tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60734975490728439862024-03-13T13:10:52.610-07:00Ogaden heroes don’t die.Country : Ogadenia
Capital City: JigjigaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-3514600268778195752012-12-12T05:12:00.001-08:002012-12-12T05:12:51.230-08:00The So Called development in Somali state of Ethiopia (Ogaden Region) And the Propaganda of Universal TV.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ALrMJrPLvxk/UMiCvuqlRMI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/ZryD-NUbLok/s1600/ogaden-Somali.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ALrMJrPLvxk/UMiCvuqlRMI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/ZryD-NUbLok/s1600/ogaden-Somali.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the wslf (Western Somali liberation front) signed
peace deal agreement, the world was convinced, there will be peace and
stability in the region but that was new phase for escalating corruptions and
crimes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So Many Ogadenis<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>,
Somalis and the world in large had questioned themselves, whether WSLF peace
deal could bring a concrete result in which the expectation of the region was
always negative regarding their years of unseen in the battlefield and saw the process
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as an additional problematic <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>factor that will never change anything on the
fact .</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the time whereby years had passed since peace negotiation
was conducted and this moment still crimes & corruptions are contemporarily
triggering widely in the territory.</div>
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One might ask, if the negotiation did contributed any proper
tangible changes, what was the significance of dealing peace process if not so?.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
its abundantly clear that the so called wslf had weakened
and therefore<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lost popularity , so the
only option for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>preexisting was to
agree the Ethiopia <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to proceed its act
against humanity operations and gave<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>go
ahead<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to kill innocent civilians under
the umbrella of peace talks.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A day back, I had an interview with a man who often visits
in Egypt, I several times had talks with him previously (years ago)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whether <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>personal concern or the region itself, when I
first approached him and debuted <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>greetings, the guy replied , “Ma wiilki onlf
ba”, meaning “are you the onlf boy”, I quickly<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>gave him a response that he wasn’t expecting , saying “ no, it’s the new
development supporter”, as he heard the different<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>answer I gave ,I sense unemotional <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reaction (shaking <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>head), I proceeded talking and said, there is
transformations , infrastructure of roads , industrial projects, security
tightening and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>touchable economical
changes in the region, so I’m with the revolutions of change.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The man spoken heartily quoted, “there is no change what you
see on TVs are just propaganda, that is suitable words on the fact”, he said. </div>
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He continued talking, I came from the region a month ago and
visit the region nonstop (all the time) he told me a story , as we one day came
from outside jigjiga (I can’t recall the province)and heading to the capital
city, I myself and some members of wslf, we have seen people alighted from the transportation
bus along the road, the people were gathered, you could able to see their faces
how <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>horrified <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>& frightened they were <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>, they <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stopped
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>us and we could identify , they were the
new police, our<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>personal private vehicle
driver tried to continue driving <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>,one of
the policemen pointed the rifle to us for the driver to stop, the guys who were
with me shouted to driver why are you troubling us ,you almost kill us,he say
that is the situation we’re in today, even those who took the so call peace
process are humiliated and can’t<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>change
anything from the matter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I questioned him, there are rumors’ in which people state <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>( Ibrahim dhere<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>aya yiri khalad buu aha dagaalki aan kula
jiri jirnay Ethiopia), translation,(Ibrahim dhere said , our war with Ethiopia
before was a mistake) is that true? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He relplied :, yes , I personally heard him saying so,</div>
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I told him, isn’t that really embarrassing, an organization
that fought decades to liberate their land and call themselves Islamist to talk
in such manner, he said there<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is huge
conspiracy that we can’t know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It is true that people in the outside have different
image than that we got but the fact remains, abdi iley (Ethiopia representative
ogaden region) brought a theatrical drama to confuse the international
community.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-23340950873027114142012-05-30T08:54:00.002-07:002012-05-30T08:55:16.951-07:00The Self-denial of being Ogaden. By: Sharezad F. Gaas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I like the quotes that states (the Middle East is the home of
civilization, more specifically Egypt) and I strongly support that. When
you look at the civilians and how they value their customs, norms and
their culture, you definitely feel the gaps between our people and them.
If you look at the productivity of the entire world you will be able to
see the role of the patriotic Arabs and how strictly they put their
country before anything. And we've been able to witness the winds of
freedom currently blowing across the Arab world.<br />
<br />
It's
obvious that when you encounter problems, our mental tries to carry out
activities to tackle the problems. It's very true that if we say,
self-denial have relation with existed problem via pro-claiming or
searching an alternative to claim an identity that you don’t belong to.<br />
Such claims are mainly caused by: fear, lack of confidence, weakness and unable to endure the difficulties.<br />
<br />
It is for that reason, when you ask a pro-Meles Somali Ogaden man about his identity, he will call himself "ethiopian". <b>Why is this man in self-denial?</b>
If you read about the civil rights struggle in America, you can find
significant similarities. Many black americans hated their african
characteristics. They detested their hair, detested the shape of their
nose and wanted one of those long, dog-like noses, they hated the color
of their skin and would rather bleach their skin. The black color became
a chain, and a prison and felt that all of these restrictions were
based solely upon their skin color.<br />
<br />
And the psychological
reaction to that would have to be that as long as the black people felt
imprisoned or chained or trapped by their skin, and only because that
was holding them back, he automatically hated himself and the mental
control was wide-spread.<br />
<br />
In the same way, is the Somali
Ogaden man denying his history, his people and his blood. And when
someone is denying where he comes from in order to not feel "left out",
you know that he is facing the worst form oppression.<br />
Today we
have "leaders" who sell out our people for just a few crumbs of token
recognition and token gains and they are pleased with token victories
and token progress because they themselves are <b>nothing but token leaders.</b><br />
<br />
Because
of the profitable game of misleading and exploiting the people, if you
say to Somali Ogaden man that he is Ogaden,it makes him feel inferior;
it makes him feel inadequate. And when he fells like a victim, to this
feeling of inadequacy or inferiority or helplessness, he turns to
somebody else to show him the way. The black man, back in the in the
days, who hated himself, portrayed the white man as his master, the same
thing is the Somali Ogaden man doing putting Zenawi in that position.<br />
<br />
<br />
He don't have confidence in another Ogaden man to show him the way.<br />
This
dangerous mental control, is a result of why he is being thought that
Ogaden people cant't rule their own country. And it is the same reason
why the so called " intellectuals'" say Ogaden people can't unite.
Since it will be a "clash" between X tribe and Y tribe. Truth be told,
they say Ogadeni people can't unite because they don't want Somali
Ogadeni people to unite. Ethiopia is ruled by propaganda, painting
democracy that doesn't exist. Political awareness, which until very
recently was latent, is now becoming manifest and assuming outward
expression, and it will assert itself even more forcefully in the years
to come.<br />
We have to destroy the system, that sucks blood and that
makes the Ogaden man think he is inferior. The mind is everything. What
you think you become. When we become freedom, we will have the ability
to break coercive persuasion, and mental control.<br />
<br />
Written by<br />
<br />
<b>Sharezad F Gaas</b><br />
<b>Abdullahi Ahmed</b></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-39593492224800734242012-05-25T10:34:00.000-07:002012-05-25T10:34:06.166-07:00Past Muslim-Christian relations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.5pt;">Past Muslim-Christian relations<span id="goog_712559020"></span><span id="goog_712559021"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 18pt; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Historically, Ethiopia was a Christian empire involved in fierce expansionist conflicts with the Adal Emirate that was predominantly run by Somali religious elites with the help of Arabs and Ottoman Turkish Empire. With the appearance of Imam Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazi, other wise known as Ahmed Guray or the left-handed in the early 16th century in Harar, the religious divide between Christian highlanders and the Muslim Somalis sharpened. The Portuguese and Ottoman empires’ support to Abyssinia and Ahmed Guray respectively reinforced the religious sentiment and hatred on both sides (Rediker, 2003). Almost four centuries latter Sayid Mohammed Abdullahi Hassan emerged with his Dervish movement, fighting in turn against Britain, Italy and Ethiopia for 21 years until he died in 1921. Sayid Mohammed had relentlessly called upon the Somali people to follow his jihad against Christian invaders (Latin, 2004). This revived existing religious tension and Somali anger at the continuous incursion and territorial claims of Ethiopian and Christian highland authority over the Ogaden.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 18pt; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">The 1960s </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Nasrullah</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> uprising was another manifestation of religious mobilization. It was established in 1963 in the Ogaden to struggle for the independence of the region. Garad Makhtal Garad Dahir was elected as its first chairman and highly respected local clerics such as Sheikh Ibrahim Hashi and Sheikh Ali Suufi were among its leaders (Ansari, 2008, Markakis, 1987). The Arabic term </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Nasru-laah</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> itself has far-reaching meaning in Islamic terminology as it is another way of saying ‘sacrifice for the sake of Allah’. This connotation and the rhetoric used by the </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Nasrullah</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> leaders are proof of the limited place of nationalism in the movement. In the course of these events, from Ahmed Guray to Nasrullah, perceived threats have been built up on both sides. The Somalis began to consider other Ethiopians as their primary enemy and </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">vice versa</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">. Since the wars that spurred this enmity were strongly driven by religious undertones, religion was prominent in how the two sides framed each other. Socioeconomic and political factors both aggravated or eased tensions between the two.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 18pt; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">The 1969 coup d’état in Somalia and the 1974 revolution in Ethiopia both came with different discourses. The leaders of both revolutions, Siad Barre in Somalia and Mengistu Hailemariam in Ethiopia, committed themselves to secularism, namely scientific socialism. In Ethiopia it was at this point that Muslims felt that the regime was no longer a Christian one. The establishment of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Ethiopia in 1976 was another step forward in Christian-Muslim relations (Ahmed, 2006). Nevertheless, this was not enough to extinguish the religious factor in the ongoing tensions between Somalis and the Ethiopian regime.</span></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-53780485297502787192012-05-25T10:33:00.000-07:002012-05-25T10:48:16.302-07:00Journey to Independence. (Whenever Ogaden comes to remembrance my eyes drop tears).<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center">
<div align="center">
<div align="left">
“You have to do it yourself; no one else
will do it for you. You must work out your own salvation.”</div>
<div align="left">
<br /></div>
<div align="left">
Receive warm greetings dear esteemed Readers
before I begin the above reiterated title, hopefully this
article will be so beneficial, helpful to you, increase your
knowledge and at last provide you appropriate information
about the region (Ogaden).</div>
<div align="left">
(A journey starts from a step) a sayings, the
Ogaden struggle of independence had being spontaneously going
on so many decades and the people of Ogaden never showed exhausted
since those decades.</div>
<div align="left">
According to different sources defined independence
as the state or quality of being independent; freedom from
dependence; exemption from reliance on, or control by, others;
self-subsistence or maintenance; direction of one's own affairs
without interference. </div>
<div align="left">
In our knowledge Ethiopia was amongst the states
that never been colonized in Africa due to their role of hypocrisy
and creating pseudo- relations (for their interest) with the
colonizers of those days And were the part of the Berlin conference
where Africa was divided by the big powers.<br />
Ogaden was colonized by England for a certain period, then
took over by Italians for almost year later again come under
the patrol of England, which later ceded to Ethiopia, Ogaden
is one of the five great Somalia (The hargeisa, Djibouti …..e.t.c)
but currently recognized as part of Ethiopia where its people
deny the claims states that and call themselves ethnic Somalis
, who’re originally Somalis and require freedom, so
that they live like the rest of the people of the world.</div>
<div align="left">
The sunsets or rises everyday people of Ogaden
observe the multi-killing carried out entire regions of the
Ogaden by the Ethiopia soldiers whose aim to revenge whenever
they are beaten (defeated battlefield) by the ONLF they go
for revenge hunting innocent civilians, the stories in Ogaden
is like lost calves found by hyena and as usual kills one
at the time without sympathy .<br />
Therefore the people of Ogaden as I stated above have being
searching centuries for an autonomy state but possibly now
this days as we heard or seen the media and the maturity of
their struggle , we can sense or smack up the colors of Rainbow
(independence).</div>
<div align="left">
The signs of independence Today, if we take
a brief look at the early history records we will be able
to evaluate the tangible changes had gained since those decades,
what I mean is that today the ogadens had stood up as a nation
and learnt from their mistakes.</div>
<div align="left">
And the other issues are the capability (quality)
& the quantity of the Ogaden national Liberation Front
(O.N.L.F) which said or witnessed speedily increasing day
per day and untie the chains of colonial.</div>
<div align="left">
Some of few signs of independence which hopefully
will prevail very soon are :</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div align="left">
The solidarity of Ogadens worldwide –
wherever you look at, every angle of this earth your sight
will capture the image of unity of the ogadens globally.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div align="left">
The new upcoming leaders or educators who
are extremely stood with their people thin & thick, saying
no to colonialism through sharing awareness with their people.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div align="left">
The availability strong military that can
easily control & capable of guiding their territory.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div align="left">
Before, earlier people were deaf about the
situation but at the moment everyday so many websites owned
by its people & from international media write about Ogaden
& explode the untold stories.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div align="left">
Our ears felt jealous the sound that our ears
received from Sudan, where the world granted the Southerners
as an autonomy state and left us in perpetual violence although
we encourage every human to live in peace, stability and prosperous
life but if the world divided a nation of one people, shared
same norms, customs and culture , why are they keeping us
with wild life (Ethiopia) ,who feed on raw meat.</div>
<div align="left">
<b>The International Community</b></div>
<div align="left">
Ogadens have done all possible efforts to liberate
their land and up to today yet didn’t stop the gun shots
to free their homeland from the filth amharous who invaded
in the Ogaden soil.</div>
<div align="left">
Up to that point we can say the international
community, United nations And all humanitarian organizations
had implemented weak approaches to deal with the problematic
issues that simultaneously happening in the region, perhaps
the crimes records are available but yet it seems the world
is turning blind eye into it.</div>
<div align="left">
I always criticize the so called human rights
bodies which hired to assist the people on the ground and
solve the human problems as they appear but do vice-versa
to what they’re hired for, it’s really astonishing
only few countries benefit what was meant for all.</div>
<div align="left">
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
We urge as Ogadens the international community, ICC court
& all that concerned humanitarian aid to take immediate
action denounce the daily crimes committed by the Ethiopian
soldiers and those associated with them who’re trying
to hide the genocide.</div>
<div align="left">
The Ogaden reject the Ethiopian way of live
and said (we rather die our ways than live yours.) <br />
*The true character of liberty is independence, maintained
by force.*<br />
By: Abdullahi Ahmed (Freedom Hassan) </div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-17186845620950628732012-05-25T10:26:00.001-07:002012-05-25T10:34:34.488-07:00Ogaden Emerges To be recognized as a Nation (Ogadenia wa qaraan ,qoomiyad weye farabada "Ogaden is a nation consist of multi-nationalism" ).By: Abdullahi Ahme<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Most of us might not know or able to understand
what the word (ogaadeen) stands for so in this research or notion
of mind, I’ll try to breakdown vividly my understanding
in addition with reliable sources /references. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PHZiYbDzuTU/T7_AoLh71ZI/AAAAAAAAAbA/wqxJ1qUGs9I/s1600/ogaden-Somali.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PHZiYbDzuTU/T7_AoLh71ZI/AAAAAAAAAbA/wqxJ1qUGs9I/s1600/ogaden-Somali.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
1st
definition, that how Wikipedia articulated
<br />
Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled <i>Ogadeen; </i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_language">Somali)
</a>is the name of a territory that are predominately inhabitant
to Ethnic Somalis, which geographically lies west of Somalia and
southeastern of Ethiopia.<br />
2nd definition let’s look briefly the origin of Ogaden
as a term. <br />
ogaadeen has meaning in Greek language, it means a high level
land surface (plateau)<br />
Ogaden is a plateau with an elevation above sea level around
1,5000 metres In northwest ,falling about 300 metres along the
southern limits and River Shabelle valley. The areas with altitudes
between 1,400 and 1,600 metres are characterized as semi-arid;
receiving as much as 500–600 mm of rainfall annually.<br />
<b>Ogaden is No longer a tribe.</b><br />
Its unease task to emphasize corrupted minds what Ogaden means
, none can refuse every certain people that live together have
divided in different sub-families in such cases , Ogaden have
multi sub-clans.<br />
<br />
Ogadens of Ogaden are approximately around 3-6 million &
blessed a land enriched with all natural resources (Diamond ,
Raw product for industry, Animals of all kind etc).<br />
<br />
If we impose to the reality (the Origin phrase) , Ogaden is well
known tribe in the Somali society, where they have historical
records in Kenya, Somalia and even the eastern Africa , some of
the mentioned gentlemen in the world history are for instance,
Sayid Mohamed Abdile Hassan (the great hero of Africa) , Maktal
Dahir & So forth.<br />
Every certain Creation whether an animal or Human have family,
have a specific site to call home, specific people that they’re
related with, why am I saying this? Ogaden isn’t a tribe
but a grassroots of nation that consist of different many tribes,
similarly to the other nations of the world.<br />
<b>Features contribute name giving.</b><br />
In this sub-topic we will try to elaborate clearly, how names
are given, who gives the name, what are the necessary aspects
to consider before naming?<br />
If we glanced back very quickly most of the countries of the
world were either colonized or colonizers of the olden days and
given names accordingly.<br />
According to how names are given, I will take few countries &
how their names match with its geographical occurrence.<br />
Here below I will mention few steps that are considered for name
giving.<br />
- Geographical occurrence<br />
- Famous river that passes the region<br />
-The specific thing that the certain area is enrich with <br />
and so On.<br />
These are some little reasons considered when giving names.<br />
<b>Take for example :</b><br />
Jordan, Washington (USA), Saudi Arabia, Nairobi (Kenya), Ogaden,
all these names existed; they’re either a name of an individual,
climatically expression or place.<br />
Jordan (river) , Saudi (Family), Nairobi (Coldness) Ogaden (Family).<br />
During the time of the colonial err, the British, the Italia
& the rest of the colonizers, whenever they capture (discover)
a territory they used to name either by its inhabitants or where
it falls geographically.<br />
Ogaden Is a Nation<br />
What is being a nation?<br />
A large aggregate of people united by common descent, history,
culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.
