Friday, July 24, 2009
Several others have been injured or received death threats.
“These journalists have been killed while trying to be impartial in their coverage of news and other events,” Mr Omar Osman, the secretary-general of National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) told participants at the forum that included Kenya Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.
Owing to the lawlessness in Somalia, it has become very difficult for journalists to operate in the country.
No foreign journalist can survive in the Horn of African country, Mr Osman added.
NUSOJ, he said, has organised a three-day meeting at Panafric Hotel in Nairobi to show solidarity with Somalia journalists as they share their horrifying experiences.
The journalists will also be able to learn doctrines of journalistic independence as they identify rights and wrongs of their profession, Mr Osman said.
Mr Musyoka, who officially opened the seminar, applauded Somali journalists for their bravery and courage saying without them, the international community would not have been able to follow events in the country.
However, he said, there have been accusations that the media has been perpetuating chaos and anarchy as a platform for their survival by taking sides in the conflict.
Mr Musyoka said the allegation is serious adding that it needs to be investigated.
A number of journalists from the lawlessness country have been forced to flee the country after escaping death during attacks targeted on them.
Source: Daily Nation, July 24, 2009