ONLF Armed Resistance Unacceptable 21st Century Methods For Conflict Resolution

[Cowke]

To my onlf brothers located in ethiopia I personally can understand your frustrations with ethiopia and do not oppose if you want to become a separate state. However what I do oppose and a general consensus of the international world opposes is using a GUN to achieve your objective.

 

This armed resistance type will not work my friend, look at palestine fighting for 70 years yet they have been hurt the most from this fruitless armed ambition.

 

Palestine will not be free through Armed Resistance but peace-accords (diplomacy). So don't you see people who have been fighting a-lot longer then the onlf need to resort to diplomacy in order to achieve what they want?

 

Put down the Gun and use diplomacy to achieve what you want. Sure ethiopia might not do a peace-deal with anyone, however use more peaceful tactics that are more realistic in order to achieve your long-term goals.

 

A good tactic will be to fund an "oromo" person to become a candidate for the highest office in addis ababa. Use slogans and cheers such as "oromos are the majority" of ethiopia and deserve to rule.

 

Lobby hard for them and provide the respective candidate offices and bases through-out ethiopia so he can get to know the people. Use the title of "democracy" to sway the hearts and minds of the international community in order to get this candidate elected.

 

Once you achieve that and this person is elected he will give you a peaceful separation from the state and you become indepedent something the onlf people will need to keep low-profile until he actually gets into office.

 

This is alot more realistic then say fighting one of the strongest armies in Africa. Their reserve base is 185,000. Can you imagine the odds? Even when siyad barre had more modern weapons then ethiopia he never succeeded in defeating them.

 

So my advice is to stop whining about Puntland or anywhere else, but change your tactics from armed resistance to something more acceptable in today's world.

 

Noone in the world wants to see an armed resistance sxb, because this will lead to a precedent of armed resistance everywhere. Imagine if you are allowed to get what you want because you pick up gun. That means if I don't like obama I will pick up a gun. This is the sort of precedent armed resistances send and that is why noone in the world deals with them.

 

Today it is your people who are suffering more then anyone else. Sure maybe you killed 5000 ethiopians since 94 till today, however you lost 100 000 through starvation, disease, or a bullet not to mention the displacement issue. Still at the end of the day you will become the loser.

 

Puntland can not deal with an armed resistance, it is against the state policy, how can it claim to be moving into a democracy yet allowing terrorists or rebels to use its region as base for armed smuggling or training?

 

Puntland has to look out for the welfare of it's people first. Sure they can allow onlf to operate in it's territories, but this can also mean that ethiopia attacks it's people because of this. So who does puntland choose the ONLF? or Its People?

 

Obviously it has to choose it's people first.

 

The onlf people who are displaced are welcome to live in Puntland and work there with no trouble. However the armed resistance type are not welcome. If the ONLF armed rebels want a place of refuge for their people who are displaced, Puntland is more then open for them. However if they want to be using Puntland to smuggle in arms or things that are external to it's state then your not welcome.

 

As for sending the rebels back to ethiopia, This issue is not clear as of yet because it is against international bill of rights to send the persecuted to places of persecution. I support the method of prosecuting and sentencing the rebels within puntland after-all they committed the crime in it's juristiction.

 

So the controversy of sending onlf over to ethiopia is not clear one, alot of media outlets are reporting it, however i listened to the minister of interior affairs Gen. Ilkajir on bbc and he said that noone was sent over and they will be prosecuted and sentenced in puntland.

 

I support that method. If you don't then that is up to you and you are only thinking about your own onlf agenda and not the concerns of the people of puntland nor their safety.

[me]

The ONLF does not need my defense.

 

The honor of the young men and women fighting for the liberation of their homeland and the peaceful existence of their people does not need my support.

 

For their cause is just

Their cause is honorable

Their cause is righteous

 

They will succeed

They will be remembered

 

They are heroes of the Somali nation

 

Honorable are those that defend their homes, honorable are the ONLF.

[N.O.R.F]

By the looks of it all of SOL's PL brigade are on the defensive. Don't worry lads it is not on you it's on Faroole. Please feel free to disagree with his line and the actions of his security forces. Go on, try it. Remove the shackles.

[Faafan]

Cowke you are not a student of politics in Ethiopia, I laugh at your innoccence here...really..Stop playing damage control by insulting the struggle of not only the Somali's but many oppressed people's in ethiopia who are up in arms, So you Fail cowke.

[Cowke]

Jabhad, Everyone in Africa knows ethiopia is trying to head towards a democracy, so they can continue to get economic aid from the western world. All i am saying is take advantage of it.

[Abtigiis]

Cowke, a.k.a Mr 80%,

 

Apparently you didn't read this latest ICG report. Please go to the internet and read the detailed report and then review the statement you made about Ethiopia going to the path of democracy.

