Opinion

Jazeera Beach Massacre Family member Appeals to the President

Dear President,

I am sending my warmest greetings and best wishes to from Portland, Oregon to you and all other officials in all three branches of the government. I hope and pray that the 2nd half of your term to be more productive, and achieve a more lasting peace, equality and fraternity yearned by the masses.

My name is Omar Wiilhawd, Aka, Omar Mohamed Ahmed and I am contacting on behalf of my brother of Ali Aw Mohamoud (Buraanleh), he was one of the 46 Jazeera victims that was illegally apprehended, and never returned. They were summarily executed by the presidential guards, The Red Berets led by Colonel Ibrahim Ali Barre (Canjeex). But according to the Colonel, the order for the detention were given by General Maslah Siad Barre, Son of Siad Barre, and chief of staff of the Somali army.

The surviving relatives of victims have observed the 30th year of this evil, heinous, and wicked act on July 17,2019. I can draw a parallel comparison of this despicable act with the Kristallnacht. The crystal night, or the night of the broken glasses, is the night that civilians and paramilitary forces attacked Jewish the properties and synagogues on November 1938 in Nazi Germany. The Red Berets targeted only the homes of Isaaks, and profiled them based on their accent, Qaldaan dialect, or clan membership on that night. The age of the victims was between 17 to 83 years old, and included, a college lecturer, civil servants, university students, retirees, merchants and traders.

The New York Times edition of July 22, 1989, reported that Somalia executed 46 men. The Somali Embassy in Washington, D.C, relayed a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry that stated: “After last week’s events in Mogadishu, enemies of Somalis and their collaborators have been disseminating sensational propaganda and lies about the true situation in Somalia. The sources of the malicious disinformation are terrorist groups whose ultimate aim is to spread chaos throughout the country. I believe you were a high-ranking officer in the Ministry, and the late Qaybe, was the minister at that time.

The lies and blatant disregard for human lives, shedding the blood of innocent, and the abhorrent culture of impunity have angered the masses. But more important, it offended Allah, The Mighty, whose wrath brought about the downfall of 21 years of despotic military dictator in a matter of months.

The ark of justice is long and wide, but it tilts toward justice. As the cliché goes “justice delayed, is justice denied. It is unfair that we continue to suffer agony, anguish, and pain for not being afforded justice 30 years running.

Mr. President, in the interest of peace, justice, truth and reconciliation of all Somalis. It is incumbent on you as a successor of the guilty failed state to repatriate all the remains of our lost relations. This will be your winningest ticket, and win, win, win for all concerned parties. If you respond in a positive and rapid fashion to our appeal, you will garner more support, and earn lots of badly needed political capital from all over the country.

We are represented by lawyers from the center for Justice and accountability, and are demanding your full support and cooperation of your administration to bring justice for the surviving perpetrators of this unspeakable crimes. Forensic teams will need assistance in finding the site, and identify remains to prepare for eventual dignified burials they deserve. Pecuniary tributes should be awarded to the victims by the State in due time.

I departed Mogadishu in August 1976 for Hargeisa, shortly after graduating from Moalim Jama Middle school to see my mom and friends, before leaving for Doha, Qatar the following month. I continue to languish 43 years in exile, or self-exile. I will never set my foot to Mogadishu, until, we can collect the remains of our loved, and repatriated fully without further delay!

I look forward for your response on this urgent matter, and if you wish to reach me, you can contact me at (503) 317-6165, or by e-mail.

Best Regards,

Omar Wiilhawd

omarwiilhawd@hotmail.com

Categories: Opinion

Tagged as:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *