#AbiyMustGo#Ethiopia

What was the hoopla all about? 

Before airing the full version of Haacaaluu's last interview with OMN, the government - through relentless media propaganda - had created much anticipation on potential revelations from his replies to journalist Guyo Wario's questions. It turned out to be much ado about nothing. There's hardly any content in the interview that supports the Attorney General's claim that he had been receiving death threats from OLF-SG. Even the  most die-hard of PP supporters hoping for incriminating material on OMN staff must have felt highly let down. If there's anything that stands out from the interview, it's the fact that Haacaaluu's last verdict on current state of affairs is that "the Prime Minister has blood on his hands". The interview is much more damaging to Abiy and his henchmen than to any other group or political entity. 

From the outset, the government showed little interest in finding the actual perpetrators and delivering proper justice for the victim's family. The morning after Haacaaluu's assassination, officials began telling the public about the parties involved in the killing and what their motive was with absolute certainty.There's no way they could have known at that point unless they had prior intelligence and if they had that why didn't they provide him protection in the first place? The entire thing is a poorly written drama whose purpose is to divide Oromos along pronvincial lines and help PP consolidate its grip on power. The government has already delivered a political verdict on this case and it's naive to expect a different outcome from this process. The probe into the killing has to be carried out by an independent and impartial body for it to have a meaningful and acceptable outcome.

What we're seeing now is a political show trial whose intent is annihilating political opponents with Haacaaluu's killing being used as a useful pretext. For all we know, the assassination may have been carefully planned and executed by a certain wing of PP. In fact it makes much more sense to suspect that he was targeted by reactionary forces working in cahoots with this government. In an older interview with Dejene Gutema of OMN, Haacaaluu had revealed that he'd been attacked at least five times by groups affiliated to these forces while going about his business in the city. And right after his killing, having found a convenient reason to jail and eliminate Oromo nationalists, their agents inside government pounced at this opportunity and arrested their long time nemesis, Jawar. Why on earth would they jail an innocent man who is mourning the killing of his closest friend and brother? It's just so heartless and vindictive.There's no doubt that Abiy finds himself impotent and emasculated in the presence of Oromo political heavyweight Jawar Mohammed. 

The man, who everyone once hoped would transition Ethiopia into a democracy, has now jailed his main political opponents with bogus charges and effectively transformed himself into an autocrat with fascistic tendencies. Abiy and those cheering from the side may temporary feel invincible at this point but they will fail and they will fail miserably.The movement will overcome this! The movement will prevail! 

#Oromoprotests

#JusticeforHaacaaluuHundeessaa

#FreeJawarMohammed

#FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners