However, this interview undoubtedly demonstrated either a lack of professional competence, and lack of understanding the situation at the ground or deliberate intention of echoing wrong information provided by the regional government without critically examining its authenticity.ar baseless lies. I do not want to talk about how the regional state is an unashamed of giving wrong information to advance hidden agenda. But it would be important to show to the readers how the regional government has adopted the course of providing unremitting and deliberate misinformation. The assertion of the representative of Ethiopian in Somaliland was not only a wrong fact with no historical background but also out of touch with the reality at the grassroots. This man reminded me a famous district governor in the Derg Military Junta who always used to say something that just came to his lips whether it was false or not. At the beginning of the massacre of the innocent civilians, the regional government has published reports on the Wabeshabeele News in which they associated the confrontation with Al-Shabab. This website is also the media that was chosen by the regional state to call for peace. This indicates that this website is the mouth-piece of the regional government. There are substantial evidences that the editor of the website is a cousin of the regional government. The regional government pays a substantial amount of money for the editor. It is a pity to see a regional government that spend a huge amount of hard currency on propaganda while the poor nomadic pastoralists are suffering from severe drought and serious shortage of food.
It is evident that his excellence hardly understands history of the area where the atrocity was committed. I wonder how the Ethiopian Government send a person with such calibre to represent them in another part of the world. If the Ethiopian Government has failed to give the poor man a proper knowledge about the history of his own country, I took this opportunity to enlighten him with historical background of this area, its population and the power dynamic. I hope he would not commit such a flagrant ignorance which could have resulted in losing his position and caused a serious political problem. Although I respect all types of job and have no intention of disdaining any work in this world, I would have hardly offered him a watchman position. This is another clear sign that how the Ethiopian government has effectively given away the criteria of meritocracy in lieu of loyalty to the regime.
The massacre committed by the Liyuu Police Forces in the Gashamo District in Somali Regional State has happened within the international border of Ethiopia. There were not any armed group that crossed the border to commit attack. But the conflict was between the brutal and Gestapo (Jinja weed) like Liyuu Police Forces and innocent pastoralists whose human rights and self dignity was violated regularly. The people who inhabit this part of Ethiopia belong to Isaq clan just as those people in Somaliland. This is a typical feature of all Somali clans in the State. Most of Somali clan within the Ethiopia international border also inhabit across the border in countries neighbouring Ethiopian. For example, the Isa clan that populate the shanile zone also dwells in the Republic Djibouti. It is needless to say that this is also the reality for Hawiya and other major Somali clans. However, I have not heard any time when the Djiboutian was blamed for the conflict between Afar and Isa. The conflict in the southern Ethiopian around the Kenyan border between Gari Somali and Oromo has nothing to do with the Kenyan government. As usually happens, both clans could get support from the same clans from across the border since they share clanship. In light of this, it is possible to see the blatant and systematic policy of providing wrong information based on annihilation and cleansing a particular ethnic group from the Ethiopia. This is a serious criminal offence both under the Ethiopian Federal and regional constitutions. As we know the Ogaden clan wants to establish an Ogaden state.
Nevertheless, one thing is for sure. This assertion evidently shows that his excellence has, as the rumour among Somali goes around ‘the highlanders have always only one ear’. That means they rarely listen to the both sides of the story. A good listening skill is one of the essential components of good governance. A government official that makes a hasty assertion without doing some basic evidence gathering is the root causes of why we have never succeeded in averting human injustice in Ethiopia in the previous successive governments. If Ethiopia wants to strength its democratic experience and succeeds to achieve its economic growth that would boost its people living standard, it has to make sure that its officials serving the citizens have good track record of analysing and basing their decision on evidence. In a recent documentary film aired by Ethiopian TV, a young girl by the name of Qashe Mulu has left an immensely rich legacy commitment and respect for human dignity and self sacrifice for the equality of all Ethiopians. That is why those who have sacrified their valuable lives by struggling to bring democracy and justice to all Ethiopian people regardless of their differences in tribe, clan, nation/nationality, and sex . I have no doubt that an individual thoughtless assertion would not undermine the effort of Ethiopia government to bring peace and tranquillity and justice for the people of all communities.
The Ethiopian Federal Government’s representative in Somaliland has unwittingly accused the Somaliland government for violation of Ethiopian sovereignty for war crime committed by the Liyuu police Forces that are directly commanded by the regional government. It would have been better off if he had made this assertion after a conclusion of an inquiry. So far, we have not seen any inquiry being conducted by the federal government. in a such circumstance we are requesting for an independent inquiry. Independent inquiry should not be from third party from foreign country. Ethiopian and the Federal government have immense experience in conducting such kinds of inquiries. Both the victim and the perpetrator of this offences should be excluded from participating in this inquiry. If, however, the regional state or any government body carry out this inquiry, it would tantamount to situation of being a judge in one’s own case.
As the adage goes, taking the assertion his Excellency had made as ‘lost word in complex politics’, we hope that the Ethiopian government, specially the defence force would carefully set up an independent inquiry composed of intellectuals, local elderly, famous and respected Ethiopians. It is through this highly rational process could win over the deep rooted tribalism and ignorance entrenched within the Somali regional state.
There is no doubt that this atrocity and massacre squarely meets the threshold for the crime against humanity, war crime and human rights violations. Ethiopia is a signatory to a number of international conventions, treats, and agreements, which prohibit such kind of atrocity against innocent and defenceless civilians.
Reflecting on this incident, it is important we draw our experiential learning from averting such atrocity from happening again in any part of the regional state. Therefore, we propose the following preconditions:
All people kidnapped by the liyuu police should be released without any condition
The local liyuu police should be recruited from the inhabitants. If there is a need to mix the civil servants in order to fight the Somali chronic nepotism, it should only be done among the areas inhabited the isaq. The regional government must make sure that at least at the initial stage to promote recruitment and appointment within each district.
No return of those who committed the massacre and war crime
Set up independent inquiry
Bring to justice those who are responsible for the commission of war crime Set up effective compensation schemes for legal successors of those who lost their lives
Implementing equal opportunities within the regional state special in the area inhabited by the Isaq clan
The regional state publishes an official apology for assertion that they made result in dispossession of citizenship rights of Isaq clan. Enabling all isaq clan members to fully participate in all activities of the regional government without any discrimination.
It is only if all these conditions are met that we could accept a full cooperation. However, if the regional government fail to observe these conditions we reserve the rights to seek both national and international legal remedies.
As mentioned above, Ethiopia is a signatory to a number of international instruments that prohibit cruel and degrading treatments, war crime and crime against humanity. The Ethiopian constitution also incorporated the sprint of most of these international agreements as national law and binding on any official. Breach of these international treats and convention could result in substantial imprisonment; travel ban and confiscation of proceed of crimes. We full reserve the right to seek any legal remedies if the regional government fail to observe its own national laws and international agreements.
