Home · On This Day · Nov. 17, 1994
Federal government announces the Somalia Inquiry
Broadcast Date: Nov. 17, 1994
Today the federal government announced a public inquiry to investigate violence perpetrated against Somalis at a Canadian military compound in Somalia. The most publicized incident occurred in March of 1993, when stories of two shootings and the torture of a Somali teenager alarmed Canadians at home. This public inquiry is civilian-led, and is expected to look more deeply into what went on in Somalia than a previous military-led inquiry.Army surgeon Dr. Barry Armstrong is largely responsible for the inquiry. He went public with allegations of organized cover-ups involving Canadians abusing Somalis. Defence Minister David Collenette admits that an inquiry would have eventually been called, but not this soon, without Armstrong's public allegations.
Federal government announces the Somalia Inquiry
• In 1992 the Canadian soldiers went to Somalia on a UN peacekeeping mission to ease an escalating civil war between warlord leaders.• Canadian soldiers shot two civilians in Somalia in 1993, killing one and wounding the other. Twelve days later 16-year-old Shidane Arone was tortured and killed. "Trophy" photos were taken and eventually ended up on the news, shocking the Canadian public.
• One of the two soldiers most directly involved in the incident, Clayton Matchee, was found unfit for trial after trying to hang himself and suffering brain damage. The other soldier, Pvt. Kyle Brown was found guilty and sentenced to five years in military prison.
• The Report of the Somalia Commission of Inquiry was delivered to the government at the end of June, 1997. It concluded that there was indeed a cover-up in the shooting death of a Somali citizen in March 1993.
Federal government announces the Somalia Inquiry
Medium: Television
Program: Prime Time News
Broadcast Date: Nov. 17, 1994
Guest(s): Barry Armstrong, David Collenette, Stephen Harper
Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Susan Harada
Duration: 1:59
Last updated:
Nov. 16, 2011
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Canadian peacemakers were lauded as heroes when they went into an untamed land ruled by rebels. Their mission, Operation Deliverance, charged them with restoring order in Somalia. But in fact, the Canadian...
Federal government announces the Somalia Inquiry.
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Last updated: Nov. 16, 2011.
[Page consulted on Feb. 12, 2012.]