(Baraarugnews.net)-Somaliland government committed serious and systematic human right abuses including Police brutal shooting and civilian targeting, detention without trial the Political party leaders, police torturing and punishing civilian demonstrators therefore we did express our concerns and recommended there should be an independent investigation about the violent incident that happened in Somaliland on 11.08.2022, which caused unnecessary deaths and injuries of innocent civilians expressing their views peacefully on their country’s democratic journey. Somaliland authorities created an unprecedented action that transgressed against democracy and human rights.
It is unfortunate that a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution of Somaliland has been ignored and trampled on by the police and officials. Excessive use of force by police on protestors, gunshot wounds and arrest of leading opposition figures, and an unwarranted beating of a civilian. Politically the country is facing a number of challenges, including president politically motivated violence, power abuses at the highest rank within Somaliland government including law enforcement agencies who culturally believe that the head of the state uses them as he wishes because Somaliland president and his loyal minister of Interior affairs is ruminants of communist era and were trained in Soviet.
Overall, 7 people are dead including a disable man on a wheelchair shot by law enforcement agencies in Erigavo of Sanaag province. More than 100 people were injured, some are in a serious condition. The injured have been taken to multiple private clinics around the country as the government prevented them from using public hospitals and other health centers. Also, hundreds have been arrested including the deputy chairman of the main opposition party (Wadani). They have been put in privately run secret detention jails run by the president’s son around the country. Aslo the president’s son have unconstitutional army who takes orders from him. Therefore we kindly inform United Nation Office for the Coordination Humanitarian affairs (UNOCHA) Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Office of High Commissioner for Human rights, should address this issues very seriously before it’s too late and to help the immediate release of these innocent civilians.
The Somaliland oppressive government and its security service ought to be held accountable for its deliberate and organized attacks on peaceful protestors, and we strongly believe that there should independent international investigation that brings to justice those who committed violence against the civilian population. The threats and intimidation towards the public has been on the rise for the last one year.
After the demonstrations, the current president of Somaliland, Musa Bihi Abdi appeared on national television and addressed the nation with a speech full of hatred inciting violence towards both the peaceful protestors and the opposition parties. He described the protestors as hoodlums. Secondly, he openly stated that the decision of Wadani party to elect as its Chair Mr. Hesri Haji Ali was not helpful and misguided shame to blame Somaliland president ridiculous and stubborn speech
He went further and clearly stated that he will use the full power of the state to take him down. His rhetoric was reminiscent of the HUTU militia in the Rwanda genocide. It is extremely serious case which needs to be studied before it leads to civil war in Somaliland. The Somaliland president and his loyal minister of internal affairs were warlords in 1994 Somaliland civil war. As well as warmongers their civil war speeches full of hatred and animosity are all recorded and are available in social media such as YouTube.
In conclusion, we urge the British Government for an urgent intervention to safeguard the human rights of every Somaliland citizen to exercise their rights of freedom of speech and peaceful assembly shrined in the Somaliland Constitution. We also urge British Government to investigate and suspend its support to Somaliland’s Special Forces Rapid Respond Unit (RRU) and the police forces which committed such heinous acts and atrocities.
We also urge the British government to engage with appropriate International Human rights organizations including the International Criminal Courts for an urgent investigation into the atrocities committed by the oppressive regime in Somaliland in the past few days holding those responsible to account regardless of position of power.
Somaliland urgently needs its African Union (AU), European Union and U.S friends to intervene in order to evert a much wider civil war that will certainly have a huge impact in this volatile part of the world. While Somaliland people are embattled a catastrophic
humanitarian crises as well as dire and grim draughts.
Ahmed Ali Abdi
Human Rights Activist
Somaliland Human Rights Bulletin articles (Publisher)
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