September 30, 2015 | Morning Headlines
Somali Bantu Community In US Protest Over Somalia Power Sharing
29 September – Source: Hiiraan Online – 367 Words
Hundreds of Somali Bantu community rallied in the downtown New York on Monday, protesting against disproportion of power sharing arrangement in the Somali politics and leadership. The protestors who were carrying placards that read ‘Somali Bantu Speak Up’ have marched through the streets of New York as police patrolled the area, coinciding their march-protest at a time the United Nations’ General Assembly’s seventieth session was going on at the UN headquarters in New York.
“We are protesting against injustice, inequality in Somalia’s power sharing scheme,” said Abdi Mude, the spokesman for the Somali Bantu community in the US. “Our rally is largely focusing on the denial of our supposed power sharing allocation to our community in the Jubba regions’ administration.” He said. Mr. Mude has also complained of an alleged robbery against Bantu farmers in the region which produces large parts of Somalia’s agricultural production. “We want to meet Somali president who is among dozens of world leaders attending the UN summit to submit our grievances.” He said
Like the rest of Somalis, Somali Bantu, an ethnic minority group in Somalia who primarily reside in the southern part of the country, near the Juba and Shabelle rivers has suffered during Somalia’s decades-old conflict. During the Somali Civil War, many Bantu were forced from their lands in the lower Juba River valley, as militiamen from various Somali clans took control of the area. Being visible minorities and possessing little in the way of firearms, the Bantu were particularly vulnerable to violence and looting by gun-toting militiamen
In the view of the prosecutions against Somali Bantu community, the United States has led efforts aimed at giving resettlement for the community and classified them as refugees from Somalia in 1991, offering them a resettlement scheme under an ambitious resettlement plan with thousands of Bantus scheduled for resettlement in America. In 2003, the first Bantu immigrants began to arrive in U.S. cities, and by 2007, around 13,000 had been resettled to cities throughout the United States with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.S. State Department, and refugee resettlement agencies across the country, according to the open content online encyclopaedia site, Wikipedia.
Key Headlines
- Somali Bantu Community In US Protest Over Somalia Power Sharing (Hiiraan Online)
- Heavy Fighting Renews In Sool Amid Mediations (Garowe Online)
- Handcuffed Artists Brought To The Dock (Radio Dalsan)
- Member of Parliament Aabi: We Shall Continue With The Motion (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia 2015-16 El Niño Contingency Plan September 2015 (Reliefweb)
- Kenya ‘Will Stand Firm’ In Somalia Kenyatta tells UN (The East African)
- A Haven For Needy Kids (Sahan Journal)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Heavy Fighting Renews In Sool Amid Mediations
29 September – Source: Garowe Online – 146 Words
Fierce clashes have flared up in rural areas between Nugal and Sool regions as Puntland Vice President Abdihakin Abdullahi Haji Omar is spearheading mediation efforts, Garowe Online reports. The fighting eruptedon Tuesday morning in Qoriley and Maga’ley areas, with warring clan militias shelling positions with mortar fire. Garowe Online was unable to reach residents for exact number of casualty figures due to poor telephone networks there. On September 26, Puntland Member of Parliament, Saed Abdi Samatar (Sur’ad), who is accompanying Vice President Omar on his trip to Nugal region town of Burtinle, told Puntland-based independent station that warring sides expressed their readiness for the mediation. Nevertheless, Sool clan elders have not been communicated face-to-face, hampering efforts to broker lasting peace between the two clans. Last week, clan militias raided Qoriley, triggering gun-battle that left nearly 20 dead. The hostility has been lingering on for ten years.
Handcuffed Artists Brought To The Dock
29 September – Source: Radio Dalsan – 274
The chairman of the Horn Stars Band Mr. Hassan Suleiman addressing the press has said that the singers were taken to Maroodi Jeeh regional court and the judge in the court has said that there should be a complete file of accusation against the singers.
