September 26, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Top Federal Government Leadership Seeking Parliamentary Positions
25 September – Source: Jowhar.com – 154 Words
The country’s outgoing leadership has joined the ranks of those hopeful to be selected/elected as parliamentarians in the upcoming Somalia elections. Sources indicate President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has not travelled to the UN General Assembly meeting, instead he stayed put in Mogadishu in an effort to land an MP seat from Banadir region.
Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke is in Garowe while the speaker of the Federal Parliament Prof. Osman Jawari is in Baidoa, both for the same mission as the outgoing President. Both Sharmarke and Hassan Sheikh are vying for the presidency while Prof. Jawari intends to retain his seat as the Speaker of the Federal Parliament. It is believed the position of Member of Parliament is the entry point of the top government positions and dictates who will have a say in the future administration. It will also come in as consolation prize should the contestants fail to recapture their current positions.
Key Headlines
- Top Federal Government Leadership Seeking Parliamentary Positions (Jowhar.com)
- Somalia’s Legal Fees In Maritime Case Offset By UAE- Foreign Minister (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Intelligence Forces Seize Central Bank And Ministry Of Finance (Garowe Online)
- Galmudug says 119 alleged Somali pirates in india are fishermen (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia Misses Date Set To Start Elections (Daily Nation)
- After Four Years In A Refugee Camp One 19-Year-Old Journeys Home To Somalia (Take Part/Hiiraan Online)
- Abdi Warsame Is A Voice For Islam For Somalia And For Hope (Star Tribune)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia’s Legal Fees In Maritime Case Offset By UAE- Foreign Minister
26 September – Source : Goobjoog News – 212 Words
The United Arab Emirates is financing Somalia’s maritime case at The Hague against Kenya, contrary to claims the Saudi government was responsible, Goobjoog News has established. Speaking exclusively to Goobjoog News from New York, Foreign Affairs Minister Abdusalam Omer Hadliye said the Emirati government was responsible for offsetting the legal fee for the legal team representing Somalia.
The minister did not however disclose the cost of the case which Somalia has hired a constellation of legal minds to battle out the maritime dispute with his neighbor, Kenya. Paul Reichler of Foley Hoag LLP New York described as one the world’s most respected and experienced practitioners of Public International Law with more than 25 years experience is among the team hired by Somalia.
He has represented several sovereign states in maritime disputes including the Philippines vs China regarding the disputed South China Sea (2013-2016), Nicaragua v. United States of America (1984-1986), Argentina v. Uruguay (2006-2010) among others. Other lawyers in the team are French lawyer Prof Allain Pellet, Mona Sharmaan among others. Attorney General Ahmed Ali Dahir leads the team. The International Court of Justice is expected to issue its verdict in the near future on whether it will take up the case or send the two countries back to the negotiating table.
Puntland Intelligence Forces Seize Central Bank And Ministry Of Finance
26 September – Source : Garowe Online – 337 Words
Puntland Intelligence forces (PIA) have gone on strike on Sunday, seizing Central Bank and Ministry of Finance buildings in Garowe city, regional capital of Puntland, Garowe Online reports. PIA soldiers in Garowe along with Galkayo-based units have seized control of Central Bank and Ministry of Finance buildings, in protest over unpaid salaries and lack of adequate support for injured soldiers receiving medical treatment abroad.
Close sources tell Garowe Online that striking PIA soldiers demanded their unpaid salaries and entitlements of over 7 months and proper assistance to soldiers who sustained injuries in the military operations against Al Shabaab militants group in Suj earlier this year. In an attempt to resolve the situation, Senior Security officers intervened and held talks with the striking soldiers to end the crisis, but their efforts ended in failure.
PIA soldiers insisted that Puntland government must meet their demands before ending the seizure. In response, Puntland government has formed a committee that will look into their demands, which prompted PIA soldiers to evacuate the building and ending the seize. This is the second incident happening in less than 4 weeks after Puntland commandos have seized vehicles bound to Southern Somalia in protest over unpaid of salaries and lack of military support.
The incident comes amid heightened controversy over Puntland government excessive spending that exceeded yearly budget. PIA has lost financial assistance from US counter-terrorism agencies in 2012, then-Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole has managed to secure UAE funding that continued till March, 2016. Early reports have revealed that Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has secured funds for PIA with possible down size of the agency to 30 officers from 150 strong task force and civilian personnel, but plans yet to be accomplished.
Headquartered in the state capital, Garowe, PIA is mandated to conduct surveillance, neutralize threats posed to state security, and investigate suspects for links to terrorism. Puntland grapples with weak leadership amid security deterioration, crippled economy and frequent protests from state civil workers and security forces over unpaid entitlements in recent years.
Galmudug Says 119 Alleged Somali Pirates In India Are Fishermen
26 September – Source : Goobjoog News – 194 Words
Authorities in Central Somalia state of Galmudug have said the 119 alleged Somali pirates who were prosecuted in India were fishermen barely a day after thousands of Somalis protested against the sentences of the alleged Somali pirates. The Deputy President of Galmudug State, Mohamed Abdi Hashi, said the majority of the alleged somali pirates were fishermen captured by EU naval forces guarding shipping companies using the Indian Ocean.
