November 11, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

PM Abdiwali delivers speech at SDRF meeting

11 Nov- Source: Radio Dalsan- 234 words

In a meeting held in Mogadishu today, Prime Minister Abdiwali Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed delivered a speech at a meeting held by Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility (SDRF) and the new vision for Somalia.

Prime Minister Abdiwali spoke at the meeting which was aimed at ensuring that vision 2016 of holding free and fair elections of one man one vote. He pledged that his government will double the efforts to ensure that the vision 2016 is achieved. He said there is no time to waste. The SDRF meeting was attended by Somalia friends who like the development of Somalia. It was also attended by senior government officials and officials from different regional states in the country.

“In terms of social matters reconciliation was made among the Somalis. Economic wise, investment and the private sector are booming. With those achievements, we are at a point of no turning back”. The PM added. The premier also admitted the current disagreement but said as the president does, he hopes a breakthrough will soon be achieved.

Key Headlines

Somali MP survives attempted assassination (Radio Dalsan/Radio Kulmiye/Radio Risaala
Chaotic atmosphere over today’s session of Parliament (Radio Goobjoog)
Number of malnourished children in Mudug on the rise (Radio Ergo)
Prime Minister: “committed to doubling efforts so achievements do not go to waste.” (Office of the Prime Minister)
Technical committee: the rift between top leaders will affect the formation of Central Somalia state (Radio Goobjoog)
PM Abdiwali delivers speech at SDRF meeting (Radio Dalsan)
450 families reach Kismayo after River Juba floods (Radio Ergo)
Building maritime Somalia (Radio Goobjoog)
US expresses concern over political turmoil in Somalia (Kuwait News Agency- KUNA)
Somali nationals arrested over illegal entry (Daily Monitor)
WHO urges cross-border fight against polio (The Star)
Cut all ties with Somalia says house committee (The Star)
One dead in Kenya’s Mombasa after riots over killing (Bloomberg)
Ismael Omar Awaleh could be deported before Ottawa police face assault charges (cbc.ca)
First soft drinks factory opens shop in Mogadishu (CCTV)
G20 push for fee cut on $500bn-a-year money transfers (The Australian Business Review)
U.S. deeply concerned with political turmoil in Somalia (www.state.gov)

PRESS STATEMENT

Prime Minister: “committed to doubling efforts so achievements do not go to waste”

11 Nov- Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 160 words

Yesterday at the joint High Level Partnership Forum (HLPF) – Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility (SDRF) conference in Mogadishu, His Excellency Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheik Ahmed addressed the International and Somali community participants stating that his Government has achieved irreversible momentum and progress. He said that: “Somalia is one step closer to achieving free and fair elections in 2016 and that the FGS is committed to doubling and tripling its efforts to ensure that our remarkable efforts do not go wasted.”

The Prime Minister stated that: “Somalia has made tremendous gains militarily against insurgents, politically in the formation of federal member states, economically in the growing private sector, and socially in the reconciliation of different communities. Supplementing this has been the unprecedented support not only from the International Community but also the Somali Citizen”. Furthermore, Prime Minister Ahmed also acknowledged the current political situation stating that he shared the President’s optimism that a solution will soon be reached.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali MP survives attempted assassination

11 Nov- Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Kulmiye/Radio Risaala – 92 words

Prof. Mohamed Omar Dalha who is currently a member of the federal parliament survived an attempted assassination this morning. The MP was leaving his house at Hamarjajab when his car was attacked by gunmen who were in another vehicle. They tried to block the way of the MP’s vehicle after which the bodyguards of the MP and the assailants exchanged fire. Later, Prof. Dalha contacted Dalsan and said he was unhurt. He however confirmed that two of his bodyguards and his driver were wounded during the shootout.

Chaotic atmosphere over today’s session of Parliament

11 Nov- Source: Radio Goobjoog – 81 words

The members of federal parliament of Somalia, who are divided over the motion for a vote of no confidence against the prime minister, are having a meeting in the parliament building today.

Goobjoog reporters say that the attendance register of the parliament has immediately gone missing which is a move that created confusion among the members. Our reporters in the parliament also say the tension is high and the next move cannot be predicted as their verbal disputes turn into physical.

Number of malnourished children in Mudug on the rise

11 Nov – Source: Radio Ergo – 234 words

Health workers in a hospital in southern Galkayo town said the number of severely malnourished children admitted was increasing by the day. Abdirahman Nadara, a hospital health worker said most of the children were being brought from rural and remote areas of Mudug region.

