September 23, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Villa Somalia Introduces New Security Measures Following Deadly Blast
23 September – Source: Wacaal Media – 142 Words
Access to Villa Somalia will henceforth be restricted after new security measures were introduced following a deadly blast outside Villa Somalia a fortnight ago. The move will affect all guests to the Villa including ministers, MPs, heads of security agencies and other government officers who will now be required to park their cars outside the premises.
Confidential reports reaching Wacaal Media says diplomats and ministers will be assigned parking slots near the first checkpoint of the Presidential Palace. Only the vehicles carrying the country’s top three – the president, prime minister and speaker will be allowed in according to our sources. All senior officials will also be required to book appointments before meeting the President, a senior protocol officer has said adding that the President will no longer be holding casual meetings with Ministers, MPs and other senior government officers.
Key Headlines
- Villa Somalia Introduces New Security Measures Following Deadly Blast (Wacaal Media)
- Side By Side Somalis Kenyans Mark Anniversary Of Deadly Kenya Mall Attack (Hiiraan Online)
- Khatumo Forces Storm Las-anod Prison Free Prisoners (Goobjoog News)
- Polio Vaccinators Come To Bardhere (Radio Ergo)
- Anti-FGM Activist Nimco Ali Says Australian Feminism Stuck In The 1980s (The Guardian)
- Two Polish Citizens May Have Died In Somalia Attack (Radio Polland)
- Popular Vote Is Possible In 2016 (RBC Radio)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Side By Side, Somalis, Kenyans Mark Anniversary Of Deadly Kenya Mall Attack
23 September – Source: Hiiraan Online – 338 Words
Somalis in Kenya are marking the second anniversary since gunmen have attacked the upscale Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Tuesday, where hundreds marched through the Somali-dominant Eastleigh suburb. The attack has killed at least 67 people during the siege which lasted four days. The Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab group has claimed the responsibility for the attack which is said was carried out in retaliation for Kenya’s operation in Somalia. Kenya has sent troops to Somalia after a series of attacks. The government has blamed Al-Shabaab for the attacks.
As Kenyans have marked the anniversary, the Somali community in Nairobi has held its own anniversary at the Eastleigh Primary School in solidarity with their fellow Kenyans who have experienced ‘horrific’ days during the mall siege. Yusuf Hassan, the Kamukunji constituency MP who delivered a sobering speech at anniversary condoled Kenyans and East Africans as a whole for the loss of ‘innocent’ lives during the ‘horrible’ mall attack. He urged Somalis in Kamukunji constituency to cooperate with the Kenyan security forces to prevent insecurity and further terrorist attacks. The anniversary follows the reopening of the refurbished Westgate mall on Mondaywith a candle-lit vigil which was held inside the shopping center under tight security.
During the anniversary civilians were allowed to make their shopping inside the mall, however, local media reported that many Kenyans have shunned attending the anniversary to avoid recalling the ‘shocking’ memories from the attack two years ago. Meanwhile, Kenyan government has vowed it would fight terrorism to keep the East African economic hub safe from terror attacks by the Al-Shabaab group which is based in the neighbouring Somalia. Al-Shabaab vowed it would continue attacks in Kenya as long as Kenyan forces are still operating inside Somalia. KDF forces have ousted militants from key towns since they invaded Somalia including the lucrative port city of Kismayo where Al-Shabaab has once collected heavy taxes from commercial ships and businesses to fund its deadly insurgency in the horn of Africa nation.
Khatumo Forces Storm Las-Anod Prison, Free Prisoners
23 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 175 Words
Forces of Khatumo State have stormed a prison in Las-Anod town under the breakaway Somaliland State, freeing about 20 political prisoners who hail from Khatumo State on Monday, according to officials. The Vice President of Khatumo State, Abdalla Mohamed Ali speaking to Goobjoog News has confirmed the overnight escape, boasting that the prison break had been “very well-planned” and that it was months in the making.“Our soldiers carried out operations to save some of our people held in Las-Anod prison and they have successfully broken the prisoners out who were held by the Somaliland Administration” he said. He pointed out that the target of the forces was to free Khatumo citizens from the ill treatment of Somaliland’s prison guards. The jailbreak raises questions about whether Somaliland Police Force are able to effectively secure prisons and whether some of the officers were bribed to free the prisoners. The administration of Somaliland is yet to comment on the incident. There had been several clashes between Somaliland and Khatumo which claimed many lives and displaced hundreds of residents.
Polio Vaccinators Come To Bardhere
22 September – Source: Radio Ergo – 245 Words
Around 23,000 children under the age of five in Bardhere district and 40 surrounding settlements have been vaccinated against polio for the first time in six years.The joint forces of the Somali government forces and AMISOM captured Bardhere from Al-Shabaab two months ago. Abdi Aadan, a father of seven, praised the vaccination workers who walked door to door to make sure all children were immunized.“I was really worried about the health of my children and the likelihood of them getting infected by diseases such as polio, measles and others that affect children. However, we are now happy because three of them were vaccinated,” Adan told Radio Ergo.
