Toggle menu Skip to content STATEMENT ON THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF SRAJ Admin Apr 29, 2018 Ethiopia / Home / News / Politics0 Comments Minneapolis, 28 April 2018 – The Somali Region Alliance for justice (SRAJ), a political movement that aims to unite the people of Somali Region for the attainment of genuine self-rule, is officially launched. The party was established late last year after two years of extensive consultations with different sections of the Somali people and held its founding congress in Nairobi from 22-26 December 2017. The launching event was attended by hundreds of members and supporters of the party as well as representatives of like-minded Ethiopian political formations. The longstanding oppression and suffering of the Somali people in Ethiopia shows no signs of abetting. On the contrary, the violence unleashed on our people by successive Ethiopian regimes seems to be getting out of hand by the day, with the latest chapter being the horrendous human rights violations committed against our people by the current ruling party, the Ethiopia People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – directly and through its native surrogates. SRAJ Chairman, Mohamed Ismail and Deputy Chairman Ahmed Gurhan A good deal of the blame for our people’s misfortune lies on our own hands as we failed to confront the evil of injustice and oppression we continue to face with a united front as Somalis. SRAJ’s primary objective is to rectify these past mistakes and leadership failures and to unite the voices of the Somali people, regardless of clan or geographical affiliations. SRAJ is committed to joining hands with other marginalized and oppressed nations, nationalities and peoples in Ethiopia in the pursuit of justice, freedom and democracy for all. “As we hold this event in safe and calm conference hall thousands of miles away, most of our people back home are living in fear, many are in detention, and some are being killed. The recent change of leadership in Addis Ababa did not lead to any improvement in the fate of our brutalized people. The jails are full of innocent sons, daughters, mothers and fathers. The reign of terror is intact. We must fight for our rights. The rulers in Addis Ababa will not bring our rights to us in a silver plate”, said Mohamed Ismail, the Chairman of the Somali Region Alliance for Justice in his opening remarks. Speaking on the event, Deputy Chairman of SRAJ, Ahmed Gurhan added “the wanton killing of the Somali people must stop. Somali political prisoners must be released. And proper investigations into the crimes against humanity committed against our people must be conducted”. Gurhan praised the youth of Shinille zone for rising up against tyranny and urged the youth and women of other zones to follow suit. Addressing the event, invited guests from Oromo brothers, including Jawar Mohammed of Oromia Media Network, expressed their solidarity with the people of Somali Region and stressed the need for a common front to attain a future of just, inclusive and democratic Ethiopia. *** 28 April 2018 For more information, contact SRAJ on: communications@srajmovement.org or info@srajmovement.org