Speaking to Radio Ergo, Abdirahman said 15 to 20 children with acute malnutrition had been admitted to the hospital every week over the past two months. This was a rise from an average of five to six children a week, he said. He attributed the increase to severe wasting caused by an outbreak of diarrhoea that affected many children in the hot season, as well as bad weaning practices and poor diet.

He said around 100 malnutrition cases were registered in the hospital every month. Fartun Ismail, a health worker in the pediatric ward, said some of the children had suffered prolonged diarrhoea and vomiting without treatment, as there were no medical facilities in their home areas.

Hinda Khalif, a mother of an 11-month old boy from Qarsooni settlement near Galkayo, said her baby had been ailing for four months before she brought him to hospital several days ago, where he is currently admitted for treatment. Another parent, Salad Hassan from Elgula village, 110 kilometres from Galkayo, brought his one-year old daughter to the hospital five days ago for malnutrition treatment.

Technical committee: the rift between top leaders will affect the formation of Central Somalia state

11 Nov- Source: Radio Goobjoog – 225 words

The technical committee facilitating the proposed administration of Central Somalia declared that the political infighting between the top leaders of Somalia will affect the creation of the regional state.

Omar Mohamed Mahad Alle, one of the committee members said the state formation process is at its final stages as the committee employed positive steps to improve the unity between the peole in the two regions, Galgadud and Mudug.

Mahad Alle stated that the committee has taken meeting with the intellectuals, religious leaders and traditional elders after paying visit to various parts of the two regions. The administration of Himan and Heb in Central Somalia that is to host the conference has earlier tightened the security of the area as the delegates of the conference reached Adado.

In August this year the federal government of Somali and representatives from the central regions of Galgudud and Mudug signed a document that said the region’s leaders would work together to form a new administration comprising of Galgadud and Mudug regions. The signing of the document has led to the semi-autonomous regional state of Puntland cutting ties with the central government after it learned of a plan to form a new federal state in the central Somalia claiming it will include part of the Puntland region.

PM Abdiwali delivers speech at SDRF meeting

11 Nov- Source: Radio Dalsan- 234 words

This meeting was paving the way for the Copenhagen Conference on the new deal. “The government of Somalia made progress in terms of security and operations to weaken the peace spoilers were carried out; and progress was made in terms of politics as the state governments which would be the members of the federal government were formed”, the premier said. “In terms of social matters reconciliation was made among the Somalis. Economic wise, investment and the private sector are booming. With those achievements, we are at a point of no turning back”. The PM added. The premier also admitted the current disagreement but said as the president does, he hopes a breakthrough will soon be achieved.

450 families reach Kismayo after River Juba floods

11 Nov- Source: Radio Ergo- 311 words

More than 450 families left homeless after the River Juba burst its banks and flooded farmland in parts of Lower Juba region have reached Kismayo seeking help.

Mana Mohamed said all residents in her village of Mofi were displaced after the flood waters swept away crops including maize and beans and submerged their houses. “We have nothing; not even clothes to wear. Our children are hungry and we don’t have anything to feed them,” she said.

Lul Hussein Baraka, 35-year old mother of seven, left Mashaqo area along the river. She told Radio Ergo she lost all her crops in the floods, and was forced to flee. She has been in an IDP camp in Kismayo for two weeks, and complained about harsh living conditions, citing lack of shelter, food, water and health services.

Abdikadir Hussein, a father of eight, fled from Buloyaq village. He said the floods not only destroyed crops, but also killed animals. “We were previously affected by the failure of Gu’ seasonal rains and we didn’t plant our farms. And now that the Deyr rains started, it has destroyed all our crops. We depend on farm products, we are suffering here as there is no life here,” he lamented.

The head of IDP families in Kismayo, Mohamud Musse Ali, told Radio Ergo that families displaced by the floods since the end of October have reached up to 500. He said newly displaced families were arriving every day to join the IDP camps.

Muse said they had not yet received any assistance from relief agencies, and expressed concern over the appalling conditions they are facing in the camps. Large tracts of farmland were flooded in Lower Juba, while livestock including goats were also washed away. The worst affected villages include Buloyaq, Moofi, Mas-akhirow, Mashaqo and Miyuwa, and most of the residents left their land and headed to Kismayo.

Building maritime Somalia

11 Nov- Source: Radio Goobjoog – 103 words

As part of IMO’s capacity building programme for Somalia, the second technical workshop on assisting Somalia established a national maritime administration is being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (10-13 Nov).

