May 9, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali president calls on community in Britain to support the government
09 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/Horn Cable TV/Universal TV – 146 words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud has called on Somali community in Britain to support his government and participate in the reconstruction of the country, in a speech on the occasion of a meeting held by the Somali community in London.
Somali President praised the role of the Somali community in exile to save the country, stressing that the Somali families inside Somalia depends on the amounts they receive from their relatives in exile.
He urged the Somali community in Britain to avoid tribal and groups interests, asking them to assist the Somali government in its efforts to bring peace to peace in the country. He said that the Somali government is seeking to achieve unity and stability of Somalia politically, militarily and economically, stressing that the government is doing its best to achieve these goals.
Key Headlines
- Somali president calls on community in Britain to support the government (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/Horn Cable TV/Universal TV)
- Two journalists from al Shabaab surrender to Somali government (Radio Kulmiye/ Isha Baidoa Online/al Shahid Online/Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somali President Hassan planning administration reshuffle: gov’t source says (Garowe Online)
- Ahlu Sunna welcomes London conference communiqué (Radio Bar-kulan)
- The growing circle of insecurity in Garissa (Star News)
- Arms embargo lifted but Somalia cannot afford weapons: Minister (Reuters)
- Somalia trade and investment event (Gov.UK)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali president calls on community in Britain to support the government
09 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/Horn Cable TV/Universal TV – 146 words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud has called on Somali community in Britain to support his government and participate in the reconstruction of the country, in a speech on the occasion of a meeting held by the Somali community in London.
Somali President praised the role of the Somali community in exile to save the country, stressing that the Somali families inside Somalia depends on the amounts they receive from their relatives in exile.
He urged the Somali community in Britain to avoid tribal and groups interests, asking them to assist the Somali government in its efforts to bring peace to peace in the country. He said that the Somali government is seeking to achieve unity and stability of Somalia politically, militarily and economically, stressing that the government is doing its best to achieve these goals.
Two journalists from al Shabaab surrender to Somali government
09 May – Source: Radio Kulmiye/ Isha Baidoa Online/al Shahid Online/Radio Bar-kulan – 116 words
Two Somali journalists working for al Shabaab radio “Andalus” handed themselves in to the Somali government in Baidoa of Bay region southwestern Somalia, according to Somali media.
The reports from the region confirmed that the two journalists Abdirahman Jakarta and Aweis Omar Ali surrendered to Somali forces in the city of Badioa after fleeing from al Shabaab camps. These two journalists will face a special interrogation at Baidoa police station, according to reports.
The defection of two journalists from al Shabaab militia came after contacts between the two journalists and the officials from the Somali administration in Baidoa, Bay region.
Ahlu Sunna welcomes London conference communiqué
08 May – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 87 words
The Moderate Islamists of Ahlu-Sunna Wal Jame’a has welcomed the concluded London conference on Somalia. The group’s advisory committee chairman Sheikh Omar Sheikh Abdikadir said that the outcome of the conference is vital and will help Somali people rebuild their war-torn country; Abdikadir also thanked the international community’s dedicated support for Somalia.
Britain, the United States and other international donors have pledged hundreds of millions to help Somalia in yesterday’s international summit, as the country rebuilds from two decades lawlessness.
Somali President Hassan planning administration reshuffle: gov’t source says
08 May – Source: Garowe Online – 19 words
Sources close to the Somali Federal Government (SFG) tell Garowe Online that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is planning to conduct a major reshuffle in his administration. President Hassan Sheikh who is currently in London where he co-chaired the Somalia conference with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron might be getting ready for an overhaul of his administration.
Sources tell GO that on his list of changes the SFG President will return the number of Cabinet Ministers from 10 to 18 which was the number of ministers during former Prime Ministers Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas and Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. The undersized cabinet appointed by Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon defied the 4.5 quota – a formula in which clans share government representation – and forced many ministries to be joined which resulted in 25 Deputy Ministers.
According to our source, the high number of deputy ministers brought confusion, which resulted in political aides advising that the President return to the 18 ministry cabinet. Prime Minister Shirdon appointed the small cabinet which was backed by President Hassan who according to SFG sources had influence in the decision.
Hand grenade injures neighborhood commissioner in Baidoa
08 May – Source: Bar-kulan – 105 words
Commissioner of Hawlwadag neighborhood in Baidoa district Khalif Ibrahim is reported to have been injured after a hand grenade was hurled onto his home in Baidoa, capital of Bay region in southern Somalia.
Confirming the incident, Bay region police boss Isack Abdi Aden told Bar-kulan that a girl in the house of the commissioner was also wounded in the attack. A man believed to have been behind the attack was nabbed and subsequently shot dead by the security forces.
Security officials in Bay region said that the man who was allegedly behind the attack recently defected from the al Shabaab militant group in the region.
