at a five-star hotel in the UAE’s port city of Dubai. Sources at the meeting told Garowe Online that four unnamed firms were awarded the contract; however, officials say a formal announcement will be made by the Kuwaiti Fund next month. The Kuwait fund has donated money for the construction of the airport, as well as Baran University. The deals have the potential to boost Puntland’s capacity to host large numbers of local and international flights. Puntland’s finance and aviation ministers were among the attendees of the meeting. Puntland, a stable semiautonomous region in northern Somalia has attracted international attention with an Italian firm offering to construct the Bossaso airport, the region’s commercial hub.
Shabelle Journalist To Be Arraigned In Mogadishu Court
23 March – Source: Shabelle Media Network – 351 Words
Somalia’s detained Shabelle editor journalist is expected to be brought before the court in Mogadishu on Monday morning, his lawyer said. Mohamed Bashir Hashi, a Shabelle News editor, has been behind bars for more than 7 months. He was accused of instigating violence against government security operations in Mogadishu, prosecutors have alleged that the Shabelle news editor has links with Al Shabaab, though his lawyer and colleagues say the allegation is politically motivated. “The detained Shabelle journalist, Mr Bashir, was [accused of] what he had never done,” one of his colleagues said on Monday before the court. Hashi’s lawyer said that he wants to know what accusations the prosecutors are directing at his client, adding that he will do his best to get the editor released. The National Union of Somali Journalists has strongly condemned a Mogadishu court’s previous verdicts that found radio journalists guilty of trumped charges and imposed heavy fines.
International journalists have also condemned the editor’s detention; Reporters Without Borders denounced the detention of Mr. Mohamed Bashir Hashi. “We are outraged by the severity and inconsistency [in the] detention of Shabelle editor,” said Cléa Kahn-Sriber, the head of the Reporters Without Borders’ Africa desk. On August 15, 2014, Somalia army forces raided and shut down Radio Shabelle and its sister station SKYFM in Mogadishu, arrested 19 individuals at the station, though 16 of them were later released from the jail. Shabelle Media Network has also been threatened by Somalia’s hardline Shabab fighters over its reporting, and several of its journalists and two of its directors have been killed in Mogadishu. Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists who are often targeted in the conflict between the UN-backed government, al-Qaeda-linked militants and rival clans.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Former Somalia Leader Liable In US For Human Rights Violations
23 March – Source: The East African – 586 Words
Four Somalis last week prevailed in their long effort in US courts to hold a former top official of Somalia liable for torture and other human rights abuses. The 11-year-long legal battle ended on March 9 when the highest court in the United States let stand a ruling that had awarded the Somalis $21 million in damages for crimes committed by former premier and Defence minister Mohamed Ali Samantar. The violence for which Mr Samantar has acknowledged responsibility took place during the military dictatorship of Mohamed Siad Barré, who ruled Somalia from 1969 to 1991. Mr Samantar, 84, made his way to the United States following the collapse of the Barré regime and has lived in Washington DC suburbs for the past 18 years. The four Somalis, who had also migrated to the United States, sued Mr Samantar in 2004 under a US law designed to protect victims of torture. The former prime minister argued that he was entitled to immunity from the claims against him because of his standing at the time as an official of a foreign country. The US Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court’s rejection of Mr Samantar’s defence.
“I truly rejoice to know that Samantar cannot escape the pronouncement of the court of law,” said Aziz Deria, one of the four Somalis represented by attorneys at the Centre for Justice and Accountability, a California-based human rights organisation. “My late father Mohamed Iid, my younger brother Mustafa, and my cousin Yusuf were pulled from our family’s home and murdered under Gen Samantar’s orders just because of their clan,” Mr Deria recalled. “The Supreme Court’s decision today gives me hope that justice for all Somalis is possible.” The lower US court that had earlier found in favour of the Somalis’ suit ruled that Mr Samantar “in fact ordered and affirmatively permitted such violations.” Centre for Justice and Accountability legal director Kathy Roberts called the final judgment in the Samantar case a victory for victims of crimes that governments commit against their own people. “Thousands of Somalis suffered under the Siad Barré regime and in the years since its collapse,” Ms Roberts said. “The decision of the Somali Federal Government not to seek immunity for Samantar, and the US Supreme Court’s denial of Samantar’s final appeal, together send a strong message that the perpetrators of such atrocities will not be cloaked with impunity.”
