PRESS RELEASE
Ginbot 7 Movement for Freedom and Justice rejects the claim made by the regime in Ethiopia that no war crime took place in the Ogaden region.
On June 11 this year, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) had issued a report supported by satellite photos that accuses Meles Zenawi's regime in Ethiopia of rampant war crimes, including the burning of villages, mass execution of civilians, rape, torture, and blockade of food in the Ogaden region.
To minimize the impact of the report, the Meles regime had setup a 7-member inquiry commission that would investigate the charges made by the HRW.
No one had any illusion that the 'inquiry commission' that was put together by the accused war criminals would find any crime against the regime, since its only purpose was to give political cover to the regime.
As expected, the so-called 'inquiry commission' has issued a report accusing HRW of fabricating stories of war crimes in Ogaden.
The 'inquiry commission' did not address charges made by the Red Cross, Amnesty International, the New York Times and others that are similar to what the HRW reported.
So who is to be believed? These international human rights and humanitarian groups, and the New York Times, or a commission set up by the accused?
Ginbot 7 takes this opportunity to appeal to the international community to take the necessary steps to bring officials of the Meles regime to justice for the horrific war crimes they continue to commit against our brothers and sisters in the Ogaden region and against all the people of Ethiopia.
Ginbot 7
www.ginbot.org
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Meles and co-partners triyng to find a poletical dirty game for the coming elecation, since they know the volcano controled by securities. They want govern us by fear and silence. The opsitions like to dance with fear. The people of Ethiopia waits the Meles gives feedom, equality, democracy and Justice… kkkkkkkkkkkk….
I want to say to opositions must truly co-operate and say Free Election Board, Free Press, equal right to all parties, ten times more forien observers than before and free Justice committe. And the securites must serve to all parties equally. To get this all EPRDF will not give without our straggle, so please stand up for your right!!!!
November 28th, 2008 at 11:49 PM
Keep it up, killers should be judged in a free and democratic court and they should know that killing and terrorizing people is a punishable crime and not allowed in even in our religion whatever faith we are following.
November 29th, 2008 at 2:22 AM
BRAVO G7 FOR YOUR FOLLOW UP RELEASES WHICH ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO EXPOSE THE MELES CRIMINAL GROUP.
November 29th, 2008 at 6:10 AM
Good , Meles must be taken to Hegue with his brother Al-Bashir of Sudan. Meles is wors than Albashir if his crimes are listed well.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:17 AM
የአይጥ ምስክር ድንቢጥ! አለ የሀገሬ ሰው ወያኔ ሎሌዎቹን ለእንዲህ ያለ የማጣራት ተግባር ሲልካቸው መልሱን በአገልግል አሳቅፎ እንደሆነ የአደባባይ ሚስጥር ነው
ልክ እንደ 1997 ቱ የምርጫ ቦርድ ተግባር ማለቴ ነው።ግንቦት 7 ይህንን አሳፋሪ ተግባር በማውገዙ በጣም አግባብ ነው ብዬ አምናለሁ።
ሉዘርን ስዊዘርላንድ
November 29th, 2008 at 9:17 AM
Ogaden National Liberation Front
Statement
28 November 2008
The Ethiopia Government Denial of War Crimes: A shoddy attempt at deceiving the international community
onlf.orgThe Ethiopian government’s response regarding Human Rights Watch’s report on War Crimes perpetrated by the Ethiopian Army against the Ogaden Somali civilian population is a weak and shoddy attempt at trying to subvert the truth and deceive the international community about the Zenawi regime’s crime in the Ogaden.
Both the content and the timing of the report are indicative of the lengths to which the regime will go in order to conceal the established crimes it is committing in the Ogaden. First, the report claims that an independent investigation team conducted the investigation and reported the outcome, but it conveniently omits the identities of the independent investigators. Ethiopia refused to allow the UN to investigate further human rights abuses identified by the first UN mission to the Ogaden in October 2007. It also prevented Human rights groups, ICRC and independent journalist to have access to Ogaden, and now it wants and expects that the international community to consider its employers as independent investigators and to believe it’s explicit lies? The regime knows that its ploy is obvious but it is hoping that the motto of old dictators will work which says- tell a lie often enough, loud enough, and long enough and people will believe you."
Secondly, the regime is trying to use as evidence of not committing War Crimes in the Ogaden by presenting what it says are confessions by the people it victimised, which were then extracted by the perpetrators of the crimes, and finally collated by its “independent investigators. Then those who ordered the crimes to be carried in the first place now present it and want to convince the international community of their innocence. If Ethiopia has nothing to hide let it allow free access to international media and independent international investigators from reputable organisations to conduct an impartial investigation.
Thirdly, by publishing this report right after the Mumbai incidence and labelling ONLF a terrorist organisation the Regime is hoping that it may associate terrorism with ONLF and gain a temporary respite from international condemnation of its crimes of war and Humanity in the Ogaden. The Ogaden National Liberation Front is a national liberation Organisation that is struggling for the rights of the Ogaden people. ONLF legitimacy resides with the Ogaden Somali people and does not need the acceptance of a dictatorial regime that has no legitimacy even within the Ethiopian people and rules by the gun
The reality of the matter is that the Ethiopian regimes has committed War crimes in the Ogaden and is continuing to commit such crimes with impunity in the Ogaden. At the Same time Ethiopia is actively engaged in trying to conceal such crimes and the real purpose of these teams that it claims to have sent to the Ogaden was to insure that no traces are left. Since the Ethiopian regime believes that the political environment in the international community that used to support blindly it heinous crimes in the Ogaden and other parts of Ethiopia is about to end, it no longer feels safe and has to engage in deceptive strategies.
ONLF believes Human Rights Watch has grossly understated the extent of Ethiopian crimes in the Ogaden and not the other way round and that it is high time that the Ethiopian regime be brought to account for its crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden. The Ethiopian Army killed Thousands and displaced tens of thousands. Moreover, more languish in military prisons. Furthermore, Ethiopia deliberately denied ICRC, which usually monitors prisoners’ rights, to visit Ogaden prison inmates or provide necessary relief to the civilian population and is now claiming in the report that ICRC trains it Army to observe Human Rights. In order to shade light on the extent of Crimes committed by the Ethiopian Army and security forces, ONLF will publish a detailed report of the Ethiopian Atrocities in the Ogaden and a comprehensive response to Ethiopian report.
Finally the sons and daughter of the Ogaden Somali people formed ONLF and its raison d'être is to actualise their dream to freedom, dignity and progress and there is no rationale for it to harm its own people as the Woyane claims and would like others to believe. As for the report’s assertion that Ethiopia is democratic and abides by the rule of law and constitutional rule, the blood and bones of 2005 pro-democracy civilians killed in Addis Ababa in broad daylight after the dictator lost the election is a more revealing testament to the nature of the regime.
F.G. Picture: A three year old boy and two year old girl burned in Lebiga in their family’s hut
The Ogaden National Liberation Front
November 29th, 2008 at 10:17 AM
As long as Melese regime is supported by West political establishment, nothing will happen to Melese and his regime. West is not sure whether it gets a muscular servant better than Weyane. Unless we show “loyalty" to the West and strength at home, we are doomed to fail. Hailu shual failed to grasp the outside influence and Ginbot 7 ran from home and declared war from Washington and London. What a combination of losers!
November 29th, 2008 at 7:30 PM