By , August 23, 2011
Repeating its criminal acts against humanity and continually abusing the rights of Sidama people on their own soil since he assumed power in 1991 (being supported by the West to topple another brutal tyrant –‘Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam’ the one who equally mass-murdered 1000s of Sidamas in this particular district); Meles’s regime has once again ordered the assassination of unarmed civilians in their own home, disregarding international covenant on protecting civilians in war field let alone in their own homes whilst asleep. Such an act undoubtedly characterizes such deplorably and barbaric nature of Meles’s tyrant regime!
On the 2nd of August 2011, at exactly 6am local time (Ethiopian), Meles’s regime security forces stormed at the private rural house owned by the Sidama farmer known as ‘Woraqo Worqu’ (Worako Worku -in Amaharic), a 48 years old at ‘Maddo-Muugaa Neqqa’ farmers association in Borricha Erba District, (one of the Sidama’s dismembered districts from pervious 10 to 20 by Meles’s regime for his cadres to be able to control all movements of the Sidama in smaller land masses and administrative apparatuses with direct control from the region as well as federal). Equipped with highly armed security forces –about 83 members of security forces-transported in 4 military vehicles; first from the federal city to the Sidama capital Hawassa, then to this particular village where they surrounded the house of aforementioned farmer to viciously attack them all with live ammunition-while the family was asleep.
The village was shaken and shocked with the excessive noises of shootings that terrorized the entire village’s people in the early morning to leave village’s children deeply traumatized after the aftermaths of the carnage according to an eye witness. The shouting lasted for about 20minutes which resulted in assassination of the following civilians where domestic animals where killed and other people were seriously wounded.
4 oxen that the family uses for agricultural activities; 2 donkeys that the family uses for business and for fetching water from the remotest part in this part of the world where water remains scarce commodity as is everything; 5 goats and three sheep were killed. All animals were killed inside the compound of assassinated family.
Mr Zenawi remains individually responsible for all criminalities that his security forces execute under his rule. He orders the assassination of any political opponent and likely/perceived opponents since he assumed power in 1991; by all means to totally eradicate or silence them. Others were continually intimidated and tortured. Freedom of expression, assembly, association and free movement don’t exist under his rule. Having these all in their own countries, however, Western politicians remain his best buddies. Sadly, the wider western societies are hoodwinked to be kept away from the reality as media often airs the hullaballoo of their politicians. Such western alliance with brutal killers further reveals the collective failure of humanity, democratic values and principles. Several billions of dollars that were given to the Meles’s regime serves the purposes of political repression, suppression, torture and human misery as BBC2-News Night on (06/08/2011) has exposed it:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9556288.stm
Mr Zenawi’s forces not only killed few groups of peoples on various occasions in Sidamaland, he ordered the mass murders of several dozens of Sidama civilians who were non-violently claiming their legitimate and constitutional rights to regional autonomy on the May 24, 2002’s Looqe massacre for which no one held into account. To the dismay of entire Sidamas, democracy loving and enlightened fellow human being; instead of being persecuted for their crimes against humanity, those who have ordered and executed the massacre were promoted to the higher authority status for their barbaric acts against innocent and unarmed civilians as is the case with Oromo, Gambela, Sumali and others. Meles’s regime brutality is not only as relentless and vicious as it was since Meles assumed power, but worsened!
Another irony is that Meles’s regime also has slaughtered over 199 civilians in Addis Ababa in the aftermaths of the May 15, 2005’s rigged election in front of the international diplomats from whom none stood to condemn when vested interests imposes silence by turning them to be oblivious to what was happening in front of their eyes; not to mention the carnage in Gambela- over 2,500 died (2003/4).
Few of the notable examples from dozens of State-sponsored criminals who have ordered the massacre of the Sidama civilians and still remote control the Sidama are today’s foreign affairs minister ‘Hailemariam Desalegn’ and south Ethiopian’s puppet president Shiferaw Shugute both of whom were given their positions for their criminal acts of silencing Sidama people to enable northern settlers to exploit the natural resources of the Sidama nation and entire southern Ethiopians who are fumigated into a pressure cooker known as ‘Southern Ethiopian Nations and Nationalities Regional State’, the system that was established since all nations lost their sovereignty to Minellik’s colonial army in late 1890s that lingers to this date; simply to exploit their natural resources.
As a part of ongoing misery to the Sidamas, Meles Zenawi’s forces once again repeated their utter barbarism by assassinating innocent civilians including children who were just in their beds.
The central (Federal-Meles) government knows everything that is being done in all regions on daily basis. Therefore, he’s personally aware of and responsible for any criminal acts that are conducted. The Sidamas believe that Meles and his henchmen have ordered the massacre of this particular family for two main reasons. The first and foremost is that he wants to silence potential Sidama heroes who are potentially capable of leading resistance movements for the future in all districts; and he wants to scare the Sidama people by killing those who are outspoken for the rights of the Sidama. However, this is not the case as their criminal acts against civilians and children serves to the contrary. Although they can demonstrate, all Sidamas are repulsed and unanimously condemned such cowardly and deplorable act of Meles’s security forces against the civilians- in particular children, a girl and animals.
Secondly, as we have discussed in previous article on the 9th anniversary of the Loqee massacre (on May 23, 2011) in the link below; Meles’s regime uses acts of violence as part of ‘divide and rule’ tactics to please Oromo renegades such as Abadula Gamada ( Minase-Tigrean who pretends to be Oromo to rule over them by hoodwinking entire Oromo nation). The secret behind their plots against both colonized nations (Oromo and Sidama) further goes on. ‘If Oromo and Sidama remain as friends as they usually are, their unity can be serious risk to northerner’s dominance in politico-economic power’; http://www.sidama.org/documents/2011-05-23-sidama-loqee-massacre-9-years-on.pdf , and if both are united to resist Meles’s state sponsored terrorism, their action undoubtedly totally dismantles the foundations of his regime. Therefore, the regime doesn’t leave any stone unturned from instigating unnecessary conflicts between the two brother nations whose fate remains the same. That is why they always mastermind unnecessary conflicts to cause death and destruction from both sides. To implement this, Meles’s regime supports Oromo in three directions of the Sidamaland whilst sponsoring Wolayita nation with federal army to take Sidamaland in another. The over all objectives of such heinous actions of Meles’s regime is to keep Sidamas silent as their resistance (if fruitful) can potentially takes away or reduces all the privileges of exploiting Sidama and southern Ethiopians’ natural resources.
The said Sidama renegades and others federal rulers are individually and collectively ordered the assassination of the civilians that totally contradicts the international law that prohibits doing so. In war zone itself- if people surrender they will not be killed let alone civilians who were asleep in their house with their children where animals and people together were mercilessly slaughtered. The international community must hold Meles’s regime into account for his criminal acts against the Sidama people in general, this family in particular. We demand the urgent indictment of Meles Zenawi by the ICC!
, August 23, 2011 (for SNLO and Sidama Nation Online)