March 27, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Sierra Leone sends 850 soldiers to Somalia
27 Mar – Source: Daily Monitor/ Africa Review/ AFP – 281 words
Sierra Leone’s leader told 850 soldiers on the eve of their deployment as part of an African Union mission to war-torn Somalia on Tuesday that they were on “a great journey of peace”.
President Ernest Koroma addressed the men as they took a break from intensive training in Freetown ahead of joining the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is supporting government troops fighting the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels.
He told the soldiers they were “on the brink (of embarking) on a great journey of peace, a journey of charitable gallantry, a journey to showcase how a transformed nation and its transformed military could be a force for democracy, peace and reconciliation”.
“You have an overwhelming superiority in logistics, organisation and global goodwill with the hopes and prayers of Sierra Leoneans everywhere,” he said in the televised speech.
Key Headlines
- Somali president attends Arab summit in Qatar (Shabelle)
- Hiiraan Police official calls on security cooperation (Radio Mustaqbal/Raxanreeb)
- Sierra Leone sends 850 soldiers to Somalia (Daily Monitor/ Africa Review/ AFP)
- Speaker Jawari on Baidoa Administration Building (Shabelle)
- Somali refugees abused and raped – Human Rights Watch (BBC)
- Rahma killers should be brought to justice says Catherine Ashton (Radio Bar-kulan)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali president attends Arab summit in Qatar
27 Mar – Source: Shabelle – 150 words
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mahmud, accompanied by a delegation participated in Arab summit meeting in Doha, Qatar. The delegates who attended the meeting included Finance Minister Mohamud Hassan Suleiman, Foreign Affairs Minister, Somalia’s ambassador to Qatar Omar Sheikh Ali and Somali’s representative in the Arab summit Abdullahi Hassan Mohamud .
The summit was opened by the king of Qatar Emir Hamad bin Khalifah the 3rd .In his opening speech Mr. Hamad said that he was aware of the great change in Somalia and his government will give them full support. He pleaded with other Arab countries to help their Somalia brothers and offer them a helping hand.
The president of Somalia gave a presentation of his Government plans which included extending of public facilities to every region in Somalia and supported peace and unity for the whole Somalia.
Hiiraan Police official calls on security cooperation
27 Mar – Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Raxanreeb – 116 words
Central Region of Hiiraan police commissioner Ali Duuh Abdi has called on the regional residents to work together on peace and security in different parts of the region.
“Our people are required to be together, help each other and strengthen security in the region at this hard time times when many people are fighting for their lives due to the outbreak of diarrhea,” said the police commissioner.
“In order to achieve peace and good governance in the region, the residents must come together and work towards achieving this dream,” he added. The outbreak of diarrhea has affected the residents’ especially young children.
Speaker Jawari on Baidoa Administration Building
27 Mar – Source: Shabelle – 111 words
Speaker of National Assembly honorable Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari speaking at Baidoa the capital of Bai region said that the Somali federal government will ensure forming a government from the grassroots in the region. He said that he will ensure the administration will be chosen by the people living in the region which will satisfy their needs.
Speaking the media, Jawari said that members of parliament from the region will have to move to the region so that the administration will be efficient. He continued saying that members of the public must support members of parliament and work on security so that peace and stability to be achieved.
Rahma killers should be brought to justice, says Catherine Ashton
27 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 162 words
The EU Foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton has called on the Somali Federal Government to conduct a thorough investigation in to the killing of a female journalist in Mogadishu on Sunday evening and all previous cases to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of these atrocities.
Ashton, through her spokesman said she was saddened to learn of the death of the journalist, Rahma Abdulkadir, on the night of 24 March and expressed her condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of Rahma and of all those assassinated while carrying out their duty.
Rahma Abdulkadir, who worked as a technician for radio Abduwaq, was ambushed late Sunday evening by at least two men armed with pistols, killing her on the spot. Her murder brings to 21 the toll of media workers killed in Somalia since the beginning of 2012. Ashton said “It is highly regrettable that not a single person has been brought to justice for the killings of journalists in Somalia.”
REGIONAL MEDIA
Sierra Leone sends 850 soldiers to Somalia
27 Mar – Source: Daily Monitor/ Africa Review/ AFP – 281 words
Sierra Leone’s leader told 850 soldiers on the eve of their deployment as part of an African Union mission to war-torn Somalia on Tuesday that they were on “a great journey of peace”.
President Ernest Koroma addressed the men as they took a break from intensive training in Freetown ahead of joining the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is supporting government troops fighting the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels.
He told the soldiers they were “on the brink (of embarking) on a great journey of peace, a journey of charitable gallantry, a journey to showcase how a transformed nation and its transformed military could be a force for democracy, peace and reconciliation”.
“You have an overwhelming superiority in logistics, organisation and global goodwill with the hopes and prayers of Sierra Leoneans everywhere,” he said in the televised speech.
