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By Anyuak Media
Posted to the web on June 9, 2010 |
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June 9 , 2010 (GAMBELLA) — At 3:30 PM local time on Sunday June 6, 2010, terrified Gambella residents heard heavy gunshots at Chengkwar (Newland) area. They woke up to learn the death of Gambella Town Mayor, Thok Pal Reik.
Residents at the scene confirmed, Ethiopian army at the scene indiscriminately went on beating Nuers in the area and took dozens to prison. They remain in prison without charges.
Thok Pal death remains a mystery in a trouble and under seize region along the Sudanese border. The search for his killer continued. But a senior regional government official arrested in connection with his death. The head of Disaster, Prevention and Preparedness (DPP) though from the Thok Pal clan suspected of his death.
Last month, another regional government official, Ochudho Odola Oriet, beaten to death on his way home. His killers remain at large. Instead, his colleagues are still in Gambella prison without trail. The trend of framing innocent citizens continued without criminals brought to justice.
A worried Gambella resident asked, “What will happen next? He said, “We are terribly worried of our safety every day due to the insecurity threat from people who supposed to protect us.” “I blame all criminal activities to regional government move to hand over responsibility of law and order to ethnic groups locally known as Gala or Buny. This group intends to finish Nilotic family in the region to clear the way for their own people without fertile land in the Ethiopian highlands”, he added.
Another shooting reported on Saturday night June 5, 2010, claiming the life of young Anuak man. His body not found yet despite efforts to find his remains. Local people who heard shooting reported they heard the army ordering to throw the body into a vehicle.
In similar incident, another young man reported wounded but his where about not known. Some reports confirm local people along Openo (Baro) River recovering human bodies floating in the River whose heads cut off making the identifications process impossible.
Gambella remains under seize. The local people fear going about their business at night and even during brought day light due the presence of Federal Police, the Ethiopian defence forces and local police who happened to be from other parts of Ethiopia. The local police forces laid off for unknown reasons making lives difficult for indigenous populations.
A local person who wants to remain anonymous said, “We thought this was with the indigenous Anuak people only. Now that it has spread to other ethnic groups in the region, it is apparent that there is hidden agenda to kill the main ethnic groups in the region indiscriminately.” The only solutions he further added, “To remove the federal police and the army from the Gambella town so that we can go about our day to day business without fear and intimidation like other Ethiopian citizens.
Shootings still go on every night terrorizing Gambella residents without any action from either the regional government or authorities in Addis Ababa.
These incidents that claim innocent lives contradict Ojulu Kwot Abella recent interview with AigaForum, a discussion board to paint good image of the current regime in power. We do not know how people like Ojulu Kwot would react to this development in the region.
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