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya Says To Beef Up Security On Somali Border To Block Militants
23 March – Source: Reuters – 349 Words
Kenya plans to build a new road, more border crossings and barriers on its 700 km (420 mile) border with Somalia in an attempt to thwart attacks from the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, the interior ministry said on Monday. Kenya is under heavy pressure to improve security after numerous militant attacks that have killed well over 200 people since 2013, mostly in the border counties of Mandera and Lamu. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for much of the bloodshed and has vowed revenge against Kenya for contributing troops to an African Union force battling the militants in Somalia. “The idea is to ensure that there are clear border entry points,” said Mwenda Njoka, a spokesman for Interior Secretary Joseph Nkaissery. “It’s not that you’re going to put up a 700 km wall.” Njoka said authorities had sent surveyors to the crime-ridden border region, which is awash with bandits and gunmen and includes hundreds of kilometres of dense forest and marshes.
Njoka said the project should begin this financial year but could not say how much it would cost, when it would be completed or how many additional patrol guards would be deployed. It was also not immediately clear whether the planned new road would run the full length of the border with Somalia. Critics on social media were quick to mock the plan, saying the government would do better to focus on tackling corruption. Analysts say it is possible to purchase a Kenyan passport for $100, while those caught up in police sweeps targeting suspected terrorists pay bribes to be released from jail. Nkaissery was appointed interior minister last December as part of a security shake-up following two attacks in Mandera, northeast Kenya. Those raids angered many Kenyans and prompted President Uhuru Kenyatta to replace his top security officials and push through a new law with sweeping counter-terrorism powers. This month, in the most recent strike claimed by al Shabaab, gunmen attacked the convoy of Mandera governor Ali Roba, killing four soldiers.
Mo Farah’s Half-Marathon Record Is Not European Claims Former Athlete
23 March – Source: The Guardian – 320 Words
The Spaniard who lost his European half-marathon record to Mo Farah on Sunday has said that what Farah had broken “is the record for Somalia”. Fabian Roncero, who held the European record for 13.1 miles before Farah broke it by 20 seconds in winning the Lisbon half-marathon in 59min 32sec, also claimed none of Farah’s European records from the 1500m to the half-marathon should be considered valid. “Although the official lists say that Mo Farah now holds the half-marathon record, for me the 800m European record holder remains Sebastian Coe, the 1500m Fermín Cacho, the 5,000m Dieter Baumann and 10,000m António Pinto,” Roncero said. “For me, an athlete who was born in Kenya is Kenyan and one born in Somalia is Somali forever, and that is the opinion of the people with whom I speak,” he said. “Besides, I am convinced that 95% of athletes still feel nationalised by their country of origin.”
Farah, the double Olympic and world 5,000m and 10,000m champion, was born in Somalia but moved to Britain aged eight to join his father, who was born in Britain. Only last month he admitted his anger at remarks allegedly made by his team-mate Andy Vernon at the European Championships in Zurich doubting his nationality and said “I love competing for my country”. The 44-year-old Roncero, who trains young athletes in Cantabria in Spain, stressed he thought Farah was a great athlete and African runners were superior to European distance runners. However he maintains his European record should stand. “I have nothing against Africans,” he told the Spanish newspaper Marca. “On the contrary, I consider them superior to European runners but with respect to the records, I say what I feel and I will never lie. Farah is a great athlete but for me the records in Europe are what make European athletes.”
