September 14, 2015 | Morning Headlines
Cracks Emerge Among Federal States Over Consultative Summit
13 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 287 Words
A day after a much publicized inauguration ceremony for Jubbaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam, in which top Somali leaders showed a united front, cracks have emerged between the federal states, forcing the postponement of Kismayo consultative conference.According to Jubbaland State minister for presidency, Abdighani Jama, Puntland has refused to take part in the summit stating they only came to take part in the Jubbaland inauguration ceremony and were not prepared “for this kind of talks”.
Puntland and Jubbaland refrained from the High Level Partnership Conference held in Mogadishu in July. The Jubbaland minister also said that the summit had two agendas; first is to draw a formula for 2016 elections and the second was to settle disputes between the federal states. But he admitted the summit was not pre-planned and was only meant to utilize the opportunity since all leaders were in the same venue at the same time.
After failing to break the deadlock, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid issued a press statement together announcing a new date for the consultative summit for 2016 vision. The summit is scheduled to take place on 20th of September, 2015, in Mogadishu or another venue to be agreed upon. Puntland has issues with the newest state, Galmudug over its legality as is was formed based on one and half region, contrary to what the constitution stipulates. President Hassan and the presidents of South West and Galmudug have left for Mogadishu as Prime Minister Omar, and Puntland President Abdiwali Gas remained in Kismayo together with the host leader Ahmed Mohamed Islam of Jubbaland.Foreign dignitaries, including the Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhonom, have also left for their respective destinations, although low level diplomats remained behind.
Key Headlines
- Cracks Emerge Among Federal States Over Consultative Summit (Goobjoog News)
- Former Warlord Named Moderate Islamists Commander (Garowe Online)
- President Hassan Sheikh Holds Meeting With Jubbaland’s Ahmed Madoobe (Wacaal Media)
- Division Threatens Political Party Linked To Former Somali President (Radio Dalsan)
- Somalia:Restoration Of Benadir Court Complex (Diplomat News Network )
- From Somaliland To Harvard (New York Times)
- Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary Of Defence Launches Trial Training For The Triangular Partnership Project(The Standard )
- Beautiful Somali Buildings Are Rising Up In A Former War Zone. It Gives Me Hope (The Guardian)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Former Warlord Named Moderate Islamists Commander
13 September- Source: Garowe Online – 188 Words
Galmudug presidential claimant Sheikh Ahmed Shakir Ali Hassan has named a former warlord as the Commander of Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamea militias in central Somalia on Sunday, Garowe Online reports. Notorious Abdi Nurre Siyad (Abdi Wal) was cherry-picked for having wider experience in combat and military affairs, Hassan said. The nomination of Abdi Wal comes in the midst of armed tensions between militias loyal to the paramilitary group of Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamea and Interim Galmudug administration.
Meanwhile, the commander of 17th division of Somali National Army (SNA) Liban Mohamed Yusuf defected to Moderate Islamists, leaving pro-government militias militarily impotent. Five days ago, fierce clashes in central Somalia town of Guri’el resulted in eight deaths according to witnesses and medics. The deadly fighting dragged from Tuesday into Wednesday after Ahlu Sunna militiamen raided a building housing rival Galmudug Commerce minister Abdilatif Abdullahi Warsame. Alongside powerful paramilitary units, Abdi Wal fled with his militias to Gel Jire, 60km west of Guri’el after government troops in December 2015. The former warlord sneaked away during a disarmament operation in Mogadishu, taking refuge in his stronghold, Guri’el in August 2014.
President Hassan Sheikh Holds Meeting With Jubbaland’s Ahmed Madoobe
13 September – Source : Wacaal Media – 91 Words
President of the Federal government of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday held talks with Jubbaland head of State Ahmed Mohamed Islaam – Madoobe after attending the latter’s inauguration. Sources say the two leaders discussed how to normalize relations between the two administrations particularly following a motion of no confidence against the Jubbaland parliament passed by the Federal house. Non-representation of several clans in the Jubbaland parliament was also a topic of discussion, sources indicate. The war on terror and Al-Shabaab also discussed at length.
Division Threatens Political Party Linked To Former Somali President
12 September – Source: Radio Dalsan – 181 Words
A strong political party that is linked to former Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is on the verge of collapse following disagreement within the party.Daljir party, which is gaining massive ground support since its formation one year ago, is experiencing serious divisions among the top officials.Close sources have told Radio Dalsan that some of the senior party officials including the chairman are opposed to the former Somali President being the party’s presidential candidate in the 2016 elections.: “Some officials say they will not accept Sharif to be the flag bearer of the party and instead need a fresh politician,” sources have told Radio Dalsan.
Other groups, who back Sharif’s candidature in the next polls, also threatened to ditch the political party if their demands are not met. Sources have also confirmed that the party has strong international support from Gulf States and Turkey who are in favor of the return of the former President. This latest political move comes as the international community is pushing for one-man-one-vote election process next year.
Somalia:Restoration Of Benadir Court Complex
12 September – Source: Diplomat News Network – 549 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia, United Nations, and donor partners welcomed the opening of the Benadir Courts Complex today in Mogadishu. This opening marks an important milestone for the justice sector. The provisioning of a safe place for the community to access justice services supports a more effective delivery of justice services and enables judicial personnel to carry out their duties. Access to a functioning and fair legal system is one of the pillars of sustainable peace and development, but has proved to be particularly challenging to achieve in Somalia. In 2013, a tragic attack at the Benadir Court killed at least 30 people, highlighting the urgent need to improve security for justice institutions and practitioners.
With support from UNDP and UNSOM, the Federal Government of Somalia’s Ministry of Justice is building a stronger, safer justice sector for the people of Somalia. The Benadir court complex pilot project had three components: rehabilitation of the infrastructure, selection and training of judicial protection staff, and the procurement of security equipment. The perimeter wall was heightened and reinforced, several vehicle checkpoints have been established and main-gates, boom-gates, jersey barriers, screening rooms, watch-towers, and guard shelters have been put in place. Metal detectors have been procured, and a custodial team has been established and trained in awareness, protection, and incident response to maintain security for the court and its personnel. The compound serves nearly 100 people every day and accommodates key institutions including the Supreme Court, Attorney General’s Office, Benadir Regional Appeal Court, Banadir Regional Court and 4 District Courts.
Somalia’s Minister of Justice, Abdullahi Ahmed Jama is leading the push for greater accountability, transparency and efficiency within government. He says that the new court complex does not just provide a safe place for citizens to come access their rights to justice. The launch of the Benadir Court complex will also strengthen judicial services for all Somalis. “The opening of this complex is so important to the people of this region,” said the Minister. “Our goal is to enable more Somalis have access to fair and affordable justice.” Renovation of the Benadir Court Complex directly supports the Peace-building and State-building Goals (PSGs) of the Somali Compact, in particular PSG 3: Establish independent and accountable justice institutions capable of addressing the justice needs of the people of Somalia by delivering justice for all.
The European Union Special Envoy and Ambassador to Somalia Michele Cervone d’Urso called upon judicial officers to lead by example and provide servant leadership: “This is an important step in improving access to justice in Somalia and as we know there can never be peace without justice and as such we hope this court complex will be the center of justice where every Somali man or woman will be treated equal in the eyes of the law and that no one will be above the law,” Amb. Cervone d’Urso said.
“Thanks to generous support from the European Union and UK-DFID, we are able to support the Federal Government’s priorities to expand access to justice and build greater stability, rule of law and good governance,” said Mitch Dufresne, Chief Joint Justice and Corrections Section, Rule of Law and Security Institutions Group (ROLSIG): “This is instrumental in our efforts to strengthen government and civil society institutions to deliver fair and rights-based justice services.”
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
From Somaliland To Harvard
13 September – Source: New York Times – 1105 Words
Of the millions of young men and women settling into college dorms this month, one of the most unlikely is Abdisamad Adan, a 21-year-old beginning his freshman year at Harvard. Some of his 18 siblings are illiterate and never went even to first grade, and he was raised without electricity or indoor plumbing by an illiterate grandmother in a country that doesn’t officially exist. Yet he excelled as he studied by candlelight, and he’s probably the only person in Harvard Yard who knows how to milk a camel.
Abdisamad is the first undergraduate the Harvard admissions office remembers from Somalia or its parts, at least in the last 30 years of institutional memory. He is from Somaliland, a breakaway republic that isn’t recognized by any other country (and so doesn’t have a United States embassy to grant him a visa, but that’s another story). Yet Abdisamad brims with talent and intelligence. He’s a reminder of the fundamental aphorism of our age: Talent is universal, but opportunity is not.
