UAM-OLF: Killing Can’t Stop Quest for Self-Determination Posted: Waxabajjii/June 1, 2014 · Finfinne Tribune | Gadaa Statement of the United Activists and Members of the OLF (UAM-OLF) OROMO LIBERATION FRONT ADDA BILISUMMAA OROMOO contact email: bilisa1234@gmail May 30, 2014 Killing, torturing, mass arrest, and terrorizing the Oromo People will not stop the quest for Self determination, democracy and constitutional rights of the Oromo people. The TPLF-led government of Ethiopia, which came to power by sheer force of gun twenty three years ago, has continued to rule the country by keeping its citizens under constant fear and intimidation. Thousands of innocent citizens have been executed in the dark corners of hidden and known TPLF’s prison cells just for demanding to exercise their birth rights and democratic rights granted by the Constitution of the country. Tens of thousands are languishing in secret and known detention centers without any legal counseling to defend themselves. Most of these detainees have never appeared in court for years. Independent journalists and bloggers have been detained, tortured, and others exiled. The enduring repression of democratic rights of individuals has grown into a larger scope to include the violation of constitutional rights of nations for self-determination. Under the pretext of the federal administration, the TPLF-led government of Ethiopia has redrawn the regional maps of its multinational states without any consultation from the local population just for the sole purpose of foaming animosity among different nationalities to extend its grip on power. The current month-long turmoil that is going on in Oromia, the largest regional state administration in Ethiopia, has claimed 105 innocent lives, wounded 575, caused mass imprisonment, scourges and tortures of more than 50,000 Oromo students and others who showed up for peaceful demonstrations to protest the illegal and unconstitutional annexation of the Oromo territory to the city of Addis Ababa; the action will displace millions of Oromo farmers who lead their livelihood on that land. The elderly, mothers and children of ages eight to fourteen were among the massacred. Tens of thousands are driven to jails to face the brutal tortures; tens of thousands are surrounded in their schools and university campuses – cutting them off from the larger population and their families, out of which a considerable number is taken daily to torture camps and made to disappear, and causing the rest to live under what themselves called black terror. The legitimate demand of Oromo students to resolve the crisis in a peaceful manner is met with the barbaric armed violence by a government that portrays itself as a democratic one to the world community. But the obvious truth is that this dictatorial and fascistic regime stick to power with the full-fledged political, diplomatic economic and military backing of Western superpowers for the last twenty three years. Therefore, unless due attention is paid to the current situation in the Oromia Regional State by these powers, all indications are that the crisis is growing into a larger scale genocide that targets the entire Oromo population. The horrific genocide we had witnessed in Rwanda and former Yugoslavia in the last two decades is well in the making in Ethiopia, in Oromia region in particular. Taking this opportunity, we would like to remind the TPLF-led “federal” government of Ethiopia that suppression of the will of the people by restoring to naked brutal force has proven futile for the last quarter of a century, and it does never work today, and it will never work in the future, too. Therefore, we strongly appeal to the UN, U.S.A., the UK, EU, Canada and international community at large to urgently: - Make timely interference to stop the heinous bloodshed before the crisis develop into a larger scale genocide, - Pay close attention to the situation unfolding in Oromia, - Condemn the widespread killings, tortures, rapes of school girls, mass detentions, kidnappings, army occupations, confiscations of the properties of the peaceful demonstrators, terrorization and denials of outdoor movements of civilians to resume their daily activities, - Revise your policy towards this dictatorial and fascist regime and stop your support until basic human and democratic rights of the people are respected, - Put pressure on the tyrannical regime of TPLF-led repressive government of Ethiopia and puppet regional henchmen of Oromia, - Respect the Oromo people’s constitutional and democratic rights to administer their own affairs, - Immediately release those students and other demonstrators suffering in known and unknown detention makeshift camps, and in known prison cells in and outside of the Oromia region, - Organize independent inquiry commissions monitored by the UN representative to investigate the crimes against humanity, - Bring the perpetrators to justice, - Stop the implementation of the controversial so- called “Integrated Master Plan,” - Immediately stop killing, detaining, torturing, kidnapping and terrorizing our people, and - Stop aggression and pull out the notorious Agazi occupation force and the brutal federal police all together from Oromia. Finally, we call upon all Oromo political organizations, Oromo community organizations, civic organizations, academic associations, religious institutions leaders, women’s organizations leaders and youth associations leaders to hold emergency meetings to chart out common strategies to deal with the biggest crisis ever faced by our nation in the era of the civilized world. Freedom is our birth right! Oromia will never be sold to the China’s food security grant for the sake of staying on power. United Activists and Members of the OLF (GQM-ABO)
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 18:59:13 +0000
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