HENOK MERHATSIDK 1.pdf - Addis Ababa University

officials, it was fighting with EPRP (Ethiopian people Revolutionary party), and the EPLF
and ELF were in advance to control Asmara.
Having this opportunity, Somalia invaded Ethiopia and won temporarily. The Derg embraced
socialism as an ideology and convinced the USSR and Cuba that the revolution was going as
they wanted. Therefore, USSR provided very generous military support and Cubans send
their military to fight for Ethiopian ‘infant socialist revolution’. The Ethiopian government
chased out the Somali army from its territory. However, the Ogaden region remained a
conflict ridden zone during Derg time, because Said Barre was arming insurgent groups in
the area and Derg also retaliated by arming Bare’s oppositions 4 (Clapham, 1984: 228).
The coming of EPRDF in Ethiopian political landscape in the year 1991 appeared a best
chance for Ogaden because EPRDF adopted the Transitional Charter that granted freedom of
Nation, Nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia and their right of self rule. In the early periods
of the Transitional periods, ONLF was satisfied with the new government’s position on the
autonomy of ethnic communities, later on the ONLF insisted on the agenda of secession
according to article 39 of the constitution. 5 This claim was sour relation between EPRDF and
ONLF. The capital city of SRS changed to Gigiga, from Gode, self administration is not
allowed. 6 There are also other factors, for the continuity of conflict in the Ogaden area.
According to Abdiwasa, “ the long term structural factors or causal variables that give rise to
certain effects, which then create conditions, conducive for, actors and or communities, to
engage in conflicts might covered for a while or it could be long standing”, when favorable
atmosphere created ,it can be erupted. That is why instability, civil unrest has been the
defining features of the Somali Region:
Political violence involving the federal government army, regional security
forces, ONLF rebels and clan militias has long history in the Ethiopian
Somali Region. Recurrent humanitarian crises triggered by droughts foods,
conflict and population displacement have haunted the eastern part of the
country for several decades. The situation received much greater
international attention with the recent, ONLF attack on the Chinese oil field
in Degehabur in April 2007(Abdiwasa, 2008).
4 See Appendix six for more information.
5 Interview with Abdilwasa Abdilhi, Instructor at AAU in PSIR Department on December, 2010.
6 Interview with Abdlwasa Abdilhi, Instructor at AAU in PSIR Department on December, 2010.
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