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Waging a Public Relations Campaign under the Guise of
Academia |
May 10,
2007
It is amusing to say the least when the
common man on the street comments on issues
he or she has little knowledge of. However
it is grotesque when someone with
so-called
professorial credentials postulates,
without a single shred of evidence, that a
legitimate, globally known freedom-fighting
movement such as ONLF is linked to terror.
We, the Ogaden Editorial Board, understand
the so-called ‘professor’s’ infatuation with
the current Ethiopian junta however this
does not give him carte blanche to wage,
under the guise of academia, a smear
campaign against those who are fighting to
prevent atrocities committed by the
Ethiopian autocracy against the Ogaden
citizenry.
The way Mr. Pham posited the Cobole military
incident in his posting manifests three
things about the character and political
leanings of this ignorant individual
masquerading as an academic but who is a
paid publicist hard at work on behalf of the
current Ethiopian autocracy.
First he stuck with the explanations given
by the Ethiopian government which wanted to
hide its military losses in this incident by
overemphasizing the loss of ‘civilians’ be
they Chinese or Ethiopians.
Second he failed to mention that ONLF has
repeatedly warned any individual or company
who might be tempted to prospect oil and gas
in Ogaden without Ogaden consent. Since when
did a ‘terror’ organization warn its targets
repeatedly to cease and desist?
Third, he made it appear as if ONLF released
the seven Chinese, without mentioning the
Ethiopians released with the Chinese,
following ‘strong’ response from the
Chinese. On the contrary, the Chinese were
never made captive and from the get go;
ONLF stated
publicly that they took the Chinese for
their own safety and will release
them immediately. ONLF to its credit
fulfilled its promise and released the
Chinese together with Ethiopians at the
first opportune time.
Again does a ‘terror’ organization release
its captives with neither condition nor
publicity for propaganda purposes?
It is apparent Mr. Pham does not understand
the difference between freedom fighting
movements and terror-linked organizations.
Being a publicist for the Ethiopian junta
appears to have blinded the
self styled
‘professor’ to the point where he has even
plagiarized the title of his
propaganda piece from a recent article wrote
by photo journalist Jonathan Alpeyrie who
visited and lived with ONLF fighters for
more than a month.
The US government is commended for not
listening to the advice of paid publicists
such as Mr. Pham who do not shy away from
putting on the shirt of academia in order to
advance the objectives of their paymasters
be they Ethiopians as is the case of Mr.
Pham or unnamed others.
There is a sound logic as to why
academia
and the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human
Rights, and International Operations and the
Subcommittee on International Terrorism and
Nonproliferation of the United States House
of Representatives do not share the beliefs
of Mr. Pham when it comes to the horn of
Africa and terror related matters.
editorial@ogaden.com
Ogaden Online Editorial
May 10, 2007 |
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