JC

1993. In that fateful year, people were faced with the pictures of bloodied boy named Shidane Arone. A thief caught by Canadian soldiers, he had been beaten to death. This incident, invoking worldwide rage and being declared shame of Canadian military, later came to be known as Somalia affair. Kyle Brown, the soldier who took the pictures, were accused of murder.

During the official court-martial regarding the case, Kyle Brown was accused of helping Matchee as he tortured and beat the boy. Unfortunately, though, there is no evidence of him being the direct cause of death. He was also thought responsible for not stopping the soldiers and noting others of what was going inside. Kyle Brown, however, did report to the superiors about the situation. Noted officials did not intervene. There were also more soldiers who had watched and participated, their possible count reaching more than sixteen. Shidane Arone's screams were also heard throughout the camp, in hearing range of most soldiers. Negligence of other soldiers and officials left Brown with virtually no way of stopping the torture.

When Kyle Brown pleaded guilty in the court, he was not pleading guilty to murder or even manslaughter. He admitted only to punching and kicking the boy, not bringing about his death.

Inquiries into the case also brought up several interesting points. Soldiers were intoxicated at the time. It is entirely possible that they were in alcohol-induced frenzy and had no real control over their actions at the time. Also, mefloquine, anti-malaria drug also known as the malarion, might also play and important role in this story. Mefloquine had long been known to have effect on people's psychology. Those affected tend to display abnormal and violent behavior.

Not only that, the 1997 inquiry brings up more disturbing aspect to the case. The investigators found evidences of the Canadian military's attempts at cover-up. Out of all the soldiers involved, Brown was the one who was brought to light and attention of media. Kyle Brown had been the scapegoat of military attempting to shift blame onto a single individual.

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=14391740 http://books.google.com/books?id=nfj8SN649zEC&dq=dark+threats+and+white+knights&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=1S3uqrJYrg&sig=b59Dq5I6pt066KtJ2CA9Ou2NBjM&hl=en&ei=DpcKStmaK4e-tAOZo9jrCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2 http://books.google.com/books?id=nfj8SN649zEC&dq=dark+threats+and+white+knights&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=1S3uqrJYrg&sig=b59Dq5I6pt066KtJ2CA9Ou2NBjM&hl=en&ei=DpcKStmaK4e-tAOZo9jrCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2 http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/waymac/Sociology/A%20Term%202/Obedience%20Power%20and%20Control/somalia_affair.htm www.forces.gc.ca/somalia/vol1/v1c14e.htm+Kyle+Brown+defense+canada+somalia&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=opera http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/27/world/torture-by-army-peacekeepers-in-somalia-shocks-canada.html?sec=&spon= www.blender.org http://www.commando.org/somalia/mefloquine.html

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