By Ojulu Odola

Right after the condemned EPDRF 97% victory over oppositions parties in May 2010 election, EPDRF in Diaspora aired amazing interview with Ato Ojulu Kwot on Alula Aba-nega radio station on Gambela current politics and development and posted on Aiga Forum. Fortunately, Anyuakmedia picked up the audio and re-posted for Anywaa Audience.

I heard the audio and found that Ato Ojulu Kwot being pushed by EPDRF’s cadre behind the studio micro-phone saying what I believe far from the truth. He said he was so delightful indeed with the outcome of the election.  Further he went on complementing the government’s development programs in Gambela region. He affirmed the denial of the involvement of EPRDF’s militaries in the carnage of the Anuaks on December 13, 2003 as it was reported by Judge Kemal Bidire the chairman of illusionary Gambela’s genocide inquiry committee in 2004 including the death of Agriculture expert Ato Ochudho Odola. He said the government had brought the genocide perpetrators to justice while the perpetrators MP Meles and Ato Omot Olum are still in power killing innocent citizens

Base on this interview I requested Aiga Forum to arrange a panel interview to debate the issues it had raised with Ato Ojulu Kwot. However, the arrangement didn’t work. Aiga Form administrator gave restricted or inaccessible phone number (613 276 2965) most probably located in Ottawa-Canada and invited me to call them. I did call the number and the answering machine responded that this number is not available. When I informed Aiga Forum administrator about the restricted number, it insisted that the number is correct and working. I asked friends to dial the number from Canada, and USA; however, none get through. Then Aiga Forum duped it-self and requested me to provide a number to contact me. I did provide the number and lastly Aiga Forum declined on the basis that the number I gave has eight digits. I replied that the digits are correct, give it a dial, but Aiga Forum became reluctant to do so.

I made all these effort only to employ all means to find out the lies. I knew that Aiga Forum as government agent has a legacy of fallacy, deceptive and misleading. That is why it chosen a soft target to get across its propaganda.

However, at the last Aiga Forum gave my number to Ato Ojulu Kwot to let him contact me. I managed to talk Ato Ojulu. First he has denied that what I heard on his interview were not what he intended to say. He was misunderstood by the audience.  He claimed two flaws.

1. The person who had posted his interview on Anuakmedia had posted maliciously with a heading that instigates public anger before they listen to the interview.
2. There was a language bearer so people misinterpreted his message.

When our discussion went deep and deeper, he busted and exposed what he had been denying so far and blamed Anuaks elites as anti Anuaks and perpetrators of December 13, 2003 genocide because they were not supporting or cooperating with the government.

As Aiga Forum did scapegoat and decline to facilitate the panel interview, so did Ato Ojulu Kwot. He declined to confirm his statement in the present of his fellow Anuak. He challenged my interest in participating in penal interview saying that I don’t represent any party or have right to request for a penal interview.

Anyway, before I respond to the lies released by Aiga Forum using Ato Ojulu Kwot, I would like to comment this to our brothers and sisters in Diaspora. What we’re saying unwisely hurts the feeling of our brothers, sisters and parents who are suffering immense agony and persecution under EPDRF regime. Their expectation is that we could rescue them in time of tragedy. We suffer with them when they suffer and enjoy together with them when they’re happy.

These voiceless people need us to be their voices that convey their grievances and messages across to other Ethiopian citizens and the nations around the world. We should not betray them on any occasion. We have nothing to loss if we stand by our people and tell the truth.

I know life might be very tough for some of us here in Diaspora and hardship might intimidates us to do humiliating job to get access to dirty money that ruin our reputation. What we should know is that EPDRF is using the tax payers’ money that should alleviate poverty problem our nation is facing in order to prolong its regime. We should not be bribed to keep silent about the genocide and human right abuse against our people. This government determines to extinct the Anuaks to take advantage of their resources for self enrichment and not for the well being of the Anuaks or nation.

If we’re losing our families members and the tribe as whole, what is the point of being allies to a government that won’t protect us? What would we benefit from such irresponsible government? Is it to gain a government position or to enrich ourselves at the expense of our people? To my understanding the purpose of holding government position is to provide services to the people. It isn’t to kill and wipe out the tribe for self interest.         

Anyway, let me take you back to the main purpose of this piece which is responding to some issues raised during the interview that I believe was untrue.

Election

I believe that to hold a government position is to become a public’s servant. The appointment must come from people through genuine ballot box or decent education that the country requires of us to develop the nation, but not picking up irresponsible individual who is not represented by the people  and used as instrument to punish the innocent people or subjugate the public to the brutal regime that abuse its citizens right.

