Hiiraan Online

African journalists are meeting in Kigali to share ideas on the future of a common strategy towards improving communications and the media's role in supporting the operations of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

The two-day conference which started Wednesday also attracted civil society groups, AMISOM officials and journalists from countries, including Somalia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Burundi, Kenya and others.

Apart from how best to tell the African story, journalists are contributing ideas: to streamline communications within the broader scope of AMISOM's activities as well as support to the TFG; to seek the cooperation and support of the global mass media for AMISOM's drive to win the hearts and minds of Somalis by highlighting the positive news and developments taking place in Somalia.

Ahmednor Farah, a journalist of Radio Bar-Kulan, a public service radio station in Somalia told The New Times that the media has played a great role in popularizing AMISOM among the masses.

Farah said: "As a Somali journalist based in Somalia, although it is difficult for us to practice our impartiality because of Al-Shabaab terrorists targeting and killing Somali journalists, we are trying to tell the truth is, and the role of the media is very important because without the media, you cannot know what is going on."

"Reporting the operations and what causalities are there is very important. Journalists from outside Somalia can play a role also by getting involved and knowing Somalia better."

The Al-Shabaab is the al Qaida-allied terror group.

During an interactive session, Uganda's Col. Paddy Ankunda, a former AMISOM Spokesperson, stressed that peace support operations are public operations and the public support AMISOM is getting currently is simply because "some people, somewhere, communicated about AMISOM properly, and put out the right packaging."

Col. Ankunda said despite new challenges such as an expanding the "theatre of operations" as AMISOM gains more ground in Somalia, access for the media is crucial.

"If you don't give access to the press, then they will write what they find. And, the media has no obligation at all to do your story.

No. You have to position yourself very well so that when they show up, you take advantage of it," Col. Ankunda said.

Patrick Gathara, a consultant with the AU/UN Information Support Team, said "the news arena is a competition of narratives and, perception is key."

"If AMISOM does some good job and it goes unreported, it is useless.

Engaging with the media give positive results and when you shut them out, you get negative results," Gathara said.

Wisdom Mdzungairi, a Zimbabwean journalist said such a meeting helps African journalists to tell the African story from an African perspective.

Eloi Yao, the AMISOM Senior Head Public Information Officer, told The New Times that the Somalia conflict is an African issue "and I think we should all be working together to make the message reach the people."

Yao said that such a forum is good one for people to explain things about the mission "and also helps us collaborate with media so as to better form our communication strategy so that we can take better decisions because we think the media are our good partners in finding solutions to the Somalia problem."

According to Yao, it is not just for the people in troop contributing countries, but for all the African public and media.

Yao said: "Previously, people used to file their stories from what the western media like voice of America would say but when I started bringing journalists to Mogadishu, the perception changed. This is about telling the true African story.

The conference is organized by AMISOM's public information unit in consultation with the AUC's communications directorate, the AU' peace and security department and the AU/UN information support team (IST).