Information on whether the United Somali Congress (USC) gave positions of leadership to members of the Tumal caste from 1989 to 1991 (particularly on peace committees), and on whether lower(caste groups, especially the Tumal were permitted to join the USC from 1989 to 1991 [SOM27684.E]

Information on whether the United Somali Congress (USC) gave positions of leadership to members of the Tumal caste from 1989 to 1991 (particularly on peace committees), and on whether lower(caste groups (especially the Tumal) were permitted to join the USC from 1989 to 1991, could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB. However, according to Lee Cassannelli, author of "Victims and Vulnerable Groups in Somalia,"other caste groups such as the Yibir that had worked for the USC were later executed (1995, 26). According to Bernhard Helander, the Tumal experienced "some persecution" following the overthrow of the Siad Barre regime, "due to the fact that a member of this group (Ali Samatar) had held a number of high government offices during the former regime" (Feb. 1996, 74). For information on the USC, please see the attached document.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please see the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Cassanelli, Lee. May 1995. "Victims and Vulnerable Groups in Southern Somalia." Ottawa: Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board.

Helander, Bernhard. 15 February 1996. "Vulnerable Minorities in Somalia and Somaliland," Supplement to Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia. Toronto Front.

Additional Sources Consulted


Africa Confidential [London]. Weekly.

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [London]. Monthly.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996. 1997.

The Europa World Year Book 1996. 1996. 37th ed. Vol. 2. London: Europa Publications.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. 1993-1997.

Gilkes, P.S. September 1994. The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994. Bedfordshire, UK: Save the Children's Fund.

Horn of Africa Bulletin [Uppsala]. Bimonthly.

Human Rights Watch World Report. 1996, 1997.

The Invention of Somalia. 1995. Edited by Ali Jamale Ahmed. Lawrenceville, NJ: The Red Sea Press.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. 1996-1997.

News from Africa Watch [New York]. 7 March 1992. Vol. 5, No. 2. "beyond the Warlords: The Need for a Verdict on Human Rights Abuses."

_____. February 1992. Vol. 4, No. 2. "A Fight to Death? Leaving Civilians at the Mercy of Terror and Starvation."

New African [London]. Monthly.

Two oral sources consulted did not provide information on the requested subject.

Attachments


Helander, Bernhard. October 1993. The Somali Conflict: Prospects for Peace. Mark Bradbury. Oxfam Research Paper No. 9. Oxfam: UK & Ireland, p. 13.