Ammajjii 1: Guyyaa WBO

Amajjii 1, Guyyaa WBO, Sabboonaan Oromoo Marti Bifa Armaan Gadiin Kabajata!

(WBOn Gaachana Ummata Oromoo ti!)


A. Seensa



Ummatni Oromoo guyyaa gabrummaa jalatti kufe irraa kaasee bilisummaa fi walabummaa isaa deebifachuu wareegama hedduu baase. WBOs wareegni inni baasee fi injifannoon inni galmeesse salphaa miti. Kanaaf amajjii 1, guyyaa WBO akka guyyaa injifannoo saba Oromootti kabajna! Seenaa qabsoo bilisummaa ummatoota addunyaa hedduu yeroo ilaallu, biyya ijaarrachuuf qabsoon hidhannoo qooda guddaa qaba. Biyyootni qabsoo hidhannoo malee ijaaraman jiru jedhanii himuun nama rakkisa. Qabsoon hidhannoo ummata tokko ijaaree hiriirsuu, akkasumas jaarmaya fi sabboonummaa ummataa cimsuu fi ittichuu keessatti qoodi inni qabu guddaa dha. Waraanni saba tokkoo injifannoo saba isaa raggaasuu, tiksuu, wabii fi gaachana ta’uun isaas hubatamaa dha.

Ummatni Oromoo erga biyya fi mirga isaa dhabee kolonummaa Habashaa jalatti kufee eegalee bifa gara garaatiin yeroon inni hidhannoo hin kaasne hin turre; akeeka bilisummaa fi galii siyaasaa ifaa jalatti humna ijaarameen kan qabsaawuu eegale utubamuu Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo waliin ta’uunis ifaa dha. Qabsoon bifa kanaan haga ammaa deemes ummata keenya galii bilisummaa fi walabummaa biran gahuu hanqatus tarkaanfii hedduu tarkaanfate; mirgoota hin tuffatamne hedduus Oromoo gonfachisee, qabsoo fuula duraafis bu’uura jabaa kaahe. Kanaafis, haala amma deemaa jiru keessatti, muuxannoo qabsoo hidhanoo haga ammaa gamaaggamanii tarsimoo fi tooftaa fuula duraa qiyaafachuuf bu’urri WBO buuse guddaa dha.

Qabsoon hidhatnoo Adda Bilisummaa Oromo jalatti adeemsifame haala daran rakkisaa fi hacuuccaa jabaa keessatti eegalee, gufuulee keessaa fi alaa hedduun xaxamee ture; haa ta’uuti qabsoo kanatti itti cichee qabsoo hadhooftuu gaggeesseen mirgoota hedduu Oromoo goonfachiise jira. Haala kanaan:

1. Injifannoon qabsoon Oromo haga ammaa galmeesse hundi sababa qabsoo hidhannoo tiin kan argaman ta’u hubachuu qabna. Mirgootni kunis kan galmeeffaman miseensota fi ummata keenya kuma hedduu dhaan lakkaawaman wareegama itti baasanii, maatiin kuma hedduun itti diigamee, qabeenyi hedduun itti dhabame fi qabsaawotni kuma hedduun itti dararamanii ta’uunis ifaa dha. Wareegama kanneeniin alatti bu’aan argamuu fi sadarkaan dammaqiinsi ummata keenyaa har’a irra gahe fiduun hojii salphaa ta’uu hin dandahu ture. Gaaffiin Oromoo gaaffii haqaa ta’uun fi ajandaa siyaasaa gaanfa Afrikaa keessa seensisuun kan danda’e sababa qabsoo hidhannootiin ta’uun beekamaa dha. Dhimma kana madaala isaa hubachuuf, gaafa ABOn ijaaramee qabsoo eegalu; haalli sabbonummaa ummaa Oromoo maal keessa ture? jirreenyi ummata keenyaa addunyaa irratti hagam beekamaa ture? jedhanii gaafachuu gahaa dha. Dagaagginni sabbonummaa Oromoo har’a mul’atu fi dhimmi Oromoo beekumsi naannoo fi addunyaa keessatti horates bu’aa qabsoo hidhannoo wareegama ilamaan Oromoo hedduu dhaan argame ta’uun falamsiisaa miti.
2. Mirgi hiree murteeffatnaa ummataa har’a diinni, yoo xinnaate waraqaa irratti (heera biyyaa jedhamu keessatti) kaahe, beekuuf dirqame bu’aa qabsoon Oromoo hidhannoo dhaan argamsiise keessa tokko.
3. Kanuma waliinis Afaan Oromoo, barruu hin qabne, dhabamaa keessa ture; afaan ittiin baratamu fi hojiin mootummaa ittiin hojjatamu ta’uu danda’uun injifannoo galmeeffame keessaa tokko. Kunis, kan har’a ilmaan Oromoo miliyoonaan lakkaawaman ittiin baratan, hojjatan, barreessan fi ittiin boonan ta’ee jira, afaan Oromoo kun haala akkaan rakkisaa ta’e keessatti dirree qabsoo hidhatnoo keessatti kan dagaage fi muuxxeffame dha.
4. Addi Bilisummaa Oromo ifaan ummata Oromo fi addunyaa birattis beekumsa guddaa kan argate bara 1991 as jechuu ni dandeenya. ABOn teessuma Ebla 1991 Londonitti yaadamee turetti afeeramu fi sana boodas mootummaa cehumsaa Itiyoophiyaa kufaatii Dargii booda ijaarame keessatti qooda fudhachuun, utuu hidhannoo harkaa hin qabu ta’ee hin yaadamu ture.
5. Oromiyaan maqaafis ta’u bulchiinsa mataa ishee qabaachuun ishees sodaa diinni WBO irraa qabuun ta’uun beekamaa dha.

WBOn injifannoolee armaan olii galmeessee fi bilisummaa saba Oromoof jecha falmaa hadhaahaa gochaa ture ammas itti jira. Har’a illee gootowwaan keenya guyyuu diina kuffisaa kufaa jiru. Kanaaf guyyaa WBO, Amajjii 1, kabaja, ulfinaa fi guyyaa injifannoo ta’uun yaadatnee oolla. Addi Bilisummaa Oromoo Amajjii 1, guyyaa WBO akka tahu kan murteesse sababa malee miti. Innis:

Bara 1978 walakkeessa irraa kaasee haga dhuma 1979tti ABO haala akkan rakkisaa keessa ture. Yeroon kun yeroo lolli Somaliyaa fi Itophiyaa dhumatee, waraanni Ziyaad Barree arihamee bahee, mootummaan Dargii humna ABO kan reef ijaaramaa jiru dhabamsiisuuf duula wal irraa hin citne itti bobaase ture. Waraanni Bilisummaa Oromoo Baalee, Arsii fi Harargee keessatti duula kana of irraa deebisuuf lola cicimaa seene. Qunnamtiin isaa addaan citee ni faca’aa yaaddoon jedhu illee guddaa ture. Qabsoon haqaa yoomuu waan injifatuuf jagnootiin WBO duula Dargii of irraa deebisanii Amajjii 1, 1980 walitti dhufanii ayyaana guddaa ayyaaneffatan. Bara 1980 irraa kaaee guyyaan WBO bara baraan guyyaa WBO fi guyyaa injifatnoo ta’ee kabajama.

