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How Civil Society and Human Rights Have Been Strangled in the Colonial 'Ethiopian' Tyranny

By: Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

[ Posted On: 2009-02-16 ]

In a previous article under the title ‘Kushitic Ethiopian Leaders Call for Dissolution of the Amhara Colonial State 'Ethiopia' (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/kushitic-ethiopian-leaders-call-for-dissolution-of-the-amhara-colonial-state-ethiopia.html), I published the first part of the interview of Mr. Kambata Xoola, Chairman of the Sidama National Liberation Organization. In this article, I publish the second part of the interview, which illuminates the Sidama efforts for setting up the infrastructure of proper civil society, and the cruel Ethiopianist tyranny’s determination in dismantling it and eliminating all related acts, endeavours and successes.

It is urgently demanded that leading Human Rights organizations, environmental NGOs, Civil Society Development centers, and political activists allover the world focus on the existing – totally unacceptable – situation in the Occupied Sidamaland, and bring the issue to the top of the UN agenda for Democracy, Development, and Respect of the Human and Civil Rights in Africa.

The Ethiopianist, racist regime of Meles Zenawi’s Amhara and Tigray gangsters is worse than the most tenebrous Taliban of Afghanistan, and far more inhuman that the typical dictators of North Korea and Burma.

Question - Is it possible for the Sidamas to freely launch political parties, establish NGOs, cultural associations, and organize their society as they find best?

SNLO Chairman Kambata Xoola - This question makes me feel both angry and sad; for it relates to both my forefathers’ dream, and my own. That is why I am standing for this God-given right of which my forefathers have been deprived. I have indeed been exposed to politics, and my descendants are predestined to going on with it; all the Sidamas have to get involved in the struggle for national liberation and take a radical action in order to liberate our country from the Abyssinian invaders who became parasites living upon our natural resources. This is also the case with other occupied nations, and subjugated peoples who are languishing under abject poverty, and being exposed to rampant human right abuses.

In fact, if the formation of political parties was really (and not nominally) possible, I can guarantee to you that there would not be any form of resistance that the Sidamas would not undertake in order to peacefully liberate Sidama Land from the Abyssinian colonial and illegal occupation. This is the same for any subjugated nation that struggles for independence, claiming what is by nature theirs.

If you ask my nation today what their priority would be if they were given the right to decide on their future, they will all answer that they passionately desire for full autonomy and independence of the Sidama Nation. The colonial occupation of our great Sidama Land by the alien Abyssinian invaders is a dramatic reality daily lived and felt by all the Sidamas. We are all conscious of the fact that our country is under colonial rule.

The misperception of, and the misunderstanding about, the very nature of the Abyssinian colonialism exists only among foreigners, and here I don’t mean the other oppressed and subjugated nations of Abyssinia (who all live under terrible tyrannical circumstances), but mainly the international community; as victims of an orchestrated misinformation, people, diplomats, administrations, academia and intellectuals allover the world imagine that there is at least some form of relative freedom for the peoples of the Abyssinian empire, and that they can exercise their rights up to a certain extent. This utterly false, as there is no freedom at all in Abyssinia, the colonial state that was formed following the colonization of 12 independent nations and more recently self-styled ‘Ethiopia’.

In particular, the ignorance of the misinformed Western public opinion combined with the deliberate silence of the Western administrations, who are the guilty accomplices and sponsors of the successive Abyssinian regimes, contributes greatly to the perpetuation of the sufferings of the subjugated nations. The cooperation of the Western administrations with the criminal terrorist elites of the Abyssinian tyranny contradicts all the Western political promises for promotion of Democracy, Freedom, and respect for the Human Rights.

Part of the Western mass media – promoted misinformation is the use of the historical name of ‘Ethiopia’, which refers to the Ancient African Kushitic populations that lived in the area of today’s Northern Sudan, for the designation of the modern colonial Abyssinian state which was formed through successive military expeditions, massacres, and the tenfold expansion of the non African, Semitic, Abyssinian kingdom’s territory.

One has to keep in mind that, over the past two decades, ever since the Meles Zenawi Abyssinian tyranny was incepted in late 1991, through deceptive procedures and behind their democratic mask, both former political leaders, George W. Bush and Tony Blair, repeatedly praised the cruel Tigray Abyssinian dictator Meles Zenawi, portraying him as one of the most progressive African leaders. Yet, at those days, Zenawi’s cruel tribal militias and thugs, shamelessly impersonating ‘national security forces’, were slaughtering tens of thousands of civilians.

