Shekosh Reports

Kebridehar – Ogadenia [December 9, 2008], Sheekk Mohamed Noure, the most respected Imam in Korahe region and the Imam of Kebridehar mosque was arrested on Tuesday afternoon in Kebridehar town. Read more »

That the UN Security Council is seriously willing to consider the deployment of international peacekeepers is an indication…

No doubt many an intellectual – Somali and foreign – will reiterate well-rehearsed commentary that Ethiopia’s Woyanne invasion and continued occupation of regional foe Somalia is intended to help restore national order and establish democratic rule. Nearly 17 months after the initial invasion, not only has “national order” not been achieved in Somalia, but the Horn of Africa country has been propelled into a new cycle of political violence that has led to an unprecedented suffering of massive humanitarian proportions.

Last week, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on a resolution allowing the possible deployment of UN peacekeepers after certain political and security conditions on the ground are met. Dumisani Kumalo, South Africa’s ambassador to the UN, told reporters: “It [resolution] sends a signal to the Somali people that we’ve heard their cries. It sends a signal that this Council is serious.”

In March, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon first raised the possibility of a 27,000-strong UN peacekeeping force to replace the understaffed and under-funded African Union contingent in Mogadishu, which stands 6,000 soldiers short of full deployment. But the proposal had certain conditions attached, including improvement in the country’s political atmosphere and the security situation on the ground. After all, UN member states do not wish to be drawn into armed conflict with Somali rebels, which was the case in the 1990s during the U.S.-led UN intervention that ended in disreputable failure.

The policy of interventionism in Somalia, irrespective of the reasons, has proven to be a strategy that lacks foresight because a key factor is always removed from the equation: the people’s support. In the 1990s, the Americans’ hunt for Somali warlord Gen. Mohamed Farah Aideed was deeply unpopular in Mogadishu, where his loyal fighters fought against the UN peacekeepers. Intervention in the name of humanitarianism transformed into “regime change” to reduce Gen. Aideed’s power and influence, igniting old fears of foreign domination and propelling Somali militias to wage war against foreign troops.

Today, a similar but more dramatic episode is unfolding in Somalia. Young fighters are rushing to take up arms against Ethiopian troops, who are backed by the U.S. government in a “war on terror” project aimed at obliterating Somalia’ s Islamist movement. The ongoing Islamist-led insurgency against the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and its Ethiopian military backers has killed thousands of civilians and created a humanitarian situation where 2.5 million Somalis are in need of assistance, according to UN estimates.

That the UN Security Council is seriously willing to consider the deployment of international peacekeepers is an indication that the project to install the TFG in Mogadishu has come to be recognized as a failure among international circles. Outside Mogadishu, the northern regions of Somaliland and Puntland continue to promote policies independent of the TFG; in the southern port of Kismayo, clan militias remain defiant in the face of the TFG’s inability to extend its rule; and in many towns across central and southern Somalia, Islamist rebels continue to seize control and receive jubilant welcomes from local populations.

Money, manpower and other resources have been spent to bolster the TFG, but the disappointing performance of the government’s leaders should neither be rewarded nor tolerated. If the international community – and especially the UN – is truly genuine about finding a lasting resolution to Somalia’s 18-year civil war, then the world must genuinely discuss the withdrawal of Ethiopian armed forces from Somali soil and allow the Somali people to engage in under-the-tree reconciliation that has historically been a cornerstone of culture and politics in the Somali Peninsula. Such a Somali-owned reconciliation process would open the doors to all groups with legitimate constituencies and allow the Somalis to settle their political differences once-and-for-all, whilst giving the process much-needed legitimacy and popular support.

The flipside is that the U.S.-backed Ethiopian project, via the TFG mask, will not bring any success because of its over-reliance on military force. History has shown that the Somali people do not bow down to foreign guns.

 editorial@garoweonline.com

On May 12^th 2008, Suldan Fowsi Mohamed Ali, a prominent community elder and a peace activist was sentenced to 22 years in prison by an Ethiopian regional court in Jigjiga. On the same date Haji Ibrahim Had, a well-known businessman and financier of an anti- ONLF clan based militia was also sentenced to 16 years in prison by the same court. The two detainees will be transferred to Zuway prison, in Amhara region.  

