ABOn diina ofitti damaqsaa jira

Yero ABOn waa falachuu jalqabu farri sochii saa akka alaa itti aggaamamu muxannoon hubatameera. Gocha Oromoo hobbaatii tolaa fidu hunda hankaaksuuf faallaan sochii hammi dandahamu hundi gad dhiifama. Dheheenya waa’een murnooti ABO dhaaba saanii dhinsuu fi jabeesuuf waliti dhufuu hedduu dubbatamaa ture. Osoo hin turin WBOn kibbaa ficiluun himame. Gaaffiin saanii akka ABOn tokkomuu yoo tahu, isaan dhaaba tokkichaaf malee akka hin sarmine labsan. Yeroo dubbiin akka isaan yaadaniti deemuu didu ficiltuu keessaa hangi tokkoo gananii loltuu Tigrayiti harka kennachuun himame...guutuu isa dubbisuuf

OLF is awaking its Enemies

From experience there are external counter movements whenever OLF internally shows a tendency towards salvation. All possible contra movements are released to sabotage any positive outcome from Oromo actions. Recently much was talked about groups in the OLF coming together to heal past organizational wounds and strengthen it in unison. No sooner was it heard that there is a mutiny in OLA of Southern zone. They demanded for unity of OLF and declared that they will not obey any individual group. When it seemed things are not going as planned a segment from the mutineers defected to the Tigrian army. The core individuals involved were persons who exited the scene before their entrance made any impression on the struggle. On the other hand, they became propaganda chips for the enemy. The TPLF suspects that all Oromo including some conscientious in the Ethiopianist Oromo camps are OLF deep inside. That is why thousand innocent Oromo are in prison. Thousands were killed and thousands are in forced exile. Unknown numbers are dislocated internally. Even Oromo members of the OPDO are subjected to constant reevaluation and are discarded if their loyalty is found not to be absolute. From statements the defectors gave to enemy media one can notice that those people neither know this truth nor understand the essence of Oromo liberation struggle. Oromo liberation movement is not concerned with individual success or failures, be them leaders or followers, but with the sprit and aspirations of the people, with its kaayyoo. Individuals come and go but the task of liberating the nation requires the determination of the brave descendents of the Abbaa Gadaas. Cowards with shallow intellect fail to understand this. They don’t think with their brains but their bellies that is why they have no honor to protect but the urge to fill their bellies. Those that are neck deep into alien values and those that do not take what it means to lose independence as a people into consideration in their methods of system analysis also cannot understand. For all problems they come out with their globalization yardsticks to intimidate liberation fighters.Full Article (Gubirmans.com)

OLF and Oromo – Time Has Come: Unity Now or Never

(OPride.com – Oromsis)

Whether this grim news is the end or a new beginning in Oromo struggle for self-determination will depend on what corrective action that will be taken. In the meantime, the writer most sincerely hopes, the other factions will not welcome the developments as good news to only legitimize their brand of OLF. I urge all parties to drop the “I told you so” attitude and grasp the moment for a coalition of all Oromos, including freedom fighters and Oromo Liberation organizations to emerge. It is also high time for the general public and supporters of the OLF to cease banking on false hope and come forward to face an uncomfortable reality.

As such, the surrender of Oromo fighters, large or small, may be a temporary deterrence, not by any means a permanent setback. So long as the legitimate Oromo quest for peace, justice and equality doesn’t get an appropriate answer, the struggle against an unjust system will continue. It may take many forms; this year may not be ours – slowly, but surely, my people, freedom and justice will be won.

– Full Story (OPride.com – Oromsis)

Gantuu Wayyaaneeti harkka kennate

ETV | Personnel Desert from the OLF-Led Oromo People's Struggle Read More » » »

Some 74000 Africans cross Gulf of Aden to Yemen in record-breaking year

UNHCR (Press release)GENEVA, December 18 (UNHCR) – More than 74,000 Africans, fleeing civil war, political instability, poverty, famine and drought in the Horn of Africa, crossed the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea on smugglers' boats and reached the shores of Yemen this year. This figure represents a staggering 50 per cent increase over last year's 50,000 arrivals, itself a record.

Refugees and migrants make the risky journey under harrowing conditions. In some cases they are beaten, raped, killed or just thrown overboard into the shark-infested waters. In addition, the overloaded and overcrowded boats sometimes capsize, resulting in the drowning of many onboard.

According to the latest UNHCR statistics, at least 309 people drowned or did not survive the trip this year. In 2008, some 590 people died during the crossing. Many more people went missing and are presumed dead. The mixed migration route through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea is presently the busiest and the deadliest one in the world.

Unlike in previous years, Somalis are no longer the majority of arrivals. With nearly 32,000 Somali arrivals this year their number remains steady in comparison to 2008. However, the number of Ethiopians reaching Yemen more than doubled this year to above 42,000.

While virtually all arriving Somalis approach the two, strategically positioned reception centres in Mayfaa and Ahwar, where they receive protection and assistance, only some 9,000 Ethiopians went to these venues this year. Most press on towards the Persian Gulf states in search of job opportunities.

The Mayfaa and Ahwar reception centres are open for all nationalities arriving in Yemen. In addition to provision of temporary shelter and assistance, they offer information and possibilities to apply for asylum and issue passes, valid for 10 days, for onward travel to Sana'a or Aden, where refugee status determination is carried out.

Upon arrival in Yemen, all Somali nationals are automatically recognized as refugees by the Yemeni authorities, under its group recognition policy. Presently, Yemen hosts some 150,000 Somali refugees. Other nationalities, including Ethiopians, wishing to apply for asylum are required to undergo the refugee status determination procedure conducted by UNHCR. The refugee agency believes some Ethiopian arrivals may have avoided approaching the reception centres, fearing arrest and detention as those who do not apply for asylum and are found to be in the country illegally could be deporte

Ethiopia: Rebels spread jitters in oil region

By Barry Malone

JIJIGA, Ethiopia, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A rebel group's claims to have captured seven towns and killed 1,000 soldiers in fierce fighting in Ethiopia's oil-producing Ogaden region are almost certainly exaggerated, foreign aid workers in the region say.

Ethiopia's Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) staged bold raids on government positions last month and aid workers say several hundred people were probably killed on both sides.

But while the guerrillas are capable of causing instability in the vast Somali region, which includes the Ogaden and accounts for one-fifth of the country's landmass, experts say they cannot hold territory.

"They attacked more than twenty places," one aid worker, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters in Jijiga, the regional capital. "But they only managed to take one town, not seven." Continued...

Ethiopia: Meles insults US Ambassador

VOA
'The dominant role of ethnic Tigrayans in the government, especially in the military, has often been a contentious political issue in Ethiopia. Tigrayans make up about six percent of the population.

But Prime Minister Meles flatly rejected Ambassador Griffiths' assertions. "I have not heard of such idiocy. But if it has occurred, it proves the idiocy of the person in Geneva," he said. read more

Canadian gets life sentence in Ethiopia

Canadian gets life sentence in EthiopistarPhoenex - Canada
He was found guilty last week on three charges related to membership of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). "The court has decided against the ...read more

Ethiopia: International Crisis Group Warns of Potential for 'Violent ...

Voice of America
A new International Crisis Group report says Ethiopia is becoming an authoritarian one-party state, and warns that government policies there could lead to a violent eruption ahead of next year's elections. The report also faults the international community for downplaying Ethiopia's weak democracy.

The 40-page report by the International Crisis Group says that despite its democratic rhetoric, the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is ... read more

Explosion Kills 2 and Wounds 25 in The Somali State of Puntland

Puntland State

Newstime Africa -Kent, England, uk
... assailants in a small car threw a hand grenade at a cinema in the city center where people mostly from Oromo community of Ethiopia were watching films. ...read more

6 High Ranking Officers Defected

Reports reaching the Ogaden Online service desk confirm the defection of 6 high ranking military officers. It is reported that the recent ONLA commando attacks may have played a role in the defection of these high ranking officers. It is reported that all six officers who were based in military garrison in and around Addis Ababa were scheduled to be deployed in Ogaden.

File Photo/@ Ogaden Online The names and the ranks of the officers who defected are as follows. The spelling of the names may be incorrect:

1. Colonel Tadhase.
2. Captain Abraha.
3. Captain Haylo.
4. Second Lieutentant Da’ud.
5. Second Lieutenant Gabre.
6. Second Lieutenant Yohanas.

Aside from the defections, reliable sources indicate that there is an increased infighting within the Woyane militias following the spectacular losses in the hands of the ONLA commandoes in the many parts of Ogaden.
Ogaden Online

OLF: Ethiopian Regime's Land Policy in Oromia

OLF Press Release

The Ethiopian regime has already sold hundreds of thousands of hectars of fertile agricultural land in Oromia to foreign investors. The regime has put the whole of the state of Oromia on the market. ... The Oromo people do not only farm the land but have a sacred traditional, spritual and cultural connection to their land. Read more

www.oromoliberationfront.info

US Congressman Criticizes Puntland For Abusive Behavior

US Congressman Donald Payne

Voice of America - USA
The ONLF is a separatist rebel group that has been fighting the Ethiopian ... gross human rights abuses in the Ogaden and cracking down on political opponents...read more

Negasso Gidada joins UDJ

BBC

Ethiopia's former President Negasso Gidada has joined an opposition party, as the country builds up to an election scheduled for next May.

Mr Negasso, in power between 1995 and 2001, said he had joined the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ) to try to unite Ethiopia. read more

Oromo: Report on Treatment of Members of the OLF

By CORI

This CORI research analysis was commissioned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Status Determination and Protection Information Section, Division of International Protection Services.

“In many cases, police and military officials also subjected these detainees to interrogation and torture aimed at forcing them to produce information about OLF activities that they did not possess. Police officials in Oromia often subject individuals who are arrested on suspicion of OLF-related activities to torture and other forms of mistreatment. In some cases torture is applied in the course of interrogations, while in other cases it is used as a form of punishment."To download the full report in PDF format, please click here.

Ethiopia: Zenawi Puzzled over Parliament Worrying about the Millions Starving (Video)

Gadaa.com

Read More » » »

Concern Over Aid To Ethiopia

Voice of America

So it is that US officials are concerned about recent reports that the Ethiopian government may be politicizing humanitarian assistance ahead of next year's ...America..read more

Ethiopia denies rebels have captured seven towns

Reuters
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said on Saturday it had taken the towns after almost a week of fierce fighting with the Ethiopian army. ...read more

Related news:

• AFP

  Ethiopia denies rebel gains in Ogaden region
  AFP
  The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) claimed Saturday it had carried out a broad offensive launched on several fronts on November 10 and inflicted ...

Ethiopian Oagaen rebels claim to have recaptured 7 towns

Earthtimes (press release) -London, UK
"The operation involved thousands of ONLF troops and resulted in two days of heavy fighting," the group said in a statement. "A significant number of Ethiopian troops have been killed and their military hardware captured or destroyed during this operation."

The ONFL said it seized the towns of Obolka, Hamaro, Higlaaley, Yucub, Galadiid, Boodhaano and Gunogabo and that its forces were "warmly welcomed" by the civilian populations....read more

Related news:

• Ethiopia rebels 'capture towns'
  BBC News - UK
  The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said it began attacking on several fronts on Tuesday. The separatists said a "significant number" of Ethiopian ...
• Ethiopia rebels claim massive counter-offensive
  AFP
  ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopian rebels have launched a wide offensive in the southeastern Somali ethnic Ogaden region and recaptured seven towns from government ...
• Ogaden: Seven Ethiopian towns taken
  Aljazeera.net - Doha,Qatar
  In a statement released early on Saturday, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said its attacks were launched across a broad front and had begun on ...
• Ogaden Rebels say 626 Ethiopian Troops Killed in Clashes
  Voice of America
  Ethiopia has recently attempted to assure oil companies the ONLF no longer has the ability to threaten exploration and production in the Ogaden region.

FBI sued over Ethiopian jailing

BBC News

BBC News
An American man is suing the FBI for mistreatment while he was held in jail in Kenya and Ethiopia in 2007. Amir Meshal was arrested on the Kenyan border as ...read more