ONLF, a Somali separatist group, and Ethiopian government reach peace deal

By The Star Staff Writer

MOGADISHU – The Ethiopian government and the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a separatist group fighting for the self-determination of the Somali region in Ethiopia, have agreed to end decades of hostilities and address the “root causes” of conflict between the two sides.

The geopolitical significance of the resources-rich Somali region – also known as Ogaden – has been increasing since Ethiopia officially began in June to extract natural gas from the territory, whose reserves are at about 8 trillion cubic feet. Addis Ababa expects to earn about $7 billion a year once production reaches full capacity.

“The two sides have reached a historical agreement regarding the political rights of the people from (the) #Somali Regional State and genuinely addressing the root causes of the conflict between ONLF and the Ethiopian” government, said ONLF in a Twitter message on Sunday.

The Ethiopian delegation, which included Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and the president of the Somali region Mustafe Muhumed Omer, was led by Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu, while Adm. Mohamed Omar Osman, the head of ONLF, led the rebel group’s team that included Abdirahman Mahdi and Ahmed Yassin Abdi, the secretary general and foreign secretary respectively.

The two parties — whose officials met on Sunday in the Eritrean capital, Asmara — also agreed “to establish a joint committee to further discuss substantive issues pertaining to the root causes of the conflict in the (Somali) region through continuous engagement inside the country.”

The agreement between Addis Ababa and ONLF came after the latter announced a “unilateral ceasefire” on Aug. 12 following Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s call on armed groups in the country to resolve their differences with Addis Ababa through peaceful means.

Ethiopia treated ONLF as a terrorist organization until last August, when Addis Ababa removed it along with the Oromo Liberation Front and Ginbot 7 from the list of proscribed groups.

ONLF has since 1984 been advocating for the rights of ethnic Somalis in Ethiopia to self-determination.

Representatives from ONLF and Ethiopian government officials have been holding intermittent peace talks in recent years in neighboring Kenya, but they made little headway in narrowing their core differences. ONLF always argued that the Somali region had “never been historically or politically part of Ethiopia” and therefore should be allowed to secede, while Addis Ababa wanted the territory to remain under its control.

ONLF says the struggle for the region’s self-determination is based on the Somali people’s “rejection of the unauthorized disposition of their territory by the British Government; and subsequently on their constant appeals to obtain the right of self determination based on the principle that the people of Ogaden alone reserve the right to determine their political future.”

But it now seems that ONLF has softened its stance and possibly dropped its objection to recognize the Ethiopian constitution, a flashpoint between the two sides in past discussions, with Ethiopian officials insisting that ONLF must accept the federal charter before serious peace negotiations could be started.

“ONLF shall pursue its political objectives through peaceful means, with the assurance the FDRE (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) will respect and uphold the provisions of its constitution,” the two parties said in a joint statement.

Since coming to power in April, Ethiopia’s new reformist Prime Minister Ahmed has raised hopes that a peaceful settlement could be found for the long-running conflict in the eastern part of the country.

On Sept. 19, Ethiopian officials and ONLF representatives held peace talks in neighboring Eritrea and agreed to “work together peacefully to promote and protect the interest of the people of the Somali region.”

The current Ethiopian constitution gives every ethnic group the “right to self-determination, including secession”  — if local lawmakers approve by a two-thirds majority of the secession demand. Then the Ethiopian government has to organize a referendum within three years, and if the vote is supported by a majority of the concerned people, the federal government has to transfer its power to the seceding people’s parliament. National assets will be divided according to the law.

For decades, the Somali region in Ethiopia — also known as Western Somalia — has been technically a war-zone, with the Ethiopian forces committing egregious human rights abuses in the area. The ethnic Somalis living in the region have never voluntarily accepted Ethiopia’s rule since the 19th century, when the British government handed over the territory to Ethiopia.

Somalia and Ethiopia went to war over the oil- and gas-rich territory several times, most notably in 19977, when Somali forces briefly retook the region before Ethiopians pushed them back with the help of the Soviet Union and soldiers from Cuba.

The Somalia government has not officially renounced the territory, whose dispute still remains unresolved despite the relatively good relationship between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa. Ethiopian troops are a part of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

ONLF rejects the notion that its conflict with Ethiopia is “a dispute between the Republic of Somalia and Ethiopia.”