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Somaliland: New Mass Graves Uncovered

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HARGEISA— An American volunteer gently brushes away dirt to reveal the bones of a Somali victim buried in a mass grave some 30 years ago. Tens of thousands of skeletons may lie in mass graves here, on the northern edge of Somalia, where many want to see justice prevail, even if delayed.

Last year 38 bodies were uncovered in two graves by the Somaliland War Crimes Investigation Commission, which is overseeing the work on a third site where another dozen bodies are buried.

More than 200 mass graves with the bodies of 50,000 to 60,000 people may be in the region, according to the commission.

Those killed were civilians and militia members from the Isaq clan who were hunted and slain in the late 1980s by the regime of Siad Barre, Ahmed said. Barre’s overthrow in 1991 unleashed 20 years of chaos, making Somalia a failed state.

The victims’ families “are all grieving and all sad because of non-recognition of the government. We can’t get any recognition from any court or any individual,” said said Kadar Ahmed, chairman of the commission.

The War Crimes Commission says that Cold War politics helped protect Barre’s regime from punishment from the U.S. and others despite the gross human rights violations. Most of those who carried out the killings now live outside Somalia, the commission says.

Why dig up the past now?

Many African countries try to forget about atrocities carried out in their recent pasts, said Kadar Ahmed, chairman of the commission, speaking at the gravesite. He wants this northern tip of Somalia — a self-governing region called Somaliland — to confront those ghosts head-on. He said he hopes an outside tribunal will take up the case of the unknown numbers of deaths.

The commission was created in 1997 with the dual aim of offering a proper burial to the victims and taking judicial action against those responsible for the killings. Ahmed, who was not in Somaliland during the 1980s violence, has headed the commission the last four years.

If government’s aren’t held responsible for mass killings, then killings will continue, said Ahmed. Another aim is to “find the individuals and take them to court,” he said. Ahmed believes that one general who gave the order to commence a slaughter is dead. The other, he says, is outside the country.

About a dozen people from the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team are helping Somaliland unbury the past, and also helping to train Ahmed’s staff so they can one day take over. Franco Mora leads the team and says the work is about helping friends and family close the mourning process.

“Families are waiting for answers,” said Mora, who has worked on similar projects in Congo, Guatemala and Mexico. But the Somali team needs more training: “We are explaining to them you can’t go into the field and use heavy machinery. We are teaching them to recover the remains in a way you can use them for prosecution.”

Mora noted that the skeletons being uncovered in the latest mass grave were all buried facing toward Mecca, a holy site for Muslims. He suspects that means the victims were buried with care by local residents.

“This country is a big mass grave. There are graves everywhere. People are living with death. It’s everywhere,” Mora said.

Amber Barton is a 26-year-old volunteer on Mora’s team from the San Francisco region in California. On a recent sunny morning she gently brushed dirt away from a skeleton lying in a row of several bodies. She hopes to apply the skills she has studied in archaeology to a forensics context. She says the Somalis here are interested in the group’s work.

“The locals are curious about what’s happened, with the individuals, how they died,” Barton said.

“They collected whoever they saw. Child, woman, man, taking them and killing them. They were executing them, sometimes torture, then shooting them,” said Ahmed, of the commission.

A great deal of work is needed and Ahmed appears determined. After speaking, the 63-year-old Ahmed walked down into the grave, picked up a bucket of dirt from beside a newly uncovered skeleton and carried it away.

Source:  Associated Press

 

Somalis need moral courage

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The coup d’état that brought Siyad Barre into power in 1969 is called ‘ a bloodless revolution’. But his ouster was a bloodbath as a result of the violent war waged by armed opposition groups and the indiscriminate killings of civilians after state collapse. Some armed opposition groups took a leaf from the military dictatorship’s book and used large-scale violence against particular groups of civilians in the hope of trying to dominate the state. This is the core argument of Professor Lidwien Kapteijns, whose book, Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991, was reviewed by Mohamed Haji Ingiriis in two 2013 publications. Ingiriis’ first review appeared in the autumn issue of the non-academic Journal of the Anglo-Somali Society; the second in the winter issue of Africa Today.

Apart from the name-calling that says more about the reviewer than the book’s author, Ingiriis asserts that Professor Kapteijns was biased in the respondents she consulted and that her book contains many factual and Somali spelling errors.  It is striking that he never engages with the main arguments of the book; simply denying its rich source base and concealing its nuanced approach and careful contextualization. The errors he points out are mostly typos in the footnotes and do not distract from those arguments.

To begin with the issue of bias, Somalis are not divided on the abhorrence of human rights violations committed during the military dictatorship. They attribute responsibility for these large-scale human rights violations to the top leadership and lower-level supporters of the former regime. This is also clearly argued in Kapteijns’ book, which spends one whole chapter out of four on this period. However, Kapteijns’ book calls special attention to the purposeful clan-based atrocities perpetrated after the collapse of the regime in 1991, atrocities that have remained ignored, distorted and denied since that time, even by scholars. She calls what USC forces and civilian supporters did in Mogadishu and beyond in 1991-1992 a campaign of clan cleansing, a legal term referring to the use of atrocities to expel civilians of particular group backgrounds from an area to try to make that area ethnically homogeneous. According to Mr. Ingiriis, this set of events was just a part of what he calls colaadihii qabiilka (clan hostilities). There are two things Ingiriis does not understand or mention in this context.

First, Ingiriis fails to grasp or is hiding that Kapteijns’ book does not think in terms of whole clans as actors. She attributes the clan cleansing campaign by the USC (with help of other smaller clan-based fronts), not to all Hawiye people, some of whom, the book shows, actually were actually rescuers of targeted individuals. She argues that seeing Daarood and Hawiye as single actors, as Ingiriis does in his review, is precisely the kind of thinking that helped bring about clan cleansing. Note also that the author spends a good part of Chapter three to document the atrocities committed by clan-based militias against civilians outside of the clan cleansing campaign.

Second, Ingiriis fails to ask the moral question that lies at the heart of the subject of the book. If responsibility for laying the foundation for clan-based atrocities must be attributed to the Barre regime, must the USC leaders of the period after Barre’s fall not be held morally and politically accountable for the atrocities of the clan cleansing during which people of Daarood backgrounds were purposefully killed, maimed or dispossessed in Mogadishu and other territories brought under USC control but that also caused great harm and suffering to other Somalis, including people belonging to the Hawiye clan family?

While Kapteijns is the first scholar to use the term of clan cleansing campaign for the events of 1991-1992, she is not the only scholar to categorise the atrocities of 1991-1992 as systemic political violence, not clan hostilities (Ingiriis’ term). In the words of Prof. Abdi Samatar of February 1991:

“The break-down of central authority and the reactionary nature of USC leadership has led to the dispossession of all Mogadishu residents who were not Hawiye, and the massacre of anyone who was Darod by birth. This has generated and intensified communal strife and hatred, thus creating new unnecessary and formidable obstacles to reconciliation.” .

Prof. Ahmed Samatar has characterised the human rights violations committed by USC forces in Mogadishu as a  “harrowing pogrom”. While Ingiriis simply declares Kapteijns’ conceptualization of this violence as clan cleansing not “a useful historical-theoretical term to understand tribal wars, let alone clan wars,” he never explains how she defines the term and why she felt compelled to adopt it. Moreover, he himself uses, without careful definition, the loaded term “Hargeisa Holocaust” for the military regime’s war crimes in the Northwest in 1988-1989.

This and other contradictions abound in Ingiriis’ attempt to distract from the real arguments in Clan Cleansing. Many of the “corrections” presented in the review are actually different interpretations and the corrections of typos and small errors are on several counts incorrect. Thus the reviewer wrongly puts Aadan Yabaal district in Lower Shabelle, misspells Wardhiigley, and wrongly corrects Kapteijns’ transliteration of the vocative in Ahmed Naji’s song “Xamar waa lagu xumeeyay”. (For the Somali grammar fiends, there is a difference between the grammatical form of the song’s title and a citation from the actual song lines in which Ahmed Naji not only conjugates the verb xumee ( to wrong) in the past tense but also uses it vocatively:  “O Mogadishu, you have been wronged!” (“Xamar waa lagu xumeeyayeey”.  In referring to Abdi  Muhummed. Amiin’s song Caynaanka hay (“Keep the reins of power”), Ingiriis himself conjugates the verb vocatively – haay — instead of giving the singular imperative hay.)  It is challenging to get Somali orthography right and most readers will agree that Kapteijns did a superb job in transliterating and translating Somali texts.  Is criticising her accomplishment another way to distract from the book’s compelling and nuanced analysis of a very contested subject?

These days competition for victimhood is fierce in Somalia but Professor Kapteijns’ book does not promote clan-based blame-games and explicitly calls on Somalis not to indulge in their own clan-based narratives of victimization. Instead she insists on political accountability for those who purposefully used violence against civilians to reach their political goals. She focuses on the campaign of clan cleansing because it has been ignored and denied. If reviews such as those by Ingiriis prove anything it is that this denial is alive and well in many circles.

Perhaps Kapteijns’ book may help open the door to an open-minded public discussion of large-scale post-1990 human rights violations. It may help Somalis to pose moral questions about such violations impartially, that is to say, by holding all parties to the same standards, as Kapteijns does in her book. Sadly, Prof. Kapteijns’ work is unpalatable to reviewers such as Mr. Ingiriis who simply blame the messenger for the message, continue the denial of the atrocities of 1991-1992, and insist on defending and associating themselves with the perpetrators of the atrocities that are the subject of the book.

By Liban Ahmad

Liban1999@gmail.com

 

IFJ Condemns Censorship and Intimidation of Independent Press in Somaliland 6 March 201

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6 March 201press release

Authorities in Somaliland must re-open the offices of an independent newspaper in Hargeisa, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said today.

According to IFJ affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), the Hubaal newspaper in Hargeisa, Somaliland, has been closed since 13 December, 2013, following a raid by the police rapid reinforcement unit (RRU). Police continue to occupy the newspaper’s headquarters.

“We are deeply disturbed by the actions of Somaliland authorities to shut down Hubaal newspaper and forcefully occupy its offices,” said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa Director. “Authorities in Hargeisa should halt their on-going crackdown on Hubaal and allow it to operate without fear of reprisal”.

Somaliland police have accused Hubaal newspaper of dividing the police leadership and misleading security officials, while also claiming that they obtained a court order to close the paper down, although the NUSOJ says they failed to produce this order during the raid.

“The continued closure of Hubaal and presence of police in their offices is nothing but censorship and an attempt to intimidate other media from being critical,” said NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman. “Somaliland should withdraw all its forces immediately. Hubaal newspaper and its journalists are exercising their journalistic duty and the authorities must not target them because of their media work.”

Harassment of Hubaal newspaper and its journalists has increased since April 2013 as the newspaper has been covering critical issues. On 11 June 2013, a Somaliland regional court in Hargeisa banned the publishing and distribution of the paper.

On 3 July, Hubaal editor Hassan Hussein Keefkeef was sentenced to two years in jail, while the paper’s manager Mohamed Ahmed Jama Aloley received a one-year sentence. Both men were also ordered to pay a 2,000,000-shilling ($350) fine each, Marodi Jeh Regional Court Judge Osman Ibrahim Dahir told the media.

The two journalists were found guilty of reporting “false news”, “slandering top Somaliland officials”, and “falsely accusing employees of the Ethiopian consulate of smuggling alcohol into Hargeisa”. The President of Somaliland later pardoned both journalists and the newspaper was allowed to resume its operations.

On 24 April 2013, two gunmen attacked the headquarters of the newspaper, injuring managing director Mohamed Ahmed Jama. The two gunmen are believed to be Somaliland police, and one of the policemen was caught by the Hubaal staffers and was later released by Somaliland authorities.

“Clearly this is systematic campaign to censor and intimidate an independent newspaper in Somaliland. Hubaal is a victim of its reporting about what is really happening in Somaliland,” added Baglo.

The IFJ urges Somaliland to ensure that independent media outlets are not harassed, and to allow Somaliland journalists to practice their profession without fear of retaliation.

For more information, please contact: +221 33 867 95 86/87

The IFJ represents more than 600.000 journalists in 134 countries

 

Al Jazeera disappointed with result of adjourned court case of staff detained in Egypt

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The trial of three Al Jazeera English journalists in Egypt has been adjourned until 24 March 2014. Al Jazeera continues to call for the release of their staff.

Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera English, said, “We are again disappointed that Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste, and Baher Mohamed were not released from prison today. The charges against our staff are without any substance and totally unjustified; we refute all the allegations labeled against our colleagues.  Mohamed, Peter, and Baher are world-class journalists and were simply doing the job of journalism, covering and challenging all sides of the story in Egypt.”

He added: “To continue to keep them behind bars after such a long time in detention is simply outrageous, so we continue to call for their immediate release. The trial in Egypt is a trial of journalism itself, so we remain resolute in calling for freedom of speech, for the right for people to know, and for the immediate release of all of Al Jazeera’s journalists in detention in Egypt.”

Mohamed, Peter and Baher have been detained since 29 December 2013. Al Jazeera Arabic’s Abdullah El Shamy has been detained without charge since 14 August 2013, and has been on hunger strike in protest for four weeks.

The hashtag #FreeAJStaff has been viral worldwide, while institutions including the White House, European Union and the United Nations have called for the release of the journalists, and for press freedoms to be upheld.

For more information, visit http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2014/03/al-jazeera-staff-trial-resume-egypt-2014356209828239.html.

AL JAZEERA MEDIA NETWORK

Somaliland:New Fishing Port expected to Generate Significant increases in Economic Activity

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By Goth Mohamed Goth

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Hon Ali Jama Baruud and the Minister of Finance Hon. Abdiaziz Samaale  jointly laid the foundation stone for a new fishing port as part of the renovation and modernization of a the “NET FISH” fishing facility in the port city of Berbera.

Hon. Ali Jama, the Fisheries Minister speaking at the function said, “The lives of those who depend on fishing will from today improve thanks to this good fishing port infrastructure which is essential for the conduct of commercial fishing operations and we hope this new port will would generate significant increases in economic activity from commercial fishing and a significant increase in employment.

“The fishing port was constructed some 150 years ago by the ottomans and has since had no repairs done but now  the new port will be constructed  in three stages and it will include infrastructure typical in a port operation, from water supply, power, refuelling, ice, port buildings and paved areas”, He said.

Minister of Finance Hon. Abdiaziz Samaale donate equipment to local fishermen during the function said, “Somaliland government to support in developing the sector fishing in the country, although much is needed to be done to develop this sector so as to realize the full potential of utilizing this natural resource.

Generation Somaliland: Who are we? And what do we share?

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Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed Walaaleeye being tied to the post moments before the Firing squad shot him

By Khadija Abdillahi Sheikh

When you hear the word ‘home’ what comes to your mind? Is it where you were born, grew up or currently reside? Is it the country of your parents? Or maybe it is where your children were born.

To me, Somaliland is home and for one simple reason: Here, is where I found myself. I share this sentiment with many others of similar experiences. We may not be of similar age, but we have several common characteristics and we are, Generation Somaliland.

Somalia is an unknown quantity to us: To some of us it was before we were born others were too young to have experienced the short lived glories of Somalia. They speak of one of the greatest military in Africa but what I see is AMISOM upholding security in fragile Mogadishu.  They speak of its captivating architecture but what I see is a city in ruins.  They speak of Soomaalinimo, Nationalism that brought the unity into being but what I see is her progeny Qabyaalada, Tribalism. Melancholy saturated stories of Xamar make no sense to us. We associate Somalia with civil war, famine, pirates and above all betrayal.

And we only know Somaliland: On 26 June 1960, Somaliland was declared an independent state briefly before it joined the Southern territories to form the ill-fated Somali Republic. An assassination of a president, a military coup, and civil war ensued.

Somaliland’s revolution is reproduced by the Arab Spring. Many of the Arab Spring events that have been unfolding in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria since 2010 are similar to events that took place in Somaliland quarter of a century ago. The bombardment of Syria’s Homs reminds me of the bombardment of Hargeisa in 1988 by MiG-17’s lifting off from the same city and gunning down barefooted refugees on their run to neighboring Ethiopia. Gaddafi’s mercenaries that were hired to contain the revolution against him were a reminder of Siyad Barre’s ruthless mercenaries who looted, killed, and raped in Somaliland. And just as peaceful demonstrators in those countries were met by live ammunition and apprehended, so were students who demonstrated against Barre’s regime in 1982 in Hargeisa sent to long periods of prison.

The difference between the Arab Spring and the revolution in Somaliland is that the latter prevailed and the ousted dictator Siyad Barre died in exile in Nigeria. Sadly, there was no Social Media to report on the atrocities committed against the people of the then Northern region of Somalia (Somaliland). And to this day media coverage of the mass graves recently discovered in Somaliland has been scant.

Since then, Somaliland was rebuilt by its people with little or no assistance from the international community. We’ve held numerous democratic parliamentarian and presidential elections; the latter resulted in a peaceful handover. How many African countries can boast of that? Our schoolchildren save their lunch money to contribute to the national campaign to rebuild roads and bridges or to give to the victims of recent floods in Somalia. Our triumphs have passed by unnoticed by the world for over twenty years.

We may forgive but cannot forget. For many of us, the injustices that our people were subjected to are impossible to forget. We even have a monument of a MiG 17 at Freedom Square to remind us of the fallen. It is difficult to forget because every house in Somaliland has lost someone. Somebody’s brother, sister, father, mother, uncle or aunt was lost. And what makes the loss greater is the fact that none of the governments that came after Siyad Barre acknowledged the genocide let alone apologize to or compensate the victim’s families.

My family had suffered firsthand when my uncle Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed Walaaleeye was detained and later executed by a firing squad along with 9 other Ulema in January 1975. His alleged crime was protesting a new family law that challenged basic Islamic teachings. He was my grandfather’s eldest son; he was the backbone of the family. With his murder our family was never to be the same again.

In a recent broadcast interview with the wife of Siyad Barre’s then Vice President, she opined that the execution of the 10 Islamic Scholars in cold blood which went undisputed by the people of Somalia triggered the decline and eventual demise of the Somali Republic.

Finally, we should not be held hostage to the notion of a Greater Somalia. Somaliland should not be blackmailed into reuniting with the South while Djibouti is sovereign and the Ogaden is still part of Ethiopia and some of Somalia is known as the North Eastern Province of Kenya.

It is disappointing that today our people are portrayed as power thirsty secessionists, when in fact Somaliland was built on the premise of freedom and equality for all. And Somalilanders were the first to extend their hand (and flag) to the ill-fated union. Prophet Mohamed, Peace Be Upon Him, taught us that: “A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice’’. So, before even considering another unity there should be an acknowledgment of the wrongs committed against us which would be the first step in reconciliation. The next step would be to find an answer to the question: How can a unity with the failed state of Somalia benefit the thriving democratic Somaliland?

Regardless of our country’s lack of international recognition, we remain very hopeful. For both those outside (The Diaspora) and those inside, Somaliland represents freedom, hope and prosperity.

 

Khadija Abdillahi Sheikh

Follow her on twitter: @k_asheikh

Somaliland:SL Officials and Representatives of 4 International Oil Companies Meet in Dubai to Discuss ways to Expedite Oil Exploration in 2014

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By Goth Mohamed Goth

Somaliland government officials led by the Minister of Energy and Minerals Hon. Hussein Abdi Dualeh and the representatives of four international oil companies namely Genel ,DNO,RAK GAS, ANSAN WIKFI have this week met to discuss ways to accelerate oil exploration and extraction in the country in 2014 .

Hon. Hussein Abdi Dualeh in a press briefing said, “We have had constructive talks with our partners in our here in Dubai and we expect all four international oil companies deploy boots on the ground so as to begin 2D seismic exploration campaigns in Somaliland this year.

Somaliland government has in place the necessary measures needed to ensure the success of the exploration effort and we are ready work with our partners in embarking on a major public awareness in which will shall have engagement with the community before any major operation begins.

The Government of Somaliland has plans to form a special security unit known as “Somaliland Oil Protection Unit” which will guard oil exploration installations, and protect workers in the industry and their transportation systems.

