ሄሊኮፕተሩ በሱዳን በኩል እንዲመለስለት ወያኔ ጠየቀ::

ሄሊኮፕተሩ በሱዳን በኩል እንዲመለስለት ወያኔ ጠየቀ::

"ካልመለሱልኝ በውጊያ አስመልሰዋለሁ::" የደነገጠው ወያኔ
ስርአቱን ከዱ የተባሉት አብራሪዎች ከድሬዳዋ ተነስተው በጅቡቲ ድንበር አስታከው በአሰብ ዘልቀው ኤርትራ ያሳረፉት ሄሊኮፕተር በሱዳን በኩል እንዲመለስለት ሻእቢያን መጠየቁን የሱዳን ዲፕሎማቶች ጠቆሙ::

ወያኔ በህዝብ ላይ የሚያደርገውን ከፍተኛ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት እና በአየር ሃይሉ ውስጥ የሚፈጸመውን ደባ በመቃወም ከድተዋል የተባሉት 2 ፓይለቶች(ካፒቴን ሳሙኤል እና ቢሊሊኝ )እና አንድ ቴክኒሽያን(ጸጋ ብርሃን)ለኤርትራ መንግስት እጃቸውን የሰጡ ሲሆን ይህንንም የወያኔው ቴሌቭዥን ጣቢያ እማኝነቱን ሰቷል:: አብራሪዎቹ ይዘውት የሄዱትን ሄሊኮፕተር እንዲመለስለት ወያኔ የሱዳን ዲፕሎማቶችን የላከ ሲሆን ሻእቢያ የማይመልስ ከሆነ የወያኔ መከላከያ ሰራዊት ከባድ አጸፋዊ እርምጃ እንደሚወስድ አንድ ለስርአቱ ቅርብ የሆነ ድህረገጽ ጽፏል::

በሃገር ውስጥ እና በውጪ የሚኖሩ  እንደ ፖለቲካ ድል ሲቆጥሩት አንዳንዶቹ ወያኔ የሻእቢያን አየር ሃይል በሰው ሃይል እየገነባ ሊሆን ይችላል ከጀርባ ሌላ ደባዎች በወያኔ እና ሻእቢያ ሊሰራ ይችላል የሚሉ አስተያየት ሰጪዎች አልጠፉም::የወያኔ መክላከያ ሰራዊት አጸፋዊ እርምጃ ይወስዳል የሚል ስጋት ቢያይልም;ሃገር ወዳዶች ግን ምንም እርምጃ አይወስድም የፍርሃት ዛቻ ነው ሲሉ ተደምጠዋል::

OLF: Appeal Letter to UN General Secretary Mr. Ban Ki Moon

His Excellency Mr Ban Ki-Moon
United Nations Secretary-General
Office of the Secretary General of United Nations
885 Second Avenue
United Nations Headquarters
Room DHL-1B-154
New York, NY 10017
Fax +1 212-963-4879

Your Excellency

I write on behalf of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) to bring to your kind attention the plight of the Oromo people and to ask you to request the Security Council of the United Nations to treat the matter as a priority, to condemn the lawless atrocities by the Ethiopian regime, adopt appropriate actions to bring perpetrators to account, and safeguard the wellbeing of the Oromo and other peoples in Ethiopia.

In the land of their birth, the Oromo, who constitute the single largest national group in Ethiopia, are denied the most basic democratic right to organize freely and legally and express their political opinion. We do not know any country in the world, expect Ethiopia, where 35 million Oromo people are denied the right to have their own newspapers, to elect their own leaders and support an organization of their choice. Today, it is a serious crime, even punishable by death, to support independent Oromo organizations, such as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), internationally recognized organization, which jointly ruled Ethiopia with the TPLF in 1991/92. Supporters of the OLF and other independent organizations are harassed,

Saving the ICC from African Dictators

International Criminal Court Prosecutor throws in the towel

It is a dark and gloomy month on the “Dark Continent”! It is the worst of times in Africa when a man in the highest political office accused of egregious crimes against humanity waltzes out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) grinning like a Cheshire cat and flipping the bird to Lady Justice. It’s a good thing she is blindfolded!

