Garowe, Puntland Somalia, and October 29th, 2015 – The Media association of Puntland is alarmed by the inconsiderate orders issued to the local radio stations by the Puntland Ministry of information not to air-VOA Somalia service news an American based newscaster.
The Puntland Ministry of information sent a letter to the radio stations instructing the media outlets not to air the VOA Somali news broadcasts until further notice; failure to follow the instructions will encounter punishment. The letter also mentioned accusations that VOA Somali service has widespread on news that has damaged the dignity of Puntland State. Ultimately the letter notes that these instructions will be active till at a later stage when the case will be handed over to a court.
“We are worried about the government’s performance towards the press freedom, we condemn the attack in the toughest language, and we urge the government to stop attacks on the press” it was on the 25th October 2015 that we were presenting our concerns over the Puntland media law review at the 36th session of the Puntland Parliamentary. This censorship is hard to understand, and casts serious doubt on the government’s desire to respect to the media freedom’’ Said MAP chair Faisal Khaliif.
This is an illegal act of intimidation and suppression of divergent views,” said Salim, executive body.
Restriction on media freedom is a major setback to a democratic society and contradicts the freedom of expression guaranteed in the Puntland constitution and those guaranteed in international conventions of which Somalia is signatory to.
The media association of Puntland calls for the unconditional retreat of the orders placed by the authorities. It is unacceptable and once again ill-fated instruction. Moreover it is important to note that this is not the first time that VOA Somalia service has undergone such threats in Puntland.
The media association of Puntland keeps its international campaign active towards the Puntland media law and calls for the Puntland authorities to respect the media rights and collaborate with the media stakeholders towards reviewing the Puntland media law.
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Call media law reform campaign
MEDIA RIGHTS CONCERN IN PUNTLAND: The media association of Puntland on a reminder note would like to keep the international media interest groups to support MAP towards the campaign for the review of Puntland restrictive media law. Off recent 18/10/2015 received a NO-COLLABORATION answer from the Puntland Ministry of Information in a follow-up meeting to accelerate the outcomes of the 19-20/Sept/2015 media stakeholder consultative meeting which suggested for an appointment of an expert committee to make a first review. On the 26th/September/2015 we (MAP) met with the Puntland Ministry of information and started dialogue over the review process.
