Mogadishu, 3 May 2010 - The president of the Associated Somali Journalists -ASOJ, chief editor of Somalia’s leading news website Waagacusub.com Mr. Dahir Alasow, has congratulated the Somali journalists, the African Journalists as well as the journalists in the world for the world press freedom day, which he express his respect to the journalists in jails and those who lost lives.

Mr. Alasow strongly condemned all sorts of attacks against the Somali Journalists as well as the journalists in the world and the entire African continent and urged the perpetrators, groups or governments to holt the hostility and attacks against the press.

“Today we, the journalists, deserve congratulations, we congratulate ourselves, we remark our grade press freedom day, which we remember our lost colleagues, advocate for our jailed colleagues and standby our harm colleagues” said Mr. Alasow the President of  ASOJ.

“But we also condemn those who deserve our blames today, the attackers of the press and all violators of the freedom of expression, so a unity we stand and divided we fall” he added.

The president of the Somali Journalists Mr. Dahir Alasow urged the Somali Journalists to remain patience and impartial and called the conflicting groups in Somalia to respect the independence of the media.

Last year night senior journalists were killed in Somalia, among them two radio directors, Said Tahlil Ahmed and Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe, and seven other journalists.

Among the slain Journalists are three who were killed in a suicide attack targeted to a graduation ceremony which killed 42 people including four government ministers, dozens of doctors and teachers as well.

The warring functions in Somalia, Alshabab, an Alqaeda affiliate in Horn of Africa and Hezb al-Islam banned all sort of music from the radio stations in Mogadishu and they also banned the coverage and listening of BBC and VOA.

Alshabab looted the equipments of BBC’s local FM stations including computers, transmitters and official stuff and forced local radios that were in contract with BBC or VOA to end the contracts.

The attacks and harassment of the press by the insurgents formed dozens of journalists to abandon their profession and seek refuge in the neighboring countries.

Finally, the president of ASOJ urged the international community as well as the European Union and the US and the UN to support the Somali media which in this hard times needs support and solidarity of the international community.

The President of ASOJ,

Dahir Alasow,

 Breda,Netherlands