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OGADEN: HAIL THE PROUD
AND GALLANT PEOPLE! |
Abdullahi Dahir Mooge[1]
Dec 10, 2007
Time and time again, the people of Ogaden
have risen to the occasion and proved that
their aspirations for freedom and dignity
cannot be suppressed by terror and violence.
Despite odds being stacked against them,
they demonstrated their longing for the most
basic of human needs- liberty- is
inextinguishable. Meles has at earlier
times, proudly proclaimed how privileged he
feels to be from what he called: ‘...the
people of Tigray, who were tested with fire
and proved to be gold.' This might aptly
describe the resolve of the Tigray people in
their days of struggle. But the Ogaden
people, who he is actively pursuing to
exterminate display how ironic it is now
that the very resolve Meles bragged about. I
am dump-founded why he fails to see beyond
arrogance and realize that it is subjugation
that turns people into heroes and provides
them with resolve; unlike the assertion that
some are born with it - indelibly evident in
his description of Tigrayans. With this
introduction, let me attempt to look into
few issues related to the current Tigrayan
crackdown in Ogaden and very briefly sift
through the rationale for this campaign of
terror from the regimes point of view and
the factors behind the extra-ordinary
tenacity of the indefatigable Ogaden people.
Meles's paranoia
The Ethiopian dictator understands that the
struggle for freedom has started long before
his fall out with his former friends in
Eritrea. Indeed, pitched battles were the
order of the day in Ogaden region as far as
1993 after Meles tried to hoodwink the
people of the region with promises on paper
that bear no chance of being implemented. In
a manner that insulted the intelligence of
the Ogaden people, he tried to do what he
has managed to do elsewhere in Ethiopia:
Oromia, Afar, etc: instituting
pseudo-federal systems that in fact are
nothing more than ‘an arena of loot' for his
Tigrayan ex-fighters turned army commanders.
Yet, more recently, he deliberately paints
the whole issue as an extension of the
conflict with Eritrea; with doggy claims
that the ONLF is messengers of that regime.
These claims are not only dishonest but also
even worse disingenuous as the truth is that
no struggle will succeed without popular
support from the people. The struggle in the
Ogaden is an indigenous uprising of people
subjugated far too long. As such, it will
gather momentum and continue with or without
the support of external powers. The question
is, therefore, why he would like to believe
his hallucinations. I reckon that he
doesn't. He most certainly realizes the
genesis of the fight and its foundations;
but admitting it would be tantamount to an
admission of the failure of his policies and
would unveil the fallacy of the arguments
for the publicised crackdowns. So, it is a
classic textbook example of diverting
attention from the real issues on the
ground.
In 2007, his greedy pursuit for the
exploitation of the natural resources of the
Ogaden land without the consent of its
people, led to the killing of colonialists
Ethiopians and few Chinese nationals in
Obole. This has brought the conflict into
the limelight and embarrassed the regime. As
many refocused attention to the conflict,
the regime panicked and in desperation found
Eritrea as a convenient scapegoat. So much
so, that the head of the ‘nominal' Somali
Regional State (a present day replay of the
infamous Bantustan states of South Africa)
claimed that Eritrean commanders led the
raids on the oil exploration fields, at the
time. What a travesty! To cut it short, the
raison d'etre here is to divert attention.
Yet, the cruelty against the people of
Ogaden is perpetrated supposedly to teach
archenemy Eritrea a lesson. That is at least
what Meles publicly said in a speech he made
to his docile parliament. How? With Ormos,
Amharas, Gambellas and Afars rising up in
arms against him, not to mention the wrath
of the unionist Ethiopians, the ground is
shaking under his feet and the man is
finding solace in living with paranoia. One
such paranoia is his belief that who ever
says enough is enough to his theft and
murder is a conspirator with Eritrea. The
master of lies without a shred of decency,
this is the same man that after murdering
300 innocent school children in Addis Ababa
in the aftermath of the 2005 elections,
disgustingly suggested they were ‘Bank
looters'.
War Economy
It is not secret that Tigrean army
commanders are actively involved in illegal
trade, extortion and looting of the meagre
regional budgets that were supposed to be
managed by the head of the ‘Bantustan'
administration. Earlier this year, when
commercial food embargo was imposed on the
Ogaden region, Tigrayan traders were busy
delivering the same ‘illegal' foods to some
towns in the region with military escorts.
