War Crimes Against the Oromo Nation in Ethiopia

The Oromo nation is under severe coordinated internal  and external attacks  by TPLF/EPRDF- sponsored mechanized killing squads. In the past three months, since  the state of emergency was declared on October 8, 2016, the  Ethiopian TPLF/EPRDF  government  has  deployed  its killing squad Agazi force all over Oromia  and massacred over 1200 Oromo youths, mothers and fathers  in their homes and in the streets, imprisoned tens of thousands, committed rape, and disappeared other  thousands .  Over seventy thousand Oromos  from all walks of life have been arbitrarily detained- under the pre-text of rehabilitation (Tehadiso)- picked up from their homes, workplaces, streets and taken to concentration Camps of  Xolya, Huriso, Diddessa  and also to  unidentified concentration camps.  In these concentration camps, tens of thousands Oromos have suffered and died  from torture, communicable diseases, and malnutrition without receiving medical treatment.

The external attacks have been perpetuated against Oromos by TPLF/EPRDF trained special force (Liyu Police) from the Somali regional state in  the eastern  boundary. The Liyu Police is a special killing squad of the TPLF/EPRDF government in the Ogaden Region, a group  established in 2008 under the pretext of  protecting the people of the region  from the opposition political organization, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) fighting for the self determination of Somali people in Ethiopia.

The Liyu police has routinely conducted heinous massacres in Ogaden villages ever since its formation and committed genocide against its own family members in the past eight years.

According to The Guardian, published  Thursday, 10 January 2013  , millions of pounds of Britain’s foreign aid budget were spent on training an Ethiopian paramilitary security force that stands accused of numerous human rights abuses and summary executions. The Guardian has  also mentioned in its news that  an internal Department for International Development document formed part of a tender to train security forces in the Somali region of Ogaden, as part of a five-year £13m–15m “peace-building” program has recently been discovered.

In its Urgent Action on May 2013 HRLHA reported that the Liyu Police had illegally  crossed into  Oromia in 2013 and attacked  the defenceless people; 700 different types of cattle and other valuable possessions were  reported to have been looted  and over 20,000  Oromos from Rasa Harre, Marfata, Qillee, Mulqee, Dirraa, Waldayyaa, Biqqoo and Libee community fled to the highland areas in Eastern Hararge Zone.

Since then, the TPLF/EPRDF- sponsored Liyu Police periodically has repeatedly attacked the neighboring Oromia districts in Bale, in Eastern Harge zones. The attack of the Liyu police  has escalated into invasions all over Oromia’s neighboring districts multiple times in the past one and half months.

According to the HRLHA informants,  this is the part of  internal and external  coordinated plan of TPLF /EPRDF government to  totally eliminate the Oromo nation  by using paramilitary Liyu Police. (synonym for Janjaweed militia which loosely translates to ‘devils on horseback’) . Janjaweed militia were group  of  killers deployed by Sudan government against the Darfur people in 2003 in which over 480,000 people were massacared and over 2.8 million have been displace)

Acording to the report we received  from our informants, overr 150  Oromos have been killed and many wounded during the war between  Liyu Police and the Oromo civilian in Gursum, Qunbi, Babile, Chiksan, Gursum, and Jarso (Eastern Hararge),  Seweyena, Meda Welabu, Dawe Sarariti and Raytu (Bale Zone),  Liban and Laga Dawa (Guji Zone), Funanagrsu and Elele (Borana Zone) of Oromia.

The TPLF/EPRDF is committing war crimes against the Oromo nation  by deploying its highly trained killing squads from the internal Agazi Force  and by the external Liyu Police funded by foreign governments. The World Community should not remain silent and witness when such systematic war crimes are  taking place  against the Oromo Nation in Ethiopia, crimes that are similar to those committed in Rwanda and Darfur.

The TPLF government and the TPLF surrogate and the so- called Oromo  People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) must be held accountable by the world community for their systematic war crimes against  the Oromos.

