Graves tell no tales According to Somalilad holocaust commission nobody was safe from a deliberate government campaign of terror. The government turned into killing machine. They say they have the names of 180,000 people killed or missing, they intend to give the UN Human Rights Council a dossier for investigation. SHC has gathered testimony from Somalilanders who say husbands, sons and daughters have been forcibly abducted by government or pro-government forces. They include Jamiila Nuur, a mother of five children, from a suburb of Hargeisa, whose 26-year-old son Ahmad Ibrahim disappeared in the summer of 1987. She said that the last time she saw, he wanted to get married soon to his long term fiancé. He was young and handsome; his dad passed away when he was only six years of age, the passing of his father complicated their living. Ahmed always wanted to help me she concludes. Jamila lamented We later found out that the Ahmeds personal pick up belongs to police officer in a nearby police station. The family made repeated attempts to get answers from the the security services but failed, she said, then one day someone answered and told them he had been killed in Daloodho and buried quickly because his body decayed quickly due serious damages to his whole body. But we were not able to confirm this information, she said. We are not certain wether he is killed or not and that is the worst. Jamila says I was worried as he failed to come over night, he would not have left us or his fiancé - who is expecting the happy day. We only wanted to know his fate. The police, military, intelligence agencies were all run by spineless cowards, most of them have never been to proper schooling, they just took crush programs in literacy and numeracy. Well known Somaliland poet and university lecturer, Mahamed Hashi Dhamac-widely known as Gariye, composed many poems and wrote plays about government brutality. In early 2011, university of Hargeisa hosted a cultural week and inivited authors, poets and playmakers all over Somali speaking territories. Gariye explained how Siyad Bare played on tribe against another, revived old hostilities between Somali tribes-the security agencies made millions of copies of “Guba” and distributed freely across towns all over Somalia- just remind tribes how they used to steal animals from each other, displace each other and who used to fight with who. The aim was to make tribes busy against each other. Hussein Qaalib, a 62-year-old Somalilander, was taken from his home in Idaacada after attempting to stop the confiscation of his household belongings and intrusion of security forces. He was never seen again. My brother was moved to more than one branch of intelligence cell in Hargeisa to another and he has not been released because of his refusal to sign a statement of remorse. Mahamed said his brother had serious health problems but the family had been unable to take medication to him - he has since suffered a stroke, he said. According to insider sources. They considered him as a burden and he just disappeared on night. Muuse Biihi, chairman of Kulmiye of Party, said Somalilanders are being plucked off from the street by security forces and paramilitaries and they disappeared into torture cells for a period starting from 1978 to 1989. “accoding to general Moorgan’”The regime was doing that for two reasons - to directly get rid of the rebels and activists, and to intimidate the society so that it wont dare to oppose the regime” According to Raqiya Abdillahi Omar, Whether it is women buying groceries or farmers going out for water, nobody was safe. She said it was a deliberate strategy to terrorize families and communities. The number killed or missing will never be accounted.The panic of not knowing whether your husband or child is alive breeds such fear that it silences dissent, she said.The fate of each and every one of these people must be investigated and the perpetrators punished like Ali Samater. According to information given to me by eyewitnesses and holocaust survivors in villages across Somaliland, confirms there could be as many as 280,000 persons killed, maimed or disappeared.People are being snatched at night, on the street and when no-one is looking. Muhammad Kahin, Kulmiye party vice chairman, said that although there are no precise figures, thousands of people have disappeared. The regime was doing that for two reasons - to directly get rid of the rebels and to intimidate the society so that it wont oppose the regime, he said. Successive governments in Mugdisho had in the past strenuously denied reports of human rights abuses. But now it seems the truth has came into being when Samater got sentenced on allegations of human right abuses, killings and torture. The UN, ARAB LEAGUE, IGAD, AFRICAN UNION and western governments failed in Somaliland. There are uncountable mass graves all over the country, but graves tell no tales, its those of us who are living who are expected to document what happened, if such thing is not done our loved ones will never forgive us. The president elect “Hasan Sheikh Mahamud”; is an alien to what happened in Somaliland, he will need many books to read and numerous eye witness accounts to listen before talking about Somalilands issue. The same goes with the prime minister elect, chief of justice, council of ministers and the so-called legislature. Recommendation 1. It has been customary in the past for some Somali government officials, members from the diaspora or even amateur commentators to speak poorly and dismissingly about the Somaliland massacre, this only adds salt to the wound and fuel to the fire. Therefore, care needs to be exercised before commenting on such issues. Xoos Kibrey style commentaries are not needed such a trying times. 2. Somalilands- minister of interior is alien or sadly unaware of what happened in this country. He is pursuing what he called the “ New approach” this new policy frame work is dismissive and self-directed, its quick run scheme- not much different of policy pursues of 1960s 3. The public should be well informed about the progress of talks with Southern Somalia. Information black out- a custom for the past should be curbed at least by now. 4. Members from the international media must be invited to document what happened in this country. This is good publicity stunt and strengthens our bargaining power; it will also be a little piece of reminder of the gruesome acts committed against our people. 5. Compensation should be paid to those somalilanders who were raped; their property confiscated or lost their loved ones by the former government of Somalia. 6. Al jazeers victims must be exhumed in order to give them proper burial in their own country Email ahmedchamp@hotmail Twitter: ahmed.champion1 Facebook: Ahmed Mahamed
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 17:13:22 +0000