B. Akeeki Amajjii 1, Itti Kabajnu Wal Hubachiisuuf

1. Injifannoo Qabsoo Hidhannoon Argaman yaadachuuf;
2. WBO Cimsuuf Waadaa keenya haaromsuuf;
3. Hawwii Oromoon human waraana jabaa ijaarratuun injifatnoo karaa waraanaa argamsiisuun bilisummaa isaa bira gahu jabeessuuf;
4. Sabboonummaa Oromummaa ijaaruu, Tokkummaa Oromoo cimsuun Oromoo humna jabaatti jijjiiruuf;
5. WBO bakka jirutti haamlachiisuuf;
6. Ilmaan Oromoo mooraa diinaa keessa jiran akka of beekanii qawwee isaanii diinatti galagalchuun Oromoo humneessuuf hojjetan jajjabeessuuf;
7. Miseensoti WBO, jagnooti Oromoo fincila diddaa kolonii, diddaa gabrummaa, mirga abbaa biyyummaa fi mirga hiree ofii ofiin murteeffachuu Oromoof lubbuu isaanii dabarsanii kennaan wareegamni isaanii gatii malee akka karaatti hin hafne wal barsiisuuf;
8. Kaayyoo ABO kan WBOn itti diina kuffisee kufaa jiru kana bakkaan gahuuf dhaalonni ammaa fi boruu waadaa isaa haaromsuun gootummaan akka qabsoo itti jiru jabeessu fi itti fufu wal hubachiisuuf;
9. Jaallan qabsaawota Oromoo bakka adda addaa jiran, mana hidhaa, daggala, bobaa diinaa jala fi biyya ambaa jiran, akka wal cimsanii WBO cinaa hiriiruun xaba siyaasaa bifa hundaa jabeessan dhaammachuuf;
10. Barri harayaa bara Injifatnoo, Bilisummaa, Badhaadhinaa, Gammachuu, Quufaa, Dadaa fi Milkii uummata keenyaaf akka ta’u hawwii dabarfachuuf ayyaaneffatnee olla;

C. Kabajaa Ayyaana Amajjii 1

1. Amajjii 1, Guyyaa WBO ta’uu wal barsiisuu;
2. Wareegama WBO baasaa turee fi itti jiru, haala akkan rakkisaa keessatti WBO qabsoo isaa gaggeessaa qabsoo Oromoo baatee hardhaan gahuu wal hubachiisuun qabsoo hadhooftuu kanatti firii gochuuf Oromoo mara irraa waan eegamu marihachuuf;
3. WBO akkaataa itti gargaaranii waraana cimaa taasisuu dandahamu irratti wal marihatuu, wal gorsuu, waan WBO gumaachame walitti qabanii WBOf erguu, gargaaruuf;
4. Akka wal amantaa fi walitti dhiyeenyaan muddee 31 halkan walakkaa sa’aa 12:00 irratti dungoo qabsiisuun kabajaa WBO Qabnu fi injifannoo inni galmeessee dhaadhessuu fi gammachuu ibsachuu;
5. Faaruu Alaabaa Oromoo kana bakka bakkatti akka faarfamu walii dabarsuuni fi faarfachuun kabajamuu qaba!



WBO Alaabaa Oromoo Oromiyaa Irratti Dhaabuuf Falmaa Gochaa Jira!
Amajjii 1, Guyyaa WBO ti!!

Faarruu Alaabaa Oromoo

Faaruu Alabaa Oromoo

Alaabaa Oromoo ibsituu dukkanaa

Guyyaa si dhaabbannee gabrummaa irraa baanaa!

Ilmaan saba keenyaa bakkuma jiranii

Gadi si dhaabuuf jecha falmaa irratti dhumanii!

Kum kumni illee du'uu kan hafne si dhaabnaa

Falmaa irraa hin deebinuu tarree irra dhaabbannaa!

Dhiiga siif facaasaa, lafee siif bobeessaa

Oromiyaarratti gad suman dhaabsisa!

Asxaa sirna haaraa abdii walabummaa

Dhiigaan gad si dhaabnaa yaa faajjii tokkummaa!

Balali'uuf teessaa atis tarree galtee

Mallattoo mootummaa Oromoodhaa taatee!

Si dhaabbannee bullaa halkan tokkoof illee

Guyyaan sun ni dhufaa hangam yoo ture illee!

Gadaan Gadaa Bilisummaa ti!!

Injifannoo Uummata Oromoof!!

Ethiopia leaves key Somali town (BBC)

The Ethiopians are not popular in Somalia

Ethiopian troops have withdrawn from a key town in central Somalia.

Islamist insurgents say they now control Guriel, where Ethiopia had a big military base to secure the road linking the two countries.

A BBC correspondent in Somalia says it is not clear why the Ethiopian troops withdrew without any fighting.

Guriel was a stronghold of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which lost power to Ethiopian-backed government troops a year ago this week.

The BBC's Ayanleh Hussein in Guriel says residents have been cheering the Ethiopians' departure.

During the occupation the local hospital was out of use as it was used as the Ethiopians' military base, he says.

Meanwhile, unrest continues in the capital, Mogadishu, where most Ethiopian forces in the country have been based since last year's invasion, which ended the UIC's six-month rule.

The bodies of four civilians were discovered after battles between insurgents and Ethiopian troops on Thursday around the animal market in the north of the city.

Somalia has been politically fragmented since 1991 and the country's transitional government, faced with an insurgency, is dependent on international aid and Ethiopian military support.

BBC News

Ethiopia leading purchaser of U.S Arms and Services in Sub-Saharan Africa (CRS Report for Congress)

Ethiopia is a leading purchaser of U.S Arms and Services in Sub-Saharan Africa according to a report released by Congressional Research Service. In 2006, Ethiopia has concluded a $9 million US Arms and services deal, making it a top client of US arms and services in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Uganda, Chad and Kenya. $3 Million in US Arms and services were already delivered to Ethiopia in 2006, the report shows.

From 1999-2002, Ethiopia received $7 Million in U.S. Defense Articles and
Services, and from 2003-2006, the number was $10 million.

To read more, click: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL34291.pdf

Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of border attack

NAIROBI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Eritrea has accused Ethiopia of attacking its security forces this week, describing it as part of ongoing provocation along their disputed border.

