Above is the picture of a frightened Ogadenie Woman that has survived the slaughter: Fatima ABDI Mohammed - a forty year old mother of six with her children, telling a horrifying story of an eye witness account of her own and other Ogadenie's experience of Ethiopian government atrocities on the population.

Besides The San Jose Mercury News, many other international and local news papers including humanitarian groups have turned the heat one notch up to expose Ethiopia's act of terror: killing, torturing, burning villages and forcing mass exodus to dislodge the Ogadenie population from their land.

The paradox is those who are claiming to be an advocate of “Democracy” and human right, are the biggest problem. They are suppressing the plea of The Ogadenie's to the World community- for protection against this carnage. Worst of all they are in a crusade of hyping the Ethiopian Government.

One example is…. the Guardian on September 5, 2007 wrote an article; “Humanitarian Crisis in Ethiopia .” A glowing report on the suffering of The Ogadenie people. On September 8, 2007 the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Jendayi E. Frazer gave a press conference from Addis Ababa that…., “She has flown to the area and talked to some people.” and said nothing about what she had seen nor condemned the Ethiopian Government, for its barbaric act. She rather preferred to ignore the government violence by accusing the Ogden National Liberation Front [ONLF].

Although we don't know what Assistant Secretary observed from the sky, and despite the rootless campaign to suppress the evidence by Ethiopia . The truth of the matter is - Fatima 's and numerous other horrifying factual stories about atrocities in Ogaden are unfolding to the World as the day progresses. The evidence on the ground is overwhelming, to suggest that the government of Ethiopia is committing a heinous crime against the civilian population avoiding direct engagement with the Liberation Front.

After all the people of Ogaden have an inalienable right to commence a Liberation Front to enforce their legitimate grievance against Ethiopia and eventually to emancipate themselves from the yoke of this brutal regime. Actually it is the stiff resistance of the Ogadenie people that exposed the genocidal trend of the government.

In contrast some U.S. law makers particularly Congressman Donald Payne, Chairman of African subcommittee are working hard on a bill H.R. 203, to bring to the House floor, [A measure that pronounces the gross violation of human right in Ethiopia], if approved it might restricts U.S. military aid to that government]. This has scared the regime in Ethiopia . As a result the government forced to cave-in to the treat and released some twenty thousand political prisoners and their elected leaders.

People in the Horn and elsewhere are Skeptical of the U.S. State Department because of its biased engagement in the region, using different standards for similar problems. Although the people of Ogaden are subjected to the same kind of brutality as that of Darfur , they are denied accesses to the international justice.

Hence, the Ethiopian government was able to get away with a glaring crime against humanity it is committing on Ogadenie' people. Furthermore the Ethiopian government was able to deny access to humanitarian supply of any kind and harass individuals and international organization who were concerned with the human catastrophe in Ogden .

This notion of Ethiopia being an Allie with the war against “terrorism” is a joke. Ethiopia is actually a source of terror: Killing civilians; torturing and forcing mass immigration and not to allow international humanitarian organizations to help the victims is more than terrorism, it amounts to genocide

Ethiopian leaders in their part not learning from their predecessors are continuing the pattern of deception. They are throwing a lavish party worth of over twenty million dollar, to cover up the atrocities they are committing on their own people and neighbors.

Hailleselasse had a lavish Birth day Party when millions of people in Wollo were dying of mass starvation. After him in the eighties, Mengstu displayed an expensive extravaganza to bolster his “revolution.” At the time where millions were exposed to starvation. Now this very government is following suit. None the less, their atrocity exposed and abducted from their power by popular uprising. It seems this one is also on its last leg.

What the U.S. need in Africa is not to recruit ruthless dictators and War Lords or a military base. For that matter, rather U.S. should get out of this fixation - on promoting pseudo “democracy” which is used as a shield to these corrupt and inept governments to bypass the masses.

If The U.S. concern is genuine about Africa , it is crucial to start working on the fundamentals. Help Africa to fight disease; illiteracy and poverty; to realize this: build Schools, hospitals and its infrastructure to bolster the agricultural and industrial base so that it can develop its precious natural resources.

Awet n'hafash