May 19, 2012 (QOL) The Ogaden Youth and Students Union is highly opposed to the invitation of Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, to the G8 Summit in Camp David, Maryland. We urge President Obama to this is golden opportunity to address the vicious human rights violations that are transpiring in Ogaden under the rule of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Meles Zenawi’s regime has implemented a scorched earth policy against the people of the Ogaden. The Ethiopian regime is responsible for the collective punishment of innocent civilians in the Ogaden including killings, rape, and torture; forced disappearances, burning of villages and countless inhumane acts against the people of Ogaden. Ethiopia has imposed an economic, media, and aid embargo in the Ogaden.The Ethiopian regime is deliberately and systematically using food as a weapon of war.
There’s a lingering conspiracy of silence surrounding the human rights abuses in the Ogaden despite reputable human rights organizations such as the Human Rights Watch, Ogaden Human Rights Committee and Amnesty International having done extensive research and reports on these human rights abuses.

We urge the International Community, particularly the United States, and Donor Countries to refrain from being tight-lipped on the Ogaden crisis and act on the following recommendations:
· Ethiopian government allow all humanitarian and relief organizations full and unfettered access to the Ogaden as well as human rights organizations.
· International community refrain from aiding and supporting the Ethiopian government as long as it violates human rights and fundamental rights of the people of the Ogaden.
· Send an independent fact finding mission to investigate abuses and hold the perpetrators accountable.
· Lift the economic embargo that has devastated the whole population.
· Unrestricted access to international press and independent researchers.

The Ogaden Youth and Students Union is a non-profit organization founded on the fundamental principle that all human beings are born equal and have a right to live in peace, dignity, and freedom regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender and other forms of overt and covert discriminations. The Ogaden Youth and Students Union is committed to human rights advocacy, awareness and protection everywhere.

OYSU- Foreign Office Press Desk