Letter to the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Jointly from the Oromo Community Organizations of the United States and Oromo Studies Association (OSA)

Date: May 6, 2014

The Honorable John Kerry
Secretary of State
2201 C St NW Washington, DC 20520

Re: Ethiopian Government on going violations of human rights and land-grab

Dear Mr. Secretary,

We, the Oromo Community of Chicago, write this letter to bring to your attention and seek your intervention in the widespread and systematic violation of human rights, discrimination and persecution that Oromo people in Ethiopia are facing. Our heart is bleeding while we tell your good office the Ethiopian government’s continued massacre and shocking suppression of peaceful protesters and journalist continued unabated. These acts of state violence, apart from destroying the targeted society, will cause irreparable damage not only to Oromos and the wider Ethiopia but also the international community’s geopolitical interests in the region over the long run.

The Oromo people, the single largest nation in the Horn of Africa, constitute about 40 percent of the population of Ethiopia. The ruling Ethiopian regime came to power following the collapse of the Communist military dictatorship in 1991. The regime is dominated by the former rebel group Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which hails from the Tigray people. The Tigray people approximately constitute about 6 percent of the Ethiopian population and dwell in the barren and over cultivated land of North Ethiopia. The Oromo country, the largest and richest region in Ethiopia, is the breadbasket and the economic backbones of Ethiopia. For Ethiopian elites, who are traditionally the Northerns, maintain a tight grip on the Oromo country. Therefore, in Ethiopia, despite their numeric superiority and richness of their land, the Oromo have always been treated as a minority group, perpetually subjected to political, economic, and cultural depredations and dispossession. Because of their preponderant number, the Tigrayan minority considers the Oromos an existential threat to its political hegemony. For this reason, the TPLF regime is hell-bent on undermining the human, economic, and intellectual capacity of the Oromo people. Repressive measures such as targeted killings, abductions and disappearances, unlawful imprisonments and torture against the Oromo people have been widespread for over two decades. The government denies them freedom of association, press and expression; marginalizes them from political decision-making; stifles and intimidates dissent through invoking arbitrary and draconian laws. Several international organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and International Crisis Group have archived and well-documented scores of these atrocities over the years.

Decades old practice of discrimination and persecution of the Oromo people is now translating into a broad day massacre of the country’s young lives on the streets and villages of the Oromo people. Just over the past few days, when Secretary John Kerry visited the country, only in one city, at least 47 young lives perished under the weight of live ammunition fired at peaceful protestors drawn from high schools and Universities.

These protests were staged by the students following the government’s so called “Integrated Master Plan” for the city of Addis Ababa. The implementation of this master plan will dislocate and dispossess millions of Oromo farmers off their land. The non-violent protest is facing an extreme and disproportionate level of violence from the government. To date, it has claimed the lives of dozens of students while a greater number of students are seriously injured by government force.

Dear Mr. Secretary,

We like to stress that this pattern of gross violation of human rights of the Oromo is repeating itself time and again and has become habitual practice. In 2003, over 300 Oromo students were illegally dismissed from the Addis Ababa University because they protested against the decision of the government to relocate the seat of Oromia from Addis Ababa (Finfinnee). The students were banned from schools, their only ticket to life in the country of little opportunity. Most of them ended up in jail and lived incommunicado for a long time. Some of them died crossing border to escape persecution at home.

We, the community of the Oromo Community of Chicago, would like to draw your attention to these tragic series of events in the last couple of weeks as we call on you to use your office’s diplomatic and/political influence,  resources, and network of friends in order to put pressure on the government of Ethiopia by calling upon it:

1. To stop the acts of violence immediately and to stop implementing the so called “Integrated Master Plan”.
2. To establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the violation and recommend the remedial measures that need to be taken to restore the victims and to penalize the perpetrator;
3. To bring the perpetrators of this atrocious crimes to court to account for their acts of violence;

We also like to call upon you to voice your solidarity with the victims to alert the international community to the events unfolding in Ethiopia. We have faith in you that you will act promptly before the violence and unrest evolve into a full-fledged humanitarian crisis and destabilize the region.

Kind Regards,

Ibrahim Elemo, M. D, M.P.H

President, Oromo Studies Association

Email: ielemo@oromostudies.org

The Joint Letter of the Oromo Community Organizations of the United States and OSA:

1. The Oromo Studies Association
2. The Oromo Community of Chicago
3. The Oromo Community of Ohio
4. The Oromo Community of Michigan
5. The Oromo Community of Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee
6. Oromo Community of Kentucky
7. The Oromo Community of Seattle
8. The Oromo Community of South Dakota
9. The Council of Oromo Elders of Minnesota
10. The Oromo Community of Denver
11. The Oromo Community of Atlanta
12. The Oromo Diaspora Association of New York

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Killings in Ethiopia outrage Minnesota’s Oromo community

By Ibrahim Hirsi

REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

Secretary of State John Kerry meeting nurses and workers during a visit to the Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on May 1.

