What ONLF is fighting for is greater than the name it carries, and its universally accepted principle which all of the civilized nations, including Ethiopia, had pledged to uphold and respect for the need to attain freedom and justice for all its citizens. Those are the principles which are the beacon of hope and the driving force for the ONLF and the backbone for their desired change. I am of the mindset that the ONLF has other reasons it could be criticized for and they should always welcome it and take as sign of a good gesture or an opportunity for self- improvement or betterment. But others who criticize the ONLF primarily for its name are only doing so because they themselves are not able to see beyond their clannish mentality, which they lavish on the ONLF. I have always wondered if these people had ever tried to join the ONLF and if so how have they been treated? Why not try and see, and then write about it with informed facts imposing authority?
The ONLF has aged well, since the last time when both Somali Government and it is Ethiopian counterparts have tried to eliminate its independent activities by arresting its members at home and confiscating their passports overseas.
It is hard to swallow from the comments coming from the ONLF opponents who are trying to use a smear tactics to alter the truth. I feel if the Ogaden clan alone was united in their supports for the ONLF, Ethiopian troops would not have lasted a day. And likewise, if the other Somali clans residing in the region are able to draft a plan on their own accord and save some of their gas to metabolize badly needed oxygen to burn Tigrinya occupiers and watch their buds burn like a charcoal, that too would have worked wonders.
The Somalis in the region should also know that they must also work same way. By sitting out and watching the struggle from their comfortable zones would be a grave mistake since the ONLF could simple secure its zones and request other to liberate their zones as well? Remember the Zones that would serve the most confrontational are not of those the Ogaden clan resides. Therefore, the other Somalis cannot expect to sit out the struggle now and expect the ONLF to secure their areas without lifting a finger, even though the ONLF knows somalinimo and will never abandon any area belonging to Somalis.
another proof to those other Somalis clans who have depicted the ONLF as clan based organization. Please ask yourselves, why in the world would the ONLF fight anyone including Ethiopia if their clan resides the largest territory within the Somali Region and they make up the single largest people in the area and the Government of Ethiopia has sought their help and even given them their preferential treatment to rule the region for the majority of times? Well, here is another reason why the book should not be judged on its cover. Because the ONLF is not a clan based organization and is not fighting for clan ideology and almost always are in contradiction to those of their own clan interest and some of the other Somali clans in the region who think along the clan mentality. The ONLF is motivated by the greater calling, a principle that speaks beyond both their clan interest and other Somalis limitation to appreciate the sacrifice made on their behalf. The ONLF has refused to bargain with their freedom and liberty for personal gains or clan interest. Regardless if anyone is listening. I am surprised how little these people are commended for their vision and struggle to achieve complete independence for all.