In a statement posted on its Web site shabait.com late on Wednesday, Asmara said the relatively small-scale raid on Tuesday targeted its troops and allied militias in the South Tsorona region, inside a former buffer zone, but failed.

"(The) attack comes in continuation to (Ethiopia's) ongoing provocation and aggression in the Gash-Barka and Southern regions, whereby it planted mines, carried out incursions, abducted nationals and burned crop fields to the ground," the Eritrean statement said.

An Ethiopian official rejected the report and said Addis Ababa had no reason to provoke a new conflict with Asmara.

"If any country is war-mongering, it is Eritrea," Bereket Simon, special adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, told Reuters. "Ethiopia, at present, is focusing on its economic development, ensuring democracy and good governance internally."

Ethiopian officials routinely reject Eritrea's version of border incidents. Bereket said there was a clash in Gash-Barka this week, but it was "purely an Eritrean internal affair".

"It is well known there are a number of opposition groups waging war internally against the (Eritrean) regime," he said.

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Ethiopia to avoid raising tensions with Eritrea.

About 70,000 people were killed in a 1998-2000 border war between the two neighbours. In November, an international commission charged with setting the 1,000-km (620-mile) frontier dissolved itself, leaving the two states to work it out alone. (Additional reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa; Writing by Daniel Wallis, editing by Mary Gabriel)

Fear of War Increasing in Horn of Africa

By ANITA POWELL – 12 hours ago

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Isayas Gabriel remembers when tens of thousands of his fellow soldiers were cut down during Ethiopia's last war with Eritrea, a 2 1/2 year bloodbath over a seemingly insignificant border town called Badme.

Seven years after the war's official end, he is among the many watching as the countries appear to be gearing up for Round 2 — a conflict that would have implications far beyond the Horn of Africa, which the West has long feared could become a safe haven for Islamic extremists.

An international commission charged with marking out the border disbanded recently after the two sides prevented it from physically delineating the border it had chosen, evidence of the stubborn resistance to mediation.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said last month that the threat of war is "very real" and "just weeks away." An estimated 225,000 troops have massed on either side of a tense buffer zone.

Medhane Tadesse, a political analyst in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, said the tensions could affect other conflicts in the region.

"You cannot separate the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict from what is happening in Somalia, Sudan and even the Middle East," said Tadesse. "This is not just a small, low-key conflict. It's a large-scale military confrontation."

It's one that has been brewing for several decades. Once part of largely Christian Ethiopia, Eritrea, which is predominantly Muslim, fought a 30-year guerrilla war that led to a referendum and independence in 1993. But the countries disagreed over currency and trade issues, and both laid claim to towns along the border, including Badme.

The simmering conflict has fostered instability and left the West worried that the Horn could become a breeding ground for al-Qaida.

Osama bin Laden's terror group already has claimed responsibility for several attacks in East Africa, including the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 225 people. A war would further destabilize the larger region and could create more opportunities for extremists to gather and plan attacks.

The United States looks to Ethiopia to help fight the war on terror in East Africa. Meanwhile, the administration of President Bush is preparing a case to designate Eritrea a "state sponsor of terrorism" for its alleged support of Islamic extremists in Somalia.

In fact, experts say Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country with some 77 million people, and Eritrea, a Red Sea nation of 5 million, are using largely lawless Somalia as a proxy battleground.

Ethiopia sent military support to Somalia last year to drive a radical Islamic group from power, and is now fighting alongside Somali government troops beset by remnants of the Islamic force waging an Iraq-style insurgency.

The leaders of the Somali Islamic group are based in the Eritrean capital, Asmara. U.N. arms experts accuse Eritrea of secretly supplying huge quantities of arms — including surface-to-air missiles and suicide belts — to the Somali insurgents.

Bulcha Demeksa, an opposition parliamentarian in Ethiopia, said his country cannot fight in Somalia and Eritrea simultaneously.

"It is not just soldiers, it is everything," he said. "Logistics, citizens' support, young men's commitment. We cannot do that."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who traveled to Addis Ababa this month for crisis talks with some of Africa's most unstable states, urged the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, to maintain calm.

"There must not be a resumption of hostilities initiated by either side," Rice said.

Still, there has been an "alarming" military buildup along the border over the past few months, with an estimated 100,000 Ethiopian troops facing off with some 125,000 Eritrean troops, according to the International Crisis Group.

Eritrean soldiers entered the disputed border town of Badme in 1998, sparking a war. Eritrea's agricultural economy — with some 70 percent of the population involved in farming and herding — was devastated, and both armies suffered massive casualties.

"Both believe that sovereignty over Badme is symbolically vital, even if of little intrinsic economic value," the International Crisis Group said. "Whoever finally owns that village will be able to claim victory and justify the war's enormous sacrifices."

After the war ended, the international Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission gave the town to Eritrea, but Ethiopia has not conceded.

Late last month, the panel ended its work after both countries failed to allow it to physically mark out the border, and formally grant Badme to Eritrea. The panel said it considers its work done, and that Badme belongs to Eritrea.

Isayas, who fought in the 1998-200 war, is sober, but also boastful.

"Since I have witnessed war firsthand, I know exactly its extent of destruction," he said. "If war breaks out, it will be the end of the regime in Eritrea."

The Eritreans, inevitably, see it differently.

"If Ethiopia starts a war, they will be crushed and that will be the end of their history," Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu said.

Associated Press

Merry Christmas

Love, Peace and Joy came down on earth on Christmas day to make you happy and cheerful. May Christmas spread cheer in your lives!

Your OromiaTimes

Tigrayans want end to border row

By Elizabeth Blunt BBC News, Mekelle, Ethiopia

Tigrayans used to have strong links with people across the border

The mountains of eastern Tigray in Ethiopia are bare and brown just three months after the end of the rains.

The people in the region are skilled farmers and hard workers but even they struggle to support their families from their tiny patches of worn-out land.

The answer used to lie across the border in Eritrea - more developed and industrialised and with two good ports, Ethiopia's outlets to the sea.

The older farmers remember the days when they used to work on their farms until the harvest was in and then go as seasonal migrant labour to Eritrea.

It was an easy journey to make. The people on the other side of the border were like themselves, Christian highlanders, speaking a similar language.

The Eritrean capital, Asmara, was far easier to get to and more familiar than the distant Ethiopia capital, Addis Ababa.

Families intermarried.

Even today, many Tigrayans have friends and family in Eritrea, relatives they no longer see, cannot phone and can write to only courtesy of the Red Cross.

Barrier of steel

In a continent of notoriously porous borders, an impenetrable barrier has come down between Ethiopia and Eritrea and nowhere is this felt more acutely than in Tigray.

It's hard to persuade investors to come in when the border is still closed Abadi Zemo Tigrayan vice-president

Tigray region is Ethiopia's front-line state.

Its history, its economy - everything in Tigray is intertwined with and affected by what lies on the other side of the border.