<br />
Ogadenia wa qaraan ,qoomiyad weye farabada (Ogaden is a nation
consist of multi-nationalism)<br />
As a stated explicitly Ogaden have possession a territory that
fully of all sort of natural resources, which is occupied forcefully
by the Ethiopia.<br />
Ogaden Territory is 3 times bigger than some of western countries,
Middle East, its density is approximately around an area 179,252
km2 ,(69,210 sq mi).<br />
Note: the ogaden long ongoing political,social controversy must
be dealt in a proper manner in such that the world witnesses peacefully
environment without disputation amongst other people rights.<br />
giving self-determination to ogadens will never result decline
to financial calculationsbut instead it will rise opportunities
of allocating resources & decreasing unemployments through
out the region.<br />
The time has arrived, it can be done, it can be done, if only
we play our part, its said when you fulfill your dreams is when
everyone shows his/her interest behind your success, keep the
struggle alive your day will hopefully come.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-82878553630361916212011-10-23T04:32:00.000-07:002011-10-23T04:32:43.962-07:00ONLF – Clarifying Ethiopian False claims against The Swedish Journalists illegally detained<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ULgDkNSqqKI/TqP5VVuJMaI/AAAAAAAAAak/sEDW0bhUs30/s1600/onlf-flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ULgDkNSqqKI/TqP5VVuJMaI/AAAAAAAAAak/sEDW0bhUs30/s200/onlf-flag.jpg" width="200" /></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"> Statement :</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Date.October 17 2011</strong><br />
<div id="yui_3_2_0_1_1318865231311201">
<br /></div>
<br />
<strong>ONLF – Clarifying Ethiopian False claims against The Swedish Journalists illegally detained</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>The Ethiopian regime of Meles Zenawei is going to charge Matin Schibbye and Johan Perrson tomorrow in A Kangaroo Court in Addis Ababa on a trumpeted charge of Terrorism. The regime has set up an elaborate program of manufacturing false and concocted ‘evidence’ after their ill-trained solders in Ogaden shot the unarmed Journalists in Ogaden. First they falsely claimed that they had captured two ONLF liberation Army members, in order to say later they have witnesses from ONLF to testify against the Journalists. No ONLF Liberation Army soldiers or members were captured with the two journalists, but since Ethiopia has succeeded in deluding even the UN Somalia Monitoring Group, who interviewed and used as evidence against Eritrea, tortured inmates in Jail ogaden, the Ethiopian regime is planning the same tactic in using poor victims in Jail ogaden to testify against the journalists.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Secondly, they manufactured a ‘video’ doctored with a few additions from the journalists personal souvenir clips and forced the journalists, in violation of the Geneva conventions, to implicate themselves. Furthermore, the regime claimed that the journalists were trained by ONLF fighter in Galkayo- Somalia to use small arms. No ONLF member is safe in Puntland, let alone having training camp there. It is on record that even civilians from Ogaden are harassed and forcefully sent back to Ethiopian security. Therefore, the claim that ONLF trained the Journalists is a baseless, cheap and pathetic attempt to hide a heinous crime committed by the Ethiopian Army. Actually, this is a clear proof to the world about culture and webs of lie this regime engages in in denying the rights of the Ogaden and Ethiopian peoples.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>The Ethiopian government is greatly threatened specifically by these two journalists because it was afraid they will uncover the scorched earth policy and genocide it committed in Ogaden in order to clear the land for oil companies such as Lundin, which has now re-invented itself as African Oil, PETRONAS and others, in whose name hundreds of thousands of Ogaden Somalis were either displaced, killed or starved.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>The Ethiopian government is systematically violating the Human, Economic, political and Humanitarian Rights of the Ogaden people. It is committing genocide in Ogaden by denying the people the right to life by blockading aid and trade against specific clans in Ogaden. Furthermore, ONLF was part of the government, during the transitional period in Ethiopia, but the regime denying ONLF the opportunity to pursue peacefully the right of the Ogaden people to self-determination by attacking ONLF and destroying the democratically elected Ogaden parliament in 1994. Hence, ONLF is fighting a defensive war that has been imposed on It by the Zenawi regime and has called on many occasions for an internationally mediated settlement of the Ogaden issue. Instead, Ethiopia refused all attempts by the international community to mediate and as such, the Ethiopian claim that ONLF is a terrorist organisation has no legal or moral basis. If the right of people to defend themselves from unjust rule is terrorism, Meles Zenawi himself and the TPLF would qualify for terrorism and all liberation movements including those that liberated USA and most of the African countries from colonialism and oppression would qualify as terrorists.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Finally, ONLF calls upon all people with conscience to condemn Ethiopian government mockery of justice and stand up for both the Journalists imprisoned and humiliated in Ethiopia and the voiceless multitudes in Ogaden and Ethiopia.</strong><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong>Ogaden National Liberation Front</strong></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-86190710136478739272011-09-10T20:08:00.000-07:002011-09-10T20:13:56.981-07:00STATEMENT Ethiopia: Killing Civilians and Humanitarian Workers in the Ogaden: Unacceptable, Repugnant and Immoral.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlu1oldEYeY/TmwmGpNn_RI/AAAAAAAAAac/RvcNHYaNVMc/s1600/og.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlu1oldEYeY/TmwmGpNn_RI/AAAAAAAAAac/RvcNHYaNVMc/s1600/og.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Although prestigious international and national
human rights organizations, have issued several reports about
well-documented human rights violations in the Ogaden and elsewhere
in Ethiopia by the current Ethiopian government, the international
community has remained tight-lipped about those violations for
the last nineteen years. Nevertheless, the Ogaden Human Rights
Committee has not given up hope of the international community's
help to force Ethiopia to honour its commitments to internationally
accepted human rights principles. Hence, the OHRC requests and
recommends the following: </b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>RECOMMEENDATIONS AND APPEALS:</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>To: International Community, United Nations, Ethiopian
Government and Ogaden National Liberation Front:</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Ethiopian government and the Ogaden National
Liberation Front, declare immediate, comprehensive, unconditional
and verifiable cease-fire in the Ogaden. </b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The international community exert more pressure
on all the parties to the conflict in the Ogaden in order to
reach a peaceful negotiated settlement, which guarantees the
Ogaden people’s inalienable right to self-determination
through a fair and free referendum. </b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Since there is no confidence between the warring
sides the Ogaden Human Rights Committee urges the United States
and European Union to act as mediators and facilitators in order
to put an end the senseless carnage in the Ogaden. </b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Ogaden Human Rights Committee urges the Ethiopian
government, the Ogaden National Liberation Front to allow all
humanitarian and relief organisations to operate freely in the
Ogaden as well as international and local human rights organisations
and the international press. <br />
Perpetrators of war crimes and other atrocities in the Ogaden
should be brought before an international tribunal. </b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The United Nations appoint a Special Rapporteur
for Human Rights in the Ogaden. <br />
The Ethiopian government and Ogaden National Liberation Front
give ICRC free access to all detainees in their custodies. </b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>For the last sixteen years, aid workers in the
Ogaden were abducted, harassed, intimidated and looted at gunpoint
and each of the warring sides accused them of helping the other
side.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ethiopian Authorities, who do not like the outside
world to know the real situation in the Ogaden, expelled International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Medecins Sans Frontieres
(MSF) - Doctors without Borders and other International Humanitarian
Organizations from the Ogaden, in July 2007. At the time the
International Humanitarian Organizations, which operate in some
parts of the Ogaden, expressed timidly their concern and apprehension
at the Ethiopian government’s depopulation and starvation
campaign in the region as well as mismanaging of the humanitarian
aid and commandeering their transportation and using it for
military purposes.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>In April 2011, Mr Jakob Kellenberger, President
of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), met
in Addis Ababa with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
and asked him the return of the ICRC delegation to the Ogaden
to resume its humanitarian work. But the Ethiopian Prime Minister
has refused his request. </b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Ogaden Human Rights Committee deplores the
Ethiopian government’s decision to not allow ICRC’s
staff to resume its much needed humanitarian work in the Ogaden
and demands its reversal as well as allowing more humanitarian
and relief organisations to operate in the Ogaden without restrictions,
regardless of nationality or religion.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>On 14th May 2011, United Nations' World Food Programme
(WFP) said that one of its drivers had been killed in an ambush
by unknown gunmen in an attack that left another staff member
wounded. Two other persons were also missing. The incident took
place in Galaalshe, Fiiq region.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Ogaden Human Rights Committee (OHRC) is shocked
and distressed by the killing and targeting humanitarian workers
in the Ogaden and extends its sincere condolences to the family
and relatives who lost their loved one in this despicable terror
attack, and asks for an independent, transparent and thorough
investigation into the circumstances, which led to this human
tragedy as well as the immediate and unconstitutional release
of the missing two individuals.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Ogaden Human Rights Committee reiterates its
condemnation and disapproval of imposing restrictions on humanitarian
organisations’ movements, intimidation and abduction of
aid workers as well as targeting civilian population in the
Ogaden.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>As has been repeatedly documented by the Ogaden
Human Rights Committee and international human rights organizations,
the state of human rights in the Ogaden has gone from bad to
worse in the recent past. The abysmal track record of the Ethiopian
Government has been recently aggravated by natural calamities-mostly
man made- and senseless wars, which had primarily been caused
by the ill-devised policies of the current government.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Today, the situation in the Ogaden is very tense
and alarming. The ongoing struggle for self-determination and
independence in the Ogaden continues to cause more human suffering
and threatens peace and stability in the volatile region of
the Horn of Africa.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Ethiopian government’s scorched earth
policy in the Ogaden was in place since early 1992 when the
ONLF has called for referendum on self-determination and independence
for the Ogaden. </b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Ethiopian government’s strategy in the
Ogaden is based on; deliberate economic strangulation, political
marginalization and use of brutal military force to suppress
all legitimate demands from the population including the right
to self-determination.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>As a part of the Ethiopian government’s
policy of starving out the civilian population in the Ogaden
to submission, its army has imposed an economic blockade on
many towns and villages in the region. This blockade has caused
an enormous human suffering. The most affected areas by the
military campaign are: the regions of Dhagaxbuur, Fiiq, Qabridaharre,
Wardheer, Godey and some parts of Jigjiga, where many civilians
were killed and their villages were depopulated by the government
troops and allied militias, modelled on Sudanese Janjaweed militias,
known locally as Liyu Police.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Article 54 -Protection of objects indispensable
to the survival of the civilian population -of the protocols
additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 states
that "Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is
prohibited. It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render
useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian
population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production
of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations
and supplies and irrigation works, for the specific purpose
of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population
or to the adverse party, whatever the motive, whether in order
to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for
any other motives."</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>However, in an attempt to restrict people's movements,
terrorize the civilian population and stop trade movements,
the Ethiopian government has blocked up all commercial roads
leading to the main commercial centres in the region. And confiscated
lorries carrying food supplies in order to starve out the civilian
population. It also depopulated and razed entirely to the ground
many villages and hamlets.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>There is no doubt that the human rights situation
will continue to deteriorate dramatically in the Ogaden unless
the international community steps in to stop the inhuman policies
of the Ethiopian government in the Ogaden.</b></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Ogaden conflict is not different from other
conflicts in the world, which the international community is
involved and committed to resolving as a mediator or facilitator.
