Starting this week the Ethiopian government high delegation lead by Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Mr. Hailemariam Dessaleign, the Governor of Gambella State, Mr. Omot Obang Olum, and other officials are scheduled to conduct public meeting in the United States, and Canada. The objective of the meeting is to encourage Ethiopians in Diaspora to support what the "Woyanne" government called development endeavors which referred to as "Ethiopia's Five-Years Growth and Transformation Plan"

With grave concern we the political parties of Gambella (GPLM-The Second, GPUDF, and GPLF) strongly condemned such empty mission of propaganda intended to mislead the people of Gambella and Ethiopian public. In doing, we would like to alert the international community and Ethiopian public at large, that this visit which echo the business opportunity to diasporas as pretext, comes at the time when the people of Gambella have been evicted by gun point by the very "Woyanne" government military forces from their ancestor land and being forced to moved to concentration camps where there is no social services.

This forced eviction of indigenous people of Gambella specially the Anuak from their ancestral fertile land which currently undertaking, has resulted in severe destitution, economic, and social devastation, as we as untold destruction of wildlife and deforestation, due to acute environmental distraction by foreign agriculture farms.

The so called investment of Agro-capital of foreign farms from India, China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, as been seen by the "Woyanne"/ EPRDF government as quick access to easy cash in term of U.S dollars. But for many Gambellans and majority Ethiopians this pretext of the so called foreign investors is no surprised, but it is a usual process or other ways the government of "Woyanne" looting the public funds, exploitation of our lands, and environmental destruction at the expense of our people using international agro-investment farms as methods to target non main stream Ethiopians states, such as Gambella, Beneshangul, Somali, Afar, Oromo, and Southern Ethiopia.

Though, there is no argument as to fertility of lands in those areas, we believed that under democratically elected government and people leadership in Ethiopia, those golden resources can be exploited to benefit Ethiopian with careful attention to forestry and wildlife. The produce products of such agriculture should have been only those products that are marketable in Ethiopia and aimed for Ethiopian public consumption. That way, you solve the yearly starvation problem that costs the international community one billion U.S dollars every year, and eventually are able to attained food dependence.

As we have seen, the so called foreign investors farms are in Gambella and other states of Ethiopia with intention to produce food products that are not marketable in Ethiopia and cannot be consume by Ethiopians, but to be exported to their own countries; leaving Ethiopia and its people as one of the poor country known for yearly starvation, this is not to mention the historically marginalized and neglected people of Gambella.

As we all knew during the last 20 years or so, the "Woyanne"/EPRDF government led by Meles Zenawi has been receiving 1 billion U.S dollars every year from the international donors. But the relief food and money ended up at the pocket of Meles Zenawi and his ruling elites. The little left over was given to Tigray State of Meles to build the infrastructure of Tigray.

We also would like to remind our readers at this moment that when you thinking of Gambella, it was not long ago (December, 2003) when the Ethiopian "Woyanne' military committed genocide against the Anuak of Gambella. At that dark day alone more than 450 educated Anuaks including children were killed. Women and young girls as 10 years old were raped in front of their loved one. The atrocity and rampage continued for one year which resulted in killing more than 2,500 Anuaks by the Ethiopian military, and the so called highlanders who were instructed to massacre Anyuaks.

As we knew, the "Woyanne" government committed this atrocity only because the government was after the fertile land and oil, which was located in Anuak land. Having weakened and destroyed the leadership of Anuaks; the Meles government now embarked on implementation of its second chapter, that is, the policy of final elimination and extermination of the Anuak society through the policy of economic and social genocide.

Acting as not Ethiopian government against its own citizens and as was done by many colony and empires, specially, those racists and fascist leaders, once you destroyed the political system and leadership of the society you move to final stage which is social and economic destruction. This policy is intended to uproot the targeted society of their social base and cultural identity. This eventually starts with the denial of economic ownership through deprivation of their land.