The last war with Eritrea hit the region hard.

Not only was the war fought on the edge of its territory but Tigrayans suffered heavy casualties.

Its regional militia was involved as a well as the national army and the authorities here reckon that a third of those killed and wounded in the fighting came from their region.

Economically the war was a disaster.

The overthrow of Ethiopia's Marxist military government had brought peace to Tigray in the early 1990s after a long guerrilla war.

New businesses opened and new hotels were built, only to close their doors from lack of business as soon as the war broke out.

Trade barrier

Worse still, even after the war was over the border stayed closed.

The region's Vice-President, Abadi Zemo, says this makes promoting economic development very difficult.

The closure of the border has left Tigray isolated

"Tigray is located up in the north. We have an advantage - we are located much closer to the sea than other towns.

"But having this situation between us and Eritrea, it has put us in a very odd situation," he says.

"An investor, when he comes to Tigray, he sees there is no war and there is no peace - that investor prefers to invest in the south.

"Had it been normal, Tigray might have been the best region in Ethiopia for investment."

"It's hard", he says, "to persuade investors to come in, when the border is still closed and there is always, hanging over Tigray, the threat of another war."

Despite this, the regional capital, Mekelle, is a busy little town and its own businessmen have had the confidence to come together and begin building a massive new shopping and office complex.

Old fighter

From inside Mekelle it is almost possible to forget the military situation along the border.

The border is thick with troops and bristling with weapons

A substantial part of Ethiopia's very large standing army is stationed in Tigray but those camps are well away from the town.

The United Nations has a peacekeeping force here too - but that is up on the border.

In Mekelle itself there is just a small liaison office, a few white-painted UN vehicles in the streets, occasionally a white-painted helicopter circling overhead.

The fact that the UN peacekeepers are still in place - at least until their mandate is next reviewed at the end of January - makes Tigrayans feel a little safer.

But still they worry about the future.

Abadi Zemo was a fighter himself once, before the government in Addis Ababa was overthrown and he became Tigray's vice-president.

He knows the range of an AK-47 down to the nearest metre.

And he knows that on some parts of the border the two armies are so close that one slipped safety-catch, one stray bullet, one single soldier, could spark a new conflict.

"Imagine - 500m," he says.

"Just, you know a Kalashnikov, and a soldier, a simple soldier. The range of a Kalashnikov? That would be 900m, perhaps 1,000m."

The vice-president laughs at having given himself away as an old fighter, but he knows that one slipped safety catch, one stray bullet, and that simple soldier could start a new conflict.

BBC News

Ethiopia cracks open airwaves to commercial radio

Meaza Birru has started the country's first private station.
By Nicholas Benequista | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

from the December 19, 2007 edition

Reporter Nicholas Benequista discusses the efforts of two Ethiopian journalists to launch private radio stations.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - By most accounts, Meaza Birru is patient. Not easily daunted, she waited eight years to have a commercial radio station – the first in Ethiopia.

Ms. Meaza began regular programming on her radio station last week, one of only two people to get FM radio licenses from the Ethiopian government since it legalized commercial radio in 1999.

In a country that has one of the most tightly controlled presses in the world, some skeptics think the issuance of the two radio licenses is no more than a token gesture by the government. Press freedom has deteriorated sharply here in the past five years, along with political freedom, according to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists and the Washington-based Freedom House.

Nonetheless, some free-press supporters in Ethiopia, too, see the move as a potential watershed. Tafari Wossen, a leading communications consultant, says the new private radio stations – even if part of a public relations maneuver – may stoke the growing demands for free press. "My generation had no concept of press freedom," he says. "Now the public is developing a taste for it."

Though she knows she will be monitored closely, Meaza says she is taking the first steps to a freer media. "I believe it is a process, and this is the beginning," she says. "The public should have a choice, and I hope many others will come in the future."

Currently, Ethiopia's government controls the only no-cost TV broadcaster, Internet sites are routinely blocked by the state telecommunications monopoly, and only a few private newspapers exist. Independent journalists face harassment and the threat of imprisonment, according to the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.

"Even if we recognize gestures such as this, we have not seen spectacular improvements in Ethiopia," said Leonard Vincent, Reporters Without Borders Africa director. "This is part of a campaign by the government to make believe that things are improving."

International broadcasters such as Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, BBC World Service, Radio Cairo, and Radio Vatican are the only independent sources for many Ethiopians. Recently, though, BBC Monitoring, which tracks shortwave frequencies globally, has detected interference with the transmissions of Voice of America and Deutsche Welle. Government officials deny they are jamming signals.
Read more:http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1219/p11s01-woaf.html?page=2

"Oromia to build TV station" Capital

Oromia to build TV station

By Muluken Yewondwossen

The Oromia Regional State government has signed a contract agreement with EURO-tel, an Italian telecommunications company, to build a television station and transmitters, on Friday December 14, 2007 at the regional president’s office.
The regional government has set aside 61 mln ETB for the project, including for the studio and the purchase of transmitter equipment, station construction, electric power installation and road construction.
According to the contract document, EURO-tel will be supplying equipment and will install the TV station for 31.5 mln ETB, including a three year parts supply agreement.
“The transmission will cover 10 of 17 zones in Oromia.” Abera Hailu, manager of Oromia Information Bureau, told Capital. “After two years we will cover the whole of our regional state,” he added.
The transmission center and the studio will be built in Adama (Nazaret) and other transmitters will be mounted in selected areas, which are Kulubi, Sululta, Adama, Gujii, Goba, Shashamane, Gimbi, Jima, and Gore.
According to Abera, the equipment is expected to arrive in ninety-one days and the installation work will be completed in three months. “Our transmission will start after eight months,” he stated.
The Information and Urban Development bureaus have completed a construction document for building the transmission center.
When the installation and construction work is completed, the state TV program (STVO) will be transmitting for 28 hours a week. “We have plans to increase the transmission hours but there is a shortage of professionals in the country,” Abera said.
The Ethiopian Broadcast Authority, Ethiopia Radio and Television, Diredewa City Administration and Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation are collaborating to finalize this project.
In related news, Oromia Information Bureau will start three AM radio transmissions from Nekemt, Bale and Adama (Nazaret) and an FM service from Addis Ababa.
For this project, the Oromia regional government has purchased transmission equipment from Harris (US telecom company) and the installation work is being conducted done by the same company. According to Abera, the Oromia regional government paid four and half mln USD for this project, which is to launch transmission in a few months.

Capital

National Bank of Ethiopia officials arrested for gold fraud

By Jane Louis 17 Dec 2007 at 12:12 PM

Five senior executives from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and three chemists from the Ethiopian Geological Survey were arrested last week for their alleged involvement in a gold fraud scandal. The NBE, which exports gold, reportedly bought 300 kilograms of fake gold from a trader. The Ethiopian Geological Survey inspects any gold the NBE buys and offers quality assurance, but an official from the survey said the trader replaced real gold with the fake gold after he had received certification. The investigation is ongoing, and the Ethiopian federal police said they will disclose more details when it is complete.