On March 8, 2011, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s founding father and first president, was charged by the ICC Prosecutor with five counts of crimes against humanity in connection with the post-election violence that occurred in Kenya in late December 2007. According to the ICC indictment, Kenyatta, at the time a government minister, planned, financed, and coordinated the violence perpetrated against ethnic opponents of his ruling party.  Kenyatta is accused of using the “Mungiki organization” (“Kenyan mafia”) to direct murders, deportations, rapes and other forms inhumane acts of persecution. An estimated 1200 persons lost their lives in that violence and nearly 700 thousand were displaced. All the charges against Kenyatta were confirmed by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II in January 2012.

On December 5, 2014, the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, threw in the towel. She filed a notice with the ICC withdrawing allegations against the Kenyatta, effectively dismissing the charges. Bensouda accused the Kenyan government of harassing and intimidating prospective witnesses, the principal reason for the withdrawal of charges. She explained, “Given the state of the evidence in this case, I have no alternative but to withdraw the charges against Mr Kenyatta. I am doing so without prejudice to the possibility of bringing a new case should additional evidence become available.” Bensouda was self-consoling, “Today is a dark day for international criminal justice. Be that as it may, it is my firm belief that today’s decision is not the last word on justice and accountability for the crimes that were inflicted on the people of Kenya in 2007 and 2008, crimes that are still crying out for justice.”

In an official statement, Kenyatta feigned outrage. “There is no justice when human rights clubs and an international tribunal conspire to betray victims of human rights abuses and persecute the innocent. The tragedy of this travesty is beyond words.” He triumphantly declared, “One down, two to go.” (referring to his deputy and co-defendant William Ruto and disk-jockey  Joshua arap Sang who are facing similar charges). Is it likely that Ruto and Sang will also get away with murders, rapes and other crimes against humanity at the ICC? Could it be that what is good for Tweedle Dee Kenyatta must also be good for Tweedle Dums Ruto and Sang. In time, they too will walk.  To add infamy to insult and injury,  Kenyatta’s lawyer had the gall to demand an “apology” from the ICC Prosecutor “for bringing proceedings based upon false witnesses and impugning [Kenyatta’s] integrity”. Such is the utter depraved audacity of criminals against humanity and their defenders.

Of course, nobody bothered to ask the tens of thousands of survivors of the 2007 massacres – the poor and dispossessed men, women and children of the towns of Kibera, Kisumu, Naivasha, and Nakuru and elsewhere – who awaited justice for years how they felt about Kenyatta’s flimflamming of the ICC. The powers that be do not give a damn about the thousands of helpless, powerless and defenseless Kenyan victims of crimes against humanity. For the powers that be, it’s all about mind over matter. They don’t mind, and the victims don’t matter.

When a president of an African country accused of multiple counts of crimes against humanity walks out of court by orchestrating and choreographing an unprecedented and audacious obstruction of justice (witness intimidation, stonewalling, sandbagging, firewalling and whitewashing evidence), it is not just a flagrant denial of  justice to thousands of human rights abuse victims in Kenya, it is an outrage against all humanity; it is an affront to the rule of law. It is a triumph of injustice in Africa.

I told you… I told you Kenyatta was going to walk!

I just hate to say it. But I told you. “I done told you! I told you Kenyatta was gonna walk, slide right out of the International Criminal Court dancing the Watusi. I just knowed it!”

In April 2014 when I wrote my commentary, “Saving the ICC: A Proposal for a Witness Protection Program”, I knew Kenyatta was going to walk. I had smelled a rat earlier in January. By April the stench was stinking the high heavens. That’s when I threw in the towel. It was obvious to me Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta would never face trial at the ICC.

I sympathize with the ICC Prosecutor and the ICC. They have been feeling a lot of heat behind the scenes from the powers that be. After all, Kenyatta is a “sitting president”. The ICC, the ICC Prosecutor, the U.N. Security Council and the West in general have been incinerated by inflammatory “race hunting” and “neocolonialism” charges leveled against them by some African “leaders”. Since the middle of 2013, a number of African “leaders” have been beating the drums of racism against the ICC, the U.N. Security Council and the West to divert attention from Kenyatta’s crimes against humanity.

Hailemariam Desalegn, the ceremonial prime minister of Ethiopia and rotational chairman of the African Union (AU), went on the warpath scandalizing the ICC and the ICC Prosecutor for organizing an African safari to “race hunt” black African leaders. It was in stark contrast to the ludicrous and hyperbolic rants of the senile, buffoonish but original thugster Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe who in 2003 said: “I am still the Hitler of the time. This Hitler has only one objective, justice for his own people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people, and their right to their resources. If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold. Ten times Hitler, that is what we stand for.” Mugabe is proud to be an “African Aryan.” Hailemariam is fleeing from the “Great White Race Hunter”. How ironic!

