by Abdulkadir Khalif
Thursday, March 03, 2011
The officers, who issued the orders Wednesday, reportedly acted when the media house broadcasted news deemed hostile to the government.
The director of Raadiyo Kulmiye, Mr Osman Abdullahi Gure, was instructed to get the station off the air without further explanation.
“We had to obey the order,” said Mr Gure. “But, we object to abuse against freedom of speech,” he added.
Some sources say that the radio interviewed former al-Shabaab fighters said to have deserted the movement and joined the government side. However, the deserters complained that the government failed to deliver on promises made.
Expressed concern
Raadiyo Kulmiye recently joined more than a dozen other radios in Mogadishu. However, the broadcasters in the al-Shabaab controlled areas are banned from playing music and other programmes are restricted and usually monitored by militants.
Many radio stations are often contracted by al-Shabaab to broadcast programmes propagating jihad (holy war).
Somalia is reputed to be one of the worst places on earth for journalists to work. They are harassed, threatened, kidnapped and killed in crossfire, explosions or assassinations.
Source: Africa Review