November 9, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
President Abdiweli Mohamed Gaas States There Is An Understanding Between Federal And Regional Governments
09 November – Source: Radio Muqdisho – 223 words
Puntland President, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas said the terms of the agreement in the Mogadishu conference between federal and regional governments, regarding federalism, governance, constitutional reforms and among others, was in favour of federalism. President Gaas has confirmed that the deal has brought closer and has deepened mutual understanding between the federal government and regional member states.
Furthermore, the President said that Puntland emergency response team donated $491,107 US dollar to the victims of Zoobe through the federal government. The President describe the recent violent abductions of young girls in Bosaso, and how the Ministry of Women and Family Affairs responded in helping them by providing medical assistant at the Erdogan hospital in Mogadishu. The President said that the those behind this violent incident will be brought to justice and thanked the President of Jubbaland for arresting the said perpetrators.
Speaking of the port of Bosaso, President Abdiweli, said that the project was a good development for the people of Puntland and their government, and sent a strong message to those planning to disrupt the port. The President continued and said, “that there are few individuals who do not look out for the public interest and, at the same time, the President underscored that the government is ready to talk to traders and other beneficiaries to shed a light on this issue.
Key Headlines
- President Abdiweli Mohamed Gaas States There Is An Understanding Between Federal And Regional Governments (Radio Muqadisho)
- Somalia Oil Summit Organiser Says Surprised By Country’s Change Of Heart (Goobjoog News)
- High Alert At High Court AG Central Bank & BRA Office (Radio Dalsan)
- Partnering With Somalia’s Police To Build Counterterrorism Capacity (Dip Notes)
- How To Deal With Al-Shabaab? Thinking Outside Of The Box (Wardheer News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Oil Summit Organiser Says Surprised By Country’s Change Of Heart
08 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 407 Words
The international events organizer at the centre of a controversial oil summit for Somalia has responded to Somalia’s dissociation with the event noting it duly received the endorsement from the Federal Government. The UK based International Research Networks (IRN) said it was surprised that Somalia changed course despite giving a nod to the Summit scheduled for March 2018 in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. “We received the letter of endorsement from the Somali Federal Government almost two months ago,” IRN noted, “And were subsequently surprised to receive communication from the Minister of Petroleum and Mining of the Federal Republic of Somalia on 5th November, which we hope will be resolved quickly.”
Petroleum Minister Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed filed a protest letter Sunday expressing surprise that such a Summit was on course without his knowledge. Two senior government officials whom Goobjoog News spoke to confirmed the endorsement letter cited by IRN was genuine but that there was no consultations between the offices of the PM and the Petroleum Ministry.
IRN said Wednesday it had been ‘in communication with various stakeholders within Somalia to organize a forum which addresses the significant potential hydrocarbon reserves in the region, which can provide a real boost to developing Somalia bringing jobs, investment and further stability in the country’. Goobjoog News has learnt the Prime Minister’s office and the Ministry of Petroleum were at loggerheads over the summit before it was decided a no association-no show be declared. “The Ministry of Petroleum had earlier proposed a similar summit to be held in South Africa but it was shot down at the PM’s office.
The Ministry was however shocked to learn the PM’s office had endorsed the Nairobi summit without the knowledge of the parent ministry,” a senior official at the Ministry of Petroleum who could not be named owing to the sensitive nature of the matter told Goobjoog News. IRN which had marketed the event leveraging on Somalia’s endorsement said Wednesday ‘it hoped the issue would be resolved quickly’. “We are still talking with the Federal Government of Somalia on the issue and we hope to resolve as soon as possible.” In his protest letter Sunday, Mohamed urged the organizer ‘to officially withdraw the announcement of the summit with immediate effect’. IRN said it had organized similar events for the last six years across the world and countries around the Red Sea and Arabian Sea in previous years at which Somalia was among the countries represented.
High Alert At High Court, AG, Central Bank & BRA Office
09 November – Source: Radio Dalsan – 91 Words
Security has been beefed up at the High Court, Central Bank, Banadir Regional Administration and the Attorney General Office, Radio Dalsan has learnt. An official told Radio Dalsan that top Judiciary officials had been absent from their offices for the second day following Intelligence of a possible attack.
Mogadishu has been on high alert since it’s deadliest attack on 14 of October where more than 350 people were killed followed by the Nasa Hablood Hotel attack where 27 were killed. The attacks led to the firing of NISA and Police Chiefs.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Partnering With Somalia’s Police To Build Counterterrorism Capacity
07 November – Source: Dip Notes – 635 Words
On the afternoon of October 14, 2017, two bombs exploded in downtown Mogadishu. The first and larger of the two bombs, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, killed and injured hundreds of people, leveled two city blocks, collapsed nearby buildings, and left an enormous crater near one of the city’s major intersections. At least 400 people died, among them American citizens, and fatalities are likely to rise as other victims succumb to serious injuries.
