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Shut
down the so-called
Djibouti Peace Initiative for Somalia and put
in place a neutrally assisted, committed reconciliation
Minority
Somali Communities in Kenya press release , 2 April 2000
The
so-called Djibouti Peace Initiative for Somalia is a disguise to
perpetuate the crisis in our country. We demand to stop this
proxy-peace initiative, misguided by the UN and other outside forces.
The
Somali crisis has its roots and embodiment also in the decades of
enslavement of the Somali and non-Somali minority communities by the
larger Somali clans. For those, who may not be aware, it is the
continued enslavement and oppression of the minority communities by
the large Somali clans that also the Djibouti initiative seeks to
perpetuate. As patriotic people of the Somali territory, we cannot
allow this to happen.
We
thus wish to draw the attention of the International Community, the
United Nations and all interested parties to the important fact, that
in Somalia most people already see the Djibouti initiative as an
exercise in futility, a waste of resources and an international
travesty at best.
We
warn that this travesty will lead to further ethnocide and insecurity.
We
demand that the initiative be immediately wound up. At the same time,
the international community should immediately put in place a more
credible and workable initiative to assist Somalia in a process of the
Somali People themselves to bring peace to all people of Somalia and
the whole territory.
The
United Nations should abstain to initiate ill-designed initiatives
using proxies, which are unacceptable to lead such a process.
A
major key in solving the Somali crisis is the acknowledgement of the
rights of the minority Somali communities, the correction of centuries
of ethnocide and injustices committed against these communities by the
larger clans and a reparation accord (compensation) as a condition for
peace.
The
crux of the Somali problem is that the larger communities have not
only denied any basic rights for the Somali minority communities, but
have - since centuries and until today - enslaved thousands of people
from the Somali minorities. For the Somali problem to be solved, the
wrongs exacted on the minorities by the large communities must first
be spelt out, rectified and appropriate compensations agreed upon.
Djibouti,
as part of the Greater Somalia, is part and parcel of the Somali
problem and can not, therefore, be relied upon to solve the same.
It
can and is, indeed, aggravating the problem.
The
Djibouti Initiative is not acceptable for a number of reasons. For one,
Djibouti is seeking to use the opportunity to dominate Somalia for its
own political, social and economic gains. As part of the Greater
Somalia, the Djibouti Somalis are part of the major majority clans
that have enslaved and denied the people of all minority groups their
basic rights. There can be no doubt that Djibouti feeds and thrives on
the continued exploitation also of the minority Somali communities.
Given
the foregoing, we the minority communities of Midgan, Tumaal, Yibir,
Yahar, Muse and Dhiriyo, who are residents or refugees in Kenya,
totally reject the Djibouti Initiative and call on all progressive
forces and peace-loving Somalis, living both inside and outside our
motherland, to do likewise.
As
Somali citizens, we members of the minority communities, whether
living inside or outside Somalia, are not prepared to live under the
continued domination and oppression of the larger communities and
appeal to both the international community and to the United Nations
to understand our plight and come to our assistance.
Though
Somali citizens, but born and brought up in servitude, we were already
displaced people in our own motherland. Now, driven out and forced to
live as refugees or expatriates in different countries of the world,
the worst that can happen is for us to return to servitude and
oppression under anybody in our motherland.
In
the Somali crisis, we had to suffer worse atrocities than the people
in the Kosovo or in East Timor. These massacres in Somalia are well
documented, but yet go widely unrecognised. We seriously warn that
right now further ethnocide is in the making. We thus call on the
international community, including the UN, to give the Somali crisis
the seriousness it deserves and come up with a holistic initiative to
really assist in solving the ongoing confusion once and for all, even
if that means that certain, usually strongly involved stakeholders
from the outside have to withdraw from any Somali peace initiative,
because their motives are not honest.
We
reject the Djibouti Peace Initiative for Somalia and call on the
international community, the UN, all other parties involved, and all
people concerned or interested to seriously address the Somali crisis
and come up with a lasting solution together with all the people of
Somalia and for the people of Somalia.
Issued
at Nairobi, Kenya, this 2nd Day of April, in the year 2000
MINORITY
SOMALI COMMUNITIES IN KENYA
Hirsi Jama Jangoaaon Yasin
Spokesman for the Minority Somali Communities in Kenya
Nairobi Kenya - Tel. +254-2-796906
e-mail: sommin.wildnet@ecoterra.net
Link
: http://www.somaliawatch.org/archive/000407601.htm
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