EU warns Somalia against victimisation of journalists amid Coronavirus pandemic

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The EU has accused the federal government of Somalia of "creating another pandemic" in the pretext of muzzling the rights and freedoms of the press, few days after mass protests from members of the fourth estate.

In a teleconference conversation with Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, EU ambassador Nicolas Berlanga asked authorities to "stop engineering" another pandemic instead of focusing on Coronavirus.

This comes after the arrest of two journalists in Somalia, who authorities have failed to prefer charges against them despite dumping them into detention rooms without proper procedures.

Berlanga asked the administration to respect freedom of the press, adding that detaining reporters cannot be "an option" when authorities feel "aggrieved" by some of the reports produced, whether accurate or misleading.

“Criticism is part of the democratic process. Limitation of Freedom of Expression cannot become another pandemic. If journalists neglect information, prison or detention is not an option," he told Kheire on Tuesday.

According to the envoy, the FGS should shift focus to fighting Coronavirus, which has raged the country following the latest statistics issued by the Ministry of Health under Dr. Fawziya Abikar Nur.

So far, the ministry reported, 286 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 after a series of tests. Of this number, only four have recovered with the country reporting 14 deaths, the department added.

“COVID is time for high politics, for putting citizens above of clans and individual interests, time for unity," Berlanga said in reference to the fierce battle between the opposition and the FGS.

Last week, Forum for National Parties [FNP], a conglomerate of six opposition parties, asked the federal government to incorporate federal states in the fight against the pandemic, which could significantly affect the fragile Somali economy.

Most of the confirmed cases are within Mogadishu, which is found in Banadir region. Jubaland and Puntland have registered two and one cases respectively, while secessionist Somaliland reported seven.

But despite limited resources, the international community led by the US, EU, United Nations, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates have since chipped in to help Somalia's struggling healthcare infrastructure, through donations of medical supplies.

"For partners, time for coordinated, concerted efforts, no parallel systems, no sparkling initiatives, time for the lead of WHO (health) and WB (economic analyses)," he noted in his remarks.

Khaire on his part pledged that the government will "respect" the rule of law, adding that "we've no business in curtailing freedoms of law-abiding citizens". He did not, however, delve into the persistent violation of media freedoms in Somalia.

On Friday GoobJoog editor Abdiaziz Ahmed Gurbiye was released from Mogadishu prison on bail for allegedly posting a defamatory article against President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. He was not formally charged.

Mukhtaar Mohamed Atoosh on Voice of America was arrested in Baidoa on Monday for reporting about rape incident involving two soldiers along Baidoa-Mogadishu road on Monday. One of the victim has since died.

Mohamed Abdiwahab Abuja, a Mogadishu-based journalist has been in detention since Feb. 27. He was arrested by spy agency NISA over allegations of having links with Al-Shabaab and playing role in the killing of a female in Mogadishu in March 2019.

GAROWE ONLINE