In a last ditch effort to blackmail the ICC, Hailemariam and his accomplices at the AU tried to orchestrate a mass walkout on the Rome Statute (the international legal authority which allows the ICC to try criminals against humanity) at a special summit of the African Union in October 2013. In other words, they had planned on dumping the ICC in Africa.  It was an iconic moment of shame for Africa and its “leaders”.  They gathered in Addis Ababa in a pathetic spectacle like panicked prey fleeing a stalking predator (race hunter) seeking safety in numbers. They huffed and puffed, ranted and raved against the “race hunting” ICC on a safari in Africa. In the end, the threatened “mass treaty-cide” brinksmanship flopped.    

I have followed with considerable interest the ICC cases against the various Kenyan defendants involved in the 2007  post-election massacres. I have keenly followed the cases of Kenyatta, his Deputy William Ruto and the radio disk-jockey  Joshua arap Sang (also charged with various counts of crimes against humanity). I have read hundreds of  pages of trial transcripts in the Ruto/Sang trials and viewed delayed video transmissions of some of the proceedings. I have read a considerable number of commentaries and newspaper reports on these defendants. I have also extensively commented on the the Kenyatta/Ruto cases in my weekly “Monday Commentaries”. 

Why am I so keenly interested in a successful prosecution of these suspected criminals against humanity? To put it more bluntly, why am I so pissed off like a squirrel with a frozen pine cone about the “withdrawal of charges” against Kenyatta and likely dismissal of the cases against Ruto and Sang? The answer to these questions goes back to another post-election massacre in Ethiopia in 2005.

On May 16, 2005, one day after the election, the late Meles Zenawi declared a state of emergency in Ethiopia after it became clear that oppositon parties had routed his party at the polls. Meles took personal command of the armed and security forces and sidelied the capital’s police with “federal police” and SWAT-type special units. He outlawed all public gatherings. Meles authorized his troops to use deadly force against any and all protesters.

In 2006,  an Inquiry Commission established by Meles himself pointed an accusatory finger solely at him for the deaths of 193 unarmed protesters and life-threateing gunshot injury to nearly 800 others. The actual number of casualties at the hands of regime troops in the post-2005 election is much higher, but the Commission’s report covers only designated dates and locations.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” Living comfortably in America, I was unaffected by the Meles Massacres. When I became fully aware of the horrifying scope of the Meles Massacres in 2006, I was beyond outrage. I was “mad as the vexed sea”, to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare.

At the time, there were two critical questions uppermost in my outraged mind: 1)  Should I speak out or  turn a blind eye, deaf ears and muted lips to the Meles Massacres? 2) What should and must be done about the Meles Massacres?

IT IS TIME FOR TPLF TO RESIGN FROM POWER WILLINGLY

At the beginning of this month, the London-based newspaper, Financial Times, published a list of socio-political problems submitted by the dictatorial TPLF regime to international investors, that are believed to put investors at risks if they opt to invest in Ethiopia.  This is a dampening piece of information which is not expected from any institution that claims to be responsible for governing a country as big and important as Ethiopia.  Below is a partial list of the problems forwarded to investors by TFLF on behalf of Ethiopia.

• Abuse of human rights
• Prevalence of political turmoil
• Prevalence of famine
• Rampant poverty
• Lack of reliable sea outsets and associated economic problems
• Underdevelopment and public finance strain
• Political and military tensions with neighboring countries including Eritrea and Djibouti
• Overall poor governance and bottom level index measurements

It is clear that the stated problems are directly tied to the philosophy, policies and practices that TPLF itself has been promoting religiously for decades in Ethiopia.  Here, it may be appropriate to repeat the cliché “You reap what you sow”, although, unfortunately, the consequences of reaping only remain to be a burden on the Ethiopian people who play no part in sowing of the poisonous seeds.  Admittedly, however, whatever the motive behind the document submitted may be, this is quite an admission on the part of TPLF of its own wrong-doings for years.  Although many other crimes have been committed by the regime, such as promotion of ethnic enmity, forced displacement of rural communities, ethnic cleansing of the Amara people and giving-away Ethiopia’s lands to neighboring countries, this move is a surprising turn-around which should, by all means, be encouraged.

