Falls Church, Virginia (Oct. 23, 2020) – The Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy Association (OLLAA) condemns the continued state sanctioned violence in Ethiopia. Today, October 23, 2020 government security forces brutally murdered five innocent young men in the city of Naqamtee, Western Oromia, Ethiopia in Kebele 05 near Qasso Secondary School. Naqamtee (Nekemte) is a vibrant city located 310 km west of Finfinnee (Addis Ababa), the capital city of Ethiopia.
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Three of the victims were shockingly murdered in their homes while two of them were tortured and killed in their neighborhood in what seems to be a premeditated and government approved raid. For the last few months, government security forces have been targeting young Oromo citizens for arbitrary mass arrest and extrajudicial killings in every corner of the Oromia region. The rapidly increasing number of politically motivated imprisonment and killings of young Oromo men and women is indicative of the extent of atrocities the government is willing to inflict on civilians to stay in power. We condemn these acts of terror by the government in the strongest terms. The names of the victims: Ararso Kebede, Raguel Hailu. Henok, Sefu Kedir, Yisihak Zelalem, will be added to the rapidly expanding list of casualties of the continued brutality, and extreme lack of accountability, of the state.
In the current atmosphere in which the brutality of the state has been placed as a central issue in several movements worldwide, we at OLLAA implore the international community to not ignore the continued plight of the Oromo people. As Dr. King said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
As a government which has been illegitimate since October 5th, 2020, the Ethiopian state should exercise maximum restraint, and hold perpetrators within both the police and military force accountable for the continued atrocities.
Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, the city of Naqamtee, and to all Oromo communities around the world.
OLLAA is an umbrella organization that represents dozens of Oromo communities around the world.