“The singers were on Tuesday morning brought before the regional judge of Maroodi Jeeh region and after the judges have listened to the accusations against the singers they said that the detention of the singers is not valid into ways: in the first place there was no warrant of arrest which was handed over to them over their arrest and in that case how they were arrested is not in accordance with the national constitution, secondly the accusation against them is not complete, because there is a photo which is fabricated through Photoshop which say that Hamda Queen has covered herself with the Somali national flag, and that should not be a genuine case for detention and from this minute I have with held the detention of the singers, and I am telling from the parts of the fair justice and the regional court they are free, after that statement from the judiciary the singers are still under illegal detention and that is very unfortunate” said Suleiman the chairman of the singers. The chairman has also added that the singers were badly treated with bruises on parts of their bodies. Eventually the chairman of Horn Stars Band has condemned the Ministers for Internal Affairs Waran Ade and the Minister for Information Ukuse be behind the reason as to why the musicians are still behind the bars and missing their freedom
Member of Parliament Aabi: We Shall Continue With The Motion
29 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 312 Words
Ahmed Aabi Adan who is among the MPs that tabled the impeachment motion against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has termed the discarding of the motion by the speaker as illogical act. He pointed out that the decision of the speaker has left many somalis in shock and may lead the country to political chaos.“Once he decided to drop the impeachment motion, there is nothing remaing to discuss, we as the motion supporters, we shall continue with the motion, our lawyers are ready to provide us with whatever necessary about the motion after that we are going to share the result with him (speaker) and the international community” he said.
Mr. Aabi accused the speaker of violating the constitution as he plans to secure position to be one of signatories of the roadmap of the nation.The comments emerged after the Speaker of Somali Federal Parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawaari said the concerns raised in the impeachment motion did not meet the minimum threshold as provided for under Article 84 of the Penal Code.The move by the speaker is yet another development in the impeachment motion which has raised more questions than answers regarding the actual position and procedure of impeachment.
The Provisional Constitutional bestows authority to parliament to originate an impeachment motion against the president upon which the constitutional court will determine the legal merits before transmitting it to parliament for a vote should it find it in the affirmative. However the absence of the court has technically left the motion in limbo which could partly explain why the speaker decided to determine its fate.The speaker had earlier in the month asked parliament to deliberate on the best possible way out which would among others lead to the establishment of an ad hoc constitutional court. Parliament has gone on recess until October 21, 2015 when the 7th session will start.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Four Al-Shabaab Suspects Arrested At Ifo In Dadaab, Weapons Recovered
29 September – Source: Daily Nation – 333 Words
Four people suspected to be members of Al-Shabaab have been arrested at the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab, Garissa County. A combined team of security officers over the weekend arrested the four and seized assorted arms in a sting operation. Addressing journalists in his office on Tuesday morning, North Eastern Regional Coordinator Mohamud Saleh said that on receiving a tip-off, security officers immediately cordoned off the scene and arrested the suspects. The officers seized three AK-47 rifles, 92 rounds of ammunitions, seven magazines, eight magazine pouches, four first aid kits, six mobile phones and over 200 mobile phone motherboards believed to be used in making improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Mr Saleh said police were interrogating the suspects aged between 19 and 24, noting that they have already gotten crucial information that will help the security agents in combating the Somali-based terror group that has killed hundreds of Kenyans in the past. The administrator thanked residents for their renewed cooperation that they are according security officers in the region by giving information on Al-Shabaab operatives and their accomplices. He assured Kenyans volunteering information that their identities would remain anonymous and all the information kept in confidence. He urged them not be intimidated by Al-Shabaab. This is third time security officers in Garissa have arrested suspects and recovered weapons. Last month, a cache of dangerous weapons were recovered and six suspected Al-Shabaab suspects arrested.
