Since 1994 the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has appealed to
the
international community to hear the cries of countless victims of the
current
Ethiopian regimes systematic repression of our people. Today, the
Ogaden is one
of the most underdeveloped areas in the world not because of a lack of
resources,
but a deliberate policy of suppression against civilians and an open
hostility to
the wishes of the people of Ogaden to have legitimate institutions
serving the
needs of the people.

The Ministry made several claims in its Press Release which have no
basis in
reality and are designed to spin what was clearly accurate reporting by
the New York
Times.

At one point, Seyoum Mesfin compares the New York Times
journalist to an
intelligence agent leaving one to wonder whether his government is
sending a
veiled message to the United States. Since a free press has become a
rare
commodity in Ethiopia, it comes as no surprise to us that Seyoum Mesfin
would
consider any journalist as an intelligence agent.

The Press Release made mention of the word terrorist in conjunction
with the ONLF
so many times that it was clear that this was the only message this
regime was
trying to convey through this statement. The statement makes no mention
of the
fact that the ONLF was actually part of the government when the marxist
regime of
strong man Mengistu Haile Mariam was overthrown in Ethiopia. It further
ignores
that fact that in the first elections held in Ogaden in 1992, the ONLF
won 84% of
seats in the regional parliament with additional seats being won by
parties
holding a platform similiar to the ONLF.

This regime seems to have forgotten that following those elections many
of our
parliamentarians were arrested and some killed including an attempt on
the life
of the then ONLF chairman in 1994 resulting in the massacre of 81
civilians at
the hands of TPLF militia.

The TPLF led regime in Ethiopia also conveniently forgets that despite
its
campaign of terror against our people, the ONLF has always maintained a
policy of
welcoming direct dialogue subject to the presence of a neutral third
party in a
neutral country a position that the TPLF has rejected due to its
unwillingness
to have a third party present.

Instead, the TPLF has left no stone unturned to convince the
international
community that the ONLF is a terrorist organization despite being the
only
organization enjoying widespread legitimacy and support from the people
of
Ogaden. It seems that it has become fashionable for this regime to
label anyone
who opposes its policies as terrorists in order to divert attention
from the
legitimate grievances of the people.

The TPLF, itself an armed liberation movement labeled as terrorists by
the
previous regime before taking power themselves is fond of referring to
the
recent operation in Obole as a terrorist act, yet when members of the
opposition
asked the regime to furnish the names of Ethiopian civilians harmed in
the
operation, it did not, resulting in a vote of condemnation supported
only by the
ruling party members. Are we to believe that the 90 or so members of
the
opposition who refused to support the resolution were not people of
conscious ,
or did they see the sinister motive of the TPLF led regime to seek to
label a
legitimate organization as terrorists in order to continue to justify
their abuse
of our people and continued neglect of Ogaden.

If the regime is justified in claiming a massacre, why did it refuse
the calls of
opposition parliamentarians to provide a full and detailed report
following an
investigation? Why are even the hand picked parliamentarians from the
region
silent about what took place other than the so-called regional
President who
claimed that Eritreans attacked the oil exploration facility, a claim
that even
his masters in the TPLF thought too sensational to make themselves.

The fact of the matter is that senior leaders of this regime had
personal ties to
the oil exploration facility at Obole, a factor which contributed to
our
selection of that target. In addition, our people were forcefully
removed from
grazing lands without compensation and with little warning. In short
the ONLF
targeted this regimes armed forces and not oil workers or civilians.
The ONLF as
a matter of policy and principle does not target civilians a claim the
TPLF
regime cannot make given its current record. It is this regime that has
practiced
a policy of assassinations, torture and intimidation. It is the TPLF
that has
acted as judge and jury in Ethiopia.

That the ONLF has joined hands with a diverse array of organizations
with
drastically different platforms forming the Alliance for Freedom &
Democracy
(AFD) demonstrating a commitment to peace through dialogue and calling
for an all
inclusive conference to chart a
new political future for Ethiopia is also conveniently forgotten by
this regime.
The member organizations of the AFD were able to overcome their
political
differences in order to work together for a better future, something
the TPLF has
demonstrated that it is incapable of doing.

At every turn, this regime has labeled any initiative of the people as
being
hatched in Eritrea as though the people have no aspirations of their
own. As
though the desire for justice is imported and not homegrown. Are we to
believe
that all the victims of this regime are controlled by Eritrea? Are we
all in a
mass comma feeling nothing ourselves and needing to be directed from
abroad?

Is it soo hard to believe that civilians have been massacred in Ogaden
away from
cameras by the TPLF when this regime did not hesitate to massacre
civilians in
the Streets of Addis Ababa after a rigged election in front of cameras?

What the New York Times reported and the world is now beginning to see
is a
human catastrophe this regime will do anything it can to conceal. That
is why
western journalists are denied entry into Ogaden. That is why the TPLF
regime is
desperate to label the ONLF
as terrorists. That is why even the recent census was never initiated
in Ogaden.
That is why the rigged elections of 2005 did not even take place in
Ogaden until
several months later when the machinery of the TPLF was fully in place
and ballot
boxes were often found in army barracks.

The current regime in Ethiopia does not want the world to hear the
cries of our
people. It is a slow genocide away from the cameras and global
attention. At this
very moment there is a widescale crackdown taking place against
throughout
Ogaden. Trucks carrying food are being denied entry into towns like
Degah-Bur,
Qabri-Dahar and Gode. Several of the the very traditional leaders this
regime
claims to have been envoys of peace in their Press Release now find
themselves
in prison. Over thirty political prisoners have been loaded on trucks
and driven
out of Jijiga with no word on where they have been taken. Many of our
civilians
are leaving major towns because of this state of siege and seeking
refuge with
the ONLF. It is to put an end to these atrocities and many more that
the ONLF
struggles for in partnership other members of the AFD.

The ONLF calls upon the European Union and the United States in
particular to
hold this regime to account for its war crimes against the people of
Ogaden and
countless other political prisoners and prisoners of conscious who
currently
languish in Ethiopian jails including the duly elected leaders of the
Coalition
for Unity and Democracy (CUD) who were unjustly convicted of fabricated
crimes
simply because they won their seats in parliament and the countless
members of
the OLF,SLF and EPPF who are detained, tortured and harassed by this
regime
simply because they exercised their right to freedom of association. We
further
call upon the human rights organizations to defy the ban placed on them
by the
TPLF authorities and come to Ogaden to see for themselves the plight of
our people.

The moral burden rests on the shoulders of the worlds leading
democracies. While
the people have spoken on their views of this regime, it is up to
freedom loving
people everywhere and their governments to make sure their voices are
heard. To
do anything less would be
to turn away from the very aspirations for democracy and rule of law
that they
seek to expand accross the world.

Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)

Foreign Affairs Bureau

Jijiga, Ogaden

20 June 2007