The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) calls on local journalists and local media to remain impartial especially at this time of political turmoil between members of the Somali parliament and some of the leaders of the country.

As you may aware of, there has been a sharp political difference between members of the Somali parliament recently, which has resulted in a wave of confusion among legislators themselves, government leaders, Somali people in general and the international community after a number of countries’ parliament members tabled a motion of no confidence against the Speaker of Somali’s Parliament Honorable Mohamed Osman Jawaari.

"Like this crucial moment, media practitioners and media institutions face pressures from rival sides, therefore we encourage media not publish or suppress a report or omit or alter vital facts in that report in return for payment of money or for any other gift or reward. Likewise media practitioners and media institutions must not suppress or distort information which the public has a right to know because of pressure or influence from their advertisers or others who have a corporate, political or advocacy interest in the media institution concerned” Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu Secretary General of NUSOJ said on Thursday.

The Somali Journalist Union is closely monitoring the situation and the media coverage in case there are any media or journalists who are not impartial and making biased reporting.

Recently, Speaker of Somalia’s Upper House Senator Abdi Hashi called on the media to stick to impartiality and neutrality and warn journalists no to exacerbate further the ongoing political turmoil .He encouraged all media to be responsible and unbiased.

Finally NUSOJ suggests the following recommendations

.The Assembly Secretariat and parliamentary parties should guarantee journalists access to important documents and news materials and also provide the media with full access to information, including attendance and voting records and other relevant documents in order to deliver the public to the right information they need to know.

Journalists must never accept a favor or a gift if you suspect that it is being used as a bribe. They can quite easily affect your credibility as a journalist.

Journalists should stay and confined to the allocated places and are required to respect the smooth running of parliament sessions to avoid anything that may hinder the proper functioning of parliament