From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Wed Apr 08 2009 - 11:34:27 EDT
O.N.L.F Press Release
8 April 2009
Claims by the Ethiopian regimes Communication Minister, Bereket Simon,
that the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) is "now in a state of
crisis and very weak" can only be described as wishful thinking which is
far from reality and bordering on fantasy.
The fact of the matter is that the ONLF's operational capacity is now
higher than at any point since the start of the organizations armed
struggle. It is precisely because the Ethiopian regime seeks to conceal
from the international community the widespread support the people of
Ogaden have for the ONLF and the exponential growth of the ONLF's
military might that members of the international media are denied
unfettered access to Ogaden.
The ONLF has defeated every major military campaign launched by the
Ethiopian regime in Ogaden over the last two years and is on the
offensive in all operational theaters in the Ogaden. Defections of the
regimes troops are on the rise and, in some areas, Ethiopian troops are
selling their weapons to ONLF military commanders.
The most recent claim by the regimes communication minister is clearly
designed to instill a false sense of confidence in oil exploration
companies which the regime is trying to lure back to Ogaden.
The communication ministers claim that "The situation in Ogaden now is
improving by the day" is a gross misrepresentation of the true state of
affairs in Ogaden and demonstrates the regimes continuing efforts to
conceal the suffering it has inflicted on the people of Ogaden. It is
also a response to growing international concern over the deliberate and
systematic campaign of collective punishment, war crimes and genocide
against the civilian population of Ogaden.
While the ONLF has left no stone unturned in a search for a just and
peaceful settlement to the Ogaden conflict and still stands ready to
enter into direct talks with the Ethiopian regime in the presence of a
neutral third party mediator of international standing, the regime
continues to choose a futile military solution in a bid to suppress the
legitimate desire of the people of Ogaden to self-determination,
development and democracy.
The fact of the matter is that there is no "round table" in Ethiopia, as
the Minister claims, to discuss peace. The Ethiopian regime is, by all
measures, a dictatorship with no respect for human or civil rights, it
is a regime engaged in a deliberate and systematic campaign of ethnic
cleansing against ethnic Somalis in the Ogaden.
The ONLF will continue to engage this regime wherever and whenever it
enters Ogaden, we will also further strengthen our cooperation and
coordination with other oppressed nations and members of the political
opposition who respect our peoples legitimate rights to
self-determination.
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)
http://onlf.org/onlfpress_Bereket.html
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