“As Galmudug State, we are here to serve the public, My government spoke to Somali embassy in India over Somali nationals arrested for piracy. My administration contacted the lawyers of the alleged pirates and he affirmed to us his commitment to defend the boys,” said Hashi. Earlier the 119 alleged Somali pirates, who were captured in several operations carried out by Indian coast guards and Navy off Lakshadweep between 2011 and 2012, have pleaded guilty to offenses filed against them. About 50 pirates could face death sentence while the rest could face life imprisonment. Hundreds of pirates were arrested and now serving long jail terms in different countries and in prisons in the northern Somalia’s semiautonomous region of Puntland and the neighbouring breakaway region of Somaliland.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Misses Date Set To Start Elections
26 September – Source: Daily Nation – 363 Words
Somalia’s electoral team failed to meet the September 24 deadline for the start of the elections of members of the Lower House, raising concerns the delay could affect the election of the president slated for October 30. BySaturday, the day polling stations were set to open in the regional capitals, the Federal Indirect Elections Implementing Team, FIEIT and its state level equivalent were still held up in a meeting to iron out contentious issues.The polls body said in a statement on September 21 that elders tasked with choosing the delegates who will elect members of the Lower House were yet to submit their lists to the electoral body even as it emerged clans were not willing to reserve seats to women in line with the poll procedures.
The polls body also said it was facing financial, political and security challenges which could delay the electoral process for the Horn of Africa nation.The international community committed to meet 60 per cent of the budget while Somalia would clear the rest through Federal Government purse and candidates fees. Besides the technical aspects of the elections, security remains a key challenge. The militant group Al-Shabaab announced last week it would disrupt the polls, raising concerns this could scare some voters away.Analysts have expressed fears that a delay in parliamentary elections will automatically influence that of the president which is scheduled for October 30.
The Presidency announced in a decree on September 4 that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud would have limited powers after September 10 when his constitutionally mandated term ran out.The decree stipulated the extended stay in office must come to a close in November 6. Meanwhile, the African Union has deployed a short-term technical electoral support team in Somalia.
After Four Years In A Refugee Camp, One 19-Year-Old Journeys Home To Somalia
26 September – Source: Take Part/Hiiraan Online – 3160
Mohamed Omar Abdille remembers the night before he left his home in Merca, Somalia, in September 2012 to begin life as a refugee. He was 15. Family and friends gathered around the table for a final meal before his departure. His mother served his favorite supper of spaghetti, beef and milk. They joked and laughed about his journey ahead and spoke of the peace that prevailed at the Dadaab refugee complex, 325 miles away in Kenya, and about the opportunities that awaited Mohamed there. An uncle was already at one of the five camps at the complex, and Mohamed could live with him while he attended school. In Merca, Mohamed recalled this past summer, “there was little food or water, and the few schools had long been closed.”
As the family and visitors ate, they could hear gunshots and explosions from the ongoing battles between clan factions across town. The Somali government’s war against al-Shabab, the terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida, also afflicted Merca. Mohamed’s siblings wished they could go with him; he assured them that once he had an education he would be back to teach them, too. Mohamed’s father, Omar, a shopkeeper and a farmer, would have liked to take the whole family to Dadaab, but he couldn’t afford the $50 per person it would cost to shuttle them there by private van from Merca. Failing that, he wanted Mohamed, as his eldest son, to go to school; the rest of the family would move to Barawe, 60 miles down Somalia’s coast, soon after Mohamed’s departure.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“ He knew the family budget by age 10, and took his siblings to school conferences, even paid the bills. Though poor, his siblings all succeeded and graduated from college,”
Abdi Warsame Is A Voice For Islam, For Somalia, And For Hope
25 September – Source: Star Tribune – 799 Words
With the U.S. State Department as his sponsor, Abdi Warsame had just spent several days traveling around Morocco, talking to other Muslims about the reach of radicalization on Somali youth, Islamophobia and the life of an immigrant in today’s America. Mostly he told a positive story — his own — about fleeing a war-ravaged country to a refugee camp in Kenya and then on to a college education in London. Finally, Warsame talked about his efforts to train, educate and employ his fellow Somalis as a member of the Minneapolis City Council.
But when he landed back in the United States, after a stop to visit family in London, Warsame learned of possible terrorist bombings in New York and a knife attack on 10 people at a St. Cloud mall by a Somali man. He knew people would expect, perhaps demand, that he speak out against the attacks. As the first Somali elected to a City Council in the country, his role is often chief apologist and peacekeeper for an entire country and a religion.
So, still jet-lagged from his trip, Warsame wrote a letter to the editor of this newspaper, calling for unity against the violence. That voice is one of the reasons the State Department sought him out. In Morocco, Warsame spoke to nongovernmental agencies and at a university. They were fascinated by his American success story.
“We went from being an affluent family to being on welfare, that was a shocking thing,” Warsame said in an interview in his office, decorated with African artwork and a Swedish Institute poster. “But we got out when we were young and we were very fortunate; my mom always reminded us of that. We didn’t have much, but we had each other and we had the hope that tomorrow would be a better day.”
TOP TWEETS
@AbdulBillowAli:#Goobweyn, where the river meets the sea. Natural beauty. #Jubba River joins the Indian Ocean near#Kismayo. #Jubbaland #Somalia.
@ICRC:At least 300,000 children under five are acutely malnourished in #Somalia today. With clinics like these, we are doing all we can:
@HarunMaruf:#Somalia: Today, Sept 25 is the deadline to complete selection of Upper House of Parliament (54 seats), all signs indicate it won’t be met.
@unicefsomalia:Completed primary as a refugee in Kenya, Mohamed, 19, wonders where to go to high school after returning 2 #Somalia. http://mashable.com/2016/09/
@stability_fund:Training to strengthen the relationship between the police & community at Dangorayo #HumanRights by Puntland Human Rights Defender #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Puntland President, Abdiweli Mohamed(Gaas), lays down the foundation stone for Puntland’s Ministry of Education building.
Photo: Radio Muqdisho.