May 22, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Thousands match in Mogadishu streets to show Support for PM
22 May – Source: Bar-kulan/Universal TV/Shabelle/Hiiraan Online/SNTV – 78 words
Thousands of protesters have on Tuesday took to the streets of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to voice up their strong support for the Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon after some of the lawmakers had filed a motion against him, accusing the Premier of failure to lead the government after six months in power.
Demonstrators who matched at Sayid road had carried banners pictured the Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon and words against the motion filed by the MPs. Ugas Abdikadir Ugas Hussien who was among the demonstrators told Bar-kulan that they are against the motion filed against the Prime Minister, asking the people to work on security and country’s development.
Mr Ugas appealed members of the Somali Federal Parliament who files the motion against Mr Shirdon’s administration to take back their petition and give the six months old administration time to fulfill its political plan. About 100 parliamentarians accused the Prime Minister of failing to lead the government after six months that he has been in power. Parliament has scheduled to debate the tabled motion on May 22, which will betomorrow.
Key Headlines
- Thousands match in Mogadishu streets to show Support for PM (Bar-kulan/Universal TV/Shabelle/Hiiraan Online/SNTV)
- Somali government to table stabilization plan at parliament (Shabelle)
- Heroin haul seized from ocean going dhow off southern Somalia (Coast Week)
- Troops on go-slow lockdown Beled-Hawa (Bar-kulan)
- Somalia: Meeting held over women’s participation in Puntland elections (Garowe Online/Raxanreeb)
- Al Shabaab reportedly killed a man in Burdhubo (Radio Bar-kulan)
SOMALI MEDIA
Thousands match in Mogadishu streets to show Support for PM
22 May – Source: Bar-kulan/Universal TV/Shabelle/Hiiraan Online/SNTV – 78 words
Thousands of protesters have on Tuesday took to the streets of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to voice up their strong support for the Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon after some of the lawmakers had filed a motion against him, accusing the Premier of failure to lead the government after six months in power.
Demonstrators who matched at Sayid road had carried banners pictured the Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon and words against the motion filed by the MPs. Ugas Abdikadir Ugas Hussien who was among the demonstrators told Bar-kulan that they are against the motion filed against the Prime Minister, asking the people to work on security and country’s development.
Mr Ugas appealed members of the Somali Federal Parliament who files the motion against Mr Shirdon’s administration to take back their petition and give the six months old administration time to fulfill its political plan. About 100 parliamentarians accused the Prime Minister of failing to lead the government after six months that he has been in power. Parliament has scheduled to debate the tabled motion on May 22, which will be tomorrow.
Somali government to table stabilization plan at parliament
22 May – Source: Shabelle – 130 words
Eng. Abdirahman Osman Yarisow who is the president’s spokesman held a press conference in the capital. Mr. Yarisow said that the government is due to forward the stabilization plan it had in place to the members of parliament to be reviewed and passed.
The plan includes formation of regional administrations for the recently liberated areas from al Shabaab. Mr. Yarisow said once the members of parliament passed the proposed plan, the government will form administrations which satisfy the communities living in the different regions of the country.
Addressing the Jubaland situation, Mr. Yarisow said the current misunderstanding between politicians residing from the region will come to an end as the government has put plans to form an administration for the regions which will be welcomed by the members of the public.
Troops on go-slow lockdown Beled-Hawa
22 May – Source: Bar-kulan – 128 words
Hundreds of government soldiers on a go-slow have reportedly closed Beled-Hawa town of Gedo region in southern Somalia, as the areas government commander Cabbey John confirmed to Bar-kulan. Commander said that troops are on go-slow for the lack of salaries.
Troops were reported to have closed telecommunication companies and other business places in the town. Mr John added that the troops are complaining about lack of salary for the past couple of months and that forced them to close telecommunication companies and also paralyze the business and transportation in the town.
The government soldiers who are on a go-slow in Beled-Hawa used to receive salary from the Dolow where the government officials said that they have no salary for the troops in the outskirt of Beled-Hawa.
Somalia: Meeting held over women’s participation in Puntland elections
22 May – Source: Garowe Online/Raxanreeb – 135 words
A meeting was held Tuesday in Puntland state, northern Somalia, over the women’s participation in the upcoming Local Council elections, Garowe Online reports.
