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Horn of Africa Bulletin Analyses • Context • Connections

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Horn of Africa Bulletin Analyses • Context • Connections AUGUST 2010 HORN OF AFRICA BULLETIN ANALYSES • CONTEXT • CONNECTIONS Analyses ► Journalism in Somalia ► Impact of armed conflict on children: the Sudan perspective News and events Resources Journalism in Somalia Today the crisis in Somalia is termed by BBC as ‘Africa’s worst.’ According to Oxfam’s coordinator for Somalia, the “very dire” humanitarian crisis in the country is the worst in Africa for many years.1 Many of its hundreds of thousands of Inter- nally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the world’s largest such concentration, have little food or shelter. Residents in Mogadishu, the capital, have also been fleeing intense fighting between armed opposition groups fighting the government on one side and the pro-government forces on the other. Although the government has regained con- trol of key parts in the capital, the town is a hub for continued war between the two groups with no peaceful solution in the horizon. An overview of the media Somalia’s disintegration is reflected in its media, which tends to be fragmented and often partisan. Broadcasters and journalists operate in an atmosphere which is hostile to free expression, and often dangerous. In 2008, the country’s media situa- tion was characterized as “Africa’s deadliest country for journalists.”2 Nevertheless, diverse and increasingly professional media outlets have emerged in recent years - in particular, FM radio stations with no explicit factional links. While the TV and press sectors are, on one hand weak, radio is the dominant medium, there are around 20 radio stations. There is however no national, domestic broadcaster at least owned by the government in Mogadishu. Many listeners tune to Somali-language media based abroad, in particular the BBC’s Somali service and of late the Somali service of the US Voice of America (VOA). BULLETIN A The Somali Diaspora in Europe, North America, and in the Gulf States and elsewhere, on the other hand, sustain a rich internet presence particularly online websites for Somali and non-Somali audience. But domestic web access is ham- pered by practicalities such as limited access to electricity and the general insecurity in the country. In the northern parts of the country, both ‘Somaliland’ and ‘Puntland,’ maintain a tight hold on broadcasting. HORN OF AFRIC OF HORN There are a number of media outlets in Somalia, both print and electronic and 1 these include: newspapers like Qaran, Xog-Ogaal, Codka Xorriyadda, and Ayaama- ha in Mogadishu and Jamhuuriya, Maandeeq and Somaliland Times in ‘Somali- land’. TV stations like the Somali Telemedia Network (STN), Universal TV, and HornAfrik – all privately owned and which rebroadcast the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV and the CNN, the Somaliland National TV (SLNTV) - owned by the Somaliland government and the Somali Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), privately owned in ‘Puntland’. Radio stations include; Radio Mogadishu – which is an FM station halt- ingly operated by the transitional government and whose coverage is limited to the capital, radio HornAfrik, Radio Shabelle, Radio Banadir, the Holy Koran Radio, and Radio Simba, all privately owned FM station in Mogadishu with HornAfrik rebroad- casting the BBC’s Somali service news, Radio Galkacyo, Voice of Peace (VoP) and the Somali Broadcasting CorporationRadio, all privately owned in ‘Puntland and finallyRadio Hargeisa - owned by the ‘Somaliland’ government, but via FM and shortwave. Media regulations and laws Historically, most press activity in Somalia was centred in Mogadishu. Newspapers and magazines were published in English, Somali, and Italian. Two to nine daily newspapers operated in Somalia. In the past, these newspapers have had limited readership – most under 10,000 – and inconsistent circulations due to the conflicts.3 The Ministry of Information and National Guidance, for example, published a vari- ety of weekly and monthly publications including Xiddigta Oktoobar (the October Star), a daily Somali language paper. One privately owned newspaper managed to open in early 1991 called Al Majlis (the Council). Since then many factional papers that are photocopied and have small distributions emerged all over the country but mainly in Mogadishu, Bosasso, ‘Puntland,’ and in Hargeisa, ‘Somaliland.’ The various Somali governments have different constitutions with media laws and their interpretation varying from region to region. For example, the current Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is yet to draft a new constitution and is operating on a Federal Charter as of to-date. Effort to establish a strong federal government in Somalia is supported by various groups, clans, and clan groupings in Somalia. The Somali Republic has adopted, through a national referendum, the 1960 constitution based on Sharia (law), which means the citizens and government must abide by Islamic laws. It must also be noted that other than a weak media council formed by the former TFG Information Minister, the current constitution does not provide for such a regulatory body. This is partly due to its current nature that the constitution-making is under process. However, the 1960 constitution, the ‘Somaliland’ constitution, the ‘Puntland’ constitution and the current government’s Charter all imply freedom of expression. Its application is lacking on the ground especially with regards to issue to do with the media’s freedom and other related basic rights. These media regulations undo any attempts at a free press, and the acts of violence and censorship against journal- ists are clear examples of how the various authorities from all three regions do not support a free press. Audience and language In terms of audience and language Somali was and is still the official language of the different states and quasi-states currently in Somalia while Arabic and English are BULLETIN A also spoken in most parts and by the different generations. The 1973 introduction of an official Somali orthography based on the Latin alphabet, replacing several older systems, allows the Somali language, with three main dialects and standard usage of common Somali, to be used throughout Somalia. Where language-based preju- dice and economic injustice were prevalent prior to 1973, the adoption of an official language allows for wider economic and educational access. Since the war broke HORN OF AFRIC OF HORN out in Somalia from the early 1990s, only Somali and English papers have been out 2 although at various distribution levels and capacities. Censorship and harassment While Somalia enjoyed a brief period when the country’s press was free, the press has been heavily censored or under government control throughout the ages: from 1960 onwards. The poverty and refugee status of most Somalis has left the issue of freedom of expression to be argued by a small few who often face harassment, attacks, beatings, abductions, and other forms of interference with their work. The civil war nature of the country did not help either. Most Somali authorities shut down newspapers, confiscated copies, and were responsible for arresting and imprisoning journalists. From the early 1990s to-date, bans and censorships are imposed and then lifted while journalists face regular mistreatments, harassment, arrests, and intimidation from armed opposition groups and leaders of various Somali authorities.4 The Transitional National Government (TNG) of 2000 formed in Arta, Djibouti and the current TGNU formed in early 2009 both gave some levels of hope to the media in general. However, the general security vacuum denies them the freedom they need to serve the public. The regional governments of ‘Somaliland’ and ‘Punt- land’ have been the biggest challenge to media outlets and journalists/reporters com- mitted to exposing unbiased truth. Journalists working in these regions are arrested and imprisoned for criticizing the government or presenting a negative view of any issue facing the country. In fact, several journalists have been prosecuted for saying the Somaliland and Puntland governments do not support press freedom.5 So far, the number of journalists killed in Somalia since 1993 is, for example, 25, 9 of which are foreign journalists and there might still be lots of other cases unrecorded or went unreported.6 In other words, closings the media houses and looting their equipments became a way (almost adopted by warlords and clan leaders) to silencing media activities in Somalia. State-Media relations While media coverage is both clan-based and somehow representative of all politi- cal groups, clans and clan groupings, they are in a position of a kind of a “cat and mouse” scenario where each watches the other closely. Just like the previous mili- tary regime in Somalia, most media outlets are either group owned or censorship is commonplace. The post-Siyad Barre power vacuum left in Somalia from the early 1990s with no central government and many political and clan-based militia groups battling for power. The civil war that followed also left most Somalis uneducated and illiterate, living in poverty, and struggling for survival on a daily basis. The So- mali media we talk about today operates in such a situation and status. The attitude to foreign media is no better either. Although media outlets like CNN alerted the international community on the country’s poverty, famine and brutal civil war which attracted the US-led Uni- fied Task Force (UNITAF) and the two subsequent UN Operations in Somalia (UNOSOM I and UNOSOM II), both the local and international press stand no better chances either and they have struggled under this political legacy for over two decades. Despite this, it is a common belief that one of the major issues for all Somalis, regardless of which region one is in, is the way Somalia is presented in the international community as not only a failed but also a collapsed state. And despite the Somali journalists, literary scholars and writers citing the long oral tradition BULLETIN A and a sense of national cultural pride they are equally grappling with protecting the country’s image as they also try to simultaneously present the truth of their country’s struggles.
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