SILENCING THE VOICE OF FREEDOM
With unspeakable sadness I confirm the assassination of Ali Iman Sharmarke,
one of the three founders of HornAfrik, featured in the documentary "Talk Mogadishu: Media Under Fire". It's the story of three Somali refugees who
settled well in Ottawa, but could not forget their broken homeland. So, at
great risk, they established a radio and TV station in Mogadishu. Their
principles are freedom of speech, objective reporting, and dialogue as a
path to peace.
Ali Iman Sharmarke's special passion was to give a voice to the voiceless.
But in recent months the deteriorating situation has led to extreme
conditions for the marginalized. And for the media.
A great voice
for freedom has been silenced.
In fact there were two assassinations for HornAfrik on Saturday. First
armed men killed a much-loved announcer as he arrived for work. According to
tradition the burial was the same day. At the funeral Ali Sharmarke said:
"THE KILLING WAS MEANT TO PREVENT A REAL VOICE THAT DESCRIBED THE SUFFERING IN MOGADISHU TO OTHER SOMALIS AND TO THE WORLD, HE WAS A SYMBOL OF NEUTRALITY."
A few minutes later Ali Sharmarke was also killed. A remotely detonated
landmine targeted his car as he was leaving the funeral in a media convoy,
HornAfrik prides itself on its journalistic independence, and its broadcasts
in the recent past have angered both the Transitional Government and the
Islamist opposition.
Ali Sharmarke and his partners had a vision for the role of the media in
conflict : to utilize dialogue and negotiation as a path towards peace. The
film - broadcast on Vision TV and internationally - has won many award, and
has played at festivals, the UN, and conflict resolution seminars. Sadly Ali
has paid the ultimate price. May his vision live on.
Click here to continue to "The Ungrateful Dead" film.