The Somaliland government has opposed a conference that the Somaliland media community plans to hold soon in Borama, the capital of the Awdal region; the Ministry of Information stated that the event lacks its authorization and questioned the choice of Borama as the venue.
Abdisalan Ilkacase, the Director of the Somaliland Ministry of Information, stated that the Ministry had not granted permission for the conference and was previously unaware of it.
“As a Ministry, we hereby clarify that this conference does not have our authorization, we were not informed of it, and—upon evaluating it against Somaliland’s laws—it does not qualify as a lawful gathering,” said the Director of the Ministry of Information.
The Director noted that this position had been communicated to Awdal regional officials and all relevant parties, while also questioning the rationale behind selecting Borama as the venue for the Somaliland media conference.
Lawyer Guuleed Dafac responded to the Ministry’s statement by questioning why a conference held in Awdal would be viewed with suspicion, highlighting the historical significance of the city of Borama. “If it is announced that we are holding a meeting in Awdal, is that cause for suspicion? It is astonishing. After all, Awdal is the very place where Somaliland was founded,” said Guuleed Dafac.
Somaliland’s former Minister of Constitutional Affairs, Abdinasir Buuni, also criticized the Ministry of Information’s statement in a post on his Facebook page, asking: “Since when did Borama become Banadir?”
Poet Yusuf Shaacir also reacted to the Ministry of Information’s move to block the event, questioning whether the Ministry has the legal authority to halt a meeting organized by journalists in the city of Borama.
This development comes at a time when the media community and press freedom advocacy groups have expressed concern over the recent arrests of journalists and individuals closely associated with Somaliland’s media sector. The Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA) and other press freedom organizations have stated that these arrests undermine freedom of speech and media independence, calling for any allegations against journalists to be handled through proper legal procedures.
