An open letter from OLLAA, an Oromo-Ethiopian human rights organization based in Fall Church, Virginia, to Secretary of State
The Honorable Antony Blinken
U.S. Secretary of State
Washington, D.C., 20520
Dear Mister Secretary:
I am writing on behalf of the Oromo people and all peace loving people of Ethiopia.
More specifically, I am writing regarding the health conditions of Jawar Mohamed, Bekele Gerba, and the many Oromo political leaders unlawfully imprisoned in Ethiopia, who are deteriorating due to a hunger strike that began on January 27, 2021. After the response to a mass protest from 2014 to 2018, the regimen continues to close political space. The vast majority of political prisoners released in 2018 are now back in prisons. Many Oromo political parties have been banned out-right. The few remaining are on the verge of extinction as their operations are severely restricted, their members are arrested, and their constituents continue to face intimidation and harassment. This comes on the heels of thousands of Oromos arrested after the assassination of famed Oromo artist Hachalu Hundessa in June 2020. Immediately following the assassination of Mr. Hundessa, the regime arrested prominent Oromo political leaders, including Jawar Muhammed and Bekele Gerba. Today as I pen this paper, their lives are in great danger.
In response to the harassment of their family members and supporters, closure of their party’s office, severe restriction of political space by the regime, Jawar Muhammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Borana, and other Oromo political leaders started a hunger strike. Instead of responding to their justifiable demand, the regime has ignored the international community’s plea, its courts, and the populous to seek a peaceful resolution to this conflict and respond to the demands of these Oromo political leaders and prisoners.
In recent days, this has sparked the #OromoYellowMovement. Oromo Youths are standing in solidarity with political prisoners and demanding Oromo political parties be allowed to operate and their members released. There are protests underway throughout the country, especially in Oromia, adding to an already turbulent situation in the country. Simultaneously, the Ethiopian government has continued to carry out a war in Tigray in coordination with Eritrea. Thousands of ethnic Tigrayans have fled to Sudan. There are reports of war crimes, and millions face starvation due to a lack of humanitarian access entering the region as the war continues. The war broke out when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) held a constitutionally mandated election in September 2020, defying the federal government’s postponement of the election.
Although the regime initially used COVID-19 as a cover-up for postponing the election, it announced the general election in June 2021. This is after effectively eliminating all viable political opponents, especially in Oromia and Tigray. Now the regime sounds like it is committed to free and fair elections while holding these leaders in captivity. A free and fair election requires opposition parties to participate freely and for citizens to vote safely. A sham election would not buy this regime the legitimacy it seeks, nor would it bring peace to a nation in desperate need of one.
For these reasons, we urge you to pressure the Ethiopian government to respect the freedom of speech, assembly, and political participation without fear of repression. We encourage you to call for these Oromo political leaders’ immediate release and meet their just demands. We encourage you to support a U.N.-led investigation in Ethiopia to identify war crimes and human rights abuses. Because Ethiopia’s situation is so volatile, we are gravely concerned that if anything were to happen to political prisoners on their hunger strike, there could be a full-blown civil war and more bloodshed. Your intervention can save Ethiopia and the region.
Background
Human rights violations:
According to the May 29, 2020 Amnesty International report, Ethiopian federal and regional security forces carried out massive human rights abuses in various parts of the Oromia region, including extrajudicial killings of civilians, burning of houses, and arbitrary arrests. The Guji zone in southern Oromia and western Wollega zone of the Oromia region have been under military command for nearly two years. And on June 29, 2020, the killing of renowned artist and activist Hachalu Hundessa led to mass protests and thousands of arrests, including opposition party leaders and human rights activists Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba. These events instigated many civilian protests and demonstrations, which security forces responded to by killing hundreds of peaceful protesters and blocking the spread of information via an internet blackout.
War in Tigray:
On November 4, 2020, the silent war that Abiy’s federal government had already carried out in Oromia was extended, and open war was declared on Tigray, resulting in millions of displaced Ethiopians, thousands dead, and over 60,000 refugees fleeing to Sudan. Sadly, the current Ethiopian government is still committing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and mass atrocities against its own citizens and blocking humanitarian assistance to millions of starving people. Though European governments and global organizations now call for an independent investigation, we believe this investigation must further examine other atrocities and extrajudicial killings that have been widely documented by an organization like Amnesty International, such as Mr. Hundessa’s assassination.
Respectfully,
Seenaa Jimjimo
Executive Director
Oromo Legacy Leadership & Advocacy Association