A two-day conference in the Zimbabwean capital Harare on Sunday reelected the president of federation of African journalists and the secretary general of the national Union of Somali Journalists Omar Faruk Osman to lead the African journalist body for the second term.
Journalist leaders from 43 African journalist associations first elected the FAJ executive committee members and then elected President Omar Faruk Osman to remain in the leadership position.
“Our African colleagues strengthened their unity and power to develop and defend the work of journalism in the whole continent” said the president of International federation of journalists Jim Boumelah who addressed at the meeting in Harare after the election results were announced.
Omar faruk Osman said he was very happy to remain in the position of FAJ leadership pledging that he will foster how to end violations against media workers in the African continent including his home country where 9 prominent journalists were killed last year.
“This is a great victory for me, Somali journalists and the whole Somali people and I am very hopeful that harassment against Somali journalists will come to an end” stated Omar Faruk Osman, who is also the secretary general of the National Union of Somali journalists {NUSOJ}
Founded in August 2002, NUSOJ is the main media body in Somalia that lobbies for freedom of expression and the rights of journalists working in the lawless country which has lacked a functioning central government for two decades.
Journalists in Somalia are commonly arrested, tortured, extorted, robbed, wounded or cruelly killed by all sides in the dirty power struggle in Somalia and as a result, last year Somalia became the second most dangerous place for journalists to work in the world after the Philippines.
