23/05/09 (B500) Communiqué de presse en Anglais d' »Afar Movement » (Ethiopie), pour annoncer la renaissance du mouvement et préciser ses objectifs, publié sans commentaire, à la demande de l’organisation.
The AFAR MOVEMENT (AM) QAFAR UGUGU is a Political Movement established to liberate the Afar people in Ethiopia from TPLF/EPRDF led dictatorial regime.
AFAR MOVEMENT would like to take this opportunity to ask you to publish the Attached Press Release on your website or Newsletter.
The AFAR MOVEMENT would be grateful to you if you could kindly broadcast it on Radio in Amharic/Afaan Oromo/Somali/Tigrinya/Sidama, and as well as other Ethiopian languages available.
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AFAR MOVEMENT (AM) QAFAR UGUGUMO
PRESS REALSE
Date: 22/05/2009
Our Ref: 02/09
Liberated Zone of Afar Region – Ethiopia
ARTICLE-1
AFAR MOVEMENT (AM) QFAR UGUGUMO would like to take this opportunity to
introduce itself to the peace loving nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia in
particular, and to a wider international community in general.
ARTICLE-2
AFAR MOVEMENT (AM) QAFAR UGUGUMO is a political movement reestablished
in 2006 by the Afar people to lead the national liberation struggle of the
Afar people against TPLF led dictatorial and totalitarian regimes of Ethiopia.
Historically, Afar Movement was founded in 1978 in Barahle, as a Self-Defense-Resistance Movement to the TPLF’ s illegal act of war declared on Afar people.
ARTICLE-3
The fundamental objective of the AFAR MOVEMENT (AM) is to exercise the Afar
people’s inalienable right to freely determine their political status and to pursue their
economic, social and cultural development in accordance with the provision of
international legitimacy, legality relating to the Statute of Peoples Right to Self
Determination as set out in the Article of UNs Charter and on Resolution 1723 (XV1)
1961.
ARTICLE-4
AM struggles to establish a democratic Afar Regional National State based on a
genuine federal arrangement guaranteed the legitimate right and aspiration of the Afar
people to freely manage and administer their political, economic and social
development programmes.
ARTICLE-5
AM struggles to terminate a century of oppression, exploitation, marginalisation and
discriminatory politics and policies, which have been exercised against the Afar people
by successive governments of Ethiopia.
ARTICLE-6
AM struggles to protect the property, to provide security, to defend the country and to
maintain the culture, language, customs and traditions of the Afar people.
ARTICLE-7
AM struggles to adopt a democratic political system based on pluralism and
egalitarianism.
ARTICLE-8
AM rejects totalitarian, dictatorial and oppressive forms of government.
ARTICLE-9
The foreign policy of the AFAR MOVEMENT (AM) is based on the principle of
strengthening local, national and regional peace and security by means of
encouraging peaceful resolution of regional and national disputes; and shall support
the right of peoples to self-determination; and shall not interfere in the domestic affairs
of states, organisations; and shall cooperate with peace-loving nations and
nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia and the world.
SITUTION IN AFAR REGION IN ETHIOPIA
Today, the Afar people in Ethiopia are facing unprecedented marginalisation, human
rights violations, environmental degradation, insecurity, famine and starvation,
Aids/HIV, Malaria, TB, homelessness and unknown sickness, due to the political,
economic and social injustice exercised against the Afar people by TPLF/EPRDFF.
Today, about 45% of Afar people are displaced in the name of Sugar Cane Project.
Approximately, 72% of the Afar livestock have died because of so called Sugar Cane Development Project. Additionally, about 48% of Afar pastoralists have lost their
traditional grazing land and resources because of the same project consequences.
People say that the Sugar Cane Project has already increased poverty, unknown
diseases, massive displacement and huge settlements.
The TPLF dominated Sate of Afar’s Authority has failed to fulfill its constitutional,
political, social and moral responsibly. For example, today, there is no One Single
Referral General Hospital in the whole region. There is no One Single Medical Clinic
to test and treat Aids/HIV affected patients. People have no access to information, due to lack of communication facilities in the State, such as (Radio, Telecommunication, TV, Newspapers, Public Libraries, and networking facilities, while there are sufficient funds to use for Community Development Projects. It is publicly reported that at the end of each financial year of Ethiopia, Millions of unused Funds are returned back from the State of Afar to the State of Tigray, while unlimited number of Afar people are dying, everyday, due to lack of food, lack of decent health care, lack of clean drinking water and homelessness. For instance, people like Tadesse Behe and Yonas Adaye (2007) say that there are also allegations of corruption and the misuse of funds in the region. There are signs of mal-administration in which employment, education andtraining opportunities are only available to party members they added.
UN Report 2002 indicates that about 98% of directorial, managerial, advisors, technicians and engineers positions in the State of Afar are all occupied by non-Afar speaking people. Similarly, 2006, Research from local Organisation states that about 99% of Scholarships and Training Opportunities available in the State of Afar are given to non-Afar speaking students
All advisors and expertise are all Tigreans ex-Cabinet Member of the Afar State said. Afar 2000 ALF Report indicates that people are not entitled to get Loan and Business Grants from Banks. Meanwhile, Regional Health Bureau Officer of the Sate of Afar said in 2008 Health Bureau Meeting took place in Aysaita said that about 92% of Afars are illiterate and the vast majority of rural communities have no access to education at all. Similarly, about 96% of them have no access to proper medical health care. German based Afar Forum
Conference took place in Belgium in 2008 indicates that about 2- 4 % have access to health care.