Resource Investor

On his re-election campaign, Keniya's Kibaki promises to set a permanent military base on Ethio- Keniya border

Kibaki’s promises to pastoralists

By Abiya Ocholla

President Kibaki has created eight administrative divisions and pledged to establish a permanent military base on the Kenya/Ethiopia border.

The President said this after he took his re-election campaigns to upper Eastern, on Saturday.

Kibaki also unveiled a seven-point development programme aimed at turning the semi-arid region into an economic hub.

"This region is well endowed and I pledge to harness the local resources and open up this hitherto forgotten region into an economically viable unit," Kibaki said.

The President said the projects aimed at uplifting upper Eastern and North Eastern Province will not only be linked to other parts of Kenya but also to Southern Sudan.

Kibaki created Shurr and Kalacha divisions in Chalbi District and Kargi and Ngurnit divisions in Laisamis District. He also created Omarr, Karare, and Segel and Dakha Barida divisions in Marsabit District.

He pledged to finance a livestock re-stocking programme for pastoralists in Turbi, Korr, Dukana, Forole and Gass areas.

"I know you people lost your livestock in raids by your neighbours, I promise to assist you restock your herd and ensure that life goes back to normal," he said.

Kibaki also established a permanent military base at Forole to guard the 600km common border between Kenya and Ethiopia and curb armed raids from suspected Oromo Liberation Front militia.

He also created two police posts at Moite and Koya.

"I have also directed the provincial police officer to re-arm homeguards in Turbi and Dukana before we scale up the programme to other regions," he said.

Suspected Ethiopian raiders massacred 100 people at Turbi in 2005.

Kibaki also directed the Eastern PC, Mr David Jakaiti, to liaise with Ethiopian authorities and secure the release of six Kenyans arrested in an Ethiopian rebel swoop.

Kibaki addressed rallies at Bubisa, Korr and Marsabit before going to Isiolo.

On the development formula, Kibaki said his government would prioritise infrastructural development, including establishment of irrigation schemes and expansion of the Rural Electrification Programme for Marsabit, Moyale, Garissa, Lamu, Mandera, Wajir and Lodwar.

"My government will complete the Elwak, Habasueni, Hola and Kithingitini electricity project. This will reduce the cost of electricity," he said.

Kibaki also pledged to construct a railway line linking Lamu through Garissa and Isiolo to Southern Sudan.

The Standard

Civilians fighting in Ethiopia

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The Ethiopian government allegedly is forcing untrained civilians, including relief workers, to fight rebels in the Ogaden region.

According to Western officials and those who recently defected to avoid being conscripted, doctors, teachers and employees of development programs financed by the World Bank and United Nations are being used to fight insurgents, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Government officials in the region have called upon elders, traders, women and civil servants to establish local "security committees" to destroy the rebels and their bases.

The Ethiopian government, which has accused rebels of assassinations and bombings, says that civilian militias have volunteered to fight, the newspaper reported.

"Anybody who works for the government -- teachers, doctors, clerks, administrators -- has to join a militia," said Hassan Abdi Hees, who worked as the head accountant in a government office in the Ogaden and is now seeking asylum in Kenya. "I left because I didn't want to die."

John Holmes, a senior humanitarian official at the United Nations, came to the Ogaden in November.

During his visit, he heard reports of civilian militias being formed and said he found it increasingly difficult to find trained professionals to distribute much-needed aid in the region.

"There is not a catastrophe there, for the moment," he said. "But there is a lot of concern the Ogaden could become a serious humanitarian crisis."

United Press International

"Just like South Africans we follow the path of forming democracy throughout Ethiopia. That path, we believe, is a better path than secession" Dr Maraaraa Guddinaa

Merara Gudina
Chairman OPC

Dr. Merara Gudina is chairman of the newly-formed Oromo People's Congress (OPC).

He used to chair the Oromo National Congress (ONC) but after a claim by Tolossa Tesfaye to the party leadership, and the subsequent decision by the Electoral Board to recognize Tolossa rather than Dr. Merara as leader of ONC, the latter went to court and filed charges against the board.

But, recently, Dr. Merara and his colleagues decided to have their own party registed as OPC and to abandon ONC for good.

Dr. Merara spoke to Bruck Shewareged about the transition from ONC to OPC Excerpts.

Why did you give up the legal battle to retain the party's original name of ONC and change it to Oromo People's Congress (OPC)?

We just didin't give up. We went all the way. Yes, we filed charges against the electoral board. Tolossa doesn't have the political and financial base to claim ONC as his own. To be frank, it is probably the work of the ruling party, EPRDF, to meddle with our party's leadership.

Some people just called in a meeting and claimed to be the new leaders of ONC. They came up with a fake seal in order to "endorse the resolutions" of the meeting. We notified the police and the electoral board about this illegal meeting. Our party's regulation says that either the chairman or his deputy can call a meeting. And you need a two-thirds vote of the central committee to remove the leadership. As far as we know, they didn’t have enough support to do that.
Then at some point, our two offices were raided.

By police or by Tolosa's supporters?

Well, Tolossa and his people served as front men. It was well organized. They were well prepared. There were even ambulances for any possible casuality. They were accompanied by officials from the Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), one of the constituting parties of the ruling EPRDF coalition. They were there to give cover to the raiders. The security people were beating our party members. Tolosa even drew a pistol and fired at some of our members. We notified the police of what had taken place. But the police said that was a government affair and told us not to come back.

They openly said that to you?

Yes. If they go to the scene, the perpetrators could be caught red-handed with their guns. So, this is clearly not Tolosa's doing. He even asked to be allowed to go back into the party's fold. But when the security people scolded him, he resorted to his intransigence. The game they were trying to play was clear.

Tolosa had no power, in the first place, to call a meeting. Even if there were problems with the leadership, only the auditing committee can call that meeting. This was an attempt to change ONC's leadership. When that failed, they resorted to stealing the party's name.

Then came the harassment. Many of our members were put in jail. Even now, our members, numbering in their hundreds are jailed.

How severely were your activities restricted as a result of the jailings?

It has a serious impact on our mobility. We have some mobility. Our activities were not completely halted but were severly impaired. We were not legally banned. We are represented in the federal parliament and Oromia region's parliament. We have been participating in the inter-party dialogue with the ruling party. Mind you, it is not Tolosa and his supporters that are participating in that dialogue. In Oromia's parliament, our party is represented, not Tolosa's.

The problem with Tolosa and his people is that they have only a name, not a real organizational entity.

Wouldn't changing your name create a gulf between you and your supporters? Aren't your going to need more time to re-introduce yourselves to the public?

