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Somalis Take to Streets to Protest Against High Inflation Rate
Tens of thousands of Somalis Tuesday took to the streets of the country's capital Mogadishu in protest against the high inflation rate resulted from banning of the 500 shilling notes by most businessmen in the past three years.
The demonstration which started off spontaneously gained momentum as they hit the Soddonkah main road, on which hundreds of business shops, stores and restaurants were forced to close down as the demonstrators began stoning every open gate and door for business.
All traffic movement came to a halt after several buses and cars lost their windshield glasses for the stones.
Somalia's largest business center, Bakara market, came to a total closure since all business people felt threatened and as a result came out with their weapons in fear of possible burglary and looting.
Abdikarim Fodareh, one of the money exchange dealers, confirmed that some of the street vendors and wheelbarrow owners next to his shop have been looted in the middle of the chaos.
President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan, who briefly spoke to the people through the state-run radio, called on the people to calm down, saying "the 500 shilling note is a legal tender which no body can refuse to take."
"I ordered the police and the appropriate courts to take the necessary measures against those who try to destabilize the country by not accepting the 500 shilling notes," he said.
The president warned that "we can not stand more trouble since our people have been suffering for the past ten years".
Almost all of the demonstrators are angry about the fact that most of the business people have refused to accept the 500 shilling notes.
The demonstrators accused the exchange dealers, the businessmen and the government equally of devaluating their money and they're especially angry about the exchange dealers' segregation against the 500 shilling notes when compared with the 1,000 shilling notes.
Each U.S. dollar on Monday was exchanged with 20,500 shillings when it is in 1,000-shilling notes, but 30,000 shillings when it is in 500-shilling notes.
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