The meeting was held at Puntland Development and Research Center (PDRC)compound in Garowe, capital of Puntland, and attended by Puntland government officials, Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission (TPEC) officials, representatives of registered political associations in Puntland, U.N. officers, and PWCN, a women’s association group.
Mr. Ali Farah Farmieri, deputy head of PDRC, opened the meeting and stated that the aim is strategize on the role and participation of women in the upcoming Local Elections, slated for July 2013. Ms. Abshiro Muse, an official with the 9-member TPEC, commended the meeting’s participants for “agreeing to set a quota for women” and for recognizing a special role for women in the Puntland elections.
Al Shabaab reportedly killed a man in Burdhubo
21 May – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 108 words
Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant have been accused of executing a middle aged man by his relatives in Burdhubo district of Bay region in southern Somalia.
Al Shabaab insurgents accused Abdillahi Sirad, 28 years of age for working with the Somali Federal government troops in Gedo region, as one of Abdillahi’s relatives who declined his name to be used confirmed to Bar-kulan.
The family member stated how they are disappointed about the killing of Abdillahi who has not done anything at all, saying the accusations were baseless. Abdillahi’s relatives added that he has never been a part of the sides fighting in Somalia. Abdillahi has left a widow and four children.
Somaliland: “EU to Continue Direct Engagement with Hargeisa” Amb D’Urso
21 May – Source: Somaliland Sun – 456 words
The European Union-EU has informed that it will continue dealing with the Hargeisa Based administration directly in all matters related to its cooperation and interventions in Somaliland.
This was informed by the EU envoy to Somalia/Somaliland Ambassador Michele Cervone d’Urso during a joint press conference held with Foreign minister Dr Mohamed A Omar at the presidency following conclusion of a meeting with President Ahmed Mahamud Silanyo.
Ambassador D’Urso who is leading an EU delegation to the country also informed that the European body has handed over the Sheikh Veterinary technical School-SVTS based in Sahil Region to the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development-IGAD.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Heroin haul seized from ocean going dhow off southern Somalia
22 May – Source: Coast Week – 378 words
A warship attached to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) has made another major drugs bust seizing 194kgs of heroin. On May 10, HMCS Toronto successfully disrupted her third narcotics shipment in six weeks, and second this week, as part of ongoing counter-terrorism operations in the Indian Ocean.
During the search and inspection of a vessel by the ship’s naval boarding team, HMCS Toronto’s crew recovered 194 kilograms of heroin. The narcotics were recovered without incident and destroyed. In the last six weeks, HMCS Toronto has interdicted more than a ton of narcotics.
Mandera County governor calls meeting to defuse cross-border clan violence
21 May – Source: Sabahi Online – 684 words
Amid an outbreak of deadly violence, officials from Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia were scheduled to arriveTuesday (May 21st) in Mandera County to discuss the prevention of inter-clan clashes from spilling across the intersection of their three frontiers.
Clan tensions in the area have simmered for decades and flared occasionally into cross-border clashes, but since May 10th, they have escalated in Mandera County, killing at least 14 people, injuring 39 and displacing more than 4,000, authorities said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Searching For Mister Big
21 May – Source: Strategy Page – 689 words
The Somali pirates have been having a bad year, as in it has been over twelve months since any of them captured a ship they could hold for ransom. Some small coastal freighters and fishing boats have been taken but you can’t get much, if any, ransom for these. Pirate attacks were down 70 percent last year but all the security measures have increased global shipping costs by $18 billion. That’s a tiny slice of worldwide shipping expenses but is a tax everyone who depends on maritime transportation pays.
With that kind of incentive, governments, spurred on by shipping companies and sailors unions, have sought to take apart the support network the pirate gangs depend on. This would greatly reduce the incentives that attract so many Somalis to pirate gangs. Various police and intelligence agencies have been scrutinizing how the pirates operated and noted that the pirates themselves only keep about half the ransom money.
The rest goes to financiers, negotiators, and, well, behind-the-scenes “facilitators” who are essential in making piracy the expensive problem it has become. The key to eliminating piracy is getting these support personnel. This has proven difficult, as most of these fellows live outside of Somalia, usually in the Persian Gulf, and must be prosecuted under local law. This means going after old pros who have been working various semi-legal (or outright illegal) scams for years and know how to protect themselves from prosecution.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Any reconciliation process among the Northern communities must be handled very delicately and be pursued with all urgency because it involves very sensitive issues with many sacred cows. Postponing thorny issues, such as demilitarization of the Khaatumo region is not a policy; it is a problem avoidance, which breeds more conflicts in the future.”
