SLF: Statement on Hawassa (Looqe) Massacre, 6th
Anniversary.
Six years ago, on the bright morning of May 24 2002,
Sidama people of Hawassa and it’s environ started on their daily walk of
life. However there was a planned peaceful demonstration for the day.
Many employees and students had already taken a day-off
from their work or school, farmers called off their farm activities, and
business people believed it was important day to join others to oppose the
arrogantly formulated policy that angered the whole people of Sidama
nation.
As the day progressed, the people of all ages, class
and gender came in mass and gathered at looqe suburb, of Hawassa
city; unaware of what the vicious regime has planned for them on this
beautiful sunny day. They marched in unison towards Hawassa revolution
square or abiyot adebabay, where the demonstration was going to
wind up later hours of the day. The Sidamas were using their inalienable
right during this demonstration by expressing their outrage and anger that
the government utterly miffed them by introducing the plan to relocate
Sidama administration from Hawassa city which is their birth right.
Thus, they hoped the outcome would bring peaceful
solution and towards this end the demonstration was carefully planned:
Placards were carefully designed, provocative recitations were avoided,
flags and olive leaves which signal peace were held high. Nonetheless,
the whole scenario was only short lived; all of a sudden, bullets were
sprayed upon them by government’s rapid response army just after the
demonstration has moved very short distance from their starting venue. In
the blink of an eye, the lives of many changed instantly.
This savagery action of government that claimed around
100 innocent Sidama people wasn’t mere incident, nor was it a result of
civil disobedience in which local police force and rioters collided, as
government alleges. But the demonstration was based on the people’s
audacious belief on supreme law of the country enshrined in the
constitution in article 30 that states that, “to assemble, to demonstrate
together with others peacefully unarmed, and to petition the government.”
The whole plan of the day was in perfect concord with this article.
In the absence of moral equivalence, however, the day’s event played out
otherwise. It was an open secret that the government committed crime
against the Sidama people, even though, the government flatly tried to
blunt the truth using it’s shameful and often repeated denial and usual
fabrication.
A day before the massacre, on May 23, an ad-hoc meeting
was held in the regional head office in Hawassa that consisted
unexpectedly extraneous officials in term of urgency, rank and space (of
which many clandestine details yet to be investigated and documented).
Except a few who later paid heavy price for their refusal, all agreed on
one point: not only to quash the demonstration but also to pass
never-again lesson that go beyond Hawassa.
However, in the way they didn’t wish, it ended up telling the world
community that its code of communication is all but violence that had been
injected into TPLF’s very political veins.
Six years on, justice is not served; nor has an
independent inquiry been conducted. Weeks that followed the massacre,
peace loving world community from all corners of the world lined up to
condemn the government for killing its own people. To cite just one
example, Peter Takirambudde of Human Rights Watch described his dismay as
“There is simply no excuse for shooting into crowds of civilians.”
However, the government that already had perfected in making excuses,
tried hard to divert course of justice. Instead of establish an
independent inquiry, it set up the so-called internal inquiry lead by the
vice president of the Southern Regional State, the official who himself
apparently implicated in the scheme, only to underscore the involvement of
government at higher level. The finding of it not even publicized.
Thenceforth, the aphorism, “if you can’t pretty yourself successfully,
dirty the other guy,” come into play politically. For the
government’s fiasco, innocent individuals had to pay the price.
Accordingly, many lost their jobs and ended up being destitute, many have
languished in jails for years, and many lives disappeared without trace.
Many voices that advocated for justice seemed to have been muted.
Given the reckless way this crime committed,
indiscriminately and deliberately firing live ammunition into the peaceful
mass, killing over hundred people at once, Looqe massacre is not alone; it
is one of the saddest episodes in Ethiopia’s recent history under current
regime. Reminiscences of Looqe massacre have occurred at Tepi, Oromia,
Gambella, Addis-Ababa, Ogaden etc.
To date, the regime saddled with incompetence,
corruption, turpitude and gun obsession, stepped up its belligerence even
beyond borders like Somalia and Eritrea. The whole country remains under
siege of fear and intimidation, the livelihood of the millions is worst
off, the government that affords to pay millions of dollars to mega
lobbyists in USA and Europe is not willing to help its needy people. By
now it is naïve realism to expect any fairness from the regime that have
wronged all along. Time has proved that Zenawi’s government would not
yield on any issues unless absolutely forced to do so.
Every lost life was precious and was not in vain. They
have passed the torch of freedom to us and it is our moral obligation to
not to discontinue the journey. Also the lives of victim’s spouses,
children, siblings, and parents have been changed forever, their pains and
emotions are still fresh, but on this 6th anniversary we make
sure and we want them to know that we continue to stand with their aim.
And most importantly, we must summon a vision of hope for Ethiopian people
where all people have freedom to live in peace.
Finally, we believe that peace loving world community
stand on our side, we have no scintilla of doubt that time will come
sooner than later so that the worst human rights violators shall stand
before court of justice for their heinous crimes.
ETERNAL PEACE AND HONOR TO LOOQE VICTIMS!!
Sidama Liberation Front (SLF)
May 24 2008