OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 Somali Justice Advocacy Center Calls Reston law firm to withdraw the two wanton lawsuits filed against Mohamed Ali S amatar Burtinle-Online Somali Justice Advocacy Center 1050 Selby Avenue St Paul, MN 55102 Voicemail: 651-917-0383 Cell: 612-715-1221 Fax: 651-917-0379 Press Release # 489 The Somali Justice Advocacy Center asks the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability and a Reston law firm to withdraw the two wanton lawsuits filed against Mohamed Ali S amatar, a former defense minister and prime minister of Somali, and Yusuf Abdi Ali, a former colonel. November 26, 2004 St Paul, MN… on behalf of the Somali community in the United States, the office of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center received lots of phone calls from concerned members of the Somali community in the United States about the orchestrated gratuitous lawsuits filed against Mohamed Ali Samatar and Yusuf Abdi Ali both currently live in Virginia. The Center is in the process of filing a petition, and assigned prominent criminal and constitutional attorney to look into this. Mr. Omar Jamal, the Executive Director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center speaking a community meeting in New York said, “ the standard of criminal justice in our country of United States will find this witch hunt a frivolous, and those driven by clannish mindset will not succeed.†http://burtinle.com/news/november/28nov.1.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 washingtonpost.com Lawsuits Filed Against Two Somalis in N.Va. Ex-Leaders Are Accused of Human Rights Violations in Homeland in 1980s By William Branigin Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 12, 2004; Page B03 A California-based human rights group has filed lawsuits in federal court in Alexandria alleging that two Somali residents of Northern Virginia ordered torture, killings, rapes and other acts of brutality against a rival clan during the 1980s when they held positions of power in their homeland. The two lawsuits claim that Mohamed Ali Samatar, a former defense minister and prime minister of Somalia, and Yusuf Abdi Ali, a former colonel who commanded a notorious Somali army battalion, bear responsibility for human rights violations committed during the military regime of the late Somali president Mohamed Siad Barre, who was deposed in 1991. The lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on Wednesday on behalf of eight Somali plaintiffs. The lawsuits, filed by the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability and a Reston law firm, represent the latest effort by private groups to hold accountable alleged human rights violators who have found safe haven in the United States. Human rights groups say hundreds of war criminals from various countries have found refuge in the United States, living quiet lives in places such as the Washington suburbs. Although U.S. immigration law has provisions designed to keep them out and deport them if they are found, enforcement has often been lax, victims' advocates complain. Samatar, a resident of Fairfax County, came to the United States in the early 1990s after his wife was granted political asylum. Abdi Ali, known to Somalis by his nom de guerre, Tokeh ("the Crow"), received military training in the United States in 1986 and 1990 and sought refuge in Canada when the Siad Barre government collapsed. He landed in the United States after he was deported from Canada in 1992 because of his human rights record, and he eventually prevailed in a six-year legal battle with U.S. immigration. He now lives and works in Alexandria. Samatar and Abdi Ali could not be reached for comment yesterday. In an interview in Canada before being deported, Abdi Ali denied that he committed human rights abuses. In filing the lawsuits, the center hopes to build on previous successes in suing foreign human rights violators in the United States -- if not actually collecting judgments. In a case filed by the center last year, a federal judge ordered two former Salvadoran defense ministers living in Florida to pay damages to torture victims, including Juan Romagoza, who runs a clinic for the indigent in the District. Among the plaintiffs in the suit against Samatar is Bashe Abdi Yousuf, a former businessman in northwestern Somalia and an ***** clan member who now lives in Atlanta. He says he was arrested in November 1981 for participating in a group that sought to improve conditions at a hospital and was repeatedly tortured and held in solitary confinement in a small, windowless cell for more than six years. He fled Somalia after he was released from prison in 1989 and arrived in the United States in 1991. Five other plaintiffs in the suit -- four men and a woman -- are anonymous because they fear reprisals, said Sandra Coliver, executive director of the Center for Justice and Accountability. Four of the five still live in Somalia, and one is in Kuwait. They include a farmer who was arrested with his two brothers while tending the family's camels in northern Somalia in 1984, according to the complaint against Samatar. The brothers were among 45 prisoners who were summarily executed, the complaint says. The woman was allegedly tortured and raped repeatedly during more than four years of imprisonment. In addition, a former noncommissioned officer in the Somali army alleges that he survived a massacre of fellow ***** members of the military in June 1988. The other two plaintiffs against Samatar are a former college student who says he was shot and left for dead in a July 1989 mass execution at Jezira Beach south of the capital, Mogadishu, and a mechanic who says he lost four brothers in the same massacre. The lawsuit charges that Samatar, as defense minister from 1980 to 1987 and prime minister from 1987 to 1990, "exercised command and control over the Armed Forces of Somalia" and "conspired with or aided and abetted subordinates" in committing acts of torture, extrajudicial killing, rape, arbitrary detention, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The complaint against Abdi Ali was filed on behalf of two anonymous Somali farmers, also members of the ***** clan, who alleged they were tortured by soldiers under the colonel's command as well as by Abdi Ali himself. © 2004 The Washington Post Company http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43102-2004Nov11.