Journalists’ Union Receives Press Freedom Award

NAIROBI , 9 Dec 2005 (IRIN) – The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has won a prestigious international award in recognition of its "tenacious fight to defend the international principle of press freedom" in the Horn of Africa nation.

The international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RWB) awarded NUSOJ the Fondation de France International Press Freedom Defender prize at a ceremony in Paris on Wednesday.

"NUSOJ has tackled dozens of urgent cases, doing investigations and alerting international organisations and media, as well as writing reports on the media conditions in a country ruled by warlords," RWB said.

Accepting the award, NUSOJ Secretary-General Omar Faruk Osman said that in 2005 alone, the organisation had monitored, investigated and reported on more than 15 cases of murdered reporters, detained journalists, suspended media institutions, censored media houses and the intimidation of media professionals.

"Journalists are abused because of what they write, say or what they bring into the open - information that someone else wants to stay hidden," he said. "I hope [the award] will have a momentous impact on the current state of freedom of the press and expression in our war-wracked country."

Somalia , ranked 149th in the RWB Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2005, is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for the media. Two women journalists, the BBC's Kate Peyton and Duniya Muhiyadin Nur of Mogadishu-based radio station HornAfrik, were killed in 2005.

Following the collapse of the late President Siad Barre's administration in 1991, faction leaders carved Somalia into rival fiefdoms, many of which have been wracked by violence for the past 14 years. A fledgling transitional government is yet to establish its authority across the war-scarred nation.

Somalis Urged To Engage Issues Facing Home Country

Minneapolis, US, Dec 8, 2005 (AP) The U.S. State Department sees Somalia as strategic to the U.S. war on terror and is working to shore up the country's fragile transitional government, a key diplomat told Minnesota Somalis.

Jendayi Frazier, assistant secretary for African Affairs, told a crowd of about 500 at the University of Minnesota Wednesday that the State Department is urging Somalia 's government leaders to work out their differences through dialogue -- instead of armed conflict -- so stability can return.

Frazer was one of several high-ranking officials, including Somalia 's representative to the United Nations, who spoke at the sold-out forum organized by the Minnesota International Center to explore the country's political climate and its implications for Minnesota 's Somali population -- believed to be the largest concentration of Somalis in the United States .

Frazer, new to her post, told the crowd: "I'm eager to hear from you."

Somalia hasn't had a central government since civil war broke out in 1991. Since then, according to the U.S. State Department, there have been 14 attempts at national reconciliation.

In 2004, a transitional federal parliament was created, and it elected a national president. Speakers at the Minnesota event said the initial hope was this government could stabilize the country.

"All the warlords were in Parliament or the Cabinet, so there was hope they'd all be rowing in the same direction," said Ali Galaydh, former prime minister of Somalia and faculty member at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

But unity was fleeting. The president now operates from the city of Jowhar, about 55 miles north of Mogadishu , the capital, where the majority of parliament is still based.

The president, Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed, has closer ties to Ethiopia than some Somalis like, Galaydh said.

The two government factions are at an impasse, speakers said. Though they disagreed on the severity of the impasse and what caused it, all agreed that the major players in both Somalia and the U.S. must step up to the plate and try to bring stability to the country.

Elmi Ahmed Duale, Somali ambassador to the U.N., said the U.S. can play a vital role in making it happen. "We think there is light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., told the crowd he is drafting a resolution to confirm U.S. commitment to Somalia . For example, he said, it could state that the United States is a partner in achieving Somalian stability, or include a provision to appoint an emissary to serve as liaison between the two governments.

Coleman and other speakers urged Minnesota 's Somali community to play a constructive role during this difficult phase of government.

(© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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