NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) — Ogaden rebels warned of a looming “man-made famine” in Ethiopia’s remote area bordering Somalia and called on Monday for a U.N. investigation into accusations the government was blocking food aid to the region.
On Sunday, a New York Times report quoted Western diplomats and relief officials as saying Ethiopia’s government was blockading emergency food aid and choking off trade to Ogaden.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, which is seeking more autonomy for its homeland but which Addis Ababa says it is a terrorist group bankrolled by Eritrea, called for a U.N. fact-finding mission.
“The ONLF wishes to affirm to the international community that if there is no immediate intervention in the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Ogaden, there will be a man-made famine created by the current regime of Meles Zenawi,” the ONLF said in a statement.
Ethiopian government officials were not immediately available to comment.
On Monday, the ONLF said Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s administration was engaged in a systematic and deliberate campaign of violence against its people.
“These war crimes include diverting humanitarian assistance for use by the regime’s armed forces … deliberate burning of villages, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, torture, a blockade on food aid as well as other commercial goods and other forms of collective punishment,” the ONLF said in a statement.
“The United Nations bears a particular responsibility to investigate war crimes in Ogaden given recent reports that its humanitarian assistance is deliberately being diverted to armed forces and militias responsible for these war crimes,” it said.
The ONLF itself has been accused of carrying out atrocities, including an April raid on a Chinese-run oil field in which 74 people were killed and seven Chinese workers taken hostage.
They were later freed but in the wake of the attack, Meles announced a crackdown on the rebels.
It is difficult to get independent information out of the desolate region, which is ethnically Somali.
ATLANTA — A man shot to death three relatives from his Ethiopian immigrant family and wounded two others before killing himself this morning, Atlanta police said.
Police spokesman Eric Schwartz said it’s believed all the victims were related.
The gunman, described by a neighbor as a retired immigrant worker who delighted in helping children, was identified as Abdulaziz Ibrahim, 52. Neighbors told media the family was from Ethiopia.
The shootings began about 7 a.m. in a house near Interstate 75 in southwest Atlanta, a residential area with neatly tended homes near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Some neighbors who gathered outside the home sobbed as investigators brought victims’ bodies outside the house to be transported to the coroner.
The bodies of Hana Yusuf, 26, and Luna, no last name given, were found inside the house, Schwartz said.
A fourth victim, Mohmmed Ibrahim, 28, died at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Two others are hospitalized. Police said 3-year-old Amir Abdulhakim was in critical condition at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and Yusuf Ibrahim, 27, was in stable condition at Grady.
A neighbor, Charlene Weiters, said the family moved into the home about 12 years ago from overseas and still spoke broken English.
She said she was at home when the shooting happened but did not hear gunfire.
Weiters said Abdulaziz Ibrahim was a retired manufacturing worker who often played in the yard with his grandson, and helped neighborhood children by giving them school supplies and small toys.
“We think he was sick, he must have been,” she said between sobs. “He was so sweet, he was so sweet he wouldn’t hurt anybody.”
She said Ibrahim’s wife was not at the home at the time. She believed Ibrahim lived in the home with his wife, three children, two nieces and two grandchildren.
The Melez Zenawi regime in Ethiopia and his ruling Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) are currently engaged in a systematic and deliberate campaign of violence against the people of Ogaden which can only be described as war crimes. These war crimes include diverting humanitarian assistance for use by the regimes armed forces in Ogaden, the deliberate burning of villages, arbitrary arrests, extra-judicial killings, torture, a blockade on food aid as well as other commercial goods and other forms of collective punishment against the civilian population of Ogaden.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) wishes to inform the international community that the war crimes being committed in Ogaden by the current Ethiopian regime have now reached alarming levels warranting international intervention in the form of a United Nations mandated fact finding mission. The United Nations bears a particular responsibility to investigate war crimes in Ogaden given recent reports that its humanitarian assistance is deliberately being diverted to armed forces and militias responsible for these war crimes.
