On the war Crime committed against OLA members by Ethiopian army agents

OLF Statement

(Oromo Liberation Front) –After it was thoroughly defeated by the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), the colonial army of the dictatorial regime of Ethiopia murdered members of the OLA by using poison in drinking water. This criminal and savage act is totally against a binding part of international law in the conduct of warfare. It is against the Geneva Protocol, a treaty that prohibits the use of poison in warfare.

The colonial army has continued to operate all over Oromia with the aim of holding back the fast advancing Oromo people’s liberation struggle. In the military engagement between the OLA and the Ethiopian colonial army on June 20-23, 2016 in south-eastern Oromia, the OLA completely defeated the Ethiopian army unit. The Ethiopian army unit, supported by “special force” was on search and destroy mission of the OLA in the Baalee region of Elkarree, Gooroo and Haroo Dibbee districts. The OLA totally foiled the mission when it killed 27 and wounded 18 of the enemy forces. In addition, the heroic OLA captured four enemy soldiers and large quantities of military hardware. Thus, the OLA annihilated the enemy forces and successfully foiled its mission to destroy the OLA.

Xalayaa Banaa Hogganoota ABO, ADO, ABO Tokkoomee fi KWOf

(Boruu Barraaqaa, Dubbataa ABO duraanii irraa)

Obbo Daawud Ibsaa, hogganaa Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo
Obbo Leencoo Lataa, hogganaa Adda Dimokraatawaa Oromoo
Obbo Abbaa Nagaa Jaarraa, hogganaa Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo Tokkoomee
Janaraal Kamaal Galchuu, hogganaa Kallacha Walabummaa Oromiyaa

Nageenyi jaallummaa haa dursu. Itti aansuun dhimma xalayaa banaa kana isinii barreessuuf na dirqettin gabaabsee seena. Akkuma beekamu Addi Bilisummaa Oromoo bara ummanni Oromoo dukkanaan liqimfame san keessatti dungoo abdii tahee dhalate. Dungoon abdii Oromoo sunis bubbee diinotaa kan isii dhamsuuf bahaa dhihaan, kaabaa kibbaan itti hafuursan meeqaatam dandamattee odoo iftuu har’a geesse. Kanaafuu warra dungoon sabboonummaa ABOdhaan qabsiifame sun ija baneefis tahee dhaloonni haaraan eega dungoon sun qabattee booda dhalatee keessatti of bare hundi maqaa ‘ABO’ jedhu kanaaf jaalalaa fi galata guddaa qaba. Dhaloota dantaa Oromoo fi Oromiyaa irratti halagaa kamiinuu waliin araara hin teenye haaraya argamsiisuu irratti gumaachi Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo hiriyaa hin qabu. Kanaaf jecha ABOn eega sadarkaan dammaqiinsa ummata Oromoo daalifee booda akka dhaaba siyaasaa kallacha qabsoo tahe tokkotti jaalatamuu, abdatamuu fi kabajamuu bira dabree, akka hafuura Oromummaatti fudhatamuun kan haalamuu miti.  Kana keessatti ammoo hoggana irraa qabee hanga miseensa leexaatti kanneen surraa kana fakkaatu dhaabicha gonfuu keessatti qooda qabdan hundi galata seenaan hin daganne qabdu.

Ethiopia Charges Prominent Opposition Member Bekele Gerba, Others With Terrorism

(Addis Standard) — Prosecutors have today charged 22 individuals, including prominent opposition member Bekele Gerba (pictured), first secretary general of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), with various articles of Ethiopia’s much criticized Anti Terrorism Proclamation (ATP). Addis Standard could not obtain details of the charges as of yet.

However, charges include, but not limited to, alleged membership of the banned Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), public incitement, encouraging violence, as well as causing the death of innocent civilians and property destructions in cities such as Ambo and Adama, 120km west and 100km east of Addis Abeba during the recent Oromo protests in Ethiopia.

