Stop the Genocide and End the Humanitarian Crisis in Somalia

[rudy-Diiriye]

April 15th, 2008

source: http://free-somalia.org/?p=579

 

Stop the Genocide and End the Humanitarian Crisis in Somalia

April 15th, 2008 SOMAI DIASPORA CONGRESS (SDC)

To: Louis Michel. Development and Humanitarian Aid Brussels

14 April 2008

 

Excellency,

 

Subject: Stop the Genocide and End the Humanitarian Crisis in Somalia

The humanitarian crisis in Somalia reached at catastrophic levels far worse than Darfur or Gaza as described by UN body, international aid agencies, Human Rights Watch and world media. The killing, looting, destruction, and illegal detentions without court proceedings are at full swing. People are detained for distortion and ransom money, similar to what the warlords and sea pirates are doing now off Somali coast.

 

The number of people displaced from Mogadishu since the Ethiopian invasion is well over 1.5 million. These people live in dire conditions in the sun baked sandy plots between Mogadishu and Afgoi.

 

The UN estimated the monthly displacement over 20,000 residents – from Mogadishu alone. People are renting the canopies of Acacia trees to find shelter against the sweltering sun, but the majority cannot afford to do so and suffer under the baking tropical sun and rain. These people’s lives, homes and business were destroyed with impunity by Somalia’s perennial archenemy forces from Ethiopia.

 

 

The situation is made worse by the continued harassment, intimidation, looting and raping by the TFG militias and Ethiopian troops. Food items, potable water and necessary medical supplies are all in short supplies. The activities of the Aid Agencies have been restricted by Yusuf’s tribal militias and Ethiopian military leaders and distributions are in small quantities and erratic.

 

 

The displaced are facing a slow and painful death since the international community continues to ignore and abandon them in the hands of the ruthless Ethiopians. Hundreds of thousands of malnourished children are at the brink of starvation and need emergency food aid. Also cholera related diarrhea and other diseases coupled with starvation are fast killing more than bullets. The suffering is unbearable and world is ignoring the blight of these victims. For many tomorrow is too late.

 

 

As Somali Europeans, numbering over 300,000 citizens, we urge you to intervene and stop the genocide that is taking place before the eyes of the world’s moral preachers and great democracies. We feel the Commission could have done more to stop the genocide and displacement and end the occupation.

 

 

Excellency, we urge you to do five basic humanitarian things in order to save the lives of the thousands of sick and starving children camping under the hot sun without shelter, food and water. These are:

 

 

1) We urge the Commission to break its silence and lead the world to stop the genocide that is been perpetrated by the Ethiopian occupation forces. The occupation is the main source of insecurity and ending it will certainly improve the humanitarian situation, as the millions who fled will be able to go back to their homes and rebuild their lives.

 

 

2) We urge the Commission to send more humanitarian aid to these people in order to save them from an imminent starvation. The relief supplies must be delivered by the international NGOs to make sure that aid has reached to the victims. The Commission must use all its powers and influence to ensure that food and medicine reach the victims unhindered. .

 

 

3) We earnestly ask the Commission to lead the way to bring the perpetrators of war crimes in Somalia to be brought before the court of law. Many of the criminals have European passports and they led by the names such as Darwish, Ahmed Tajir, Gacmadhere, Bidar, etc. We also demand all other criminals who commit heinous crimes against humanity must be brought to court. These include all warlords and their associates: Abdullahi Yusuf, Ali Gedi, Qanyare, Sudi, Ali Mahdi, Mohamed Dhere, Abdi Qeybdid, Adde Muse, Barre Hirale, Shatiguduud, Adan Madobe, Habsade, Yusuf Dabageed, etc.

 

 

4) We urge the Commission to actively engage in the peace and reconciliation process that is currently been voiced by the United Nations Special Representative for Somalia. The EU’s role and engagement can play a very positive role in finding viable political solution for Somalia.

 

 

5) We also urge you to demand respect for the people’s liberties, freedom of speech and free press. The lifting of all bans on privately owned media is essential to the development of democracy in a land that does not know much about democratic values.

 

 

Excellency, We hope that you will show bravery and compassion and will extend a helping hand to the innocent victims affected by the senseless and illegal war waged by the Ethiopian occupation forces.

 

 

Thank you,

 

For more information please contact:

 

Executive Committee

 

e-mail: somdico@yahoo.com

 

Somali Diaspora Congress (SDC) is an advocacy organization which opposes the invasion of Somalia and was set up to highlight the crisis in Somalia. It was established on August 28th, 2007 by Somalis representing Somali Diaspora communities from United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Canada, United States of America, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France.

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

how sad that people throw around words like genocide around. I don't think you or the righters know what genocide mean. to make it simple, genocide is what has happened to the jews in the Holocaust or the tutsi of rawanda or the darfuri now in Sudan. some moryoleys shooting each other in somalia is at most a civil war of strife but genocide. Lastly, there is no distinct tribe or ethino-religous group for there to be a genocide.

[Jacpher]

^Amxaaro indiscriminately opening fire at Somalis is civil war?

 

DUH

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

again, Amhars are only indiscriminately opening fire on Somalis in you mind, i swear. Your having a big dream, wake up, there is no bogeyman in your closet, i promise. Those poor formers are in gondar.

[Jacpher]

^This ain't insult comic. Leave the cheap shots aside. Argue your earlier point. How is it that Amxaar army shooting at Somalis is a civil war?

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

Ok, seriously, there is no amxaar army. those poor people who once use to rule Ethiopia are mostly formers now. can we agree on that before we get to who shot who and if that can be called a genocide.

[Lois Lane]

NN,

 

While you simplify the notion of a genocide with the examples of the holocaust, the Rwandan and Darfur tragedy, you minimise the Somali tragedy by simply calling it a civil war.

In some aspect, indeed it is one. However it is also genocide. The term isn’t only measured by the amount of people who die or the nature of the act.

 

Under the article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide it states: The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.

 

And as for its definition article 2 says:

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

• (a) Killing members of the group;

• (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

• © Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

• (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

• (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

 

Thus walaal, A and B clearly define the situation of our country today. As for C while you might argue that point, the TFG and Ethiopian administration decided together and calculated their plan to invade Somalia, while fully aware that this would not be accepted by the actual citizen of the country.

[Geel_jire]

Originally posted by Naxar Nugaaleed:

Ok, seriously, there is no amxaar army. those poor people who once use to rule Ethiopia are mostly formers now. can we agree on that before we get to who shot who and if that can be called a genocide.

WTF .... what are you smoking ???

[Dhubad.]

^ . Naxar say that again.

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

Originally posted by Lois Lane:

NN,

 

While you simplify the notion of a genocide with the examples of the holocaust, the Rwandan and Darfur tragedy, you minimise the Somali tragedy by simply calling it a civil war.

In some aspect, indeed it is one. However it is also genocide. The term isn’t only measured by the amount of people who die or the nature of the act.

 

Under the article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide it states: The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.

 

And as for its definition article 2 says:

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

• (a) Killing members of the group;

• (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

• © Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

• (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

• (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

 

Thus walaal, A and B clearly define the situation of our country today. As for C while you might argue that point, the TFG and Ethiopian administration decided together and calculated their plan to invade Somalia, while fully aware that this would not be accepted by the actual citizen of the country.

Lois, walaal, just tell me this ethnic group r religion that is being exterminated, because thats the meaning of Genocide. As for as the TFG invading Somalia, am really not sure how to respond to that, after all wither elected or selected, a government can not invade its own country.

[Lois Lane]

NN,

You can’t pick and choose the terms in the definition of a genocide to fit your reasoning. As it clearly states a genocide means: “..ANY of the following acts committed WITH INTENT TO DESTROY, in whole or in part, a NATIONAL, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”

 

Also perhaps I was not clear. In regards to the TFG invading Somalia, they invited the Ethiopian troops to invade the country. This act was co-signed by the American administration, which legalised the act under the pretext that it was not only a pre-emptive strike against terrorist cells but also in order to install a selected government for the Somali people.

 

Thus, you cannot minimise the extend of the casualties and not call it what it truly is because some big entity decided that it was okay to invade a country. What’s next? Slavery will be okay if it’s for the good of the slave? Please! It is what it is, walaal.

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

walaal I am not picking and choosing (actually a friend of mind accuses of this a lot), i have yet to see this "NATIONAL, ethnical, racial or religious group" that the government and its allies are trying to destroy. I hope you understand but my objection to use of the word is not to minimize what has happened to Somalis in this conflict between the government and the anti government fighters, but it just doesn't fit and it does minimize what genocide actually is.

 

Lastly, this conflict was not started because the Somali, ethio and us governments decided to start a preemptive war but it was act of defense. have we forgotten that is was the Islamic courts that left their base in Mogadishu, declared jihad on ethiopia and surrounded the government in its base in baidoa? that they went as for as puntland to the north and and jubba to the south. No, there was no preemptive war but these "courts" were defeated by ethiopia but by a coalition, local administrations like those of Puntland, hiiraan, jubba and shabelle along with the ethios, the tfg and US planes.

[Lois Lane]

NN,

 

I completely disagree. Although the islamic courts declared war on the ethiopian troops, the country has been systematically destroyed by mainly these troops and daily by this pathetic administration.

 

Last I am not minimising the term Genocide, but keep in mind that while Rwanda was clearly going through a genocide the international community and some Rwandan diaspora called it a civil war. 10 years after the incident, during the anniversary of the Genocide almost no international official was present. Today they speak of the tragedy as a dark and sad time for rwanda, when they could have stopped it.

[N.O.R.F]

^^Are you really trying to talk sense into NN?

[Lois Lane]

^^ lool why not?

 

Then I plan into talking sense to you