The last conflict in Africa, which was resolved through negotiation
with the help of the international community, was the war in
the Southern Sudan. The conflict in the Ogaden deserves the
attention and the positive intervention of the international
community.</b></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-54296637746539295232011-03-24T22:06:00.000-07:002011-03-24T22:11:31.861-07:00Drought and Corruption in the Horn of Africa, Specially in the Ogaden region.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: grey; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">On Tuesday March 22 the 18th World Water Day took place amidst negligible media coverage. Its theme was “Water cities: responding to the urban challenge”, a nod towards the pressures that rapid urbanisation and industrialisation have on water supplies in ballooning cities.</strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QMIGmduWx_8/TYwjROC9enI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/hIPxlj6U-EE/s1600/WFP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QMIGmduWx_8/TYwjROC9enI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/hIPxlj6U-EE/s320/WFP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><strong style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> Established by the United Nations (UN) in 1993, its purpose is to raise awar<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">eness of the importance of freshwater access and to advocate for more sustainable water management. With the world focused on unfolding events in Libya and Japan, and the UN and its agencies holding close to 100 such observance days in any given year - including World Television Day - the lack of media exposure can be forgiven. However, in the Horn of Africa another potential humanitarian crisis based on access to – and the politics of – water has been brewing, worsened by allegations of corruption at a major international organisation and - as revealed to Think Africa Press - bribery being intrinsic to obtaining necessary water supplies.</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><strong style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">For several years the problem of water shortages and droughts has been a major issue in Ethiopia and Somalia. Irregular and infrequent rainfalls have long been a fear for the nomads who populate a large portion of the region: the whole basis for a nomadic lifestyle is in part rooted in the continuous search for water sources. As the countries of the Horn become more urbanised however, new concerns are developing which perfectly chime with this year’s World Water Day theme. Since December 2010, water prices have increased by an alarming 300%, plunging many into increasing debt as incomes are depleted through the need to obtain an essential commodity.</strong><br />
<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</strong></div><strong style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Horn hydropolitics</strong><br />
<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</strong></div><strong style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">On the surface, this appears as nothing more than a climatic disaster compounded by external economic factors, in this case the huge global demand for food commodities. Certainly, the increase in water prices is largely down to man and nature squeezing supply, together with humanity’s insatiable appetite driving up demand. However, an ongoing conflict between rebel forces and the Ethiopian government’s military and Islamist militias in Somalia is exacerbating the drought. Furthermore, allegations of neglect and possible corruption at the World Food Programme (WFP) from last year continue to haunt the agency. <div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>The Somali Region of Ethiopia, often referred to as ‘Ogaden’ by its inhabitants, is reportedly suffering more than other areas of the country due to deliberate policies of the federal government in withholding water supplies for political reasons. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has long been at war with those in the country’s largest region, many of whom consider Ethiopian rule as a form of occupation. The WFP, together with the governments of Ethiopia and Somalia, remain largely responsible for managing and organising the distribution of food aid provided under various multilateral and bilateral provisions.<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Where is the water?<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars are given out to logistics firms – many local – tasked with moving water around the country to those most in need. But the allocation of food and water aid has largely been a catastrophe. In September 2008, British TV news programme Channel 4 News exposed details of the usage of food aid as a weapon against rebels and other anti-government forces in Ethiopia. In Somalia during the same year, it was reported that only 12% of food destined for the people actually reached them. Last spring the WFP had to respond to claims by a UN Monitoring Group report that food and water aid was effectively being stolen by a cartel of businessmen, militias and even the WFP’s own personnel, leading to claims of corruption in the organisation. The WFP denied the claims, arguing they were based on "hearsay" and "commonly held perceptions". In the autumn of 2010, Human Rights Watch produced a detailed report outlining the extent to which aid meant to support basic services – such as water provision – was being used as a means of repression by Ethiopian government forces against rebels and subject to fraudulent behaviour.<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>As the UN again warns about a potential humanitarian crisis due to a major drought, Somalia and the Somali Region of Ethiopia are seen as at risk to ‘limited humanitarian access’. In Somalia alone, some 2.4 million people out of an estimated 7.2 million are in need of aid relief. At the same time, new assertions are being made against the WFP’s inadequacy in Somalia and the Ethiopian government’s deliberate policy of blocking water to the Somali Region. The accusations were aired by US international public broadcaster Voice of America, which broadcast an appeal by rebel group Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). According to the news report, rebels claim that the government is purposely blocking aid as part of a tactic in the ongoing conflict in the region.<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>A price to pay<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Speaking to Think Africa Press, a Somali NGO worker based in Ethiopia described the problems of obtaining water through official distribution organisations and the actions of military personnel in seeking bribery. "I had to send $500 to my family members so they can pay a private truck to deliver water to them from Dhagbur to Dig town," he said. "The area they (about 20 family members) live in is in a remote rural area and the droughts have gotten so extreme that private trucks have to be paid. To add insult to injury, the Ethiopian army intercepted the truck and we had to pay extra bribery money for them to release the truck. We are going to have to repeat this next week because the water is only going to last for 7 days."<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">It would be wrong to jump to conclusions based on the evidence thus far. The WFP itself has brushed aside negative reports of its work and continues to strongly deny assertions of corruption. But it appears that something is going critically wrong with the logistical mechanisms of allocating and managing water. The claims made by the UN Monitoring Group last year together with reports by certain media outlets recently paint a damaging portrait of the WFP: at the very least it is culpable of poor management and wastage of financial resource; at worst, it may be involved in some capacity in corruption of aid provision. If further evidence of the latter is forthcoming, it will only continue to undermine the entire aid industry at a time when the sector already feels under siege.</div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">About the Author</div>Dominic Wall</strong><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">source</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://thinkafricapress.com/article/drought-and-corruption-horn-africa" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">http://thinkafricapress.co</span><wbr style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-left: -10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">m/article/drought-and-corr</span><wbr style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-left: -10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span>uption-horn-africa</a></span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-25431163274389003082010-12-31T07:29:00.000-08:002010-12-31T07:29:24.844-08:00Past Muslim-Christian relations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TR32Pglm4LI/AAAAAAAAAZk/Xu32p2nfupI/s1600/islamic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TR32Pglm4LI/AAAAAAAAAZk/Xu32p2nfupI/s320/islamic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.5pt;">Past Muslim-Christian relations<span id="goog_712559020"></span><span id="goog_712559021"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 18pt; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Historically, Ethiopia was a Christian empire involved in fierce expansionist conflicts with the Adal Emirate that was predominantly run by Somali religious elites with the help of Arabs and Ottoman Turkish Empire. With the appearance of Imam Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazi, other wise known as Ahmed Guray or the left-handed in the early 16th century in Harar, the religious divide between Christian highlanders and the Muslim Somalis sharpened. The Portuguese and Ottoman empires’ support to Abyssinia and Ahmed Guray respectively reinforced the religious sentiment and hatred on both sides (Rediker, 2003). Almost four centuries latter Sayid Mohammed Abdullahi Hassan emerged with his Dervish movement, fighting in turn against Britain, Italy and Ethiopia for 21 years until he died in 1921. Sayid Mohammed had relentlessly called upon the Somali people to follow his jihad against Christian invaders (Latin, 2004). This revived existing religious tension and Somali anger at the continuous incursion and territorial claims of Ethiopian and Christian highland authority over the Ogaden.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 18pt; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">The 1960s </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Nasrullah</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> uprising was another manifestation of religious mobilization. It was established in 1963 in the Ogaden to struggle for the independence of the region. Garad Makhtal Garad Dahir was elected as its first chairman and highly respected local clerics such as Sheikh Ibrahim Hashi and Sheikh Ali Suufi were among its leaders (Ansari, 2008, Markakis, 1987). The Arabic term </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Nasru-laah</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> itself has far-reaching meaning in Islamic terminology as it is another way of saying ‘sacrifice for the sake of Allah’. This connotation and the rhetoric used by the </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Nasrullah</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> leaders are proof of the limited place of nationalism in the movement. In the course of these events, from Ahmed Guray to Nasrullah, perceived threats have been built up on both sides. The Somalis began to consider other Ethiopians as their primary enemy and </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">vice versa</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">. Since the wars that spurred this enmity were strongly driven by religious undertones, religion was prominent in how the two sides framed each other. Socioeconomic and political factors both aggravated or eased tensions between the two.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 18pt; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">The 1969 coup d’état in Somalia and the 1974 revolution in Ethiopia both came with different discourses. The leaders of both revolutions, Siad Barre in Somalia and Mengistu Hailemariam in Ethiopia, committed themselves to secularism, namely scientific socialism. In Ethiopia it was at this point that Muslims felt that the regime was no longer a Christian one. The establishment of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Ethiopia in 1976 was another step forward in Christian-Muslim relations (Ahmed, 2006). Nevertheless, this was not enough to extinguish the religious factor in the ongoing tensions between Somalis and the Ethiopian regime.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-70406341591963896972010-12-31T07:02:00.000-08:002010-12-31T07:02:41.325-08:00The Role of Religion in the Ogaden Conflict<!--[if !mso]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.5pt;">The Role of Religion in the Ogaden Conflict<span> </span></span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.5pt;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 9pt;">By </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 9pt;">Mohammed Mealin Seid</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 9pt;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TR3wFHVyORI/AAAAAAAAAZY/eQGCGIhaXMo/s1600/mecca-medina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TR3wFHVyORI/AAAAAAAAAZY/eQGCGIhaXMo/s320/mecca-medina.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TR3wRIK9MyI/AAAAAAAAAZc/GNIOsMd7gBU/s1600/ogaden+symbol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TR3wRIK9MyI/AAAAAAAAAZc/GNIOsMd7gBU/s320/ogaden+symbol.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 15.6pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt;">Published on: Jan 26, 2009</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 20pt;">Introduction</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 18pt; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">For a long time Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State or Ogaden has been a theatre of violent confrontation between the Somalis living there and the Ethiopian authorities. Through history such conflicts have been launched under different pretexts by different groups (Hagmann, 2005). Religion played a prominent role in the campaigns of Ahmed Guray in the early 16th century, the Dervish movement of Sayid Mohammed Abdullahi Hassan in the late 19th and early 20th century and the late </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Nasrullah</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> movement of the 1960s (Abbink, 2003). Leaders on both the Ethiopian and Somali sides have often been religious men or they operated under the influence of a religious man. In contrast, however, from the 1970s up to today, secessionism, irredentism and nationalism have been the main parlance of the conflict.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 18pt; margin: 14.4pt 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Without denying the presence of </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">al-shabaab</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> and the United Western Somali Liberation Fronts (UWSLF) in the Somali Regional State, both of which are </span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">jihadists</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) are the primary actors in the Ogaden conflict, which has been ongoing since 1994 (HRW, 2008). According to Articles 11 and 27 of the Ethiopian constitution, Ethiopia is a secular state that recognizes the equality of religions (FDRE, 1995). Similarly, ONLF claims to be a purely nationalistic organization struggling for the freedom of the people in the region. In spite of these disassociations from religion, one can, in reality, observe that religion—Christianity in the case of the Ethiopian army and Islam in the case of ONLF—has a significant role in the waging and continuation of the conflict. Religion is intertwined with historical, social and political factors that contribute to conflict dynamics in Ethiopia’s Somali inhabited lowlands.</span></div><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">This article does not argue that either the ONLF or Ethiopia are religious entities, nor does it contend that the conflict between the two is a religious one. In order to understand the role of religion in the Ogaden conflict and the factors that may maximize it the article focuses on two interrelated themes. The first one concerns the religious identities that the parties to the conflict claim and how these identities have influenced violent conflicts so far. The second theme focuses on the behaviour of these actors in the conflict and how they deliberately mobilized religious overtones, which partly transformed a political conflict into a religious one</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-26144210901029166892010-09-18T09:01:00.000-07:002010-09-18T09:01:00.205-07:00The Democratic-Republic of Ogadenia Declaration of Independence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TJTiIJzmUuI/AAAAAAAAAY4/0B_hTm__CTs/s1600/Ogaden_National_flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TJTiIJzmUuI/AAAAAAAAAY4/0B_hTm__CTs/s320/Ogaden_National_flag.jpg" /></a></div> For the righteousness of our intentions,<br />
For our inalienable rights as human beings,<br />
<br />
And by the Authority of the indigenous people of Ogadenia, We declare the right to be a free and Independent State. The long history of suffering at the hands of the destructive and oppressive Ethiopian Government shall be abolished and all political connection exonerated. <br />
The people, free and independent, shall institute a new Government to preserve and protect their rights to all acts entitled to Independent States and to effect their safety and happiness. The Democratic-Republic of Ogadenia shall establish peaceful relations with neighbor States and all nations. From this day forth, the people of Ogadenia shall no longer: <br />
<br />
<ul><li>Be deprived of the right to trial by jury. </li>
<li>Have our homes looted, </li>
<li>Have our villages burnt. </li>
<li>Have our livestock slaughtered. </li>
<li>Our women raped. </li>
<li>Remain isolated from the world. </li>
<li>Will our boarders remain sealed from reporters, and economic trade. </li>
<li>Have humanitarian organizations exiled. </li>
<li>Suffer a manmade famine and a war against us.</li>
</ul>No longer denied our inalienable rights as human beings and no longer suffer the longstanding, widespread reign of terror.<br />
<br />
