UN condemns murder of journalists in Somalia

Ethiopian News Agency
14 August 2007

On Monday, a United Nations humanitarian envoy to Somalia condemned the killing of two prominent journalists and the harassment of media in the war-ravaged East African nation, Xinhua reported from Nairobi .
In a statement issued from Nairobi, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Eric Laroche urged the authorities to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into the murder of HornAfrik radio owner Ali Iman Sharmake and station presenter Mahad Ahmed Elmi, who died in separate attacks in Mogadishu on Saturday.
"The violent events of the last days show how vulnerable freedom of expression remains in Somalia," Laroche said and called for an end to impunity.
The weekend killings of the two prominent journalists are the most recent in a spate of attacks against the media in Somalia, bringing to six the number of journalists killed in the country this year. Sharmake died when his car exploded after apparently running over a landmine. He had just been to the funeral of Elmi who was shot dead hours earlier.
Laroche called on all authorities and groups "to respect the right of all to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information through any media...The transitional government is responsible for ending impunity for attacks on journalists by conducting prompt and impartial investigations and preventing any form of harassment of the media," he said.
Laroche goes on to say, "furthermore, the draft legislation on media must ensure that freedom of information and media, as enshrined in article 20 of the Transitional Federal Charter, is fully protected." Sharmarke was a Somali-Canadian who returned to Mogadishu nine years ago to establish and manage the media group. The group works regularly with the United Nations on AIDS and mine awareness, child soldier recruitment, and other programs.
Both victims were respected figures among Somali journalists who strive to keep freedom of information and principles of impartial and accurate reporting alive in the midst of the violent environment of Somalia. A third journalist, Abdihakim Omar Jimale, from Radio Mogadishu, as also victim of an assassination attempt on Friday evening and is still under medical supervision for his injuries.
No group has claimed responsibility for these crimes so far. On Sunday, Somali authorities said they were holding two suspects in connection with the deaths of the two journalists. Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Dheere said the two suspects were arrested on Saturday night, adding that one of them has confessed to being involved in both attacks.
A number of local and foreign journalists have been killed in recent years in the war-ravaged nation in the Horn of Africa, which has been without effective central government for many years. Somalia has experienced continued instability despite dozens of
peace initiatives since the overthrow of former president Siad Barre,