Since the discovery of TPLF by the Ethiopian people as an evil force imposed upon them, there have been widespread and intense resistances against its philosophy, policies and practices, which have lead to the above predictable problematic outcomes.  Many citizens have sacrificed immensely in their struggle for a change to a better Ethiopia.  Taking the reported admission of TPLF for wrong-doings at its face-value, at this moment, it seems that both the Ethiopian people and the evil organization are on the same page, at least theoretically.  Since TPLF has failed miserably to perform its expected duty at least during the past 23 years, it is now time to bow to the will of the people and shift the power to the genuine representative the latter.  This is not only an investable process, but it is also a fair game if one is willing to admit his/her failures in the presence of a stronger competitor/power taker.  In other words, if TPLF is honest to its own admission of political/administrative failures, it has to start working on an exit strategy from power and prepare the ground for a peaceful transfer of the power to the Ethiopian people in a responsible way.  Short of this, the failure admission document submitted to international investors as reported in the Financial Times this month will only remains empty words.  It is predictable that this will make the struggle of the Ethiopian people for freedom even more vigorous and resolute, rather than deterring it, if the latter is what TPLF is hoping to see.  The consideration of this inevitable fact and taking positive action in time will be the appropriate thing to do as it will save unnecessary waste of time, human lives and resources. 

In Defence of Oromo Institutions

It has been over 125 years since the exemplary Oromo Gadaa System and its egalitarian values – where everything under the sun was valued dearly as the work of the Creator (Waaqaa) and everyone deserved a fair and equal treatment before the law – were banned and replaced by a barbaric and authoritarian rule of the Abyssinians. It took only forty odd years for the Oromo Nation to re-claim some of its lost cultural values, its language and its history under the pan-Oromo Nationalism spearheaded by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

We have heard and witnessed when the Abyssinian rulers unashamedly tell us that their culture and language is superior to that of the Oromo Nation, and speaking Afan Oromo is a sign of backwardness and those adhering to the Oromo culture are uncivilized people. They have gone as far as saying “Afan Oromo,” which is the third widely-spoken language in Africa, cannot be used as a medium of communication because “if used in broadcasting, Afan Oromo will damage the radio or television sets and waves.”

We owe much to the Macha-Tulama Association’s founders and the brave Oromo scholars, such as Sheikh Bakiri Sapaloo, Haile Fida, Terfa Dibaba, Dr Tilahun Gamtaa, Ibsa Gutuma and many other dedicated Oromo elders, women, and the entire OLF leadership – past and present – for the renaissance of the Oromo language and culture.

The main aim of my writing is not to pay due where it deserves, but to say something about the recent all-out war and public campaign against the Oromia Media Network (OMN) – from within and without. As a citizen and proud Oromo, I want to express my unhappiness, and our failure as a nation to learn from the Gadaa system’s conflict resolution methods, and in this case, we have taken our internal issues to the public. When things burst into the public sphere, it will only widen our wounds, and each group (of the two warring parties) makes every attempt to prosecute its case, not in front of a jury, but in the eyes and ears of the wider public, and the outcome of such a case will be very partisan and negative.

After listening to the individuals and the few media outlets that have waged very negative campaigns in the name of lack of transparency and accountability in the OMN structure, I was reminded of one of Eleanor Roosevelt quotes, which states “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

The Oromia Media Network (OMN) is a young organization – less than a year old, and we should not attempt to throw out the baby with the bath water, and we are not to throw those individuals who have sacrificed their time and energy for the realization of this media organization under the bus. To come out and wage an all-out war in the name of transparency and accountability, and failing to solve – whether big or small issue(s) – as an internal matter is like demanding a newborn baby to run before it learns how to walk. What all former and current members of the OMN Board have done – to me – is untimely, immature and, at best, reckless. Reckless in a sense, how many of us have understood the negative campaign we are conducting will always benefit our enemy camps? Both Abyssinian camps are throwing every mud and are spending millions of dollars to either hijack OMN for their own mission or to destroy it because our adversaries have understood a long time ago the role of media and their impacts in the psychological warfare.

Release protestors, stop crushing political opposition

December 11, 2014 (Amnesty International) — On 5 and 6 December, security services in Addis Ababa arrested an estimated 90 people during attempts to stage a demonstration by a coalition of nine opposition political parties. The arrests are the latest manifestation of the authorities’ hostility towards the political opposition ahead of the general election scheduled for May 2015. The Ethiopian authorities must ensure the immediate and unconditional release of those arrested for peaceful participation in, or the organization of, the demonstration, and all others imprisoned in Ethiopia for the peaceful expression of their political opinion.

