Below is an article published by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)

The Secretary of IGAD gave an interview to Geel TV which was placed on YouTube on October 4, 2013 and subsequently published on Ogadentoday web page. In that interview Mr Mahboub Maalin claims that "ONLF is a minor matter because of the changes of the development programmes and the growth that is taking place in Ethiopia".

He further states that "People are quitting that organisation one by one, therefore there is a natural dissertation of the organisation, and therefore it is thinning out on its own".

First, by claiming that ONLF is a minor problem, Mr Maalin shows his lack of understanding of the dynamics of the web of conflict in the Horn of Africa which the Ogaden is the Hub and how it is affecting the very countries his organisation is supposed help deal with their conflicts. Since 1935, major battles had been fought over the Ogaden by Britain, Italy the Soviet Union and its Satellite countries, Somalia, Ethiopia and the different Ogaden liberation Fronts of which ONLF is the latest.

Secondly, his assertion that "there is changes and growth in Ethiopia that is making ONLF a minor problem" is a clear indication that he regurgitates Ethiopian government propaganda and ignores that hundreds of reports and eye witness statement that indicate the Ogaden is hell on Earth and that the Ethiopian government is committing War Crimes and Crimes against humanity in the Ogaden, as a collective punishment after it failed to defeat ONLF.In Fact, the strength and resilience of ONLF can be gleaned from the fact the Ethiopian government has banned international media from going to the Ogaden in order to verify Ethiopian government claims that no atrocities are committed in the Ogaden or that the Ogaden is peaceful and prosperous and there is no fighting there.

Mr Mahboub Maalin statement is actually a reflection of state of IGAD which is unable to bring peace to the Horn of Africa since this organisation has been hijacked by Ethiopia and service its interests mostly. Furthermore, one would not expect much from an organisation run by such inept bureaucrats as Mr Maalin, whose sole view is dictated by keeping their positions.