Participating are senior technical personnel cutting across legal, port management, administration and the coastguard, from the Federal Government of Somalia, Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug. This workshop will focus on reviewing and updating the 1959 Somalia Maritime Code.

Mr William Azuh, Head, Africa Section, Technical Cooperation Division, IMO; Mr Kiruja Micheni, Programme Officer (Training) Djibouti Code of Conduct and Ms Purity Thirimu, Principal Programme Assistant, IMO Regional Presence Office, Nairobi, Kenya are in attendance.

ONLF Ethiopia: we have no military bases in Somalia

11 Nov – Source: diplomat.so – 275 words

Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group published a report claiming that Eritrea has violated the UN‘s Arms Embargo on Somalia, using the Ogaden National Liberation Front. In the eport, the group made malicious allegations about ONLF using dubious sources and interviewing prisoners who had been tortured by Ethiopian security and were under duress. This is ONLF’s response to that biased report.

According to the ONLF statement , ONLF is not violating the arms embargo on Somalia. It has not established bases in Somalia nor does it have any military relationships in Somalia. ONLF supports the Somali people and the Republic. ONLF urges the UN to revisit the Ogaden and fulfill its responsibility under international law.The UN has a duty of responsibility to protect the Ogaden people from the Ethiopian regime’s transgressions.

The UN shunned its responsibility and duty in finding a lasting solution when the Somali republic was formed in 1960 without resolving the Ogaden conflict. Little has changed in the 60 years since and the issue still stands unresolved. The Ogaden conflict is a major factor in the instability of the horn of African in particular Somalia and addressing it will lead to sustainable peace. Therefore, ONLF requests the UN to initiate a political process that addresses the conflict in the Ogaden.

Finally, ONLF requests the Security Council to stop SEMG’s the baseless smear campaign against ONLF and desist from violations of international laws against Ogaden prisoners. Those responsible for such transgression shall be made accountable. It is unjust to victimize the Ogaden people who are already suffering from the collective punishment of the Ethiopian regime instead of alleviating their plight perpetrated by the ruthless regime in Addis Ababa.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali nationals arrested over illegal entry

11 Nov- Source: Daily Monitor – 206 words

Police in Tororo District are holding three Somali nationals over illegal entry into Uganda.The suspects were arrested on Sunday while crossing into the country through River Malaba.

The Bukedi region police spokesperson, Mr Michael Odongo, said they were arrested with the help of sand excavators and crime preventers after they had successfully sneaked into the country from Kenya through the porous border post at Kagula village in Mella Sub-county.

Mr Odongo said some of the suspects claimed they had escaped from Kakumo refugee camp in Kenya to escape hostile situations at the camp and join their colleagues in Europe through Kenya-Uganda via South Sudan.“Much as security has been beefed up at the border points, the efforts has been frustrated by the existence of the porous borders which suspects use to sneak into the country,” said Mr Odongo.

Mr Odongo said they are in touch with the immigration department at the border and that the suspects will be charged with illegal entry into the country upon completion of the investigations.

WHO urges cross-border fight against polio

11 Nov- Source: The Star – 147 words

The World Health Organisation has called for cross-border collaboration in a bid to address polio cases around the Horn of Africa. The organisation said polio virus still circulates in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia, thus making it hard to contain.

WHO country representative Dr Custodia Mandlhate said porous borders between the three countries and Kenya makes it hard to eradicate the disease. “Some countries like Kenya have managed to deal with the disease, but the virus is still present in Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan,” she said.

Mandlhate was addressing the press in Karagita estate, Naivasha, yesterday after the launch of the national polio vaccination campaign. She said the WHO is committed to supporting vaccination efforts so that the disease is eradicated. “Whenever we have one case, we treat it as an outbreak like it happened last year. Currently, we are on the response mode,” Mandlhate said.

Cut all ties with Somalia, says House committee

11 Nov- Source: The Star – 593 words

The Kenyan government may be forced to sever ties with Somalia if recommendations by the National Assembly’s Defence and Foreign Relations committee are adopted by the House. The committee, chaired by Tetu MP Ndung’u Gethenji, has claimed that the decision by the Somali government to take Kenya to the International Court of Justice over a maritime boundary dispute was hostile and therefore undiplomatic.

