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 Condolence and Solidarity with Abole Victims. By Abdullahi Khalif-Gariile
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As a citizen of civilized world, I, like the aggrieved people of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, am deeply saddened by the unwarranted, unjustified and barbaric attack on the workers in Abole oil field of Dhegahbur in Ogaden by ONLF on Monday, April 24th. Not only is this act criminal and intended to drag the development projects in Ogaden into a conflagration, but also it is undoubtedly equivalent to an absolute declaration of war on all those progress-minded in Ogaden region.
I strongly disagree with those who are delusively drawing an unqualified parallel between the Ogaden issue (the handing over of Ogaden region to Ethiopia by British colony decades back) and the cruelty meted out to large number of innocent workers, as well as the massive material loss caused by such barbarity. There can be no rationalism for any such horrible attack on people who the only thing they were doing was to help better the lives of all Somalis in Ogaden.
However, it is not enough to condemn the terrible attack in Abole without condemning those who erect the pillars of it and feed on the endless chaos in the Horn of Africa in general. Eritrea doesn�t only create such these actions, but it also makes sure they are implemented.
Having said that, let me take the time to once again call on both the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the ONLF of Chairman Mohamed Omar Osman to the negotiating table. Somalis in and out of the Ogaden region have been crying in the wilderness for a shift in policy, but their cries have not been answered properly, at least by one party, the ONLF.
Matter of fact, it is not too late to make amends, although the difficulties are imminent. In the case of the ongoing no-peace no-war in the Ogaden region, the government and the ONLF must see logic and sit at the negotiating table if both sides love Ogaden region, given the prospect of oil and gas there, and care about its impoverished people. Negotiation, not this unpredictable situation, is the answer.
I urge the honorable leader of the Somali Transitional Federal Government, His Excellence, President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, to get on his feet and bring the parties to a negotiating table, since he is in a appropriate position to do so. Although, president Abdullahi�s hands are full, I truly believe he can do it. Furthermore, such negotiations must be in good faith.
I recall that failure to negotiate, and lack of good faith in keeping promises after negotiations, were the most important factors that contribute much of the instability in the region. Strength is not how fast one's pulls the trigger on one's enemy, but how willing one is to forgive in nobility in order to coexist with development and stability as the common objectives binding victors and losers.
I ask sides, the government and the ONLF, to abandon their boldness and adopt a reconciliatory policy in solving the situation. Prime Minister Zenawi must lead this process, because the Prime Minister remembers the fertilization of violence when all avenues to peaceful resolution of conflicts in Ethiopia were sealed by Mengistu Haile Mariam. Meles himself launched a war against Mengistu�s regime because Mengistu closed all avenues for political negotiations. Prime Minister Meles must imagine succeeding where Mengistu failed, adopting the same policies and posture, indicates historical negligence within his administration.
Peace not war, progress not poverty!
Abdullahi Khalif-Gariile
[email protected]
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Godeynews |
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