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Confirmedly, Ugas-Mohamed Dulane Ugas-Hashi was arbitrarily detained in QabriDahar along with other traditional leaders on February 1, 2012 as they allegedly declined to participate regime-sponsored ceremony to inaugurate a pro-regime traditional leader in Degahbur area. Furthermore, Ugas-Mohamed was transported to Degahbur town while he is handcuffed and remains detained in the security forces’ camps in the town since on February 6, 2012.

This detention which is part of intensified widespread brutal crackdown against the local population and its traditional leadership since 2006, is among TPLF’s latest humiliating and abusing activities to the Somali ethnic’s moral, honor and pride. This February’s incident which coincides Ugas-Mohamed’s illegal humiliation and detention, so-called diasporas’ visit to the region because of peace-agreement claims, and beyond-border destabilizing activities of the regime such as Garissa killings on February 3, 2012, is just similar the February of 2011. Coincided February 2011 incidents include massacring of QabriDahar detainees through both being in detention and on board to security forces’ convey to Jigjiga, the Jigjiga head’s (Abdi Mohamud Omar) visit to Minnesota, and the regime’s killings on February 4 and 13, 2011 in Ifo refugee camp and Garissa respectively.

Amid the responsibility of ending regime’s tyranny, domination and repression is on the shoulders of Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Ogaden civil society groups like ORC, in the meantime, it is the responsibility of the international community particularly regime’s backers such as donor governments to pressure the regime to halt its abusive and repressive activities. Moreover, it is expected that human rights watchdog groups follow the human rights crisis perpetuated by the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) regime and its proxies in the Ogaden region.

Therefore, as the voice of the Ogaden refugees and those lacking the desire to speak as they are voiceless because of regime’s domination and brutality, we strongly condemn the violence and inhumanly abusing and humiliating activities of the regime to the Somali ethnics in Ogaden region. We in particular criticize in our strongest terms to the latest illegal detention and humiliation to Ugas-Mohamed Dulane Ugas-Hashi and colleagues by the TPLF regime and its proxies in the Ogaden region. We further oppose and condemn regime’s regionalized humiliating and destabilizing activities against Ogaden refugees and hosting communities namely the Kenyan in general and Northeastern in particular. Sooner or later, TPLF’s aggressive humiliating and abusing status quo should be overcome!

Brief background of the matter:

Ugas-Mohamed’s grand-father, the late Ugas-Hashi was assassinated through poisoning by Menilik’s aide or Halie Selesse’s father,  Ras Makonen between 1918 to 1920 in Addis Ababa as he was buried in Dire Dewa while travelled on train by his first son, Ugas-Muhumed. Ugas-Muhumed was the heir of the crown and was inaugurated after the death of his father, and he remained struggling against successive Ethiopian regimes of Haile Selassie and Mangistu Haile-Marian until he died in 1982 in the Ogaden refugee camps in Central Somalia, LuuqJelow – Hiraan.  

Since the death of Ugas-Muhumed in exile and his sons were also in exile as millions of Ogaden people were refugees in Somalia from the Ogaden war 1977/8, Ugas-Mohamed Ugas-Muhumed was inaugurated in 1982 in Mogadishu though he was the second son of Ugas-Muhumed as the eldest of the sons, Abdullahi Ugas-Muhumed was serving ten years prison term in Somalia under the dictatorial regime of Mohamed Siyad Barre. Nonetheless, as it became apparent that the Ugas who was inaugurated in Mogadishu is not coming to Ogaden back, the remnant native communities in the QabriDahar area had temporarily inaugurated Ugas-Mohamed Dulane Ugas-Hashi in mid of 1980s as he was the next of kin to the crown.

Ugas-Mohamed who has been acting as the traditional head of the native community though fully marginalized by the successive regimes of Mangistu and Meles Zenawi, had personally faced serious physical, mental and political humiliations from the said regimes, mainly the Zenawi-led TPLF regime. The years of 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2008 and 2012 were those he personally faced both physical and psychological abuses from the TPLF as he was incarcerated detention cells most of them in military barracks. Similarly, despite physical suffering, he was encountering political humiliation and teasing policies from the regime in the last two decades. 

TPLF’s opportunist approach to the Ugas:

However, contrary to their abusive and humiliating policies toward the traditional system in general or Ugas-Mohamed in particular, the TPLF regime never hesitated to take the advantage of Ugas-Mohamed’s political weight even if marginalized by the regime itself. In the Ethio-Eritrean war of 1998 to 2000, the TPLF regime released Ugas-Mohamed from detention through the flimsy regional government of Mohamed Moallim Ali (Khadar) and asked him to advocate along with the regime for a popular support against the fight to Eritrea. He was taken to address to Somali-speaking boys in the frontline of the fighting, the border of the two countries.

Again in 2005, Ugas-Mohamed, who was having his own unique status as he was neither regime-paid elders known as (advisors) nor relatively independent “grouped-elders of 2005” who tried to challenge TPLF regime and its flimsy administration in the region, was again brought in the forehead. As Meles lost Addis Ababa election for opposition in 2005, he immediately ordered that the grouped-elders whom he declined to accept throughout their four-month-stay in Addis Ababa to submit their grievance claims to him, be re-grouped in Goday with the inclusion of Ugas-Mohamed Dulane. Elders were brought together in Goday with the inclusion of Ugas-Mohamed by Abbay (t)Sehay (Meles’s guy to Ogaden), as they were hastily transported to Arat Kilo palace of Meles where they were greeted and offered official lunch by Meles and aides.
Ugas-Mohamed was named as the Chair of elders amid regime promised that elders’ claims will be addressed sooner while they were asked to assure TPLF-affiliate nominations should be endorsed as members of House of Representatives – the Federal Parliament. After August election, the Chairmanship of Ugas-Mohamed ended though so-called elders’ negotiated peace-talks were aired awhile until TPLF’s sophisticated crackdown to the grouped-elders became widely in use from 2007. For example, Ugas-Abdi Ahmed Hashi felt disappointed and later died with serious moral depression while Sh. Mohamed Hikim is neither alive nor dead up to date because of disorder and deteriorated health from regime’s brutal campaign in Ogaden from 2006. SuldanFowsi Mohamed Ali serves 16 years jail term in Zuway prison as he is alleged ONLF affiliate while Garaad-Hassan Ahmed Garaad-Makhtal died from serious physical and mental torturing of 2006 up to 2009 frequent arrests by the regime.

Therefore, as Ogaden region faces its worst moments of “century old” colonization, occupation, marginalization, repression, corruption or any other inhuman treatments from Abyssinian or Ethiopian forces with the help of foreign alliances, the elders’ crackdown and abusing is a part of widespread violence and crimes against humanity employed by the TPLF regime. 

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Ahmed F Mohamud
Chairman of Ogaden Refugees Committee (ORC)
To follow ORC Chairman, visit Twitter, @MohamudFarah , LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/pub/ahmed-mohamud/44/65a/466 or Google+ as Ahmed Mohamud. For direct contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it