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"Nin Dhirbaaxo Quudheed dugsaday Dhaqayadeed maalye "Dhaqashiyo mar bay kaa yihiin Dharagu xaareene
For over a century, the people of the Somali Regional State (SRS), have waged a long and protracted struggle for the attainment of their fundamental human rights against imperial, feudal and dictatorial regimes of Ethiopia. It was therefore, the expectation of the people of SRS and their leadership, that Meles Zenawi, who was himself a veteran freedom fighter in the past would be sympathetic and supportive to their legitimate aspirations for justice, human dignity and socio-economic development. When Meles Zenawi came to power in 1991, he showed the Somalis a positive smiling face, charmed and politically disarmed them by waiving on national TV a Somalia-issued Passport and emphasized how that country helped him in his challenging years as guerilla fighter agianst the Mengistu regime. In the mid nineties Somali national leaders expressed hope and optimism that the new leadership of Ethiopia would address the grievances and the problems of the citizens of the SRS who have been facing over the years a reign of terror and oppression under the Mengistu dictatorship. Regrettably, this has not been the case. Zenawi, did not only fail to address the problems of the SRS, but promoted a rigorous ruthless policy of domination, repression, division and denial of justice which has increased in dimension and gravity since the early nineties. The question may now be posed: what has the Zenawi government done for the people of the SRS? The truth is that Zenawi, instead of helping the citizens of Somali regional state (SRS), has from the beginning seriously undermined the Somali political representation in Ethiopia. For example, during the transitional period, Somalis were given only five seats (cad quudheed) in the transitional parliament, out of several hundred parliamentary positions. In effect, Somali representation was a slap in the face: Only one seat was allocated for every one million person. At the executive level, Somalis of the SRS got only one ministerial position which was unfair and grossly disproportionate. Few days after such an allocation of seats, a stunned veteran Sudanese journalist, Sayid Khalifa, asked Meles Zenawi in a one-on-one interview, why Somalis who have fought against all previous regimes for their fundamental rights and in effect weakened the Derg's grip on power, received such a minuscule representation? Mr. Zenawi arrogantly and dismissively responded to the question by saying “Somalis are nomadic tribes and they are not yet sufficiently experienced in the art of administration.” Disappointed, Sayid Khalifa, who covered most of the liberation wars in the region, refrained from raising any follow-up question on the subject. Who would blame him? To this day the citizens of the Somali State are the most under represented in the various branches of the federal government of Ethiopia. What has followed since then is a history of a political purge, intimidation of the educated class, a semi colonial force of occupation in the Regional State and an imposition of puppet local administrations that have created more problems for the Somalis than any of the previous regimes. Ironically, the interim president of the SRS who is a surrogate of the Addis Ababa federal government has no power and and can only act on the basis of the instructions of the Prime Ministers office or their appointed reprsentatives who are designated as special advisers of the interim president and the Regional administration. A sizable number of troops are deployed in the Somali Regional State which are reported to be larger than those on the border with Eriteria. Between 1994 and 1998, the Ethiopian Federal Government carried out a rigorous policy of expulsion of many political national leaders and arbitrarily dismissed the competent educated class from the public service. The February 24, 1994 report of Amnesty International, for example, accounted gross human rights violations including the wanton “murder of Mohammed Omar Tube and Abdullahi Ganey after soldiers arrested them, and Hajio Dama and Dulane Hassan Nur were ill treated in detention.” Soon after, the region was placed under an unofficial emergency law where the army generals stationed in the Somali region wield more power than the so-called elected Regional Administrators. The authority of the State Government is purely nominal as it has been totally marginalized since its institutional power has been transferred to the central government which assumed exclusive jurisdiction of the affairs of the Somali Regional State. By 1996, the late Majeerteen Ugaas Cabdi and Sh. Abdul Nasir Sh. Aadan, leading members of the former Al Nasrulah movement of the 1950s and 60s and later Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) during 70s and 80s and signatories of the 1991 Ethiopian transitional charter, were purged by the Ethiopian government. This was yet another move of eliminateing Somali patriotic leaders. Other leaders were also dismissed or were put in jail. Among them were Abubakar Samatar Sii-Arag (a former parliamentarian and administrator of the Zone of Jigjiga), Colonel Dolal who tried to foster understanding between the insurgent Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the Zenawi regime and Hussein Ismail, a former minister under Mengistu's regime and a capable administrator. Mr. Samatar is now retired from politics and lives in Addis Ababa and the later two are in exile in the Arab world and in the US, respectively. For nearly 10 years now, citizens of the Somali Regional State (SRS) have been invariably subjected to humiliation and harassment while others were killed at will by a predominantly Tigrean soldiers. Their land has been resized to a third less and their properties looted with impunity. The last capable group who could have rejuvenated a new leadership class has been barred from political participation under a new law uniquely designed for the Somali region. The provisions of this law bar hundreds of people who had allegedly held positions in Somalia from ever holding offices. What is said in this law is a far cry from the time when Meles waived a Somali passport on national TV and praised Somalia and what it had done for all the liberation movements of the region!