Since 1995 Gambela’s people didn’t conduct fair and free election nor represented by people elected governor. Gambela has been ruled by the iron fist for the past 15 years. There is no democratic elected government that serves the interest of Gambela people. EPDRF’s did form parties and choose its members to compete during elections and appointed the state’s government. The outraged Gambela’s people had formed opposition party Gambela people democratic Congress (GPDC) in 2000 election and defeated EPDRF’s stooge party overwhelmingly. However, the people elected party didn’t take the regional state government. The EPDRF’s government incarcerated the elected members of GPDC and forced some to exile. From that day on EPDRF’s government has been intimidating, harassing and imprisoning the charismatic leaders in the region. When came May 2010 election, there is no party nor person dare to contest the stooge party formed by EPDRF. The election became one party election and not a democratic election where all parties are invited to participate. It was not due to failure or none existence of opposition parties that made EPDRF to be sole competitive party in the region.

Article 39

Gambela people do not oppose article 39. The issue is there is no the so-call article 39 that empower the people. Gambela people are looking for greater autonomous regional administration rather than sham article 39. It is not hard for layman in Gambela to understand the purpose of December 13, 2003 genocide of the Anuaks and government’s settlement program. It was to dispossess the natives’ power and to populate the region with highland Ethiopians from main land Ethiopia to make the indigenous minorities in their own land. This is what we had witnessed in Bene-shangule region where the indigenous became subservient without a voice in theirs own region state. The beginning move in Gambela was May 2010 election. EPDRF have forced Gambela’s regional government to nominate five highlanders who don’t have a county they represent to stand for election to take up positions in Gambela’s regional state parliament.

As some EPDRF’s stooges said, Gambela is part of Ethiopia, any Ethiopian can take any position he/she wants. Logically is right, but where in Ethiopia do Anuak/Nure/Majanger has been given positions in regional state parliaments because he/she is an Ethiopian? No where. Are we not Ethiopian? Don’t we deserve leadership in party of the country? Why are we represented in Tigray regional state parliament as an Ethiopian if being an Ethiopian will qualify us to take position in any regional state in Ethiopia as Meles’ government does in Gambela? We have some students living in Tigray or residents in Addis Ababa.  Why they are not represented as a citizen of Ethiopia in these regional states’ parliament if position is given according to representation of ethnic groups?

The reality is not being an Ethiopian but being people servant to whom you represent and the service you would provide in return. I can not go to Tigray and said here I am an Ethiopian lets me rule you without their acknowledgement, endorsement and what I should deliver to them.

If Gambela people are not represented in others states in Ethiopia to hold positions as Ethiopians, why Meles’ government forces Gambela people to elect   none Gambela residents to take positions in Gambela’s regional state parliament? Is this fair and equitable unity of the nation? This is a malicious and greed for the power. The ruling party does not want to share the administration with people. As far as I know there is democratic federalism ruling. EPDRF is controlling the regional government. Gambela doesn’t exercise any democratic right or federal regional government ever since EPDRF took control of the government. It did put up symbolic none skill Anuaks or Nuers on power and brought its own governors from Addis Ababa to rule the region such as Ato Abera, Military Geberehiwot, and Ato Yohannes were the regional governors.

The so-called development

The so-called development projects were not meant for people of Gambela. They were designed for settlers. These development projects lack sustainability and are not for the development of the region. It is designed to destroy regional environment the vital means to the indigenous. The development project is targeting the only existing tropical forest in the country. The destruction of this forest will result into desertification and dry up the rivers stream out it. In other word the development is killing indigenous who depend on them.

These development projects had evicted the indigenous out of their land without compensation or employment. The villagers were evicted from their land and forced to destitute life which is something they have never ever experienced in their lives for years. The Anuaks were content and supportive to their brothers and sisters during those black days when drought hit Tigray, Wello and South Ethiopia in 1984. They have reached out to help their country men and women providing food during their arrival and land later to settle. Many of us in Diaspora have participated in building tusks, providing water or food to our brothers and sisters in 1984/5. However, today we are homeless people who are depending on hand out from Churches organizations in Gambela town.

In regards to employment of Anuaks in development projects Ato Ojulu Kwot responded that the indigenous are primitives and not capable to work in the development projects. Therefore, employing people from highland is right thing to do and legitimate. The business sector was taken by highland Ethiopians because they have knowledge or finance capacity.

What about hundreds jobless high school leavers who have been collected from the streets and thrown into jail alleged as street gangsters. These youngsters have been rooming around without jobs for years. Are they primitives and not capable to do the work?

