Ethiopia at a Crossroad

Summary

A joint seminar by Oromo Legacy Leadership & Advocacy Association (OLLA) and Forum for Peace, Reconciliation and Democracy (WALTANA) was been held on-line on May 21st, 2021. The theme of the seminar was Ethiopia at a Crossroads: Is the 6th Federal and National Election an Opportunity or Peril of Democracy? The objective was to assess the illegibility of non-inclusive planned elections in Ethiopia and its consequences.

The panelists were His excellency Ambassador Herma Cohen (former Assistant Secretary of State African Affairs); His excellency Mr. Thomas Hamnerberg (Swedish Member of Parliament); Prof. Merea Gundina (Chairperson Oromo Federalist Congress); Ms. Abeba Teferi (President of Qimant Advocacy Group); Mr. Ibrahim Aden (Central committee member of ONLF); and Mr Mesfin Ayenew (chairperson of Security and Justice for Tigrayan)

The discussions were focused on the following from different dimension:

current political situations, the atrocities and crimes against humanity in Oromia, Tigray, Kemant, Ogaden, and in Ethiopia as a whole,
the basic concept of free, fair, transparent and credible election, and whether the planned election, without the participation of major opposition parties, is in line with these concepts,
conditions that could be anticipated at the post-election,

As solutions, the panelists recommended:

the need of all-inclusive national dialogue, drawing a common road map to pave ways for peace, reconciliation and democracy in the country. Postpone the planned election, and workout mechanism for fair, free, transparent and credible election.
The panelists appealed to the international communities, particularly, the EU, UN and US pay attention and stand by the side of the Ethiopian peoples, and put pressure on the Ethiopian Government to respect human rights and accept the idea of all-inclusive national dialog.

About the Event

Hosted by the former assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen, these discussions will be a great platform to think through the implications of the upcoming elections.

Was privately held on
Friday May 21st, 2021 – 10amEST – 12pmEST