We, the Democratic-Republic of Ogadenia, therefore, declare that our Independence is recognized and that diplomatic relations be established with the United States of America as an ally against terrorAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-20393726305915772142010-09-17T12:57:00.000-07:002010-09-17T12:57:05.196-07:00Ogaden- If Bush Administration secured Peace in South Sudan why Obama Administration watches Ogaden Conflict?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TJPG4_AYJyI/AAAAAAAAAYY/_rBeee4knKc/s1600/obamapix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/TJPG4_AYJyI/AAAAAAAAAYY/_rBeee4knKc/s320/obamapix.jpg" /></a><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwlERCl_oi7_ZgZFP2Xl-UWQv3WnmtFW9FoRyvSEzgCANdYYr336HXRiEOee6g3I3CaSNCB_hMH5hJ1pvpAAQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><b>If Bush Administration secured Peace in South Sudan why Obama Administration watches Ogaden Conflict?<br />
<br />
Ogaden was the epicenter of The Conflict between the Long rebellions freedom Fighters and occupied forces from the Ethiopian Kingdoms, the region was closed from the world, there had never been a free media base that tells the true stories of the ground, starting from the 19TH century the region was not politically and military stable.<br />
<br />
There had been more than 10 time on military tension between the world powers over Ethiopia and Ogaden issue was the biggest issue on the matter, Ethiopia was playing its cards to gain the support of Ogaden conflict, Somali and Ethiopia fought over the Ogaden war in 1977, Soviet and its alliance supported Ethiopia Regime, the west always speaks on the lips claiming to maintain Human right and democracy but the people of the Ogaden region was at risk, killed, raped and massacred, the UN had never spoke on the matter of Ogaden abuses openly and investigate the accusations.<br />
<br />
Mostly of the Ogaden people dismisses the United Nations and its endless ignoring the Ogaden Issue, people sees the UN as vanguard that keeps the interest of the specific nations and people, some of them believe that Ogaden is Gaza of Africa.<br />
<br />
To come to the point Ogaden People are peace loving people but lack the justice, and order that need a long term solution, The West must give a chance to make a durable peace in Ogaden and end the long African conflict that lefts millions of Life.<br />
<br />
Now Ogaden is between three line, death ,prison and Refugee, most youth are living in the refugee of the east Africa, Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti, some are killed and some are in prisons, while other are living on intimidations and fear. All these are caused the long term Conflict between ONLF, Ogaden National Liberation Front and Ethiopian Troops.<br />
<br />
Ethiopian Troops trained financed and armed militia Named Liyuu Police, these militias have same similarities of the Janjiweed Malitia in Sudan, Durfur, they kill civilian, raped women and hangs men, the militia are founded in the 2005.<br />
Human right Organizations and Aid called on the West particularly US and UK to investigate the matter of Ogaden region and the human right abuses that happened between 2006-2009, The UN must take step and must not to blind eye to the crisis looming on Ogaden.<br />
<br />
To come to the Obama Administration, Obama has promised shifting the US policy towards Africa, in his Ghana speech, Obama lauded peace, democracy and justice in Africa, if that speech was true , Ogaden Region is first place need that solution.<br />
<br />
The last US Administration solved the South Sudan Conflict, In 2001, pushed by an advocacy coalition led by U.S. evangelical and African-American churches, former President George W. Bush made bringing peace to the region a foreign policy priority. His administration helped secure a 2005 peace agreement, which established a power-sharing government that was supposed to lead Sudan from dictatorship to democracy.<br />
<br />
Now Obama must lead Ethiopia into true democracy and bring both Ethiopia and ONLF leaders on the Table and they must come on each to compromise so as to reach the durable solution in Ogaden and whole in Ethiopia, if that happen, there would not be more worry about In Somalia extremist groups to come in Ethiopia, and risk will minimize. Ogaden people must asked what is their will, If they chose to be Ethiopians we must see, If they chose to be Free nation, with huge Gas and Oil producer, USA must open bases on Ogaden and find both the interest of the people in the region and its interest and national security. Ogaden and Ethiopia can be two peace nations sharing economic interest.<br />
<br />
To be honest, the current peace claimed The Ethiopia and some Faction claiming ONLF is an endless road, the group is non-existence on the ground, they had no any relationship with ONLF army In Ogaden, the Group leader and some youth that he collected from the west are seen in Ogaden as hopeless and helpless in Ogaden. Salahadin Macow had been ousted ONLF central committee after when he was charged with corruption. ONLF military has only one Admstration led by Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman, Mahamed Ismail, Abdi Qadir Adani Hirmoge,Dhiirane, Abdi Rahman Mahdi and its central committee consist of 54 Members</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-52650721466322379042010-02-24T20:41:00.000-08:002010-02-24T20:41:35.855-08:00ONE STAR.<b>one Star!<br />
Oh, Putland, Oh, Putland, bemused<br />
I gape at the stars above you.<br />
How dark it looks to see Somali’s lone star<br />
disappearing from your sight!<br />
I never thought I’d see the day,<br />
<br />
“Farrole” poisoned the spirit of Mandeeq!<br />
I never thought he’d crumble me into the ground to strip my Somalinis!<br />
I never thought he’d send our brothers to harm’s way.<br />
Now they are gone, I close my eyes and think of them, and how.<br />
<br />
There was a time when I had doubt,<br />
<br />
If he suffers from amnesia knowing I am his Somali brethren.<br />
And what hurts the most is I now know how Tigray is his new kin and King.<br />
<br />
I am left with emptiness but not defeat,<br />
because, I am Somalia’s pride! Striving for the best!<br />
We fought for the freedom you cherish in Putland.<br />
<br />
A truth, Mr. Farrole will never know to admit.<br />
And I will bear my guilt alone not knowing where<br />
he’s left Somalia’s hero Sayid, and heroine Hawa Tako,<br />
<br />
Perhaps they too had perished in his mist.<br />
If he must know, we’ve been tested in ovens of hell<br />
Dignified and certified our will equaling to gold and diamond!<br />
<br />
Freedom from Woyane ascendancy is a must for us,<br />
We pray as well your kinship with Tigray to<br />
<blockquote></blockquote>forever flourish until death does you a part.<br />
<br />
Our enemies had purified enough of there hatred,<br />
Ogaden star will shine,it was said that<br />
Every dog has a day<br />
written By ogadenian peotry<br />
Sadiq Abdirahman <br />
<i></i></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-46356573382027605442010-02-16T14:54:00.000-08:002010-02-16T14:54:11.301-08:00Silent Cry’ Victims of Ogaden GenocideBritish University students have uncovered the horrors of Ogaden, Africa, almost by accident. “Silent Cry” the grassroots documentary production by students Abdallah Abdi, Ahmed Abdalle, and Abdi-Shukri Omar shows a harrowing portrayal of the victims from the Ogaden region.<br />
<br />
<br />
It was screened on the 6th of February at Melbourne University to a capacity crowd, making it the 26th city to view this first-hand account. <br />
<br />
In 2007, the Ethiopian Army launched a military crackdown in Ogaden under its chairman Mohamed O. Osman. The main rebel group is the Ogaden National Liberation Front, which is fighting against the Ethiopian government. <br />
<br />
Somalis who inhabit Ogaden have since claimed that the Ethiopian military kill civilians, commit crimes against the nomads in the region and destroy the livelihood of many of the ethnic Somalis. Ogaden is situated in the Somali region of Ethiopia and is currently subject to a total media blackout. <br />
<br />
The students were seeking adventure in Africa when they met a taxi driver who described his horrific story in the hands of Ethiopian soldiers, where his son was burnt and killed and wife kidnapped and never seen again. <br />
<br />
“It really shocked us…I was on my last year at university and now a whole lot of the team of ‘Silent Cry’ have completely given up everything in life because we believe this is a crime against humanity and we want to present this message to anyone and everyone in the world.” Said Abdi Shukri, the narrator and interviewer in the documentary.<br />
<br />
Determined to find out the truth, the students ventured into the IFO refugee camp in Northern Kenya, where many have taken refuge from the conflict, although conditions are very basic and little support is given to these victims. <br />
<br />
What follows in the documentary is traumatic, gritty and the style of production shows images repeated and choppy to give viewers the full effect of what the conditions the people in this refugee camp have had to endure. <br />
<br />
A group of women, all of who were subjected to rape and torture by the regime, were willing to give their accounts, although it was clear how much pain this was causing. <br />
<br />
One woman was repeatedly raped by nine soldiers and is now disabled because of this despicable act. Another woman opened up eventually to describe how she was forced to hang her own child. The students were so affected by this particular story, they were originally planning to name the film “Hang your Child” but thought this may be too strong for audiences so instead decided to name it “Silent Cry.” <br />
<br />
The child victims were a focal point throughout the documentary. These parts of the film were possibly the most distressing. Tiny legs burnt, little faces scarred from fire and countless orphans wandering around without any supervision were all vividly captured in the film. It was too much to handle at some points with the images firmly planted long after the film finished. <br />
<br />
The amateur film-makers have taken this documentary to over 26 cities in europe and the U.S in the past few months and are continuing their travels. Originally, Channel 4 in the UK offered them 13,000 pounds (Roughly 20,000 Australian dollars) for their footage, but they turned it down, fearful that it would be edited incorrectly. They instead edited the film themselves. <br />
<br />
When asked how they fund their cause, it truly shows the grassroots nature of the project . They have raised money from student donations, selling t-shirts, badges and wristbands and are driven by a passion and extreme determination to expose the genocide that is happening in OgadenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-86405961161581577172010-01-18T02:32:00.000-08:002010-01-18T02:32:53.616-08:00Ethiopia Shakes Down Its Minnesota RefugeesMINNEAPOLIS–Immigrants to Minnesota from eastern Ethiopia are being forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to support an Ethiopian security force that tortures and kills thousands of its own innocent people.<br />
<br />
Under an extortion scheme run by the Ethiopian army, soldiers in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia abduct men, women and teenage boys and girls, holding them without charge in one of scores of military jails in the region, which borders Somalia.<br />
<br />
Knowing that many Ogaden families have relatives who live in Minnesota, the Ethiopian army tells the prisoners’ families that their loved ones can be freed upon payment of ransoms ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.<br />
<br />
Hating to pay the money but having no other choice, the Minnesota refugees empty their personal bank accounts and pass the hat to raise ransoms to release their husbands, wives, sons, daughters and friends from overcrowded jails where torture, rape, beatings and killings are common.<br />
Destruction of Villages<br />
<br />
“It is a booming business for the Ethiopian army,” said Mohamed, a Minnesota school teacher who immigrated from the Ogaden in 1993. “It happens every day in the Ogaden, and every day someone in Minnesota is sending money.”<br />
<br />
Mohamed and other Ogaden immigrants quoted in this story declined to give their full names for fear that their family and friends living in the Ogaden would be jailed, tortured or killed in retribution for their openness.<br />
<br />
In recent years, one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises has unfolded silently in the Ogaden region, where a vicious counter-insurgency campaign by the Ethiopian government has wiped out scores of villages, killed thousands of civilians and displaced tens of thousands or more to refugee camps in Ethiopia and northern Kenya.<br />
<br />
About 5,000 Ogaden refugees have found their way to Minnesota, which has one of the largest refugee populations from the Ogaden crisis in the world. The Ogaden refugees in Minnesota are settled mainly in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Willmar, St. Cloud and Faribault.<br />
<br />
Frantic Calls<br />
<br />
The ransoming of Ogaden refugees in Minnesota is exacting a disastrous economic, psychological and social toll within the Ogaden community and the broader society, Ogaden immigrants here say.<br />
<br />
“I cry every night, believe me,” said Abdi, an Ogaden refugee who has sent $600 ransoms on two occasions. “You are forced to do what is not right, you are forced to do the wrong thing. It’s horrible. It lives with us, it lives with us everywhere. No matter where I am, in the bedroom, in the bathroom, in the living room, I cannot hold back my tears.”<br />
<br />
Being forced to spend thousands of dollars to free their relatives from jail in Ethiopia slows down the Minnesota Ogadeni refugees’ attempts to learn English, to get an education and to successfully assimilate into U.S. society, they say.<br />
<br />
“We get frantic phone calls day and night,” says Mustafe, an Ogaden refugee who works at Minneapolis employment agency. “Friends and family need money to be freed from jail. They say, ‘Please send us money, please send us money!’ We send it, of course, but as a result we go into debt ourselves. I don’t even dream of going back to school to improve myself until the situation in Ogaden changes and improves.”<br />
<br />
Financial Aid<br />
<br />
In 2007, Mustafe sent $1,500 towards a $4,000 ransom collected in Minnesota to release a teenaged cousin who was jailed for three months and was released after the ransom was paid. As a result of that and other ransoms Mustafe has paid, plus monthly support he sends back home to relatives, he is about $10,000 in debt.<br />
<br />
The ransoming of Ogaden refugees is only one facet of an extreme humanitarian crisis involving countless crimes against humanity bordering on a full-scale genocide that has been building in the Ogaden for more than a decade but intensified sharply in 2007.<br />
<br />
The roots of the crisis lie in the fact that eastern Ethiopia is inhabited by ethnic Muslim Somalis at a time when the Ethiopian government has been waging war against Somalia. In December 2006, with financial aid and military training from the U.S., Ethiopia crushed the Islamic Courts Union, an Islamist government that controlled Somalia.<br />
<br />
In 2007, the Ethiopia-Somalia war intensified in Ogaden, where the Ethiopian Army launched an all-out counter-insurgency against a separatist militia, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, which it calls a terrorist organization.<br />
<br />
Collective Punishment<br />
<br />
The ONLF conducts deadly raids against Ethiopian military, such as an April 2007 attack against a Chinese-run oil operation in the Ogaden which killed not only Ethiopian soldiers but several dozen Ethiopian citizens and nine Chinese nationals.<br />
<br />
In retaliation for that attack, Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, launched a vicious crackdown on the ONLF, targeting not only ONLF fighters but their families, friends and other supporters throughout the region. In 2008, Human Rights Watch published a report, “Collective Punishment: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia’s Somali Region.”<br />
<br />
The report documented hundreds of cases of torture, rape, executions and indeed the destruction of entire Ogaden villages on the mere suspicion that someone in the village was harboring an ONLF fighter. Human Rights Watch said the likely scale of the disaster was far larger than they were able to document in the report.<br />
<br />
Since 2007 all foreign journalists and many aid organizations, including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, have been forced to suspend operations in the Ogaden.<br />
<br />
Virtually all of the ransoms paid by Minnesota Ogadeni refugees to the Ethiopian military are to release friends and relatives who have been jailed on suspicion of knowing, sheltering, or aiding ONLF fighters.<br />
<br />
Clan Elders<br />
<br />
But in a region like Ogaden, where almost every village has at least one son or daughter who has joined the ONLF, to declare war on all people with even a slight relationship the ONLF is tantamount to declaring war on the entire Ogadeni people—on their society and culture. From an Ogadeni perspective, that has happened.<br />
<br />
In Minneapolis over the past two weeks, I interviewed 18 Ogaden refugees. Every one confirmed knowledge of the frequent payment of ransoms by Minnesota Ogadenis to free imprisoned relatives held by the Ethiopian army in the Ogaden.<br />
<br />
About half of the refugees I interviewed said they had personally paid ransoms to free relatives from jail, and some had done so many times.<br />
<br />
The ransom amounts ranged from $300 to $1,500. In some cases those amounts were contributions to total collected ransoms of more than $10,000, which seems to be a typical amount needed to release Ogadeni clan elders who are held.<br />
<br />
Here are four ransom stories I was told:<br />
<br />
Abdi #1: “In 2002, in the city of Harare, Ethiopian soldiers arrested my brother and beat him badly, tying a rope at the top of his elbows. For five nights they beat him. My Dad had to pay money to get him loose. He came back with marks on his arms above his elbows. Another time, my brother-in-law was arrested. On two occasions, his relatives called me in Minnesota to say he is alive in prison and asked us here to send money. So on two occasions since 2002 we sent $600, but my brother-in-law was never released and we still don’t know if he is alive or dead.”<br />
Mustafe: “In 2007, my brother, who was in high school, was arrested and put in jail. They accused him of being a collaborator of the ONLF. They said he was buying khat [a chewed leaf that is a legal stimulant in Ethiopia and a major cash crop there] to give to the ONLF. But he was only a student with no money and he never did that. We collected $4,000 here in Minnesota to release him, which they finally did after three months.”<br />
Mohamed: “In 2005, they put my brother in jail. He is a tea shop owner and the Ethiopian army said he sold some food to the ONLF. My brother’s wife and cousins sold their sheep and goats to get the ransom money and he was released, but five months later they put him back in jail. This time, his wife called me and said, “Mohamed, our sheep and goats are very thin and weak, it’s the dry season, and none of them can be sold. We need money. They will kill your brother if we don’t pay.” So I sent what I could afford, which was $700. Again he was released, but today, only a few hours ago, I got the bad news from my village that my brother and two others were taken by the Ethiopian army and no one knows their fate. So again I don’t know if my brother and the others are okay or if they are killed. If they aren’t killed, I will once again have to pay ransom, for the third time. They said my brother is a sympathizer of the ONLF, but he is only a tea shop owner. How can he discriminate if a customer who comes in is ONLF? They don’t wear any uniform, how can he tell?”<br />
Abdi #2: “My friend and cousin is named Hassan Ahmed, from the town of Jijiga. Last year he was jailed and sentenced to death for supposedly helping the ONLF. But he has asthma and was seriously sick and he needed to go to the hospital. So his mother called me here in Minnesota and said, “If we pay $500 they say they will take him to the hospital.” So we managed to raise $500, which we sent to the family, and they gave it to the Ethiopian army. But he was never let out of prison and we don’t think he was taken to the hospital either. Instead, after they got the money they said, “This guy is sentenced to death, he will never get out.”<br />
Cell Phones<br />
<br />
Mohamed, the Ogaden school teacher, has collected records of 182 separate instances of extortion and ransoming of Ogadeni civilians by the Ethiopian Army. The total amount paid in these cases was $84,500, which Mohamed estimates is less than 1% of the total amount of money extorted and ransomed by the Ethiopian Army in the past two years.<br />
<br />
“You cannot imagine how widespread this is,” said Mohamed, who collected the data through cell phone calls to contacts in the Ogaden and the global Ogaden diaspora.<br />
<br />
As a result of the humanitarian aid and information blackout imposed by Ethiopia on the Ogaden, accounts given by the Ogaden refugees in Minnesota provide one of the richest sources of information about the crisis there.<br />
<br />
Money, Army or Jail<br />
<br />
Ogadeni shopkeepers and traders are also frequent targets for Ethiopian army threats and shakedowns, Minnesota’s Ogaden refugees say.<br />
<br />
“In the town of Gode,” said Mohamed, “the Army just last week gathered more than 100 business people recently and told them, “You have three choices: you can give us money, you can join the army, or you can go to jail.”<br />
<b></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-43715675450123615532009-12-20T02:12:00.000-08:002009-12-20T02:16:06.733-08:00Copenhagen, Climate Change, China, and Ogaden<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Sy35LWqH12I/AAAAAAAAAWE/0eERszXHfLg/s1600-h/Og.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 96px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Sy35LWqH12I/AAAAAAAAAWE/0eERszXHfLg/s320/Og.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417259900252706658" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Sy35K5WppUI/AAAAAAAAAV8/x7ZR21d9-es/s1600-h/Dr+Mohamed+Shamsadin.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Sy35K5WppUI/AAAAAAAAAV8/x7ZR21d9-es/s320/Dr+Mohamed+Shamsadin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417259892386407746" /></a><br /><br />O g a d e n <br /><br />Ogaden is a first example. A sizeable territory (280000 km2) where 6 millions of Somalis have been engulfed, imprisoned and persecuted in all possible manners because of the ominous English colonialism that ended up in ulcerous anti-Somali racism and vicious political practices. In fact, the entire territory of Ogaden became a gift offered to the bloodthirsty and barbaric Amhara Abyssinian despot, Haile Selassie, because of his siding with England in the East Africa colonial game. <br /><br />With rich soil, great natural resources, and a well educated Ogadeni Diaspora, an independent Ogaden Republic will be China´s key economic and political partner, and more importantly, it will be a partner deprived of tergiversations and hesitations. The brave people of Ogaden, the active Ogadeni Diaspora, and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) are the key for China´s need for peace and national unity in Somalia. <br /><br />China´s accurate understanding of the Asiatic landmass geopolitical games of England and America must help in shaping China´s new African policy. Afghanistan is a matter of concern for China´s national security. The US-led foreign armies in Afghanistan created a havoc after eight (8) years of inexplicably unending and truly speaking fake war against phantasms of extremism. What brought these armies there? This is known: September 11th. An event that more and more people allover the world refuse to take at face value and consider merely as a scheme of the US militaristic establishment.<br /><br />Another September 11th may happen at any time. Those who expect it grow more numerous day by day. It can be possibly attributed to the Shabaab of Somalia who control the southern parts of Somalia, having got great help in terms of logistics from the US and their puppet, the tyrannical Kikuyu regime of Nairobi. <br /><br />Another September 11th would be an excellent pretext for the US forces to occupy on permanent basis part of the geo-strategically very important territory of Somalia. Such a development would not only herald the beginning of the end of China´s penetration in Africa. It would also herald doubts about the possibility of China to effectively defend its national territory from nuclear attacks. <br /><br />I will expand on this subject in several forthcoming articles but here I merely add two reports on recent demonstrations organized by the Ogadeni Diaspora in Copenhagen. <br /><br />Members of the Danish Ogaden Community Demonstrate Outside the UN Climate Change Conference<br /><br />Copenhagen, Denmark – December 17. Protestors from Denmark's Ogaden Community demonstrate outside the UN climate change conference on December 17, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The group were demonstrating against Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi participating in the COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference, claiming that he has one of the worst environmental records in the history of Ethiopia and that he has no respect for fundamental human rights.<br /><br />Members of the European Ogaden Community Demonstrate Against Meles Zenawi<br /><br />Dozens of Ogaden and Oromo communities in Europe demonstrated outside the UN climate change conference on December 17-18, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The group were demonstrating against Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi participating in the COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Meles Zenawi is one of the worst environmental records in the history of Ethiopia and that he has no respect for fundamental human rights. <br /><br />Waving the Ogaden National flag, the protestors chanted Meles belongs at the Hague for trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) instead of being honored as a spokesman for all African nations at the global conference this week. Members of the Ogaden community accused Meles Zenawi of committing genocide in the Ogaden.<br /><br />Many African countries seek financial compensation for the continent in order to combat climate change. Recently, some African groups opposed a deal between Meles and European leaders.<br /><br />The Ogaden people are fighting for self-determination. Extra-judicial killings, rape, disappearances, destruction of livelihood and the displacement of thousands of Ogaden people are the daily norm in Ogaden.<br /><br />There is constant fighting between Ethiopian troops and ONLF forces in the Ogaden region. Human rights organizations accuse the Ethiopian soldiers of violating the human rights by harassing the people in the Ogaden region.<br /><br /><strong></strong> author by Dr mohamed shamsidiin "nafti hure"...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-34484538043175548472009-12-12T01:08:00.000-08:002009-12-12T01:18:32.944-08:00Who are Ethiopia's ONLF rebels?<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SyNefBb9r8I/AAAAAAAAAVE/mwG6eaYiVcI/s1600-h/ONLF+Fighters.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 164px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SyNefBb9r8I/AAAAAAAAAVE/mwG6eaYiVcI/s320/ONLF+Fighters.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414275064084148162" /></a><br /><strong>Dec 11 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) launched attacks on government positions last month and are warning international oil companies not to explore for their region's potential deposits.<br /><br />Here are some key facts about the ONLF:<br /><br />* The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) is the most active of the country's rebel groups. It was formed in 1984 amid a resurgence of separatist sentiment in the Ogaden region, which is near Ethiopia's border with Somalia.<br /><br />* In April 2007 the rebels attacked an oilfield run by Sinopec, Asia's biggest refiner and China's second largest oil and gas producer. Sinopec then pulled out of the Ogaden. Most of Ethiopia's oil and gas exploration activities have centred on the vast desert province. The rebels want firms to stay away.<br /><br />* Ethiopia's Somali region, of which the Ogaden is a part, is mainly populated by Muslim Somali-speakers. The area has its own identity, doing most of its trade with Somaliland, Somalia and the Middle East, rather than the rest of Ethiopia.<br /><br />* The ONLF dominated the Somalia region's government from 1991 until 1994. But the regional parliament passed a resolution in 1994 to hold a referendum on independence for the Ogaden and was then dissolved by the government.<br /><br />* The group says its goal remains a referendum on independence for the region.<br /><br />* The rebels have employed a strategy of hit-and-run attacks, often using grenades and landmines before melting back into the region's largely nomadic population.<br /><br />* The Ethiopian government says the ONLF is trained and funded by Horn of Africa rival Eritrea in an effort to destabilize Ethiopia. Regional analysts agree<br /><br />Mahdi, who rarely speaks to the media, told Reuters the rebels wanted a referendum on independence for the region's Muslim, ethnic Somali people. And he dismissed claims the ONLF was helping Somalia's Islamist al Shabaab rebels, who are waging a violent war against that country's U.N.-backed government.<br /><br />"The ONLF, as a matter of policy and principle, does not and will not collaborate with extremist organisations," he said. "This is a struggle for self-determination."<br /><br />Analysts say that, along with its potential mineral wealth, the desert region's location between Somalia and Addis Ababa makes the Ethiopian government determined to hold on to it after a long history of hostilities with its neighbour.<br /><br />The government says the ONLF has no popular support and is funded by rival Eritrea in an attempt to destabilise Ethiopia.<br /><br />Bereket Simon, the Ethiopian government's head of information, told Reuters the rebels had regrouped since 2007, but called November's attacks a "last desperate act".<br /><br />Locals said the rebels were believed to be planning more assaults.<br /><br />The rebels and the government routinely accuse each other of terrorising the local population, burning villages and murdering and raping civilians.<br /><br />The ONLF accuses government forces of stopping food aid and commercial supplies from reaching their strongholds, putting thousands of drought-affliced civilians at risk of starvation.<br /><br />Ambassador Cousin's visit was carefully managed by the United Nations and the Ethiopian government. Her convoy rarely left main roads, and she said saw no evidence of the ONLF charges.</strong><em></em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-4597968810245475652009-11-15T01:29:00.000-08:002009-11-15T01:33:20.507-08:00THE BEST FOUR INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS REPORTED THE VICTORY OF ONLF<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Sv_K2FI_CPI/AAAAAAAAAT8/RdJl4joGFDs/s1600-h/Ogaden%2520Map%2520Jazeera.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 206px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Sv_K2FI_CPI/AAAAAAAAAT8/RdJl4joGFDs/s320/Ogaden%2520Map%2520Jazeera.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404261108309494002" /></a><br />Wareegay Hadaba Dhamaan Warkaas ka Akhriso Gudaha. <br />Ethiopia rebels claim massive counter-offensive<br />(AFP) – 3 hours ago<br /><br />ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopian rebels have launched a wide offensive in the southeastern Somali ethnic Ogaden region and recaptured seven towns from government forces, they claimed Saturday in a statement.<br /><br />The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said in a statement received by AFP that it had launched a broad offensive on several fronts on November 10.<br /><br />"The operation involved thousands of ONLF troops and resulted in two days of heavy fighting. A significant number of Ethiopian troops have been killed and their military hardware captured or destroyed," it said.<br /><br />The ONLF said its forces entered the towns of Obolka, Hamaro, Higlaaley, Yucub, Galadiid, Boodhaano and Gunogabo, where government forces had deployed troops and positioned military hardware.<br /><br />"ONLF forces were warmly welcomed by the population in these areas and are administering medical care to those civilians killed by retreating Ethiopian occupation forces," the statement said.<br /><br />Formed in 1984, the ONLF is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in Ethiopia's oil-rich Ogaden region, who they say have been marginalised by Addis Ababa.<br /><br />The Ethiopian military launched an offensive against ONLF rebels after they attacked a Chinese-run oil venture in Ogaden in April 2007, killing 74 people.<br /><br />In April, Ethiopia said it had significantly weakened the rebels, a claim the insurgents dismissed<br /><br /><br /><br />Aljazeera Africa: Ogaden: Seven Ethiopian towns taken <br /><br /><br />Somali Ogaden fighters formed the ONLF in 1984 and have attacked government forces regularly <br /><br />Ethnic Ogaden fighters in Ethiopia have launched an offensive in the southeastern Somali region and claim to have recaptured seven towns from government forces.<br /><br />In a statement released early on Saturday, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said its attacks were launched across a broad front and had begun on November 10.<br /><br />"The operation involved thousands of ONLF troops and resulted in two days of heavy fighting. A significant number of Ethiopian troops have been killed and their military hardware captured or destroyed," it said.<br /><br />The ONLF said its forces entered the towns of Obolka, Hamaro, Higlaaley, Yucub, Galadiid, Boodhaano and Gunogabo - where government forces had deployed troops and positioned military hardware.<br /><br />"ONLF forces were warmly welcomed by the population in these areas and are administering medical care to those civilians killed by retreating Ethiopian occupation forces," the statement claimed.<br /><br />The Ethiopian government has not responded to the statement.<br /><br />Formed in 1984, the ONLF is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in Ethiopia's oil-rich Ogaden region - which they say has been marginalised by the government in Addis Ababa.<br /><br />The Ethiopian military launched a counter-offensive against ONLF rebels after they attacked a Chinese-run oil venture in Ogaden in April 2007, killing 74 people.<br /><br />In April, Ethiopia said it had significantly weakened the the anti-government force, a claim ONLF rejects.<br /><br /><br />BBCEthiopia rebels 'capture towns' <br /><br />Ethnic-Somali rebels in the south-east of Ethiopia say they have launched an offensive against government forces and captured several towns.<br /><br />The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said it began attacking on several fronts on Tuesday. <br /><br />The separatists said a "significant number" of Ethiopian troops had been killed and their equipment captured. <br /><br />The reports could not be verified and Ethiopia has in the past dismissed rebel accounts of military gains. <br /><br />"The operation involved thousands of ONLF troops and resulted in two days of heavy fighting," an ONLF statement said. <br /><br />The group added that its forces had been "warmly welcomed" in the towns it claimed to have captured - Obolka, Hamaro, Higlaaley, Yucub, Galadiid, Boodhaano and Gunogabo. <br /><br />The ONLF, formed in 1984, is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in the oil-rich Ogaden region. <br /><br />It says the Somali-speaking population has been marginalised by Addis Ababa. <br /><br />Fighting has escalated over the past two years following an ONLF attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field. <br /><br />More than 70 people died in the attack, including Ethiopian guards and Chinese workers. <br /><br />Addis Ababa calls the rebels "terrorists" and has cut off all access to the region. <br /><br />However, watchdogs have accused the Ethiopian government of human rights violations. <br /><br />Ethiopia's ONLF rebels say captured seven towns<br /><br /><br />* ONLF say seven towns captured<br /><br />* Government says rebels defeated<br /><br />* Region with oil and gas potential<br /><br /><br /><br />By Barry Malone<br /><br />ADDIS ABABA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Ethiopian rebels fighting for independence for a region with potentially significant oil and gas reserves said on Saturday they had captured seven towns near the border with neighbouring Somalia.<br /><br />The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) wants autonomy for the Ogaden region, whose population is ethnic Somali. The area is drawing interest from foreign oil and gas companies who think its deserts might be rich in mineral deposits.<br /><br />"The operation ... to capture Obolka, Hamaro, Higlaaley, Yucub, Galadiid, Boodhaano and Gunogabo involved thousands of ONLF troops and resulted in two days of heavy fighting," the rebels said in a statement.<br /><br />"A significant number of Ethiopian troops have been killed and their military hardware captured or destroyed."