I remember there was once in Somalia two government-controlled Radio Stations, Radio Hargeisa and Radio Mogadishu; needless to say that the claim on ownership of these infamous radio stations have since changed hands, just as countless other State-run and community owned properties have fallen into the wrong hands in today’s Somalia. The BBC and, to lesser degree, the Voice of America (VOA), were the other two radio transmitters where you would find the average Somali men huddling around at 5:30 PM in front of most teashops or in their individual Qaat-chewing settings everywhere in Somalia.

Not surprisingly, nonetheless, the warlords and tribal enclaves that dominated the current Somali society control today’s media. Ironically, to the dismay of many and equally outrageous to many other Somalis, unfortunately, even the BBC of today is accused of having lost its uniqueness and luster; the fairness and the quality of programming that Somalis came to expect from the 5:30 PM-BBC for decades. A good number of its own BBC-expatriates and retirees are outraged by some of the obvious bias engineered by the current head of the BBC African and Middle East Regions, Mr. Yussuf Garaad. Many Somalis expressed their accusatory charge on Mr. Yussuf Garaad; an accusation that, among many other things, includes the existence of some suspected special arrangements of favoritism and a valued shifting alliance that Mr. Yussuf Garad made with today’s strong Mogadishu warlords. In essence, Mr Yussuf Garaad is accused of either intentionally limiting, or totally eliminating the BBC’s efforts to provide a balanced broadcasting that many Somalis grew up to hearing from the BBC. Instead, he promotes warlordism and their propaganda, dominance and economic interests to prolonging control and power in the region.

The following is an excerpt from one of the many articles posted on some Somali websites by frustrated Somalis intellectuals expressing their outrage and the disappointment that they had with Yusuf Garaad.

“The lowest point of the Service is marked by its uneven-handed coverage of the visits of the President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and the Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament, Sharif Hassan. The President was the only [official] invitee to the General Assembly, and that was the prime news-making event. Speaker Hassan was invited by a non-governmental body, Association of World Parliaments, and was practically on his own. The Service should have given a prime coverage to the president. It once again, deliberately erred by totally ignoring to cover the President's [official] and historic visit, while it spent many news hours on covering minute details of the Speaker's multi-track trip. Worse, the BBC continues to insist on addressing Mr. Abdillahi Mohamud Jama “ Sifir ” as the deputy prime minister, despite the removal of “ Sifir ” from that post earlier this year by the prime minister. This represents present-day rather activist, albeit unwarranted face of the Service!
Or, consider the time - this past summer to be exact - when Mr. Abdullahi Yusuf visited London and the decision maker of the Service, probably Mr. Yusuf Garad , who is currently the program Editor rendered it non-newsworthy! They only interviewed the president only after he paid a visit to Bush House to be heard. Strangely enough the BBC often provides a platform for the junior players who are either in Mogadishu or are affiliated with the Mogadishu-based sectarian wing of the TFG through interviews and coverage of their minor events”.  – WardheerNews Editorial.

The once popular Hargeisa Radio station is today a government-owned news media, I assume, which operates under the eyeful watch of Rayaale’s government. Whether it adequately services the public or maximizes its usefulness for the good of the community is not for me to judge, however, it is evident that Rayaale is nervously on the guard and allows a very limited community-owned and operated radio stations in the region. This is a clear indication --- of government-controlled freedom of expression and speech.  A western-educated minister in Somaliland once justified his ill-advised decision to deny demonstrating people in Hargeisa the right to express their grievances and their displeasure with Rayaale’s government by saying something to the effect that the Somaliland government was not yet ready for such a thing, ---- freedom of speech. It was clearly a government official over reacting nervously and defending his actions when the question of transparency and fair media coverage become public issues, while ignoring or deliberately trampling on human rights and the right to freedom of expression. Sounds to me like what it is: a monopoly of ownership of the media where the government is the de facto editor and allows people to hear only what the government prescribes to them.

It all depends on how one perceives the balance between freedom, democracy and exercise of power and how to keep law and order in check, at the same time, without compromising human rights, all which, at times, seem incompatible and present disputing stark challenges to meet for the State. However, the salient point to all this is the concern of suffocating media control that we are witnessing in today’s media coverage in the country, including the BBC, where misplaced actions of educated men and warlords who, when traveling or living in the free world, fooled us into believing that they are for freedom of speech and fair media coverage. However, when entrusted with the responsibilities and the leadership of their own people, failed to resist their inherent bias, as implicit or as subtle it may be, to emerge from their subconscious and obscure their egalitarian judgment and the valued human rights that they seem to embrace and even demand for themselves when living in the free world. A self-fulfilling prophecy that caters not to the interest of the general good will, but rather leads to troubling consequences, including the mistreatment of those who would want to report the news the way they see it and as it happens.

May be the adage that “freedom of the press is for those who own one” is appropriate in here, however, this troubling hostility towards freedom in media reporting, whether it is a perceived and presumptuous, or whether this is a new deliberate strategy for media control of a agenda-setting process adopted by the BBC-Somali Language, as many viewers stated, will only promote bias in the BBC- programming at best, or worse, may foster reciprocation by those who felt let down and belittled by Mr. Yussuf Garaad.
In Bernard Cohen's words, “the media should not tell us what to think, but tell us what to think about”.