Besides, the TPLF ruled Regional Authorities of the State of Afar are also practiced marginalisation and discriminatory policy against their people some Afar tribes and peoples in order to achieve their political objectives.
The Afar people say that the TPLF dominated Afar Regional State Authority has totally failed to address the basic human needs and necessity of the Afar people, like Food, Water, Cloth, Housing, Education and Health. The Region is ruled by groups affiliated with the TPLF. The dominant group Afar People’s Democratic Party (APDP) is affiliated with the Ethiopia’s ruling Party TPLF/EPRDF. It is common acknowledge that the following group, like Ismali Ali Siro, Mohamed Kadir known as Anbata, Abdo Bulgari and Seyoum Awal are basically adopted and fostered children by TPLF’s Weyzaro Tekette Yohannes. The evidence suggest that this group and Mohamoda Ahmed Gaas are together promoting and facilitating the TPLF s 1976 political manifesto that calls the division of the Afar region between the Tigray Region – TPLF’s Republic of Greater Tigray and other three Regional States of Ethiopia.
The TPLF’s 1976 Political Manifesto states that (b) The geographic boundaries of Tigray extend to the borders of the Sudan including the lands of Humera and Welkait from the region of Begemidir in Ethiopia, the land defined by Alewuha which extends down to the regions of Wollo and including Alamata, Ashengie, and Kobo, and Eritrean Kunama, the Saho and Afar lands including Assab.
Since 1991, the TPLF regime has been tirelessly working hard to implement this programme by developing many different programmes and strategies, such as Settlement Programme in Awash- Saburre Area in zone 3, to settle 150.000, and 350.000, in zone 1, together emigrant worker form Tigray to Afar region will reach to 1.5 Million people at the end of 2012. This project is now reached its second stage of development. The so called Sugar Cane Project will lead the Afar society to horrific and severe dramatic change both demographically, socially, politically, economically and culturally.
Politically, the Afar people in Ethiopia are still underrepresented in the Federal Government, Parliament, the House of Representative, Ministerial Departments and Diplomatic Missions of Ethiopia. It is strongly believed that the Afar Regional State Authorities are unable to manage their own political, economic, social, educational and health affairs freely and independently as the constitution provided, due to TPLF direct interference in the domestic affairs of the State of Afar. Today, there is no one single effective Political Opposition Party in the Afar Region. The so called ARDUF leader Mohamoda Ahmed Gaas instead of addressing the POLITICAL DEMAND of the Afar people, he committed to destroying and dismantling the political, military, economic, social and organizational infrastructures of the Afar Ugugumo and the Afar people alike in order to achieve his political goals.
Mohamoda Ahmed Gaas is responsible for all destruction and damage happened to the Afar society. He is the most WANTED CRIMINAL No 1 by the Afar Movement. In the Afar region, the federal system is inactive and just symbolic, because of TPLF interference in the Afar State affairs.
For example, recently Dr. Berhanu G. Balcha said that the implication is that the ethnic federal arrangement has been used by the TPLF in order to extend its authority beyond its own territory in order to make the Tigrayan elite a dominant
political and economic force in the Ethiopian state.
INSECURITY: Conflicts between the Afar people and their neighbouring peoples are dramatically intensifying, due to TPLF’s inability to find a peaceful solution to end this problem. The situation in Afar region is becoming more and more unstable
(Ethioguardian.com 2009).
Regionally, Sine 1991, the TPLF’s regime has been engaged in unjustifiable, illegal and senseless war against the neighbouring countries, like Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia.
In relation to this NATIONAL MEMORIAL INSTITUTE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TERRORISM (MIPT stats that the group led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has amplified systematic ethnic cleansing by killing women, children, torturing and burning villages while facilitating tribal and ethnic conflicts in neighboring countries such as Sudan and Somali.
Nationally, Meles led regime has also intentionally and deliberately committed crimes against his own people in different regions of Ethiopia.
The State Department Report lists Crimes Against Humanity committed by Ato Meles regime i.e. unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition groups; police and judicial corruption; detention without charge and illegal searches.
Today, the US State
Department, UK, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other Human
Rights Organisations are fully aware about the atrocities committed by Meles regime
against his own people in the country. Consequently, today lives of the people of
Ethiopia are at serious risk and endanger.
POLICY
Afar Movement (AM) is obliged to implement all possible and available means and options to liberate the Afar people from TPLF/EPRDF led doctorial regime.
We call upon all oppressed nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia to forge
national unity and to co-ordinate national liberation in order to liberate our people and
nations form Meles tyranny regime to gratify the legitimate aspiration of the people of
Ethiopia.
AFAR MOVEMENT (AM) should like to take this opportunity to call upon international community, human rights organisations and peace loving people globally to put pressure on the Meles regime to respect human rights, democratic principles, to be governed by the rule of law, to respect the unreserved freedom of speech, freedom to assembly, association, to release of all political prisoners and ensure that the practice of arbitrary arrest and unfair trials shall come to an end in Ethiopia, etc
VICTORY TO THE AFAR PEOPLE
MAYSO QAFAR UMMATTAH IIMI
MAYSO QAFAR UGUUGUMOOH IIMI
VICTORY TO THE AFAR MOVEMENT
CONTACT: AFAR02@HOTMAIL.COM