Somalia Government threatens to close radio stations complying with Islamist militant music ban

Days after Islamist insurgent group Hizbul Islam banned radio stations in Mogadishu from playing music of any description, journalists in the embattled Somali capital found themselves facing an ultimatum from the government after it announced that all radio stations complying with the ban would face closure.

According to the National Union of Somali Journalists, (NUSOJ), 14 radio stations in Mogadishu stopped broadcasting music as of last Tuesday, substituting it with the sounds of gunfire, car horns and animal cries. The radio stations were reacting to a ban issued by Hizbul Islam, as part of a move by the Islamist group to counter what it sees as Western imports not in accordance with the group’s strict definition of Islam.

Two radio stations have refused to comply. Radio Mogadishu, which is run by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and Radio Bar-Kulan, which is funded by the UN and operates from Nairobi, were the only radio stations to continue broadcasting music in the capital.

Days after the other radio stations had complied with the ban, however, the TFG issued a counter-order stating that all radio stations that had done so would be considered as “working with the insurgents.”

NUSOJ coordinator Mohammed Ibrahim told IPI that the announcement had been made at a press conference for journalists in Mogadishu. According to Ibrahim, at least four of the radio stations are operating in government-controlled parts of the capital. “This is a huge setback for journalists working in Mogadishu” he said.

The ban on music forms part of an ongoing struggle by opposing factions in Somalia to control the media through any means possible. Al-Shabab, the Islamist insurgent group that controls large parts of Southern and Central Somalia, as well as parts of the capital Mogadishu, has long been seeking to clamp down on the media in the country.

On 8 April, the Shabab banned Somali news stations from broadcasting programmes from Voice of America (VOA) and the BBC. VOA issued a statement the following day saying: “VOA regrets this decision. We believe broadcasting news and information on FM stations serves the Somali people.” A day later, the Associated Press reported that Al-Shabab members had seized BBC transmitters in various parts of the country.

In Somalia, where literacy rates remain low, and press and TV broadcasting have been left weakened by years of conflict, radio remains the dominant medium.

Source: International Press Institute