United Oromo evangelical churches

Transcription

1 H.E. Ambassador Girma Birru Embassy of Federal Rebublic of Ethipia Dear 3506 International Ambassador Drive, Girma: N.W. Washington, D.C Date: 12/04/2015 Dear Ambassador Girma: Ref: - Ongoing persecution of Oromo students in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Greetings to you and your family in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We the Board Members of the United Oromo Evangelical Churches, (UOEC) an umbrella organization of more than fifty Oromo Evangelical Churches throughout the world, (in Africa, Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway, UK and the United States) are obliged to write to you again to draw your attention to the plight of Oromo students, and Oromo subsistent farmers in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia to convey concern with regard to the ongoing violence against unarmed students protest, by extension their parents. Your Excellency Mr. Ambassador, as you probably have heard, we are extremely saddened and concerned by reports that Ethiopian security forces again over the last two weeks opened fire and killed unarmed student protestors at Haro Mayya and Madda Walaabuu Universities, imprisoning unarmed young university and high school students over Oromia Region from East to West and North to south. The current episode is the repeat of the harsh treatment of two years ago and innocent students and parents are under indiscriminate attack. This violent action against unarmed students contradicts the democratic rights enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution (Article 29 and Article 30) and the solemn responsibility of the government to ensure broader and unencumbered enjoyment of those rights by its citizens, including the rights to life and free expression of those rights. We believe a government s ultimate responsibility is to create a civil society by protecting human and constitutional rights, maintaining the principle of law, and elevating the general benefit of the masses, treating fairly all its citizens equally. News media like Voice of America, BBC, social and independent media are constantly reporting the indiscriminate killings, beatings,

2 imprisonment and torture of unarmed young university and high school students by security forces. The students were trying to exercise their rights to express their views peacefully opposing the planned annexation of the prime agricultural lands, of small-holding farmers, within about 40 miles radius of the city of Finfinnee (Addis Ababa), now broadened to all towns and cities in Oromia. The planned incorporation of about six of the surrounding cities and prime land into the city of Addis Ababa under the pretext of various names such as, urban development, investment and industrialization is opposed by the majority of the Oromo people and Oromo students, understanding that this action will lead to evictions of Oromo farmers and small traders from cities and rural areas inhabited by Oromo farmers and urban residents without their consent by violating the moral authority and the commercial, legal and political rights of the immediate inhabitants by undermining the federal Constitution. There is no justification to use excessive force against unarmed students who came out merely to express their views and opinion against a policy that will have dire consequences on the social fabric of their people as a result of the displacing. While we recognize that the government has the responsibility to maintain law and order, we maintain that the excessive punitive actions taken against young and unarmed students is clearly a violation of the Ethiopian Constitution, all regional and international human rights laws ratified by Ethiopia, and acceptable international norms. Your Excellency, Ambassador Girma you know that in Oromia and throughout Ethiopia, sending children to school is an investment in the future both of the children and the parents. Parents spend from the small meager resources they have to send their children to school so that they bring forth an education and break out from the cycle of poverty and also take care of their parents in the future. Students are sources of pension and social protection for the parents in the country where there is no pension and social protection. Parents look forward with promise to the graduation and getting jobs of their youngsters. In this cycle of targeted aggression, it is a double jeopardy to our people, the Oromo people: they are targeted to be forcibly taken out from the source of their sustenance for centuries, their land and now their kids whose lives are cut short. The current action that is going on is tantamount to calculated systematic forced removal of people from their land and perpetual injustice.

3 It is a stark contradiction and bad for the image of the nation, especially at this time when on hand the country is once again in the grip of serious famine, putting millions at risk, the young and the elderly and the international governments and non-governmental humanitarian agencies kindly respond to help on the other hand the same young people are hunted down by the security forces which are supposed to provide security. We find it hard to fathom. What a waste of energy and resources. Consequently, the Board of the United Oromo Evangelical Churches, on behalf of its member churches around the World, is sending its urgent petition to your Excellency to convey our concern directly to the Prime Minister s Office to immediately intervene to stop the ongoing systematic abuse of human rights against Oromo students and their parents; that all allowed to live peacefully without worry about their safety and wellbeing. With copies of this petition we request all fair minded people of good will, churches and other religious organizations, governments, and Human Rights organizations to urgently intervene on behalf of the young Oromo students and the families of students, the small farmers and ask the Ethiopian government to: 1. Immediately stop its aggression against innocent people and students 2. Immediately release those who are put in prison most of them wounded. 3. Grant access to human rights organizations to visit the incarcerated students and evaluate their situation, then that they have medical treatment. 4. Set up an independent commission to look into this incident bring to justice those perpetrators of such inhumane violence, who directs and supervising the current ongoing killings and beatings of unarmed studnets. 5. Stop the displacement of small farmers from their ancestral land against their will, and respect the moral authority and the commercial, legal and political rights of the Oromo people in those areas as it enshrined in the federal Constitution. We earnestly pray for the day when all people of Ethiopia live in peace without fear and despair and look after their families, especially at this time of the year when we are waiting for the coming of the Lord, the Prince of Peace. Thus we repeat the tidings of the angels

4 Galanni Waaqayyoof hatau waaqa irraatti, lafa irraattis nagaan, namootaafis jaalalli gaariin Luq 2:14. Glory to God in the Highest, on Earth Peace and Goodwill among all people of God! Luke 2:14. ) Peace for Oromia, Peace for Ethiopia and Peace on Earth! Sincerely, United Oromo Evangelcial Churches President CC: The Honorable John F. Kerry Secretary of State U. S. Department of State 2201 C Street N.W. Washington, DC The Honorable Muktar Kedir President, Oromia National Statet Addis Ababa Po.box Mr. Steven W. Hawkins Executive Director, Amnesty International USA Washington National Office 600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 5th Floor, Washington, D.C The Honorable Julie Bishop Australian Foreign Ministry PO Box 2010 Subiaco, WA, 6904 Melbourne, Australia The Honorable Stéphane Dion Global Affairs Canada 125 Sussex Drive Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2, Canada The Honorable Frank-Walter Steinmeier German Foreign Ministry Auswärtiges Amt Berlin, Germany

5 Mr. Daniel Bekele Africa Director at Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY USA The Honorable Børge Brende Norwegian Foreign Ministry PO Box 8114 Dep. N-0032 Oslo, Norway The Honorable Martin Schulz European Union Wiertzstraat 60, B-1047 Brussels, Belgium Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison President, The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA Churchwide Ministries 8765 W Higgins Road Chicago, IL Rev. John F. Bradosky Bishop, North American Lutheran Church 3500 Mill Run Drive, Hilliard, OH Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan The Lutheran World Federation 150, route de Ferney P.O. Box 2100 CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland