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

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

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.

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

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.

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