RESPONSE TO REMARKS BY ETHIOPIAN AMBASSADOR ABDULMEJID HUSSEINFeburary 9th 2002
Recent statements by the Ethiopian Ambassador to the UN, AbdulMejid
Hussein, in response to remarks made by Hussein Aideed during his
interview with IRIN in which the Ambassador alleged that the Somali
people of Ogaden enjoy full rights and protections are far from the
truth and border on fantasy.
When AbdulMejid claims that the Somalis in Ogaden enjoy protections
and full rights under the Ethiopian constitution he ignores the fact
that the Government he serves views the Constitution of Ethiopia
as a document not worth the paper it is written on. Protection for
Human and Civil Rights is clearly an unknown concept to the TPLF/EPRDF
regime.
It is an undeniable fact that the protections and rights stipulated
in the Ethiopian Constitution are non-existent in Ogaden. Our people
are denied the right to freely elected representative body as stipulated
in the Constitution, they are denied the right to form political
parties of their choice, they are denied the right to free assembly
and free speech.
While the Ambassador and his cohorts meeting in Addis Ababa in a
so-called “forum” aimed at addressing the concerns of our homeland
may choose to ignore the stark realities of political repression,
social oppression and economic depression in Ogaden, the fact remains
that the suffering of our people is constant and unchanging. The
Ambassador admits, in his previous statements that “there was not
popular participation from up all the way down to the grass roots”
when characterizing the so-called “State” administration in Ogaden.
The fact that Ethiopia has chosen Ambassador AbdulMejid who has no
legitimacy among the Somali people of Ogaden, to respond to Hussein
Aideed’s statements is intended to create an illusion of popular
participation in democratic governance by ethnic Somalis.
It is worth noting that even Hussein Aideed in his response to the
IRIN reporter's question in Addis Ababa at a government owned Hotel,
pointed out that “Ethiopia has a problem” holding on to Ogaden,
clearly highlighting the fact that ethnic Somalis are discontent
and disenfranchised.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front wishes to draw the attention
of international community to the fact that Ambassador AbdulMejid
is viewed as a mere mouthpiece of the TPLF/EPRDF regime and in no
way represents the ambitions and desires of the Somali people of
Ogaden for peace, development and self-determination. It is our hope
that the International Community will see through the smokescreen
put up by Ambassador AbdulMejid and recognize that respect for human
rights and a democratic framework are clearly absent in Ogaden.
OGADEN NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (ONLF)
Information Bureau