Currently, this is what we witnessed in Gambella. Empirical evidence from the grounds, and as it been documented by foreign journalists, the Anuaks and Mejengir ancestral land been given away to foreign farms and the "Woyanne"/EPRDF government supporters coming in a massive population from highland to Gambella. As we can see this is done with delivered intention to eliminate the Anuaks, Mejengir, and other people of Gambella from the world, only because they happened to live in God given fertile land.

In early primitive America when the Europeans settled in America such policy was done by dividing the Indians (Native American) and finally uproot them from their land and putting them in Reservation places. In Ethiopia's of Meles Zenawi, the regime started by dividing the Gambella people along tribes and having them fight each other, and finally coming up with the so called Villagization / forced resettlement / program by putting the Anuaks and other Gambella people in concentration camps.

Therefore, in term of modern business ethic and internationally recognized economic incentive and investment norms, and laws, the current investment policy of Ethiopian government in Gambella is quite different and it is against the United Nation Human Rights laws and the Geneva Convention covenant in which Ethiopia's is one of the signatories. What happening in Gambella is that, the Meles government is targeting the land where the peasants (indigenous people) lived for centuries, and giving it away to foreign farms and "Woyanne" government supporters.

As such the propaganda visit by the 'Woyanne" delegation is nothing, but to mislead the Diaspora Ethiopian community, in particularly the people of Gambella. On the other hand, this visit is intended to target two sensitive political issues: one is to try to convince the Ethiopian community and the people of Gambella about the ill policy of "Land Grab" that is currently affecting many indigenous Ethiopians; and the secondly is to divert the most fearful Middle East and North Africa democratic movement/Popular revolution/ that is attracting the West and now looming over Ethiopia's of Meles Zenawi.

Thus, we call on the international community, Western governments/USA and UK/, the so called foreign investors agriculture farms, as well as democratic forces to:

1. Immediately withdraw the so called international farms from our ancestral land, and retuned our people to their land;
2. Unconditionally withdraw all the EPRDF/"Woyanne" military forces that are continued to terrorize our people in Gambella and threatening them to take their land away;
3. Immediately stop the forceful eviction and unwanted resettlement of Gambella people into concentration camps;
4. If there is to be a genuine investment policy, the priority must be given to Gambella people first, and Ethiopian investors; provided that there has been conducive political environment for business;
5. All investors should only invest in the land that are not already occupied and been used for cultural or ancestral activities by the indigenous people of the area;
6. As part of international laws, all Gambella forest should not by touched by anybody or be used on the pretext of investors by the government;
7. Immediately release all prisoners without condition.
8. Immediately stop spreading Religion conflict in Gambella where you build a State Church on top of Gambella historical and cultural heritage mountain to humiliate and assimilate Indigenous people of Gambella.

To sum it up, Gambella is not the only fertile land in Africa where foreigners can grab land to fix the world broken economy in the expense of Gambellans. In Ethiopia/highland/ though the land is owned by government, we believe that the land system in Gambella is quite unique because traditionally our land is owned by individuals, God chosen Chiefs and public in general. Land such as rivers, lakes, ponds, forests, mountains and other resources under and on land are public properties. Foreigners land grabbing is unacceptable because of one party dictatorship, inflation, and non liberalized market economy, civil war between tribes, ethnics, racism and genocide. Ethiopians in general and Gambellans in particular in the Diaspora therefore, should remain cautious to condemn the mandate and mission of Mr. Meles Zenawi's propaganda machine agents. Gambella political parties have an advice for you/Gambellans and Ethiopians in Diaspora/ that you have the right to attend this public meeting but don't be naïve and innocent because Woyanne agents will spread their poison lies, hates, ethnic division using you as their instrument. Instead, you should confront the agents with determination and truth worthy approach method to avert and condemn their false propaganda. As leaders, we believe that Gambella as well as Ethiopia cannot achieve sustainable and equitable development and transformation without real political freedom, Civil liberties, human rights, the rule of law and regulatory conducive environment in which Gambellans would have an access to business entrepreneur, social

Sincerely!

Electronically Signed

By Gambella Political Parties.

• Gambella People's Liberation movement / GPLM_ the Second/.
• Gambella People's United Democratic Front / GPUDF/
• Gambella People's Liberation Front / GPLF/.