Amnesty International is concerned that in the period ahead of next year’s poll such instances of the authorities cracking down on political opposition will intensify.

The nine-party coalition was attempting to stage a demonstration in Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square on 6 December as the culmination of a series of activities calling for a free and fair election.

The exact number of people arrested has not been established, but the political parties involved report that around 90 people arrested in relation to the demonstration have appeared in court remand hearings in recent days.

The Semayawi (Blue) party, one of the coalition members, says that around 75 of its members and leadership were arrested, including its Chair, Engineer Yilkal Getnet, who is reported to have been injured as a result of beating by the police before he was arrested. The leaders of at least three other parties in the coalition were also arrested – Girma Bekele of the Omo People’s Democratic Union and Chair of the coalition, Erchafo Erdelo, Chair of the Kembata Peoples’ Congress and Alesa Mengesha, Chair of the Gedeo People’s Democratic Organization.



The other parties in the coalition are the All Ethiopian Democratic Party, the All Ethiopian Unity Party, the All Ethiopian National Party, the All Amhara People’s Organization and the Sodo Gordona Democratic Organization.

Two eye-witnesses told Amnesty International that there was a heavy federal police presence in Meskel Square on 6 December. Some would-be protestors were reportedly arrested on their way to the square. Another group was arrested shortly after leaving the Semayawi party office to walk to the square. The latter group was reported to have been beaten by police, resulting in a number of injuries.

The two groups are being detained in Sostegna (third) and Cherkos police stations.

The group detained in Sostegna police station, which numbers over 50 people, the majority of whom are Semayawi party members, appeared at Arada first instance court on 8 December, accused of participating in an illegal demonstration and attempting to overthrow the Constitution. They were remanded in custody until 22 December. 27 people detained at Cherkos police station were brought before a court in the Cherkos area, also on 8 December, accused of destroying public property in Meskel Square and remanded in custody until 15 December.


A group of six further Semayawi party members and two members of the All Ethiopian Unity Party, were arrested on 5 December after leaving the Semayawi office, and are being detained in Kotebe police station. They reportedly appeared in Yeka first instance court on the day of their arrest and were remanded in custody until 15 December.

The Semayawi party told Amnesty International it had informed the city administration of its intention to stage a demonstration, as required under the relevant proclamation, and had received a response informing the party it should not hold the demonstration, due to construction work in Meskel Square and a reported lack of security services to police the event. The response did not offer an alternative date or location. Semayawi states that due to this failure, it went ahead with its plans.

According to the Proclamation to Establish the Procedure for Peaceful Demonstration and Public Political Meeting (No. 3/1991), anyone planning to hold a demonstration must provide written notice to the relevant authorities 48 hours in advance, providing specifics of the nature, time, location and number of expected participants. The administrative office must provide a written response to the applicant within 12 hours if it is preferable that the demonstration be held at a different time or location.

The Ethiopian Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights all oblige the Ethiopian government to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. Under international law, any restrictions on the exercise of these rights may only be such as are demonstrably necessary and proportionate for specific reasons recognised as legitimate, and must not undermine the right itself. Despite these legal obligations on the Ethiopian government, thousands of Ethiopians have been arrested in 2014 alone for their involvement in protests.

The Ethiopian government’s intolerance of dissent is increasing apace ahead of next May’s general elections. Throughout 2014, as well as large-scale arrests of protestors, there have been multiple arrests of members and leadership of opposition political parties, as well as other dissenting voices.

The Oromo Federalist Congress opposition political party reported that between 350 and 500 of its members were arrested between May and July, with further arrests of party members continuing every month since then. In July, Yeshewas Asefa of the Semayawi party was arrested along with Habtamu Ayalew and Daniel Shebeshi of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party and Abraha Desta of the Arena Tigray party. The four were subsequently charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Semayawi members Befekadu Abebe, a party official in Arba Minch, and Agbaw Setegn, a member from Gondar, both remain in Maikelawi federal police detention centre since their arrests in September and October respectively.

