Written by Seenaa Jimjimo
The Oromo people in Oromia are in a constant state of attack by the federal government’s security forces. Often, the question is: who dares to report such news when even the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) commissioner says they didn’t have the budget to investigate killings in Oromia nearly six months later and tells a journalist, Guyo Wario, “prison make them stronger”? When it comes to labeling Oromos as perpetrators, the EHRC acts more like a government mouthpiece by pointing fingers without proper investigation. No proper investigation was needed before the EHRC labeled the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) as being behind the killings of thirty-four individuals on November 3rd, nor was any credible evidence needed for the world to amplify those reports. According to OLA, they have controlled that area for years and have never harmed or targeted any civilians or ethnic minorities.
On the other hand, two weeks later, when more than thirty-four people were slaughtered after being removed from a bus, the EHRC purposely omitted the fact that most of the slaughtered individuals were Oromos, according to the families who spoke to the Oromia Media Network (OMN). According to the OMN and other Oromo media reports, the killings appear to be ethnically motivated. When dealing with events that impact Oromos, the EHRC is unable to visit the cities either due to financial constraints or safety concerns. For anyone looking in, the EHRC is either intentionally or unintentionally cherry-picking which human rights violation to report or leave out, and its impact must be clear.
The cherry-picking style of reports from the EHRC may be due to government pressure or other motives. The actions of the EHRC have deprived proper coverage of human rights violations taking place in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, where the vast majority of ethnic targeting has occurred since the popular singer, Hachalu Hundessa’s, killing five months ago. Furthermore, the EHRC’s lack of acknowledgment of the ongoing killings, including removing prisoners to be executed by unknown individuals and the mass arrest of 9,000 Oromos without bail, make it extremely difficult for any international media to cover these stories. In other words, in Ethiopia, where even the Reconciliation Commission supports the war, the EHRC’s omission of certain events has certainly contributed to the international community’s lack of coverage of the Oromia region.
For example, in just two days between November 21st and 22nd, since the war started in Tigray, federal forces have committed eight extrajudicial killings. Among those are Asaf Kushi and Galana Iman in central Oromia, and Getu Jireny, Mitiku Abdata, and Mihiratu Dhaba in West Oromia. During that same week, the brother of prominent Oromo activist, Gaabilb Abba Saambii, was also murdered on November 19th at 8 PM by the security force for his brother’s activism in Europe. An employee of Human Rights, Dr. Diriba Wakjira, Deputy Chairperson of Human Rights League of Horn Africa, was taken on November 6th and his whereabouts remain unknown.
On November 25th, two one-year-old children were arrested along with their mother, Zeenabaa H/Adam. The children and mother’s purported crime was the missing or wanted father. According to the family, he had left Ethiopia’s Defense Force due to the mistreatment the Oromos were facing after Hachalu Hundessa’s murder. On November 21st, local resident freed this father along with hundreds of prisoners who were arrested for protesting Hundessa’s killing five months earlier.
In Ethiopia, arresting peaceful, nonviolent protesters is not exclusive to Oromos. On October 27th, the National Amhara Movement (NAMA), an opposition political party member, was temporarily held for protesting the killing in the Amhara region. However, even nonpolitical party members were arrested, and often, their whereabouts remained unknown for weeks without bail. Dr. Hussen Kadir was arrested and kept at different prisons, including some thousands of miles away from his family. This past week, for the second time, he was granted bail by a federal judge, but the police refused to release him. The refusal of bail is common, especially for opposition members including Lidetu Ayalew, a prominent opposition party leader for the Amhara people, Misha Ciri, an American citizen, and many more.
In Ethiopia, clearly, the rule of law is not being respected by the government or the security forces. Police take orders, not from a legal document based on the rule of law where judges release bail individuals, but rather when someone makes the call or when a person pleads guilty for the crime they may have never committed.
It is mind-boggling that the international community has remained on the sidelines when two dictatorial governments (Ethiopia and Eritrea) used state resources to commit ethnic profiling, and possibly ethnic cleansing, in a direct violation of internal law. It sends a clear message regarding whose lives are worthy of saving.
While what is happening in Tigray and to Tigranes is nothing short of ethnic cleansing, the Abiy administration uses the war as a pretext to commit a brutal insurgency campaign against civilians and those in custody in Oromia. Abiy has killed Oromos with impunity while the world refuses to acknowledge this reality. Since the war started in Tigray three weeks ago, more Oromos have been killed by security forces, including extrajudicial killings. Oromos wait to hear their story being told on any non-Oromo media.
We call on the international community to pressure Abiy for an immediate ceasefire and to allow humanitarian assistance in Tigray. We also call for the immediate start of a national dialogue with all parties, including those in prison. We also urge the international community to conduct an independent investigation in Oromia where over 1,000 people have been killed, including 154 in a 24-hour period in July, and in Tigray where war crimes might have taken place.
