Ahmed Dirie: Imprisoned Or Murdered?

Every hero's end-goal is to help others. Some risk their livelihood and others risk their life. Ahmed Dirie, a prominent Somali leader, who opposed the Ethiopian occupation in Somalia and refused to be silenced with money, threats, and under the peril of a gun, was kidnapped from his Mogadishu home by the Ethiopian occupying forces in November 11, 2007 without due process. He has not been heard from since.

Ahmed Dirie is one of the few individuals uniquely characterized as altruistic. He served his fellow countrymen, countrywomen and humanity selflessly.

Prior to his involvement with the peaceful struggle and appeal to the international community to have Ethiopia stop massacring and raping innocent Somali girls and mothers, looting public and private properties and to withdraw from Somalia in its entirety, Mr. Dirie served the people of Galgadud and Mudug regions, helping them to live together in peace and harmony.

Among other things, he is known for his emphasis on tolerance and patience as desires and views don't always match and are different in all communities. He was the voice of peace and hope. He spearheaded countless efforts to help establish normalcy and fight crimes, eradicating piracy in and around Haradhere district. For all Somalis, whether nationalist or Islamist, in the country and in the diaspora, Ahmed Dirie is a hero and true Somali nationalist.

In his last capacity as speaker, Ahmed Dirie eloquently spoke against the occupation and the immoral stand of the international community, to sit and watch as Ethiopia carries out genocide against innocent Somalis and wipes Somalia from the world map. Of course, as a partner of peace and vocal advocate for Somali unity, Ahmed Dirie was under constant threat. Somalis who shared similar views knew that he was in danger and recommended he go into hiding, but he bravely refused. Therefore, his imprisonment doesn't come to Somalis as a surprise but murdering him in prison goes beyond indecency.

Somalis are outraged to hear not only that Ahmed was murdered but that this horrific news didn't generate an international outcry, sympathy and condolences for all Somalis and Somalia.  
In the past two weeks, the very much suspected dreadful news came to Somalis in drips and increasingly became convinced that Ahmed Dirie was murdered in an undisclosed location in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In an interview with the VOA, Sh. Sharif Sh. Ahmed, the Somali Re-liberation Alliance chairman, said his organization received a creditable report indicating that Ahmed Dirie was murdered in Addis Ababa. Delayed justice implies no justice. Had the international community responded earlier, Ahmed Dirie would still be alive.

This case continues to demand rigorous investigations and a sharp response from the international community. If nothing else, as difficult as it is to bury your loved one particularly when murdered, Ahmed Dirie, as any other human being, deserves proper burial by his family.

Correspondingly, Somalis ought to know their hero's whereabouts. Rest assured, as there are so many noble and brave Somalis, his children included, the struggle will continue. And one day, Somalis will realize their dream and reclaim their country.

One would expect a country that is receiving an enormous amount of support, capital, intelligence, training and more, from the U.S. (proclaimed democracy and defender of human rights) and is a member state of the United Nations would respect and be accountable to international laws.

On the contrary, Ethiopia seemed to have been praised for its inhuman acts not only in Somalia but also Ethiopia. Like other newly introduced doctrines, this sets a new precedent for world order.

To say the least, this implies that so long you are not opposing the only super power and the new imperialist's policy, it doesn't matter how heinous the crime, you wouldn't be held responsible let alone be held to the same standard as those viewed as enemies.

God save us, if a person with a similar philosophy to the current president is elected in the next election of the United States, one could easily guess the type of world we are going to be living in - a dog eat dog world.

Bush has successfully misguided the American public and changed the highly praised American values of respect for others, democracy, and high moral standards. To reverse will certainly take years if not centuries. The responsible world community must wake up to these new realities and craft skillful strategies to combat Bush and likeminded people’s, such as Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, new doctrines and approach to world order.

The international community must step up to its long ignored responsibilities to investigate crimes committed against innocent Somalis and bring to justice those responsible. The international community must not only show its dismay of the Ethiopian occupation but work to end it, and free innocent Somalis, particularly such highly respected leaders as Ahmed Dirie, Jimale Mohamud Nor, Abdullahi Dhere, Hassan Rage, Sh. Ahmed Ali Gees and many more.

Gure Qobey
Qobey1@gmail.com