Although both, British and American, embassies were fully functioning, their staff failed to notice what scenes repeatedly occurred in front of their embassies in the daylight; and the same happened in the aftermath of the May 15, 2005 pseudo-elections.

The darkest part of this story is that, even after the aforementioned butchery of over 390 civilian protesters in Finfinnee, the occupied Oromian capital that is illegally called Addis Ababa by the alien Amhara and Tigray invaders, the international community, the donors, and numerous leaders didn’t bother to criticize the bloodthirsty regime.

They kept silent and they actually did not stand on their declared principles and ideals; their so greatly celebrated humanism and their so majestically acclaimed respect of Human Rights vanished altogether; they acted hypocritically, attributing to their vested interests greater importance than to their political and humanitarian sensitivity.

Quite unfortunately, the Western administrations’ attitude has been diametrically opposed to their declarations about Democracy, Freedom, and the Human Rights. Thus, disregarding the brutality of the Abyssinian regime towards the occupied nations, the Europeans and the Americans continued promoting their economic and political interests up to the extent of using the corrupt tyranny to set up a proxy war in Somalia. This failed effort increased the sufferings of all the subjugated nations, while at the same time it consisted in a cold blood murder and a pre-calculated genocide performed against the Somali Nation.

This shows the measure of the Western sensitivity for Human Rights: just one year after the brutal suppression of the unrest against Meles Zenawi’s Abyssinian empire, the green light was given for a colonial intervention in Somalia.

Therefore, your question about whether it is possible for the Sidamas to freely launch political parties, establish NGOs, cultural associations, and organize their society as they find best is absolutely beyond the limits of the politically possible, as the current statu quo is only slightly different from that of Zenawi’s Amhara Communist predecessors!!

Ever since the Sidama kingdom was abolished in the 1890s, never ever has the Sidama nation had the chance to form a national political party. On the contrary, they lived under conditions similar to those of the pre-Columbian nations of America who have been colonized and decimated by the Spaniards. This is still what happens now. The Amhara and Tigray Monophysitic (Tewahedo) Abyssinians will never decide to terminate their tyranny, put an end to their ‘Ethiopianist’ racism, and respect the Human and the Civil Rights of the nations whom they have subjugated. They will only be forced to move out of occupied Sidamaland either by the Sidamas’ uprising or because of an international intervention.

Although not far from Darfur and South Sudan, Sidamaland is one of the most forgotten parts of the world; at the same time, it is one of the darkest and most oppressed territories worldwide. Cruel and murderous Abyssinian settlers extort our nation’s natural resources, alien soldiers and militias brutalize those who do not accept being treated like animals, indigenous traditions, culture and faith are being eradicated, the traditional egalitarian and democratic Sidama Luwa system has long been prohibited, and no one is allowed to imagine (let alone believe) that the establishment of a truly free civil society and political movement is possible. And no one is allowed to dream of organising any form of cultural, social, and religious association or organization.

Those who attempt to show their disagreement in an peaceful manner get mercilessly persecuted; the security personnel is groomed to brutalize the very innocent civilians whom they are supposed to safeguard!

I want to mention here a few examples and share with you my experience; a Sidama NGO was established in 1994 – 5. Its name is part of Modern Sidama History and Politics: the Sidama Development Corporation (SDC). In fact, it was the only NGO founded and run by the Sidama intellectuals.

Basically speaking, there are no real NGOs in the occupied Sidama Land, which part of the Abyssinian province of Southern Nations; however, several fake NGOs are assigned by the central administration. With the exception of few religious NGOs, the Sidamas are not allowed to set up NGOs. Immediate imprisonment would be a very light punishment in this regard.

The aforementioned NGO was originally established under name of Sidama Development Program (SDP) and supported by the Irish aid. Led and directed by the highly enthusiastic and energetically dynamic Sidama intellectuals, the name SDP was transformed to SDC, 4 years after the inception of the SDP. It was declared that the activities of the NGO would be maintained even after the end of aid package from the Irish government. This was a very innovative idea geared to change the lives of millions of Sidama natives; it was supported by a very noble concept.

It is useful to remember that within short time, SDC mobilized the farmers, the women, the youth, and the elderly, to put it in few words the entire nation, by creating a micro-finance system which enabled all the Sidamas to lead their development activities. Hundreds of primary schools were thus opened, potable water was made available to most of the Sidamas, several irrigation systems were developed, and hundreds of primary health care systems were created to deliver effective services even in the most marginalised rural Sidama areas.

