http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1169855
Ethiopia on both corners of the Ball: Western Ally Versus Extremist Partner
by _at_MohamudFarah
By Heegan85 | Posted 2 hours ago
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Today's major political conflicts might relate to the Western European
powers' aggressive and rivalry occupation towards other continents of the
globe for industrial resources. That systematic migration, which its last
foot was Africa's Scramble of 1880s, was too strange to the occupied people
and nations while today's liberty or freedom through "own state
sovereignty" was not in the mind of many of those scrambled.
Again, while the form of governance by the said powers was having its
effect, the respond or reactions of the occupied people or nations varied
from one another: depending on ways of living, settlement, governance or
belief. Though their main target was gaining resources for their industries
amid competing, the factor of faith played greater role for articulating
strategies as the main faith in Europe was Christianity.
Moreover, the European colonialists' soft power was "modern education and
Christian missionaries", which helped hardening positions by religious
resistances of some Muslim communities; somehow [making] they overlooked to
the resource-driven political nature of the colonial powers.
Therefore, people or nations of same faith became allies with European
powers - namely Ethiopia or Abyssinia; people or nations of different faith
including Somalis had resisted through religious and ethnic perspectives;
while people or nations of traditional beliefs including would-be Kenyans
were resisting through racial or ethnic causes.
Ethiopia among colonial powers of 19 century;
For example, the Somali fighter of early 20 century, Sayid Mohamed Abdille
Hassan and his fellow fighters - Dervishes had fought against British,
Italian and Ethiopian forces simultaneously, almost two decades. Being the
first resistance leader that attempted fighting through Pan-Somalis'
slogan, was more religious than political as his sentiment was fuelled by
his first seen to Muslim/Somali students named as John and others, in a
Christian Missionary school in the coastal town of Berbera, reportedly.
On the other hand, the then-soft powers helped pacifying mainly non-Muslim
communities who later become the first to be freed as "sovereign states"
after costly wars [World War One & Two] fought by the rivalry European
powers; while Muslim communities or regions were incorporated in to the
newly-freed post-colonial countries of Christian leaders. The same happened
to many other people and nations including Somalis and Ogaden.
Again, when post-colonial world becomes more connected; some causes become
inter-related in to so many ways that forced [increasingly] changing
arguments or/and tactics demonstrated by a number of resistance movements.
The said movements insist of rejecting international borders founded by the
colonial legacy; while such rejection ruled out any chance of political
solution as it threatens not only to the States-in-conflict, but also
others.
For instance, when movement's mandate was to liberate specific location or
region from a repressive or occupying regime, but fails because of some
reasons; it might possibly add more other regions to seek attention though
knows not meeting that new objective. This makes them employ
self-incriminating activities to stay relevant in front of followers as
they remain both abusing and misleading. That's where terrorism starts.
But that does not always mean there is no real cause or grievance to be
fought by the people or nations belonging to the misguided or failed
movements.
Ethiopia Sympathizes AIAI extremists;
Unfortunately, the States-in-conflict use such forces to overlap with other
genuine resistances of within the respective country. For instance, in
1990s, local politicians and Ogaden community elders were protesting
against the Somalia-based Al-Itahad Al-Islam (AIAI) of setting up bases and
offices in Ethiopia's Ogaden region where Ogaden National Liberation Front
(ONLF) was more popular at the time.
The late Meles Zenawi's Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) - core
faction of ruling coalition of Ethiopian people Revolutionary Democratic
Forces (EPRDF) was envious from the ONLF [secessionist movement]; and
instead of dealing ONLF issue accordingly, it sympathized with AIAI to
create rivalry forces within the region; and later on, to lure western
countries' support for tackling foreign fighters.
Moreover, TPLF cooperated that AIAI's academic scholars infiltrate in to
the ONLF-led political system of the transition period while AIAI's
Jihadist groups were waging their armed fighting in the Ogaden as both
tactics worked through polarization of Abdulahi Sa'di administration of
1992 and ONLF's armed struggle of 1994.
Again, when TPLF fought AIAI [disguising ONLF's armed struggle] with
support of other countries and AIAI was declared terrorist by Washington
and allies after September 11 attacks; it again helped them revive as Union
of Western Somali Liberation Front (UWSLF) in early of 2000s. Though
Eritrea is accused of helping them regroup through this umbrella, along
with some of Somalia warlords; UWSLF had been in use for Ethiopian regime
sooner.
Ethiopia partners UWSLF, revival of AIAI;
Apart from helping Ethiopia to re-scratch its card of fighting terrorism
within Ethiopia, it further used them fight against ONLF as armed clashes
among fighters of UWSLF and ONLF happened within the Ogaden region in 2008
and 2009. They also helped Ethiopia to kill the Late Dr. Mohamed Sirad
Dolaal on January of 2009; just a year before they claimed signing peace
deal with Ethiopia on April 2010.
Furthermore, they helped Ethiopia implementing its abusive "Diaspora and
refugee hunting policy" since 2010. Because they were among Ogadeni
refugees who were resettled as Somalia refugees in early of 1990s since
their fighting erupted in 1992 and they were forced to exile. Their main
operations included the 2011 to the 2014 killings and assassinations
against Ogaden refugees and ONLF officials in Kenya.
On the other hand, UWSLF/AIAI's partnership with Ethiopia was not limited
only to the ONLF, but also they become useful for Ethiopia to exploit and
annihilate to the governments or individuals of integrity in the
neighboring countries, namely Somalia and Kenya.
Ethiopia uses extremists into Somalia/Kenya;
Ethiopia deals to those countries through a number of faces: its official
governmental position and through informal loyalty by own citizens of such
countries from birth or registration. AIAI's branch of Ogaden were exiled
to Kenya after 1992 military offensives of TPLF regime, and assimilated to
the local population of Kenya's Northeastern province. Therefore, by
informal registration, they become Kenyan citizens though they are loyal to
their organization's policies, mostly exploited by Ethiopian government.
For instance, in Kenya's 2007 General elections - they played allegedly a
very crucial role for Yusuf Hassan Abdi's loss a seat he contested against
Ibrahim Mohamed alias Johnny, who was backed by famous Imams of Eastleigh
mosques. Again, he won the seat itself, Kamukunji Member of Parliament in a
by-election done August 2011. Though Hon. Yusuf Hassan Abdi was not openly
antagonist to Ethiopian government policies; his personal integrity,
profile and having ancestral relationship to Ogaden region, became enough
worrisome to Ethiopian regime.
Many people from Ogaden region believe that his serious injury from a
grenade thrown to him on December 2012 while he's in one of the mosques in
Eastleigh [run by alleged members of AIAI/UWSLF] was an Ethiopian plot
though Alshabaab of Somalia were accused of.
Just similar with Hon. Abdi's fate, the political movements of Prof.
Mohamed Abdi alias Gandi in Somalia Federal Republic had been mainly
challenged by Ethiopian proxy forces, including alleged leaders/members of
AIAI factions in Somalia. Prof. Mohamed Abdi (Gandi) was sacked from Sh.
Sherif Ahmed Transitional Federal Government's Cabinet ministers in 2010
while Hussen Abdi Halane was nominated as Finance Minister to substitute
Prof. Gandi for Absame tribe in Somalia.
>From his nomination, Mr. Halane had managed to take AhmedMadobe Islan
(Hisbul Islam defector) to Addis Ababa on August 2010 as regime's proxy in
the lower Juba region of Somalia, with the help of AIAI/UWSLF leaders who
claimed signing peace-deals with Ethiopia in July 2010.
Since these settings had been put in place by Addis Ababa regime, an
aggressive campaign against Prof. Gandi's initiations was propagated
loudly. AhmedMadobe and former AIAI members or sympathizers were left to
locally propagate against Gandi, and disseminate that "Ethiopia is better
capable and friendly than Kenya". This had resulted that Prof. Gandi's
Azania or Jubaland initiative becomes hijacked as Ethiopia-backed Warlord,
AhmedMadobe declared himself as President of Jubaland administration on May
2013.
At last but not least, the famous self-style cleric of Ethiopian-born,
Sheekh Mohamed Abdi Umal's tour to the Ogaden, Somalia's autonomous regions
of Somaliland and Puntland from March to May of 2014 shows how group's
politico-religious activities are still well connected and organized. But
we need to be aware of that such tour was demanded and funded by Ethiopian
government; because the said Sheikh never visited Ethiopia though he
publicly endorsed UWSLF/AIAI's peace deal of July 2010.
Ethiopia on both corners of the Ball;
Moreover, Ethiopia is also dependent on them for propaganda and media
access if it needs reaching to the Somali-Speaking populations of the Horn
of Africa while avoiding to stigmatize such propaganda by using its Somali
Regional State media outlets. The most popular one of such online media is
known as DhanaanMedia.com which airs Ethiopia's strategic and timely
stories that covers either ONLF/Ogaden or Jubaland sensitive causes,
including the 2012 [Ethiopian initiated-but-never committed] Peace Talks
with ONLF; and Jubaland & Gedo reconciliation or governance issues.
The extremists or remnants of AIAI, regardless of their current names, they
show committed for Ethiopia [in the short term] of trying to end their main
threat, which is ONLF or any popular nationalist movement in the Ogaden or
Somalia; and Ethiopia may claim itself of using them same purpose. But, in
the long-term, each side has something hidden as Extremists believe or
dream that opportunity of overcoming Ethiopia itself might come one day,
just as the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt or the ISIS of Iraq and Syria.
Moreover, geopolitical calculations of the Horn or Eastern of Africa might
change unexpectedly from number of factors, which might give them
opportunity of achieving their little-sacrificed dream. If it comes, they
could do it through non-violent way as they already control significant
number of Somali institutions including Hawala [money-transfer] companies,
trade businesses and some popular religious institutions or through their
traditional ways of violence.
On the other hand, it's not first time that Ethiopia plays both corners of
the ground or the ball. In the era of colonization, Ethiopia was the only
black or African body that had openly asked to get its share of the African
Scramble or Colonization of 19 century as Emperor Menilik II wrote such
application to the Berlin Conference.
Yet, when colonization was to an end and European powers were compensating
to the freed African nations of 20 century, Ethiopia claimed championing
Africans' freedom as many of them made their national flags related to that
of Ethiopia - showing gesture of generosity to the latter.
Again, according to some media quotes of 2011, the Late Prime Minister of
Ethiopia - Meles zenawi hailed Sayid Mohamed Abdille Hassan as an African
hero who fought against European colonization and imperialism. Zenawi also
promised to resurrect Sayid's statues in Ethiopia, a move recently
implemented by the regime's surrogates in Jigjiga.
And now, in the 21 century's War on Terror or Global Extremism, the only
government in the region that takes in use Extremists though offering them
legacy, is the Ethiopian government that's also a key ally of U.S. and
western countries in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Therefore,
once again, Ethiopia plays on both corners of the Ball.
By Ahmed Farah, An Ogadeni activist and the Head of Ogaden Refugee Council
(ORC)
About the Author
Received on Fri Sep 12 2014 - 14:38:24 EDT