Let Cool Heads Prevail in the North
21 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1786 Words
The former British Somaliland enclave of northern Somalia, otherwise known as Somaliland, is going through very delicate period. The emergence of anti-secession administration of Khaatumo State of Somalia from the east in particular and to some extent, still in exile Awdal State from the northeast combined with the encouraging military and political progress in the South makes military confrontation more likely unless cooler heads prevail.
An urgent appeal for calmness is necessary, especially since both sides have adamant supporters, compelling story to tell, a rigid positions to defend, at least in public. This paper will attempt to put northern peace into historical prospective first and then, explain why it is imperative for all Northern communities to avert war, unite, and seek a negotiated settlement before any negotiations with the South.
With different degrees of success and difficulty, the first success stories of Somali Republic after the civil war in terms of peace building and the establishment of local administrations were in the northern part of the country, otherwise known as Somaliland and Puntland. In the case of Somaliland, the peace process did not start in luxurious hotels located in some foreign capitals, or because of the mediation skills of some foreign diplomats. Rather, the peace process started as a result of the mediation skills of the local traditional leaders. There was a conscious effort on the part of all clans to end the hostilities and reject the warlords.
“Somalia has not hidden its opposition to KDF presence in southern Somali from the beginning. What is new are the bold moves it is making to undermine the peace efforts under way in Kismayo, particularly by Igad, to facilitate the establishment of a regional government in the Juba region as permitted by the new Somali Constitution.”
Our forces should not entrust security of Kismayo to Somali government yet
21 May – Source: Daily Nation – 523 Words
At the height of the Iraq war and before the US government sent more troops there, Jack Kelly, a national security writer for the Post-Gazette of Ohio, wrote: “It finally appears that President Bush is ready to light a fire under Premier Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq.” He argued that if Bush gave al-Maliki veto power over military operations in Iraq, the birth of an Islamic fundamentalist state would be guaranteed.
I do not claim to be an expert on matters relating to national security; however, I wish to point out how the events currently unfolding in Kismayo, the port city in Somalia that was liberated by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in December 2012, might bear some resemblance to how Mr Kelly viewed the events of the Iraq war at the time.
The recent opposition by the Somali Government to partial reimbursement by the UN to Kenya to defray the cost of its warships at the Somali coast was troubling. What is even more troubling is its recent opposition to KDF and Igad peace efforts in Kismayo. But first, let’s briefly revisit the liberation of Kismayo itself.
SOMALIA: “Is Somalia Open for Business?”
22 May – Source: Horseed Media – 110 Words
After many years of civil unrest there is a growing sense of optimism,peace and security with the current government making big strides to stabilise the country. Although the threat posed by al Shabaab militants has significantly subsided various challenges still remain. Hassan discusses the shift taking place in the country with an emphasis on business,economics and investment.
The BBC Business Edition combines the main business stories of the day with the most significant global news and with a special focus on the state of the global economy in the wake of the financial crisis. Tanya Beckett is one of the BBCs most respected business journalists, with extensive experience of global journalism.
Top tweets
@Aynte Unsurprisingly, #Somalia MPs withdrew their ‘no-confidence’ motion against @SomaliPM, ending a week-long political cliffhanger.
@MareejoXaamud Neighborhood in Mogadishu, #Somalia.- pic.twitter.com/kXKESexV1z.
@Mhussen #Somalia not doing BAD , lets hope #Africaseizes to have 0 displaced people in a decade, Wishfull thinking? pic.twitter.com/v2845DMRFf.
@UNHCRSom #Video Needs are met. Families find hope. It’s more than a living.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
@EPNnews Midwives at heart of #Somalia’s new reproductive health strategy: http://ow.ly/ldfbI #GlobalHealth#MaternalHealth @WHO.
Image of the day
A man returns home from the mosque in central Mogadishu, Somalia, just before dawn on May 21. AMISOM, in support of the Somali Police Force, last night cordoned off one square kilometer in the Wardhiigleey district of Mogadishu in an attempt to weed out members of the extremist group, al Shabaab. Photo: AU/UN IST Flickr.