In addition, SDC managed to have roads constructed in no time, and to carry out several electrification projects in various Sidama towns. This miracle has an explanation; hundreds of thousands of Sidamas presented themselves in order to be trained vocationally. There was a perspective for further training as the SDC enthusiastic pioneers had prepared an entire program to help the Sidama civil society be constituted for the first time after almost 100 years of foreign occupation and slavery.

It didn’t take long to SDC to prove in practice that they were far more capable of creating, leading, organizing, managing, and directing their nation towards sustainable development than the alien and illegal Amhara and Tigray settlers. The latter had long been and still are today the cornerstone of the Abyssinian colonialism in Occupied Sidama Land as they have been in other occupied lands, Ogaden, Afar, Oromia, Sheka, etc. In fact, the comparison of the deeds is detrimental; what the love of one’s own land can create in short time is impossible to be ever achieved through the hatred and the exploitation of a foreign land and people. And this is precisely what the alien Amhara and Tigray settlers did; they hated and the exploited the Sidama Nation, using in the process the most inhuman methods and the cruelest practices.

During the brief period SDC functioned properly, the entire Sidama Nation felt the possibility of an improvement in the future, and thus aspired to reclaim their lost socio-economic autonomy.

One has to bear in mind that in the aforementioned brief period, the current regime was on its embryonic stage. Consequently, during the first five years, the then newly risen Ethiopianist regime did not show its teeth.

First, they cruel Tigray tyrants had not probably understood the extent of the overwhelming national Sidama commitment to build up a Civil Society as a first step toward National Independence and Self Determination; customarily undermining the various Kushitic nations within their racist education and culture, they were prone to underestimating the leadership, organisational, and creative potentials of the Sidama intellectuals and the society at large.

Furthermore, at those early days of his tyrannical regime, which represents an Ethiopianist continuity and at the same time a tribal substitution at the very top of the colonial tyrannical administration (Tigray Monophysitic Abyssinian instead of the earlier Amhara Monophysitic Abyssinian), Meles Zenawi, the rogue Tigray murderer, was seriously engaged in battles with his predecessors (the Amharas) who did not easily accept the change. So, the tribal racist regime had other fish to fry at the time.

However, after 1998, Meles Zenawi’s racist Ethiopianist regime started to harass and intimidate the founders of the SDC; soon afterwards, the SDC top members started being constantly threatened. The tribal, dictatorial government started interfering in the activities of the SDC, by asking them and forcing them to report to the regional and federal representatives on monthly basis.

The Tigray federal representatives and the few Sidama traitors who have been selected, bribed and promoted by the racist Tigray regime monitored closely the activities and the endeavours of all the Sidamas who have been involved in the SDC programs and projects and demonstrated their real interest and commitment in the development of Sidamaland, which of course their God-given and natural right. The situation soon deteriorated, involving assassination attempts, incommunicado, extrajudicial arrests, imprisonment and tortures. In the aftermath of the May 24, 2002 massacre of the Sidama Nation by Abyssinian security forces, several leading figures of the SDC managed to escape from the Hell of the Ethiopianist tyranny, and move abroad.

Meanwhile, the SDC was forcefully transformed from a proper community development service to a sort of liaison office between federal and regional political cadres, thus destroying one of the greatest dream, civil society development effort and resistance attempt of the Sidama people.

As one could expect, the dictatorially appointed regional cadres were allowed to use for their political purposes the entire SDC, including vehicles meant for the community development. In addition, the only Sidama radio program, which had been launched by the SDC, was put under the control of the Amhara / Tigray settlers and their few selected Sidama traitors and puppets, who shamelessly impersonating “regional” politicians and administrators work for the interests of the tyranny, suppressing the Sidama movement for National Independence, and intimidating the average Sidamas.

Very little is left from what the SDC managed to achieve in relatively brief time; beyond the aforementioned period and the effort deployed at those days, nothing was done to strengthen the Sidama civil society. The aforementioned example clearly shows that it is currently impossible and, truly speaking, unthinkable for the subjugated nation of the Sidamas to freely launch political parties, establish NGOs, cultural associations, and organize their society as they find best!!

And this will not happen, before the Abyssinian invaders are forced out of the occupied Sidama Land. I have no doubt that my compatriots sooner or later will overthrow the Abyssinian yoke and kick out of the Sidama Land the last invader – settler; and to paraphrase William Blake, I would add that we are able

To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of our hand
And eternity in an hour.

Note
A map of the Occupied Sidamaland
From: http://www.fao.org/WAIRDOCS/LEAD/X6143E/X6143E00.HTM

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis - is Orientalist, Assyriologist, Egyptologist, Iranologist, Islamologist, Historian and Political Scientist. Dr. Megalommatis, 52, is the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages.

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