In 2007, with the backing of the U.S. government – which considers Zenawi an ally in the war on terror – Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia,
to the east of Ogaden. A UN-backed transitional government friendly to
Ethiopia took over early this year, although it faces resistance from jihadist Muslims and has been unable to contain pirates based on its
shores.
Investigate West
By Alexander Kelly
COPENHAGEN – Deafening chants rocked the entrance to the conference
center where negotiators tried to piece together a global treaty to
fight climate change today – chants that shed light on the intricate
nature of the talks and the difficulty of concluding a deal.
As 130 heads of state took their place at the negotiating table, just
hours before the talks were scheduled to come to a close, the cries
outside came largely from Ogadenians, people from a southeastern
territory in Ethiopia, 3,600 miles from Denmark. They made their way to
Copenhagen to tell United Nations leaders not to negotiate a climate
deal with an alleged génocidaire.
That would be Meles Zenawi, prime minister of Ethiopia. Months ago, he
was appointed as the African Union’s spokesman for the final days of the
UN climate talks. Now, as he appears to be willing to accept less than
most Africans want from the industrialized North out of a climate
finance deal, many – including the Ogadenians outside – are calling for
his removal from power as top-level negotiator.
“This is death to millions of Africans,” Mithika Mwenda of Pan-African
Climate Justice Alliance said in a prepared statement. “If Prime
Minister Meles (Zenawi) wants to sell out the lives and hopes of
Africans for a pittance, he is welcome to. But that is not Africa’s
position.”
The rift among Africans calls into question whether most countries on
the continent will be willing to live by the terms of whatever agreement
is reached here. (Update: Late today news broke that President Obama has
worked out a deal with China, India, Brazil and South Africa. Presumably
those countries to will try to sell the plan to others overnight. The
climate talks have been extended by at least one day.)
Outside the Bella Center, where the climate talks are going on, it was
difficult counting all the African protesters rallying behind a flags in
bright blue, green, red and yellow representing the Ogaden National
Liberation Front and Oromo Liberation Front.*
The protesters warned that the money funneled into Africa to fight
climate change will likely be used to strengthen Zenawi’s campaigns
against Ogadenian resistance to his leadership.
“The Western world… their money is being used to buy weapons and kill
people,” said a man from Ogaden named Abdurahman.
“We are suffering from climate change,” said a boy named Nemarra. “Of
course the people are suffering, and also we truly need money to be
compensated, because our people are dying . . . but he needs the money
for another purpose.”
The charges of genocide relate to actions of Zenawi’s army in Ogaden,
which borders Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti and is populated largely by
ethnic Somalians. Ethiopia and Somalia for decades disputed ownership of
the land, until Somalia’s government fell apart and it descended into
lawlessness in 1991. Ogaden is also known as the Somali Regional State.
In 2007, with the backing of the U.S. government – which considers
Zenawi an ally in the war on terror – Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia,
to the east of Ogaden. A UN-backed transitional government friendly to
Ethiopia took over early this year, although it faces resistance from
jihadist Muslims and has been unable to contain pirates based on its
shores.
Ethiopian troops also have been accused of killings, maimings and rape
in Ogaden. The Ethiopian military is trying to contain the Ogaden
National Liberation Front, which seeks to have Ogaden granted autonomous
status, something like the Kurds in northern Iraq. Over the last half of
the 20th century, various groups also dreamed of uniting Ogaden and
Somalia into “greater Somalia,” although those plans appear moribund
given the current Somali government.
The conflict in Ogaden bears some resemblance to the genocide in Sudan,
Ethiopia’s neighbor to the west**: Both appear to stem at least in part
from climate change. Drought and desertification have been played a role
in the genocide in Sudan. In Ogaden, an unusually long and deep drought
also has figured into the conflict, from what outside observers can find
out. (It’s been difficult and dangerous for reporters from outside
Ethiopia – and sometimes inside the country – to report on Ogaden
because of government interference, according to a 2007 article in
Slate.)
Inside the Bella Center – where the InvestigateWest team finally was
admitted today after two weeks of denials by the United Nations – Zenawi
faced criticism from African environmental and “civil-society” groups
for agreeing to $10 billion a year in aid for Africa, instead of the $67
billion the African nations said they wanted.
Environmentalists and others in an umbrella group that calls itself
African Civil Society released a statement deploring the move, saying it
would “allocate to the industrialized countries . . . atmospheric space
worth more than $10 trillion between now and 2050, denying it to
developing countries, and threatening Africa’s prospects of economic and
social development and the alleviation of poverty.”
Efforts to reach the Ethiopian consulate in Seattle for comment have not
yet been successful. We’ll update this post if we hear back from the
consulate.
* Due to an editing error, this post originally said the protesters were
waving Ethiopia’s national flag. Sorry about that.
** Due to an editing error, this post also originally said Sudan is
north of Ethiopia, although it actually is to the west. Again, our
apologies.
InvestigateWest senior environmental correspondent Robert McClure
contributed to this report.
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