Statement of the National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy (aka Qeerroo BilisummaaOromoo) on the Current Non-violent Movement in Oromia

May 9, 2014

Over the last two weeks, the Oromo people and the Oromo youth, particularly the Oromo students of various colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools and elementary schools have been asking the Oromian regional government the right of the Oromo people on their country Oromia in a peaceful and legal manner according to the right given to us by the Ethiopian constitution.

However, the response of the Ethiopian government to our rightful question has been to unleash its Federal Police and a special military known as Agazi, armed to the teeth, on unarmed youth and civilian population and to turn the entire region into a battle field taking the lives of several dozen Oromians and kidnapping and arresting thousands others. Therefore, we, Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromoo, hereby ask the Ethiopian government to give appropriate and immediate response to the following rightful and legal demands, which are also the demands of the entire Oromo people.

1. We demand an immediate release of thousands of Oromo youth and other civilians who are jailed and being tortured at several Federal Police prisons in the country. We also demand that the list of these prisoners be released to the Ethiopian public and to the world.
2. We demand that those who killed dozens of unarmed students and peaceful civilians be investigated by an independent body erected by the United Nations and be brought to justice.
3. We demand that all political prisoners languishing in jail over the last 23 years of the TPLF/EPRDF rule under fabricated charges and verdict and those who are kept in prison without any charge be released without any precondition.
4. We demand that the Federal Police and the Federal government military who mercilessly massacres the Oromo people and other civilian citizens be completely removed from Oromia regional state.
5. We demand that all universities, colleges, high schools and other educational institutions be free of the EPRDF political party police, intelligence (spies), and cadres and for these personnel to be removed from the campus of all educational institutions.

Read More:- Statement of the National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy May 9

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