Sidama: 14th Year Approaching Without Sidama’s Loqqee Massacre Victims Receiving Justice.

November 22, 2015 Ethiopia, Human Rights

By Denboba Natie | November 22, 2015

The Abyssinian history and that of its 135 years old Empire has been stitched together by lies and cover-ups, false and obdurate mantras of 3000 years nonsensical politics, political assassinations including their own siblings for power, false flag and unity, deceptions and manipulations of their subjects under various slogans, dictating assimilationist ideology and preaching of their cultural and religious superiority over their subjects thereby dehumanising and depersonalising the later, maintaining the secrecy of their infamous superstitious witchery and Debtera culture whilst denigrating cultures of the others, nepotism, bribe and corruption and much more. Although this is a common characteristics of all evil colonialists world over, such heinous actions have been the exclusive privilege reserved for organized criminals of successive Abyssinians’ ruling elites for centuries – the current being as canniest and barbaric as all its predecessors, if not the worst.

The Looqqe massacre of the Sidama civilians on May 24, 2002 and that of the others nations and people’s massacre and genocides during the TPLF’s 24 years of reign of terror are part and parcels of such continued barbarism of successive Abyssinian regimes.

On the evening of May 23, 2002, the bottom listed Ethiopian TPLF’s high level and low ranking Officials (whilst the current puppet PM ‘Hailemariam Desalegn’ was the President of ‘56’ nations’ prison so called Southern Ethiopia regional state thus assigned to Chair the Sidama massacre planning meeting); held an extraordinary meeting in Sidama capital, Hawassa, where they have meticulously planned the Sidama civilians Loqqee massacre. Their meeting has been ordered by late TPLF’s PM Meles Zenawi; therefore it has been based on federal and regional regime’s premeditated objective of silencing the Sidama nation by blocking their elementary constitutional quests for regional self-determination that has been nominally granted to the others nations whose populations are 16 times smaller than that of the Sidamas.

After extensively discussing their methods of conducting the atrocity, on their planning aforementioned extraordinary meeting, all the involved politicians from federal to regional and Sidama Zone level have unanimously agreed the immediate ordering and deployment of about 3 battalions of heavily armed security forces with modern machine guns to butcher those Sidama civilians who had no weapon of any kind or shape in their hands apart from carrying leaves of trees, SLM’s and Abyssinian flags as sign of peace and non-violence. To affect their hideous plans, TPLF agents who held the said meeting of massacre planning have ordered one of the Sidama’s infamous quisling cadres known as ‘Melese Marimo’ (then deputy southern regional state puppet president who’s been after the Sidama massacre temporarily appointed as fake Ethiopian Ambassador to south Africa for his role in promoting TPLF’s interest by massacring his own people) to warn the Sidama people during prime time Television program by stressing that if they were going to go on with their plan, all of them will be out rightly shot dead. The Sidama didn’t believe that the regime would be such barbaric in broad day light against unarmed civilians. The Sidama civilians were wrong!

Under such strong humane and democratic belief, in the morning of May 24, 2002 after the Sidama people have fully satisfied the constitutional requirements whilst engaging in such demonstrations, the Sidamas’ staged on demonstration of peacefully taking their grievances to the streets of their capital city, Hawassa. They have gathered and began their strides from the outskirts of Hawassa city at the village known as Looqqee (about 3km from the city centre) when they suddenly met with highly mechanised TPLF killing squads who have been waiting and prepared to shoot on unarmed and nonviolent civilians. Without any warning, within a blink of an eye, civilians immersed in each other’s bloodbath. The voices of dying civilians echoed from Duummete tulloo (mount Tabour) without no one there to listen to their harrowing experiences. Fathers, mothers, students, businessmen, men and women, civil servants and children- all indiscriminately slaughtered by merciless security forces of colonising enemy. Those Sidama civilians who had nothing to defend themselves with have been indiscriminately shoot at from nearby distances by regime’s military andsecurity forces.

Abruptly, the Sidama’s peaceful demonstration turned to be one of the bloodiest massacres the successive Abyssinian regimes have committed on Sidama civilians in Sidama land since the nation has been colonised in late 1880s. The regime has deployed its special killing squad known as ‘Agiazi’ commando who are known for their barbarism throughout the Empire thus have indiscriminately shot dead the involved Sidama civilians in broad day light. The shooting lasted for about 20-30 minutes although the numbers of causalities have been significant simply because there was neither resistances or preparedness nor weapons for the Sidama people to defend themselves. The Sidama civilians weren’t prepared for such violent encounters in the first place. Such coward massacre of unarmed civilians shocked the Sidama people of all walks of life, therefore, the nation unanimously revolted from corner to corner despite the fact that the regime has immediately imposed ‘severe curfew’ in entire Sidama region following the massacre.

Subsequently, over 15, 000 prominent Sidama civilians of all walks of life have been arbitrarily arrested and tortured. Almost all of these have been released after several months in prisons without any charges and compensation. The Sidama nation remain a prime target of successive Abyssinian rulers the reason why all focus on Sidama nation time and again since 1880s.

Loqqee’s state-sponsored terrorism and massacre of Sidama’s non-violent civilians who have been peacefully demonstrating the denial of the government of their constitutional rights to regional self-determination is inherently brutal which defies not only regime’s own constitution, but also reveals its inherently hideous nature. TPLF’s regime has got constitution which hypothetically incriminates their own actions against the Sidama civilians although it didn’t refrain from indiscriminately massacring them with impunity. The Sidama’s Loqqee massacre has received little or no attention from West’s political elites who’re sustaining the life of Ethiopian brutal regime. However, the massacre isn’t a unique incident to Sidama nation. Such massacres and genocides of the civilians of various nations and peoples are common for instance, in Oromia, Ogadenia, Gambela, Kaffa Shakicho and others subjugated nations of the empire where the regime’s killing squad commits massacres and genocides of various degrees.