The 2003/2004 Genocide against Darfur in Sudan is a striking lesson; the people there were killed indiscriminately and, more sadly, the perpetrators would go unpunished until it culminated in a full genocide. What is happening in Oromia regional state today resembles more or less what happened at the embryonic stage of the Darfur genocide in Sudan.

Even the AU, whose headquarters is in the center of Oromia/Addis Ababa, remain actionless after thousands of Oromo children, seniors, men and women have been massacred by the TPLF/EPRDF killing squads in the past year. The donor governments such as the USA, the UK, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Australia  and government agencies (African Commission  on Human and Peoples’ Rights, EU Human Rights Commission and  UN Human Rights Council) have not found the courage to take concrete action, other than expressing  their concerns.  Such inaction doesn’t reflect the AU’s  and the UN’s obligation under their own Constitutive Act, which provides for intervention inside a member state against genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

This is a cosmopolitan ideal of protecting people inside states against mass atrocities as a matter of common obligation. The Responsibility to Protect (R2P), coined in 2001 under the leadership of the Canadian government and adopted by 150 heads of states and governments in 2005, obliges the international community to intervene to stop atrocities.

As a matter of principle, a state shoulders the primary responsibility to prevent and protect its own citizens against horrific acts, but if it is unable or unwilling to prevent and protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, the responsibility is thus shifted to the international community. The R2P states, “ when a state is unable or unwilling to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, the international community has the responsibility to intervene”.

The UN Charter’s first and most essential aim is to “maintain international peace and security”. However, when the UN was first created, it was an enormous undertaking based on hope.

Today, one critical question on everyone’s lips is whether the United Nations is living up to its mandate, more particularly, of maintaining international peace and security. Amid ongoing human rights crises in Ethiopia it is hard to figure out what exactly the UN & AU have done to uphold their responsibilities. Nevertheless, it is not too late to act today.  

HRW: 2016, Year of Brutality, Restrictions in Ethiopia

 Ethiopia plunged into a human rights crisis in 2016, increasing restrictions on basic rights during a state of emergency and continuing a bloody crackdown against largely peaceful protesters, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2017. The state of emergency permits arbitrary detention, restricts access to social media, and bans communications with foreign groups.

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Security forces killed hundreds and detained tens of thousands of protesters in Ethiopia’s Oromia and Amhara regions during the year. Many of those who were released reported that they were tortured in detention, alongstanding problem in Ethiopia. The government has failed to meaningfully investigate security forces abuses or respond to calls for an international investigation into the crackdown.

“Instead of addressing the numerous calls for reform in 2016, the Ethiopian government used excessive and unnecessary lethal force to suppress largely peaceful protests,” said Felix Horne, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Vague promises of reform are not enough. The government needs to restore basic rights and engage in meaningful dialogue instead of responding to criticism with more abuses.”

In the 687-page World Report, its 27th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Kenneth Roth writes that a new generation of authoritarian populists seeks to overturn the concept of human rights protections, treating rights as an impediment to the majority will. For those who feel left behind by the global economy and increasingly fear violent crime, civil society groups, the media, and the public have key roles to play in reaffirming the values on which rights-respecting democracy has been built.

Protester anger boiled over following October’s Irreecha cultural festival, when security forces’ mishandling of the massive crowd caused a stampede, resulting in many deaths. In response, angry youth destroyed private and government property, particularly in the Oromia region. The government then announced the state of emergency, codifying many of the security force abuses documented during the protests, and signaling an increase in the militarized response to protesters’ demands for reform.

Government limitations on free expression and access to information undermine the potential for the inclusive political dialogue needed to understand protesters’ grievances, let alone address them, Human Rights Watch said.

The tens of thousands of people detained in 2016 include journalists, bloggers, musicians, teachers, and health workers. Moderates like the opposition leader Bekele Gerba have been charged with terrorism and remain behind bars, education has been disrupted, and thousands have fled the country.

The Liyu police, a paramilitary force, committed numerous abuses against residents of the Somali region in 2016, and displacement from Ethiopia’s development projects continued, including in the Omo valley.

