Wednesday, September 05, 2007
The International Federation of Journalists said a leader of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Ali Moallim Isak, received threatening telephone calls and two armed men went in search of him at the group's offices on Tuesday.
"Ali and his colleagues are now targeted because their work disturbs some people who claim they are fighting for democracy but ignore the fact that press freedom is one of the bases of democracy," said Gabriel Baglo, a director at the federation.
Another press freedom organisation, Reporters Without Borders, issued a statement condemning the murder of seven journalists in the anarchic country this year.
"Mogadishu's chronic violent crime makes journalists an easy target," the Paris-based body said. "The government should adopt urgent protective measures to show that it wants to retain what is currently one of the country's best assets."
Reporters Without Borders said at least 13 journalists had fled Mogadishu, with 10 stuck at a border crossing into Kenya because of restricted entry visas into the more stable neighbouring country.
Last month, three journalists were killed in Somalia.
These included two from the prominent HornAfrik media house. One was shot dead while going to work, the other was killed in a remote-controlled blast returning from the funeral.
The Horn of Africa country has known little peace in the last 16 years, since the fall of a military dictator, and is facing an insurgency led by Islamist fighters opposing the interim government and its Ethiopian military allies.
Both sides blame each other for the journalists' deaths.
Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, who has survived half a dozen assassination attempts, said last month he was deeply concerned about rising violence against the media.
"We want journalists to be able to do their work freely, and we are doing all we can to help them do that," he said
Source: Reuters, Sept 05, 2007