Falls Church, Virginia— On February 25, approximately 1000 Oromo-American activists rallied in downtown Washington, D.C. to demand justice for Oromo political leaders Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, and 18 others who are leading a hunger strike from Kaliti Prison in Addis Ababa.
The Oromo leaders have been imprisoned since June 2020, when Ethiopian security forces arrested them in connection with the nationwide rallies protesting the murder of Oromo musician, Hachelu Hundessa. According to Human Rights Watch, the men’s due process rights have been violated throughout their imprisonment, and their families have suffered from harassment.
Today, Friday, February 26 marks day 30 of the hunger strike. The leaders are demanding justice for all Oromo political prisoners wrongfully detained, as well as justice for their families and supporters, who have been harassed and even arrested by Ethiopian security forces for their connection to the leaders.
Doctors say that Bekele Gerba, an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, is in critical condition. All of the leaders now face imminent risk of death unless the Ethiopian government intervenes. Last week, an Ethiopian high court ordered that the men be transferred to a private hospital in order to receive urgent medical treatment, but the Ethiopian Attorney General has continued to block their transfer.
Prominent U.S. figures like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Samantha Power are urging the US government to intervene, but the White House and Department of State have remained silent.
This silence prompted Thursday’s rally, which brought Oromo activists from 20 different states to downtown D.C. The activists braved cold and hazardous weather conditions to join the rally, where they demanded justice for Jawar, Bekele, and all peace-loving people who continue to suffer repression under the present Ethiopian regime. Crowds of supporters wearing yellow, the symbolic color of Oromo political prisoners, marched from the World Bank headquarters to the U.S. Department of State.
At one point during the rally, Oromo-American activists passed by a separate Tigrayan-American rally about the war in Tigray. In this moment, the Tigrayan and Oromo activists spoke in solidarity about the Ethiopian government’s oppression of its citizens. A stunning photo, taken by OLLAA, captured the moment when Oromo and Tigrayan flags waved together. Their calls for peace, self-determination, and freedom for all those fighting for their people’s future was clearly displayed.
President Biden’s administration must urgently condemn the current human rights crisis in Ethiopia and demand a peaceful resolution for all those facing persecution in Ethiopia, specifically the Oromo political leaders facing death. Additionally, the State Department must address these human rights concerns in all upcoming reports on Ethiopia and US foreign policy in the region. For more details on the rally and the current human rights crisis in Ethiopia, please visit https://ollaa.org/hungerstrike.