Al jazeera report : Jailed Ethiopian journalist starts hunger strike, Ja...

በእነጉርሜሳ አያኖ መዝገብ 5ት ቀሪ የአቃቤ የህግ ምስክሮችን ለመስማት ተጨማሪ ቀን ተሰጠ [የታህሳስ 27/4/2009 ውሎ]

FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS !!!

አቃቤህግ ቀሪ ምስክሮች ቀርበው እንደሆነ ሲጠየቅ፤ አምስት ምስክሮች እንደሚቀሩት እና ተገቢውን ጥረት ቢያደርግም ሊቀርቡ እንዳልቻሉ በመግለፅ የበለጠ ጉዳዩን እንዲያስረዱለት ከፓሊስ የቀረቡትን ረዳት ኢንስፔክተር ቴድሮስ አዳነ ጠይቋል። ረዳት ኢንስፔክተሩ የተሰጣቸው ጊዜ አጭር በመሆኑ በተሰጠው ቀጠሮ ሁሉንም ማቅረብ አለመቻላቸውን፤ ምስክሮቹ አካባቢያቸውን አበመልቀቃቸው በአዲሱ አድራሻቸው እያፈላለጓቸው በመሆኑ፤ ራቅ ያለ ቦታ ያሉ ምስክር በመኖራቸው ከፍተኛ የጊዜ እጥረት ስለገጠማቸው በመሆኑ ጊዜ እንዲጨመርለት ጠይቋል። በመቀጠልም አቃቤ ህግ ከቀሩት 5ት ምስክሮች ውስጥ አንዱ ጉጂ ዞን የሚገኝ፣ አንዱ ፀበል ላይ እንደነበረ እና ማስረጃ እስኪያመጣ ጊዜ ስላጠረ፣ አንደኛው አድራሻ ቀይሮ ሌላ ቦታ በመሄዱ በተሰጠው ጊዜ ቀርበው መመስከር እንዳልቻሉ ተናግሮ የተቀሩት ሁለቱ ግን የአዲስ አበባ ነዋሪ መሆናቸውን መመስከር ስላልፈለጉ አድራሻቸውን እየቀያየሩ እንዳስቸገሯቸው ተናግሯል። እስካሁን ይመሰክራሉ ከተባሉ 42 ምስክሮች ውስጥ 37ቱን እንዳሰማ የተናገረው አቃቤ ህግ የተከሰሱበትን የክስ ክብደት እንዲሁም ከፍተኛ ጉዳት ያስከተለ ተግባር መሆኑን ከግምት ውስጥ በማስገባት ቀሪ ምስክሮችን አቅርበው እንዲያሰሙ ተጨማሪ ጊዜ እንዲሰጣቸው ጠይቀዋል።

የተከሳሽ ጠበቆች የተሰሙት ምስክሮች በችሎቱ ግፊት እንጂ አቃቤ ህግ ዳተኛ እንደነበረ፤ ምስክሮቹን ማቅረብ ስላልፈለገ እንጂ በቂ ጊዜ ተሰጥቶት እንደነበረ፤ የፍትህ ሂደት የሚለካው በሂደቱም ጭምር መሆኑን፤ ከባለፈው ቀጠሮ ጀምሮ በሰበብ አስባቡ ምስክሮችን ለማምጣት በሚል ቀጠሮ መሰጠቱን ተቃውመው እንደነበረ እና የዛሬው ቀጠሮም የመጨረሻው በሚል የተያዘ እንደሆነ ገልፀው ተጨማሪ ቀጠሮ መሰጠት እንደሌለበት ተናግረዋል።

"እንደሚታወቀው ከታሰርን ሁለት ወራችን አይደለም። አንድ አመት አልፎናል። እነሱ ቤታቸው እያደሩ እኛን እያሾፉብን ነው። በአንድ ቀን ብዙ ሺዎችን እያሰረ ያለ መንግስት፤ እንዴት ነው 5ት ምስክሮችን ማቅረብ ያልቻሉት? " በማለት የኦፌኮ ም/ፕሬዝዳንት አቶ በቀለ ተጨማሪ ቀጠሮ መኖር የለበትም ሲሉ ተከራክረዋል። አቶ ደጀኔ ጣፋም ተቃውሟቸውን ለችሎቱ አሰምተዋል። "አቃቤ ህግ ሲናገር 2ቱ አዲስ አበባ ናቸው ብሏል። ለምን አልቀረቡም እስካሁን? ክሳችን መጀመሪያም የፓለቲካ ክስ ነው አሁንም የፓለቲካ ድምዳሜ ነው የምንሰማው። እንዲሁ እንደከሰሳችሁን እንዲሁ ፍረዱብን። ወይስ ፍትህ አለ ለማስባል ነው? የኛን እና የናንተን ጊዜ ለምን ይፈጃሉ? ጉጂ እኮ ወርቅ የሚዘረፍበት ነው። እንዴት ከዛ አንድ ሰው ማምጣት ይከብዳቸዋል? አቃቤ ህግ ሌላ ጫና ከሌለባቸው በህጉ አግባብ ይስሩ። ፍርድ ቤት በየጊዜው እያሳሰሰባቸው ነው ምስክር ይዘው ሚቀርቡት። ያልቀረቡ ምስክሮችን በተመለከተ ከቀበሌ ደብዳቤ ይዘው ቀርበዋል ወይ? አልቀረቡም! የፍርድ ቤት ትእዛዝ እየተከበረ አይደለም። እናንተም የካድሬ አይነት ሳይሆን የባለሙያነት አሰራር ስሩልን።" በማለት ሌላ ቀጠሮ መሰጠቱን እንደሚቃወሙ ተናግረዋል።

"አቃቤ ህግ ዛሬ አጭር ጊዜ ነው የተሰጠን ብሏል በወቅቱ ቀጠሮ ሲሰጥ ለምን አጭር ጊዜ ነው የተሰጠን አይበቃንም አላለም? ከቀበሌ ይቅረብ የተባለው ማስረጃ አልቀረበም። የችሎቱ ብይን መከበር አለበት። ማእከላዊ ሲያሰቃዩን የነበሩ ፓሊሶች ናቸው ዛሬ ቀርበው ያልተገባ ተጨማሪ ቀጠሮ እየጠየቁ ያሉት።" ሲል የተጨማሪ ቀጠሮውን ጉዳይ ተቃውሞ አሰተያየታቸውን የሰጡት አቶ አዲሱ ቡላላ ናቸው።

ዳኞች ከተማከሩ በኋላ አቃቤ ህግ ትኩረት ሰጥቶ እንዲሰራ፤ ተከሳሾችን ደግሞ የፓለቲካ እስረኛ ብሎ ነገር እንደሌለ፣ ያሉበትን ሁኔታ እንደሚረዷቸው፣ እንዲያውም ማነፃፀር ባይገባም ከሌላው መዝገብ ሲተያይ በፍጥነት እየሄደ መሆኑን፣ እነሱም [ተከሳሾች] መከላከያ ምስክር በሚያሰሙበት ጊዜ ምስክሮችን ለመስማት ጊዜ እንደሚሰጡ በመግለፅ ፓሊስ በ15 ቀን ውስጥ ከየትም ፈልጎ ምስክሮቹን እንዲያመጣ፤ የማይገኙ ከሆነም ይኖሩበት ከነበረው ቀበሌ ደብዳቤ እንዲቀርብ ትእዛዝ ሰጥተዋል። አቃቤህግ የተሰጠው ጊዜ አጭር እንደሆነ በመግለፅ ትንሽ ረዘም ያለ ቀጠሮ እንዲሰጠው ቢጠይቅም ዳኞች ጥያቄውን ሳይቀበሉት፤ ፓሊስ የተቻለውን ሁሉ ጥረት በማድረግ በቀጠሮው ቀን እንዲያቀርብ አዘዋል።