In such desperate situation and lawlessness, just in this year, many journalists in the country have lost their lives; harassed; attacked but fortunately escaped; imprisoned or wrongfully abused;  (See CPJ, Cases 2005: Africa). The list is long but to mention just a few, Kate of BBC was shot in broad day light in Mogadishu; Mohamed Halane of Horn Africa and Nuradin Mualin of Baydhabo.com were badly injured in Mogadishu Stadium, a blast that claimed the death of 15 other people during the first assassination attempt to kill Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi. In another incident, a veteran journalist of the Somali Journalists Network (SOJON), Abdallah Nurdin Ahmed, received a terrible wound when someone fired at him in close range. Radio Journalists, Dunya Muhyadin Nur of Capital Voice in Mogadishu, was shot point blank and killed in Afgoi while covering breaking news of drivers protesting against the roadblocks, Isbarato, that finance the Mogadishu warlords. Abdillahi Kulmiye Adow, a reporter of local radio station, Horn Afrika, in Mogadishu was imprisoned in Jowhar by Mohamed Dheere. He was released later without charges. Likewise, Indhacadde, a strong warlord in Merca, who was accused of importing illegal arms, disregarding the U.N. arms embargo, recently jailed Ahmed Mohamed Aden, a reporter for Gedonet Online-Jubba FM Radio in Kismayo.

In Hargeisa, Ahmed Suleyman Dhuhul and Hoodo Ahmed, two reporters of Radio Hargeisa, were Harassed and illegally detained by the minister of information in Somaliland and accused of working for a clandestine radio station, Horyaal radio. Also the editor of Hatuf newspaper in Hargeisa was reported to have had his share of countless occasional harassment by the Somaliland authorities.
In Puntland, the premises of Shacab, a weekly newspaper in Garowe, was attacked by the information ministry the and employees of newspaper, Adirahman Qoransey and Abdi Farah were harassed, illegally retained and forced to shutdown their newspaper; Sheekh Aduun, a director of a local radio in Bossasso, an affiliate of a private network (STN), were Harassed by the Puntland authorities, who also arrested the staff of STN Network ( Aduun, Awale and Ilke Ase) for the same unknown charges. All these and many more happened to the media people in the country in the span of just one year.

In this continuously shifting sand of alliances, presentation of naked clan ideology as representatives of the Somali public at large, and the often globally oriented biased media coverage in our present day of BBC-programming, it is the interest of the new Somali government, being hosted in Jowhar, to encourage and even finance fair media coverage in the nation. Most people know by now that neither President Yussuf nor Prime Minister Gedi are gorged with great oratory skills nor with spirited charismatic natural gift with which they could captivate their audiences. The public, nonetheless, including the staunch supporters of this government, have yet to see and is patiently waiting for the emergence of a strong voice that entails what the government’s agendas for this nation are. What is missing is a freedom of media coverage, including radio, local newspapers or even TV; a must-to-have means of communication for this government to deliver its message, hopefully the right message, to the insatiable awaiting public appetite longing to hear better media coverage and protection of the media people.

In this current monopoly ownership and competing influences of the media, including even the BBC, by the strong warlords, this government must and should play the good guy for the public and try to alleviate the burden of this over oppressed media in the country, and give the Somalia public a room to breathe to air their grievances. This would not only aid the government to reinforce the legitimization of its emerging influence and its presence in the country, but would also be an uplifting spirit for the public, who has long surrendered to the feeling of defeatism. Otherwise, the Gedi’s government would be fooling herself if she continues to underestimate the importance of having fair and free press coverage both in the nation and abroad.

The new Somali government has an opportunity to change the current existing pattern of exclusive media ownership and control dominated by the warlords and the tribal enclaves that constantly intimidate and harass those who are taking risks to report the news in the region. The government should start speaking up against the maltreatment of the newsmen and women in the country, as evident from the mighty power these news media are facing today. The government has a ministry of information, whose job is to establish broadcasting service and government satellite operations, issuing licenses in radio and TV broadcasting and publishing, and even, if possible, incorporate many of the existing radio stations and create an ideology-receptive atmosphere where the presentation of journalistic activities and media reporting are protected; differing opinions are welcomed, and the narrowness of the political discourse in the country is saved from the current strangulation. This would provide us with media coverage and voices for communities that would address issues relevant to their local areas and their lives. This doesn’t mean that the government should control or shut down existing media, but rather set an environment where competing ideas and opinions are given equal share in the air, where both quality and quantity of news reporting swell, and the newsmen and women are protected and provided with the security that they need to face the humiliation and life threatening machinery that already caused many of them to lose their precious lives; lives that today, in our struggle for justices in our society, inspire us with courage and enlighten us with a rare symbolism of conviction and determination to report injustices and inherent evils in our society; lives that took risks in order to expose and to constantly awaken the rest of us, an attempt to link the world around us to the depth of sufferings and humiliation that our society endured too long. 

I am not a communication specialist, I admit, but my guess, however, is that the government could easily do this with little money, far less than what Sheriff Hassan has already spent while aimlessly wandering around the world, and with the help of few knowledgeable Somali people. There are many experienced, cheap labor among the Somalis, both in the Diaspora and within the country, that are able to publish and broadcast efficiently. It is a call that the present government should heed effectively and show her willingness to change the course of the present situation in the country for the better.

Ali Bahar
E-Mail:aib_1@yahoo.com

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