‘Today critics are free’: President of Somali region in Ethiopia pledges to promote human rights, free speech

By The Star Staff Writer

MOGADISHU – President-elect of the Somali region in Ethiopia, whose inhabitants endured decades of systematic abuses by previous administrations, has in his first speech on Thursday pledged to promote justice, human rights and freedom of speech in the underdeveloped territory.

Mustafa Muhumed Omer’s promises, which were unthinkable just a few months ago in Ethiopia, demonstrate how far the Somali region in Ethiopia has moved on since federal forces ousted strongman Abdi Mohamed Omar, whose administration committed egregious violations of human rights in the area.

Omer’s ascent to power also underscores the stunning reversal of fortune for the former leader who since 2010 bestrode the Somali region like a colossus but now reportedly lives under house arrest in Addis Ababa, the capital. Omar was accused of ordering the killing of the new president’s brother. The two leaders share the same last name, but they’re not related.

“One of my first agendas is human rights, to first do something about it,” the new leader, Omer, 45, told a small congregation in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where members of the ruling party Ethiopian Somali People’s Democratic Party, or ESPDP, elected him a day earlier to serve as the president of the Somali region in Ethiopia until 2020 elections.

“It’s important that we forgive each other. It’s important that we forget what happened in the past. But It’s also important for the victims to feel that they’re a part of the society,” he said, noting that “justice” will be one of his priorities.

The current changes taking place in the Somali region are a part of the ongoing broader reforms in Ethiopia that are being spearheaded by the 41-year-old prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, who since coming to power in April this year abolished much of the repressive tactics employed by Ethiopia’s previous administrations.

Prime Minister Ahmed’s administration has airlifted the Somali region’s ousted ruler, Omer, to Addis Ababa, and authorities haven’t so far released any information about him.

“I will not be a dictator who plays by his own rules,” the new leader, Omer, said. “Every level of the government will be free to do its job. The decision will be taken collectively, not individually. That will save me from committing mistakes. It will save you too.”

The new leader’s election in Addis Ababa on Wednesday illustrated the depth of interference by the Ethiopian government in the internal affairs of the Somali region that is yet to fully benefit from Ahmed’s reforms in the country.

On the one hand, Prime Minister Ahmed sent the federal army earlier this month to Jigjiga, the Somali region’s capital, to dismantle the territory’s government and topple its leader, sparking a bloody confrontation that killed dozens of people and destroyed properties, including churches. But, on the other hand, he made a conscious effort not to interfere in any of the other regional states in the country, especially in the Tigrayan region, whose leaders openly challenged his plan to give up Badame town and return it to Eritrea that claimed its ownership. President Mulatu Teshome of Ethiopia has also awarded the former army chief, Samora Yenus, who was an ally of the ousted Somali leader, Ethiopia’s highest military medal in recognition for his service.

The ethnic Somalis living in Ethiopia — whose region is known both as Western Somalia and Ogaden — never voluntarily accepted Addis Ababa’s rule since the 19th century, when the British government handed over their territory to Ethiopia.

Somalia and Ethiopia went to war over the area 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.

Although Addis Ababa didn’t issue official statements on the new leader, yet it’s clear that Omer wouldn’t have been elected president without its consent.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed met with Somali representatives in Addis Ababa early Friday, said Fitsum Arega, the premier’s chief of staff.

“The participants urged action on justice. The PM while appreciating their patience, he also underscored the primacy of tolerance, dialogue and the rule of law,” he tweeted.

In a Facebook message after that meeting, Omer wrote that his administration would “revolutionize” politics in the Somali region and “defeat reactionary ideas with better ideas.”

“It is a good feeling to know that our people has started to express their feelings freely without fear of persecution,” he wrote. “This is what we fought for and yes we need plenty of dissent and disagreement to advance as a society!”

Omer said critics wouldn’t be criminalized or harassed or arrested for their opinions because his administration wouldn’t “be intimidated by criticism or lament.”

“We will also focus on the freedom of speech. I was one of those who wrote a lot and liked the freedom of speech,” he said on Thursday. “I am today ready to increase that group’s freedom.”

The new leader said Western bloggers earn money by criticizing their leaders’ behavior, looks and statements.

“Today critics are free” to criticize me, he said to a thunderous laughter from the audience. “You can talk about anything.” But he added that his administration wouldn’t allow critics to incite violence or dishonor religion or traditional values.

“Everything else is a fair game,” he said, including himself.

“The government won’t say you dishonored the reputation of the president,” he said. “You’re aware that in Africa that is an arrestable (offensive). The President is like anyone else. Like you, he can be slandered and criticized. I want you to know that.”

In a lighter note, the new president made fun of himself by saying that since one of his predecessors was nicknamed “monocular” or one-eyed and his own sobriquet was “the son of the one-legged,” people could wonder: “Where are those with no missing legs and eyes.”