Rebels in Ethiopia’s eastern Ogaden region have accused the government of killing 71 civilians in a military operation since May 18.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which says it is fighting for autonomy for ethnic Somalis in the region on the border with Somalia, said the operation against them started on May 18.
It said in a statement on Friday that the offensive was launched in retaliation for a raid during which ONLF claimed to have captured a town previously controlled by the government.
“The Ethiopian army Meles Zenawi’s forces combed the countryside, summarily executing men in front of their families while beating, raping or killing the women,” the ONFL statement said.
“The ruthless troops have so far massacred 71 innocent civilians with impunity while wounding and torturing hundreds.”
The Ethiopian government ruling Woyanne junta denied the accusations.
“We are still gathering information about these accusations, but so far we can say they are entirely baseless,” Shimeles Kemal, an Ethiopian government Woyanne spokesman, said.
He denied that military operations were taking place in the Ogaden area.
Claims from either side are almost impossible to verify, as journalists and aid groups cannot travel in the poverty-stricken region without a government escort.
The conflict has taken on new significance since international petroleum companies began searching for oil and gas in the area.
In April, a British geologist working for a subcontractor of Petronas, a Malaysian oil giant, was shot dead there.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Addis Fortune looks deeper to find some telling bits of information about the May 23, 2010, elections in Ethiopia:
An unassuming voter in Polling Station of One, of Ambo Town, Western Shewo Zone of the Oromia Regional State, marked his vote alongside the candidate by the name of Metiku Tesso (PhD), fielded by the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A president of Ambo University very much liked by residents of the town, Metiku ran against five other candidates fielded by parties such as Medrek, the All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP), Oromo National Congress (ONC), and Oromo Liberation Unity Front (OLUF). The unassuming voter, one of the 807 residents who voted that day out of the 883 registered at that polling station, made a statement in the box alongside Woldeyes Mengesha, an MP for this constituency, who ran under the Medrek platform. Written in Amharic, this voter exercised his freedom of expression with the phrase “F . . . you!” However, he did not do much good for the candidate he or she wanted to support. This particular vote was disqualified, joining 84 other votes deemed invalid for various reasons. There was of course another similar exercise in the freedom of expression where a voter felt compelled to send a message, writing, “No one knows; God bless Ethiopia!” This too was cast in favor of the candidate from the incumbent. … click here to continue reading.
The exiled Holy Synod of Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOTC) has issued a strongly worded statement denouncing the May 23, 2010, elections in Ethiopia as fraudulent. The Holy Synod’s statement also called on the people of Ethiopia to reject the ruling Woyanne whom it called a terrorist junta. Click here to read the full text.
Editor’s Note: There is a saying in Ethiopia — Ye Ayit Misikir Dinbit or Liju Dagna, Abatu Kemagna.
National Electoral Board of Ethiopia rejects election rerun call
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) rejected opposition demands for a fresh election after the government last month won a landslide victory that the Europe Union and the United States said failed to meet international standards.
The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allied parties won 545 seats in the 547-member parliament, giving long-serving Prime Minister genocidal dictator Meles Zenawi another five years in power.
The Horn of Africa country’s largest opposition coalition, the eight-party Medrek, won just a single seat in parliament. Medrek and the smaller All Ethiopia Unity Party called for a rerun claiming vote rigging and widespread intimidation.
“We have looked at the application of the parties Medrek and the AEUP and neither of them came up with any evidence,” Addisu Gebregziabher, vice chairman of the National Electoral Board (NEB) told Reuters.
“We have discussed their request for a rerun and we have made a decision contrary to their desire. They brought only allegations, not evidence.”
COURT CHALLENGE
The aftermath of the May 23 poll is being closely watched by foreign diplomats in a country that is a growing destination for investment and Washington’s key ally in the Horn of Africa, where it is seen as a bulwark against Islamic militancy.
At Ethiopia’s last elections in 2005, an opposition coalition cried foul after the EPRDF and its allies won 327 seats. Riots erupted in the capital on two separate occasions. Security forces killed 193 protesters and seven policemen died.
Medrek immediately rejected the NEB decision and said it was now considering mounting a challenge to the election result through the courts.
“It is simply not true for them to say we submitted no evidence,” Negaso Gidada, a Medrek leader and former Ethiopian president, told Reuters.
“We submitted proof of ballots being thrown away, of our members being intimidated on voting day and in the run up to the election, and of people losing their food aid privileges if they refused to vote for the EPRDF.”
A European Union observer mission said the election was marred by the EPRDF’s use of state resources for campaigning and the United States said the government’s next steps could shape the future of U.S. ties to the country.
(Report by Barry Malone. Editing by George Obulutsa and Ralph Boulton)