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 Qoyska Gen. Max’ed Cali Samatar oo Taageero Doon Ku Yimid Minnesota By: Abdirahman Ceynte Minneapolis , MN – HOL. Shir kooban oo eey soo qaban qaabiyeen Somali Justice Advocacy Center iyo shaqsiyaad kale, laguna taageerayey qoyska Jen. Max’ed Cali Samatar ayaa maalintii Sabtida ee December 25-ka aheyd lagu qabtay qol yar oo ku yaalla Hoteelka Holiday Inn ee agagaarka xaafadda Somalidu ku badan tahay ee Cedar ee magaalada Minneapolis. Kulankan ayaa lagu tafatiray dacwo ka dhan ah Jen. Max’ed Cali Samatar iyo Yusuf Cabdi Cali (Tuke) oo labadooduba saraakiil sar sare ka ahaa xukuumadii Max’ed Siyad Barre. Dacwadan, oo nuxurkeedu yahay xadgudubyo ka dhan ah xuquuqda aadanaha oo eey sheeganayaan mudaciin Soomaaliyeed ayaa ka furantay gobolka Virginia oo ah halka eey labada sarkaal-ba deggan yihiin. Wada tashi dheer kadibna, waxaa la isku af-gartay in la sameeyo guddiyo isku xira taageerada Jen. Max’ed Cali Samatar, siina amba qaada. Jen.Max’ed Cali Samatar waa sarkaalkii ugu sareeyey ee Ciidankii Qalabka siday darajo wahaan. Talis ahaana, wuxuu ahaa qofka labaad ee Madaxweynaha ku xigay. Ra’iisul Wasaare iyo Madaxweyne ku xigeene wuu soo noqday. Waxaa kaloo la sheegaa inuu la taliye soke u ahaa Madaxweynaha. Dacwad Madani ah ayaa lagu soo oogay Mr. Samatar November 10, 2004. Mudacayada dacwadan oo lix qofood ah ayaa hal qof oo kaliya ka magacaaban yahay. Waana nin la yiraahdo Baashe Cabdi Yusuf oo sida dacwada ku qoran ku nool Atlanta, Goeriga oo Mareykanka ah iyo affar Somalia ku nool, halka uu mid kamid ahna dalka Kuwait ku nool yahay. Mr. Baashe ayaa sheegtay in isagoo la shaqeynaya hey’ad UFFO la yiraahdo, oo wax ka qabata horumarinta iskuullada iyo istibitaalada, la xiray, laguna tuhmay “Khiyaamo Qaranâ€. Taas oo dil xukunkeedu ahaa. Toddoba sano ayuu ku soo liqay xabsi Muqdisho u dhow, halkaasna lagu jirdili jiray, sida uu ku sheegtay. Mudaca ku nool Kuwait oo aan magiciisa dacwada ku qorneyn ayaa sheegay in isagoo arday jaamacadeed ah 1989 la qabtay, markii “ragga Isaaqa ah ee Muqdisho deggan†la hareereynayey, waa sida dacwada ku dhigane. Wuxuu sheegay in xeebtii Jaziira la geeyey isago iyo tobanaan kale, deedna iyadoo shan shan la isu tooganayo uu isagu dhaawac fudud soo gaaray, ha yeeshee uu meyd iska dhigay. Kadibna carrada lagu duugay. Halkaas oo uu iska soo faagay markii askartu baxeen, kadibna baxsaday. Yusuf Cabdi Cali (Tuke), eedeysanaha labaad, oo aad moodo inuusan taageero midda Mr. Samatar helay u dhiganta uusan helin, ayaa horey looga masaafuriyey wadanka Canada bishii October ee 1992, kadib markii eey dowladda Canada ku heshay “waxashnimo xag jirtaâ€, waa sida dacwadiisa ku qorane. 1993 ayuu Mareykan yimid, halkaas oo uu daganaansho joogto ah dalbaday, isagoo ku dhaartay inuusan wax danbi ah galin, markii uu arjiga buuxinayey. Laakiin 1994-tii ayeey Waaxda Socdaalku ku amartay inuu Mareykanka isaga huleelo, ka gadaal markii “uu is daba marsiiyey xogta arjigiisa deganaanshaha†Kadib, si iskiis ah ayuu Kenya isugu masaafuriyey. Misana 1996 ayuu soo rogaal celiyey, laakiin markan xaaskiisa oo dhalasho Mareykan ah heysata ayuu ku soo biiray. Laakiin Waaxda Socdaalkuna 1998 ayeey ku soo rogaal celiyeen oo xireen, iyagoo ku eedeeyey inuu “is daba marsiiyey arjigiisii 1993-daâ€. Hase yeeshee, qaalli ayaa markii danbe xukmiyey in arjigii Tuke ee 1993 uusan aheyn “mid hadda jiraâ€, isla markaana uu Tuke ka tanaasulay arjigaas. Sidaas ayuuna Tuke tan iyo waagaas isagoo xor ah ku joogaa Virginia. Maxaa Mareykan Keenay Dacwad Soomaaliyeed? Khabiir ku takhasusay sharciyada oo aan ka wareystay sida Dacwad Madani ah qof Mareykan jooga loogu soo oogi karo, isagoo lagu heysto danbiyo uu meel kale ku galay ayaa ii sheegay in hadii dowladda Mareykanku saxiixdo heshiis caalami ah, sida midkii Geneva oo kale, Aqalka Odayaasha iyo Madaxweynuhuna ansixiyaan, uu sharcigaas iyo ciqaabihiisaba ka dhaqan galayo cariga Mareykanka. Isagoo kamid noqonaya “Law of the Land†ama qaanuunka dalka. Deedna cidii danbiyadaas xitaa wadan kale ku soo gashay lagu soo oogi karo. Afhayeenkii qoyska Mr. Samatar, Dr. Cali Axmed Nur oo ka soo socdaalay dalka Canada, eeyna la socdeen Zahra iyo Yusuf oo kamid ah caruurta Mr. Samatar ayaa hadalladiisii waxaa kamid ahaa : “ Walaalayaal: Sida aad la socotaan bishii November 11, 2004 ayaa waxaa dacwad madani ah lagu soo oogey mudane Maxamed Cali Samatar, dacwadaas oo aan ahayn mid xaq ah, oo raadkeedu yahay caddaalad darro ee ah mid looga dan leeyahay in odayga Maxamed Cali Samatar ah sumcaddiisa iyo karaamadiisa lagu dilo, loogana xayuubsado hanti wax alla iyo wixii gacantiisa ku jirta. Walaalayaal: Anaga ma idin lihin dembiile daafaca, mana idin lihin maamulkii dalka ka jirey iyo kuwii sannadihii ka dambeeyeyba wax ay dembi oo galeen ma jirto. Hase yeeshee ma qabno in ay tahay xaq in mas'uuliyiintii dalka Soomaaliyeed maamuleysey oday Samatar oo keliya laga soocdo, loona muujiyo dembiilaha keliya ee geystey dhammaan tacadigii dhammaan ka dhacay dalka Soomaaliya.†Wuxuu kaloo Dr. Cali sheegay in ololahan eey ka sii wadi doonaan gobollo kale, sida Ohio, Seattle, California iyo xitaa London, U.K. Wanla-Weyn Necbi? Mid kamid ah dadkii halkaas isna hadallada taageerada ah ka soo jeediyey, Dr. Hussien ayaa tibaaxay inuu aad uga xumaaday falka loo geeystey Max’ed Cali Samatar. Wuxuuna raacsiiyey in dacwaddani eey “Qabyaalad†salka ku heyso, isla markaana “eey Wanla-weyn necbi tahayâ€. Oday Soomaaliyeed ayaa isna ku daray in dhacdadan eey tahay “heyb raadsiâ€, isla markaana eey sii ballaaraneyso hadii aan wax laga qaban. Laakiin Afhayeenka reer Max’ed Cali Samatar, Dr. Cali ayaa diiday in eey jiraan beel ama beelo Soomaaliyeed oo isku wada raacsan dacwadda Mr. Samtar, mar uu ka jawaabayey su’aal aheyd “ ma jiraan gobollo ama beelo habeysan oo abbaaraya Max’ed Cali Samatar?