The Ministry of Information today holds in Mogadishu a meeting in which it called "consultative Meeting for Development of Somali Media” with attendance of regional ministries of information and handful media employers who are associated with the Minister of Information Abdirahman Omar Osman Yarisow.

The union is nauseated by the false and misleading claim from the Minister of Information Mr Yarisow that the so-called consultative meeting will be promoting free and independent media. The gathering is rather meant to rubberstamp a dangerous plan which will negate Somali media to be independent, pluralistic and professional.

"The most outrageous claim in this deceptive consultative gathering is that the same Ministry that was responsible for development of onerous media law and orchestrated attacks on journalists is working for development of free and independent media. This is a blatant lie – the truth is that they want to come up a menacing strategy to suffocate independent media community and dupe donors,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.

NUSOJ is working with the Federal Government of Somalia on number of engagements to promote the interests and rights of journalists, and hails the policy pronunciations made by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire to uproot corruption, re-establish just rule of law, respect fundamental human rights, combat abuse of public office and promote good governance including adhering to Somalia’s international legal obligations.

"The President and the Prime Minister have made well-meaning policy commitments for the nation. Now is the time to implement these policy commitments from top to bottom and to call those flouting these policies to order,” added Osman.

NUSOJ calls for direct government actions from most senior leaders on fresh and frightening efforts of the Minister of Information Abdirahman Omar Osman Yarisow to surreptitiously take away small remaining freedom of Somali media. Yarisow is a known anti-trade union minister in the council of Ministers for his bad record to attack, undermine, belittle the union, and was the engineer of the fake unions.