EUTM-S PIO – PRESS REVIEW March, 19th 2018 Jawari calls for re-deployment of Regular Forces in Parliament as he nods motion against him Mogadishu (HOL) - Lower House Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari on Sunday called redeployment of Regular Security Forces in the Parliament a day after AMISOM took over the security of the House. Speaking to media in Mogadishu, Jawari said the forces deployed recently in the Lower House should vacate. "We want the new forces to leave the Parliament, the regular Forces take over the responsibil6 and allow the House to conduct its business, failure to do so, We will declare armed militia have forcibly taken over the House of the people," Jawari vowed. Jawari refuted claims that he had accepted to resign after pressure against him mounted. “I came here by ballot according to the law and will leave this office in accordance with the same law," he responded. The speaker accepted the motion against him to be tabled before the parliament within 10 days. "The motion is now accepted and it should be tabled before the parliament within ten as per the House Standing Orders," he noted. The sentiment of the speaker contradicts the outcome of the Parliamentary Standing Committee which declared on Wednesday that motion against Jawari was dropped after it failed secure threshold quorum. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2018/Mar/157234/jawari_calls_for_re_deployment_of_regular_forces_in_parliament_as_he _nods_motion_against_him.aspx Mogadishu mayor holds talks with AMISOM officials over Mogadishu Stadium Mogadishu (HOL) - The Mogadishu mayor held talks with AMISOM officials over Mogadishu Stadium. Mogadishu Mayor, Abdirahman Omar Osman on Saturday evening held talks with AU Special Envoy to Somalia, Francisco Madeira and AMISOM force commander, Lt. Jim Besigye Owoyesigire on means to vacate the biggest sporting facility. The sides agreed to chart out plans to hand over the premises to Somali Government. Last year, the country's assistant minister for Sport, Ahmed Omar Islow said that the mission withdrew a significant number of its troops form the stadium. Islow pledged that Mogadishu Stadium will be rehabilitated by the government following the conclusion of AU withdrawal process from the stadium as the football facility had been paralyzed since 1991 when Somali central collapsed. The government with AU amid calls by Somali Sports bodies to vacate the stadium is increasing. The continental forces have been occupying the stadium over seven years since after they forcibly took over the stadium from Al-Shabaab fighters. Mogadishu stadium which has a capacity to hold 60,000 people had been military base different forces including US forces, Al-Shabaab and AMISOM for over 27 years. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2018/Mar/157231/mogadishu_mayor_holds_talks_with_amisom_officials_over_mogadishu_ stadium.aspx Jawari demands security forces in parliament vacate, says motion on course Lower House Speaker Mohamed Jawari has demanded the new security team deployed in parliament building must evacuate to allow the House conduct business failure to which, ‘we will declare armed militia have taken over Parliament’. Addressing the media Sunday, Jawari who is at loggerheads with PM Hassan Khaire added the motion against him which failed to be debated last week over quorum hitch can now be tabled before the House within ten days time noting it had secured sufficient backing of lawmakers to proceed. “The security forces who are in parliament must vacate immediately otherwise we will declare them as armed militia who have taken over parliament,” Jawari said in his third press conference since the motion failed last Wednesday. But the government has maintained the deploying of the security forces was a security procedure. The motion is now accepted and we just need to follow the requisite procedures to have it tabled within ten days in accordance with the House Standing Orders, Jawari added while calling on the House Business Committee to slot it a date. Responding to claims he had bowed to pressure to resign, Jawari said, “I am here according to the law and will leave in accordance with the same law. Those who are saying so are dreaming; let them wake up.” http://goobjoog.com/english/jawari -demands-security-forces-in-parliament-vacate-says-motion-on-course/ People must eat first, UK ambassador tells FGS and Somaliland over Berbera row UK ambassador to Somalia David Concar has called on the Federal Government and Somaliland to prioritise the plight of millions of Somalis who are starving adding a war of words over the Berbera port issue won’t help resolve differences. Ambassador Concar told Goobjoog News whereas the issue of sovereignty was crucial, the immediate problem afflicting the country-drought needs undivided attention from the leadership in Hargeisa and Mogadishu. “Matters of sovereignty need to be