United State Secretary of State Honorable Antony Blinken is set to visit Ethiopia according to media reports.
Here is the letter Jamel Ebrahim the Executive Director Oromia Global Forum to Antony Blinken ahead of his visit to the country;
The Oromia Global Forum (OGE)- a global alliance of Oromo civic. professional, faith-basedvorganizations, prominent human rights defenders and activists, residing in North America, Europe,vAustralia, Asia, and Africa welcomes your upcoming visit to Ethiopia.
It is a country that has been undergoing significant political, economic and social turmoil over the past several years.
We understandbthat you will have a critical role to play in ensuring peace, security and stability in Ethiopia, and we hope that you will use this opportunity to advocate for the human rights and dignity of the Oromo people, the
largest nation in Ethiopia and Hom of Africa.
The Oromo people have long suffered political persecution, economic exploitation, social discrimination, dehumanization and marginalization at the hands of successive Ethiopian regimes.
Under the current leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, thousands of unarmed Oromo civilians have been
killed, over one million Oromos have been displaced by joint operations of Ethiopian armed forces, the security and extremist paramilitary Amhara Fano, and more than three million Oromos are suffering abdevastating famine caused by a combination of natural drought and man-made, mismanaged policies.
The Oromia Global Forum is calling on you to use your influence and position to pressure the Ethiopian
govemment to take immediate action to address the following urgent concems;
- Release all Oromo political prisoners. The Ethiopian governnment has arested and detained numerous Oromo activists, journalists, and opposition party members and leaders on charges of “terrorism” and other fabricated crimes. Many of these individuals have been subjected to torture, inhumane treatment, and lengthy periods of detention despite their cases being dismissed repeatedly by the courts. We urge you to press the Ethiopian
govemment to release all Oromo political prisoners, including Abdi Regasa, Lami Benya, Dawit Abdeta,
Kennsa Ayana, Michael Boran, Geda Oljira, Geda Gabbisa, and others who are currently languishing in Ethiopian prisons. The above listed Oromo Liberation Front [OLF] leaders were acquitted and their cases dismissed by the Ethiopian Federal Supreme Court and Oromia Regional Supreme Court but they are still kept in jail because the government refused to release them. We call on the Secretary of State to request
the immediate release of these and all other political prisoners, and ensure the protection of their human dignity and safety. We also urge you to press the Ethiopian government to lift the house arest on Mr. Daud Ibsa, the OLF leader, and all restrictions on the OLF members, including opening of their offices and conducting political activities freely. - Hold accountable those who are responsible for the killings of innocent Oromo civilians
We are deeply concemed about the continued wave of violence against the Oromo pcople and other
peoples, including the killing of six innocent Oromo people in West Shawa zone using aerial attack early
this month, the killing of a health professional and entrepreneur Badhasa Akkasa, and the killing of three
Oromo demonstrators in Guji who were protesting against the recent arbitrary re-demarcation of Oromia,
and their towns and villages without any consultation with the affected people. We call on you to use the
good offices of the Secretary of State to pressure the Ethiopian government to hold those responsible for
these heinous crimes accountable and bring them to justice. - Bring an end to the denial and delaying of life-saving humanitarian aid Halt exportation of food while people are sufering from famine in Oromia. The Oromo people are facing an acute humanitarian crisis due to drought and the government’s use of famine as a weapon of war against innocent civilians. Many Oromo farmers and pastoralists in Borana and Guji have lost their crops and livestock, leaving them without food and income. Despite this, the Ethiopian govermment continues to deny and delay the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to the people and instead orchestrates the export of food to other countries, while thousands of Oromso are dying of hunger. At this
moment, Ethiopia’s food export is driven by political propaganda, to give a false impression that the country is self-sufficient, in order to buy military equipment for its internal war on the people. We urge you to pressure the Ethiopian government to immediately stop denying and delaying the delivery of humanitarian assistance, to halt exporting food in order to provide for those who are miserably atfected by, famine in Oromia. - Negotiate with OLF-OLA to immediately haltlend the war in Oromia and resolve contentious political diJerences peacefull. The conflict between the Ethiopian government and the OLF-OLA has caused immense suffering for the Oromo poople at the hands of the Ethiopian government, including massive displacement, frequent drone attack and massacre, lass of life, and destruction of property. We call on you to pressure the Ethiopian govemment to immediately halt the ongoing war in Oromia and enter into a negotiated peace deal with OLFOLA mediated by impartal and capable international third-party negotiators. The Ethioptan govemment must accept and respect the practical implementation of constitutional rights of the Oromo people to self-determination and work towards a lasting peace by resolving contentious political differences via popular decisions, rather than perpetuating destructive war and military confrontations with OLF-OLA and other political forces
- Open the political space, and enable acces to the people and information on the ground The Ethiopian government has fully locked up Oromia. As a result, no single media, ar human rights organization, nor humanitarian organization has access to the people on the ground to report the extreme human rights violations and humanitarian crisis in Oromia. The totalitarian practices of the dictatorial
regime of Ethiopia, and its consequent complete blockage of information must end. In conclusion, the Oromia Global Forum urges you to use your position and influence to advocate for the rights and dignity of the Oromo people and other peoples in Ethiopia. We hope that your visit will
result in mcaningful action and tangible improvements for the Oromo people and other marginalized populations, who have been suffering under successive tyrant regimes of Ethiopia, for far too long. The US commitment to democracy is being tested in the Exhiopian arena. The largest groups are yearning for democracy but that aspiration is suppressed at every turn.
In a statement via twitter, Blinken noted that he is traveling to Ethiopia to and Niger to discuss as shared Global and regional priorities.
“Traveling to Ethiopia and Niger to discuss shared global and regional priorities. African nations are critical partners in food security, the climate crisis, global health, human rights, and peace. They deserve greater representation in global institutions.” said Blinken.