Immediately after the aftermaths of the Loqqee massacre of at least confirmed 69 civilians including 12 years old primary School boy and wounding over 200 Sidama civilians, TPLF’s regime has deployed various repressive methods. For example it has deployed tens of thousands of army andsecurity personnel throughout the entire Sidama districts and villages to effectively appease their reactions. Much worst, the nation was unable to collect the bodies of their beloved ones for over the period of 48 hours or more after the massacre. The wounded Sidama civilians were denied paramedics and Ambulance attendances. Those professionals who been allowed to attend on latter stages have been extremely biased thus deployed racially motivated approaches against the dying Sidama civilians. This is simply because health professionals of the settlers have been ill-advised with false information that the Sidama people are fighting to remove settlers from their region. Therefore, the doctors and nurses as well as paramedics of the settlers in Hawassa deliberately ignored a lot of potentially surviving victims to die agonisingly. Additionally, an unknown numbers civilians’ dead bodies have been eaten by Hyenas on the date of massacre and during the following 48 hours in various maize fields between Loqqee village and Hawssa. Eventually, the families of massacred Sidama civilians had to pay government security forces a lot sum of money to be allowed to collect the bodies of their beloved ones for a proper burial.

Neither perpetrators of the Sidama Loqqee massacre have been held accountable to this date, nor has the quest of the Sidama nation for regional self-administration for the important cause the Sidama civilians have paid precious sacrifices with their lives- has been responded. Those criminals who have meticulously masterminded and implemented the massacre, appeased the Sidama nation’s reaction, tortured and dehumanised Sidama civilians who have stood for the rights of the nation as they continually impose iron rule of TPLF’s regime on Sidama nation haven’t been brought to justice. Instead they are all widely circulating everywhere and promoted to higher authority level including the current inapt PM who has been elevated to higher status after he has completed his darkest mission of coordinating the massacre of the Sidama civilians by late PM, the infamous authoritarian Meles Zenawi. His accomplices also have been appointed to be able to continue with subjugating and brutalising of the Sidama nation including the criminal loathsome ‘Shiferaw Shigute’ (half Sidama half Wolayta) and numerous others.

The following are some of the key criminals who have attended the meeting and ordered the Sidama massacre on the eve of May 24, 2002 Loqqee massacre:

1. Hailemariam Desalegn (Current Ethiopian PM, then southern regional state President, Chaired meeting)
2. Abay Tsehaye, (then Federal TPLF/EPRDF’s Ethiopian secret system leader, led the meeting on behalf of TPLF)
3. Bereket Simeon (then Federal Information Minster and TPLF/EPRDF’s spokesperson)
4. Abadula Gamada (then Federal Defence Minister)
5. Girma Biru (then Industry Minster)
6. Mulugeta Alemseged (TPLF’s Polite Bureau, then PM Meles Zenawi’s Adviser)
7. Tadessie Kassa (then Amhara regional government Executive)
8. Melese Marimo (then southern regional State deputy president)
9. Galalcha Janje (then Sidama zone Police commander)
10. Dr Kebede Kanchula, (soviet educated Sidama quisling)
11. Shiferaw Shigute (then Zone department head in the process of being mentored by Number one to learn how to
brutalise the Sidama people)
12. Others 9 low ranking regional and Sidama zone cadres from whom only 2 Sidama cadres braved and officially rejected the plan of the regime on massacring innocent civilians and arrested on later stage for doing so.

At the final phase of their massacre planning meeting, Mr Bereket Simeon and Abay Tsehaye have emphatically stressed that all Sidama civilians who might defy TPLF’s regime orders to be taught unequivocal lesson (Yemayashama timhrt- in Habesha language) not peacefully, but with bullet. He has also reiterated that, in the south no nation or peoples are allowed to exercising such fundamental rights.

Today these criminals are peacefully circulating in Sidama land and in the entire empire enjoying absolute impunity and further terrorising their subjects day and night. More essentially, TPLF’s filthy and extremely deep seated corruption, nepotism and undermining of its own constitution which in black and white stresses the rights to nations and peoples to regional self-administration and others citizens fundamental rights without being implicated by the regime and its agents- potentially and inevitably brings its own demise closer -if all could work hard. Therefore, the Sidama nation has to work hard both in Diaspora and within Sidama land to bring those criminals who have butchered the Sidama civilians in Looqqee to justice in free Sidama land after the very regime brutalising the nation has been removed from power with consorted struggle of all subjugated nations. The Sidama nation must work with its neighbour cousins (the Oromo) in particular and with the others subjugated nations who are fighting to assert these rights in general.

There isn’t and never be an easy and free bread in the world. In human history, there has been no evidence where the oppressors have freely and voluntarily allowed their subjects to be free. Unless the subjects fight for their rights, asserting own rights remain illusion and nightmare. Therefore, it’s critically essential for the people who are under the yoke of Abyssinian colony unite and fight together for their own rights. Otherwise, don’t make mistakes; remain assured that our future generation will inherit worst kind of slavery than ours. How many of us need this to have an end now? If all of us, then let’s get up and unite today!

May the souls of Sidama Loqqee martyrs rest in peace. The souls of Oromo, Ogadenia, Gambela and others peoples martyrs’ who have been massacred by TPLF’s killing squad in the past 24 years of reign of terror rest in peace until those who have planned, ordered, executed and monitored your killings and massacre are brought to justice in free and independent kingdoms of all oppressed peoples.

Denboba Natie, November 22, 2015.