That would not be a problem. Even though we have changed our name, we are well known by our supporters. Every honest Oromo knows our entity. Our members know the party very well.

Sometimes attempts to crush a political entity have a backlash. When you came out of this leadership crisis, did you gain more sympathy among the Oromo people?

We were able to withstand the pressure. We were able to show that we stand for the respect of the rights of the Oromo people. We have suffered to some extent, of course. Our mobility has been restricted. Members been jailed in North Shoa, South Shoa, Arsi zones and other places. But in terms of public support, we didn't suffer a bit.

When you first request the electoral board to change your name to Oromo People's Congress, Ato Tolosa objected on the ground that in the Oromo language, the name is similar to Oromo National Congress, the party he is now leading. Can you enlighten us on the specifics?

You only need to come up with another name when each word becomes similar to other party's name. Let me take you back to the time of the party's foundation. Back then, we decided to follow the policy of inclusion rather than secession. We were convinced that the problem could be solved within the Ethiopian context. Oromos need not secede. So, just like South Africans we follow the path of forming democracy throughout Ethiopia. That path, we believe, is a better path than secession. We want to find a solution within the national context.

Oromos are not a minority but a majority in Ethiopia. So secession is not a viable option. What is suitable is to find a solution within the Ethiopian context. So, we went for the name Oromo People's Congress.

Now, Tolosa's party is "Biolesa" or national. We use "Umeta," meaning people. So it is not the same thing.

We even offered another name, "Oromo People's Salvation Congress" when the dispute over the name first arose. But the word " Salvation" has a strong connotation, maybe. The electoral board didn't like it. They gave us the go-ahead for the Oromo People's Congres.

With the upcoming bi-elections, did the alleged harassment abate? Or is it on the rise?

It didn't change. It hasn't abated in Oromia region.

But it isn't on the rise either?

Well, the problem is that one day the harassment might abate. But on the third or fourth day, it will increas. It is on-and-off.

In my opinion, it is only through the use of force that the government can rule Oromia. Unless they resort to the use of force, harrassement or bribery, their days of ruling through peaceful means are over, especially after the May, 2005 elections. There is no doubt that our party can liberate the Oromo people from the stranglehold of the OPDO with the support the people. They know that we have no problem is convincing the people.

If, as you said the repression continues, couldn't things get out of hand? Won't the peaceful struggle be abandoned and people resort to armed struggle?

If you look at the history of Ethiopia for the last 150 years, regime changes have taken place through the use of force. There was no peaceful transfer of power since the days of Emperor Theodros in the 19th century.

Emperor Theodros used to be a rebel. He came to power by force and became a King of Kings. Following his death, there was a three-year-long power struggle. Emperor Yohaness IV came to power after defeating his rivals. There was no peaceful power transfer from Yohannes to Menilik II, too. There was no link between them.

Following Yohannes' death, Menilik claimed the throne and became King of Kings. Menilk followed the carrot-and-stick approach: either they follow him or, the Shoan stick will strike them. Most accepted the carrot. When Menilik was paralyzed and incapacitated to effectively govern the country, his wife, Etege Taitu, gained supremacy for more than a year. But she was checked by the Shoan nobility.

After Menilik's death, Menilik's grandson, Lij Eyassu, reigned for a few years. The Shoan nobility was not comfortable with that, and Eyassu was removed from power by apparently the first coup d' etat. Then Emperor Haile-Selassie (then known as Teferi Mekonen) came to power as a regent in 1916. He became to be known as the first Black Machiavelli. From 1916 to 1930 he removed his rivals one by one. Some, like Fitawrari Habteghiorgis, died a natural death. Anyway, he officially assumed the throne in 1930 when Empress Zewditu died of illness. Then Haile-Selassie in turn was deposed by the military junta, which itself was removed by through armed struggle.
So power transfer from Emperor Theodros to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi took place through the use of arms. I don't know what the fate of the governing party, EPRDF, will be. But the current trend shows that EPRDF is following the path of former regimes. History might repeat itself.

Which means armed struggle?

Not only that. There are many armed groups. There is the Oromo Liberation Front, The Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Gambella Liberation Front, the Patriotic Front etc. But EPRDF is also accusing the Opposition parties of calling for an insurrection. EPRDF is more afraid of popular uprising than armed struggle. Unless national reconciliation is achieved, there are bound to be problems.

It has to negotiate with the opposition. Currently, it is negotiating with its supporters. You just don't negotiate with your supporters. You negotiate with opponents and try to reach a settlement.

EPRDF has its own political reading of the situation. But in my reading, there is still a big problem.

Last week, the prime minister implied that he will urge his party to suspend inter-party dialogue as a result of what he alleged to be opposition parties' complicity with the HR 2003. But opposition parties, including yours, said that the dialogue had already been suspended. What would you say about the contradictory statements?

That's what amazes me, too. How did HR 2003 originate? Let me take you back to the end of the Cold War. Since the end of the Cold War, America has become the only super-power. Many countries aligned themselves to the USA because they believed that it would benefit them. They were seeking support from the USA.

In the Ethiopian case, more than anyone else, the EPRDF-led government sought this support and became an ally of USA. It is known that some American army units are operating in Ethiopia.

What's puzzling is that whenever the US supports the Ethiopia government, it doesn't have anything to do with sovereignty. So far the partnership with the US is one-sided. The support was geared towards one party, not the whole people. Questions were being raised. This unbalanced approach must be rectified.

Ethiopians in USA were asking why the US government supports the government which used the aid to suppress human rights. They were raising this question for many years.

What is surprising is that congressmen Donald Paine, who is now being criticized by the Ethiopian government, was an ardent supporter of the EPRDF. The congressman once told us opposition members not to be obstacles to the budding multi-party democracy.

However, I think, the report by the inquiry commission of the killings that followed the 2005 election could be a factor behind the change of mind on the congressman's part. The chairman and deputy chairman of the commission took the original report before it was released out of the country and released it there. Then a number of the American legislators started to question the misuse of American support by the Ethiopian government. This, the Ethiopian government didn't like. It was used to unqualified support from the US. Now, the government is worried that the monopoly of receiving the US support could be busted.

Ethiopian Reporter

Three, including girl 17, may have been tortured, are held incommunicado

PUBLIC
AI Index: AFR 25/030/2007
11 December 2007

UA 328/07
Torture / incommunicado detention
ETHIOPIA

Mulatu Aberra (m), trader, aged 34

Najima Jamal Ismail (f), aged 17

Najima Jamal Ismail’s stepfather, a trader (name unconfirmed)
Mulata Aberra, a trader of Oromo ethnic origin, has been held incommunicado at a federal police detention centre in Harar city in eastern Ethiopia since his arrest on 29 November. Also arrested at the same time were Najima Jamal Ismail and her stepfather. Najima Jamal Ismail is being held in a women’s detention centre in Harar. Amnesty International has received reports that Mulatu Aberra and possibly the other two have been tortured. Mulatu Aberra and Najima Jamal Ismail were transferred to hospital in Harar on 10 December and were returned to prison on 11 December.