<br /><br />Ethiopian government officials were unavailable for comment, but they routinely deny ONLF statements and say the rebels have been defeated.<br /><br />Addis Ababa says the ONLF are "terrorists" supported by regional rival Eritrea. The ONLF accuses the Ethiopian military of killing and raping civilians and burning villages in the region as part of its effort to root out insurgents.<br /><br />The regular accusations from both sides are impossible to verify. Journalists and aid groups cannot move freely in the area without government escorts.<br /><br />The ONLF statement said its fighters had been "warmly welcomed" by residents in the seven towns and were giving treatment to civilians hurt in the fighting.<br /><br />The Ogaden region is said to contain mineral deposits and international firms including Brazil's Petronas and Sweden's Lundin are exploring its deserts for oil. The ONLF regularly warns foreign companies against prospecting.<br /><br />Ethiopian forces launched an assault against the rebels -- who have been fighting for more than 20 years -- after a 2007 attack on an oil exploration field owned by a subsidiary of Sinopec, China's biggest refiner and petrochemicals producer.<br /><br />The separatist cause has gained momentum due to a low level of development. Until Chinese engineers arrived in the remote region in 2007, the entire area had only 30 km (20 miles) of tarmac road in an area of about 200,000 sq km. (Editing by Charles Dick)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-89274570856397427182009-11-02T10:17:00.000-08:002009-11-02T10:20:46.851-08:00Asharq Al-Awsat Talks to ONLF Leader, Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Su8i244d4QI/AAAAAAAAATg/0WClKvOwShw/s1600-h/Admiral.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Su8i244d4QI/AAAAAAAAATg/0WClKvOwShw/s320/Admiral.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399572804618019074" /></a><br /> Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), one of the most prominent armed groups that are opposed to the Ethiopian Government, believes that the issue of the Ogaden region is a forgotten Arab-Islamic cause, on the basis that the region, which Ethiopia considers its "fifth province", is an occupied Somali land. He says it is one of the last occupied Arab territories in the 21st century.<br /><br />Osman defends the use of the name Ogaden for its historical significance, which is also the name of a tribe that resides in the region. The region's other name is Western Somalia, which the former Somali government preferred. In Addis Ababa, it is also called Ethiopia's fifth province.<br /><br />Osman denied that his party receives aid from oil-rich Arab states to prevent Ethiopia from drilling for oil and gas in the Ogaden region.<br /><br />He calls for holding a referendum in the region to determine its future.<br /><br />Osman says that his front effectively governs 90 percent of the desert areas and rural villages in the region. As for the cities, he says, the Ethiopian Army governs them during daytime and the front at night.<br /><br />Commenting on his relationship with the current Somali Government, he said they exchange views. With regard to his relationship with the Somali groups that are fighting against the Mogadishu government -- the Youth Movement and the Islamic Party --he said: "If these groups are fighting against Ethiopia, we have a common enemy. However, there is no political coordination between them and us."<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] When was the ONLF founded, and what are the goals for which it is fighting?<br /><br />[Osman] The ONLF was founded in 1984, but began armed action 10 years later, in 1994, after the ruling party in Ethiopia reneged on its promises to the political parties and to the peoples of Ethiopia and revoked an agreement to resolve the Ogaden issue in a peaceful way. The front's goal is to liberate this region from the Ethiopian occupation.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is the difference between the ONLF and other Somali fronts that existed in the region before?<br /><br />[Osman] With regard to the primary goal of liberating the region, it does not differ from other fronts. However, it differs from them in the administrative aspect. The Western Somalia Liberation Front enjoyed support from the Somali government, which used to interfere in its administration, policies, and decisions. As for the ONLF, it is independent from any Somali government and relies only on the people's support.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] What are the political and military conditions in the Ogaden Region?<br /><br />[Osman] First of all, the region is in a state of war to liberate it from the Ethiopian occupation. Our struggle has achieved important successes, and our friends are increasing every day. There is a great conviction of the legitimacy of our struggle and of our right to self-determination.<br /><br />The Ethiopian Army is in a very bad psychological state as a result of our continuous attacks on it, and the number of deserters is on the increase.<br /><br />In addition, the Ethiopian regime commits atrocities against the people in the Ogaden Region, which has been under siege for three years now. This siege prevented international organizations from entering the region. The aim behind the siege is to hide from the world the acts of killing and rape that take place in the region. The more losses they suffer in military confrontations with us, the more they take revenge against the defenseless people. We call for bringing the Ethiopian regime to account for these heinous crimes.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] The name Ogaden continues to cause controversy in the region because it is the name of the tribe to which it belongs. Why do you insist on this name? Does this mean a firm adherence to your tribe, Ogaden?<br /><br />[Osman] This is the internationally recognized name, which is shown on world maps. The Front sees no use in creating a new name for the region and then introducing it to the world anew. The former Somali government called the region Western Somalia, but few people in the region know this name, and it has not been introduced on the world map.<br /><br />The former Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam gave the region another name, and so did the current government, which is led by Meles Zenawi (the fifth province of Ethiopia). No one knows all of this. Nevertheless, we might hold consultations to change the name when the region has been liberated. If we change the name Ogaden Before this happens, we will only confuse the people and the world.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] There are accusations against the front. You are accused of fighting a proxy war against Ethiopia for Eritrea. What is your response to these accusations?<br /><br />[Osman] The Ogaden Region and Eritrea were under Ethiopian occupation, and we began the war before Eritrea was liberated and also before the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict. There is no connection between this conflict and the ONLF struggle. Regardless of whether this conflict continues or not, we will continue the war of liberation until we secure our rights.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] Is the ONLF a secular, Islamic, or tribal organization?<br /><br />[Osman] To begin with, we are Muslims. Besides, the people for the liberation of whom we are struggling is a Muslim people, and the front is a liberation organization that seeks to end the Ethiopian occupation.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] Do you believe that Ogaden is an Ethiopian or Somali region or what?<br /><br />[Osman] Currently, Ogaden is a region occupied by Ethiopia. Ethiopia calls it the fifth province of Ethiopia, where Somalis live. But it is the Somali people in the region who will have the final say in this matter. We call for holding a free referendum. When this question is put to them, everything will be settled.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] What was the effect of the situation in Somalia and collapse of the Somali state on the ONLF? How can you continue the war without having a supportive strategic reserve, represented by the neighboring states?<br /><br />[Osman] All the problems that happen in Somalia have a great effect on us, and it would be good if there was a Somali state not controlled by Ethiopia. In spite of this, however, the struggle will continue through the available means.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are you willing to negotiate with the Ethiopian Government, and what are your conditions?<br /><br />[Osman] Yes, we are willing to negotiate with the Ethiopian Government. The choice of war was not ours in the beginning. It was imposed on us. We negotiated with the Ethiopian Government in the past, but the dialogue did not succeed. We are still ready for the option of negotiations, and our only condition is that the negotiations take place in the presence of a neutral third party and in a neutral place.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] It is said that there are disagreements within the ONLF and that there are conflicting wings within the front. What is the true situation?<br /><br />[Osman] This information is untrue, and those who promote it like that to happen.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is the weight of the Ogaden Region in Ethiopia in terms of its area, population, and economic resources?<br /><br />[Osman] The area of the Ogaden Region is 400,000 square km (in other words, one-third of the total area of Ethiopia, which is 1.1 million square km). Ogaden comes second after the Oromia Province, the largest Ethiopian province.<br /><br />As for the population, the Somali people in the region number approximately eight million. They represent the third ethnic group after the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups.<br /><br />With regard to the economy, the region is famous for its natural resources, including oil and gas. In addition, it enjoys water and agricultural resources and a huge animal wealth. Yet, there are no development programs in the region because of the occupation and the ongoing war. Also, there are no noticeable schools. Moreover, there are no hospitals in the region, and the infrastructure is almost non-existent because of the occupation and its consequences.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] You sent a warning a while ago to companies that drill for oil and gas in the Ogaden Region. What was the reason for this warning? At the time, it was reported that you asked for a bribe to allow these companies to operate.<br /><br />[Osman] Yes, we warned the oil and gas-prospecting companies against operating in the region for a simple reason. The reason is that we are under occupation and will not allow these natural resources in the region to be used before the occupation ends. If the occupation authorities exploit these resources, they will not use them to develop the region. Rather, they will use them to destroy the region and repress the people.<br /><br />We do not seek a bribe from the prospecting companies, and I believe that they would welcome us if we asked for a bribe. We arrested a number of these companies' employees and released them after telling them that they are not welcome in the region in these current circumstances.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] There are reports indicating that some Arab states support the ONLF to prevent the production of oil and gas in the region, so that Ethiopia would not become a source for the supply of oil and gas in the region.<br /><br />[Osman] This information is new to me, and I have not heard it before. This information is untrue at all.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] what is the relationship between the ONLF and the Somali Islamic movements, such as the Youth Movement and the Islamic Party?<br /><br />[Osman] If these groups are fighting against Ethiopia, then we have a common enemy. However, there is no political coordination between them and us.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are there areas in the Ogaden Region that are governed by your armed front?<br /><br />[Osman] The ONLF effectively governs most of the desert areas and rural villages. It governs about 90 percent of these areas. As for the cities, the Ethiopian occupation Army governs them during daytime, and we govern them at night.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] Most of the ONLF leaders are based abroad. What is the reason?<br /><br />[Osman] Some of the leaders are based abroad, and this is very important. Yet, they travel in and out of the region. There are enough leaders inside the region. I was personally in the Ogaden Region where I spent the past eight months, alongside other leaders. Also, we are able to reach all parts of the region and leave them safely anytime we want.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] As leader of the ONLF, do you consider yourself an Ethiopian citizen, a Somali citizen, or a citizen of another nationality?<br /><br />[Osman] I do not want to answer this question at present.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is the connection between the ONLF and your tribe, Ogaden, and between the ONLF and other tribes in the region? It has been said that most of the front's leaders belong to your tribe, Ogaden.<br /><br />[Osman] I do not wish to enter into such labyrinths. Tribalism is not among the principles of the ONLF. Tribalism is the disease that destroyed the Somalis everywhere. Had we depended on tribalism, the front would have collapsed long ago, because tribalism is like an onionskin that has no end.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] How do you see the future of the Ogaden Region? Will it remain as an Ethiopian region or will it become a Somali region, or a region representing an independent state?<br /><br />[Osman] Our main demand is to hold a referendum for the Somali people in the region to enable them to determine their future by themselves and decide whether they want to remain part of the state of Ethiopia, vote for an independent state, or join another country. The decision should be up to the people alone. We also demand that they be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is the connection between the ONLF and other Somali parties, the transitional Somali Government, Puntland, and the Somaliland?<br /><br />[Osman] As is known, the Somali Government is new, and there are some contacts between us to exchange views. However, there is no large relationship between us. As for the Puntland Region (northeastern Somalia) and the Somaliland (the north), they cooperate against us and with the Ethiopian authorities outright. Therefore, these two regions represent a big problem to the ONLF-led struggle.<br /><br />[Asharq Al-Awsat] Is the Ogaden issue a national Somali cause or an Arab and Islamic one?<br /><br />[Osman] It is all of them. It belongs to the Somalis and it is an Arab-Islamic cause because the Ogaden people are an Arab Muslim people. Some quarters might not be interested in this issue. However, we assert the Arab and Islamic character of the Ogaden issue. Ogaden also represents one of the Arab territories that labor under occupation in the 21st century.<br /><br />Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman in brief:<br /><br />Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman, leader of the ONLF, was born in the Ogaden Region in Ethiopia in1940 and received his basic education in that region. Afterward, he moved to Mogadishu where he received the secondary-stage education.<br /><br />He was sent on a course to Egypt where he graduated from the Cairo-based War College. Then he traveled to the Soviet Union to complete his military study.<br /><br />He was appointed as member of the central committee of the ruling Somali Socialist Party in the middle of the 70s, then chief of the party's political bureau .Afterward, he was appointed as commander of the Somali naval forces and promoted to the rank of admiral.<br /><br />After the collapse of the central government in Somalia in 1991, he returned to the Ogaden Region and was chosen in 1998 as leader of the ONLF, a position that he has held to date. He travels between Ethiopia, the neighboring states, and Europe.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-40758928257822984942009-09-21T08:33:00.000-07:002009-09-21T08:48:36.519-07:00WHO SAID THERE IS NO GENOCIDE IN OGADEN?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SregROBvVlI/AAAAAAAAAS0/2DJkvOcIThE/s1600-h/weyane-horror.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SregROBvVlI/AAAAAAAAAS0/2DJkvOcIThE/s320/weyane-horror.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383948097228330578" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SregQnHtMTI/AAAAAAAAASs/Dv8r6xQkFyw/s1600-h/ethiopmain_237753t.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 199px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SregQnHtMTI/AAAAAAAAASs/Dv8r6xQkFyw/s320/ethiopmain_237753t.