Members of Minnesota’s Oromo community plan to rally Friday in St. Paul and are calling for a hunger strike to mourn the deaths of student demonstrators gunned down last week by Ethiopian security forces in Addis Ababa.

Oromo students and others in Ethiopia have been protesting since April 26 a plan to develop the capital Addis Ababa, saying the proposal will displace farmers in the city outskirts, erase significant landmarks and dismantle the rich culture and identity of the ethnic Oromo people. Because the Oromia region surrounds Addis Ababa, an expansion of the city will mean a further blow of the region and its people, who have been marginalized for decades, they say.

Addis Ababa city officials argue the plan will develop and improve the city — one of the fastest growing cities in Africa — and its surrounding suburbs.

Thousands of people, mostly university students, took their anger and frustration to the streets of Addis Ababa to express their disapproval of the plan unveiled in April. The ongoing demonstration erupted in violence May 1, the day U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Ethiopia as part of a tour of Africa.

There are conflicting reports about casualties, with government officials saying the death toll has grown to 11 and witnesses counting nearly 50 dead.

Hassen Hussein, an assistant professor at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and a longtime Oromo community activist, said in an interview Thursday that the regime has killed more than 75 demonstrators and wounded up to 200.

Whatever the case, Nasser Mussa, a Minneapolis Oromo-American activist, noted that the demonstrators have been peaceful and were attempting to exercise freedom of expression and demanding their rights.

“Killing unarmed protesters is unacceptable and should not be tolerated,” Mussa said. “The Ethiopian government says they are democratic, but they have been doing undemocratic things for years, including the killing of innocent people and committing other serious human rights abuses.

“The current situation there is making me feel terrible,” said Mussa of the unfolding political tensions and violence in Ethiopia. “Those killed are like brothers and sisters to me.”

Friday protest at state Capitol

Members of the Oromo community in Minnesota will assemble Friday outside the state Capitol to call attention to the killings and condemn the Ethiopian regime. At the rally, which will run Friday to Sunday, demonstrators plan a hunger strike and a 24-hour vigil.  

Courtesy of Hassen Hussein

Hassen Hussein

“Although experience of oppression at the hands of the Ethiopian government is not new to the Oromo population in the Twin Cities, nothing in my recent memory has moved the community as much as the killings of peaceful protesters these past two weeks throughout the vast Oromia region,” said Hussein.

An estimated 40,000 Oromos live in Minnesota, the largest concentration outside Ethiopia. Hussein, who is organizing the protest, and other demonstrators hope the event will raise awareness.

“The regime is a strong ally of the United States,” Hussein said. “We want the U.S. government to reconsider its policies.”

The United State provided the Ethiopian government more than $135 million for humanitarian aid this year. Hussein and Mussa said that aid isn’t used to assist vulnerable populations. Instead, they said, it’s used for human-rights abuses.

“We need to stop our tax dollars from killing innocent people, our children,” Mussa said. “We need to hold the Ethiopian government accountable for what they’re doing.”   

Human-rights abuses

According to a 2013 report by the U.S. Department of State, the most common human-rights abuses Ethiopian forces commit include suppressing freedom of expression, harassment and intimidating journalists and politicians. The report added:

Courtesy of Nasser Mussa

Nasser Mussa

The East African country has more than 80 ethnic groups, according to the report. It has a federal-government system, with its boundaries generally divided into ethnic groups. Likewise, its political parties largely remain ethnically segregated.Other human rights problems included arbitrary killings; allegations of torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees by security forces; reports of harsh and, at times, life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; a weak, overburdened judiciary subject to political influence; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, including illegal searches; restrictions on academic freedom; restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, and movement; alleged interference in religious affairs; limits on citizens’ ability to change their government; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities.

The Oromo ethnic group makes up about 40 percent of Ethiopia’s 94 million people, the largest ethnic group in the country.

BBC World News report on the Oromo protests.

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The Oromo Youth Association in Trøndelag (OYAT): Killing Oromos Will Not Stop the Oromo Struggle

Ajjechaa fi Hidhaan Qabsoo Oromoo hin Dhaabu

Hacuuccaa fi gabrummmaan saba Oromoo irratti bara dheeradhaa ka’ee jiru, har’as bifa jijjiirratee itti fufee jira. Mootummaan abbaa hirree Itoophiyaa TPLF-dhaan hoogganamu jibbiinsa fi tuffii uummata Oromootiif qabu, gochaa gara jabina daangaa hin qabneen yeroo gara garaatti mirkaneesseera. Sagantaan Maaster Plaanii Magaalaa Finfinneef qopha’e kunis qabeenya Oromoo saamuu fi mirgaa abbaa biyyummaa Oromoo dhabsiisuu irratti kan xiyyeeffateedha.

Sabni Oromoos yeroo ammaa kana karoora kana mormuu isaatiif wareegama lubbuu fi miidhaa guddaan irra ga’a jira. Waldaan Dargaggoota Oromoo Trøndelag (WDOT) haala suukanneessa yeroo ammaa kana saba Oromoo irra gahaa jiruuf gaddi guddaan itti dhaga’ameera. Haaluma kanaan WDOT rakkoo uummata Oromoo irra gahaa jiru kana ilaalchisee walga’ii goodhe irratti ibsa ejjannoo armaan gadii baaseera.

1. Sagantaan Maaster Planii Magaalaa Finfinnee yeroo amma karaa mootummaatiin qopha’e, fedhaa fi yaada uummata Oromoo ilaalcha keessa kan hin galchinee fi hin hirmaachifne waan ta’eef cimsnee mormina.

2. Gaaffiin mirgaa bartoonni Oromoo kaasan, gaaffii haqa irrattti hunda’ee waan ta’eef guutumaan guutuutti ni deggera.

3. Barattoonni Oromoo gaaffii fi mormii karaa nagaatiin dhiheeffatan, mootummaan gaaffii ka’eef deebii seera qabeessa kennuu irra, haala suukaneessaa ta’een dhukaasa irratti banuudhaan ajjeechaa fi miidhaa barattoota Oromoo fi uummata Oromoo irratti raawwatu akka dhaabuu fi gaaffiin isaaniis deebii sirrii akka argatu cimsinee gaafanna.

4. Sababa gaaffii mirgaa ka’e kaanaan walqabatee barattoonni barumsa isaanii irraa hari’aman akka barumsa isaaniitti deebi’an; akkasumas Oromoonni bakka gara garaatti hidhamanii gidirfamaa jiran atattamaan akka hiikaman ni gaafanna.

5. Qaamni ajjeechaa fi miidhaa kana geessisaa jiru atattamaan gara murtiitti akka dhiiyatu jabeessinee gaafanna.

6. Hawaasni adduyyaa fi jaarmiyooleen mirga dhala namaatiif dhaabbatan marti gochaa sukkanneessa mootummaan Itoophiyaa uummata Oromoo irraan gahaa jiru akka balaallefataniifi dhiibbaa barbaachisaa ta’e akka irratti godhan jabeessinee gaafanna.

7. Hawaasni Oromoo biyya ambaa jiran marti gaaffii mirgaa sabni Oromoo biyya keessa jiru gaafataniifi itti wareegamaa jiran, gama barbaachisu hundaatiin akka cimsanii cina dhaabbatan kabajaan gaafanna. Akkasumas jaarmiyaleen siyasaa, hawaasumma fi amantii hundi tokkummaadhaan fedhii saba Oromoo irratti xiyyeeffatanii yeroo kam irra caalaa tokkummaadhaan waliin hojjechuufi gaaffii mirgaa saba Oromoo kabachiisuuf gahee isaanii akka raawwatan kabajaan ni gaaaffanna.

Waldaa Dargaggoota Oromoo Trøndelag,
Caamsaa 6, 2014, Norway

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The current violations of human rights in Oromia is a continuation of the deep-rooted subjugation and marginalization of the Oromo nation in Ethiopia. The current TPLF-led government has particularly time and again proved its deep-rooted hate and atrocity toward Oromos. It has been undertaking limitless human rights violations over the last 23 years. The so-called “Integrated Master Plan for Addis Ababa City” is a systematic plan to grab the land of the Oromos and further marginalize them from their own fatherland.

The Oromos are paying heavy casualties simply because they are opposing peacefully to the participatory wicked plan. OYAT expresses its deep condolences over the victims of the ongoing atrocity in Oromia. From our meeting regarding on the current situation in Oromia, we have come up with the following consensus points:

1. We strongly condemn the proposed Master Plan by the government due to its lack of the consent and participation of the Oromo people.

2. We fully support the legitimate questions and demands raised by Oromo students.

3. We strongly urge the Ethiopian regime to immediately stop its brutal actions against the Oromo people, and give proper response to the peaceful and legitimate demand of the people.

4. We urge the Ethiopian regime to immediately release all imprisoned Oromos and call for the return of dismissed students to their studies.

5. Those who are undertaking this atrocities and indiscriminate killings should be brought justice as soon as possible.

6. We call upon the international community, human rights organizations and other concerned bodies to condemn the ongoing brutal action of the Ethiopian regime on the Oromo people and impose the necessary pressure on the regime.

7. We call upon all Oromo communities all over the world to stand on the sides of Oromo youths sacrificing their lives. We also call upon all Oromo political parties, religious institutions and civic organizations to strengthen their unity more than ever and work towards ensuring the rights and freedom of the Oromo nation.

The Oromo Youth Association in Trøndelag
May 6, 2014, Norway

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