F Brown and Stoic Nur, other Kenyan Intellectuals Oppose The Invasion

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We, the undersigned, register, in the strongest terms, our opposition to Kenya’s military incursion into Somalia.

 

We note that several months at minimum is required to plan a military operation that involves crossing borders. Therefore the reasons put forward by the Kenyan government for this operation are demonstrably false.

 

Statements from the French Government (see link below) and Medicins Sans Frontieres contradict the Kenyan Government’s allegation that Al-Shabaab is responsible for the kidnapping of Marie Dedieu and two other foreigners.

 

We will kill some Somalis and call them Al-Shabaab. We will all feel very Kenyan indeed.

 

They die, so we can create a national amnesia about 350,000 internally displaced Kenyans, missing World Bank monies, missing Education Ministry funds, the ICC-Kenya trials, 2012 elections, the implementation of our new constitution.

 

The army will claim, as invading armies always do, that they have courageously engaged the enemy, when they have really killed innocent civilians.

 

All of us are paying already for this bout of blood-thirst. We will go on paying, for many years to come. We will pay with our taxes, our un-built schools and hospitals, our unpaid teachers, our still-jobless youth, our rapidly deteriorating security situation, our shattered relationship with our neighbours.

 

We do not require the death of Somalis to know who and where we are.

 

SIGNED:

 

Farah Brown

Stoic Nur

Nguru Karugu

Keguro Macharia

Paul Mwangi Maina

Tom Maliti, Journalist

Dr. Firoze Manji

Abdulrahman Mirimo

Dr. Wambui Mwangi

Kenne Mwikya

Benjamin Wambua Ndolo

Onyango Oloo

Odhiambo Oyoko

Shailja Patel