 

 

Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents

Africa Report N°153

4 September 2009

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

The Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), led by its chairman and prime minister, Meles Zenawi, has radically reformed Ethiopia’s political system. The regime transformed the hitherto centralised state into the Federal Democratic Republic and also redefined citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds. The intent was to create a more prosperous, just and representative state for all its people. Yet, despite continued economic growth and promised democratisation, there is growing discontent with the EPRDF’s ethnically defined state and rigid grip on power and fears of continued inter-ethnic conflict. The international community should take Ethiopia’s governance problems much more seriously and adopt a more principled position towards the government. Without genuine multi-party democracy, the tensions and pressures in Ethiopia’s polities will only grow, greatly increasing the possibility of a violent eruption that would destabilise the country and region.

 

The endeavour to transform Ethiopia into a federal state is led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has dominated the coalition of ethno-nationalist parties that is the EPRDF since the removal in 1991 of the Derg, the security services committee that overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. The EPRDF quickly institutionalised the TPLF’s policy of people’s rights to self-determination and self-rule. The federal constitution ratified in 1994 defined the country’s structure as a multicultural federation based on ethno-national representation.

 

The government has created nine ethnic-based regional states and two federally administered city-states. The result is an asymmetrical federation that combines populous regional states like Oromiya and Amhara in the central highlands with sparsely populated and underdeveloped ones like Gambella and Somali. Although the constitution vests all powers not attributed to the federal government in them, the regional states are in fact weak.

 

The constitution was applauded for its commitment to liberal democracy and respect for political freedoms and human rights. But while the EPRDF promises democracy, it has not accepted that the opposition is qualified to take power via the ballot box and tends to regard the expression of differing views and interests as a form of betrayal. Before 2005, its electoral superiority was ensured by the limited national appeal and outreach of the predominantly ethnically based opposition parties. Divided and disorganised, the reach of those parties rarely went beyond Addis Ababa. When the opposition was able to challenge at local, regional or federal levels, it faced threats, harassment and arrest. With the opportunity in 2005 to take over the Addis Ababa city council in what would have been the first democratic change of a major administration in the country’s history, the opposition withdrew from the political process to protest flaws in the overall election.

 

The EPRDF did not feel threatened until the 2005 federal and regional elections. The crackdown that year on the opposition demonstrated the extent to which the regime is willing to ignore popular protest and foreign criticism to hold on to power. The 2008 local and by-elections went much more smoothly, in large part because the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) was absorbed with internal and legal squabbles, and several other parties withdrew after their candidates experienced severe registration problems. The next federal and regional elections, scheduled for June 2010, most probably will be much more contentious, as numerous opposition parties are preparing to challenge the EPRDF, which is likely to continue to use its political machine to retain its position.

 

Despite the EPRDF’s authoritarianism and reluctance to accept genuine multi-party competition, political positions and parties have proliferated in recent years. This process, however, is not driven by democratisation or the inclusion of opposition parties in representative institutions. Rather it is the result of a continuous polarisation of national politics that has sharpened tensions between and within parties and ethnic groups since the mid-1990s. The EPRDF’s ethnic federalism has not dampened conflict, but rather increased competition among groups that vie over land and natural resources, as well as administrative boundaries and government budgets.

 

Furthermore, ethnic federalism has failed to resolve the “national question”. The EPRDF’s ethnic policy has empowered some groups but has not been accompanied by dialogue and reconciliation. For Amhara and national elites, ethnic federalism impedes a strong, unitary nation-state. For ethno-national rebel groups like the ONLF (****** National Liberation Front; Somalis in the Oga­den) and OLF (Oromo Liberation Front; the Oromo), ethnic federalism remains artificial. While the concept has failed to accommodate grievances, it has powerfully promoted ethnic self-awareness among all groups. The international community has ignored or downplayed all these problems. Some donors appear to consider food security more important than democracy in Ethiopia, but they neglect the increased ethnic awareness and tensions created by the regionalisation policy and their potentially explosive consequences.

 

Nairobi/Brussels, 4 September 2009

[Cowke]

Federalism is failure in Ethiopia because they were never federal to begin with in history. Somalis are one race of people(somalid race) however of multiple of clans/tribes, similar to the u.k who are of one race (anglo saxon) of multiple tribes such as english, welsh, irish, and scottish and formed a federal nation with deregulated powers in autonomous states.

 

Somalis enjoy the benefit of having historical success with federalism because that is how our fathers lived and it proved successful and was a traditional form of governance. At the same time we have similar example of the U.K which a modern state that has also enjoyed success with federalism. Ethiopia lacks this historical success with federalism, it is new thing for them. Plus the different races inside of ethiopia ranging from cushitic, semetic, and nilotic compound the problem to it's failure. Somalia Nor The U.K have these problems Sir.

 

Secondly I never said Ethiopia is a democracy, but it's "trying" to be one, as evident from yesterday news on Reuters and onlf should take advantage of this. The political strategy I mentioned in my opening post for onlf to financially back and campaign for an oromo man to lead the nation. This is because Ethiopia needs to use something to show the world it truly has emerged as a democracy and what better way to prove to the world they are democracy then have an oromo man lead the nation. This will send a huge bonus point to Ethiopia being viewed as a democratic state and the ONLF should be focusing their efforts on political strategies such as this or maybe something else rather then direct military conflict with one of the biggest armies in africa.