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383948086784373042" /></a><br /><strong>Ogaden Human Rights Group, O.H.R.G. <br />Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and civilian militia groups target Ogaden civilians. Extra-judicial killings, rape, disappearances, destruction of livelihood and the displacement of thousands of Ogaden people continue. “Justice delayed is justice denied.” <br />Page 2 of 25 <br />A WAR CRIME COMMITTED BY ETHIOPIAN MILITARY The legal definition of GENOCIDE: The international legal definition of the crime of genocide is found in Articles II and III of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. Article II describes the two elements that constitute the crime of genocide: 1. The mental element, meaning the "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such", and 2. The physical element, which includes five types of violence described in sections [a] through [e] as follows: [a]Killing members of the group; [b] Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; [c] Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; [d] Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [e] Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. <br />• GENOCIDE is taking place in OGADEN: The intent of the Ethiopian government to destroy, in whole or in part of Somali ethnic communities in Ogaden region is clear from evidence as reported by Human Rights Watch. Moreover, international legal precedent holds that genocidal intent can be inferred from the context of the perpetration of culpable acts when they are systematically directed against a group. Finally, there is the testimony of survivors of genocide in Ogaden that often the perpetrators of the atrocities clearly stated their intentions to destroy these groups. <br />• In Ogaden during the past two years, the physical acts of violence have been systematically directed against the targeted groups and have included all five types listed in the convention and has resulted in the deaths of nearly half a million people: <br />• [a] Thousands people have been killed by government forces; [b] bodily and mental harm to thousands of women and young girls raped by soldiers; [c] the destruction of homes, crops, water resources and the physical displacement of thousands people now in Somalia, Kenya, Eritrea, Yemen, and Djibouti. Similarly, more than half million internally displaced who dispersed inside the Ogaden to save their live. These have resulted in conditions designed to bring about their destruction through famine and disease epidemics and has already claimed thousands of lives; [d] the killing of pregnant women; and [e] the use of rape as a weapon of genocide. This genocide has largely been carried out under a cloak of silence, as the Ethiopian government barred entry to the region to journalists, human rights groups, and humanitarian aid groups for more than one year and continues to severely restrict access. <br />Page 3 of 25 <br />• “From the viewpoint of criminal law, what matters is not the motive, but rather whether or not there exists the requisite special intent to destroy a group [as defined by the terms of the 1948 Genocide Convention].” (Para. 493) <br />Massive human rights violations committed in the region include: extra-judicial executions, unlawful killings of civilians, torture, rapes, abductions, destruction of villages and property, looting of cattle and property, the destruction of the means of livelihood of the population attacked and forced displacement. These human rights violations have been committed in a systematic manner by the Ethiopian Federal Army. Many of the crimes committed in Ogaden constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. There are evidences with reliable information pointing at the responsibility of the Ethiopian government in the human rights violations committed in Ogaden. In addition to the military and logistical support and the impunity that it provides to the Federal Army of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government has used a policy of repression to deal with the Ogaden region problems. It has engaged in arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, "disappearances," rape, economic blockade, torching homes and villages, and torture in order to punish people suspected of ONLF supporters, families accused their sons and daughters joined rebel movement, leaders and members of communities in Ogaden. IMMGAES OF RECENTLY TORTURED AND RAPED VICTIMS IN OGADEN “Tales of rape and murder from refugees fleeing Ethiopia's Ogaden region offer a glimpse of the violence wracking the hermetic rebel zone, off limits now even to foreign aid groups. "It's worse than hell, what is happening in Ethiopia," said Fardosa, whose eyes seem to have frozen wide open since her own ordeal. "A group of Ethiopians came to my house in early August and four soldiers took me into my bedroom and assaulted me," said the thin young woman, cradling a nine-month-old baby.” Ethiopia’s isolated Ogaden: refugees tell tale of repression Ethiopia's isolated Ogaden: refugees tell tale of repression, BOSASO, Somalia (AFP</strong>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-47167398959501948482009-06-14T22:02:00.001-07:002009-06-14T22:05:47.451-07:00Poem in living Memory of Dr Dolaal<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SjXWZWv2QXI/AAAAAAAAANo/WgRxV2WPaYg/s1600-h/sirad.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SjXWZWv2QXI/AAAAAAAAANo/WgRxV2WPaYg/s320/sirad.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347415863663673714" /></a><br /><strong>Dearest Brothers ONLF,</strong><br />I really felt my heart broken. I know Dr Dolaal very well and had several discusions, various communications, telphone chats about the plights of our nations. His loss remains immessurable and his legacy lives with us forever. We raise his anthem and slogan untill we see our nations liberated.<br /><br />Poem in living Memory of Dr Dolaal<br />By Kambata Xoola, Sidama National<br /><br /><br />O!! Ogadenia, O!! Ogadenia the land of heroes,<br />You’re dynamic land -whose people’s heroism,<br />Draws the attention of the global nations,<br />Whose resistance shaken barbaric Abyssinians,<br />Please listen to me your ears wide open!!<br /><br /><br />Tell me what tragedy has unfolded,<br />Explain to me why bad news has been rumoured,<br />Don’t hid from me if you have explanation,<br />Tell me why you have allowed this to happen,<br />To your ultimate hero a pride to his nation!!<br /><br /><br />O!! you hero; an icon of freedom struggle,<br />Whose principle was indefatigable,<br />Whose intellect was formidable,<br />Whose purpose was liberating its people,<br />You ultimate hero Ogaden Somali Dolaal,<br />Your enthusiasm was eternal and<br />remains between us active and alive!!<br /><br /><br />Though why, let me ask you why you hero?<br />Why death for you before you see your peoples freedom?<br />Why eternal rest for you before you achieve you Objectives?<br />Why death for you who’s inspiration to all?<br />Why have you decided to remain silent<br />While your people needs you more?<br />Why did you allow your enemies to rejoice?<br />Why didn’t say ‘no’ to the death angels?<br />Why did you make us feel in the middle of desert?<br />Why did you go away bearing the burden of the nation<br />at this needy time?<br /><br /><br />I know your indefatigability and heroism<br />I know your unshakable believe in your people’s liberty<br />That doesn’t surrender to defeatism!!<br /><br /><br />Yes, you have dreamt day and night seeing your people free<br />You have envisaged this in your decry<br />Yet you given-in before that all,<br />My heart goes with you forever dearest comrade Dolaal!!<br /><br /><br />Yet I believe that your fellow country men and women,<br />Will raise your slogan to free your land,<br />To uphold your undying courage and principles,<br />Your determination and heroic resistance spirits,<br />That’s shaken the foundation of the colonisers,<br />Until the enemy is made to learn appropriate lessons!<br /><br /><br />O!! Yes, O! Yes, I truly swear!<br />I remain appreciating your principles and values,<br />I announce your slogan to the global nations,<br />The sufferings of your nation and other peoples,<br />Under the Abyssinian brutal colonisers,<br />With strong conviction and courage<br />to continue to teach lessons the brutalisers!!<br /><br /><br />But, but still I argue unequivocally that,<br />Death is ultimate death for those who have already dead,<br />Death is curse for those who have already surrendered,<br />Death is eternal for those who torture defenceless,<br />Death is punishment for those who brutalise helpless!!<br /><br /><br />Yet, you have passed away to live eternally,<br />You left us with living memory and immortal legacy,<br />You thought us how to defend our freedom and liberty,<br />You have produced hundreds of millions to stand against brutalizers,<br />To punish those who torture and massacre your people,<br />To expose their hidden secrets and<br />Democracy decorated ugly faces,<br />You remain in every ones all round lives,<br />Although the shock about your sudden-rest forever reverberates!!<br /><br /><br />Therefore, Sincerely,<br />I send you a living greetings and swear not to surrender,<br />I solemnly promise to be your principles defender,<br />With your people and the others subjugated nations,<br />We shall bring an end for Abyssinian occupiers!!<br />We promise to keep your dream alive,<br />By making your spirit amongst us survive!!<br />By making you heroic resistance amongst us survive!!<br /><br /><br />With deepest Condolences in Living Memory of Dr Dolaal,<br />(On behalf of the Sidama nation)<br />By Kambata Xoola, Sidama NationalAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-16194231270440011972009-06-04T14:51:00.000-07:002009-06-04T14:56:36.198-07:00Oil Exploration in the Ogaden<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SihC7T7_QyI/AAAAAAAAANY/rgS1R7OzSyc/s1600-h/onlf+chairman.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 116px; height: 117px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SihC7T7_QyI/AAAAAAAAANY/rgS1R7OzSyc/s320/onlf+chairman.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343594544606692130" /></a><br /><strong>The Ogaden National Liberation Front has ascertained that certain multinational Oil corporations are intent on exploiting Ogaden fossil fuel resources in alliance with the current Ethiopian regime that is committing genocide and War Crimes in Ogaden. Currently certain companies are clearing of all vegetation an area equal to 1600 sq. Km. in Cagarweyne and Miir-Khalif near Wardheer, displacing thousands of the nomadic population and destroying the scarce vegetation in a vulnerable ecology. Besides destroying the livelihood of the rural population in the affected areas, these companies are filling the coffers of this regime and financing its criminal activities in occupied Ogaden. <br />This in turn has encouraged the regime of Meles Zenawi to undertake a scorched earth policy in the Ogaden and commit genocide in the Ogaden. The sites these companies operate at are guarded by mechanised Ethiopian Army troops who make fortifications and forcefully evict the local population by killings, rape, detention and destruction of property. <br />Thus these companies are accomplices to the Ethiopian regimes crimes and are directly involved in the on-going genocide in the Ogaden.<br /><br />Furthermore, in order to accommodate these immoral and gluttonous rushes for Oil in Ogaden, Ethiopia killed, raped and illegally detained thousands of Ogaden civilian and imposed economic and aid blockade at a time of when there was a full blown draught in the Ogaden.<br /><br />Ethiopia is violating both International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Ogaden. These rights had been enshrined in the UN Charter and international laws since the end of World War II and have benefited many colonised and oppressed nations of the world; however, they have deliberately been deprived of the Ogaden people. Today Ethiopia is denying the Ogaden people their right to life and development while both the UN and the AU are turning a blind eye. <br />Furthermore the current regime in Ethiopia is bent on further usurping their natural resources, and these multi-national companies are party to this heinous crime perpetrated against a colonised stateless people.<br /><br />Since ONLF has persistently warned these unscrupulous multinational companies and their governments, it is very clear that they are not only manifestly disregarding the plight of the Ogaden people but are actively participating in the violation of the Human and Political rights of the Ogaden people, the Ogaden National Liberation Front has been left no alternative but to take all measures necessary to protect the inalienable rights of the Ogaden people.<br /><br />Ogaden National Liberation Front</strong>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-71921214149623448222009-05-16T08:25:00.000-07:002009-05-16T08:40:23.696-07:00ONLF, the African Fighters for Ogaden´s Liberation and Democracy<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Sg7eF-jCq4I/AAAAAAAAALw/3MWKKuvfhbs/s1600-h/on.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 90px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/Sg7eF-jCq4I/AAAAAAAAALw/3MWKKuvfhbs/s320/on.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336446802751302530" /></a><br /><strong>Ogaden</strong> has lived over the past two years under conditions similar to those befallen on the Kosovars in the terrible winter 1998 – 99; parts of the mercilessly tyrannized land have been carpet-bombed by the military aircraft of Africa´s bloodiest tyrant, the uncivil Tigray thug Meles Zenawi, who boasts to be the preferred interlocutor of the - detrimental to US interests - Ass. Secretary Jendayi Frazer.<br />The longer Jendayi Frazer stays in her position the better for China´s interests in Africa; this situation, at the time of the Lhasa insurgence, must take a short end. <br /><br />In the same way the Kosova Liberation Front (KLA) represented the most valiant and honorable representation of the desire of the Albanian Kosovars for Freedom, Justice, Liberation and Self-Determination, the Ogaden National Liberation Front struggles for Freedom, Democracy, Respect of the Human Rights, and Independence for the long tyrannized, deprived, and massacred.<br /> <br /><strong>Ogadenis.</strong><br />Fraudulent, and Corrupt US Administrators Slandering ONLF.<br /><br />Contrarily to what an impartial observer could possibly accept, prepaid agents working in the US administration attempt to diffuse the rumor that the ONLF is a terrorist organization, eventually assassinating people in Ogaden. This is a typical black propaganda that has been attested in various parts of the world; in the same way the KLA was falsely accused of terrorist acts (that in fact were a mere self-defense against the criminal Serbian state terror machine), the Tibetan monks have been disreputably accused of terrorism by the Chinese tyrants. <br /><br /><br />It is truly odd how the dictatorial regime at Addis Ababa expels one international NGO after the other on the ground of cooperation with the ONLF (which automatically means that the Ogadeni Front is a trustworthy interlocutor for Human Rights activists of global caliber), and these fraudulent and corrupt US administrators store money on Swiss bank accounts by defaming the Righteous and Honorable Struggle of a Nation for Liberation.<br />If we examine the origin of the money these corrupt US administrators and supposedly academics make, we realize that we attest one of the most squalid cases of politically immoral behaviour; the money is paid by Abyssinian ambassadors and consuls, who are all Amhara and Tigray Abyssinians hired by the racist state machine in order to ceaselessly promote their filthy tribal interests at the detriment of the outright majority of the subjugated nations of Abyssinia, the Ogadenis, the Oromos, the Afars, the Sidamas, the Kambatas, the Shekachos, the Kaffas, the Agaws, the Anuak, the Wolayitas and others. <br /><br />In fact, the racist Amhara and Tigray Abyssinian elites not only attempt to perpetuate the anti-Kushitic, anti-African tyranny that they imposed on all the aforementioned, subjugated nations, but they also immorally, illegally and inhumanly occupy positions of representatives of those whose extermination they have undertaken in an all-committed and most determined way. And they disreputably call themselves ´Ethiopians´ to demonstrate cultural ´authenticity´, whereas for more than a century they undertook an anti-Ethiopian, anti-Kushitic, anti-African Cultural Genocide.<br />Contrarily to what eventual falsifications and black propaganda may diffuse, the ONLF cadres, spread in Ogaden and the Diaspora, incessantly work for the utmost benefit of all the oppressed Ogadenis, for their freedom, for their liberation, and for their prosperity in a democratic, tolerant and open society. <br /><br />To better illuminate the ONLF cadres´ approach to their National History, Identity and Perspectives, and to highlight the parallels existing between the Struggle of Kosovars and the Pledge of the Ogadenis, we publish here integrally a Press Release issued yesterday by the ONLF Foreign Relations Bureau. As the text encapsulates the History of Ogaden, and reveals the tyrannical methods used by the Abyssinian elites, the urgency for Ogaden´s secession and independence becomes plainly understood. <br />Will be continued………….Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-56082353733131508232009-04-28T13:21:00.000-07:002009-04-28T13:35:00.554-07:00Ogaden National Liberation Front :O.N.L.F"<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfdoWrAjqAI/AAAAAAAAAI0/fFJQpFFyVx0/s1600-h/onlf.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfdoWrAjqAI/AAAAAAAAAI0/fFJQpFFyVx0/s320/onlf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329843422727743490" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfdoWVgPV5I/AAAAAAAAAIs/2K57lS13qXw/s1600-h/onl.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 1px; height: 1px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfdoWVgPV5I/AAAAAAAAAIs/2K57lS13qXw/s320/onl.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329843416955049874" /></a><br /><strong>ONLF Position Paper on the Current Dire Situation in the Horn of Africa</strong> <br /> The Ogaden National Liberation Front is a grass-root organisation that was created by Ogaden youth activists and civic organisations that rebelled against the meddling of both the Somali government and foreigners from every corner of the world and made the Ogaden Somali people pawns to further other's political agendas. From its inception to date ONLF caters to nobody but the interest of the Ogaden Somalis. <br /><br />ONLF is a national liberation front that fights for the rights of the Ogaden Somalis to self-determination in order to decide their future as is enshrined in the universal declaration of Human rights and considers Ethiopia as a colonial state that took part in the European Scramble for the colonisation of Africa in the 19th century. <br />Menelik's letter to the Berlin conference clearly states that Abyssinia (Ethiopia) does not intend to stand idle while Europe partitions Africa and that Menelik demands his share. Apart from this rhetoric Abyssinia had no means to materialise this dream, but the then world powers of that time installed him in the Ogaden by providing him with arms and men and by embargoing the Somali people in the Horn from external supplies as is happening today in another form and under another pretext. Despite all this the Ogaden Somalis resisted and restricted Menelik to the Harar area until the second world war, when the victorious allies disarmed the Somalis in the Ogaden, while gradually re-arming and training new Ethiopian army and handing the disarmed Ogaden people and territory to Ethiopia over a period of 10 years, giving the last part in 1956. <br /><br />The Ogaden Somalis started their struggle and within few years threatened the New Ethiopia. Again foreign intervention and arms changed the direction of the struggle of the Ogaden Somalis. The Regime in Addis Ababa was advised to divert the attention of the world community that was increasingly anti- colonialism and anti-oppression from sympathising and supporting the just struggle of the Ogaden Somalis by blaming and attacking Somalia and turning the issue into a border problem. The new inexperienced Somali Government fell easily into that trap and from that day onwards the Ogaden cause turned into a border dispute and so-called Somali expansionism. The Ogaden Elders leading the liberation struggle, who were poorly educated and unaware of the forces arrayed against them, were no match for the regional and international forces that demonised and misrepresented the struggle of the Ogaden people. <br /><br />In the late seventies the budding intellectuals and students from the Ogaden who were scattered in the region around the Horn started to agitate for the revitalisation of the national struggle. This coincided with the renewal of the rhetoric between the two military regimes in Somalia and Ethiopia that was vying for the control of the Horn.