Land Grabbing and the Socio-economic and Environmental Destruction of Floriculture Industries in Oromia, Ethiopia

By: Assefa Mitike Janko[1]

Land Grabbing

How much land has been acquired by the Indian enterprises in Ethiopia? What crops do they plan to grow? Source: Oakland Institute, February 2013

Although the global land grabbing literature focuses on large-scale land transfer to foreign and domestic ‘investors’ in developing countries, the situation in Oromia is quite different. Land grabbing in Oromia was started in the late 19thcentury when the Abyssinian empire conquered the Oromo nation through relentless military conquest that some scholars refer to internal colonization. Following the conquest, Oromo lost their land, natural resources, autonomy, and sovereignty, and were eventually subjected to imperial oppression under successive regimes in the country.

Why Are Oromo Refugees Getting Sent Back to Ethiopia?

Tariku Debela, in jeans, walks carefully through the streets of Eastleigh, Nairobi. Photo by Ebba Abbamurti.

(Okay Africa) — On a warm evening last month, Tariku Debela was walking home from dinner in the immigrant enclave of Eastleigh, Nairobi, when he was jumped by four men who took his phone and more than $200 in cash. Getting mugged is bad enough, but what happened next is seared in Debela’s memory.

Ethiopia: U.S. Rights Report Barely Scratched Recent Oromo Protest

Report’s minimal attention on massive rights abuses and killings during the Oromo Protests angered activists

(All Africa) — The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor released the latest country report including for Ethiopia on April 13, 2016.

Much to its usual details, the Ethiopia report identified harassment and intimidation against opposition members and supporters as well as journalists in Ethiopia; it also alleged torture, beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees by security forces and politically motivated trials as “the most significant human rights problems” in the country.

2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia

U.S. Department of State
BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR

Report, April 13, 2016

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Ethiopia is a federal republic. The ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of four ethnically based parties, controls the government. On May 24, the country held national and regional elections for the House of People’s Representatives, the parliamentary body. The EPRDF and affiliated parties won all 547 seats to remain in power for a fifth consecutive five-year term. On October 5, parliament elected Hailemariam Desalegn prime minister. Government restrictions severely limited independent observation of the vote. A mission from the African Union, the sole international institution or organization permitted to observe the voting, called the elections “calm, peaceful and credible.” Some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that an environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place prior to the election. There were reports of unfair government tactics, including intimidation of opposition candidates and supporters, and violence before and after the election that resulted in six confirmed deaths. Civilian authorities generally maintained control over the security forces, although local police in rural areas, the Somali Region Special Police, and local militias sometimes acted independently.

Guyyaa Gootota Oromoo kan Bara 2016 Ilalachisee Ibsa Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo

Guyyaan Gootota (Wareegamtoota) Oromoo Ebla 15, 1980 irraa eegalee waggaa waggaan kabajamaa fi yaadatamaa yoona gahe. Gootota gaafa alagaan biyya Oromoo cabsuuf itti duule diina biyya ofii irraa ittisuuf jecha diddaa gabrummaa irratti wareegaman dabalatee qabsaawoti bilisummaa Oromoo bifa adda addaan hanga har’aatti wareegama baasan hunda guyyaa kana yaadatna. Kana waliin, guyyaan wareegamtoota Oromoo, guyyaa miseensoti Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo, deggertootaa fi uummati Oromoo bal’aan kaayyoo sab-boontoti Oromoo dabran wareegamaniif galmaan gahuuf waadaa seenan itti haaromsani dha.

Deafening Silence from Ethiopia

(Human Rights Watch) — Since November, state security forces have killed hundreds of protesters and arrested thousands in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region. It’s the biggest political crisis to hit the country since the 2005 election but has barely registered internationally. And with the protests now in their fifth month, there is an almost complete information blackout.

A teacher arrested in December told me, “In Oromia the world doesn’t know what happens for months, years or ever. No one ever comes to speak to us, and we don’t know where to find those who will listen to our stories.”

#OromoProtest Daily, April 10, 2016 (updated)

Hayyuu Dureen ABO Jaal Daawud Ibsaa Gaazexesitootaaf Ibsa Kennan