The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) Party in Somali region has issued a statement condemning actions by Ethiopian authorities in the Somali Regional State, claiming these measures violate both “constitutional rights” and “the 2018 peace agreement” between the ONLF and the Ethiopian government.
In the statement, released on September 18, 2024, the ONLF alleges that “Somali elders, women, and other community members have been paraded on television, coerced into humiliating themselves by denying their Somali identity.”
The group also reports that authorities are “arresting individuals over rumors that the name and flag of the Somali State will be changed.”
This announcement follows an earlier appeal by elders from the Somali Regional State, who cautioned that “external forces” could destabilize the area and urged Somalis to “avoid involvement in a conflict that does not concern them.”
The ONLF warns that these events are occurring amid increasing tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia. The organization further cautions that martial law could soon be imposed, as the situation in the Somali Regional State becomes increasingly militarized.
The ONLF’s statement references Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution, which outlines the right of Ethiopian nations to self-determination. According to the ONLF, “The Ethiopian state must uphold the principle of equality for all its citizens, without any one group monopolizing power at the expense of others.”
The ONLF demands that the Ethiopian government “respect the constitutional rights of the Somali people and honor the terms of the peace agreement,” calling for immediate action.
Failure to do so, the group warns, “risks further destabilization and threatens the hard-won peace in the region.”
Previously, Field Marshal Berhanu Jula, Chief of the General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), was accused of making “provocative statements.” The ONLF “strongly condemned” these remarks.
The ONLF’s statement references a video aired on Ethio-Forum on September 8, 2024, in which Field Marshal Berhanu reportedly described the ONLF as an Egyptian-created “enemy of the Ethiopian state.”
The ONLF denounced these alleged remarks, calling them “unfounded” and “a blatant attack on the integrity and legality of the ONLF as a recognized political party.”