†Zahra Max’d Cali Samatar ayaa iyana si qiiro leh u muujisay sida eey ugu faraxsan tahay “taageerada loo muujiyey†aabaheed. Waxeeyna sheegtay ineey iyadoo hurdaba ladi la’a eey la soo xiriirtay Cumar Jamal, Madaxa Somali Justice Advocacy Center oo ah xarun aalaaba u doodda xuquuqda Somalida ee Mareykanka, gaar ahaan Minnesota. Kadibna uu Cumar Jamal walwalkeedii in badan ka yareeyey. Dhismo Guddiyo. Gunaanadkii kulanka ayaa dhidibada loo aasay saddex guddi oo kala ah: Guddiga hagista, guddiga dhaqaale uruurinta iyo guddiga warbaahinta. Guddiga hagista oo qeybta libaax ka qaadan doona isku xirka taageerada Max’ed Cali Samatar ayaa waxaa lagu daray qaar kamid ah odayaasha Magaalada iyo Cumar Jamal. Halka guddiga dhaqaale uruurinta eey kamid tahay Faadumo Hiirad oo aheyd wariye qaran iyo dhowr qofood oo kale. Xarunta dacwadan gacanta ku heysa Center for Justice & Accountability ayaa caan ku ah daba gal eey ku sameeyso saraakiisha reer Latin America ee geystay danbiyada Xuquuqda Aadanaha ka dhanka ah. Barta eey xaruntu ku leedahay Internet-ka ayaad ku arkeysaa tiro fara badan oo saraakiil Latin America u dhashay oo Mareykanka laga masaafuriyey. Kiiska Max’ed Cali Samatar & Yusuf Tuke-na meesha ugu hooseysa ayuu ku qoran yahay. Taleefonadii aan u diray iyo fariimihii aan u dhaafay toona iguma soo celin xaruntu wali, lagana yaabee ineey salka ku heyso xilliga fasaxyada ee lagu jiro Mareykanka. Ma ahan markii ugu horreeysay oo saraakiil ka tirsan dowladii Siyad Barre lala beegsado dacwooyin noocan oo kale ah. Bishii July 15-keedii ee sanadkan 2004 ayeey Wasaaradda Ammaanka Qaranka Mareykank, gaar ahaan Waaxda Socdaalku masaafurisay Qaalli Soomaaliyeed oo la yiraahdo Cabdi Cali Nur Max’ed oo loo yaqaanno “Qaalli Nuurâ€. Isagoo lagu soo oogay inuu amar ku bixiyey in la xasuuqo dad rayid ah, qabiilkooda iyo fikirdooda dartiis, meel u dhow magaalada Hargeysa ee Somalia. Sidee loo arkaa dhacdooyinkan? Fikrado kale duwan oo iska soo horjeeda baa jira. Qaar baa u arka in dacwooyinkani eey u xuubsiibteen nidaam qabyaaladeed. Isla markaasna uu hurin karo colaadda dhex taalla beelaha Soomaalida, gaar ahaan Puntland iyo Somaliland. Halka qaar kalena u arkaan ineey tahay caddaaladii oo caga yeelatay. Waxeeyna ku doodayaan in nidaamkii Siyad Barre uu si ula kac ah u sifeeyey beelo kamid ah Somalida, isla markaana eey haboon tahay in saraakiisha ka jooga nidaamkii Siyad Barre la dabo galo, meel walba oo eey joogaan, gaar ahaan wadamada Galbeedka ee u dhaga nugul xadgudubyada xuquuqda aadanaha. Sheegid waxaa mudan in is qabqabsiyada ka dhax aloosma Soomaalidu eey badanaaba midabyo kale yeeshaan durbadiiba, gaar ahaan kan qabyaaladda. C/raman Ceynte E-mail: ceynte@hiiraan.com Hiiraan Online Minneapolis , MN Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xargaga Posted October 20, 2005 waa runtaa alol!! i was there when a fundraising drive for A.samatar was held somewhere in the US. omar jamal was active and showed lots of concern, i thought he was genuine and i donated. i dont know how to state it because i was shocked to find his name in the news as an advocate for the so which hunt he was advocating aginst. real hypocrate and tribalist i presume. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- Somali-American community leaders have called for a boycott of "Black Hawk Down," charging the film depicts their African homeland's people as savages and could create a backlash against refugees who fled to the United States. "Black Hawk Down" has just gone into wide release in the United States this weekend, after months of advance publicity and advertising. Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, said about a dozen people from the center saw a preview of the movie this week and were shocked. Minnesota is home to at least 25,000 Somalis, believed to be the biggest concentration in the nation. "We don't know what Americans will think of us Somalis after they watch this movie," Jamal said. "The Somali people are depicted as very savage beasts without any human element," he said. "It's just people shooting each other." The film, which opened Friday, is based on a 1993 firefight that left 18 American soldiers dead. They were on a raid that part of a mission aimed at restoring peace and averting famine in the country after the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Jamal said the movie left out that thousands of Somalis were killed in the conflict. In captions at the end of "Black Hawk Down," the filmmakers inform the audience that 18 Americans died while there were estimated to have been more than 1,000 Somali casualties. The Philadelphia Inquirer philly.com site -- for which Mark Bowden wrote the original series of articles on which his book and the film are based -- says "reliable witnesses in the U.S. military and in Mogadishu now place the count (of Somalis) at nearly 500 dead ... among more than a thousand casualties." The Advocacy Center plans to distribute fliers at theaters explaining the history of the conflict. With the focus back on Somalia as a possible hideout for al Qaeda members, the film compounds possible repercussions for local Somalis, who have worked since September 11 to show their support in the war against terrorism, Jamal said. He cited the death of a Somali man punched at a Minneapolis bus stop in October, which triggered accusations in the Somali and Muslim communities of a hate crime. No one has been charged. "The community is shocked and really afraid of the consequences of this movie," Jamal said. "It's a big psychological setback of our efforts." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 omali 'Black Hawk Down' suspect arrested Suspect arrested on war crimes charges while in Sweden STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- A Somali suspected of being a militia leader during the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" battle that left 18 Americans dead was arrested Monday on suspicion of war crimes while attending a conference in Sweden, police and organizers said. A man identified as Abdi Hassan Awale, who once served as Somalia's interior minister, was taken into custody after Somalis living in Sweden recognized him and reported him to police, said Gillian Nilsson, an organizer of the conference on development in the Horn of Africa. Awale, also known as Abdi Qeybdiid, was a commander in warlord Farah Aidid's militia when it fought a 19-hour battle against American troops in Mogadishu on October 3, 1993. Two U.S. helicopters were shot down and hundreds of Somalis died, in addition to the American soldiers. The story was featured in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down." Police spokesman Karl Sandberg would not confirm the suspect's identity, but said the 57-year-old Somali man was arrested on suspicion of war crimes early Monday at a hotel in Lund and taken to Goteborg for questioning. The suspect's lawyer, Pieter Kjessler, told Swedish public radio that he denied the allegations against him during questioning on Monday. Somalia was thrown into civil war and anarchy after clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. More than 500,000 people have been killed and some 3.5 million have been driven from their homes, 1.5 million of whom have taken refuge in neighboring countries. Awale, who was a colonel in Somalia's former army, was named interior minister in the internationally unrecognized government that was declared in the capital after Barre's ouster. News of Awale's capture was welcomed by Somalis living in the United States. "We were joyous to hear this," said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy center in St. Paul, Minnesota. "It sends a loud and clear message to all the other Somali war criminals." Jamal said Awale was involved in the 1993 militia fighting with American troops. Nilsson said Awale was part of a six-member Somali delegation headed by Parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden that attended the development conference in Sweden. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/10/17/black.hawk.ap/index.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 http://www.burtinle.com/Maqal/jamal.ram Xagey ku dambeysay dacwadii lagu soo oogay Gen.Maxamed Cali Samatar? Gudoomiyaha Somali Justice & Advocacy Center Jamaal Cumar oo aan arinkaa ka wareysanay Burtinle-Online Khamiis, December 02 2004 Halkan ka dhageyso wareysiga aan la yeelanay Gudoomiyaha Somali Justice & Advocacy Center Jamaal Cumar oo dhameystiran Waxaa dhowaanahan soo baxayey warar sheegayey in dacwad lagu soo oogay Ra'iisul Wasaarihii hore ee Soomaaliya General Maxamed Cali Samatar iyo muwaadin kale oo Soomaali ah oo lagu magacaabo Yusuf Cabdi Cali. Hadaba si aan arinkaa wax uga ogaano ayaan la xiriirnay Gudoomiyaha Somali Justice & Advocacy Center Jamaal Cumar oo ku sugan magaalada Minneapolis ee dalka Mareykanka. Jamaal oo aan wax ka weydiinay faahfaahin ku saabsan dacwadan la sheegay in lagu soo oogay saraakiisha Soomaalida ayaa noo sheegay in dacwada lagu soo oogay Saraakiishan ay tahay mid Civil (Madani) ah ee aaney aheyn mid Criminal (dembi) ah, sidaa daraadeedna aaney marnaba suurtagal aheyn in xabsi lagu xukumo saraakiisha Soomaalida. Gudoomiyaha Somali Justice & Advocacy Center ayaa dhanka kale sheegay in dad Soomaali ah oo doonaya magdhaw ay dacwadan kusoo oogeen Maxamed Cali Samatar iyo Yuusuf Cabdi Cali, iyagoo ku andacoonaya in ay dhibaatooyin kala kulmeen xukuumadii Soomaaliya, waqti ay saraakiishan dalka Soomaaliya ka hayeen jagooyin. Jamaal ayaa sheegay in ay xiriir la sameeyeen qareenada metalaya Soomaalida dacwada soo oogay isla markaana ay ka war heleen in khalad laga dhaadhiciyay qareenadan, lagana yaabo inay dacwada faraha kala baxaan. Gudoomiyaha Somali Justice & Advocacy Center ayaa ayaan daro ku tilmaamay in rag doonaya waxoogaa lacag ah ama magdhaw ay dacwad la beegsadaan goonina ula baxaan qaar ka tirsan mas'uuliyiintii hore ee Soomaaliya. Jamaal ayaa noo sheegay in ay wadi doonaan dadaalkooda ku aadan sidii ay u joojin lahaayeen dacwadan madaniga ah ee lagu soo oogay Maxamed Cali Samatar iyo Yuusuf Cabdi Cali. Jamaal oo aan wax ka weydiinay howlaha ay qabato hay'adooda ayaa tilmaamay in ay u taagan yihiin difaaca xuquuqda iyo danaha mujtamaca Soomaaliyeed ee ku dhaqan dalka Mareykanka, xarumana ay ku leeyihiin magaalooyinka mataanaha ah ee Minneapolis iyo St.Paul ee gobolka Minnesota, Mareykanka. Halkan ka dhageyso wareysiga aan la yeelanay Gudoomiyaha Somali Justice & Advocacy Center Jamaal Cumar oo dhameystiran http://www.burtinle.com/Maqal/jamal.ram Burtinle-Online editor@burtinle.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 Qoyska Gen. Maxamed Cali Samatar oo ka helay taageero jaaliyada Soomaalida ee gobolka Minnesota jaaliyada oo aanan rabin iney bilowdaan dacwooyinkan oo kale sharafna ulahayn ummada soomaaliyeed. Ma xaq baa in mas'uuliyiintii dalka Soomaaliyeed maamuleysey oday Samatar oo keliya laga soocdo? Home Minnesota Allsomali News - Axad, 01.02.2005 Waxaa shir Jaraaid ku qabtay Qoyska Gen. Maxamed Cali Samatar Holiday Hotel eeku yaal gobolka Minnesota ee dalka Mareeykanka. Waxaa soo qaban qaabiyey Shir jaraa'id kaan Qoyska Generaalka iyo Somali Justice Advocacy Center iyo masuuliyiinta kale. Waxaa Shir ka ka soo qayb galey odayaasha, waxgaradka, aqoonyahay iyo shacab ku dhaqan magaalada Minneapolis oo rag iyo dumarba leh ayaa isugu yimi Hoteelka Holiday In ee xaafada Cedar ee magaalada Minneapolis. Shirkaas oo lagu soo dhoweeyey Qoyska reer Maxamed Cali Samatar oo booqasho Daruufeed darteed ku yimid magaalada Minneapolis si ay reer Minnesota uguga xog waramaan Dacwad madani ah oo ka socota gobolka Virginia, lagu soo rogay aabahood Gen. Max’ed Cali Samatar. Qoyska Gen. Max’ed Cali Samatar oo uu hoggaaminayey Dr. Cali Nuur Axmed waxa kale oo la socdey wiil iyo gabar uu dhalay Maxamed Cali Samatar Sahra Maxamed Cali Samatar & Yusuf Max'ed Cali Samatar/ Maxamed Cali Samatar oo lagu soo oogay dacwad madani ah waxaana ku soo oogay ninkan layiraahdo Bashe Abdi Yousuf, oo hadda ku nool Atlanta, Georgia ninkan oo ah dambiile kale oo dadku ay leeyihiin asagaaba ay jiraan dad wax ka sheeganaya oo uu dulmiyey waa sida ay leeyihiin dadweynaha badankiisee. Waxaa Qoyska uhadlay Dr. Cali Nuur oo umahad celiyey Cumar Jamal oo ka socda (Somali Justice Advocacy Center) wuxuu Dr. Cali baa yiri sidatan Mudace Baashi Cali ayaa Dacwad ku soo oogay, asagoo damacsan inuu ku cayaaro Gen. Maxamed Cali Samatar magaciisa, sharaftiisa, taas oo ah gardaro aan geed loogu soo gaban. Wuxuu sii raaciyey Dr. Cali Nuur ninka mudacaha ah waa Baashi Cali waxaa ku mudacayaa ineey Ciidamada qaranka soomaaliyeed oo iqabtay ayaa iigeeystay dhibaatooyin Maaha markii ugu horeeysay in lagu soo oogo gobolka Virginia ee cariga mareeykanka dacwad lagu madani ah oo lagu soo rogo qof ushaqeeyn jiray Dowladii dhacday ee uu utalinayey Mudane alaha unaxariistee Maxamed Siyaad Bare. G/sare Tuke ayaa horey ujiray deganaana gobolka Virginia asagoo lagu haysto falgalo. Dacwadan Maxamed Cali Samatar waa Dacwad lagu doonayo lacag lacagtaana waxa ay noqoneeysaa mid markii laga iitaal roonaado ay qeybsan doonaan looyarka & mudacaha uu qeyb qaadan doono looyarka qeybta kalena lasiin doono magdhow ahaan mudacaha marka ma laga yabaa inuu guuleysto? Waxaa ka hadlay goobtaa gabar Soomaaliyeed tirina waa arin utaal Soomaali oo noqon doonta Silsilad shubmeysa oo bilaabaneysana, waa in laga hortagaa Soomaali ay hor istaagtaa Gen. Maxamed Cali Samatar waa oday Qarameed oo qabiil laguma sheegin. Gabadhaa oo sii wadata ayaa waxay tiri Qabiilba Qabiil waxay noqon inuu dacweeyo, mida kale anagoo magaceynu xumaa ayaa baritana ay sii dilmeysaa sharafteena oo aanu isku qab qabsan doonaa darfaha aduunka oo idil. ( very prophetic indeed ) Maxaa laga rabaa Maxamed Cali Samatar waxaa jooga dalkii dadkii laayey malaayuun hadana ah madax sar sare maahan mid qaranimo ay kaga difaacayeey Cadow soo weeraray waa mid ay ku geeysteen xasuuqoodii foosha xumaa mid ula kac ah hadana ay buuxaan dalkii hooyo aawaye kuwaas maala keeno maxkamada Heeg? Arintaan baa ah arin aad iyo aad mid ufool xun ah maxaa yeelay maxaa maanta nakeenay dhul shisheeye waa dhib aanu isku geeysaney