Kenya's Nationwide Clampdown on Islamic Extremism 'Counterproductive'
By <
http://www.ipsnews.net/author/noor-ali/> Noor Ali
<
http://www.ipsnews.net/reprinting-articles/> Reprint |
NAIROBI, Apr 29 2014 (IPS) - Kenya's government was warned by Muslim clerics
about the radicalisation and recruitment of youths by Al-Shabaab six years
ago but did not take action, says Sheikh Ahmed, a management committee
member of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya.
The state, he told IPS, dismissed the reports as a rift between Muslim
clerics and failed to arrest senior preachers who openly give sermons
calling on youths to fight believers of other religions and attack places of
worship.
"At the beginning it was our problem but not now. This group [of extremists]
has taken over the management of mosques. In Mombasa, the police are helping
us repossess two mosques seized by the radical agents of violence," said
Ahmed.
On Wednesday Apr. 23, four people, including two policemen, died in a terror
attack on Kenya when bombers drove a vehicle into a police station in the
capital, Nairobi.
It was the latest in a spate of terror attacks in this East African nation.
Last September, Kenya experienced the worst terror attack in years when
gunmen from the Somali extremist group,
<
http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/02/somalis-caught-crossfire-al-shabaab-plays-su
rvive/> Al-Shabaab, attacked the
<
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/kenya-forces-mount-assault-to-end-mall-siege
/> Westgate Mall in Nairobi, killing at least 67 people.
But the Apr. 23 attack was seen as retaliation against the ongoing
countrywide crackdown on illegal immigrants and refugees suspected of being
affiliated with Al-Shabaab.
Nuur Sheikh, an expert on conflict in the Horn of Africa, believes
harassment and forced repatriation is likely to incite acute hatred against
Kenya and entice more youth to join the Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group.
"This operation strategy is counter-productive. The government's decision to
take this route has provoked anger. Somalis, whether from Kenya or from
Somalia, and the Muslim community have suffered brutal police actions.
"This suits Al-Shabaab propaganda and alienates a community that can help
fight terrorism," Sheikh said in a phone interview with IPS.
Tensions have flared between Kenya and Somalia after Kenyan police arrested
a Somali diplomat on Friday, Apr. 25. Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli
Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement that his government was concerned about the
arrest of law-abiding Somalis. Somalia has reportedly recalled its
ambassador to Kenya.
According to local
<
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000110418&story_title=somalia-di
plomat-arrested-during-swoop> reports, police have arrested more than 4,000
Somalis and deported some 200 illegal immigrants. On Apr. 9 the first group
of arrestees, consisting of 82 Somalis without legal refugee status, were
deported. Last week, 91 more Somalis without valid documents were
repatriated.
Executive director of the Muslim for Human Rights Forum, Al-Amin Kimathi,
told IPS that the current operation was discriminatory and punished
communities who have suffered the brunt of Al-Shabaab's terrorism. He said
it disrupted livelihoods, instilled fear and demonised the Somali and Muslim
communities.
Police spokesperson Masood Mwinyi denied this.
"Its wrong and misleading to suggest only one community or one religious
group is being targeted, we have also arrested Pakistani, Chinese and
Indians and other illegal aliens from neighbouring states," Mwinyi told IPS.
Ahmed Mohamed, secretary general of the Eastleigh business community, told
IPS more than 75 percent of major businesses selling textiles, electronics,
money transactions, restaurants and guest houses have been closed. The
operation is mostly focused on Nairobi's Eastleigh suburb, where a large
population of Somalis reside.
An official from the Ethiopia Ogaden Refugees Association said on condition
of anonymity that 14 people from Ogaden region in Ethiopia have been
deported.
They all requested deportation to Somalia and not Ethiopia. Since the 1991
fall from power of Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam,
<
http://onlf.org/> Ogaden National Liberation Front intellectuals have
fought for an independent state there and tensions remain between the Ogaden
and Ethiopia.
"We must be exempted, our case, our status is different. We are Somalis but
from Ethiopia. Any Ogaden deported to Ethiopia will be killed. No doubt,
repatriating our people to a foreign country is terrible, wrong," he said in
an interview with IPS.
An Ethiopian who escaped his country after a series of arrests and threats
on his life vowed he would never return home or to the camps of Somali
refugees.
"We have suffered, we have been harassed here by police, the camps are not
safe for us either. We are always threatened because Ethiopia's troops are
in Somalia and they are blamed for killing innocent Somalis," he told IPS on
the condition of anonymity.
The Kenya National Human Rights commission said the government acts
constituted a serious violation of the constitution and of international
human rights standards. Commissioner Suzanne Chivusia said in a statement
that hundreds of detainees have been held under inhuman and deplorable
conditions and with limited access to basic provision like food, water and
sanitation.
Mwinyi called on civilians with claims of human rights violations by the
police force to record their cases with the police.
"We are ready, looking forward to receive and investigate and punish any
officer who will be implicated in any illegal act in the operation," he
said.
Independent Police Oversight Authority chairman Macharia Njeru said in a
statement that the body has launched investigations over claims of illegal
detentions, ethnic profiling and the holding of suspects incommunicado.
Meanwhile, the association of Muslims Organisation in Kenya chairperson,
Fazul Mohamed, told IPS that his organisation would pursue an ideological
approach to counter misleading interpretations of the Koran by clerics
allied to terrorists. He said the organisation has enlisted a strong team of
clerics, scholars, politicians and experts to do this. He called it a
genuine Jihad or religious war against a section of religious leaders who
are undermining Islam and posing a threat to national cohesion.
"We have set the stage for a radical, multifaceted approach that explores
all avenues of countering the radicalisation of youths in Kenya, including
community policing and rehabilitation of youths who deserted the group or
are willing to abandon Al-Shabaab," Mohamed told IPS.
Received on Tue Apr 29 2014 - 17:40:28 EDT