FEWER ARRESTS BUT FEAR STILL LINGERS FOR SOMALILAND’S PRESS

Conditions for the press  in the semi-autonomous republic of
Somaliland may, on the surface, appear to be improving. But without a
functioning media law to lend protection and pending legislative
elections, journalists remain wary of state harassment.

Authorities have, for instance, decreased the rate and duration of
arbitrary detentions of journalists, Mohamoud Abdi Jama, chairman of the
Somaliland Journalists Association  (SOLJA), told me during a
U.N.-led trip in March to meet officials, journalists, and civil society
actors in the capital, Hargeisa. The purpose of the visit by U.N.
agencies and media-related non-profit organisations was to assess the
needs and conditions of the press in Somaliland. In 2012, when CPJ last
visited Hargeisa, hardly a week would pass without authorities detaining
journalists for unfavourable coverage. According to the association’s
chairman, between January and April 1 nine journalists were detained:
half of what CPJ recorded over the same period in 2012.

Both Deputy-Minister of Information Shukri Harir Ismail and Mohamoud
told me the flurry of arrests reduced due to greater interaction and
negotiation with authorities. “This has also led to less long-term
detentions,” Mohamoud said, to the point where in “most cases
journalists are held for a few hours.”

TOM RHODES/CPJ EAST AFRICA REPRESENTATIVE