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Gabooye Minority Organisation 
 Europe & N. America
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On 13 May 2005, Khadar Adan Osman was shot dead intentionally by a police officer in Somaliland knowing he was a member of the discriminated Gabooye minority.

Gabooye was born on that day where in a peaceful protest, a large crowd of Gabooye and sympathisers went to the central police station and president’s office. They were calling for justice and equality following Khadar Adan Osman’s death and for their human rights to be respected. They were confronted by the armed police who used live ammunition against the non-violent demonstrators. They beat and arrested several hundred demonstrators including children and women. Other Gabooyes were later arrested in police raids on Dami village on the outskirt of Hargeisa, where most live in harsh conditions. We hereby strongly condemn the injustice of the Somaliland courts that punished the blooded handed man who killed “Khadar” for 5 years prison, which is contrary to the constitution of Somaliland which states that “if someone purposely kills someone he/she has to face the punishment of death penalty”. But in this case, the Somaliland courts considered the blood of Khadar Adan Osman cheaper than the murderer. The Amnesty International as well as the British Government shares our concerns about respect for human rights in Somaliland.

We suffered severely in the civil war and remain vulnerable as we do not belong to any of the major clans and thus do not have the powerbase. Our rights have been denied and our lives nothing but equal to the death of an ant and treated as less than fully human. 

We face murder, looting, destruction of property, discrimination, torture, unlawful arrest and detention. Some of Gabooye were physically dismembered by being tied to two vehicles which were then driven apart and others were covered with hot tarmac.  

A boy of 18 years was killed in Somaliland and cut his flesh into pieces and put in a plastic bag and kept in front of the family’s house. 

If Gabooye children go to school they are bullied so that they cannot stay and get educated but instead end up left with jobs such as shoe shinning. Gabooye minority are referred to as sub human caste, serfdom, SAB and many others.

We have asked the Somaliland Government several times of quota seats in the parliament similar to wherever there is a minority in other countries of the world but they rejected stating that ‘You are not even allowed to live in Somaliland’. 

Following all the above facts, we are asking the British government and all other countries that provide Aid to Somaliland to take an immediate action in order to stop murdering, looting, discriminating, torturing, arresting unlawfully and finally respect the human rights towards Gabooye. We are asking the International Communities to consider the Gabooye minority as at serious risk of human rights abuse.

Mohammed Issa Abby
Chairman of the Gabooye Minority Organisation
In Europe and North America
Gabooye.org99@hotmail.co.uk