All three appeared together before a court in Harar on 6 December where police obtained permission to extend their detention for investigation into alleged involvement with the armed opposition group, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

Mulatu Aberra has been detained on two previous occasions and accused of being a supporter of the OLF. In 1996 he was arrested, and was detained incommunicado in Harar without charge or trial. His family was not informed of his whereabouts until 1998, when he was charged with killing a person on behalf of the OLF. He was tried and acquitted in 2000. He was frequently tortured during this period of detention and as a result he now suffers from a hearing impairment and both of his arms are partially paralysed. He was arrested for a second time in late 2006 in the nearby town of Dire Dawa and accused again of links with the OLF, but was released without charge after five months. During this period of detention Mulatu Aberra was again tortured, and was seriously injured.

Amnesty International in not aware of any case in Ethiopia where a judge has ordered an investigation into allegations of torture.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Thousands of members of the Oromo ethnic group have been detained, and many of them tortured, in recent years on suspicion of links with the OLF. The OLF has been fighting the Ethiopian government in eastern and western Oromia Region and other areas since 1992. Among detainees held on these grounds have been people who Amnesty International believed were prisoners of conscience who had not used or advocated violence.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Using your own words, please choose a few of the suggestions below to create a personal appeal and send it as quickly as possible:

- expressing concern at reports that Mulatu Aberra, and possibly also Najima Jamal Ismail and her stepfather, who were arrested with him on 29 November in Harar, have been tortured in incommunicado detention;

- calling on the authorities to allow all three detainees regular access to their families and legal representatives, and any medical treatment they may require;

- expressing concern that Najima Jamal Ismail is said to be under 18 years of age and calling for her to be treated as such under the juvenile justice system;

- calling for an immediate and independent inquiry into the allegations that the three have been tortured while in police custody and for the findings of the inquiry to be made public and for any police officer found responsible for torture to be brought to justice;

- pointing out that according to international fair trial standards, no statement made as a result of torture can be used as evidence in any court proceedings and judges are obliged to separately investigate or order an investigation into allegations of torture;

- calling on the authorities to release the three people if they are not to be charged with a recognizable criminal offence and given a prompt and fair trial.

APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister:
His Excellency Meles Zenawi
Office of the Prime Minister
PO Box 1031Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: 011 2511 1155 2020
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Justice:
Mr Assefa Kesito
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 1370
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: 011 2511 1551 7775 or 011 2511 1552 0874
E-mail: ministry-justice@telecom.net.et
Salutation: Dear Minister

Federal Commissioner of Police:
Mr Workneh Gebeyehu
Federal Police Commission
Ministry of Federal Affairs
PO Box 5068
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Salutation: Dear Commissioner

COPIES TO:
The official Ethiopian Human Rights Commission:
Ambassador Dr Kassa Gebreheywot
Chief Commissioner, Ethiopian Human Rights CommissionPO Box 1165
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Fax: 011 2511 1618 0041
E-mail: hrcom@ethionet.et
Salutation: Dear Chief Commissioner

Ambassador to Canada:
His Excellency Getachew Hamussa HAILEMARIAM
Ambassador for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
151 Slater Street, Suite 210
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3
Fax: (613) 235-4638
E-mail: infoethi@magi.com

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. _______________________________________

Greetings for Human Rights Day!
Join Amnesty’s worldwide event now in progress.
www.amnesty.ca/writeathon
_________________________________________
Marilyn McKim & Adriana Salazar
Urgent Action Network Coordinators
Amnesty International Canada (ES)
14 Dundonald Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1K2

www.amnesty.ca

An Armed Resistance (The gallant Ogade National Liberation Front fighters)

Photo: Vanessa Vick for The New York Times

In Rebel Region, Ethiopia Turns to Civilian Patrols

By Jeffrey GETTLEMAN

NAIROBI, Kenya — The Ethiopian government, one of America’s top allies in Africa, is forcing untrained civilians — including doctors, teachers, office clerks and employees of development programs financed by the World Bank and United Nations — to fight rebels in the desolate Ogaden region, according to Western officials, refugees and Ethiopian administrators who recently defected to avoid being conscripted.

Vanessa Vick for

The New York Times

The Ogaden National Liberation Front rebels use solar panels, radios and satellite phones to communicate with other rebels in the Ogaden.

Ethiopia has been struggling with the rebels for years. But with tens of thousands of its troops now enmeshed in a bloody insurgency in Somalia and many thousands more massing on the border for a possible war with Eritrea, the government seems to be relying on civilians to do more of its fighting in the Ogaden, a bone-dry chunk of territory where Ethiopian troops have been accused by human rights groups of widespread abuses.

In a recent report, government officials in the region called upon elders, traders, women and civil servants to form local “security committees” and mobilize their clans to destroy the rebels and their bases of support. The government says that the rebels are terrorists who have carried out assassinations and bombings, and that civilians have volunteered to fight them.

But by many accounts, the militias are hardly voluntary. One Western aid official said soldiers had barged into hospitals to draft recruits and threatened to jail health workers if they did not comply. In other cases, lists of names were posted on public bulletin boards, ordering government employees to report for duty, according to a current member of the regional parliament and two Ethiopian administrators who have fled the country. Many of those who refused were fired, jailed and in some cases tortured, the administrators and parliament member said.

The civilians are serving as guides, porters, translators and foot soldiers, and they are sent into the bush with little or no training to confront hardened guerrilla fighters. In the ensuing battles, many civil servants have recently been killed, according to accounts corroborated by Western officials and aid workers.

“Anybody who works for the government — teachers, doctors, clerks, administrators — has to join a militia,” said Hassan Abdi Hees, who worked as the head accountant in a government office in the Ogaden and is now seeking asylum in Kenya. “I left because I didn’t want to die.”

Several Western officials say they are alarmed about this new strategy, especially when the first signs may be emerging of a humanitarian crisis that aid officials predicted over the summer.

Earlier this year, the Ethiopian military sealed off large swaths of the Ogaden to choke off support for the rebels, preventing much of the commercial traffic and emergency food aid from entering. Western aid officials warned this could cause a famine. The military has since relaxed some restrictions, but a survey by the aid group Save the Children U.K. found that child malnutrition rates in some areas have soared past emergency thresholds and are now higher than in Darfur or Somalia, widely considered the two most pressing crises in Africa.

In late November, John Holmes, the most senior humanitarian official at the United Nations, came to the Ogaden to assess the situation. While there, he said, he heard reports of civilian militias being formed, and observed that it was increasingly difficult to find health workers, livestock workers and trained professionals to distribute much-needed aid in the region, which now faces a drought.

“There is not a catastrophe there, for the moment,” Mr. Holmes7 said. “But there is a lot of concern the Ogaden could become a serious humanitarian crisis.”

Ethiopian officials deny this.

“Many media and international organizations have been exaggerating the problems,” said Nur Abdi Mohammed, a government spokesman. “There is no food aid problem. There is no malnutrition problem.”

As for militias, Mr. Mohammed said, “what is happening is that the local tribes are forming to fight against the O.N.L.F.,” the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the main rebel group in the area.

“The people want to protect their livelihood,” Mr. Mohammed added.

According to the recent government report, which was published by regional authorities, rank-and-file civil servants are not the only ones called upon to fight the rebels. It also lists several employees who work for programs financed by international donors. They included a pastoralist development project that receives millions of dollars from the World Bank and the Ethiopian government’s AIDS prevention office, which is supported, in part, by the United Nations and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. A second government document ordering civil servants to report for duty lists 10 employees from an AIDS office.

One government official said that his entire department, including white-collar professionals, clerks, watchmen and drivers, had been forced to go on reconnaissance patrols to hunt down the rebels. The official, who feared government reprisals if he were identified, said that the militia duty interrupted humanitarian programs supported by the United Nations and that several colleagues were killed while on patrol.

Rebel fighters from the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

“We don’t know how to operate guns, but the government sent us to the front lines,” the official said.

Other civilians who served in the militias said they were not given camouflage, and even had to buy their own rifles.

“It’s terrifying,” said Ali Mahamoud, a Koranic teacher who said he was yanked out of Arabic class a few months ago and assigned to a militia. “You can’t see the rebels when they’re shooting at you. And the Ethiopians will kill you if you try to run.”

The rebels said the civilians were easy targets.

“They don’t know the bush,” said Daous, a commander for the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

Some of the region’s best-trained professionals have chosen to flee, including Sadik Mohammed Hajinur, a Sudanese-trained doctor who used to work at a rural hospital. He said that Ethiopian soldiers demanded that he recruit militia members from his clan and that when

he refused, they beat him with rifle butts.

“I faced so many problems from the army,” said Dr. Sadik, who is now seeking asylum in Sweden.

Dr. Sadik and other refugees described the militia program as another example of the extremes to which the Ethiopian government will go to control the Ogaden region, which lies on the border of Somalia and is home to mostly ethnic Somalis, who speak a different language and have a different culture than the highland Ethiopians who rule the country.

Several United Nations officials and Western diplomats said they were discussing the militia

program in private meetings, but contended they could not comment publicly for fear of provoking the ire of the Ethiopian government, resulting in a possible suspension of humanitarian efforts in the region.

“We are walking a very thin line, and we need to concentrate on saving lives right now,” a United Nations official said.

Ethiopian authorities have already expelled the Red Cross from the Ogaden, accusing aid workers of being spies.

The Bush administration considers Ethiopia its No. 1 ally in combating terrorism in the Horn of Africa, and the American government provides it with roughly $500 million in annual aid. Last winter, American commanders gave Ethiopia prized intelligence to oust an Islamic movement that had controlled much of Somalia.

But Human Rights Watch says it has documented dozens of cases of severe abuse by Ethiopian troops in the Ogaden, including gang rapes, burned villages and what it calls “demonstration killings,” like hangings and beheadings, meant to terrorize the population.

“This is a mini-Darfur,” said Steve Crawshaw, the United Nations advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.

The Ethiopian government’s response to such criticism is often one word: Eritrea. Ethiopian leaders have accused their tiny neighbor of arming insurgents in Somalia and the Ogaden. Eritrea denies this, but a United Nations report concluded that the country had indeed shipped planeloads of weapons into Somalia. Ethiopia also blames Eritrea for failing to compromise on

the border issue, which has led to a major military buildup on both sides.

As for human rights, Ethiopia’s prime minister, Meles Zenawi, said at a recent news conference that “there have been no widespread human rights violations in the Ogaden, not only because we believe in the respect for human rights, but because we know how to fight the insurgency.”

But several soldiers who have recently defected said they had participated in brutal killings.

Ahmed Mohammed, 24, said he was born in the Ogaden and served two years in the national army. In August, he said, his platoon was blockading a road and caught a truck trying to sneak through. The soldiers dragged the driver out and Mr. Ahmed said he watched his commander saw off the driver’s head with a 10-inch hunting knife.

“We left the body by the road,” said Mr. Ahmed, who is now a refugee in Kenya. His account could not be independently verified, but was consistent with those of other soldiers who had defected.

Mr. Mohammed, the government spokesman, dismissed the story, saying: “There is not a single soldier who is abusing human rights. The Ethiopian military is very disciplined and

would not abuse its own people.”

Recent refugees said the military was trying to starve them out and the blockade had been like a noose on some parts of the region, cutting off food supplies.

In October, Save the Children U.K. surveyed more than 600 Ogadeni children and found that 21 percent were acutely malnourished, compared with United Nations surveys that found

malnutrition rates of 19 percent in an area of Somalia and 13 percent in Darfur, Sudan. The United Nations considers 15 percent the emergency threshold.

“We’ve crossed the line into a humanitarian crisis,” said one Western diplomat who asked not to be identified because he was afraid of reprisals from the government.

Western officials said the Ethiopian government has begun to respond by loosening the restrictions on commercial traffic and food and allowing the United Nations to open field offices in the Ogaden. “There have been positive developments in the last three weeks,” said Marc

Rubin, emergency director for Unicef in Ethiopia.

But there is a lot of catching up to do. The amount of emergency food that the United Nations World Food Program has dispatched to the Ogaden this year is a fraction of what it was last year, 19,475 tons compared with 155,249 tons .

Several refugees said they had been reduced to eating grass.

Habsa Ghaffir, who arrived at a camp in Kenya four weeks ago, said that after Ethiopian troops burned her fields and shot her husband, her 4-year-old son starved to death.

“I remember him saying to me, ‘Mom, bring me food, Mom, bring me tea, Mom bring me water,’” Ms. Habsa said.

But she had none.

“It is like they are trying to wipe us out,” she said, nervously snapping twigs between her fingers as she spoke outside her hut. “Even here, we’re not safe.”

United Nations officials said Ethiopian intelligence agents had infiltrated Kenya, and on Nov. 2, there was a mysterious attack that only added to these fears.

According to Kenyan police, masked men burst into an apartment building in a Nairobi slum and shot five Ethiopian refugees. Two died, along with a guard outside who was shot in the head.

Nothing was taken. Witnesses said the killers went straight to the Ethiopians’ room. The Ethiopian victims had been student leaders in their country, and the Kenyan police said some of them had previously asked for protection.

Kenyan police commander Joseph Maina Migwi said he could not say whether Ethiopian security agents were involved.

“But whoever did it,” he said, “were definitely paid professionals.”

The New York Times