24th Arab Summit Issues Doha Declaration 5 Doha
27 Mar – Source: Saudi Press Agency – 83 words
The declaration also welcomed the success of the Republic of Somalia, and the progress that has been made in the political process and the election of the President of state and Speaker of parliament.
It also called on the member states and the countries of the world to provide all forms of political and material support and financial and technical assistance to Somalia to enable it to continue to achieve political progress and strengthen security and help them build state institutions and reconstruction.
Somali provincial leaders fear wider Ethiopian pull-out
26 Mar – Source: Sabahi Online – 747 words
Ethiopia’s decision to withdraw its troops from Hudur in Somalia’s Bakool region is causing consternation among administration leaders in other Somali regions. The fear is that al Shabaab could make territorial gains in other areas should the Ethiopian army pull out of them as well.
When Ethiopian and Somali forces left Hudur on March 17th, about 2,000 residents fled with them. Al Shabaab then took control of the town,killing civilians in the process.
Ethiopian troops have been supporting the Somali and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) security forces on and off since 2006. They were first deployed during the administration of President Abdullahi Yusuf in 2006 to help install the Somali Federal Government in Mogadishu, and later withdrew in 2009.
Ethiopian forces returned to Somalia in 2011 and re-captured from al Shabaab large swathes near the border. However, Addis Ababa said it did not plan to deploy its troops in Somalia for the long-term.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali refugees abused and raped – Human Rights Watch
27 Mar – Source: BBC – 153 words
Internally displaced people in Somalia are suffering sexual violence and other forms of abuse, reports the Human Rights Watch (HRW) campaign group. The abuse takes place at the hands of armed groups, including government forces, it says.
In the report, women who fled famine and conflict describe being gang-raped in camps in the capital, Mogadishu. Managers of the camps – often allied to militias – siphon off food and other aid, the HRW report says.
HRW says that even though the new Somali government which came to power in September last year has made some impressive statements, it has done very little to change the situation on the ground.
“Our findings suggested that the people in these camps are often basically kept captive in the camps,” said David Mepham, the UK director of Human Rights Watch. “They are not really able to leave. The gatekeepers who control the camps are themselves very abusive.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The country is at cross roads and the way out will not be simple. However, the choice is very clear; it is between gaining our dignity back and accepting the status quo. It is between living in peace and prosperity and living in chaos. It is between gaining our country back and losing it forever.”
Somalia: Running Out of Options
26 Mar – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1020 Words
The Somali chaos is a mosaic structure in which there are no realistic tools for alignment and superposition that allow careful understanding of the situation in a more logical way, especially for someone who is foreign to Somalia. It can only be characterized as a “chaos of a chaos”. Chaotic behavior manifests in several natural systems, such as the weather, tumor growth and can be forecasted using a chaotic mathematical model. We should also admit that the base of chaos is human behavior; chaotic systems are unstable and human behavior is unstable as well.
But destructive behavior is not in the general norms of human being. I fail to understand the lack of anguish when one continuously stabs a knife in his/her stomach and is bleeding to death. I fail to understand how much of a damage can Somalia still endures as we continue to lose our sovereignty. I fail to understand where is the human dignity? How do we expect the world to treat us if our actions are incomprehensible? Because of our unrealistic and anecdotal superiority which at the end arises out of a deep sense of inferiority, we became staunch enemies to each other consequently our behavior is simply outrageous.
Our logical thinking employs a simple formula that is opposition to one another where jealousy and hatred dominates our political life. This is an unending cycle which will continue forever unless a paradigm shift in political maturity is made. A Somali neighbor will always be the neighbor; understanding the reality, respecting the differences, if any and accepting each other as citizens under one flag is the truth that we must accept. Somalis have lived together as neighbors for centauries, but unfortunately ambitious and incompetent politicians have torn them a part for at least the past half centaury.
Top tweets
@africaupdate Bay seems as much a test as Jubbaland, in some ways. MT @ShabelleMN: Jawari on Bai Administration Building http://nblo.gs/JGSP1 #somalia.
@amisomsomalia QUOTE OF THE DAY: #SierraLeone‘s Battalion 1 is adequately prepared and ready to deploy to #Somalia http://on.fb.me/UKHK96.
@t_mcconnell New @hrw report on gang rapes, abuses in Mogadishu camps by armed men including #Somalia government security forces http://bit.ly/YAkZMH.
@wanjohi101 TECHNOLOGY: Operation ‘Ocean Shield’ goes High-tech in hunt for pirates off Horn of Africa http://bit.ly/11gurVL #Kenya #Somalia.
@tobinbjones A member of the SPF takes a break, while out on night patrol in Mogadishu last night. #Somalia #Mogadishu pic.twitter.com/qTexqRl115.
Image of the day
Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma (in cap) with the country’s troops who are due to join the peacekeeping mission in Somalia. Photo: Africa Review.