The October 28 intervention by Somalia to have the ICJ resolve the longstanding maritime dispute in the Indian Ocean caught the country unawares, with Attorney General Githu Muigai hastily filing a response to the court. Though Kenya believes that the boundary should run East from the point where it connects with the Indian Ocean, Somalia wants it to extend South in a straight line from the land to the Ocean.

The Report on Somalia and International Boundaries, expected to be tabled in the House today, was adopted towards the end of last month and has also recommended repatriation of all Somali refugees and a complete shutdown of the Dadaab refugee camp, the world’s largest. It further wants the Kenya Defence Forces deployed in Somalia from October 2011 to crack down on al Shabaab insurgents withdrawn immediately as a measure of protest.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

One dead in Kenya’s Mombasa after riots over killing

10 Nov – Source: Bloomberg – 372 Word

One person was killed in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa on Sunday after youths rioted to protest against the killing of an alleged Islamist militant. Unidentified gunmen shot and killed Hassan Guti on Saturday as he was driving in the city with his wife and niece. Riots broke out on Sunday after his burial.

Police officially denied involvement in the killing, but sources within the force said Guti was slain by the elite Anti Terrorism Police Unit. Kenya’s coastal region, a tourist hub where most of the country’s Muslims live, has suffered a series of bomb attacks in recent months blamed on Islamists tied to Somalia’s militant al Shabaab group.

Police said Guti was linked to the shooting of a senior police officer in Mombasa in August and he was also facing a murder charge for a separate incident. Following Guti’s burial youths started attacking people in the Majengo area but police officers managed to contain rioting there, said Robert Kitur, Mombasa’s police chief. “They stabbed four people and one of them died. We have arrested 20 youth so far and will charge them in courttomorrow,” he said.

Ismael Omar Awaleh could be deported before Ottawa police face assault charges

10 Nov – Source: cbc.ca – 1, 112 Words

A man who alleges he was assaulted by two Ottawa police officers could be deported to Somalia before the case goes to court. The Special Investigation Unit charged Constables Erin Cavan and Jordan Blonde with assaulting a man in their custody last May.

The CBC has learned the alleged victim — 32-year-old Ismael Omar Awaleh — is being held at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), on an outstanding order for his removal from Canada to Somalia.

His lawyer, Paul Lewandowski, hopes Awaleh will not be deported before the officers face the assault charges in criminal court. But, he adds, he’s not excluding that possibility. SIU investigate alleged assault on May 1 On April 29, Awaleh was accused of assaulting a woman he knew, as well as breaching the conditions of a previous conviction. Two days later, Cavan and Blonde arrested Awaleh, and added new charges.

Ismael Omar Awaleh, 32, is being held at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre while authorities consider his deportation to Somalia. (CBC) But something happened that same day at the Queensway Carleton Hospital that caused the officers to become the focus of a probe by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which investigates reports of death, serious injury or sexual assault involving police officers in Ontario.

First Soft Drinks Factory Opens Shop In Mogadishu

9 Nov – Source: CCTV – 2:42 Minutes

First Soft Drinks Factory Opens Shop In Mogadishu. A group of Somali nationals from the Diaspora have returned home to set up the country’s first soft drinks company. Using a South African brand and locally grown fruit, they have set out to create their own unique soda flavours.

G20 push for fee cut on $500bn-a-year money transfers

11 Nov – Source: The Australian Business Review – 789 Words

AUSTRALIA is backing a global deal to cut the cost of financial transfers worth $500 billion a year, as Tony Abbott joins other G20 leaders to put pressure on banks and payment agencies to cut fees. The Prime Minister is acting on concerns from his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, and other leaders to free up the flow of remittances that provide a vital source of income for families in developing countries.

The Australian has been told an agreement will be reached at the G20 summit in Brisbane this weekend to act on the problem, which can see migrants in rich nations pay fees of up to 20 per cent to send cash to their families. The plan could be derailed by national security laws that are forcing banks to sever their links with overseas payment agencies and shut down their remittance services, leaving Australians with fewer ways to transfer cash overseas. At stake is the ability of millions of Australians to keep sending $7bn overseas each year without paying exorbitant fees so that people in need in developing nations can rely on a steady flow of extra income.

Oxfam Australia chief Helen Szoke said Somali migrants in Australia sent about $10m to friends and family in Somalia each year to buy food and pay for education to help them buy basics such as food, water and to pay for education and healthcare. “Oxfam is deeply concerned the closure of accounts that allow the Somali diaspora in Australia to send money home will worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in a country where over 3 million people do not have enough to eat,” she said.

