It is strangely odd that news about Puntland has been literally absent from the media scene since General Cadde took the presidency except for the continuous harassment and arrest of journalists. During its short span, Cadde's new administration has been awfully and consistently cruel to the press.

Cadde Muse Xirsi - President of Puntland

On April 28 th, the Police forces of Puntland visited the premises of the weekly Shacab newspaper and arrested the editor Mr. Abdi Farah Nur. The premises of the newspaper were also damaged. The editor and a fellow journalist from the same paper were charged and tried on inciting violence and insulting the president, based on two articles in which the journalists allegedly criticized the government. The journalists were finally acquitted a few days later, but the pressure on the paper has continued.

Government and information Ministry staff began visiting the premises of Shacab once again to enquire about their permits and taxes, which they have allegedly failed to pay. The Ministry staff threatened during these visits to close the paper. Finally on the 5 th of May, the Vice President of Puntland Mr. Hassan Dahir Af-Qudhac signed a decree closing the weekly paper until further notice.

In May of this year also, two more journalists who work for the Somali Broadcasting Service (SBC), a privately owned radio station in Bossaso were picked up by the Puntland Intelligence Service Officers (PIS) and were put in jail. The Journalists were later reportedly released without being charged. The two journalists were arrested in connection with a story broadcasted on (SBC) about the bleak economic difficulties faced by the town of Qardho .

Fragile institutions that do not hold the capacity to encourage free press coupled with constant harassment from governments are the norm for countries that have weak economies as well as ineffective civic culture. Africa in particular seems to be suffering from this phenomenon where journalists are constantly jailed and harassed.

Isiais Afwerki - President of Eritrea	Dr. Moyo - Former Minister of Information - Zimbabwe

In Eritrea , for example all private media outlets have been shut down and many journalists thrown into jail. Those who were not arrested have fled the country.
“ What is press freedom? There is no free press anywhere. We would like to know what free press is in the first place.” Said the former Marxist-Leninist President of Eritrea , Isaias Afwerki, in a BBC interview last year ( September 11, 2004 .) Zimbabwe 's former Minister of information, Jonathan Moyo, also has once characterized press freedom as an “outmoded right” (Interview with the BBC on April 5, 2001).

It appears that Cadde, a general-come-regional president of the Puntland administration took up the attitude of the Government of Eritrea and Zimbabwe towards press freedom to heart, and is longing for the old days when information was controlled and centralized.

This type of rule may be too tempting for a control freak army general. One would hope his many years spent abroad in North America would introduce to the hard grip general about the significance of free press and free speech. From the appearance of the fledgling independent press however, the picture is grim and Cadde seems to fit the role of an iron grip General.

Journalism in Puntland has become a risky business, especially for reporters who cover the news objectively. It is with this objectivity where the Cadde Administration lacks tolerance. Transparency which the Cadde administration is entirely deficient of and censorship which it practices fully will only leave a lingering impression that the government is hiding issues from the general public which can only cause a gab between the government and the public it serves.

A case in point is the recent killing of two prisoners in the central jail of Garowe city. Had it not been the press reporting this vicious and vigilante crime under the nose of the Puntland government, it would have passed unnoticed and under reported. These criminals have yet to be apprehended

WardheerNews is concerned that President Cadde's handling of the press question in Puntland is worrisome and undoubtedly leads to a much greater confrontation between forces of democracy (Press, civic organizations and dissidents) and the Cadde administration.

Therefore, WardheerNews urges the government of Puntland to:

• Guarantee in practice the right of all citizens and the media to exercise their right to freedom of expression and opinion without fear of intimidation and arrest.

• Repeal all laws that do not conform to international standards of freedom of expression, including the articles which criminalize insulting the president or Vice president.

• Draft and pass a press law that regulates the media while simultaneously protecting the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and opinion and the public's right to information.

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