The SRS knows no meaningful development. And, both the US embassy in Addis Ababa and all the NGOs in Jigjiga know about the degrading condition and underdevelopment situation of the State. Primary and secondary schools for the most part have neither chairs nor teachers. While the official propaganda would like us to believe that a university is about to open in Jigjiga, we understand that elementary school students in Tulli Guuleed, Qabri Dahar, Baabili, Jigjiga and Dhagaxbuur sit on stones or the floor. In fact, the residents of Tulli Guuleed and overseas expatriates from Qabri Dahar had to recently raise private funds to transport school furniture that had been rotting in storage for many months, for the local government said it could not pay for the transportation cost. Why would one need a university when one can not provide the services of elementary school teachers, books and chairs for the needy children who have been left behind? It just does not add up! The truth is that one is for propaganda consumption to hoodwink the public opinion and mislead the international community; the other is the reality on the ground. The political culture in the Somali State is to divert the attention of its citizens and the Diaspora community from the prevailing situation in their homeland with a sophisticated propaganda that showcases projects when crisis hit home. The puppet local governments and Federal Government's handpicked leaders are becoming more concerned about the increasing momentum of the massive popular mass discontent. The interim president and his associates are bussy to quell, either through a well-coordinated buy-outs of votes, and endorsements or naked intimidation that are seen in the streets, coffee shops and other public places in Jigjiga and other parts of the Somali Regional State. As this piece goes to press, WardheerNews has received reports of serious military clashes between the Ethiopian troops in the region and the insurgent forces of the ONLF. Despite an early upper hand by the Ethiopian troops, the renewed conflict is an indication that Ethiopia has failed once again to successfully address the Somali question. This is also discourteous gesture on the part of the Federal Government and a slap in the face to the elders representing 7 out of the 9 provinces of the Somali State who were in Addis Ababa for the last 3 months. It is important to know that these respected elders from the Somali region in their dialogue with federal government have extended an olive branch for peace and reconciliation and and offered their good offices to the federal government in order to bring an end to the ONLF insurgency which operates in some of the provinces of the Somali State. Regrettably, the prime Minister has yet to meet with these eminent community elders of the region who have deployed determined efforts to restore peace and stability in the devastated SRS which continues to be seriuosly affected by famine, war and disease. We at WardheerNews urge the Regional Parliament of the Somali state (SRS) to call for peace dialogue and chart a new political course for the State. It is also important that the federal government should put an end to their intervention and military operation in the region. We urge the Regional Parliament to say No to the intervention, violence, and blackmail in the political affairs of the region by the federal government. We also call for the regional parliament to rescind the unconstitional legislation aimed to eliminate individuals who had their training and service in Somalia. At the same time, the parliament of the Somali State must exercise its constitutional responsibilty and critically evaluate, and if need be change, its leadership without fear of interference from the federal government. The members must and should demonstrate a sense of devotion and commitment to serve the paramount interest of the people of the SRS. “you have nothing to loose,” but everything to gain" Do it for your children and the nation's posterity, or remain forever Nin Dharbaaxo Quudheed dugsaday. Send your Comments to: WardheerNews Editorial Board Copyright © 2005 Wardheernews.com |
