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Ellison speaks out on missing Somali youth

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Monday, July 20, 2009

Rep. Keith Ellison says U.S. authorities are trying to help the missing Minnesota youth thought to be caught up with a radical Islamic faction in war-torn Somalia return to the United States. Ellison told Minnesota Public Radio that he’s been briefed on classified information about the issue.

At least one youth was killed when he tried to leave Al-Shabaab, an Islamist movement in Somalia. The New York Times took a fascinating look into the missing Somali-Minnesotan youth and the war in Somalia last week.

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“We can’t have a knee-jerk emotional reaction,” Ellison told MPR. “We’ve got to have an intelligent reaction. If a young person says, ‘I have been lied to. I don’t like these people. I want to get away from them,’ we should help them do that, as long as we know that does not create a public safety issue for Minnesotans and Americans.”

Ellison had a message to Minnesotans who have joined Al-Shabaab.

“If you’ve learned the truth about these exploitative organizations like Shabaab, who are so dangerous, then abandon them and then help tell the truth about what these groups are really all about,” Ellison said.

Source: Minnesota Independent, July 20, 2009

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