In that context, the ONLF appeals to General-Secretary Ban Ki-Moon to realize a fact finding mission and take all necessary steps to ensure that humanitarian assistance to the people of Ogaden provided by the United Nations actually reaches the people of Ogaden. The ONLF wishes to affirm to the international community that if there is no immediate intervention in the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Ogaden, there will be a man made famine created by the current regime of Melez Zenawi.
The ONLF will cooperate with and welcome all humanitarian agencies and human rights monitors who choose to visit Ogaden.
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Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)
Ethiopia’s opposition leaders, freed from jail last Friday, have now had a few days to enjoy their freedom.
They have been receiving the congratulations of their friends and neighbours, meeting new grandchildren for the first time, and enjoying the pleasure of sleeping in their own beds.
But now they have to start thinking about the future and where they, and their organisation, go from here.
When Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced their release, he said two important things.
First, he said, pardon could be partial, or total.
Their pardon was total – as well as their freedom, their civic rights were restored and they were free to vote and stand for public office.
Secondly, he said, pardon could be conditional or unconditional. Theirs was conditional, on their abiding by the promises they made in the letter they signed, asking for pardon.
The first half of the prime minister’s statement seems clear enough.
Some of the former prisoners may now have decided they have had enough and want to retire from public life.
But many are clearly keen to get back to the fray. Several among them were successfully elected in 2005, either to parliament or to Addis Ababa city council.
They originally boycotted these institutions in protest against the conduct of the elections, but even if they are now willing to abandon the boycott they won’t just be able to walk straight back in and take their seats.
Uncertain politics
Shortly before it went into recess, parliament passed a motion declaring unoccupied seats vacant.
But by-elections for those seats will be held early next year, so the MPs among the group will have the chance to compete again and win back their seats.
Similarly, since the Addis Ababa city councillors, and the man they chose as mayor, Berhanu Nega, refused to take up their posts, the government appointed an interim administration which has been running the capital for the past 18 months.
But again, when the council comes up for re-election – which should be next year – the ex-prisoners are free to compete.
Whether they will be successful is another question. In his press conference the prime minister hinted that the CUD opposition leaders are now yesterday’s men.
Having boycotted parliament for two years, he said, it might not be so easy to get re-elected.
And besides, he said, he believed that the CUD leaders had misunderstood why so many people voted for them in 2005.
In his opinion it wasn’t out of enthusiasm for the opposition’s ideology – which he subtly suggested was Amhara supremacism.
It was a protest vote against the failings of the ruling party, failings which – he said – the party had now taken measures to address.
It sounded like his first speech of the election campaign.
The CUD leaders will also now be trying to establish how free they really are.
The prime minister said they were bound by their promises in their letter asking for pardon.
So far none of the leadership has made any formal statement, but some have dropped hints that there are unresolved issues surrounding this document, about the pressure put on them to sign, and possibly about the contents of the document itself.
And although the letter only appears to bind them to behave within the constitution – not a difficult thing to promise – they may also find there are, in practice, other boundaries which they may not cross.
For a time at least they are likely to be feeling their way, until they can establish the full extent of their new freedom.
Ethiopia’s opposition leaders, freed from jail last Friday, have now had a few days to enjoy their freedom.
They have been receiving the congratulations of their friends and neighbours, meeting new grandchildren for the first time, and enjoying the pleasure of sleeping in their own beds.
But now they have to start thinking about the future and where they, and their organisation, go from here.
When Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced their release, he said two important things.
First, he said, pardon could be partial, or total.
Their pardon was total – as well as their freedom, their civic rights were restored and they were free to vote and stand for public office.
Secondly, he said, pardon could be conditional or unconditional. Theirs was conditional, on their abiding by the promises they made in the letter they signed, asking for pardon.
The first half of the prime minister’s statement seems clear enough.
Some of the former prisoners may now have decided they have had enough and want to retire from public life.
But many are clearly keen to get back to the fray. Several among them were successfully elected in 2005, either to parliament or to Addis Ababa city council.
They originally boycotted these institutions in protest against the conduct of the elections, but even if they are now willing to abandon the boycott they won’t just be able to walk straight back in and take their seats.