U.S. deeply concerned with political turmoil in Somalia

10 Nov – Source:www.state.gov -158 Words
The United States notes with concern the recent political turmoil in Somalia. Actions to put forward a parliamentary motion for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister do not serve the interests of the Somali people. The United States remains neutral in the dispute between the president and prime minister. We are committed to the principles of the New Deal Compact which aims to build a sovereign, secure, democratic, united, and federal Somalia.@

Because Somalia’s leadership is distracted with political division, the United States currently does not see the utility in sending a delegation to the High Level Partnership Forum on Somalia, which will meet next week in Copenhagen to review progress under the New Deal. We stand with the international community in urging the Federal Government of Somalia to implement fully its Vision 2016 plan and rise above the political differences that divert from the important work of unifying the country under a federal framework.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“These systems are complementary and share the same basic impulse to maintain a certain humanity even at the height of conflict. This notion is one that is relevant across the full range of armed actors in Somalia.”

Somalia: using traditional law in dialogues with armed groups

10 Nov – Source: icrc.org – 562 Words

The main sources of international humanitarian law (IHL) are international treaty and customary law. In addition, domestic traditional law can improve the protection of victims of armed conflict. The ICRC’s online Customary IHL Database was recently updated with the practice of five additional countries: Denmark, Djibouti, Poland, Tajikistan and Somalia. Omar Odeh, deputy head of the ICRC’s delegation in Somalia, explains the importance of such traditional law.

How useful is traditional law in Somalia?In Somalia, traditional behaviour in warfare is set in a collection of practices called ‘biri-ma-geydo’ that governs conflicts. It’s a mix of traditional elements and Sharia law. It draws on elements of the two and in some way is a parallel of IHL. Basically, it sets rules and protection for those who are not fighting, in particular for the respect of children, women and elders. What is interesting is that it protects people not only based on vulnerability, but also – as in the case of elders – because of their role in Somali society. Elders are very often mediators in conflict resolution and can transmit messages from one clan to another.

“Major forms of oral literature such as poems, songs, storytelling, proverbial myth, fable, fairytale, historical fiction and folklore were all part of the culture. All of these forms have contributed to the informal education of the Somali society for years and have served as the only media to pass messages and alerts across society.”

The Ogaden region of Ethiopia: the source of Somali oral literature

10 Nov – Source: icrc.org – 1157 Words

In Somalia, for centuries, poets and thinkers were regarded as the “significant-ones”. The perception of oral literature in Somali society stands in two considerable viewpoints. First, it is a centerpiece archive where past histories of both successes and failures are kept. Memories such as clan victories and defeats are recorded in the traditional oral literature. Secondly, it was the only means where information was communicated and decrees were made. It was mainly done in the form of poems, proverbs, songs, lyrics and prose.

The clan that produces the best poets, dancers and singers were regarded as the “elites” and earn high esteem from the other Somali clans. The oral traditional literatures could appear either in prose or doggerel. The prose is often legendary or historical and can include tales of the swindler, the hero, the coward or the fool. The famous poets and storytellers of the Somali society do use “call-and-respond” techniques to tell their messages and stories.

Top tweets

@UNSomaliaU.S. Deeply Concerned With Political Turmoil in#Somalia: http://go.usa.gov/AVEk via @StateDept

@Somalia111 Somalia: Using traditional law in dialogues with armed groups | International Committee of the Red Cross:https://www.icrc.org/en/document/so

@GermanyinKenya ‘One World, No Hunger’: #Germany provides 4 million Euros to @WFPSomalia to prevent food shortage in#Somalia @BeilehMofa @UNLazzarini

@TheStarKenya Cut all ties with #Somalia, says House committee http://ow.ly/E5Wie

@Aynte 5h5 hours agoU.S. withdraws from z Copenhagen High Level Partnership Forum on #Somalia in protest of PM-PREZ political infighting http://m.state.gov/md233924.htm

@UNLazzarini .@WorldBank helps implement biometric system for civil servant salary payments in #Somalia to increase transparency http://bit.ly/1zlYECX

@UWT_UK Hawa Ahmad and her 6 orphaned children were 1 of over a 100 families in #Somalia who recently received a new home.

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Image of the day

Image of the day UN Deputy Representative to Somalia greeting Gabremedhin Fikadu during a visit to Baidoa on 9 November 2014 Somalia,Baidoa Photo: UNSOM