Somalia 2015-16 El Niño Contingency Plan, September 2015
29 September – Source: Reliefweb – 200 Words
Somalia remains in a state of protracted crisis which increases the impact of the challenging climatic conditions, amidst inadequate coping strategies and development assistance. About 3.2 million people are in need of life-saving and livelihood support, while over 1.1 million people are internally displaced.The likely impacts of the 2015-16 El Niño events may be severe in areas characterized by some of the worst humanitarian and human development indicators in the world. It is foreseen that Somalia could experience flooding in southern and central regions and Puntland, as well as exacerbated drought conditions in Somaliland as early as end of September 2015 to December 2015.The effects of the El Niño phenomenon could extend several months into 2016.
The El Niño Contingency Plan has been developed in consultation with authorities at federal and regional level to prepare the humanitarian community for an effective, integrated timely response, taking into account lessons learned and needs identified from the previous responses to El Niño related emergencies. Main gaps and constraints identified by humanitarian partners are access constraints and funding shortfalls.The humanitarian community is already prepositioning stocks and undertaking preventative programmes in areas likely to be affected by the El Niño.
Kenya ‘Will Stand Firm’ In Somalia, Kenyatta tells UN
29 September – Source: The East African – 289 Words
President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged in his address to the United Nations General Assembly that Kenya “will stand firm in support of the Federal Government and the people of Somalia.” He said that Kenyan forces will continue to operate alongside the Somali National Army and within the framework of the African Union military mission in Somalia.Speaking to world leaders gathered for the opening of the 70th session of the General Assembly, he acknowledged that the continued threat posed by Al-Shabaab has had “a great impact on Kenya’s national security and economy at large.”
Kenya has expended billions of shillings on regional peace and security and many Kenyan lives lost in terrorist attacks, Mr Kenyatta noted, urging the international community to take strong action against the terror group and to focus on “the phenomenon of foreign fighters.” The president added that “we must collectively address the radicalisation of the youth as the pipeline for global terrorism and its financing at the grassroots, where most of the youth are radicalised.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Saada had three primary goals in starting the association. First, to ensure that poor kids had sufficient food and clothing. Second, to encourage street kids to pursue an education instead of life on the streets. And third, to improve the quality of life for kids like Ayanleh, children born with special needs.”
A Haven For Needy Kids
29 September – Source: Sahan Journal – 979 Words
When Jimaha gave birth to Ayanleh, it was obvious from his first cry that something was wrong. Kids like Ayanleh don’t squeak at birth, they scream. He emerged from the womb, a place of protection, into the harsh world where every physical touch and every change in temperature would send excruciating pain through his body. He looked like a victim of third-degree burns, his skin blistered and peeling off. Ayanleh is a butterfly child, born with Epidermolysis Bullosa, an extremely rare skin condition in which the skin blisters and falls off, almost like they are disintegrating before the eyes of their parents. Most butterfly children don’t survive the first eighteen months of life. Those who do, die before their thirtieth birthday. Ayanleh was born in 2009 and every day of his life he has been in pain. His skin flakes off so rapidly that when I sat with Jimaha and Ayanleh for thirty minutes, by the time he got up to wander the room, the floor was littered with tiny scraps of dry skin.
His fingers and toes have been reduced to blunt nubs and his hair is the orangish color of kwashiorkor, a result of severe malnutrition. Ayanleh’s body has difficulty regulating temperature, especially heat, and ideally he would be in a cool, sterile environment twenty-four hours a day, though this would only slightly ease his torment. His parents can’t afford an air conditioner and Djibouti spends six months out of the year in extreme heat, which only increases his pain. Jimaha pours cool, filtered water over his head and rubs it into his cracked arms. Other women in the room urge her to remove the baggy shirt he wears, so that his tiny body can feel the ceiling fan directly on his skin.
As soon as Jimaha removes his shirt, Ayanleh jumps up and roams around the room. I tease him that he could become like Ayanleh Souleiman, Djibouti’s star athlete who holds the national record for the 1500 meters and is a medal contender for the 2016 Olympics. “After all,” I say, “you have the same name.” Ayanleh means full of good fortune or luck. A generation or two ago, Ayanleh would be locked away at home, an object of shame for his heartbroken family. He wouldn’t play or interact with other kids. He wouldn’t go out in public.