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Europe |
NYT: Europe Looks Into Possible War Crimes in Somalia |
2007-04-05 |
Dhimmi coordination by the EU and NYT European diplomats said Thursday that they were investigating whether Ethiopian and Somali government forces The fighting, some of the bloodiest in Somalia in the past 15 years, pitted On Thursday, Eric Van der Linden, chief of the European Commission’s 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 Ethiopian, Somali and Ugandan officials denied Thursday that their soldiers had done anything wrong. "They were shooting at us and we shot back. Why are you accusing us of causing ALL the casualties? Do you want the ICU to win?" A war crimes case is about the last thing Somalia’s transitional government needs 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 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. "So we will use the money they provided to investigate THEM. Sweet, huh?" 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. Heh. 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. "'Mericans like Ethiops a lot". In the past week, Oooooooh. Collective punishment. That is bad. 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.” Said like someone who lives in Somalia and knows how Somalis act and what 'incentives' they respond to. Several of the If so, a lesson learned, based on the ensuing quiet. Ethiopian officials denied this. “Our forces have been praised for not attacking civilians and nothing in recent days has changed,” said Zemedkun Tekle, spokesman for the Ethiopian government. Abdirizak Adam Hassan, chief of staff for Somalia’s transitional president, did not deny that many civilians had been killed. “Unfortunately, this is what happens when you fight in a city,” he said. Duh. But, he said, the government was simply trying to defend itself. “For a good two months, these There. I fixed it. |
Posted by:Brett |
#6 Why do they fricking care? |
Posted by: 3dc 2007-04-05 22:39 |
#5 Be careful how you investigate, EU. You better be factually compotent. I have a filing cabinet on you ten fold. |
Posted by: newc 2007-04-05 22:37 |
#4 Hope the Eurocrats spend a lot of time investigating this. They should do so in person, on site. |
Posted by: DMFD 2007-04-05 22:37 |
#3 Well, if they did, at least they didn't drag them through the streets to show off... |
Posted by: tu3031 2007-04-05 21:36 |
#2 Of course, they never dreamed of doing this to Bob when he razed entire shantytowns and drove people out into the wilderness to die. |
Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-04-05 21:21 |
#1 MYOB, f****g EUniks and NYTnicks. |
Posted by: twobyfour 2007-04-05 21:11 |