Somaliland journalists, human rights groups oppose new media rules

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Independent media and human rights organisations are speaking out against new rules the Somaliland regional administration has imposed on the media, calling them too restrictive of freedom of the press.

 

Under new rules announced last week by Somaliland Minister of Information, Culture and National Guidance Abdullahi Mohamed Dahir, media agencies will have to register with the ministry's office of the director general to lawfully operate. In addition, individual journalists will also have to register and obtain an identification card in order to work and receive access to press conferences.

 

The order took effect Saturday (November 8th) and affects television, newspapers, radio stations, news websites, publishing houses and advertising agencies. However, the ministry did not provide a deadline by which media houses and journalists must register.

 

"Both the media [outlets] and journalists have increased and they need to be identified since security is needed," Dahir said November 4th, announcing the new rules at a press conference in Hargeisa.

 

The minister accused some journalists and media agencies of working to spread tribalism and to divide the public, and said they were unwilling to abide by the law.

 

"We wanted the parliament to pass an amended media law," he said, referring to legislation passed in 2004 that the current administration had not enforced because it wanted to amend it -- a point of contention with media professionals.

 

"However, beginning today, we are confirming that you will be subject to the Media Law No.27/2004 which is the law most media agencies are advocating to be left in place," he said.

 

The minister said he would name a media ethics committee as mandated by that law as soon as possible. "This will be an independent committee, and we will create an office for them to work," he said. "The members will be media experts."

Media arrests and closures

The new rules have rubbed media professionals the wrong way, however, as the announcement comes after a year of bans and increasing pressure on media houses and the arrest of several journalists.

 

In the past two weeks, four journalists have been arrested, with two facing court charges.

 

Somaliland authorities arrested Horn Cable Television (HCTV) reporter Mukhtar Nuh Ibrahim October 30th in Gabiley, and jailed Mohamed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of SOMSAT television the following day.

 

The two journalists were arrested while reporting on the low turnout at a public conference organised by the Kulmiye ruling party, including filming crowds burning the Kulmiye party's flag.

 

Gabiley regional Governor Mustafa Abdi Isse told local media there had been no anti-government demonstration in the city and that the reports had been fabricated.

 

Ibrahim and Mohamud were arraigned November 2nd and remain in jail. Their next court appearance is scheduled for November 17th.

 

On November 3rd, security forces arrested Mohamed Abdullahi of the Berbera Today news website in Berbera and Ifrah Haji Abdi of HCTV in Garadag district of Sanag region.

 

Both journalists were released after a few hours, journalist Mohamed Abdi Bosh of HCTV told Sabahi.

 

Somaliland authorities also have banned Hubaal News Network from operating since police raided its offices last December.

 

The operating license of London-based television station Universal TV was revoked in February, and the Haatuf and Somaliland Times newspapers were shut down in April. The regional administration reinstated Universal TV's license last week but Haatuf and Somaliland Times remain closed.

'The government wants to restrict and silence the media'

The arrests and the government's new rules violate the freedom and independence of the media, said Guled Ahmed Jama, the lawyer representing the two journalists arrested in Gabiley.

 

"We condemn it," he told Sabahi, adding that local media agencies should be responsible for creating their own ethics committee.

 

"The appointment of the commission the minister announced has no legal basis," said Jama, who also serves as chair of the Hargeisa-based Human Rights Centre. "We see it as a new way the government wants to restrict and silence the media."

 

The move will enable the government to control the media and revoke the licenses of anyone who talks about its shortcomings," he said. "We view that as inappropriate."

 

The decision comes at a sensitive time, Jama said, noting that the Somaliland region is scheduled to hold general elections in mid-2015.

 

"Pressure has been increasing lately," said Somaliland Journalist Association (SOLJA) Secretary General Mohamed Rashid Muhumed Farah. "This year has seen the largest number of bans on media agencies."

 

"Again, we are calling for the release of the two reporters who are in custody in Gabiley, and for lifting the ban on Hubaal and Haatuf," he told Sabahi.

 

"We welcome the implementation of the law the government has been rejecting for four years, but the Somaliland media is opposed to the other articles," he said. "Journalist identification cards are issued by the agency the reporter works for and media organisations; the government has no right to do that."

Media must undergo 'complete re-evaluation'

For his part, Mohamed Osman Mire Sayid, managing director of the government-run Dawan Media Group, said he welcomes the new measures the government has taken.

 

"I saw [the new decision] as something joyful that should be welcomed since [the independent media] will be governed by the law they wanted and a media complaints committee will be appointed," he told Sabahi. "It is unfortunate that the media has disagreed with that."

 

The biggest challenge Somaliland media outlets face at the moment is lack of knowledge, he said, which has become a problem for governance, order, public morale and security.

 

"The youth who are entering [the field] daily do not discern between opinion, news and commentary," he said. "It has become a job to make money and is used inappropriately and beyond the bounds of international media laws and ethics."

 

"The media in Somaliland has to undergo a complete re-evaluation, improvement and reform," he said, adding that the new measures are a step in the right direction.

 

Source: sabahionline.com

http://www.somaliaonline.com/somaliland-journalists-human-rights-groups-oppose-new-media-rules/