To my understanding the indigenous were not primitives such that they can not do manual work. I can say they’re illiterate or lack ink education due to marginalization and exploitation of pervious regimes including Meles’ regime. The Anuaks are not nomads, but sedentary agriculturist, fishermen and semi animal husbandries. Even though the highland Ethiopians have better education than them, naturally they have gifted knowledge that not less than their brothers and sisters from highland Ethiopia. Simple job like harvesting, cotton picking, clearing even minimal training on driving tractor won’t be difficult for them to do. They are quick learners than their brothers’ highland Ethiopians. The experience in Abobo State Farm has proven this fact in 1980s when few Anuaks were employed to work for the State Farm. They became tractors operators in short training and did their job successfully. I don’t think the indigenous were not employed in the development projects because of being primitives, but because the government doesn’t want to see them develop or controlling regional economy.

In terms of business if not few people if there is who came from their region with capital, the majority of highland Ethiopians running businesses today obtain their finances from Ethiopian commercial bank-Gambela branch. They have right to borrow money from the bank while indigenous were not allowed to borrow. Their loan applications have been rejected on different reasons such as lack of collateral while highland Ethiopians would not go through similar thorough screening as they do. Let’s forget about those at home who are seeking loan from the government, the Diaspora’s Anuaks who went home to do businesses, but the government has destroyed the small scale businesses they have established intentionally and some were denied licenses.   

Peace and stability

The Gambela people haven’t experienced peace and stability since the reign of EPDRF’s government. From day one Gambela was not in peace with EPDRF. People have been abducted, tortured and gunned down on broad daylight.  The government permits terror to exist among the indigenous and divides them along the ethics line. It insights fight among the ethnics (Anuak versus Nure versus Majangers) to let them not unite along their common interest.  The distinct peace disestablishment was the massacre of Nures in 1991, Majangers in 2000 and Anuaks in 2003.

The recently development is the advancement from dictatorship to the previous South Africa apartheid regime where Whites have right to shot and kill any black without question. Today, any Ethiopian from highland part of the country or light skin Ethiopian has right to shot and kill Anuaks or dark skin indigenous in Gambela without being investigated nor convicted. Day in day out you would find Anuaks kill, behead and throw into the river, dumped at the road side or disappear forever without trail.

Meles’ government has turned brothers and sisters whom Gambela people had welcome and offered them tremendous hospitality into monsters and ignored the generosity of the Anuaks.  Now the 1984 famine victims we had fed were instigated to kill the day and night without regret.

Kemal Bediri genocide inquiry

The report of His Honor Judge Kemal Bediri on Anuaks’s genocide was a defensive that deny the involvement of militaries in the carnage. It was a cover up to deceit USA government the god father of the regime. Despite blaming the killing on civilians’ Ethiopians from highland, nothing was mention about any suspect or jailed culprits in the report. Meles’ media has propagated that he had jailed the culprits, but the question is when, where and which court were they prosecuted? Gambela’s people had never seen or heard about a person charged for the killing of innocent people.

It is hard for me to believe that a culprit will investigate himself and made a verdict on him. How does someone believe that there is equitable and transparent judgment while the killer (the government) is a detective as well as a judge?

In conclusion

Dear brothers and sisters Anuaks’ EPDRF supporters, don’t accredit your loyalty to EPDRF at the expense of our innocent brothers, sisters, mums and dads who lost their lives in the hand of a brutal government. Their soul is still among us and alive.  Our forefather says, “Dhøk cama gïn lïëth” which literally means god does punish those who practice immoral things against his community members or the community at large. We have witnessed in the past regime what had happened to our brothers who had done the same as we do today. They vanished mysteriously beyond our imagination.

The point I would like to make here is that lets support what we stand for or believe without betraying the community for self interest. It is this community that supports you to be who you are. With out the community you wouldn’t exist. You have to respect your community value in any way.

If nothing blinds us or deafening our ears of what EPDRF doing or saying, we should have known everything our people went through. EPDRF’s government has pushed the Anuaks into deep poverty then ever and intends to eliminate the tribe from their ancestral land to replace them with settlers from main land Ethiopia. Today, EPDRF’s government is killing the Anuaks in mass, hunting them like animals, poisoning their food and infecting them with HIV to extinct them silently similar to what Whites settlers had done to the Aborigines in Australia in the past.

Is this the development, peace and prosperity for the Anuaks or indigenous of Gambela region?  Is this what we are going to lie about to build a good relationship with EPDRF to gain whatever we are dreaming for?

Our culture doesn’t endorse lies, but truth and integrity. Ethiopians tax payers and international donors’ money should not be paid to us to keep us silent or lie about the reality.    

This piece is written by Ojulu Odola and it is open for comments. You can reach me at Ojulu@optusnet.com.au