Army commanders extort many from regional
stooges in exchange for keeping them in
power. Security personnel demand ‘safety'
money from contractors. The whole region
smells a war economy at its zenith. These
beneficiaries, in turn, feed false
intelligence back to their kins in Addis
Ababa and compound the confusion. In a way,
they are just telling their superiors in
Addis Ababa like the powerful Abay Tsehaye
what they would like to hear. He and others
benefit from the loot, and have no incentive
to check the veracity of the reports from
the subordinates in the Somali region. A
vicious cycle of looting is in place, as a
result. The prime beneficiary of this war
economy is the de facto leader of the Somali
region, Towolde: a man with a mountain of
arrogance and self-indulgence who has
enriched himself through shady deals with
‘loyal youngsters' he promoted to positions
in government they hardly dreamed of.
Colonel Wolde-Tirru in Kebridahar and
Commander Kuwarter in Harar are involved in
corruption and the former is widely alleged
to have sexually assaulted women inmates.
With these war-profiteers in command, it is
unlikely sane minds will prevail and the
carnage will be abetted. The regional
stooges also get their share of the plunder
and relish the continuation of the
insecurity; for these men are unlikely to
feed themselves in any other means if peace
prevails.
An earlier article posted on Wardheernews
(beyond collective responsibility: the names
behind the horror in Ogaden) can be referred
to see the crimes committed by these
individuals and others.
The resolve of the Ogaden people
Foes and friends alike must be equally
surprised by the incredible fighting sprit
and unflinching conviction of the Ogaden
people in the past 15 years; but more so in
the last couple of months. The people have
steadfastly remained behind their freedom
fighters in the face of persecutions,
starvations and systematic rape of their
adored women. This conviction is the result
of deep resentments against an audacious
occupation and subsequent enslavement at the
hands of successive Ethiopian regimes. Lest
we forget, though, no regime in Ethiopia
hitherto has killed more Ogaden Somalis than
the Tigrayan paramilitary in the form of an
army. Tigray militias summarily executed
tens of thousands and the full extent of the
horror will be known when it is ended.
Earlier this year, mass starvation strategy,
detentions, and confiscation of the
properties of Ogaden businessmen were
actively pursued as government policy; in
conjunction with arbitrary killings,
detentions and rape of civilians. When that
all failed to kill people's desire for
freedom, a new strategy of coercive
recruitment of civilians into militias is
now the vogue. No doubt it will fail once
more!
The ONLF leadership
For all the sometimes disheartening internal
bickering and useless factionalism, the
front has displayed a commendable unity and
focus since its inception. Leaders with a
proven loyalty to their people and deep
sense of nationalism have pulled the ONLF
from obscurity to where it stands today. Sh.
Ibrahim Abdalla, Ina San wado and others did
tremendous contributions to the resilience
of the organisation at earlier years. With
Admiral Mohamed Omer Osman- a man of
impeccable integrity, Mohamed Ismael,
Abdiqadir Adani, and the tireless
Cabdirahman Sheikh Mahdi -Madey at the helm;
the front is in safe hands. Dr. Mohamed
Sirad Dolal perhaps did more than anybody
for the organization, and if not for
occasional misjudged priorities in the
middle of a struggle, is a man on a mission.
I would, however, have liked to appeal to
him to put aside his ego and postpone his
resentments for better times; and not at a
time women and children are massacred in the
middle of Ogadenia. What is the point of
arguing for a conference to be held in such
difficult time? Yes, from organisation's
constitution point of view, it might have
been wise to hold conferences and elections;
but if didn't happen; what is the point of
inadvertently jeopardising the struggle; at
the consternation of millions of Ogadens.
The admiral might not be on their trek-which
I am not best placed to judge- but I
certainly agree that he has transformed the
front militarily, and politically. Arguing
in London, in the comfort of well furnished
rooms will not do justice to the Sons of the
soil like Sulub Abdi Ahmed, the central
command head; who are facing death each and
every minute.
Those are not, however, the heroes and it is
appropriate to honour the thousands of men
who died and continue to die for this noble
cause.
Conclusion
This article partially attempted to reveal
the underpinnings of Meles's motives for the
brutality against the Ogaden people; how the
war economy like situation in the region
reinforces the perpetuation of crimes
against humanity in that region. It has also
argued that deep resentment against
occupation and subjugation and the desire
for freedom drives the defiance of the
people. The unflinching loyalty of the ONLF
leadership to the aspirations of the people
added impetus to the strength of the
liberation struggle.
Call them any name but you can't take way
from their heroics. The Ogaden people have
showed defiance in the face of terror and
deserve the admiration of the rest of the
Somali nation elsewhere and all freedom
loving people!
[1] Reach me at moogedahas2008@yahoo.com |
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