Prioritize Somaliland’s news over that of Somalia, information minister orders press

Hargeisa, Sep 9 (Somaliland.com) – Somaliland government has imposed new restrictions on broadcast journalism.

The Ministry of Information has ordered all private television stations to prioritize local news over reports of events in Somalia.

This new directive requires that all news from Somaliland precedes news reports from or related to Somalia, regardless of news value.

The Ministry gave the news stations two weeks to comply with this new directive. The new directive was introduced in a meeting between the ministry of information and the nine privately owned television stations on Monday at the office of the minister.

The Minister of Information Mohamed Muse Dirie, his deputy, and the heads of the private television stations were present at the meeting.

Some news outlets protested these new restrictions at the meeting, but they were told that it was an order from the government. Their protest was hinged on the fact that most of the television stations in Somaliland broadcast to neighboring Somalia with bureaus in most of its big cities.

Although the constitution of Somaliland guarantees editorially independent press, it appears the media is now being placed under increasing pressure and censorship. Last week, two news outlets; Hadhwanaag news and Horyaal Television; were suspended. The owner of Horyaal Television has also been detained since Saturday, September 7th.

Local and International Human Rights groups have denounced the increasingly suppressive environment in which Somaliland journalists operate.

Read also: HRC condemns the closure of two media houses and detention of journalist