<br /> Somalia sensing the budding struggle and sense of revival in the Ogaden struggle and the weaknesses of the regime in Addis Ababa hijacked the struggle and defeated easily the Ethiopian army and captured most of the Ogaden. Cuban troops and Warsaw Pact pilots and aeroplanes defeated the Somali army and reinstated Ethiopian occupation in the Ogaden. While all this was happening leading intellectuals and activist students were languishing in Somali prisons for resisting against Somali government intervention in the struggle of the Ogaden Somalis, knowing well the negative impact this would have on the national struggle.<br /> From that day onwards the Ogaden Somalis decided to untie their fate from Somalia and pursue an independent struggle that clearly differentiates between Somalia and the Ogaden. Thus ONLF was founded on the principle that the Ogaden people are independent and sovereign and have the right to decide their destiny without bowing to any strings from any quarters. <br /><br />After the fall of the two governments in Somalia and Ethiopia in the early nineties, the new regime in Addis Ababa faced a serious dilemma vis-à-vis the Ogaden cause. There was no alibi to use against the Struggle of the Ogaden Somalis for self-determination. There was no Somali government to blame. A democratic wind was blowing all across the world. Even while ONLF was testing the claim of the new regime of Meles Zenawi that self-determination is attainable through peaceful means, Meles was preparing his scapegoats against the Ogaden Somalis by encouraging the creation of religious organizations such as Itihad-Al-Islam in the Ogaden. He then provoked Al-Itihad-Islam, to take arms against his regime. Furthermore, Meles started dangling the religious card and started claiming that he was fighting Muslim fundamentalists. This gave him the pretext to attack ONLF and dismantle the peaceful political process that was unfolding in the Ogaden. <br /><br />Despite the regime's efforts to paint itself as championing the cause of uprooting Muslim fundamentalism in the horn, neither the international community nor the different African nations in Ethiopia that were victims of Meles's dictatorial regime bought into his rhetoric. Somalis, Oromos, Amhars, afars, Sidamas and Even his Tigrai tribe, who were tired of dictators pitying them against each and keeping them in perpetual poverty and at war were approaching each other and charting peaceful routes to end the senseless carnage, lack of representative governance and denial of rights of peoples by dictators.<br /><br />ONLF believes in the right of all nations to self-determination, the rule of law and representative government that comes through democratic practice and one person one vote and the separation of religion and government. The Ogaden Somali people are Muslims and have a right to practice their religion peacefully without prejudice to any other religion or group. ONLF uses defensive combat to defend itself against the Meles militias and the Ogaden people and does not conduct or condone any terrorist act against anybody. ONLF does not have any agendas outside its borders and does not undertake any armed action outside its borders. <br /><br />ONLF laments the senseless waste of human lives perpetrated by successive Ethiopian regimes and believes that it is in the best interest of all people inside Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa to resolve differences through dialogue and peaceful negotiations. This is possible only if the regime in power decides to stop the endless cycle of violence that it always opts for in or order to deal with political dissent and learn the civilised way of conflict resolution. ONLF bears no grudge against any people in Ethiopia and regards them as their African brothers and knows that the responsibility of the victimisation of the Ogaden people rests solely with the successive Ethiopian regimes. ONLF will pursue the rights of the Ogaden Somalis and will spare no effort in trying to find a peaceful solution to the Ogaden problem regardless of the constant aggression from the regime in Addis Ababa. ONLF will engage all forces in Ethiopia and will take part in any effort that leads to a change in the current situation in Ethiopia regardless of political differences as long as the other parties are ready to forgo any bias and come with open mind that can tolerate differences. <br /><br />As ONLF has stated in its press release ( http://www.onlf.org/pressAug062006.htm ) regarding the invasion and occupation of Somalia by Meles, It believes that the current adventurism of Meles brings more harm than good to the whole region of the Horn of Africa. Both the Somali people and the peoples of Ethiopia have succeeded in putting behind the hatchets provided by self-serving regimes that disregarded them and wasted their youngsters in the hundreds of thousands. For the first time the African people in Horn of Africa, especially the peoples in both Ethiopia and Somalia were basking in new found brotherliness and cessation of hostilities as peoples but unfortunately the current debacle by Ethiopia has created suspicion and fear among all communities in the Horn of Africa. Meles Zenawi, who failed to adhere to the rule of law and keep power by democratic means, had opted for violence inside and outside Ethiopia, instead of solving the age old problems that he inherited and ushering a new era of peace in the Horn of Africa. Creating outside enemies and threats is an old Machiavellian ploy that is familiar throughout history, and blaming and attacking government- less Somalia has become an easy target for Meles after failing to quell internal rebellion from the Ethiopian people or defeating the Liberation fronts. Despite the utterances of some leaders of the Islamic courts, there was no Somali force capable of threatening Ethiopia's security. It was clear to all reasonable people with no vested interests in the Horn of Africa, the claim that IC forces, composed of volunteer youths and elderly businessmen, with informal ties to different clan militias whose interests often conflicted one another could mount any meaningful campaign against the battle seasoned and well armed Ethiopian army. The haste with which Meles rushed to instigate this aggression and capture Somalia shows how desperate he is to divert attention from his internal failures. <br /><br />ONLF deeply regrets the turn of events in Somalia and strongly urges that The Somali people should be left alone to find a viable solution to their problems. The meddling of Ethiopia and other forces at different times has kept the Somali people apart. Every time that a just solution posses itself, unwarranted interference exacerbates the situation and throws everything back to square one. <br /><br />The people of Somalia are the sole determinants of who their legitimate representative is. It is not the place of the ONLF to determine this for them. The ONLF has said on multiple occasions that Ethiopia is determined to undermine the sovereignty of Somalia and frustrate efforts aimed at achieving peace and a lasting reconciliation in Somalia . The ONLF bears no ill will toward any Somali political party, organization or the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).We are not a party to the Somali conflict and encourage all the respective political entities in Somalia to reconcile their differences for the sake of their nation. We believe that the TPLF led regime in power in Ethiopia has repeatedly violated the arms embargo on Somalia by arming various actors thereby encouraging continued conflict among Somalis for over a decade. We call Ethiopia to respect the UN resolution and withdraw from Somalia immediately. <br /><br />ONLF believes that the use of force to bring change in Somalia will only exacerbate the situation and the only way forward is peaceful dialogue between all concerned parties without the interference of external actors. The last thirty years provides barometers that show force does not work in Somalia. We strongly advice the TFG and other Somali organisations to bury their hatchet and solve their differences through dialogue. We strongly urge the international community to force Ethiopia out of Somalia and help the warring parties commence dialogue in neutral venue far away from the Horn of Africa. <br /><br />ONLF would like to draw the attention of the international community to the fact that an ethnic cleansing of the Ogaden people has started in Somalia , Kenya and Ethiopia . Although ONLF is a pan Somali clan that represents all Somalis in the Ogaden, The current Ethiopian regime targets the Ogaden people, which it considers as the backbone of the armed struggle against its forces in Ethiopia . Mr. Zenawi's regime has consistently been abusing and systematically conducting pogroms in the Ogaden against this people for the last fifteen years and now that it got access to Somalia , all the Ogaden refugees in Somalia are being branded as terrorists and hunted down mercilessly. It is not the first time that Ogaden refugees were massacred and with no recourse to justice. In 1991 when the Somali government fell half a million Ogaden refugees were left at the mercy of the marauding crowds in Somalia and many were mercilessly massacred in Northern and central Somalia, and the UN under whose protection they were supposed to be, abandoned them to their fate and never even took the trouble to mention their demise. Now that the same fate is repeating itself, again as usual, the international community is again watching the repeat of the same calamity for members of the Ogaden Somalis. Even the Kenyan government is now participating in collecting Somalis from the Ogaden who are fleeing The Ethiopians across the Somali border and turning them over to Ethiopia as has happened recently. Kenya turned over to the 'Transitional government of Somalia ' five people from Ogadenia who were immediately transferred to Addis Ababa . This blatant violation of their human rights heralds a new trend that can be equated with what happened to the Jews in Europe in the Second World War- a pogrom of the Ogaden people in the Horn of Africa ! We appeal to the international community to avert this disaster in the making as it would not be of any value lamenting in hindsight as is the custom nowadays. <br /><br />We particularly ask the UN, United States, AU, EU and Arab league to intervene in time and take this issue seriously in order to avert a catastrophe in the making against a poor stateless and voiceless nomadic people whose rights is being trampled over without recourse to any justice from any quarter. <br /><br />Finally we take this opportunity to stress that ONLF is the sole legitimate representative of the people of Ogaden. No political organization originating from the Somali Republic has the authority to speak for the people of Ogaden, or mount any meaningful action in the Ogaden; ONLF has a principled stand against any interference from any quarter in the affairs of the Ogaden Somali people. The destiny of Ogaden people resides with no other people than themselves. Also we would take this opportunity to remind any Government in Somalia and the international community that Ogaden Somali people are an integral part of the Somali Nation in the Horn of Africa and any ruler who ignores or transgresses against the rights of the Ogaden Somalis is building phantom castles in the air. It is unfortunate that the fate of Somalia and the Ogaden are intertwined, as fear of Ogaden success always drives Ethiopia to victimise Somalia and the Somali people. It is time that the international community look seriously into the root cause of the never ending cycle of violence between Somalia and Ethiopia which is the Ogaden Cause and address it in a just and viable way. <br /><br />The status quo which has been unchanged for decades brought nothing but misery to all concerned.<br /> <br />May Justice Prevail! i wish my beloved land Peace and Prosperity..Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073497549072843986.post-29026207980572284862009-04-28T12:09:00.000-07:002009-04-28T12:47:16.722-07:00The Ogaden War 1977-1978<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfddL9VZ26I/AAAAAAAAAIk/83iB-qAEx1M/s1600-h/og.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 1px; height: 1px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfddL9VZ26I/AAAAAAAAAIk/83iB-qAEx1M/s320/og.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329831144040553378" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfddL2iaNAI/AAAAAAAAAIc/vgefkt8dRSg/s1600-h/oy.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfddL2iaNAI/AAAAAAAAAIc/vgefkt8dRSg/s320/oy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329831142216053762" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfddLzaWvhI/AAAAAAAAAIU/sj68aPgz6m0/s1600-h/onlf.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LRtE_Wt3LpY/SfddLzaWvhI/AAAAAAAAAIU/sj68aPgz6m0/s320/onlf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329831141376966162" /></a><br /><strong>State entry Exit combat force population Losses</strong><br /><strong>Cuba</strong> 1975 1987 15000 8700000 2000<br /><strong>Ethiopia</strong> 1964 1987 217000 42000000 15000<br /><strong>Rebels</strong> 1964 1987 50000 1000000 5000<br /><strong>Somalia </strong> 1964 1987 50000 5000000 15000<br /><br />The <strong>SNA</strong>"Somalia National Army" never recovered from its defeat in the Ogaden War. The battles to retake and then defend the Ogaden stripped the Somali armed forces of many troops, much of their equipment, and their Soviet patron. For the next decade, the <strong>SNA</strong> sought unsuccessfully to improve its capability by relying on a variety of foreign sources, including the United States. The Ogaden War therefore remains the best example of the <strong>SNA's</strong> ability to mount and sustain conventional military operations.<br /> Before the Ogaden War, the most striking feature of the 23,000-man <strong>SNA</strong> had been its large armored force, which was equipped with about <strong>250 T-34</strong> and <strong>T-54/T-55</strong> Soviet-built medium tanks and more than 300 armored personnel carriers. This equipment gave the SNA a tank force more than three times as large as Ethiopia's. The prewar SAF also was larger than Ethiopia's air force. In 1976 the SAF had fifty-two combat aircraft, twenty-four of which were Soviet-built supersonic MiG21s . Facing them was an <strong>Ethiopian Air Force</strong> (EAF) of thirty-five to forty aircraft. Ethiopia also was in the process of acquiring several United States-built Northrop F-5 fighters from Iran. At the outbreak of fighting, Ethiopia had approximately sixteen F5A /Es. <br /> After the Somali government committed the SNA to the Ogaden, the conflict ceased to be a guerrilla action and assumed the form of a conventional war in which armor, mechanized infantry, and air power played decisive roles. The SNA quickly adapted its organization to battlefield realities. The centralized Somali logistics system controlled supplies at battalion level (600- to 1,000-man units) from Mogadishu, an unwieldy arrangement given Somalia's limited transportation and communications network. To facilitate operations, the logistics center and headquarters for forces fighting in the northern Ogaden moved to Hargeysa, the SNA's northern sector headquarters. Before the war, all Somali ground forces had been organized into battalions. After the conflict started, however, the standard infantry and mechanized infantry unit became the brigade, composed of two to four battalions and having a total strength of 1,200 to 2,000 personnel.<br /> Somalia's greatest victory occurred in mid-September 1977 in the second attempt to take Jijiga, when three tank battalions overwhelmed the Ethiopian garrison. After inflicting some heavy losses on Somali armor, Ethiopian troops mutinied and withdrew from the town, leaving its defense to the militia, which was incapable of slowing the Somali advance. The Ethiopians retreated beyond the strategic Marda Pass, the strongest defensive position between Jijiga and Harer, leaving the SNA in a commanding position within the region. Despite this success, several factors prevented a Somali victory. Somali tank losses had been heavy in the battles around Dire Dawa and Jijiga. Moreover, because the EAF had established air superiority over the SAF, it could harass overextended Somali supply lines with impunity. The onset of the rainy season hampered such air attacks; however, the bad weather also bogged down Somali reinforcements on the dirt roads. <br /> <br />After watching Ethiopian events in 1975-76, the Soviet Union concluded that the revolution would lead to the establishment of an authentic Marxist-Leninist state and that, for geopolitical purposes, it was wise to transfer Soviet interests to Ethiopia. To this end, Moscow secretly promised the Derg military aid on condition that it renounce the alliance with the United States. Mengistu, believing that the Soviet Union's revolutionary history of national reconstruction was in keeping with Ethiopia's political goals, closed down the U.S. military mission and the communications centre in April 1977. In September, Moscow suspended all military aid to the aggressor, began openly to deliver weapons to Addis Ababa, and reassigned military advisers from Somalia to Ethiopia. This Soviet volte-face also gained Ethiopia important support from North Korea, which trained a People's Militia, and from Cuba and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, which provided infantry, pilots, and armoured units. By March 1978, Ethiopia and its allies regained control over the Ogaden.<br /><br />Mengistu's government was unable to resolve the Eritrean problem, however, and expended large amounts of wealth and manpower on the conflict while rebellion spread to other parts of Ethiopia. Similarly, Siyaad proved unable to return the Ogaden to Somalian rule, and the people grew restive; in northern Somalia, rebels destroyed administrative centres and took over major towns. Both Ethiopia and Somalia had followed ruinous socialist policies of economic development, and they were unable to surmount droughts and famines that afflicted the Horn during the 1980s. In 1988 Siyaad and Mengistu agreed to withdraw their armies from possible confrontation in the Ogaden..Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09812285873839868181noreply@blogger.com1