oo maanta maaha maalin aanu faraha isku fiiqno ee waa maalin aynu gacmaha is qabsanaa, oo ale barinaa anagoo isku duuban oo utoobad keeneyno rabigii ina abuurtay waa arin laga gil gisho iney maanta ay bilaabayaan dad qaarkii ama ku fakarayaan iney dib ugalaan dambigii ay ka galeen rabi oo ah dulmi iwm. Soomaaliya waxaa baa ba'shay waa dulmi midka ugu weyn waxaana hada sii ciribtiri doona soomaali hadeysan ka waan toobin dulmiga iyo inta xun waxaa ay salkeeda loogaga baqaa inta xun iyo magac ba'ay. By: Abdikarim Isse (Qaxiye) abdikarim@journalist.com allsomali@yahoo.com Minnesota. Allsomali News Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 Somali 'Black Hawk Down' suspect arrested Suspect arrested on war crimes charges while in Sweden STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- A Somali suspected of being a militia leader during the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" battle that left 18 Americans dead was arrested Monday on suspicion of war crimes while attending a conference in Sweden, police and organizers said. A man identified as Abdi Hassan Awale, who once served as Somalia's interior minister, was taken into custody after Somalis living in Sweden recognized him and reported him to police, said Gillian Nilsson, an organizer of the conference on development in the Horn of Africa. Awale, also known as Abdi Qeybdiid, was a commander in warlord Farah Aidid's militia when it fought a 19-hour battle against American troops in Mogadishu on October 3, 1993. Two U.S. helicopters were shot down and hundreds of Somalis died, in addition to the American soldiers. The story was featured in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down." Police spokesman Karl Sandberg would not confirm the suspect's identity, but said the 57-year-old Somali man was arrested on suspicion of war crimes early Monday at a hotel in Lund and taken to Goteborg for questioning. The suspect's lawyer, Pieter Kjessler, told Swedish public radio that he denied the allegations against him during questioning on Monday. Somalia was thrown into civil war and anarchy after clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. More than 500,000 people have been killed and some 3.5 million have been driven from their homes, 1.5 million of whom have taken refuge in neighboring countries. Awale, who was a colonel in Somalia's former army, was named interior minister in the internationally unrecognized government that was declared in the capital after Barre's ouster. News of Awale's capture was welcomed by Somalis living in the United States. "We were joyous to hear this," said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy center in St. Paul, Minnesota. "It sends a loud and clear message to all the other Somali war criminals." Jamal said Awale was involved in the 1993 militia fighting with American troops. Nilsson said Awale was part of a six-member Somali delegation headed by Parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden that attended the development conference in Sweden. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 Somali Warlord Heads to Seattle Fundraiser with Slade Gorton Angers Refugees BY SANDEEP KAUSHIK Every day Miriam Ali Ahmed cries in her small, darkened Tukwila apartment. A refugee for the last five years, she has much to mourn; all three sons and four of her nephews have been murdered during Somalia's decade-long civil war, the most recent shot point-blank in the head less than one month ago. All seven were killed, she says, on the orders of Somali warlord Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the self-styled president of Puntland, a breakaway region of the war-torn country. "He's killed all my children, and his are living in luxury," she exclaims in her native Somali. Col. Yusuf will visit Seattle later this month, where he is to be feted before 500 attendees at the Sea-Tac Double Tree Hotel as the co-guest of honor, along with former Washington Senator Slade Gorton, at the "2002 Somalia Celebration," a $75-a-plate fundraiser for Yusuf, who talks of ruling over the rest of Somalia. Miriam Ahmed is not alone in thinking a warlord like Yusuf ought to be arrested rather than honored. The upcoming event has angered many local Somalis. Indeed, another man whose brother was murdered by Yusuf's forces declined an interview with The Stranger, expressing fear of retaliation against still-living relatives. "Yusuf's record speaks for itself," says Awale Farah, an electrical engineer who is leading the local effort to expose Yusuf's violent history. Somalis such as Farah see Yusuf as an exemplar of all that has gone wrong with Somalia since its decline, into the anarchy and civil war in the 1990s. Since the collapse of a flawed U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mogadishu, the capital, in 1993, in which 18 American soldiers died--enshrined in Black Hawk Down--Somalia was divided among about a dozen warlords. "We need to bring a spotlight on [Yusuf], and not only him, but on all the warlords," explains Farah. Seattle is home to an estimated 20,000 Somalis, third most in the U.S. behind Minneapolis (50,000) and Columbus, Ohio (30,000). A July 17 press release by Puntland's government stated Yusuf intends to use his U.S. visit "to strengthen diplomatic ties between Puntland and the U.S." and to explain to American officials his "plan to unify Somalia under a democratic regime." Yusuf had been waiting for weeks in Ethiopia for a visa to visit the U.S. But on Monday, September 16, Koshin Mohammed, a local Somali and Yusuf's designated "U.S. Representative of Puntland," revealed that Yusuf's visa had finally been approved. According to Mohammed, he was scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C., on the 17th to meet with CIA and State Department officials, and would appear with Gorton on Sunday, September 22. Busy preparing for Yusuf's arrival, he declined further comment. Gorton defends his decision to appear with Yusuf. "The question is, is he a good warlord or a bad warlord?" Gorton asks. Though he is "in no position to provide any warranty" of the Somali's good intentions, Gorton says Yusuf's "part of the country seems more peaceful and secure than the part in Black Hawk Down." Therefore, he will "attend, meet Mr. Yusuf, and see where we go from there." Other politicians are less sanguine. Jane Sanders, head of U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott's Seattle district office, says the congressman originally agreed to meet Yusuf but changed his mind after learning more about him during a meeting with the