[Marxism] European diplomats eye war crimes against deep-rooted resistance to occupationd

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

www.nytimes.com


April 5, 2007
Europe Looks Into Possible War Crimes in Somalia 
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 5 - European diplomats said Thursday that they were
investigating whether Ethiopian and Somali government forces committed war
crimes last week during heavy fighting in Somalia's capital that killed more
than 300 civilians.

The fighting, some of the bloodiest in Somalia in the past 15 years, pitted
Ethiopian and Somali forces against bands of insurgents and reduced blocks
of buildings in Mogadishu, the capital, to smoldering rubble. Many Mogadishu
residents have complained to human rights groups, saying that the government
used excessive force and indiscriminately shelled their neighborhoods.

On Thursday, Eric Van der Linden, chief of the European Commission's
delegation to Kenya, said that he had appointed a team to look into several
war crime allegations stemming from the civilian casualties. "These are
hefty accusations," Mr. Van der Linden said. "We are examining them very
prudently."

In an e-mail to Mr. Van der Linden marked "urgent," a security adviser to
the commission wrote that there are "strong grounds" to believe that
Ethiopian and Somali troops had intentionally attacked civilian areas and
that Ugandan peacekeepers, who arrived in the country last month, were
complicit for standing by. The e-mail was provided by someone who thought
that the issue should become public and its authenticity was confirmed by
commission officials.

Ethiopian, Somali and Ugandan officials denied Thursday that their soldiers
had done anything wrong.

A war crimes case is about the last thing Somalia's transitional government
needs. Ever since it took control of Mogadishu in late December, the
transitional government has struggled to pacify the city and win popular
support. 

Many Western diplomats had expressed hope that this transitional government,
Somalia's 14th, would end the seemingly interminable chaos that has
enveloped the country since the central government collapsed in 1991. But so
far, the government has failed to deliver the same level of stability that
an Islamist administration brought during its brief reign last year. It was
overthrown by Ethiopian-led forces, with covert American help.

Mogadishu has become so dangerous - again - that many residents say they are
now doubting whether the government will be able to hold a major
reconciliation conference scheduled for mid-April. The Ethiopian military
struck a truce with insurgents on Sunday, though, and the past three days
have been quiet, giving beleaguered residents a chance to bury their dead.

The European Commission has no authority to prosecute war crimes and would
have to refer any findings to the International Criminal Court. But
commission officials said they were investigating the accusations because
the commission has provided money and technical assistance to the
transitional government and the peacekeeping mission here there.

A Western official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of
diplomatic considerations predicted that even if there were compelling
evidence of war crimes, the case would probably never get to court.

Another Western official, speaking anonymously for similar reasons, said,
"At the end of the day, no one is going to want to further undermine the
transitional government." 

Diplomats, and analysts from Somali and international organizations
predicted Thursday that the American government would resist the European
effort because Ethiopia is a close American ally, valued as bulwark against
Islamic militants in the Horn of Africa.

In the past week, human rights groups have been urging someone to look into
the civilian casualties issue. The Somali Diaspora Network, an
American-based advocacy group, accused the transitional government and
Ethiopian forces of "collective punishment" and genocide.

The Somali Disapora Network said that Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the
transitional president, warned in a recent radio interview that "any place
from which a bullet is fired we will bombard it regardless of whoever is
there."




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