From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Jun 30 2009 - 16:43:24 EDT
'Why I took up arms against Ethiopia'
By Yannick Demoustier and Jonathan Alpeyrie
BBC Focus on Africa magazine
Tuesday, 30 June 2009 16:16 UK
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif
Old Somali refugee sitting next to her grass
Thousands of people have had to flee their homes as the trouble escalates
Ahmed, 35, is a member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), one
of a number of separatist groups fighting for independence of the
Somali-speaking Ogaden region in the east of Ethiopia.
The previous evening, he had participated in an attack against Ethiopian
troops near the town of Babile.
"The assault lasted only a few minutes but we managed to kill nine
government soldiers," he said.
"We are no match for direct combat, so we must rely on quick surprise
attacks."
The armed resistance began in 1994 after the ONLF, then a political
organisation, broached the idea of splitting from Ethiopia.
The central government responded by imprisoning Ogaden leaders and,
according to academics and human rights groups, assassinating others.
'Point of no-return'
"In 1994, as a student in Dire Dawa, I was not allowed take the final
examinations because I was an Ogadenian," said Ahmed. "I was arrested two
years later on false charges of belonging to the ONLF, they kept me there
for four years and I was beaten repeatedly, sometimes even subjected to
electric torture. While in detention, my father was killed by government
soldiers."
Map of Ethiopia
On his release in 2001, he immediately joined the rebellion but his mother
remains in jail in Jijiga.
Fearing for his family, Ahmed convinced his wife to flee with their two
daughters.
"They are refugees in Kenya, I haven't seen them for three years.
"There comes a point of no-return when you know you don't belong in this
country," he said.
'Human shields'
Over the past two years the conflict has escalated following the ONLF's
April 2007 attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field.
This resulted in the death of 74 people, including Ethiopian guards and
Chinese workers.
ONLF fighters inspecting mass graves in Ogaden
Ahmed claims that Ethiopian troops killed almost 1500 people
The central government calls the rebels "terrorists", however watchdogs have
accused the government of human rights violations.
"This is a complete fabrication and these are unfounded allegations," said
Berhanu Kebede, Ethiopia's ambassador to the UK.
"The Ethiopian government has no intention of harming civilians, it is the
ONLF that use civilians as human shields."
Near the deserted village of Galashe, which Ethiopian troops allegedly
stormed in January 2009, Ahmed explains what lies beneath the numerous piles
of rocks.
"There are about 50 bodies under each pile.
"The Ethiopian soldiers stayed here for a couple of months, they terrorised
inhabitants, killing as many as 1,500 people."
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gifIn this
village, they crushed babies' heads with stones and in another, they cut up
bodies and scattered the parts to prevent remaining villagers from burying
the dead http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif
Ahmed
In Galashe and across Ogaden, civilians attest to the same horrors, the
gang-raping of women, the burning of huts and killing of livestock.
But the Ethiopian ambassador denied this claim.
"This was recently the subject of an independent investigation and this has
made it clear that no such crimes were committed.
"This is a vast area with a population of 4.5 million, who are mostly
nomadic and you won't see graveyards because people bury their relatives
anywhere they can," said Mr Berhanu.
The government has closed off all access to the Ogaden region.
Ahmed believes the Ethiopian government is trying to cut them off from the
local population which supplied the rebels with food
Rebel alert
One of Ahmed's main tasks is to train the younger recruits.
"They are very angry but it is important that they remember to stay
organised, especially when things appear calm," he said.
The Ethiopian government has been trying to find a political solution to the
problem.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gifThe rebels say
that they cannot live under Ethiopian rule but we are a federal state.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif
Berhanu Kebede
"We are approaching them through their elders to explain that the
constitution provides enough political space for a peaceful resolution of
the problem but they must renounce the armed struggle and wage their
political agenda peacefully," said Mr Berhanu.
"The rebels say that they cannot live under Ethiopian rule but we are a
federal state."
Ethiopia remains one of the world's most aid-dependent countries, receiving
more than $2bn in foreign assistance every year.
Evidently, no aid reaches the Ogaden region despite the government's
insistence that hostilities have ceased.
"Why does the international community remain silent?" said Ahmed.
"The UN must come to the Ogaden to see what [Prime Minister]Meles is doing
to us."
Yannick Demoustier is a French journalist for Rue des Pommiers news agency
and Jonathan Alpeyrie is an independent photojournalist.
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