The mayor of Mogadishu yesterday spurned pleas by three radio stations to resume broadcasting, a fortnight after they were pulled off air for allegedly fanning insurgency, radio managers said. The Somali authorities ordered Radio Simba, Radio Banadir and Radio Shabelle to halt operations in the volatile seaside capital in mid-November.
In order to resume business, the radios must sign a decree by mayor Mohamed Omar Habeb which bans the reporting of “military operations” without permission, interviewing “government opponents” and covering the refugee exodus from the capital.
Radio managers said Habeb rejected their attempt to reverse the order during a meeting Saturday. “The mayor insisted his decision must be implemented. (The) radio stations are still silent and I am afraid other stations might also go silent if they don’t sign the document,” Shabelle chief Muktar Mohamed told AFP. “We could not sign a statement that paralyses the independence of the media.”
“We are losing hope day by day,” added Radio Simba head Abdullahi Atosh.
The mayor said that six other radio stations and one television channel also refusing to sign the decree would shortly be pulled off air.
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)