Somalia
Tensions put pressure on reportersPosted Oct 12 2009
Members of Al-Shabaab, a militia of Somali Islamists, shut down a privately owned FM radio station, Radio Warsan, in Baidoa on Sept. 30 and apprehended its director and news editor. The closure was due to the station’s “un-Islamic” programming, particularly songs and music, a BBC correspondent told the International Press Association.
“Under al-Shabab, they want you to speak in Islamic ways and air only Islamic things,” the correspondent, who asked to remain anonymous, told IPI. “But it is normal [that] in radio sometimes you need music, at least between the programs, to entertain the people.” Al-Shabaab has criticized Radio Warsan for refusing to relay the Islamic call to prayer since it came to power in January when the United Nations-supported Transitional Federal Government was expelled.
Safety has been a serious issue for journalists in Somalia, especially when tensions among insurgent groups are high. The IPI reports that journalists throughout Somalia have been receiving “daily phone threats” from various groups.
Five days prior to the radio closure, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) called for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights in Somalia, which ended in September. The group expressed fears that a failure to do so would cause an increase of violations as rights abusers would have impunity.
“Our main fear is that if this mandate is not renewed, Somalia will slide back into the abyss of violence and impunity, where criminals and other rights abusers will be carrying out their activities without fear of being made accountable,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary-General.
So far in 2009, six journalists in Somalia have been killed and many more have received death threats.
More information
- International Press Institute
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange