September 27

Finfinnee  (Addis-Abeba)

PRESS  RELEASE
(Post-Election Repression in Oromia)

The Executive Committee of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM)
met on September 9, 2005, deliberated on a number of issues and passed
several resolutions.  Among them are the following points:

1.        It now seems almost impossible to defeat the Ruling Party through
elections, and the world has witnessed that in very many cases the
peoples’ voices were callously defied by the Ruling Party.  Such
anti-democratic crimes were intensified especially during the Re-election
reruns.

2.        It is clear that OFDM, over a very short period of time, has won the
trust and respect of the Oromo people by adhering only to those principles
of self-determination which the Oromo have always demanded.  OFDM has
been, since its inception, an independent Oromo voice.

3.        The Ruling Party has observed with great fear the wide acceptance of
OFDM by the Oromo people and is doing everything possible to suppress the
people and continue its oppressive misrule.

4.        The Government is trying to hoodwink the people by telling them that it
would correct past mistakes and at the same time, is isolating and
harassing our party’s members, supporters and sympathizers, whether they
are farmers, traders, students, teachers or the youth.  Individuals who
were our observers and supporters on Election Day, have been made special
targets.  Our members who are acting legally on behalf of our party (which
is a nation-wide party) in rural areas, have been especially identified.
They are told that they have no right to open offices and recruit members.
 Indeed, Government officials have even closed down OFDM offices that were
opened before Election Day.  Such harassment is carried out throughout
Oromia.

5.        Our people have been forced to publicly tear up ID cards issued by
OFDM.  Many have been issued new OPDO membership cards against their will.
 Many people have been thrown into jail long enough to be humiliated
publicly as if they were thieves.  They have been pushed around, roughed
up while being asked  “What made you give your vote to ……. “ (OFDM or
other parties).

6.        On June 18, a member of our Executive Committee and head of our
Political Division, Dr. Getachew Jigi traveled to Beggi (Western Wallaga)
where he was threatened and his car vandalized.  The owners of the hotel
in which he stayed were threatened, and the hotel was hit by a barrage of
stones in the night.  Our local party workers tried to take the case to
court, but there was no court open at the time (courts were on recess).
Several individuals came in person to our Office in Finfinnee, as they
were afraid to stay in their locality as party officers.

7.        Another tactic which is used by OPDO cadres is to penetrate our party
gatherings and shout, to disturb normal party meetings.   When they were
told to leave, a few of them pulled out guns and threatened our people.
Our people are disarmed as no one can carry a gun without  a permit, and
of course, no permit is issued to our people.

8.        Our representatives have become the focus of anger and manhandling by
OPDO.  They are treated like enemies.  For example, OFDM Woreda
representative in Manasibu, Ato Kebede Jato and several of his colleagues
were taken away to an army camp, and, for several days relatives could not
locate them.  This has been officially reported from our field office.

9.        In the town of Dembidollo, on September 8, 2005, an OPDO party worker
picked up a quarrel with one of our members by the name of Beyene Alemu
and shot him.  Beyene is still in the hospital in Dembidollo.  When Beyene
fell down as he was shot, the perpetrator shouted: “Let OFDM come and pick
you up”.

10.        We also have reports of harassment and imprisonment and physically
manhandling of people in the following localities:
-        Arsi Zone, Assasa Woreda, our representative, Sheikh Mahmud Tusuru was
imprisoned for several days.  Our observer during the Elections of May 15,
Ato Jemal Hadj Fetto’s Travel Agency was closed down.  The son of
MP-elect, Gebeyehu Hayato, has been “evaluated” (interrogated) ten times.

-        In Eastern Shoa, in the town of Adama, our representative, Ato Hussein
Adam, went to Sode Woreda to visit relatives, and was imprisoned for 20
days.  Ato Mohamed Amin Jemalo and Abdurrahman Sheikh, who are members of
OFDM, have been gaoled for mentioning the name of OFDM and trying to
recruit members.

-        In Bale Zone, in the Woreda of Kokosa, where reelection was carried out,
our candidate, Tilahun Gemeda, was continuously followed wherever he went
by cadres of OPDO.  Our observers were detained.  Tilahoun was prevented
from campaigning (which was legal) but OPDO conducted full-scale campaign,
assisted by armed militia.  In the re-election exercise, naturally, the
OPDO candidate won, although it was obvious that the elections had been
rigged, and the Re-election was even more massively rigged in the absence
of observers and normal casting of votes.

-        In Kuyu and Degem Woredas, Northern Shoa, where complaints investigation
was to be carried out, witnesses named by our candidates were prevented
from coming to town, as there was a general clampdown on movements into or
out of town.  Those who managed to enter the towns were gathered together
and kept under surveillance.   All this to prevent our witnesses from
appearing before the Complaints Investigation Panel (CIP).

-        In Illubabur Zone, Gachi Woreda, nine individuals who were supposed to
be observers for our candidate, Kebede Firrissa, are still in detention.

-        Ironically, malicious propaganda has been perpetrated against OFDM by
alleging that OFDM has joined EPRDF/OPDO.  Our Party denies this
allegation vehemently.  The question of whether or not OFDM enters
Parliament is still unanswered as OFDM is in constant consultation with
its electorates, supporters and sympathizers.  The ambivalence has been
brought about by the repression perpetrated against our people.

11.        We take this opportunity to denounce the act of disarming Oromos in
the face of attacks from neighboring  Issas, Afaars and Somalis bands.  We
also call on the international community to come to the aid of these
isolated Oromo communities which are abandoned by their own Government and
are outnumbered, thus, unable to defend themselves.

12.        It is also our sincere hope that people of good will in Ethiopia and
the international community will wake up to the special harassment focused
on the Oromo people, by the Government, as a measure of “post-election
repression”.  Our people are repressed and oppressed because, for the
first time in fourteen years, “they dared” to cast their votes for other
parties.  The Oromo people, as documented in the recent Human Rights
Watch, New York, 2005, are treated with special harshness.  We plead
especially with the international community to look more closely into the
oppression of the Oromo people.

Thank you.
OFDM
 

September 13
 

Ethiopia PM reaches out to Oromos
BBC News - UK
... the country. The Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia representing around half of its 70m people. When this government ...
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VOA Launches Expanded Programming,Time Changes for the Horn of Africa
Voice of America Mon, 12 Sep 2005 2:29 PM PDT
PRESS RELEASE - Washington, D.C., September 12, 2005 - The Voice of America (VOA) has doubled its Amharic language broadcast and moved the time and frequencies for Afan Oromo and Tigrigna language broadcasts in response to audience requests...

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Seventy-one Ethiopians petition TA court against deportation
Ha'aretz (subscription) - Tel Aviv,Israel
... The petitioners were forced to flee Ethiopia after the regime change in 1992, because their parents were members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) outlawed ... ..

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UNICEF Receives Funds for Work with AIDS Orphans in ...
UNPO - The Hague,Netherlands
As the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) struggles to help a growing number of AIDS orphans in Ethiopia, it has received today nearly $5 million from ...

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