Forces seize control of Bossaso port, explosion kills 1 in Galkayo
08 May – Source: Mareeg Online/Garowe Online/Raxanreeb – 97 words
Soldiers from Puntland’s military have reportedly seized control of Bossaso port, Puntland’s commercial center, bringing business to a halt. The forces are complaining of poor living conditions and accuse the Puntland authorities of not paying their salaries for 10 months.
In another development, 1 person was killed and another injured in a grenade explosion targeted on Puntland security forces in Galkacyo overnight, local media reports. According to sources, the attack was a grenade attack followed by a gunfight at police officers at the Miir police station in north Galkayo.
One officer died from his injuries while 3 other police officers were injured. According to local sources, the other officers were in stable condition. Police authorities told media that they are tracking Monday night’s attackers and have leads in the case.
REGIONAL MEDIA
The growing circle of insecurity in Garissa
09 May – Source: Star – 1064 words
Recently Garissa town has been in the news following the security operation to flash out criminals who have been carrying out sporadic attacks in the town. However it remains to be seen what impact it will have in bringing back peace and tranquility in the Garissa.
North Eastern police boss Charlton Mureithi is on record saying that the operation has so far failed to net the key suspects it targeted. He blamed it on an inside leak that led the key suspects fleeing to other towns.
Following the insecurity, Garissa town which was once rated by Interpol as the safest town in East and Central Africa and also ranked the second fastest growing urban center in Kenya after Mtwapa has all over sudden lost its glory.
Pan African Parliament Day 3
08 May – Source: Citizen TV – 3:42 min
That gains have been made towards securing Somalia is not in dispute, but member states in this Pan African parliament agree that more needs to be done, as far as securing the stability of Somalia is concerned…with peace playing a critical component in driving Africa’s development agenda, forward…Jacky Maribe Citizen Tv, at the pan African parliament in Midrand, Johannesburg.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia trade and investment event
09 May – Source: Gov.UK – 236 words
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development host Somali business event to highlight business potential of Somalia.
With growing investor confidence, improvements in security and promising signs of political progress, new opportunities for business are emerging across South Central Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland.
There are also opportunities for non-Somali investors who have not traditionally operated in the Somali market. The private sector will also have an increasingly important role in supporting recovery, reconstruction and development for the Somali people.
The Somali people have a long standing history of trade, and a tradition of enterprise and innovation. One of the achievements of this entrepreneurialism is that Somali businesses have thrived despite a challenging political and security environment.
Arms embargo lifted, but Somalia cannot afford weapons: Minister
09 May – Source: Reuters/VOA – 445 words
Somalia’s armed forces have not received “a single bullet” despite the partial lifting of a United Nations arms embargo because the East African country lacks funds, its defense minister said on Wednesday.
Somalia’s new leaders aim to train and equip a professional army of around 28,000 soldiers within three years but are hamstrung by a lack of cash, Abdihakim Fiqi said during a trip to London to drum up donor support.
“The arms embargo was lifted almost two months ago and we haven’t received a single bullet or one single AK-47 or gun. Nothing. Because of lack of resources,” Fiqi told the Royal United Services Institute defense think tank in London.
The Horn of Africa nation is only just emerging from two decades of civil war, and is struggling to rebuild a country riven by clan divisions and whose infrastructure and institutions are in tatters.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The country should now be supported to realise more stability and economic growth so that its youths can be able to engage themselves in decent productive activities instead of piracy and other criminal ventures.”
New developments in Somalia are welcome
09 May – Source: Daily News (Tanzania) – 385 Words
AN international summit on Somalia held in London earlier this week, ended with a reasonable amount of pledges in support of the country that has been extensively ravaged by two decades of senseless civil war, lawlessness and famine.
Britain has committed around 180 million pounds, including funding for a planned doubling of the police force, while the United States donated 40 million US dollars on top of the 1.5 billion dollars it has given Somalia since 2009. Britain also said it would supply military experts to bolster security forces seeking to stamp out Islamic insurgents and bring to an end piracy off the Somali Indian Ocean coast.
The UN Secretary General’s Envoy for Somalia, Dr. Augustine Mahiga, recently told a news conference in Dar es Salaam that the country was now enjoying a delicate recovery, but still needed significant support from the international community.
Dr Mahiga expressed optimism on the future of Somalia, saying Mogadishu and many parts of the country were now more peaceful, particularly after the African Union military intervention that has largely weakened the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebel group.
“We are pleased to see a government in Mogadishu starting to deliver for the people of Somalia. But Somaliland must not be forgotten. Lasting peace, security and prosperity in our region requires a resolution to the political independence of Somaliland.”
Somaliland’s role in peace and security
08 May – Source: Financial Times – 197 Words
Sir, Increased international attention and support for Somalia is both welcome and necessary. We hope that the Somalia conference makes a tangible difference, channelling more and smarter funds towards the development and security of our region.
Despite progress in Somalia to rebuild the shattered country, peace and a lasting political settlement remain some way off as Katrina Manson reports (“Leader appeals for new Marshall Plan for Somalia”, May 7). The damage and instability caused by the lack of governance for two decades will take time to repair.
This is in contrast to Somaliland, the autonomous state to the north of Somalia, which over the same period has held five separate elections, put in place functioning state institutions and been fully involved in international efforts to combat terrorism and piracy in the wider region.
Yet these acknowledged successes and the meeting of criteria for statehood under international law have still not seen Somaliland recognised as an independent state.
“From the first known hijacking in April 2005, 149 ships have been ransomed, for almost $385 million. But rebuilding Somalia will cost billions more. Kenya and the world have pledged to hold the hand of the industrious Somalis as they make baby steps back to the great nation it once was.”
Cash, goodwill will raise Somalia back on its feet
08 May – Source: Standard Media – 345 Words
The world came together this week, in London, to give Somalia a shot in the arm so that newly-elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud can get down to the business of raising his war-ravaged country out of the ashes of failed statehood.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was a key speaker at this second London conference on Somalia for many reasons. Chief among these is that Somalia is a neighbour, and Kenya has not been known to turn her back on a neighbour and friend in need.
Secondly, Kenya is host to 500,000 refugees who fled the civil war, hunger, deprivation and a militant al Shabaab that kept Somalia citizens under the yoke of tyranny. This is a huge economic sacrifice as this displaced mass has had significant impact on local resources, populations and altered the demographic landscape.
Some of the transit Somalis came to Kenya dragging along all that was negative in their country, such as intolerance, smuggling, corruption and terrorism. Clearly, this is unacceptable. At the height of the civil war, more than 70,000 children were conscripted into the fighting factions in blatant disregard for their minority and innocence and in contravention of all known international covenants on the rights of the child.
The al Shabab Implosion: Featuring Foreign Jihadists
08 May – Source: Somali Observer Blog – 1933 Words
Several years ago, Somalia’s al Qaeda affiliate, al Shabaab, was the first jihadi group to use Twitter to transmit its messages. These days, it is on that same social networking medium that the group’s dirty laundry is being aired.
In a span of three weeks in April, Ibrahim Al-Afghani, one of the top leaders of al Shabaab and a veteran of the jihad in Afghanistan, wrote a scathing open letter to Ayman al Zawahiri, head of al Qaeda, in which he assailed Ahmed Abdi Godane (also known as Mokhtar Abu Zubeir) — the emir of al Shabaab—for his imperious style of leadership. The letter unwittingly set off a dizzying chain of events. On April 25, there was an assassination attempt on the American jihadist Omar Hammami.
Four days later, an influential foreign jihadist of al Shabaab wrote an open letter upbraiding the emir of al Shabaab for committing a long list of egregious acts against foreign fighters in Somalia. That same day, a special court of al Shabaab presided over by Mukhtar Robow, Ibrahim Al-Afghani, and Hassan Dahir Aweys issued a fatwa, a religious edict, ruling that the killing of Omar Hammami and his colleagues is impermissible.
Omar Hammami, born and raised in Alabama, went to Somalia in 2006 when the Union of Islamic Courts was in control of Mogadishu. After the courts were expelled by Ethiopian troops, he joined al Shabaab and became one of its leaders. Until a year ago, he was a member of the group’s Shura Council, the highest decision-making body.
A New Somalia
08 May – Source: UNDP Youtube – 7:51 Words
On 10 September 2012, Somalia announced its first constitutionally elected president in 42 years, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The transition to a new government evidenced strong civil and political will to transform the country into a nation that is known for peace, not conflict.
It followed the approval of a provisional constitution on August 2012 that will guide the development of the new government over the next four years, and pave the way for a referendum where the country’s citizens will vote for a permanent constitution.
The political transition is a significant turning point in Somalia’s history and presents an opportunity for real positive change in the war-torn nation. This video presents the voices of hope of Somalis living and working in Mogadishu, from the Deputy Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament, to artists, students and IDPs.
Top tweets
@UNDPSomalia What do #Somalis think the political transition means for them? #ANewSomalia presents different perspectives from Mog http://www.youtube.com/watch?
@Siad_A Think of national cause #somalia need no plunder & no negative criticism, time has come to fulfil the hope for every and all Somalia.
@AbukarArman #Reflection #somalia Hardest lies 2 detect R those strategically woven into half-truths! How about balanced skepticism & critical thinking?
@africaupdate Very useful study by M Al-Hadi, who spoke to this theme at our workshop last week. Mapping Somali Islamists http://www.scribd.com/doc/
@amisomsomalia PHOTO OF THE DAY: A man stands on a road near an IDP camp in #Mogadishu #Somalia, on May 3rd http://on.fb.me/QqTSeN pic.twitter.com/oeEhZgMmsh.
Image of the day
Moalim Osman, a baker, removes bread from a traditional oven at his bakery in the Waberi district, southern Mogadishu, May 7, 2013. Photo: Reuters.