UN Security Council urged to tighten arms embargo on Somalia

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The UN Security Council’s relaxing of the international arms embargo on Somalia last year appears to have contributed to a rise in insecurity and human rights abuses that has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths each month, Amnesty International said as it called for a robust embargo to be restored.

In March 2013, the 21-year-old arms embargo on Somalia was partially lifted by the UN Security Council for one year, allowing the Somali government to import small arms and light weapons but not larger weapons and munitions. The Security Council is due to review this embargo by 6 March 2014 and the government has requested the embargo to be lifted.

“The facts speak for themselves – security for Somalia’s people remains extremely volatile, and the ongoing flow of arms into the country is fanning the flames of armed violence and grave human rights abuses against civilians,” said Michelle Kagari, Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International.

“Allowing more light arms to be sent into Somalia under the government’s current weak controls is a recipe for disaster. The Security Council must restore the full arms embargo and set up strict monitoring procedures for any exceptions in order to bolster security in the country.”

Since the UN embargo was relaxed last March, arms meant for the Somali Government have reportedly been diverted for end use by parallel armed groups who are not part of Somalia’s armed forces, including al-Shabab.

2012 and early 2013 saw a rise in Somalia’s civilian death toll. More civilian casualties were reported than in 2011, with an estimated 600 fatalities monthly at its highest. Hand grenade attacks doubled in May and June compared to the beginning of 2013, and targeted killings take place almost daily.

When Somalia’s former Deputy Prime Minister Fawsiyo Yusuf Haji Adan asked in February 2013 for the UN arms embargo to be lifted, she committed her government to putting in place “the necessary mechanisms to ensure armaments do not fall into the wrong hands”, and to strengthening the military.

However, recent media reports on a leaked UN report pointed to “systematic abuses” by government forces that resulted in mass diversion of weapons to armed groups since the UN Security Council partially lifted its embargo last year. The same reports pointed to “gaps in information” from light arms supplying states such as Djibouti, Ethiopia and Uganda, as well as the Somali authorities about the quantities and whereabouts of shipments from abroad.

Weapons diverted from the army are said to be widely available on private arms markets in Somalia and have allegedly made their way into the hands of parallel security forces, even being earmarked for an al-Shabab leader.

In early 2010 Amnesty International called for the suspension of arms transfers to the Somali government until there are adequate safeguards to prevent weapons from being used to commit war crimes and human rights abuses. The organization also called on the UN Security Council last year not to lift the arms embargo for this reason.

“The Somali government has been unable to live up to its commitments. Their security forces have not been strengthened, and reports suggest that they have actively allowed arms to fall into the hands of groups that commit atrocities,” said Michelle Kagari.

“It would be short-sighted and dangerous for the Security Council not to restore a much stronger arms embargo as a key step to ending the proliferation and abuse of arms by armed groups responsible for human rights abuses in Somalia.”

Amnesty International is calling on the Security Council to restore the full embargo and ensure stronger monitoring mechanisms are put in place. This should include stricter prior notifications by exporting states to the UN Sanctions Committee for any intended arms transfer to the government, the right of the Committee to refuse transfers should it pose a significant risk of abuse and the installation of an independent UN team to rigorously inspect stockpiles and track arms deliveries.

Background

There was a surge of attacks in the capital Mogadishu in 2013, despite it being under the nominal control of the Somali government.

Al-Shabab retains the ability to stage lethal attacks even in the most heavily guarded parts of the city. Villa Somalia, the seat of the Somali government, suffered a deadly grenade attack as recently as 21 February 2014 – in addition to four such attacks in 2013.

Lack of discipline and command control within Somalia’s armed forces and allied armed groups means that they not only fail to provide civilian protection, but are actually contributing to the overall insecurity. State security forces continue to be infiltrated by criminal, radical or insurgent elements.

World:Journalists behind bars

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Right now, Al Jazeera journalists are suffering in an Egyptian jail for doing nothing more than reporting the news. If we stand up now we can free them and show leaders around the world that we won’t tolerate turning the truth into a crime.

