Partial News Reporting or PC Bias?
I was on a crew in Ethiopia’s southern Ogaden region in April. I left the crew just three days before an attack by ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front) rebels, a muslim based group from the pictures shown. The attack killed sixty-five local employees (the people that the rebels claim to be fighting to liberate) and nine of the Chinese staff. Seven more of the Chinese staff were taken hostage, supposedly to ensure their safety.
I read several newspaper and internet news service reports where a spokesman for the rebels was quoted as saying that the casualties amongst the labour at the camp were caused by misdirected mortar rounds, collateral damage as it were.
I never saw any further reports correcting this so the public at large were left thinking that these rebels were not so bad, just freedom fighters. You know my opinion on political correctness but this sort of thing nearly makes me retch.
I was recently forwarded an email written by my relief who was there when the attack occurred and I will quote it verbatim other than removing his name and adding paragraph spacing.
To put the record straight. All You may have seen a news item in the last few days regarding an attack on a Chinese oilfield in Ethiopia. There have been suggestions that the Ethiopian army ran away and allowed the massacre that followed to occur. As I was there on the crew and in the camp I really want to put the record straight.
If it had not been for the magnificent fight put up by the 60 Army soldiers attached to us, 20 of whom were killed and most of the rest wounded including the Lieutenant in charge who was wounded in the neck and stomach, I would not be here to send this mail.
The hour and a half that they fought, 60 against over 150, meant that the attackers did not have any time to try and winkle us out of our accommodation trailers before they had to leave the area in case army reinforcements arrived from a nearby army base.
I understand that some of the news channels carried video and statements from the attackers and more shame on them. The attackers came with one objective to kill and destroy. There was not looting they just damaged and set fire or tried to set fire to the crew equipment that is after the opened fire on the laborers tents, indiscriminately and at close range.
Over 75% of the labour force were killed, some in their beds, of those three where women. There was no discrimination in the slaughter Christian or Muslim, Ethiopian or Somali, they were gunned down without reason.
One Ethiopian and one Chinese was gunned down as they hid underneath my accommodation trailer, after the camp had been over run. My Chinese friends who were killed on the crew had the misfortune to get up early for breakfast and so were either in the open or had their accommodation doors open.
This was senseless slaughter on a scale and with a thoughtlessness that I cannot comprehend.
I write this to try and offset some of the things that have been said about the Ethiopian Army by people in their grief. They did not abandon us they save those of us left alive. I also ask for your thoughts and prayers for the Chinese and Ethiopians who died and for their families who will now find their lives so very hard. Lastly if you hear anyone repeat the charge against the Ethiopian Army take the time to tell them the truth.
Another quote from an eyewitness:
I do not have details yet who and who and more than 20 army were also killed and the Lieutenant Gabriel Kidan was badly injured. The army put up a good fight but they were out numbered.
While more than 65 local employees were killed including some women. It was a cold blood killing operation. Apparently those militias had attacked Haji’s place and a village nearby earlier on before they attacked our camp.
Several highly regarded news sources completely failed to get the gist of the story correct, and none had quotes from survivors.
I have revised my opinion of the Ethiopian soldiers who were there guarding the crew. These soldiers chose to risk their own lives to save others, and many of them paid dearly for this. To be in a firefight for this length of time and to have them continue to fight until the enemy withdrew is heroism of the highest order.
They are served poorly by news services who show moral cowardice when a sensitive issue might come up. It clearly wouldn’t do to upset the ONLF now, would it? One would think that they could hardly be any worse than they are already! Time for eradication, to hell with education and rehabilitation.
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