Nobel laureate Gbowee tells UN to face up to world of fear
"We find ourselves at a place where the need for international peace is even greater now than (at any time) in the history of our world," Gbowee told the 15-member council.
"We all, in this room and outside, live with a deep sense of fear."
Gbowee evoked the Paris attacks in Paris and the rampage of Nigeria's Boko Haram fighters as the latest in a string of events fueling insecurity worldwide.
"The joy of getting on an airplane is gone; the freedom to worship when, where and how we choose is gone; education, especially for girls, is under threat."
"Freedom of expression and freedom of the press as we saw in Paris is a thing of the past," she declared.
"The simple and significant things that made us feel like we lived in a peaceful and secure world have been taken away."
Indeed.
It's not easy though ...
Words from Sheikh Ahmad Gumi in Nigeria:
Text in bold mine
Kanuris, Fulanis, And Hausas Are Boko Haram—Sheikh Ahmad Gumi
Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, one of Nigeria’s top Islamic clerics, known for his strong and often controversial opinions, spoke to Sahara TV at length about the insecurity crisis and its effect on the political landscape in Nigeria.
Regarding the Boko Haram menace in the north, the cleric further acknowledged that it is a problem of the northern region of the country and more specifically the Muslim population. “Kanuris, Fulanis and Hausas are the Boko Haram," Gumi told SaharaTV. The government initially thought it wass a northern problem, leave them let them kill themselves.”
Gumi additionally suggested that Muslims in the north sit down to tackle the issue, supported by the government, and the government supported by the international community. “Coordination between these three will lead to an end to Boko Haram," he stated.
Also touching on the recent Charlie Hebdo incident in France, which left many writers and artists at the satirical magazine dead, Gumi stated clearly that the Qur’an does not support violence. “Leniency beautifies everything and violence tarnishes everything," he said, quoting the Prophet Muhammed. “The Qur’an does not encourage anyone to pick arms and fight.”
Gumi however also said that people should not hide behind freedom of speech to condemn other people’s faith.
Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?
Read an overview article from May 2014:
Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?
The Guardian's Latest Briefing about Boko Haram
Boko Haram - The Guardian Briefing
Boko Haram’s increasing strength and ruthlessness:
Boko Haram has repeatedly stated its opposition not only to western education - its name means western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language – but also to democracy and secular government, which it regards as a form of “paganism”, and its attacks could intensify to discourage voting.
Some 1.5 million people have been displaced by the insurgency. As of mid-September 2014, the insurgents had seized 25 towns in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. Nigerian media reports say Boko Haram has seized and established control over 20,000 sq km of territory in the region – about the size of Wales or the state of Maryland in the US.
Boko Haram’s goals:
The group began to emerge in 2002-03, when followers of a young charismatic preacher, Mohammed Yusuf, retreated to Kanamma, a remote area in the north-east.
He advocated a strict, fundamentalist interpretation of the Qur’an and believed that the creation of Nigeria by British colonialists had imposed a western and un-Islamic way of life on Muslims.
The group opposes voting in elections and the wearing of shirts or trousers. Its eventual goal is to create an Islamic state. Northern Nigeria has a history of spawning militant Islamist groups, but Boko Haram has proved to be the most durable and lethal of such groups. The Nigerian military thought it had finished off Boko Haram when it seized the group’s headquarters in 2009 in the city of Maiduguri and killed Yusuf. But Boko Harm regrouped under Abubakar Shekau, and have grown stronger and more ruthless. In 2010, it carried out assassinations and a major raid on a prison.
Recent Boko Haram tactics:
The insurgents have adopted and intensified a three-pronged strategy of bombings in cities, scorched-earth tactics in rural areas and assaults on military and police bases. These attacks resulted in over 5,000 civilian casualties and the displacement of at least 750,000 people between May 2013 and October 2014.
The weekend abduction of Cameroonian villagers in that country’s far north will fuel fears that the group is expanding its operations into neighboring countries. In a video posted online this month, a man claiming to be Shekau threatened to step up violence in neighboring Cameroon unless it scraps its constitution and embraces Islam.
Boko Haram has financed itself mainly through ransom kidnappings, bank robberies and other illegal activities.
According to a comment made today on France24's "Debate", Boko Haram is financed by outside sources and from Nigerian sources inside the country and that divesting would be one of the strategies that would be a step to take to contain Boko Haram's power. I could not find a source to support this comment, the only thing I found is and article from May 2014.
How gets Boko Haram its money?:
Fake Charities, Drug Cartels, Ransom and Extortion: Where Islamist Group Boko Haram Gets Its Cash
I guess following the money still is a good advice. Other comments about Boko Haram being linked to Al-Queda I can't figure out to be true, sourced and leave that up to others to dig out.
PS. Will not comment on content of this diary, if you don't mind.