On August 28th 2007, in Jigjiga, Ethiopian security forces and the local police collected Suldan Fowsi Mohamed Ali from his residence in the dead of night. And then he was transferred to an underground military detention in Jigjiga. He was among a number of outspoken critics of the Ethiopian government’s policies in the Ogaden who were arrested before the arrival of the UN fact-finding mission in the region. He has been brought before the regional court several times. Each time, He was taken back to his cell for lack of evidence. (See Ogaden: Ethiopian Government Forces: Massacre, displace and starve out the civilian population with impunity ref: OHRC/AR/07).

Recently, Suldan Fowsi was charged with masterminding of two hand grenade attacks which took place in Dhagaxbuur and Jigjiga, on May 28^th 2007 and collaborating with the bandits, ” a term Ethiopian authorities frequently use to designate members of ONLF fighters.

Suldan Fowsi was a member of a group of Ogaden elders who were mandated by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to negotiate with the ONLF, on June 29^th 2005. It should be noted that he was the mediator who successfully negotiated the release of the Chinese Workers who were taken by ONLF fighters, on 24^th April 2007, in the Cobolle oil exploration field attack.  

It is worthwhile to mention that Suldan Fowsi is a cousin of Bashir Ahmed Makhtal, the Canadian citizen who was handed over to the Ethiopian government by Kenya at Mogadishu airport, on January 21^st 2007.Since then Bashir is being held incommunicado without charge or trial. (See OHRC’s press release Kenya: Illegally arrests and renders Ogaden Somalis to Ethiopian military in Somalia ref: OHRC/PRO/0207).  

Suldan Fowsi’s family members and relatives were subjected to constant harassment, intimidation, arbitrary detention and extensive torture. Those who are not in detention went into hiding for fear of their lives.  

Haji Ibrahim Had was a sworn enemy of the ONLF. After the killing of his elder brother accidentally by the ONLF, he formed an anti-ONLF militia with the help of the Ethiopian Government. His militia cooperated and collaborated with the Ethiopian Armed Forces to undermine the ONLF. His younger brother was killed in one of the many engagements between his militia and ONLF fighters.  

Haji Ibrahim Had was detained in December 2007. He was accused of collaborating with the bandits, facilitating the Cobolle operation and having secret arrangements with the ONLF. He was brought before the regional court, in Jigjiga, on May 07^th 2008, and then was taken back to his cell for lack of evidence and witnesses.  

The two detainees were maltreated and denied medical care during their detention.  

On April 04^th 2008, when Mr. Abdi Mohamoud Omar, the head of the Somali Regional State Security and Justice Bureau, verbally attacked, Suldan Fowsi Mohamed Ali with a hateful and offensive language, during an interview with VOA Somali Section, Mr. Omar then confirmed Fowsi’s eventual condemnation. Since that day court’s ruling had become a fait accoompli.   

Suldan Fowsi and Haji Ibrahim Had pleaded not guilty. But regional court’s sentence was 22 and 16 years’ imprisonment respectively. They were not informed the particulars of the charges and reasons for their arrest, have not had access to any evidence presented against them, and were not represented by a proper legal counsel.

Hence, they did not receive fair trial in accordance with recognized international standards. On the basis of available information about their cases, the OHRC believes that there was not credible evidence for their conviction, and their trial was a mockery of justice, and considers Suldan Fowsi prisoner of conscience and Haji Ibrahim Had a victim of personal vendetta.

To the best of the Ogaden Human Rights Committee’s knowledge, Suldan Fowsi was not involved in any illegal or violent activity. He was a respectable community elder and peace activist with no political affiliation whatsoever. Haji Ibrahim Had was a notable businessman, an anti-ONLF and an ally of the Ethiopian Government  

The Ogaden Human Rights Committee is concerned about their safety and well-being and opposes their transfer to the notorious Zuway prison. The OHRC condemns the verdict of the Jigjiga Kangaroo Court and demands their unconditional and immediate release.

Ogaden Human Rights Committee