THE OGADEN: BASIC FACTS
The name Ogaden belongs to the largest Somali sub-clan living in the Somali region, the Ogaadeen, of Ethiopia. Historically, the Somali-inhabited area of Ethiopia has been known as the Ogaden region. It also gave its name to the war between Ethiopia and Somalia in 1977/78. After 1991 it became the Somali Regional State, also known as Region 5.
The population size is highly disputed, with allegations that the 1994 census findings were reduced from as much as 9.2 or 7.5 million to 3.4 million. The number of districts has risen steadily and had reached 52 by the end of 2005. The regional boundary between the Somali region and Oromiya was not settled up to 2003 when referenda to determine the boundaries at district (Woreda) and local (kebele) levels.
There has been no official strategic level dialogue between the Ogaden National Liberation Front and the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since the ONLF left the regional government in 1994. There are few Somalis in senior positions in the Federal government of Ethiopia.
I. THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
The facts around food security and human rights are contested and framed, too narrowly, for political ends - Are people being killed or not? Are people dying of starvation or not?
This is the territory of humanitarianism as an instrument of warfare, where rumours are political weapons. At times there may be more activity on websites than in the Ogaden.
The key issue at present is the trade blockade, which was imposed in May 2007 following a sharp escalation in ONLF attacks. Trade is the lifeblood of the population - no trade, no livelihood. Its impact is most severe in a specific area corresponding to the Ogaadeen clan area. But the trade clampdown affects everyone - pastoralists cannot live off their animals and have to trade to survive.
The districts affected by the blockade are Degahbur, Korahe, Warder, Fig and Gode, with a (1994) population of about 1.4 million. In the affected areas, food prices have doubled and livestock prices have fallen (approximately halved), the effective cost of obtaining food therefore increased by 400%, if there is a market for livestock and foodstuffs. Vulnerable householders have to sell their assets to cope with the situation, lessening their ability to cope with any future economic shocks. Sugar prices are now falling, which suggests some easing of the situation. But information is hard to come by. It was not possible to access some districts during food security surveys. MSF-Holland was denied access to Warder.
Lack of humanitarian access to Region 5 is not new, but it has gotten much worse lately. The absence of humanitarian space is not just the government's fault. NGOs have made mistakes, the ONLF has been hostile at times and Islamic militants distrust the activitiesof Western aid agencies. For the two main protagonists - the government and the ONLF - politics matter more than people. Both sides reject the concept of neutrality. They both use and abuse food aid. They both know about the strategic value of information, including information about human rights abuse. The ONLF (like other insurgent groups) has its eyes on strategic NGO assets and their insurgency has blocked development in the areas they control.
Shutting down trade will create dependence on food aid. The amounts entering the region so far are much too small for the affected population. Some preferential lifting of the blockade may now be occurring, with access under military escort for favoured commercial traders bringing goods, including foodstuffs, into the area. But the allimportant export of livestock, on which the pastoralists depend, has yet to be restored. The new business operations engaged in the transport of food can expect to profit from the humanitarian crisis (in the short term) and may attempt to displace Somali traders in longer term.