Is the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission the Government’s Mouthpiece?
Written by Seenaa Jimjimo
The Oromo people in Oromia are in a constant state of attack by the federal government’s security forces. Often, the question is: who dares to report such news when even the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) commissioner says they didn’t have the budget to investigate killings in Oromia nearly six months later and tells a journalist, Guyo Wario, “prison make them stronger”? When it comes to labeling Oromos as perpetrators, the EHRC acts more like a government mouthpiece by pointing fingers without proper investigation. No proper investigation was needed before the EHRC labeled the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) as being behind the killings of thirty-four individuals on November 3rd, nor was any credible evidence needed for the world to amplify those reports. According to OLA, they have controlled that area for years and have never harmed or targeted any civilians or ethnic minorities.
On the other hand, two weeks later, when more than thirty-four people were slaughtered after being removed from a bus, the EHRC purposely omitted the fact that most of the slaughtered individuals were Oromos, according to the families who spoke to the Oromia Media Network (OMN). According to the OMN and other Oromo media reports, the killings appear to be ethnically motivated. When dealing with events that impact Oromos, the EHRC is unable to visit the cities either due to financial constraints or safety concerns. For anyone looking in, the EHRC is either intentionally or unintentionally cherry-picking which human rights violation to report or leave out, and its impact must be clear.
The cherry-picking style of reports from the EHRC may be due to government pressure or other motives. The actions of the EHRC have deprived proper coverage of human rights violations taking place in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, where the vast majority of ethnic targeting has occurred since the popular singer, Hachalu Hundessa’s, killing five months ago. Furthermore, the EHRC’s lack of acknowledgment of the ongoing killings, including removing prisoners to be executed by unknown individuals and the mass arrest of 9,000 Oromos without bail, make it extremely difficult for any international media to cover these stories. In other words, in Ethiopia, where even the Reconciliation Commission supports the war, the EHRC’s omission of certain events has certainly contributed to the international community’s lack of coverage of the Oromia region.
For example, in just two days between November 21st and 22nd, since the war started in Tigray, federal forces have committed eight extrajudicial killings. Among those are Asaf Kushi and Galana Iman in central Oromia, and Getu Jireny, Mitiku Abdata, and Mihiratu Dhaba in West Oromia. During that same week, the brother of prominent Oromo activist, Gaabilb Abba Saambii, was also murdered on November 19th at 8 PM by the security force for his brother’s activism in Europe. An employee of Human Rights, Dr. Diriba Wakjira, Deputy Chairperson of Human Rights League of Horn Africa, was taken on November 6th and his whereabouts remain unknown.
On November 25th, two one-year-old children were arrested along with their mother, Zeenabaa H/Adam. The children and mother’s purported crime was the missing or wanted father. According to the family, he had left Ethiopia’s Defense Force due to the mistreatment the Oromos were facing after Hachalu Hundessa’s murder. On November 21st, local resident freed this father along with hundreds of prisoners who were arrested for protesting Hundessa’s killing five months earlier.
In Ethiopia, arresting peaceful, nonviolent protesters is not exclusive to Oromos. On October 27th, the National Amhara Movement (NAMA), an opposition political party member, was temporarily held for protesting the killing in the Amhara region. However, even nonpolitical party members were arrested, and often, their whereabouts remained unknown for weeks without bail. Dr. Hussen Kadir was arrested and kept at different prisons, including some thousands of miles away from his family. This past week, for the second time, he was granted bail by a federal judge, but the police refused to release him. The refusal of bail is common, especially for opposition members including Lidetu Ayalew, a prominent opposition party leader for the Amhara people, Misha Ciri, an American citizen, and many more.
In Ethiopia, clearly, the rule of law is not being respected by the government or the security forces. Police take orders, not from a legal document based on the rule of law where judges release bail individuals, but rather when someone makes the call or when a person pleads guilty for the crime they may have never committed.
It is mind-boggling that the international community has remained on the sidelines when two dictatorial governments (Ethiopia and Eritrea) used state resources to commit ethnic profiling, and possibly ethnic cleansing, in a direct violation of internal law. It sends a clear message regarding whose lives are worthy of saving.
While what is happening in Tigray and to Tigranes is nothing short of ethnic cleansing, the Abiy administration uses the war as a pretext to commit a brutal insurgency campaign against civilians and those in custody in Oromia. Abiy has killed Oromos with impunity while the world refuses to acknowledge this reality. Since the war started in Tigray three weeks ago, more Oromos have been killed by security forces, including extrajudicial killings. Oromos wait to hear their story being told on any non-Oromo media.
We call on the international community to pressure Abiy for an immediate ceasefire and to allow humanitarian assistance in Tigray. We also call for the immediate start of a national dialogue with all parties, including those in prison. We also urge the international community to conduct an independent investigation in Oromia where over 1,000 people have been killed, including 154 in a 24-hour period in July, and in Tigray where war crimes might have taken place.