If not for a fluke, Abdisamad acknowledges, he might have joined friends to become part of the tide of migrants making a precarious journey by sea to Europe. How he came instead to Harvard is a tribute to his hard work and intellect, but also to luck, and to an American hedge fund tycoon who, bored by finance, moved to Somaliland and set up a school for brilliant kids who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance. The financier, Jonathan Starr, had an aunt who married a man from Somaliland, and he was charmed by stories about its deserts and nomads. So in 2008, after running his own hedge fund and burning out, Starr took a trip to Somaliland.
His friends thought he was nuts for what happened next: Starr founded an English-language boarding school for the brightest boys and girls from across Somaliland. Called the Abaarso School of Science and Technology, it uses American teachers (paid a pittance) who are willing to work in a country that the State Department recommends avoiding for security reasons. The school is surrounded by a high wall and has armed guards to foil Shabab rebels, and it has an American sensibility: There is a girls basketball team, which is so unusual in Somaliland that the team members have almost no one to play against.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary Of Defence Launches Trial Training For The Triangular Partnership Project
10 September – Source: The Standard – 529 Words
A six week trial training for the Triangular Partnership Project commenced in Kenya’s capital Nairobi under the tutelage of the United Nations Department of Field Support (UN-DFS) and the Japanese government. The Triangular Partnership Project is expected to build the engineering capacity of African Troop Contributing Countries through training, mentoring and provision of operational equipment, prior to their deployment to peacekeeping missions. A total of 10 trainees from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, are being trained on how to operate and maintain heavy engineering equipment and broaden their engineering skills.
“When a peacekeeping mission starts up, one of the greatest needs is horizontal engineering to set up the mission. So while peacekeeping fundamentally remains a political endeavour to support peaceful settlements, not very much can be achieved without the peacekeeping missions actually being present. And that means you need secure livable camps, you need passable roads, you need functional airstrips and helipads. In United Nations Peacekeeping, such major horizontal construction tasks are carried out by the military engineering unit that the TCCs provide,” explained Harinder ‘Harry’ Sood, the Project Manager of the Triangular Partnership Project at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
After the trial training, long-term training will start in a static training facility in one of the East African countries. Consultations on the location of the facility are still ongoing. Sood emphasized the significance of the project in supporting peacekeeping missions. He said, “United Nations Peacekeeping today operates in a context vastly different from when it was first conceived. Today, we have missions that operate in almost non-permissive environments; missions, which are in remote areas, in some of the poorest parts of the world in conflict prone areas; in areas where there is little peace to keep; and in places where the threats are often transnational. He concluded, “In such a context, the capability that this project intends to build cannot be over emphasized.” Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Defence Ms. Raychelle Omamo officially opened the trial training at the Humanitarian and Peace Support School (HPSS) in Embakasi, Nairobi.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“I feel proud that the nomadic hut is, in its entirety, a result of female ingenuity and collective effort. It is a common practice that women support each other through thick and thin. But making the house is fun. Women sing and recite poems during its construction. A bride-to-be making her marital hut invites female friends and relatives and, as a reward for their hard work, offers food and drinks; but if she fails to do so they will sing about her laziness or, even worse, her stinginess,”
Beautiful Somali Buildings Are Rising Up In A Former War zone. It Gives Me Hope
13 September – Source: The Guardian – 768 Words
I first learned to construct nomadic huts with my grandmother in the summer holidays – spent, whether I liked or not, living in Dayniile, near Mogadishu. Being a Mogadishu girl, living in a comfortable villa, I hated it at first so my father sent, as a surprise, a tiny battery-run TV, which transformed our evenings at the nomadic camp.Although we never planned to live like that, later, as it happened, we became refugees and ended up internally displaced in what would have otherwise seemed like barren landscapes. But thanks to my childhood experiences we were able to construct houses on our own.It is eminently uplifting to construct your home as a way of dealing with loss
We knew where to source the material, get water and even medicinal flora: we made mats of fibre and used dried and shaped acacia roots to serve as pillars. This was before aid arrived and plastic tents invaded the region. Unlike the plastic tents, which are hot during the day and cold at night, the nomadic huts are suited to the arid and hot climate: they are cool during the day and warm during the night, thanks to their natural ventilation system. It is eminently uplifting to construct your home as a way of dealing with loss in the emergency of war.Along with the ongoing conflict, Somalis also face an environmental emergency thanks to deforestation. People are consuming their future by burning the same acacia trees they need for their homes into charcoal for the international trade. These trees take years to regenerate. Soon, it might be that people won’t have any other option than to wait for plastic tents from Europe.