Silent Cry’ Victims of Ogaden Genocide

British 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.


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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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 Ogaden

Ethiopia Shakes Down Its Minnesota Refugees

MINNEAPOLIS–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.

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.

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.

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.
Destruction of Villages

“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.”

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.

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.

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.

Frantic Calls

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.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

Financial Aid

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.

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.

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.

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.

Collective Punishment

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Clan Elders

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.

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.

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.

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.

Here are four ransom stories I was told:

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.”
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.”
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?”
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.”
Cell Phones

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.

“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.

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.

Money, Army or Jail

Ogadeni shopkeepers and traders are also frequent targets for Ethiopian army threats and shakedowns, Minnesota’s Ogaden refugees say.

“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.”

Copenhagen, Climate Change, China, and Ogaden

O g a d e n

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Members of the Danish Ogaden Community Demonstrate Outside the UN Climate Change Conference

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.

Members of the European Ogaden Community Demonstrate Against Meles Zenawi

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

author by Dr mohamed shamsidiin "nafti hure"...

Who are Ethiopia's ONLF rebels?

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.

Here are some key facts about the ONLF:

* 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.

* 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.

* 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.

* 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.

* The group says its goal remains a referendum on independence for the region.

* 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.

* 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

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.

"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."

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.

The government says the ONLF has no popular support and is funded by rival Eritrea in an attempt to destabilise Ethiopia.

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".

Locals said the rebels were believed to be planning more assaults.

The rebels and the government routinely accuse each other of terrorising the local population, burning villages and murdering and raping civilians.

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.

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.

THE BEST FOUR INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS REPORTED THE VICTORY OF ONLF

Wareegay Hadaba Dhamaan Warkaas ka Akhriso Gudaha.
Ethiopia rebels claim massive counter-offensive
(AFP) – 3 hours ago

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

In April, Ethiopia said it had significantly weakened the rebels, a claim the insurgents dismissed



Aljazeera Africa: Ogaden: Seven Ethiopian towns taken


Somali Ogaden fighters formed the ONLF in 1984 and have attacked government forces regularly

Ethnic Ogaden fighters in Ethiopia have launched an offensive in the southeastern Somali region and claim to have recaptured seven towns from government forces.

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.

"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.

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.

"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.

The Ethiopian government has not responded to the statement.

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.

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.

In April, Ethiopia said it had significantly weakened the the anti-government force, a claim ONLF rejects.


BBCEthiopia rebels 'capture towns'

Ethnic-Somali rebels in the south-east of Ethiopia say they have launched an offensive against government forces and captured several towns.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said it began attacking on several fronts on Tuesday.

The separatists said a "significant number" of Ethiopian troops had been killed and their equipment captured.

The reports could not be verified and Ethiopia has in the past dismissed rebel accounts of military gains.

"The operation involved thousands of ONLF troops and resulted in two days of heavy fighting," an ONLF statement said.

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.

The ONLF, formed in 1984, is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in the oil-rich Ogaden region.

It says the Somali-speaking population has been marginalised by Addis Ababa.

Fighting has escalated over the past two years following an ONLF attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field.

More than 70 people died in the attack, including Ethiopian guards and Chinese workers.

Addis Ababa calls the rebels "terrorists" and has cut off all access to the region.

However, watchdogs have accused the Ethiopian government of human rights violations.

Ethiopia's ONLF rebels say captured seven towns


* ONLF say seven towns captured

* Government says rebels defeated

* Region with oil and gas potential



By Barry Malone

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.

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.

"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.

"A significant number of Ethiopian troops have been killed and their military hardware captured or destroyed."

Ethiopian government officials were unavailable for comment, but they routinely deny ONLF statements and say the rebels have been defeated.

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.

The regular accusations from both sides are impossible to verify. Journalists and aid groups cannot move freely in the area without government escorts.

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.

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.

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.

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)

Asharq Al-Awsat Talks to ONLF Leader, Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman

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.

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.

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.

He calls for holding a referendum in the region to determine its future.

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.

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."

[Asharq Al-Awsat] When was the ONLF founded, and what are the goals for which it is fighting?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is the difference between the ONLF and other Somali fronts that existed in the region before?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] What are the political and military conditions in the Ogaden Region?

[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.

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.

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.

[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?

[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.

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.

[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?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] Is the ONLF a secular, Islamic, or tribal organization?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] Do you believe that Ogaden is an Ethiopian or Somali region or what?

[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.

[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?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are you willing to negotiate with the Ethiopian Government, and what are your conditions?

[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.

[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?

[Osman] This information is untrue, and those who promote it like that to happen.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is the weight of the Ogaden Region in Ethiopia in terms of its area, population, and economic resources?

[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.

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.

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.

[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.

[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.

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.

[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.

[Osman] This information is new to me, and I have not heard it before. This information is untrue at all.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] what is the relationship between the ONLF and the Somali Islamic movements, such as the Youth Movement and the Islamic Party?

[Osman] If these groups are fighting against Ethiopia, then we have a common enemy. However, there is no political coordination between them and us.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are there areas in the Ogaden Region that are governed by your armed front?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] Most of the ONLF leaders are based abroad. What is the reason?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] As leader of the ONLF, do you consider yourself an Ethiopian citizen, a Somali citizen, or a citizen of another nationality?

[Osman] I do not want to answer this question at present.

[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.

[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.

[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?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is the connection between the ONLF and other Somali parties, the transitional Somali Government, Puntland, and the Somaliland?

[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.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] Is the Ogaden issue a national Somali cause or an Arab and Islamic one?

[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.

Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman in brief:

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.

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.

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.

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.

WHO SAID THERE IS NO GENOCIDE IN OGADEN?‏

Ogaden Human Rights Group, O.H.R.G.
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.”
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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.
• 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.
• 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:
• [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.
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• “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)
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