October 29, 2018 | Morning Headlines
UN, AU Step In As Political Tensions Escalate In Somalia
28 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 301 Words
United Nations and African Union chiefs in Mogadishu have weighed in on the ongoing political crisis in the country with planned visits to the regional states amidst an escalating political row that last week saw regional presidents announce the formation of a political party and a parallel army.
Senate Speaker Abdi Hashi told journalists in Mogadishu on Sunday that UN envoy Nicholas Haysom and head of Amisom Francisco Madeira had sought a brief from the Senate, which has in the last few weeks tried to mediate in the matter: “Today the UN envoy and the AU chief in Somalia told us they would like to visit the state governments and accordingly sought our advice,” said Hashi. “We gave them our findings and briefed them on the current developments.”
Senate Secretary General Ali Jama added the UN and AU leaders sought to understand from them the state of affairs regarding the ongoing dispute between the central and regional governments. The Senate early this month dispatched teams to the five regional governments on fact finding missions in a bid to chart a course for an amicable resolution. But the Senate last week expressed frustrations over non cooperation from the federal government despite presenting it with its recommendations. What followed was a three day ultimatum to the federal government by the Senate upon which the government finally responded by appointing three ministers to spearhead the reconciliation process.
A statement from Villa Somalia on Monday noted the President was committed to engaging with the state leaders and called for de-escalation of political tensions. However Hashi poured cold water on the statement noting it did not originate from the President himself since it was crafted by a third party. The document also lacked official approval of the Presidency since it bore no stamp, Hashi observed.
Key Headlines
- UN AU Step In As Political Tensions Escalate In Somalia (Goobjoog News)
- Somali President Holds Phone Talks With Kenyan Counterpart (Shabelle News)
- President Farmajo Repeats His Call For Dialogue With State Leaders (Halbeeg News)
- OIC Contact Group on Somalia Affirms Support for Lasting Peace (Saudi Press Agency)
- Qatar Somalia Review Bilateral Ties (The Peninsula)
- Patients In Wheelbarrows Inspired Him To Start A Free Ambulance Service (NPR)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali President Holds Phone Talks With Kenyan Counterpart
28 October – Source: Shabelle News – 185 Words
The leaders of Somalia and Kenya have discussed how to strengthen security and economic cooperation between the two neighboring states. According to Villa Somalia Communications Director, the two leaders who spoke via telephone on Saturday night agreed to strengthen bilateral diplomatic relations between Mogadishu and Nairobi.
Abdinur Mohamed said President Abdullahi Farmaajo and his counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta also discussed on how to fully implement the agreements reached in Nairobi during the official visit of the Somali President early last year.
Easing travel-based restrictions for the movement of goods and people and free market to encourage trade also featured in the conversation. The Somali leader thanked his counterpart for the role his government has so far played in the fight against terrorism, improvement of regional security and the good diplomatic relations based on mutual respect and cooperation.
The relationship between Kenya and Somalia has improved under the leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The agreement arrive at in Nairobi on May 2017 will allow Somali civil servants to undergo capacity building in various Kenyan government institutions and accord citizens of the two nations free visa entry.
President Farmajo Repeats His Call For Dialogue With State Leaders
28 October – Source: Halbeeg News – 290 Words
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has reiterated his call for dialogue between the federal government and its member states. In a statement, the President urged the regional leaders to convene in Mogadishu for a meeting and end the standoff between the two levels of the government. President Farmajo said his government was willing to find a lasting solution to the country’s challenges through a framework of consultation, compromise, and protection of the common interest of institutions at the federal and national level.
“We cannot allow political differences to slow down the gains and achievements so far made in rebuilding the country and its institutions. Only unity can make it easier for us to move forward from where we are now,” the statement reads in part. President Farmaajo said he was ready to address the concerns of the federal member states through a dialogue based on mutual understand.
The statement comes just days after the regional state leaders concluded their fifth meeting in Garowe with a resolve to form a new political party and a joint security army. The radical decisions are contained in an official communique that was availed to journalists at the end of the three-day conference. The leaders agreed to form a political party — Hor-u-socod-Qaran or The National Progressive Party — which will unite all the four regional administrations of Puntland, Southwest, Galmudug, and Jubbaland.
