MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State Minister of Info, Mohamud Aydid Dirir, has strongly criticized the latest institution of the Somali Media Council by Somalia’s Ministry of Info. Talking to journalists in Garowe, Dirir claimed the council was appointed with out correct session with media organizations and civil society teams.
Dirir argues that the council’s formation breaches the 2020 amended media regulation, which mandates that the council be impartial from political interference and require consultations with the Minister of Info, media organizations, the Nationwide Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), and civil society.
Regardless of the council’s earlier rejection, Dirir says it has been reintroduced by the cupboard with out following the required procedures. On March 17, media house owners, managers, and journalists in Mogadishu condemned the council’s formation and known as on President Hassan Sheikh Mahmud to make sure correct procedures are adopted earlier than it turns into regulation.
NUSOJ additionally denounced the appointments, highlighting that they violate Article 14 of the media regulation, which requires the council to incorporate representatives from private and non-private media in addition to civil society organizations just like the Nationwide Human Rights Fee, the Nationwide Girls’s Group, and the Somali Bar Affiliation.
NUSOJ Secretary Normal Omar Faruk Osman criticized the method as illegal, undermining press freedom and the council’s legitimacy. He urged Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre to annul the appointments and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to withhold signing the council right into a decree.
The Worldwide Federation of Journalists (IFJ) additionally warned that the council’s composition might enhance authorities management over the media, limit press freedom, and impose penalties on vital journalists. IFJ Normal Secretary Anthony Bellanger supported NUSOJ’s calls for and confused the significance of upholding the 2020 media regulation to guard press freedom in Somalia.