anti-Yusuf group. Human-rights reports and other documents paint an ugly portrait of the warlord. Somaliawatch.com says he was "responsible for the killing of hundreds of his own clansmen" in 1992--when most of Miriam Ahmed's relatives were killed--and condemns his "penchant for assassinations." Though elected president of Puntland in 1998, Yusuf refused to step down at the end of his term in 2001, and his successful effort to topple his elected successor killed dozens, BBC stories and U.N. sources reveal. The State Department's human-rights report acknowledges "the use of torture" by Yusuf's administration, and this year he evicted two BBC reporters and shut down independent radio and television stations in his domain. Moreover, on August 17, Sultan Hurreh, Miriam Ahmed's nephew and an outspoken traditional clan leader, was gunned down by Yusuf's personal bodyguards in front of journalists, a killing Yusuf's government has labeled as "accidental." In short, Yusuf is "a classic Somali warlord," argues Omar Jamal, head of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in Minneapolis. Expatriate Somalis have been unsuccessful in pushing the U.N. to create an international criminal court for Somalia, but at least one preliminary effort to form such a tribunal has included Yusuf's name on a list of potential war criminals. Part of Yusuf's intention in visiting the U.S. is to build an image as an ally of the post-9/11 war on terrorism, his opponents say. Given Somalia's fractured politics--similar to Afghanistan--even the hint of American support will cow other warlords into recognizing his supremacy. Sources report that American officials, including FBI agents, have been spotted in Puntland recently, and they say Yusuf has turned over two men, a Syrian and Palestinian, to the U.S. Yusuf's opponents contend, however, that neither man was actually a member of al Qaeda, and Yusuf is manipulating American officials' ignorance for political gain. "All of these warlords are pointing fingers at one another," Jamal explains. "They all claim to be fighting for democracy, and against al Qaeda. It's just a way of getting the Bush administration's support." http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=11947 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 Friday, September 16, 2005 From New York to Minnesota, Somali leaders rally support WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Somalia's new president mingled with U.N. figures in New York on Wednesday, while his country's new parliament speaker huddled with State Department officials in Washington. But President Abdullahi Yusuf and Speaker Sharif Hassan didn't talk with each other, and haven't for weeks. They head groups locked in a power struggle that Somali experts fear will derail the strife-torn, East African nation's most auspicious attempt at forming a government in the past 14 years and possibly set off a new civil war. "Another outbreak of violence would be disastrous," said Ali Galaydh, a University of Minnesota public policy professor who was picked to be prime minister in an earlier, failed attempt to create a Somali government. "I think it's fair to say the situation is delicate," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who joined Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., in meeting late Tuesday with Hassan and several other parliament members. Hoping to return The outcome carries high stakes for thousands of Somalis in the Twin Cities, home to the nation's largest population of refugees from the African nation. Many of them are hoping that their country will at last be stabilized so they can return home. Omar Jamal, director of the Minneapolis-based Somali Justice Advocacy Center, said he traveled to New York along with about 400 Twin Cities Somalis to seek Yusuf's support Wednesday. Jamal said Yusuf met briefly with the Minnesota Somalis and plans a more extensive meeting with them tonight in New York. Meantime, five parliament members siding with Hassan plan to fly to Minnesota today to seek support from the Somali community, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and state legislative leaders. A deputy prime minister, Mohamud Jama, plans to join them Friday. The potentially incendiary impasse developed when it came time to set into motion the transitional government created during two years of exhaustive talks in Kenya -- negotiations that involved everyone from statesmen to warlords. After hundreds of officials were elected and appointed, Hassan and the 275 members of parliament traveled to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, and began setting up offices. But Yusuf, a former military commander who led a failed coup attempt in 1978 against then-Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre, felt that Mogadishu wasn't yet safe enough to be the seat of government. The city for years has been a haven for armed militias and, in recent months, the scene of bombings and the murder of a peace activist. Tensions rose several months ago when Yusuf instead set up operations in the outlying city of Jowhar. The situation turned volatile when reports circulated that he had accepted military assistance from neighboring Ethiopia, which has fought a series of border wars with Somalia. Use of Ethiopian troops in an attempt to control Mogadishu "would inflame the situation, not only in Somalia, but also would have regional implications," said Galaydh, a Hassan backer. "Mogadishu is a city of about 1.5 million to 2 million people. Everybody is armed. This is going to be house-to-house fighting ... really bloody." Watching closely The Bush administration weighed in this summer, urging Somalia's neighbors to stay out of any conflict. And the U.N. Security Council issued a statement in July warning that any party persisting "on the path of confrontation and conflict, including military action, would be held accountable." U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has assigned a special representative to try to mediate the dispute. Jamal said Yusuf met Wednesday evening with new U.N. General Assembly President Jan Eliasson of Sweden. Jama, the deputy prime minister and a former University of Wisconsin student, said Hassan's group has spent months improving the climate in Mogadishu by persuading about 2,500 young men from rival militias to move into camps miles from the city, where they are being trained by police officers. He blamed the distrust between Yusuf and parliament figures partly on the "series of competitions" in deciding on a government, each of which "left a legacy of conflict." Coleman said he is urging the State Department to do what it can to keep both sides talking. If Somalia can't be stabilized, he said, "then you run the risk of it being a haven for terrorism. That's the real concern." Greg Gordon is at ggordon@startribune.com. Somalia: A recent history review Somalia gained independence from Britain in 1960, and Mohamed Siad Barre became president in 1969. Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991, sending the country into 14 years of civil strife. Many attempts were made during those years to form a national government, but all failed because of clan warfare. Various regions are dominated by warlords and militias. In June 2003, the Somali National Reconciliation Conference started meeting in Kenya. In 2004, an agreement was reached by warlords and politicians to create a transitional parliament. Abdullahi Yusuf was elected president. This was seen as the best chance for the formation of a lasting centralized government, but it is now in danger of falling apart. The parliament is based in the capital of Mogadishu, but the president has set up in the small city of Jowhar and says he does not feel safe going to Mogadishu. The United Nations is working with various factions trying to save the government. http://action.web.ca/home/somalicanadians/news.shtml?x=81619 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 http://www.startribune.com/dynamic/story.php?template=print_a&story=5644855 startribune.com Close window Last update: September 30, 2005 at 7:08 PM Omar Jamal: This Somali government mustn't fail Omar Jamal Published October 1, 2005 The Sept. 25 Associated Press article "Far from home, Somalis press U.S. to aid emerging government" created concern among the Somali community in this state. Somalis in Minnesota are not divided, and therefore support the reinstitution of the Somali government after 15 years of brutal civil war. The collapse of the Somali government in 1991 was followed by vicious civil war that led to the complete dissolution of the state and the institutions. During the 15 years without a functioning government, there were many peace conferences, all of which not only failed but also dragged an already impoverished Somali people into more misery and suffering. Any leader would be wise to consider why the preceding peace conferences in Somalia were unsuccessful. The last failed attempt was held in the small town of Arte 30 kilometers south of Djibouti capital in 2000. On Aug. 26, 2000, 245 Transitional National Assembly elected Abdiqasim Salad Hasan as president, and in October 2000, President Hasan appointed Ali Khalif Galaydh as prime minister. This government, better known among the Somalis as the Arte government, simply evaporated after a short time without returning any stability to the country, creating more political obscurity than before. The daily business of the Arte government become a policy of diversion: shifting the political ailments of the country to neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and occupying itself with corruption and embezzlement. Besides the incompetence and lack of practical vision from the Arte group, Somalia is still awash with weapons and has become a breeding ground for terrorism. After this miserable failure of the Arte group, the IGAD countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Eritrea, Djibouti and Sudan) initiated another peace conference on October 2002 in Kenya that lasted for almost two years. This conference brought about the current federal government, led by President Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf. The Somali people everywhere will not let this chance slip away and therefore once again get caught in the web of hopelessness and misery. It was the outcry from Somali women and children to which lawmakers such as Sen. Norm Coleman responded. The community is divided over two issues, according to the AP article: • Military support from neighboring nations to bring the rule of law back to Somalia. • Whether the United Nations should lift the arms embargo on Somalia. Recent history shows that Somalia failed to disarm itself without support from outside. Actually the international community, led by the United States, disappointingly failed to undertake that task under the operation of restore hope to Somalia. The United Nations ought to respect the integrity and sovereignty of the recent Somali government by exempting it from the arms embargo so that it can rebuild the national army to ensure good governance and the safety of its citizens. Ali Khalif Galaydh apparently has not given up his ill-considered policy toward Somalis, and I wonder what he would suggest to remedy the political crisis in a country as fragmented as Somalia. The practice of democracy is a fairy tale without the rule of law. I do not see how anyone can pull the Somali country back together democratically within our lifetimes without some use of force. The Somali people are not divided about having a government back in Somalia whatever the cost it might be. The concern expressed by the Prof. Galaydh that military support from a country like Ethiopia to disarm the militias would reignite civil war is politically impetuous. It is time that Galaydh stop trying to evade the real issue, and accept the need to bury enmity against neighboring counties and start a new page of collaboration and peaceful coexistence. Omar Jamal is executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 I remember Jamal was an avid supporter of Galaydh back then. I will find out the article where he is defending Professor Ali Khaliif.. But for now check, how the guy who runs Brain Coyle Saeed Fahia is defending him. Saeed and Jamal are both Yeey cheerleaders now. ------------ Ali Galaydh, The Newest Professor At University Of Minnesota, After Reportedly Stealing $ 1 Million From Qasim Salad. Eric Black and Lourdes Medrano Leslie Star Tribune Published Aug 3, 2002 SOMA03 The newest professor at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute will have to juggle teaching responsibilities, his role as a liaison between the institute and the Somalis of Minnesota, and the joy of rejoining his wife and kids, from whom he was separated for years while they were in Owatonna and he was in Mogadishu. But that juggling act will be nothing compared with the double bind he confronted in the aftermath of Sept. 11. Or maybe it was a triple or quadruple bind. You do the math. Ali Khalif Galaydh was prime minister of Somalia at the time, except that the government he led controlled hardly any