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Every disaster in a poor country attracts hundreds of humanitarian agencies. Yet the funds raised for these disasters fail to bring about significant changes in the lives of those affected. The distribution of food aid in Somalia, particularly during the peak harvest season, kills the incentive to farm, as farmers cannot get a competitive price for their produce in an environment where there is free or cheap food available. Food aid is also regularly diverted by militia and criminal networks who determine who gets aid and who doesn’t, and how much of the aid will be sold in markets. This has severely distorted the local economy, entrenched corruption, and created a country dependent on handouts, which does not augur well for its recovery.”
Rasna Warah On War Crimes And Misdemeanors
22 March – Source: Warscapes – 3,577 Words
Speaking before members of the international press gathered in Mogadishu on January 29, 2015, Philippe Lazzarini, United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, called on the international community to act in order to prevent a repeat of the famine of 2011 in Somalia. “About 731,000 Somalis face acute food insecurity, the vast majority internally displaced people, while an additional 2.3 million people are at risk of sliding into the same situation,” Lazzarini told the press. The UN estimates that approximately $863 million is needed to save Somali lives. It is in the backdrop of Somalia’s ongoing food insecurity that Kenyan writer and journalist Rasna Warah recently published her controversial new book War Crimes: How warlords, politicians, foreign governments and aid agencies conspired to create a failed state in Somalia.
The book is a scathing indictment of the United Nations, Western NGOs, violent warlords and Somali leaders who have long been accused of using international aid as their personal slush fund. War Crimes is not Rasna Warah’s first foray into the labyrinthine world of the international aid industry. In 2008, she edited an anthology called Missionaries, Mercenaries and Misfits, a critical exploration of the “development machine” from the perspectives of Africans. In 2011, she published Mogadishu Then and Now, a pictorial tribute to the lost splendor of Somalia’s capital before the civil war and contrasts it with the devastation that has characterized the city since 1991. Warscapes recently interviewed Rasna Warah about her controversial new book on Somalia and her fascination with the country, whose people she says have long been the victims an “unholy alliance” between corrupt leaders, Western NGO’s and an international media that enables them.
Warscapes: Rasna Warah, you’ve written extensively about Somalia. What’s the fascination the country holds for you?
Rasna Warah: I never started out intending to write books about Somalia. I didn’t have a particular interest in the country until around July 2011, when a famine of “catastrophic proportions” in the Horn of Africa was declared by the United Nations. At that time, a Somali agricultural economist contacted me and made a convincing argument about why it was highly unlikely that there was a famine in southern Somalia, as the UN claimed, as that region was the breadbasket of Somalia and had even experienced a bumper harvest the previous year. I then began investigating the story by talking to various people within and outside the UN who had worked in Somalia or who had projects there, and concluded that the famine had been exaggerated. It occurred to me that the international media and aid organizations were united in an unholy alliance where stories of piracy, famine and terrorism dominated the narrative about Somalia, while politicians begged for more aid – which was inevitably diverted to militias or just stolen outright – thereby contributing to further conflict and under-development in the country.
“I today came to this office in order to apply for the position of the National Independent Electoral Commissioner. This process has been going on and the Ministry has advertised and it was never a secret; every Somali person knows that there is need to form the National Independent Electoral Commission and the Boundaries and Federation Commission. I think the deadline is soon and as such I was informed about the position in the Ministry as well as from outside. It is not something secretive because everyone knows about it,”
Recruitment For The National Independent Electoral Commission & Boundaries & Federal Commission Kicks Off
22 March – Source: AMISOM – Video – 7:08 Minutes
As required by the Provisional Federal Constitution of Somalia and in line with the recently passed laws on the National Independent Electoral Commission and the Boundaries and Federation Commission, Somalia is now urging qualified citizens to apply for the 18 vacant seats of the National Independent Election Commission (NIEC) and the Boundaries and Federal Commission (BFC); the deadline for applications to the two Commissions has now been extended to 30th March 2015.