The Ethiopian Government Denies Ogaden Somali People Medicine and Food as Cholera Epidemic Daily Kills Hundreds.
Press Release by PAFD, March 10, 2017
In its Press Release of March 08, 2017, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), one of the key PAFD’s founding members, has stated that, between 05 and 08 March 2017 alone, more than 300 people died of unreported and government concealed Cholera epidemic currently rampaging Ogaden Somali region. Coupled with the ongoing and chronic drought and deliberate neglect of the region, the people are severely affected thus dying at an alarming rate. Therefore, the figure could be much higher. This is not the first time when the regime aimed at inflicting serious damage to the Ogadeni Somali people. It has been understood that, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) lead Ethiopian regime has in fact committed genocide on several occasions in this region since 1994.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report of June 2008, after extensively interviewing the victims of torture and extra judiciary incarcerations from the individuals who have fled the country to the neighboring Kenya and Djibouti, stressed that, the TPLF’s Ethiopian regime has indeed, committed genocide in Ogaden Somali region. It has burnt and wiped out the entire villages and several districts by totally massacring the subjects and militarizing the region. Moreover, the Swedish journalists (Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye) who have crossed the Ethiopian border to report the incidents and subsequently arrested by Ethiopian authorities in June 2011, have also attested the horrifying reality of the Ogaden Somali people were subjected to under the barbaric rule of TPLF’s regime.
Until the beginning of Oromo revolution in new form since October 2015 and subsequent brutalization of Oromo civilians to be prime target of the TPLF’s regime; the Ogaden Somali community has been number one subject of its barbarism for variety of reasons. The Ogaden Somali community has been differently targeted by the TPLF’s regime time and again for their geo-political and economic reasons. They have been repeatedly denied food, medicine, education, social and public services, water sources, deprived of their customary freedom of movements with their animals and accessing available opportunities with neighboring Somalia whose cultural and religious similarities has been the pillar of their fraternal relationship. Furthermore, denying their access with the central part of the country, international community and the neighboring countries, TPLF has aimed at the totally eradication of Ogaden Somali nation whilst expropriating their natural wealth such as gas and other natural minerals.
Agro-pastoralists, the Ogaden Somali had the culture of mitigating drought whenever it occurs until they have been denied doing so by the regime in power whose security forces often rape and maim their women and girls, torture and barbarically kill their men and boys. The TPLF’s regime has worked hard to assure their subservience by facilitating their humiliation by totally denying them access to the necessities such as food and water. The regime also strictly prohibits the Ogaden community from communicating with the international communities and human rights organizations by totally militarizing the entire region. This is the case as we speak. For the last over 22 years of its reign, the TPLF has neither allowed international aid organizations to this region, nor has done meaningful development activities. Encircling them in an unreachable manner like predator does to its pray, the TPLF’s regime is blatantly embarked on the agenda of systematically depopulating Ogaden Somali region with disease in addition to ongoing massacre, genocide and brutality of unprecedented proportion.
The current denial of medicine and water for the Ogaden civilians affected by the Cholera epidemic is, therefore, part and parcel of TPLF’s anti-Ogaden Somali nation agenda which must be wholly deplored. The TPLF’s regime barbarically treats the Ogadeni Somali community whilst it celebrates its (TPLF) 42nd anniversary in lavish style renting 5* Star hotels in Dubai and within the county, where it spends several millions of dollars from the public purse. The international community such as UN, EU and AU as well as west’s TPLF’s supporter politicians are aware of the unfolding tragedy in Ogaden Somali region, although they all remain oblivious. We urge these key players to immediately act and intervene to rescue the civilians whom the TPLF’s regime is happily watching them slowly perishing step by step, to vacate their land for them to trade with.
The current systematic genocide the regime is committing on Ogaden Somali civilians is one of the abhorring crimes of our century. Moreover, the regime’s ‘State of Emergency’, which has been imposed in October 2015, to quell the Oromo and Amhara revolution is seriously hampering all aspects of movements to support the affected communities, as peaceful movements of both domestic and international NGO’s are prohibited to the region. The regime is surreptitiously looking and laughing at the subjects as they tragically and painfully die without medicine, water and food. This is the barbarism at its very bottom; soullessness and heartlessness of unprecedented degree.
We urge the TPLF regime to unconditionally stepdown if it loses humanity and its essence. We call up all international key players such as AU, UN, EU, USA, the OIC, ICC, and other donor countries and West’s politicians, to strongly pressurize the Ethiopian regime to allow the corridor of humanitarian passages for possible treatment and support. We also call up on all peoples of Ethiopia to unite in denouncing the regime’s acts of inhumanity in the faces of unfolding tragedy in Ogadenia region, Oromia, Amhara and beyond. We also call upon all humanitarians to unconditionally denounce the Ethiopian government and support those subjects who’re subjected to ongoing government orchestrated sufferings and genocides.
Justice, Freedom and Democracy for all peoples of Ethiopia.
PAFD, Executives, March 10, 2017
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