Outbreak of Deadly Disease in Jail; Denial of Graduation of University Students – Statement of HRLHA

HRLHA – URGENT ACTION

December 10, 2014

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) would like to express its deep concern over the outbreak of a deadly disease at the Gimbi Prison in Western Wollega, as a result of which one inmate has already died, and sixty (60) others infected. HRLHA strongly believes that the very poor sanitation in the jail, absence of basic necessities, and denial of treatments after catching the illness have contributed to Mr. Yaikob Nigaru’s death. HRLHA fears that those who have already caught the disease might be facing the same fate. It is well documented that particularly inmates deemed “political prisoners” are deliberately subjected to unfriendly and unhealthy environments and, after getting sick as a result, are not allowed access to treatment until they approach or reach the stage of coma, which is when recoveries are very unlikely. HRLHA considers it one way of the systematic eliminations of alleged and/or perceived political dissidents.

Mr. Ya’kob Nigatu was one of the 224 Oromo Nationals (139 from Gimbi in Western Wollaga, 80 from Ambo, and 5 from Ma’ikellawi in Addis Ababa/Finfinne) who were charged by the Federal Government on the 10^th of November, 2014 for allegedly committing acts of terrorism in relation to the April/May 2014 peaceful protests by Oromo students in different parts of the regional state of Oromia. HRLHA has learnt that five of the 224 Oromo defendants, who were held at the infamous Ma’ikelawi Criminal Investigation for about six months, were subjected to harassment and intimidation through isolation and confinements, with no visitations by relatives and friends, no access to a lawyer, and no open court appearance until when they were eventually taken to court to be given the charges. Those five Oromo nationals, who were transferred to Kilinto Jail right after receiving the alleged terrorism charges, were:

1. Ababe Urgessa Fakkansa (a student from Haromaya University),
2. Magarsa Warqu Fayyisa (a student from Haromaya University),
3. Addunya Kesso (a student from Adama University),
4. Bilisumma Dammana (a student from Adama University),
5. Tashale Baqala Garba (a student from Jimma University), and
6. Lejjisa Alamayyo Soressa (a student from Jimma University).

Besides the outbreak of a deadly disease witnessed at Gimbi Jail, and the likelihood of the same situations to occur particularly at highly populated and crowded jails, Kilinto is known to be one of the very notorious substandard prisons in the country. Such facts taken into consideration, HRLHA would like to express its deep concern over the safety of those young Oromo prisoners.

HRLHA has also received reports that 29 Oromo nationals, who have been attending the Addis Ababa/Finfinne University, have been denied proofs of graduations (degrees and/or diplomas) and, as a result, prevented from graduating after completing their studies for allegedly taking part in the April/May 2014 peaceful protests of Oromo students and other nationals against the newly drafted and introduced Finfinne Master Plan. The 29 Oromo students were first detained along with 23 other Oromo students of the same university, following the protests, and released on bails ranging between $1000.00 and $4000.00 Birr. Upon re-admission back to the University, they were all (52 of them) forced to appear before the disciplinary committee of the University, where they were asked to confess that their involvement in the peaceful demonstrations was wrong and that they should apologize to the Government and the public. According to reports from HRLHA’s correspondents, it was the students’ refusal to confess and apologize that has resulted in their prevention from graduating, despite their fulfillment of all the academic requirements. HRLHA describes the University’s becoming a political weapon as shameful, and the restrictions imposed on Oromo students as a pure act of racism aimed at partisan political gains. Of the 29 Oromo students who have become victims of the University’s non-academic action, HRLHA has obtained names of the following nine students:

1. Jirra Birhanu
2. Jilo Kemee
3. Mangistu Daadhii
4. Taddasaa Gonfaa
5. Lammeessa Mararaa
6. Ganna Jamal
7. Nuguse Gammadaa
8. Dajanee Daggafaa
9. Gaddisaa Dabaree

BACKGROUNDS:
The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) has reported (May 1st and 13th, 2014, urgent actions,www.humanrightleague.org) on the heavy-handed crackdown of the Ethiopian Federal Government’s Agazi Special Squad and the resultant extra-judicial killings of 34 (thirty-four) Oromo nationals; and the arrests and detentions of hundreds of others. Besides, Amnesty International, in its most recent report on Ethiopia – “Because I am Oromo – Sweeping repression in the Oromia region of Ethiopia” – has exposed how Oromo nationals have been regularly subjected to arbitrary arrest, prolonged detentions without charge, enforced disappearance, repeated torture and unlawful state killings as part of the government’s incessant attempts to crush dissent.