Excerpt from report by Somali independent Shabelle Media Network website on 2 October
Shabelle Media Network today returned back on air after being off air for 15 days after government troops attacked and closed the radio station.
The radio station returned on air at around 12 p.m. [local time]. It told its listeners and readers of its website that they would start receiving the usual news and programmes.
The moves comes after government forces who had cordoned off the premises of the station left the premises and the roads leading to the radio station. [Passage omitted]
The attack on Shabelle radio station has caused a damage worth 50,000 dollars
(Source: Shabelle Media Network website, Mogadishu, in Somali 2 Oct 07 via BBC Monitoring)
Related story:
Mogadishu’s independent Shabelle radio station announced on Wednesday it was shutting down after security forces surrounded its offices and opened fire, destroying equipment over the past two days. ”We are sadly announcing that our media network has ceased all its media activity after forces from the transitional government of Somalia randomly fired at our premises,” Shabelle said in a statement posted on its website.
“The damage caused by heavy gunfire directed at our premises is immense so we can’t continue operating our radio station. All the equipment, including our main studio, are destroyed,” the statement added. Shabelle chairman Abdimaalik Yusuf Mohamud said: “We are also ceasing our operations because of the increasing threat to our staff and our building.”
“This is totally inhuman and a savage attack on Somalia’s struggle to freedom of speech,” he added in a statement released after the station shut. The security forces, who last weekend stormed the station and detained 17 staff, have accused one of Shabelle’s journalists of hurling a grenade at a police patrol.
Global media watchdogs have assailed the government, saying its crackdown on the independent press has made Somalia the world’s second dangerous place for journalists after Iraq. At least seven journalists have been killed in Somalia this year and media watchdogs have urged all sides to ensure better protection for reporters, several of whom have also been wounded or robbed.
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)