Mohamed Ali of the UN’s World Health Organization said the immunisation campaign reached from Fafahdun, 80km from Bardhere, to Shimbiroodle and Hagar-buulle 78km from Bardhere town. Nadiifo Abdi, a mother of 11 children Buulo-Geedi, said none of her children had been vaccinated before. This time four of her children and three grandchildren were vaccinated against polio. “It was the first time I had seen a vaccination team,” she said. The program was funded and supervised by WHO and UNICEF. It involved 180 vaccination workers over a four day period. Radio Ergo’s Gedo region correspondent says this was the first time since 2009 such a campaign was conducted in Bardheere. He said awareness campaigns had encouraged parents to present their children for vaccination, but many still believed vaccinations could have negative effects and hid their children.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Anti-FGM Activist Nimco Ali Says Australian Feminism Stuck In The 1980s
23 September – Source: The Guardian – 417 Words
Nimco Ali observes Australian feminism and shakes her head. She admits she’s only just arrived here but her advice to feminists would be “to be a little bit more brave, a little bit more bold”. In the UK, she says, there’s more “honesty, more ‘get out of my fucking way’ ”. Ali, 32, is a Somali-born British activist and survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM), performed on her when she was seven years old. Ali is fierce, and has led an in-your-face, humorous, relentless campaign against FGM in the UK. She helped make the issue front page news with her “fanny suit” – a vagina costume she wears to rallies – and the “muff march” to protest against the growing incidence of labiaplasty in the UK. After years of silence, she now speaks openly about her own experience of FGM.
She is in Australia as a keynote speaker at a conference to mark 40 years since the publication of Anne Summers’ feminist classic Damned Whores and God’s Police. “It’s like the 1980s here,” she tells Guardian Australia on the sidelines of the Sydney conference. “It’s like Germaine Greer’s interpretation of what feminism is, and that feminism doesn’t sit well with me now because I’m straight, I love men, I don’t see all men as rapists, I don’t see all men as threats.”
It’s a blunt assessment of local feminism, and a quick judgment, but Ali’s first impressions are that UK feminism is younger, and more radical than here. And more effective. Ali uses everything she can to draw attention to her cause. She reckons Australia’s first female defence minister, Marise Payne, should declare herself “the first fanny defence minister. I want her to defend women in this country and globally. Rather than bombing people, let’s talk about how we can use our military and our departments of homeland security to defend women.”
Two Polish Citizens May Have Died In Somalia Attack
23 September – Source: Radio Poland – 191 Words
Polish authorities are currently trying to confirm whether two Polish citizens died in a car bomb attack on Monday near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia. At least 11 people died as a result of the blast in the Somali capital, and over 14 were injured.The two Polish citizens who may have fallen victim were of Somali and Palestinian descent.The former was intending to take part in the forthcoming presidential election in Somalia. Secretary of State in the Prime Minister’s office Marek Biernacki has told the TVN24 news channel that news of the deaths of the two men is “unofficial” at present.
“We are waiting for confirmation,” he added. The explosion took place outside Villa Somalia during a debate over the country’s 2016 election process. Besides providing a residence for the president, Villa Somalia also serves as the country’s seat of government. A suicide bomber apparently drove towards a group of dignitaries leaving the building, before detonating the explosives. Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by Islamic extremist group Al-Shabaab, which is linked with al-Qaida. It has carried out many attacks in the country in recent times.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“In this system, any willing adult member of the society will have the chance to sign for one party. This system shall also do away with the unjust 4.5 system that has thus far been used to decide how much power is allocated to who based-in reality-on their clan’s strength. The federal government shall not be required to put ballot boxes in every town, eliminating the need to deploy security forces around the country. And because parties shall finance their own operations, less money shall be drawn from already strained government coffers. This system will also help more women to participate the political system in the party form.”
Popular Vote Is Possible In 2016
20 September – Source: RBC Radio – 960 Words
Even though President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has retracted his pledge of “one-man one-vote” I believe that come August 2016 it may still be possible to have relatively fair, open elections in Somalia where the people shall usher in a new president through popular vote. What I am about to propose is a system that will require the current parliament to remain in place and see its mandate extended for another term maybe until 2020—so there will be some normalcy and stability during the election period. However, the president will be elected by popular vote. Moreover, this system will not require the government to deploy soldiers around the country, collect votes, or even need donor money to finance the election. In the end, the system will resemble what Australia has today—the people voting for political parties instead of leaders; subsequently, the winner elects (the political party), for Somalia’s case, the president.
There are approximately 18 established national political parties in Somalia today that have some sort of existence—the number is growing. The first suggestion would be for the National Electoral Commission (the recently established one that still some regional authorities dispute) to develop provisional guidelines that political parties shall observe. Once these parameters are defined, the next steps become a little easier. For instance, if a political party wants to participate in the coming national election, it must first collect 10, 000 signatures, for example, from Somalia citizens living in the country. Each signature shall represent one vote. Presumably, with more than a dozen operational political parties, if even ten of them gather about 10, 000 signatures each, this shall collectively amount to 100, 000 votes cast by Somali people. If such is achieved, this will be a paradigm shift for the politics of Somalia.
TOP TWEETS
@AnalystNominal: Democracy in #Somalia flounders as both Domestic & External Entities proxying Divergent Interests stifle attempts for #Universal Suffrage
@UKinSomalia: #Somalia commits to draft law banning #FGM. Welcome this important step towards protecting women and girls.
@xasanmmc: #Somalia : Galmudug political View towards electoral process of Next parliament 2016
@ARCBriefing: #Somalia: Political uncertainty if dialogue with MPs fails to deter their efforts to impeach President Hassan Sheikh http://bit.ly/1FNEWQO
@yhassan_ :Federalism was stolen to substitute clan rivalry 4 nation-building. #Somalia needs social healing, legitimacy & recovery plan. Not Roadmap2
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Reshaping Somalia Police Force, female officers take the lead in operations. Photo: @SalahOsman0