It is very sad and heartbreaking for the Somali region diaspora living in Belgium to witness H.E. Mr. Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, awarding a recognition for Mr. Ahmed Gaas who directly (through intensive online hate speech campaign) participated in the killing, looting, and destruction of civilians in western Sitti zone, Somali region.
Thus, we would like to express our strong reaction about this inappropriate reward for someone spreading hate, deportation and violence of fellow Ethiopians.
Mr. Ahmed Gaas is linked to inciting hate, ethnic cleansing and the ongoing war on Somali-Issa people in the western Sitti zone (Garba-Isse, Undhufo and Aydayti localities) along the Djibouti-Addis Ababa commercial road.
He has been actively campaigning for forceful displacement and promoting violence against civilians who are living in their historical and homeland. The loss of lives of hundreds of Garba-Issa women, men and children, and forceful displacement of thousands, and the total torching of the town on 24 July 2021 was orchestratedand celebrated by warmongers like Mr. Ahmed Gaas.
He appears at least once a week on various Facebook pages (https://www.facebook.com/AfarTelevision, etc.) to perform abhorrent remarks and hate speeches towards the entire Somali-Issa law abiding community in Ethiopia.
Seeing H. E. Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister, giving an award to Mr Ahmed Gaas could mislead and encourage violence and mistrust among nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia. The acknowledgment of Mr. Ahmed Gaas without checking his anti-peace track record disappointed and created dissatisfaction & bitterness among the Somali region’s civil societies and diaspora across the world.
Mr Ahmed Gaas is pushing his online hate speech towards his fellow Somali-Issa Ethiopians to the next level by appealing even for the upheaval of Afar community in Djibouti, something that may lead to diplomatic difficulties with a neighboring country with which Ethiopia shares so much friendly cultural, social and economic ties. (Video available).
We believe that disputed and contested land issues within Ethiopia should be resolved as per the country’s constitution in respect of people’s will and their direct involvement. Our people in the western Sitti zone experienced heinous crimes against them for decades. They have been deprived of their constitutional right to live, vote and get basic services in their language despite being on the same land for centuries.
After the unconstitutional handover of Adayti, Garba-Isse & Undhufo to the Afar region administration in 2014, western Sitti zone (Somali region) faced brutal slaughter from Afar special police forces & Ugugumo militiamen under the shadow of the Tigray war specifically the last two years. We urge an immediate return to their homes for forcefully displaced Somali-Issa congested IDP camps such as Aska, Qaraf, Badhiweyn and Garbaad who are under catastrophic humanitarian conditions with little support from the regional & federal governments as well as international organizations.
At the critical juncture of the Pretoria peace agreement that ended the war in the Northern part of the country, we hope that all misunderstandings and claims will be addressed peacefully and justice will prevail for victims to restore truth and reassure equal citizenship for all.
We also believe that hate speech professionals like Ahmed Gaas will have their credentials double checked in the future to avoid embarrassments to Ethiopia’s internal and foreign policy.
