Minneapolis: Hundreds Protest Against ‘Mogadishu Massacre’

[NoAngst.]

By Abdirahman Aynte

Minnesota Monitor
Sunday, April 08, 2007



Minneapolis, MN (HOL)- The unusual April cold front didn’t stop hundreds of Somalis from around Minnesota on Saturday to express their anger against what they called the “Mogadishu massacre,”—a recent upheaval of violence in the troubled capital of Somalia.



The protest, on Peavey Park, attracted more than a thousand Somalis who blamed neighboring Ethiopia for killings hundreds of civilians over the last two weeks.



One of those killed was the 11-year-old niece of Salaado Osman, a Minneapolis mother of two. “What did my [niece] do to deserve this barbaric killing?” she asked. “Was she a terrorist?”



Though the violence in Somalia seems perpetual, the most recent conflict was unforeseen, according to the ICRC. Thousands of Ethiopian troops, who pushed their way into Somalia in December, have since been battling clan militia in the worst urban warfare in the city. More than 500 civilians are believed to be dead in the last two weeks, mostly from the massive shelling of Ethiopians.



The European Union, which is the chief financier of the embattled Transitional Federal Government, has announced this week that it’s investigating possible human rights and war rules violations by Ethiopians and the TFG. Should that yield traceable evidence, the EU has threatened to bring war crimes against those responsible.



For protesters, the evidence was already there, as they chanted: “No more genocide in Somalia,” and held placards that read “USA: stop the genocide.”



The U.S. was crucial to Ethiopia’s swift military success in Somalia as it supplied aerial intelligence to Ethiopian troops during the December fighting. And just today, the New York Times reported that the U.S. allowed Ethiopia to secretly buy arms from North Korea, even as the latter was under a U.S. pushed U.N. sanctions.



Protestors say the U.S. could equally become crucial in peace-building, only if it becomes an honest broker. “It’s time for the U.S. to promote peace and nation-building in Somalia,” said Ilyas Dahir, a 21-year-old college student from Rochester, whose elderly parents fled Mogadishu for the first time in 16 years. “Unfortunately, the U.S. is supporting the TFG, which is not only complicit in the Mogadishu massacre, but instigated the recent killings.”



As speakers took turns in the microphone, patriotic songs interspersed, piercing the otherwise quiet Easter weekend. Several women sang “Buraanbur,” a traditional female lyric used during special tragedies or triumphs. Being clearly in a tragic mode, one woman’s “buraanbur” was particularly emotive that dozens in the audience erupted in sobbing.



It’s the second time in three months that Somali protestors rally in the Chicago and Franklin Ave. park. The Minneapolis-based Somali Institute for Peace and Justice, which organized the protest, said they will organize similar protests until the “Ethiopian occupation ends.”



Abdirahman Aynte can be reached at Ceynte@hiiraan.com

[Cilmiile]

only hundreds. That is disappointing

[NoAngst.]

Looks the the noose is tightening on dowlad-diids!


On the freedom of the Nation: Somali Diaspora Communique

Somali Diaspora Conference Leicester, England, April 6-8
By: Shabelle news-dept.
Communiqué

Mogadishu 08, April.07 ( Sh.M.Network) We, the participants of this Conference, representing Somali Diaspora communities from different parts of the world, representatives of the United Islamic Courts, members of the Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic, hereby:

1. Reaffirm the sanctity and inviolability of the unity and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic;

2. Demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Ethiopian troops from all areas of the Somali Republic;
3. Condemn the illegal Ethiopian invasion and occupation of the sovereign state of the Somali Republic;

4. Condemn the raping, looting, torturing, renditions, indiscriminate shelling of civilian populated areas, hospitals and markets, and other atrocities the Ethiopian invaders have committed and continue to commit in their barbaric invasion and occupation of the Somali Republic;

5. Demand the establishment of a war crimes tribunal to investigate the atrocities Ethiopia has committed against the Somali people in carrying out its illegal invasion and occupation of the Somali Republic;

6. Condemn Ethiopia’s inhuman obstruction of humanitarian relief and aid to the victims of the occupation;

7. Support morally and materially the legitimate resistance of the Somali people against the Ethiopian occupiers of their country;

8. Appeal to all patriotic Somalis and other peace and justice loving peoples of the world to extend material and moral support to the Somali people in their legitimate struggle to free their country from Ethiopian occupation;

9. Deplore the indifference and silence evinced by the International Community towards the brutal Ethiopian invasion and occupation of a sovereign United Nations member state, in clear violation of the United Nations Charter and International Law;

10. Call on the peoples of the Horn of Africa to turn away from strife and conflict, and to work towards peaceful resolution of outstanding differences, and towards peaceful neighbourly coexistence and mutual respect.

11. Decry some governments’ egregious attempts to justify the Ethiopia invasion and occupation of the Somali Republic under the pretext of fighting terrorism;

12. Acknowledge the patriotic work that the Union of Islamic Courts and its affiliates had accomplished in restoring peace and tranquillity in the Southern Regions of the Somali Republic during their short tenure.

13. Underscore the illegitimacy of the Transitional Federal Government as evidenced by its subservience to Ethiopia;
14. Denounce the illegitimate dismissal of the Speaker of the Somali Transitional Parliament, Shariif Hassan Sheikh Aden, and demand his immediate reinstatement;

15. Reaffirm the need for a true and transparent Somali reconciliation lead by independent mediators and held at a neutral venue where the participants feel safe, and can express their views without fear of intimidation or retaliation;

16. Establish an adhoc committee whose main task is to form a national political organization for the liberation and restoration of the Somali state;

17. Commit ourselves to facilitating the emergence of a capable, legitimate and inclusive Somali government that adheres to the Islamic values and traditions of the Somali people.

The three above mentioned entities (representatives of Somali Diaspora communities, representatives of the Union of Islamic Courts, and members of the Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic) do solemnly agree to collaborate and work together to liberate the Somali Republic from Ethiopian occupation by any means possible.

Shabelle Media Network Somalia
E-mail us: info@shabelle.net