Uncertain politics
Shortly before it went into recess, parliament passed a motion declaring unoccupied seats vacant.
But by-elections for those seats will be held early next year, so the MPs among the group will have the chance to compete again and win back their seats.
Similarly, since the Addis Ababa city councillors, and the man they chose as mayor, Berhanu Nega, refused to take up their posts, the government appointed an interim administration which has been running the capital for the past 18 months.
But again, when the council comes up for re-election – which should be next year – the ex-prisoners are free to compete.
Whether they will be successful is another question. In his press conference the prime minister hinted that the CUD opposition leaders are now yesterday’s men.
Having boycotted parliament for two years, he said, it might not be so easy to get re-elected.
And besides, he said, he believed that the CUD leaders had misunderstood why so many people voted for them in 2005.
In his opinion it wasn’t out of enthusiasm for the opposition’s ideology – which he subtly suggested was Amhara supremacism.
It was a protest vote against the failings of the ruling party, failings which – he said – the party had now taken measures to address.
It sounded like his first speech of the election campaign.
The CUD leaders will also now be trying to establish how free they really are.
The prime minister said they were bound by their promises in their letter asking for pardon.
So far none of the leadership has made any formal statement, but some have dropped hints that there are unresolved issues surrounding this document, about the pressure put on them to sign, and possibly about the contents of the document itself.
And although the letter only appears to bind them to behave within the constitution – not a difficult thing to promise – they may also find there are, in practice, other boundaries which they may not cross.
For a time at least they are likely to be feeling their way, until they can establish the full extent of their new freedom.
Kinijit DC Metro Ethiopian community turned up en mass to celebrate the freedom of Kinijit leaders. Even though the meeting was called at short notice, the Washington Plaza Hotel was filled to capacity. The mood was jubilant and was crowned with even more excitement as many of the freed leaders addressed the gathering via phone from Addis Ababa.
Muluneh Iyoel, Secretary General of Kinijit gave an inspiring and forward looking speech. Ato Gizachew Shiferaw, Dr. Hailu Araya, Dr. Yacob Woldemariam, Ato Abyneh Berhanu, and Ato Debebe Eshetu expressed gratitude and admiration to all Ethiopians in the Diaspora for their relentless struggle. They reminded the gathering that the struggle for freedom and democracy is an unfinished business and our perseverance is needed more than ever before, fortified with experience and wisdom. Other Kinijit leaders were not readily available due to telephone connection problems.
The message of these national heroes was repeatedly interrupted by “Elilta” and spirited applause in an expression of support and admiration. Despite the time difference, the heroes stayed up late to address their loving countrymen.
The meeting was organized by Kinijit DC Metro Support Chapter and was addressed by Ato Yilma Adamu, Chairman of Kinijit DC Metro Support Chapter; Dr. Moges Gebremariam, Ato Berhane Mewa and Dr. Gebrye W. Rufael of Kinijit International Leadership and Dr. Abraham Bekele representing Kinijit North America Association of Support Organizations.
Leaders of the newly established Kinijit Youth League, Tesfaye Mamo and Yenebeb Tesfaye also addressed the gathering.
The meeting ended with heightened spirit and with renewed commitment to stay the course until Ethiopia becomes a country where democracy prevails, where human right is respected and its people live in unison and harmony.
The community pledged to raise emergency fund to help Kinijit reopen its offices and to spread the Kinijit alternative way which was enthusiastically endorsed by the majority of Ethiopians during the 2005 election.
Muluneh Iyoel, Secretary General of Kinijit gave an inspiring and forward looking speech. Ato Gizachew Shiferaw, Dr. Hailu Araya, Dr. Yacob Woldemariam, Ato Abyneh Berhanu, and Ato Debebe Eshetu expressed gratitude and admiration to all Ethiopians in the Diaspora for their relentless struggle. They reminded the gathering that the struggle for freedom and democracy is an unfinished business and our perseverance is needed more than ever before, fortified with experience and wisdom. Other Kinijit leaders were not readily available due to telephone connection problems.