 

 

08:56 November 3rd, 2009

 

Do Ethiopia’s politicians mean it on democracy?

 

Posted by: Barry Malone

 

On the evening of the 20th of March 1878, Ethiopia’s two great rivals, Emperors Yohannes IV and Menelik II, came face-to-face to thrash out their differences.

 

As the two men met for the first time, traditional Ethiopian singers are said to have sang “A road that is perilous is far / you have to climb and then descend.”

 

Ethiopia’s journey since then has certainly been perilous.

 

It has been marked by great heights like the defeat of Italy’s colonialist army at the battle of Adwa in 1895. And devastating lows such as the 1984 famine that killed more than 1 million people and brought the country long-lasting notoriety.

 

The huge nation is again heading into interesting times.

 

This week the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi agreed a code of conduct for next May’s national elections with three opposition parties — two of which are dismissed by opponents as ruling party satellites.

 

But the biggest opposition force, a coalition of eight parties called Medrek (the Forum), did not participate in the negotiations despite repeated invitations.

 

Medrek said issues including reform of the national electoral board and access to the media were left out. But some Ethiopians suspect that opposition leaders just can’t stand the thought of sitting down with government negotiators.

 

And a lot of the opposition parties seem to despise each other, too.

 

Ethiopian politicians love to talk about democracy. It’s presented as the ultimate political goal for a country that has never had a peaceful transition of power.

 

The government talks about democracy. But is routinely accused of harassment and intimidation. Opposition parties talk about democracy. But most of them won’t even try to talk to those in power about how to make it a reality.

 

And they all disagree on how close they are to finally achieving it.

 

“Ethiopia believes it is an emerging democracy,” the government’s head of information Bereket Simon told me this week. “We cannot say we have perfect governance yet. But, on balance, we are moving forward.”

 

Yet the opposition says there is no democracy at all and accuses the government of using the code of conduct negotiations to hoodwink the West — on which it still relies for huge amounts of humanitarian aid.

 

Ethiopia’s last national elections in 2005 ended in disaster when a previous opposition coalition said the government fixed its victory and street violence broke out in the capital Addis Ababa in which almost 200 protesters were killed.

 

Many Ethiopians tell me they were so disheartened by that experience that they have lost interest in voting. 2005 also entrenched extremism on both sides.

 

Some diplomats in Addis Ababa are putting pressure on Medrek to talk to the government, telling its leaders they believe Meles is acting in good faith.

 

And the government says Medrek can still get involved in ongoing talks.

 

So, no matter how bitter the rivalry, why haven’t Ethiopia’s main powerbrokers today been able to talk to each other as happened more than a century ago?

 

Who’s right about how close Ethiopia is to democracy? How can a poor country secure a prosperous future? What are the solutions? Is democracy even one of them?

 

 

[Kamaavi]

Little knowlege is dangerous ,,,

[Abtigiis]

Barry Malone miyaad taqaan? This young scotish boy is not even a journalist. Wuxuu u shaqayn jiray qolo yar oo Pastorlist Community Initative (PCI) la yidhaa oo xafiis aan ka shaqayn jiray hoos iman jiray. He is trying to survive in Ethiopia. Shaqadii baa ka dhamaatay, Addis'na wuu jecelyahay. He will not tell you what he wrote there if you meet.

 

By the way those who signed the elections code are Hailu Shawl, Lidetu Ayelow and Ayele Chamiso. All members of the previous CUD opposition who were brutally dismantled. The real opposition apart from the armed ones are Birtukan Mideksa (in prison), Dr. Birhanu Nega (exile), Dr. Negaso Gidada, Engineer Gizachew and others.

 

This is window dressing and all ethiopians know it won't change anything. Haile Shawul just won a lucrative multimillion contract to build a high-tech gymnasium in Lafto, Addis.

[xiinfaniin]

I was one of those who welcomed the introduction of Cowke to SOL.

Ilaahow wax naarta naga xigsada hannoo waayin tii oo kale bay ahayd. And he did indeed store the equilibrium as far as Duke goes.

 

But balaayya waxay ka dhacday markuu damco inuu ka taliyyo the struggle of ONLF.

 

This is not something Cowke is good at. He does his best when he engages with Duke on the internal affairs of PL.

[Sabriye amp co.]

Are we still pondering over Faroole’s obedience to Addis Ababa?

 

Yaaba is Gaaray?

 

It’s a give and take situation.

 

The bilateral agreement Ethiopia has with Somaliland and Buntland regional authorities are based on economical beneficiaries for Addis Ababa (port hubs) and re-assurance of security for the two Somalia states.

 

It would be wrong for anyone to linger on an idea such as any of the two states looking out for their Somali brethren in the expense of the relationship with their masters in Addis Ababa!