Hirshabelle pulled out of the caucus of regional states after hammering out a cooperation deal with the central government. Puntland regional leader, Mr. Abdiweli Gaas, was elected interim chairman of the new party. The regional states also noted that all previous security agreements entered with the Federal Government had collapsed following the government’s failure to implement them over the last two years.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
OIC Contact Group on Somalia Affirms Support for Lasting Peace
28 October – Source: Saudi Press Agency – 165 Words
The Somali capital Mogadishu hosted today a Ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Somalia. The meeting was inaugurated by Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, with participation of 16 representatives of OIC Member States to explore ways and means of enhancing the national reconciliation and achieving the political stability, lasting peace and economic development in Somalia.
The Somali Prime Minister pointed out that holding this meeting in Somalia is an evidence of the transformation that took place in Somalia, stressing that the Somali Government is working hard in carrying out the reforms in the various institutions.
OIC Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Hesham Youssef delivered a speech on behalf of the OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al Othaimeen, in which he stressed that this meeting is a an evidence of the OIC’s determination to support the efforts of the Somali people as well as the Government in their hard seeking to build a new future for their country.
Qatar, Somalia Review Bilateral Ties
28 October – Source: The Peninsula – 144 Words
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, on Sunday met with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi. At the outset of the meeting, the Minister conveyed greetings of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to the Somali President and further extended goodwill message to the people of Somalia, wishing their country progress and prosperity. .
On his part, the President entrusted the Minister to convey his greetings and that of the people of Somalia to H H the Amir and wish him good health and happiness, as well as prosperity to the people of Qatar. During the meeting, the President thanked the State of Qatar for its efforts to support the government and people of Somalia. The two sides discussed bilateral relations and means of boosting relations and trade in their nations. .
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Apart from the service provided at times of violence, Adan worries that if Aamin Ambulance is forced to reduce its operations further, people could die even when they need more routine care. “If they don’t get early response like an ambulance, they will be at risk,”
Patients In Wheelbarrows Inspired Him To Start A Free Ambulance Service
28 October – NPR – 545 Words
Dr. Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, who is from Somalia, trained as a dentist in Pakistan. When he returned to Mogadishu, in 2006 to begin practicing, he was distressed by what he saw: People getting hurt or killed near his office in Bakara Market, the result of a long-running civil war in his country. “The people were using wheelbarrows for taking victims to the hospital. Even pregnant [women] were taken in wheelbarrows to the hospital,” he says.”I asked myself, ‘What can I do?’ I decided to start my own ambulance, a free ambulance,” he says.
He called it Aamin Ambulance. (“Aamin” is Somali for “faithful.”) At first, the health workers treated people who were hurt in accidents or the ongoing violence. The organization now helps treat and transport pregnant women and patients with chronic illnesses – anyone who needs to go to a hospital. People in Mogadishu dial 999 to reach a dispatcher.
But after 12 years, Adan, age 45, says Aamin Ambulance is in financial trouble. The service is funded by donations, and donations have not been enough to keep up with the services Aamin Ambulance provides. Adan says he spent $4,200 of his own money for the organization’s first ambulance, and Aamin grew as he solicited donations from businessmen, family, friends – even his own students.
The United Nations Development Programme has donated walkie-talkies, he says. He says his service is the only ambulance in Mogadishu, a city of 2 million, that’s free. Currently there are 16 ambulances, but Aamin can only afford to operate 10 of them. “We will not close completely, but I think we will reduce the number of ambulances,” he says. “We will reduce the number of staff, we will reduce the time and hours of paramedics, and so on.”
Aamin Ambulance staff can be the first to respond to an emergency. A year ago, a truck explosion attributed to al-Shabab killed more than 500 people and injured hundreds more. Adan, who sometimes drives an ambulance or serves as a paramedic, says he was one of the first people on the scene, where he saw “a lot of cars burning, collapsing buildings, and many people crying and saying, ‘Can you help us?'” “We transported more than 250 people, and almost 80 dead bodies,” Adan says, adding that while the city has been relatively calm in recent months, an attack “can happen at any time.”
Apart from the service provided at times of violence, Adan worries that if Aamin Ambulance is forced to reduce its operations further, people could die even when they need more routine care. “If they don’t get early response like an ambulance, they will be at risk,” Adan says. He adds that while some private hospitals may have ambulances, they can be difficult to access and cost money that patients may not have. “The only hope they have is the [free] ambulance,” he says.