settled they’re very important. But first people must eat.” “The Federal Government of Somalia and the administration in Hargeisa need to get together soon to talk about all these issues and to have a very balanced objective discussions about what is in both their interests moving forward,” said Concar. “We do not think it helps either party on this issue for there to be a war of words, for there to be inflammatory rhetoric on either side. So we would encourage both parties to get around the table and calmly discuss what is in their best interest.” Concar says his country was making significant contributions to the humanitarian response noting it was imperative that starving Somalis are first attended to at the expense of any other pressing issue. “The U.K. is leading by example; we’re asking you to put money into this. We’re going first; we’re putting 85.6 million pounds on the table as an initial contribution from the UK. And I think donors, our partners respect that we’re not just telling them you’ve got to pay money, we’re putting money in ourselves you know.” Relations between Mogadishu and Hargeisa have thawed in the past weeks following the Berbera Port agreement granting Ethiopia 19% in new deal as Somaliland and Emirati ports operator DP World go with 30% and 51% respectively. Somaliland has maintained it would proceed with the deal as the Federal Government dismissed it as a nullity. http://goobjoog.com/english/people-must-eat-first-uk-ambassador-tells-fgs-and-somaliland-over-berbera-row/ Somali President postpones trip to Qatar MOGADISHU (HOL) - President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has cancelled a three-day state visit to Qatar after dispute sparked between the leaders of executive and Lower House. The country has been facing looming political crisis since early this week when over 100 lawmakers tabled a motion against the Speaker, Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari. President Farmajo will mediate Speaker Jawaari and PM Kheire who have been trading accusations in recent days. The ongoing political stalemate between the two leaders spilled into public on Friday when the speaker held a press conference in Mogadishu accusing the PM of raiding the parliament. Last Thursday, the Parliamentary Standing Committee dropped the motion against the speaker after it failed to secure the requisite quorum. The following day, the first Deputy Speaker, Abdiweli Sheikh Muday dismissed the committee's decision to quash the motion, saying the committee has not authority to decide the fate of proposition. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2018/Mar/157228/somali_president_postpones_trip_to_qatar.aspx Q&A: UK ambassador Concar to Somalia on the humanitarian situation in the country Goobjoog News: Donors meeting in London last week upped the Somali Humanitarian Support for 2018 to $350m against a target of $1.5b. Do you foresee concerns the International Community may not sustain its support as it did last year considering several other global humanitarian needs? Amb. Concar: The London events of last week was about ensuring that consciousness is raised and awareness has been raised around the world very early. So the big achievement of last year was an achievement because the alarm about the possibility of famine was raised very early in the year and big in Somalia because humanitarian relief was then mobilized at scale very early on and this ensured that the needs of the people who were most in dang er could be met. Now this year we’re going to need to do something similar because it is clear that there are five point four million people in need in Somalia which is a huge number and at least half of those are any sort of critical condition. So the key purpose of the event in London was to remind the world and say look this problem hasn’t gone away. We did a great job last year working with the Somali government and the authorities but we’re going to have to do a great job this year and we’re going to have to do it despite these competing demands for a resources. So we are confident, we are not complacent but we are confident that this can be achieved. But if it’s going to be achieved it needs everyone to pull together and it’s going to need the international community to dig deep into its pockets as it did last year to meet the funding gap that exists but a lot of money has already been pledged. One of the great successes of last year was that we really achieved a lot of relief through transferring money directly to individuals in drought stricken communities and those in need. So one of our priorities this year will be to continue with that; to do mobile money transfers to families in need to enable them to go to the local marketplaces and buy the food, buy the water that their families need. In addition to that we’ll be putting money as we did last year into treatment for severely acutely malnourished children.