Press intimidation is obvious in Somaliland – WADDANI Official

Hargeisa (Somaliland.com) – Somaliland’s opposition party Waddani said the government is trying to intimidate the press by accusing them of working for the government of Somalia. 

The deputy chairman of the party said the government would have prosecuted the alleged fifth column journalists if the accusation was true.

This came a day after Somaliland’s minister of interior, Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, said thirty journalists in Somaliland receive funds from the government of Somalia in Mogadishu. The minister of information was more forthcoming in his disclosure – saying the fund comes directly from the office of the deputy prime minister Khadar Mahdi Guled. 

The deputy chairman of Waddani party, Suleiman Du’ale Haji Jama said those allegations undermine Somaliland’s sovereignty and the reputation of the press in the country. He said the government should have dealt with the issue through the judicial system before making such an accusation public.

Saleebaan Du’aale, however, leaned on the side that the minister made up these allegations just to intimidate journalists. 

It is obvious that this is done to scare the press and television stations. Because if it was true, the minister of security would have addressed the issue of people undermining Somaliland and working for Somalia. 

Suleiman

The opposition official finally demanded the government to prove its allegations against the press. Otherwise, he called on the minister to resign.