Friday 4 December 2009

Somali government launches new website as part of media war with opposition

Tuesday, December 1, 2009






The TFG has now reopened a Radio station in which it intends to attack opposition politics and use it to air their views in a bid to crush opposition views.


Although groups involved in the Somali conflict have been fighting each other in all levels, their conflict has now come down to the media level which is said to be the third front in the battle.


The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which his now having difficulty coping with the fierce attacks from armed opposition groups has now embarked on a media propaganda campaign. The TFG in doing this has began attacking the secret politics of armed groups that are opposed to it and has now dragged their agendas out in the open.


The TFG has now reopened a Radio station in which it intends to attack opposition politics and use it to air their views in a bid to crush opposition views. Radio Mogadishu which is a voice for the Somali Republic and is widely listened to by the public has now proved to be a pain for armed opposition groups as it airs anti-opposition programs meant to negatively portray their agendas.


The media war started last month when armed opposition groups also launched their own FM station although it is yet to start broadcasting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The Al-Andulus Radio station which is on the FM and is based in Kismaayo, Lower Jubba (southern Somalia) is a mouth piece for the Al-Shabab. The Al-Andalus Radio station is received in the towns of Jowhar, Middle Shabeelle (southern Somalia) and Baydhabo (south western Somalia).


This radio station verbally fights the TFG while armed opposition groups fight it physically. Groups involved in the conflict in Somalia are now seemingly gathering their arms on this new front in the conflict. The TFG Ministry of Information earlier on re-launched Radio Mogadishu and today announced that they will also launch a website in which it will broadcast audio programs aired by Radio Mogadishu. Abdirahin Ise Adow who is an official of the Ministry of Information has said the website is meant to cater for the Somali communities who are abroad so that they can listen to the reports being broadcasted by Radio Mogadishu which can only be received in Mogadishu so far. The official also said they will have the programs in text as well.


Shaykh Abdirahin Ise Adow said the website which has now been officially launched and can now be accessed on the internet by Somali communities abroad. The website address on the internet is Radiomuqdisho.net and will have the latest broadcasts by Radio Mogadishu.


These latest measures by the TFG in regard to media are part of wider plans by the government to undermine the power of armed opposition groups. Mogadishu residents have been closely following government owned media which has been broadcasting interesting programs as well as others that negatively portray opposition groups fighting them. The media war now seems to have reached fever pitch as the conflict which has been ongoing for more than 20 years now in the country is far from being resolved.

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