The Ethiopia’s Human Rights Council (EHRC) 146th Special Report of January 2nd 2019 Reveals Yet another Ethiopia-wide anti-Sidama Conspiracy?
January 04 2019
Background
Days leading to and following the Sidama New Year known as ‘Fichchee’ 2018 whose following festivity day is called ‘Camballala’, there has been series of carefully planned, meticulously crafted and professionally stage-managed unrests in Sidama land of Hawassa and its environs. The incident has involved the Sidama people and Wolayta who live in Sidama land. The Sidama nation celebrated its Fichchee since time immemorial in a very peaceful manner. Therefore, the nation during these festive periods, never violate the rights of individuals, animal, the other nature and natural order let alone killing mankind whose lives the Sidama believes to be venerated.
The Sidama Fichchee is also a venerated date of the year where grievances are culturally resolved and the nation comes together to cement its national unity and peacefulness in such culturally acceptable manner to be able to welcome its Fichchee with new spirit and forgiveness without keeping any psychological and spiritual impurity to take it with them to the new year. Doing so will be always assured by the Sidama’s distinguished elders commonly known as ‘Cimmyee’ who are given such statuses based on their longstanding credibility resulting from their hard work for their community, practically demonstrated honesty and integrity for national cause of the nation. Such groups of Sidama leaders never forgive their own son if he transgresses the accepted norms indicated above. This being the Sidama’s deep seated beliefs and identity, the vilification of the Sidama nation with demonising allegation based on fabrications and made-up stories is nothing, but meticulously planned Sidama subjugating conspiracy of anti-Sidama elements.
The Culprits behind the Unsettling incident of June 2018 During the Sidama Fichchee
There are credible evidences that, there has been deliberate attempt of anti-Sidama and anti-current reform elements who opposed to current PM Dr Abiy Ahmed’s reform agenda; to instigate full scale war in Sidama land for three main objectives although not exclusive:-
1. To sabotage the new PM Dr Abiy Ahmed’s move from dictatorship to fair and all-inclusive political system. Those who opposed to his fast move have pretty unsettled the former barbaric rulers. Therefore, some of these groups with Deheden cadres and Sidama quislings gathered in Hawassa a week or two before the Sidama Fichchee 2018 to instigate war in Sidama land using the Sidama Fichchee as an excuse. With this objective in mind, the evidence proves that they have crafted what to do, how to do, when to do including planning a Media coverage as the incident takes place. The Sidama nation was unaware of such malicious preparations until the Sidama youth were attacked by the organised criminal gang well-armed and prepared for causing maximum damage to the Sidama nation.
2. Blocking the Sidama’s plan to push with their quest for a regional self-rule. They aim to cause mayhem by using specially prepared groups of people and put the blame on Sidama nation so that the Sidama could be occupied by the national army and stop its ambition of becoming regional state…mainly.
3. Unionists who aspire maintaining their grip over the Sidama land whilst the Sidama people are kept at bay always shown sign of anti-Sidama tendency with the rest of elites who are always prepared to do whatever they can to inflict pain on Sidama whilst benefiting from its wealth and resources.
EHRC Report is sham and partisan that seriously violates the rights of the Sidama nation
The death of innocent Sidama and Wolayta people during the June 2018 conflict in Sidama land and in Wolayta Sodo is regrettable that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The Sidama people were deliberately killed in various places including the two girls who were thrown from the third floor of Sodo Agricultural College where they were undertaking their studies. None of these were included in the indicated EHRC’s sham report of January 02, 2019. As indicated above, we know who has been behind these meticulously masterminded anti-Sidama plots whose goal is instigating full scale war with further malicious intent. About 32 or 34 people were unnecessarily murdered from the civilians of both nations, and the damage has been incalculable. We deeply regret for the loss of lives from both Sidama and Wolayta nations.
However, there has been clear evidences indicating that there have been well-organised preparations from the anti-Sidama elements that has involved Wolayta elites from Ethiopia up to Washington DC to cause havoc in Sidama and put blame on unsuspecting Sidama nation by using various Medias including South TV, where commissioner Fiseha Garedew’s wife leads Sidama blackmailing campaign and anti-Sidama unionist Media such infamous ESAT that is to date engaged in Sidama demonising propaganda with focus on Sidama capital Hawassa.
Therefore, the report of Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) is totally one sided and seems to be engaged in causing other conflicts in Sidama land. Furthermore, disguised in the name of Ethiopia, these groups who call themselves EHRC seem to be working for those who have planned, executed and monitored the Sidama’s indicated conflict. There are further ample evidences indicating the report is inadequate, partisan and full of deliberately calculated objectives with misconceived interpretation of the Sidama nation’s part of reality.
Some of key flaws of the report are:
1. The report indicates that all its evidences are based on anecdotal narratives of one side. The reality is not independently investigated; the results are tested and proved.
2. Ironically, the report explains the identity of people who were impacted in Oromo or Gedeo with their names, ethnic origins and addresses. But on Sidama and Wolayta matters, the EHRC’s sham report deliberately omitted these key requirements to mislead the peoples of Ethiopia and the government at large simply because the crime is wholly ascribed to the Sidama youth, which is wrong.
3. The report emphasises that Video evidences were used. But it doesn’t answer who has planned to record the videos? Who has access to the areas where conflicts took place to record the incident? If these are the case, there must be preparations before the conflicts in order to gather evidences? The report must have investigated further to find out how these were addressed.
4. Some of government officials were contacted, the report says. Who were those government officials? Wolayta or Sidama? Who were their names? The Wolayta officials were officially claiming that the Sidama people have killed their people thus were internationally campaigning to demonise and ultimately di-register the Sidama Fichchee from the UNESCO’s intangible heritages registry in addition to full scale national and international online blackmailing campaign.
5. Limitation in the aspect of human, financial and expertise has been highlighted. If so, the report becomes incomplete and haphazardly.
6. The writers of the report seem to be alien to the Sidama area in particular hence bring some inaccurate names of victims. Why? Who were these writers?
7. The Sidama victims (who are actually the majority >65%) were all considered as Wolayta victims to mislead the peoples of Ethiopia and beyond. Some of the Sidama victims were not recorded at all. This shows that this is well planned plot against the Sidama nation.
8. EHRC’s report generalises as the Sidama youth are the ones who undertook the killing although this is a simple fabrication far from the truth.
9. The amount of money that has been reported seems to be excessively exaggerated. For example, 500,000,000 (five hundred Million) doesn’t look to be true.
10. The conflict has been deliberately linked with Sidama’s peaceful Fichchee with objectives indicated above.
11. All deaths and wounded casualties in Shamana market (at the same time of the June conflict) by hand grenade thrown to crowded market by a Wolyta person assigned by commissioner Fiseha Garedew were totally ignored by EHRC.
Finally, the EHRC’s report is partisan, sham and unprofessional that is aspired to cause further conflicts in Sidama land for which the reporter EHRC will be sole responsible. Furthermore, the report also lacks independence and fairness hence credibility therefore the Sidama nation see it as war declared on its national interest. We urge the EHRC to take urgent and corrective measure after immediately and officially apologising to the Sidama nation whom the report hast deliberately demonised and caused character assassination.
The Sidama nation knows who are behind these shameful plots and would like the Ethiopia’s new EPRDF’s government to request urgent removal of the report and demand an explanation as to why this has happened. The Sidama nation takes this report seriously, thus we kindly but firmly demand the government to take the necessary corrective measure as soon as possible.