The four journalists face charges of “spreading false news”, a charge that could see them face seven years in prison. Already countries with reporters in jail have spoken out, but with no success and the trial is in days! A large enough public outcry could be the last lever we need to tip the balance and make the cost of holding these journalists too great for Egypt’s faltering government to bear.

Our global call will be delivered to Egyptian embassies around the world and Al Jazeera and Avaaz will help keep the plight of these brave reporters, and many like them across the region, at the top of the news.

AVAAZ.Org

Somaliland: the extreme form of FGM is back

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The ritual is supposed to keep girls “pure”. But Somaliland, independent self-proclaimed Somali region, the population begins to gently refuse the extreme form of female genital mutilation, increasingly aware of the health risks.

In this region in the extreme north-west Somalia, most women over 25 have suffered in their childhood FGM, which involves excision and infibulation: the clitoris, but the labia minora, followed by a section in the flesh of the vulva before the labia are sewn their turn.

It leaves only a small opening to allow girls to urinate and later, their rules flow.

The operation is usually carried out using a razor when the child is between five and eleven years without any anti-pain it is administered. Girls are sewn until marriage. Their vagina is then opened either during intercourse – painful for both partners – or using scissors.

“I cut girls for 15 years My grandmother and my mother had taught me to do and it was a source of income for me -., But I stopped there four years,” says Amran Mahmood, a resident of Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital, aged forty years.

“I decided to stop because of the problems,” she said. His worst memory: when a girl had started to bleed and she was powerless to stop the bleeding. It does not say what became of the child.

Practice FGM previously brought not only social prestige, but also a good salary. Make a girl takes thirty minutes, and reports between 30 and 50 dollars, a considerable sum in Somaliland.

Amran Mahmood said he performed this operation on his own daughter. But she swears that her granddaughters will not go there.

Because after attending awareness training given by the NGO Tostan, supported by the Fund of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Amran Mahmood became a fervent activist anti-infibulation.

Somaliland in general, the medical consequences of this operation – kidney infections, urinary tract, pain, bleeding, complications during childbirth – begin to discredit the practice.

This is certainly the case in Hargeisa, where adolescents are now experiencing at least over the most extreme mutilation. Their mothers, aware of the pain involved in these operations, defended the change.

“Things change. Now there are men who are willing to marry girls who have not been cut,” said Mohamed Said Mohamed, head of a suburb of Hargeisa. “I am completely against cut (girls). Our religion does not tolerate.”

– What Islamic interpretation? –

In the local primary school, the girls are sitting on one side of the class, dressed in long beige and black hijabs covered skirts. The boys are on the other side, dressed in beige trousers and white shirts.

“People are starting to see how the extreme form (mutilation) is dangerous,” says Sagal Abdulrahman, a 14 year old girl.

“The first type (mutilation) involves stitches, it is painful type because in many cases, women have trouble giving birth. And (…) when they have their rules, it is also painful, “added her friend Asma Ibrahim Jibril. “The second type is not as painful.”

“I am very happy because my parents chose the least severe form, and it suits me perfectly,” says the girl. “I will not go through painful things later.”

But for Charity Koronya, employee of UNICEF, all forms of mutilation are banned.

“In my opinion, the total abandonment is key because even though it’s a small cut, it is still a violation,” she said. Itself comes from a Kenyan tribe who practice circumcision, but she escaped it: his father used to travel, was opposed.

In Somaliland, the question of whether Islam requires FGM or not is at the heart of the debate.

“Completely stop female genital mutilation will not work in our country,” said Abu Hureyra, a religious leader. “But we are in favor of stopping the extreme form.”

“There are doctors who say that cutting is good for women’s health,” insists Mohamed Jama, an official at the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Somaliland.

“If you cut a woman kill you,” replies yet a young chef Rahman Yusuf.

Other Islamic leaders do not seem to know what to think. They say they have consulted experts of Islam in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and have received conflicting answers.

Koronya for Charity, the mere fact that the practice is now discussed in public, however, is already a huge progress.

“At first it was difficult to discuss FGM in public,” she said. “Today, religious leaders, women leaders talk about and even talk about the link between sex and mutilation.

Source: AFP