of the country. He was feuding with his boss, the president. Then, after Sept. 11, he was trying to keep the United States from bombing his homeland. While he was in Washington arguing that Somalia wasn't a hotbed of terrorism, his boss was in Mogadishu spreading rumors. The president was saying that Galaydh had stolen $1 million, and engineering a vote to oust Galaydh. (This is according to Galaydh, who says he did not steal the money. At least one prominent Minnesota Somali believes the rumors, and many more have heard them.) So what does an ex-prime minister do in a case like that? Why, he lands a teaching job in Minnesota. Galaydh, 60, is joining the Humphrey Institute as a visiting professor where, for three years at $90,000 a year, he will teach on the politics of public affairs, economic development and non-governmental organizations. "I'm eager to return to teaching and am excited about the opportunity to forge ties between the university and the local Somali community," he said. Left country suddenly Although the numbers are notoriously unknowable, between 10,000 and 30,000 Somalis now live in Minnesota, and the Twin Cities is probably the Somali capital of the United States. Galaydh's wife, Mariam Mohamed, and their three children, ages 13, 11 and 10, have lived in Owatonna for three years. They will move to the Twin Cities. Galaydh holds master's and doctoral degrees from Syracuse University. He was an Interior Ministry official under the last democratic government of Somalia, headed two sugar corporations and became minister of industry in 1980 under the dictator Muhammad Siad Barre. Galaydh left the country suddenly in 1982, believing he was about to be arrested. Other pro-Western colleagues of his were imprisoned the following month. "Siad Barre thought we were hatching a coup," Galaydh said. Rumors that he had misappropriated funds from the sugar plants have followed him ever since. Galaydh says the charges were trumped up. Galaydh taught at Syracuse, then returned to Somalia after the fall of Siad Barre, hoping to contribute to the rebuilding of his homeland, he said. A group hoping to create a new government that would pacify and unite the country met in neighboring Djibouti in October 2000 and created the Transitional National Government (TNG). Galaydh was appointed prime minister. The TNG has never controlled more than about half of the capital, Mogadishu, and none of the countryside. After Sept. 11, rumors that Somalia harbored terrorist bases and that the country was a likely place for Al-Qaida leaders to hide made it a likely target for U.S. attacks after Afghanistan. Galaydh said that for a while many U.S. officials felt it was not a question of whether but when to bomb Somalia. Galaydh flew to Washington, where he argued to anyone who would listen that Somalia had no terrorist bases and that the TNG wanted to join the anti-terror coalition. Ousted While Galaydh was in Washington, Somali President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan seized the opportunity to get rid of him. Galaydh says the root of the problem was that he quarreled with Hassan over his habit of exceeding his powers as president. Galaydh said the president used a combination of bribes and intimidation to get the TNG parliament to oust him. The officially stated reason for the vote was that Galaydh was a failure as prime minister. The rumored reason was that he had stolen a check for $1 million. Galaydh returned to Somalia and served as caretaker prime minister until a new government was established. He says that if he had really stolen any money, he would not have dared to return and if anyone had any evidence against him, they would never have allowed him to leave. After traveling and lecturing the last several months, he became a candidate at the Humphrey Institute. Abdi Samatar, a Somali and a long-time University of Minnesota professor of geography, opposed Galaydh's appointment, and wrote John Brandl, then the Humphrey dean, a letter recapping the allegations of corruption against Galaydh from both the sugar factory and the $1 million check. Samatar said Galaydh "has a long and unsavory public record that might substantially damage the professional integrity of the institute and the university." Brandl said he asked Samatar for evidence to back up the allegations and Samatar had none. So Brandl spoke to everyone he could find in the U.S. government, the United Nations and at Syracuse who had worked with Galaydh -- and found that none believed the allegations while all vouched for Galaydh's integrity. "I concluded there's a campaign of character assassination against this man by I-don't-know-who," Brandl said. He decided that it would be unjust to reject Galaydh over unproven allegations and that the strong references suggested Galaydh would be a great asset. Saeed Fahia, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community of Minnesota, said the controversy is familiar to Somalis. "But in Somalia it's really hard to know who's telling the truth about these things," Fahia said. "Once you are out of favor with some people politically, they'll accuse you of anything." Fahia said he'll give Galaydh the benefit of the doubt and believes his political background could serve students well at the Humphrey Institute. Eric Black is at eblack@startribune.com.Lourdes Medrano Leslie is at lleslie@startribune.com. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLOL Posted October 20, 2005 what you guys think of the contradictions of this Somali fellow? Is he mentally sane? to me he is a lying two-faced charlatan... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xoogsade Posted October 20, 2005 Omar Jaajuus in la dhaho ma ogid miyaa? he used to be in trouble himself with the law sometime ago and all somalis came together to advocate for him. I was mad myself thinking the local state government was picking on him for nothing and some of his clansmen accused him to keep their influence in some community offices. Hunguri dartiisey u dacweeyeen and told the goverment his status as canadian refugee/european refugee. War soomaalida kii diin leh mooyee intooda kale waa laga cararaa. Even those religious ones can't be trusted sometimes. You always learn that too late. PS: When he was let go, and after a while, I heard him in an interview over the radio where he openly explained how somalis were afraid to be interviewed by the FBI(9-11 related issues) for some reasons I can't discuss in here. That is when I realized this guy was a sold out low life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