The first bombing the deadliest single attack in Somalia’s history “was our 9/11,” said General Bashir Abdi Mohamed, the Deputy Commissioner of the Somali Police Force. Speaking to officials from the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau on October 22 at the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Philadelphia, he explained, “No Somali was untouched.” Grief-stricken citizens across the country donated food, medicine, and other supplies to the victims and their families.
Somalis of all walks of life mobilized to demonstrate their outrage against the perpetrators, engaging in seven continuous days of protests. Not only are Somali citizens united in their condemnation of the killings, but the barbarity of the attacks appears to have unsettled those once sympathetic to al-Shabaab, with some reaching out to law enforcement with tips about the organization.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Certainly, there is no sound justification for the extremist’s violence and terrorism in Islam. However, it is unfortunate to associate Islam with violence and extremism while Muslims are most victimized societies from terrorism. We should all acknowledge that violation of human rights and use of violence had no specific race and religion.”
How To Deal With Al-Shabaab? Thinking Outside Of The Box
08 November – Source: Wardheer News – 861 Words
October 14, 2017, a truck loaded with explosives exploded at the center of Mogadishu leaving about 400 deaths and 500 injures. This was one of the most lethal terrorist acts anywhere in the world since 9/11. This barbaric act was attributed to Al Shabaab which has appeared publicly in 2007 after Ethiopian Military intervention in Somalia in support of the fragile government in 2006. Armed organizations fighting in the name of Islam could be characterized as a reactive and defensive movement which emerges whenever Muslim society encounters external threats, and when the state is failed, weak, or collapsed.
In addition to that, most of the armed groups are influenced by the literal interpretation of the Islamic text easily designating even Muslims who differ them to be apostates. Thus, extremists in the name of Islam misinterpret Islamic texts and invoke what they call Jihad against all to express their grievances contrary to the mainstream understanding of the Islamic principles. Their ideology follows the famous extremist phrase “you’re either with us, or against us”. This ideology attracts less educated segments of the society with grievances and mostly in the underdeveloped rural areas.
The ideology of extremism appeared in Somalia as a reaction to the military regime’s execution of 10 Islamic scholars who opposed peacefully secular family law adopted in 1975. This event was a defining moment in the history of Somalia and could be considered the beginning of extremist ideology in the name of Islam in Somalia. It was the time when takfir ideology appeared in the Muslim world and hundreds of young students fled the repressive regime to the rich Gulf countries and joined Islamic universities in Saudi Arabia.
The core ideology of Al Shabaab is similar with all other armed groups waging wars in the name of Islam such as Al-Qaida, ISIS and Boko Haram. These organizations believe common ideology and differ from each other only in their tactical approach depending on circumstances and context. They use the same educational literature, inspired by same Islamic scholars and adhere to mixed Salafiyah Jihadism and takfir ideologies. In their operations, they do not discriminate between Muslims whom they consider apostates and non-Muslims. For them, all are legitimate targets for their Jihad.
TOP TWEETS
@HIPSINSTITUTE: ‘How to deal with al-Shabaab? Thinking outside of the box’ An insightful piece by Dr. Badiyow. #Somalia http://www.
@UNOCHA_ROSEA: Measles cases rise in Somalia and Ethiopia, while number of AWD and/or Cholera cases declines. Read more at:http://bit.ly/2ha1WJ7
.@Goobjoognews: SOMALIA OIL Summit organiser says surprised by country’s change of heart –
.@DalsanFM: Hight Alert At Hight Court ,AG ,Central Bank & BRA Office – http://radiodalsan.com/en/
@mpfsomalia: Public finances in #Somalia are managed with increasing levels of automation, from budget development to execution and payment. Plus, over 70% of Somalis use mobile to make payments! http://blogs.worldbank.org/
.@HarunMaruf: Harun Maruf Retweeted US Africa Media Hub Presumably in response to this Op-Ed by the former Somali intel chiefhttps://mobile.nytimes.
@Radiohiran: Global experts underscore investments in energy sector in Somalia http://www.hiiraanweyn.net/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Speaker, Mohamed Osman Jawaari is received by the regional President of Jubaland Ahmed Mohamed Madobe in Kismayo.
Photo: Radio Muqdisho