Statement by the Oromo Community of Minnesota - On the situation of Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia

 Statement by the Oromo Community of Minnesota - On the situation of Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia.

************************************************************

Ethiopia is currently embroiled in a fully-fledged civil war. Years-long deadly fighting started in the northern part of the country between the Ethiopian government led by Abiy Ahmed and the allied forces, TPLF, and the Oromo Liberation Army are fast approaching Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. The international media, such as the BBC world, CNN, are reporting on the situation unfolding in Ethiopia citing the crisis looming large. Fearing imminent military showdown over the capital and ensuing chaos, the United States has called on its citizens to leave Ethiopia immediately. The US has decided to repatriate non-essential staff of the US embassy in Addis Ababa and also dispatched the Horn of Africa Special Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman in a bid to facilitate a negotiated settlement to the conflict. So far, the Ethiopian government has turned down a peaceful approach and continues to pursue the military path despite sustaining significant battlefield loss against advancing rebel forces. As a last desperate attempt to hold off the advancement of rebel forces, the Ethiopian government has called upon all able civilian citizens to take the arm and fight the rebel forces. We members of the Oromo community of Minnesota are deeply concerned by the escalating military conflict and irresponsible move of militarizing the society on the side of the Ethiopian government.

While we appreciate the diplomatic effort of the US government to end the conflict through dialogue and negotiation, we are dismayed by the lack of attention and concern to release detained Oromo political prisoners including Jawar Mohammed, a long-time resident of Minnesota. As per the account of family members of political prisoners, recently (November 18, 2021) there has been an attempt to make unlawful intrusion into their prison cell by federal police forces without prior notice to prison guards in what could be considered an assassination attempt. We feared some rogue elements within the government who wanted to exploit the current security crisis, owing to ongoing civil war that may cause harm to our political leaders.

As the fighting is approaching the capital, we are concerned that the life and safety of Oromo political prisoners are at stake. We have a well-founded fear that either the government or individuals who have animosity emanating from political and ideological differences could harm the political prisoners. We want to bring to your attention at this juncture that these political prisoners received credible life-threatening threats from their political adversaries before and after their arrests. Against this background, we are pleading with the US government to take action to ensure the safety and security of Oromo political prisoners. Importantly, we request the US government to call for the immediate release of Oromo political prisoners and participate in a post-Abiy Ahmed political settlement.

Therefore, we ask the US government

1. To issue a public statement calling for the release and safety of the Oromo political prisoners.

2. To call on the International Humanitarian Organizations such as the ICRC to ensure the safety and wellness of the Oromo political prisoners.

3. In collaboration with like-minded international actors to ratchet up pressure on the Ethiopian government to release Oromo political prisoners.

165