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“Foreign Meddlers - Into the internal business of Somalia Journalists
- Worse than Al-Shabab”, NUSOJ ExCom and Supreme Council Warns in a
Meeting in Mogadishu
Mogadishu Arbaco 9 May 2012 SMC
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“Foreign Meddlers - Into the internal business of Somalia Journalists
- Worse than Al-Shabab”, NUSOJ ExCom and Supreme Council Warns in a
Meeting in Mogadishu
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is offended by the
continued oppression on its legitimacy, its right to democratically
elect its leadership through the union’s internal rules and
regulations and repression to its imparted freedoms such as the
Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the press by the Paris based
Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
NUSOJ has been a long time partner with RSF by providing accurate,
impartial and timely information related to the Somali journalists in
distress and acknowledge the support it has been providing to the
Somali journalists, but the situation changed when the Somali
journalists democratically changed their former leadership by accusing
fraud, mismanagement and corruption on February 2011. NUSOJ sued the
former corrupt leadership at the court in Mogadishu to find justice
for their wrong doings and the case is still open at the court.
An official complaints written to the Reporters Without Borders
several times returned unanswered and RSF insisted to continue by
violating the union’s name, legitimacy and the right for Somali
journalists to elect their leadership democratically by releasing
reports and alerts that reveals contrary to what’s happening on the
ground on behalf of Somali Journalists’ union.
For instance. RSF circulated an statement on 24 April, 2012 claiming
that the seizure of equipments such as the camera, the computer of
Mohamed Shaqale, who is a member of the executive committee of NUSOJ
and a reporter for Somali Sat Television based in Laas-caanood adding
that he fled from the town to Puntland, which was proven false by
Mohamed Shaqale himself after arriving in Mogadishu on Saturday for an
executive committee meeting which took place as scheduled in Mogadishu
on Sunday and Monday followed by Supreme council meeting on Tuesday
May 8, 2012. Briefing the Executive committee he said that he was only
detained in Laas-Anod for hours by the Somaliland police.
The same press statement, RSF claimed that Abdiweli Gooni who was
arrested on 13 April, 2012 by Puntland from a house of one of his
family members. Abdiweli Hassan Goni (former Horseed media member) has
not been involved in journalism since 2010, after leaving Horseed
Media and that his arrest was related to politics and his role and
involvement in campaigning for a presidential candidate and was thus
propagating and promoting clan politics. This goes against what RSF
said in their release.
The most surprisingly, Reporters Without Borders issued statement,
which the Executive Committee and The Supreme Council of NUSOJ deemed
ethically and professionally distorted in their meetings this week, on
the occasion of World Press Freedom Day which was full of personal
attack and defamations against the Somalia’s Minister of Information.
The executive committee and the Supreme Council of NUSOJ, after observing
1. That Reporters Without Borders issued these reports and statements
without prior consultation and consent with the National Union of
Somali Journalists whose name illegally used as the main source.
2. Acknowledge that the reports and statements were contrary to the
facts and truth on the ground.
3. Consider the fact that RSF has given legal assistance to the former
leadership to grant him on bail, following the court orders of his
recent warranty arrest, whom his own union accused him for fraud,
corruption and mismanagement, instead of assisting the journalists
wounded at the suicide blast last month.
4. Understand that the reputation of Somalia’s Minister of Information
was attacked following his refusal to the corrupt, dishonest and
anarchy profiteering strategy of the former Secretary General of NUSOJ
supported by RSF by putting pressure on the Minister to meet their
demands or go public condemnation by sourcing former sacked leadership
who only based his own frustrations and his attempts to politically
hijack the Somali journalists.
5. RSF’s attempt to forcefully impose the Somali journalists
leadership another Laurent Bagbo sacked by his own union for such
heinous practices
6. Underlines RSF claimed to be press freedom advocate proven to
oppress at International level the legitimate union leadership
democratically elected by the Somali journalists.
7. Realized that the clear meddling into the union’s internal business
and the violations made against the Somali Journalists who threatened,
killed, arrested, intimidated by the Shabab and other armed criminal
gangs.
8. Noting that Somali Journalists has lost patience on RSF after more
than a year that the legitimacy of its elected leadership, their
rights of information and freedom of expression under attack.
9. Reaffirm its commitment and rights in defending its legitimacy and
rights and its capacity to react in Public.
The Executive Committee and The Supreme Council decided:
1. To call for the Reporters Without Borders’s stop all ongoing
meddling into the union’s internal business, which is a clear
violations to the independence and democracy of the union, which if
continues threatens the lives of Somali journalists and union leaders.
2. To Call for retraction all the statements, reports issued by RSF
since February 2011, following the democratic leadership change, which
has been issued without prior consultation and consent with the
National Union of Somali Journalists prior to one week, if these
conditions are not met, Somali Journalists will not hesitate to sue
Reporters Without Borders on legal grounds over the violations
committed.
3. To Invite Reporters Without Borders to Somalia to observe the
situation to avoid further violations against the Somali journalists
who working in a difficult and dangerous situation.
4. Advice Reporters Without Borders the imposition of another Laurent
Bagbo, If the above conditions are not met, NUSOJ will proceed to
legally sue RSF for its violations.
Maxamuud Axmed Xasan
Web Updating, Somaliweyn Website
xuurshe20@hotmail.com - Xuurshe114@gmail.com
www.somaliweyn.com
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Somaliweyn Media Center (SMC)
Somaliweyn Media Center (SMC)
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